Chapter 1: Light Feeder
[Brain Storage Center]
The Forbidden Fruit was a mysterious fruit that originated from the Abyss.
Any living beings that consumed it gained the power they yearned for. But at the same time, they had to pay an equivalent price.
Ever since the Forbidden Fruit came into being, human society had undergone earth-shaking transformations. Some of the humans who had consumed the Forbidden Fruit had brought great benefits to humanity, while others had brought great calamities.
Some animals that had eaten the Forbidden Fruit had also brought great destruction to human civilization, forcing the human race to build tall walls and cramped quarters in one stronghold after another.
Because living beings were unable to resist the temptation of the Forbidden Fruit, once a Forbidden Fruit was found, it would be devoured on the spot. Therefore, to most people, the Forbidden Fruit was something that appeared in rumors but never in reality.
But while the fruit itself was hard to find, the supernatural powers it gave rise to were much more accessible.
***
Somewhere in Silver City, there was an old building that was actually a black-market store. The store owner had just handed over an injector pen to a young man who was wearing a mask and holding a briefcase.
The young man, Yu Xian, asked, "Boss, which generation is this blood from?"
"Third generation. But I must remind you: Although injecting a vampire's blood can transform you into a vampire, this is illegal, and you will become a so-called wild vampire. Once the Blood Race discovers that you did this, they will consider you an enemy, and the Cleansers will chase you to the end of the world," the store owner said unhurriedly as he stared at Yu Xian.
Several hundred years ago, the progenitor of the Blood Race consumed a Forbidden Fruit, transforming into a vampire. Nowadays, the Blood Race was a powerful force in human society.
Only those who passed the Blood Race's assessment and trials were qualified to receive the First Bite and be transformed into vampires.
Only these vampires were accepted and protected by the Blood Race. At the same time, of course, they had to contribute their strength to the Blood Race.
In the past, some sought immortality by assassinating vampires and using their blood to transform themselves into vampires. However, without exception, all of those were killed by the Cleansers dispatched by the Blood Race.
Yu Xian's problem was that he couldn't wait, nor did he have the patience to undergo the Blood Race's trials.
He was a high school student who had ended up with a small fortune after inheriting a small factory from his late father.
If nothing out of the ordinary had happened, he would have taken over the factory after graduation, just like his father before him. When he grew old, he would have passed it down to his own son or daughter. But fate had other plans, and misfortune struck.
A year ago, he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis![1]
It was hereditary. His father had ALS as well and eventually passed away from the disease.
Such a terrifying terminal disease could only be cured through supernatural means, yet the vast majority of such treatments demanded an exorbitant price.
For example, the fee for a healing-type supernatural being to cure his illness in one go was 100 million.
Even if he sold off his factory, the most he could raise would be around 20 million. That was still far from enough to hire someone of that caliber. As for other treatments, even the cheapest cost 60 to 70 million, not to mention the strange side effects they often carry.
Finally, after spending a considerable amount of money on investigations and inquiries, he came across a black-market store that claimed to be able to obtain anything.
After selling off the factory and a store, he managed to scrape together enough money to purchase vampire blood, securing a chance to live on.
As long as he injected vampire blood and transformed himself into a vampire, his ALS would naturally be cured. The downside was that he would henceforth have to survive on blood and would also become vulnerable to silver and sunlight.
"This is the rest of the money."
Yu Xian took out a silver ring and brought it closer to the injector pen to test out its authenticity.
Once he confirmed the blood inside the injector pen was indeed vampire blood, he placed the briefcase on the table and immediately turned to leave.
After returning to his residence, Yu Xian quickly drew all the curtains shut, then went back to his bedroom and sat down.
After taking off his mask, he carefully took out the injector pen. Looking at the blood inside, he could not help but show an expression of ecstatic joy. He no longer had to die!
The moment he was diagnosed with ALS, he felt as though his world was crumbling down.
He spent an entire month in a daze before he came to accept that his life was coming to an end and began to think of every possible way to save himself.
As of late, his hands often felt weak, and he occasionally lost sensation in his legs.
He was very clear that death was drawing closer and closer to him.
Fortunately, it was not too late!
Yu Xian took off his shirt. After calming the excitement surging within him, he slowly injected the blood within the injection pen into his body. Very quickly, he noticed a chill that seemed to radiate from his very bone marrow. His mind grew hazy, and soon, an irresistible wave of drowsiness overcame him.
He lay down, surrendering himself to the sleepiness, and slowly closed his eyes. In the final moments before losing consciousness, he could feel his heartbeat becoming slower and slower...
A full day and night quickly passed.
In the darkness, Yu Xian turned over.
A sudden realization struck him. He opened his eyes wide and bolted upright in his bed.
"It worked?" he muttered to himself and quickly pressed his hand against his chest.
After about a minute, a smile spread across his face. Sure enough, his heart had stopped beating, proof that he had been transformed into a vampire by the vampire blood.
A vampire's heart only beat once a year.
It was said that with every ten heartbeats, a vampire would acquire a minor ability, while every hundred heartbeats would grant a major ability.
Therefore, the longer a vampire lived, the more powerful they became!
Additionally, if food was abundant, a vampire's heart could even beat once every six months, allowing their strength to grow at a faster rate. This was why, even when they were not hungry, all vampires continued to drink blood.
"Every newly transformed vampire has an innate ability."
Yu Xian recalled the information he had gathered and carefully examined the changes to his body.
First, he could rule out active abilities. These were usually as instinctive as opening one's mouth to eat. After only the slightest familiarization, they could be used with ease. Anyone with a functioning brain could master them effortlessly.
Since that did not seem to be the case, and he could not activate it consciously, then it had to be a passive ability. That made things considerably troublesome; passive abilities had to be triggered before one could determine what they actually were.
"I'm a little hungry. Good thing I prepared plenty of blood packs!"
Instead of sensing his ability, Yu Xian only sensed his growing hunger.
He subconsciously got out of bed and switched on the light, only to freeze where he stood.
His body was absorbing the light!
No! That’s not it!
More accurately, his body was consuming the light.
How is this even possible!?
Although vampires were only afraid of sunlight, and normal artificial light posed no real harm to them, they still disliked illumination and would even experience mild discomfort under intense light.
Yet he was not only not experiencing any discomfort, but actually found it somewhat pleasant!
"Could it be that my first ability is... feeding on light?"
Yu Xian raised his head and stared at the incandescent bulb, and the uncertainty on his face slowly gave way to ecstatic delight.
He immediately walked to the window. After deciding to become a vampire, he had replaced all the curtains in his residence with blackout curtains. Still, he instinctively knew that it was daytime.
As it turned out, his senses weren’t lying to him. Even though he couldn’t see anything through the blackout curtains, he could tell that the sun was shining against them because he could feel warmth radiating from the curtains.
“How weird... It’s not uncomfortable at all. If anything, it makes me... crave it?”
Gripping the blackout curtains with one hand, Yu Xian took a deep breath and yanked them open.
The darkness was instantly swept away as the morning sunlight poured into the room. Bathed completely in sunlight, Yu Xian could clearly feel his hunger rapidly fading. He truly was feeding, and his nourishment was none other than the sunlight itself.
He was an anomaly among vampires.
He fed on light.
He was a Light Feeder!
1. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It leads to the gradual loss of muscle control, eventually impacting movement, speech, swallowing, and breathing. There is currently no cure, and treatment focuses on slowing progression and managing symptoms. ☜