Vampire Bar

Half an hour later, Lu Qi stepped out of the safe house and looked at the City of Angels. He had never expected such evil creatures to be hidden beneath it.

Coulson had just told him about some Vampire traits, habits, and common hunting methods.

Vampires feared ultraviolet light, silverware, and garlic. Honestly, even children knew that kind of information, yet those really were Vampire weaknesses. The higher-ups among humans had probably spread it deliberately to prevent Vampires from slaughtering ordinary people, giving civilians at least a sliver of power to fight back.

Lu Qi learned from Coulson that Vampires generally only came out to hunt at night, and the disappearances usually occurred near bars. He might as well find a hotel and sleep until evening first.

He found a hotel at random and slept until nightfall. After leaving his room, Lu Qi asked a waiter which nearby bar was the most crowded, then headed there.

Walking down the street, Lu Qi found nights in Los Angeles far more lively than in Big Apple. There were even more people out at night. Still, he felt that this was all deliberately put on display by those Vampires to lure people out for hunting.

As he walked, he sent out Shadow Ninjas. By now, Lu Qi's range had reached 160 meters. Within that range, the Shadow Ninjas could transform into shadows and follow him.

Beyond the sight of ordinary people, agile ninjas leaped and darted across the rooftops. Their physiques, sixteen times stronger than normal humans, allowed them to jump nearly twenty meters at a time while maintaining high mobility even in crowded areas.

When he reached the bar district near the hotel, Lu Qi received a message from a Shadow Ninja as he walked and entered an alley.

A white Vampire was hugging a woman, his head buried in her neck. They looked deeply in love, as if the next step would be something unmentionable.

But the rusty scent in the air, one Lu Qi had long grown used to, told him it was not as simple as it looked.

"Lift your head," Lu Qi said to the man. The man glanced at him and slowly raised his head. Looking at Lu Qi, he gradually smiled, as though mocking Lu Qi's ignorance.

His bloodstained mouth spread open, revealing sharp teeth. The Vampire tossed the woman in his arms, already cold, onto the ground.

The man slowly approached Lu Qi. His eyes gradually changed, and the stimulation of blood made his whole body tremble like an addict's.

His eyes finally turned an evil green, his ears stretched backward, and the nails on his hands gradually extended.

"Didn't your mother tell you that you look ugly right now? So ugly she wouldn't even recognize you?"

As if he had not noticed the Vampire drawing closer, Lu Qi kept taunting him.

Already muddled by the stimulation of blood, the Vampire could no longer endure the food before him constantly insulting him. He lunged at Lu Qi, but while still in midair, shadows condensed into humanoid forms and slammed him to the ground. Several flashes of cold light swept past, severing the Vampire's arms and legs.

Lu Qi stepped on the Vampire's head and watched as fear finally appeared on his face.

"So you know fear too. I thought all you rats were fearless bastards. Otherwise, how would you dare slaughter ordinary people so freely? Now tell me where your hideout is, and I might spare your life."

The Vampire rasped, trying to say something, but his superiors in the bloodline had long forbidden them from revealing the hideout's location.

After rasping for a long while without managing to say anything, the Vampire could only begin begging for mercy, even tempting Lu Qi with immortality.

Lu Qi had not expected this guy to be unable to say anything. Shaking his head, he put pressure on his foot and crushed the Vampire's head. Watching the corpse turn into ashes without leaving even a trace of blood behind, he could not help sighing. Vampires really were environmentally friendly. When they left, they even took their trash with them.

Looking at the corpse in the alley, Lu Qi sent Coulson a message and told him to come handle it.

He had encountered a Vampire not long after coming out. It seemed this city had quite a lot of trash. It needed a thorough cleanup.

"Where are we going?" Christina, who was from out of town, linked arms with her companion and spoke to the handsome young man beside them.

"To a fantastic bar. The atmosphere is great, and there are amazing performances every day. Once you go in, I guarantee you won't want to come back out," the man replied. Every movement he made was gentlemanly, leaving a very favorable impression.

"Thanks for showing us around, local guide. Haha." Christina made a small joke. Her companion watched them chat, but she kept feeling that something was off.

Tightening her hold on Christina's arm, Carrie leaned close and whispered, "Be careful, Nana. I always feel like there's something strange about this guy."

Christina glanced at the man beside them and whispered back, "Don't worry. This guy definitely wants to sleep with us. Once we're at the bar, we'll order lots of expensive drinks and get him drunk. Then we'll leave. Don't worry, I definitely won't get drunk!"

After reassuring her companion, Christina continued playing along with the guy. It was her first time doing something like this, and she found it thrilling.

The young man's expression did not change, as though he had heard nothing. He continued chatting with Christina, but there was a trace of disdain and desire in his eyes.

His gaze drifted uncontrollably toward Christina's neck. He swallowed and quickened his pace.

He could not be late for tonight's gathering.

He led the two into the bar district, but instead of stopping there, he took them through the street and arrived before a very hidden door.

He knocked on the door, and a small horizontal panel opened. A pair of eyes looked over the young man and the two girls behind him, who were whispering to each other and beginning to sense that something was wrong.

The door opened. Two people passed Christina and the other girl as though they were going out to buy something, but silently blocked off their escape route.

"What are you trying to do?!" Christina could no longer remain calm. She took out pepper spray from her pocket and handed it to her best friend, then pulled out a stun baton and waved it threateningly.

But a burly man strode over in two steps and grabbed the stun baton without fear. Before Christina's disbelieving eyes, he knocked her unconscious with one punch. On the other side, her best friend sprayed pepper spray at another man, only to find him walking straight through the spray. He crushed the can in one hand and knocked her unconscious as well.

The young man seemed unable to hold himself back any longer and wanted to drop to the ground and take a few bites.

But someone kicked him in the stomach and hauled him up.

"These two must be distributed together. Don't break the rules."

The young man who had been kicked did not dare show the slightest anger. He was merely a lowly Vampire, ranked only slightly above mindless Blood Servants. Even some higher-ranking Vampire Fanatics could order him around.

The suppression of his bloodline kept him from fighting back. Wiping the drool from his mouth, the young man entered through the door to await the coming revelry, while the others carried the two women into the building.

Inside was a meat storage room, with numerous frozen cow carcasses hanging stiffly from hooks. The sight was chilling.

Several Vampires passed through the piles of frozen meat and came to a wall. Their nails lengthened as they inserted them into several holes in the wall and pulled it open, revealing two paths.

Bursts of music drifted over, instantly perking up the young man. He headed down one path, while the other Vampires went down the other.

A shadow quietly followed inside. After hesitating briefly, it headed toward the two women being taken away.

Several Vampires brought the two women all the way to the upper level. Here, unconscious people were hung upside down one after another, tubes inserted into their bodies. Their blood was not being drained, but kept as fresh as possible.

Just as the Vampires were about to process the two women the same way, shadows appeared and cut them down with two blades.

Lu Qi revealed himself. His face was expressionless, but his eyes brimmed with rage and killing intent.

They treated humans as food?

The killing intent in Lu Qi's heart grew heavier. Shadows appeared one after another, transforming into ninjas who rescued all the people. He looked at them and moved them aside for the moment.

No one knew how long these people had been hanging there. Lu Qi first called Coulson and explained the situation.

Coulson was equally shocked. He had not expected there to be so many victims and said he would immediately request that the S.H.I.E.L.D. Special Forces come over.

After bringing the victims outside, Lu Qi encountered several Vampires bringing in more people. They were men and women alike, all attractive, but all serving the Vampires.

Lu Qi directly had the ninjas kill them. As the guides turned to ashes, the kidnapped people screamed and tried to flee.

Lu Qi had the ninjas restrain them and took out his credentials to calm them down, but they had no idea what S.H.I.E.L.D. was. So he simply knocked them unconscious as well.

Coulson moved quickly and soon arrived with a convoy. Over a hundred people were assembled in short order.

After handing the victims over to the accompanying medical staff, Lu Qi went to Coulson's side. Watching them quickly analyze the building's layout using high-tech equipment, Lu Qi told them to guard every exit while he carried out a Great Purge of the Vampires inside.

The Vampires inside gradually realized something was wrong and seemed to grow flustered. Lu Qi walked straight into the area where the music was coming from.

It resembled a massive bar. Several huge speakers blasted all kinds of pulse-pounding music, while below, a large crowd of people... no, Vampires, swayed with the music as they waited for the coming feast. None of them noticed that the same song had been playing for a long time, and the person changing the music had already disappeared.

Lu Qi reached the upper level of the building and blocked several Vampires trying to escape.

"Where are you in such a hurry to go?" Lu Qi summoned Shadow Ninjas to seal off the Vampires' paths from both directions. Seeing them panic, Lu Qi felt only wave after wave of disgust.

"Who are you? Vampires and humans have a peace treaty. You can't attack us!" The leading Vampire tried to stall for time, but Lu Qi could not be bothered to speak with them. Ninjas pounced one after another, slaughtering the Vampires.

Some Vampires tried to fight back, but they were not particularly strong, possessing only three or four times the physical abilities of ordinary people. They were still slain by the ninjas one after another.

Lu Qi stepped forward, grabbed the leading Vampire by the neck, and slammed him against the wall.

"Tell me, where is your superior? Or rather, where were you going?" The Vampire revealed a mocking smile.

"Vampires never betray each other. What are you thinking, blood bag?"

Lu Qi's expression turned cold. Waves of Dark Energy spread from his hand and crept toward the Vampire.

The instant the Vampire came into contact with the Dark Energy, screams rang out. He watched helplessly as Dark Energy assimilated his arm and made it disappear. Excruciating pain surged from his hand, and he immediately lost control of his bladder.

Lu Qi tossed him aside in disgust, and a Shadow Ninja lifted the Vampire up.

Lu Qi controlled waves of Dark Energy to cling to him, giving the Vampire pain in full surround sound.

"Do you want to talk now?" Lu Qi watched the Vampire be tortured until he was barely alive, then stopped. Yet threads of Dark Energy still coiled around him, writhing like venomous snakes.

The Vampire stared at the Dark Energy in terror and muttered indistinctly, "Hailier Hotel. I usually meet my superior there."

This guy had been clever about it. He had not told Lu Qi where their nest was, only where he met his superior, avoiding the suppression of his bloodline.

Lu Qi nodded and looked at the Vampire's pleading eyes.

"I don't recall saying I'd spare you."

Despair filled the Vampire's eyes. He was about to curse, but Dark Energy surged over him and erased him from the world completely.

Looking at the piles of ash, Lu Qi smiled and headed down toward the dance floor.

The Vampires below had also realized something was wrong. Looking at the empty stage, they began whispering among themselves.

But the suppression of their bloodlines kept them from acting rashly. They only dared move about on the dance floor.

Lu Qi looked at the Vampires below and did not know what to say.

They refused to live as decent people and insisted on becoming slaves.

The Shadow Legion appeared above the dance floor. Troll Soldiers were the first to jump down, smashing into the floor and crushing groups of Vampires into ashes.

Blade Soldiers followed close behind, landing lightly on the ground before launching into a wanton slaughter.

These Vampires had never seen anything like this. They had always relied on trickery and deception and had barely fought any battles. They were instantly beaten senseless. Some tried to escape, but Ninja Soldiers had already surrounded the entire dance floor, leaving them trapped like turtles in a jar.

Watching the fodder below get slaughtered in no time, Lu Qi pressed his earpiece.

"Coulson, are there any more Vampires hiding here?" He could have had the Shadow Ninjas find them all, but Lu Qi could not be bothered. He had just found a big fish and did not want it to escape.

Following Coulson's directions, Lu Qi slaughtered every Vampire hiding inside.

After leaving the building and watching team after team of Special Operations personnel wrap up, Lu Qi walked toward Coulson.

"What do you plan to do next? This should count as conclusive evidence now, right?" Lu Qi asked casually. After all, he was a security consultant and could participate in official operations.

For this operation, he had worn a hood the entire time, concealing his face. He could continue acting alone.

Coulson shook his head.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. still won't deploy the Special Operations Team." Seeing Lu Qi's confused expression, Coulson explained, "If S.H.I.E.L.D. gets involved, we'll only catch a few small fry pushed out to take the blame. But if you continue hunting these Vampires as an independent Vampire hunter, you can kill the Vampire higher-ups too."

"Director Fury said you can hunt those Vampire higher-ups. Based on the Vampires' own ranking system, for every rank you rise, your pay goes up by a zero."

Lu Qi nodded. He understood Fury's intentions. It seemed Fury had been angered too. He needed to kill a few Vampire higher-ups to vent.

After saying goodbye to Coulson, Lu Qi headed toward the Hailier Hotel.