Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Jian Fan’s words plunged everyone into silence.

Faced with a swarm of Vampires, the natural instinct was to run as fast as possible. But if there were only one, it didn’t seem entirely impossible to handle.

“But the current situation is that there’s a swarm,” Qin Weiyi pointed out.

Jian Fan let out a short laugh. “I agree with Qin Nan’s earlier theory.”

“Me?” Qin Nan pointed at himself, looking bewildered.

“Regarding the Vampires, there should be a Matriarch and progeny setting. If you kill the Matriarch, the progeny it spawned will disappear accordingly. Take tonight’s party, for example-we only need to find the original five Vampires,” Jian Fan explained.

At Jian Fan’s mention of this, the realization hit everyone instantly.

No matter how ruthless or malicious the Realm of Death was, it had to give people a chance to survive and leave. If they truly had to fight a whole swarm of Vampires to the death, they might as well declare failure right now. But what if that wasn’t the case?

It didn’t matter how many progeny Vampires they created; the group only needed to lock their sights on the original five.

Qin Weiyi understood the logic, but-

“How do you know there are five?” Qin Weiyi asked.

Qin Nan stepped in to explain for Jian Fan. “We went to the Surveillance Room. He saw them on the monitors.”

Qin Weiyi didn’t doubt Jian Fan’s abilities and nodded.

Qin Nan, however, continued following Jian Fan’s line of thought. “You just said ‘one’ Vampire, but there are five at the party. If they were also created through an Embrace, then…” Qin Nan’s eyes lit up. “We only need to find the very first, original Vampire and eliminate him. The others will disappear automatically!”

In that case, the difficulty of confronting the Vampires would drop significantly.

However-

“How do we find him?” Mu Xin asked.

The logic was sound and the reasoning was right, but how could they determine which Vampire was the first one?

The information they had gathered so far was meager, yet danger was already looming close.

Jian Fan didn’t answer. Instead, he looked up toward the darkness.

He didn’t speak, but everyone understood his meaning. The original Vampire was very likely hiding behind that veil of darkness. Thus, the problem returned to the very first question.

Go up, or not?

Jian Fan lowered his head, his mind racing through the possibilities.

The people chasing Qin Weiyi would arrive soon; they had to make a decision.

“Actually, there’s no need to be so conflicted,” Qin Weiyi suddenly spoke up. Jian Fan turned to look at him.

Qin Weiyi chuckled and said, “Their target is me. If I don’t go up to the second floor, they won’t know that you guys have gone up.”

The logic held up, but-

Qin Nan frowned slightly. “Are you planning to lead them away?” Doing so would certainly make it much safer for the three of them to head to the second floor, but it would be dangerous for Qin Weiyi and Lu Jing.

Qin Weiyi shrugged, looking nonchalant. “Anyway, the only tools we have to eliminate Vampires are with Jian Fan and Qi Shuping. I’d just be a burden if I followed you. I might as well lead this swarm away to buy you some time.”

Qin Nan kept his brow furrowed and remained silent. Mu Xin was also somewhat shocked. As for Jian Fan, he looked at Qin Weiyi, likewise saying nothing.

Qin Weiyi laughed. “What’s with those faces? We’re a team, aren’t we? Someone has to make a sacrifice. Besides, I have him with me.” Qin Weiyi patted Lu Jing on the shoulder and added, “If things really go south, I can always use my Points to trade for some items.”
“Fine,” Jian Fan replied. “Be careful out there.”

Qin Weiyi gave a grunt of affirmation before adding, “You guys need to hurry too. No matter how fast Lu Jing can run, he can’t keep it up forever.”

Jian Fan nodded.

“Alright then, that’s that. You all stay safe as well.” After saying his piece, Qin Weiyi patted Lu Jing, who immediately understood and hoisted Qin Weiyi onto his shoulders once more.

From his perch on Lu Jing’s shoulders, Qin Weiyi waved at the group. “Well then, see you if fate allows it.”

Qin Nan, Mu Xin, and Jian Fan stood at the top of the Stairs, watching the two of them disappear into the distance.

“Let’s go,” Jian Fan said.

If they were merely willing to take a risk before, they had now added a heavy burden to that gamble: they had to find the original Vampire and destroy him.

Jian Fan remained calm on the surface, but his hand silently tightened around the Silver Bracelet on his wrist.

Failure was not an option.

Qin Nan and Mu Xin were also feeling the weight of the situation.

They had seen betrayal and backstabbing, but they had also seen those willing to sacrifice themselves for their teammates. Neither experience was easy to swallow.

Carrying this heavy mood, the three of them stepped onto the Stairs leading into the darkness.

Inside the Bar, the revelry continued unabated.

Qi Shuping returned to the Bar counter with Xu Tian and Qian Xing in tow.

The Bartender who had mixed the Bloody Mary for them yesterday had not yet appeared.

Qi Shuping casually ordered a drink and began chatting with the current Bartender. The spot where the second Embrace had just broken out wasn’t far from them.

Qian Xing was so terrified that the hand holding his glass trembled. To avoid being noticed, he silently rested his hand on his lap to hide the shaking.

Qi Shuping remained perfectly composed, even smiling as she spoke to the Bartender. “Young people these days certainly know how to have fun. This ‘Vampire’s Embrace’ thing is quite interesting. In my day, Zombies were the trend.” As she spoke, she offered some well-meaning advice. “I think you could host a Zombie party next time, or maybe an Underworld party. What do they call it now, cosplay? Dressing up as Ox-Head and Horse-Face or the Black and White Impermanence-that would be quite fun too.”

Listening from the side, Qian Xing’s emotions were a tangled mess.

The Bartender chuckled. “You have some very creative ideas, Grandma.”

“Of course. We old folks have to keep up with the trends, don’t we?” Qi Shuping said with a smile. Looking at her, no one would ever guess that this elderly woman had killed a Vampire not long ago.

As they spoke, the Embrace concluded.

The patrons near the Bar returned to their respective seats.

The person wearing the Vampire Mask and the guest who had just received the Embrace parted ways, each heading off to find their next prey.

As it happened, the one wearing the Vampire Mask walked right past Qi Shuping.

“Young man,” Qi Shuping suddenly called out, stopping him in his tracks.

The person in the Vampire Mask paused and turned toward Qi Shuping. He pointed at himself, his tone sounding somewhat surprised. “Are you talking to me?”

Qi Shuping nodded with a smile. “I think this Vampire party of yours is quite interesting. I’d like to try being a Vampire for once. Would you mind trading masks with me?”

Qian Xing had been incredibly nervous the moment the Vampire approached, forcing himself not to show his fear. Hearing Qi Shuping’s request, he nearly had a heart attack on the spot.

Are these top-tier players always this bold?

He was starting to regret his choice; he shouldn’t have followed Qi Shuping.

Sure, she was a pro, but this was a death wish.