Night had fallen.
Following the mission marker, Daniel arrived at a bar in the Bronx.
Investigate?
Completely unnecessary—game quests always point straight to the clue.
Tracing the bright red guiding line in his field of vision, Daniel quickly locked onto a flamboyantly dressed man with slicked-back brown hair.
At the moment, the brown-haired man was hitting on a girl covered in runic tattoos across her arms and neck.
When he spoke, his cheap fake-gold watch "accidentally" slipped into view. The rune girl's eyes lit up instantly. She dropped her barely touched beer and swayed drunkenly toward him.
The brown-haired man smiled, wrapped an arm around her waist—which was about as thick as an Iron Monger helmet—and led her out of the bar.
"This guy really isn't picky."
Impressed, Daniel silently tailed them.
The brown-haired man, still holding the rune girl tight, led her down a narrow, dim alley and stopped at an inconspicuous iron door.
He knocked. A burly, intimidating man opened it.
The brown-haired man whispered a few words. The big guy nodded, stepped aside, and let them in. The door shut immediately.
Daniel did the same and knocked.
The burly man appeared again. Seeing Daniel's unfamiliar face, he frowned deeply.
"What do you want?"
"I just saw my friend get taken inside by a stranger. I'm going in to find her!"
"This place is members-only. You can't go in."
The big man's cold stare made his rejection absolute.
Daniel exploded: "Damn it, that's my friend! Sure, she drinks, has tattoos, and hooks up randomly, but she's a good girl! What if that guy tricks her and steals her body!?"
The big man's mouth twitched.
Was there really anyone interested in that rune hippo's body?
"If you don't let me in, I'm calling the police!" Daniel threatened.
At that, a flash of malice—tinged with a faint red glint—passed through the big man's eyes.
"Fine. I'll make an exception."
He pushed the door open and looked at Daniel as if he were already a corpse.
Unconcerned, Daniel stepped inside.
A long, dim corridor stretched ahead, lit only by a few scattered bulbs.
At the end was another iron door.
This time a bald bouncer blocked the path, waving a fluorescent stamp.
Fortunately, unlike Zhang Wei, Daniel wasn't allergic to fluorescent ink. He let the man stamp the back of his hand.
Pushing open the final door, he was immediately hit by a blast of heavy alcohol fumes mixed with the stench of marijuana. Ear-shattering electronic music hammered through the air.
A massive dance floor dominated the interior. Colorful strobe lights flashed with the beat as countless bodies twisted wildly below.
Along the edges, the booth areas were even more ambiguous in lighting—men and women downing hard liquor, exhaling long ribbons of smoke from thin joints, and some engaging in outright mosaic-worthy acts without a shred of shame. The sight dealt considerable emotional damage to Daniel's pure, fragile heart.
The quest marker's red line had disappeared. It seemed the clue was somewhere inside this underground club.
A red-haired woman with big curls noticed the fluorescent stamp on Daniel's hand. Her eyes lit up, and she sashayed over.
"Hey, handsome, can we get to know each other?"
Daniel lowered his head, and the view was a dizzying abyss. He instantly felt a sense of solemn respect.
"Of course. I love making new friends."
The redhead suddenly sniffed, frowned, and looked curious. "You smell… kind of bloody. What do you do for a living?"
"Doctor."
Daniel answered without blinking.
"Oh? That's perfect!"
Her eyes glowed even brighter. She slid her fingers across his chest, voice dripping with seduction. Her body pressed subtly against his. "I've been feeling… unwell lately. Can you check what illness I might have?"
Daniel wasn't a doctor, but he diagnosed her instantly.
This was a textbook case of heat—no, of being too heated.
He acted reserved. "This place isn't ideal for an examination."
"No problem. We can find somewhere private… and you can check everything carefully, from top to bottom." She whispered into his ear.
Yep. Burning up badly.
Daniel was a modest man, terrible at refusing others. So he let her pull him toward the restroom in the corner.
Inside the stall, the redhead immediately locked the door behind them.
"Doctor, where do you want to start the examination?"
Her tongue slid across her lips, her eyes full of a predator's excitement.
"That depends on where you feel unwell."
Feeling the alarming strength clamping down on his arm, Daniel glanced at the red dot on his minimap. He wondered whether he should pretend to give up resistance for a moment.
"Of course, my stomach. I'm absolutely starving!"
Her voice suddenly twisted into something hoarse and monstrous. Her eyes exploded with a blood-red glow. Her mouth split open, revealing two razor-sharp fangs!
Her previously seductive face warped into something grotesque as she lunged at him like a beast.
At this sight, Daniel instantly lost interest.
"Muay Thai warning."
Just as the fangs were about to touch his skin, his waist snapped into motion—an explosive elbow strike smashed into her face!
Thud!
A dull impact rang out, accompanied by the crisp crack of breaking bone.
The redhead felt unimaginable force detonate across her cheekbone. Several broken teeth mixed with blood sprayed from her mouth.
She didn't even have time to scream. Her body flew like a ragged sack, slammed into the stall wall with a boom, and made the entire panel shudder violently.
She collapsed to the ground, head spinning, half her face visibly caving in. The blood-red glow in her eyes flickered in confusion.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What was I doing?
Daniel lowered his elbow, stepped forward, and barked coldly, towering over her: "Speak! What kind of monster are you?"
That's my question for you!
The redhead stared at him in terror.
The strength he displayed far surpassed anything she understood. One hit had completely disabled her. Was this something a human could do!?
"So you're not talking?"
Without a trace of pity, Daniel grabbed the weakened redhead and unleashed a storm of elbow strikes.
She had wanted to speak—really—but every time she tried, another brutal elbow strike smashed the words back down her throat.
After a relentless barrage, she felt her skull was about to be flattened.
Finally, in the brief gap between blows, driven by sheer survival instinct, she mustered her remaining strength. With tears streaming and voice cracking, she screamed:
"Stop! I'll talk! I'm a vampire! I'm a vampire!!!"