Volume 3, Human, Non-Human Killer 7: The Non-Human Dark Sun and the Human Ah Ye (1/2)

Volume 3, Human, Non-Human Killer Chapter 7: The Non-Human Dark Sun and the Human Ah Ye

Translator: Raylight

April 20, 2110, Cloudy

“Accompany me to go look at houses, okay?”

That was what the little young master requested.

I was very surprised. Why did he want to go look at houses? However, I do not have the authority to ask him questions. Therefore, wherever the young master wishes to go, all I should do is follow.

I didn’t think that the moment we returned home, the Sun Emperor would be sitting in the middle of the living room. His facial expression was so terrible that it was incapable of looking worse. Most likely, he had already received the news.

“Why did you want to go look at houses?” He asked the question that I was wondering.

“Do you want to leave home… to leave me?” He also asked a question that had not even crossed my mind.

Finally, our days returned to their initial ordinary lifestyle… Perhaps it could not be counted as ordinary, but it still followed a regular pattern.

I returned to the young master’s home and continued to serve him.

However, it was beyond my expectations that after hearing what Melody wanted me to relay to him, the young master would still nod his head in agreement, despite looking worried. He told me, “As long as Melody has a plan, it’s fine.” That was because he really did not know how to handle the three-man team as well as the Church supporting them. It was simply too wonderful that Melody could help him deal with them.

“The young master actually trusts you a lot.”

When I called Melody, I told her that, but she fiercely snapped at me, “Mind your own business.” According to what the young master has said, that “When Melody is embarrassed, she would instead purposely pretend to be angry,” Melody should actually be feeling very happy and a little embarrassed?

In the other room, Aren was still unconscious most of the time. Occasionally, he would come to his senses, but he would merely remain silent and allow Mr. An Te Qi to freely extract his blood or inject unknown medications into his body.

As the butler who was currently responsible for serving Mr. An Te Qi, Curtis would always run over to look for the young master in a hurry—saying that Mr. An Te Qi was attempting to inject a multi-colored fluid into Mr. Aren, and it made him feel extremely uneasy… This proved that Curtis was as expected, a professional butler who was extremely perceptive, skilled at observations. His hunches always turned out to be accurate, for the fluids in Mr. An Te Qi’s hands were dangerous items nine out of ten times.

It was also due to his serious and conscientious work that Aren had not met with a violent death or increased in size whenever he lost control.

I reckoned that I would be able to write him a recommendation letter once it became slightly less busy, so he could return to and carry on the line of the old and influential family of butlers.

Ever since that night, Gong Feng Xiang never dropped by the place. She kept to her word, silently waiting for me to finish dealing with matters.

At home, the peace continued. Outside, there also seemed to be a temporary sort of peace.

The explosive atmosphere on the streets had become much milder. The humans seemed to have noticed that something was amiss as well. The number of missing people had increased, and it became common for humans to disappear without a single trace. In the alleys, at the ends of the streets, and even on rooftops, more black shadows were appearing. In every place and every corner, there seemed to be a pair of eyes watching.

Humans, on the other hand, had become a little more cautious. As for the dark alleys that they had always loved, they now treated them as though they had seen a monster in them, and dared not approach them lightly.

Policemen were patrolling the streets day and night, and the firepower they brought with them was also growing stronger and stronger.

Usually, if any youngsters were to see a policeman, they would at the very least show disdain on their faces, sometimes even spitting at them. However, in the recent days, when they saw a policeman, the expressions they showed were relieved ones. If there was a place with no policemen on patrol, even the youngsters did not dare to linger there!

Many things were actually still left unresolved, just like the opposition between humans and non-humans. However, we had entered a stalemate. Currently, all we could do was maintain the outward peace. For the time being, there was no method that we could employ to resolve the issue.

It was under these kinds of days that the young master started his summer vacation.

Originally, he had happily told me that he wanted to go traveling and bring everyone along, and then drop by to see his brother on the way, and bring his brother along too. Following that… Regardless of what the rest of his plans were, they were interrupted by a phone call.

Ji Luo Chu had called, and he had asked the young master to pack his luggage and temporarily live in the studio… That was because there were so many requests that specifically wanted the young master to be the model, to the point where even if he were to continuously press the shutter, he would not be able to finish taking all the photos. He had spent an extreme amount of effort to postpone those jobs to take place after the young master’s finals.

“So many that even if you were to press the shutter continuously, you can’t finish them all?” The young master was extremely flustered as he said, “T-Then, what should we do? Don’t tell me that we really have to continuously shoot for two months with no rest at all? But I’m worried that I will run out of battery. At the very least, you have to give me time to charge!”

Over the phone, the other person fell silent for a long time, before I heard him force out the words, “Ah Ye, when you said charge, do you mean resting?”

Ah Ye tilted his head to one side and replied, “I was referring to eating and sleeping.”

“Oh!” Ji Luo Chu gave a huge sigh of relief, and he muttered softly, “You should have said so. I nearly thought that you really do need to plug yourself in to charge…”

“That also works,” was the young master’s immediate reply.

Over the phone, there was a very long period of silence. Then, Ji Luo Chu finally spoke with a conflicted voice, “Charles, help him pack his luggage. If charging is the only issue… I believe, we really can shoot for a very long time.”

I merely helped the young master pack a set of clothing to change into and some necessities, and followed him to the studio. Even if the young master were to stay at the studio for a long time, I could always travel between home and the studio, so there was no need to pack large amounts of luggage.

Once we reached the studio, Ji Luo Chu came welcoming us, looking like he was itching to begin. He led us in to the area where we were to shoot, and after we sat down at the round table meant for resting, he picked up an entire stack of files and half-tossed them onto the table.

He helplessly took them one by one and explained to the young master, “This is the ‘Crying Angel,’ this is the ‘Smiling Angel,’ and then there’s the ‘Last Angel…’”

“Are they all angel-related?” The young master stared at the entire stack of cases curiously.

Ji Luo Chu said with a little grudgingly, “That’s right. It’s because you left a deep and lasting impression on everyone last time, when you were captured by a werewolf while wearing the clothes from ‘Tears of an Angel.’ Coupled with the advertisement that came out later, it was simply too memorable. So, every advertisement specifically wants your angel image.”

“You didn’t tell them the complete story, Ah Chu.” Ah Da pushed open the door and walked out from the room beside us. As he bit down on a chicken cutlet, he commented, “The days now are simply too dark and strange. Everyone needs a bit of hope in their lives!”

Once he heard that, Ji Luo Chu hesitated for a moment, but still asked, “Ah Ye, have you noticed the unease on the streets?”

The young master nodded his head and said, “Charles told me that the Church’s arrival to the city has started to make the non-humans uneasy.”

When I had told the young master that, I had skipped the other reasons. My reasoning was that the young master only needed to know about the non-humans’ unease. The fact that his fight with X was also one of the factors causing their uneasiness was something that did not need to be brought up.

“That explains the matter.” Ji Luo Chu instead looked relieved, and he said casually, “I thought that there was someone scheming some kind of great master plan or the like. So it was merely trouble brought about by the Church. That’s simple. Once they leave, the non-humans will calm down again!”

The young master nodded his head.

Are things really that simple? I felt a little uneasy. Even if Melody successfully forces Anceo and the others to leave by using a hostage, would the non-humans leave it at that?

Other than the Church, Mr. Stone also said that humans have modified themselves to be too powerful, so non-humans have lost their superiority in strength… Perhaps, this is the real reason?

“I feel like the cases that we can take are these three. ‘The Last Angel,’ which is a weapons commercial; ‘Teardrops,’ a commercial for diamonds; and ‘Budding Flower,’ which is a commercial for lipstick.”

As Ji Luo Chu and the young master started discussing the cases, I turned my attention back to them. As a butler, I could not let my thoughts wander and should always be attentive to the young master’s needs.

“These three cases are the best among them. The rest are…” At this point, Ji Luo Chu’s expression seemed a little resigned as he said, “For the rest, the commercial organizers insist on doing it their way.”

“Then, don’t take those cases that you don’t like!” The young master said, as though it was a matter of fact.

Ji Luo Chu froze, and tried asking, “But the rewards are tempting?”

At the side, Ah Da swallowed the rest of the chicken cutlet and cut in, saying, “It’s seriously freakin’ tempting. I haven’t seen so much money before in my entire life! Even if the case looks like scrap paper, with the payment behind it, it also starts to look like a proper case!”

The young master tilted his head, appearing somewhat uncertain.

I observed Ji Luo Chu’s and Ah Da’s expressions in detail. Their expressions were hesitant, but upon looking at the huge stack of scrap cases, they had obvious frowns on their faces. Ah Da even had an expression of disgust.

I lowered my head to whisper a few words to the young master. The young master then smiled, and said pompously, “I don’t want to take photos that are like scrap paper! No means no!”

Hearing that, Ji Luo Chu and Ah Da were stunned, and they seemed as though they were about to open their mouth to persuade him to change his mind. However, the young master looked at the two with a determined gaze.

“So much money… What a pity! But if the model refuses, then there’s no choice. We can’t possibly force him to do so!”

The two of them still nodded their heads in the end. Although Ah Da continued to mutter non-stop, a relieved expression was on his face. Ji Luo Chu’s actions were even more obvious. He smiled at me and nodded his head to express his gratitude.

I responded with a smile. Truthfully, I believed that in the end, they still would not choose to take on those unsatisfactory cases. I had merely helped to speed up their decision.

“Okay!” Ji Luo Chu shouted loudly with renewed vigor, “Then let’s start shooting! Ah Ye, which one do you want to begin with?”

“Lipstick!” The young master shouted ecstatically.

“… You like lipstick?” Ji Luo Chu’s expression was extremely strange. Although he was smiling, his brows were furrowed. He looked as though he was both laughing and crying, and it looked extremely funny.

I explained with a smile, “The young master likes new and curious things, while both weapons and diamonds are not anything new to him.”

“That explains it.” Ji Luo Chu gave a sigh of relief, and he went on to explain, “For the lipstick commercial, we have to wait until the appointed make-up artist comes over. He has to help you with your make-up before we can begin shooting. So, let’s take the other two first! We’ll start with… ‘The Last Angel,’ okay?”

The young master nodded his head.

“The clothes have already been placed in the changing room. It’s the one hanging at the leftmost side. Go and change into it first.”

“Okay.”

After the young master walked into the changing room, Ji Luo Chu and Ah Da started to converse with me.

“How did Ah Ye do on his finals?”

I replied with a smile, “There has never been any need to worry about the young master’s academics.”

Basically, the only thing I was worried about was that the young master would score full marks on his exams and make the professors and classmates all widen their eyes in shock. However, later on, I heard from the young master that he had always scored full marks on every test. If he did not score full marks, then the professors and classmates would widen their eyes in shock.

At this moment, the young master rushed out of the changing room in a hurry, even shouting, “Luo Chu-gē, it’s terrible! The clothes are damaged!”

“The clothes are damaged?” Ji Luo Chu turned back, shocked.

I too, turned to look at the young master. The clothes that he had on this time were rather similar to the clothes he had worn for his last photo shoot, ‘Tears of an Angel…’ It was just that those clothes were not tattered with burn marks all over.

“That’s not it.” Ji Luo Chu smiled as he said, “This was done on purpose. It’s mainly to try and replicate the look of a survivor of a disaster. In this commercial, you are the last angel remaining after experiencing a great war.”

“This is not bad enough. We still have to add on a little blood later.” Ah Da winked as he said, “It’s not fake blood, but fresh blood that I just extracted! Ah Ye, are you scared?”

The young master merely smiled and did not respond. Ji Luo Chu commented snappily, “How could Ah Ye possibly be scared! Who do you think he is?”

“Ah…” Ah Da gave a shout of realization. “That’s right! You’re Dark Sun.”

The young master and I both froze, and then looked at Ji Luo Chu. He quickly explained, “Although I promised not to tell anyone, Ah Da is the one helping me watch the surveillance cameras. I couldn’t possibly hide it from him, so, uh…”

“I understand,” I responded quickly.

“So it was Ah Da who was helping First Wind oversee the surveillance cameras!” The young master yelled in sudden realization.

Ji Luo Chu observed the young master’s and my expression. After making sure that the young master was not the least bit displeased, he then relaxed. He even joked, “That’s right, he would always complain to me that I caused him to become near-sighted by several hundred degrees and would have to go for an operation for near-sightedness.”

“It’s all your fault in the first place! Is a surveillance screen with several hundred frames something that a human should be watching?” Ah Da said unhappily.

Ji Luo Chu too replied, upset, “It’s not like I haven’t watched it before. Don’t I usually look over them with you? Moreover, most of the time, I’m the one looking at them. You’re actually looking at pornographic films…”

Ah Da coughed loudly, and then lowered his voice to say, “Ah Ye is still here! Don’t lead him astray.”

“Right, right.” Ji Luo Chu pretended to be impatient as he said, “Go and take your blood bag out! If you don’t take it out quickly, I think your blood is probably going to turn stinky very soon. If Ah Ye were to be sprinkled with stinky blood, that would be too pitiful.”

“Shoo! You’re the one who is stinky all over!”

Ah Da brought over a blood bag while muttering, and after they cut it open, the two of them started to sprinkle blood on the young master. As for the young master, he was of course not afraid at all, and he even used his finger to dap at the blood in curiosity.

I said jokingly, “It is fresh blood indeed. It was probably extracted half an hour ago, right?”

Hearing that, the young master laughed. Hands covered in blood, he raised both of them high, asking, “Want to drink some?”

Once the young master suggested so, I saw Ah Da’s expression become nervous, as though he was worried that I would rush up to him and take a bite. Seeing him behave in such a way, I felt a little playful and said purposefully, “As you know, Young Master, vampires only drink the blood of young virgins. If it was a burly fellow like Mr. Ah Da, I am afraid it would not be to my taste.”

Ah Da looked relieved, but the young master laughed even harder. He had already heard from me a long time ago that I was unable to differentiate the original owner of the blood just by the blood itself, be it a young virgin or a burly fellow. Also, if there were vampires who only drank from young virgins, then that would be only because young virgin females usually preferred to take more baths, and so their necks would be a little cleaner. It did not have any relation to the blood itself.

To a vampire, the only difference in blood is how fresh it is. Warm blood that was just taken from the body is the tastiest meal for us.

“What a pity that the camera can’t capture Charles. For this theme, ‘The Last Angel,’ it’s really fitting for both you and Ah Ye to be in the frame at the same time.” Ji Luo Chu said as though he thought it was a great loss, “I can obviously see you through the lens of the cameras and the video cameras, but there’s nothing on the photos or film at all. This is such a strange phenomenon.”

Indeed, it is. Ever since cameras had appeared in this world, this phenomenon had become the ever-lasting mystery that all vampires wished to uncover.

“Even though it is a pity, it can’t be helped. Ah Ye! Come over and let’s start shooting!”

The young master shouted his affirmation, but Ah Da quickly stopped him, saying “Wait up!” As he did so, he sprinkled a few drops of blood on the young master’s forehead. It looked just as though he had banged his head into something and bled from it.

Following that, he quickly rushed off again. When he returned, he shoved something into the young master’s hands.

The young master opened his hand in curiosity to look at the object. It was a pocket-sized silver handgun, and there were even some ornamental carvings on it. It looked almost like a piece of art, not at all like a weapon for killing.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Ji Luo Chu smiled as he explained, “The target audience for this gun is females, and it’s made specifically for them to use for protection. It’s small enough to be placed in purses, and there isn’t strong recoil. There’s even an auto-aim function.”

The young master turned the handgun around, and as he looked, he said, “The firepower is too poor.” Then, he took out the magazine with trained movements, and with one glance at it, said, “There are also too few bullets. This gun is not very good.”

Ji Luo Chu’s and Ah Da’s faces had become completely stiff, as though… they had seen a pure little angel take out not a cute cupid’s bow, but a bazooka that could bomb an entire building.

“No matter how many times I see it, I still can’t get used to it!” Ah Da yelled loudly. “Ah Ye, you look like an angel. How could you possibly be…” His voice suddenly faded off, and he mouthed the words, “Dark Sun.”

The young master laughed.

“Alright, time to begin shooting.” Ji Luo Chu told Ah Da unhappily, “Unless you want to let those advertisers continue to bother us.”

Ah Da immediately made a big X with both arms in front of his chest.

Ji Luo Chu walked behind the camera and instructed, “Ah Ye, go and sit in the chair in front of the white screen. Then, imagine that you are currently sitting on the railings of a rooftop, while all that surrounds you is ruins…”

The young master tilted his head to one side and asked in puzzlement, “Then, why don’t we go to a real rooftop to shoot? Wouldn’t it be fine to just go upstairs?”

Ji Luo Chu froze. He turned to exchange glances with Ah Da, and the two of them had a sudden look of realization on their faces at the same time. Ji Luo Chu spread both his hands and told the young master, “Ah Ye, you’ve really hit the nail on the head.”