Chapter 14: Reward - Infrared Vision

The man's shotgun packed a mighty punch, blasting a hole in the wall behind Cohen.

Though Cohen dodged the shot, he narrowly faced the woman's sharp claws. In an instant, his senses sharpened, allowing him to barely avoid the foul-smelling talons. Simultaneously, he fired, "Bang, bang, bang!"

Several bullets hit the woman, one striking her heart. Instantly, she let out a desperate howl before spontaneously combusting into ashes.

The man grew even angrier, repeatedly firing at Cohen. Unfortunately for him, despite his vampire-enhanced physique, he lacked proper combat instincts.

Cohen easily dodged the shots and threw a spinning knife that struck the man's hand, disarming him. The shotgun clattered to the ground, and two bullets hit the man's ankle, sending him crashing down.

"Fuck, who the hell are you? I've never wronged you!" the man shouted.

"I'm just a human. Are you sure you've never wronged us?"

The man struggled to sit up. "My whole family is pureblood. Since birth, we've been given blood by the Council. We've never hunted or killed anyone!"

Cohen smiled. "That's none of my concern. Killing you has nothing to do with that."

The man sneered. "If you kill me, you'll face endless vampire retaliation."

"Oh really? To me, they're just prey begging to be hunted."

"You're a vampire hunter? I've never heard of you," the man said with a furrowed brow.

Cohen didn't answer. He stared at the man for a moment and asked, "Aren't you afraid?"

The man was taken aback, then burst into laughter. "So that's why you've been spouting all this nonsense—just to scare me?"

Suddenly, his expression turned cold. "I've lived for over a century. I don't fear death. Don't think you can toy with me before killing me!"

"Bang!"

A silver bullet pierced through the man's skull, and he disintegrated into a pile of black ashes.

Tsk, what a pity.

Cohen realized he could claim the three-kill five-star reward, but achieving a five-kill reward would be out of reach this time.

As his targets grew stronger, more vampires like this man—those unafraid of death—would appear. Achieving top emotional ratings would become harder, as simple death would no longer be effective.

Additionally, as he exhausted common killing methods, it would require much more creativity to earn five-star rewards in the future.

Hearing distant sirens, Cohen knew the commotion had drawn attention. He picked up the shotgun, about to leave, when his eyes caught sight of a finely bound notebook on the nightstand.

Opening it, he discovered it was a diary.

His eyes narrowed. By now, Cohen was fairly certain that vampires were at least bronze-tier beings from the start.

This made them truly excellent prey. Perhaps the diary contained clues about other vampires—it was worth taking.

On his way back, Cohen opened the five-star reward package.

[Congratulations! You've been granted the reward: Infrared Vision.]

Another eye-based ability?

A strange sensation welled up in his eyes. The world now appeared to him in terms of temperature—red for warmth, blue for cold.

What's more, even through walls, he could make out the red silhouettes of living creatures!

Not only did he gain infrared vision, but there was also a slight element of x-ray ability.

Anyone who's played shooting games knows that in gunfights, vision is the most crucial factor. Like in modern warfare, once you spot a target, you can destroy it.

The only downside was that the infrared vision's range was limited to a few dozen meters, coincidentally matching handgun range.

The old pickup truck rattled but managed to bring Cohen back to the church.

There was good news from David: the girl had regained consciousness and temporarily regained her sanity.

But Cohen knew that if they didn't quickly develop a serum, she would eventually turn into a vampire.

That task was naturally assigned to Karen Watson, the female lead from the original Blade movie.

In the film, after Karen was bitten, she quickly developed a serum and even discovered an anti-coagulant that inflicted great damage on vampires.

Ultimately, Blade used this anti-coagulant to kill the final boss, Deacon Frost, who had gained the power of the Blood God.

After learning about her situation, the girl didn't hesitate. She immediately followed the address David provided to find Karen.

Meanwhile, Cohen gleaned a crucial piece of information from the diary he had taken. The vampire boy had once attended a "Blood Rave."

A Blood Rave was a party hosted by the half-blood vampire leader Deacon Frost—a wild celebration for vampires.

Held in dark nightclubs, filled with frenetic music, selected sacrifices, and… blood raining down from the ceiling!

With these wild parties and his strong entrepreneurial talents, Frost attracted many vampires, gaining increasing influence.

He grew powerful enough to threaten the pureblood elders.

However, the gap between half-bloods and purebloods was something money couldn't bridge.

Thus, Frost buried himself in the vampire archives, eventually discovering, from the torn pages of the Vampire Bible—the Book of Erebus—a method to gain the Blood God's power by sacrificing purebloods.

This was the plot of the first Blade movie.

According to the vampire boy's diary, there would be another massive Blood Rave tonight, hosted at a secret slaughterhouse base.

Over a hundred vampires were set to attend.

Cohen's eyes gleamed. How could he miss such a party?

But before that, he needed to make some preparations.

…

In Queens, on the outskirts of the slums, a large slaughterhouse loomed.

Under the cover of darkness, luxury cars silently pulled into the slaughterhouse, their million-dollar price tags unmistakable.

Through the automated slaughterhouse, there was a metal door resembling a freezer entrance. A burly guard stood watch.

Once cleared by him, one could enter the inner hall where the vampires' frenzied celebration—the Blood Rave—was already in full swing.

But tonight, there was an uninvited guest.

After allowing tonight's sacrifices inside, the burly guard frowned. He thought he heard gunshots.

Faint, silenced shots. But with the music blaring in the hall behind him, he couldn't be sure.

After a moment's hesitation, he pulled out his handgun and cautiously moved forward to investigate.

The sounds became clearer, even footsteps.

He pressed his back against a solid concrete pillar, took a deep breath, and slowly peeked out.

"Bang!"

Before he could make sense of the situation, a bullet flew toward him, hitting him square in the forehead.

Damn, the enemy's definitely cheating!

That was the burly guard's final thought before he died.

Cohen casually reloaded his magazines. By now, he had killed several vampires and more than a dozen humans.

The two were easy to distinguish: vampires had much higher body temperatures, almost fifty degrees Celsius.

With the area outside cleared, only the inside remained.

Cohen tapped his earpiece, "David, are you ready? The real show's about to begin!"

"Fuck, I'm supposed to be the support guy—why am I out here fighting vampires with you? If I die, no one will be around to manage your finances!" David grumbled.

Cohen chuckled. "Don't worry, David. You'll be in the safest spot later."

"Are you sure this thing will work?"

At the slaughterhouse's back entrance, David had parked the truck in a hidden corner.

That afternoon, Cohen had gone to buy a second-hand pickup truck from a Hell's Kitchen gang member. He also bought the most powerful UV lamps available on the market.

After some modifications, the truck bed was filled with batteries, and the front was lined with dozens of UV lamps.

Once powered on, it would shine brighter than the sun!

The back entrance was the Blood Rave's emergency exit. Cohen was at the front entrance, ready to launch a two-pronged attack.

He intended to wipe out the entire group of vampires inside.

The reward would be substantial.

Holding twin pistols, Cohen took a deep breath and kicked down the door.

"Boom!"

The door burst open!

(End of chapter)