Chapter 75

Chapter 75

This winter, Cecilia’s visits had become countless.

Jiang Yao bowed slightly, seeing Count Cecilia off once more. Rain and snow mingled as they fell. Ai Wei, perched on his shoulder, ruffled his feathers and said, "His Grace has again refused Cecilia's request for a child."

Jiang Yao closed the mansion door, listening to Ai Wei's incessant chatter. "...If we lose the war, the vampires will lose another pureblood."

"There are still a few pureblood gentlemen left," Jiang Yao said dismissively.

Ai Wei exclaimed, "But they're already old!"

The wind howled louder.

Jiang Yao remarked, "Perhaps His Grace should accept my proposal: pay ten billion for the location of the werewolf base."

"Do you think you can deceive His Grace?" Ai Wei retorted. "Your intentions are clear. You must not know the truth."

Jiang Yao shut the final door. Daybreak was approaching, and he needed to draw every curtain to prevent the light from disturbing the revered Duke Louis. "I can find out anytime."

"Louis!" A voice suddenly cut through. The next second, the door burst open—Cecilia, who had just left, had abruptly returned. "Louis! Selena has been captured!"

"Marquis Selena?" Ai Wei startled, flapping his wings as he flew to the highest floor, darting into Louis' room. "Your Grace! The war has begun!"

Jiang Yao froze mid-motion, witnessing Cecilia's disheveled state for the first time.

The century-long truce between humans, werewolves, and vampires had collapsed.

The war began with the fall of a pureblood vampire.

The sky gradually brightened. At the highest spire of the central city, Selena's corpse swayed in the wind. The sun rose from the horizon, its rays slowly creeping forth.

Selena awoke, covered in blood, forced to watch the sun ascend, reduced to whimpering in despair as she faced her inevitable demise.

Beneath the city gates, soldiers armed with firearms formed multiple concentric rings of defense—on rooftops, car tops, and even in the air, all bristling with human weaponry.

"Don't move!" A hand clamped down on a restless figure lurking in the shadows. "It's not time yet."

"Less than half an hour, and the sun will rise. Dawn's light will spread across the land, and Selena will turn to smoke and die!" A vampire, pale-faced, clenched his fangs against his lower lip, his bloodlust reaching its peak.

"Wait a little longer. If we can surrender Doug, there might still be a chance!" an older vampire suggested.

-

"The missing human Doug is actually the president's relative?"

Meanwhile, a crucial meeting took place in the basement of Louis' estate.

Jiang Yao stood behind Louis, arching a brow in surprise.

Cecilia asked, "Brother, did you not know of this?" Her gaze locked onto Jiang Yao, making clear that Louis' human steward's close ties with humans and werewolves were no longer a secret.

The dark basement's long table was illuminated only by flickering candlelight. Louis replied, "Telepathy doesn't deceive. He knows nothing."

"But we don't know what His Grace truly thinks," an elder interjected.

The vampires had twelve elders, among whom the Grand Elder was a reclusive pureblood over three hundred years old, having lived through the changes of Western history. Rumor said he'd long been dormant, leaving behind only ten advanced vampires who had drunk his blood, along with two other counts, to keep the vampire nobility in check.

Louis had never offered his blood to their kin—a noble's blood was a rare gift that could elevate ordinary vampires. In wartime, it was an unwritten rule for purebloods to nourish their trusted followers with their blood to strengthen them for battle.

Louis' leadership had already bred discontent among the clan.

Cecilia pressed, "Do we save her or not?"

"No one knows where Doug is," another elder said.

Jiang Yao thought grimly—this was bad.

Louis stated, "He's at the Hunter Hospital."

Some thoughts, once born, are hard to suppress. Jiang Yao finally understood why Louis, who'd never permitted him to attend meetings before, had insisted on his presence today—claiming too many vampires had arrived and needed his attendance.

This was the setup all along.

Jiang Yao bowed slightly and retreated from the basement. "I shall prepare tea for the lords."

"I heard he died. Why is he at Sacred Heart Hospital?"

"Faked death?"

"But in the public's eyes, their president truly lost his beloved son."

A vampire who appeared to be in his fifties produced his phone, displaying footage of a stretcher being wheeled out from a pile of rubble, carrying a bloodied figure.

A reporter stood nearby, voice thick with emotion, announcing the tragic news to the public through the camera.

"The future heir is gone," the vampire said. "The people are furious. Three days later, Selena was displayed on the tower—just like now."

"This is a premeditated act of war," Cecilia said. "Why?"

"Perhaps to prevent you and Louis from producing a new pureblood."

The table fell silent at those words.

Louis broke the quiet. "But winter is unfavorable for human combat."

With short days and long nights, the lack of sunlight gave them no edge.

"Nor does it favor werewolves," another vampire added.

Cecilia countered, "The humans' plot stands revealed. They exploited the century-long truce to kidnap werewolves, harvesting serum to augment themselves. Their deception uncovered. If we don't strike first, once the werewolves grow stronger, who knows who will win?"

"Deceitful humans!" Someone punched the wall in fury.

At that moment, Ai Wei fluttered in awkwardly, gripping a phone in his claws. "Your Grace, Sacred Heart Hospital denies ever treating Doug in the central city."

Jiang Yao entered the basement with a tray of teacups.

Louis asked, "Has Doug completely disappeared from public sight?"

Jiang Yao recalled his encounters with Doug—the man's extraordinary healing ability seemed far exceeding normal human limits.

Perhaps Doug's disappearance was merely to reemerge under a more powerful identity. But why would humans deliberately provoke war?

Jiang Yao thought of the high-security hospital—every hospital had its laboratories.

Perhaps Doug had undergone even more secretive experiments there.

Louis stared intently at Jiang Yao.

Cecilia: "What is he thinking?"

Louis: "Doug might undergo another transformation."

"What do you mean?" Cecilia asked urgently.

The elders' faces were grave.

"Humans will never acknowledge the innocence of vampires—they want war."

Seven fifteen.

The sky began to lighten.

The sun rose from the horizon.

Selena watched the golden light slowly spreading in the distance, her terrified eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets as her body contorted grotesquely: "Ah! S-save me..."

Bullets sparked as they ricocheted.

Outside the tightly shut doors and windows of every household, war erupted abruptly.

Lesser zombies, devoid of intelligence, mindlessly surged at the humans beneath the tower like waves of the undead.

Jiang Yao stood with one hand behind his back, dressed in a tailcoat, elegantly pouring tea for the nobles.

-

Doug pulled his fangs free from the wooden plank, slowly turning to face the lab assistant. His mouth stretched unnaturally wide, almost to his ears, revealing gleaming fangs as he let out a predatory snarl. "Well?"

*Thud.*

The assistant fumbled, dropping the files at Doug's feet, only for them to be caught by a flick of his wolf's tail and presented back to him.

Doug grinned in satisfaction. "Seems the experiment was a success."

The lab door slid open, and an elderly man with white hair entered.

Assistant: "Doctor."

Doug: "Doctor."

The doctor surveyed Doug and the scattered debris of wood and stone. "Time for outdoor strength testing."

"When will the bestiality test be done?" Doug, standing over two meters tall, nearly brushed the lab ceiling. He wore only a garment covering his essentials, his muscular physique far surpassing what any normal human could achieve.

Doug: "Right now, I have an overwhelming urge to eat raw meat—and boundless strength!"

"Sir, though you've been injected with werewolf serum, you must maintain human rationality. Otherwise, you know the consequences," the doctor warned.

Doug: "Then send me to the battlefield."

Doctor: "Be reasonable. The serum will cause rejection. You need at least another week before you can leave the hospital's secure zone."

Doug raised his arm, his muscles like iron, stretching slowly under the morning sun, admiring his transformed body.

From today onward, he had a new identity.

"Future leader of the hunters," murmured one of two figures in a high-rise corridor. "Is this really appropriate?"

The other, half his face obscured, replied, "His death would be the best outcome."

-

Zombie corpses writhed on the ground like mounds of blubber, oozing viscera and leaving long trails of blood.

Selena had lost the strength to struggle. As sunlight touched her feet, the sound of searing flesh filled the air, her shrieks of agony echoing as the burning light consumed her.

Amid her roars, more voices joined in, bodies shrinking. A hulking arm picked up a fallen file—a photo slipped out: Jiang Yao in white, cradling a child, glancing back at the camera.

The assistant shut the door: "The interview is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. It's all up to you now."

A loud *gulp*—a zombie tore off a soldier's arm, tilting its head back to chew the flesh, only for its skull to explode the next second, scattering rotten chunks everywhere.

"ROOOAAAR!"

More zombies emerged from every dark corner—sewers, abandoned warehouses, rooftops, even locked-down districts.

Like a tide, they answered Selena's furious, pain-filled summons.

Drones circled overhead, broadcasting footage revealing Edinburgh's unimaginable zombie horde. Residents screamed, barricading doors and windows.

An office worker had just parked his bike when a clawed hand yanked him into the air—his shrieks cut short as limbs were torn off, crushed into mangled flesh, splattering onto rooftops.

Water spilled from the porcelain teapot, soaking a noble's evening wear.

"Useless!" A slap came like a gust of wind—Jiang Yao instinctively blocked it, plunging the chamber into tense silence.

An elderly vampire rose slowly. "Louis, should the Council demand an explanation? Just how much of your blood have you fed this human?"

Goosebumps prickled Jiang Yao's arm. Danger loomed—Cecilia and every vampire present, except Louis, wanted him dead.

"Perhaps I can help you locate the werewolf stronghold," Jiang Yao set down his teacup. "My loyalty to Lord Louis is absolute. I crave immortality."

"No one is immortal," the elders rasped, rising with bent frames and crimson eyes. "Only vampires sleep eternally."

Poor Butler William died still clutching to dreams of eternity. Jiang Yao retreated warily, evading the clutching fingers aimed at him.

Louis: "Jiang Yao!"

Ai Wei fluttered onto Jiang Yao's shoulder as the latter swiftly exited the basement. The lock engaged—silence fell.

Cecilia sneered, "Your Sheep Slave has betrayed you."

Louis saw them out. "Daybreak is coming."

The elders: "May Your Grace soon produce a new pure-blood heir with Cecilia. It is time for her to slumber."

Nothing lasts forever—not even vampires, who merely delay decomposition and death by sleeping underground.

Louis: "My power diminishes daily."

Cecilia: "Drink human blood."

Louis, his voice hoarse yet gentle, advised the youngest noble: "Cecilia, don’t play around. You must sleep now."

Cecilia: "Will you guard my tomb?"

Louis silently lowered his gaze. His bond with Jiang Yao faded. Turning to the elders, he said, "Now, you must pay ten billion pounds for the werewolves' location."

Elders: "Ten billion?!" Cecilia fell silent.

The elder said, "Cecilia's spending’s bleeding us dry!"

Louis: "Whether we give funds is the decision of the Council of Elders."

"This concerns the safety of our entire clan!"

Louis walked around the long table and approached the young Cecilia. He lowered his gaze. Since waking, he had heard much of Cecilia's reckless stunts—indulging in keeping Sheep Slaves, turning humans into mindless zombies. Cecilia was like a spoiled brat.

"Cecilia, don’t touch him," Louis said before leaving the basement.

Cecilia was furious. "I'll slaughter them all! Including your Sheep Slave!"

-

Ai Wei: "Where are we going?"

The city was locked down tight.

Jiang Yao stood atop the highest roof, scanning the horizon where Selena's spire hung. Zombies swarmed upward, piling into a seething mass of undead flesh, climbing higher and higher...

Gunfire poured down from all directions, but they couldn’t stop the signal Selena emitted in her desperate bid for survival. The zombies swarmed, forming a towering mound of flesh that collapsed under the hail of bullets.

Selena’s eyes bulged, her pupils rolling downward, nearly popping out, eagerly anticipating the zombies that would soon reach her.

A corpse-ridden arm suddenly rose above Selena’s eyes. She stared at it with delight, but then a golden light shimmered behind the arm, reflecting in her gaze.

The sun had fully risen.

Selena’s smile froze.

The zombie’s hand turned to dust, scattered by a gentle breeze.

Jiang Yao: "Dawn's light is a vampire’s bane."

The gunfire ceased.

Selena died smiling.

When sunlight fully bathed the land, all the zombies dissolved into stinking sludge.

The war had begun.

Jiang Yao leaped off the roof, he vanished into the city stirring back to life amidst the clamor.

-

He never returned to the Independent Zone. Instead, he rented a place in the Seventh District. On the third day, the werewolf hybrid, Joel, showed up unannounced. "You left Louis’ castle?"

Jiang Yao had just woken up. As he descended the stairs, his silk shirt hung open, buttons undone.

Joel looked away sharply. Jiang Yao glanced at the empty dining table—the breakfast prepared by Hannah, his landlady, was gone.

"...I didn’t eat this morning. I was starving," Joel wiped his lips, picked up the glass of water on the table, and turned with a smile. "Jiang, I came to check on you, but..."

Joel’s expression put on a pleading look. "But I can’t take you back to the settlement."

Jiang Yao took the glass. "You swore you’d get me out, to protect me."

Joel’s gaze fell to Jiang Yao’s exposed chest.

Jiang Yao drank the water, then turned and tugged his shirt wider, exposing his chest to Joel. "What do you want to see? My heart?"

He set the glass down and slowly advanced on Joel, who retreated until Jiang Yao seized his wrist and pressed his palm against his left breast. "You’re scared—scared my heart will sell out your kin to the vampires."

Joel flinched under Jiang Yao’s piercing gaze. "I..."

"I’m a freak." Jiang Yao lifted Joel’s other hand, tears dripping onto his palm. "You’re terrified of me. Humans do too. Even Louis has disowned me. What should I do...?"

Jiang Yao’s vulnerability made Joel’s chest ache. "I’ll protect you," Joel murmured, one hand cradling Jiang Yao’s face while the other...

Joel curled his fingers, grazing something firm yet yielding. Jiang Yao suddenly tightened his grip on Joel’s wrist.

Joel: "Your body’s becoming more sensitive."

"Yes..." Jiang Yao leaned closer.

Joel kissed him, the guilt toward his clan momentarily forgotten as the distance between them vanished again.

"Really?"

"Really..."

Jiang Yao was shoved back into the chair by the kiss. Joel’s mouth grew fiercer, Jiang Yao’s thick lashes brushing his face like feathers tickling the soles of his feet. Joel gasped, gripping Jiang Yao’s thighs and wrapping his legs around his waist.

"I’m done... I can’t take it anymore..."

System: "Host?"

"So good..."

Joel spread Jiang Yao wide.

And swallowed him down.

Need spiked. Outside the window, two bats flitted past. Jiang Yao arched back against the chair—his flexibility allowed his glassy, fever-bright eyes to meet the gaze of the bat pressed against the glass.

His shirt hung open, his chest flushed and glistening, lost to pleasure, wrecked and wanton.

The bat’s eyes glowed hellish red, bulging like a hawk’s, darting like a predator’s!

"Jiang?" Joel seemed to sense something amiss.

Jiang Yao smiled faintly. "Sorry... Faster—please... Ah..."

The bat spread its wings. Soon, more gathered outside, until the entire window was covered, countless red eyes fixed on Jiang Yao.

The room plunged into darkness.

Joel hesitated, lifting his head, but Jiang Yao pressed it back down with a vicious yank. "Faster!" His tone carried an impatient edge, and Joel lost control completely.

Meanwhile.

The TV in the living room flickered to life, static screeched before the screen stabilized, showing live drone feeds patrolling every corner of the city.

A broadcast voice rang out.

"Emergency alert: Evacuate immediately."

"Alert: Clear the streets immediately..."

"High-level threat detected in District One."

"High-level zombies confirmed in District Five..."

"High-level zombies have been spotted in District Seven..."

"I need to get back." Joel pulled up his pants. Suddenly, a hand gripped the back of his neck and yanked him backward, fangs sank into his throat.

Joel froze, until the front of his pants grew wet again.

Jiang Yao released Joel, a streak of red remaining at the corner of his lips. He wiped it away with his thumb and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, but I was just too hungry, Joel... You know I don’t want to drink human blood... I need you..."

Joel’s legs turned to jelly. He knelt on the ground, hands braced against the ground, taking a long, long time to recover. The news continued its nonstop live coverage on the sightings of high-level vampires.

The streets were in complete chaos, with the military evacuating civilians.

Then, a knock came at the living room door. Landlady Hannah called out urgently, "Sir, please come out! The government is evacuating everyone..."

"I’m leaving!" Joel kissed Jiang Yao one last time before vaulting out the window.

"Whoosh—"

Jiang Yao opened the door, his clearly visible bloodstains sending landlady Hannah into a panic. He whispered, his eyes crinkling, "Please leave quickly."

"Yes!"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

The landlady, a woman in her fifties, scurried away. "Let's hope she makes it to sixty," Jiang Yao mused with a faint smile, turning back. "Wouldn't you agree?"

The interior was pitch-dark. A candle flared to life on the table, revealing Louis’ tall, stately figure on the stairs.

Outside, the clamor of the evacuation filled the air. Everyone was too busy fleeing to notice the countless bats clustering thickly over the second-floor windows of the small house.

Louis: "The castle needs a butler."

Jiang Yao began tidying himself, using a white cloth to wipe the blood from his shirt before slowly grinding the blood droplets into the floor under the heel of his black leather shoes with red soles.

Louis gazed out the window, a hint of melancholy in his eyes. "Ai Wei is gone too."

Jiang Yao replied, "He’s been dating lately."

"A date?" Louis sounded surprised.

Jiang Yao explained, "Hannah’s granddaughter is a sixteen-year-old girl. She discovered Ai Wei and borrowed him from me to raise as a pet."

"Ai Wei says he wants to protect her," Jiang Yao added with a smile. "Isn’t that love?"

Louis stared at Jiang Yao intently. "Perhaps it is."

"Poor Louis, maybe he’s jealous of a bat," Jiang Yao sneered mentally. "How ridiculous, when he already has a fiancée..."

Louis: "I rejected Cecilia."

"Huh?" Jiang Yao was puzzled.

"I didn’t ask."

"How dull."

Jiang Yao opened the fridge, retrieving some vegetables, fruit, and an outdated yogurt. "You seem worn out. Did something happen?"

Louis: "I can’t betray my kin."

"Leaving sentences half-finished again."

Louis: "I shed some blood."

"Then you should replenish yourself." Jiang Yao pushed a bowl of vegetable salad toward Louis. "Please eat, Your Grace."

"According to initial reports, it’s difficult for the human eye to track vampires in motion. Thus, the police believe a high-level—perhaps even a pureblood vampire—has violated the peace treaty by appearing in human territory during daylight..."

Jiang Yao sat on the sofa, mindlessly channel-surfing with the remote.

Every station was broadcasting news about vampires.

"Yes... Regarding vampires deliberately violating the peace treaty, what's your take, Professor?"

He changed channels.

"...Undoubtedly, the number of ordinary zombies will surge."

Jiang Yao pressed the button again.

"We now bring you live footage."

On screen, the sky suddenly darkened.

A zombie reporter broke through the press circle, tearing into a journalist amid the chaos.

A camera went rolling to the ground, kicked and overturned in the commotion, finally pointing toward an evacuating kindergarten.

Louis: "You hate me."

Jiang Yao’s expression was inscrutable, as if debating whether to answer.

On TV, the reporter broke down sobbing: "...If anyone with armed forces is nearby, please hurry to Central Kindergarten in District Three. An ominous cloud has swallowed the sun... There are still children here..."

"Boom!" A deafening explosion rang out.

Louis: "Don’t worry, that’s a cloud-clearing round."

"Why don’t you just die."

"Why don’t you just die."

"Vampires... and werewolves..."

His inner thoughts were hard to contain, no matter how composed he appeared. Even as Jiang Yao sat casually on the sofa, mindlessly channel-surfing, Louis could clearly hear the curses in his mind.

"Protagonists?"

"Protagonists?"

"Just because you’re the protagonists, others have to sacrifice their lives? All so you can fall in love?"

The system anxiously attempted to calm Jiang Yao: "Host, this is just a story in a book. Don’t get worked up. Just pretend it's all fake."

Jiang Yao covered his right eye, a headache throbbing. The TV finally settled on a kids' show, no longer switching.

Louis asked, "This is meant to soothe the evacuated children. Do you like watching it too?"

"Enough!" Jiang Yao smashed his fist down on the remote.

The TV channel changed, and after a flicker of the screen, he saw a familiar face.

Joel?

He'd gone to District 3.

Joel kicked down a zombie, grabbed one by the head, then picked up a camera and turned it on himself before diving into the horde of zombies.

A drone whirred overhead, and the camera switched to a clearer angle.

It was a kindergarten decorated with whimsical decor—a sky-blue roof, pink carpets, where teachers and the principal were busy barricading the front entrance with whatever they could find.

Of the twenty soldiers assigned to evacuate the district, only a handful remained.

Joel’s sudden appearance put everyone on edge.

Rip—

The massive body tore through the fabric of his clothes with a loud shredding sound. A gray-furred werewolf emerged from the tattered garments, growing taller and larger, seizing two zombies and smashing their heads together like watermelons!

Jiang Yao’s eyes widened in shock as he stood up.

A noise came from the roof.

Louis had left at some point, leaving the dark room filled with dim light. With the pureblood gone, the vampires no longer feared his scent and began attempting to attack the humans inside.

Jiang Yao remained silent for a moment before walking to the window, only to realize the vampires weren’t targeting him. His veins now carried Louis’ blood, making him unaffected by lower-tier vampires.

Under the three-meter-high ceiling, zombies crawled across the floor, slowly making their way down a hallway until they reached the end. "Kekeke!"

"Ah—" A young girl’s scream.

Jiang Yao vaulted out the window—it was the granddaughter of the landlady, Hannah. He knocked the zombie back and asked in confusion, "Why did you come back?"

Emma: "Ai Wei insisted on returning, saying it’s safer with you."

Ai Wei crawled out of Emma’s arms. "You scared me to death, you sneaky human! Emma and I almost died out there!"

Jiang Yao: "..."

"The zombies seem to be evolving," Ai Wei said. "Someone might have created a strain of mid-tier ones. It’s rare for zombies to move around in daylight hours..."

Jiang Yao interrupted him, sweeping Emma up in his arms and leaving the apartment. "This is all your Grace's doing. These zombies—no, vampires—know how to ambush and sneak attack. Their intelligence has improved drastically..."

Noticing the unease in the girl he carried, Jiang Yao looked down. The sixteen-year-old was curled up in his arms, her face blushing. He smiled gently. "I’ll take you to the safe zone. Landlady Hannah is there too. You’ll be safe."

"Will Mr. Jiang come too?" Emma asked hesitantly, eyeing the blood on his clothes. "Vampire?"

Jiang Yao: "I’m human."

Ai Wei: "Hey, hey! You can’t betray His Grace!"

"The one who betrayed first shouldn’t talk," Jiang Yao teased.

Ai Wei glanced at Emma. "...Emma, don’t listen to this two-faced human!"

"What’s with that outfit?" Jiang Yao eyed the pink bow on Ai Wei.

Ai Wei: ".................."

"Hahaha!" Emma’s laughter rang out.

The two humans and the bat moved cautiously down the empty street.

Zombies lurked under dark eaves, strings of drool dripped and pooled into puddles on the ground. The wind scattered the clouds, and the zombies scanned nervously before retreating into the shadows until they vanished.

Drones whirred overhead, and safe zone markers pointed the way.

Emma pointed at a building. "I know—if we go this way, it’s a shortcut."

Jiang Yao carried Emma toward the safe zone, deep in thought. Joel’s public appearance likely signaled another chance for cooperation between humans and werewolves.

Just like a century ago, when the two races united to eradicate the vampires.

The elevator walls reflected the grotesque face of a zombie. Jiang Yao kicked it away, sending it flying. Emma clutched her beloved stuffed rabbit, pressing her face in it until Jiang Yao told her it was safe to look up.

"Seems like the werewolves’ intel needs a new buyer," Jiang Yao’s voice rang out in the confined space. "Emma?"

Emma nodded quietly in response, stepping out of the elevator into the basement level before bowing slightly to Jiang Yao.

"Thank you for protecting me. I’ll be going now, Mr. Jiang."

"Wait." Jiang Yao stopped her, searching his pockets before realizing he had nothing to give. His gaze fell on her plushie. "Can I have that?"

Ai Wei, perched on Jiang Yao’s shoulder: "Hey! That’s a little girl’s toy! You two-faced human!"

Emma handed the plushie to Jiang Yao.

He smiled, then raised his left hand and bit into his own palm!

"Ah!" Emma yelped. "Jiang—"

Jiang Yao let his blood soak onto the back of the plushie. "Take this. They’ll stay away from you now."

"Okay..."

-

"Emma’s leaving," Ai Wei whined.

Jiang Yao: "You can go with her if you want, but you’ll be discovered within two days and burned as a vampire’s minion."

At the basement exit, Emma stepped slowly into the sunlight. A few lurking zombies finally gave up and retreated into the darkness.

Ai Wei whispered, "Two-faced human, are you betraying His Grace?"

"I’m just trying to make more money," Jiang Yao said.

Ai Wei: "What? Then... can you let His Grace live? If humans win, I’d still be willing to guard his grave..."

He went on.

"Of course," Jiang Yao’s voice echoed through the parking garage. "If you say so, humans will win."

"Huh?" Ai Wei flapped angrily. "I said *if*! *If*!"

...

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, gunshots rang out in quick succession!

Jiang Yao turned around in confusion, only for a bullet to pierce through his cheek the next instant.

A squad of armed humans came charging at him, their apparent goal being to kill him.

"Yo," Jiang Yao called softly, his voice carrying like a wave.

A stuffed rabbit came flying through the air!

A somewhat familiar young voice rang out angrily, "You make me sick!"

Jiang Yao recognized the voice—it belonged to the boy he had rescued from Cecilia's basement, the boy who'd been that night's "main dish."

"Long time no see," Jiang Yao said with a grin as the wound on his face rapidly healed. "Dinner Boy, it's you."

The boy shouted, "I'll kill you!"

The rabbit plush landed at Jiang Yao's feet. He paused for a moment before remarking, "Some gratitude for your rescuer."

The boy snarled, "This is all your fault! You human traitors deserve death more than zombies! Aaaaaah!"

Bullets whizzed by as the boy screamed.

Jiang Yao moved with astonishing speed, disappearing in a series of superhuman leaps.

The boy tried to chase after him but was stopped by a companion. "Past this point, we lose daylight. Let's wait. Our mission isn't cleanup—it's protecting the quarantine zone."

From the darkness came the telltale shuffling of zombies.

Grudgingly, the boy fell back with his companions.

-

Three days later.

Jiang Yao looted at leisure in the deserted supermarket. A television on the wall was blaring news about another captured pureblood.

"...This pureblood will be purged by Dawn's Light in the outskirts three days from now."

"Her name is Cecilia."