The hunters appeared somewhat uneasy, as their attire was clearly out of place in such a high-end office, and the dirt on their shoes had soiled a large area of the carpet, causing inevitable awkwardness.
Wasn't it supposed to be a meeting with the Supreme Mage? Why isn't it at Kama Taiji or the New York Temple?
As vampire hunters, there are certain cities where vampire problems are not a concern, and those are the cities where the three Temples are located.
New York, London, Hong Kong.
At least during the tenure of Master Ancient, the vampires from the Blood Eater Faction dared not operate in these places, and now, just as the news of Master Ancient stepping down spread, is there trouble in New York already?
They exchanged glances to communicate silently, thinking that if a mage were to actively seek out vampire hunters, it must be because of vampires.
Come to think of it, being chosen by the Supreme Mage was quite an honor. From thousands of hunters, the Supreme Mage picked them, so the days ahead should be better, and they might even get to raise their hunting fees.
Watching the cowboys exchange looks, Su Ming smiled warmly, just like Ancient One: "Welcome, everyone. Please feel free to sit. I am Slade Wilson, the new Supreme Mage of the Main Dimension, and this is my company."
"Uh...is it the Wilson who sells instant noodles?"
A balding middle-aged man wearing round glasses asked in surprise, while a pale-faced, handsome young man beside him covertly poked his waist, reminding him he misspoke.
Su Ming smiled and nodded, as it was a fact that needed no avoidance—the Supreme Mage couldn't run a business?
The Ancient One's approach was reclusive, but Su Ming's personal philosophy has always been to blend into society.
"Yes, I sell not only instant noodles but also instant hot pot, Powerful Beverage, tobacco, alcohol, candy, tea, daily goods, clothing, and hats."
This left the middle-aged man with glasses stammering, unsure how to respond—should he compliment the Mage on his successful business?
A towering figure with monstrous musculature and an ugly face, reminiscent of Frankenstein but with normal skin tone, really took up the conversation: "We often eat instant noodles; they're tasty and convenient."
"So you're my loyal customer. I have plenty of samples for you to try." Su Ming stood up and opened a cabinet on the side of the office, filled with various experimental products.
Like super spicy snacks, or a beverage with extreme fizz.
The burly man was straightforward and, without hesitation, came over to take some things. He opened his arms and carried a heap of food and drinks back to the sofa, distributing among his teammates.
Su Ming continued to smile and nod, raising a hand to signal them to enjoy.
Offering food is a primitive method to build relationships, applicable even beyond the Celestial Dynasty. The oldest professions are killers and courtesans, whose earliest rewards were food.
However, the pale young man, alongside another man in an old-fashioned trench coat, merely smiled and placed the food handed to them by the muscular man on the table, not even touching the soda.
Through this gesture, Su Ming confirmed their identities.
Wearing sunglasses, not eating human food, pale skin, sharp teeth?
The pale, long-haired young man named Frank Drake should actually be named Dracula. Much like Alucard from the "Demon Castle" game, he is Dracula's son, a Vampire Prince.
His mother was also human and died early, similarly like him, driven to seek revenge against Dracula for various reasons.
The man in the old trench coat, whose style seemed like he crawled out of an ancient tomb, was Hannibal King, turned into a low-level blood race detective after a vampire attack, and the brains of the Dracula Hunter team.
"Try these; I guess you previously used my products too." Su Ming fished out several small cans from the cabinet and threw them to them, the black and yellow can illustrating vintage beach girl imagery: "New sunscreen, better UV protection, and waterproof."
The two vampires exchanged glances, then shifted their gaze to the elder in the group, seeking his opinion.
The elder wore waterproof leather attire typical of mariners, sporting a sailor's disheveled white beard. He was somewhat bald, had old scars across his face resembling bear claw marks, a sturdy build, around fifty years old.
He nodded at the two, indicating they could accept the gift, then gratefully looked at Su Ming: "Thank you, Master, for your care and tolerance."
It's true; not all mages could greet vampires with such calm as Su Ming. Monac, for instance, was famously disdainful of zombies, reportedly having unpleasant experiences in Haiti, detesting Voodoo Corpses.
Zombies, vampires, Voodoo Corpses, mummies—in Monac's eyes, they are all the same, driven by dark magic, undead—and he only has one approach to them—burning.
Yet, the Kama Taiji faction maintained neutrality; the Dracula Hunters trusted Master Ancient's successor to be the same, hence daring to bring vampire teammates to meet.
"Quincy Hake, Master Demon Hunter, your experiences battling the Blood Race have even reached my ears." Su Ming kept smiling, speaking half-truths: "Just like humans, there are good and bad among the Blood Race. I do not intend to eradicate vampires, and I maintain an understanding stance towards the Vegetarian Faction. They can't choose their birth, but they can choose their lifestyle."
Upon hearing this, Frank and King immediately looked at Su Ming with eyes filled with admiration.
How broad-hearted is he? That gentle smile as if the Supreme Mage were a sun, radiating boundless brilliance blinding them.
Their vision blurred by tears, they indeed couldn't choose their birth, but they wanted to be good people.
Long live understanding!
The older Quincy couldn't withstand such deception either. Deathstroke's deceit and performance were also top-notch, after all, if you couldn't deceive, you couldn't survive in Gotham.
It was obvious he too was much more relaxed, without the initial sense of constraint.
The strong man continued to eat endlessly, while the middle-aged man in glasses took out a notebook and started recording something.
The strong, tall man was named Taji Nitar, a victim who escaped from a cult organization. That cult worshiped death and believed that the messenger of death in the human world was the vampire.
They were dedicated to expanding their power and constantly searching for ways to spread their belief.
In the future, they found a way; the Death Cultist would appear as a more modern term in the era of the internet, transitioning from a religious form to a structure similar to an online pyramid scheme, renamed as Ha Ghost Race.
Taji had low intelligence, and the brainwashing did considerable harm to him, but he was very strong and served as the porter and odd-job man.
The other man in glasses frantically taking notes was named Harold Harold, a fourth-rate novelist, which meant even less than third-rate. He joined the Vampire Hunters solely because he had a thick skin.
He wanted fame and fortune, so he decided to write a nonfiction work about vampires. After somehow finding out about Quincy's team, he pestered them relentlessly to take him along.
Like sticky candy, he was impossible to shake off. If they didn't take him, he would cling to Quincy's leg, and with his journalistic instincts, no matter how Quincy and his team tried to avoid him, he would always find them. His sense of smell rivaled a hunting dog.
Having no choice, the Dracula Hunter had to bring along this parasitic burden. However, they later discovered he was skilled at gathering information and had extensive knowledge of history, so they formally accepted him as a team member.
In fact, Harold's research so far had accumulated enough material for him to write several epic works like the Lord of the Rings or the Song of Ice and Fire, but he was reluctant to leave his teammates, using the excuse of needing more material to continue with them.
The teammates naturally understood but didn't expose this tsundere's hardheadedness.
Su Ming looked at them with a smile, and finally, his gaze fell upon the only woman in the team.
She was very young, probably not even twenty, wearing a faded denim outfit and a black turtleneck sweater underneath. Her golden hair lay smoothly on her shoulders, with the crossbow's shoulder strap hidden beneath her hair.
The reason the Dracula Hunter had such a big name in the hunter circle was largely because of her. In the eyes of outsiders, her name was a guarantee of strength, representing a one hundred percent success rate for missions.
Her name was Rachel Van Helsing.
That's right, her grandfather was the most famous vampire hunter, Van Helsing, the super demon hunter who single-handedly killed Dracula three times.
However, Dracula was undying; in the third hunt, after Van Helsing and Dracula perished together, it didn't take many years for Dracula to revive again.
He launched revenge against the Van Helsing family, killing everyone present, including Rachel's parents, who were protecting her by the crib.
But when he planned to target Rachel, Quincy and other supporting hunters arrived, saving the infant Rachel.
The Van Helsing family was the faith and face of the vampire hunters, and it must not be allowed to vanish.
Quincy fled with Rachel, while the other hunters covered their retreat and all perished.
The evidence that Dracula failed to target Rachel remains on her forehead, a lightning-shaped scar. The intense dark energy made it impossible to remove the scar, but it also enabled Rachel to track Dracula's whereabouts.
If Dracula appeared nearby or planned some major conspiracy, Rachel would feel a burning pain from the scar.
Quincy raised Rachel and taught her the skills of a vampire hunter, forming the Dracula Hunter team, vowing to take revenge on Dracula.
The story felt familiar to Su Ming because Rachel's experiences were identical to that of the young Harry Potter.
Rachel appeared in comics in 1972, much earlier than Harry Potter. The two Vampire Princes also had a similar relationship.
The character being honored ended up not being as famous as the later one, which was quite awkward.
But likely the main reason was that the story of the Dracula Hunter team ended in tragedy, where everyone except Hannibal King died in the battle against Dracula.
And King knew that Dracula would one day return.
So he found his old friend Whistler and joined his team 'Nightwalker,' where they together raised a half-human, half-vampire child, the savior against the vampires.
That child's name was Brad, codenamed Blade.