Ethereal Ascendance: A Journey of Transformation

"Actually, you can try to practice controlling water elements starting with smaller things," No. 14 Feliciana said. "Sometimes, just a tiny change in the real world can make a big difference overall!"

Even though she knew my abilities weren't good enough, No. 14 Feliciana was still very eager to give me advice. She even showed me some key tricks for changing between matter and elements.

I remembered everything she said, but I couldn't actually do any of it myself!

I couldn't help but laugh at myself. Maybe it's because I don't have that macro computer. Even if she gave it to me right now, I wouldn't know how to use it! And Reed from our world never made this kind of amazing tech anyway.

To be safe, No. 14 Feliciana later told me where they found this far-future tech thing in Eldoria Continent. That way, if I ever go back, I can try to find it.

She said it was in some ancient ruins in Crestvale Republic. Of course, I've never been to Crestvale Republic.

"Do I really need to get that macro computer to make it work?" I wondered.

After we split up, I went back to my room and tried many times, but still couldn't do anything.

Changing the shape of elements is something you can only do after you get really, really good at controlling them. No. 14 Feliciana used technology to find a new way to improve, but I think the difference between us is more than just that.

Looking at it another way, No. 14 Feliciana is already one level higher than me! Of course her understanding and control of elements is much better than mine.

"With your current abilities, it's not enough. No matter how much you practice, you can't fully control elements!" Adrian said after I told him about it.

But then I realized something - if Adrian understands this, No. 14 Feliciana must know it too! So why did she bother telling me all this stuff and teaching me tricks? What's the point?

"She means for you to use it after you get that high-tech macro computer thing," Cyra explained. "It doesn't hurt to practice early."

That made sense! So I needed to check with Reed to be sure.

But when I went to ask Reed about it, I got totally shut down.

"No time! Can't you see I'm busy? Don't bother me if it's not important!" Reed snapped.

The research lab was already missing a lot of people. After most of the Reeds left, almost all the work fell on our world's Reed Number 0.

Luckily, before the main group left, she learned enough key tech from the other Reeds. So even with just a few Reeds helping, she can still finish new vampire radar on schedule.

Plus, the vampire situation is a big deal! Once I realized what was going on, I didn't want to bother her anymore. I had to put this issue aside for now.

The scouting mission was going well! A few days later, we finally got an update from the H-country "business delegation" in M-country.

"It's pretty much like we thought - there seem to be fewer vampires here than we expected!" Wayne Peng reported. "You might run into one or two vampire signals on the street sometimes, but without outside pressure, they clearly haven't tried hard to increase their numbers."

The video call background showed they were indoors. Wayne Peng and the others had safely reached M-country's capital. To be safe, they were using H-country's military encrypted satellite channel.

Obviously, even though vampires had totally taken over the other side of Earth, M-country still wasn't in chaos. There wasn't even any strange news. Everything seemed normal.

Of course, this might be because the vampires haven't spread out yet! Plus, M-country has so many people that even if an Ancestor vampire has a lot of power, they still can't infect everyone.

Based on the info we have, we think the vampire leaders are probably focusing on infecting government higher-ups first. It looks like their plan to take over M-country's leaders might not be going as smoothly as they thought. We can tell this from what Wayne Peng said.

"Yesterday we managed to contact a congressman friendly with our country," Wayne Peng continued. "The vampire radar shows he's not infected yet. He told us some important info. He and several of his colleagues got a warning from M-country's intelligence departments a few days early, so they made up an excuse to hide in a mountain villa. They're avoiding everyone, no matter who it is. They're only communicating by internet and phone."

This congressman is supposedly an important member of M-country's Senate, so he's pretty high-ranking. People at this level usually have their own security teams. If what he says is true, then some government leaders might be able to avoid the vampires for a little while!

But even so, this kind of hiding can't last long. Vampires are really good at sneaking in everywhere, and national leaders can't stay out of sight for too long. Once the whole country's system is controlled, there's no point in hiding anymore.

"What about the President? If M-country's President has survived until now, our mission will have a much better chance of success!" General Lee asked, even though he didn't have much hope.

Ever since finding that cry for help at the M-country consulate, H-country had tried to contact M-country's President through diplomatic channels. But sadly, they never got any response.

"I'm really sorry, but the radar shows the whole M-country Presidential Palace, the 'Blue Palace,' is basically covered in red dots. The President's chance of survival is almost zero!" Wayne Peng replied, confirming what we feared. "To be safe, we didn't dare get too close to that place. We just took a few long-distance photos and left."

Wayne Peng sent these surveillance photos over the network.

These photos used zoom lenses to capture all the entrances and exits of the "Blue Palace," plus wide shots of the whole estate. All the security guards, gardeners, and staff looked totally normal, still working "diligently" at their jobs. If it weren't for the radar, you'd never know they've all been turned into vampires.

"What do you think - could that Ancestor vampire you talked about be hiding in the Presidential Palace right now?" General Lee asked, staring at the photos for a while before handing them to me for my opinion.

"It's hard to say for sure. We can't tell anything just from these photos," I admitted honestly.

"The radar can show how strong vampires are. If the Ancestor is in there, you should be able to see it right away. So what exactly did you observe?" Adrian asked Wayne Peng directly.

"We can't tell at all! The whole Presidential Palace is covered in a big red blob. We can't make out how many vampires are in there or what level they are. That place has probably become the vampires' lair!" Wayne Peng answered, looking frustrated. His grim expression made the situation seem even more serious.

"General! According to that congressman we contacted, he get some news from M-country's top-level communication network. There's evidence that M-country's military leadership is moving lots of regional commanders around. This might mean vampires have totally spread through the military. The situation is really bad!" Wayne Peng added, looking worried.

"Did you check any specific places? Like the most important nuclear missile silos?" General Lee asked urgently, seeming a bit panicked.

"All the M-country military bases we know about have fallen!" Wayne Peng answered after a slight pause, giving us the brutal truth.

Even though we expected this might happen from the beginning, seeing it actually come true was incredibly heavy news.

This means vampires now fully control weapons that could wipe out all humans on Earth!

According to Reed's analysis, low-level vampires probably aren't immune to nuclear radiation. The dark element might even make it worse for them!

But mid to high-level vampires are totally different. Because their bodies are so much stronger, it's hard to say how much radiation would hurt them. The high concentration of dark element might even cause some good changes for them! And all vampire minions put the Ancestor's interests first, so the low-level ones could easily be sacrificed...