A huge thank you to JentzschMob808 for the Golden Tickets! Your support truly means a lot and keeps me motivated to continue writing and improving the story.

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After leaving the meeting hall, Team 11 quickly gathered inside their private preparation room.

A large digital map of Ashveil Settlement was projected across the wall. The settlement lay nearly seventy kilometers from Cameron City, surrounded by abandoned forests and broken highways. Unlike the other Vampire-controlled regions, Ashveil appeared strangely quiet.

Isha crossed her arms and stared at the map with a serious expression.

"Our current information is limited. We only know three things."

She raised one finger. "First, Baroness Seraphina controls the settlement."

A second finger. "Second, several Hunters have disappeared there without leaving any traces."

And finally, "Third, Vampire activity in the area is unusually low."

Rohit frowned slightly. "That’s the strange part. If the Baroness is weak, why are experienced Hunters disappearing?"

James leaned against the wall and spoke calmly, "Either someone stronger is hiding there... or the settlement itself has some kind of problem."

The atmosphere in the room grew heavier.

Isha began assigning roles. "Rohit and Arjun will handle outer perimeter scouting. Raghav and Imran will prepare emergency retreat routes. Pooja and Sana will focus on civilian extraction. Ayesha and Bushra will stay with the rear support unit."

She then glanced briefly at Vikram before continuing naturally, "And Vikram..."

Before she could finish, Kavya walked up beside him with a teasing smile.

"Well, this is surprising. Today you’re actually standing here instead of sleeping somewhere." She leaned closer, arms crossed. "So what? You’re finally planning to stop being lazy?"

Several team members looked over curiously. Normally, Vikram would have just yawned and ignored her.

But this time was different.

Without saying a word, Vikram suddenly grabbed Kavya’s wrist and pulled her toward him.

"Eh—?!"

Before she could react, Kavya lost her balance and fell into his arms. In the next instant, Vikram lowered his head and kissed her passionately.

Kavya’s eyes widened in shock. The entire room fell silent.

His lips pressed firmly against hers, warm and demanding. He tilted his head slightly, deepening the kiss as his tongue traced the seam of her lips, gently but insistently seeking entry. After a brief moment of surprise, Kavya’s body relaxed. Her lips parted, allowing him in.

Vikram’s tongue slipped into her mouth, exploring her with slow, sensual strokes. He tasted her sweetness, teasing her tongue with his own, coaxing it into a heated dance. The kiss grew more intense, his hand sliding to the small of her back to pull her closer.

After several long, heated moments, Vikram finally pulled back slightly. Kavya’s face was flushed a deep crimson, her breathing uneven and her lips slightly swollen.

The room exploded with noise.

"Holy shit—!"

"Did Vikram seriously just do that?!"

"Am I hallucinating again?!"

Rohit nearly dropped the tablet in his hand. Ayesha stared with wide eyes. Bushra covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, while Sana looked at Kavya in complete disbelief.

Everyone knew the old Vikram would never have dared to do something so bold publicly.

Seeing their stunned expressions, Vikram smiled calmly.

"I told you all already. I’ve changed."

Even Vikram didn’t know why he suddenly did this, it was absurd in the meeting. But he didn’t care about it.

The moment Vikram kissed Kavya, James instinctively glanced toward Isha. After all, she was Vikram’s wife. Under normal circumstances, seeing another woman in her husband’s arms should have sparked jealousy or anger.

However, Isha showed neither. Not even the slightest trace. Instead, she simply sighed helplessly and shook her head.

Unlike the others, Isha understood the feelings of her team members clearly. Ayesha, Sana, Kavya, and even Pooja—if Vikram hadn’t been so unbearably lazy before, several of them would likely have confessed long ago. Isha had never particularly minded such things. As long as Vikram truly changed and stopped wasting his life, she would be happier than anyone else. Even if multiple girls from Team 11 grew close to him and warmed his bed, she wouldn’t oppose it.

Compared to the old Vikram, who constantly slept and dumped his responsibilities on others, the current Vikram was infinitely better.

Seeing the atmosphere growing chaotic again, Isha lightly coughed to regain everyone’s attention.

"Enough. Focus on Ashveil Settlement first."

Only then did the team slowly calm down.

Kavya’s face remained completely red from the kiss. Yet instead of pulling away, she stayed nestled in Vikram’s arms. She leaned closer and whispered softly in his ear, "Tonight... I’m free. Will you come to my house? I’ll serve you dinner."

Vikram revealed a mischievous smile. "If I come, I probably won’t just eat dinner."

The implication was clear. Kavya’s face turned an even deeper shade of red, but she shyly nodded. "Okay."

Nearby, Sana and Ayesha widened their eyes after catching part of the exchange. Bushra looked thoroughly amused.

Vikram finally turned his attention back to Isha. "Wifey, other than Ashveil Settlement, there should still be several unassigned settlements nearby, right?"

Isha nodded calmly. "Yes. Some lower-priority settlements weren’t directly assigned to any Hunter Team."

She looked at him curiously. "Why are you asking?"

Before answering, Vikram asked another question. "Then how are the remaining missions assigned?"

Isha explained patiently, "For unassigned missions, any Hunter can freely choose them." She pointed toward the massive Hunter Headquarters building visible through the preparation room window. "The meeting hall we used earlier is only on the third floor. The ground floor of the Hunter Office Building is where all public missions are posted. Every unassigned operation is listed there with its difficulty level, target information, danger rating, and reward contribution. Any interested Hunter Team can accept it directly."

Several team members nodded naturally. This was common knowledge for Hunters. Only Vikram occasionally lacked such information due to how little the previous version of him had participated.

Hearing the explanation, Vikram nodded slowly. "Before heading to Ashveil Settlement, I want to sharpen my abilities first."

The room fell quiet for a moment.

"I’ve been inactive for too long," he continued calmly. "My combat sense and awakened abilities need practical training again. So first... let’s clear a few unassigned missions."

The moment those words sank in, several team members looked at him in surprise. If this had been the old Vikram, he would have been asking how to avoid missions, not requesting more of them.

Even Rohit looked stunned. Kavya, still standing beside him, smiled faintly and held his arm tighter. She clearly liked this new version of Vikram far more.

Isha observed him carefully for several seconds before slowly nodding. "Alright. We’ll take a few unassigned missions nearby first. Consider its preparation before entering Ashveil Settlement."

The atmosphere in the room instantly relaxed. Seeing Vikram finally show initiative genuinely lifted everyone’s mood, especially for Team 11 members who had endured his laziness for years.

James suddenly grinned. "So our legendary sleeper finally plans to work seriously?"

Rohit laughed. "Careful. If he works too hard today, the world might collapse tomorrow."

The room erupted with laughter once again. This time, however, the teasing carried no real dissatisfaction. For the first time in a long while, Team 11 felt genuine hope about Vikram.

—

After finalizing the temporary plan, Team 11 left their preparation room and headed straight to the ground floor of the Hunter Office Building.

Compared to the upper meeting floors, the atmosphere here was far noisier. Hunters moved constantly through the massive hall, some submitting completed missions, others arguing over rewards, and many hurriedly forming temporary teams before heading out of the city.

At the center of the hall stood an enormous digital mission board. Thousands of missions scrolled across the glowing screen, divided by danger ranking:

[F Rank] [E Rank] [D Rank] [C Rank] [B Rank] [A Rank] [S Rank]

Above them all were special blood-red missions labeled: [Emergency Federation Missions]

Most ordinary Hunters only accepted F-Rank or E-Rank missions, while stronger teams usually handled D-Rank and above.

The moment Team 11 approached the board, many Hunters instinctively stepped aside with respect. Though Team 11’s overall ranking was low, Isha herself was still a highly respected Captain.

Vikram quietly observed the mission board. This was his first time properly examining the Hunter mission system of this world.

One mission after another flashed before his eyes:

[F-Rank Mission]

Task: Exterminate the Sewer Blood Rats

Description: Blood Rats have begun emerging from the sewers in Cabbage Village, damaging the cabbage crops. As a result, the village’s food production has drastically declined.

Reward: 300 Contribution Points

[E-Rank Mission]

Task: Escort the Supply Caravan to the East District

Description: A large supply caravan carrying food, medicine, and essential resources must safely reach the East District. However, the roads are filled with mutated creatures and hostile survivors. Protect the caravan and ensure all supplies arrive without major losses.

Reward: 1200 Contribution Points

[D-Rank Mission]

Task: Investigate the Missing Hunters near Frost River

Description: Several experienced hunters sent to the Frost River region have mysteriously disappeared without leaving behind any traces. Reports mention strange noises, bloodstains, and unidentified footprints near the frozen waters. Investigate the area, uncover the cause of the disappearances, and eliminate any potential threat if necessary.

Reward: 5000 Contribution Points

Rohit casually stretched and spoke, "We should probably start with something simple. No point rushing into dangerous territory right away."

Several team members nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Vikram’s gaze stopped on one particular mission. The file looked old and slightly neglected compared to the others. Without hesitation, he tapped it open.

A detailed holographic screen appeared before everyone:

[E Rank Mission]

Mission Title: Eliminate the Vampire Disturbing Greyford Village

Mission Location: Greyford Village

Distance from Cameron City: 32 Kilometers

Target: Low-Level Vampire — Oswald Cobblepot

Threat Level: Low

Mission Details: A low-level Vampire recently occupied Greyford Village. Every night, he selects two young women from the village, forces them to serve him, and then drinks their blood. Several villagers previously attempted to resist, but all protestors were publicly executed. The surviving villagers are now too terrified to fight back and have requested assistance from the Hunter Federation.

Mission Objectives:

- Eliminate the Vampire

- Ensure Greyford Village’s survival

- Restore civilian safety

Mission Reward: 1500 Contribution Points + Additional rewards based on civilian survival rate

The surrounding team members frowned after reading the details. Sana quietly clenched her fists. "What trash..."

Bushra looked equally disgusted.

Rohit sighed. "This kind of thing happens constantly outside the city walls now. The villages don’t even dare resist anymore."

Vikram’s eyes remained calm as he stared at the mission. Then, without hesitation, he selected:

[Accept Mission]

The holographic screen updated immediately.

[Mission Accepted Successfully]

Several team members looked at him in surprise.

"Starting with an E-Rank mission?" James asked.

Vikram nodded calmly. "It’s enough. We’ll use it as a warm-up."

He glanced toward the large windows outside the Hunter Building. The sun had only begun to descend, it was still afternoon, giving them plenty of time.

Without hesitation, Vikram turned to the team and spoke firmly, "We leave immediately. We’ll finish this mission today."