Nightfall

Running red lights?

What did finding a girlfriend have to do with running red lights?

At the mention of a girlfriend, Blade first thought of Karen, the Black woman beside him. Then he remembered that she was still turning into a vampire. Although a special serum was suppressing it, that could only delay the transformation.

"Yang, can the milk I just used really solve Karen's problem?"

At Blade's question, Yang Bo turned to look at Karen, who was bent over a blood experiment nearby, and said with a chuckle, "Simple!"

"Doesn't Whistler still have a bucket of milk? Have Karen drink it, and you'll see for yourself!"

Blade glanced at Whistler and nodded slightly.

Since Blade didn't want to eat the heart, there was nothing else to do for now. Yang Bo only needed to wait until evening and see whether the vampires would launch a surprise attack. If they didn't, he would go ambush them instead.

He told Blade, "You'd better get ready. I have a feeling those vampires might attack tonight!"

"Also, I'd like to go out and find a tiny bit of scrap iron..."

A tiny bit. A hundred billion percent.

Blade's expression grew grave at his words. He paid little attention to Yang Bo's request to find some scrap iron, merely grunting in acknowledgment before turning toward Whistler.

Watching Blade's retreating figure, Yang Bo gave a meaningful smile and thought, Take one last good look around...

He left the workshop and stepped outside. The surroundings had a decidedly post-apocalyptic look, with discarded equipment everywhere and metal pipes twisting and winding in all directions. In Yang Bo's eyes, every bit of it was a gleaming iron ingot.

"I'll have to ask Blade to help me buy some coal, too. Burning wood for all this is such a waste..."

Luckily, he had traveled to a modern society. Almost everything he needed could be bought.

He took the Crafting Table out of his inventory and set it on the ground, then took out cobblestone and made three Furnaces, placing them beside it. With his Iron Pickaxe in hand, he began clearing away the surrounding equipment. A constant clinking and clanging filled the air.

Happy hours always flew by. As the sky gradually darkened, Yang Bo sat in front of the Furnaces, gazing contentedly at the iron ingots in the chest beside him.

He had now made the Furnaces fully automatic using Hoppers. All he had to do was put iron objects into the chests above them to receive a steady stream of iron ingots.

Just as he was about to head farther out to chop down some trees, Blade's voice came from the workshop doorway.

"Yang Bo, time to..."

Before he could say "eat," Blade saw the scene outside the workshop and completely lost his composure.

"Yang, what the hell did you do?"

The once-dense tangle of pipes and battered equipment had been cleared away more thoroughly than if a dog had licked it clean. Forget the pipes-even the ornamental trees nearby were gone. Nothing remained but bare yellow earth.

For an instant, Blade wondered whether stepping out of the workshop with his left foot first had somehow teleported him to Westfall.

Hearing Blade's voice, Yang Bo gave him a sincere smile. "I just helped tidy up the place for you. Living here with all that clutter couldn't have been convenient!"

"Oh, perfect timing. Could you find a way to buy me some coal? The more, the better!"

Blade: "..."

He walked over to Yang Bo and looked at the still-burning Furnaces. No matter how closely he looked, he couldn't make out what was burning inside. Even standing just over a meter in front of one, he felt none of the flames' heat. There was only a faint crackling sound.

"What's this?"

"A Furnace. It burns things!"

Yang Bo offered no further explanation, mainly because it would be too much trouble. He was afraid that explaining would only lead to more questions from Blade.

"Were you calling me in to eat?"

Blade nodded. Seeing that Yang Bo didn't want to explain, he asked no further questions. He glanced around, feeling a tightness in his chest, and reminded himself:

I agreed to this. I'll have to see it through, even if I cry doing it!

Just as Yang Bo was about to follow Blade back into the workshop, the roar of engines came from the distance. He instinctively looked over and saw numerous cars speeding toward them. Smiling, he told Blade, "Looks like we won't be having dinner tonight!"

Blade stared speechlessly at Yang Bo, who was munching on bread to replenish his hunger bar, unsure how to respond.

Looking at the headlights lighting up in the distance, Yang Bo said to Blade:

"Now that they're here, they should settle in!"

Translated through his special ability, what Blade heard was, "Since they've come here, they should make themselves comfortable."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

Yang Bo chuckled and explained:

"I mean, since they dared to come here, let's lay them to rest properly!"

With that, he walked into the workshop without looking back. Karen and Whistler were still inside. Although Whistler was Blade's mentor, time spared no one, and he was simply too old.

Yang Bo planned to build an Iron Safe House and put them both inside. Don't ask how-he had several stacks of iron blocks in his inventory. He didn't believe those vampires could claw their way through a meter of solid iron.

"Whistler, Karen, the enemy's here! Get over here, quick!"

Under their incredulous gazes, Yang Bo built a white room at astonishing speed, leaving only a two-meter-high entrance.

Upon hearing that the enemy was coming, Whistler immediately grabbed a Double-Barreled Shotgun and Blade's long sword from a nearby Workbench. When he saw Blade running over, he tossed him the sword.

Blade caught the sword and flashed his trademark grin.

When Blade grinned, someone's fate hung in the balance.

The roar of engines was already right outside. Karen had run into the Safe House, looking far from panicked. She simply looked at Yang Bo gratefully and said, "Thank you. Thank you for your milk!"

Yang Bo waved a hand. "You're welcome. I might need your help with something in the future, so don't turn me down when the time comes!"

Karen was no mere pretty face. This young Black woman had downright game-breaking talent and ability when it came to blood genetics. The special drug she developed could deal with vampires effortlessly, outperforming concentrated allicin, silver, and ultraviolet light.

Even the Blood God, the final boss in Blade 1, had been blown to pieces by just a few Injections.

With that, Yang Bo beckoned to Whistler. "Hurry up! Leave this to Blade and me. At your age, you should stay in the back and give orders!"

Whistler shot Yang Bo a fierce glare, but he knew the state of his own body. Staying outside would only hold Blade back. Besides, he was very interested in this "house" Yang Bo had made.

Yang Bo took out an iron door and sealed the entrance. The vampires had already burst into the workshop. As he watched the horde streaming in from outside, a smile crossed his face.

"Camouflage!"

The moment the words left his mouth, he vanished into thin air.