At the heart of Blood Thorns was a massive dance floor—deafening music, dazzling colorful strobe lights, and a crowd of people wildly flailing their limbs.
Surrounding it were private rooms and a bar.
"Martini, with an extra sweet olive."
Mike skillfully ordered a drink.
"Alright."
The bartender offered a professional smile.
Martinis have the most variations, primarily made with gin and dry vermouth, garnished with an olive or lemon twist. Mike enjoyed the diverse flavors, just as he enjoyed intimately connecting with different women.
Before he could finish his drink, a brown-haired beauty in a deep V-neck dress gracefully approached, bearing a striking resemblance to Taylor Swift at first glance.
"Handsome, how about you buy me a drink?"
"Of course."
Mike offered a slightly shy smile and gestured for the bartender to prepare a drink.
"Flaming Lips," the beauty told the bartender what she wanted.
"Mike," Mike introduced himself.
"Sansa."
Sansa naturally leaned closer to Mike, her ample chest brushing against his arm intentionally or not. "Alone?"
"Yes, and you?"
"Me too." Sansa lightly traced Mike's thigh with her fingernail, then lowered her voice and whispered in his ear, "I'll take you to see something fun."
"How fun?" Mike asked playfully.
Sansa chugged her "Flaming Lips" in one go, then licked her lips with the tip of her tongue. "I guarantee you'll never forget it."
With that, she pulled Mike towards the VIP access.
Normally, he would likely have encountered a predatory woman looking for a handsome man, so he should have prepared for an evenly matched battle in bed.
At Blood Thorns… it was possible a Vampire had taken an interest in him. Vampires also appreciated their food being visually appealing, fragrant, and delicious.
Mike was young, handsome, and healthy. In the eyes of Vampires, Mike was undoubtedly on the level of an Italy Alba white truffle.
Sansa pulled Mike towards a private room on the second floor. She wasn't a Vampire, but a Ghoul Clan member.
Ghoul Clan members are humans who worship Vampires and wish to become Vampires. They work for Vampires, including finding delicious food.
The two entered a large private room, where there were twelve Vampires and two humans, one of whom was Mike, the food.
Mike inwardly chuckled, "Good luck, I found a Vampire nest all at once."
A White female Vampire named Mei, dressed in white clothes and pants with a white mink stole, scrutinized Mike from head to toe, very satisfied.
Beside her, a Black female Vampire named Maryssa said, "If you do that, Face will be jealous."
Mei said with some resentment, "He's too busy. Besides—who would be jealous of food!"
"Hahahaha…"
The room erupted in laughter.
Mike remained standing quietly throughout.
"A fool who doesn't understand the situation?" Maryssa stepped forward, reaching out to pinch Mike's cheek.
"Don't bother." Mike tilted his head to avoid her. There was no Lisa among these twelve Vampires, which was good news. Mike took out Lisa's photo and asked, "Excuse me, does anyone know where this girl is?"
Some Vampires laughed loudly, "Looks like he really is a fool."
Some Vampires jeered, "The fool rejected Maryssa!"
More of them just watched the show, laughing.
Maryssa's face darkened, and she bared two terrifying fangs. The hierarchy among Vampires was strict; Mei was Face's girlfriend, so no matter how angry Maryssa was, she couldn't bite Mike. She just wanted to scare him.
Mike had no idea about the intricacies of their interactions. He took out the prepared nichirin blade from his system space and thrust it forward.
Pfft!
The long blade pierced Maryssa's heart, who was closest to Mike.
The laughter abruptly ceased.
The air suddenly grew quiet.
The next moment.
"Ah!!!"
Maryssa let out a horrific shriek and instantly turned into black ash.
The remaining Vampires looked at the nichirin blade with fear. In their eyes, the nichirin blade was like a blade-shaped Sun, emitting scorching ultraviolet rays.
"Ah!"
The Vampires with weaker bloodlines were the first to be unable to bear it, and burn marks appeared on their bodies.
"Kill him!"
Someone shouted, and the Vampires reacted, drawing their blades and pulling out their guns.
Bang bang bang…
Gunshots rang out chaotically.
Under Observation Haki, the trajectories of the bullets formed a three-dimensional map in Mike's mind.
Mike moved with ease, dodging bullets while taking down one Vampire after another with a single strike.
A few seconds later, the room was filled with flying black ash.
Only two living humans remained, and one Vampire.
Mei, with the nichirin blade pointed at her, felt uncomfortable all over, as if countless ants were biting her.
"You, who exactly are you?" Mei's voice trembled.
"Who I am isn't important."
Mike again pulled out Lisa's photo. "What's important is, where is she? She disappeared from the bar two weeks ago. You did it."
This time, Mei looked at the photo very seriously, then said with a tearful voice, "Truly, I really don't remember…"
Mei was so wronged she wanted to die. Who remembers what they ate two weeks ago for no reason?
Mike's gaze sharpened.
Mei quickly said, "She might have been sent to the factory."
Vampires have blood banks, farms, or factories in every city. Blood banks are where blood is stored. Farms or factories are where blood is drawn.
"Then, another question, where is the factory?" Mike asked.
"This…"
Mei hesitated, her eyes darting around.
The nichirin blade made a shallow cut on her neck, and Mei immediately let out a shrill scream.
Mei gave an address.
Mike turned and asked, "Sansa, is she telling the truth?"
Sansa was already scared stiff.
In her eyes, Vampires were mysterious, powerful, elegant beings who should rightfully replace humans as rulers. Witnessing Vampires being slaughtered like vegetables, Sansa's faith almost completely collapsed.
Slap!
Mike slapped Sansa, showing no mercy for her beauty. She covered her mouth and cried loudly.
"Sansa, I'll ask again, is she lying?"
Mike's voice was cold. In his view, Ghoul Clan members were enemies of humanity just like Vampires.
"She's telling the truth," Sansa answered tremblingly. "I've been there once."
Mike glanced at Mei, who sensed danger and loudly said, "You can't kill me, you can't kill me! I'm Face's girlfriend, he won't let you off if you kill me."
"Oh."
Mike expressed his insincere concern, "Oh, I'm so scared."
He finished off Mei with one strike.
Slap!
After a moment's consideration, Mike used his sword sheath to knock Sansa unconscious.
It wasn't out of softness.
But for another purpose.
The private room was extremely soundproof, so much so that no one noticed the changes inside.
Mike used Observation Haki to scan the entire building and located the surveillance room.
Arriving at a door, Mike's hand was covered in black Armament Haki.
Bang!
The door was directly smashed into the room, sending the two Vampires inside into a daze, and then they died under the nichirin blade.
After destroying the surveillance room's recordings, Mike returned to the bar as if nothing had happened.
"Are you surprised?" Mike asked the bartender with a smile.
"No, no…" The bartender denied, but the panic in his eyes was undeniable.
"Oh, right, why would you be surprised? Another Martini, with a sweet olive." As he spoke, Mike pointed at the bartender's web of thumb and forefinger, changing the subject. "Nice tattoo."
"Heh heh." The bartender gave two dry laughs.
Mike picked up the toothpick of the sweet olive with two fingers and said, "I'll show you a magic trick… Poof!"
Mike blew on the toothpick, and it disappeared.
Mike placed a hundred-dollar bill on the bar. "The rest is for your urn."
Before the bartender could say anything, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. The dazzling strobe lights became hazy, and the deafening music faded in and out.