A Party of Five

Yang Bo's unexpected arrival didn't put the three thugs off. Instead, it piqued their particular interests and made them even more excited.

"You go first!"

"No, no, you're the boss. You first!"

"How about letting our new buddy go first?"

They politely deferred to one another as they followed the vampire to a corner. Watching this display of brotherly affection, Yang Bo couldn't help marveling that genuine kindness still existed in the world.

"Then I'll go first!"

Yang Bo spoke with a cheerful smile and stepped up to the Black vampire. They looked each other over, both clearly pleased with what they saw.

"A handsome guy from Asia. Hehe, I've never..."

Thump! Before the seductive look could fade from the vampire's eyes, Yang Bo jumped up and knocked her to the ground with his stone axe. The sudden turn of events caught all three thugs off guard.

"Oh, shit!!"

All three pulled pistols from their waistbands and aimed them at Yang Bo. One of them, a Mexican man, said nervously, "Hey, buddy, don't move, or I won't mind putting a bullet..."

A roar cut him off. The female vampire Yang Bo had knocked down scrambled up from the ground and lunged at one of the thugs, who was completely unprepared for her attack.

"Ah... help me!"

The man she tackled screamed in terror. The other two hurriedly aimed their pistols at the woman on top of him.

"Shit, what kind of monster is this?!"

While the two hesitated over whether to shoot, Yang Bo didn't pause for a moment. Gripping his stone axe, he struck again. An invisible force knocked the vampire back a meter, getting her off the thug.

But it was already a little too late. The thug she had tackled had been bitten. He clutched his neck, beads of blood seeping between his fingers, and said, sounding a little hysterical:

"She's crazy! She fucking bit me!"

As he spoke, he shakily raised his pistol and pulled the trigger. A shot rang out, and the bullet struck the vampire.

"Kerry, are you nuts?!"

The Mexican thug immediately cried out in alarm. They might carry guns, but they wouldn't fire unless they had no other choice. They were thugs, not terrorists.

"She's crazy! She's trying to bite me to death!"

The female vampire roared again. She crouched on all fours, ready to pounce on someone else.

Naturally, Yang Bo wasn't about to give her that chance.

"Watch out!"

He pushed off the ground, jumped up again, and swung his axe into her. This vampire was clearly stronger than the one he had encountered before. Her maximum health of 53 alone was proof enough.

"What kind of monster is this?"

Clearly, this was the three men's first encounter with a vampire, too. They struggled to accept that someone could still leap around after being shot. This time, the two men still standing didn't hold back. They both pulled their triggers.

Bang, bang, bang...

Each shot took a single point off the vampire's health. Clearly, ordinary small-caliber bullets barely hurt vampires. Silver bullets, of course, would have been another story.

With Yang Bo's final strike, the vampire let out a scream and rapidly burst into flames. Within seconds, the Black woman had vanished, and her dropped items were automatically collected into his inventory.

"What the hell was that?"

"She disappeared!"

The three thugs' understanding of the world had taken a serious blow. A living person had disappeared right before their eyes.

Yang Bo gently stirred the small pile of black ash on the ground with his stone axe, hoping to see whether the female vampire had left anything good behind. A few bullets fell out with a clatter, but there wasn't a single other metal object.

"Was she really that broke?"

Frowning, he looked up at the thug lying on the ground and stepped forward to check on him. But to the three men, Yang Bo was mysterious and just as threatening. The moment he moved, all three raised their pistols and aimed at him.

"Buddy, what exactly is going on here?"

Yang Bo smiled. He didn't think much of these three thugs, but compared with vampires, at least they were human. At the very least, they wouldn't treat him as food.

"Have you ever heard of vampires?"

The three visibly froze. The thug lying on the ground also took the opportunity to get to his feet.

"Vampires?"

"That's right!"

Recalling the woman's impossible behavior and how she had turned to ash at the end, the three found themselves mostly convinced.

"Then..."

The man leading them finally caught on, his gaze instinctively shifting toward Kerry, who had been bitten. They had heard vampire stories since childhood, but they had only ever considered them stories...

Seeing that he understood, Yang Bo gave him a radiant smile.

"Exactly what you're thinking!"

Anyone bitten by a vampire would become a new vampire, provided they hadn't been drained dry. At least, that was how vampires worked in Blade.

After getting Yang Bo's confirmation, the Mexican man leading the group proved himself loyal to his friend. He walked straight over to Kerry and pulled aside the hand covering his wound, revealing two punctures on his neck that were still oozing blood.

His pupils contracted sharply. He hurriedly put his pistol away and asked anxiously, "Buddy, you've got a way to save him, right?"

Yang Bo shook his head slightly. In the game, he could cure it with milk, but right now, he didn't even have a cow...

Wait, I can just have them buy milk!

"There is a way, but I'll need plenty of milk and garlic. Hmm... and bread and five hundred dollars!"

The leader had initially seen Yang Bo sink into sorrow, but after hearing what he said next, hope lit up his eyes. He hurriedly said, "All right, I'll go buy them!"

"Let's all go together!"

The gunshots must have attracted attention nearby. Although this place was fairly secluded and there wasn't even a body, staying here certainly wasn't a good idea.

Kerry, the young Black man who had been bitten, finally grasped what was happening and asked in panic:

"Am... am I going to turn into that kind of monster?"

Yang Bo glanced at him and said with a cheerful smile, "Don't worry. I'll save you!" Silently, he added to himself.

Even if you turn into a vampire!

The method of salvation would certainly be different, though...

As they walked down the quiet path, the leader and the other man supported the young Black man, whose legs had gone weak. The leader suddenly asked, "Do you hunt those monsters for a living?"

"That's right! I'm a vampire hunter!"

Yang Bo spoke with complete seriousness.

"I'll show those man-eating bastards who the real hunter is."