A Temporary Conclusion (3/3)

The next day at noon.

Worried that something had happened to Mike, Old Earl made a phone call.

Mike said the matter had been resolved and told Old Earl to take Chloe out for another couple of fun days.

He stayed in bed until the afternoon before finally dragging himself up to wash and get ready.

After opening the store for business, no customers came by for most of the day. He simply put up a temporary closure sign and sprawled over the counter, scrolling through his phone.

As usual, he ordered takeout from Old Zhou Chinese Restaurant for dinner.

While he was eating, two SUVs escorted a stretched Lincoln as it slowly pulled up in front of the supermarket.

Four bodyguards in suits, leather shoes, and sunglasses stepped out of the SUVs. Only after cautiously scanning the surroundings did they open the Lincoln's door.

A middle-aged man in an immaculately tailored gunmetal-gray suit stepped out, his hair perfectly combed.

The bodyguards handled the door, while the smell of smoke and fried noodles in the air made the middle-aged man frown slightly.

"Tch."

Mike caught the rotten stench of a Vampire. The fried noodles in his box suddenly no longer smelled so appetizing.

The middle-aged man was Gaten, chairman of the Vampire Council and a pure-blood Vampire. Rumor had it that most pure-blood Vampires considered themselves noble, behaved elegantly, yet were conservative in thought and old-fashioned in conduct.

They kept a low profile, valued honor, and kept their promises—one of the important reasons S.H.I.E.L.D. had been willing to sign a peace agreement with them.

Gaten stepped forward and politely asked, "Hello, are you Mr. Tang?"

"That's right, it's me." Mike frowned. "You're here about Deacon Frost?"

Gaten said gravely, "That's right. Deacon Frost was an important member of the Vampire Council..."

"How important?"

"Uh..."

Gaten nearly failed to maintain his stern expression. Why wasn't this guy following the script?

Mike asked, "You want revenge for Deacon Frost?"

If that was the case, then Gaten was not merely old-fashioned—his brain had been crushed in a door.

Gaten shook his head. "No. The Council wishes to ask Mr. Tang for a favor."

Mike said, "Oh? What favor?"

Gaten said, "Publicly, we ask that you remain silent about the cause of Deacon Frost's death."

"That's all?"

"Yes. It should not be difficult for you."

"It isn't difficult, but what do I get out of it?"

"The friendship of the Vampire Council." Gaten took a manila envelope from a bodyguard, pulled out a stack of documents, and pushed them toward Mike. "As well as a small token of our appreciation."

Mike picked up the documents and skimmed through a few pages. His expression turned strange as he asked, "You bought all the buildings nearby?"

"No." Gaten shook his head and said blandly, "Most of them were originally Vampire assets. We merely needed to purchase the rest. Mr. Tang... once you sign your name, they will be yours."

To be honest, Mike was tempted.

But he was prepared to refuse.

When the cheese was too big, too fragrant, and came too easily, Mike instinctively felt there was a trap.

At that moment, commission information appeared in his mind:

[Gaten's Commission: Silence Is Golden]

[Commission: Real estate worth more than 5.4 million US dollars (after expenses are deducted, 90% of all rental or sales income from the acquired properties belongs to the system)]

[Mission Description: Keep silent about the cause of Deacon Frost's death. He was not killed by you!]

What the hell!

This could generate a commission too?

Mike was stunned.

Gaten did not generate any Soul Energy, and the profits had once again gone to the system.

Sigh! A true wage slave.

"All right, that truly is a difficult token of appreciation to refuse."

Mike was not very enthusiastic.

Before leaving, Gaten suddenly asked, "Mr. Tang, do you accept commissions from Vampires?"

Mike said, "There is no doubt that I hate Vampires. That is my position as a human."

"A previous commission involved Vampires, so I casually cut down a few. If Deacon had not come looking for me, the matter would have ended there. In that regard, I am different from Blade."

"As for commissions... I have my own bottom line. I don't accept just any commission." Mike rubbed his chin. "The Vampire Kingdom is the Council's enemy, right? Ah, right, I could go cut them down, as long as the money is right."

Mike's eyes lit up, and he tossed a business card to Gaten.

Gaten's mouth twitched.

It was true that the Council and the Vampire Kingdom were enemies, but they were not locked in a fight to the death. Besides, how could Vampires possibly hire a human to handle their internal conflicts?

Business scope: tutoring elementary school students, doing homework for others... After reading the card and recalling Mike's earlier words about not accepting every commission...

The feeling was rather subtle.

As soon as Gaten left, Mike thought, Managing so much real estate would be a real hassle. Should I sell it, or try being a landlord for fun?

Mike called Fat Jerry and told him about Gaten's visit.

Fat Jerry chuckled. As it turned out, he had also accepted a commission—to spread information related to Deacon Frost's death.

Some said Deacon had cheated on his girlfriend and been hacked to death with a kitchen knife. Some said the Vampire Kingdom had made a move. Some said it was Blade's work. Others claimed Deacon had betrayed the Council and been executed by it...

Mike understood. Wasn't this the same tactic celebrities in his previous life used to clean up their image?

They deliberately released all sorts of messy information, mixing truth with lies, then let passersby argue until everyone gradually lost interest.

In the end, the truth would become that the Council had executed Deacon Frost and upheld its authority.

Mike recalled the Vampire images in many films and television shows. Vampires were often portrayed as mysterious, noble, charming gentlemen.

There might very well have been Vampires manipulating things behind the scenes.

Another day passed.

Mr. and Mrs. Banks came by again, supporting the weak Lisa as they thanked Mike once more.

Mike found it a little strange. There was no need to rush the thanks; Lisa's recovery should have been more important. After chatting for a while, he learned that Lisa had insisted on coming.

As for the Vampire Lisa had mentioned, Mr. and Mrs. Banks believed it had been a hallucination caused by her extreme fear.

"So you think the person who kidnapped Lisa was a psychopath?" Mike asked.

"It's not what we think. It's what Agent Greg said. Damn it, he actually let the culprit get away!" Kelterman said angrily.

Greg was one of Coulson's aliases. It seemed he had made up a story to fool Mrs. Banks.

But Lisa clearly did not believe it. That was probably why she had insisted on visiting.

Finding an opportunity, Mike spoke to Lisa alone. "You're a smart girl. You should think about whether the truth is more important to you, or your current life is. Don't let past nightmares destroy your future."

Lisa stood there blankly for a long time before stammering, "Th-thank you..."

After seeing off the Banks family, the Vampire incident finally came to a temporary conclusion.

Mike decided to become a landlord. He first hired a private lawyer to register a property management company, then found time to post job listings on specialized websites.

Mike planned to first hire an experienced manager, then have the manager recruit employees as needed until the company was operating normally.

However, by the time Old Earl's paid leave ended, let alone anyone coming in for an interview, not even a single person had called to ask about the job.

"Where did I go wrong? Was the work environment too bad, or was the workload too heavy? Hmm?"

After thinking it over, Mike raised the offered salary by twenty percent.

Yeah, the money probably wasn't enough.