Blood Queen - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A New Understanding

***

The Qiaotou Town, straddling the national highway, guarded a crucial transportation route. With the numerous vehicles passing through during the May Day holiday, the various shops along both sides of the highway were doing good business, bright and lively.

Gu Yao was sprinting through the shadows of the alleys, feeling like she had inexhaustible energy. The blood intake during her previous half-awake state felt dreamlike and blissful, as if every cell in her body was rejoicing.

She could already see the multi-story building of the township health center ahead, but she had to cross the brightly lit national highway. Gu Yao had to slow down her pace and eventually pressed herself against the side wall of a small restaurant.

At the intersection of the national highway ahead, a temporary checkpoint had suddenly appeared. A police car with flashing blue and white lights was parked by the roadside, and a special police armored vehicle even blocked a third of the road.

More than 20 vehicles of various sizes were obediently lined up in front of the temporary checkpoint, undergoing checks similar to those for drunk driving.

Gu Yao’s pupils contracted. She saw several men and women in black uniforms next to the special police vehicle. The special insignia on their armbands clearly indicated they were from the Dark Arrow Unit!

Looking at the sign of the township health center about 100 meters away, Gu Yao could only slowly retreat, planning to take a detour to cross the national highway at a more distant section.

A few minutes later, Gu Yao finally reached the outer wall of the township health center. With just a slight leap, her light body flew into the green belt inside the wall.

After briefly adjusting her uniform to make the ill-fitting clothes adhere to her body as much as possible, she slipped into the power distribution room outside the medical building.

Inside the township health center, except for the street lamps outside the main entrance and a few rooms equipped with emergency power supply devices, almost the entire building went dark simultaneously. Exclamations from medical staff could be heard in the darkness.

Climbing up the water pipes along the wall to the third floor, Gu Yao illuminated the wall indicators with her tactical flashlight. After double-checking the locations of various departments, it took her less than 2 minutes to find the blood bank.

For a township-level hospital, the blood bank’s inventory was naturally very limited, but it was more than enough for Gu Yao.

Opening the constant temperature blood refrigerator, Gu Yao packed bag after bag of blood into her satchel without even looking at the blood type labels. She even took some related blood transfusion medical equipment.

Outside the blood bank, footsteps could already be heard at the end of the corridor. Gu Yao flipped out of the window, holding onto the water pipe with one hand, and slipped back into the night.

Returning to the small villa where she was staying, Gu Yao realized her whole body was soaked in sweat. The already foul-smelling combat uniform and undershirt felt even more uncomfortable rubbing against her skin.

Following the instructions from the field first aid manual she had studied, Gu Yao connected the transfusion set to Xia Yan’s vein, then attached a portable electric blood pump, and finally tore open a bag of cold blood and stuffed it inside her tactical T-shirt, pressing it against her stomach in an attempt to warm it with her body heat.

Ugh, no good, no good, it’s too cold! It would take forever to warm up like this!

Feeling Xia Yan’s increasingly weak breathing and her forehead temperature that was now indiscernible, Gu Yao gritted her teeth and directly connected the blood bag to the transfusion set.

At some point, the clear moonlight quietly poured into the spacious living room, spilling onto the white tiles and walls, gradually coating the room with a layer of soft silver luster.

In the moonlight, Xia Yan lay on the sofa with her eyes tightly closed, her arm connected to the transfusion set. Amidst the slight noise of the electric blood pump, her breathing gradually steadied, and her chest beneath the uniform began to rise and fall rhythmically.

Sitting backwards on a wooden chair, arms resting on the backrest, Gu Yao quietly watched the sleeping girl before her.

The moonlight intertwined with her black hair strands, a damp towel covered her fair forehead, and her long eyelashes trembled slightly with each steady breath, as if she was having an intense dream. Below her pretty and obedient nose bridge, her small mouth was tightly closed, her lips gradually becoming moist.

“Heh, she’s really beautiful…”

Suddenly muttering without reason, then abruptly startled, Gu Yao raised her hand and gave herself a mock slap on the ear.

Not knowing what the appropriate amount was, Gu Yao had given Xia Yan two bags of blood by the time the sound of roosters crowing came from outside. Only when a heavy drowsiness came over her, her eyelids fighting to stay open, did she rest her arm on the chair back and her head on her arm, quietly falling asleep.

…

“Brother… What time is it…”

After sleeping for an unknown period, Gu Yao vaguely heard footsteps and smelled the familiar scent of instant noodles. She rubbed her waist and sat up on the sofa.

“You’re up? Wash up quickly and let’s eat…”

Xia Yan walked out of the kitchen, carrying two large bowls filled with shiny instant noodles, each topped with a boiled egg.

“Oh… Ah? Brother, you’re okay!”

Gu Yao habitually sniffed a few times, looked around, and only then realized that all the curtains in the room were tightly drawn, blocking the view outside. It was then that Gu Yao remembered the events of the night before.

In front of the coffee table in the living room, Xia Yan was wearing a dark green tactical T-shirt, bending over to place the large bowls on the table. Her slender waist and long legs were visible, with a slight curve protruding in the chest area.

“What are you looking at… Eat quickly and then take a shower. These clothes can’t be worn anymore.”

The soft and calm voice of the young woman sounded. Xia Yan walked to the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, slightly parted the curtains, and peered outside for a few seconds.

It was only then that Gu Yao noticed a strange, fishy odor permeating the entire room, emanating from both Xia Yan and herself. After wearing the same clothes for nearly 40 hours, they had both become almost numb to the stench.

“Oh… Okay.”

Gu Yao quickly lowered her head and started wolfing down the food, biting open the boiled egg in a few bites, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster preparing for winter.

“Brother… How do you feel?”

After gulping down half a bowl of instant noodles in one go, Gu Yao finally looked up.

How do I feel?

Xia Yan paused with her chopsticks, raised her head, her clear eyes that had already returned to their normal color sparkling, with a gentle smile at the corner of her mouth: “Xiao Yao, thanks. I feel very good.”

Hearing this, Gu Yao suddenly felt a lump in her throat, as if the nervous tension from last night’s tightrope-walking blood-stealing operation had only now relaxed.

“Brother… I should be thanking you. If it wasn’t for you yesterday, I would have died long ago.” Gu Yao rubbed her nose, avoiding the other’s gaze.

“Alright, let’s not get sentimental between us… Have you finished eating? Go take a shower and change your clothes. I found some suitable ones for us in this house. Oh, and remember not to open the windows to avoid attracting attention from nearby neighbors.”

Xia Yan reached across the coffee table and gently patted Gu Yao’s head, only then noticing that at some point, Gu Yao’s previously white long hair had taken on a faint golden hue, looking even more pleasing to the eye.

…

Entering the bathroom, the first thing Gu Yao saw was a girl’s version of work overalls with straps, a snow-white loose T-shirt, and a snow-white bath towel hanging on the clothes rack.

“…”

Slowly reaching out to touch the girl’s overalls, then looking down at her stinking outfit, Gu Yao didn’t know what to do for a moment.

Suddenly remembering something, Gu Yao abruptly looked down at her abdomen, only to find that the puncture wound from last night’s flesh tentacle had completely healed.

I… Brother and I have turned into female vampires…

Gu Yao silently unbuttoned her black combat uniform and threw it in the corner. Looking at the unfamiliar reflection of a young woman with light golden hair in the mirror, she took a deep breath and lifted off her tactical T-shirt…

Hearing the faint sound of running water from the bathroom around the corner of the corridor, Xia Yan, who was looking over a map in the living room, showed a trace of embarrassment, her cheeks bearing an almost imperceptible blush.

“Brother… I’m… I’m done.”

A faint murmur came, and Xia Yan shifted her gaze from the map, looking up to see a young woman with alternating red and white on her face.

After her bath, Gu Yao’s damp light golden hair was half-stuck and half-scattered on the back of her head. Her thoroughly cleaned face and neck were fair with a rosy tint.

Over the snow-white T-shirt was a pair of cute girl-style denim overalls with wide legs. A pair of snow-white feet in slippers, and both hands were awkwardly still holding the bath towel.

“Mm, it’s my turn to shower. I’ve marked some locations on the map, take a look at it too. We’ll discuss our next move later.”

Saying this, Xia Yan stood up and walked towards the corridor behind Gu Yao. As they passed each other, she directly pulled away the bath towel from Gu Yao’s hands.

“Something feels off… Is there something missing?”

The body sensations that had been ignored during yesterday’s desperate escape had now returned, and felt particularly sensitive. Gu Yao, having lost the towel covering her upper body, felt a strange discomfort in her chest.

Damn! It seems I’m only wearing a T-shirt, with nothing underneath!

Glancing at the slightly bulging snow-white T-shirt on her chest, Gu Yao suddenly remembered something.

“Hey! Brother! Where’s the bra?!”

Gu Yao turned her head and inexplicably shouted in a low voice.

From inside the tightly closed bathroom came the sound of the black-haired young woman falling.