"Symbiosis Program..."
Phaga murmured the two words. As the sound of tires rapidly grinding across the asphalt echoed in his ears, his thoughts immediately began to race.
Symbiosis?
Who with whom?
Vampires and humans?
Wasn't that a bit—wait!
Suddenly, Phaga's pupils shrank. His eyes flew wide open as he stared at Meilin, shock written plainly across his face.
A thought struck him like lightning—could he himself be part of this so-called [Symbiosis Program]?
Mrs. Meilin seemed to read the answer directly from his eyes. She gave a slight nod, calmly confirming his suspicion.
"You are indeed one part of the [Symbiosis Program]—and a very special part at that. But we'll leave that for later."
"For now, let's talk about something else. For example, why our vampire society initiated the [Symbiosis Program] in the first place."
Mrs. Meilin sighed softly. Her gaze drifted away, as though her memories were rolling back to her younger days.
Back then, while still in the prime of her youth, she had already become a core pillar of the clan.
At the clan assembly, she had stood with her supporters and spoken at length, persuading the elders to formally approve the proposal for the [Symbiosis Program].
"First, Phaga—tell me. Who do you think is stronger: humans, or the vampire society?"
"The vampire society, of course!"
Phaga answered without the slightest hesitation.
This war had achieved its strategic objectives, but the price paid was anything but small.
And Phaga knew all too well that Hollow Zero was never stable. It required constant monitoring by the Shiyu Tower, as well as regular purges of Ethereals by powerful combatants.
Those responsibilities had always fallen on the shoulders of human authorities.
Even then, they couldn't always handle it alone and often had to requisition civilian fighters for support.
Phaga and Ellen themselves had once wandered into it out of boredom while helping Ruby, only to end up being chased down by Nineveh.
Now, with human forces fully withdrawn from New Eridu, the task of guarding Hollow Zero naturally fell to the vampire society.
So at present, the vampires were fighting humans on one front, while venting their anger on Ethereals on the other.
The day Hollow Zero stabilized—granting the core members of the vampire society a brief moment of respite—would be humanity's true catastrophe.
Not to mention that vampires were, by nature, a hard counter to humans.
Yet Mrs. Meilin shook her head and sighed.
"Judging a civilization solely by its combat strength is unfair to civilization itself, Phaga."
"But brute force can tear civilization apart," Phaga frowned, arguing his case.
"That may be true for other civilizations, but not for the vampire society."
Mrs. Meilin shook her head again. Her gaze softened, carrying a trace of gentle affection as she spoke.
"Phaga, can you imagine a pureblood vampire tilling the soil?"
"Huh?"
Phaga froze on the spot, his mind going completely blank.
Vampires?
Farming?
What's wrong with that? I even worked construction as a side job before!
He opened his mouth, ready to refute her—
But Mrs. Meilin spoke first.
"If you think you could, it's because I sent you into human society when you were young."
"You grew up among humans, immersed in human civilization. Though your bloodline is vampire, your soul belongs to humanity. That's why your values clash so strongly with theirs."
She sighed faintly.
"How could they ever tolerate digging in mud pits? Whether it's holding a 'lowly' sickle or dirtying an expensive suit or gown—both are unbearable to them."
"They simply cannot engage in menial labor, even though those very jobs are the foundation of civilization."
At last, Phaga began to understand. He nodded slowly.
"So what you're saying is that the vampire society itself is unwilling to do manual labor?"
"Yes."
Mrs. Meilin nodded gently, then let out a heavy sigh.
"Children raised within the vampire society—pureblood or mixed-blood alike—believe themselves to be noble."
"They feel entitled to wealth and comfort. If reality strips them of part of that wealth, they'll just as naturally exploit others instead—without the slightest sense of guilt."
[Oh, I get it!]
The Black-White Doll suddenly slammed its tiny fist into its palm and cut in:
[So those stinky vampires are always squeezing other people's labor! Just earlier, he dumped all the work on that poor guy who uses a bow!]
Thud!
Phaga propped himself up and punched the Black-White Doll squarely on the head. His cheeks flushed slightly as he snapped back,
"I was just joking with him! And it's not like I don't do work myself, okay?"
But the Doll ignored him completely. It floated straight behind Mrs. Meilin, buried its head into her shawl, and whined,
"Mom, he bullied me!"
"Hehe~"
Mrs. Meilin smiled, lips pursed, and gathered the doll into her arms. She gently rubbed its little head.
"Alright, alright. We're all Victoria's children. There's no need to quarrel. Come, let me soothe you."
The Doll squinted its eyes, greedily soaking up the warmth of her palm like a Labrador craving its owner's touch. It shot Phaga a smug look, clearly mocking him for not receiving the same affection.
Phaga rolled his eyes, then deliberately raised the hand intertwined with Ellen's fingers, showing it off like a child showing a prize.
Seeing this, Mrs. Meilin couldn't help but smile. She scolded them lightly,
"That's enough, you two. Add your ages together and you might even be older than me. Don't act like children."
"Let's return to the topic at hand. We're about to reach the important part."
At her words, both Phaga and the Black-White Doll straightened up.
They clearly understood just how important what she was about to say would be.
"No matter how much the vampire society refuses to admit it, this problem has always been right in front of them—the underlying code of their civilization is flawed!"
As expected, Mrs. Meilin opened with a statement that was nothing short of shocking.
"Vampire civilization does not produce. That means no matter how powerful they become, they can only ever be a parasitic civilization—one that directly plunders the nutrients of its host."
"But that creates another problem for the vampire society."
"Human civilization's foundation is far too strong."
"So strong that the vampire society—the parasite crawling atop human civilization—is on the verge of being completely assimilated by it."
Phaga frowned slightly.
"Assimilated? What does that mean?"
"Pureblood vampires have poor reproductive capability," Mrs. Meilin explained. "Humans, on the other hand, reproduce far too quickly."
"Using mixed-blood vampires as the bridge, human society influences the mixed-bloods, and the mixed-bloods quietly influence the purebloods."
"Think about it, Phaga. If a pureblood vampire were strolling through the clan lands and suddenly saw a group of mixed-blood vampires celebrating a human festival, wouldn't they feel curious enough to take a look?"
"Over time, the vampire society would inevitably become a dumping ground for human civilization—any form of cultural influence coming and going at will."
"When that happens, some vampires will start speaking for humans, even looking forward to their arrival."
"And when humans finally launch a real attack, those vampires might truly become guides—dealing a fatal blow to their own kind."
At this point, Mrs. Meilin paused. She picked up the glucose drink beside her, took a small sip, and then continued.
"The elders saw this crisis coming. That's why they had to act."
"And that is why a civilizational transformation became urgent."
"Option one: Civilizational evolution—a Predator Civilization."
"Push the parasite to its extreme."
"This time, not only devouring the flesh and blood of human civilization, but swallowing their souls as well."
"Launch a war against humanity, defeat them completely, and trample them underfoot forever—enslaving them for life."
"Option two: Civilizational symbiosis—an Organelle Civilization."
"The parasite chooses to merge with the host, becoming an inseparable part of it—like mitochondria, irreplaceable to the organism."
After finishing, Mrs. Meilin looked at Phaga with solemn seriousness.
"Phaga, the clan chose to pursue both paths simultaneously."
"And we… chose the second path."
...