Chapter 190: Wan Yue’s Intuition
One, two, three, four,
one two three four!
The slogans echoed, and the footsteps synchronized,
Each formation moved across the playground like tofu curds,
Looking particularly pleasing to the eye.
In the early morning, on the playground, hundreds of dark arrow cadets
dressed in the five-eight-style military uniform were preparing to run in units.
This is the Dark Arrow Training Center,
the starting place for all personnel of the Dark Arrow troops,
where every active-duty member of the frontline Dark Arrow team
has undergone at least three stages of special training for one year.
The Dark Arrow’s predecessor was the Central Secret Service Agency
established in 1930, which was officially renamed Dark Arrow in 1935.
The initial members of the Dark Arrow were secretly selected
from the Red Army’s commanders and fighters.
After the Long March, with the help of
advisers from the Soviet secret organizations,
Dark Arrow established a special training center,
setting foot on the path of professional development. The training center was originally
located in Ya City of Northwest S Province, and shortly after the establishment
of the New China, it moved deep into the Shennongjia Mountain area of
North H Province.
The liberation army is as hot as fire,
Thousands of troops are busy collecting grain!
The autumn harvest drums sound loud,
Hoping for a bountiful harvest this year!
Workers, farmers, merchants, students, and soldiers, everyone
is working hard to contribute greater strength for agricultural abundance!
On the radio, exciting news of the Great Leap Forward
is being broadcasted repeatedly, autumn harvests
are unfolding across the country. In newspapers and radio stations,
the output satellites are getting larger, truly exciting.
This is a great production movement for the whole nation to surpass the United States,
not just for farmers; even the Dark Arrow troops were affected
by the wave of the Great Leap Forward.
Around the training center, countless forests were felled,
and in the newly cleared fields, dark arrow cadets,
who temporarily had no training tasks, rolled up their sleeves
and wielded hoes, busy preparing for next year’s planting.
A dark green GAZ jeep drove into the training center.
A beautiful female soldier, wearing a lieutenant rank, jumped out of the car,
looking around this place she had once stayed for a year,
with a sweet smile revealing her pearly whites.
Han Zhongyue inherited her parents’ excellent genes,
both her height, figure, and appearance were hard to criticize.
Her jet-black hair was styled into two little braids at the back of her head,
energized and slightly mischievous, pure and lovely,
which perfectly matched her youthful beauty.
Central Inspection District, Intelligence Bureau Han Zhongyue
reported in!
Walking to the entrance of a large conference room, Han Zhongyue
straightened her appearance, stepped half a step into the door,
stood at attention and saluted, her expression solemn.
While saluting, Han Zhongyue looked around the conference room.
Apart from several elderly male and female soldiers at the podium,
the seats below were filled with nearly a hundred young dark arrow officers,
ranging from cadets to soldiers.
Suddenly, a familiar young general at the podium
caught her eye, and it was none other than her mother,
Zhu Qianhua, the Minister of the Political Department of Dark Arrow Headquarters!
What? Why is mom here?
Did she transfer to the training center?
How come there was no news about this beforehand…
Han Zhongyue was stunned,
unable to react for quite a while.
Comrade Han Zhongyue, we’ve been waiting for you!
The director of the Dark Arrow Training Center laughed and stood up,
pointing to a seat below: “Please sit down.
This excellent command training will last a week,
and it is specially compiled by Minister Zhu.”
“Oh…”
Stealing a glance at Zhu Qianhua,
she happened to meet the other’s half-smiling eyes and her face turned red.
Han Zhongyue lowered her head and hurried to the last row corner,
only to find there was no space left.
“Hello, Comrade Han!
I’m Zhu Pengfei, from the Inspection Area.
Our captain, Han Zhongyu, often speaks of you.”
The officer, who looked like a teacher, quickly stood up and opened a spot,
sitting down on the floor himself in a very casual manner.
“Hello…”
Han Zhongyue nodded shyly, quickly shook hands with him, then sat down gently.
Looking to her left, she saw a handsome lieutenant,
sitting straight with a serious back, subtly glancing at her.
“Hello, comrade. I’m from the Central Inspection District,
my name is Han Zhongyue.”
Han Zhongyue smiled friendly and took the initiative to extend her hand.
“Hmm… Zou Heshan,
from the Northern Inspection District,
Ice-Bing Team.”
The lieutenant only nodded slightly and turned his gaze back.
The Ice-Bing team of the Northern Inspection District,
I should know the fourth brother…
Han Zhongyue took another sneaky glance at the handsome side profile, noting it down in her mind.
“Alright, now let’s begin roll call…”
A colonel at the podium stood up, holding up a roster.
As names were called out and responded to one after another,
Han Zhongyue, who was silently counting in her heart, discovered
that there were exactly one hundred people present for the training today.
Looking back at her mother at the podium,
the nearly sixty-year-old female general, with gray hair,
currently had a calm face, serious and unsmiling.
The cadre training for Han Zhongyue in Dark Arrow would change her life forever.
The training content was peculiar,
with a lot of one-on-one discussions covering various strange topics,
followed by physical and military skills assessments,
as well as various strange medical checkups;
even during these checkups, Han Zhongyue encountered Soviet military doctors.
Most of the training courses during this week were routine,
and aside from sharing intelligence experiences with Han Zhongyue,
Zhu Qianhua did not show up any further.
A week quickly passed, and of the one hundred people,
most left and returned to their original units,
while ten, including Han Zhongyue, remained.
Then came even harsher military skills assessments
and more complicated medical tests lasting a whole month.
One night, the long-missing Zhu Qianhua
quietly entered Han Zhongyue’s single dorm.
“Mom!”
Han Zhongyue was engrossed in a book titled “The Song of Youth,”
enthralled by the love and struggle within,
and discovering her mother had come, she directly closed the book and
plunged into her embrace, wrapping her arms around her waist,
smiling especially joyfully.
Zhu Qianhua said nothing,
but tenderly caressed her daughter’s face and hair,
with a faint smile.
Over the past month, Han Zhongyue had tanned a bit but remained spirited;
the monotonous training and studying every day made her,
once lively by nature, feel a bit bored.
“Yue’er, I came today in my capacity as
the Minister of Administration for the Dark Arrow Troops, head of the Special Confidential Operations Group,
to ask you a question: Are you willing to give up everything…”
In the following minutes, Zhu Qianhua spoke almost
emotionlessly about content that made Han Zhongyue’s heart race with fear.
“Mom… You want your own daughter to become a vampire!”
Han Zhongyue trembled all over, her face pale, tears streaming down: “Could you really bear to push your daughter into the abyss?”
“You are my daughter, a member of the Han family, and a soldier of Huaguo…
Our Han family must lead by example! These were your father’s words before he passed away…”
Zhu Qianhua embraced her daughter, a tear glistening in the corner of her eye,
but her expression grew even colder.
“Mom, you’re too cruel!”
Han Zhongyue finally broke down in tears, lamenting heart-wrenchingly.
She finally understood that from the ten people selected
during this cadre training, three would be chosen to become detestable vampires,
to carry out secret missions with no way back.
…
On March 10, 2020, Tuesday.
“Phew!”
Wan Yue awoke from her dream, drenched in sweat, her nightgown soaked.
She had dreamt again, and for the past two days, it had been the same dream,
causing her tranquil mind to experience a painful tearing agony.
Outside her bedroom window, it was already bright day;
Wan Yue smiled wryly as she picked up her cellphone from the bedside, only to find
it had been turned off.
Letting out a deep sigh, Wan Yue tidied her messy hair and walked to the side
of the wardrobe, intending to retrieve new underwear and take a shower.
Just a few steps out, her gaze fixed on the direction of the door—
She sensed a familiar aura; a guest had come to the villa,
and it was a baron who deliberately broke the tranquility.
“This Jin must be getting bolder,
actually breaking into civilian dwellings…”
Wan Yue smiled lightly and walked into the bathroom.
…
Half an hour later, Wan Yue, dressed in a silk dress and wearing high heels,
walked gracefully down the stairs.
Old Jin was sitting silently on the living room sofa, staring blankly.
The ashtray on the coffee table was already filled with cigarette butts,
and it seemed that he, who never smoked, had begun to seek a form of self-numbing.
“Are you here to confront me, or to apologize?”
Wan Yue lit a cigarette, leaning against the open kitchen counter,
smiling brightly at the dejected Old Jin.
“At my family, they have begun to pursue Uncle Wu…
Four family barons and four barons from the family,
including Xiang Zuxing and the others, just vanished…”
Old Jin raised his head, looking bitter: “Xiao Yue, your previous premonition was correct,
this is a trap; Uncle Wu has long betrayed us.
A few hours before the operation, Dark Arrow contacted the family to verify
if we had any movements…”
“One hand cannot clap; even the cloaking device may not escape suspicion…
Where’s Zhuang Jianfei? Did he die?”
Wan Yue poured two cups of coffee and brought them to Old Jin,
her smile fading, turning into a visible sneer.
Zhuang Jianfei also fell into Zhu Bixian’s ambush and was severely injured;
fortunately, he’s part of the Apennine Blood Clan, yet likely will need to lie down for ten days to half a month,
and may even drop a rank.
Old Jin waved his hand, seemingly unwilling to discuss this matter now
while also talking about someone who has already died.
Hiding the deaths of two elders, it’s said that Old Master Zhao directly
coughed blood from anger…
Now, Uncle Si has temporarily replaced the family’s intelligence work
and decided to strategically withdraw.
Old Jin stared at the steaming coffee, his expression serious, said softly: “Xiao Yue, the reason I came today is to inform you that the family will withdraw
from the southern intervention in the Liang family; Uncle Qi has returned to normal, the Wang family quit the game…”
Wan Yue looked at Old Jin’s despondent expression and remained silent, taking a sip of coffee and a puff of smoke.
Old Jin, I’ve had a question these past few days…
Wan Yue sat next to Old Jin, gently resting her elegant arm on his shoulder, in an extremely ambiguous posture, still wearing a mysterious smile: “Did your family elder know the details of the joint operation before?”
Old Jin turned his head to glance at his shoulder,
realizing Wan Yue’s alluring and soft body was intimately pressed against his side,
and somehow, his previously dejected mood lightened considerably.
“Well… yes, such matters must be reported by Uncle Wu; there’s no escaping it.”
As he spoke, Old Jin couldn’t help but swallow nervously, feeling somewhat shy.
“Then why would she agree to act so harshly against the Black Dragon Society? Was it merely your Uncle Wu who convinced her, or did your family elder believe that Uncle Wu’s plan was the best solution?”
Wan Yue’s voice was full of temptation, her beautiful eyes fixed on Old Jin’s gradually reddening face.
“That… as far as I know, the allocation of personnel at those three points was brought up by the ancestor because
they considered cooperation issues, allowing the Hidden Clan’s people to consolidate at one point;
the Wang family might just send a representative, so I went along with your route.”
Old Jin was stunned, as if he realized something, and fell into deep thought.
“Old Jin, sometimes being a backseat driver has its usefulness; at least, we can analyze the fallacies involved from another angle.”
“First, no matter how rampant the Black Dragon Society is, as long as Qian Wa hasn’t appeared, they are equivalent to just a noble family.
Mobilizing such a large force to attack three points can be euphemistically called uprooting the weed; unfavorably, it can be termed as using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.”
“Second, considering the dirty relationship between your Wang family and Dark Arrow, why not choose to disclose these details to Dark Arrow and let them deal with the Black Dragon Society?
Instead, you opted for a painstaking and thankless offensive plan, which really doesn’t seem like your style.”
“Your Wang family has been adept at borrowing a knife to kill for decades…
Not reflecting on Uncle Wu’s traitorous identity, your elder and other major figures wouldn’t have thought of this?”
“Third, according to your statements, the allocation of personnel at three points
was overseen by your elder, which actually kept the Hidden Clan’s people and the Wang family’s people apart;
aside from our route, the arrangements for the other two were merely hearsay; who knows what the现场 was like…”
After speaking, Wan Yue left Old Jin’s body, swaying her enchanting waist, and walked towards the side’s open bathroom counter.
At that moment, Old Jin was left dumbfounded. Those three points of conjecture exploded in his mind like bombs, stirring up waves of realization.
Yes, how could they overlook these obvious flaws? Why didn’t the family’s people think towards that direction, allowing Uncle Wu to take the lead on everything…
Old Jin lowered his head, mumbling to himself.
“Old Jin, I want to see your elder again. There are some things I must ask in person.”
Wan Yue came back with a plate of cut fruit.
“How do you know she intends to meet you?”
Old Jin was bewildered. He originally thought Wan Yue would be as dejected as himself or avoid reality.
Instead, she cocooned herself at home, concocting numerous boiling ideas in two days’ time, even aiming her arrows directly at the Wang family’s elder.
These are merely my fanciful thoughts; if you couldn’t provide me with these answers,
I can only seek out those who can.
Wan Yue picked up a piece of fruit with her fingertips, tossing it into her mouth; her red lips moved, sweet enough to squint her eyes.
Gazing at Wan Yue in her sexy and beautiful dress, Old Jin recalled her earlier stance leaning on his shoulder, and an inexplicable heat surged in his heart.
“Xiao Yue, let’s have a meal together… I forgot to send you flowers on Women’s Day the day before yesterday.”
Uncontrollably, Old Jin stood up, adjusted his coat,
while squeezing out a smitten smile, excitement gleaming in his eyes.
What? Do you think the previous reward was insufficient and plan to take it a step further?
Or just make sure you clean up your own mess…
Wan Yue shot him a big eye roll, decisively crushing Old Jin’s prying intentions.
Old Jin smiled awkwardly, suddenly feeling a bit dejected but quite happier than before.
Ultimately, Wan Yue was a thoughtful woman, always employing small means within her reach
to uplift others’ spirits and emotions rather than purely seducing and tempting them.
Thinking of this, Old Jin increasingly felt he had married too early back then, filled with endless regrets…
“Well, this is for your Wang family; you handle the improvement,
but remember not to forget the quantity I need when the time comes.”
Seeing that he had dispelled his gloomy mood,
Wan Yue smiled and handed over a tightly wrapped plastic roll: “The complete formula and manufacturing process for Hengdan
is enough for you to make a face with Uncle Jiu; where it came from, you don’t need to worry.”
Old Jin was completely stunned by what Wan Yue brought,
unable to believe his ears.
Every blood clan force’s secret medicine, no matter how inconspicuous,
holds its formula and manufacturing process as a top-secret.
Since the emergence of Sodokaine, the strategic value of Yuhengdan
has significantly increased, and its price has skyrocketed accordingly.
Although the Wang family can obtain some Yuhengdan from the Hidden Clan, the quantity is limited and controlled.
Such a precious item was now within reach; Old Jin gripped it tightly,
then ran out of the living room without looking back.
…
…
Myanmar North, South of Wildman Mountain.
Five men and women dressed in combat gear were quietly weaving through the dense subtropical rainforest
with backpacks filled with supplies.
Mosquitoes, leeches, and venomous snakes were continuously present in this primitive forest,
but they couldn’t hinder Jiang Yan and the others from nearly all-night stealth.
The only trouble was the intersecting cliffs and deep gulches,
making straight-line movement impossible.
Leading the group was Meng Huai,
who held a silenced P90 submachine gun;
every hundred meters of running through the woods,
he would squat down to observe the surroundings carefully.
Meng Huai raised his hand, signaling a tactical motion, and Jiang Yan and the others quickly crouched down.
In the distance, human voices faintly came from the dense forest,
followed by several faint black blood clan auras entering Jiang Yan and the others’ perception.
“Strange, how could knight-level black blood clan appear in Wildman Mountain without using internal and external hormone inhibitors?”
Once Jiang Yan crouched down beside him, Meng Huai lowered his voice, still slightly puzzled:
“During previous Western Li wars, we rarely encountered knight-level black blood clan members, yet now two appear at once…”
“This doesn’t seem like a simple smuggling operation;
it should be the infiltration of the black blood clan within the country…”
Jiang Yan considered before gesturing behind her; three elite knights from the Bafu understood and began to disperse into the jungle.
This was a battle detail Jiang Yan had pre-arranged to avoid triggering boiling blood, which would suppress their own with boiling blood—
that deceptive aura that could rival a baron left quite an impression on Xiao Hai.
“Meng Huai, I’ll go take care of them;
you help me watch the flank.”
Jiang Yan put down her P90 submachine gun,
withdrew a dagger from the outside of her lower leg, prepared to move,
only to find Meng Huai’s hand resting on her shoulder.
“I’ll go; how can a woman charge ahead of a man… If we’re talking about knights, so am I.”
Meng Huai smiled, pulled back the gun bolt, and jumped out, disappearing behind a large tree.
A woman?
Jiang Yan paused, glanced down at her chest, grinned, let out a long sigh, and a trace of a smile crept at the corner of her mouth.
A few minutes later, faint and barely audible gunfire erupted,
followed by unintelligible shouting in foreign languages.
Having earlier injected internal and external hormone inhibitors, Meng Huai and the others,
laid an ambush successfully with ease;
with two knight-level black blood clan auras extinguished, and more lower-level blood clan auras retreating,
the first battle after transforming was perfectly concluded.
In the past, dealing with two knight-level black blood clans would basically require deploying an assault squad.
Jiang Yan half-closed her eyes, continuously feeling Meng Huai’s aura from afar,
that fierce, fearless, cold killing, and even a hint of excitement, was just like he himself, matched inside and out.
Minutes later, Meng Huai re-emerged from the dense woods with three elite knights from the Bafu,
all displaying relaxed expressions, with Xiao Hai carrying an injured black blood clan servant.
“Giri giri… gulong gulong…”
The black blood clan servant’s face was filled with obvious fear and confusion,
his whole body was shaking like a sieve,
his mouth continuously muttering in an incomprehensible foreign language.
A person?
From the look, he had typical Southeast Asian features, but they couldn’t distinguish which country.
Jiang Yan was somewhat puzzled.
“I can understand a bit; he’s from Myanmar.”
Perhaps having been active in the southwestern region for many years,
a young lower noble knight of Bafu who was following Xiao Hai came over and turned to that black blood clan captive, chirping a few sentences.
“Yan Jie, he says he is a Nawa person.”
The lower noble knight’s complexion wasn’t too good, his voice low:
“Nawa operates in the northern part of the Malay Peninsula, near the border of Xing Nation and Siam;
they say he’s an intermediary mid-level viscount from the Ganges and has several baron subordinates.”
“Malay Peninsula?
How did a Nawa person end up in the Wildman Mountain of Myanmar?”
Jiang Yan froze, falling into deep thought while Meng Huai’s brows furrowed further.
After several rounds of questioning and translating,
Jiang Yan and the others learned that the current old street area in northern Myanmar was surrounded by several black blood clan
or vagabond blood clan factions, and the Luo family had completely abandoned the old street, retreating back home.
This batch of black blood clan was tasked with infiltrating Huaguo, monitoring the Luo family and Dark Arrow;
further questioning wouldn’t yield more valuable information.
Meng Huai walked in front of the black blood clan servant, smiled, suddenly pulled out a silenced pistol from his thigh,
and shot the other’s head off.
The corpse slumped and fell to the ground, silent. Xiao Hai and the others exchanged glances but said nothing.
From last night until now, unable to contact Guo Hao, they probably already isolated and surrounded the old street; they needed to speed up their southward movement.
Clean the battlefield, replenish food and water, and continue onward!
Meng Huai returned the pistol to its holster, scanning the people around with a serious expression. At that moment, it seemed he regarded Xiao Hai and the others as members of the Xuanzhong team. Seeing Jiang Yan’s expression, and finding that she trusted Meng Huai’s leading role in this operation,
Xiao Hai and the three nodded in unison.
Everyone quickly ate some dry rations, replenished some water, and continued on. When Meng Huai was about to take the lead again,
Jiang Yan grasped his hand.
“Drink some blood.”
Jiang Yan pulled out a small bottle containing fresh blood preserved with dry ice from her bag, her face slightly red: “I feel that your aura is a bit unstable; you should drink some blood to maintain your condition.”
These dozens of milliliters of blood were drawn from Jiang Yan before she set off last night.
Meng Huai felt somewhat puzzled, as his blood thirst period hadn’t arrived yet.
Taking the blood bottle, he removed the cap, releasing a peculiar fragrance that immediately spread through the forest, even Xiao Hai and the three elite knights from Bafu looked on strangely.
It was the same familiar, irresistibly tempting blood; just inhaling its scent brought a delightful sensation deep into the bones.
This was Jiang Yan’s blood; it seemed he had swallowed thousands of milliliters in the past, which not only stabilized his deteriorating mind and body but also made his mixed-blood clan growth manifest even more vividly.
Meng Huai cleared his throat, avoiding everyone’s gaze,
after a fierce internal struggle, he managed to suppress himself again.
“Don’t waste it…”
Meng Huai returned the blood bottle, his expression calm.
“No, it’s not a waste; the better your condition, the more assured we’ll be.”
Jiang Yan shook her head, directly opening the bottle and lifting it to Meng Huai’s eye level, her beautiful big eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief.
Looking at the serious face of the black-haired girl, Meng Huai slowly extended his hand, connecting with the bottle held by her,
bringing it to his lips, making it appear as though Jiang Yan was assisting him in drinking the blood.
An indescribable fragrance and peculiar pleasure spread at that moment, deep into every limb and fiber.
Meng Huai closed his eyes, feeling this mysterious sensation from the blood for the first time in a lucid state.
Xiao Hai and the others wore envious smiles, missing the moment between Jiang Yan and Meng Huai,
they voluntarily advanced ahead.
Unbeknownst to Jiang Yan, there was an unwritten tradition within the Bafu, stating that under normal circumstances, when a Bafu woman actively offers her blood to a man, it expresses affection.
Naturally, Meng Huai also didn’t know that once a Bafu man drinks, it signifies acceptance of that affection.
This time, Xiao Hai led the way, while Meng Huai and Jiang Yan followed behind, seemingly giving the two more time to communicate,
the speed of the three men slowed down considerably compared to earlier, leisurely like a stroll through the jungle.
Regrettably, Meng Huai showed no more intimacy in words or actions, merely trudging along, seemingly still savoring the taste of the blood he just had or pondering some unresolved issues.
Uncertain how much time passed, Xiao Hai’s warning of imitating a bird call echoed ahead.
Jiang Yan glanced at the somewhat dazed Meng Huai, gently tapped his arm, quickening her pace.
