# Chapter 38: Aftermath
The sky was already faintly bright, with the horizon over the sea showing the pale white of dawn. In the distance, a few patrol boats could be vaguely seen cruising.
Smoke had not yet dispersed from the Dock area, and the flames in the Deep Pit were still burning.
Two Heavy Trucks and two massive cannons had already vanished from the scene.
Even the two Tanker Trucks were gone without a trace.
The battlefield, which had been roaring with cannon fire just last night, was now left with only a scene of devastation.
Frank was currently directing the Cleaners who had arrived to process the scene. Dozens of large Black men, wearing rubber gloves, were moving blood-stained stones and shoveling soil mixed with blood and flesh.
Some relatively intact werewolf corpses and vampire limbs were loaded onto corpse transport vehicles, while incomplete body parts and remains were directly thrown into the burning giant pit.
On the other side, over a dozen large men held tightly wrapped block-like objects in their hands. Under the arrangement of several demolition experts, they placed these TNT explosives at various demolition points on the Dock.
Several small excavators dug trenches from the giant pit towards the sea.
The dilapidated Dock, which had collapsed due to the erosion of sea waves, would be the subject of reports in various media outlets after dawn.
Of course, a great philanthropist would soon step forward to handle the aftermath of this dilapidated Dock.
He would invest heavily to repair the Dock and transform it into a new cargo port.
However, this Dock repair project would have to wait until after the New York State election concluded.
It's important to note that a new cargo port, with the employment opportunities it provides, represents a significant political achievement for any Politician.
These are all votes, and naturally, they couldn't be given away cheaply to others.
The excavator scooped up the last shovel of mud and sand, and seawater flowed into the giant pit along the trench.
As the seawater surged in, the glowing red giant pit immediately filled with steam, and white mist rose.
A dump truck, operated by its driver, poured quicklime into the Deep Pit filled with seawater.
The bright red sun rose above the sea, and peace returned to the Dock area.
More than twenty vehicles drove along the Interstate Highway towards New York City.
Frank sat in the passenger seat of a military Humvee, driving at the rear of the convoy.
After the convoy left the explosion range estimated by the demolition experts, Frank pressed the remote control in his hand!...
The old Dock, dilapidated from years of disrepair – was it a waste of public resources or government inaction?
The Republican Party gubernatorial candidate called out the incumbent Democratic Party governor! Under the grape trellis at the Manor, Tang Song lay on a wicker chair, holding a copy of the New York Times newspaper.
The front-page headline of the newspaper was about the Dock being washed away by the sea.
And our Mr. Moon used this incident to directly attack his election opponent.
For the true high-level government officials, the matter of dark creatures is not a secret, but for ordinary citizens, it is something that cannot be publicly disclosed.
Our current governor could only grit his teeth and swallow this unspoken loss.
However, for Tang Song, this wave of events was certainly not a loss.
A smile on his face, Tang Song casually picked up the badge placed on the table beside him and held it up to examine it.
It was a pure gold round shield badge with a phoenix embossed in the center, its eyes inlaid with rubies.
Between the two phoenix claws was a circular pattern representing the Earth.
This was the badge West had given Tang Song after returning from the Dock, representing membership in the Sacred Shield Brotherhood.
Of course, Tang Song was not yet a formal member.
To become a member of the Sacred Shield Brotherhood, one needs a formal member as a guide and the approval of at least three formal members to join.
According to West, the Sacred Shield Brotherhood originated in 2620 BC. It was founded by a Greek who repelled an alien invasion. It is said that he was also the designer of the pyramids.
This designer, named Imhotep, was honored as the first person of the Sacred Shield and was revered as a deity after his death.
The purpose of the Sacred Shield Brotherhood's creation was to prevent alien invasions. Many famous important figures in history were members of the Sacred Shield Brotherhood.
These included Tesla, Newton, Da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, and from The East, Zhang Heng and Zu Chongzhi.
However, after World War II, due to ideological differences, the members of the Sacred Shield Brotherhood split into three organizations.
The radical faction wanted to rule the Earth, centralizing power to resist alien invasion. This faction was radical in its actions and allied with that failed art student during World War II, forming an organization called Hydra.
Another faction advocated for cooperation with various countries and proposed bringing the Sacred Shield Brotherhood from the shadows into the open. At the same time, they were in direct opposition to Hydra, becoming the current S.H.I.E.L.D..
And West's branch adheres to ancient traditions, rooting itself in the soil, silently absorbing nutrients and accumulating strength to deal with future alien crises.
Of course, this is West's personal account, and Tang Song could gauge whether there was any exaggeration in it.
What he wanted to know was how large the Sacred Shield Brotherhood's current influence was and how much benefit he could gain from it.
As the old saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. West being able to reach the position of Vice Chief Judge of The Church indicates that the Sacred Shield Brotherhood's influence is still not to be underestimated.
This was also the reason Tang Song readily agreed to West.
What he cared about was not money, but cultivation resources.
Take Adamantium, for example. Adamantium flowing from Japan sells for 1000 US dollars per gram.
When Tang Song refined two Sword Pills, adding only ten catties of Adamantium cost him 5 million US dollars.
Even at this price, no more than 50 kilograms of Adamantium flow into the market annually through Yashida Industries.
Money is important, but influence is even more important. With money and influence, Tang Song can comfortably cultivate his immortality.
Now that he had swept away a group of vampires, the industries and land they left behind were enough for Tang Song to digest for a while.
And Kingpin, the title of underground emperor of New York seems due for a change.
Tang Song put down the badge in his hand and took out a small booklet. The ink on it was still wet.
The first line began with "Divine Demon Transformation" written in English.
Tang Song carefully flipped through it, occasionally picking up the steel pen beside him to revise and rewrite.
He was writing the most suitable cultivation method for Lane and the others using the easiest language to understand.
Divine Demon Transformation was the method Tang Song had chosen as most suitable for this world, but it still needed some modifications.
Tang Song wrote diligently with the steel pen.
Sunlight filtered through the lush green grape leaves, dappling Tang Song's face with shifting patterns of light and shadow.
"An elegant Eastern man! What a pity!"
On the top floor of a building four kilometers away from the Manor.
The window of the women's restroom had been removed. A man in a black suit with slicked-back hair, a toothpick in his mouth, looked through the scope of a sniper rifle at Tang Song lying in the wicker chair, his index finger slowly pulling the trigger.
The barrel was twice as long as a standard sniper rifle. A bullet engraved with patterns shot out from the chamber.
...
By the sea at the Dock, the intense explosion sound had long since passed. Seawater had submerged this tidal flat and the Dock.
Underwater, deep within the remnants of the original Bunker, a pitch-black werewolf pushed aside the sand and rocks on the ground and crawled out of a pit.
A patrol boat was anchored on the surface of the sea. The black werewolf swam towards the underside of the patrol boat with a dog-paddling motion.
(End of Chapter)