Chapter 9 New Identity (Part One)
Another clear morning, bright and warm sunlight evenly spread across every inch of the city, awakening the modern urban hustle and bustle anew.
Gu Yao felt embarrassed as he busied himself in the dilapidated house, arranging the tidying up that should have been completed last night.
A large, thick plastic mat served as both a bed and a seat, and some basic living supplies were taken out and arranged from his travel bag.
Meanwhile, Xia Yan was boiling instant noodles on an alcohol stove. Despite having been awake all night, there was little sign of fatigue on her face. While waiting for the water to boil, Xia Yan took out the remaining half-bag of blood.
Though she wasn’t currently thirsty for blood, without a climate-controlled storage environment, if she didn’t drink it soon, it would likely go to waste.
“Bro, can I try again?”
Gu Yao walked over, looking serious as he glanced at the blood bag in Xia Yan’s hand.
After a silent exchange, Xia Yan slowly handed over the blood bag.
She noticed that Gu Yao today had subtle changes from yesterday; his already delicate face appeared even smoother and shinier, and perhaps it was just the reflection of the morning sunlight, but his light golden, straight hair seemed to have a deeper shade.
Carefully aligning the cut with his nose, Gu Yao cautiously sniffed it.
Soon, the unbearable, peculiar fishy smell from yesterday rushed into his nostrils, causing his stomach to churn uncontrollably, and he hunched over with a dry heave.
“I can’t… What’s going on? Bro, can I not drink ordinary people’s blood? Does that mean I can only drink yours from now on…”
Gu Yao lowered his head to examine his body, his face wearing an uncommon look of fear.
“I don’t know either. Maybe we frontline members shouldn’t be aware of this, considering we could be blood-affected at any moment…” Xia Yan tilted her head back and squeezed the entire bag of blood into her mouth, puzzled, “But according to Huang Gu, we can get supplies at underground shops in the future.”
“But we have no money! Our future living expenses are going to be a hassle. We can’t just hide in places like this every day like beggars. What if we are forced into a corner and have to attack ordinary people… If it’s going to be like this, why should we return to City C? Wouldn’t hiding in the countryside be better?”
Gu Yao lay back on the plastic mat, holding his head with both hands, looking utterly defeated.
After quietly glancing at the graceful girl lying down, Xia Yan smiled wryly: “The fewer people there are, the more inconvenient it is to find blood. A little wind or grass movement will make it known.”
“Okay, don’t worry about the money. I’ll find a way.”
Xia Yan pointed in a certain direction, her tone becoming much more relaxed: “After breakfast, I’ll go to the place Huang Gu mentioned and resolve our identity issues first.”
Gu Yao nodded slightly, but the anxious expression on his face was clearly visible.
Recalling the days when they spent their youth together, Xia Yan felt that this younger brother might still be struggling to come to terms with his inability to consume ordinary blood—he always became depressed or anxious whenever he encountered unsolvable problems.
The military backpack and the dark arrows combat uniform he had removed had long been buried. Xia Yan took out the last few items from his travel bag, doing a quick inventory.
A handgun, two magazines of bullets, two special daggers, a nearly dead tactical flashlight, and a few syringes of adrenaline and painkillers for emergency use. Apart from that, there was also half a bottle of warming medicine given by Huang Gu before he left.
Lastly, there was a bank card that Xia Yan had kept closely for a long time.
Besides the money that had been donated to welfare homes over the years, the card still had a million. This was all saved up from Xia Yan’s high salary and mission allowances during his service in the dark arrow forces.
In this highly informational modern society, the personal data contained in the bank card was likely more than an ordinary person could imagine, which is why Xia Yan absolutely dared not withdraw money from a street ATM.
He recalled that two years ago, a former Xuanjia squad member who had been blood-affected and chose to kill his teammates and flee was caught because he withdrew money secretly from an ATM, was recorded by the machine’s camera, and was identified by the dark arrow intelligence department’s round-the-clock identity data collection and tracking system, ultimately leading to his capture.
After a simple yet substantial instant noodle breakfast, Xia Yan slung the travel bag over his shoulder and turned to walk toward the stairs.
“Bro, I don’t want to change my name… I… I don’t want to forget the past like Huang Gu…”
“Bro, I miss the welfare home a bit. I want to see Grandma Jiang again…”
Just as he was about to step out of the room, he heard Gu Yao mumbling behind him, causing Xia Yan’s steps to freeze for a few seconds.
……
……
On the bustling street, with the flow of traffic and crowds during the May Day holiday, people of all ages came and went, entering and exiting various beautifully decorated shops or buildings.
Even though he had taken the warming medicine before leaving, Xia Yan remained cautious, trying to avoid the various surveillance cameras that were ubiquitous in society.
He knew that in major cities like City C, many important areas had surveillance cameras equipped with mini thermal imaging recording devices, with data directly linked to the central monitoring system of the dark arrow intelligence department.
This was one of the inconspicuous methods that humanity had developed after civilization advanced to counter and suppress blood clans.
Perhaps not every blood clan warranted attention from dark arrows, but every suspicious data collected by the system would be thoroughly analyzed and recorded.
Holding a business card, the black-haired girl eventually stopped in front of a towering luxury office building, with the noisy sound of traffic in her ears and the grand, spacious lobby before her.
The elevator took her directly to the twenty-seventh floor, leading to a more complex office corridor. Just as she was about to get dizzy from the twists and turns, she finally spotted the room labeled “Shengxiang Investment Consulting Agency” in a corner.
With the typical unremarkable style of a fly-by-night firm, Xia Yan couldn’t help but smile.
Following Huang Gu’s key information prompt, Xia Yan knocked on the door in a rhythmic code. However, after several attempts, there was no response.
Glancing at the door handle and the communicator flashing nearby, Xia Yan tentatively reached out to touch it.
……
Inside the room, most of the visual space was occupied by an opulent and large office desk.
On the desk sat two high-end, large curved display screens, glass cabinets filled with books and folders lined up on both sides, while a small sofa and matching coffee table were pitifully crammed into a corner.
There was also a small room partially ajar, revealing the corner of a bed, seemingly a resting area.
A young man, about twenty, sat behind the desk, displaying a complex expression as he played a game.
Dressed in a formal shirt, his suit jacket was haphazardly draped over the back of the chair, and his tie was half pulled out. The ashtray beside him held several cigarette butts, and despite the presence of a high-capacity air filter, the room still carried a lingering odor of secondhand smoke.
“Just a few minutes and you’re already guarding the spring water! You’re such a loser! It’s driving me crazy!”
Seemingly stimulated by something in the game, the young man suddenly stood up, angrily throwing down the mouse and waving his arms in frustration, while his words mixed with classic Führer-like fury.
The young man wasn’t particularly handsome, but his features were well-proportioned and striking, with a boyish charm and a hint of rebellion.
“How ridiculous, the random matches are just a bunch of elementary school kids!”
He shouted in a fit of venting, then picked up a cigarette that was nearby, ready to light it, only to discover someone else had entered the room.
His eyes brightened, and his hand holding the cigarette froze just a few centimeters from his mouth. In front of him stood a girl, bare-faced with a delicate appearance, her expression calm, quietly standing just two or three meters away from him.
She was probably no more than twenty, wearing a light blue slightly wrinkled T-shirt and grey-black tight jeans, tall and slender, with unkempt black hair cascading behind her. One hand held a travel bag, while the other was tucked behind her back.
The two of them stood there silently staring at each other, neither speaking.
After a few seconds, the young man slowly straightened up, putting down the cigarette. One hand fumbled under the desk for a moment before slowly pulling out a handgun!
