Blood Queen - Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Brothers

***

May 14, Tuesday.

In a snow-white private hospital room, filled with the faint fragrance of air freshener.

Meng Huai, dressed in a hospital gown, leaned against the headboard, still scrolling through a tablet. Suddenly, on the local trending news, a piece of news appeared that made Meng Huai’s pupils contract.

“…According to Mr. Wang, a citizen of N City, a strange deformed creature’s body was found in the feed mixing room of his pig farm, with severe damage at the scene.”

“…After receiving the police report, through footprints at the scene and some surrounding surveillance, the police determined it was a man-made prank.”

“…According to expert examination, the so-called deformed creature body was made of special synthetic materials. Following leads, the police quickly locked onto a university student from the nearby N City Film Arts Academy, who was doing artistic creation for their graduation thesis…”

“After criticism and education, the university student has admitted their mistake, expressed that they will no longer engage in such behavior, and is willing to compensate Mr. Wang for related losses. The police reiterate: don’t believe rumors, don’t spread rumors.”

Afterward, there were various exaggerated, humorous, or conspiracy theory hot comments, totaling over 1,000.

Meng Huai let out a cold laugh, tossed aside the tablet, and rested one hand behind his head, falling into deep thought.

A knock on the door came, and Meng Huai turned to look. Tao Qiao’er, leaning on a crutch, with one leg and one arm still in a cast, walked into his hospital room with difficulty, supported by a nurse.

Only after the nurse left the room did Tao Qiao’er reveal a sweet smile on her face: “Captain Meng, you’ve been lying here for half a month, everyone’s been quite worried.”

“Take care of your own injuries first, why worry about me… The attending physician has confirmed I’m fine, I can be discharged this afternoon, and I’ll be back at the base the day after tomorrow.”

Meng Huai spoke coldly, not accepting the other’s goodwill.

Tao Qiao’er seemed already accustomed to her captain’s attitude. After all, the rules in the Black Armor Squad were to minimize familiarity between members to avoid relationships becoming too deep.

“Captain Meng, did Xia Yan and Gu Yao really escape…”

After brief small talk, Tao Qiao’er lowered her head and said softly: “This time we directly lost 26 people, 15 were permanently disabled, and Xia Yan and Gu Yao are missing. Since you hadn’t regained consciousness before, the intelligence team could only analyze through the recovered helmet recordings and found that Xia Yan and Gu Yao had been blood invaded…”

“Mm, my physical condition at the time made it impossible to handle on the spot. I will submit a written report to superiors regarding the relevant mission summary and responsibility issues.”

Meng Huai closed his eyes, and in his mind appeared again the scene of Xia Yan performing emergency treatment on him, those eyes that appeared red in the illumination of gunsmoke and fire, and that calm smile.

“Um… Captain Meng, what exactly was that big flesh mass that day… When you were unconscious, the superior commanders issued a gag order, and I heard an investigation team came from headquarters.”

Tao Qiao’er’s face turned a bit pale, seemingly still not having emerged from the shadow of that desperate bloody battle.

What caused the Black Armor Squad’s heavy casualties wasn’t the big flesh mass, but those vampire knights who clearly went on a crazy charge to protect the flesh mass, which still made Tao Qiao’er shudder.

“Since it’s classified information, don’t inquire further. A soldier’s duty is to obey orders.”

Meng Huai’s mind churned with the memory scenes from that time, and even though extremely unwilling, he could only silently accept the current results.

“Hehe, still not dead, Meng Huai!”

As the two fell into silence, the door was pushed open, and a valiant female military officer with the rank of Major appeared in the doorway wearing a mysterious smile.

Behind the female officer, a nurse looked embarrassed, seemingly having failed to stop her.

“Go back to your own room and rest, I’ll chat with Major Han.”

Speaking thus, Meng Huai made a gesture to Tao Qiao’er, then coldly stared at the female officer who walked in.

“Lying down for half a month, you’ve had enough rest. Oh, living quite well here!”

After seeing the armless and legless Tao Qiao’er out the door, the female Major turned to look at the condition of the hospital room, nodding slightly: “I heard this time, almost all the veterans in your Black Armor Squad were lost, even the Captain candidate was blood invaded, but you’re still tough… Sigh, I was saying that when the time comes, we could choose someone from the Embroidered Robe Squad to be your candidate!”

“Everything’s possible in dreams… Han Xiao, N City should be in the Embroidered Robe Squad’s surveillance area, how did a mutated vampire corpse get exposed?”

Facing the Embroidered Robe Squad Captain’s provocation and mockery, Meng Huai remained calm, his emotions unperturbed, instead throwing back a topic that might embarrass the other party.

“Hmph… It was still your escapee from last time. Let me put it this way, it’s been confirmed to be Tang Zhaowen from Tiantang Agricultural Trade, one of the escapees from your D City operation last time, tsk tsk, a high-level Baron. Probably after escaping, he entered N City and was ambushed and killed by some Black Blood Clan members who came out of nowhere, found dead in a pig farm in the suburbs of N City the night before last.”

“I only arrived at the scene yesterday afternoon, hehe, a noble Baron of the orthodox Blood Clan, actually forced to blood thirst collapse by the Black Blood Clan, the corpse was as mangled as if chewed by dogs, most internal organs were even removed.”

“Count me unlucky this time, not collecting corpses is the Black Blood Clan’s usual style, and I still have to clean up after these disgusting guys! Sometimes, I really don’t know if they count as our helpers or not.”

Han Xiao didn’t care whether Meng Huai was listening, rattling off a lot of information.

“You came today just to add this to the Black Armor Squad’s responsibilities?” Meng Huai gave a cold laugh.

“I just came to inform you that because the Black Armor Squad has been severely damaged, the mission to pursue Xia Yan and Gu Yao has been transferred to me.”

“The Black Armor Squad isn’t completely dead yet, why do you need to worry? I will apply to superiors for reconsideration.”

Meng Huai was startled, turning his head to stare hard at Han Xiao’s face with its ambiguous smile, his heart gradually growing heavy.

“I’m thinking, don’t you ever regret getting the Black Armor Squad into this ghost of a state? In my squad, people can still drink, dance, fall in love, and if someone really gets unlucky, just tie them up and let the intelligence team’s security group handle it.”

“In the Embroidered Robe Squad, people might be sad about losing comrades, but won’t have the cruelty of having to handle it themselves, they can even turn grief into strength.”

Han Xiao frowned, seemingly very averse to the Black Armor Squad’s method of members maintaining cold relationships normally to facilitate handling blood invasion themselves when it occurs.

“Hehe, burying your head in the sand, eating your children… You’re no better than me, Major Han.”

Meng Huai gave a cold laugh, the mockery on his face very obvious.

“You! Forget it, I won’t waste my breath arguing with a general without an army!”

Having said this, Han Xiao took out a notebook, retreating from her emotions: “Alright, I’m done teasing you, I came today just to understand some information about that Xia Yan, and Gu Yao, it might help with the next stage of pursuit operations.”

Seeing the other’s serious expression, Meng Huai suddenly wanted to laugh.

“Alright, I’m not interested in discussing these things, figure it out yourself, please leave, don’t see yourself out.”

Meng Huai gave the order to leave, and Han Xiao’s beautiful face immediately showed anger: “Hmph, serves you right to be alone!”

The Embroidered Robe Squad Captain left with strong dissatisfaction, and only then did Meng Huai feel his mood improve somewhat.

“Nurse, please remove my IV needle.”

……

……

At night, a military-plated SUV drove into a certain high-end community in Q District of C City, stopping outside the central villa building.

Meng Huai, in full military uniform bearing the rank of Major, quickly walked into the first floor main hall of the villa.

Probably having received advance notice of Meng Huai’s discharge from the hospital, Zhong Hai had the housekeeping team prepare a dinner early to welcome his recovered eldest son home.

Zhong Jing had also rarely come back, but at the dinner table, he always wore a mysterious smile, occasionally glancing at his half-brother sitting opposite.

Zhong Jing wore a casual suit, appearing sunny and unrestrained, while Meng Huai was in crisp military uniform, serious and rigid, the two brothers in the dining room had completely different images and temperaments. Zhong Jing was probably 180 cm tall, while Meng Huai was at least 185 cm or taller, and even their facial features didn’t have much similarity.

Meng Huai was the product of Zhong Hai’s youthful romantic encounter, in plain words an illegitimate child, only brought home by Zhong Hai at age of 4, and at that time, Zhong Hai’s legal wife had just given birth to Zhong Jing.

The atmosphere in the dining room was very strange. Meng Huai single-mindedly stared at a plate of food in front of him eating big mouthfuls, while Zhong Jing casually only drank wine without eating. Zhong Hai and his wife spent most of the time silently communicating through eye contact.

“Big Brother, what kind of missions do you participate in to get such serious injuries? Last time at the hospital, you still hadn’t woken up.”

Zhong Jing swirled his wine glass, standing up and bending over to personally pour half a glass for the other: “You should be in a regular army unit, right? How come you’re involved in domestic missions?”

“You want to pry into military secrets too? Mind your own business, don’t always mess around outside!”

Meng Huai frowned, slowly raising his head, his expression gradually becoming serious, a pair of sharp eyes shooting directly into his brother.

“Hehe, I just think our Chinese soldiers are all great, I admire Big Brother. Come, let me toast you!”

Zhong Jing dodged Meng Huai’s gaze, smiling awkwardly, raising the wine glass in his hand.

“The wound hasn’t completely healed yet, I won’t drink. You all enjoy, I’m going back to my room to rest, I have a meeting back at the unit tomorrow.”

Meng Huai quickly finished the last half bowl of rice, then stood up to leave the dining room, making the faces of Zhong Hai and his wife sitting in the main seats look somewhat displeased.

“Hmph, see, I said the eldest wouldn’t appreciate it, it’s still Xiao Jing who values brotherly affection, always Big Brother this, Big Brother that! Forget it, come, good son, mom will drink with you!”

Smiling and clinking glasses with the lady, Zhong Jing’s gaze secretly glanced at his silent father Zhong Hai.

“Alright, him coming back shows he still cares about this family, seeing he’s fine puts my mind at ease too. He’s a soldier, protecting the country is his duty, you shouldn’t pry unnecessarily.”

Having said this, Zhong Hai put down his chopsticks and slowly walked out of the dining room as well.

“Tch, really good at self-consolation… By the way, good son, do you have enough money to spend? Mom will transfer some more to you tomorrow.”

“Hey! Thanks Mom!”

Zhong Jing smiled very happily, but in his heart, the doubts grew stronger and stronger.

……

Compared to Zhong Jing’s exaggerated living space, Meng Huai only had a not-so-large bedroom at home.

Sitting at the desk, slowly pulling out an old photo frame from the drawer, quietly looking at the two figures inside, one big and one small.

It was a photo taken by his birth mother on his 4th birthday, the woman in the frame was elegant and beautiful, dressed simply, beside her stood a young boy, you could faintly see the boy looked similar to the woman.

A considerable part of the photo bore black-red bloodstains, as if it had been salvaged from blood a long time ago, appearing cruel and unimaginable.

Looking at the photo, Meng Huai’s mouth corners slowly began to twitch, finally tightly closing his eyes, fumbling to stuff it back into the drawer. Only until the faint friction sound of closing the drawer arose did his expression slightly relax.

In his mind appeared again the scene from not long after his 4th birthday that had given him nightmares for over 20 years.

His mother who had been his only family lay in a pool of blood, her whole body pierced by strange, long, seemingly frozen blood needles, a terribly twisted mutant monster biting at the position of her carotid artery in her neck.

Accompanied by an eerie sucking sound, his mother’s body went limp on the ground, that pair of eyes still carrying a last trace of clarity, staring hard at the little boy hiding under the bed.

The young Meng Huai fainted on the spot, and when he woke up, he was already in the hospital.

A few days later, accompanied by an auntie from the street office, when he returned again to that small rented room, that bedroom flowing with fresh blood on that black night was as neat as ever, as if through time reversal, as if that horrifying silent opera had never occurred.

Meng Huai’s birth mother Meng Xiang was determined to have died suddenly of heart disease at night, and in the few days while Meng Huai was unconscious, had already been cremated and buried.

The one who arranged the funeral for his mother was a strange man, who also claimed to be his father.

Meng Huai was subsequently diagnosed with psychological trauma stress disorder, all his memories were severe mental hallucinations produced due to his mother’s death.

From childhood to adulthood, Meng Huai was never able to prove his experiences to anyone, could only grow up arduously under the constant beating of nightmares.

Until the age of 18, the day he received his university admission notice, a mysterious military officer stopped Meng Huai at the high school gate and presented a mysterious military academy admission notice.

As people and events from memory played repeatedly in his mind, Meng Huai didn’t know how he got onto the bed in a daze, falling asleep hazily with tears all over his face.

……

……

A rented apartment in an old residential complex in J District.

“Ah! Brother, you’re awake?”

Morning sunlight shone into the bedroom, Gu Yao who had been keeping watch by the bed playing games all night was just about to get up to use the bathroom when he saw the black-haired girl sleeping on the bed move her arm, her tightly closed eyelids also showing some slight changes.

Her long thin eyelashes were trembling slightly, as if consciousness was reviving.

Jiang Yao quickly dropped the mouse and walked quickly to the bedside, holding her hand, feeling her pulse beats gradually recover from less than 30 per minute to over 60.

“Mm… I had a very long dream, dreamed that I retired…”

Eyes slightly opening a small crack, Jiang Yan adapting to that dazzling sunlight driving away the darkness, muttered softly.

“You slept for exactly 3 days! If not for you having no other conditions, I thought…”

Gu Yao completely put his mind at ease, slowly helping her sit up bit by bit.

I slept for 3 days!?

Jiang Yan was also slightly surprised, but this surprise was quickly dispelled by a certain peculiar sense of pleasure in her body.

Jiang Yan only felt an indescribable lightness throughout her body, as if she had eaten and drunk her fill and stored up energy for a long time.

“Brother, these past few days, I felt your aura was very… how to say it, very amazing! Just like when we first met Huang Gu! Did you… what was it called… breakthrough to Servant-level?”

Recalling how over the past few days, Jiang Yan lying on the bed had emitted a sharp aura in her sleep, and her whole body was still exuding a faint peculiar fragrance, Jiang Yao’s eyes showed visible envy.

“Oh? You can sense it too?”

Jiang Yan’s eyes had finally adapted to the light, and she had also completely regained control of her body, extending both hands to examine them back and forth.

Advancing to a new level was the term for Blood Clan breaking through to a major power tier, usually entering a sleep hibernation state to enhance and renew various microscopic physiological functions of the body.

For example, Jiang Yan who had now advanced to Servant-level already possessed night vision that ordinary people could not match.

As the level continued to rise and power grew stronger, the Blood Clan’s sleep hibernation period would also grow longer and longer. For Baron level and above, one breakthrough hibernation sleep was often counted in years, even 10 or 20 years was possible, during which the entire body’s metabolism would be at its lowest state, appearing like false death.

Of course, Blood Clan who failed in breakthrough, or even died directly during hibernation, were also not few in number.

“Mm! I know! It must be because you drank that Black Blood Clan knight’s blood! If I had known earlier I would have gone up to lick a few mouthfuls too!”

Jiang Yao showed a trace of regret, as if she had missed out on hundreds of millions.

A few days ago I was still just a bottom-tier Thrall, now I’ve actually advanced to low-level Servant? Another unprecedented phenomenon, and it occurred on myself.

Actually, wasn’t Xiao Yao also an existence that made people unable to make heads or tails of?

That strange huge flesh mass monster, what exactly did it turn me and Xiao Yao into?

Looking at Jiang Yao’s face that still retained a few traces of worry amid excitement, Jiang Yan shook her head lightly, brushing away those questions that were difficult to answer at this stage, just patted the other’s arm, smiling without speaking.

Oh right, how did I get back to my own home? And who changed these pajamas for me?

Suddenly thinking of something, feeling her thighs that were clean as new, Jiang Yan turned back to look at Jiang Yao’s face, not speaking, just using her hand to tug at the pajamas she was wearing.

“Hehe, it was that old witch who sent us back. Oh, the blood and medicine I bought that day have all been put away properly… um… Brother you must be hungry, I’ll cook some porridge for you to drink! You lie down some more!”

Jiang Yao probably understood Jiang Yan’s expression, spoke halfway then changed the subject, then quickly walked out of the bedroom.

Haha, what am I thinking… Didn’t we used to sleep in the same bed at the orphanage? The fact that she helps me change clothes shows she’s sensible.

Jiang Yan shook her head, the corners of her mouth rising in a trace of self-mockery.