August 29th, Thursday, night.
Four full months had passed since a certain raid operation launched by Xuan Jia Squad, but some secret activities in and around D City still hadn't concluded.
Under the night sky, in the eastern part of D City, in a field beside a national defense preparedness road leading to the mountain areas, two shabbily dressed men were fleeing desperately. Both men's pupils glowed blood-red, their running speed astonishing. They occasionally looked back at the darkness behind them, their faces filled with terror and despair.
The piercing roar of a helicopter flying low overhead came from the sky. The middle-aged man running in front grew even paler, almost crawling and rolling as he dove into an agricultural irrigation ditch beside the road, trying to evade tracking from above.
The other young man paid no attention to the helicopter noise above, still desperately fleeing forward with his head down.
"Seven Cave One, target sighted, one person, 112 degrees... Judging escape direction as abandoned defense tunnel... Target body temperature has reached blood thirst standard... Eliminate on site, understood!"
On the black helicopter, a pilot wearing a Shadow Arrow armband stared at a panicked figure on the thermal imaging device, continuously transmitting the latest intelligence through the communicator, a cold smile on his lips.
Another black helicopter also arrived, forming a pincer flight pattern together, pressing down on the young man escaping in the darkness. More than ten seconds later, both helicopters began climbing, then slightly adjusted direction.
Watching the two black helicopters sweep overhead, the middle-aged man with most of his body submerged in sewage finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In the night sky, menacing multi-barrel machine guns appeared at the side doors of both helicopters, along with weapon operators wearing tactical helmets and night vision goggles behind the guns.
A piercing shriek tearing through the night suddenly rang out. Dense gunfire poured down from the night sky, scorching serpentine light cutting across the earth, chasing a figure fleeing desperately.
In the thermal imaging lens, in just five short seconds, the figure running in the wild at speeds nearly exceeding world sprint champions was torn apart into scattered chaotic color blocks under the crossfire of thousands of bullets from the two helicopters.
"Seven Cave Two, confirm one target eliminated, one escapee, continuing pursuit."
The gunfire ceased, and the helicopter engine roar gradually faded. Only when no sound remained in his ears did the middle-aged man tremblingly climb out of the irrigation ditch.
Without a single glance toward where his companion had died, the middle-aged man ran straight along the old national defense preparedness road. As long as he could pass through that abandoned defense tunnel, he could go deep into the mountains and escape Shadow Arrow's pursuit.
Several hundred meters from the road, beside a small hill, Wan Yue stood in a black dress, coldly watching a certain direction in the darkness. Behind her, another European woman in professional attire also held an exquisite night vision telescope.
"Lord Wan Yue, those should be people who escaped from the Tang Family. Do we need to intervene and save him?"
Emma lowered her telescope, showing a slight smile. "Shadow Arrow won't spare them... However, Lord Erwin also needs more intelligence and evidence."
Wan Yue gave a cold laugh and turned away. "This kind of peripheral vassal, who doesn't even qualify to enter the Tang Family's underground factories, what valuable intelligence could he provide? What could attract you people about a small family destined to be completely eradicated?"
"That question should be asked of Lord Erwin. I'm only following orders to assist Lord Wan Yue in searching for clues."
Another helicopter swept overhead through the night sky. Emma remained expressionless.
"Then may I understand that Erwin is more concerned about what I might find?"
Wan Yue lit a cigarette and gently exhaled smoke. "Perhaps what you want should all be in Shadow Arrow's hands already. Otherwise, they wouldn't go to such great lengths, intending to strangle every informed person of the Tang Family. Even two blood-thirsty Attendants get the treatment of pursuit from heaven to earth.
"Erwin keeps talking about the interests of Blood Clan worldwide, but I've discovered you don't actually care what trouble the Tang Family caused, but rather what the Tang Family used to cause trouble.
"I'll never believe that a small baron family would possess something that even duke families would be obsessed with for no reason... You understand what I mean, Miss Emma."
Faced with Wan Yue's questioning, Emma didn't answer, maintaining stubborn silence as if she hadn't heard.
"Sigh, please tell Erwin that the Engel Family disposed of my enemy, which makes me very happy, but the compensation this gift can be exchanged for isn't worth more of my time and energy. It's getting boring to continue this game. I'm leaving."
Wan Yue shook her head gently and disappeared into the darkness.
In the abandoned national defense preparedness tunnel, various years-old garbage was piled up, and the air was filled with various foul rotting odors.
The middle-aged man ran with uneven steps, already having penetrated a hundred meters deep. The tunnel exit ahead still showed the pitch-black moonless night.
A gust of fresh air hit his face. The tunnel was finished, and ahead lay continuous deep mountains. The middle-aged man stopped, turned to look at the dark tunnel entrance, and smiled silently, as if about to bid farewell to this world.
Suddenly, brilliant white lights appeared behind the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man was startled and slowly turned back. His dazed expression and desperate eyes gradually froze under the blinding searchlights.
Under the white light curtain, in front of three special armored vehicles, two rows of black figures holding weapons were quietly aimed at him.
"307th Squad 1st Support Team reporting, escaped target intercepted, confirmed as Liu Songcai himself, Attendant, requesting instructions... Eliminate on site, understood!"
A young officer with lieutenant rank stepped half a pace out from the human wall, turned off his communicator, and smiled at the middle-aged man shielding his eyes from the strong light.
The middle-aged man's legs went weak, and he fell to his knees with a thud under the lights, his whole body trembling, his voice hoarse and shrill: "Reporting to the government, I surrender! I'll cooperate! I know many hidden secrets of the Tang Family. I can take you to find them!"
"All units, prepare!"
The lieutenant officer's lips slightly curved upward, then he slowly raised his right hand.
More than twenty Shadow Arrow officers and soldiers simultaneously raised their weapons, aiming at the Tang Family vampire whose will had completely collapsed under the searchlights.
"Don't kill me... I'm still useful! I'm still useful!"
The middle-aged man raised his head, holding up both hands, crying hysterically.
The lieutenant's right hand fell, and dense gunfire erupted half a second later.
Dense gunfire rang out, countless scorching rays swept past the middle-aged man. His broken body convulsed and swayed in the dense bullet rain, flesh and blood flying, splattering arcs of charred black blood mist, too horrible to look at.
In just a few seconds, the middle-aged man kneeling at the tunnel entrance was already torn apart, becoming an indistinguishable mass of charred flesh and blood, with bullet-shredded meat fragments and bone chips scattered everywhere.
"Confirm target elimination."
The lieutenant officer slowly walked to the vampire corpse that no longer resembled a human form, looked down for a few seconds, and spoke flatly into his communicator.
This night, in D City and even neighboring B City and W City, from urban areas to suburbs, small disturbances occurred that ordinary people could hardly detect or understand.
Large amounts of secret data continuously flowed into the intelligence department of Shadow Arrow Western Surveillance District headquarters through classified communication channels. Names recorded in a form were continuously marked with the word "disposed."
Finally, only a few names remained on the form. Among them, a man named "Tang Zexuan" had the conspicuous notation "Lower-tier Baron" in the strength column, his whereabouts still unknown.
Time had reached two in the morning. A slender figure appeared in the Martyrs' Cemetery in the eastern suburbs of C City.
This was a temple of heroic spirits. Although late night wasn't the park's opening hours, it couldn't stop Jiang Yan's sudden whim to visit.
Black shirt dress, black mid-heel sandals, black long hair. Jiang Yan walked through solemn tombstones in the darkness with a strange expression, searching for her own resting place in another world.
Soft footsteps echoed from one end of the darkness to the other. After more than ten minutes, Jiang Yan finally stopped at a corner of the martyrs' cemetery, surrounded by green pines with cool breezes blowing. She didn't know about the feng shui, but the environment was absolutely peaceful.
Before her stood two newly built granite tombstones. The left one was for Xia Yan, the right for Gu Yao. The tombstones weren't tall, but the bases were large and exquisite. It seemed the relevant departments hadn't been stingy with expenses in this regard.
This was treatment befitting those who served the country unto death. Every Qingming Festival and National Day, countless children and citizens would come here to commemorate and praise them. The past Xia Yan and Gu Yao had ultimately left memories in this world.
Jiang Yan didn't read the small biographical text on the bases closely. She was just very curious about what was actually buried beneath the bases. Perhaps identification tags, or some personal items left behind at the base.
"Sigh, I'm probably the first person in this world to visit their own burial site after being interred..."
Jiang Yan suddenly wanted to laugh but couldn't, only slowly crouching in front of Xia Yan's tombstone.
More than ten unknown wildflowers picked from the cemetery's green belt were casually scattered on the tombstone base, serving as offerings to her past.
"Xiao Yao, are we the kind of people who are half-dead?"
Jiang Yan muttered self-deprecatingly, then turned her head toward Gu Yao's tombstone, another strange thought appearing in her mind.
With a light hop, the graceful black figure jumped onto Xia Yan's tombstone base. Jiang Yan leaned back against the tombstone, one hand raised high with fingers spread toward the moonless black sky, the strange smile on her face growing more intense.
Suddenly feeling a bit sleepy, Jiang Yan drew in her feet to keep her body's center of gravity on the base, leaned sideways against the tombstone, and closed her eyes.
People said that in China, the place most impervious to evil should be the martyrs' cemetery. Under the never-fading noble righteousness, demons and spirits from both worlds of the living and dead would fear and avoid it. Sleeping here should be very sweet.
The hard, cold tombstone made Jiang Yan feel very comfortable and at peace.
After an unknown amount of time, another set of footsteps approached from far to near. A blurry male figure slowly walked from the end of the winding gravel path.
Glancing toward a certain direction in the darkness, Zhao Peng's gaze moved back and forth between the two martyr tombstones several times.
"Xia Yan, Jiang Yan... Gu Yao, Jiang Yao... Ah..."
Zhao Peng sighed softly, gathered the scattered wildflowers on the tombstone base together, and arranged them neatly one by one before turning to leave.