How do you find a group of vampires in a vast, pitch-black area with obstructed vision?
The answer is—just challenge their bottom line.
Deathstroke couldn't find the Blood Race, and the failure of his sense of smell wasn't a big deal. Su Ming had his ways, though the simplest method required a bit of work.
Just deliberately spoil whatever the Blood Race likes.
Being aristocrats with long lifespans, most of the Blood Race are proud and conceited. Their greatest pride isn't in their immortality or self-healing ability, but their taste in art.
Oil painting, poetry, opera—these are basically the entirety of vampire aristocrats' daily life.
In this environment, Su Ming couldn't find a painting to tear up for them, which they wouldn't see anyway; if he recited poetry, it lacked emotion, so singing it was.
Actually, without a mask or voice changer, his singing wasn't bad.
But after being processed through a voice changer and Big Horn, and then reflected by the Abyss terrain, the singing could only be described as ghostly wailing, and he even chose to mimic a werewolf singing folk songs, occasionally mixing in some wolf howls, which were even more piercing to the vampires.
And now the plan succeeded. Singing deliberately out of tune made the other side unable to stand it, and they immediately responded with classic opera excerpts, as if trying to teach him what singing truly was.
But was it useful? Your position has been exposed...
Su Ming put away the Big Horn, turning it back into its blade form. He planned to negotiate conditions with the vampires. If they really were to deal with Dormammu, convincing some durable cannon fodder would be good.
These Blood Race members came to fight with the Underground Race, and Su Ming originally wasn't keen to meddle, but the situation was different now. If negotiations could be had, negotiate; if not, then just kill them.
However, just as he was about to fly towards the vampires, a song suddenly echoed from the darkness not far behind him. The voice was bold and generous, with a high pitch, singing the Shaanxi folk song "Thirty Miles Village."
Familiar tune, unfamiliar accent, accompanied by the sound of an electric horn blaring: "Setting up a family! Famous family! Living in Suide! Thirty Miles Village..."
About to take off, Su Ming landed again, the single eye under his mask squinting into a slit. Hearing Chinese here only meant one thing—the Divine Spear Bureau was here.
Although Siberia is Fur Bear's territory, it's sparsely populated. Even if the Celestial Ring Base moved in directly, Leviathan might not immediately notice.
He might as well see who's here. He couldn't disregard someone making trouble at a critical moment.
The newcomer was singing happily, as if competing with the vampires about who had longer breath, and Su Ming followed the song.
Not too close yet, a dozen meters away he saw a golden light within the black cloud, and its familiar shape relieved him considerably.
He flew over, landing beside the newcomer, somewhat helplessly holding the other's electric horn: "Old Zheng, you're not being fair, following me now are you?"
The newcomer was indeed Zheng Xian, the Director of the Divine Spear Bureau, holding a Divine Gun in one hand and an electric horn in the other, singing with great enthusiasm.
It was just like those he often saw at the market in his past life, constantly announcing great deals, like when the Jiangnan Leather Factory closed down.
Quickly shaking his head, he couldn't think about it—once he did, those seductive words appeared in his mind, the pain of having a too-good memory.
Zheng Xian grinned, putting down the horn and switching it off: "Nothing like that, brother, don't get me wrong. I just came to investigate the rumors about Element Zero. Who knew you'd toss a county-sized piece of land off Earth? I came to join the fun, it's pure coincidence."
Su Ming crossed his arms, fingers rhythmically tapping: "You have tens of thousands of special agents on standby, yet the Director goes on a field assignment personally? How can I not be suspicious?"
The Director planted his spear into the ground, leaning on it: "Even if you don't believe me, at least have some confidence in yourself. Do you think your whereabouts aren't elusive enough? Or that your judgment of character is off?"
"Alright then, since you're not hiding your presence from me, I have confidence in my fists." Su Ming took off his mask, pulled out two cigarettes from his pouch, and the two began puffing smoke, discussing matters.
Zheng Xian's expression was somewhat sorrowful, his features making him look naturally somber, and he took deep drags on his cigarette: "I say, brother, are you okay with directly breathing in the black stuff around us? I've got my Divine Gun protection, plus some Qi Cultivation methods, but you without the mask..."
"It's fine, didn't you want to see the effects of Element Zero? When I turn into a monster wanting to destroy the world, you'll know." Su Ming took a cheerful drag and puffed a smoke ring.
Though it seemed the helmet was removed, underneath the skin, Strangulation had already formed a new defense, and it adapted his respiratory and digestive tract surfaces into Demon flesh to increase resistance.
The Underground Race he consumed before wasn't in vain. It proved those creatures have lived here for years without assimilation, showing resistance to Dark Matter, so mimicking their flesh structure would suffice.
Zheng Xian shook his head with a sigh, spitting out a bit of smoke, face full of worry: "Sigh, I mentioned Element Zero to you before, hearing it's dangerous and wanted you to take a look too, so we could split the responsibility. After all, Siberia is near the Northeast, I need to plan ahead; maintaining Earth is also Kama Taiji's duty, we're in facing an extinction crisis, you have a share too."
Su Ming recalled that before he went on vacation to Sochi, Zheng Xian did say something like that, but the 'split the responsibility' was too vague. He thought Zheng intended to drag him out to rob somewhere instead.
"But what did you mean by 'pull a big one' back then?"
Su Ming stroked his beard, feeling Zheng Xian didn't have this meaning initially. It was only after seeing Zero Element and Deathstroke in its true form here that he temporarily changed his mind.
"Did I? Brother, you must be mistaken. Let's not dwell on that. Let's strategize on what to do next." Zheng Xian looked surprised, pretending he never said those things.
The Abyss isn't a pleasant place, and Su Ming didn't want to argue with Zheng Xian here. It was enough if he realized his mistake.
Extinguishing the cigarette, the black and yellow mask rose again: "Earlier, the ones singing against us were a group of vampires, singing a segment from 'Queen of Spades.' They's likely local to Fur Bear in life; I was about to negotiate terms with them."
"Hmm... vampires are manageable. Such things are extinct where I come from, far less troublesome than zombies. Speak of the key issues, I only sensed danger from the Zero Material, but you seem more familiar with them. Can you tell me what it signifies?"
Zheng Xian took a last deep puff, flicked the cigarette end to the ground, and crushed it underfoot.
"Zero Material is the energy-formed body of a Dimensional Demon God, possessing corrosive and devouring traits. If unchecked, consuming Earth would be a breeze." Su Ming put an arm around Zheng Xian, leading him towards the Blood Race: "By the way, you have zombies over there? The blood-sucking kind?"
"If I were to answer officially, definitely not. We don't have any such demons, monsters, or devils, nor anything ghostly in origin; they're all feudal superstitions."
The cigarette Zheng Xian crushed turned to dust, using a unique power technique to erase the trace, and then wrapped an arm around Su Ming's neck, appearing as close brothers:
"But if we're talking privately...without those entities causing trouble, brother, what do you think this Director of Divine Spear Bureau is usually busy with?"