I Explore Urban Legends - Chapter 112: Balankov’s Game Console (Patreon)

Liam shook hands with Balankov, then sat down on a nearby sofa.

To be honest, Balankov didn’t look much like a Vampire. If anything, he looked more like one of Wolf’s relatives, except that he wore glasses and was somewhat overweight.

The two looked at each other for a moment before Balankov finally spoke.

“Nikita told me you ran into two Vampires a few days ago, along with the Blood Servants from an entire town. Is that right?”

Liam nodded. Nikita had already explained the situation over the phone.

The moment Balankov got confirmation, his face lit up. He even stood and exchanged celebratory high-fives with several Vampires beside him.

“That’s fantastic! I’ve been sick of those pretentious bastards for ages. You did good.”

Seeing their reaction, Liam finally confirmed one thing.

These two groups of Vampires hated each other.

After celebrating for a while, Balankov finally turned his attention back to Liam.

“You have no idea what we’ve been through here. Those bastards got here before us, and they’ve been making life difficult for us at every turn. The fact that we even managed to establish a foothold here took everything we had.”

He gave a self-deprecating laugh.

“Do you know what we did before coming here? I have a PhD in computer science.”

Then he pointed to one of his companions.

“That Vampire used to be a doctor. Now he works as a bodyguard. I also have a friend who used to be a researcher. Now he drives a taxi.”

At that, Balankov slammed the table angrily.

“Once we came here, all our knowledge became worthless. All because of those bastards. The government refuses to recognize any of our qualifications.”

Watching Balankov grow increasingly agitated, Liam finally understood why these Eastern European Vampires were living so miserably.

Apparently, they still hadn’t realized that Vlad and his people had done far more than simply suppress them.

Liam proceeded to tell them everything he had discovered at the hospital.

At first, Balankov and the others remained indignant, but by the time Liam finished, they had all fallen silent.

Eventually, one of the Vampires murmured,

“Have those bastards really thrown away even the last of their dignity?”

After taking a moment to collect himself, Balankov explained,

“You should know that Vampires live extremely long lives. That gives us almost unlimited time to study and acquire knowledge. Most of my people are therefore highly educated, though that doesn’t do us much good here anymore.”

Liam understood what he meant.

“So because those Vampires arrived here much earlier, they managed to establish themselves in institutions that require advanced qualifications. Hospitals and research institutes, for example.”

Balankov nodded slowly.

“The truth is, deep down, we don’t consider ourselves a separate race from humans. Yes, we survive by drinking blood, but to us, that’s merely a difference in physiology.

“We might make our living here through petty theft, smuggling contraband, and other small-time schemes, but we still have our pride as human beings. Unfortunately, I doubt those bastards feel the same anymore.”

Liam could find plenty to criticize in that statement, but he could still tell Balankov meant every word.

They might be Vampires, but they had retained their human values.

Balankov then warned him,

“That Vlad may sound idealistic and ambitious, but he isn’t human. No one knows what he truly wants, so you need to be careful.

“How about this? If you ever have questions about those Vampires, come to us anytime. As long as we’re dealing with them, we’re on the same side.”

Since they were showing Liam sincerity, he naturally returned it.

“I brought a videotape from the town. You should be able to learn quite a bit about them from it.”

Balankov looked at the tape in his hands and smiled with satisfaction.

“You’re a good man, Mr. Liam. We’ve hardly met anyone like you since coming here. And when someone treats us well, we return that kindness in full.”

He pulled out a small device and handed it to Liam.

“This is our latest creation. Take it as a gift.”

Liam examined it closely.

A gray casing, red buttons, and a pale green screen.

It was a handheld game console.

It was one of the newest consoles on the market. Liam had even seen plenty of children playing them on the bus.

Why was Balankov giving him one?

Noticing his confusion, Balankov smiled and explained,

“This console is a lot of fun. We all love it. The problem is that the cartridges cost twenty dollars each.

“So I took the console and a cartridge apart to see how they worked. Turns out making pirated copies is incredibly easy, so I tried it myself and succeeded.

“Now I run a workshop. Our pirated cartridges only cost five dollars.”

Liam couldn’t help being impressed.

“I see. Even if the government refuses to recognize your qualifications, the knowledge itself still exists. Nobody can take that away from you. You found another way to put it to use.”

Balankov looked even more pleased.

“And let me tell you, making games for this thing is even easier. I also sell a masterpiece I developed myself. War Thunder.”

“How well does it sell?”

“Extremely well. I just can’t figure out why everyone starts cursing me after they buy it.”

Apparently, these Vampires were excellent technicians.

Their understanding of what made a good game, however, seemed somewhat different from everyone else’s.

After exchanging some more information, Liam prepared to leave.

The visit had been extremely worthwhile. At the very least, he now had a much better idea of how to deal with Vlad and his Vampires in the future.

Before Liam left, Balankov added,

“If you trust us, you can always hire us. As long as the pay is right, we’ve got experts in just about everything.”

...

Back at the RV in the forest, Liam handed the game console to Janice.

She stared at the little device in confusion, clearly having no idea what it was.

Liam switched it on, then set up a desk lamp to illuminate the screen.

The console came with Tetris. The gameplay was nothing more than stacking simple blocks, yet it was surprisingly addictive.

Janice immediately clutched the console and refused to let go. Even Lily sprawled across her shoulder, staring intently at the screen.

Liam was perfectly happy to see them occupied.

Janice’s unusual physical condition meant he couldn’t leave her at an orphanage.

There wasn’t much for her to do here in the forest either. At least now she had something to pass the time.

After dinner, Liam stepped outside the RV.

He wanted to experiment with Charlotte’s ability.

First, spiritual protection.

He aimed at a rock on the ground and gave it a try.

To his surprise, a shield really did form around the rock.

Before this, Liam had only been able to expand the range of his own protection, which consumed a tremendous amount of spiritual energy.

Now, he could use it to protect other people as well.

There was one drawback, though. He needed fairly precise aim. If he wanted to place a shield on something, he had to target it accurately.

After thinking for a moment, Liam took out a Skinwalker doll and infused it with spiritual energy.

The moment he placed it on the ground, the doll began running on its own.

None of this was new.

What Liam wanted to test was something different.

He controlled the doll and made it keep running until it disappeared completely from sight.

It was still running!