"Wait, something's not right."
"Hiss..."
The humans were stunned, and the twenty vampires were equally bewildered. Although they had lost many of their memories, they instinctively felt that this wasn't how they were supposed to feed... probably.
But in the end, instinct triumphed over reason. The modified vampires focused on enjoying their meal as wanton sounds echoed throughout the blood collection hall.
Outside the blood bank, the atmosphere was incredibly eerie.
A squad of fully armed soldiers had already occupied the nearby bar, and even the surrounding residential buildings were not spared. Hidden windows and rooftops were bristling with lines of fire as snipers stood by at all times.
This was the combat unit maintained by the New York branch of the vampire race. Their equipment was entirely standardized to human special forces levels; they were armed to the teeth.
Combined with their superhuman physical traits, these members could carry much more heavy equipment during combat. Their combat effectiveness surpassed even elite human special forces, making them a force the New York branch took great pride in.
Money makes the world go round. Two military vehicles appeared on the streets of Hell's Kitchen: an armored vehicle in front and a command vehicle behind. A vampire elder from the New York branch sat in the command vehicle, intending to personally demonstrate his battlefield micromanagement skills.
After careful screening and positioning, the blood bank had been completely surrounded by the combat unit. The vampire elder looked at the tactical display on the command vehicle's screen with a 'situation under control' expression. The battle was a foregone conclusion; he couldn't imagine any way he could lose this fight.
"Raid. Except for the blood bank manager, Iris, kill any other clansmen who resist on sight," the vampire elder coldly ordered.
Each combat team received the command. Under their leaders' direction, they invaded the blood bank from all directions. Silver-plated bullets were ready in their cold muzzles. In everyone's eyes, a major battle was inevitable, but the scales of victory had already tipped; the outcome was obvious.
"The vampires in that blood bank are as good as dead." On the roof of a nearby residential building, Nick Fury held a monocular telescope, looking toward the blood bank.
The telescope had a retro design, but its interior integrated a lot of high technology. It not only allowed for one-key thermal imaging switching but also featured a smooth 1x to 40x zoom, providing a wide and clear field of vision.
This was a masterpiece specifically developed by a S.H.I.E.L.D. researcher to flatter his director. Since Nick Fury only had one eye, using binoculars felt strange and looked awkward, so a monocular was much more comfortable.
However, that researcher's emotional intelligence was somewhat lacking; he had tactlessly named his creation 'One-eyed Wu.' To reward his 'innovative spirit,' Fury had specially assigned him to the Arctic to dig up Captain America.
Natasha stood next to Nick Fury. Ultimately, she hadn't been able to return to South America to continue her work. With such a massive movement from the vampires, Fury had dragged her—someone who had previously 'infiltrated' the blood bank—to the scene to ensure no subsequent chaos ensued.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had deployed quite a few personnel today as well. After all, the vampires had mobilized a large armed force. To maintain world peace and American stability, Fury had to take certain measures to prevent accidents.
"I don't think it's that certain." Natasha held up her binoculars, her gaze lingering on the sealed windows of the blood bank. "That blood bank isn't simple. Those vampire combat units are likely to suffer a major loss."
"It's better if they suffer," Fury sneered. "It's just dog eat dog. Their deaths serve S.H.I.E.L.D.'s interests."
S.H.I.E.L.D. had too many headaches already. He wished the vampires would take a massive fall so things could quiet down for a while.
The raid began. Along with the sound of breaking windows and walls, the heavily armed vampire units poured in. They were well-trained and disciplined, meticulously searching every hidden corner.
"First-floor restroom clear."
"First room on the left clear."
"Corridor clear..."
Room after room was cleared, yet the combat teams felt an inexplicably eerie atmosphere spreading around them. The air seemed to carry wanton sounds, and even their breathing masks couldn't block the peculiar, musky scent entering their nostrils.
Several teams soon converged, following the path in the blueprints toward the most important blood collection hall.
With a loud bang from a breaching charge, the heavy steel doors swung open. The combat teams rushed in with guns raised, only to witness an utterly absurd scene playing out before them.
"What's the situation...?"
"What are they doing? A nudist party? An orgy? Can I join in?"
"Shut up, we're recording!"
One by one, the combat members held their guns in confusion. They had considered many scenarios and had mentally prepared for various battle scenes, their hearts filled with the sorrow of fratricide and the excitement of achieving glory. But who could tell them what was happening now? Had their noble Sacred Race fallen so low as to collectively serve humans?
The footage from the cameras on their weapons was transmitted back to the command vehicle. The vampire elder fell silent, completely baffled.
"Hmm?" The modified vampires who were feeding paused slightly. Smelling the vampire stench amidst the hormones, their hunting instincts overrode their hunger. They pushed aside the group of humans and scrambled across the floor on all fours.
"Careful, something's coming!"
The combat unit immediately went on alert. The closest one raised his gun and fired. The bullet pierced the modified vampire's skin and entered the muscle, but it lost all momentum before reaching the bone. The silver plating on the bullet had no effect at all; instead, it triggered the modified vampire's ferocity.
With a roar, the modified vampire pounced on the shooting soldier. The long, slender black tail behind it whipped up, suddenly piercing the tough combat suit and burying itself deep into the flesh. A strange pinkish-purple liquid was injected into the soldier's body through the hollow tail, causing him to struggle in agony.
"Hostile attack! Fire! Open fire now!"
The combat teams raised their weapons, but the gunfire lasted only a moment before falling silent. The physical capabilities of the modified vampires had completely surpassed ordinary vampires in every way. After removing their fatal weaknesses, it was a total slaughter against the combat squads.
"What is that? No, stop!"
"They're monsters! They're monsters! I feel so hot!"
"Help me!"
The communication channel was filled with the screams of the combat teams. The ghostly figures of the modified vampires flitted through the blood bank. Moments later, the squads that had breached the building were completely wiped out.
The vampire elder's expression turned hideous. The video links from the muzzles hadn't cut off; he saw the pinned-down soldiers twitching violently as their bodies underwent a bizarre transformation.
"Retreat, now!" the vampire elder ordered immediately. However, it was already too late. The modified vampires charged out of the blood bank, accurately locating every vampire soldier hiding in the corners.
Silver bullets, garlic, UV lamps—the weapons equipped by the vampire soldiers were completely useless against these strange creatures. The battle on-site was entirely one-sided.
But an even worse situation occurred. The vampire soldiers who were pinned down and forcibly injected with the liquid underwent a violent mutation and actually joined the ranks of the hunters. They had evidently been assimilated.
"This is bad. The situation is out of control. We're moving in!" Nick Fury turned pale with shock and hastily ordered an attack.
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents began their operation. With the support of helicopters, they surrounded the area from the outer perimeter moving inward.
Fury and Natasha jumped down from the residential building and drove straight toward the vampire elder.
The special S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia made the vampire elder's eyes light up. He hurriedly changed direction and ran toward Fury's car, believing that S.H.I.E.L.D. would surely save him.
"Save me, save... Argh!"
A shadow appeared in the moonlight. A modified vampire descended from the sky, flipping the command vehicle. A hand grabbed the vampire elder's neck and hoisted him up, while its tail plunged deep into the elder's flesh, continuously pumping in a large amount of the mysterious liquid.
Fury and Natasha stopped and raised their guns, but the expected attack didn't come. The modified vampire's features were exquisite, and its figure was perfectly curved. Upon seeing the humans, it let out a soft moan, its face flush with a mysterious glow and a shy expression.
Fury: "???"
Natasha: "???"
Elsewhere, the surrounding S.H.I.E.L.D. agents encountered the same dilemma.
"Madam, please respect yourself."
"Hey, don't! Let go!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, a certain agent pulled up his pants and backed away hastily. In a public setting, he still couldn't let go; couldn't they talk about this in private?
Because the modified vampires did not attack humans, S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly brought the scene under control. Some agents with poor willpower were seduced by the modified vampires and pulled them into rooms to discuss the origins of life, making Fury's face darken further and further.
Half an hour after the battle ended, a large number of New York police arrived, sirens wailing incessantly.
With lights flashing, the police tape held back the reporters who had rushed to the scene. Fury and Natasha looked at the vampire elder, who had already completed his transformation, with grave expressions.
"We must perform biochemical testing on these people. Everyone present today must be quarantined," Fury said in a heavy voice.
The vampire elder had completely changed. He had transformed from a typical medieval noble playboy into a delicate, beautiful youth who kept trying to throw himself at Fury, giving the director the creeps.
This was terrifying!
Fortunately, this inexplicable 'virus' seemed to only spread among vampires. Once infected, the vampires not only became powerful in combat but also seemed to pose no harm to humans.
Thinking it over carefully, Fury seemed to have found a way to solve the great menace that was the vampire race. Previously, vampires only caused social unrest, concentrated wealth, and class solidification. But the transformed vampires were completely different; they had no other thoughts, only craving a taste of something 'hot.'
Gently patting the vampire elder's head, Fury fell into deep thought. A moment later, he ordered, "Take all the vampires back to S.H.I.E.L.D. I have a great use for them!"
After speaking, he noticed Natasha's strange yet slightly excited gaze. Realizing that his actions with the vampire elder were a bit ambiguous, he hurriedly explained, "The 'great use' I mentioned isn't that. Don't get the wrong idea."
"Of course I know." Natasha shrugged and pointed toward the reporters outside the police tape. "You don't need to explain to me. You should worry about tomorrow's front-page headlines."
Click, click, click!
The flashes went off continuously, illuminating Nick Fury's dark, scowling face.
"Confiscate all their cameras, now!"
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s power was exerted. Through various operations, the photo of Fury embracing a 'delicate youth' didn't end up circulating. However, a few pieces of intelligence managed to escape, and that classic photo began to spread like wildfire in the underground.
Makiya looked at the gossip news, thoroughly amused. At that moment, Iris walked in and handed a stack of documents to him.
"Master, the company has been registered, and the patents you asked me to apply for have all been settled."
As she spoke, Iris showed a confused expression. "Master, I still don't understand why you want to start a game company. We already have plenty of money."
Makiya gave a meaningful smile. "You don't understand. Players don't read the user agreement, and besides, this is Earth's first virtual reality game!"