The moment the young man ran out of the subway station, Selene caught up.
A bullet struck the ground near his feet. He stopped immediately, terrified that continuing would get him killed.
Turning around, he watched Selene approach. The scouter's readings jumped wildly before settling at 13.
Selene walked up and ripped the scouter from his head. After confirming it was genuine, she shot it directly, destroying the device. Her voice came cold and threatening.
"You saw nothing today. Keep your mouth shut unless you want your life to end prematurely."
Without waiting for a response, Selene turned and disappeared into the night.
Smith and the others had left the gravity room because John Wick, who'd been exercising, suddenly stopped and approached Smith.
"Boss, information just appeared in my mind. About the Dragon Balls."
Smith asked with surprise, "You mean even you received information about their abilities?"
John nodded seriously. "Yes, Boss. I don't understand what it means."
Smith's expression grew calm. "The Dragon Balls have revived. A new round of trials has begun. This time will be more intense than the last."
Without remaining in the gravity room, Smith returned to his office and began determining each Dragon Ball's status.
Soon Smith discovered one Dragon Ball remained in Tony's underground laboratory. Another sat in a castle, embedded in a scepter-like ornament. One rested in a cabinet, another in a box.
Of the remaining three, one lay in a cave, one beneath the sea, and one on a glacier.
Not all the Dragon Balls had been obtained by anyone. A round stone, while valuable-looking, wasn't being carried around. Smith couldn't even confirm who possessed it.
Britain. The vampire stronghold.
Selene returned to the castle, frowning at the vampires still enjoying their banquet. With scouters becoming widespread, the risk of vampires being exposed to ordinary people increased daily. And now special weapons targeting vampires had appeared.
Ignoring the party, Selene walked to the weapons room and placed the pistol she'd recovered on the table. "We have a serious problem."
Kahn, responsible for weapons research, extracted a bullet from the pistol. He examined the light blue liquid inside. "I'll need to run tests. This appears to be some radioactive fluid."
Selene spoke bluntly. "Ultraviolet radiation ammunition."
Kahn looked surprised. "Using sunlight as a weapon?"
The vampire Kraven approached, his tone skeptical. "You expect me to believe those filthy animals developed specialized bullets to kill vampires?"
Kahn, shook his head. "I don't believe it either. I'd bet military origin. They must have stolen these specialized firearms."
Selene shook her head at their dismissiveness. "I don't care where they obtained them. Roger is dead. Nathaniel is still out there. We need to gather all the Death Dealers."
Her expression grew more urgent. "Scouters are becoming commonplace. I encountered someone carrying one at the subway station today. If these firearms came from the military or special forces, the threat to us escalates exponentially."
She leaned forward. "Do you know vampires in America evacuated because of scouters?"
Kraven refused to acknowledge the danger. "We can't retreat. We can't abandon our position because of one random attack. Awakening Day is mere days away, and this house is in chaos."
Selene glared at him. "They shot at us in public. I heard multiple werewolf howls in the tunnel. Besides, if I hadn't destroyed that man's scouter, the internet would be flooded with news about vampires and werewolves."
Her voice grew sharper. "Although we reached a coexistence agreement with the London government and local authorities years ago, do you genuinely believe peace will last forever? Have you looked at how the world has changed?"
Kraven dismissed her concerns. "You didn't actually see the werewolf. You just heard noise. Maybe someone was high on drugs? We decimated the werewolf race, leaving very few survivors. It's impossible for them to maintain large numbers."
He crossed his arms. "As for the outside world, you mean the god or Iron Man? They're in New York. We're in London. Can they really reach us here? Besides, we operate in darkness. Apart from targeting werewolves, we don't disturb ordinary people's lives. With our artificial blood banks and inexhaustible wealth, we're not a destabilizing factor."
Selene felt frustration building at Kraven's lack of crisis awareness and his refusal to believe werewolves existed in significant numbers.
"I trust my instincts. The werewolf situation requires caution and we must monitor changes in the outside world constantly. I don't want to be swept away like garbage someday."
Kahn spoke up. "Selene, Kraven is right. It's been centuries since we've seen werewolf habitats with significant populations. Not since Lucian's death."
Selene felt helpless that neither supported her position. "I know that, Kahn. But I want to investigate everything thoroughly and prove myself wrong. Have your people examine this situation completely."
Kahn considered briefly. "I'll have Soren organize a search team."
Selene, about to leave, immediately turned back. "No. I want to lead this team personally."
Kraven refused. "Absolutely not. Let Soren handle it."
Hearing Kraven's words, Selene understood he didn't want her gaining greater authority. She stared at him deeply.
"I don't care who investigates, but I want the truth. The real truth, not deception or excuses."
After delivering her statement, Selene walked out of the weapons room. Looking at the banquet attendees, she quickly noticed something wrong.
In the hall stood a sculpture holding a stone scepter. The scepter originally had a round stone, but now displayed an orange-yellow bead with three stars inside.
She remembered clearly because she'd picked up that stone and placed it atop the sculpture's scepter, thinking it made the display more harmonious.
Selene frowned and walked over, grabbing the three-star ball while muttering, "I don't know which idiot replaced my stone."
However, the moment she touched the Dragon Ball, information about its abilities flooded into her mind.