Chapter 224: Breaking the Silence
April 17th, Friday.
At 4 a.m., north of the capital, at the foot of Yunmeng Mountain, the Dark Arrow Blood Dragon Base.
The entire K District had entered a state of maximum alert. Dozens of armed soldiers were blocking all passages, treating this as a critical situation.
In a closed treatment room, several medical staff were performing the final resuscitation efforts on Zhen Guangquan, who lay on the bed, but regrettably, nearly all medical monitoring devices indicated that his life signs were irrevocably slipping into the abyss.
“Weren’t things fine just last night? In just a few hours, he suffers total organ failure?! Immediately notify the coroner to conduct an autopsy and find the real cause of death!”
“Find out everything! Investigate thoroughly! Since he entered the Blood Dragon Base, everyone who has come into contact with him must be quarantined and questioned!”
Dozens of kilometers away, Chief of General Staff Wu Zhongxian, awakened in the middle of the night by an urgent phone call, was at this moment gripping the phone, his face ashen. His skin twitched unconsciously from excitement and anger.
After hanging up, Wu Zhongxian lost all desire to sleep. He sat dumbfounded in the study for a long time before picking up another secure phone to directly call the commander of the Southern Inspection Zone, Han Guowei.
It was a good few minutes before Han Guowei’s tired voice drifted over the line: “Old Wu, has something major happened?”
Wu Zhongxian took a deep breath before slowly saying, “Old Han, Zhen Guangquan was pronounced dead half an hour ago. The preliminary conclusion is an allergic reaction to medication, leading to sudden total organ failure.”
Zhen Guangquan had a slight fever, used some routine medication, and within two hours, he suffered an accident. I suspect he was already sabotaged by an insider long before.
“I thought the Blood Dragon Base was already our Dark Arrow’s most secret and safest place, yet something still went wrong. This insider is simply too audacious, extending their hands into the Blood Dragon Brigade!”
On the other end of the phone, Han Guowei quietly listened, not interrupting Wu Zhongxian’s increasingly emotional words, seemingly mentally prepared for this outcome.
“Honestly, there’s nothing surprising. Since Zhen Guangquan maintained silence, it indicates he was waiting for this day and wouldn’t leave us any loose ends.”
“Do not expand our strike range, or it will lead to chaos within our own ranks, especially destabilizing the Blood Dragon Brigade. I am currently organizing a large-scale operation against the Liang family rebel group, and the Blood Dragon Brigade is of utmost importance.”
Once Wu Zhongxian had vented enough, Han Guowei finally spoke in a solemn tone.
“Old Han, you plan to bury your head in the sand; that’s pessimism! The more we are in this situation, the more we need to carry out comprehensive and in-depth investigations on the insider. I refuse to believe these people won’t leave a trace!”
Wu Zhongxian frowned, seemingly sensing Han Guowei’s helpless attitude of avoidance, which made him even more displeased.
“Old Wu, don’t rush; let me explain. I feel this is another overt scheme, clearly meant to make us uneasy about the Blood Dragon Brigade. What could cause the most elite forces of Dark Arrow to fall into chaos and make us paranoid?”
Thus, I believe Zhen Guangquan’s death is certainly unrelated to the Blood Dragon Brigade. It’s a deliberate attempt to muddy the waters, indicating that they harbor deep fears of the Blood Dragon Brigade, pulling tricks to make us collapse without a fight.
Han Guowei even laughed during the call, letting out a light sigh.
Wu Zhongxian was taken aback and, after a moment, finally reacted: “Alright, you have a point, but I will still have Ye Zhijun personally organize the investigation.”
Wu Zhongxian reluctantly nodded, then hung up the phone, walked to the study window, pulled back the curtain, and stared into the dark night sky, lost in thought.
Ten days ago, Han Guowei initiated the first wave of operations against the Liang family rebel group since taking office in the Southern Inspection Zone, deploying the Blood Dragon Brigade’s task force as the main secret force for the first time.
In this ambush-style operation, the Southern Inspection Zone successfully killed more than a dozen members of the Black Blood Tribe, including a Black Blood Baron. However, due to the opponent using Frankenstein serum, many personnel, including the commander of the Blood Dragon Brigade, were severely injured, and even the Fast Response Brigade responsible for the perimeter operations suffered over twenty casualties.
Interestingly, post-operation analysis revealed that the slain Black Blood Baron actually came from a Black Blood gang in Southeast Asia and was not a true member of the Liang family.
With no way to turn back, Han Guowei decisively began to prepare for the next round of operations.
He planned to deploy even more elite forces from the Blood Dragon Brigade, intending to use thunderous methods to thoroughly eliminate these infiltrators from the outside who conspired with the Liang rebels.
After all, the Frankenstein serum had unmistakably become the greatest threat to the security of southern and southwestern borders of Huaguo and must be eradicated vigorously. Forces like the Inheritance Brigade were becoming less capable of having a decisive impact, hence a reliance on the Blood Dragon Brigade.
“The existence of the Blood Dragon Brigade has already been exposed in Old Han’s last battle… Is the investment of the past forty years just to wait for today?”
The early spring chill ultimately drove Wu Zhongxian away from the window, back into the warmth of indoor space. He retrieved a paper document from a safe and began to study it closely.
In the forty years since the establishment of the Dark Arrow Blood Dragon Brigade, it had trained fewer than a hundred members, most of whom were servants and knights, and there were only four barons.
Among these four barons were a high-tier baron from Altay, a mid-tier baron from Siberia, a mid-tier baron from Altay, and a more precious lower-tier baron from the Apennines.
The combat power of the Blood Tribe combined with modern advanced weaponry had allowed the Blood Dragon Brigade to stand up to the Count families, but this was based on a reckless all-out tactical foundation.
The Dark Arrow Blood Dragon Brigade, forged over forty years with immense resources, was a blade that had not truly been unsheathed, extremely deadly yet still in a fragile phase; once pushed too hard, it could break.
If the Blood Dragon Brigade were to achieve a pyrrhic victory in a battle that must be won, then forty years of effort might regress overnight. This was the biggest puzzle facing Dark Arrow today.
Now, Wu Zhongxian had deeply realized the bitter consequences of the Wang family’s withdrawal after suffering heavy losses. The current Dark Arrow was like a bear with a crippled leg and blind eye, overall strength was decent but stuck in a situation where it couldn’t move freely.
No, Han Guowei absolutely must not go solo; cooperation with the Wang family must be restored. At the very least, we must rely on them for intelligence…
Murmuring things only he could hear, Wu Zhongxian pondered deeply before ultimately picking up the phone.
…
At noon, in City C.
In the bustling CBD of G District, on the top floor of a high-end office building, Wan Yue appeared for the first time at the A City International Import and Export Trade Company.
A City’s office fully occupied the entire floor, boasting nearly two thousand square meters of workspace, elegantly decorated and bright. However, there were currently fewer than thirty employees present, making the office feel quite empty.
Zhong Jing, as the apparent general manager, was also wearing a suit today, accompanying Wan Yue and the group from the Jinhe Club, responsible for tours and explanations.
The employees already working at A City looked curiously at their young president, trailing behind a beautiful, sexy, and classy young woman, displaying the enthusiasm of younger brothers following an older sister.
It wasn’t just Wan Yue’s appearance and demeanor that astonished them; even Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, standing behind her, similarly drew quiet admiration from the male staff members.
Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao were now dressed identically in white shirts with purple neckties and black skirts and matching shoes, one with black hair and the other with blond. Their appearances bore a slight resemblance, making them look almost like sisters.
Previously, the Jiang sisters were described mostly in terms of their verbal closeness. However, after both entered the realm of the queen, subtle changes had occurred in their appearances, leading to some shared features.
This was the biggest external change in the past month, giving them an increasingly close resemblance to genetically related sisters. This made Jiang Yan feel a strange sense of unease in her heart.
… The current business of the company mainly involved contacting domestic light industrial products enterprises and Southeast Asian market exports, essentially small-scale operations focused on becoming familiar with the business. Soon, they would expand into importing raw materials for industry and agriculture, targeting Siam, Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar as primary trading partners, connecting with domestic manufacturing enterprises.
Moving through various office areas, Zhong Jing spoke eloquently. He seemed considerably less frivolous now, with a demeanor and attitude showing great seriousness.
From time to time, when questions were raised, Zhong Jing answered patiently, but Wan Yue maintained a smiling silence throughout.
“Sis, is it safe here…?”
When they reached a large conference room, with no outsiders around, Jiang Yao finally couldn’t help but ask quietly.
If these matters hadn’t been considered beforehand, it was unnecessary to spend so much. I’ve looked over the company materials, and security should be fine.
Jiang Yao was astonished by Zhong Jing’s extravagant detail in company operations, and to Jiang Yao’s question, he provided an extremely simple response.
“This office building is an industry controlled behind the scenes by the Wang family. The top floor has two secret elevators that can directly access the underground parking area.”
Wan Yue chimed in, adding weight to Jiang Yao’s earlier statement.
“Today, I brought you here to make final arrangements… Which of you two will come to help Zhong Jing?”
Looking at the lovely sisters beside her, Wan Yue’s lips curled up slightly, lingering for a few seconds on Jiang Yao’s face.
Seeing Zhong Jing, who remained silent not far away, Jiang Yao opened her mouth but quickly lowered her head, feeling somewhat nervous.
“Let Xiao Yao go first.”
Perhaps understanding Jiang Yao’s expression, Jiang Yan smiled and decided to express her intention first.
Zhong Jing was momentarily taken aback but, seeing Wan Yue’s calm demeanor, could only nod. Interestingly, since Wan Yue and her party entered the company, Zhong Jing had not truly made eye contact with Jiang Yao, seemingly avoiding something.
“But I know nothing about this…”
Jiang Yao appeared a bit flustered and sneaked a glance at the somewhat uncomfortable Zhong Jing, her tone very soft.
“Not knowing means you need to learn. Are you expecting someone to feed knowledge into your mouth? I didn’t know how to run the Jinhe Club back then either.”
Wan Yue rolled her eyes directly, heading towards the floor-to-ceiling glass wall of the conference room. At the moment of turning, her nose twitched slightly, as if she had caught some special scent from Jiang Yao.
But in just a second or two, Wan Yue’s expression returned to normal.
“Yan Sister!”
Suddenly, two familiar pheromone fluctuations invaded Jiang Yao’s mind, and she momentarily paused, turning her head.
Moments later, two young female staff members hurriedly entered from outside, waving at Jiang Yao.
“Xiao Guo, Xiao Lian? What are you doing here…”
Seeing the two young women, who spent some time together in Northern Myanmar, appear at A City, and looking like company employees, surprised Jiang Yao.
“Wan Jie.”
Xiao Guo and Xiao Lian stepped forward, greeted Jiang Yan, and then bowed in unison towards Wan Yue, displaying extremely warm attitudes.
Though their qualifications weren’t exceptional in the Hidden Ones Alliance, these two were rare female knights within the central force. As part of Xiang Zuxing’s direct lineage, they naturally followed Guo Hao unconditionally.
Even with the turmoil in Northern Myanmar almost causing Guo Hao’s small group to fracture, they ultimately stabilized their footing with the assistance of lingering efforts from Jiang and others.
Currently, Guo Hao’s subordinates already included sixteen knights and eight attendants. While it was significantly less than the peak strength during Xiang Zuxing’s time, it still constituted about a quarter of today’s central force, making them stronger on the surface than the Wind Hyacinth.
However, Xiao Guo and Xiao Lian were well aware that just the presence of Wan Yue and Jiang Yan made Wind Hyacinth’s actual strength far exceed Guo Hao’s group. Moreover, it was said that Jiang Yan’s sister, Jiang Yao, represented an apparent half-step baron and was formidable herself.
Seeking allies and support, or even a mere dependence, was what Guo Hao chose as a development strategy for his followers after experiencing harsh reality checks—what could be more trustworthy than the once glorious Wan Yue of the Central Force?
It could facilitate some operational coordination since they were not accustomed to staying abroad. This company headquarters has another business office in Y Province run by Guo Hao’s people. In the future, for any business trips to K City and B City in Y Province, it would be handled by them.
Wan Yue turned back from the floor-to-ceiling glass wall, smiling and nodding in satisfaction at this arrangement.
“Yes, yes, please rest assured, Wan Jie and President Zhong. Brother Hao has also set up the office properly in B City, and the first batch of import business can start officially next month.”
The lively Xiao Guo spoke up, handing a document to Zhong Jing, while Xiao Lian looked at Jiang Yao with a hint of curiosity and apprehension.
Up close, she had sensed a faint but powerful aura from Jiang Yao, reminiscent of Jiang Yan’s, yet seemingly deeper than a mere half-step baron.
“Yan Jie, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? Let’s go check out the dining area here. By the way, there’s a huge changing room, they say it’s like the one at your Jinhe Club, heh heh!”
Having not seen each other for almost a month, Xiao Guo seemed very excited. The instant Wan Yue and Zhong Jing stepped out of the conference room, she immediately leaped to Jiang Yao’s side, linking her arm with hers.
“Uh,姐, let’s go downstairs to eat. I saw a Japanese restaurant nearby.”
Seeing an outsider being so familiar, Jiang Yao, who hadn’t fully adjusted mentally due to the hierarchy, suddenly felt uncomfortable and involuntarily made an intentional reminder.
Having said that, Jiang Yao quickly walked to Jiang Yan’s side, casually pushing Xiao Guo aside, her expression a bit cold.
“Let’s eat together. We will all be colleagues from now on, so it’s good to become familiar. Xiao Guo and Xiao Lian helped me a lot in the old street… This is my sister; she knows nothing, so please help her more in the future.”
Jiang Yan understood Jiang Yao’s emotional state and hurriedly tried to smooth things over, secretly pinching Jiang Yao’s arm.
As the secret elevator descended slowly, the cabin contained only Wan Yue and Zhong Jing. The former was flipping through the documents in her hand, while the latter appeared dazed, staring at the elevator door lost in thought, creating a somewhat odd atmosphere.
“It seems you are not happy about Jiang Yao being here?”
Staring at the elevator control panel showing only two floor indicators, Wan Yue suddenly spoke up without looking up.
“Uh?” Zhong Jing came back to his senses, appearing surprised by the question. “Is this another way of separating her from Jiang Yan?”
“She needs someone trustworthy by her side. Previously, it was Jiang Yan, now it’s you. Do you feel pressured?”
Wan Yue smiled, closing the folder, blinking her beautiful big eyes with implied meaning, “Well, asking that question seems rather silly… She should have rejected the artificial insemination option. I wouldn’t have expected that years ago, bringing you into this world was just to get close to Zhong Pharmaceuticals. Yet it has become the best solution for the queen issue; fate is quite marvelous.”
Zhong Jing was taken aback briefly, and his face turned red as he quickly turned his head, pretending to look at the elevator’s operating floor information, completely avoiding Wan Yue’s gaze.
“You both are unlikely to come together. You should be psychologically prepared. Your family and life experiences differ too much. Moreover, to be honest, I don’t wish for you to develop true feelings for her; it comes at too great a cost.”
“For her, perhaps this is a dream that can be resolved with time. For you, it will be a lifelong tribulation, especially one that is hard to bear. Even your parents would not be able to withstand it.”
The elevator reached a secret area in the underground parking lot. Wan Yue was the first to exit, lighting a cigarette. Zhong Jing, however, lingered outside the elevator, hesitating to step out.
Before him was a wall that looked like the end of a dead end; hidden behind it was a secret door—an emergency evacuation route designed by the Wang family for this building.
“Then why do you still want me to maintain long-term contact with her?” Zhong Jing frowned, calling out to Wan Yue, who was walking further away. “Wouldn’t this give her and everyone else the wrong signals?”
“Why?”
Wan Yue turned back, pondering briefly, then smiled, “Because I’ve long discovered that when she’s with you, her body and mind relax significantly and remain stable. You are the only one, besides Jiang Yan, who can let Jiang Yao live normally, especially as we move closer to the truth.
She resists everyone outside of Jiang Yan, but uniquely does not resist you. But now, since Jiang Yan is with her, it can’t stabilize her anymore; you are all that’s left, so I’m very conflicted…
However, this may also be a turning point for her to stabilize fully and adjust to this world, becoming a real Blood Tribe woman—but you are likely to become one of the costs of this process…
At this point, Wan Yue intentionally glanced back at Zhong Jing, her expression extremely mysterious.
I will become one of the costs… Hehe, that’s quite thrilling, but I feel rather lucky.
Zhong Jing gently shook his head and took a few steps to catch up with Wan Yue, their backs gradually disappearing down the corridor.
…
Late at night, a Bentley SUV slowly stopped outside a low-rise garden villa in the high-end riverside community of Q District.
Yes, it has some human warmth now, but it’s still missing a maid to tidy up daily.
Stepping into the home that Jiang Yao had personally managed all the renovations for, Zhong Jing felt quite proud. Yet, in just a few days, certain unkempt details made him chuckle.
“Zhong Jing, can you please stay today?”
Jiang Yao handed over a bottle of chilled juice, nervously looking at the young man in front of her, her heart suddenly bubbling with impulsive emotions.
You should be on your period, right? I don’t know how it works for the Blood Tribe, but for ordinary women, this is a big taboo.
Zhong Jing, well aware of some of Jiang Yao’s life details, blurted out without hesitation. Or perhaps, this was one of the reasons he agreed to drive her home today despite avoiding her.
No matter how reckless, no one would do anything foolish at this moment.
“No, after fainting last month, my cycle has been off. It should have been these days, but I don’t know why there’s been no sign at all. I asked Wan Jie, and she said my body hasn’t stabilized yet; my hormones are all out of whack.”
Jiang Yao smiled as she pressed a button on the coffee table. Almost all the automatic curtains in the rooms began to close, and under the soft lighting, the atmosphere in the living room became increasingly ambiguous.
Glancing toward the front door, then back at Jiang Yao walking toward the bathroom, Zhong Jing suddenly felt his throat go dry. The past week without seeing each other had inevitably accumulated intense feelings between them.
Could it be that the mentor’s words suggested I play a role in her stabilization? Hm, could this serve as an excuse for bed?
Zhong Jing, feeling adventurous, followed her, not paying too much attention to whether he might genuinely be going down the wrong path.
He noticed that He Jian Qingya had already flown to City Z in East G Province today, reportedly to meet with representatives from the Fujiwara family and EVN Group to discuss the final site selection. If nothing unexpected occurs, the new enterprise production base should be established in City Z, taking advantage of the more developed industrial supply chain and logistics conditions of coastal cities.
As Zhong Jing arrived at Jiang Yao’s home, he found himself experiencing an indescribable thrill, which triggered an uncontrollable explosion of feelings after days of evasion.
A desire to refuse yet welcoming to indulge, perhaps this is what it feels like.
At this time, just a few hundred meters from Jiang Yao’s residence, standing under a camphor tree, He Jian Qingya maintained a cold expression, staring at the dim light emanating from the garden villa.
Behind her, Bai Yu Qian Zhen knelt on one leg, deeply bowing his head and remaining silent.
Minutes later, a wave of peculiar pheromone energy knocked on He Jian Qingya’s senses.
“Miss, there are Dark Arrow sentinels nearby…”
Seeing He Jian Qingya shudder slightly, even showing signs of moving in a certain direction, Bai Yu Qian Zhen quickly lowered his voice to issue a warning.
“He is my fiancé; everyone knows, including the Wang family! We are going to get engaged next month!”
He Jian Qingya snapped back, anger flaring as she turned to her subordinate, emitting a sharp and heated rebuttal that contained an uncontrollable sense of humiliation.
Bai Yu Qian Zhen didn’t dare to respond, only lowering his head and slowly retreating.
