Chapter 98: Citywide Vigilance

After Liu Lan returned, Ao Tian learned the specific situation from her, which was almost the same as his rough guess.

However, the number of missing persons within these few days had already reached dozens, and most mornings, bloodless corpses were discovered. Some of them were bled to death by sharp objects cutting through their major arteries, while others had a shocking bite mark on their neck. According to the official autopsy report, the bite marks contained substances similar to human saliva, and ordinary humans could not inflict such bite marks. Moreover, there was more than one substance present, so the target could be directly locked onto the armored ones.

“Dragon Country’s armored units can only be produced by official channels. Whether it’s official armored personnel or the few civilian armored individuals in the entire Dragon Country, they all have official real-name registration management. Therefore, the killer can only be an invader who has illegally entered the country or someone with an unknown identity.” As she said this, Liu Lan’s gaze fell on Ao Tian, as she still didn’t know his true identity.

“Why are you looking at me? Do you suspect I did it?” Ao Tian rolled his eyes and said, “My Master could openly take an airplane into the protected zone, so it’s obvious he’s from an official organization. Besides, as I said before, although I don’t consider myself a good person, I’m definitely not someone who kills innocent people. How could this have anything to do with me?”

Liu Lan didn’t pay much attention to Ao Tian’s explanation. She had never suspected him. Ao Tian’s words were one reason, and another was that she trusted her younger brother. Knowing Ao Tian as she did, she was certain he wasn’t a bloodthirsty person, and besides, no one could convince her that Ao Tian had a habit of sucking blood.

“Hehe, well, who knows?” Although she thought this in her heart, Liu Lan didn’t let Ao Tian off the hook verbally.

“…” Ao Tian was speechless. However, seeing his third sister’s teasing expression, he understood it was a joke and didn’t say anything further.

“Alright, alright, I don’t want to argue with you. If it’s an armored one, we’ll have to analyze the guy’s gene sequence and abilities based on his actions to prepare thoroughly before making a move.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Lan dropped her playful expression and began to listen intently to Ao Tian’s analysis. In terms of experience and knowledge, she truly couldn’t compare to her younger brother.

“Third Sister, do you have any photos of the bite marks on those corpses, or do you remember what those bite marks specifically looked like?”

Liu Lan shook her head after listening. Those photos were only shown to them during a meeting: “There are no photos, but I remember some of what they looked like. They looked like they were cut by a sharp object.”

“Did the entire wound look like a relatively regular circular shape?”

“No, it looked like a typical canine bite mark.”

“Hmm, there aren’t many animals in the world today that survive by sucking blood. If it’s confirmed to be a canine bite mark, we can rule out species like leeches or lampreys. Generally speaking, canine teeth are common in mammals. If we’re talking about mammals and blood-sucking…” With this thought, a creature with wings, soaring through the night sky and blood-sucking, appeared in Ao Tian’s mind.

“Could it be the legendary vampire bat?” At this moment, Liu Lan also thought of this and spoke first.

Vampire bats are unique blood-sucking species among mammals, with skull and tooth structures specialized for blood-sucking. They are mainly distributed in Central and South America, inhabiting almost completely dark places and feeding on the blood of various animals.

Although they are called vampire bats, their actual method of blood-sucking is to bite open an animal’s or person’s skin and then lick it bit by bit. This is because their saliva contains a special chemical substance that effectively prevents blood from clotting, allowing them to continuously lick blood.

Moreover, their saliva also contains another substance that can numb the prey, ensuring that the attacked individual remains unaware during their feeding process.

Due to their body size, although animals that have had their blood sucked by them do not die immediately, they have a high probability of contracting rabies. To date, there have been numerous cases of death due to rabies outbreaks after being bitten by vampire bats, posing a fatal threat to humans and some other animals.

Not only that, but as a type of bat, vampire bats retain the communal characteristics of bats and also possess the high intelligence of mammals. During rest, they huddle together in families or groups of friends for various purposes, and even unrelated individuals will share food with their kind when needed.

Their bloodthirsty nature, terrifying appearance, and slightly human-like social behavior make them seem like devils from hell. Because of this, vampire bats are a symbol of the devil in Western countries, representing evil, laziness, filth, and feeding on the blood of others. Later generations also used them as prototypes to create the image of vampires, with the most famous figure, Count Dracula, becoming widely known and household name throughout the world, which illustrates people’s fear of vampire bats.

“Highly likely, and vampire bats are not native species to Asia, which fits the identity of an invader.”

“Then how can we find him?” Liu Lan quickly asked after Ao Tian said this. Given the current situation, this mission was extremely urgent for them. Every moment they delayed, a young woman or child might tragically fall victim to the killer’s claws.

“Vampire bats prefer to roost in dark environments during the day and only come out to forage at night. Of course, as an armored individual, he wouldn’t be as sensitive to light as a real vampire bat. So, we can only search all the dimly lit places around the crime scenes, especially all sorts of basements. These are of utmost importance.”

“Okay, I’ll report this to my superiors immediately. I’ll go out searching tonight.” With that, Liu Lan prepared to grab her things and leave.

“Wait!” At this moment, Ao Tian suddenly grabbed Liu Lan’s hand: “That guy dared to commit crimes in the urban area, so he must be quite skilled. You’d better stick together. And if I’m not mistaken, that guy must also be very afraid of strong light, so for safety, each of you should carry a high-powered flashlight. Although I haven’t seen it, the name suggests it can emit strong light, so anything that can emit strong light will do. Don’t rush to act either. Report the situation first, and if you’re going to act, come with me. I won’t feel at ease if you go alone.”

“Okay, I understand.” Liu Lan obediently agreed, then let go of Ao Tian’s hand and quickly sat down on the bedside as if fleeing.

Ao Tian didn’t pay much attention and habitually turned to look out the window, lost in thought.

Seeing Ao Tian turn away, Liu Lan’s mind couldn’t help but recall Ao Tian’s earlier words, “I won’t feel at ease if you go alone.” His gentle tone, serious expression, and physical contact caused a faint blush to creep onto Liu Lan’s beautiful face.

This younger brother seemed more reliable than she had imagined.