"On the fourth day, God said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth…'
On the seventh day, the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And God ended His work which He had made.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, a Holy Day."
It was the weekend, and Mike and the Cooper family were sitting in the front row of the church, listening to Pastor Jeff's sermon.
This time, Pastor Jeff carefully read the original scripture, without offering any extended explanations.
At the same time, during the reading, his gaze would occasionally drift to Sheldon in the front row, afraid that he would ask another difficult question.
Fortunately, Sheldon didn't cause any more trouble until the sermon ended.
"Alright, this service is over. But before we disperse, I want to answer a child's question." Pastor Jeff smiled and called out, "Sheldon—"
"Here." Sheldon stood up.
"Regarding your question from last week, I have already consulted Bishop James, and now I can give you an answer." Pastor Jeff looked confident.
Evidently, to defeat Sheldon, he had also done his homework in advance this time.
"I'm listening." Sheldon replied calmly.
After winning the debate against Pastor Jeff last week, Sheldon had not intended to cause him any more trouble in church.
However, seeing Pastor Jeff's combative eyes, Sheldon's competitive spirit was instantly reignited.
"First, the first question." Pastor Jeff began to answer the lingering questions from last week: "God is not a photon; rather, God created the photon…"
"Next, the question about the aliens."
"God can appear before them in the form of an aliens, and the omniscient God can understand and speak the aliens language."
"How about it, are you satisfied with this answer, Sheldon?" Pastor Jeff asked.
These were all answers Pastor Jeff had received from his superior, Bishop James. Therefore, he was incredibly confident in his reply at this moment.
And this theory was self-consistent. Sheldon temporarily couldn't find any obvious loopholes in these answers.
However, unwilling to admit defeat, he rolled his eyes and said, "Very good, Pastor Jeff. I have one more question…"
Since he couldn't find any issues, Sheldon prepared to launch a new challenge.
And upon hearing that Sheldon had another question, Pastor Jeff's confident expression froze. He quickly interrupted him: "Alright, the service time is over. If anyone still has questions, please save them for next week's discussion. Thank you—"
As the service ended, the congregants left the church one by one.
Sheldon stood in place, staring at Pastor Jeff, who was avoiding the fight on the stage, and complained, "That's not fair, I haven't even asked my question yet."
"Stop making things difficult for Pastor Jeff." Mary glared at her youngest son and pulled him towards the exit.
Connie got up, glanced at Pastor Jeff, and also walked out with a chuckle. However, after only a few steps, she turned back to Mike, who was still sitting in his chair, and said, "Mike, the show's over. Aren't you leaving?"
"You all go ahead, I have something to discuss with Pastor Jeff." Mike said.
Today was the deadline for the week, and Mike had already found some ways to deal with the Vampire. But to be safe, he still wanted to see if the church had a better solution.
What if there was an unexpected gain?
Even if there wasn't, Mike would at most waste a little time, with no other losses.
After all the congregants had left, Mike got up and went to the steps.
"Mike, you really came again." Pastor Jeff took out a small bottle from his person and said, "You're very lucky, Bishop James asked me to give you this."
Under the sunlight, the transparent liquid in the small bottle emitted a faint glow, looking very beautiful.
"This is… Holy Water?" Mike excitedly took the small bottle, observed it, and then asked with a conflicted expression, "Is this too little?"
The small bottle in Mike's hand had a capacity of only about ten milliliters, looking very small and exquisite.
"Cough—" Pastor Jeff gave a fake cough. He also felt that the church headquarters was a bit stingy. But he still forced an explanation: "This is true Holy Water, very difficult to obtain. Perhaps you can dilute it before using it…
Also, Bishop James asked me to tell you that there are no Vampires in the world."
…
Mike merely listened to Pastor Jeff's explanation and didn't take it to heart.
After all, the Vampire was living in his house, practically in his face.
After bidding farewell to Pastor Jeff, Mike kept the small bottle close to him and pondered how to inflict the maximum damage on the Vampire with this item.
And while Mike was contemplating how to deal with the Vampire, Selena was also preparing to leave Medford Town.
She had stayed here long enough, and her whereabouts were likely already exposed.
If it weren't for promising Mike to give him time to consider, Selena would have left days ago.
Time flew by, reaching midnight.
After the town residents had fallen asleep, a red sports car pulled up in front of Connie's house.
Without waiting for Selena to knock, Mike pushed the door open and stepped out.
Under the moonlight, Mike wore a loose trench coat, with a long, slender package slung diagonally across his back.
"Get in—" Selena didn't say much, leaning over and commanding.
Mike tightened the package on his back, got into the car, and sat in the back seat.
"Good for you, you're sensible." Selena was very satisfied with Mike's reaction.
She started the car and drove out of the town, saying, "You made the right choice. In a moment, I'll give you a perfect embrace, turn you into a true kin, and then we'll go live in Forks together…"
Soon, the car stopped in a small grove.
It seemed Selena intended to perform the embrace ritual for Mike here.
They got out of the car, and Selena revealed her fangs, staring at Mike's fair neck. She couldn't help but lick her lips, greedily saying, "You know, Mike. You have a unique fragrance about you that attracts me… And I've long wanted to taste your blood."
The embrace ritual requires the bloodline to first draw some human blood, and then inject their own blood.
This process of transforming into a bloodline is very long and painful for humans.
Watching Selena approach defenselessly, Mike finally found the best opportunity to counterattack.
In an instant, a bottle of highly corrosive aqua regia was splashed onto Selena's face.
"You know what, you stink! Unbearably foul—"
Mike, having gained the upper hand, complained while spreading his trench coat, throwing all the bottles and jars hidden on his person at her.
Some of those bottles contained industrial alcohol, others flammable gasoline.
"Have a good trip, don't let the door hit you on the way out—"
While Selena was covering her face and wailing, Mike took out a lighter.
This move was called: Strike while the iron is hot!
As the fierce flames roared, Mike held up his double-barreled shotgun, standing guard nearby. He wanted to watch the Vampire burn to ash before he could rest assured.
However, amidst the piercing screams, Selena's body suddenly emitted wisps of black smoke.
The intense flames were quickly extinguished by this black smoke.
"This works too?" Mike was startled, knowing that Vampires weren't that simple.
"Damn human, how dare you betray me—" Selena, whose one eye had been burned blind by the aqua regia, was filled with boundless rage: "I'll kill you! I'll suck your blood dry!!!"
Everything that happened tonight made this two-hundred-year-old Vampire feel murderous intent towards the human in front of her for the first time.
Being handsome isn't enough!
Pretty boy, you must die!!
Watching the Vampire, who had fully revealed her fangs, approach step by step, Mike pulled the trigger without hesitation.
"Bang—"
With a violent sound, sparks shot out from the muzzle.
However, the double-barreled shotgun, powerful enough to kill an elephant, did not cause ideal damage to the Vampire.
Selena, who was hit, only retreated two steps and did not suffer a fatal injury. The pain on her body instead further ignited her anger.
"Ah— I'll torture you a hundred times, then tear you to shreds!!"
Selena, whose mind was clouded by rage, her face became extremely distorted, no longer retaining her usual elegant appearance.
And her ghostly figure also made Mike feel a chill.
Mike retreated while reloading his ammunition: "Uh, Ms. Selena, I've had a change of heart, I've decided to go to Forks with you, is it too late?"
"Heh— Despicable human, I've given you many chances, but unfortunately, you didn't cherish them…"
Selena lunged at Mike and snatched the double-barreled shotgun.
With a twist of her hands, the shotgun turned into a lump of scrap metal and fell to the ground.
Then, Selena slowed her pace, forcing Mike to back away step by step. She seemed to enjoy the look of terror and pleading on Mike's face.
"Don't come any closer—" Mike waved his hands, like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
"Hahahaha… I'm coming closer, what can you do to me?" Selena laughed wildly and arrogantly.
Before a Vampire, a human's fragile body was nothing to mention.
And Mike's pathetic performance greatly satisfied Selena's twisted psychology.
The pleasure of a cat playing with a mouse was nothing more than this.
"You're forcing me—" Mike's seemingly random waving hands, however, held an exquisite small bottle in his right palm.
'I hope the church can be of some help…'
Mike seized the moment of his opponent's complacency, opened the cap, and splashed the meager Holy Water into the Vampire's mouth.
The Holy Water spread across Selena's face like a winter branding iron melting snow. Some of the Holy Water also flowed down her lips and into her throat.
"Damn it, how do you have the Holy Water of the Holy See…" Selena writhed on the ground in pain, her voice becoming hoarse and unpleasant.
At this moment, her emotions were a mix of shock and anger.
If she had known Mike had such a trump card, she would never have given him a chance.
And under the erosion of the Holy Water, thick smoke dissipated from the Vampire's body, and her strength was weakening little by little.
'This Vampire's vitality is truly tenacious…' Seeing no immediate signs of death, Mike pulled out a kitchen knife from his person, preparing to approach and see.
Just then, a muscle SUV with its high beams on stopped outside the grove.
Two people got out of the car and walked towards them, silhouetted against the light.
"As expected, there are people from the Holy See, damn it…" Selena's single eye, glowing red, clearly saw the newcomers.
Before Mike realized what was happening, Selena, supporting her weakened body, got up and walked towards the red sports car: "Mike, you just wait, don't think that with the Holy See's protection, I can't deal with you. The next time we meet, I will definitely make your life worse than death—"
Before leaving, the Vampire didn't forget to threaten him with her hoarse voice.
And seeing that she still had the ability to move even in such a state, Mike broke out in a cold sweat.
Careless!
If he had approached her without realizing it just now, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Just then, the two people silhouetted against the light saw the Vampire trying to drive away. One of them raised the giant weapon in his hand.
Amidst converging green light, a laser struck the red sports car.
In the explosion, both the sports car and the Vampire turned into dust.
'Damn, such a cool entrance, they must be big shots!' Mike's tense nerves relaxed as he watched the Vampire being annihilated.
…
"Why did you directly use the portable cannon?"
"No choice, the last time this Vampire escaped, the higher-ups were very displeased…"
With casual conversation, the two newcomers walked past Mike.
After confirming that the Vampire had been reduced to dust and showed no signs of life, the two returned and stood before Mike.
Mike also saw their attire: one a priest in a white robe, and the other a burly man in a black suit.
The burly man held a technologically advanced triple-barrel Plasma Cannon, and he was the one who had launched the attack.
At this moment, both of them were curiously staring at Mike.
The man in priest attire sniffed the air and was the first to speak: "There's the smell of Holy Water here. You're the boy who asked Pastor Jeff how to eliminate Vampires."
Mike nodded, but his eyes were fixed on the burly man in the black suit beside him.
This look was too familiar to him, it was the MIB!
Seeing Mike's reaction, the man in priest attire smiled and continued: "I am Bishop James. Next, I will perform a baptism for you to cleanse you of any ill omens."
This time, without waiting for Mike's answer, Bishop James took out a one-hundred-milliliter bottle from his person, containing Holy Water of a higher purity.
The purity of the Holy Water could be easily distinguished by the brightness of its glow.
Before Mike could complain, Bishop James dipped a drop of Holy Water and applied it to his forehead.
The baptism to remove ill omens was a pretense; verifying whether Mike had been infected by the Vampire was the real purpose.
It could be said that the church acted very rigorously.
Seeing that Mike had no adverse reactions to the Holy Water, Bishop James's smile became much more sincere.
He turned and nodded to the MIB agent beside him, and the two exchanged a knowing glance.
Immediately, Bishop James turned his back, while the MIB agent put on special sunglasses and took out a pen-shaped "memory eraser" from his Arms.
The memory eraser had three circular buttons representing time increments like "hours," "weeks," and "years."
The MIB agent adjusted the time and said, "Kid, look here."
A blue light flashed, and the MIB agent took off his sunglasses, saying, "Alright kid, nothing happened tonight. No Vampires, no explosions… Go home and get a good night's sleep. Tomorrow's another beautiful day."
Yes, the MIB agent only erased Mike's memory of that night.
The memory eraser had flaws in its early development; if ordinary people had their memories repeatedly erased or too much memory erased, it could cause brain damage.
Of course, the memory eraser's ability wasn't that heaven-defying; it could only be used to erase the memories of ordinary people.
As Mike woodenly turned and left the grove, Bishop James looked at the wreckage of the red sports car not far away, his head aching as he said, "How do we clean this up?"
The MIB agent didn't answer, picked up the triple-barrel Plasma Cannon, and fired another laser.
The wreckage was razed to the ground, leaving not even a speck of dust.
"Your MIB organization's actions are truly crude." Bishop James said with a surprised expression, and then added, "Oh, right, in a bit, you'll also need to accompany me to the town. I'm not quite at ease with Pastor Jeff…"
Mentioning Pastor Jeff, Bishop James felt another headache. As a clergyman, he hadn't even noticed a Vampire getting so close to him.
This situation was truly a bit embarrassing for the church.
On the other side, Mike, who had walked out of the grove, blinked his vacant eyes, and they regained their previous liveliness.
"First, let's see what good traits Selena left me…"
Mike held a large white light cluster in his hand, which was left behind when Selena was eliminated earlier.
[Moonlight (Trait): 1. Can increase combat power by 50% at night. 2. Can absorb the moon's energy to enhance one's physique.]
This was equivalent to a nighttime buff, and it was sustainable, a good thing.
Mike integrated the Moonlight trait into his body and clapped his hands in satisfaction.