Chapter 142: This Must Be the Company

November 1, 2001,

Bucharest.

Afternoon.

As Romania's cultural and political capital, Bucharest retains many classical buildings while also possessing highly modern infrastructure.

With a population of about two million, it ranks as the sixth‑largest city in Europe.

Congested traffic and hurried pedestrians are the typical sights of a human metropolis, completely unaware of the castle battle that occurred five days ago, sixty kilometers east of the city.

11:21.

At this moment.

On Highway 503 of Bucharest's outer ring, a black SUV weaved through west‑to‑east traffic.

Inside the vehicle.

In the driver's seat sat Buleiya, dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans.

Her hands gripped the steering wheel, following the holographic map displayed on the windshield, she opened the right‑turn lane and exited to the right side, leaving the outer ring road for a suburban community.

"Buleiya," the man in the passenger seat said, reminding her, "Don't forget the White Queen's arrangements for those victims later."

"I know, and I've already been a qualified agent, Kennedy," Buleiya replied coolly, casting a glance at the other.

At that moment, a female roe deer with white spots suddenly bolted into the middle of the road.

"Watch ahead!" Agent Kennedy shouted.

"Screech!" The sound of the four wheels braking echoed through the entire community.

Buleiya, reacting quickly, slammed the brakes, yet the SUV's four wheels locked and it kept sliding forward, leaving two black tire marks on the road.

Finally, the SUV stopped when it was only three meters away from the stunned doe.

The doe's vacant stare was filled with terror, as if it had seen the most frightening thing of its life.

"…" Buleiya, seated in the car, looked left and right, then gave a speechless stare at the deer.

Even though there were no other cars on this community road, she could not understand why that doe had suddenly darted out in front of them.

"Beep—!" She held down the horn to drive the animal away.

"Honk!" The startled doe recovered, bolted away, and vanished from sight.

"Qualified agent?" With the crisis averted, the man in the passenger seat teased her.

"Shut up, Leon," Buleiya retorted irritably.

She then resumed driving the SUV, heading toward the destination as directed by the holographic navigation.

In the passenger seat was Leon, dressed in a brown combat jacket and black work pants.

Seeing Buleiya's angry expression, Leon wisely said nothing more, turning his head to gaze at the tranquil suburban scenery outside.

Leon still sported his split‑blonde hair, but his cheek and chin stubble were unshaven, and the obvious dark circles under his eyes showed how heavy his recent work had been.

From October 25 to 28, Leon led a team of intelligence officers including Buleiya in continuous capture operations together with the Special Task Force and elite security.

Werewolves and vampires within Europe were all under the Company's control.

Determining which of them had previously harmed humans and which kept a bottom line of peaceful coexistence was not within the intelligence officers' jurisdiction.

However, with Leon's authority, he knew that over eighty percent of them were slated for total extermination.

Half of the remaining twenty percent would be sent to the mother‑nest as test subjects, the other half would undergo crystal‑core implantation and be dispatched to Lockford Island for a life of confinement.

Leon thus inferred that only a tiny fraction of werewolves or vampires retained humanity, while the overwhelming majority had abandoned their human identity.

After the capture operations ended, Leon, Buleiya and the other intelligence officers began assisting the European side with post‑incident matters.

After all, Victor Vincent had killed twelve hundred innocent humans to summon a blood demon.

Soon.

The SUV pulled over to the side in front of an old residential house.

Buleiya turned off the engine, engaged the handbrake, and got out.

Leon, also getting out, walked to the rear of the car, opened the trunk and lifted a black canister.

Then the two walked together toward the house.

"Ding‑dong~!" Buleiya rang the doorbell.

In moments, they heard hurried footsteps from inside, followed by the door opening.

The homeowner was a woman in a green sweater, about fifty years old.

"Hello, may I ask if you are Mrs. Aila Philip?" Buleiya said, pulling out a police credential with her left hand.

"Yes," the woman replied after glancing at the credential, showing no curiosity as to why a police officer was at her door.

"May we come in for a talk?" Leon asked.

Hearing this, the woman finally noticed Leon holding the black canister, froze for a moment, but then walked toward the interior and said:

"Please, come in."

With the homeowner's permission, Leon and Buleiya entered, and Buleiya, as the last to go, casually closed the door behind them.

Soon after.

In the living room.

Leon and Buleiya sat on the sofa while the woman fetched a stool from the dining table and sat opposite them.

As for the black canister, Leon placed it on the coffee table at the center of the room,

"Both of you…"

The woman's hands clenched as she stared at the black canister, as if she had guessed something but dared not admit it, her voice trembling:

"Are you colleagues of my son? And where is my son? Is he on some secret mission?"

"Mrs. Philip, your son… has already perished," Buleiya replied, her face darkening.

「My child」 the woman who got the confirmation answer raised her hand to cover her mouth, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

Seeing this, Buleiya's mood sank even lower.

She had looked over the file of Jacob·Philip, organized by the White Empress, which is this woman's son's file.

He is a diligent officer, but overly upright, long unable to get promotion.

On the night of October 24, while patrolling, he went missing; finally confirmed, he died in a sacrificial ritual to summon the blood demon, and the black urn contains his ashes.

For five consecutive days with no news, in the end getting the result that her son had left the world; even though she was mentally prepared, it still caused the woman to break down in tears.

"Mrs. Philip." The emotionally stable Leon took out a check and a delicate blue suede small box, placing them on the coffee table not far ahead.

Opening the small box, a finely crafted medal appeared before that woman's eyes.

Leon continued: "Jacob recently got involved in a human trafficking case; precisely because of his fearless dedication, we police almost perfectly closed the case, but he suffered severe injuries, rescue ineffective... he sacrificed."

The check is the reward given by our police to Jacob; these are what he deserves, and this medal is the highest honor our police can bestow upon Jacob.

Finally, please mourn.

After saying that, Leon stood up and left the living room, opened the door and walked outside.

"Please mourn." Buleiya likewise stood up and left, saying.

After the two left, only that woman remained in the living room.

The woman stumbled slightly as she sat beside the coffee table; first she embraced the urn with her right hand, then extended her left hand, as if touching her son's cheek, to touch that medal, murmuring:

"Jacob... Mom feels proud for you."

Actually.

The money Leon gave the woman is part of Umbrella's total takeover of all vampire assets, allocating a certain amount as compensation to all victims' families.

As for the medal given to Mrs. Philip, it is also made from gold seized by Umbrella, remelted and recast.

Inside the SUV.

Buleiya and Leon reseated in the driver and front passenger seats.

"Ah." After starting the engine and driving the SUV away from the roadside, Buleiya sighed to Leon beside her.

"I originally didn't understand why the company went to such trouble, why not just give money, but now I understand; at least Mrs. Philip can have the thought that her son is a hero."

"Ah, this counts as another kind of tenderness from the company." Leon replied.

Then he said: "Alright, focus on driving; there are still seven victims' families waiting for us to visit."

"Hmm."

(End of chapter)