Blood Queen - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Super Monster

***

July 19, Friday.

Originally planning to organize an outdoor training exercise for the assault team and support team, Meng Huai received an urgent order from his superiors just before departure to report to the Dark Arrow Western Surveillance Area Command for a special inquiry.

Entering a certain logistics compound as an ordinary military officer, in an inconspicuous building, Meng Huai underwent a series of identity verifications before being led to a small conference room.

In the conference room stood a lieutenant who looked excessively young, with a face full of smiles that made people feel comfortable.

After exchanging salutes and taking their seats, the young lieutenant introduced himself first: “Major Meng Huai, my name is Han Jieli. I currently work at the Intelligence Bureau of the General Headquarters. I’ve been sent by my superiors to investigate the situation of Operation X497.4.30. This is the work document for this inquiry.”

As he spoke, Han Jieli placed a printed document on the table, slowly pushing it towards Meng Huai.

Someone from the Intelligence Bureau of the General Headquarters, not the Intelligence Department of the Western Surveillance Area!?

Looking at the seal on the document, Meng Huai’s heart sank. He slowly raised his head, staring at the young lieutenant with great charisma in front of him. After more than ten seconds, he finally opened his mouth slightly: “Are you from the Han family?”

Han Jieli nodded embarrassedly: “Deputy Commander Han is my third uncle, Han Jiesheng and Han Xiao are my cousins. I’ve heard about you from my cousins long ago, the number one ace of the Western Surveillance Area!”

“No need for flattery, let’s get to business.”

Meng Huai habitually avoided the other’s attempt at familiarity, especially from people who work in intelligence. Their emotions were a mix of truth and falsehood, which he disliked.

“Uh… alright, Major Meng Huai, I’ve reviewed all the materials related to Operation X497.4.30, but there’s one question I need to verify with you again.”

Han Jieli pressed a button on the table, and a large electronic screen on the wall of the conference room lit up, displaying several dozen images arranged in multiple rows.

Meng Huai knew that each divided screen represented the footage from the helmet cameras of certain team members at the scene of the operation, including his own.

Some images were shaking violently, indicating that the person was still in motion, while others were permanently tilted at a certain angle, suggesting that the person had lost their combat ability and fallen.

The small screens playing one by one, revisiting the brutal bloody battle where dozens of comrades had sacrificed, made Meng Huai unable to bear watching.

“Brother Meng, that large flesh mass… let’s call it that for now, which caused the blood invasion of Captain Xia Yan and Sergeant Gu Yao, was it due to the damage from the large flesh mass?”

Han Jieli’s tone was very casual, but the question he asked was like a heavy punch, making Meng Huai feel dizzy for a moment.

“No… can’t be completely certain.”

After hesitating for a few seconds, Meng Huai shifted his gaze from the electronic screen, unconsciously rubbing his forehead.

“Not completely? Can you express it more clearly?”

Han Jieli frowned slightly, making notes in his notebook while reminding softly.

“At that time, all the vampires involved in the siege were killed except for those who escaped. Whether Xia Yan and Gu Yao had already undergone blood invasion before destroying the large flesh mass cannot be determined. Is this clear enough?”

Meng Huai’s cold response made Han Jieli a bit embarrassed.

After thinking for more than ten seconds, Han Jieli clicked on a certain grid, enlarging it directly, dragging the progress bar, and then paused at a severely tilted view: Xia Yan stumbling to his feet, facing the direction of the blood pool, holding a hand grenade, seemingly still intending to launch an attack.

The image was moved to one side, and another grid was clicked open. After similar operations, the image froze: Xia Yan being supported by Gu Yao.

The screen was pulled open again, and a third grid was clicked. The image was very blurry, but the angle was even more tilted: Xia Yan and Gu Yao were each hit by two tentacles coming from the direction of the blood pool.

“These images are arranged according to the time at the scene. The one on the left shows that Xia Yan was already injured at that time, but still preparing to launch an attack. The middle one is Gu Yao providing aid to Xia Yan after destroying the large flesh ball. At this point, Gu Yao was likely uninjured. On the right, Xia Yan and Gu Yao were simultaneously hit by the tentacles of the large flesh ball…”

“Brother Meng, based on your personal experience, at the time point on the left, had Xia Yan already undergone blood invasion?”

Han Jieli calmly asked, hoping that by reviewing these images, Meng Huai could make a more intuitive judgment.

“The one on the left… if this is already the best shooting time and angle, then I can be 100% certain that Xia Yan’s ability to maintain mobility while injured means it’s impossible for him to have undergone blood invasion. After blood invasion, physical abilities decrease significantly, and body control also declines. There are no exceptions to this!”

Meng Huai answered decisively, without any hesitation.

As soon as he finished speaking, a hint of gloom flashed in Han Jieli’s eyes, as if some hope had been dashed.

“Sigh, this is also the consensus of the intelligence department. According to Xia Yan’s test records at the training center, he has extremely strong resistance to blood invasion. In other words, even when facing a baron-level vampire, his resistance probability to blood invasion is over 90%, especially after being injected with the anti-blood invasion immune agent! Moreover, the on-site records show that the two barons from the Tang family had already fled.”

Han Jieli pulled out another document and handed it to Meng Huai, continuing, “The records show that Xia Yan’s blood type was originally ordinary AB type, but when he was 12 years old, he was diagnosed with leukemia. Fortunately, he matched with Gu Yao’s bone marrow, which changed his blood type to the same rare type after the operation. Gu Yao’s adaptability test results for the anti-blood invasion immune agent are the same as Xia Yan, both being the most excellent.”

“Consistent with my conclusion, is there a problem?”

Meng Huai’s mind was in chaos, unable to understand for a moment why the people from the headquarters were so concerned about these details.

“Xia Yan and Gu Yao’s final attack almost completely carbonized and disintegrated the large flesh mass, but we still managed to collect trace tissue samples afterwards. After analysis by the headquarters’ research, the cellular tissues of this large flesh mass have astonishing vitality. Its genetic sequence contains multiple effective fragment information from vampire ancestral lineages! Note, effective!”

Han Jieli stood up, with a bitter smile on his face: “Brother Meng, do you know what this means? If Xia Yan and Gu Yao were blood invaded by the large flesh mass, then they… they will become true monsters, super vampires likely possessing abilities from multiple vampire ancestral lineages simultaneously!”

“It’s quite ironic to say, but the superiors also hope they were blood invaded earlier…”

Saying this, Han Jieli also heaved a heavy sigh.

They will become super vampires? They…

Meng Huai sat dumbfounded in his seat. Suddenly, the image of his mother being cruelly fed upon by a deformed monster in a pool of blood when he was a child appeared in his mind again. The blood-colored spikes protruding from the blood-covered floor were so bizarre and terrifying.

Vampires should not exist in this world, let alone monsters…

Meng Huai stood up, walked to the screen, and looked at the last image in a certain split screen: Xia Yan, with a mouth full of blood, was smiling at him, saying something.

“Captain Meng, it’s okay, you’re not blood invaded…”

“Hold on a little longer… the support team is almost here…”

Slowly closing his eyes, the muscles on Meng Huai’s face were twitching slightly.

……

……

“…According to the historical context and current statistics of global vampire spread, the ancestral lineages of vampires in China are predominantly Siberian vampires and Altai-type vampires, with a small distribution of British, Iberian, and Rhine vampires in coastal areas. In the southwestern border areas, there are also a small number of Ganges vampires, but mostly as vagrant vampires.”

“The Siberian vampires in China entered the Central Plains around the Qin and Han dynasties, accompanying the southward migration of northern ethnic minorities. The Altai vampires entered during the Eastern Han dynasty via the Silk Road. It wasn’t until the late 18th and early 19th centuries that other vampire ancestral lineages gradually appeared in coastal areas…”

In an elegant small room, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao sat properly on the sofa like students, while Zhao Peng was gesturing on a map in front of them.

Today was actually the Jiang sisters’ day off, but according to Wan Yue’s initial arrangement, they would receive a month of basic training to thoroughly familiarize themselves with their own characteristics.

So, Zhao Peng would be conducting comprehensive knowledge lectures for the two novices in the coming days, and today was the first lesson.

However, Zhao Peng was a bit strange today, rarely making direct eye contact with the two women, and even looking a bit uncomfortable on his face, as if he was shy.

To Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, most of what Zhao Peng said today was actually heard at the Dark Arrow Training Center, belonging to the basic content of vampire history.

“We are all Siberian vampires, which means that when we advance to the Baron-level, we will acquire the unique ability of ‘blood explosion’. Using our own blood or body fluids as a catalyst, we can cause explosive damage to the opponent’s muscles, flesh, or organ tissues…”

“In terms of destructive power alone, the blood explosion of Siberian vampires is unparalleled among all vampire lineages! The saying goes, ‘Invincible below baron, one-for-one above baron.’ We’ll discuss the specifics later.”

“But the disadvantages of Siberian vampires are also obvious. Compared to other ancestral lineages, we don’t have special lineage talents, and our boiling blood threshold and boiling blood stability are relatively low.”

“In layman’s terms, this means we have poor explosive power and difficulty maintaining a long-term boiling blood combat state. If we’re not careful, it’s easy to lose control of the boiling blood state. Especially for thralls and low to mid-level servants, once boiling blood gets out of control, many body deformities are almost irreversible!”

“Deformities vary depending on the individual, but strength always increases greatly. However, this strength increase is achieved by overdrawing the bone marrow blood energy protein in the body. Once the boiling blood state ends, there will be a temporary strength reduction phenomenon. Severe overdraft can even trigger acute blood thirst.”

As Zhao Peng spoke, he took out a small syringe from his pocket: “This is a boiling blood drug mastered by overseas vampires. It can increase the boiling blood threshold and stability, but like most vampire drugs, boiling blood drugs are also monopolized by those orthodox families. It’s very difficult to buy them domestically… Well, that’s all for now. Xiao Yan, Xiao Yao, you’re free to go. We’ll continue tonight.”

Feeling like he had only said half of what he intended, Zhao Peng hurriedly ended the lecture, then quickly left the room without looking back, greatly deviating from his usual impression of being courteous and calm.

“Brother, what’s wrong with Brother Zhao today? Could it be that he’s also approaching his menstrual period?”

Jiang Yao touched her slightly warming forehead, blushing, muttering.

“Nonsense… Are you a pervert?”

Jiang Yan covered her face, feeling like she couldn’t sit with Jiang Yao anymore.

Just then, the door opened again, and a vibrant young woman dressed in youthful and stylish clothes walked in. It was Zhou Ping, a colleague Jiang Yan had met in the past few days.

Although she looked only 17 or 18 years old in appearance, based on the fact that she was already at the mid-level servant rank, Jiang Yan didn’t dare to underestimate Zhou Ping’s real age.

“Hey, Xiao Yan, Xiao Yao, you’ve made Brother Zhao so embarrassed that he left! By rights, you could have asked for leave and not come to the club these days.”

“Sister Xiao Ping, we really…”

Jiang Yan struggled for a few seconds, forcibly suppressing her discomfort, and lowered her voice.

“Hmm? Your period should be coming soon, right? For us female vampires, a few days before our period, our pheromones become somewhat special, making male vampires a bit uncomfortable. Just look at Brother Zhao and you’ll understand. But it will be much better when your period actually comes.”

“Oh, remember to take the little golden pills that Sister Wan gave you at that time. It prevents abnormal blood thirst during your period and can also accelerate our growth during this time.”

Zhou Ping’s personality was more lively and straightforward, talking about these things without changing her expression, and even seemed to be teasing them a bit.

……

In a deep passage in the staff area of the Golden River Club, Zhao Peng was on the phone with Wan Yue.

“…At noon, I did blood and blood energy protein tests for them. Their ancestral lineage is the Siberian type.”

Zhao Peng calmly reported today’s situation.

“Are you sure it’s the Siberian type?”

On the phone, Wan Yue’s tone suddenly became heavier, seeming to doubt this result.

“Certain. I did two sets consecutively, and there was no error!” Zhao Peng nodded without hesitation, “However, when explaining vampire history, they weren’t curious at all, so they probably already knew these things.”

“Hmm, Huang Gu has already confirmed that they were previously part of Dark Arrow, although they haven’t admitted it themselves… Anything else?”

Wan Yue seemed to be driving, as the voice of a navigation system could be faintly heard.

“I’ve already given them the little golden pills. I noticed that their internal and external hormone imbalance reactions are much stronger than normal people. I’m afraid this might attract the attention of the Black Blood Clan.”

Zhao Peng took a deep breath, looking a bit embarrassed.

“The Black Blood Clan has been quite active recently. Have someone keep an eye on them discreetly. If there are any fools who don’t know better, hehe, many drug raw materials are in short supply right now…”

On the phone, Wan Yue’s words were somewhat cold and murderous.

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Peng pondered briefly, then walked towards the lobby.

……

The evening lecture began to delve into areas beyond Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao’s knowledge, and the two finally entered a true learning state.

Some content that only circulated on official academic platforms and had no practical significance for the grassroots of Dark Arrow allowed the two women to understand and experience from their own perspective for the first time.

The vampire’s dependence on fresh blood is not actually about directly obtaining energy or nutrition from the blood, after all, the energy density of blood is too low. Even with an intake of over a liter of blood per day without food, it’s far from enough to support the consumption of a normal person, let alone a vampire.

For vampires, certain components in the blood are more like catalysts or fuel, supporting some special metabolism and material energy conversion within the vampire’s body.

The abundant and powerful physical strength and destructive power of vampires after entering the boiling blood state ultimately comes from a special blood energy protein stored in various organs and bone marrow of the body. In the boiling blood state, the decomposition of blood energy protein, coupled with drastic changes in other internal hormone levels, provides vampires with unimaginable energy supply and explosive power.

The production of this blood energy protein is unique to vampires, not only maintaining the vampire’s own stability but also forming the basis for the so-called hierarchy of vampires in terms of its quality and quantity differences.

To maintain the minimum level of blood energy protein conversion and self-consumption, regular intake of external fresh blood is necessary. Without the intake of external blood, vampires will consume their own blood through self-cannibalism, which will severely damage their own organs, nervous system, and bone health, known as blood thirst.

The production and accumulation of blood energy protein also requires a large amount of nutrients. Vampires have extremely high digestive efficiency for food, which also leads to vampires having a much larger appetite than normal people.

Jiang Yan had deep experience with this point. Her current three meals a day were almost twice that of a normal adult male.

As for Jiang Yao, it was even more so. Every time she ate, she would stuff her cheeks like a hamster, with no sense of restraint at all.

A very small number of vampires with rare blood types can make the quality and quantity of blood energy protein present a more efficient and stable conversion. In the vampire world, they are all the ones with the highest growth potential and are also the best quality targets for orthodox vampires to develop new members.

At least in Zhao Peng’s description, the Baron-level was a difficult boundary to cross. For vampires with ordinary blood types, the difficulty of stepping into the baron realm was extremely high. Ingesting rare blood type blood to increase the probability of breakthrough became a hard requirement for the vast majority of ordinary vampires.

But rare blood, let alone in the underground world of vampires, even in normal human society, is an extremely scarce medical strategic resource, which also leads to the ridiculously high price of rare blood in the underground world.

In the latter half of the 20th century, after most countries’ secret agencies began to strengthen the management of rare blood type populations, the development of vampires also entered a relatively stagnant state.

The Black Blood Clan, on the other hand, was a group of beasts that could be described as taking an extreme path. By devouring the blood, organs, and bone marrow of their own kind, the Black Blood Clan sought to break through limitations and accelerate growth in a barbaric but practical way, even crossing that baron boundary.

Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao had frequently encountered the concept of the Black Blood Clan these days. Tonight’s lesson was the deepest understanding they had, inevitably making them think of that night more than a month ago, of a certain deformed Black Blood Clan knight who had fallen into blood thirst with nowhere to turn.

When the clock struck midnight, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao finally returned home with a sense of great accomplishment.