Truth, Acting

"Yes."

Hearing Ancient One’s question, Erik nodded and asked, "Master, did Dracula screw me over? I can’t contact my main body at all right now."

"He didn’t screw you over. He simply didn’t expect you to have God Blood."

Ancient One explained what had happened, then said, "Whether you become a god is your own choice. I won’t interfere."

Erik rubbed his chin and asked, "Master, after I become a god, will you slap me to death?"

Ancient One smiled. "Don’t worry. At most, I’ll drive you away, because I can’t kill you. Once you become a true god of the Blood Clan, you’ll be immortal unless every Vampire dies."

"That’s not much different from now."

Erik didn’t care. He said, "I’ll wake my main body up in a while. There are still so many beautiful women I haven’t chased. Why become a god? What a waste."

"Can’t you aspire to something higher?"

Ancient One was speechless. He asked, "Have you really made up your mind? You only get one chance to become a god. If you give it up this time, you’ll never be able to become a god again.

"Gods are not only immortal, but also possess immense authority and power."

"Master, it’s not like you’ve only known me for a day. How could I abandon myself for power?"

Erik smiled. "That’s not the path I want to take. From beginning to end, I’ve been a person, not a Vampire or some so-called true god of the Blood Clan."

"I wasn’t wrong about you."

Ancient One smiled. He said, "If you don’t stop it, you’ll become a god in ten days. During that process, your body will constantly transform, and your consciousness will learn a great number of laws.

"When you wake yourself up is up to you, but remember this: the later you do it, the harder it will be to wake up."

Erik immediately said, "Then I’ll definitely wake up on the tenth day."

"Aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to wake up?" Ancient One asked.

Erik said carelessly, "What’s there to be afraid of? On the tenth day, I’ll get a bunch of beauties to sing and dance their hearts out in the Egyptian Desert. My main body will definitely wake up eagerly."

Ancient One was speechless again. Was it really a good idea to talk about his main body like that? And how had he even come up with such a method? Seeing Ancient One’s expression, Erik said awkwardly, "Master, pardon my impropriety."

"I don’t care about that. I just didn’t expect you to be so creative."

Ancient One shook his head. "Handle it yourself. That life is your own."

"Don’t worry, Master. If it comes to it, I’ll sacrifice myself to force him awake."

"As long as you know what you’re doing."

Erik remembered something and said to Ancient One, "Oh, right, Master. Help me contact Mercury and tell her my decision. Also, tell her not to make such a big show of it. There’s no need."

Mercury didn’t know about Erik’s situation. In fact, in the entire world, only Ancient One, the Panther God, and those former Wakandan kings knew.

There was no need for Erik’s avatar to have any connection with the Blood Clan.

"Alright."

Ancient One nodded. "Also, I’ll help conceal the anomaly over the Egyptian Desert. As for the rest, handle it yourself."

"Thank you, Master."

Erik nodded and ended the call. Ancient One looked at the bead and couldn’t help smiling. This really was more suitable for him than a phone, especially since Wang Bert had deliberately made it look like a Buddhist prayer bead.

"If this were ancient times, someone might mistake this for an immortal artifact."

Ancient One shook his head and waved his hand. The sky above the Egyptian Desert immediately returned to normal, no longer covered in blood-red like before.

Then Ancient One called Mercury and informed her of the Blood God’s situation and instructions.

"Master Ancient One, understood. I’ll follow the Blood God’s orders and have the Drone Armor return."

Mercury answered respectfully. Ancient One nodded and ended the call.

"I should have guessed. With the Blood God’s personality, how could he possibly be willing to give up himself to become a god? Forget it. As long as the Blood God is around, the Blood Clan will surely thrive. Whether he becomes a god isn’t important."

Mercury shook her head and called Lilith, telling her to send most of the Drone Armor back to the New York base.

"Tell everyone that Osborn Corporation is testing the Drone Armor’s performance. Also, sell that batch of soon-to-be-retired Drone Armor to the military at a high price."

"Alright."

Lilith didn’t ask any questions and simply nodded.

Then Mercury called Carter. "If anyone asks what the Blood God is doing, tell them he’s dealing with Dracula. Also, for the next ten days, the Blood God has no time to spare. If anything comes up, have S.W.O.R.D. handle it themselves."

"Dealing with Dracula? Do the Super Heroes need to help?" Carter asked.

"No. The Blood God can handle him himself. No one is allowed to enter the Egyptian Desert without my permission."

"The Blood God’s order?"

"The Blood God’s order."

"Alright. I’ll comply."

Carter nodded, secretly breathing a sigh of relief. It seemed the Blood God was fine. As long as the Blood God was fine, the world would be fine too.

Several hours later, Mercury and Lilith arrived at the Egyptian Desert together. It had already been sealed off by Egypt’s army, and only members of the Blood Clan were allowed inside.

That was right. Egypt’s president had agreed to the Blood Clan’s demand. On one hand, he couldn’t afford to offend the Blood God. On the other, Carter had promised to provide a large amount of investment.

Lilith, who was usually expressionless, immediately started cursing when she saw Dracula. "Why did you wake up? Couldn’t you let the Blood Clan have a few peaceful years?"

"You think I wanted to wake up? I was sleeping just fine when a bunch of bastards came to screw me over. Do you think I’m not frustrated?"

Dracula’s voice was even louder than Lilith’s. "Was this easy for me? I’ve already knelt twice today just to stay alive."

"Since when did you care about that?"

Lilith sneered. "Don’t you kneel whenever you see someone stronger?"

"Hey, save me some face. I’m your father, after all," Dracula said angrily.

"What?"

Everyone was stunned. Lilith was actually Dracula’s daughter? Mercury immediately revoked Lilith’s authority and demanded, "Lilith, what is going on? That’s not what your profile says."

"I falsified that profile."

Lilith sighed. "Even though I really don’t want a father like this, unfortunately, he really is my father."

"Lilith, watch how you talk. Am I that embarrassing to you?" Dracula asked angrily.

"Not just embarrassing. Extremely embarrassing," Lilith snorted.

"Miss Lilith, you misunderstood Mr. Dracula. He didn’t ignore the Blood Clan. He—"

Seeing this, Spider-Man wanted to tell the "truth," but Lilith interrupted him. "Did he tell you that, in order to save the Blood Clan, he willingly went to Kamar-Taj and served as cannon fodder for a hundred years?"

Spider-Man froze. "Yes. Wait, Miss Lilith, you know about that?"

"Of course I know, little spider. Let me tell you, he made it all up."

Lilith cursed, "Back then, Master Ancient One swept through the world. This old bastard was so terrified that he wanted to flee to another dimension. Before he could leave, Master Ancient One came to find him. He was so scared that he knelt on the spot, begging Master Ancient One to spare him, and even said the Blood Clan could be dealt with however Master Ancient One pleased."

"What?"

Everyone gaped. How was this completely different from Dracula’s version? Dracula defended himself, "I didn’t lie either. I really did go to Kamar-Taj and serve as cannon fodder for a hundred years. It was precisely because of my sacrifice that the Blood Clan was able to continue living on Earth."

"You really know how to flatter yourself. Master Ancient One never intended to wipe out the Blood Clan. The only one he ever wanted to destroy was you."

Lilith sneered. "Later, Master Ancient One discovered that he couldn’t kill you, so he brought you back to Kamar-Taj for a hundred years of service. But you kept deserting, one time after another. In a fit of rage, Master Ancient One directly used you as cannon fodder.

"The reason you died over ten thousand times was entirely your own doing."

Dracula flew into a rage out of humiliation. "Is that any way for a daughter to expose her father’s dirty secrets?"

"Were you ever like a father?"

Lilith sneered. "Afterward, you shamelessly bragged that you had saved the Blood Clan, and you even insulted Master Ancient One by saying he’d never get married. That provoked Kamar-Taj into coming down the mountain to settle things with you. Once you got wind of it, you hid away and went to sleep, leaving me alone to face Kamar-Taj.

"If Master Ancient One hadn’t been merciful, I would have died who knows how many times by now."

"I knew from the start that Ancient One wouldn’t kill you," Dracula argued.

Lilith sneered. Everyone looked at Dracula speechlessly. They had thought he was a great hero, but he turned out to be scum—or rather, Vampire scum.

"I was so naive."

Spider-Man was on the verge of breaking down. He had actually admired Dracula before. He never expected him to be this kind of person.

Pah! Electro spat directly on the ground, and the other Blood Clan members did the same. Far away in Wakanda, Erik couldn’t help rubbing his forehead. That old bastard had actually fooled him?

What good thing could something created by the Darkhold possibly be?

Dracula’s old face turned red. He wanted to leave, but Mercury and the others blocked him. Mercury sneered, "I don’t care what is going on between you father and daughter. Before the Blood God wakes up, neither of you is allowed to leave."

"I wasn’t planning to leave anyway."

Dracula shrugged. Remembering something, he quietly asked Lilith, "Daughter, do you have something going on with the Blood God? If you do, wouldn’t that make me the Blood God’s father-in-law?"

Lilith was so angry she nearly coughed up blood. She sneered, "If I say no, are you planning to wrap me up and send me to the Blood God?"

"Am I that kind of person?"

Dracula protested. "At most, I’d introduce the two of you."

Lilith immediately drew her blade and chased Dracula across the desert, hacking at him. Mercury frowned and signaled for Electro to follow them.

"The Vampire Progenitor is actually this kind of trash? What a disgrace to the Blood Clan. Once the Blood God wakes up, dig a hole and bury him."

Mercury was speechless. She then shook her head and controlled the Drone Armor to seal off the surrounding area, protecting the Blood God’s safety.

As for everyone else in the desert, not one of them was allowed to leave, lest the news leak out.

Over the next few days, drones kept coming to scout the area, and some people even secretly infiltrated the desert. Mercury showed no mercy. Whether it was drones or infiltrators, all of them were destroyed, with not even a corpse left behind.

Though the governments of various countries were furious, they didn’t dare openly clash with the Blood Clan. They could only pretend nothing had happened.

After several years of the Blood God’s development, the Blood Clan was no longer what it had once been.

Seven days later, at a villa, Skye asked in surprise, "Are we really going to use Mr. Wang’s backup plan?"

"What else can we do? The previous plans all failed."

Tony said unhappily, "We tried to lure Jiaying out, but she just sent us an alien communicator instead."

"You’ve got the nerve to say that?"

Natasha looked at him disdainfully. "You kept saying you could track the communicator’s signal, but after researching it for three days, you didn’t get a damn thing. You almost broke the alien communicator too."

"It’s an alien communicator. How could it be that easy to study?"

Tony looked a little embarrassed. "Besides, didn’t I successfully develop the Quantum Interferometer?"

"The Quantum Interferometer has indeed been developed, but that No-Eyed Person has stopped appearing."

Coulson sighed. "Even if he does appear, he vanishes almost immediately. We have no chance to trap him."

Tony became even more annoyed. He had confidently promised that he could catch the No-Eyed Person, yet he hadn’t caught so much as a hair.

"Anyway, all we can do now is try Bert’s lousy idea," Tony said.

"The problem is, Mr. Wang isn’t here. Who am I supposed to kill?" Skye asked.

"That’s easy. We can have Water Demon disguise himself as him," Tony said.

"Will he be willing to help? I heard he’s a shut-in who stays in the base all day and never goes out," Coulson asked.

"He will if we pay him more. Those three demons all have their eyes on money. I heard they were scared of being poor in the past."

At the thought of that, Tony felt annoyed. Why hadn’t he been the one to encounter those three demons back then? He had Money Power too, even if not as much as Wang Bert.

Skye asked again, "Aren’t you worried something might go wrong with Mr. Wang gone?"

"What could go wrong?"

Tony snorted. "This is the perfect chance to take care of the Inhumans while Bert isn’t here, so some people will stop saying that we rely on the Blood God for everything."

"What’s wrong with relying on the Blood God? He’s incredibly reliable. He has money when we need money and strength when we need strength."

Natasha didn’t care at all. Tony said, "If we rely on him for everything, what are we even here for? Skye, time is of the essence. We’ll act within the next two days. Any problem with that?"

Skye hesitated, then gritted her teeth. "No problem."

Two days later, the rapidly turning-green "Wang Bert" roared at Skye, "You actually put poisoned needles in the ring?"

"How did this happen?"

Skye cried out in panic, "Mr. Wang, I only wanted to put you to sleep. I didn’t want to kill you. Jiaying lied to me."

"I’ll kill you!"

"Wang Bert" roared, but as soon as he took a step forward, green venom spread throughout his body. He let out a miserable scream and turned into a pool of green water, corroding a massive pit into the ground.

Skye was terrified and shouted, "Gordon!"

Energy lightning flashed. Gordon looked at the green water and the large pit, his face lighting up with joy. He grabbed Skye’s hand and disappeared.

After the two vanished, Mindy, who had heard the commotion, rushed over. Seeing that something was wrong, she immediately picked up the phone in panic and called for help. "Aunt Mercury, something happened."

"That little girl’s acting is pretty good. Compared to her, Skye’s performance was clearly a bit over the top."

Tony stood before the screen and smiled. Natasha said proudly, "Mindy learned acting from me, so of course she’s good. Speaking of which, it’s fortunate we simulated the poison’s effects in advance. Otherwise, we definitely wouldn’t have fooled the Inhumans."