Chapter 71: Armed Autumn Walk (Part Two)
The afternoon was mostly free time, and for the socially withdrawn Jiang Yao, who simply wanted to get some fresh air, even the most beautiful mountains and rivers could be ignored. Beneath the Hyacinth Villa, there was a hidden small arms shooting training room, which provided Jiang Yao with a source of fun and emotional release. She spent the entire afternoon in the shooting range, either spacing out while watching others practice or trying her hand at shooting herself, completely ignoring Zhong Jing.
Jiang Yao didn’t understand why she felt such intense anger all of a sudden, but the other party repeatedly treating her appearance and figure as important topics of conversation undoubtedly touched her long-hidden sore spot.
The unsuccessful cleft lip surgery and finger adhesion from her youth were always accompanied by discriminating and indifferent gazes, these negative memories would often resurface in the details of her current life at the most inappropriate times.
In the past few months, the more she enjoyed the admiring and envious looks from others, the more unreal it felt, especially when she was with Zhong Jing; this feeling intensified and became more sensitive.
In fact, on introspection, Zhong Jing had a nice personality and temperament, and his emotional intelligence was not bad; he always found common interests to silently erase the gap between them or humorously resolved awkwardness in their interactions. With the lens of being a “rabbit disciple,” his playful and carefree manner seemed to elevate into a different kind of charming and mysterious justice.
“As long as he doesn’t keep bringing up my appearance and clothing as topics, we could still get along. It seems that aside from him, there really aren’t many people in Hyacinth Villa I click with, mostly just hidden uncles and aunties…”
“Whether he likes me or not is his business; anyway, I definitely don’t…”
Jiang Yao mumbled softly, words only she could hear, without aiming at the target, just anxiously pulling the trigger of the handgun, emptying her eleventh magazine of the day.
Once again, more than half of her shots missed, and Jiang Yao’s poor shooting skills combined with a serious addiction made Zheng Shaolin, who occasionally stole glances her way, twitch at the corners of his mouth. After all, there are very few channels to procure ammunition in Hyacinth, and even for ordinary training rounds, the costs involved were not negligible.
Eventually tired from playing, Jiang Yao dropped the handgun, removed her noise-cancelling ear muffs, and walked towards the elevator, her mind filled with the look of confusion on Zhong Jing’s face when she waved her suitcase goodbye.
…
Dinner was the first major event of this group outing, filling the cold and quiet Hyacinth Villa with lively fireworks-like atmosphere. Even Wan Yue, who usually seemed to have delicate hands unaccustomed to hard work, rolled up her sleeves and participated in the food preparation in the kitchen backyard.
Nobody expected the tall and muscular Zheng Shaolin to be a skilled chef. With the help of the young blood servants, dinner at Hyacinth Villa was quite sumptuous; chicken, duck, fish, meat, seafood, and mountain delicacies were all present, even looking more upscale than at the Golden River Club.
Two massive rectangular wooden tables were filled with people seated in four rows. Zheng Shaolin was bustling in the kitchen, continuously presenting exquisite dishes, and at this moment, there was no differentiation of high or low rank, everyone was animatedly chatting and laughing, eating greedily like dozens of squirrels fattening up for winter.
Jiang Yao estimated that the food expenses for this dinner alone amounted to at least ten thousand. Wan Yue’s expenditures just for the meals of this large group during the year were already considerable.
Amidst the crowd, there was only an ordinary person: Zhong Jing. He sat calmly among the young blood servants, leisurely enjoying seafood, completely unconcerned about the strange glances from around, occasionally glancing up at Jiang Yao’s direction, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating.
Just when she thought there might be a lively interaction among the Hyacinth members after dinner, Wan Yue announced the evening’s activity: a late-night raid to take down a rogue group of black bloods in the southeast direction of City J. Aside from Jiang Yao, who was somewhat taken aback, the vast majority, including the young blood servants, looked excited. Fighting against the black bloods was not just about hatred or revenge; it was more about collective identity recognition.
Zheng Shaolin read aloud the list of Hyacinth members participating in the night operation, divided into a main team and a support team, each with one knight and seven attendants, and each attendant paired with a blood servant for assistance, typical of Hyacinth’s mentorship model.
Though Jiang Yao was the only knight in the main team, the command was given to the mid-tier attendant Zhou Ping. Zheng Shaolin, as the overall commander, was responsible for guiding the support team and overall coordination, not directly engaging in combat unless necessary.
The main team members whose names were called stood up, looking at the highest-ranking person in the group, Jiang Yao. There were looks of surprise, curiosity, fear, and some were visibly anxious.
A vibrating motor sound echoed in the dining room, the wooden floor in the corner slowly moved aside, revealing a stairs leading to the basement. Zheng Shaolin led the way down, and the called members followed.
It seemed Wan Yue was no longer interested in this commotion, leaving the others in charge at Hyacinth Villa while she continued eating and enjoying herself.
At the moment Jiang Yao stepped onto the stairs, she glanced at Zhong Jing, who was still sitting at the dining table in a daze, their eyes meeting just in time. Remembering the anger she vented at him in the parking lot earlier, Jiang Yao forced a smile, a hint of apology at the corner of her lips.
Zhong Jing glanced at Jiang Yao’s face for just a second before turning away, pulling out a cigarette to light, crossing his legs with an expression of “this time, I won’t forgive you.”
What was this… He really has no man’s integrity… And he’s sulking at me.
Jiang Yao tightened her fists, feeling a surge of irritation.
The basement was much larger than she imagined, giving Jiang Yao a sense of déjà vu reminiscent of the Garrison Base of the Xuan Armor Brigade. The walls were lined with weapons, a veritable arms maintenance area.
Due to the advantageous characteristics of the blood clan, the weapon selection in Hyacinth was quite similar to the support team of the Dark Arrow Unit, primarily featuring various medium to long-range suppression firepower, particularly the balanced performance VSSM suppressed sniper rifles.
Close combat? The blood clan never considered the possibility of being outmatched in close combat; that was a concern for the Dark Arrow Unit.
As for combat attire, it was Hyacinth’s unique grey-black fitted combats, designed with various elastic materials to reduce mobility impact on the body to a minimum, while also providing some degree of defense.
After changing into her combat outfit, Jiang Yao noticed all around her were figures of varying heights and youthful grace. After taking in the sight of the girls around her, Jiang Yao put on a female tactical long coat followed by bulletproof armor and various additional gear.
Finally, she skillfully grabbed a suppressed handgun and a magazine, beginning to load it with 9mm special silver core rounds. The cost of such operational ammunition was indeed exorbitant.
With her generally average shooting skills, and after experiencing the thrill of close-quarters assaults as a blood clan, Jiang Yao’s enthusiasm for firearms had been dwindling; if it weren’t for tactical requirements, she probably would have given up on handguns long ago.
She had no idea where Hyacinth obtained such seemingly rebellious military arms, but to Jiang Yao, the combat style that Wan Yue had crafted for Hyacinth certainly seemed to combine the characteristics of both the Dark Arrow and the blood clan.
“If you reject Zhong Jing, with one word from me, he won’t pester you anymore.”
As Jiang Yao focused on adjusting the weapon straps along her thighs, a tall shadow appeared before her. Raising her head, she met Wan Yue’s lightly smiling face.
“It’s not that I dislike him; he’s your disciple and handles important matters, everyone trusts him…”
Jiang Yao’s face flushed, hastily lowering her head to pretend to organize the emergency supply kit at her waist, also adding two VSSM rifle magazines, “It’s just sometimes, I can’t tell if he’s joking or serious.”
“Is that what you think I’m referring to?”
Wan Yue reached out to stroke Jiang Yao’s beautiful long hair, a hint of mischief in her eyes: “Normal people and the blood clan are actually no different in terms of feelings; I’ve never opposed it. Moreover, what if he is serious?”
Jiang Yao was taken aback, her ears starting to heat up, her face reflecting a mix of fluster and confusion, unsure how to respond.
When everyone pointed out Jiang Yao as a woman, perhaps one day she would truly see herself as one… Wan Yue smiled at her bewildered yet clear eyes, quietly sighing within.
“However, he may not clearly understand what he truly needs… Perhaps you don’t even know what you need right now. Finally, some girls have been telling me that you like to sneak a peek at others changing in the club dressing room; that bad habit must be corrected!”
With that, Wan Yue playfully poked Jiang Yao’s forehead with her finger.
Sister Wan, you’re just an older aunt at your age, and you’re here teasing me… Besides, the dressing room changing area clearly has curtains; they simply didn’t pull them properly! They often stare at me too!
Jiang Yao remained defiant, turning to avoid Wan Yue’s gaze, purposely putting on her ear-mounted portable communicator, though her neck was already flushed: “There aren’t many people in Hyacinth I can relate to… As long as Zhong Jing doesn’t mess around, we can be friends… Anyway, I’m listening to my sister…”
Wan Yue quietly listened to Jiang Yao’s hesitant words, gently nodded, turned around and walked away, leaving it unresolved.
…
The team set off before midnight, traveling eastward on the business coach along the Longquan Mountain Road, winding up through the mountain pass and gradually transitioning from west to east through the entire Longquan Mountain, before entering the boundaries of City J in Province S.
The road beneath the bus transitioned from mountainous and hilly terrain to flat lands.
The business coach stopped shortly after leaving Longquan Mountain, and all members of Hyacinth began sprinting towards their destination under the cover of night.
Even without activating their boiling blood, maintaining a running speed of twenty kilometers per hour for half an hour was still manageable. The two teams of Hyacinth members quickly infiltrated the outskirts of an obscure village. It was a dilapidated settlement abandoned after years of village merging and township policies.
The time had already passed one o’clock in the morning.
After collectively injecting external hormone suppressants, with a gesture from Zheng Shaolin, the support team members spread out, occupying advantageous positions, setting up long-range sniper rifles aimed at the empty village under the moonless night.
“I’ll repeat once more, the enemy has two mid-tier knights, one of whom is a Caucasian blood; speed and agility are paramount among bloods, and their explosive power ranks second only to that of the Altai clan, especially their boiling blood threshold and stability are higher than those of our Siberian clan! You need to deal with them first; if they get entangled and enter a prolonged battle, you’ll be in trouble!”
Zheng Shaolin stopped Jiang Yao, who was about to charge forward, repeatedly emphasizing the tactical focus of this operation.
With a VSSM suppressed sniper rifle slung behind her and a dagger in hand, Jiang Yao simply nodded and gave Zhou Ping a tactical signal, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
She had already noticed that Hyacinth’s tactical style was highly similar to that of the Dark Arrow, with even the tactical gestures being identical, fueling her curiosity about Wan Yue, the person who created Hyacinth.
“Is she really a Siberian blood? How can she move so fast without boiling blood?”
Zheng Shaolin watched Jiang Yao’s back in astonishment, seeming to still be processing it.
“Yep, Zheng, you see it this way too? Sister Wan’s called her a little monster; I’ve gotten used to it…”
Zhou Ping rolled her eyes, leading the remaining main team members to join up.
…
A powerful blow knocked out the head of a low-level blood servant in Jiang Yao’s path, causing a deep indentation in his chest cavity, reducing his body to merely twitching under the influence of the plant nerves, without changing much in the pheromone’s leaked atmospheric fluctuations.
This group of teenage-like black bloods known as the “Tyrant Society” currently had only one attendant on lookout, and that was in a half-asleep state. The timing of Hyacinth’s raid was impeccably chosen; shortly after one o’clock, it was the hour when everyone was in deep sleep.
Zhou Ping’s party hurried over, dividing into three parts to infiltrate three larger ruined farmhouses.
The sounds of VSSM suppressed rifles and handguns echoed, as each sleeping black blood servant had their skulls shattered, all without activating their boiling blood.
Although Wan Yue had previously hinted to keep the corpses intact, Zhou Ping and the others clearly didn’t count the black bloods’ heads. She would probably have an interesting expression when she learned that the spinal fluid of the blood clan was far more valuable than gold.
Next, was the final basement, which was not only the residence of the two leaders of the Tyrant Society, but also housed their blood servants.
“Wait! Little Yao, something feels off. Zheng’s intel stated that there should be seven attendants here; how come there are only six now?”
Zhou Ping suddenly sensed something was amiss, halting her hand on the basement cover. From the gaps in the wood, she sensed a wild aura, as if a blood clan member below had activated their boiling state, but the aura carried a somewhat strange implication.
Jiang Yao was taken aback. A second later, an overwhelming gust of boiling release swept through her, abruptly tearing open the wooden cover, and she fell into the basement like a cannonball.
The basement was lavishly decorated, illuminated by dim and seductive lighting much like a nightclub. Jiang Yao momentarily thought she had entered the wrong set.
On a long sofa in the corner, two naked bodies were entwined, engaged in the primal act of lovemaking, and to intensify the experience, both had activated their boiling blood!
The woman, resembling an octopus, entwined the male knight’s body, was the attendant they hadn’t found earlier, a middle-aged female low-grade attendant with persisting elegance!
In the basement, the air seemed to solidify. The nude male black blood knight turned his head, and the desire igniting blood-red pupils reflected a blend of shock and fear.
“Ah!”
The naked black blood servant screamed, rolling aside and curling up, lowering his center of gravity. The muscles on his face twisted grotesquely. He completely disregarded everything, directly pushing the boiling blood over the threshold, causing visible deformities to manifest.
On the contrary, the male black blood knight, his body propelling into the air, spread his arms wide, and the hand that fell back transformed into claw-like bones, directing its attack towards the now blushing Jiang Yao.
Jiang Yao crossed her hands with daggers raised in front of her, simultaneously retreating. The mighty claw strike nearly yanked the daggers from her hands, forcing her into a corner of the basement.
Jiang Yao’s back crashed heavily against a row of wine cabinets, shards of broken glass and aromatic liquor splattered against her back.
“From the Deng family in City B?”
Seeing that she had the upper hand and the other party was in a temporarily disadvantaged state, the black blood knight sneered, “You meddlesome old turtles, I won’t touch you until I’ve had my fun, do you think I’m afraid that I’ll sneak attack and take revenge on all of you one by one?”
“No… you are Hyacinth!”
Perhaps the effects of previously drinking impaired his focus; the black blood knight’s gaze returned to normal as he took a closer look at Jiang Yao in her black fitted combat attire and tactical coat under the dim and colorful basement lighting. A sliver of fear flickered in his crimson eyes, and before he could finish his thought, he turned and frantically dashed towards another passage of the basement.
Jiang Yao swiftly drew her suppressed handgun, firing repeatedly. Even though she hit him in the lower back and shoulder, it didn’t slow him down for even a moment.
Meanwhile, the earlier naked black blood servant seized the chance of distraction to rush toward the staircase leading above ground.
Just seconds later, amidst a series of gunfire, the black blood servant, engulfed in a cloud of scorched smoke, fell heavily back, clearly targeted and taken down by Zhou Ping and the others lying in wait upstairs, dying in a thoroughly woeful manner.
“Damn it, is it so thrilling to boil blood at this time of night? Shooting through the air like this…
At that moment, Jiang Yao mumbled, casually discarding her cumbersome VSSM suppressed rifle aside.
With a dagger in her left hand and a handgun in her right, Jiang Yao’s body once again propelled into action, pursuing down the basement corridor.
