"Dad?"
"Gwen, you're not a vampire, right?"
"Of course not."
"Then Hawk..."
George instinctively glanced at Hawk standing nearby.
Hawk smiled.
"No."
"That's good."
Hearing this, George breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Gwen, who seemed tense, and smiled, "Being human is great; having children, that's the meaning of life, Gwen."
Gwen nodded, "I know, Dad. I just told Mom that I also want a daughter, two sons, and for us to be happy together."
George smiled and nodded approvingly.
Hawk, on the other hand, was looking thoughtfully at George.
George then took a deep breath and looked at Hawk, "So, within the next twenty-four hours, if I don't drink blood, I'll die, right?"
Gwen's eyes widened.
"Dad?"
"Theoretically, that's how it is, but you can't."
"What?"
"You've already drunk."
Hawk's gaze fell on the blood transfusion tube in George's arm. "Obviously, the guy hiding behind all this didn't intend to give you a choice. He wants you to become a vampire."
After all, George didn't really have a choice.
Other newborn vampires at least have a twenty-four-hour cooling-off period, but George did not. He revived and chose to become a vampire while a blood transfusion was in progress.
So...
"Do you remember what happened during the shooting?"
"...I remember now."
George was silent for a while, "I arranged to meet BU at the multi-level parking garage at 9:30 AM, but he never came. I know him, he's very punctual. Sure enough, just as I was about to leave, someone ambushed me."
For some reason, his mind was exceptionally clear at that moment.
Even as he recalled, it felt as if he was back at the scene.
He was waiting for BU at the appointed time but didn't see him. Just as he was about to leave, there was a sudden gunshot. Someone appeared abruptly in front of him and shot him in the abdomen.
The sudden pain made him instinctively bend over.
Then came the second shot.
That shot went right through his shoulder, the clear sound of shattering bone was audible. But it was this shot that instinctively made him lean to the side, avoiding a fatal third shot aimed at his neck.
Even so, he still staggered back, hitting a car behind him, while using his other hand to draw his gun and return fire.
"He didn't dodge."
"All three of my shots hit him."
"But..."
"He seemed entirely unscathed."
"Then some patrol officers who heard the sound rushed in."
"His speed was like a phantom, vanishing in an instant."
"I wanted to warn them, but he appeared behind those two patrol officers and swiftly finished them off."
"By that time, I was also close to passing out."
"At that moment, I felt like something entered my mouth. I was already in a state of unconsciousness."
"Now?"
"That taste was very metallic. Thinking back on it now, it must have been his blood."
"He must be a vampire."
As George recalled the vividly clear memories, he narrated them and looked at Hawk.
Hawk shrugged.
"Probably."
"No, that can't be right."
Gwen frowned, looking at Hawk.
"That shooter has already been found; he committed suicide out of guilt."
"A scapegoat, of course."
Hawk chuckled and looked at George on the hospital bed, "Just like the scapegoat who came forward to confess in the 'Blood Red Apocalypse' case."
George met Hawk's gaze, paused for a moment, then chuckled.
"Did you find the files I kept in the study safe?"
"Gwen's password."
"Hey..."
Gwen looked at her fiancé, who betrayed her without a second thought, and spread her hands, giving Hawk an exasperated look. "Seriously, you sold me out without even thinking. You're my fiancé. Aren't you supposed to have my back?"
But it was all in jest.
Gwen wasn't angry. After complaining, she looked at George, "Dad, who is this BU? Hawk and I have been thinking about it all day."
George smiled and looked at Gwen.
"You know him."
"I do?"
Gwen paused, quickly recalling, and then looked at George.
"Who is it?"
"Ben Urick!"
George revealed BU's name, and seeing the still slightly puzzled Gwen, he added, "My mentor."
Gwen blinked and, after a moment, conjured in her mind the image of a scruffy middle-aged man who liked wearing a cowboy hat.
In the next second.
Gwen remembered.
"Uncle Ben, your first partner?"
"Yes."
George nodded.
BU.
B for Ben.
U for Urick.
Ben Urick, ten years George's senior, now sixty-two, was George's mentor when he joined the New York Police Department and also his first partner.
Gwen then frowned again, looking at George with some confusion, "But hasn't Uncle Ben retired?"
George chuckled.
"He has retired, but while his body is old, his spirit is not. He's now a journalist. After the journalist case happened, he contacted me and warned me not to delve into it, saying it's dangerous. I didn't listen, and kept pressing him about what the danger was."
"It wasn't until last night, Ben called to ask if I was still investigating the Blood Red Apocalypse on my own. He told me to stop, that nothing good would come from continuing."
"But who am I!"
George chuckled, "To stop me investigating, you'd need to relieve me of my rank as captain. But as long as I'm still a captain, I will not let evil reign!"