The Blade Warrior looked up at the horrifying monster in mid-air, took a slow two-step retreat, swallowed, then pulled out his phone and said into it, "They're declaring war on the human race!"
Within S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick swiftly moved through the corridors, with agents following behind him. With the rapid steps echoing through the office, lights turned on one by one as Nick spoke hurriedly into his phone, "Jack! Get the defense map of Queens District immediately! Fiona, get in touch with the vampire hunters in New York, ask them what the hell is going on?"
Nick turned a corner and the agents assigned tasks broke off from the group, heading to their own offices, while even more agents continued to follow Nick. He continued, "Who's in charge of liaising with the Daywalker?"
"Coulson, chief, it has always been Coulson."
"Transfer that part of the work to Sharon, and let Coulson liaise with Stark immediately. If the vampires do declare war on the human race, we need to organize our strongest resistance force as quickly as possible."
Natasha emerged from one of the offices, matching Nick's pace as they hurried along. The female agent reported, "We have confirmed that the information provided by the Daywalker is accurate. That monster is now over the Queens District..."
"The Daywalker seems to be very willing to cooperate now, should we bring him here?"
"Take him to the underground of area 2. He has been reluctant to cooperate with us for so many years, and his change of attitude now must indicate something big."
"I'll arrange it now." Natasha said, "There's another issue. The captain has already gone to the battlefield to deal with that monster initially, and further battle plans still need to be arranged."
"Let the fighting team prepare to set out immediately. Regardless of what the vampires are up to, we need to handle that monster first."
Natasha took out her phone and spoke into it, "Clint, how are you and Daisy doing? The helicopter will depart in 20 minutes. Once you reach the destination, report back immediately!""
As Nick walked and assigned tasks, he made his way to his office where Coulson was already waiting. Coulson said, "I have contacted all potential combat forces."
Before he could continue, Hill walked in and said, "The vampires are indeed moving abnormally. Director, I've referenced their activities from the past six months. All the vampire tribes on the East Coast are deliberately making their way to New York..."
As Nick's most capable assistant, Hill talked succinctly. She walked briskly to the screen, turned on the projector and explained, "Approximately one week ago, a skirmish broke out between the vampires and the police at the intersection of Queens District and Brooklyn District. Those vampire groups had just recently arrived in New York."
"Additionally, the perpetrators of the 15 recorded vampire attack cases this month were all non-native vampires of New York."
"Who's in charge of monitoring this group?" Coulson asked.
"Now is not the time for accountability." Nick stated, "There's a reason S.H.I.E.L.D. has been so lax with the vampires. If it were possible, I'd want to drag them all out into the sun, but we both know that won't happen."
"But this time it's different." Coulson stated, "We let the vampires slip by under the premise that they were simply lone wolves, occasional individual attacks at most. But if they're truly declaring war on the human race as a whole, then we must retaliate fiercely!"
At this point, Nick's phone rang. He picked it up and said, "The Daywalker has arrived? Good, don't make any rash actions. Soothe him for now, I'm on my way..."
He then said to Coulson, "Keep a close eye on Stark...On second thought, Hill, you go. First, make contact with Pepper at the Stark Building. Phil, head to the counselling clinic in Hell's Kitchen."
"Shiller probably won't be willing to lend a hand, he's always been vocal about not having any special abilities."
"I'm not asking him to go directly out and fight the vampires. Coulson, don't you see? We're recruiting him not for his special ability, but for his mind."
"You don't need to do anything, just stay there and wait for my orders. Once the situation changes, I'll tell you how to negotiate with him."
After Coulson left, Nick swiftly activated the elevator to head to area 2 to meet with the Blade Warrior.
After he left, all the lights in S.H.I.E.L.D. lit up rapidly, countless agents received their orders and started to get into motion. It took this massive agency mere minutes to get its gears into full swing.
In the face of an invasion from outsiders, the flexible talent management system of S.H.I.E.L.D. remained united. No matter which faction they belonged to, everyone knew they had to mount resistance if the vampires really unleashed a full-scale war on the human race.
In a dim underground meeting room, the Blade Warrior, Eric, heard footsteps approach. When Nick opened the door, Eric walked up and shook hands with him. Nick stated, "We're short on time, let's cut to the chase. Firstly, we're not here to interrogate you, but..."
Eric said, "Enough talk, I'll tell you everything I know."
"Listen, that colossal bat monster is significant. You should know, the vampire race can transform into bats, this ability didn't come out of nowhere."
"I won't get into the esoteric knowledge related to the origin of vampires, but within the vampire group, there are disputes. There's always been a debate within this race concerning their origin story..."
"Just like your human race would say, some believe vampires originated from the Bible, they are God's creation."
"However, there are others, who I refer to as bat cults, they firmly believe that in the depths of the cosmos, there's a bat totem. It was this bat totem that granted vampires the ability to transform into bats and derive nourishment from blood."
"The God-worshipers and the bat cults have always been at loggerheads. Of course, God-worshipers are generally more friendly with humans. Most of those that had contact with the upper levels of your society were moderate ones."
"They believe humans and vampires are both God's creation, we should be brothers and sisters, and they have always been present in the vampire community as the restraint faction. They have numerous different rules, do not advocate killing, are willing to feed on frozen blood, and prefer to blend into human society to participate in the human community."
"We have records of these individuals." Nick said, "Even some moderate vampires proactively come to us to be put on record. Quite a few of these vampires work in hospitals or blood banks. This is why humans are unwilling to eliminate vampires en masse, because some of them are deeply intertwined with human society. If handled incorrectly, it could lead to mass panic..."
"Exactly, but where there are moderates, there are radicals. There's always been a highly radical faction within the vampire community, which is the group I mentioned, worshipers of the bat totem."
"They believe that followers of the bat totem are inherently superior to humans, and as part of the bat god, they should naturally rule over humanity."
"I've heard rumors of this." Nick sat down by the table, poured himself a glass of water, and then said, "I know, vampires have been trying to infiltrate human society, could you detail the matter about the bat totem? I'm guessing today's bat monster has something to do with that totem, right?"
The Blade Warrior Eric crossed his arms, and said, "You should know my background, I'm not a complete vampire. All the information I got indeed comes from my vampire hunter teacher, but I also have a few vampire friends from the moderate faction who bring me the latest news within their race..."
"One of my friends works for the infamous Count Dracula, and he recently relayed to me that my enemy, Deacon, who is leading the radical faction, is planning something."
"It seems like there's a prophecy through some ritual within their group that the power of the bat god would come to New York. Whoever gets this power will be the new vampire leader."
"You know, everyone initially thought this was a power-grabbing lie that they trumped up. This kind of thing happens all the time..."
"Of course, of course, concocting a seemingly plausible prophecy then making some small moves is enough to exert pressure on adversaries."
"But it seems that things are not so simple." Eric also walked over and sat down. He and Nick sat at opposite ends of the table, with a flickering lightbulb above their heads.
He said, "In fact, this prophecy is not entirely a lie. According to my investigation, they indeed have a ritual that can summon a bat-like shadow, which brings significant increase in strength to vampires, but the cost is turning them into frenzied bat monsters."
"It was through this ritual they heard a voice directing them to New York. I'm trying in every way to uncover the specifics of the prophecy, but so far there hasn't been a breakthrough. However, it's clear that the terrifying bat monster in the sky right now is supposed to be the descent of the so-called bat god."
"Alright, I have the backstory now. The current question is, how do we deal with it?"
Nick took out a projector, then played it for Eric to watch, where Steve was chasing the bat monster.
Nick said, "It's daytime now, this bat doesn't fear sunlight and also seems incredibly strong, possessing some special abilities. More importantly, it seems to understand quite a few tactics and most likely possesses intelligence not inferior to a human."
"I recommend you all not to use the usual methods of dealing with vampires to deal with him. If he is really the creation of the bat god, he definitely doesn't have vampires' weaknesses. You should consider him a major threat."
"But more importantly..." Eric frowned and said, "This is a signal, a signal that they want to wage full-scale war with humanity. They wish to usher in the descent of the bat totem then rule the world. Maybe you can handle this beast, but you must prepare for the imminent major onslaught by the vampires."
Having said that, he stood up and then said, "I'm going to contact all the vampire hunters I know and the moderate vampires who are unwilling to participate in the invasion. We'll try to form a front line. At least for now, we're standing with you. Let those crazed bat monsters go to hell!"
Nick also stood up, the two shook hands, and Nick said, "The destruction of human society benefits no one, you could use this point to win them over. If they still wish for a prosperous society to live in, they best not let those beasts invade."
Eric nodded, the two black human palms clasping, declaring the start of this bat invasion incident.