After the old man waved to me, he walked to his wooden table and lifted the kerosene lamp on the table.

"What are you waiting for at the door?" he looked back at me and asked, "Are you shy when you get here? Come on, come in quickly!"

"Ah, I'm not..."

"Don't let my mother-in-law," the old man waved his hand impatiently and interrupted me, "I hate guys like you the most, young man, do things more simply."

He held the oil lamp and walked towards me again with great strides. The oil lamp in his hand shook violently because of his large movements. The lamp stands that have been used for a while now made a squeaking sound.

"This is your first time in Chelfidu," the old man stretched out his empty hand and grabbed my wrist hard.

Before I could speak, I was dragged into the hotel by him.

"Wait," the old man stopped me with a stern look. He put the kerosene lamp back on the table, turned around, closed the door as fast as possible, and began to tie the dazzling chains and buckles again.

I stood there and watched him lock the wooden door for nearly a minute. When all the chains and buckles returned to their positions, the old man clapped his hands and turned back.

"Okay," he said in a hoarse voice, "we can talk now."

"First of all, I have to tell you, young man," he mentioned the oil lamp, "no matter which city you came from, no matter what kind of hunting achievements you had before. You have to understand one thing--you are just a newcomer here. You know nothing about the rules of Chelfidu."

"And the first lesson I'm going to give you is," he patted my shoulder hard, "Never stay on the streets of Chelfidu at night, if you don't want to die too badly."

"Especially when you stand at the door of our hotel," he continued, "You're like saying to the vampires, 'Hey I'm a vampire hunter and I'm not prepared, come and kill me!"

"How could it be?" I followed him, "Have you been exposed?"

"It's been exposed long ago, child," the old man turned his head and looked at me and sneered, "In Chelfidu, there is no long-lasting secret."

"This is why we strengthen the door," he raised his hand holding the oil lamp and pointed to the door not far away. "During the day, this is a hotel that is open to everyone, but at night, it becomes a fortress, or a fortress."

"That's why I know you've just come to Chelfidu," he continued, "and ordinary people here know that they should never come to hammers and anvils at night."

"They know about vampires, too?" I asked curiously.

"Oh, of course not," the old man smiled and waved his hand. "Of course, ordinary people cannot be involved in such things - we make them believe that this is a hooligan and a scoundrel seeking revenge."

"But the hunters here know that's not the case," he sighed suddenly. "Every night, the hunters will fall asleep under high alert. No one dares to sleep too hard because we have to go into battle at any time."

"Everything here has been disguised, such as the gate you just saw."

"Ah, I get it," I nodded suddenly. No wonder they would have installed so many complicated chains and buckles on the door, "That's not a wooden door at all."

"It looks quite like that, right?" The old man laughed twice, rubbed his hand without the oil lamp on the back of his other hand. "This door is actually made of stainless steel, which cost us a lot of money."

"Even these walls are mezzanine," he pointed to the wooden wall to my left. "Of course we don't have that much steel, but the mezzanine is also made of high-quality steel."

He took me through the bar and came to the warehouse behind the kitchen where there were huge piles of wooden barrels, which I guess were stocked with food and beer.

"Ah, stop watching," the old man smiled and patted my head, "Of course I brought you here not to let you see these."

He walked to a wooden barrel, placed the kerosene lamp carefully on the top of the barrel, and rolled up his sleeves.

"Come here to help me, young man," he waved to me, "I, an old man, can't do this."

Only then did I notice that he was standing next to another huge wooden barrel. A man of his age did need help from others to push such a heavy wooden barrel.

"Here you." I responded, walked to the opposite side of him, and placed my hands on the rough surface of the wooden barrel.

"Three, two, one, use force!"

With our efforts together, the huge wooden barrel moved slowly and slowly exposed what was hidden under it - it was a wooden trap door.

The old man lifted the oil lamp again and opened the trap door. Below the door was a long wooden ladder leading to the darkness.

"Come down," he waved to me, "It is absolutely safe to talk here. By the way, remember to bring the door when you come down."

I nodded, bent down and drilled into the space below the trap door, closed the door casually, and followed him down the stairs.

The leather boots stepped on the wooden ladder, and the creaking sound made constantly echoed in this space. No one spoke, and the only thing that responded to the sound was the creaking sound made by the kerosene lamp.

The old man didn't say a word, just held up the oil lamp and walked down the stairs carefully slowly. The air became more solemn, and I had a vague premonition of badness.

"Uh, how long will we go?"

"It's not long, be patient, young man."

"Well," I nodded, regardless of whether he could see it or not, and then moved his hand to the hilt of Broken Steel's sword without moving.

If he really wants to be bad for me, such a preparation posture will allow me to retain some ability to fight back.

The stairs are still continuing downwards. I don’t know how many steps I have taken or how many more steps I have to walk. Uneasy emotions slowly spread in my heart. Some bad thoughts and terrible scenes emerged in my mind.

You have to be careful, Saren, I told myself in my heart that he might be a vampire, or a vampire servant. All this may be a trap.

Thinking of this, I reached out and held the hilt of Broken Steel's sword, and touched the Thunder Revolver on my waist with my other hand.

"Ah, we're here," the old man in front suddenly made a sound of joy, so that I was stunned for a while until he continued to call me a young man, that I suddenly woke up and followed him.

There is no bloody smell in the air, nor any danger-related odor I imagine. The only discomfortable smell is probably the faint musty smell here.

The old man stood not far from me, and he was hanging the oil lamp on his hand on the lamp stand on the wall.

"That's it. Every city will have a secret conference room, just like I and you before...ah, your vigilance is pretty good, young people."

Halfway through his words, he looked at me with admiration and nodded, "But it's not enough to compare with me. And you're not at risk here."

"Be careful, there will be no big mistakes," I knew he must have seen me look alert, so I smiled embarrassedly, "This staircase makes me a little nervous."

"Mental quality is not good, right?" The old man smiled, took out a box of matches from his pocket, and lit several lamps in the conference room one after another. The lit wall light emitted a warm and constant light, illuminating most of the conference room.

"Come on, let's talk about - where did you come from?"

"Well... wait, don't say it," he suddenly stretched out another finger and stopped me, "Let me guess... You have red hair as bright as flames, a traveler who just arrived in Chelfid, and a vampire hunter."

"In my memory, there is only one person who meets these conditions at the same time - that is Saren Nowes, known as the Red Dragon."

"So," he settled his hands as if he had made a decision and looked at me seriously, "Is it you? The hero of the Republic?"

"Yes, it's me," I admitted his inference, "so who are you?"

"Am I?" the old man smiled, pulled open the chair and sat down, and took out a pack of cigarettes from the inside of his pocket. "I am a guardian, sir."

He lit a match again, and the snarling sound echoed in the conference room. The flames on the match head first suddenly rose, and then slowly stabilized, turning into small flames flashing on the match head.

The old man slowly put the match to his mouth and lit the cigarette he was holding. The smell of burning tobacco quickly floated.

"Let's get to know each other again," he spitted out a cigarette, and his originally heavy accent suddenly disappeared. "I am the boss of the hammer and the anvil, the head of the Chelfido Vampire Slayer Guild branch, and of course, he is also a guardian, just like I said before."

"You can call me whatever you want - the hotel owner, the janitor, the man, all my favorite names. The important thing is that you have to remember my name. My name is Carlek Chermiton."

"Kaleke!? Are you that Kaleke?" I stood up from the chair with a breath of energy. In my memory, there was only one Kaleke in the Vampire Slayer Guild.

And that Kalek's level in the guild is...the nemesis of the white blood species.

"Ah, if you're talking about the name that hangs on that stinky, long, meaningless ranking list," Kalek took another sip of cigarette, "that's me, man."

"God, it turns out that you have been here all the time - a place only a few days away from Capofez."

"Some people have to hide," Kalek said with a calm expression. "If those big bats go crazy one day, we will be the last resort to curb them."

"Now," he knocked out the cigarette, "why did you come to Chelfidu for? I heard you were going to accompany the lady Rose to inspect her property. But I don't think it's that simple."

"Indeed, I came here to hunt down a vampire, and in the guild's archives he was called the 'Midnight Ghost'."

"Ah, so that's what you're here?" Kalek nodded suddenly, "He's a tough guy. I've tried to hunt him down, but he's smart- and must have a lot of eyeliners in the city."

"As soon as I came forward, he got the news," Kalek continued. "This is a cunning and life-threatening vampire. He heard that he had not appeared for three months after I hunted him down until I stopped chasing him."

Kalek's words made me deeply agree. The most difficult thing to deal with is not the vampire who likes to harm humans. This vampire who knows how to control his own desires and understands seeking profit and avoiding harm is even more difficult.

"Your arrival has brought new changes to things, and I think it's a good opportunity," he said, pointing at me. "I'm too dangerous for him and you don't make him feel that way."

Kalek said this and nodded with satisfaction, "Yes, this would be a good opportunity. Maybe you really have the possibility to get rid of this cunning bat."

"From the current situation, you're doing pretty well," he huddled into the chair, thinking, and took out a second cigarette. "It's a clever excuse to help Ms. Rose inspect the industry. Midnight Ghost is not too nervous even if she is alert now."

"But don't underestimate him because of this," he said. "You must attack him with great confidence."

"If you let him run away," he stared in my eyes seriously, "I can guarantee that you will never see him again."

"I get it, thank you very much for your teaching, Mr. Kalek," I nodded, "In fact, that's why I came here-I'm thinking, maybe you guys have more information about Midnight Ghost?"

"You're right," Kalek grinned, and he took a sip of his cigarette with a sip. "I've been studying this damn guy, and I do have information on my hands that the guild doesn't have."

"I'm willing to give you this information, but I have a condition."

“What conditions?”

"Whether you have solved the Midnight Ghost or not, after this matter is over, I need you and your partners to help me wipe out the hidden vampires in the city of Chelfidu."

"What?" I blinked, and couldn't help but wonder if I had heard it wrong just now. "I'm sorry for offending me, but I think you are much stronger than me, why..."

"Because the vampires have damn Marquis and Dukes," Kalek showed a helpless expression. "To the outsiders and the newcomers, we have always been mortal enemies with the vampires - although this is true, the other part is that we have reached some kind of agreement with the vampires."

“Agreement, why?”

"The Marquis and Dukes are not easy targets to kill, just like high-ranking hunters," Kalek explained patiently, "not to mention the prince above."

"Until we don't have enough strength to completely flatten the vampires, restraining each other is the best choice." He continued, "Vampires above the Marquis and hunters above the Master level have their own responsibilities. We can't take action against low-level vampires or hunters at will, do you understand?"

"In fact, vampires were unwilling to agree to such a treaty. After all, they were in the dark, and we were in the light," Kalek sighed as if he had remembered some past events, "but fortunately there is a special faction among the vampires that is close to humans. I believe you have also heard the name of their leader - Marquis of Rose."

"I know," I remembered the female vampire hiding in the National Comprehensive Academy. "I heard that they have a very good relationship with other vampires."

"Of course, will you have a good face for humans who defect to vampires?"

I thought about it, grinned and shook my head. The answer to this question was obvious.

"That's it," Kalek laughed, extinguishing his second cigarette and getting up from his seat, "The common sense about vampires is here, and the next thing is between us."
Chapter completed!