In that instant, the transformed Little Loli sank her teeth into the black-clad man's carotid, a swift wolf bite at a winter-thin throat. Bang, bang—his special-forces reflexes flared; even dying, he pulled a gun and squeezed off a few rounds, the bullets flew up like spooked birds into the cold night sky.

"Tch, such a hassle. I hoped to take you out one by one," the golden-haired girl murmured, tongue flicking the blood at her lip like a snake tasting rain. Her scarlet eyes gleamed with thick interest. "It's been... so long since I drank human blood~"

A scream tore the air, then gunfire answered, echoing like thunder under low clouds. The masked men knew it was the boss's voice—and they knew those shots. "What the hell? Didn't the boss take that blonde into the woods to, you know, shoot? Why's it real gunfire? That didn't sound like fun at all," said the one who never spoke, his words dropping like a stone into a still pond.

"Shut your grandma's pen—this isn't the time for jokes." Another masked man slapped him, palm cracking like dry bamboo. "Leave a few to watch the target and the students. The rest, with me—let's see what went down."

"Damn, talk about a buzzkill," Monkey grumbled. He had just torn An Jingru’s coat like a dog worrying silk; seeing the turn, he stood up cursing under his breath. Snick, snick, snick—everyone flipped safeties off, their earlier looseness blown away like chaff in a sharp wind.

"Nana, will Xiaoxue be okay?" The class monitor wriggled free and ran in quick steps to Joanna, worry ringing like a bell in her chest before her words. "Mm. I believe she will," Joanna said, though her voice quivered like a reed in a stream. In truth, she had no idea how strong the golden-haired girl was, and these men were all wolves with guns, dangerous as cliff edges at night.

Orders flew fast. Three stayed to guard the camp; four headed toward the gunshots like crows to a carcass. "Weren't they just going for some fun? How bad could it get? They even fired?" one muttered, doubt flickering like fireflies.

"Maybe there are leopards or tigers in the hills?" another said, then shook his head. "No, with the boss's skill, anything that came out would be prey."

"Enough talking. We'll know soon." Monkey pushed to the front, impatience buzzing like horseflies. His hands locked tight on his M4 carbine, knuckles white as bone.

"Yo, four at once? Better take out the three guarding camp first," Little Loli whispered from the grass, watching through thermal vision like a hawk tracking warmth in the dark. Her bright, scarlet eyes blinked. Then she blurred like a golden phantom, vanished into the brush, and raced for the camp, a streak of autumn light through trees.

"Wait... you guys, look—something’s down over there." Monkey eased his guard, then froze as if ice touched his spine. "No way—that’s the boss?"

They ran hard and found the corpse in black already drying, skin like old parchment. "What... what happened!?" the quiet one shouted, terror cracking his voice like frost.

"Stop screeching like a hen. Let me see," said the steadier masked man. He crouched and placed a hand on the body, his gaze skimming details like a surgeon tracing wounds.

"Well?" Monkey's voice wobbled, stunned more than scared—his boss, dead here, was a nightmare made real. "Pretty much this: the boss bled out in a very short time, drained dry. Look—here's the wound."

The calm one pointed to the gash on the neck, a fresh slash still glistening like a wet leaf.

"Bled out?! A vampire?"

"How could there be a vampire?" Panic scattered them like sparrows. They'd lived most of their lives without seeing anything truly strange, and now the boss lay sucked dry on the ground.

"Judging by the last moments, he tried to put a few rounds into the vampire," the calm one continued, voice low and steady as a drumbeat. "But the blood went too fast, the body stiffened, he couldn't move. Those shots were pure muscle memory." He pointed at the pistol clenched in the dead man's hand.

Silence fell—grave-deep, suffocating. Though masks hid their faces, rage and fear twisted behind them like storm clouds. "The blonde who went with the boss is gone. Could it be..."

"No wonder she dared bait him alone. Good thing I didn't go—I'd be the corpse," Monkey said, fear crawling cold. "From movies and books, vamps are monsters in duels but weaker against a pack." His voice dropped. "We’ve got four, the camp has only three—don’t tell me...!"

"Shit, back to camp—now!" Monkey bolted like a deer breaking brush. The others followed without a second thought, leaving behind nothing but a black suit and a husk.

"Found me already? I wanted to lure you out one by one." The golden-haired girl picked her spot, planning to take the three at camp where no one would see, but the four heat-signatures rushed back like a red tide. Time was ash in her hand.

Her hands shifted, delicate fingers becoming cruel claws like moonlit daggers. Her scarlet eyes locked on a mask man, and her fangs sharpened with the curve of her smile, bright as a crescent.

"Why aren't they back yet? What's going on now?" The guard at camp scanned the students with his gun, gaze sweeping like a broom. Swish—pain lanced his belly, and every drop of blood seemed to surge toward the cut like a river after rain. "How..." He never learned how he died.

"Xiaoxue!" Joanna cried, joy ringing like bells as Little Loli appeared behind the mask man and dropped him in a heartbeat. Heads turned as if pulled by a string.

"Xiao Qianxue? How did she become like this?!"

"Look at the corpse—she’s a vampire, right?!"

"What do you mean 'maybe'? Her changes are obvious!"

Boys and girls burst into talk, voices fluttering like sparrows. The class monitor stood stunned, shock washing her like a cold wave.

"How are you here? And him—!" The mask man named Axin stared at his teammate who had fallen like a cut pine. Terror and confusion flooded his skull like smoke, and he forgot to shoot. Another mask froze too, eyes wide behind black plastic.

"Sorry... take your questions to hell," the golden-haired girl said, voice soft as silk and sharp as ice. She exploded forward, claws knifing into Axin’s throat with impossible speed, a golden whirlwind of death ripping the air. Glug, glug—the sudden flood filled his voice box, and Axin died, eyes wide as moons.

Bang, bang, bang—the last mask man finally tore his fear and pulled the trigger. A burst screamed toward Little Loli like a steel storm. The golden figure danced again, a ribbon in rain. Dodging one fire point’s bullets... that’s not hard. She slid through the hail like time slowed.

Bang, bang, bang, bang... click-click. The last mask emptied his magazine without knowing, terror beating him hollow like wind through reeds. The students bolted downhill like scattered deer; thank heaven, no one was hit.

"Yo, out already?" Her perfect face, speckled with crimson like cherry petals on snow, lifted to the evening wind, golden hair fluttering like wheat under dusk. Her fine features wore a teasing curve, so unlike her usual softness; in that moment, Little Loli was a beauty you couldn’t name.

"Well then... my turn~~"