"They can't speak, can't think. They've become the living dead. The only difference is that they still breathe."
After examining everyone, the Divine Sword Bureau's doctor let out a heavy sigh.
"It's an extremely inhumane procedure. It was banned back in the late seventies."
The whole area had already been cordoned off, and Zod Heath's phone was exploding with calls.
"Seems like a lot of people really don't want me doing anything stupid."
Zod set his phone aside and watched it ring itself to death with open curiosity.
Of course, not everyone showed up in person. Most sent their subordinates to keep a safe distance. The only heavyweight who made an appearance was a mere colonel, and naturally, that colonel was stopped at the perimeter too.
"Director, we can't compromise. I don't care who owns this place, we have to put them down!"
Some of the Divine Sword Bureau agents whom Zod had chosen not to brainwash spoke with righteous fury. Or rather, their true natures were temporarily blinded by rage, leaving behind nothing but a provoked, so-called sense of justice.
Zod figured it was more likely their spot on the food chain had been challenged. Fear was driving them to this level of agitation.
The urge to eliminate every threat to humanity was probably hardwired into the whole species.
"That's impossible. In ten minutes, the President and Congress are going to call me."
Zod stretched lazily.
"We're just going to let this go?"
They couldn't believe it.
"Actually, I just went through the records. Back in the day, humanity fought several brutal wars against the vampires. Eventually, they were forced to sign a ceasefire agreement. We barely managed to keep the peace."
Zod explained.
"A ceasefire agreement? With vampires?"
That left them even more dumbfounded. How could anyone ever agree to a ceasefire and compromise?
"No one can resist the temptation of immortality, kid."
Zod shook his head.
"Human society regularly supplies a portion of blood to the vampires. In exchange, the Vampire Empire agrees not to cause trouble. That's exactly why our blood banks are always running low. The 'voluntary' blood donations from American citizens all go straight to feeding vampires."
"Then why don't we just capture them and study them? We could research immortality that way too, couldn't we?"
Someone asked, completely baffled. With humanity's strength, strapping vampires onto operating tables for research shouldn't be that hard. Why go through all the trouble of feeding them?
"Because they've been around far too long. Many vampire families have amassed enormous fortunes. They have people in finance, arms, real estate, even politics. There are vampire pawns inside Congress itself. That's why the last war just fizzled out. The old fossils in Congress create all kinds of trouble. For politicians, they'll always choose whatever benefits them the most, not what's right for the country and its people."
Zod elaborated.
"More importantly, the United States and those other countries back then were taking tax revenue from the vampires. The vampires donate close to two hundred billion dollars in taxes to the U.S. every single year. That's almost ten percent of America's total tax revenue. A lot of those off-the-books, secret funds can only operate because of vampire tax money."
Zod laid the bloody truth bare without hesitation.
And sure enough, the President and Congress did call him. The Grand Elder of the North and South American Vampire Council had just concluded their negotiations with them.
Zod put the recording on speaker and projected it for everyone to see.
"The Blood Clan are law-abiding. We have adhered perfectly to the ceasefire agreement."
The vampire Grand Elder denied all the accusations against him and his kin during the meeting.
"At that time, the Vampire Empire and the twenty-eight allied nations of the Human Alliance signed a ceasefire agreement. In all these years, we have never once considered provoking a war. We have never laid a hand on the citizens of those signatory nations."
"I was not aware of the blood farm in New York. But afterward, its manager confessed to me that not a single human he captured was an American or a national of those allied countries."
"The Blood Clan has no intention of provoking the mighty United States government. We have never and will never harm American civilians."
"But you have provoked humanity! You've broken the promise not to attack humans!"
A blond congressman rose to his feet and rebuked him.
"Because my children were starving! They need food. What do you think would happen if hordes of hungry vampires appeared on the streets of America? We need a food source!"
The Grand Elder, elegant and steeped in aristocratic bearing, shot back instantly.
"We already provided you with food! The plasma stock in human blood banks has fallen below critical levels! How many emergency patients have died on the operating table because they couldn't get a transfusion?"
"And all of that life-saving plasma has been eaten as food by you and your children!"
"Mr. Grant, I must remind you, every single pack of plasma the Blood Clan takes from the blood bank is paid for with real money!"
The Grand Elder let out a scoff of pure disdain.
"The government calls its people to the streets for voluntary blood donations. Every holiday, there's a line of unpaid donors in front of the bloodmobiles."
"The government hasn't paid a single cent to its own taxpayers. Meanwhile, for every one-hundred-milliliter pack of plasma we take from the government's blood bank, we pay five hundred dollars!"
He made no effort whatsoever to hide his unearthly bright eyes and sharp fangs as he spoke with complete self-assurance.
"The Blood Clan acquires food through a principle of equal exchange. It is not something you provide out of charity!"
"If patients die from a shortage of blood, they are not victims of our appetite. They are victims of your own greed for money!"
His words reduced the conference room to absolute silence. This was a real, deeply embarrassing problem. The shortage of blood for patients wasn't because the blood banks were truly empty.
It was because the government sold off most of the plasma to the Blood Clan for profit.
They call on the people to donate blood for free, then sell it to vampires at a premium. The government makes a killing on the deal.
"And, gentlemen, do not forget, the Blood Clan is this country's most faithful taxpayer."
"As far as I know, the total industrial and individual taxes paid by the entire Blood Clan in North America amount to over two hundred billion dollars annually. U.S. tax revenue sits at three-point-three trillion a year. We account for nearly ten percent of that."
The room fell silent once more. This was something everyone understood but rarely discussed openly. The vampires had existed far too long. They were far too deeply entrenched in far too many industries. If you tried to root them all out overnight, the entire United States would plunge into chaos.
"Many U.S. government expenditures cannot go through normal channels. Who do you think foots the bill for all those off-the-books operations?"
A cold, mocking smile tugged at the corner of the Grand Elder's lips.
Amid endless quarreling and compromise, the human government reached yet another peace agreement with the vampires.
/-\
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