Chapter 150: Where It Comes From
On January 29, a Wednesday, overcast.
In the top-floor conference room of a building in Emden, Germany, Erwin opened a remote video communication again, and at this time, the other end of the call was still in darkness.
“Lord Erwin, Haruka Takaomi approached us some time ago, wanting to obtain blood-based therapeutic agents from us. I suspect it’s related to Zhong Jing. The condition for exchange was to help us obtain blood or tissue samples from Jiang Yao, but unfortunately, she failed.”
The James family from North America, through behind-the-scenes manipulation of the Black Blood Clan, has also intensified its infiltration of southern China, and the Wang family’s losses are continuing to grow. Unfortunately, the Frankenstein obtained from the Goebbels family is in very limited quantities, so such actions are not sustainable and can only validate some research data.
On the screen, Miss Emma, the personal assistant, was flipping through several documents, giving her routine report.
“What about Takaomi Fujihara? Haven’t they made a move yet?”
Thinking of the James family’s usual style, Erwin couldn’t help but sneer. Although he once thought the Fujihara family had more ambition, they also seemed unusually calm this time, which made Erwin frown.
“Aside from providing some material support to the Liang family rebels, the Fujihara family hasn’t really intervened, and instead, they have divided some commercial resources abandoned by the Liang family with Feng Jiulong and Deng Baoyi from the Seekers Alliance.”
“Lord Erwin, it’s obvious that both the James family and the Fujihara family are just spectators, waiting for us to make a move.”
Emma put down the documents, her expression somewhat gloomy. “They are probably questioning the Engel family’s leadership in the Ancestor Project, or using passive resistance to force us to share more project research data and results.”
Erwin smiled faintly and did not respond. Both ends of the remote video communication fell into several minutes of silence.
“Miss Emma, do you know why, at the last moment of World War II in Europe, certain people from North America turned a blind eye to the Engel family occupying most of the Goebbels family’s inheritance?”
Finally, after refilling a glass of red wine, Erwin spoke, the mockery on his face growing more apparent.
Emma was taken aback, slowly shaking her head, or rather, she had never dared to ask such questions.
Before the Goebbels family perished, they still made one last desperate move, dividing their inheritance into several parts. The Russian-controlled area received very few archive documents, while the very essence of the Ancestor and most of the research results remained in the western Allied-controlled area.
North America was the biggest beneficiary of World War II; clearly, they could directly claim it for themselves, but they missed the best opportunity, allowing my great-grandfather to appear as the outward winner… In reality, the Engel family was merely their deliberately chosen executor of the Ancestor Project.
Among those who tacitly permitted or even directly invested in the Goebbels family was a shadow of the James family. Did they think that compared to them, the Goebbels and Engel families were just tools?
Interestingly, the Goebbels family developed their own ambitions and midway changed the direction of the project, leading to the emergence of Frankenstein and Vanguard, such demonic projects; otherwise, they wouldn’t have drawn hostility from the world’s orthodox blood clans.
Erwin chuckled, his fingers pressing slowly on the glass of wine, the fragile goblet emitting a squeak as it rubbed together.
In their eyes, while the Engel family is a duke family, my aged and feeble great-grandfather no longer posed a threat to them. This is also the reason why they felt at ease allowing the Engel family to become the new global leader of the Ancestor Project; they only needed a result that aligned with their interests.
To deal with the increasingly powerful China, it seems the James family has begun to pay attention again to the restoration progress of the Frankenstein and Vanguard projects, even valuing the seriously flawed Holy Grail project as if it were a treasure…
Their ambition is greater and smarter than that of the Goebbels family. Keeping two worlds in chaos and extracting benefits from it is their preferred mode of survival, rather than truly ruling the world.
As for the Fujihara family, they are not only following the James family but also absorbing lessons from the Tanaka family, becoming hyenas waiting to share the leftover scraps.
Erwin muttered to himself, as if speaking to the void, completely oblivious to Emma on the other end of the planet.
Emma, on the other hand, dared not make a sound, keeping her head down, pretending to be deaf and mute.
Such top-secret topics, even for Emma, who is Erwin’s absolute confidant, she didn’t dare to listen more than necessary.
“Miss Emma, contact the Zhong Pharmaceutical Group’s Zhong Jing for me. That young gentleman, unlike his father, I don’t think he is the type to be content with solitude. We need more discerning collaborators in China… I need to understand the maturity status of the Queen as soon as possible.”
“Remember, only the most confidential Divine Blood Project is the truly valuable content of the Ancestor Project, the final destination of the Goebbels family’s inheritance, and the genuine future for all blood clans worldwide!”
“This is the revelation of the gods, and it is our only pursuit. Everything else is not worth mentioning!”
Having finished, Erwin set down his wine glass and began to rest with his eyes closed.
“Yes, Lady Erwin.”
Emma quickly nodded, then the remote communication signal was cut off, and the screen returned to tranquility.
……
Whether with eyes open or closed, Meng Huai’s world was chaotic and blurry, and no sounds could be heard. The only useful sensations seemed to be various familiar or unfamiliar scents, as well as an array of jumbled nightmares.
In a dim and filthy basement, faced with the teasing and abuse from the Black Blood Clan, Meng Huai let out a final, hysterical roar, and it had remained that way ever since.
Having lost track of time, Meng Huai no longer knew how long this state continued.
Now, finally, familiar sounds of commotion came to his ears, the long-lost perception of the outside world returning in part.
As he opened his eyes again, the chaotic vision gradually began to clear, the distorted world started to flow, each returning to its place, piecing together into a recognizable and long-awaited reality.
The sensations of his senses became clearer, the brain resumed its connection with his limbs, and he even felt the heavy blanket pressing on him, bringing a kind of heat.
“Whoa! Cough cough!”
Meng Huai suddenly sat up, drenched in sweat, gasping for air as if he were drowning and had just surfaced again.
“Oh! The young man is awake!”
A strange voice and an even stranger aura appeared beside him; Meng Huai turned his head and saw a middle-aged woman who looked entirely unfamiliar.
“Water…”
Meng Huai felt an intense dryness in his throat, and after a struggle, finally managed to say a word.
Draining an entire bottle of mineral water, Meng Huai finally began to reassess the world he was in.
The pure white room, though not spacious, was exceptionally neat, with a medical device beside the bed.
No longer in that nightmare-like basement, devoid of filth and stench, the air was filled with a hint of hospital disinfectant.
Outside the window was a panoramic view of the city nightscape, brightly lit, bustling and vibrant.
“Where is this?”
Retracting his gaze from the window, Meng Huai refocused on the middle-aged woman beside his bed, who was peeling fruit for him.
First People’s Hospital, Neurosurgery Ward. The middle-aged woman handed him a peeled apple, her tone filled with an eagerness to please. “Your sister brought you here early the day before yesterday and asked my husband and me to take care of you.”
“Which hospital is this?!”
Meng Huai increasingly felt this was absurd, beginning to doubt if he was still in a dream, unable to resist grabbing the middle-aged woman’s hand.
“Ouch! That hurts me!”
Meng Huai instinctively released his grip, and the middle-aged woman let out a cry, rolling away, her face pale with a look of fear, as if Meng Huai were a demon.
“You woke up… huh?”
At that moment, a nurse wheeled in a treatment cart and, seeing Meng Huai sitting on the edge of the bed, was momentarily taken aback.
“I’m sorry… I’m having a hard time remembering… where is this?”
Glancing at the middle-aged woman in the distance who was rubbing her wrist, Meng Huai lowered his voice and sneaked a look at his hands.
“This is C City First People’s Hospital, Neurosurgery Ward.”
Having seen many patients with various reasons leading to brain injuries and unclear consciousness, the nurse showed great patience, her tone quite gentle. “The day before yesterday, you had an accidental fall, and your sister brought you to the hospital.”
C City? I’m back in C City!?
Meng Huai was suddenly shocked and looked back out the window in disbelief.
“I had an accidental fall? My sister?”
Meng Huai became even more confused and even began pinching his arm; he increasingly believed everything in front of him was still a dream disguised as reality.
“Don’t be afraid. The director arranged for a full-body examination for you, and we basically conclude it’s a concussion. It’s quite normal to experience some sensory degradation and memory loss; you’ll be fine after some time.”
The nurse was quite professional and quickly replaced Meng Huai’s intravenous line with an unknown medication.
“What’s my sister’s name…?”
As the nurse explained, Meng Huai felt a genuine sense of dizziness in his head, struggling to hold on while unrelentingly questioning, trying to uncover his true reason for being there.
“Let me see… the contact person registered is Li Yun. You can’t even remember that?”
The nurse was flipping through his medical records, her patience apparent, perhaps because this patient named Li Huai had a particularly tall and charismatic presence.
“Thank you…”
After about ten seconds, Meng Huai softly muttered a thank you, then closed his eyes again and lay back down, as if overwhelmed by mental exertion.
The sense of overload in his brain returned, the world around him again became chaotic, and the sounds became a blur, with his connection to his limbs showing signs of interruption.
Late at night, at a private villa on Longquan Mountain.
“Wan Jie, your coffee.”
Jiang Yan walked into Wan Yue’s study with a tray, and saw Wan Yue, whom she hadn’t seen for many days, leaning in an armchair by the floor-to-ceiling window, admiring the night view of the mountains and forests outside.
“I looked at your shift schedule; you’re quite diligent, giving yourself several extra days off, allowing Jiang Yao to have a longer time to play.”
Wan Yue took the coffee, slightly nodding, a mysterious smile still on her lips. “What’s wrong? You’d rather she stayed outside playing, not wanting her to know what you’ve been doing these days? Aren’t you afraid Zhong Jing would really take her away?”
“Actually, I have some misunderstandings about Zhong Jing… Xiao Yao is usually addicted to games; it’s pretty good for her to have someone take her out for outdoor activities.”
Jiang Yan lowered her head slightly, speaking insincerely, “After all, I still need to keep an eye on Meng Huai; I can’t let her know for now.”
“Mm, Old Jin has really done his part in deepening our connections and even found a strange way to transfer Meng Huai to the First People’s Hospital. After all, we don’t know when he will wake up; we can’t easily expose the details of Holy Mercy Hospital to him.”
Wan Yue took a sip of coffee, her gaze falling on the corner of the room, where Meng Huai’s personal belongings from the old street were kept.
“Yes, the hired caregiver is very dedicated… Old Jin has indeed helped a lot, even taking care of Meng Huai’s new identity.”
Jiang Yan didn’t hold the Wang family’s attitude against him, but instead admired Old Jin’s seemingly careless approach, which turned out to be cautious and meticulous.
“Old Jin told me the situation; for now, we can only wait and see. You should know Meng Huai’s identity is too sensitive; Hyacinth may not be able to protect him, especially here in C City.”
That calm demeanor was clear to Wan Yue; she knew the other party must be feeling very conflicted.
“Mm, I know.” Jiang Yan forced a smile.
“Jiang Yan, do you know, the waters are getting murkier… I have an uneasy premonition that our opponents are accelerating, and it’s likely not just the Engel family alone…”
Wan Yue lit a cigarette, stood up, and closed her eyes, doing some movements to ease her body, her voice somewhat low. “I once thought the Wang family was the apex of the blood clans in China; being able to bring down the Wang family, they may not hold on for long now.”
“Especially that war over eighty years ago; even the Wang family hasn’t fully recovered since.”
“The Seekers Alliance is basically useless, already eaten into holes, and has yet to collapse, just that some people don’t want to flip the table for now…”
“Xiang Zuxing is still in the old street, and things are almost settled. I believe after the New Year, everyone will have their hands full. This time, taking advantage of the southern operation, I will send the secret blood out again; time waits for no one…”
Wan Yue’s words were incredibly heavy but carried a stubborn streak, with a hint of excitement in her eyes, as if she were already prepared to welcome the most difficult period.
“Wan Jie, is there anything I can do?”
Jiang Yan raised her head, took a deep breath, her expression serious.
“I plan to send you and Jiang Yao to the newly established trading company after the holiday.”
Wan Yue exhaled a puff of smoke, chuckling as she walked to the desk, pulled open a drawer, and took out a file bag, motioning for Jiang Yan to come closer. “Take some time to familiarize yourself with this; I plan to have Qiong be the visible general manager of the new company, and you and Jiang Yao will assist him.”
“I’ve already thought of the name for the new company. It’ll be called A Xin Te Imports and Exports Trading Company. The corporate entity will be registered under the Wang family, supposedly a foreign-funded trading enterprise controlled by overseas Chinese through an offshore company in China.”
“The Jinhe Club is quite comfortable, but you and Jiang Yao shouldn’t have it too easy.”
Hearing Wan Yue’s arrangement, Jiang Yan was somewhat surprised, even a bit worried. “Wan Jie, if both Jiang Yao and I go to the new company, what will happen to the club?”
“That’s much better than when I first started.”
Wan Yue casually sat down at the desk, her shapely legs crossed, and leaned back. “The secret blood we’ve amassed is enough to elevate several upper-tier transferees who have been stuck at their boundary for a long time into knights, with some to spare.”
“Xiao Quan, Xiao Miao, Xiao Xi are currently upper-tier transferees; after a few days, I’ll put them into secret blood advancement sleep. Plus, with the existing knights, manpower will no longer be a significant issue!”
Wan Yue’s elegance and confidence quickly dispelled the weighty conversation from moments ago.
“Alright, you go rest now; we have to travel far tomorrow.”
Wan Yue extinguished her cigarette and picked up her coffee.
“Far away?” Jiang Yan was a bit surprised since Wan Yue had only just returned less than a day ago.
“Otherwise, why would I have called you here?” Wan Yue winked mischievously. “When we get there, you’ll know; it’ll be a good thing.”
With her curiosity piqued, Jiang Yan exited the room.
As the door to the study closed behind her, Jiang Yan heavily sighed, the image of a young man lying on a hospital bed, dazed, flashed through her mind.
……
The sound of the electronic door lock signaled Wan Yue’s smile gradually fading. She opened the drawer and took out a strange slide phone belonging to Meng Huai.
Placing the strange phone on the desk, Wan Yue stared at it for several seconds before opening the safe on the side of the desk and retrieving another phone, still an old-fashioned slide model.
Apart from some small details and differences in condition, the basic outline and appearance of both phones were almost identical, and even the button layout was the same.
“Meng Huai… Li Huai… are you also a seed? Who sent you out, and what was the mission? Who is the scarecrow?”
