Chapter Sixty-Two: Gathering

Braised Egg had paid a sufficient price, so Gu Chongyan naturally knew when to stop. The next day, he received the magical items sent by Nick Fury. That evening, he summoned the members of the Defenders Alliance.

"Heavens, do you men realize how quickly a woman ages without her beauty sleep? Do we always have to act in the dead of night?" Jessica couldn't help but complain.

"She's right," Luke nodded. "Everyone, have you forgotten I'm a bar owner? My business runs at night, and with every mission at midnight, I barely opened at all this month."

"Well, we can't help it. Our boss is a high schooler who hasn't graduated yet. Right, boss? I remember you disappeared after the Battle of Liberty Island. To call us together so urgently tonight—must be big trouble?" Matt teased.

Unexpectedly, what was meant as a joke, Gu Chongyan nodded seriously.

"You're right. We do have trouble—and it's serious."

"What is it?" Stick asked, and the others' expressions gradually turned grave.

"Have you ever heard of vampires?" Gu Chongyan asked.

"Vampires? Those dark creatures from fairy tales who feed on human blood? Are you saying they actually exist?" Matt frowned.

The others quickly looked at Gu Chongyan, hoping for an answer.

Gu Chongyan nodded. "Unfortunately, vampires are real. And soon, we'll be facing them."

As he spoke, he lightly flicked the wand in his hand. With a swish, an invisible force pulled aside the red cloth in the corner, revealing Lilith, barely alive in the glass display case.

"Oh god, Sean, what did you do to that lady?"

Seeing this, everyone's faces changed, especially Jessica, who had herself endured captivity and abuse. Her expression darkened instantly, and she hurried toward the glass case, clearly intending to release Lilith.

Seeing this, Gu Chongyan stepped forward to block Jessica's way, pointing at Lilith.

"Don't be too quick to release your sympathy. I called you because of vampires—haven't you guessed her identity?"

Jessica paused at his words, and the others seemed to think deeply.

Matt's brows knitted. "You're saying she's a vampire? But I didn't notice anything strange about her."

"Yeah, Gu, are you sure she's a vampire?" Danny couldn't help but ask.

"Of course. If you don't believe me, you can verify it yourselves. You've all watched movies—surely you know a vampire's weaknesses?"

Jessica pondered, "You mean…?"

"You must have something made of silver. Try touching her with it and see what happens," Gu Chongyan smiled, stepping aside and waving his wand to open the glass case.

Jessica hesitated for a moment, a trace of reluctance on her face, then unfastened a silver bracelet from her wrist and approached Lilith.

Looking at the barely breathing Lilith, Jessica's eyes flashed with pity, but she knelt and placed the bracelet on Lilith’s wrist.

The instant the silver touched Lilith’s skin, a burnt stench filled the air. Lilith screamed, her wrist seared as if struck by a red-hot iron, leaving a blackened mark.

Jessica quickly snatched back the bracelet and retreated several steps, staring in horror at Lilith, who was now struggling violently and baring two fangs.

The others who witnessed this were stunned, unable to believe that the woman who appeared perfectly ordinary was, in fact, a vampire.

"Sunburst!"

Seeing that Lilith’s identity was confirmed, Gu Chongyan wasted no time. With a flick of his wand, he unleashed a newly developed spell upon her.

The spell was essentially a burst of warm sunlight. For a normal person, it was merely too bright, causing no harm. But for a vampire, it was as terrifying as blazing fire.

"Aaah!"

A wretched scream rang out. Lilith glowed red like a heated bulb, her entire body radiating crimson light. As the brightness peaked, her body turned to ash, scattered by the wind, vanishing without a trace.

This scene was even more astonishing than Lilith’s earlier reaction to the silver.

The group stared, dumbfounded, barely believing their eyes.

"She’s… she’s gone?" Danny stammered.

Gu Chongyan replied, "Vampires are magical creatures. You can’t judge them by scientific standards. To kill them, you must use specific methods; otherwise, even if you cut off their head or dig out their heart, they’ll recover."

"But if you use silver weapons, concentrated garlic extract, or strong ultraviolet light, you can easily kill them."

"So, as long as you target their weaknesses, even an elderly housewife could kill a vampire."

"The spell I just used mimics sunlight. You could achieve the same effect with a UV lamp."

"So vampires truly exist, and our task is to eradicate these dark creatures?" Matt said coolly, clearly displeased at learning of such beings lurking among humans.

It wasn’t just Matt; facing a non-human species that preyed on humanity, even Stick felt uneasy.

"More precisely, our mission is to cleanse New York of vampires," Gu Chongyan said.

"What do you mean?" Matt’s brow furrowed. "Are we just going to ignore the rest of the world?"

The others frowned, looking to Gu Chongyan for an explanation.

Gu Chongyan nodded, then recounted what Nick Fury had told him about the war between vampires and humans.

After listening, their brows furrowed even more. "How can this be? Is Dracula really impossible to kill? That seems unlikely," Jessica couldn’t help but say.

Gu Chongyan spread his hands. "Sorry, but it’s true. From the mystical perspective, Dracula’s immortality is as fundamental as gravity. Unless we can alter the rules governing the universe, we can’t kill Dracula."

After all, Dracula is a bug in the Marvel universe, possessing absolute immortality.