Chapter 2

Oceania flicked his finger and bounced the pocket watch back to the old man. He stood up with the cat in his arms, "Since the target is confirmed, I wish you a quick resolution to the case."

"Wait a moment," the old man looked up. Oceania paused in his tracks. He had his back to the only window in the room, and the light shone on his head and ears, obscuring his features. The old man's heart raced, feeling a chill. He reached into his suit pocket, touched the cross, and calmed down a little before cautiously speaking up, "I've heard the legend of you and Ansberylis McAvey."

Oceania sighed, "I'm still alive, yet I've become a legend."

"No, what I meant was..." the old man was about to explain when he was shocked by the scene before him - Oceania took out a palm-sized mirror, gazed at his own reflection and sighed, "I accidentally rose to a height that people admire again."

The old man: "..."

The black cat covered its eyes with its paw.

Oceania stared at the still-dazed old man and said, "You don't have to suppress your admiration for me. You've never been alone."

The old man coughed a few times, lowered his head and said slowly, "Since we have the same goal, why not cooperate?"

Oceania leaned on the table with one hand, leaning forward and smiling slightly at the old man, revealing his sharp teeth, "Obviously, because I am a noble bloodsucker, and you are a stubborn believer."

The old man said, "You have been noble for so many years, isn't that a kind of stubbornness?"

Oceania laughed, "How eloquent! Now I believe that you are a young faction of the church. When others in the church were discussing which cemetery had good feng shui, you must have been thinking about the cemetery's decorative style. I think Mediterranean style is good... Oh, I'm not mocking your hair, even though it's obviously a wig. I mean, you can make a round tombstone so that tomb robbers won't be scratched by the edges of the tombstone when they rob graves."

The old man looked at him indifferently as he rambled on with nonsense, and then after a while, he stood up with his cane and said, "It seems that the information is wrong. Your relationship with Ansberylis is not as irreconcilable as the legend says. Or maybe those absurd guesses that I thought were baseless are actually true. You and he are not enemies who are bound to fight to the death, but... friends who pledge to live and die together." He limped to the door, slightly bowed, "I apologize for my rash visit today."

Not long after the old man left, a policeman walked in. He had a new face, around forty years old, tall and sharp-headed, as if he could poke through the ceiling with a slight jump. He pulled out a chair and sat down with some rudeness.

Oceania sat opposite him with the black cat in his arms, looking relaxed as if he was sunbathing on the beach.

"Smack." The police officer slammed the folder in front of Oceania and opened it, revealing a stack of photos. "Two years ago in winter, there was a collapse incident in the town of Feizna, Switzerland. You happened to be in the collapsed house." Oceania said,

"What a coincidence." The police officer picked out six photos and laid them out in front of him. "These are photos taken by a photographer living nearby with his phone. You climbed out of the collapsed house unscathed. What do you make of this?" Oceania glanced at the photos and shrugged. "I was lucky and energetic." The police officer pulled out two more photos and placed them in front of him. "This is the explosion outside Westminster Palace that happened today.

Some tourists happened to be nearby taking photos, recording the explosion from different angles. These are stills from the video. This one is of you talking to Bishop Benson outside Westminster Palace with a rose in your hand, and this one is of you getting ready to get into a car. The two photos were taken about 30 meters apart but only one second apart. What do you make of this?" Oceania said, "It was windy, and I didn't stand firm." The police officer tapped his finger on the desk twice. "It seems we have an idiot among us. Who do you think that might be?" Oceania asked, "Which one will let me go home?" The police officer put away the photos. "If you have nothing else to say, I will hand this matter over to the Vatican for handling." Oceania asked, "What do you want me to say?" "The killer," the police officer said, "I believe with your eyesight, you couldn't have missed anything.

Unless, of course, you were a co-conspirator." Oceania asked, "If I tell you who the killer is, will you let me go?" The police officer didn't answer. Oceania said, "How many barrels of holy water are prepared outside? Or is it a pistol loaded with silver bullets... ten of them?" The police officer packed up his things and stood up. "Bishop Benson is very popular in the Vatican and has a lot of influence in England." It was a powerful implication. "Wait," Oceania tapped his fingers twice on the table and said after some thought, "Bring back that young man from the Mediterranean. The one from the Central Vatican." The old man hesitated at the door before walking in and closing it.

"I didn't expect to see you again so soon." Oceania said, "Oh, with your sincere crow's feet, I almost believed you. You thought of this when you left, didn't you?" The old man said, "Losing Bishop Benson is a huge loss for the Church, especially for his close companions. If we can't find the killer, we will never be able to relieve our grief."

The black cat suddenly scratched Oceania's thigh lightly. Oceania bent down and kissed its forehead affectionately, saying in a doting tone, "Are you hungry? Okay, we'll take care of him as soon as possible, and then go eat something fresh." She raised her head, her expression turning cold and stern, "Just say it. My situation, and your purpose."

The old man rubbed his thigh and said, "The frequent killings of vampires recently have seriously disrupted the order of the human world. We hope to resolve the situation as soon as possible. Whether Bishop Benson's misfortune is related to this or not, you have already been involved. Therefore, your only way out now is to cooperate with us. I can represent the Central Church to intervene for you and ensure that the British side remains calm and silent. And you must quickly investigate the truth of the matter and represent the vampires in resolving it."

"If I refuse, the Central Church will no longer interfere, and let those British guys tear me apart. But have you forgotten a prerequisite? Can they tear me apart?" Oceania asked.

"Don't forget the ceasefire agreement. They don't need to act, just accuse you of killing Bishop Benson," the old man replied.

"You found a watch with the Macavity emblem at the crime scene," he added.

"I'm human too, and at a critical moment, I will be on their side. Unless," the old man said, "we have a prior alliance agreement."

"So you have made up your mind to force me into prostitution," Oceania said.

"To be honest," the old man said, "this description may make me uncomfortable, but it may not necessarily make you uncomfortable, right?"

Oceania said nothing.

"If you agree, the Church will assist you. Don't you want to know who is responsible for killing your fellow vampires?" the old man asked.

"Not at all," Oceania said.

The old man fell silent.

Oceania lowered her head and looked at the cat.

The cat raised its head and flicked its tail.

Oceania lightly scratched its chin with her hand, and finally smiled slightly, "Okay. I'll agree to it. But I have no clue right now..."

"I've prepared a plan for you," the old man said.

"Is that so?" Oceania took the plan book with waning interest.

"For your safety, the vampires in Europe have started migrating to Brittany, France. Among them are survivors of the murders, and there may be spies of the murderers, or even the murderers themselves," the old man explained.

"So you want me to go to Brittany?" Oceania asked.

The old man nodded, "If possible, get close to Xiao Ming."

"No problem, if you can lure away his 'bodyguards' who always follow him," Oceania said.

"You are too polite. You are a fourth generation," the old man replied.

Oceania said, "It's precisely because I have self-awareness that I'm still alive, or else I would've been dead a long time ago."

The old man said, "Okay, I won't interfere with your actions, but please come up with results as soon as possible."

Oceania stood up, picked up the cat, and gently rubbed its head with her mouth, "Let me feed you first."

"By the way," even though the other party probably didn't care, the old man still introduced himself, "I am Tarik Thompson, from the Sacred Guardians."

Under the old man's insistence, Oceania boarded the car with the plan.

Mession asked with concern, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"A little. Please find a nearby restaurant. It's hungry."

"Okay." Mession started the car and looked at her employer's expression through the rearview mirror.

"How do I look today?" Oceania asked.

"Hmm? Oh, very good."

"Good enough to make you want to sneak a peek at me?"

"I'm just a little concerned about what happened at the police station."

"Nothing happened. We're still going to Brittany according to the plan." He paused and added, "For vacation."

"Really? That's great."

Oceania smiled, turned her head, and opened the car window, throwing the plan outside.

A black mist rushed out of the car, transformed into the shape of a bat, opened its mouth wide, and swallowed the plan in one gulp, then dissipated into the air.