The owner of that hand was none other than Dennis, who had remained unmoving until now.
Seeing the shock in Anran's eyes, Dennis bared his teeth in a grin, his crimson eyes gleaming. Anran froze, her mind racing with only one thought: there was no escape.
Dennis hadn't expected that the masterful rider known as "Liuguang" would be a woman—and a peculiar one at that. She seemed immune to the vampires' hypnotic abilities. He had noticed this earlier at the summit of Qingyun Peak, and Johnson's recent failure had only confirmed his suspicions.
The Morris family had a rule: vampires within Rose Town were forbidden from taking human lives. They could only feed from those who willingly offered their blood. Given their innate hypnotic powers, this rule was almost trivial for them to follow.
Yet here stood a woman who defied their control, someone they were technically bound by the rules not to harm.
Dennis' voice dripped with menace, low and gravelly. "Breaking the rules is unfortunate, but you've made the mistake of crossing Elma of the Morris family."
The girl before him, her face etched with fear and her blood radiating an intoxicating scent, was utterly enticing. If not for Elma's explicit orders, he would have already claimed her. Though Elma didn't know Liuguang was a young woman, perhaps, after completing this mission flawlessly, Elma might reward him with her.
Anran had no idea what rules he was referring to. Her mind was a whirlwind of chaos, struggling to process the unimaginable events of the night.
She felt like a fish on a chopping block, utterly defenseless.
Then, with lightning speed, Dennis' other hand shot out. The speed of a vampire was unmatched by any human, and even on solid ground, Anran would have stood no chance. Trapped on her bike, she was utterly powerless.
Just as his icy fingers were about to close around her neck, Dennis froze. He jerked his head to the side, dodging with a swift movement, and let out a sharp yell.
From the darkness, a shadowy figure lunged. As Dennis evaded, the creature landed on all fours, a low growl rumbling from its throat. It was cloaked in black, save for two eyes that glowed emerald in the night…
The figure stood protectively in front of Anran. Stunned for a moment, she then exclaimed in relief, "Adam!"
Though she couldn't fathom why the panther had appeared here, she instinctively felt it had come to protect her.
Glancing at Anran, the panther flicked its tail and turned to face Dennis, its eyes blazing with a predatory ferocity.
"Damn it! Where did a panther come from in this town?" Dennis cursed under his breath.
Only he knew how close he had come to disaster. Had he hesitated for even a second, the panther's razor-sharp teeth would have torn through his throat. While vampires possessed remarkable regenerative abilities, a severed head was beyond even their power to repair.
But Dennis had no time to ponder the connection between Anran and this beast.
After observing its opponent with those glowing green eyes, the panther crouched and then sprang forward with explosive force, its jaws wide, aiming straight for Dennis' throat!