August 8th, Thursday.
Today wasn't a special day, but the night before, all mbers of Golden River Club had received an email: the building's property managent was conducting annual fire safety inspections, and Golden River Club would suspend all business activities.
Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, who had only returned to work a few days ago, welcod another unexpected day off.
After many days of accompanying Jiang Yao during her recovery, Zhou Ping had beco thoroughly familiar with the Jiang sisters. This morning she arrived at the Jiang house carrying bags large and small filled with ingredients, planning a ho hotpot feast to battle against the scorching sumr heat.
The increased appetite that ca with being Blood Clan ant the tiny kitchen couldn't handle so much food preparation. With the blazing sun in the small courtyard, the air-conditioned living room naturally beca the food prep area.
The three won sat or crouched with a huge pile of vegetables, fruits, fish, and at in front of them. Everyone kept their hands busy while casually chatting about various topics.
"...Sotis, I actually think being a Blood Clan isn't so bad. Look, no matter how much we eat, we won't get fat, hehe."
Today Zhou Ping wore a tank top with an ultra-short skirt, plus her refreshingly neat shoulder-length hair, making her appear even more youthful and lively.
"Sister Xiao Ping, how many years have you been a Blood Clan?"
This question had been stored in Jiang Yao's mind for a long ti. When they weren't familiar before, she didn't dare ask easily, but now she finally couldn't hold back.
"Xiao Yao, don't forget the rules—don't pry randomly!"
Jiang Yan frowned and quickly interrupted her.
"Hehe, it's nothing. It should be about fifteen years now. I was still a high school freshman then. During sumr vacation, my whole family went traveling out of town and was attacked by a Wandering Blood Clan who had collapsed into blood thirst madness... My mom and dad didn't survive, and I was blood-infected.
"Later I learned that people over forty often die on the spot from immune system collapse during blood infection... After that, well, anyway, I t Brother Huang."
"Back then I cried every day, not knowing what to do with myself. I was especially afraid of seeing blood as a child, but after blood infection, everything changed."
Having finished processing a large basket of vegetables, Zhou Ping picked up a peeling knife and started peeling potatoes, her tone calm: "Every year after that, I'd see so people brought in by Brother Zhao or Brother Huang, but so would also... also leave."
Zhou Ping spoke openly, not minding bringing up this past again.
"Leave" probably ant die... Jiang Yan saw traces of sadness in Zhou Ping's eyes.
"What a coincidence - we also t Huang Gu! Haha, you call him big brother, but with his appearance, he looks more like an uncle."
Thinking of her first encounter and fight with Huang Gu, Jiang Yao particularly wanted to laugh, because she had almost stabbed him to death at the ti, feeling like Huang Gu was quite weak.
"Mm, he should be older than Brother Zhao, but he's lazy and has no interest in growth or breakthroughs. He's only a mid-tier Attendant now. He's made up several sets of background stories for himself—who knows what's true or false. But Brother Huang has rich experience and gets along well in society, with quite a few friends too."
Zhou Ping covered her mouth and laughed, then continued: "Brother Huang is like Brother Zhao—they're both confidants that Sister Wan brought out from the Hermit Alliance back then. Although their strength isn't great, everyone still respects them."
"Hermit Alliance?"
Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao were both stunned, sowhat surprised by Zhou Ping's casual ntion of Wan Yue's past.
"Mm, dostically, the Hermit Alliance is a very famous Wandering Blood Clan force. You're newcors, so of course you wouldn't know."
Zhou Ping smiled indifferently, as if this kind of thing wasn't a secret at all in Golden River Club: "Supposedly twenty years ago, Sister Wan had conflicts with so big shots in the Hermit Alliance. Sister Wan was ostracized, and in anger, she left with Brother Zhao and the others.
"Now as long as it's not said in front of Sister Wan, Brother Zhao doesn't mind us chatting about this privately. After all, Sister Wan and the Hermit Alliance still have so contact with each other."
Listening to Zhou Ping speak freely, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao exchanged glances again.
The Hermit Alliance.
Maybe Jiang Yao had only heard of it, but for Jiang Yan, it was quite familiar.
It was a Wandering Blood Clan force second only to the Black Blood Clan, a key focus of attention for Shadow Arrow Force's various surveillance districts, with activity traces spanning the entire country. Just in terms of scale and strength, it was no less than ordinary Earl-level families.
The Hermit Alliance was neither closed and conservative like Orthodox Blood Clans, nor murderous like the Black Blood Clan. Their style was rebellious and unruly, and supposedly the majority of dostic blood smuggling was done by the Hermit Alliance.
No wonder Sister Wan's resources were unfathomably deep - she had once been a mber of the Hermit Alliance. Thinking of this, Jiang Yan's understanding of Wan Yue deepened a bit more.
"Uncle Huang... Brother Huang follows Sister Wan in her work, so why has he always lived in D City?"
Like Jiang Yao, Jiang Yan also had another question in her mind.
"I don't know. Brother Huang has been there for many years. It seems Sister Wan personally arranged it, like he's monitoring sothing. We'd better not inquire about these things."
Zhou Ping shook her head, indicating she only knew this much.
"Then... are you familiar with Zhong Jing?"
Thinking of how she saw Zhong Jing and Wan Yue mysteriously go upstairs together privately the night before last after work, Jiang Yan suddenly asked. Jiang Yao also stopped her work and pricked up her ears.
"Zhong Jing is very special. How should I put it. Brother Zhao says he's Sister Wan's disciple."
Zhou Ping tilted her head and thought for a long while, smiling sowhat awkwardly: "When Sister Wan first brought him to et everyone, he was still a cute little boy, absolutely adorable! Now, hehe, he's already a grown man, and sotis quite improper.
"Anyway, we don't usually have much interaction with him, and he rarely cos to the club. I occasionally hear that his family is actually quite wealthy. Mm, Zhong Pharmaceuticals Group is also very famous."
Zhou Ping began processing several sections of lotus root while continuing: "According to Sister Wan, Brother Zhao handles internal affairs while Zhong Jing handles external matters, dealing with problems we can't show our faces to solve. Anyway, everyone treats him as one of our own."
"Isn't he afraid, being just an ordinary person?"
Thinking of Zhong Jing's teasing of her the night before last, Jiang Yao felt uncomfortable while also becoming more curious about why an ordinary person would delve so deeply into the Blood Clan world.
"There are probably just people in this world who fear nothing, otherwise those Orthodox Blood Clan families wouldn't develop external agents among ordinary people either."
Zhou Ping thought for a mont and gave an ambiguous answer.
"It's quite strange. If that's the case, why not just beco a Blood Clan too?" Jiang Yao muttered.
"Alright, Xiao Yao, go get the ribs from the kitchen freezer to thaw. I'll prepare the soup base shortly."
Afraid that Jiang Yao would continue asking and touch on so taboos, Jiang Yan interrupted her curiosity and fell into thought herself.
Her lone battle a few nights ago. Though she ultimately had help from Zhao Peng and Zhou Ping, the fact that a mid-tier Attendant could single-handedly kill a Black Blood Clan Knight and Attendant was itself shocking.
Jiang Yan intuitively thought that Wan Yue and Huang Gu weren't as clueless about her and Jiang Yao's backgrounds as imagined. From the beginning, Wan Yue and Huang Gu had noticed the special qualities in herself and Xiao Yao.
Wan Yue was extrely focused on the Tang Family in D City, even having Huang Gu stationed there for many years, and the mysteries surrounding herself and Xiao Yao were part of this.
These two quests for truth seed to have rged together from the day they encountered Huang Gu.
......
......
Hotpot preparation was extrely ti-consuming. When the spicy broth and steam began rolling and perating the cool living room, three famished girls finally couldn't wait to extend their chopsticks.
Three girls, but with the appetite of six grown n. They ate heartily, with far fewer conversations.
The Blood Clan's powerful digestive ability could retain most energy and nutrients in the body, then use special blood energy protein conversion chanisms to compress them into the microscopic world.
Zhou Ping and Jiang Yan ate relatively slowly and carefully, while Jiang Yao once again ate until her cheeks bulged like a hamster. The spicy broth made her small face bright red, and even the high-powered air conditioning couldn't stop the continuous sweat on her forehead.
The hotpot lunch lasted until after 2 PM before finally ending. Jiang Yao crouched on the floor wiping scattered oil stains, while Jiang Yan and Zhou Ping dealt with the mountain of pots, bowls, dishes, and plates.
Her denim shorts pocket vibrated. Jiang Yao pulled out her phone to see a voice communication request with the na "Outlaw Maniac" displayed.
Uh, Zhong Jing?
Jiang Yao glanced toward the kitchen, frowned, but still walked toward the bedroom and activated speaker mode.
"Getting online? Hurry up, let's team up for a few matches—I called so masters too!"
Zhong Jing's voice rang out, sounding very relaxed with high spirits.
"You're really that bored... Are you trying to hit on ?"
Jiang Yao tossed her phone onto the bed and sprawled out in a star shape, pouting while playing with her golden ponytail.
"Cough... don't joke around, I almost choked!"
Slight coughing ca from the phone. He probably spit out whatever he was drinking.
Probably due to her personal experiences, Jiang Yao belonged to the type with complexes against the rich and handso. Although she often knew this psychology was mostly her subconscious thinking "why aren't I the rich and handso one."
When Zhong Jing appeared as "one of our own," Jiang Yao didn't have any particular feelings. But Zhong Jing's teasing attitude directly made the girl delete him from "our own people" and categorize him as an "outsider."
Being extrely resistant to strangers or outsiders while extrely trusting and dependent on close people was Jiang Yao's insecure personality type, developed from childhood due to her physical defects.
"Hit on you? Please, we're not even creatures from the sa dinsion, okay?"
From the phone ca Zhong Jing's naturally unruly voice: "I just think you're the first Blood Clan I've t around Master who still lives with so human spirit. The others, I won't say more—those who understand, understand, including your sister."
The casual rebellious teasing contained hidden complints, which Jiang Yao found much more pleasant to hear, and her expression softened sowhat.
"Hurry up, I'm sending you the invite right now. We need one more! If we don't win today, I'm not living anymore!"
Zhong Jing's gaming otaku rascal aura was so thick it almost overflowed from the phone screen, making the light golden-haired girl almost laugh out loud.
"Fine, right away! Let wash my hands! Save mid-lane for !"
Jiang Yao jumped off the bed, imdiately turned on the computer, then rushed out of the bedroom barefoot without even wearing slippers. Dozens of seconds later she returned in a flurry, curled up entirely in the computer chair, clicked the ga icon on the desktop, and finally put on her headset.
"Xiao Yao, did you finish wiping the living room floor clean? Go wash so fruit..."
Jiang Yan, still wearing kitchen rubber gloves, walked into the second bedroom and imdiately saw Jiang Yao fighting intensely at the computer.
"Quick, bot lane, kill that Annie! Hey hey hey, why are you running back!"
The girl with the headset couldn't hear Jiang Yan's voice at all.
After watching for over ten seconds, Jiang Yan could only leave with a cold expression.
......
......
At dusk, at S Province C City International Airport, Wan Yue in a black dress stood in the arrival area accompanied by Zhao Peng.
Originally scheduled for this afternoon, a private jet from Munich, Germany to S Province C City had been delayed due to a fuel stop in Dubai, Middle East, only landing at C City International Airport at dusk.
A group of tall, burly European n walked out of the passage, attracting attention from many people waiting to pick up passengers. Leading them was a young man over 190 cm tall.
Lion-like golden-brown hair, deep lake-blue eyes, sharply handso facial features, a well-proportioned strong build, and steady graceful steps made so Chinese girls stare transfixed, with quite a few secretly taking photos with their phones.
"Miss Alia, I'm sorry for the delay and keeping you waiting."
Under everyone's gaze, the German youth walked directly to Wan Yue's side and gently raised his arm.
Glancing briefly at the people behind the blonde youth, Wan Yue smiled and placed her hand on his, naturally accepting his hand-kissing gesture.
The blonde youth's noble image and temperant aside, Wan Yue in her black gauze dress, combined with her enchanting slender figure and beautiful cold face, made this ancient elegant ritual even more stunning.
Especially the youth's fluently standard Chinese that made people suspicious, causing surrounding passengers to turn and look. Several Chinese girls nearby who hadn't been willing to leave and were still sneaking peeks almost scread with envy.
"Mr. Engel, please just call Wan Yue. Alia was just a na I used when studying in Munich long ago."
Wan Yue smiled and gestured to Zhao Peng behind her, who quickly left early toward the parking area.
"Then please call Elvin, Miss Wan Yue... Oh, let introduce. This is Miss Emma, my personal assistant, and this is Mr. Luca, my personal lawyer."
Following Elvin's soft introduction, a man and woman walked to the blonde youth's sides, nodding coldly but politely to Wan Yue.
The woman called Emma appeared slightly older than Wan Yue, while the man called Luca was a typical middle-aged man with a big belly.
Wan Yue's gaze swept over the two, and surprise flashed in her eyes, though her surface remained unchanged.
"The hotel is already booked. We could also sit at my place first, or does Mr. Elvin have his own arrangents?"
Wan Yue smiled and gracefully walked toward the exit.
"Mr. Elvin, there are monitoring devices on both sides of the exit..."
Lawyer Luca stepped forward and whispered a string of German in Elvin's ear.
"Mm, this is one of the few countries on this planet that still maintains high vigilance and hostility toward us... It's been this way for over two thousand years. They call this... tradition."
Elvin chuckled lightly, unconcerned.
......
......
Dinner was still the leftover hotpot ingredients from lunch, showing just how exaggerated the amount of ingredients Zhou Ping had bought that morning.
However, while Jiang Yan and Zhou Ping ate in the living room, Jiang Yao continued her sunless computer gaming under constant "coming right away" deflections.
It wasn't until after 9 PM, when Zhou Ping had already left, that Jiang Yao finally erged from her room rubbing her face and shoulders.
"Ah... you already cleaned up! I haven't eaten yet!"
Seeing the empty dining table, Jiang Yao blurted out.
Jiang Yan sat expressionlessly on the sofa watching TV, paying no attention.
Jiang Yao's body shrank slightly as she walked along the wall into the kitchen alone. After a while she returned to the living room holding a large bowl filled with previously cooked ingredients, now all mushed together into an unrecognizable ss.
"Went crazy playing today?"
Jiang Yan turned her head and smiled at the girl eating leftovers, without the expected emotion.
"Not bad, mainly t so masters..."
Jiang Yao spoke vaguely while reaching for the cola on the coffee table. "Bro- I an, sis, you should relax too, play so gas, watch so ani. Don't be like those people at the club—they all look young but act like old people. Living like that is too boring."
"I don't know how. I never had the chance in the military either."
Jiang Yan shook her head, using the remote to flip through channels, planning to watch so news programs she liked.
"...This morning, witnessed by multiple dia outlets and relevant city governnt leaders, retired director Jiang Chunhua of W District Children's Welfare Institute donated over 6 million yuan in martyr's compensation entirely to the welfare institute...
"...Both martyrs were children who ca from the welfare institute and outstanding young people raised by Director Jiang Chunhua herself. According to the martyrs' wishes, this money should have belonged to Director Jiang Chunhua personally, to repay over a decade of nurturing kindness, but Director Jiang Chunhua selflessly donated it all, hoping to help more abandoned children...
"The martyrs rest in peace, their young lives forever frozen, but their love for country, people, society, and family will never fade..."
In the evening news, in front of the familiar gate, a beautiful female reporter spoke eloquently to the cara. Behind her in the distance, a white-haired old grandmother stood silently in front of the crowded people, looking so lonely while everyone around her smiled.
Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao both stopped their movents simultaneously, staring blankly at the TV screen in silence.
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