The past was built upon collecting unique characteristics.

The most troublesome problem lies in the demand for this core material...

Morian turned his attention to the description, which stated that the so-called Blood Essence was actually just a drop of "Ancient" blood.

The blood of ancient creatures… He leaned back into the sofa, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the armrest.

In this world, "ancient races" refers to those non-human races that have survived from ancient times to the present day and still have a small number remaining.

The most commonly heard races are nothing more than dragons, elves, and titans.

However, the difficulty of finding and acquiring these things far exceeds what one's own level can achieve.

Leaving aside dragons and titans, where should we look for elves, who are relatively easier to find?

There are three types of races: first-generation, second-generation, and ancient. Judging by the years, ancient races refer to beings that have lived for more than three hundred years.

More than three hundred years... Morian murmured softly.

As he pondered, he suddenly thought of another existence.

Vampires.

Those elegant creatures that feed on blood and have long lifespans undoubtedly meet the requirements of "ancient species".

Compared to other races, vampires are obviously more common, and there may even be traces of vampire activity in Bet City or St. Crentin.

It is said that some ancient noble families still have close ties with vampires, but this is just folklore and has not been verified.

If only a drop of blood is needed, and the target is a vampire, the difficulty is indeed reduced considerably.

The problem was how to find the vampires in the event... Morian's thoughts raced.

Blindly searching is certainly not advisable; those guys are extremely secretive and won't easily reveal their true identities.

If you really can't find it, you might have to try to get some information from the police.

This race, which relies on large amounts of blood for survival, may have members who commit heinous crimes and have a criminal record due to their need for blood.

Just then, a sudden knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

A series of dull knocks echoed at the door, and when there was no response, the person outside increased the force of the knocks.

A new commission? Wasn't there a "Closed for Business" sign hanging at the entrance? Morian looked at the entrance with a puzzled expression.

He got up from the sofa, deciding to check the situation first, and walked to the entrance to open the wooden door.

Standing outside the door was a plump old woman wearing a large floral dress, her body almost taking up the entire door frame.

The visitor was Mrs. Elena, the landlord of the office building.

"Morian, I think you haven't forgotten what day it is today—it's time to pay this month's rent!"

"According to the contract, you have to pay me thirteen pounds." She narrowed her eyes, as if suddenly remembering something, "plus the rent owed from last month, making it a total of twenty-six pounds."

Rent? Morian paused for a few seconds before suddenly remembering this.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Elena, I really forgot." He apologized first, then gave a pleasing smile. "But you're a bit forgetful too. I already paid last month's rent. Do you remember that sunny afternoon?"

Before the landlord could answer, he turned and went back inside, took out the separated portion of the money from the drawer, and counted out a few bills.

Back at the door, Morian smiled and handed over the money:

"The rent for this month is thirteen pounds. Please check it."

After being pointed out her mistake, Elena accepted the rent money somewhat embarrassedly, forcing a satisfied smile.

"There's no need to count anymore. I have complete faith in your character."

After carefully putting the money into her small bag, she didn't leave immediately, but instead looked up at Morian again.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"Please go ahead," Morian said with a polite smile.

Elena frowned, looking somewhat confused, and said:

"I asked you to help me find a 'beauty' not long ago, have you found one yet?"

"..." Morian's smile froze on his face instantly.

The first thought that popped into my mind was, who is the "beauty" the other person was talking about?

He quickly searched his memory and finally managed to recall something.

It was a missing black cat, which was also Mrs. Elena's pet that she had kept for many years.

The other party had mentioned this before, but he was busy dealing with Joseph's case at the time, so he just gave a few perfunctory words and then completely forgot about it.

At this point, Mrs. Elena took out a handkerchief, wiped her eyes, and said sadly:

"Since it went missing, I've had trouble eating and sleeping every day. I keep thinking about my precious baby and what kind of suffering it has gone through."

After hearing her description, Morian remained silent for a long time, his face showing an expression as if he had seen a ghost.

After a moment, he spoke in a soothing tone:

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Elena, I've been very busy lately. I'll definitely keep an eye out for you in a while."

"That's great!"

Mrs. Elena's gloom vanished, replaced by a radiant smile, making one almost wonder if her earlier sadness had been a mere facade.

"I knew you were a good person, little Morian. I'm entrusting the matter of the beauty to you with peace of mind."

"I won't disturb your rest any longer. Goodnight, sweet dreams!"

...Morian wanted to say something more, but the landlady had already turned and left with her account book, leaving behind a lingering smell of cheap perfume in her mouth.

After closing the door, he let out a long sigh.

Morian shook his head, walked back to the sofa, sat down again, and fell into deep thought.

If we really want to find vampires, are there any traces of them in Bet City?

Considering the demand, hospitals might be the primary location for investigation? After all, hospitals often have large blood reserves, and there have been cases in the past of vampires infiltrating hospitals to steal blood for drinking.

As he pondered, his gaze inadvertently swept across the coffee table and landed on the copy of the "Beicheng Daily".

I bought it on a whim when I came back in the afternoon. I haven't had time to look at it closely yet; I just finished reading the headlines.

But it was this casual glance that caused Morian's pupils to shrink sharply.

As if suddenly remembering something, he grabbed the newspaper and unfolded it to the second page.

In a rather inconspicuous location, a report was prominently displayed.

This report states that several serial murders have recently occurred in Bet City, resulting in the deaths of several citizens.

The victims were all young women, usually between the ages of twenty and twenty-five, and when their bodies were discovered, they all showed signs of dried blood.

Morian continued reading the text and discovered that all the crimes occurred at night, making it impossible for them to be committed during the day. Even the crime scenes were all in the same area.

It is clearly the work of the same killer.

The case has had a very negative impact. Police have increased local patrols and advised residents to avoid going out at night as much as possible.