Finding Lily's whereabouts didn't seem as difficult as imagined. Or rather, the two werewolves who "kidnapped" her didn't expect a high-level vampire to go to such lengths to rescue her. They simply trapped Lily in an old warehouse in the northern suburbs, but they couldn't completely isolate the werewolf's... erhu aura emanating from the warehouse.
Of course, it's also possible that Kasar Eben wasn't capable of this. After all, according to Vivian, few werewolves know advanced magic, and their personalities don't seem inclined to delve into the art of enchantment. The Eben family's Black Mist talent is considered one of the few "top magics" among werewolves. They know how to use it to conceal themselves in darkness, but it's difficult for them to create an enchantment to hide others.
But there was a problem: the northern suburbs were quite far from here. He would have to cross the entire city and a large suburb to get there. The northern and southern suburbs were located at opposite ends of the city! Vivian's bat could fly at an unscientific 120 mph, but if he ran, it would be too late. With Lily's idiotic energy... a fight might have already started by then.
"How about I take you flying again?" Vivian stretched her muscles, preparing for a loaded flight. "I can use my magic to become invisible, so ordinary people won't be able to detect us. But flying at high altitude and high speed... I'm no problem, but you might feel a little uncomfortable."
Kevin sighed. "That's it. If Lily gets into a fight later, it'll be too late to say anything."
Vivian spread her enormous bat wings with a whoosh and held out her hand to Kevin. "Let's get going now."
"Wait a minute, I'll leave a note for Y'zaks." Kevin waved to Vivian and ran inside to get a pen and paper. He wrote a brief note explaining the general situation at Lily's place and his whereabouts. Only then did he realize how many details he'd been oblivious to: Lily was the only tenant with a cell phone to stay in touch, he had no way to locate the other tenants, and he lacked convenient transportation... A multitude of problems had been exposed, but now was no time to dwell on them. After this incident was resolved, he would definitely go find that raven.
After leaving the note, Kevin and Vivian headed straight for the northern suburbs, speeding along at lightning speed. At high altitude, at high speed, with a howling cold wind and thin air, Kevin couldn't even enjoy the so-called soft and warm fragrance of a beautiful girl like Vivian. (In fact, he wouldn't have been able to enjoy it under other circumstances: Vivian's body temperature was several degrees lower than normal.) He felt a little guilty about always being carried by a girl, so he spoke to Vivian at the top of his voice: "I have to get new abilities from Raven 12345 as soon as possible. At least I have to learn to fly. Look at the trouble I've had these past few times..."
If an ordinary person were to speak while flying at over 100 miles per hour, they would probably faint from lack of oxygen. But Kevin managed to hold on, his stomach filled with cool air and tiny ice crystals from high altitude. After he finished shouting, he felt an incredible sense of relief. Vivian, knowing her own background, could certainly detect the hint of embarrassment in Kevin's tone. She smiled nonchalantly, "It's fun flying with you. I've rarely had this kind of experience before. I've been a loner for years, so it feels quite new to be hanging out with someone."
Kevin: "..." He'd always thought the vampire girl's statement was a bit odd, but after thinking about it, he decided not to dwell on it...
Vivian sped quickly, and in no time, they'd crossed the entire city, arriving in an area almost as desolate as the southern suburbs.
This was the northern suburbs of the city, an old industrial and commercial district far from the northern suburbs' residential areas. Once, it was home to numerous factories, warehouses, and logistics companies. Naturally, these polluting or noisy businesses were located far from human habitation. However, in recent years, with the redevelopment of several nearby arterial roads and the shift in commercial development, many of the businesses that once operated there have relocated to better locations, leaving the northern suburbs' industrial and commercial district abandoned. Only a few heavily polluting or inconveniently relocated enterprises remain operational. Most of the remaining buildings are simple warehouses and factories that have yet to be completely relocated or are simply abandoned. The city government is reportedly considering redeveloping this old industrial and trade zone, but that will likely take several years.
Currently, the Northern Suburbs Industrial and Trade Zone is nothing more than a barren wasteland littered with old factories. Vivian and Kevin landed on the roof of a two-story steel building. Vivian removed her energy-consuming invisibility spell and pointed to a large facility not far ahead. "That way, my bat is hanging from the eaves. The big dog's scent is coming from inside. But there's a lot of swirling black fog surrounding that warehouse, blocking all entrances and exits, so the bat can't get in. The Eben family werewolves... tsk tsk, just as troublesome as they were back then."
Kevin craned his neck to watch for a moment. "Looks like the fight hasn't started yet."
"Do you have any plans?" Vivian turned to glance at Kevin. "A direct fight, or what?"
Kevin looked a bit embarrassed. To be honest, he had considered a direct fight, but the situation seemed a bit complicated. The two genuine werewolves weren't technically kidnapped. They had found Lily in search of their own kind. Although they didn't explain their situation directly to Lily for some reason, at least their motives seemed harmless. But Kevin wasn't so naive as to think he could negotiate amicably and take Lily home. Real werewolves in this world definitely didn't have Lily's bizarre personality. As depicted in many stories, genuine werewolves were violent and difficult to get along with. If he showed up like that... there was a good chance a fight would ensue. Kevin recalled his experience battling the giant wolves in his dream plane, trying to focus and enter combat mode in advance. He then pointed toward the warehouse and asked, "Do you know roughly where Lily is?"
"Here's a rough direction," Vivian pointed toward the west side of the warehouse. "There's a row of windows shrouded in black fog. It's probably an office or something like that. Lily's in one of them."
"Can we lure those two werewolves away first, then rush in together and rescue Lily?" Kevin pondered. "Once the three of us are together, we won't have any worries even if a fight breaks out."
Vivian nodded, closed her eyes, and silently chanted a rather awkward spell. A faint red mist suddenly appeared from all directions, quickly converging into a blurry figure. It was clearly Vivian's. The blood mist clone solidified into a near-solid form at a visible speed. A swarm of small bats emerged from its wake, swirling around it. Vivian pointed toward the warehouse's main entrance, and the clone, carrying a swarm of bats with it, charged straight toward it.
The blood mist clone made no effort to conceal its presence, so when it was halfway through its flight, Kevin saw a large cloud of black smoke rising from the warehouse's main entrance, truly alarming the werewolf within.
"Let's go!" Vivian pulled Kevin's arm, and the two of them leaped from the rooftop like arrows, heading straight for the row of windows on the west side of the warehouse.
The area was surrounded by abandoned factories and piles of construction debris, so there was no need to worry about anyone witnessing what was happening. So, without even retracting her bat wings, Vivian glided low to the ground, reaching the side of the warehouse in a flash. Kevin could only run after her, but with all his strength, he managed to keep up. The two arrived safely at the foot of the warehouse's west wall. Almost immediately, they heard a near-beastial roar from the main entrance. It was clear that Vivian's clone had already engaged the werewolf.
"My blood mist can corrode glass and ceramics," Vivian said with a sinister smile. "Many werewolves fell here back then. I hope the Eben family sent two smart guys this time."
Kevin looked up at the row of windows above. Judging from the height, the warehouse must have two floors. Lily's duty room or office was on the second floor. As Vivian had described, a cloud of black smoke, as if alive, swirled outside each window, looking both sickening and eerie. Kevin patted his trouser pockets, and a voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "This machine is warning you! If you dare, throw this machine out..."
"Why would I throw you out?" Kevin said, speechless to the already overly nervous data terminal. "I'll find my phone and call Lily. Let her try to force her way in..."
Kevin had barely finished his words when a sudden roar erupted from nearby: "Assholes! It's you bloodsucking bugs!"