Meeting 03

Aolei stood on the observation deck, the cold metal railing cool against his palms.

He enjoyed surveying his domain from this vantage point—in the spacious courtyard below, dozens of young figures were chasing and playing, though their somewhat pale skin was nearly translucent in the wind.

Below was his own blood factory.

Aolei owned two such factories. High-quality blood was produced here, sourced from healthy young children and teenagers; once these people aged, they would be transferred to the other blood factory, where conditions were not nearly as good. Deaths were common occurrences there, but Aolei did not care much about that.

Value was a very important thing—Aolei was a qualified businessman.

Watching the young ones roughhousing in the open yard, Aolei felt as if he had grown younger himself, and a smile unconsciously crept across his face.

They seemed to have grown accustomed to the routine blood draws by now; no one was shouting about leaving anymore.

This place had originally been a winery, but after Aolei acquired it, he gradually converted it into what it was now.

In fact, the upper floors of the factory still retained the wine production line.

And to keep up appearances, all the blood produced was disguised as red wine and shipped to vampires across the region.

Aolei could be said to be extremely cautious in his operations, and he was quite proud of his scheme. All transport records had been meticulously forged, leaving no trace to the outside world, no crack to exploit, no one who could trace it back here…

That fellow named Ladi was also going to vanish from the face of the earth soon—Aolei had already begun organizing assassins to deal with him, and he expected to receive good news before long.

Yes, his reign would continue, gradually seeping into every corner of the world.

Though to those powerful beings, half-bloods were no different from ants—but when enough ants gather, they could still bite an elephant to death.

In Aolei's eyes, those so-called vampire dukes were merely propped up on high pedestals—no matter how powerful they were, once his half-blood underlings completely took control of the grassroots level, the dukes would be utterly helpless.

The world would change because of him.

The future would be an era dominated by half-bloods like them, and humans would be nothing more than pigs providing blood… and he would become the sole king of the new age.

"Hm?"

A faint connection came through his bloodline.

"Mr. Aolei?" Laimir's voice echoed in his mind.

"Is something the matter, Laimir?" A smile tugged at the corner of Aolei's mouth.

His abilities, in a sense, had been granted by Laimir. And had Laimir not saved his life back then, he would not be where he was today. He was quite grateful to that young man.

He had heard that Laimir's situation within his family was not exactly favorable… When he made it big in the future, he could give Laimir a helping hand.

"Where are you right now?"

"I'm at the winery. What's the matter, Laimir?"

Aolei frowned slightly. The other party sounded a bit off—there was an unusual tension in his voice.

But he did not overthink it.

Aolei had never told Laimir about his own affairs. The other only knew that he ran a winery and regarded him as an ordinary winery owner; he knew nothing about the blood factory.

"I've run into some trouble, and I might need your help…" Laimir's voice sounded a bit reluctant.

"Go on, Laimir, what is it?" Aolei did not hedge and agreed readily. "If there's anything I can do, I won't stand by and watch."

The doubt in Aolei's mind was dispelled—that shy young man would even blush and stutter when asking his own retainers for a favor.

"Well then, let's meet first…"

"Meet?" Aolei hesitated for a moment before agreeing. "No problem."

Though he still felt vaguely that something was odd about the atmosphere, refusing to meet would seem even stranger and might arouse suspicion.

…

After paying a considerable fee, Aolei located a secret vampire stronghold and stepped into a crimson teleportation array.

With a flash of red light, the scenery before him transformed dramatically.

When his vision cleared again, Aolei stood in a strange, luxurious hall. Marble pillars were carved with intricate vampire totems, and the air was thick with the ancient aura of bloodline.

It was his first time here.

"Mr. Aolei…"

Laimir stood timidly before him, his face somewhat pale.

Behind him, two figures stood silently.

On the left was a dignified middle-aged vampire, dressed in traditional aristocratic attire, with a badge of the Laiyue family pinned to his chest. On the right was a young girl who appeared to be no more than thirteen or fourteen, wearing an ornate gothic gown, hugging a teddy bear plush, with silver-white hair cascading like a waterfall down to her waist.

Aolei could sense the overwhelming bloodline pressure radiating from these two individuals.

"This lord wishes to see you, Mr. Aolei…" Laimir's eyes betrayed a hint of confusion. "Did you do something?"

Aolei took a deep breath, then flashed a fawning smile at Anlu.

"May I ask who you are?"

"I am the head of the Laiyue family, Laimir's father… It's not me who wants to see you." Anlu replied flatly, his gaze at Aolei devoid of any emotion.

"Then…" Aolei's gaze shifted suspiciously toward Niya on the other side.

But there was no one else here besides her… She looked so young, as if she were merely an innocent noble lady. What business could she possibly have with him?

Aolei had been transformed from a human into a vampire and still retained human ways of thinking. Instinctively, he judged Niya by her appearance and underestimated her…

"This is Duchess Niya of the Crimson—she is the one who wants to see you." Anlu cleared his throat and explained.

A vampire duke? Why would a vampire duke want to see him?

Aolei's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. A vague sense of dread crept over him.

But Aolei still forced himself to stay calm and bowed deeply to the girl: "Your Grace… What business do you have with me?"

Yes, his blood factory was well hidden. No one would know about it.

And besides, even if these vampires did know, they should approve of his views—after all, the blood's consumers were them!

"Come with me. The Lord above wants to see you. Don't even think about resisting." Niya snorted coldly.

Aolei's face stiffened.

Someone who a duke would address as "Lord"… Who else could that possibly be?

For reasons he could not explain, Aolei felt an intense urge to spread his wings and flee.

But he did not dare to do so. He could sense that this duke's killing intent had already locked firmly onto him.