Vampire Overlord's Harem In The Apocalypse-Chapter 47: Connections (I)

The concept of a Barrier was simple but powerful.

At its core, a Barrier was a protective shield that could be configured in a variety of ways depending on the needs of the person or object it was meant to protect.

It could be a physical wall, an energy field, or something more abstract.

Some Barriers were even designed to stretch across entire areas, forming invisible walls that only those with certain abilities could detect.

For all intents and purposes, it was a foolproof defense — until you encountered a Barrier Breaker.

The name itself was self-explanatory: a Barrier Breaker was a device or ability that could shatter a Barrier entirely, instantly and without warning.

It didn’t matter how strong the Barrier was, how intricate its design, or how many layers it had.

A Barrier Breaker would pierce through all of it, leaving no trace behind.

That’s what made Barriers so dangerous. You never knew how many people — or worse, enemies — carried a Barrier Breaker.

For someone like Simon, this knowledge was both a blessing and a curse.

As a vampire, he had a heightened awareness of his surroundings, which included sensing the faint presence of a Barrier even if it was invisible to the human eye.

But even he knew that his Barrier wasn’t invincible.

As much as it offered protection, there was always the possibility that someone with a Barrier Breaker might come along and dismantle it without so much as a second thought.

Still, Simon had learned to work with what he had.

He knew the risks, but he also knew how to play the game. And today, he was preparing to do just that.

He stepped outside, the chill of the early evening air brushing against his skin.

His eyes scanned the surroundings, and for a moment, everything seemed calm, too calm.

The world around him was quiet, almost eerily so, as though holding its breath. He could feel the weight of the task ahead pressing down on him, but his expression remained resolute.

He had a job to do.

With a quick glance over his shoulder to ensure no one was watching, Simon knelt down on the ground.

He dug a small hole in the dirt, his fingers moving with practiced precision as he sighed and placed the machine inside.

In the hole was the device that held his Barrier. A small, sleek item, almost unremarkable in appearance, but he knew its power well.

He pressed the blue button on the device and waited.

In an instant, the Barrier came to life.

It spread outward like a web, its tendrils reaching out to envelop everything in its path. The barrier was a soft blue, ethereal and faint, like a mist hanging in the air, but as soon as it reached the mansion, it surged outward, stretching to form an impenetrable shield around the entire property. For a split second, the Barrier flared brightly before disappearing entirely, leaving no visible trace of its presence.

But Simon didn’t need to see it. His vampire senses were more than enough to tell him that the Barrier was there, surrounding the mansion in an invisible force field.

It was like a second skin, and though he couldn’t see it with his eyes, he could feel its presence vibrating in the air around him.

Satisfied, he stood and covered the device back up with sand. He was careful to conceal it well, knowing that the moment someone saw it, the Barrier would be vulnerable.

If someone saw it, they could smash it in a heartbeat. Better to keep it hidden for now.

"Now I can stop worrying about zombies breaking into this place," he muttered to himself as he stood back up, brushing off his hands.

Zombies had been a persistent issue lately. As long as the zombies weren’t carrying their own Barrier Breakers, they wouldn’t stand a chance. And he doubted he would.

Simon walked slowly around the perimeter, his mind turning over the next steps.

The Barrier wasn’t perfect. It was designed with intricate coding that specifically defended against zombies — slow-moving, relentless creatures that seemed to have an endless desire to invade.

But against a Barrier Breaker? The Barrier would be useless. He’d be left exposed, vulnerable. Still, it was a solid defense for now.

His thoughts drifted to the larger picture. He needed to make plans. The stakes were rising, and the time for hesitation was long past.

He’d been doing his best to stay under the radar, to avoid attracting attention, but that was becoming harder by the day. The world was changing, and Simon needed to evolve with it.

The base. That was where everything was happening. It was a place where the real action was happening. The people there were the ones making the decisions that would shape the future, and Simon wasn’t about to be left out of that. And it wasn’t only about that, he had to kill everyone in that base... only then would his World ranking shoot up.

But getting to the base wouldn’t be easy. There were too many unknowns.

"I need to be smarter about this," he murmured to himself, his thoughts racing. "I need more information."

He paused and looked up at the sky. The dark clouds gathered overhead, thick and heavy yet they were without the promise of rain.

It was a fitting backdrop for the uncertainty that hung over him. Every step he took seemed to carry more weight, and every decision he made could either push him closer to his goal or send him spiraling into disaster.

But Simon wasn’t one to shy away from challenges. He never had been.

"I’ll figure it out," he said, more to himself than anyone else. "Maybe I should start making some connections."

It was a good thought, if there was anything he needed now more than ever - it was to build connections, people that he could trust in this confinement that he called the Apocalypse, people that he could use to his advantage if push came to shove.