Chapter 196 Half-time
China, the capital city, a military hospital, inpatient department,
Han Jielin’s right arm was bandaged, his left leg plastered, and his left hand rested on the control panel of an electric wheelchair, slowly inching down the corridor.
You’ve gotten out of bed so soon; do you think your body is more special than others? Didn’t the nurse stop you?
At the end of the corridor, Ye Zhijun from the Intelligence Bureau strode towards him with a frown, looking particularly serious.
Uncle Ye, I’ve been lying down for too long; I just wanted to stretch my legs…
Han Jielin chuckled, somewhat carefree.
Enough chatter, go back to your ward; there’s something important to discuss.
Ye Zhijun, tired of wasting time, directly grabbed Han Jielin’s wheelchair and turned to push him towards a certain patient room.
Meng Ge has sent a contact!
Han Jielin grabbed Ye Zhijun’s arm, his expression exceptionally excited.
Hehe, actually it was a few days earlier. However, during the first contact, he said nothing and cut communication. This noon, the support center received another secret contact from him, confirming that he is now in mission mode. We can finally rest easy.
Compared to the first three seeds, the Undaunted Warrior is currently the only one maintaining contact with the Special Operations Group; Ye Zhijun’s mood was evidently good.
But why didn’t he contact me…
Han Jielin instinctively glanced at his pillow, only to find that his trusty secure phone was missing.
However, don’t celebrate too early. It’s confirmed now that the Undaunted Warrior is active in the old town of northern Myanmar.
Ye Zhijun pulled out a folded printout from his pocket and placed it on the blanket. He had downloaded a military tactical satellite map of northern Myanmar’s old town and requested the fastest supply of equipment and resources.
Northern Myanmar’s old town!?
Meng Ge has actually been in the southwest all along, and it seems he really did cross borders, just as I thought?
Small military laser pointers, ammunition, medical supplies… Looking at the oversized supply for one person, Han Jielin was stunned again, feeling that Meng Ge was preparing for a major battle, and it seemed unrelated to his strategic mission.
So, the support center has decided to deploy the precise airdrop system of drones stationed in Province Ya tonight to send supplies to him…
The situation in northern Myanmar is chaotic now; our intelligence shows that a large number of blood tribes are gathering and clashing around the old town.
Ye Zhijun retracted the printout, looking somewhat puzzled.
There’s been a warlord conflict there, and even many blood tribe gangs are caught up in it. It’s currently unclear whether it’s driven by the overt warlords or the covert blood tribes.
The southern rebel forces of the Liang family are gaining the upper hand with the support of external blood tribes. Current information from the Intelligence Bureau indicates that the unrest in northern Myanmar involves the Luo family and the Hidden Alliance, suggesting a possible link to the south.
This is why Old Han asked you to participate in the intelligence analysis for the south and west. You can’t take a break; it makes us old comrades a bit awkward.
After saying this, Ye Zhijun gently patted Han Jielin’s shoulder, feeling quite emotional.
Han Jielin didn’t mind how much work was weighing on his shoulders; he was just thinking about whether Meng Ge had fallen into the chaos in northern Myanmar for some reason, necessitating the use of specially classified operation resources.
Who are Meng Ge’s current companions and adversaries are what Han Jielin cares about the most right now.
Since contact has been restored, you don’t need to hurry now. Over in the southwest, the Blood Dragon team’s reconnaissance group is collecting intelligence. Once more news comes back, we will analyze.
After finishing, Ye Zhijun stood up, adjusted his military cap, seemingly planning to leave.
By the way, it has been confirmed at the Wang family that the high-ranking member in charge of intelligence, Uncle Wu, has defected. Currently, someone at headquarters suggested selecting someone from your Han family for face-to-face communication with the Wang family to restore relations.
Your third uncle is at your second uncle’s house discussing this matter right now. Are you interested in being this representative?
Before leaving, Ye Zhijun dropped a heavy bombshell with a mysterious smile.
Do we have to have a Han family member step forward?
It feels like going to the blood tribe world for a relative visit… Hearing this, Han Jielin felt strange in his heart.
About ten kilometers straight from the military hospital where Han Jielin was, at an old courtyard in the back yard.
In the northern March, the temperature was still low, and Han Zhongliang, dressed in a thick military green coat, leaned on a lounge chair, staring blankly at the sky.
Second son, I’m eighty-nine this year; I don’t have many years left. Every member of the Han family, including me, has fought for the country all our lives without selfishness, but this time, I want to make a small request to the organization…
The old man turned his head, quietly looking at his second son, his complexion somewhat abnormal.
“Dad, although Han Jielin is not a legitimate son of the Han family, he is now a rightful member of the Han family. Just because of an unexpected car accident, he’s being asked to withdraw from the Special Operations Group and even face internal sabotage; the impact is too great…”
“And moreover, he is highly enthusiastic about work now. I estimate he personally wouldn’t accept it.”
Han Guowei shook his head repeatedly, pinching his military cap.
“Good, good… The men of the Han family are all good men. Sigh… Just consider me old and my thoughts are unsteady…”
Han Zhongliang sighed, the bitterness on his face marking an even deeper shade of age spots.
“Dad, the intelligence has been verified now. Uncle Wu from the Wang family exposed his defection due to the previous matter. According to my personal judgment, the involvement of Zhen Guangquan as the mastermind in the western inspection area has become increasingly apparent.”
“The actions led by Zhen Guangquan and the Wang family occur at the same time and location, remarkably alike. It is evident that from the beginning, the mole in the western inspection area has formed a close cooperation with Uncle Wu from the Wang family; this mole must have the ability to lead actions. Thus, Zhen Guangquan is the most suspicious!”
“Uncle Wu is currently the first exposed and highest-ranking mole. I even suspect he should belong to the same level as the mole at the Dark Arrow Headquarters. So, capturing him could unravel all the mysteries.”
“Now, Wu Zhongxian has issued the highest-level task to the five major inspection areas; all national border ports have strengthened immigration management and launched a manhunt for Uncle Wu. The Blood Dragon team will also be deployed.”
Han Guowei’s tone was solemn, his face displaying unwillingness and even a hint of anger.
“Ha, who would’ve thought, Zhen Guangquan, was a first-class excellent cadre I personally trained back in the day. Even this chief of staff was recommended by me…”
“Even more unforeseen is that Uncle Wu from the Wang family, who fought alongside your grandmother and helped create strategies, has also fallen… The Wang family and the Dark Arrow have now become so infiltrated; sabotaging the Ancestor Plan is a heavy burden to carry…”
As he spoke, Han Zhongliang’s lips twitched slightly, and he closed his eyes.
“Dad, this time even the higher-ups of the Military Commission have been alarmed. You really need to give me some advice on how to break this situation. Without the cooperation of the Wang family, we at Dark Arrow essentially lack an eye, a leg!”
Usually, Han Guowei was synonymous with steadiness, but now, beside Han Zhongliang, he seemed more like a rebellious child seeking help from a parent after facing setbacks.
“Do you think restoring relations with the Wang family is like visiting relatives? Back then, your grandmother repeatedly reminded us that no matter how close the relationship, Dark Arrow should not rely on the Wang family; otherwise, she wouldn’t have proposed the Blood Dragon team’s concept.”
“The deeper the relationship between Dark Arrow and the Wang family, the easier it becomes to turn into a fatal weakness. The mastermind is precisely aiming at this point.”
“Ultimately, Dark Arrow needs to build its strength and train its own eyes to see the blood tribe world, so as not to be controlled by others.”
As he spoke, Han Zhongliang waved his hand, indicating he did not want to discuss the topic any further.
Father, after all, is getting old… Han Guowei sighed deeply and exited the back yard.
After his son left, Han Zhongliang didn’t know how long he had rested before opening his eyes when the moonlight filled the sky.
Slowly walking back to the study, he locked the door and took out a senior mobile phone from a locked drawer.
After fiddling for a minute or two, Han Zhongliang pressed a series of numbers and placed the phone to his ear.
……
Northern Myanmar, the old town.
Jiang Yan, in the first battle, unabashedly drew the attention of the various blood tribes both inside and outside the old town, leading to a surprising conclusion among them: the Hidden Alliance received assistance from a mid-level viscount of the Alatai bloodline, who is particularly skilled in concealing presence.
With a super strong explosive blood power, which other lineage can, like the Alatai lineage, crush a mid-level baron of the Ganges in one move at night?
Currently, with no presence of a count in northern Myanmar, this mysterious Alatai viscount woman’s deterrent power has already reached its peak, making her nearly unmatched.
Furthermore, the over twenty stacked body bags have clearly indicated to everyone that the Hidden Alliance is alone in the Hong Tian Entertainment Center yet possesses the bargaining power against anyone.
Throughout the day, whether in the strategic battle routes around the old town or inside the city, there was no occurrence of any fighting; even those secretly surveilling the Hong Tian Entertainment Center had considerably restrained their activity.
At least, no blood tribe below the rank of baron dared to act recklessly within the sensing range of a viscount’s presence.
In just one night, peace appeared to have returned to the old town.
……
Tonight’s dinner was the easiest meal that Guo Hao and the elite from the Ba House had in the past half month.
Fresh vegetables, fruits, and meats replaced canned goods. Although the two female knights from the Ba House were not great cooks, they still satisfied the rough appetites of a bunch of big men.
However, Jiang Yan, despite feeling unwell, had specially cooked a few dishes tailored to Hao Huai’s taste, causing secret envy among Guo Hao and others. The reason was simple; these dishes were meant for Hao Huai’s S Province taste.
Even during the meal, Jiang Yan sat separately with Hao Huai.
This also served as a feedback from Jiang Yan’s attitude since Hao Huai “declared ownership.”
“You’re going to scout outside the city at night alone?”
Holding a bowl of rice, Jiang Yan was somewhat surprised.
Although the situation in the city has been temporarily suppressed now, Hao Huai is still just a lower-level knight of a mixed Alatai lineage; it’s a bit risky to venture alone to probe into other blood tribes or armed groups.
“Yeah, I want to see if there’s a chance for a proactive strike; just passively defending won’t resolve the problem.”
Hao Huai habitually pointed his chopsticks towards the nearest dish.
“I won’t plate the food for you anymore.”
Jiang Yan suddenly muttered, then lowered her head to shovel rice without looking at Hao Huai.
Hao Huai paused his actions, his lips twitched twice, and finally changed direction, moving his chopsticks into another plate.
“I’ll go with you.”
Jiang Yan took a bite of food and raised her head, smiling.
“No need; Guo Hao is now not much better than you. You can’t blood burst here, and we still need to bluff a bit longer. The terrain around here is much simpler than the Wildman Mountain; it’s fine.”
Across the table, while Jiang Yan’s presence was somewhat stabilized compared to during the day, to Hao Huai, who possessed a pronounced Apennine genetic trait, he could still sense the faint, disharmonious hormonal aura emanating from her.
“Hmm, passively taking hits doesn’t resolve problems; you are quite confident.”
Jiang Yan smiled again and nodded repeatedly.
Regarding Hao Huai’s military capabilities, Jiang Yan was naturally crystal clear, especially after becoming a blood tribe, with significant enhancements to environmental perception and physical fitness; such reconnaissance actions might genuinely be easy for Hao Huai.
After all, knights and knights, aside from slight differences between lineages, also vastly differ in actual combat capabilities.
For instance, the elite members from the Hong Tian Entertainment Center possess much stronger actual combat power than similarly ranked female Hyacinth, not to mention the impure “Black Blood Tribe” rabble. Coupled with long-term practical training in tactical coordination, a group move can even require a baron to be cautious.
This was also the reason why the black blood tribe gangs under Nawa could never gain a complete upper hand against Guo Hao until their reinforcement arrival.
“Your last battle was quite unlike a blood tribe’s style, but I didn’t expect it to be so effective. You also had a lot of guts to dare do this the first time. How did you think of it?”
Jiang Yan recalled the process of Meng Huai directly slaughtering over twenty black blood tribes using precision defensive deployment and limited ammunition a few hours ago.
“It was just a math problem… Previously, dealing with a black blood knight at night required at least a rogue team, or around nine individuals, to cooperate in three layers of firepower and tactical ambush. But if occupying a favorable position in a narrow building, only a three-person combat team is sufficient.”
“Now, it seems following the tactics of Dark Arrow, perhaps a knight squad can contend with a baron… Even a squire possesses far superior sensing, physical fitness, explosive power, and athletic reflexes compared to ordinary soldiers!”
Meng Huai said this absentmindedly and subconsciously turned to glance at Xiao Hai and others, suddenly recalling the term Blood Dragon Squad.
Perhaps the Blood Dragon Squad is the perfect combination of advanced weaponry, tactics, discipline, and the individual advantages of blood tribes. I merely verified it through a sudden inspiration.
“So this is how you think… But, Meng Huai, you should be cautious of a misconception.”
Jiang Yan shook her head and smiled, pointing at Xiao Hai and the others not far away: “It’s like Ba House, which has undergone long-term targeted blood tribe control training; relying on seven or eight knights to fend off a baron, even if effective, is still extremely risky.”
“Blood tribes above the rank of baron, once they enter high-intensity blood burst, impose severe information pheromone stimulation suppression on lower-level blood tribes. Thus, most of the time, it’s difficult to see tactical cooperation between high-level and low-level blood tribes; we fear disturbing our own people.”
One hundred ordinary soldiers from Dark Arrow in a melee are definitely not a match for one hundred blood tribe squires. However, they can successfully suppress a blood tribe baron or even a viscount using tactical and firepower pairing in positional warfare.
On the other hand, one hundred blood tribe squires, regardless of any tactics, should not expect to hold their ground against a blood tribe baron’s imposing presence. It’s extremely challenging for low-level blood tribes to take on high-level blood tribes, even with specialized training.
Jiang Yan’s analysis startled Meng Huai, causing his expression to grow increasingly grim as he seemed to recall Jiang Yan’s performance from the previous day when he had just arrived.
Noticing that the other party had caught on to his line of thinking and showed interest, Jiang Yan continued:
Due to the control of internal and external hormones, blood tribes possess overwhelming physical fitness and strength compared to ordinary people. However, the hormonal issues also make battles between blood tribes often encounter insurmountable differences in ranks.
This is the greatest difference between ordinary people and blood tribes. Generally, ordinary people cannot sense the existence of pheromones, so they are not subject to the blood tribe’s suppressive blood burst aura. Except for geniuses like Apennine blood tribes or Jue Jie, most blood tribes can’t exert influence over ordinary people.
These explanations from Jiang Yan represented her deepest realizations over the past few months.
However, your last battle has already demonstrated the possibility of a knight confronting a baron under specific defensive conditions. If a better method can be thought of, it would truly be perfect.
A more perfect method? Perhaps only the Blood Dragon Squad has it, as they are specialized in executing A-level and above missions… Meng Huai fell into deep thought, his mind replaying the Blood Dragon Squad members he had seen in a certain base.
Tonight, the Hong Tian Entertainment Center was ablaze with lights and bustling with activity, and even Xiao Hai had turned on the KTV and was singing into the microphone.
In stark contrast, the old town appeared strangely quiet; every light inside and outside the Hong Tian Entertainment Center was brightly lit, like a grand reopening, looking exceptionally ostentatious, absurd, and eerie.
……
Shortly after midnight, in a small valley village about seven to eight kilometers southwest of the old town, a few mysterious individuals entered.
“`
Impossible; how could they suddenly have a mid-level viscount from the Alatai lineage? There’s no such figure in the Ba House. Xiang Zuxing is already dead; now in the entire Hidden Alliance, aside from Old Feng, it’s not possible for there to be another mid-level viscount from the Alatai bloodline!
In an old, shabby villa, a middle-aged beauty in a sleeveless qipao stared with wide eyes, wearing an incredulous expression, and shouted in the living room.
“Miss Deng, calm down… Although I find it hard to believe as well, Mao Ban and Sha Chu’s battle yesterday morning has already proven this outcome. Could it be someone from the Wang family?”
A burly man with long hair, with his feet up on the sofa and a cigar in hand, spoke in a very poor Mandarin with a cold demeanor.
“No way; the Wang family has been thoroughly harmed by the Black Dragon Society and Dark Arrow. Their manpower in the south has been withdrawn; why would they run over here to stir the pot? I suspect that woman might have taken some untoward medicine.”
Deng Baoyi shook her head, still insisting on her viewpoint.
No matter how genius a viscount is, it’s impossible for them to mimic a half-step baron’s aura all day long without being detected. However, a half-step baron, if they consumed some drug that boosts blood explosive power, could very well temporarily reach the rank of baron or even viscount.
What kind of drug… Nawa paused, slowly furrowing his brows, and the more he thought about it, the more plausible this possibility became.
At least, in the blood tribe world, various secret medicines are plentiful, and there are surely those that drive people to overlook the consequences when pushed to the edge. Such things actually exist in Nawa’s possession as well, and they are even more terrifying.
“Nawa, this is something that Old Feng has negotiated with you. You must force them to surrender or withdraw. Xiang Zuxing and Wu Yuqing are dead; he is about to become a core elder, and eventually, he will take over the Ba House!”
“Now it seems Guo Hao is a die-hard, and that woman you mentioned must be eliminated quickly! Those Ba House knights who are unwilling to surrender and submit should also be dealt with; there’s no time to waste on them!”
I must control the old town before Old Feng and Zhuang Jianfei go back on their word. Once it’s settled, I’ll provide you with the second batch of Yu Heng Dan!
Deng Baoyi angrily sat down, opened a sandalwood fan, and quickly waved it, seemingly trying to disperse the restlessness within.
“Miss Deng, I’ve already lost Sha Chu… If I am to fulfill your business, I must pull people from the south again. This poses a risk.”
Nawa exhaled a puff of cigar smoke, his expression remaining unchanged.
“Hmph, aren’t there enough garbage gangs here? I’ve given you so much money; isn’t that for them to consume Guo Hao?”
Deng Baoyi sneered and turned her head.
“If this were said the day before yesterday, it would have been fine, but now they wouldn’t die for that money? Unless I go myself…”
Nawa stood up, put out his cigar with his foot, and fixed his gaze on the voluptuous middle-aged beauty on the opposite sofa, his eyes flashing with a trace of mockery.
“Everyone, please leave… I need to have a private chat with Mr. Nawa.”
Deng Baoyi thought for a moment, and the anger on her face vanished in an instant as she gestured for her several knight subordinates in the room to step out.
Soon, only Nawa and Deng Baoyi were left in the room.
Nawa, go ahead. If you need additional conditions for your personal action, speak up.
Deng Baoyi changed to a sweet smile, swinging her hips as she walked slowly towards Nawa, one finger teasingly pointing at his exaggerated chest muscles. Since the start of their interaction, she had seen a beast-like desire in Nawa’s eyes.
“This matter can be discussed well tonight, Miss Deng…”
With that, Nawa wrapped his thick arms around Deng Baoyi’s waist, his palms sweeping down to grab her ample behind, kneading it forcefully.
“Oh… you men… always trying to find excuses to take advantage of me… Such conditions are not impossible, oh…”
Deng Baoyi smiled gently, released a slight blood burst, and then kissed Nawa’s large mouth.
