Chapter 124: Issues of Growth
On December 20th, Friday, light snow.
West Inspection Area Command Building.
Early in the morning, the entire building was filled with a heavy atmosphere. The military personnel on each floor moved hurriedly, and the exchanges between colleagues were noticeably lacking. Even the sound of doors closing as they entered and exited offices was much quieter.
“… In just seven or eight months, three, already three people!”
Wang Hongjun sat on the couch, his head tilted back, one hand covering his face in pain, his voice hoarse, as if years had been added to his age.
Han Guowei sat on the other side, his expression also one of desolation, but his mental state was much better than his old partner’s, even showing a hint of relief.
“I’ve already notified Zhen Guangquan to rush to the Southwest Rotation War Zone to oversee the search operation.” Han Guowei stood up, poured a cup of tea, and delivered it to his old partner. “Old Wang, don’t rush. For now, we can only wait for further news.”
“If this had happened two months ago, I could still accept it. But this is a first-class merit award winner!” Wang Hongjun’s face turned red, and his mouth trembled. “This is the biggest joke made throughout the military. I really didn’t expect even someone as excellent as Meng Huai would end up like this!”
“What else can we do? According to Tao Qiaoer, Meng Huai was saying before he left that he wanted to avenge his mother. This kid has too heavy of a psychological burden. He’s already reckless. It seems his original motivation for joining the Dark Arrow was to find that vampire from the Rhine who killed his mother…”
As soon as the words left his mouth, Wang Hongjun straightened up, staring intently at Han Guowei, his face full of confusion. “His mother was killed by a vampire? Why isn’t there anything about this in his personal file?”
Han Guowei avoided Wang Hongjun’s gaze, also smiling bitterly. “What he hid in his heart since childhood was classified by headquarters back then. It was only during the last closed resuscitation that everyone thought he wouldn’t make it, and the headquarters authorized him to uncover the truth. Who would have thought… sigh…”
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. It’s just fate playing tricks. In ten days, he’s supposed to leave the front lines, and the receiving unit is already decided. He can choose casually, but it turned out like this.”
After saying that, Han Guowei picked up his tea cup, his expression full of regret, as if everything was a painful accident.
“Hey, Old Han… you have to give me a clear answer. I feel like Meng Huai has more secrets from the past few months that only you and Wu Zhongxian know about… I’m not violating security protocols; I just don’t want to misjudge.”
Wang Hongjun stood up, for the first time looking at his old partner’s face with a serious expression. “I’m not targeting Han’s family, nor am I doubting your work, but some rumors… I believe there’s no smoke without fire. Has the headquarters had their eyes on Meng Huai all along?”
In the closed-door office, the atmosphere suddenly became strange. Wang Hongjun’s attitude at this moment could be said to reflect the feelings of many senior officials in the West Inspection Area.
“His situation is very complex, especially his physique; it’s been decades since we’ve seen something like this. The headquarters’ Medical Security Department hopes to uncover the maximum injection limit for anti-blood immune serums from him.”
“For the frontline combatants to have a healthier body and long-lasting combat capability, the headquarters is willing to spare no expense to save his life and provide valuable sample data for follow-up research. I can only say this much…”
Han Guowei had long known he would face such questioning and immediately offered the prepared explanation.
“Now look what we have, the best research subject sample has been lost to blood invasion and has fled… Actually, if we set aside his influence in the West Inspection Area and his status as a first-class meritorious service award winner, there’s nothing particularly special about him compared to the other blood-invaded Dark Arrow members.”
We saved his life but overlooked his psychological health issues… Old Wang, don’t hold it in. Soon the entire Southwest Rotation War Zone will know about this matter. If Zhen Guangquan has no findings to report, then report it to headquarters and classify it as a long-term pursuit mission plan.
As he said this, Han Guowei shook his head repeatedly and sighed.
“By your account, the headquarters truly intends to squeeze Meng Huai dry for his whole life; no wonder his information is so confidential… I think your declassification is a misstep, allowing him to have more thoughts for no reason.”
Seeing that his old partner was equally heartbroken, Wang Hongjun’s doubts eased somewhat. “But what about your daughter… and his family? How will you notify them?”
With memories of his daughter’s repeated questioning emerging in his mind, Han Guowei lowered his head, thought for a moment, and finally spoke slowly: “Let’s wait. If there are no leads from the first phase of the search, we’ll have to follow procedures step by step…”
Wang Hongjun fell silent for a few seconds, then could only nod.
…
At a private villa in Longquan Mountain. Outside the villa was already covered in a thick layer of white snow, a rare sight in City C.
Yue Wan’s special training had been ongoing for three days, and it had indeed taken a toll on Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao. Utilizing yoga combined with techniques to control inner and outer hormones and stabilize boiling blood, it seemed graceful and pleasing to the eye, but only the Jiang sisters could truly appreciate the experience.
No one knew when Yue Wan established this method, but perhaps her enchanting and alluring figure was also related to it? At least, this was how Jiang Yao thought.
Early in the morning, Yue Wan woke up the Jiang sisters from bed, and after a simple yet hearty breakfast, they rushed to an indoor gym. “What level can you stabilize your boiling blood intensity at now?”
Sitting on a yoga mat, Yue Wan looked back and forth at the two girls, a slight smile on her face. “Sister Wan, I think if we persist through this training for a while longer, we should be able to reach level six.”
Jiang Yan nodded. From her expression, she seemed confident and relaxed; after all, progress in just three short days could be seen as demonstrating a high level of comprehension and talent.
But she also felt that the higher they climbed, the more time and energy would be needed, which increased exponentially. From what she had learned from Yue Wan, Zhao Peng, as a seasoned half-step baron, had only reached level eight or nine before entering dormancy, requiring at least twenty years of self-improvement.
“I… don’t feel much. Um… I should be at level four.”
Jiang Yao still seemed somewhat oblivious, but that day, she truly felt that her control over boiling blood had made significant progress. Even while speaking, she tried to activate her boiling blood to verify her feelings.
“Your potential is actually a bit higher than Jiang Yan’s, but your heart can never settle down. What a waste of your physique…”
Seeing Jiang Yao blankly entering a boiling blood state, chaotic ripples of energy began to stir, Yue Wan couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
Jiang Yao’s face turned red, and she quickly retracted her boiling blood, awkwardly lowering her head in silence. At the same time, Jiang Yan could only smile wryly.
Not wanting to dwell further on Jiang Yao’s issue, Yue Wan directly sat down on a yoga mat, extending a finger. “The human body has more than a hundred types of internal hormones, each with different functions. Most of them are autonomously maintained through feedback coordination from the nervous system and various organs, keeping a balance as there’s no conscious control over them.”
“Blood clans can intervene in this process at a microscopic level, enhancing or weakening the functions of the endocrine system. In fact, we have special types of internal hormones in our bodies that normal humans do not possess. From the moment one becomes a knight, training in hormone control becomes a mandatory course. I believe Zhao Peng has already taught you this.”
“Both the growth of strength and the stability of boiling blood in battle are essentially the applications of blood protein transformation under the control of internal and external hormones. These more than one hundred types of internal hormones are like materials, and as long as you have the recipe, you can combine them to create the bodily functions we need.”
“Of course, different bloodline ancestries of blood clans have varying types and control strengths of special internal hormones, each with their own weaknesses, resulting in innate differences.”
“You two girls are entirely different from so-called mixed-blood clans. It has been definitively established that you both possess dominant genes mixed from several blood clans. This means that you have more comprehensive materials, and it has been proven that you possess cross-lineage abilities, but you still don’t know the recipes, or you lack the ability to control them autonomously.”
Saying this, Yue Wan pulled out a bunch of strange flat-shaped packaging from her pocket and scattered them on the ground. “Today, we’ll conduct the most challenging exercise.”
With that, Yue Wan picked up a piece of flat packaging from the ground, wearing a playful smile. “This is a pregnancy test strip, or a pregnancy check stick. Today, we will learn to control the endocrine secretion of the pituitary gland and see if we can change the human chorionic gonadotropin levels.”
However, this test will alter your hormonal balance for a time, meaning, in layman’s terms, your next period will be unpredictable. But it’s also an effective method to test your own level of internal hormone control.
As soon as Yue Wan finished speaking, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao exchanged looks in shock, their mouths agape and a sense of foreboding rising in their minds.
Hmm… why use a pregnancy test strip?
Jiang Yan swallowed, gripping one of the strips and feeling embarrassed, her cheeks beginning to blush slightly. “Sister Wan, what’s the point of this? There aren’t any other exercises we could do?”
After a brief shock, Jiang Yao regained her usual carefree demeanor and had already torn open the packaging of the pregnancy test strip. She toyed with the flat strip, which was only ten centimeters long, intrigued as she read the instructions.
“I will teach you a method to weaken the visual interference of the Apennine blood clan, Huan Meng, and this requires mobilizing several sex hormones, including human chorionic gonadotropin, through autonomous control. It’s one of my unique skills—don’t you want to learn?”
At this moment, Yue Wan had a flirtatious look in her eyes, her rosy lips slowly parting as she said a chilling statement: “It simulates a false pregnancy, which is a chance that most women could only dream of…”
As her words fell, both Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao were frozen in shock.
Is this woman a devil? Jiang Yao’s heart screamed.
In the following two hours, combined with yoga breathing, Yue Wan’s meticulous teaching was truly comprehensive.
Knowing that the outcome of this exercise could help them deal with their most dreaded Apennine blood clan, the two sisters couldn’t help but take it seriously. But from beginning to end, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao found it challenging to concentrate, as they were constantly plagued by a disturbing thought that they couldn’t shake off.
It wasn’t until afternoon, after completing the first phase of the adaptation exercise, that under Yue Wan’s supervision, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, both blushing, each held a pregnancy test strip as they walked into the restroom.
A few minutes later, the results came out.
Jiang Yan’s showed one line, negative. She wasn’t sure whether to be happy or regretful, her face burning.
Turning her head, Jiang Yao was delighted to see three lines, staring blankly at the test stick in her hand with a perplexed expression.
How come three lines? What nonsense is this? How did you control it? Ectopic pregnancy?
Facing this bizarre result for the first time, Yue Wan directly covered her face, unsure of what to say.
“Ah? Ectopic pregnancy? Uh, should I try again?”
Jiang Yao’s face was red, awkwardly tossing the test stick into the trash can and hesitating to grab a new one from the ground.
Without exception, both failed the pregnancy test, no, it was the failure in controlling the secretion of simulated human chorionic gonadotropin.
Yue Wan didn’t feel too disappointed with this outcome, after all, it took her months to grasp the control of just this one internal hormone.
As night fell, after a day of high-intensity training, the Jiang sisters returned, utterly exhausted, to the bedroom, collapsing onto the big bed, too tired to move.
This peculiar exercise was nearly a full-scale micro mobilization, coupled with boiling blood stability training. By the end of the day, the blood protein had been nearly depleted, reaching the limit.
If it weren’t for Yue Wan’s nutritional meals keeping up and prior preparations, the two likely would have been on the verge of dehydration for several days.
However, the effects were undoubtedly significant; both their boiling blood stability had improved considerably, especially their control over boiling blood intensity, which barely reached knight levels.
“Sis, I feel like throwing up…”
Jiang Yao rubbed her chest and abdomen, groaning on the bed, her complexion somewhat abnormal.
You’re too eager for success; you’ve already disrupted your endocrine balance. Take the small golden pill.
Jiang Yan quickly got out of bed to pour water and provide medicine, glancing at Jiang Yao, who curled up at the bed’s edge in discomfort, feeling somewhat helpless: “Sister Wan has already taught us her most precious methods. It seems correct, but it might not suit us both.”
“Correct, but not suitable? Why?”
This strange and somewhat contradictory conclusion made even the suffering Jiang Yao turn over, her face revealing a puzzled expression.
“Because Sister Wan is a true Siberian blood clan, while we are merely surface-level. Or rather, we are abnormal mixed-blood clans. If we truly followed the definition of mixed-blood clans, we should have long reached a growth bottleneck, not have moments where we can absurdly utilize baronial abilities.”
While drinking water, Jiang Yan continued to reflect on the training process over the past few days. Though there was a great sense of achievement, she still felt lost in understanding and recognition of herself.
Jiang Yao touched her face, slightly warm due to endocrine issues, seemingly tired of this turmoil: “Right, right, right, that’s it! Sister Xiaoping used to say we are numerical anomalies, not like proper blood knight clans. I feel the same!”
Maybe… perhaps, with a half-step baron like Zhao Peng, I could still fight two without considering boiling blood stability, right? Sister, no matter how much we train, as long as we can’t utilize baronial abilities, when we encounter those old monsters, wouldn’t we still be at a disadvantage? What’s the point of practicing all this…
After saying that, Jiang Yao continued to rub her uncomfortable abdomen, her previous eagerness now long gone.
“Listening to Sister Wan isn’t going to go wrong; it’s better than trying to figure things out ourselves… I’ll go take a shower and prepare to rest.”
Watching the淡金发 young girl looking disheartened, Jiang Yan merely smiled, reining in her thoughts and grabbing her pajamas as she walked towards the bathroom.
“Ah, ah, ah… I want my phone!”
As Jiang Yan left, Jiang Yao once again habitually fumbled around her pillow, then painfully hugged her head, her body trembling as if experiencing withdrawal symptoms, unable to calm her mind, feeling uncomfortable.
Both sisters’ phones had been taken by Yue Wan, under the pretext of “eliminating external disturbances during special training to maintain mental tranquility.”
In the master bedroom at the other end of the villa, after her shower, Yue Wan leaned against the headboard, also unable to sleep.
She felt both pleased and regretful about the progress made by Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao over these days. Other than continuing to enhance the feeling of being “numerical anomalies,” they didn’t exhibit any so-called “qualitative changes.”
The half-step baron realm of the Jiang sisters had become an endless pit, where the ceiling was forever out of sight. Their strength continued to grow, but they could never fill it up, so there was no question of a shift from quantitative to qualitative change.
The only value of this special training was probably to provide the Jiang sisters with a completely new growth perspective, from zero to one. Whether the two could persist in moving forward in this direction and gain some rewards, however, was no longer something she could dictate.
Judging by the intensity of their pheromonal signals at standard blood clan levels, both girls were upper-grade knights, or rather Jiang Yao was slightly stronger, already close to the pinnacle of upper-grade knights.
After entering boiling blood, most physical indicators, including pheromone signal strength, led the Jiang sisters to directly reach baron levels or almost indistinguishably so. They were fundamentally not the mixed-blood clans in the traditional sense!
With the existence of the Goebbels family’s inheritance as a premise, Yue Wan once doubted they were an exceptionally unique multi-lineage mixed-blood clan; otherwise, it was inexplicable why they, like ordinary mixed-blood clans, were also trapped in a state of “forever knights.”
Apart from not mastering the exclusive active abilities of barons and failing to achieve the control level of internal and external hormones as well as boiling blood stability, the boundary between them and barons had long become blurry — perhaps this was the true definition of half-step barons?
“Sigh, I’m also full and idle, using ordinary thinking to interpret these two little anomalies… But my method does work on them. I can only see if there are any insights from the Wang family…”
Muttering to herself for a bit, Yue Wan grabbed her phone from the headboard and pulled up Lao Jin’s phone number.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds, thirty seconds… After a minute had passed, Yue Wan’s fingers lingered over the call button, unable to press down.
“Ha, now that I’ve been dragged into this, the Wang family can still hold steady…”
After turning on her phone and lighting a cigarette, Yue Wan’s mind conjured an image of Lao Jin.
Three weeks ago, after Jiang Yao was injured while stealing medicine, Yue Wan allowed Lao Jin to obtain a blood sample from Jiang Yao, then proposed a meeting with the Wang family’s ancestors, intending to confront them with her views and test their true stance regarding the Jiang sisters.
If Yue Wan hoped to gain any help from the Wang family now, it was addressing the growth issues of the Jiang sisters that appeared to be the only valuable option.
However, with so much time passing, the Wang family’s attitude remained as ambiguous as ever, and Lao Jin had not yet responded to her, making Yue Wan unable to truly settle her mind.
Buzz, buzz, buzz, the door to the master bedroom rang lightly, urgently bringing Yue Wan back from her thoughts.
“The door isn’t locked… What are you doing? Not going to sleep? You need to continue training early tomorrow.”
Pressing the cigarette butt lightly into the ashtray, Yue Wan leaned against the headboard, arms crossed over her chest, wearing a half-smiling expression as she looked at Jiang Yao, who stood awkwardly at the door.
“Sister Wan, can I play with your phone? Just for an hour… I can do anything…”
Jiang Yao clutched her sleep dress, mumbling some worn-out jokes, her face pleading.
“Get back to sleep!”
Yue Wan raised her eyebrows, her arm swooping up, and a pillow flew toward Jiang Yao, who immediately fled in panic.
