Chapter 208: Doubts Abound
K City truly lives up to its nickname as the Spring City, with spring-like weather throughout the year. The spring nights by Dianchi Lake are cool yet not cold.
The lake water ripples gently, reflecting the half-moon, while the hazy clouds occasionally drift across the night sky, causing the world of land and water to alternate between light and dark.
These days, Xiaodong has been taking care of Jiang Yan closely every night, while Liang Tai and Meng Huai take turns guarding the villa. Today is Liang Tai’s night shift, but Meng Huai is unable to sleep and decides to take a solitary walk along the lakeside path.
Sitting on a bench, Meng Huai looks down at his fully armed hyacinth combat gear and falls into deep thought.
After the blood invasion and a nightmarish experience, Meng Huai had briefly lost his normal self-awareness. The time he appeared to be fully awake for the first time was on Valentine’s Day, after that dream at the old street corner.
When all the information from dreams and reality fused together, the first difficult reaction Meng Huai had upon waking was why Jiang Yan appeared next to him—ever since Han Jieli revealed the truth of his background, it seemed that everything in the world was rife with conspiracy theories.
As the life of the hyacinth unfolded, Meng Huai gradually realized that it wasn’t Jiang Yan who intentionally approached his life, but rather it was he who had intruded into her world with a certain obsession—a world he understood only partially. Many of his past perceptions seemed rather one-sided.
Since entering the old street, Jiang Yan’s impression in Meng Huai’s mind has undergone drastic turbulence. Although their relationship has progressed rapidly during these days, Meng Huai often feels that the familiar aspects of Jiang Yan are rapidly diminishing, while unfamiliar and even frightening elements are quietly increasing.
This feeling reached its peak during the bloody night when Nawa and Deng Baoyi attacked, at a time when he was most grief-stricken.
Recalling Jiang Yan’s peculiar expression, where she hoped he wouldn’t pry too much, Meng Huai’s heart became even more complicated.
He even felt that, under the blatant encouragement of Wanyue, the feelings he harbored—deep and all-consuming—might only amount to less than one percent of Jiang Yan. The other ninety-nine percent of her has become so unfamiliar that he feels utterly lost.
Moreover, among these unfamiliarities, the unsettling and bizarre components occupy the majority.
This might be the most unfair kind of affection in the world.
Checking his watch, it was already nearing midnight. Turning to look in the direction of the big villa, after a few seconds of contemplation, Meng Huai turned and walked towards a secluded viewing pavilion at the end of the lakeside path.
He adjusted his breathing, calmed his心态, and entered into the best state of environmental perception. When he sensed that the nearest hidden sentry was still hundreds of meters away, Meng Huai finally sat down and took out his secure phone from his pocket.
After entering a series of mysterious codes, he placed the earphones into his ears.
“Hello, this is the Strategic Task Support Center of the Special Confidential Operations Group. Please enter your identity code.”
“…Identity confirmed. Hello, fearless warrior, what assistance do you require?”
The cold voice of the woman on the secure line seemed to have gained some warmth, yet Meng Huai felt somewhat uncomfortable.
Contact Scarecrow.
Meng Huai hesitated for a few seconds, but eventually expressed his intentions.
“Okay, please enter your Scarecrow contact code.”
This is where Meng Huai felt increasingly conflicted—while the secure communications and strategic task support center were indeed powerful, even contacting the Scarecrow required going through secure communication channels, and everything would be recorded.
In a military hospital in the capital city.
Han Jieli has been hospitalized for over three weeks, with the aftereffects of his concussion having mostly faded. Recent follow-up examinations have shown good recovery of his fractured injuries; he should be able to remove the cast in about a week.
It was almost midnight, but Han Jieli had no urge to sleep, still reviewing all the materials related to the Zhen Guangquan case.
Zhen Guangquan’s current situation is not optimistic. Although he has mostly escaped danger, the extent of his injuries is severe, especially to his brain; he is currently in a deep coma, resembling a vegetative state, causing great frustration for the director of the intelligence agency, Ye Zhijun.
“This is troublesome. Zhen Guangquan was reassigned to the western inspection area as chief of staff at the end of May last year, with the backing of my great-uncle and the recommendation of Aunt Han Meng, handed over by Commander Wang Hongjun… how should I proceed with the investigation?”
Regarding this aunt, who also resembles a great-aunt, the deputy minister of the Secretariat, Han Jieli has always found it somewhat intimidating; she’s not as easy to get along with as other members of the Han family, especially since her husband is the head of the training department.
As for his great-uncle, Han Zhongliang, he is a towering figure in the family, the ultimate authority, with his students scattered throughout the organization. Not to mention giving Ye Zhijun ten times more courage, even Chief of General Staff Wu Zhongxian wouldn’t dare to act recklessly.
Suddenly, the phone on the bedside table rang; it was a secure phone that Han Jieli had specifically placed there.
“Hello, Scarecrow, the Seed contact has been established. Please press the communication confirmation key after you hear the prompt…”
Han Jieli brought the secure phone closer, barely able to believe his ears.
“Han Jieli, can you hear me…?”
After months of silence, Meng Huai’s voice was like music from the heavens.
“Hello, Meng Ge! It’s me, Han Jieli!”
The hand holding the phone trembled with excitement. He had no intention of calling the nurse for help; instead, he grinned as he maneuvered his body into an electric wheelchair and wheeled himself out onto the balcony.
“Han Jieli, I need some information.”
Meng Huai’s tone was neither cold nor warm, devoid of joy or sorrow, still that familiar style.
As if recalling something, Han Jieli paused and said lightly, “Meng Ge, it’s so late, are you really that invested in work? How about we catch up privately; I have a personal matter regarding your family to discuss. You should know my mobile number.”
Both ends of the call fell into silence, and after ten seconds, Meng Huai hung up.
His personal phone rang, and Han Jieli glanced at the caller ID but quickly hung up on the missed call. Instead, he promptly switched to a brand new SIM card and dialed the other party’s number.
After some effort, when the signal reconnected, Han Jieli finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Meng Ge, we really need to go it alone from now on. Please refrain from using the secure phone as much as possible; all communication will be recorded. I worry that an insider may have ways to know your every move, so we must prepare for the worst, even if we can’t get any assistance from the strategic task support center.
“Also, avoid using my previous work or personal phone numbers to prevent eavesdropping. Use this new number to contact me in the future.”
Han Jieli pressed the phone to his ear and rattled off a lot of information in one breath.
“An insider… has infiltrated to the level of the Special Confidential Operations Group?”
Meng Huai’s voice was deep and evidently surprised.
“Ah, this is a huge problem. I’ve never talked to you in detail about the confidentiality issues before. Meng Ge, Yang Jiu is dead, Zhen Guangquan was assassinated, and someone from the Wang family has become an insider and suffered a heavy blow…”
For the next ten or so minutes, Han Jieli completely recounted everything he knew about the insider situation, and throughout, Meng Huai didn’t utter a single word.
“…So that’s the situation. I now see everyone around me as a potential insider, triggering a stress response. Therefore, until we pin down the insider, I can’t let you continue using the secure phone. Now I finally understand the situation of the previous Seed seniors.”
On the phone, Meng Huai sighed: “I thought I was the only one living like a blind person in the blood clan world; it turns out you are too.”
Han Jieli chuckled: “Meng Ge, are you currently in the Luo family? That recent nighttime bombardment in the old street of Northern Myanmar was your planning, right?”
“Yeah, I’m here, but the situation is more complicated than you think… Han Jieli, I need some data. Please gather it as quickly as possible.”
“Oh, sure, wait a moment… um, go ahead!”
Han Jieli clamped the phone between his jaw and shoulder, opening a notebook with his left hand—this recent serious injury has forced him to develop a new skill: writing with his left hand. Although it looks terrible and is slow, at least it’s useful.
“First, all the video materials from last year’s action at the 907 Army General Hospital. Second, all survivor screening reports from last year’s 1101 Wanqiaoli Commercial Center incident. Third, information on all registered missing individuals with rare blood types from the past twenty years, including photographs if possible.”
Han Jieli’s voice trembled slightly at once: “Meng Ge, do you have a lead on Xia Yan?”
“No, I don’t. I just want to verify something that should be helpful for the investigation.”
Meng Huai’s voice remained calm.
“Okay, I have the first two documents archived here. Tomorrow—oh, wait, it’s already past midnight… never mind, give me a moment to sort out the materials, and I’ll contact you. Um, I will provide you with a third-party email; you can download it yourself…
“As for the third one, I must go to the intelligence bureau’s information department to inquire. Let’s wait a couple of days.”
Han Jieli quickly noted Meng Huai’s requests but found the last one surprising, as it seemed less aimed at identifying clues related to Xia Yan and Gu Yao.
The door swung open, and a night-shift nurse with her hands on her hips and brows furrowed approached: “Bed 18, Han Jieli, aren’t you going to rest? Do you see what time it is? Still on the phone?”
“Uh… okay.”
Han Jieli put down the phone and forced a smile.
…
“Did the insider target Xia Yan and Gu Yao from the beginning, while Zhen Guangquan was just a pawn…”
The home has been deliberately targeted, and the hyacinth has been prioritized by the Wang family; Wanyue’s relationship with the senior officials of the Wang family is quite unusual…
Looking at his phone, which only had one bar of battery life left, Meng Huai had not yet fully digested what Han Jieli had said.
In the seemingly endless golf club, the faint fluctuations of blood clan pheromones echoed, some belonging to the Luo family and others to the Wang family, mostly knights, and there were even two chaotic auras.
“Meng… Li Huai, why are you alone in this corner? I tried calling you just now, but I couldn’t get through.”
Under the dim light of the lakeside path, Liang Tai approached slowly, smoking a cigarette.
“Brother Liang, is there anything you need me to do?”
Meng Huai casually put away his phone and stood up from the pavilion bench.
“Xiaoyan is already asleep, and Xiaodong wants me to accompany her for a late-night snack, so I’m asking you to cover for me—just thirty minutes.”
Liang Tai smiled and pointed to his stomach, then discarded the weapon in his hand.
Meng Huai chuckled, took the weapon, and didn’t say anything as he strode toward the villa.
“Strange, who is he talking to on the phone for so long in the middle of the night…”
Watching Meng Huai’s departing figure, Liang Tai felt somewhat puzzled.
…
By 2 AM, Meng Huai returned to his personal room on the first floor of the villa.
I have to say, every room here is quite luxurious, well-equipped, almost like a small one-room apartment.
Pulling the curtains shut, he turned on the computer on the desk, confirmed that the internet was successfully turned off, and connected his phone via a data cable to copy the downloaded files from the email to the computer.
Meng Huai planned to use the larger computer screen to carefully review all the videos, images, and text materials.
Last year’s action video data from the 907 Army General Hospital was the most numerous and had undergone technical processing to improve clarity as much as possible, but Meng Huai only filtered out the most crucial segments.
Rewinding, pausing, and replaying, he ultimately extracted several images from angles that were as appropriate as possible and displayed them on the screen for careful study.
Glancing at his still-undisguised hyacinth combat attire, Meng Huai quickly compared his movements and angles with those of the mysterious man in the video, taking several photos and videos of himself with his phone.
After ten minutes of meticulous comparison, Meng Huai finally muttered to himself, “Exactly, it’s the hyacinth’s equipment… So, this man should be Zhao Peng… as for the other woman…”
Under the spotlight, the girl with the black single ponytail, soaring amid a hail of bullets, looked so light, beautiful, and striking, yet Meng Huai couldn’t help but close his eyes.
After a long moment, Meng Huai finally opened his eyes, silently closed all images and videos, and then opened another encrypted compressed file—the survivor screening report from the 1101 Wanqiaoli Commercial Center case.
Sure enough, within the list of hundreds of names, he discovered Jiang Yan’s name, complete with her photo and ID information.
Upon opening Jiang Yan’s blood test report, Meng Huai glanced at it and suddenly stood up, his hand gripping the wireless mouse trembling slightly.
Ordinary O-type blood…
Heh, rare blood types have turned into ordinary O-type blood! There really is an insider in the western inspection area, who has altered Jiang Yan’s test report…
Crash!
The mouse was crushed directly in Meng Huai’s hand, and his face turned icy cold.
That night, he had fainted from the anesthetic he had deployed against the black blood clan, while it was Jiang Yan who had secretly reported to the police, like a ghost in the dark, eliminating all the black blood clan members.
The dark arrow-style pistol that was burned at the scene, upon technical identification, turned out to belong to Xia Yan; it was discarded in the fire after the ammunition was spent, but thankfully it still bore the factory markings—indicating that Jiang Yan must have used that gun.
The Wang family behind the hyacinth has a considerable possibility of sheltering Xia Yan and Gu Yao. Or to put it more bluntly, the hyacinth has a direct and mysterious relationship with Xia Yan and Gu Yao, or at least, it is helping the Wang family with their affairs.
The special nature of Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao may be closely related to his mission objectives.
Only by becoming a blood clan can he see the other side of the matter. Could it be that his mother has been guiding him to endure an unforgettable ordeal, thereby logically allowing him to grasp the keys to his fate?
…
…
In a certain cultural alley in J District, C City, S Province.
Since more than two hours ago, Jiang Yao had been tossing and turning, unable to sleep, repeatedly calling Zhong Jing, only to find the line busy, leaving her inexplicably anxious.
After returning from K City, Wanyue had lifted Jiang Yao’s house arrest, no longer requiring her to reflect at the hyacinth mountain villa, thereby restoring her work routine at the Jinhe Club.
But after dawn, Jiang Yao would have to go to Shengci Hospital for a physical examination as instructed by Wanyue, in preparation for future artificial insemination.
Jiang Yao knew this wasn’t a joke on Wanyue’s part because no one could afford the consequences of a queen’s mental and physical collapse.
According to Wanyue and the Wang family, Jiang Yan’s checkup results indicate that she is merely a false queen, as Jiang Yan lacks the capacity for childbirth, which contradicts the logic of the bloodline developing within the reproductive system of a queen.
“Ugh, who could she have talked to for over an hour! Is there really that much to say?”
Jiang Yao directly threw her phone sharply onto the bed, angrily wrapping her legs in the blanket and burying her head in the pillow.
The phone rang, and Jiang Yao was momentarily startled, quickly grabbing it.
“Sorry, He Jianqing went to Europe for a business trip yesterday; she just landed… Oh, she’s in Germany; it’s only a little after 7 PM there.”
Zhong Jing sounded quite apologetic on the phone.
“Zhong Jing, can you give me a ride for my checkup tomorrow?”
“I might not make it in time; we have guests at home early tomorrow, and I need to help with the reception… How about I come over at noon for lunch instead?”
“Forget it, I’ll go by myself.”
Jiang Yao pouted and hung up the call swiftly before turning off her phone.
“Such a freak! Saying she wants to get pregnant and have a child; can’t there be other ways…”
Jiang Yao felt her body start to tremble uncontrollably again and quickly buried her head deeper under the blanket, trying to expel the thoughts that made her head spin.
