Blood Queen

9:40 PM, Second Branch of Army General Hospital.

The patients, family members, and medical staff who had been coming and going during the day had suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if by prior agreement.

In fact, not only the two connected medical buildings, but the entire military hospital had fallen into a peculiar silence. The empty military hospital was left with only countless armed Shadow Arrow Force soldiers and various special combat vehicles.

Han Jieli, Meng Huai, and Han Xiao, all three now dressed in Shadow Arrow black combat uniforms, stood with different expressions, gazing at the two connected medical buildings rising twenty-five stories before them.

"Daytime surveillance intelligence analysis has confirmed that one unidentified man and woman each entered the building. The two are disguised as a doctor and nurse, currently hiding in the second anesthesia preparation room on the twentieth floor of Building A."

Han Jieli looked at the tablet in his hands, his tone calm: "The man is two to three centimeters taller than Xia Yan, with slightly different build. According to AI recognition simulation analysis, the possibility of being Xia Yan is very low. The woman is even more questionable—there's no effective intelligence for analysis."

"Both wear masks to conceal their faces and have taken warming medicine, injected internal and external hormone suppressants to hide their identities. Their true rank cannot be determined, but based on the reaction of tracking butterflies released on scene, they should be two Knights of considerable strength."

Han Jieli's expression gradually became strange as he spoke: "Third Sister, Brother Meng, those two people aren't Xia Yan and Gu Yao at all. Don't you think... they're more like people coming to handle business for Xia Yan, or perhaps they're also waiting for Xia Yan?"

After making eye contact with Han Jieli, Meng Huai also frowned somewhat, still feeling that some things in the plan hadn't received reasonable explanation.

After more than ten seconds, Meng Huai turned his head toward Han Xiao, his expression very serious: "Han Xiao, you used the Han family's influence to launch this entrapment operation, even making an issue of certain principles to force headquarters to make a choice!"

Han Xiao turned her head, sweeping across both men's faces with a casual smile: "Unfortunately, it's probably not Xia Yan and Gu Yao. But at least, they're directly related to those two... Do you really think that after going to such great lengths, those two strange Blood Clan Knights just wandered in by mistake?"

"Headquarters has already upgraded the pursuit mission for Xia Yan and Gu Yao to B-level. I don't care about whatever secrets are behind it. I only know they definitely have value I can't understand, not just making us mobilize on such a scale. B-level mission targets—that's the treatment for Blood Clan Viscounts.

"I assessed that Blood Clan forces sheltering Xia Yan, or even pampering her, might all intervene this time and possibly cause failure. Now, the verification has succeeded. Whether those two are Xia Yan and Gu Yao doesn't matter anymore."

Han Jieli was stunned, slowly his expression became quite interesting: "Third Sister, you're playing big... Your plan from the beginning wasn't directly targeting Xia Yan, but rather, you wanted to know what's really behind them.

"What a crazy woman..."

Meng Huai sighed deeply, looking down at his watch. Only a few minutes remained until 10 PM. At this moment, he finally understood why Han Xiao was so invested in capturing Xia Yan.

"You calculated even headquarters' people this way... If we return empty-handed this time, do you think the Han family can still stand firm as before?"

Meng Huai's face was cold, increasingly unable to understand the thoughts of the woman beside him.

"Heh, the Han family men are almost extinct. Is there any difference between falling or not?"

"Meng Huai, the information behind the 430 work group has already been classified at the highest secrecy level! So from the beginning, I didn't believe Xia Yan and Gu Yao could be viewed as isolated targets. Without finding the behind-the-scenes forces associated with Xia Yan, we'll never catch them. That's my conclusion!"

Han Xiao looked at Meng Huai, a mocking smile at the corner of her mouth: "Meng Huai, I think you hate vampires more than anyone. You wish you could solve all vampire-related nightmares in your limited lifetime."

"Xia Yan and Gu Yao have just become Blood Clan. Their greatest threat isn't themselves, but certain Blood Clan forces attempting to possess them!"

"Enough chatter, time's up!" Meng Huai pulled the bolt and strode toward Xuan Jia Squad's deployment position.

In that direction, at the outermost perimeter of the entire blockade, Xuan Jia Squad's Assault Company plus Support Company—over two hundred fully armed soldiers—were ready for battle.

Looking sideways at the arrogant expression of the Embroidered Uniform Squad's female commander, Han Jieli suddenly felt he couldn't see through this cousin clearly, as if her actions weren't simply about proving herself.

10:00 PM sharp, twentieth floor of Building A.

Zhao Peng and Jiang Yan, wearing masks, walked in the empty corridor. Their figures in surgical scrubs appeared somewhat bulky, as if wearing more complex attire underneath.

From the moment they emerged from the hidden second anesthesia preparation room, Jiang Yan completely gave up hope.

The entire floor was devoid of people. Obviously all personnel had been evacuated. Their figures were probably already on Shadow Arrow Force monitoring screens.

Ahead were the heavily guarded patient rooms from a few hours ago, but now the corridor was empty. Jiang Yan wore a bitter smile as she routinely pushed open the room door. The bed before her was empty—no old Jiang Chunhua.

As if already anticipating this, the moment Jiang Yan pushed open the patient room door, Zhao Peng grabbed Jiang Yan's arm and turned to retreat quickly.

Their footsteps grew faster and faster. Both began activating blood-boiling and reaching out to tear off their surgical scrubs.

The hormone levels inside and outside their bodies instantly underwent dramatic changes. Special blood energy proteins stored in bone marrow began rapidly decomposing, and massive physical strength began filling their entire bodies.

Suddenly, both connected medical buildings simultaneously lost power. Except for independently powered fire escape indicator lights, the medical buildings were pitch black. Jiang Yan knew this was Shadow Arrow Force's standard tactic. Even though Blood Clan's night vision was extremely strong, they still needed to disrupt Blood Clan movement as much as possible.

In the black building, Jiang Yan ran at high speed with Zhao Peng close behind.

At this moment, Jiang Yan wore Hyacinth's distinctive black tight combat uniform and long tactical coat, equipped with bulletproof armor, with dagger and pistol hanging on her left and right outer thighs respectively.

Under the tactical coat, the form-fitting combat suit outlined the girl's graceful body curves, her single ponytail flying behind her head. Her eyes were blood red, expression ice cold, heroic and valiant with intense murderous aura, like a butterfly dancing between life and death.

Fully activated blood-boiling made Jiang Yan's aura intensity begin climbing, then directly breaking through to lower-tier Knight, and still continuing to rise... The monster called Xia Yan in her heart finally retreated quietly, fleeing in apparent panic, never looking back.

Zhao Peng, who had also activated blood-boiling to peak levels, could only barely keep up with Jiang Yan's speed. Looking at her back, his eyes were full of shock.

After all, Siberian Blood Clan weren't known for speed and mobility, but Jiang Yan, with an upper-tier Attendant's realm, actually burst out with speed and mobility exceeding upper-tier Knight peaks, once again refreshing Zhao Peng's understanding.

Even without the blackout, elevators couldn't be used. Zhao Peng and Jiang Yan had to quickly descend several floors via stairwells, passing through several hall corridors to reach their predetermined escape point.

Unfortunately, the darkness lasted less than ten seconds before countless blinding searchlights enveloped the entire medical building from all directions, penetrating glass and illuminating every corridor and room in the medical building.

As the frontline commander of this operation, Han Xiao now stood atop a special combat vehicle, lightly waving her hand.

Before and behind her, as well as at various high points around, hundreds of armed Shadow Arrow Force soldiers were deployed in extended formation. Each occupied advantageous positions, their tactical helmet visors revealing only pairs of tense or cold eyes.

After receiving the fire order, all weapons simultaneously spat flames.

Like the arrival of New Year's Eve at midnight, countless muzzle flashes erupted around the building. Bullets of various calibers drew brilliant lines in the night, weaving into an even broader net of light, guided by searchlights, sweeping across two high-speed running figures in a certain corridor.

Exterior glass shattered before supersonic bullets, countless glass fragments and torn aluminum alloy components scattered and flew.

Under brilliant searchlight illumination, the wall on the other side of the corridor was riddled with holes. Flying bullet heads, tile fragments, scattered brick and lime powder, burning promotional posters—wall surfaces collapsed and tore in sections, completely unrecognizable, as if licked by a giant beast's tongue.

Zhao Peng and Jiang Yan also ran, bathed in this terrifying metal storm with dazzling speed and agile lane changes.

This round of crazy and extravagant firepower assault lasted nearly a minute, directly blocking Zhao Peng and Jiang Yan on the middle floors of Building B.

Immediately after, helicopter roars came from the night. Several black large transport helicopters with spotlights flew over the medical building, rappelling two teams of Shadow Arrow Force soldiers onto the rooftops of both buildings.

Simultaneously, two more teams of Shadow Arrow Force soldiers poured into the bottom floor entrances and underground parking garage, including Han Xiao herself leading from the front.

Building B of the medical complex, certain middle floors, had different interior and exterior facade designs, plus the load-bearing wall layout of the hall waiting area, which happened to block most searchlight illumination and became a temporary shelter for Zhao Peng and Jiang Yan to avoid firepower.

The two leaned behind the nursing station platform in the waiting hall, each taking out a syringe and injecting it into their legs.

This was expensive blood-boiling medication that could dramatically improve blood-boiling threshold and stability for one hour, belonging to one of the top-tier drugs in today's Blood Clan world, monopolized by European and American Orthodox Blood Clan major families and almost impossible to buy domestically.

They had already passed through several floors of crazy fire blockade zones and reached the predetermined floor. Next, they only needed to pass through one more corridor to reach the escape position.

But regrettably, Zhao Peng was severely injured midway, with one leg and one arm broken, the wounds cauterized by silver ions already blackened and carbonized.

Additionally, Zhao Peng's back and shoulders had carbonized wounds of various sizes, and even his face was scraped by flying shrapnel into blackened bloody lines.

A minute ago, when charging through the enclosed aerial corridor connecting the two buildings, a single-soldier high-explosive rocket fired from the distance came screaming in. Zhao Peng directly performed an aerial roll, embracing Jiang Yan's body, leaving her unharmed in the terrifying high temperature and raging shrapnel.

Unfortunately, Zhao Peng after landing wasn't so lucky, being grazed by the dense metal storm outside the corridor windows, leading to the current situation.

"Xiao Yan, I'll cover you for a few seconds. You go first..."

Zhao Peng's eyes were alarmingly red. After removing his mask, his mouth breathed heavily, body temperature still rising. Obviously he was pushing his blood-boiling beyond the threshold.

Zhao Peng's current appearance could be described as hideous. The bodily aberrations after breaking through blood-boiling threshold were visibly apparent.

The bones and muscle tissue of his legs began twisting. That broken leg miraculously began gradually recovering in this skeletal mutation, presenting a horrifying reverse-joint appearance. His left palm also began undergoing metal claw-like changes.

To resist the next round of metal storm, Zhao Peng had already activated all potential of an upper-tier Knight peak.

Silver bullet fragments remaining in his body were like torture for Blood Clan in blood-boiling state. This was an extremely dangerous desperate act.

Having received many personal techniques and harsh training from Wan Yue over the years, Zhao Peng's current physical condition made it difficult to guarantee walking through the final corridor under dense firepower siege. His current blood-boiling state was more like paving a path for Jiang Yan's survival with his own life.

"Don't talk nonsense, I'll carry you!"

Jiang Yan pulled off her mask, smiling as she pressed down Zhao Peng's body about to leap up, her tone very calm: "Brother Zhao Peng, if I can't return this time, please help me take care of Xiao Yao."

After speaking, without waiting for Zhao Peng to respond, Jiang Yan delivered a heavy punch to Zhao Peng's chest, even denting the special composite bulletproof armor.

The violent impact nearly stopped Zhao Peng's heart. A dizzying sensation and spasms from cerebral ischemia spread throughout his body. Zhao Peng lost bodily control, blood-boiling began receding, no longer able to exert strength, and some bodily aberrations slowly reversed.

Then Jiang Yan untied rope from her waist pouch, bound Zhao Peng's body to her back, crouched to gather strength, preparing to launch a final sprint toward that corridor at the end of darkness, illuminated bright by searchlights.

Suddenly, in the waiting hall lit only by weak fire escape indicator lights, the sound of metal objects hitting the ground rang out, followed by several wisps of thick smoke, as if someone had thrown several smoke grenades.

A few seconds later, the independently powered floor smoke alarm was triggered. Countless automatic fire suppression nozzles on the ceiling began spraying water, creating an indoor rainstorm throughout the floor.

Both Jiang Yan and the weakened Zhao Peng were stunned.

Jiang Yan hesitated, slowly helping Zhao Peng's body retreat to a dark corner, looking puzzledly at the unfolding situation.

From the dark end of the hall, near the stairwell entrance, footsteps could be heard—sounding like two people.

In the indoor rain curtain created by automatic fire suppression nozzles, one tall and one short, one man and one woman, two black-clothed figures slowly approached, each carrying a large plastic bucket.

The black-clothed man and woman walked slowly while pouring streams of liquid from their plastic buckets. A familiar bloody scent gradually permeated the floor.

After several more seconds, the automatic fire suppression nozzles stopped working. Except for the dripping of scattered water drops, the waiting hall returned to quiet, but the spreading bloody smell grew increasingly intense.

More than ten seconds later, faint but dense footsteps could already be heard from floors above and below—Shadow Arrow Forces about to complete upper and lower floor encirclement, totaling over one hundred people.