Blond-Bearded Raymond Hager opened the iron door for John Bennett; Chief Justice and Baker had already been waiting for him for quite some time. Chief Justice picked up a piece of paper from the table and handed it to him: “Take a look first.” John Bennett took off his gloves and accepted the paper. There weren’t many names on the list; those recommended by the princes were generally qualified to be enforcers—if they weren’t, the princes wouldn’t have recommended them, so naturally, there were only a few people. John Bennett read through the names one by one, and within a few minutes, he had finished considering them. “Baker, what about you? Who do you prefer?” John Bennett first sought the opinion of his colleague. Baker pointed to the fourth name on the list: “Edwin Gragg.” John Bennett nodded, thought for a moment, and said, “Chief Justice, among these five people, two are not suitable.” John Bennett pointed to the first and fifth names: “Marshall and Crystal Lee both harbor unstable madness in their hearts; they are absolutely unfit to be enforcers!” Baker nodded in agreement. Chief Justice slowly walked to the front of the table, extended her elegant finger, and gently drew two lines on the paper. Two black flames burned away the sections of paper with those two names: “Then let’s remove those two. That leaves three.” Caroline looked at John Bennett; John Bennett felt a bit troubled. Of the three remaining, one was Asian, one was Black, and one was White. The one Baker recommended, Edwin Gragg, was the Black vampire.

“I recommend Susan Bennett!” John Bennett finally stated his choice; he still supported his compatriot. Chief Justice sighed inwardly, while Baker remained expressionless. “The three are about the same. Let me be clear: I have no prejudice against anyone, but Asians are indeed better suited for energy accumulation, and because of their skin color, Black enforcers have a harder time quickly building up resistance to sunlight!” John Bennett stated his reasoning in one breath. Baker’s mouth twitched slightly.

Chief Justice considered carefully: “Alright, you two go back for now. I need to think about it.” The two stood up and saluted Chief Justice, then left together. As they exited, they squeezed through the doorway at the same time. The burly Baker didn’t give way this time, and John Bennett didn’t notice either; the two awkwardly squeezed out the door, and Raymond Hager gave them a strange look.

Walking along the snow-covered path, John Bennett took the initiative to ask, “How’s your mission going?” Baker kicked aside a snow-covered stone with his toe, staring at his black leather boots as he replied, “Nothing much found. That kid’s lair is like a rabbit warren, with tunnels everywhere. If my strength wasn’t far greater than his, I probably would’ve been discovered by his people before I even found him. What about you? How are things on your end?” “Me?” John Bennett said, “Right before you called, I just spotted a big fish!” “What big fish?” “I don’t know him, but Tessa was holding an umbrella and opening the car door for that guy. Think about what kind of status that person must have!” A sharp glint flashed in Baker’s eyes, but he quickly lowered his head, lost in thought. The two fell silent.

Chapter 004

John Bennett lived on an abandoned cargo ship. The ship was huge, and John Bennett arranged everything on it as he pleased. The lowest deck was his bedroom, located below the waterline, where the air pressure was high, the humidity was great, and the lighting was dim—very much like a tomb, an environment vampires loved. John Bennett had installed nearly a hundred surveillance cameras and various detectors on the ship. When vampires rest, even powerful predators are vulnerable and require thorough protection. John Bennett’s coffin was that of an eighth-generation vampire. In modern times, eighth-generation vampires were considered ancestors; even the elders of the Camarilla were only sixth or seventh generation. When enforcing the law on him, John Bennett had paid a great price and effort, but the rewards were great as well, including this coffin, which had been used for nearly a thousand years and was made of ivory, gold, and oak. John Bennett turned on all the monitors, closed several alloy doors, then lay down in the coffin, folded his hands over his chest, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep. He hadn’t rested in a long time; even predators are not sleepless.

After parting with John Bennett, Baker quickly arrived at the base of a tall building. The elevator took him to the eleventh floor, where he stopped in front of a door equipped with a surveillance camera. As soon as Baker arrived, the door opened automatically, and a young man in a black and blue silk shirt opened the door for him. “Sir! You’re back!” the young man said with a bow. Baker grunted in response and walked straight into the inner room. “How is it?” The curtains were drawn over the window, but there was a small opening, and a high-powered telescope was set up by the window. An older-looking vampire was monitoring every move in the large house across the street. That building was the residence of Peter Yates, as well as the lair for him and his subordinates. Baker was responsible for monitoring Peter Yates’s movements.