Sensing the unfiltered disdain in Daniel's gaze, even Blade—normally the embodiment of cold composure—couldn't help showing a flicker of embarrassment.
To effectively deal with these dark creatures, every single round in his shotgun was infused with pure silver.
One full blast could easily cost him several hundred dollars.
As an unemployed wanderer who hunted vampires year-round, Blade's finances simply couldn't support this kind of "spend-ammo-like-water" extravagance.
Otherwise, why did you think he always ran around slashing vampires with that silver longsword?
Did you really think it was only because it looked cool?
Well… fine. Maybe a little bit of that too.
"Give me the gun," Daniel said, extending a hand.
Blade hesitated. "I'm out of—"
"Five thousand dollars. I'm buying it."
"Catch!"
Blade became decisive in an instant. He shoved the shotgun and all twenty remaining silver shells on him straight into Daniel's hands without a trace of hesitation.
Daniel: (_)
Bro, that cold, stoic persona of yours shattered a bit too fast.
Daniel caught the shotgun steadily, loaded it quickly, raised the gun toward the vampires, and fired.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of gunshots rang out. Several vampire gunners had their heads blown apart instantly!
Their headless bodies swayed, collapsed, and rapidly turned into piles of ash.
Seeing Daniel's terrifying accuracy, the remaining vampires panicked, scrambling behind cover, too terrified to lift their heads.
Daniel remained calm. He pulled out a few grenades, removed the safety pins, and—without even looking—hurled them toward the cluster of makeshift barricades the vampires were hiding behind.
BOOM!!
A massive explosion shook the area!
Several unlucky vampires were blasted into the air, their bodies torn open as they crashed to the ground shrieking in pain.
Their vitality truly was impressive—injured to this degree, yet still screaming with full volume.
Daniel raised the shotgun and casually finished each of them off, his mission progress jumping upward again.
Watching Daniel rampage like this, Quinn gulped loudly. Trying to maintain composure, he shouted, "Don't be afraid! Let's rush him together! He can't possibly kill all of us at once!"
The remaining vampires exchanged looks. Quinn's words seemed to convince them. They aimed their guns at Daniel simultaneously.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Moments later, another layer of ash covered the floor.
Turns out Daniel absolutely could.
Bang!
Daniel slightly raised the muzzle and shot Quinn—who had been trying to escape—clean through both legs.
"He's yours."
Daniel ignored Quinn's screams, lifted his watermelon machete, and walked toward the vampires Blade had knocked down earlier to finish them off.
[Current Vampire Kills: 665]
Seeing the number, Daniel frowned. Something felt… off.
He turned to Blade, who had just finished questioning Quinn. "You want this kill?"
Blade shook his head. "No."
Slice!
The blade flashed, and Quinn's head separated neatly from his body.
[Current Vampire Kills: 666]
"Ahh, that's better."
Daniel exhaled deeply, as if a thousand-pound weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"…"
Blade stared at Daniel's relieved expression, feeling more and more convinced that this man had some very questionable hobbies.
After sheathing the machete, Daniel asked, "What's your plan now?"
Blade said grimly, "Quinn said Frost has been preparing something big recently. Not sure exactly what, but I'm going to hit every one of Frost's strongholds until he shows himself."
When he mentioned Frost, his voice carried a deep, icy hatred.
Frost had killed his birth mother. Between them was a blood debt that could never be forgiven.
Daniel grinned. "Perfect. I'm hunting vampires too. How about we team up for a while? You find your Frost. Just leave the kills to me."
"Alright."
Blade considered for a moment, then agreed.
He wasn't stubborn. A powerful teammate would only make finding Frost easier.
The moment Blade agreed, the system notification chimed in Daniel's mind:
[NPC Eric Brooks has joined your party]
[You may now access your teammate's character panel]
Daniel was stunned. "This game has a party system? Why didn't it show up before?"
He recalled fighting a BOSS with Tony earlier—there hadn't been any prompts then.
[To form a party with an NPC, the player must personally issue an invitation. Only after the NPC agrees will the party be established. NPCs cannot initiate party invitations.]
"Why didn't you say that earlier?" Daniel groaned.
[This game offers extremely high freedom and aims to deliver the most immersive, realistic experience. All gameplay features and story progression are meant to be discovered by the player.]
"Fine…"
Daniel clicked his tongue and opened Blade's personal panel.
[NPC: Eric Brooks (Blade)]
[Race: Half-Human, Half-Vampire]
[Attributes: Strength ?, Agility ?, Constitution ?, Spirit ?
(Insufficient Affection Level — stats locked)]
[Equipment: Swagger Sunglasses, Bulletproof Armor, Silver Longsword, Silver Dagger]
[Affection Level: 0]
"This guy's actually half-vampire?"
Daniel was a bit surprised, then wondered:
Does that make him half a kill?
If he killed Blade, would his progress go up by 0.5?
Then Daniel noticed Blade's equipment slots seemed interactable. Curious, he tapped on the silver longsword.
[NPC's affection level is insufficient. Equipment cannot be removed.]
"!!!"
Daniel's eyes widened.
He immediately asked the system, "So you're saying… if I raise an NPC's affection high enough, I can take any equipment they have?"
[Correct]
"Hissss—"
Daniel sucked in a cold breath, contributing modestly to global warming.
He had accidentally discovered a game-breaking mechanic!
He looked at Blade with sudden enthusiasm. "Bro, do you have any quests? Need help with anything? I'm free anytime!"
"No."
Blade eyed the suddenly over-friendly Daniel with suspicion, a chill creeping up his spine as if some dark scheme was waiting for him.
The two didn't linger in the nightclub.
After arranging the time and place for their next operation, they left separately.
Before leaving, Blade carefully gathered the spent silver shells scattered on the ground, even prying out the ones lodged in the walls with a knife.
Pure silver ammunition was extremely precious to him. Once melted and reforged, it could be reused.
This was the reality behind a superhero—bittersweet and painfully real.
Daniel also asked Blade for some specialized anti-vampire gear.
Blade hesitated at first—they were expensive, after all.
Then Daniel wordlessly pulled out a thick stack of bills featuring Benjamin Franklin's face.
Seeing Daniel attempting to "insult him with money," Blade immediately scowled, snatched the Franklins, stuffed them firmly into his pocket, and tore off all his gear and weapons to hand over without hesitation.
If Daniel hadn't explicitly said he wasn't interested in Blade's iconic sunglasses, Blade might've ripped those off too.
You couldn't blame him.
Silver prices had skyrocketed recently. He was nearly out of money to protect New York from vampires.