Lord of Cinder in American Comics

"Of course they can't say it. The vampires have given them a gag order. Anyone who dares to talk about it in front of outsiders will be turned into a blood pig and put into a blood factory to become food."

As if he had found the feeling of teaching students, Whistler explained the composition of vampires and hares to Cassel and drew a symbol on the ground.

This is a square shape with two intersecting fangs and complex geometric patterns.

Drawing the symbol, Whistler explained, "This is the mark of the Hags. They usually tattoo this symbol on their bodies as a way for vampires and Hags to recognize each other."

Ash photographed the drawing Whistler made and sent it to Frank, giving Frank something to do after he lost his job as an interrogator.

Before engaging the enemy, we must ensure that there are no traitors in our team. Let Frank handle the internal vetting. Hopefully, there won't be any rumors of a perverted Frank in the later control bureau.

Looking at the pattern Whistler drew, Cassel seemed to have seen it somewhere before. He reached out and turned the pattern around, then slapped his forehead and said, "I've seen this pattern before, at a writers' card game. It was someone else who brought it, I think it was the editor-in-chief of the New York Times!"

The news media are the mouthpiece; as long as they don't report it, the chances of others in the world knowing will be infinitely reduced. It seems these vampires' strategy is truly brilliant.

The bombing of Blade's residence was such a sensational event that the NY police couldn't even get a report. Coupled with the sensationalism of the news media, the idea that ordinary people encountering vampires can only become their food, at most resulting in a few more missing persons cases in the police department that will never be solved, is ridiculous.

But for now, let's clean up our own internal affairs first, and while we're at it, let those unlucky SHIELD cadets out so they can also witness the darkness of this world.

Chapter 177: Interrogation

In the interrogation room, Natasha and Clint were held together. They both considered this method of interrogation a complete failure.

This kind of operation wouldn't even occur in a detention center, where all inmates involved in the same case would be held separately and interrogated individually. What if interrogation targets were detained together and they colluded? How could interrogation questions be prepared in advance?

Inside the interrogation room, Natasha and Clint exchanged glances without uttering a word or using any gestures to communicate.

They don't know if there are cameras recording them now. If they suspect anything, they could be locked up in a dark cell, and then they won't even have time to suffer.

Natasha and the other woman were taken into the interrogation room, and a couple came in a few minutes later.

The woman was Irina of Kalim, and the person following behind her was Ego.

Saint Irina politely introduced herself to the two of them before beginning her interrogation.

"Can you tell me, are you two still in contact with Nick Fury?"

Such a direct question stunned both Agents Natasha and Clint. Who asks for information so bluntly? Shouldn't it be about building relationships, explaining the situation, using psychological warfare as a secondary method, and interrogation as a supplement?

At the very least, some lie detector techniques would be helpful, as they could be used as a reference during interrogation.

Natasha was the first to realize what was happening and shook her head, saying, "No, I haven't contacted Nick Fury. I don't even have a way to contact him directly. I was only responsible for carrying out missions."

Irina nodded in acceptance of this explanation, then looked at Clint.

"Uh, I don't have that either. Although I have Nick Fury's contact information, I haven't been in touch with him since I started learning from Geralt. I've been back on Earth and haven't had a chance to contact him since."

Unlike Natasha, Clint was personally recruited by Nick Fury, and his family was also living in seclusion elsewhere under Fury's arrangement. Since learning about Nick Fury's betrayal of humanity, Clint has maintained the utmost suspicion.

However, there is no way to contact Earth in the Dark Souls world, and there is no opportunity to do so now. Clint's biggest worry right now is his family.

Irina handed Clint a pen and paper.

"So, hunter apprentice, could you write down your contact information?"

Hunter Apprentice? This was the first time Clint had heard such a title, but after thinking about it, he felt relieved. The person in front of him was clearly not an ordinary person, and it was only natural that he knew about his apprentice status.

However, Clint did not write it down directly. He knew from Constantine in the Ringed City that Nick Fury had done something big, but he had no idea what it was about. He remained skeptical.

Clint gripped his pen, the nib resting on the paper, and said, "Can I know what Fury did? I'm completely baffled from the Ringed City until now..."

"Wait a moment, I need to ask Lord Ash if he can tell you..."

After speaking, Irina sat still, while Ego stood behind her like a bodyguard, making it hard to imagine how they could contact Ash.

However, just a few minutes later, Frank pushed open the door and walked in, throwing a pile of documents in front of Clint.

Frank has always had his own methods for dealing with uncooperative people like Clint, but now Ash won't let him get involved, so he stands in the corner behind the door, staring at Clint with eyes that could kill.

Clint flipped through the documents, growing increasingly panicked. He hadn't expected Fury to have such a secret. Natasha, who was sitting next to him, also saw the documents.

In contrast to Clint's panic, Natasha was relieved. Thankfully, she had found another powerful backer and hadn't had any further contact with Fury.

Clint closed the documents before he had even finished reading them, afraid that if he continued reading, he would be overcome with fear.

He quickly wrote down his contact information for Nick Fury on a piece of paper and handed it to Irina, afraid that he would be a step too slow.

Irina didn't check the information on the paper; instead, Frank, who was standing behind the door, came and took it.

After checking, Frank's murderous gaze kept shifting between the papers and Clint, but in the end, he still left the interrogation room with the intelligence.

Clint breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Frank close the door.

After Irina and the other woman calmed down, she asked, "One last question: will you still follow Nick Fury?"

"No, absolutely not, I'd kill him the moment I saw him..."

The two shook their heads vigorously, repeatedly denying the claim.

Having received assurances from both men, Irina nodded and left the interrogation room.

Looking at the open door of the interrogation room, Clint said uncertainly, "Is the interrogation over? Or is it a sting operation? Maybe we'll be shot dead the moment we step out the door?"

Clint's cautiousness made Natasha roll her eyes: "Do you think a gun can kill you with your current physical condition?"

"Maybe it's an anti-materiel weapon? Or maybe there's a Claymore lying on the ground as soon as you step out the door!"

Clint was genuinely scared. All he could think about now was his family, since only Nick Fury knew about his home.

But now they dare not act rashly, even though the interrogation room door is wide open, they dare not go out.

The two sat motionless in the interrogation room, just as before, and showed no intention of leaving, even though there were no guards at the door.

A head popped out from the doorway, and the person peered tentatively into the interrogation room.

Fitz appeared here, and only revealed his entire body when he saw Natasha and Clint.

Standing at the doorway, pointing outside, Fitz said, "Um, the director of the Bureau of Control sent me to call you over. I've been waiting for you for ages..."

Natasha and Clint exchanged bewildered glances. So all that mental preparation they had just gone through was just them scaring themselves?

Led by Fitz, the three arrived at a semi-hidden hangar where most of the Dragon Academy students had previously been.

Ash was standing in front of the group of students, waiting for the three of them to join the ranks.

“Constantine offered me a very tempting price to teach you a lesson, and now the opportunity has come.”

As he spoke, the soldiers next to him pushed over a pile of weapons and ammunition and distributed them to everyone present.

"From now on, you will be temporarily assigned to my command. Immediately enter a state of combat readiness. Everyone, load your guns and be ready for battle at any time. You will only be informed of who the enemy is a few minutes before the battle begins."

Such an order naturally sparked discussion among the SHIELD cadets, but no one dared to voice their concerns. Everyone knew that publicly opposing or discussing the commander's orders before the start of a war was strictly forbidden.

Even the more unconventional Fitz and Simmons fell silent and began checking the guns and ammunition.

When the firearms were handed to them, no one thought anything was wrong. Even some people who were knowledgeable about firearms began to carefully check whether the rifling and mechanical structure were smooth.

When the bullets were handed to him, he weighed the magazine and realized something was wrong. The bronze ammunition was lighter than the current magazines.

Looking at the silvery-white bullet, some people seemed to have already figured out what the enemy was.

Grant Ward was one of them. In some of Hydra's secret operations, he had fought against those vampires with silver weapons. Now, seeing these familiar special ammunition, Grant Ward began frantically stuffing magazines into his body.

Ash also noticed Grant's actions. This agent, who was discovered and trained by Crossbones, joined Hydra because of Crossbones' identity.

Grant Ward is not good at teamwork and communication with team members, and his personality leads to a slight lack of skills in handling tasks.

However, it must be said that he also has a kind side; he joined Hydra under duress from Crossbones. In Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Grant falls in love with Daisy within the Frame, and even after learning Daisy's true identity, he still willingly holds off the enemy to protect her.

Even a prodigal son can turn back, and Ash was willing to give Grant this chance. So Ash pointed at Grant, Natasha, and Clint and said, "You, you, and you stay. The rest of you can leave, but you can't leave the base. You must be ready to assemble at any time on alarms."

After the others left, Ash summoned three people.

Looking at Grant's body full of magazines, Ash asked, "Looks like you already know what the enemy is!"

"Yes, sir, I know the enemy; I have fought them before."

Grant, true to his soldierly manner, saluted Ash and then got straight to the point without any further ado.

Experienced combat personnel are a critical resource right now. Ash asked, "So what do you think we're lacking?"

patting the magazine on his body, Grant said, "We're not short of bullets, but we lack protective measures. Those vampires are fast, and bullets might not hit us. It would be best to have a high-powered ultraviolet searchlight or garlic bombs. Especially garlic bombs; those vampires can't stand the smell."

When Grant mentioned vampires, Natasha and Clint were at a loss for words. They hadn't expected that such creatures actually existed, and that their comrades had even fought against them!

"I've prepared everything you asked for. I've already bought two truckloads of garlic extract, and we can add more if needed. As for the ultraviolet weapons, Stark said he'll make them. Is there anything else?"

Hearing that Ash was so well prepared, Grant Ward was relieved and saluted again, saying, "That's all, sir."

"Alright then, go and get ready. As for you, Clint, your weapon is in the storage room. Go across the camp to the other side and find Anderson; he'll retrieve it for you."

Ash turned to Clint and explained the location of their weapons. Although it was just a flaming longsword and a short bow, seeing how much Clint had previously cherished them, she decided to return them to him for now.

However, Clint just paced outside, as if he had something to say but couldn't bring himself to say it.

Natasha understood Clint's concerns, reached out, and gave him a push.

Clint stumbled to his feet, and Natasha pointed at him, saying, "Clint is worried about his family, and Nick Fury knows where they are too."

Before sending someone to the front lines, at least their family needs to be taken care of. Ash asked Clint, "Is it far? I can send a helicopter to pick up your family."

"Not far, not far, it's in New Jersey, uh, exactly where..."

Clint excitedly agreed at first, but stopped talking when it came to the location of his family. He couldn't even trust Nick Fury, and he had no connections with Ash. Now, the only person he could trust was Natasha, who was standing next to him.

However, for some reason, Clint thought of Geralt, who had been mocking him all day long in the roadside village, and of Geralt drinking the Water of Life directly. Clint shook his head and quickly tried to get that image out of his mind. He couldn't let Geralt appear in front of the child.

"Then you can go pick it up yourself. I'll arrange a helicopter with just the pilot, or you can go without a pilot?"

As he spoke, Ash issued an order on the terminal to take a picture of Clint on the spot, so that Clint could use his face to mobilize a transport helicopter in the helicopter hangar.

"Thank you, thank you."

Clint thanked Ash repeatedly, then said to Natasha beside him, "Natasha, can you come with me to pick them up?"

In the end, Clint decided to take Natasha with him, at least to have an ally. Besides, during the few days in Ringed City, Clint had been sparring and training with Natasha, and Natasha's physical abilities were now in no way inferior to his.

After retrieving the equipment, Clint rushed to the hangar and selected a VH-3D Sea King helicopter, one of the two helicopters that could serve as Navy One. Not only was it fast and had a long range, but more importantly, it was comfortable to ride in.

Now that they're going to pick up their family, this helicopter, lacking any weapon attack systems, is the most suitable. After all, no one would calmly watch a helicopter loaded with various cannons and missiles parked in their backyard.

After taking off, the helicopter didn't fly southwest to New Jersey, but instead headed north to Danbury. Clint, having played a cunning trick, hadn't told Ash their location, or even given them the correct direction, in order to protect his family.

The advantage of aerial vehicles is that they do not need to consider terrain and can reach their destination in a straight line in the air.

After flying for half an hour, guided by Clint, the helicopter landed in a farmhouse at the foot of a mountain.