July 21st, Sunday, early morning.
The summer morning was not gentle at all. Just past seven o'clock, the blazing sun had already begun scorching the flowers and plants in the small courtyard, showing off its vitality.
Jiang Yan woke from her daze, her last memory still stuck on those few minutes after Jiang Yao went out in the middle of the night.
The air conditioning had been turned on at some point, making the indoor temperature very comfortable, light and cool. The physical discomfort from yesterday's onset had now faded to a negligible level. Jiang Yan felt like a cultivator who had escaped a life-and-death tribulation, gaining a precious respite.
The bedroom door was pushed open, and the familiar Zhou Ping walked in with two other female colleagues from the club who looked familiar but whom she hadn't interacted with yet.
"You... when did you... did Xiao Yao call you here? Where is she?"
Jiang Yan was somewhat confused. She turned to look at the door behind the three people but didn't see Jiang Yao's figure, and even her familiar scent had disappeared.
"Xiao Yan, Xiao Yao's condition isn't very good... Sorry, we were a bit careless in the early morning and let Black Blood Clan members slip in..."
Zhou Ping's expression was somewhat strange, her eyes slightly red as if she had been crying. She kept her head lowered and her voice very low.
Black Blood Clan!? Jiang Yan's whole body shuddered. She probably guessed what had happened and immediately got out of bed to run toward Jiang Yao's room.
In the second bedroom, Zhao Peng was sitting on a chair at the foot of the bed reading a book that had been found in Jiang Yan's house.
On the bed, Jiang Yao was wrapped in gauze bandages in multiple places, both arms in splints and casts, eyes tightly closed, expressionless, breathing softly.
An IV line was connected to her subclavian vein, with several bags of blood or serum-like fluids hanging from the IV stand.
"Xiao Yao!"
Jiang Yan's heart jumped. Taking three steps as two, she directly went around Zhao Peng and crouched at the head of the bed, holding Jiang Yao's hand while suspiciously looking at the blood bags on the IV stand.
In her understanding, it was impossible for Jiang Yao to receive any blood other than her own fresh blood.
"The critical period has passed. With her physical constitution, the recovery from bone and flesh injuries won't be too slow... Don't worry, these are just blood substitutes that look like blood, used to maintain blood pressure, compensate for body fluids, and provide nutrition.
"Although our Blood Clan's blood-producing ability is several times that of ordinary people, when there's excessive blood loss, some measures are still needed."
Zhao Peng showed a trace of apology, walked to Jiang Yan's side, and gently patted her shoulder: "In the middle of the night, several Black Blood Clan Knights attacked her. She killed two on the spot, and we dealt with the rest. Not one escaped. For a long time to come, the Black Blood Clan won't dare appear here again.
"Two Knights plus two Attendants, the strongest reaching upper-tier Knight peak. She had to activate blood-boiling during her menstrual period."
Zhao Peng briefly recounted what had happened in the early morning to Jiang Yan.
Everyone in the room looked grim. It was hard to imagine how Jiang Yao had fought desperately when isolated and helpless.
Jiang Yan said nothing, just silently lifted a corner of the air conditioning blanket.
In her view, the body that had long been stripped of clothing was covered in wounds, with large medical pads underneath her lower body.
On the highly absorbent pads, a large patch of dried bloodstains was shocking to see, seeming to silently tell of Jiang Yao's tragic solitary battle in the early morning.
Without any expression, Jiang Yan just gently touched each bandage-wrapped area on Jiang Yao's body, her lips trembling slightly.
At this moment, the golden-haired girl's body no longer had that leaking pheromone scent, but was instead so weak as to be barely perceptible, giving the illusion that she had returned to being an ordinary person.
"That's how the menstrual blood-boiling taboo works. Blood energy protein is rapidly depleted, causing partial organ failure. Fortunately, there was no aberration at the time. Now she needs time to slowly recover."
Zhao Peng pulled Jiang Yan up and seated her in the chair: "For the next few days, you don't need to come to work. Take good care of Xiao Yao. I'll have Xiao Ping stay here too."
Actually, Zhao Peng hadn't said everything. Jiang Yao's strength had seriously declined under the menstrual blood-boiling taboo. At her weakest point around three in the morning, she had once dropped to Blood Servant level.
Normally, this kind of strength decline was irreversible, but after Zhao Peng found the blood Jiang Yan had stored in advance in the refrigerator, Jiang Yao had miraculously recovered to lower-tier Attendant level and showed signs of continued recovery.
What surprised Zhao Peng even more was that despite activating blood-boiling during menstruation and ultimately losing control, Jiang Yao hadn't shown any bodily aberrations, which was truly puzzling.
"Thank you everyone, really thank you all."
Jiang Yan raised her head, looking around at all the club colleagues in the room, her smile calm and sincere.
Zhao Peng left with most of the people, leaving only Zhou Ping to watch over Jiang Yao, while Jiang Yan planned to get herself ready and go out to buy ingredients.
"Xiao Yan, this is what Brother Zhao left for you."
When Jiang Yan came out of the bathroom and returned to Jiang Yao's bedroom, she saw Zhou Ping with a mysterious expression. At her feet lay a black case.
What is this? Jiang Yan crouched down suspiciously and opened the case lid. Before her appeared various gun parts large and small, sights, several magazines, and boxes of loose ammunition.
Looking at that characteristic thick barrel and integrated wooden frame-style stock, Jiang Yan was immediately interested.
The latest model of the famous Soviet VSS silenced sniper rifle, which had been extensively equipped by former Soviet secret agency vampire-hunting units. Even China's Shadow Arrow Force had imported and equipped a small batch after entering the new century.
The VSSM silenced sniper rifle used subsonic ammunition with high precision, great power, and surprising silence. It could not only perform sniper shooting but even fire in bursts, making it powerful support fire at medium to close range.
Taking the magazine and pulling out a bullet, she immediately recognized the silver bullet head specifically designed to deal with Blood Clan. Jiang Yan's assessment of Sister Wan's capabilities went up another notch.
"Sister Wan can even get this kind of good stuff. Thanks."
Although she had only handled it a few times during training, Jiang Yan still skillfully assembled the complete gun and checked the other accessories. The entire process was smooth and flowing, making Zhou Ping, who had planned to explain some usage knowledge, suddenly not know what to say.[a]
However, there was an unwritten rule in the club to never actively inquire about each other's past, so Zhou Ping could only suppress her inner surprise.
"Sister Xiao Ping, please take care of Xiao Yao. I'm going to buy groceries."
...
Going out along the alley, after walking about a hundred meters, she found the path ahead blocked by quite a few people, mostly elderly residents.
Getting closer, she discovered that a family car had somehow gotten stuck against one side of the alley wall, creating a huge gap in the beautiful, quaint wall surface, with many bricks and stones scattered into the courtyard.
Two traffic police were taking photos at the scene, and a disheveled middle-aged man stood behind the police with an embarrassed expression, his hands not knowing where to go in his panic.
"You're something else! This is a pedestrian area where motor vehicles are prohibited. Not only did you drive in here in the middle of the night, but you were drunk driving, and after the accident you managed to sleep in the car all night! Fortunately, no one was hurt, or revoking your license would be the least of your worries!"
The traffic police scolded the driver with an extremely stern expression while recording his information.
"Don't... don't revoke my license. I'll pay full compensation for this wall, full compensation! I still need this to drive for ride-sharing!"
The disheveled middle-aged driver immediately panicked, clasping his hands together and constantly begging the police for mercy.
"Begging me won't help. Wait here, people from the street office will come to assess the wall damage... Hey, look what you've done, even the tow truck can't get in!"
The surrounding elderly people pointed and commented, the police cursed and complained—the scene was quite lively.
In the crowd, Jiang Yan's gaze met that of the disheveled middle-aged driver. A trace of a smile appeared in the latter's eyes before he turned back to beg the police for mercy.
It was Uncle Liang, an inconspicuous security guard at the Golden River Club.
Looking again at the ground in the small courtyard, finding not the slightest trace of battle, Jiang Yan suddenly felt a warmth in her heart.
This was a different kind of team friendship from the Shadow Arrow Force, not simply about huddling together for warmth and security. This collective under Sister Wan's leadership was like a big family.[b]
Jiang Yan thought this way.
...
...
Shadow Arrow Western Surveillance District, Xuan Jia Squad stationed base.
The siege operation in a certain area of J District, C City in early July, although the opponent was just an upper-tier Blood Clan Knight who had lost control due to blood thirst and acted alone, had served well to break in the Xuan Jia Squad that was mostly composed of newcomers.
The morale that had been severely damaged in the D City operation at the end of April finally recovered somewhat after a small victory, but anyone with eyes could see that the Xuan Jia Squad would still be unable to execute truly major missions.
In the base office, Meng Huai was reviewing some personnel documents when he heard the familiar sound of "reporting" from outside the door.
Tao Qiao'er, the only veteran in the assault company with nearly two years of service, had now taken over from Xia Yan to become Meng Huai's deputy. After the casualties of Xia Yan and many veterans, Tao Qiao'er's status could be said to have skyrocketed.
Although the various action squads of the Shadow Arrow Force nominally had deputy squad leaders, they usually stayed at the base, responsible for logistics support, daily training, and ideological construction, and were not combat commanders themselves.
So most of the time, the squad leader's deputy was held by the most senior member of the assault company, also the default next squad leader by most people.
Tao Qiao'er, who had been promoted to first lieutenant, wasn't wearing the black combat uniform today, but a neat dress uniform, holding a folder in her hands.
"Commander Meng... It's been almost three months since the D City operation. The follow-up processing documents for Xia Yan and Gu Yao must be confirmed and reported these days."
After speaking, Tao Qiao'er gently placed two documents with photos in front of Meng Huai.
Xia Yan and Gu Yao's personal files both clearly marked with the word "Missing," which was defined according to standard procedures.
Shadow Arrow Force members who fled after blood infection, if not successfully captured, were usually defined as missing within three months. After that, they would be changed to killed in action, officially notified to family members, then reported to headquarters and listed in separate secret files.
Once changed to killed in action, it meant Xia Yan and Gu Yao would no longer be recognized as alive in this world, and all their legal information in this world—household registration, identity, everything—would be cancelled.
Of course, there was another label: "deserter," which would be completely different in nature.
Quietly looking at the portraits of the two young soldiers in the photos, Meng Huai's vision showed some blurry hallucinations again.
He rubbed his forehead hard, then opened the drawer and took out two identity tags left behind by Xia Yan and Gu Yao.
Carefully rubbing the metal plates, Meng Huai finally sighed softly. He picked up his pen and, with a cold expression, heavily wrote "Killed in Action" on Xia Yan and Gu Yao's files, then crossed out "Missing" with a stroke.
"Xiao Tao, next, please work with Officer Wu to handle the subsequent procedures, apply for special compensation for Shadow Arrow Force members who died in the line of duty, and notify the families. If the local government wants to hold a martyr's memorial service, please appear with Deputy Squad Leader Zhao."
"Okay..."
Hearing how the other addressed her, Tao Qiao'er was stunned, her expression very surprised. Because this was the first time she had heard him greet her in such a gentle and friendly way.
"Hmm? Is there something else?"
Seeing that she didn't seem ready to leave, Meng Huai looked up with confusion.
Quickly coming back to her senses, Tao Qiao'er hesitantly took out another paper from the folder and placed it on Meng Huai's desk again: "This is last week's complete physical examination report for the assault company. Three people are listed for key observation, and one person is unqualified. The unqualified one... is Commander Meng's name.
"These should all be Officer Wu's responsibilities. How did they end up in your hands?"
Meng Huai casually picked up the document, just glanced at it briefly, and his brow furrowed tightly. Then he crumpled the document into a ball and threw it into the wastebasket.
"Officer Wu didn't dare show it to you, so he entrusted me to deliver it... Commander Meng, in the two years since I joined, you haven't missed a single frontline operation! Your adaptability to anti-blood infection immune medication has begun to decline significantly. You can't inject it anymore. If it reaches stage three, it will leave lifelong aftereffects!"
Tao Qiao'er suddenly raised her voice, her face flushing red.
"Are you finished? If you're finished, then get out... Do what I assigned you properly."
Staring intently into his subordinate's eyes, Meng Huai's expression was terrifyingly cold, with even a trace of barely perceptible ferocity in his eyes.
Silently saluting, Tao Qiao'er turned and pushed the door to leave.
After sitting in his position in a daze for a few minutes, Meng Huai bent down and picked up the previously crumpled physical examination report from the wastebasket. Slowly smoothing it out, he stared at the several lines of notes under his name.
He would turn twenty-eight at the end of this year. According to the Shadow Arrow Force's long-term combat data observations, the closer one got to thirty years old, or the more anti-blood infection immune medication accumulated through injections, the more it would significantly reduce adaptability to this medication, with severe cases even having reverse effects.[c]
Once reaching the so-called stage two warning, continuing to inject anti-blood infection immune medication would likely cause some lifelong aftereffects, possibly leading to withdrawal from frontline duty or even forced retirement. If reaching stage three warning, whether one could live a few more years would be a matter of luck.
Therefore, among all frontline Shadow Arrow Force combat members throughout China, whether squad leaders or team members, very few remained on duty past thirty years old.
Only China, relying on having one of the world's largest populations with rare blood types, could strictly implement such humanitarian standards. In some small countries, it was common to use precious secret soldiers to death or disability, while more countries could only secretly seek help from China's Shadow Arrow Force.
No, I can't retire... I must kill all the monsters... kill them all...[d]
Muttering words only he could hear, Meng Huai suddenly stood up, opened the door, and walked toward the shooting training ground.
...
...
It wasn't until the third day that Jiang Yao woke up. Seeing everything in the room, she was first stunned, probably feeling that she had survived against all odds. She actually burst out laughing in front of Jiang Yan, laughing until tears came out.
Zhou Ping was so scared she quickly went to hold down her body, afraid she might accidentally damage the IV line.
"Woo woo... I, I thought I'd never see you again..."
Jiang Yao laughed and laughed, then began crying. A belated fear from her life-and-death struggle made her whole body tremble.[e]
"Xiao Yao, I'll go make you something delicious. It'll help speed up your recovery!"
Receiving a look from Jiang Yan, Zhou Ping quickly got up and left the bedroom.
"Well done. You scared them off. Now no one will dare come again. Your task now is to recover properly."
With only the two sisters left in the room, Jiang Yan gently stroked Jiang Yao's long hair, her expression relaxed. She even gave a thumbs up to show her relief, though her eyes were slightly red.
"Sis... I miss Director Grandma... Will she forget us?"
Suddenly, Jiang Yao turned her head and quietly looked at the black-haired girl before her.
"No, when you're feeling better, I'll go see her."
Patting her hand, Jiang Yan showed a slight smile.
With Zhou Ping's help, Jiang Yao ate something, changed into clean clothes, and fell into a deep sleep again.
Late at night, Jiang Yan held the newly acquired VSSM silenced sniper rifle and kept watch on the rooftop.
The distant brilliant lights of the human world flickered alternately in the black-haired girl's gazing eyes.
In Jiang Yan's eyes, there was suddenly a feeling that this world was constantly moving away from her, and all familiar things were accelerating into strangeness.[f]
[a]I was about to say, way to go xD you just basically screamed loud and clear that you were a former shadow arrow force
[b]Yeah, feels just warmer than the relationship between just casual colleagues I imagine
[c]Wow... that's almost like idol life time. Did not expect them to have just such a short time in which they are able to work
[d]Sure buddy. With that mindset, you already lost.
[e]A surprisingly realistic reaction I gotta say
[f]Really, you only feel that now? Not already while you were part of your specialized forces, hunting vampires and ginormous tentacle meat monsters? 😅