Chapter 14: Underground Shop
As the time approached midnight, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao appeared on the side road of a highway in the outskirts of City C, waiting side by side.
They would have to wait until tomorrow for their new clothes to dry before they could change, so the two remained dressed as before, though their hair had been styled at a salon. They helped each other tie their hair into single ponytails, looking much neater.
At exactly midnight, two headlights appeared in the distance, and a rugged off-road vehicle emerged at the end of the side road, slowly decelerating.
“Xiao Yao, you stay here. I’ll go over alone.”
Jiang Yan patted Jiang Yao’s shoulder and tightened the travel bag in her hand.
“Brother, I’m going too. You can’t do everything by yourself; I can help.”
Jiang Yao shook her head, showing a stubborn and serious expression.
Under the streetlight, a fashionably dressed woman stepped out of the car.
In a black T-shirt, a short denim vest, and tight white leather pants, she had an alluring peach-like curve and long, straight legs that were accentuated by red high heels.
Her lipstick outlined sexy lips, her features were mature and stunning, with wavy long hair. Judging by her appearance, she looked no older than thirty.
“Introduced by Huang Gu?”
The avant-garde woman sized up the two ordinary-looking, youthful girls before her and lit a cigarette.
“Well, Uncle Huang said…”
“Big sis… we want to buy some blood!”
Before Jiang Yan could finish her sentence, Jiang Yao hurriedly stepped forward.
The avant-garde woman’s brows furrowed, and after a few moments of silence, she exhaled a puff of smoke. “Who’s in charge here? Just one person should talk to me. This isn’t a market!”
Jiang Yan glanced at Jiang Yao and gave her an encouraging nod, gently patting her back. Reluctantly, Jiang Yao retreated to sit on a stone by the roadside several meters away.
“Uncle Huang said we could contact you to purchase a batch of blood and medicine every month.”
Jiang Yan adopted a respectful attitude and quickly handed over the note Huang Gu had given her earlier.
From a distance, Jiang Yao, sitting on the stone, curiously watched the avant-garde woman and secretly activated her lowest-level blood fervor, trying to probe into the other’s background. However, aside from a peculiar sense of chaotic depth, she couldn’t discern any meaningful information.
Perhaps sensing Jiang Yao’s probing, the avant-garde woman turned her gaze toward the casually aloof, light golden-haired girl under the distant streetlight, her eyes revealing a trace of murderous intent.
A torrent of oppressive aura surged out like a mountain avalanche, piercing through Jiang Yan, who was close by.
Though Jiang Yan wasn’t physically harmed, it felt as if part of her very soul had been severed in that instant, causing a splitting headache. She wobbled a couple of times, hunched over slowly, and suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood.
Jiang Yao, still seated at a distance, witnessed this scene and erupted with a swell of violent rage, but her intimidation was insignificant compared to the avant-garde woman.
Jiang Yao charged forward, the silver dagger in her hand reflecting shifting hues under the streetlight.
The avant-garde woman watched the girl in suspenders rushing toward her, her furious yet reckless killing intent unexpectedly making her want to laugh.
When Jiang Yao was about seven or eight meters away, it felt as if she had crashed into an invisible, viscous barrier. Her speed plummeted, and she stumbled and fell to the ground, blood trickling from her mouth.
Is this the power of a high-level vampire!?
Looking at Jiang Yan lying a few meters away, despair crept into Jiang Yao’s expression, and she regretted her reckless curiosity and probing.
In a few brief seconds, it felt as though a century had passed. Beneath the dim streetlight, two pale-faced girls curled up on the ground, while the avant-garde woman leaned lazily against the door of the off-road vehicle, still leisurely smoking.
“You’re quite resilient… Two little girls, Huang Gu should have warned you not to make rash probes against unknown blood clans, as the other party might not be on the same level as you.”
With that, the avant-garde woman flicked her cigarette butt and walked to the back of the vehicle, opening the trunk to reveal what was clearly a custom-made temperature-controlled refrigeration unit.
The oppressive terror surrounding Jiang Yan dissipated instantly, allowing her to slowly rise, wiping the blood from her mouth with a somber expression. As for Jiang Yao, her face was alternating between red and white, with regret, anger, shame, and fear overlapping on her features.
“Being able to withstand my pheromone stimulus indicates you aren’t totally weak, low-level creatures. Now, stop dawdling; I don’t have much time. Come over and pick out what you need.”
The avant-garde woman unlocked the refrigeration unit’s password and turned to smile at the girls who were supporting each other as they approached unsteadily.
“I’m sorry… sister, we actually don’t understand the nuances here.”
After glancing at the blood bags on the refrigeration shelves and looking at the seemingly untouchable woman before her, Jiang Yan bowed her head slightly.
The internal materials of the Dark Arrow, after all, had a strict multi-level confidentiality system, and with an overwhelming amount of detailed information, even with Xiayan’s former rank of captain, her understanding of the vampire world was still limited to a very basic level.
“This is the attitude you should have… Alright, don’t call me sister; it sounds silly. My name is Wanyue, with the ‘wan’ meaning graceful, and ‘yue’ meaning moon. You can call me sister, auntie, or even grandma; I can take it.”
Wanyue leaned casually against the edge of the trunk, gesturing at the refrigeration shelf. “The cheapest is ordinary blood type; each 200ml bag costs 2000 yuan. Rare blood costs a hundred times that. Given your current level, if it’s just to maintain the blood thirst interval, 200ml at a time should be sufficient.”
“Of course, if you have more money to burn and want to speed up your growth, you can disregard the blood thirst interval; you can have an unlimited daily intake. Frozen plasma has the best effect, but it’s a bit wasteful for low-level blood clans.”
Jiang Yan nodded silently. Although she had mentally prepared for the prices, she still felt a pinch in her heart.
“Don’t think it’s too expensive; the medical institutions in the country authorized to collect blood have their data linked to the Dark Arrow’s information monitoring center for strict management. Of course, you can also ambush ordinary people to avoid spending money. However, the fact that you are finding me indirectly indicates that you don’t plan on treating yourselves as monsters.”
Wanyue spoke lightly but her gaze intentionally or unintentionally wandered over Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao’s faces, likely having sensed the change in Jiang Yan’s expressions.
“Thank you, Sister Wanyue. I want six bags of 200ml, enough for a month’s supply.”
Jiang Yan calculated her available money and future living plans, promptly making her choice.
“Is that it? Are two of you going to make it through a month with that?”
Wanyue smiled mysteriously and slowly walked around Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, her sexy red lips curling up slightly, her nose twitching as if she caught a whiff of something.
“I’m curious… how did your kind, a rare blood type, get bitten by bloodsuckers that some institutions treat like pandas?”
Wanyue smiled intriguingly, then opened the driver’s door, retrieving a wine bottle and a glass from the front and pouring a small cup, handing it directly to Jiang Yao.
“Drink this ordinary blood!”
Wanyue’s expression abruptly changed, and the terrifying aura enveloped everyone present once again, causing Jiang Yao, who was already lost in confusion and fear, to tremble anew, casting a pleading look at Jiang Yan beside her.
“Sister Wanyue… she’s not in a blood thirst interval, she doesn’t need to…”
Jiang Yan desperately resisted the oppressive aura radiating from Wanyue, raising her head with difficulty to speak softly.
“I’m not asking for your opinions; I’m informing you!”
“Drink it!” Wanyue’s expression grew colder.
“Just drink it, what’s with the attitude…”
Jiang Yao’s frustration flared; she glared at the cup in Wanyue’s hand, snatched it, and tilted it back. One second later, the light golden-haired girl curled up on the ground with an exaggerated expression, vomiting uncontrollably.
“Such a rare case of initial blood dependency… the first subject of blood intake wasn’t an ordinary person; could it… be yours? That’s so extravagant.”
Wanyue turned her body, withdrawing her gaze from Jiang Yao and landing it back on Jiang Yan’s face.
“It had to be done. Otherwise, she might not have made it. Sister Wanyue, can this situation be changed in the future?”
Jiang Yan openly affirmed her actions, feeling no wrongdoing.
“Well, in the future, she’ll only be able to drink your blood or that of other blood clans. As for ordinary human blood, before she promotes to a baron, she probably won’t be able to stand even the scent. And you can have whatever you want.”
There were some words Wanyue chose not to express; she simply smiled and closed the refrigeration unit.
Aside from six bags of 200ml ordinary blood, Jiang Yan also added a box of warming medicine, totaling fifteen thousand yuan in cash. As for the precious internal and external hormone inhibitors, Wanyue didn’t have them in stock and made no promises as to when they would be available.
Thus, along with the rent and various living expenses, the one hundred thousand yuan Jiang Yan had received from Zhong Jing was nearly depleted within a week, with close to thirty thousand spent.
Wanyue was too lazy to count, simply tossing the money into the front seat, while behind her, the two girls helped each other and vanished into the night.
Wanyue sat back in the driver’s seat but did not start the car, as if waiting for something. A few minutes later, the phone rang, and Wanyue placed it to her ear without even looking.
“Sister Wanyue, I’m Huang Gu. Did they come today? How do you feel about them?”
“Well, interesting. Rare blood type, high potential for the future, it’s basically certain they’re from Dark Arrow.”
Wanyue recalled the details of Jiang Yao’s tactical movements during her sudden charge, as well as Jiang Yan’s subtle mannerisms. A mysterious smile crept upon her lips.
“Sister Wanyue, you have keen insight! Do you think they can be taken in?” Huang Gu sighed in relief on the phone. “If you have no objections, I’ll observe them for a while longer to see their conduct.”
“Don’t celebrate too early… these two little girls are already mid-tier blood servants. Are you sure they were bitten less than ten days ago? Especially that blonde girl, her explosive power is already approaching a knight’s level, which is highly unusual.”
At this point, Wanyue’s brows knitted slightly, seemingly lost in thought about the earlier events.
Facing Jiang Yao’s probing and subsequent attack, she involuntarily harbored some murderous intent, her sixth sense urging her to crush any potential danger at its roots, almost swaying her judgment.
“Yes, I find this strange too, which is why I wanted you to see for yourself. By the way, today the Recluses contacted me, asking me to pass along a message: they still hope you’ll return…”
“You have no right to pass their message to me; I don’t have time for this nonsense now! Keep a close eye on things in City D; don’t cause me any trouble! Bye!”
Wanyue’s expression suddenly shifted, her tone turning icy.
On the other end of the call, Huang Gu was so startled that he paused his breathing for several seconds.
As the call ended, the side road of the highway returned to stillness. Wanyue lit another cigarette, resting her arm on the open window of the car, lost in thought.
After taking a few puffs, Wanyue’s gaze quietly swept to a certain direction in the distance, on her languid, enchanting face a hint of barely perceptible disgust appeared: “Tonight has been quite troublesome… even in a place like this, I run into some scum.”
Shifting gears and pressing the gas, the engine let out a low rumble as the off-road vehicle surged forward. Moments later, Wanyue seemed to sense some change, suddenly glancing in the rearview mirror with an odd smile.
“Targeted by the Black Blood Clan… how unlucky for you two little girls. Let’s see if you can get through this challenge.”
The vehicle merged onto the highway, accelerating amidst the strident warning of the smart navigation voice, racing away into the night.
