Hearing him say that, Qin Chu became somewhat suspicious: "You think you're that useful?"
Noah: "..." What does that mean...?
Noah shoved the calculation results directly into Qin Chu's face: "Based on my precise calculations, our best mission in this world is to ensure the continuation of the vampire race."
Qin Chu frowned upon hearing this.
The task sounded simple and suited his current identity, but upon closer inspection, it seemed to have no beginning or end.
"What's the point of continuing this lineage?" Qin Chu continued. "Each vampire can live for hundreds or thousands of years. Although the birth rate is low, it's not like the entire race will go extinct."
Unexpectedly, Noah said, "In the near future, the vampire race will indeed be wiped out."
Qin Chu found this somewhat interesting. The empire had previously waged war against the vampire race, but due to the vampires' talents and nature, the wars were generally unsustainable.
Once they found themselves at a disadvantage, they would disguise themselves as humans and live scattered throughout the human world. Unexpectedly, they were wiped out in this world.
Qin Chu continued, "What caused the extinction of the vampire race? Humanity?"
“Yes,” Noah affirmed. “Therefore, our goal is world peace! We need you to act as a peace ambassador!”
"...Are you sick?" Qin Chu's face was so cold it looked like it was about to crack.
How could a task be accomplished where predators and food coexist peacefully? Even in the Empire, the peace between vampires and humans was based on multiple evolutions of human physical abilities, and Qin Chu did not believe that such conditions existed in this world.
"Let's make a deal." Qin Chu started to change his mind. "I suddenly feel that raising children is very simple, and relationship issues are not bad either."
"It can't be that bad, can it?" Noah was taken aback and checked the calculated data again. "It does show that this is the optimal route."
Qin Chu sat at the table, his fingers cracking as he clenched them.
His voice was cold: "I must maintain the persona of someone who loves their own kind extremely and hates humans, while also completing the task of making humans and vampires live in peace."
"Noah, is something wrong with you?"
Noah was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting this situation.
Qin Chu then asked, "Every kind of peace has a time limit. How long do you want me to stay in this world for this mission?"
Noah, who had been swollen, deflated: "About... a thousand years ago?"
Qin Chu was extremely exhausted. He asked Noah to bring up the mission progress bar and was surprised to find that this almost impossible mission actually had an initial progress value of 30%.
Having just experienced self-doubt, Noah immediately straightened his back and said, "See? My calculations were correct. This task is still quite simple!"
Qin Chu sneered: "Do you dare say that with your hand on your heart?"
Noah, who was keen on pretending to be human, said again: "I am just a lowly artificial intelligence, I have no conscience."
Qin Chu: "..."
To avoid being mentally beaten up by Qin Chu, Noah stopped gloating and explained to Qin Chu, "Sir, this world is actually in a special state of imminent collapse. Any small change will greatly affect the density."
Qin Chu interrupted Noah: "Imminent collapse? What's going on?"
"The reason for the collapse is an impending war. The great war between vampires and humans will result in heavy casualties on both sides, with the vampires being wiped out and the small world collapsing." As he spoke, Noah was no longer hesitant, and even a little confident. "If you just stop this war, you will have solved most of the problems."
That sounded a bit more plausible, so Qin Chu continued, "When will this war begin?"
"Normally, war is about to break out, because the trigger for this war is a vampire hunter who killed the only prince of the vampire clan..."
Qin Chu paused, thinking to himself that the plot sounded so familiar.
"This prince..."
Before he could finish speaking, Noah confirmed, "That's right, it's the data entity you're in."
Qin Chu understood. No wonder the questline was already at 30%—it was because he was still alive.
Noah added, "Although you are not dead now and the war will not break out immediately, the conflict between vampires and humans has reached a critical point."
Having learned this much, Qin Chu didn't ask any further questions.
He knew too little about this world, and the information Noah provided was still incomplete in many ways. Right now, the most urgent thing was to go and see for himself.
Just then, there was another knock on Qin Chu's door.
"Come in."
The butler stood outside the door holding an invitation: "Your Highness, Duke Tess has come personally to deliver this invitation to your birthday banquet."
Qin Chu originally had no interest in this birthday party, but the invitation came at just the right time.
He took the invitation, glanced at it, and said directly to the butler, "Tell Duke Tess that I will attend the banquet on time."
As soon as he finished speaking, a piercing warning sound rang in Qin Chu's ears: "Beep beep beep, warning! Warning! Mission progress has dropped significantly and is about to reach the minimum critical value!"
Qin Chu glanced at the progress bar and saw that the initial progress value of 30% had suddenly plummeted. Not only did it revert to the original 30%, but it also surged past midnight, turning into -20%.
"..."
Qin Chu never expected that this magical progress bar would not only continue to regress even when it was at 100%, but it could also have negative values.
For a moment, Qin Chu was speechless, and even the mood to be angry disappeared.
Upon seeing this progress, Noah burst into tears: "Sir! Duke Tess is an extreme anti-humanist and pro-war advocate! He hates humans even more than you do! You, as a prince, accepted his invitation, which means you support his pro-war views!"
Qin Chu was speechless: "If only you had mentioned that he was a proponent of war before introducing his beard..."
Noah, with tears in his eyes, exclaimed, "What do we do then? If the progress bar exceeds the minimum limit, it means this mission line is blocked, and we need to download the information again for recalculation. Downloading it again will make it easier for the mainframe to target me!"
"Stop howling."
The closer it got to this point, the calmer Qin Chu became.
Noah thought Qin Chu would change his mind and refuse Duke Tess before the servant sent out the message, but to his surprise, Qin Chu said to the waiting butler, "Remember to send out the message."
Noah was in great pain.
This artificial intelligence, which, according to the rules, is only five years old, is likely to be sacrificed.
Watching the servant leave, Qin Chu didn't return to his bedroom. Instead, he picked up the cloak behind the door and walked straight out.
"Sir, where are you going?" Noah asked pitifully.
"To save your mission progress from nearing its lowest point." Qin Chu's voice was very cold, but surprisingly reassuring.
"Wouldn't it have been better to just refuse Duke Tess's invitation?" Noah was quite puzzled.
"The more pro-war a party is, the more we should go and see it. Otherwise, how will we know what they're up to?" Qin Chu lifted his foot and walked towards the dungeon.
Noah couldn't help but remind him, "Besides, it's almost sunrise now. Although vampires of princely rank have the ability to resist sunlight, you'd better not go out."
Qin Chu didn't answer Noah's question immediately, but instead gave a few instructions to the servants around him. As he approached the dungeon entrance, he paused and asked Noah, "Has today's Bloodthirst stat been confirmed to have been modified?"
"Don't worry, judging from the data, you're currently in a state of just being full."
Noah made a solemn vow, and only then did Qin Chu continue forward.
This was Qin Chu's first time stepping into the castle's dungeon.
He was prepared to see many imprisoned humans here, after all, the original data entity was a vampire who hated humans. But now, upon entering, he found that there were only a few rooms in the dungeon.
Without any servants to guide him, Qin Chu relied solely on the subtle connection within his body to walk deeper into the dark, unlit dungeon.
Before long, Qin Chu gradually smelled the aroma of oil roasting over a fire and heard the crackling sound of the flames burning.
"Looks like you're doing pretty well?" Qin Chu raised an eyebrow.
He walked to the last room and saw the two vampire servants guarding the door cowering to one side as if they had seen a ghost, cautiously watching the fire burning in the cell.
That attitude was so cowardly it was almost unbearable to look at, making Qin Chu feel subtly embarrassed.
"Your Highness, Your Highness..."
Upon seeing Qin Chu approach, the servant mustered his spirits, but still stammered due to the vampire's innate fear of fire.
Qin Chu waved for them to leave, then looked up at the prison cell.
But Qin Chu stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw the people in the cell.
Then, he held his breath.
Noah, confused, asked, "What's wrong, sir?"
Ice crystals dripped down Qin Chu's face:
"Explain to me why I still want to bite him when I see him?"
Noah first checked the branches and found no problems: "This... adjusting the values is, after all, exploiting loopholes, and we can't rule out all the effects. Just consider this a way of giving vampires some dignity..."
To hell with dignity.
Just as Qin Chu was about to ask Noah to solve this problem, he saw the person sitting on the ground warming himself by the fire look up at him.
"Oh, you couldn't resist coming over already?" The hunter still had a smile on his face. "Earlier than I expected?"
He wasn't just warming himself by the fire; he also picked up a stick with a skinned creature stuck at the tip, which he was roasting over the fire. Judging by its long tail, it was probably a rat that had escaped from the dungeon.
Seeing Qin Chu staring at the rat he was roasting, the hunter seemed to find it quite amusing. He raised the wooden stick in his hand and waved it at Qin Chu: "This thing may scurry around in stinky ditches, but it tastes pretty good after you peel it. Want to try some?"
As an AI raised in the human world, Noah was sick of hearing it.
He thought Qin Chu not only wanted to vomit, but probably also wanted to beat the man up. But instead, he saw Qin Chu lift his eyelids and give a cool instruction: "It's too dry when roasted, it tastes better raw."
Noah: "..."
What chilling experience is hidden in these words?
Noah thought about it again and realized that the words were probably just sarcasm.
But before he could comfort himself, he heard Qin Chu's stomach rumble.
For a moment, neither Noah nor the Hunter could figure out Qin Chu's intentions.
Author's Note:
The purpose of writing this article is actually for rehabilitation, because I haven't been able to start a new business for two years due to health issues.
Another purpose was to try out some new things I wasn't good at, so the structure of this story is rather loose and lacks a strong plot. My previous works mostly involved the protagonist transmigrating into a world where they faced situations the original owner was bad at, yet they thrived in them. This story is mainly due to my personal quirky interest; I wanted to see what would happen when a character faced a situation they were completely unfamiliar with.
Sometimes this involves a clash between two personas. For example, in the first two chapters, you saw the tough, rugged man and the refined boy. Qin Chu, limited by his own experiences and perspectives, might feel uncomfortable and resistant, but that doesn't mean his views are correct, nor does it equate to belittling or disparaging the effeminate character.
This post could be about a tough, straight man, and the next one could be about [a delicate cutie who can skip meals but absolutely must apply a face mask and puff up her paws].
If you write too many characters with one extreme personality, it's easy to want to jump to another extreme.
The above explanation is to avoid making people uncomfortable with the contrasts presented in the text. If it has already caused offense... then watch me kneel down and apologize in full force ORZ