Blood Queen - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Weakness

 

***

 

As the largest area, most complex terrain, and longest border of the Dark Arrow Western Surveillance Zone, it oversees a total of 9 operational squads.

 

Each operational squad has its own independent military airport and supporting squad residence base. In addition to the core assault team, there are multiple combat support units including support team, logistics team, intelligence team, and security team. It is organized at the regimental level and independently carries out vampire strike missions in a certain area.

 

Unlike the other 7 squads that only have numbers, the Black Armor Squad and Embroidered Robe Squad are both elite heritage squads within China’s Dark Arrow Forces.

 

Heritage squads represent China’s 2,000-year history of fighting vampires and blood-soaked memories. Their predecessors were all secret vampire hunting organizations of various historical dynasties, and have been passed down uninterrupted through dynastic changes to the present day.

 

The ups and downs of history have caused many feudal dynasties’ secret vampire hunting organizations to be buried in the dust of time, or to be completely wiped out early on, ending their lineage.

 

The Black Armor Squad traces its heritage to the Tang Dynasty. The Embroidered Robe Squad traces its heritage to the Han Dynasty. The Brocade Squad traces its heritage to the Ming Dynasty. The Ice Well Squad traces its heritage to the Northern Song Dynasty. The Swift Squad traces its heritage to the Southern Song Dynasty. The Scout Cavalry Squad traces its heritage to the Sui Dynasty. The Battle Observer Squad traces its heritage to the Wu Kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period.

 

Today’s Chinese Dark Arrow Forces have inherited only the above 7 heritage squads from history, with 2 of them belonging to the Western Surveillance Zone, showing its importance.

 

……

 

August 9, Friday.

 

A logistics compound, Western Surveillance Zone Command of the Dark Arrow Forces, a group meeting on follow-up processing of Operation X497.4.30 is in progress.

 

The captains of all operational squads in the Western Surveillance Zone are present. The meeting is chaired by the newly appointed Chief of Staff Zhen.

 

Zhen Guangquan, 48 years old, holding the rank of Senior Colonel, is a legend in the Western Surveillance Zone and even the entire Dark Arrow Forces. He is the only person to have served as captain of a frontline operational squad for 10 full years, and even more incredibly, he is of ordinary blood type!

 

In years of brutal secret operations, squad captains who have served for more than 5 years are considered lucky. The tradition of leading from the front results in extremely high casualty rates for commanders like squad captains and company commanders.

 

Someone like Zhen Guangquan can be called a living legend.

 

“According to headquarters’ final instructions on the results of Operation X497.4.30, the leadership of the Western Surveillance Zone has decided to establish the 430 Task Force led by Deputy Commander Han. Deputy Commander Han will serve as group leader, and I will serve as deputy leader.”

 

“Headquarters has raised the pursuit mission level for Xia Yan and Gu Yao to Level B, making it a key national task with no time limit! Our Western Surveillance Zone will be responsible for executing the mission, which shows the trust of the headquarters leadership in us.”

 

Except for Meng Huai and Han Xiao, the other 7 ordinary squad captains now showed suspicious expressions.

 

After all, with the frontline application of anti-blood invasion immunity drugs, cases of Dark Arrow Forces members escaping after blood invasion had become rare. The occasional one or two cases were not a big deal, but they had never seen such a major mobilization that even alerted headquarters.

 

Chief of Staff Zhen’s expression was serious as his gaze swept over the faces of more than a dozen young male and female officers in the conference room. His words were solemn, forcing most of the officers who were unaware of the inside story to take it seriously.

 

“The mission details have also been communicated to the other 4 surveillance zones. Once intelligence is confirmed, joint operations can be conducted. To strengthen operational forces, the Intelligence Bureau at headquarters has specially dispatched an investigator to participate in the work of the 430 Task Force.”

 

As he finished speaking, a young lieutenant in the front row stood up and turned to salute everyone present. When his gaze swept over a certain position, the young officer winked mischievously.

 

“Little brat…”

 

Seeing who had stood up, Han Xiao sitting in the back row was stunned and couldn’t help but roll her eyes.

 

Han Jieli, from the fifth branch of the Han family, the only son of third aunt Han Ying, entered the family genealogy with the generational character “Jie” following his mother’s surname. He is considered Han Xiao’s cousin and is only 21 years old this year.

 

“Now, the execution unit for the 430 Task Force’s mission is the Embroidered Robe Squad. Captain Han Xiao will now give a briefing.”

 

After saying this, Zhen Guangquan’s gaze lingered on Meng Huai’s face for a few seconds, showing a reassuring expression.

 

He was the old captain of the Black Armor Squad, and Meng Huai across from him was considered his direct successor. In heritage squads that greatly value historical honor, this kind of relationship between predecessors and successors is extremely deep.

 

An embarrassing incident for the entire Western Surveillance Zone occurred during Meng Huai’s tenure, naturally forcing Zhen Guangquan to consider some avoidance of suspicion. The task that should have been a “family matter” ultimately fell to the Embroidered Robe Squad.

 

A beautiful and valiant figure walked through several rows of seats to the main podium, and Zhen Guangquan gave up his position.

 

The lights in the room dimmed, and the huge electronic screen behind the podium lit up.

 

“In early May, after the first phase of the search operation in D City ended, I compiled relevant intelligence materials and made a preliminary judgment that Xia Yan and Gu Yao are likely still within S Province.”

 

Right from the start, Han Xiao suddenly threw out a conclusion, startling everyone present. Meng Huai even furrowed his brows tightly.

 

Regardless of others’ expressions, Han Xiao now exuded vigor and spoke seriously about the electronic screen: “After repeated confirmation, no image data of Xia Yan and Gu Yao was collected in the surveillance of all Level 4 and above highways leaving the province.”

 

“Captain Han, this doesn’t mean the two couldn’t cross the blockade line on foot through the wilderness!”

 

A captain from an ordinary squad raised his hand.

 

“Thralls in the early stages of blood invasion, even if they don’t die from immune collapse, will quickly experience blood thirst reactions and are completely incapable of high-intensity wilderness infiltration. D City is surrounded by mountainous areas. Even for Dark Arrow elites with sufficient supplies, it would take more than 7 days to traverse the mountains on foot.”

 

“In the early morning of May 2, a blood theft incident occurred at the blood bank of the township health center in Qiaotou Town in the northern suburbs of D City. Judging from the amount of stolen blood, it would be difficult to support Xia Yan and Gu Yao’s wilderness activities for more than a week.”

 

Han Xiao turned a page of the investigation report, and a satellite map appeared on the screen: “Qiaotou Town is located to the west of the coordinates of Operation X497.4.30, which shows that Xia Yan and Gu Yao’s movement trajectory was not towards outside the province. In a week’s time, let alone leaving S Province, it’s questionable whether they could even leave D City.”

 

“Xiao Han, what about identity disguises?” Zhen Guangquan stroked his chin thoughtfully, “Theoretically, they don’t necessarily have to escape using conventional passenger transport. They could hide in something like a large truck…”

 

“Chief of Staff Zhen’s considerations are inevitable factors that once plunged me and my intelligence colleagues into a dilemma.”

 

Han Xiao seemed to have anticipated such questioning and turned another page.

 

“Just as I was about to give up on the judgment that the two were still in S Province, the headquarters’ central big data monitoring system received a very interesting piece of information. On May 6, Xia Yan’s personal bank account was accessed at multiple ATMs in Hong Kong, withdrawing all the cash in the card, amounting to over a million.”

 

On the screen appeared a stranger from an ATM camera, with Han Xiao specifically drawing a red circle around the man’s face.

 

“This person was wearing a mask and couldn’t be facially recognized. Through contact with Hong Kong authorities and on-site evidence collection, it was found that all fingerprint information on the ATM’s keys had been erased.”

 

Under the light of the electronic screen, a confident smile spread across Han Xiao’s beautiful face: “This key information indicates that Xia Yan and Gu Yao received financial support from local vampire forces no later than the third day after blood invasion.”

 

“With sufficient funds, Xia Yan and Gu Yao’s willingness to hide in S Province would greatly increase. As for the probability, I personally believe it’s 90%. After all, newly turned thralls with rare blood types are treasures. Those who can shelter them must not be crazy beasts like the Black Blood Clan.”

 

“Captain Han, even if they’ve started to obtain survival resources with the help of vampire forces, it’s still too subjective to say whether they’re still in S Province.”

 

In the dimly lit conference room, Meng Huai, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up.

 

“Hmm, it is rather subjective. So next, I’ll talk about some more subjective clues to supplement the remaining 10% probability.”

 

Han Xiao didn’t seem to mind and turned to another page: “Over the past two months, I’ve visited Xia Yan’s old unit and some people in the Black Armor Squad who interacted with Xia Yan for a long time. They consistently revealed that Xia Yan had been making regular remittances to Jiang Chunhua, a retired old director of the W District Orphanage.”

 

“This is the data I retrieved from the banking system. From when Xia Yan enlisted until last year, there were consecutive remittances for 4 years, once a year, all distributed in July or August. By checking the archives of the W District Orphanage, Xia Yan was adopted by Jiang Chunhua on August 25, 1996, and thereafter treated this day as his birthday.”

 

“Just the day before yesterday afternoon, another anonymous remittance from Hong Kong arrived in Jiang Chunhua’s personal account. If this is still Xia Yan’s doing, it would be the 5th time!”

 

“Additionally, over 5 years, Xia Yan has made 3 in-person visits to Jiang Chunhua, all within this time range. This is a very interesting personal subconscious habit.”

 

The more than a dozen male and female officers below the stage all showed expressions of both interest and confusion. Especially Han Jieli, who had been taking quick notes in a small notebook, occasionally looking up to smile at Han Xiao for a few seconds.

 

“In Xia Yan’s personal file with Dark Arrow, Jiang Chunhua is listed as the family contact, and W District Orphanage as the contact address. I believe Xia Yan is a person who greatly values familial rituals. After suffering blood invasion and going into hiding, his sense of loneliness would prompt her to have a greater emotional need and desire for contact with old Jiang Chunhua.”

 

“The news of Xia Yan and Gu Yao’s sacrifice was only officially announced on Army Day, and even then it was limited to C City. Although there was an interview with the local TV station, it wasn’t spread on online media. Then the anonymous remittance occurred. Could it really be a coincidence?”

 

The electronic screen turned off and the lights in the conference room came back on. Han Xiao smiled mysteriously and made a startling statement: “So I came to an even bolder subjective judgment: Xia Yan and Gu Yao are currently in C City!”

 

“It’s all subjective emotional judgment, but Captain Han explained it very well.”

 

Before others could object, Han Jieli clapped his hands lightly in his seat to show respect. Several captains of ordinary squads around him laughed along.

 

“Can’t help it, women are more emotional.”

 

Han Xiao directly glared at him, then turned her head towards Zhen Guangquan: “Sir, I want to conduct an experiment to verify my subjective guess.”

 

Zhen Guangquan was stunned and slowly nodded: “Experiment… what ideas do you have? Feel free to propose them. The targets are Level B mission objectives. As long as we can complete the mission, not to mention once, even ten times would be worth it!”

 

Han Xiao took a deep breath, her expression becoming particularly solemn: “I want to create some accidents for old Jiang Chunhua, but I promise, it will only appear very serious on the surface and won’t endanger her life safety. The related news should then be publicized externally, but must and can only be seen locally in C City. This requires absolute information control cooperation from relevant departments!”

 

“Can’t we fake it? After all, the old lady is already 75 years old… I also saw the news yesterday, Jiang Chunhua has donated almost all her money to the Orphanage. For such people who have made great contributions to the country and society, we should be protecting them instead…”

 

Chief of Staff Zhen’s face showed difficulty. The nature and sensitivity of this matter made it hard for him to make a decision.

 

“It must be real, and the more real the better! Because this is only the first step of the plan!” Han Xiao shook her head decisively.

 

Whispers gradually arose, with many people thinking this experiment was a bit reckless.

 

“I support Captain Han’s idea!”

 

Below the stage, Meng Huai suddenly stood up and spoke forcefully. The scene suddenly fell silent.

 

Han Jieli, who had been keeping silent, was also stunned and looked back and forth between Han Xiao and Meng Huai several times.

 

……

 

After the meeting, Han Xiao took big strides to catch up with Zhen Guangquan. The female major who had been commanding from the stage just minutes ago now had a somewhat girlish demeanor.

 

“Hehe, thank you for supporting me, sir!”

 

Looking at the beautiful female officer beside him, Zhen Guangquan also revealed a slight smile: “You Han family people are always so meticulous and bold, with imagination running wild. If it wasn’t for my insistence back then, given Deputy Commander Han’s attitude of avoiding suspicion, you probably would have been arranged to go to another surveillance zone long ago. The Western Surveillance Zone would have lost a great general.”

 

Just as he was speaking, they saw Meng Huai striding past with eyes straight ahead. Zhen Guangquan grabbed the tall young man: “Xiao Meng, don’t carry any psychological burden. This time you and Han Xiao need to cooperate well. Even if it fails, it doesn’t matter.”

 

“Sir, may I ask a question? For the operation against Xia Yan and Gu Yao, is it annihilation or live capture?”

 

Facing his current direct superior and former old captain, Meng Huai was neither servile nor overbearing, his gaze sharp.

 

Zhen Guangquan hesitated slightly, lowering his voice considerably: “According to the headquarters leadership’s opinion, try to capture if possible. If it’s really difficult…”

 

“Understood!”

 

Before Zhen Guangquan could finish, Meng Huai saluted and strode away.

 

Such an abrupt and sudden end to the conversation left Zhen Guangquan and Han Xiao beside him still not having come to their senses.

 

……

 

……

 

With an hour left before closing time, the guests at the Golden River Club had all left.

 

The final work was still being carried out leisurely. Jiang Yao again shrank into a corner, holding her phone and playing an online game.

 

“Xiao Yao, you’ve been playing too much lately. Do you have internet addiction?”

 

Jiang Yan, who had already changed her clothes, walked over to Jiang Yao with an increasingly helpless expression.

 

“Isn’t there nothing to do? They can sit there daydreaming, chatting, playing pool, so why can’t I play games by myself? It doesn’t affect anyone else. When customers come, I haven’t neglected serving water or anything.”

 

Jiang Yao pouted dissatisfiedly, seeming somewhat uncomfortable with Jiang Yan watching her these past two days.

 

Forget it, she doesn’t have any other bad lifestyle habits. For someone her age, playing is probably normal. Jiang Yan stopped saying anything and just sat down directly.

 

“My phone is out of battery. I’ll charge it for a bit first. I’m going to change clothes!”

 

After connecting her phone to the charger, Jiang Yao hummed a little tune and quickly walked towards the staff passage.

 

Looking at the phone on the sofa, some ideas suddenly popped into Jiang Yan’s head. She hesitantly reached out her hand, then pulled it back, repeating this several times without making up her mind.

 

“Forget it, maybe I’m overthinking…”

 

Jiang Yan shook her head self-mockingly, trying to get rid of the strange thoughts in her head.

 

Ding dong! A quick message notification flashed on the screen of Gu Yao’s phone. It was a chat message from a social media app.

 

The sender’s nickname was clearly visible: Lawless Desperado. Content: My phone is about to die, I’ll get on the computer when I’m home!

 

Jiang Yan also had Zhong Jing’s contact information, with the nickname Lawless Desperado.

 

This time she didn’t hesitate, directly grabbing Jiang Yao’s phone, easily unlocking it with her birthday as the password, then opening the social media app, clicking on Lawless Desperado’s avatar, and casually scanning up and down dozens of lines of chat messages.

 

When she saw certain contents, a wave of inexplicable anger suddenly rushed to her head, and Jiang Yan’s face was about to be twisted with rage.

 

In the distance, Jiang Yao had already changed clothes and was walking over. Jiang Yan could only forcefully suppress the emotions in her heart, pretending as if nothing had happened.