The unknown wilderness. It's a prohibited area for any life form. There was nothing interesting on the surface. However, there was an underground building. It was the largest experiment laboratory base in the entire country.
As to why they were built underground, there were experiments that violated human moral ethics and simply couldn't be released to the public. This was also why the New Federation was so strong!
The underground base had about five floors below ground. It looked like a beehive from the outside. In the central control room on the third floor, figures in white coats were busy passing by.
"Professor Ye Fusheng, you look like a mess."
The central room was responsible for monitoring the entire base as well as receiving news from the outside world. At this time, the face of a middle-aged man with long grayish-white hair and round-rimmed glasses were on display in the largest screen in the center of the room.
"Lord Hakein, my wound will heal soon."
Ye Fusheng was leaning on a crutch. His abdomen was already bandaged. He respectfully replied to the other man's question.
"I suppose you were injured while capturing the test subject?" Hakein's round-rimmed glasses reflected white light. Underneath the glasses were a pair of matching grayish-white eyes. He gazed at Ye Fusheng.
"...Yes." Ye Fusheng hesitated but still answered Hakein.
"How many personnel left guarding this base?"
"....."
Ye Fusheng was stunned briefly.
"Three hundred and seventy people, of which there are a total of two nano-armor users."
"If I remember correctly, three nano-armor users were guarding this base, right? Where is the third one?"
"Her lung was pierced by a bullet. She's being treated with our best effort." Ye Fusheng lowered his head. He didn't dare to directly look at Hakein's eyes.
"That's a shame, you wasted too much of our troops. I remember you tried to capture a viral prototype just by deploying three nano-armor users. This time, what did you try to capture anyway?"
"Vampire. A vampire...he was armed with all kinds of heavy weapons, and the nano-armor users accidentally fell into his trap." Ye Fushen's tone became lower, "A vampire... that's why the army suffered such heavy casualties."
"Vampire?!" Hakein's face was suddenly plastered over the entire screen. He held the transmission device with his hands. He must've been too excited that he did that out of his consciousness. "You said you captured a vampire? What's his name?"
Ever since Ye Fusheng worked for him, this was the first time he saw the scientist excited. He was usually so stoic about everything. Hakein Mustaine, the world's renounced scientist, the inventor of exoskeleton armor. But why?
"Just a local vampire."
"Name?" repeated Hakein.
"Lu... Lucius... Lucius F. Alucard." Ye Fusheng finally broke Lucius' full name.
"Alu...card? Professor…" Hakein released his hands off the transmission device and leaned back in his chair, crossing his fingers. "You wrote on your report that the Vampire was dead. What's going on?"
"Yes, Lord Hakein. I have stabbed his hearth with the stake that was blessed by the Church. I had killed a few vampires before, this time it wasn't an exception."
"That's pretty impressive, Professor Ye. So, that means the Vampire's heart was reduced to ashes by the wooden stake? Why did you also report to obtain his body?"
Hakein's gray-white eyes looked at Ye Fusheng as if he were a dead man.
"This… well, the vampire species turned to dust when they die, but he didn't. So, I think he's special and valuable enough for research." Ye Fushen replied.
"Not...turning into dust? Oh, that sounds bad. No, that's very bad. Very very bad." Hakein's face darkened.
"What the hell is wrong with Lord Hakein?" Ye Fusheng looked puzzled at Hakein's sudden change of expression.
"Professor Ye! You have two choices now!" Hakein held up two of his fingers.
"First, abandon this base right away and get out of here as fast as you can!"
"Second, stay at the base and be eaten by the monster after he awakens!"
Leave? Why should I leave?
"Lord Heikin, even if a monster attacks, it's absolutely impossible to break through the base's defenses!"
Abandon this base? He must be joking? He had poured so many things into his life's work here. How could he just abandon it?! Moreover, he just captured the prototype virus!
"Outside? Who said about outside? The monster I'm talking about is inside, with you!"
"Lord Hakein. Please don't joke about it, okay?"
"I'm joking? The existence of such creatures as vampires is indeed a joke." Hakein took off his round-rimmed glasses, allowing Ye Fusheng to see the full extent of his face. Hakein's left eye...it's hollow!
"Especially a vampire who bears the name of Alucard and has a stake stabbed through his heart? Shot through the brain by a bullet baptized with holy water?"
Hakein's one remaining eye stared at Ye Fusheng. "There's no way to kill him! By any means, decapitate, hang, sever, mutilate, blast or disembowel him! Throw him into the lava and let the flames burn every inch of him! But you still can't even kill a true vampire! Can you imagine the horror? No matter how many times they were killed, blood will always bring them back to life again. They constantly hunting down and devouring everything in sight. Yes, the blood! As long as something is flowing through our bodies, they are practically immortal!"
"But! He's undoubtedly dead."
"There's no concept of death in true vampires, Professor Ye. Escape! Abandon the base! It's your only option before he descends to this world again."
"He's dead! Everything is within my prediction, and I'm not going to give up on this research project, or the prototype virus."
"You...won't give up? Ah… right." Heikin's expression suddenly calmed down. He put on his research glasses and said, "Well, professor Ye, I have to say Ignorance is a bliss to your research spirit. And since you choose to stay, let me give you a little advice."
"What advice?" Ye Fusheng still couldn't believe there was anything in the world that can't be killed!
"Always leave the last bullet in your pistol."
"Why?"
To kill that monster? I don't think so!
"Just in case. When you finally breakdown and gripped down by fear, this one bullet can set you free. Compared to your body being torn apart bit by bit, death by a bullet through your brain is a luxury! A real delight! Well, I wish you good luck, professor Ye." Hakeem finally cut the transmission with a pistol gesture with his fingers, after thumping it against his forehead.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
After the connection ended, Ye Fusheng angrily swept the papers on the table in front of him onto the floor.
"No one is immortal! Dead means dead! For both humans and vampires! It's all within my speculation! Get me connected with the underground lab! The one with the Vampire!"
"Where are they? Why isn't anyone answering?!"
But for a long time, there was only the beep~beep sound from the radio...
A sense of uneasy rose within Ye Fusheng.
"Quick..." Ye Fusheng walked to the station, "Bring up the surveillance cameras for me! Quick!"
Ye Fusheng raised his head and stared intently at the giant display at the top camera. What was finally presented to Ye Fusheng wasn't some well-ordered anatomy model, but an actual human head! A head of someone died with a horror look on their face! The head of a human!
"Hey..."
A devilish voice suddenly sounded throughout the central control room. The severed head was suddenly thrown away. It was as pale as the white face with a pair of scarlet eyes that appeared on the screen. His cheeks stained with blood.
"Greetings, gentleman. Did you enjoy this Christmas?"
"You!" Ye Fusheng's eyes widened at the face on the screen. Lucius! Lucius F. Alucard! The blood-sucking creature that was identified by him as dead a while ago now were standing there. Unscathed, blabbering about Christmas to everyone!
"I have some unpleasant experience this Christmas. Like this little stake..." Lucius grabbed the bloody stake out of his heart and only picked back the head to throw it again. This time, he also threw the wooden stake. The severed head was pinned on the wall by the stake!
"But it won't kill me!"
"And professor Ye. I was a little hungry when I awake..."
Lucius stepped back, spreading his hands so Ye Fusheng could look at the complete scenery of the lab. Fresh blood...fresh blood everywhere! Bodies in lab coat were torn into pieces, blood stained the entire lab! Lucius stood in the middle of the room, his clothes and slender fingers were covered in blood.
"So I accidentally ate all of your precious men. But it's not enough! Professor Ye, I'm still hungry. I wonder what I should do."
Lucius narrowed his eyes, and his mouth split into a smile.
"And then, I decided. Well, my main dinner for tonight will be you. Don't humans enjoy an extravagant Christmas dinner? Come now, professor Ye. Let's have a bloody Christmas dinner! It will be fun!"
Panic began to spread among the people presented in the room. From the perspective of a human being, that one guy who had died awoke again in a monster form! And everyone in the base would be his dinner as Lucius wouldn't let any of them escape. How much time remaining for humans to continue breathing? How much time left for chanting prayers? Lucius didn't know either, so let's take a guess.
"Professor Ye, how long do you think you should pray to Santa before I ate you? Three hours? Thirty minutes? Or is it three minutes? Take a guess!"
Take a guess… he said.
Take a guess?!
Ye Fusheng slammed the table. Severing the connection to the underground lab. He was raged that he almost crushed his own teeth.
He really did resurrect. But no, no life is immortal! If he can't kill him this time, he will kill him again two times, three times, until he finally can kill him!
"All guards stand by. There's a test subject that escaped from the lowest level lab. All personnel, prepare for battle! Block off all escape routes from the base and shot that experiment subject! I repeat! Shoot the subject! Show no mercy!"
With the remaining army of three hundred and seventy men and assistance from exoskeleton armor users, this lab is their home base! It's impossible for him to pull any clever tricks.
One versus three hundred and seventy. The outcome of this battle is clear enough!