Night fell.
Guided by the mission, Du Mu made his way to a bar in the Bronx.
Investigate?
There was no need. The game quest pointed him straight to the clues.
Following the conspicuous red line in his field of vision, Du Mu quickly spotted a brown-haired man in loud clothes, his hair slicked back until it gleamed.
At that moment, the brown-haired man was chatting up a girl whose arms and neck were covered in runes.
As he spoke, he casually showed off the fake gold watch on his wrist. The rune-covered girl's eyes lit up at once. She immediately set down the beer she'd barely touched and staggered over to him.
The brown-haired man smiled, then casually wrapped an arm around the rune-covered girl's waist, which was as thick as Iron Monger's helmet. He turned and led her out of the bar.
"This guy really isn't picky..."
Du Mu watched in amazement, then quietly followed them.
With his arm around the rune-covered girl, the brown-haired man confidently turned into a narrow, shadowy alley and stopped in front of an inconspicuous iron door.
He knocked. Before long, a burly man opened the door and greeted him.
The brown-haired man murmured a few words. The burly man nodded, stepped aside to let them in, and closed the iron door behind them.
Seeing that, Du Mu copied him and knocked on the door.
The burly man appeared again. When he saw Du Mu's completely unfamiliar face, he frowned.
"What do you want?"
"I just saw my friend get taken inside by some strange guy. I need to go in and find her!"
"This place is members-only. You can't come in."
The burly man looked at Du Mu coldly and refused without hesitation.
Du Mu snapped, "Damn it, she's my friend! Sure, she drinks, has tattoos, and hooks up with people, but I know she's a good girl. What if that guy tricks her into sleeping with him?"
The burly man's mouth twitched.
Are you sure anyone actually wants to sleep with that Rune Poppy?
"If you don't let me in, I'm calling the cops!" Du Mu threatened.
At that, a fierce glint flashed in the man's eyes, along with a barely perceptible hint of crimson.
"Fine. I'll make an exception and let you in."
The burly man pushed open the iron door, looking at Du Mu as if he were already dead.
Du Mu walked in without a care.
Inside was a long, dim corridor, lit by only a few scattered lamps.
At the end stood another iron door.
This time, a bald bouncer blocked Du Mu's way and held up a glowing stamp.
Fortunately, Du Mu wasn't allergic to glowing stamps like Zhang Wei. He let the bouncer stamp the back of his hand.
As he pushed open the last iron door, a potent mix of alcohol and the stench of marijuana hit him, while pounding electronic music assaulted his ears.
A huge dance floor filled most of the space. Bright colored spotlights flashed overhead to the beat, and countless figures writhed beneath them, lost in the music.
Along the edges of the dance floor, the booth area was even more dim and suggestive. Men and women downed hard liquor and puffed on slender cigarettes, while some shamelessly put on a full-on mosaic-worthy show in plain sight. It gave Du Mu's pure, innocent mind quite a shock.
Du Mu noticed that the red line guiding his mission had disappeared. It seemed the clue was somewhere in this underground bar.
A woman with long, wavy red hair noticed the glowing stamp on the back of Du Mu's hand. Her eyes lit up, and she swayed over to him.
"Hey, handsome. Mind if we get to know each other?"
Du Mu lowered his head. What he saw was a dizzying abyss, and he immediately looked on with reverence!
"Of course. I love making friends."
The redhead suddenly sniffed and frowned in confusion. "You smell kind of bloody. What do you do for work?"
"Doctor."
Du Mu answered casually, without batting an eye.
"Oh? Perfect!"
The redhead's eyes brightened further. Her fingers traced lightly over Du Mu's chest as she flirted, her body brushing against his as if by accident. "I haven't been feeling well lately. Could you take a look and see what's wrong with me?"
Du Mu wasn't a doctor, but he could tell what was wrong with her at a glance.
It was a textbook case of being in heat... No, of having a fever.
Du Mu put on an air of restraint. "Isn't this a little inconvenient?"
"It's fine. We can find somewhere and take our time. I'll let you examine me thoroughly, from every angle," the redhead whispered in his ear.
She really must have a serious fever!
Du Mu was shy by nature and didn't know how to turn down an invitation, so he let the redhead lead him toward the restroom in the corner.
As soon as they entered a stall, the redhead locked the door behind her.
"Doctor, where would you like to start your examination?"
The redhead ran her tongue over her lips, her eyes alight with a predator's excitement.
"That depends on what's bothering you."
Feeling the astonishing pressure against his arm, Du Mu glanced at the red dot on the mini-map and wondered whether he should pretend to give up resisting.
"Why, my stomach, of course. I'm absolutely... starving!"
The redhead's voice suddenly turned hoarse and twisted. Her eyes blazed with a terrifying crimson glow, and her mouth stretched open to reveal two vicious, sharp fangs!
Her beautiful face instantly became hideous. She lunged at Du Mu like a monster!
Seeing this, Du Mu immediately lost interest.
"Muay Thai Warning!"
Just as the fangs were about to touch his skin, Du Mu twisted his waist and drove a vicious elbow into the redhead's face!
Thud!
A muffled impact rang out, followed by the faint crack of breaking bones.
The redhead felt an unimaginable force explode against her cheekbone. Several broken teeth flew from her mouth, mixed with blood and spittle!
Before she could even scream, her whole body flew through the air like a broken sack and slammed into the stall wall with a crash, making it shudder.
The redhead slumped to the floor, dazed. Half her face had visibly caved in, and her crimson eyes were full of confusion.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What am I doing?
Du Mu lowered his elbow, stepped forward, and demanded in a stern voice, "Speak! What kind of monster are you?"
Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?
The redhead stared at Du Mu in horror.
The strength he'd shown was beyond anything she could comprehend. One blow had left her completely helpless. Was that even possible for a human!?
"You're not talking?"
Du Mu showed no mercy. He grabbed the limp redhead and rained down elbow strikes with his other arm!
At first, the redhead tried to speak, but every time the words reached her lips, a vicious elbow strike forced them right back down her throat.
The relentless blows continued, and the redhead felt as if her head was about to be smashed flat.
Relying on her fierce instinct to survive and sheer willpower, she endured an elbow strike and used what little strength she had left to wail through her tears, "Stop! I'll talk! I'm a vampire! I'm a vampire!!"