Chapter Fifty-Three: The Vampire Bar

"Oh, darling, I just adore your confidence." Lilith gazed at Gu Zhongyan with increasing fervor, her arms wrapping around his neck as she pressed her lips, red as fire, against his.

"Trust me, my dear—what awaits you is neither a grave nor hell, but our paradise." With that, Lilith released Gu Zhongyan and, like a zealot possessed, dragged him swiftly toward the slaughterhouse.

The two of them moved past rows of hanging carcasses, soon arriving at the entrance to the cold storage behind the slaughterhouse. A burly man, unmistakably carrying a gun at his waist, glanced at them with suspicion, but upon seeing Lilith, a suggestive smile flickered across his face. He opened the door behind him, revealing that the cold storage had been converted into a hidden bar.

Under the dim lights, dozens of youths danced wildly to noisy music, their movements extravagant, scenes of debauchery unfolding everywhere, the decadent atmosphere palpable. Witnessing this, Gu Zhongyan felt a strange sense of déjà vu.

Especially as he and Lilith entered, the frenzied dancers in the crowd turned their gazes toward him, as if eyeing a fresh cut of pork. Instinctively, he frowned, sensing something amiss.

Just then, the DJ shouted, "Hey, folks, are you ready to party?"

"Whoo-hoo!" The crowd erupted in cheers. With a burst of energetic music, overhead sprinklers hissed open, spraying streams of crimson liquid. The rich scent of blood overwhelmed Gu Zhongyan’s senses.

At that moment, he finally understood the source of his familiarity—this was straight out of the movie "Blade." Blade, whose real name is Eric Brooks, was born with half-human, half-vampire blood because his mother, Miriam, was bitten by a vampire just before his birth and died soon after. Driven by his mother’s death, Eric grew up to become a vampire hunter; "Blade" was his moniker.

So, Lilith and this frenzied crowd—they were all vampires? No wonder Lilith was wary of provoking the Church.

After all, the Marvel Universe contains not only demons and vampires but angels as well. As the representatives of heaven on earth, the Church is no simple adversary.

If they were to incite an angel, vampires, weak as they are, would stand no chance. Had Gu Zhongyan not deliberately set a trap, Lilith would never have dared to mess with him.

The instant the blood showered down, Lilith's eyes turned bright crimson. Her face wild, she opened her mouth wide, revealing two sharp fangs, and lunged for Gu Zhongyan’s neck.

"Darling, let’s ascend to paradise together!"

But her fangs never touched his neck. At the moment she struck, a white wand, no longer than a pair of chopsticks, intercepted her bite perfectly, immobilizing her. At the same time, an invisible force enveloped them, ensuring not a drop of blood could fall upon them.

Gu Zhongyan shook his head. "You call this paradise? A bunch of vampires hiding in the shadows, feeding in darkness—don’t make me laugh."

"Who are you?" The fanaticism faded from Lilith’s eyes, replaced by a flicker of fear in her pupils.

The vampires around them, basking in blood and drinking greedily, noticed the unusual scene and sensed something was wrong.

"What’s going on? What happened?" Seven or eight burly men in black, armed with guns, rushed in from all directions, aiming their weapons at Gu Zhongyan.

Gu Zhongyan sighed and mused, "I thought your mysterious ways might lead to something interesting. Turns out, you’re just a bunch of vampires? How dull."

This wasn’t bravado—he genuinely felt that way.

Truth be told, when he first noticed Lilith’s intense fear of the Church, he wondered if she was connected to demons, like the Hand, and thought perhaps there might be a deeper connection.

After all, throughout history, the Church and heaven have been the arch-enemies of demons. If they were demons, and not overly powerful, he could consider ways to exploit them, maybe turn them into his own energy batteries.

But vampires? Not that he looked down on them, but in the Marvel Universe, vampires were truly pathetic. Aside from immortality and rapid regeneration, their weaknesses were legion.

Sunlight, garlic, silver—all could easily destroy them. Even Blade, half-vampire himself, slaughtered them without effort, showing just how weak vampires really were.

Perhaps the only one worth mentioning was Deacon Frost, who transformed himself into the Blood God, immune to sunlight, silver, and garlic. And yet, he was dispatched with a few doses of anticoagulant—hardly impressive.

All in all, vampires in the Marvel Universe were easily dealt with by anyone with a bit of ingenuity. Not to mention Gu Zhongyan in his current state—even when he had just arrived, he could have tricked and destroyed a whole group with some planning.

They were even easier to handle than the Hand. No wonder he found them so uninteresting.

To Gu Zhongyan, vampires were nothing more than trash, inferior creatures. But for the vampires and their kin, the reality was quite different.

They didn’t know who Gu Zhongyan was, but his arrogance enraged these so-called "noble beings."

Several vampire guards raised their guns in fury, ready to pull the trigger.

Bang!

Before they could act, a thunderous crash sounded as the cold storage door was violently smashed open. A vampire, tossed like a sandbag, was hurled inside.

Immediately after came a barrage of shotgun fire, silver bullets raining down furiously in the small bar, mercilessly tearing through the vampire guards.

Amid screams and wails, seven or eight vampire guards erupted in brilliant red light, then, with a crack, disintegrated into ashes, leaving behind only a smear of black residue.

"I’m sorry, but it seems your party is over!" A cold voice echoed, and at the doorway, a tall figure stepped inside.

His stylish coat reminded Gu Zhongyan of Nick Fury, who was never seen without his own dramatic attire. Clearly, this was not "Motherf—er Man," yet he sported the same ebony skin, standing in the darkness so that Gu Zhongyan could barely make out his face.