Castle, Traces of Vampires
Hill handed Xu Mo all the equipment before leaving to search for clues left by the missing SHIELD agents. For Xu Mo, this was expected—investigation was an agent's job. His role was simple: provide the muscle.
Left alone in the hotel, Xu Mo soon grew restless. He slipped outside and began wandering through the small town like any other tourist.
It was early May, peak tourist season. Streets bustled with visitors carrying bags and cameras, laughing as if nothing was wrong.
Xu Mo frowned.
"It seems the government is suppressing news of the disappearances. Otherwise, there's no way this many tourists would still be coming here."
Then a darker thought struck him.
"No… something's off. Covering up a hundred missing people isn't just difficult—it's nearly impossible. Families would never stay quiet."
If the government was burying it, that meant something—or someone—powerful was pulling the strings. High-ranking officials chasing immortality wasn't far-fetched. Eternal life had always tempted the desperate and the corrupt. Compared to death, who cared about avoiding sunlight?
---
Hours later, dusk fell. Xu Mo's wandering brought him to the district of ancient buildings.
Half the town was covered in Gothic structures, their spires and towers looming in the twilight. At the center stood several castles, off-limits to the public, guarded at the gates.
Xu Mo walked casually toward one of them, only to be stopped by uniformed guards. Without argument, he turned back. But once he was beyond their sight, his body shimmered—armor materialized over him, enclosing him head to toe. With a faint hum, he lifted into the air and angled toward the castles.
If vampires were anywhere in this town, it had to be here. Castles and vampires went hand in hand.
Yet what he found was… disappointing.
Castle after castle, he discovered only maintenance workers, caretakers, and staff. No pale faces, no fangs, no supernatural presence. And in the dark, appearances weren't enough to go by.
Xu Mo tested them one by one, spraying the silver-laced repellent Hill had given him. A vampire would have reacted violently. But nothing. Ordinary humans, through and through.
---
Then, as he approached one of the larger castles in the center, a scream cut through the night.
Xu Mo's eyes lit with anticipation. He blurred forward, hovering outside a window high in the tower.
Inside, a girl was bound to a chair, struggling. In front of her stood an older man, his gray hair disheveled, his hands tearing at her clothes.
Xu Mo's gaze hardened. A pistol loaded with silver rounds appeared in his grip.
Bang!
The shot pierced the man's skull. He crumpled to the ground in a pool of blood.
Xu Mo lowered the weapon, frowning. "Not a vampire…"
The body bled normally. Just a man—a predator, but human. Xu Mo felt a flicker of disappointment.
With a flick of his hand, a flying knife cut the girl's ropes. As it grazed her skin, he watched closely for a reaction. None. She was no vampire either.
"It seems I'm being paranoid," he thought.
"Get dressed. I'll take you out of here." Xu Mo turned to the window, scanning the night.
The girl's eyes, however, flickered strangely when she noticed the flying knife. Instead of scrambling to cover herself, she stepped closer.
"Are you… a mutant?" she asked quietly.
Xu Mo didn't deny it. "That has nothing to do with you."
Desperation filled her voice as she grabbed his arm. "Please—save my sister! I'll agree to any condition you ask, if you can just rescue her!"
Xu Mo's face remained cold. "I'll drop you at the police station. Ask them. That's their job."
"I already did!" she cried, tears streaming. "The police didn't help. They used it against me." Her eyes shifted to the corpse on the floor. "That man… he was the chief of police."
Xu Mo's eyes narrowed. Corruption this deep explained a lot. "Figures. No wonder SHIELD agents vanished so easily."
"Who took your sister?" he asked.
"Not humans," she whispered. "Monsters. They looked like the vampires from movies."
Now Xu Mo's interest sharpened. "Vampires?"
The girl shook her head. "I don't know what else to call them. They came from the east side of town. A bar called The Irish Pub."
---
Half an hour later, Xu Mo escorted the girl back to the hotel. At the entrance, they crossed paths with Hill, just returning.
Her eyes flicked between Xu Mo and the disheveled girl.
"Let's talk upstairs," Xu Mo said, brushing past.
Once in their room, Hill swept the area with a bug detector before speaking. "Well?"
Xu Mo explained everything—the dead police chief, the girl's missing sister, and the mention of the bar.
Hill turned to the girl. "Where exactly was your sister taken?"
"The Irish Pub," she confirmed. "East side."
Hill's expression tightened. "That matches. I found coded markings from SHIELD's missing agents on the streets there. They must have run into trouble near that bar."
Xu Mo raised a brow. "You're telling me agents capable of global surveillance had to scratch symbols into walls instead of calling it in?"
Hill spread her hands. "We don't know why, but once agents entered this zone, communications failed. No signals got out. The only message we ever received was the word 'Vampires.'"
Xu Mo's eyes narrowed. If comms went dark, that meant something—or someone—was jamming them. And that made the Irish Pub their next stop.