Curving Bullets

Even Coulson and Natasha, veterans of countless missions and battles, felt a slight sense of discomfort at the scene before them.

In the dim underground bar, everything before their eyes was a sea of scarlet. It was neither red paint nor pigment. With their many missions behind them, Coulson and Natasha recognized it at a glance—it was human blood.

Human blood sprayed from the fire pipes as if it cost nothing. Even the air seemed thick with the viscosity of blood. Suppressing their discomfort, Coulson was the first to draw the handgun holstered at his waist and step forward to inspect the young men and women lying facedown on the tables as though asleep.

Drip, drip. Leather shoes stepped across the floor soaked in blood, and even the sound of footsteps had become distorted.

At a sofa booth, Natasha looked at the young men and women sprawled all over the floor. She moved aside one girl's neck and discovered two clear red bite marks on it.

Coulson, who was keeping watch nearby, saw the bite marks as well. With mixed emotions, he sighed. "When Director Fury first told me this mission involved vampires, I thought it was a metaphor..."

A complicated feeling churned within Coulson, perhaps shame that he, as part of a special department, had failed to fulfill his duty.

As Coulson's partner and colleague, Natasha naturally noticed his mood. "Her heartbeat is very faint, but she's still alive."

After saying that, she checked the others' pulses as well, then nodded at Coulson. "They're all alive. It looks like, just as the director said, the vampires still don't dare to openly turn against humanity."

"Damn those government higher-ups." Looking at the hellish scene before him, Coulson understood perfectly well what had happened. He could only curse quietly.

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