Have you had enough, Miss Vampire? It's time to get down to business.

Lor has never been so excited for the start of the "tea party" as he is today.

……

Just as Lor was thinking about all kinds of things, the other members of the Gordon City Exorcist Team arrived one by one.

They must have heard that Joyce was going to be the "acting captain", so they were not as surprised as Lor and Vivian.

The bookish and gossipy Ms. Helen even started joking:

"Captain, letting Joyce sit in this position is like imprisonment for him... Hehe, when did our captain develop this hobby?"

"She's had this tendency for a while." Joyce spread his hands with a look of resentment. "So, if a woman over 30 hasn't married yet, she'll start to develop some dangerous tendencies..."

Before he could finish his words, he felt the cold gaze behind him.

"You guys are getting bolder lately," Captain Rhonina said with a smile on her face. Her tone was unusually calm, yet it was also chilling. "You've even started talking about me to my face?"

"We just... love you so much that we're not shy about it!" Joyce shuddered and quickly straightened his attitude. "Well, my term has expired now. How about you arrange some work for today, Captain?"

"Don't forget, you're the captain now." Captain Ronina maintained a smile. "Don't be nervous. Just assign tasks to everyone according to your ideas... Just pretend I don't exist."

Joyce was on pins and needles.

But I had no choice but to bite the bullet and pick up the documents that had been placed on the table.

There is indeed a task that needs to be arranged today.

"Well, this is... the investigation report submitted by Richard and Rachel yesterday?" Joyce glanced at the document, then raised his eyebrows and looked at a pair of twin siblings leaning against the wall.

Richard and Rachel are also members of the Gordon City Exorcist Team.

These two people always act together. Their strength is both at the second level. They have the same length of dark green hair and their faces are about 70% similar.

Lor was not familiar with them before, having only met them a few times. Moreover, he always felt that these two people exuded an orthopedic aura that did not allow outsiders to interfere.

"Yeah." Rachel put a hand gently on Richard's shoulder and replied, "Recently, several new faces have appeared among the illegal supernatural beings lurking in Gordon City. Richard and I followed the captain's instructions and went to investigate the background of these people."

"There are three of them, all working together," Richard continued. "We haven't figured out their strength levels or abilities yet, but we've roughly figured out their purpose for visiting Gordon City... They're looking for someone."

"Looking for someone?" Joyce frowned slightly. "Looking for who?"

"A dangerous wanted criminal known as 'John the Cleaner'." The twins said in unison.

……what?

The moment he heard the name, Lor's heart skipped a beat.

9. You are a henpecked husband, right?

"John, the Cleaner... A Level 3 Transcendent with the Root of Shadow. He possesses strong concealment abilities and is also quite good in combat."

Vivian recalled the wanted poster she had read and recited:

"This man is well-known among the illegal supernaturals in Gordon City. He's willing to do almost anything for money, including selling stolen goods, handling crime scenes, stealing and robbing... Sometimes, he also acts as a bodyguard or hired killer. All in all, he's a very dangerous character!"

"Well, this person is indeed a tough one. He has escaped from our pursuit many times."

Captain Ronin nodded:

"But in the past few weeks, he seems to have suddenly disappeared... According to the information I got from my informant, this 'Cleanup Man John' hasn't appeared in Gordon City for a long time."

...Of course.

I have already buried him. If he could show up again, it would be really weird.

Lor thought silently.

"Could this person have already left Gordon City?" He pretended to be clueless and speculated.

"Acting Captain, what do you think?" Captain Ronina did not comment, but looked at Joyce.

"Don't ever call me that, it will shorten my lifespan..."

Joyce wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and began to analyze:

"'John the Cleaner' suddenly disappeared. There are three possibilities: one, he has left Gordon, as Lor said; two, he is dead, perhaps killed by other illegal transcendents, or perhaps he touched some power he shouldn't have touched and played with fire... The third is that he hid himself because he was afraid of certain people or forces."

As he spoke, he looked at the green-haired twin brother and sister:

"Richard, Rachel. What's the purpose of those newly arrived illegal superhumans looking for John, the cleanup man? Do you have any idea?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but these three guys are clearly not good people. They feel like they're out for revenge," Rachel said. "They've been searching everywhere for anyone who's had contact with John, the aftermath worker... Oh, and they seem to have mentioned the word 'token'."

...token?

The token of the Dark Moon Society?

Lor took a deep breath in his heart.

In other words, these three illegal foreign superhumans probably knew about the Dark Moon Society and knew that "John the Cleaner" was one of the guests at the tea party!

Things don't seem to be going well.

Lor frowned slightly.

If we allow them to continue their investigation, it will be very disadvantageous to Isabella and me.

After all, the last job that "John the Cleaner" took before his death was to serve as a bodyguard for the escaped member of the "Eternal Life Society"... If we continue to investigate, we might end up involving me or Isabella!

In the worst case scenario, Isabella's vampire identity, my dependent identity, and the fact that I replaced "John the Cleaner" to attend the Dark Moon Society meeting may be exposed!

I never expected that after so long, new waves would arise.

No no no.

We must eliminate this hidden danger before our colleagues find out!

But then again, I haven't done any thorough research on where "John the Cleaner" got the Dark Moon Society's token, or how he was recruited as a member...

Well, maybe I can take this opportunity to get answers to these questions...

Lor thought for a moment and then slowly said:

"Acting Captain Joyce, I have an idea. Since these three are here seeking revenge, why don't we just hold off for now and let them do what they want... If they can actually find 'Cleanup Man John' and help us eliminate this troublesome wanted criminal, that wouldn't be a bad idea."

The later his colleagues waited to engage directly with them, the more wiggle room Lore could buy himself.

"Good idea... Lor, you are still so bad."

Joyce smiled and said, "However, these three guys are illegal transcendents after all, so we can't really let them do whatever they want. Even if we don't directly contact them for the time being, a certain degree of surveillance is necessary."

"Those three guys are staying at a hotel in the East District," Richard said at this moment. "I placed a reconnaissance tool at their door. I can confirm that they haven't left yet... Also, they've been acting separately these past few days, and I don't think today will be any different."

"Well."

Joyce nodded and arranged in an orderly manner:

"The captain and Stanley stayed behind at the church. Lor and Vivian formed a team, Richard and Rachel formed a team, and Ms. Helen and I formed a team to follow the three people.

"Every two hours, each group sends one person to the church to meet and synchronize the situation.

"Also, keep watch until nightfall. If they still haven't found 'Cleanup Man John' by then, we'll close the net and take those three guys into custody."

After saying this, Joyce looked at Captain Roninna and asked tentatively:

"Captain, is my arrangement appropriate?"

Honestly, there's almost nothing to fault with it.

Joyce had obviously thought it through carefully, and even the personnel arrangements in the groups were very balanced.

Although Lor and Vivian are both newcomers, their abilities complement each other and they are now both reliable combat forces, not to mention that Lor has the powerful weapon "Liu Guang" in his hand.

It makes sense for Helen, who is relatively weak in combat, to be paired with Joyce. Richard and Rachel are inseparable and have a great understanding of each other, so it's natural for them to work together.

As for Stanley...

This bald man was too conspicuous to be a "stalking" mission. They had no choice but to leave him and Captain Rhonina behind, as the church couldn't be left alone.

"Actually, you can also assign me some tasks." Captain Luo Nina raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Captain...after all, we're leaving for the Holy City tomorrow, so we need to recuperate." Joyce said with a smile. "That being said, we don't yet know the exact strength of those three. During the 'close-up' phase tonight, you may still need to take charge."

"I understand." Captain Ronina nodded and no longer had any objections.

Joyce breathed a sigh of relief:

"In that case, let's start the action now..."

"Wait a minute." At this moment, Lor suddenly raised his hand. "Looks like we have to work overtime until very late today, right? Then I have to go home first and tell Isabella."

Joyce's arrangement is indeed very reasonable.

The only problem is that there is little room for Lor to make any tricks.

Closing the net at nightfall was a bit too tight in terms of time... I guess Joyce wanted to solve the problem as much as possible before the captain left so as not to leave her with any worries.

Moreover, if the other party acts separately, it will be difficult for Lor to grasp the movements of three people at the same time.

...It seems that this time, I have to trouble the young lady to take action.

"You're a henpecked husband, aren't you? You've worked so hard." Joyce patted Lor's shoulder and sighed sympathetically. "Alright, then go report to your fiancée right away... You don't have to come to class later. Just meet us near the surveillance site."

10. Start taking action

A room in a hotel in the east district of Gordon City.

It was already broad daylight outside, but the room was still dim. The curtains were drawn tightly, with only a little light coming through the gaps, vaguely illuminating three figures: two men and one woman.

One of the men was slightly overweight. At this moment, he was sitting cross-legged on the bed, with his eyes closed, concentrating and breathing steadily, looking like he was meditating.

The other man, thin and with a long, horse-like face, leaned against the wall, scratching his ears and neck with small movements that gave him an impression of irritability.

As for the lady, she wore a hood even in the room, with half of her face hidden in shadow, which gave her a very mysterious look.

"Mr. Masai, your luck is very bad today... I have foreseen it."

The hooded lady placed a stack of divination cards on the small side table in front of the bed.

She sighed softly, turned over the top card, and solemnly examined the pattern on it - a girl leading a white horse, strolling on a path in the woods.

"See, what did I say? This is a very bad omen." The hooded lady sighed.

"A bad omen?" The horse-faced man named Ma Sai leaned in closer, puzzled. "Isn't the girl in the painting quite pretty? Quite pleasing to the eye, but she's a little young for my taste... What's so bad about it?"

"The point isn't the girl, it's the horse," the hooded woman explained. "Being led by a horse symbolizes its lack of initiative and its dependence on others... Don't you think its facial shape resembles yours? This horse symbolizes you."

"I feel that there is something wrong with your interpretation." Marseille disagreed, and then turned over another card on his own initiative.

This time, the pattern on it is flowers blooming in the sun.

"What about this one? It can't be another bad omen, right?"

"This one's even scarier." The hooded woman shuddered. "Have you ever wondered why flowers bloom so brightly? It's because there's a corpse buried in the soil beneath its feet... your corpse!"

"Hey, I don't believe it... What about this one? Uh, what's that picture on it, a clown?"

"There's no need to explain this, right? It's already very straightforward."

"Tsk, I finally understand..." Marcello gradually lost interest. "No matter what card you turn over, you can interpret it as an ominous sign, right?"

"Of course." The hooded lady nodded. "I'm a professional fortune teller, and I'm great at scaring customers. That's how I terrify them into pulling out their wallets and buying items from me to ward off evil spirits."

"Hmph, boring!"

Ma Sai turned his head and looked at the man who was sitting cross-legged and complained:

"Brother Miles, I really can't stand this woman who's playing tricks on me... Just listen to what she said just now, she's such a badass!"

"Haha." The man known as Brother Miles opened his eyes and smiled. "You should be thankful that Miss Della didn't choose to become the transcendent who caused the 'bad omen'. Otherwise, what she said would have come true..."

"Honestly, I regret this." The hooded Miss Della sighed. "If I really possessed the extraordinary power of the source of 'Bad Omen', it would definitely be very helpful to my business."

"Your current abilities are already evil enough," Marse interrupted.

"But in a sense, Miss Della's reminder is not wrong. It can keep us vigilant."

Miles had a kind face, but his eyes showed a bit of sharpness:

"Reclaiming the token representing our membership in the Dark Moon Society, which rightfully belongs to us, from 'Cleanup Man John' is no easy task... That rat is incredibly cunning and deceitful, and by now, he's likely already reached the fourth rank."

"Hmph, so what?" The impatient Ma Sai snorted coldly and said disapprovingly, "Even if he really becomes a mid-level extraordinary person, as long as the three of us join hands, we can deal with him!"

"Don't be careless." Miles shook his head.