It didn't take long for the Vampire Queen Katherine to find out what the Blood Apocalypse was and which Vampire was behind it.
It was Deacon Frost.
A Vampire.
A leader of the new generation of Vampires in New York City.
He belonged to Dracula's lineage. Vampires of Dracula's lineage were divided into pure-blood Vampires and mixed-blood Vampires.
Pure-blood Vampires referred to those personally converted by Dracula.
Mixed-bloods referred to Vampires not personally converted by Dracula, but by pure-bloods.
See?
Even Vampires knew that mixed-bloods were inferior.
The pure-bloods believed their bloodline was pure and their lives noble, so they called themselves pure-bloods. Thirteen pure-blood Vampires stirred up something called the Elder Council in New York City.
And Deacon Frost belonged to the Elder Council, which was composed of thirteen pure-blood Vampires.
If the thirteen pure-blood Vampires were the council, then Deacon Frost was the leader put forward by this council to stand at the forefront.
The Blood Apocalypse cult, used to lure gullible humans, was manipulated by him from behind the scenes.
At the same time, the blood servants in the New York City law enforcement system, who willingly became their slaves out of envy for Vampire immortality, were also his doing.
The most important point:
This mixed-blood Deacon Frost had great ambitions, secretly deciphering the Blood Scripture to summon the power of the Blood God, become the Blood God, and replace the Elder Council.
Of course.
The last point was not discovered by Katherine, but was retrieved from Hawk's memory after Katherine mentioned the name Deacon Frost.
No other reason.
This Deacon Frost was also a character in the Marvel Universe.
Another name appeared on screen with him.
Blade.
However... once again, with Hawk's current power level, Blade was no longer qualified to speak with him, and Hawk didn't want to speak with Blade either.
The reason was simple.
He hated black.
Katherine, on the side, nodded after speaking, then looked at Hawk, who was standing quietly, and asked in a low voice.
"Do I need to…"
"No."
Hawk shook his head again, looking at George, who had hung up the phone nearby and was walking back as if nothing had happened, then looked at Gwen, who was still in character, embracing her two younger brothers, Howard and Simon, with a sorrowful expression, comforting them. He said with a smile, "If she wants to play, let her play."
Since Gwen didn't want him to interfere, he wouldn't.
The main reason Hawk asked Katherine for help was to be prepared.
For example... to be able to appear immediately and back up his fiancée after she no longer wanted to play, or felt she couldn't play anymore.
Hawk recalled the content of George's conversation with that Vampire just now, his gaze piercing through his sunglasses, looking at his fiancée, who was still acting. His eyes became somewhat playful, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly upward.
No other reason.
His intuition told him that it wouldn't be long, perhaps at eleven tonight, before Gwen would mess up and ask him to flip the table.
Hawk felt he could negotiate for several more sets of uniforms and poses.
If asked, his appearance fee was very high.
Hawk smiled.
Then... in the evening, while the two were having dinner at 521A Palm Street, Hawk told Gwen about the Vampire's phone call from the fake funeral that morning, inviting George to unwrap a gift that evening.
Gwen, who was portioning beef onto Hawk's plate, blinked.
"Dad didn't tell me."
"Really?"
Hawk raised an eyebrow, smiling, and said, "I thought you knew. It seems your dad isn't letting you play anymore, Gwen."
Gwen rolled her eyes directly at Hawk.
"Dad was worried about me, that's why he didn't tell me."
"Alright, then I was mistaken, my apologies."
Hearing this, Hawk's expression cleared, he gave a wry smile, apologized, and then remained silent.
Gwen, standing behind the island counter, placed the portioned beef onto Hawk's plate, then looked at Hawk, who had fallen silent. She opened her small mouth, but finally chose not to speak, and brought the vegetable salad bowl from the side to her front, beginning to stir it.
"Clatter!"
"Clatter!"
"Clat…"
"Clang!"
Gwen took a deep breath, put down the stirring spoon, and looked up at Hawk: "Where is Dad going tonight?"
Hawk smiled inwardly, then calmly looked up and blinked.
"What?"
"Where is Dad going tonight?"
"Hudson Meatpacking Plant!"
"Hudson… What kind of place is that?"
"It's a pork slaughterhouse located near the Hudson River bank, but inside, it's a gathering place for Vampires in New York City."
"Hiss!"
Gwen gasped, "Dad is going there tonight?"
Hawk nodded, looking at Gwen, and said with a smile, "Yes, that Vampire said he had a gift for George, and only if George accepted that gift would he appear to meet George."
Gwen looked at the half-smile on Hawk's face and had a bad feeling.
"What's the gift?"
"I don't know."
Hawk shook his head: "You said it yourself, don't interfere with your game until you ask me to."
Gwen's mouth twitched.
"This isn't a game, this is a case, Dad's case."
"To me, it's a game."
Hawk shrugged, then changed the subject, glancing at Gwen: "If I were to guess what gift the Vampire prepared, I'd guess it's an invitation for George to eat."
Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"Eat?"
"Vampire eating."
"…"
Gwen was silent for a moment, then pursed her lips, looking at Hawk, who had lowered his head again to eat the beef on his plate after saying that. She then reached out and took Hawk's plate.
Hawk, holding his fork, looked up at Gwen, who had snatched his food.
Gwen smiled brightly.
"Hawk."
"Hmm."
"What time is Dad going?"
"The call scheduled it for eleven."
"Then can you take me?"
"Do you want me to get involved?"
"What?"
Gwen looked stunned, then shook her head at light speed: "No, no, no, I just thought, can we go and see? If something happens to Dad, if you could…"
Hawk didn't wait for Gwen to finish speaking, he had already given a smiling answer.
"Sure."
"Uh…"
Hawk's straightforward answer, without raising the price, completely threw Gwen off.
Gwen looked at Hawk suspiciously.
"You don't need me to…"
"No need."
Hawk smiled brightly, looking at the suspicious Gwen: "Then we'd better eat quickly, otherwise, we'll miss it."
Gwen came to her senses and handed the plate she had just taken back to Hawk.
Hawk took it, saying thank you very gentlemanly.
Gwen, eating her vegetable salad, still looked a bit suspicious.
She had just been prepared to pay for three uniforms.
But Hawk didn't ask for it.
That was very un-Hawk like.
And… Gwen always felt that Hawk's smile today looked a bit strange, like a weasel looking at a mouse, an expression that said he had her figured out.
Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, I'm not a mouse.
Gwen thought to herself.
Finally… on the way to the Hudson Meatpacking Plant, Gwen, sitting in the passenger seat, couldn't help but look at Hawk, who was driving.
"Hawk, shouldn't you be asking me for a few uniforms?"
"Why?"
Hearing this, Hawk glanced at Gwen: "I said, as long as you ask, I'll help. You should give me more trust."
Gwen opened her mouth.
"Sorry?"
"I accept your apology."
Hawk smiled, withdrew his gaze, and focused on driving.
Just kidding.
If he asked for payment now, how could he ask for it later?
It's common knowledge.
Free is always the most expensive.
Now it's free, but later it will be the most expensive kind.
Soon.
On the riverbank levee, just across the road from the Hudson Meatpacking Plant, Hawk glanced at the meatpacking plant with its mottled gate and 1990s architectural style behind it.
"We're here."
"Uh…"
Gwen looked around, then at Hawk, who had parked the car so conspicuously across from the meatpacking plant: "Won't they discover us if we park here?"
Hawk shook his head: "No."
Under the effect of the Reality Stone, he had reduced his, Gwen's, and the car's presence to infinitely close to zero.
If he wanted, even if he drove the car into someone, in the eyes of others, that person would appear to have flown up on their own, as if encountering a supernatural event.
So… Hawk thought, then sensed George's aura.
"George is here."
"...Where?"
Gwen's eyes lit up. Following Hawk's gaze, she quickly saw George, who had arrived in a taxi.
Hawk was a little curious. As he opened the car door and stepped out, he asked Gwen, who was also getting out of the passenger seat, "George is here now, what about Howard and Simon?"
Getting out of the passenger seat, her eyes fixed on George, who was also walking towards the Meatpacking Plant. After seeing that George truly seemed unable to see her and Hawk, she finally looked at Hawk: "You forgot, Dad sent them to Long Island."
Hawk's expression showed sudden understanding.
"Did Helen go too?"
"No."
Gwen shook her head: "Dad is worried that these people are still monitoring him, so Mom is still at Detective Hale's house."
Hawk nodded.
"Hale is good."
"I know."
Gwen walked to Hawk's side, linked her arm through his, and watched her father, George, who was almost ten steps in front of them, knock on the Meatpacking Plant's door, her voice involuntarily lowering: "Are you sure Dad can't see us?"
Hawk didn't speak, because a small door on the right side of the Meatpacking Plant's main door opened.
A sturdy, bald Black man appeared.
After opening the door, the bald Black man looked around, his gaze sweeping over Hawk and Gwen without any hesitation, finally landing on George in front of him, with a hint of vigilance in his eyes.
"Who are you looking for?"
"Cole invited me."
"Cole!"
The bald Black man heard the name George spoke, and the vigilance on his face instantly disappeared. He fully opened the small door.
George walked in.
The bald man looked at the doorway again, and after confirming there was no one else, he closed the door.
Gwen, who had already followed George inside, looked at the bald Black man who was right in front of them but seemed unable to see them, and looked at Hawk in shock: "He really can't see us!"
Hawk gave a helpless smile: "Do you have so little faith in me?"
Gwen shook her head.
"No, I have a lot of faith in you. It's precisely because I have faith in you that I told you not to enter the arena, because with you covering me, I can have many chances for error."
"Then you…"
"Am I providing you with emotional value? Can't you tell?"
Gwen tilted her head, her expressive emerald eyes blinking at Hawk.
Hawk's mouth twitched, but he couldn't find any point to refute Gwen's answer.
Just then.
The bald Black man, who had already closed the door, walked directly past the two of them and came before George, glanced at him, then led the way: "This way."
George responded and followed the bald Black man.
Hawk and Gwen also followed closely behind.
The two, whose presence was reduced to infinite nothingness, along with George, followed the bald Black man leading the way. As they passed through a brightly lit frozen pig cutting factory, Gwen's gaze fell on the five or six people operating cutting machines at the workstations.
"These people aren't Vampires?"
"No, they are also Vampires."
Hawk glanced and already knew what Gwen wanted to ask: "But they are the lowest-level Vampires. We saw them in Waterfall Town. Stefan is a several-hundred-year-old Vampire, and Katherine, with five centuries of accumulation, although she's on the run, can still be financially free."
Every race has its lowest rung.
Vampires like Stefan, who owned his own manor, and Katherine, were already considered upper-class elites within the Vampire community.
And they weren't like people on Wall Street, but rather like those who managed Wall Street.
As for these Vampires busy cutting pork in front of them.
Let's put it this way.
They were equivalent to… no, they were like homeless people living in parks and forests in Brooklyn.
The difference was, they were now immortal homeless people.
Hawk said, then seemed to think of something and looked at Gwen.
"Is this also providing me with emotional value?"
"What?"
Gwen looked up, smiling at Hawk: "I really don't understand, but you're so amazing, Hawk, I feel like you know everything."
Confirmed.
This was also Gwen pretending not to understand to provide him with emotional value.
Hawk's mouth twitched.
Just then.
The bald Black Vampire leading the way stopped in front of a cold storage room. After entering a password, with a thud, he pulled open the cold storage door.
But what appeared before them was not a cold storage room, but a staircase that seemed to lead directly underground.
George looked at the bald Black man.
The bald Black man didn't speak, merely made a gesture to invite him in.
George took a deep breath, looked at the stairs leading underground, and took his first step, walking inside.
Gwen looked at the bald Black man, who was about to close the door, quickly pulled Hawk, and followed closely, rushing in before the bald Black man could close the door again.
George, walking ahead, was on high alert. His five senses, which had become increasingly skilled and acute over the past week, allowed him to see clearly in the darkness and also hear the sound of a bustling disco coming from behind the wooden door at the end of the stairs.
Soon.
George arrived at the wooden door, placed his right hand on it, and then pushed it open.
The next second.
It was as if he had entered a different World.
Deafening, wild music.
Colorful lights.
And the Vampires gathered in the dance floor not far away, like a chaotic dance of demons.
George instinctively narrowed his eyes.
God!
So many Vampires here?
Gwen, following behind, was also stunned by the dense crowd of Vampires before her.
"Hiss, so many Vampires here?"
"It's alright, it's a Phoenix Ray thing."
Hawk also glanced, speaking in a flat tone.
Not to mention these in front of them, even multiplying them by ten would still be a matter of one Phoenix Ray.
"Hahaha!"
"Sheriff Stacy."
"Hawk, look."
Gwen, beside him, looked ahead. A Black man in a black suit, also Black, but with a White beard on his chin, laughed as he walked towards them, pulling Hawk's sleeve.
Hawk looked at the Black man and nodded.
Soon.
Hawk and Gwen followed the seemingly enthusiastic bearded Black man, who had his arm around George's shoulder, through the noisy and unrestrained dance floor, up the stairs, and arrived on the second floor, which overlooked the dance floor.
The bearded Black man led George into a private room guarded by two stern-faced Vampires at the entrance.
After the private room door closed, all the outside noise and clamor disappeared.
After George sat down on the sofa in the private room at the bearded Black man's invitation, he looked at the bearded Black man.
"You're not the one who called me."
"What?"
The bearded Black man paused slightly, then reacted, offering the lit cigar in his hand to George: "I'm just a bar owner, Sheriff Stacy, and I'm just following orders."
George looked at the cigar the bearded Black man offered, and did not refuse, reaching out to take it.
"Orders? Whose orders?"
"You'll know."
The bearded Black man smiled slightly, then leaned back on the sofa and took out a camera from his pocket.
Just then.
There was a knock on the door.
Hawk and Gwen, who had also entered the room but were not sitting on the sofa, instead standing not far from it, looked towards the knocking door.
A Black-haired, voluptuous, and provocatively dressed female Vampire walked in.
After this female Vampire entered, she seemed to know what she was supposed to do, flashing a charming smile at George, then walked directly in front of him.
The next second.
The female Vampire gathered her long Black hair, tossed it back, then reached out to pull down George's pants….
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