London.
Night fell once again.
Selene had returned to the castle. Some of the Deathwalkers she dispatched had already gathered intel and came to report.
"Selene, we found some information about the Dragon Balls."
"You won't believe it—they stirred up quite a wave on the dark web about a year ago, then vanished, and now they've resurfaced again."
Hearing that they'd found information so quickly, Selene's face lit up with joy. She asked:
"What did you find?"
Deathwalker Lenz reported:
"From what we've gathered, there were two main sources tied to the Dragon Balls early on—one organization and one individual."
"A year ago, the Dragon Balls were listed for bounty on the dark web by a mafia group called Kamora. The price per Dragon Ball climbed from one million to two million dollars."
"But then the two leaders of that organization were both killed by a man named John Wick, and the entire group was eventually wiped out by the Assassin League."
"The individual I mentioned is also John Wick."
"Our intel indicates that about a year ago, he had at least two Dragon Balls in his possession."
Lenz then pulled out two photos and placed them before Selene.
"He held the Ichigyu (One-Star Ball) and the Suushinchu (Four-Star Ball). This info caused a huge stir in the underground world at the time. He was even targeted for capture, with the bounty reaching over twenty million dollars."
"But based on our investigation, every group that tried to go after him… has been completely annihilated."
"John Wick used to be a registered assassin under the High Table, operating out of the Continental Hotel. He earned the nickname 'Baba Yaga'—a legendary assassin among ordinary people."
"After the Continental was absorbed and the High Table was dismantled, he walked away and joined the Assassin League."
"That League is the same one that took over the Continental and renamed it the Brotherhood. Its leader is said to be that man from New York—'God'."
"Right now, bounties for Dragon Balls have appeared again on the dark web, and the price has surged to five million dollars."
Selene's face lit up upon hearing that John Wick once possessed two Dragon Balls. As for his "legendary assassin" title—perhaps impressive to ordinary people, but to a Deathwalker vampire, it was no more threatening than a toddler.
Any one of them with enough time at the Continental could gain a reputation greater than his.
However, that man in New York—God—was another story. His display of power made even Selene feel wary.
"Five million dollars... clearly, we're not the only ones searching for the Dragon Balls."
"Can we trace who posted the bounty?"
"I'm guessing that person might have what we need."
Lenz shook his head.
"The dark web is built on anonymity. Tracing identities is nearly impossible."
"But, if they're looking for Dragon Balls, we could bait them out."
Selene's eyes lit up at the idea. If someone dares post a bounty, don't blame them for getting backstabbed.
She thought for a moment, then issued her commands:
"Three objectives."
"First, we go to New York and track down John Wick. I want the Dragon Balls in his hands."
"Second, reply to the dark web buyer. Tell them we have a Dragon Ball and want to meet in person."
"Third, after we eliminate the dark web buyer, we post our own bounty, doubling the price to ten million—then wait for the fish to bite."
The group all smiled in agreement with her plan.
Then Lenz added:
"We might not be able to leave London. Elder Marcus is about to awaken."
"Should we report the Dragon Ball matter to him?"
Selene thought carefully, then said:
"The elder is about to awaken and take control of the bloodline again. It's not the right time for us to act recklessly."
"As for capturing John Wick—we'll wait until after the elder wakes."
"But when it comes to the Dragon Balls… something that could restore the glory of our kind, I'll personally report it to Father."
As the adopted daughter of Viktor, Selene trusted him deeply. She had no intention of hiding the Dragon Balls from him. On the contrary, she would need his help—and the power of the entire vampire clan—to search for the remaining orbs.
As for Marcus, who was supposed to awaken this century?
Well… apologies in advance.
Just then, the door knocked.
It was Soren.
When the door opened and he saw Selene with the other Deathwalkers gathered, he didn't think much of it and said:
"Selene, your instincts were right. The werewolves have shown up in force."
"Last night, while I was trying to capture Michael, I got ambushed by werewolves. They even had ultraviolet weapons."
"We lost several of our own."
"Oh, right—I brought Michael back. You should come take a look."
Selene originally planned to refuse, but since she was the one who initiated this matter, she couldn't just ignore it. So, she followed Soren out.
…
After being unconscious for a whole day, Michael had dreamed of many strange, chaotic images. He awoke from the nightmares with a gasp.
Opening his eyes to the unfamiliar surroundings, he sat up in panic—only to be pressed down by a vampire guarding the room.
Soren spoke:
"Looks like we got here just in time—he's waking up."
Selene frowned and asked:
"You mean he's been unconscious all day?"
Soren nodded.
"We were attacked at his home. He tried to climb down the drainpipe, but got assaulted by a werewolf and fell."
"Luckily the building wasn't tall—but he's been out ever since."
Still breathing heavily, Michael was about to ask questions when Selene spoke:
"Do you know why those werewolves were after you?"
Michael inhaled deeply and didn't answer. Instead, he looked around the room and asked:
"Where am I?"
"Who are you people?"
Soren replied:
"You were attacked by werewolves. We protected you."
"You're in our base now. You're safe."
Michael frowned. He thought back and realized… he hadn't actually seen any werewolves.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Werewolves? That's something out of fantasy novels."
Soren looked a bit helpless. During the fight, he had thrown Michael into a room to protect him. Michael never saw the transformed werewolves. The one outside also hadn't transformed—still in human form.
Seeing his doubt, Michael asked again:
"Are you seriously telling the truth?"
Selene had no time for nonsense. She asked bluntly:
"Think hard—why were they after you?"
"We met before, in the subway. They were after you even back then."
…
(End of Chapter)
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