Chapter 088: The Deal

The pungent scent of blood hung heavy in the air; what had begun as a social cocktail party had devolved into a vampire's bloody feast.

Panic, chaos!

"Don't drink my blood, I have HIV!" Chu He screamed in terror, eyes wide, as the sultry, predatory woman atop him bared her fangs, saliva glistening at her lips, descending upon him with the hunger of a beast.

For someone notorious as a relentless flirt, this was the first time Chu He had been so violently overpowered by a woman.

Yet, this woman had no intention of seducing him—she meant to devour him.

My life is over!

Despair filled Chu He's eyes. He shut them tight, awaiting death—when suddenly, something warm and wet splattered across his face.

Sticky, damp, and, oddly enough, faintly sweet.

Sensing something amiss, Chu He opened his eyes. To his horror, he saw a crimson line blossom across the woman's neck, and then her savage head tumbled from her shoulders, landing with a sickening thud beside him, eyes bulging in a ghastly stare.

Blood spurted from the decapitated corpse, drenching his face.

The gruesome sight sent a violent shudder through Chu He; a warm wetness blossomed between his legs.

He'd wet himself in fear.

With a dull crash, the headless body collapsed into the spreading pool of blood. Chu He caught sight of a familiar face leaning over him.

"Orange?"

His gaze fell upon the obsidian blade in Su Cheng's hand, and he shivered involuntarily. Then, beyond Su Cheng, he noticed the corpses of dozens of vampire monsters strewn across the floor.

These common vampires, far weaker than the vampire queen, were more than a match for men weakened by drink and lust, but before Su Cheng, they were as fragile as paper—each felled with a single stroke.

"Did you kill all these monsters?" Chu He, suddenly recalling something, hastily waved his hands. "Uh, I didn't see anything—I won't say a word to the police, you have my word."

A devilish smile played at Su Cheng's lips. "Senior Chu He, we've known each other a long time. Do I look like the kind of madman who kills to silence witnesses?"

Chu He's eye twitched; he wanted to say "yes," but bit back the words.

Just then, the wail of sirens sounded outside.

Su Cheng hadn't expected the police so soon. Not wanting unnecessary trouble, he led Chu He out the back, slipping away from the Tulip Mansion.

Curiously, the mansion's butler, Gui Fangshen, had vanished at some point.

Shortly after, a squad of armed riot police burst into the Tulip Mansion. Several vampires, caught mid-feast, were gunned down on the spot.

Meanwhile, in the Shibuya district, inside Tiger Tide Game Studio, a burly man received word of the plan's failure and smashed his computer screen with a single furious blow.

"Keep an eye on whether the police find the Blood of the Progenitor," Red Tiger typed a secret number into his phone, dispatching the message.

Soon, a reply came: "No sign of it. It must have been taken by that man."

Red Tiger's face darkened, murderous intent flickering in his eyes. "Spread the word that the Blood of the Progenitor is in that kid's hands. The Queen isn't the only one interested in it."

The Blood of the Progenitor was an unstable bomb—many players coveted it. The Tiger Tide Guild had poured immense effort into clearing the 'Legend of the Night' dungeon to obtain it, all so the vampire queen could kill Su Cheng in revenge. Red Tiger had paid a steep price.

But even the vampire queen had failed to kill Su Cheng, and now the Blood of the Progenitor rested in his hands.

Yet that blood was a ticking time bomb, and countless others were after it. The vampire queen's family had already begun to move.

Su Cheng's slaying of the queen was merely the spark. A new storm was on the horizon...

After the turmoil, Su Cheng enjoyed a few days of peace at university, as if life had returned to normal.

"A croquette set, that's 450 yen, thank you!"

In the campus cafeteria, a sweet-faced, gentle girl handed over a modest meal, offering Su Cheng a soothing smile.

Croquettes, nothing more than fried balls, had gained their name from a linguistic quirk in Japanese dramas.

The set meals at the school canteen were cheap, nutritious, and tasty. The only downside was the portion size—nowhere near enough for Su Cheng.

Not wanting to draw attention or cause unnecessary trouble, he refrained from ordering multiple meals at once as he did outside. Instead, he finished one set, then queued up again.

This croquette meal was already his fifth.

The girl working in the cafeteria nearly thought he was flirting by ordering so many times. She made up her mind to give him her number next time, lest he keep eating and make himself sick.

Returning to his table, Su Cheng noticed a striking, elegant girl with long hair sitting in his usual seat.

A back-view stunner, perhaps?

He smirked inwardly and walked over.

"Sorry, that's my seat," he said, pointing to his books and notes on the table.

But the girl made no move to leave. She turned, fixing him with a steady gaze and a faint, enigmatic smile. "Don't you recognize me? You heard me sing at the subway exit last time, but you didn't pay."

Su Cheng studied her face and suddenly recalled—she was the street singer abducted by zombies not long ago.

Yet he remembered her with shorter hair and a very different aura.

"So it was you." Su Cheng forced a smile, his expression curious and wary. She didn't seem like a student—had she come here just to find him?

But to Izumi Yoshioka, Su Cheng was just a passerby they'd met once. Why seek him out at school?

"Seems you still don't understand your situation. The Blood of the Progenitor is in your possession, isn't it?"

Her words made Su Cheng tense, a cold light flickering in his eyes.

"Who are you, really?" He didn't deny it—she'd already found him at school, clearly she knew something.

"I'm a player too, just like you. As for why I'm here—I'd like to make a deal."

Izumi Yoshioka's lips curved in a sly, foxlike smile.

Just then, Fatty Lu spotted Su Cheng with a strange girl and, intending to butt in, overheard words like "didn't pay" and "deal." His imagination instantly ran wild, conjuring entire steamy scenarios...

"A deal? And you didn't pay! I never took you for this kind of guy, Orange."

He shot Su Cheng a look of envy and sat nearby with his food.

"You want the Blood of the Progenitor?" Su Cheng stared at Izumi Yoshioka in surprise, suddenly realizing she too was a vampire.

But she didn't seem hostile, or she wouldn't have revealed herself so openly.

"That's right. Someone leaked word that you have it. You can guess what they want. The Blood of the Progenitor is a time bomb in your hands."

Su Cheng didn't doubt her. It was only natural players would covet the blood. But Izumi Yoshioka had found him first.

"If it's a deal, what will you offer in exchange for the Blood of the Progenitor?"

For Su Cheng, the blood was more trouble than it was worth. If she tried to cheat him, he could simply hand it over to the system for game points.

Izumi Yoshioka produced a medal and placed it before him.

[Medal of Valor]

Type: Consumable

Quality: Legacy

Effect: Death Immunity—grants one chance to negate all damage from a fatal blow.

Note: An honor awarded by the Legion of Chaos—For the Empire! (Usable only in dungeons.)

Seeing its attributes, Su Cheng's expression shifted. The medal effectively granted players a second life in dungeons—no less valuable than the Blood of the Progenitor.

"Aren't you afraid I'll just take the medal and run?" Su Cheng hadn't expected her to offer it so readily. If he snatched it, wouldn't she lose out?

She laughed softly, a dangerous aura about her. "Well, you'd have to escape first."

"Very well. I accept the deal."

Exchanging a useless item for the Medal of Valor was an excellent bargain for Su Cheng.

What surprised him was that the medal could only be redeemed for merit with the Legion of Chaos in higher-dimensional dungeons—it couldn't be bought, even with game points. And only those who survived such lethal realms were true elites.

This suggested Izumi Yoshioka's strength might be close to Silver rank.

Su Cheng promptly took out the Blood of the Progenitor and exchanged it for the Medal of Valor.

"One more thing," she added. "The Queen laid a blood curse on you. That family of vampires can track your location through it—even in dungeons, they'll find you."

This sent a chill through Su Cheng.

Vampire hunters were the last thing he wanted.

"Is there any way to lift the blood curse?"

"There is—unless..." Izumi Yoshioka paused, mischief in her eyes, "you slaughter every last member of that European vampire family. Then no vampire will come after you for revenge."

Su Cheng was speechless. He couldn't shake the feeling she was digging a pit for him...