"Take it, secretly check everyone, there's at least one vampire spy within SSR."
After confirming that no one in the Roaring Assault Team had been replaced, Su Ming handed the lamp tube to Fury.
Because Nathaniel handed the blood sample to Howard within SSR, logically speaking, the outside vampires shouldn't have known, let alone organized an assassination.
It must be someone inside who leaked this matter, and the biggest suspect is either a vampire or a Death Cultist.
The so-called Death Cultists are worshippers of vampires; they are humans, but they serve the Blood Race for various reasons.
Most of them became that kind of slave to the vampires because they experienced extreme pleasure and tried their best to please their masters just to experience the feeling of being bitten again.
In the future, there will be more Death Cultists, and those controlled by drugs or money are easily turned into them.
"What abilities and weaknesses do vampires have?" Fury didn't rush to act but instead asked about the enemies' weaknesses, knowing Deathstroke's style.
"They have all the abilities you read about in storybooks, but most of the weaknesses recorded in those stories don't apply," Su Ming approvingly looked at him, seemingly very optimistic about Heitan: "Staking the heart doesn't work, and neither does the cross."
"What about garlic?" Dugan lifted his round hat, scratching his head.
"If bitten by a vampire and initially embraced, injecting 50ml of concentrated garlic essence within 8 hours gives you a 20% chance to survive cleanly."
Deathstroke calmly answered this question, with the other 80% outcome being self-explanatory.
"Then how do we deal with a group of mythical creatures?" a British person in the team asked.
Su Ming found himself giving a free class; such information should be charged for and put on Fury's tab.
"There are many methods, strong ultraviolet light, decapitation, garlic essence or silver bullets, etc. But I recommend you use flamethrowers, as vampires are very fast, and the hit rate of flamethrowers is higher. Note that they will also use various weapons and tactics, whatever you know, they know too."
Fury pondered for a moment, supporting his chin with his hand as the light in his hand flickered due to poor contact.
"Actually, I don't understand why you're seeking trouble with the Blood Race. Although they did assassinate Howard, they're not related to the Obelisk, and it's unrelated to the most critical mission at present."
Su Ming glanced at Howard in the office, who clearly heard Fury's words and was making faces at Fury's back.
"The Inhumans could have blamed anyone, like Hydra, Leviathan, Hand Union, the Ten Rings, Mutants, or even a father furious because someone's scum slept with his daughter. Any of these people wanting to kill Howard isn't strange, so why specifically frame the Blood Race?"
"It's a double trap: on one hand, stealing what they want and on the other hand, directing us against the Blood Race?" Fury's mind worked quickly.
"Your Colonel's plan is quite decent, premeditated to divert everyone's attention onto Howard. We must admit, Howard is much more famous than Brian; if he's murdered, no one will notice Brian's 'accidental death,' the Blood Race is being used as a target by the Inhumans."
Su Ming answered the query, beginning to prepare his weapons to leave, needing to stock up on some incendiary grenades here.
"So in the past, he had many chances; when enemies like Hydra caused trouble, he never launched his plan, except when the Blood Race showed up, and he immediately followed up; were they enemies?" Fury stroked his hair.
"Now that you've identified their relationship, since the Inhumans aren't saying what they want with the Obelisk, and we don't know where they're hiding, why not ask their enemies?"
Su Ming shrugged, pushing through the crowd and striding out.
"Hey! Where are you going? What about me?!" Howard chased after him.
"I've completed my mission; you stay put, don't move." Su Ming turned back and rasped, leaving a broad back behind, striking a few poses before swiftly flying down the hallway.
Fury sympathetically patted Howard's shoulder, sighed with a shake of his head, knowing he had work to do, leaving Stark and Nathaniel looking at each other.
"Legislation to protect consumer rights is really necessary." Howard said expressionlessly, pulling out his wallet and counting the change inside.
"You even understand law? No wonder you're Dr. Stark!" Nathaniel laughed, giving a thumbs up.
"Oh, geniuses dabble in all sorts of fields, hahaha..." Howard's mustache twitched, his mood instantly improved.
.....................
Su Ming had already returned to the company, contemplating a problem behind his desk. It was daytime, not the right time even if looking for vampires.
Ciri used to wander New York's midnight streets to find vampires or werewolves for practice but never found one.
Seems like the legend of Deathstroke prevails among vampires; New York has become a forbidden zone for them. Consequently, states around New York, even New Jersey, where Caspian Camp is located, are regions where vampire activity is more frequent.
Humans equal food; where food is plentiful, life is easier.
The present society is a golden era for ghosts and mercenaries, as surveillance equipment is not widespread, satellites aren't in orbit, and night operations can be said to be very secure.
Vampires generally split into two factions: one buys blood from hospitals without killing—the 'Vegetarian Faction'; the other operates at night, hunting and killing—the 'Blood Eater Faction.'
Yet, in some issues, both factions stand united, such as concealing their existence.
The motive for assassinating Howard likely aligns with this because should an agency like SSR prove the existence of vampires, the military's massive machinery would start operating, and the Blood Race is a very powerful predatory species that shares Earth with humans.
This appears to be a potential threat, and threats must be eliminated, which is the style of the U.S. military.
Therefore, to conceal this secret, the Blood Race must kill the investigating scientist and retrieve the sample, covering everything back into darkness.
However, this action by Deathstroke directly exposed their existence, and with Fury's character, he will definitely seek to obtain the irrefutable evidence of their existence.
Whether to launch a war for merit or hold it as leverage, Fury must have a plan.
Inhumans, mutants, Blood Race—when hearing these terms, Fury's eyes lit up, these are ready-made superpower users, no money needed, seemingly easy to pick up and control...
Su Ming's time is a bit tight, as the Obelisk is a Terrigen Crystal, and contact with water will generate Terrigen Mist.
This mist will cause contacted Inhumans or those with latent traits to evolve into superpower users. Yet, ordinary humans contacted by the mist will petrify, mutants will have immediate genetic collapse and die, equating to killing all Earthlings except for Inhumans.
The mist's ability to spread is very strong, and just one Terrigen Crystal of the Obelisk's size thrown into the sea could produce enough mist to destroy a country.
According to Marvel World's current inclination, this country would surely be the United States.
So now, it's more prudent for the Supreme Mage to keep this dangerous item safe, and the Inhumans must hand over the Colonel who killed Dr. Xavier for Su Ming to return the favor to Charles.
The story's rights and wrongs don't interest Su Ming; he only accomplishes his goals, adhering to a mercenary's law.