A vampire?
Du Mu wasn't surprised. The woman's features certainly fit his impression of what a vampire looked like.
But wasn't this game's setting a little too much of a mishmash? They even had fantasy creatures like vampires popping up.
Du Mu lowered his elbow and shook his head with an exasperated look. "Look at you. If you'd told me sooner, you wouldn't have had to take that beating."
As if you gave me a chance to say anything!
The red-haired woman with the big waves was furious but didn't dare show it. She was convinced that the human in front of her was a lunatic.
Du Mu eyed the limp vampire woman and asked curiously, "You say you're a vampire. What kind are you?"
"There are different kinds of vampires?"
The red-haired woman froze. How had she never heard of that?
"Of course. Some vampires are a little stronger than ordinary people, but can only drink blood and have a whole bunch of obvious weaknesses. Others don't fear sunlight and have superpowers, but they're idiots with their heads full of romance, spending all day in love triangles with humans and werewolves. So which kind are you?"
"...I'm probably the first kind."
The red-haired woman didn't really want to admit she had weaknesses, but she'd rather not be lumped in with the brainless romantics.
Du Mu pressed her further. "Are there many vampires like you in America?"
The red-haired woman hesitated. "Not that many. Otherwise, humans would've discovered us long ago."
That much was true.
If vampires were everywhere, S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't possibly have remained oblivious. Otherwise, given Nick Fury's personality, he'd already be thinking about launching a full-scale genocide.
Du Mu continued, "Are the recent cases of mass disappearances in the Bronx connected to you vampires?"
At that, the red-haired woman suddenly froze.
But when she saw Du Mu slowly raise his elbow, she hurriedly said, "Y-yes! Some time ago, Frost suddenly announced that we were allowed to hunt humans on our own, so we started hunting around here."
"Who's Frost?"
"He's the leader of the mixed-bloods. He has a lot of power among vampires."
A trace of fear showed in the red-haired woman's eyes.
[The "Investigate the Missing Persons" quest has been completed!]
[Rewards: 500 experience points, S.H.I.E.L.D. reputation +10, equipment: "Nichirin Blade"]
[Equipment: Nichirin Blade (Made from a special material that can absorb sunlight. Has a lethal effect on all creatures that fear sunlight.)]
[Would the player like to skip the story and begin the next quest?]
Under the normal progression, Du Mu would have to report the situation to Nick Fury, who would then issue the next quest.
But the Game System could skip that step entirely, letting players move seamlessly into the next quest.
The game had definitely done a good job with that feature.
Unlike certain games that forced players to watch the story and didn't even offer a skip option.
"Skip!"
Du Mu made his choice without hesitation.
[NPC Nick Fury has issued you a new quest]
[Quest: Vampire Sweep]
[Objective: Eliminate the vampires running rampant in New York. Time limit: one week]
[Reward: Depends on the number of vampires killed]
Du Mu asked a few more questions, and the red-haired woman answered them all obediently.
She had no choice. The psychological trauma from that elbow strike was just too much.
"One last question." Du Mu held up a finger. "If you get it right, I promise to let you go."
"Ask!"
The red-haired woman looked as if she'd seen a glimmer of hope.
People would do anything to stay alive, and vampires were no exception!
Du Mu smiled. "It's simple. Prove Goldbach's conjecture."
The red-haired woman: "..."
A moment later, Du Mu walked out of the restroom. The only difference was that someone was missing from his side.
It turned out people really would do anything to stay alive.
Except solve a math problem!
"By the way, isn't the shape of my Nichirin Blade a little too... distinctive? System, you didn't give me a fake, did you?"
[The Nichirin Blade's appearance varies depending on its user. The blade takes on a shape that reflects the kind of person its user is.]
"You call this a Nichirin Blade?"
Du Mu held up the Watermelon Knife, looking utterly speechless.
What did this Watermelon Knife say about him?
That he liked eating watermelon?
"Ah!!!"
A piercing scream suddenly cut through the bar's noise!
Du Mu looked toward the sound and saw someone in the dance floor get knocked to the ground by another figure. Sharp fangs sank viciously into their neck, and blood sprayed everywhere!
Clearly, that was another vampire.
Like a line of falling dominoes, one figure after another suddenly sprang up all over the bar, lunging at the unsuspecting humans beside them!
In an instant, countless screams and cries of agony rang out through the bar!
Faced with this horde of attacking vampires, ordinary humans had no way to fight back. Like lambs led to slaughter, they became the vampires' dinner one after another.
In a matter of moments, the entire bar had turned into a bloody slaughterhouse!
Desiccated corpses lay strewn across the sticky pools of blood. The floor reflected a nauseating crimson glow, and the overpowering stench of blood made people want to vomit!
Some idiot must've messed with the lights in the chaos. A spotlight suddenly shone on Du Mu, making him the most eye-catching guy in the whole place.
In an instant, dozens of pairs of gleaming, blood-red eyes locked onto Du Mu, ravenous and vicious, as if he'd stumbled into a Uchiha Clan gathering.
"Hello, everyone. Having dinner? Are you full yet?"
Du Mu greeted them awkwardly.
The vampires bared their teeth with feral grins and closed in from all sides, intending to prove through action that they weren't full yet.
As the vampires surrounded him, Du Mu showed no sign of panic. He simply tightened his grip on the Watermelon... Nichirin Blade.
"Don't say I didn't warn you: exercising after a meal is bad for your health."
The vampires paid no attention to him.
The vampire at the front bared his fangs and charged at Du Mu, impatient to be the first to claim a kill.
Swish!
A flash of cold light streaked past!
The charging vampire suddenly froze. A thin cut had appeared across his neck.
The next second, his head slid away from his body without a sound. His entire form went up like a sheet of burning paper, crumbling into ashes that drifted through the air until not a trace remained!
Du Mu rested the Watermelon Knife on his shoulder and sighed. "Tsk. I have to admit, you guys have a pretty eco-friendly way of dying."
The other vampires came to an abrupt stop!
Shock and disbelief were written all over their faces.
Vampires were known for their incredible vitality. Ordinary weapons were completely useless against them.
Even wounds caused by powerful bullets healed quickly.
Only substances like pure silver, which were the vampires' natural bane, could inflict injuries that were difficult to heal. But even then, killing them for good was far from easy.
Yet this human had just killed their companion with a single slash, leaving him no chance to recover.
Was this freaking thing really a watermelon knife!?