Blood Queen - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: The Most Expensive Thing

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The Orthodox Vampires should be the oldest and largest vampire social organization in history.

Unlike the Black Blood Clan, which has fallen into fundamentalism and seeks the so-called primordial faith, the Orthodox Vampires have always maintained synchronous development with normal human society and adhered to the so-called noble identity culture.

Blood smuggling has already become a huge undisclosed global underground industry. The logistics efficiency of modern society allows blood from global chaotic regions such as Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to appear on a vampire’s dining table within 24 hours. However, personally selecting lambs at least once a year and feeding in a non-blood invasion state is one of the most important identity rituals valued by Orthodox Vampires.

In the eyes of Orthodox Vampires, feeding on the blood of ordinary people is a god-given privilege and a way of life that must be adhered to. Ordinary people are their lambs, and they are like feudal lords, guarding their own land and population, passing it down from generation to generation.

They established a mainstream order of the vast underground vampire world early on. Even though power has changed, the ecology of this underground world has never changed.

They have their own system, but are highly bound to and infiltrate the civilized development of normal human society, forming a pattern of mutual interests.

After the Second Industrial Revolution, although normal human society gradually gained the upper hand, it became more restrained in the secret war against vampires.

On the world map of Orthodox Vampires, the color lines divide a completely different scene. They divide and rule, regarding themselves as upper-class nobles, taking pride in family bloodlines, and inheriting power through generations. Families intermarry and form alliances with each other, even uniting and conquering, expanding, absorbing vassals, and enfeoffing lands.

They have long since disdained expanding their population by blood invading ordinary people, at most choosing to secretly develop high-value ordinary volunteers and cultivating new generation vassals through the Embrace ceremony. The core ruling class of most families mostly adopts internal marriage to reproduce offspring to maintain the purity of bloodlines.

They detest the Black Blood Clan, viewing their vile and barbaric hunting of their own kind in pursuit of so-called blood lineage atavism as heresy; they also despise Wandering Vampires, seeing them as indiscriminate as rats in sewers, regarding them as ants.

……

……

June 10th, Monday.

Trading only one person per week and changing the trading location once a month is the rule set by Wan Yue, this underground merchant, for her “clients”.

The June trade took place in the parking lot of a large logistics warehousing industrial zone in the suburbs, almost spanning the entire C City from the residence of Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, for which Jiang Yan paid a painful taxi fare of over 100 yuan.

At exactly midnight, two SUVs appeared at the predetermined location on time.

Today’s Wan Yue had transformed from an avant-garde woman to an elegant lady.

Dressed in a black evening gown, with exquisite long earrings almost reaching her shoulders, deep red lips, and strong perfume, she looked like a noble lady who had hurriedly left a ball midway.

Following behind Wan Yue was a young man in a black suit, his cautious and curious gaze constantly moving between Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao.

“Let me introduce you today, this is Xiao Zhao, Zhao Peng, you can call him Brother Zhao. From now on, he will supply goods for you, and you don’t have to wait for any fixed time, just call him when you need something.”

Wan Yue put a cigarette in her mouth, and the delicate lighter she played with in her hands obediently spat out a flame, making a humble contribution to the lady’s entrance.

The young man in the black suit stepped forward slightly, nodded lightly, and then retreated behind Wan Yue.

This VIP-like treatment left Jiang Yan a bit at a loss.

The image of Zhong Jing’s serious yet ambiguous flirtatious performance appeared in her mind again, and unavoidable traces of embarrassment after being teased appeared on Jiang Yan’s face as she pretended to be calm.

“What? Feeling flattered?”

Wan Yue’s demeanor today had a few more traces of gentleness, her expression was still arrogant and sharp, but her tone was much more peaceful: “Don’t overestimate yourself, it’s just that a little over a month ago, in a certain free session, a girl quite seriously paid 900,000 yuan in vain. Zhong Jing gave me the money, just consider it as your prepayment, future goods will all be deducted from it.”

This hint was very obvious, directly leaving Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao at a loss, the two looking at each other.

The scene fell into a strange silence.

Jiang Yan had long sensed that Huang Gu, whom she met initially, was definitely not an ordinary Wandering Vampire, and must have had a considerably influential force supporting him behind the scenes.

The fact that she and Jiang Yao could receive help from Huang Gu and Zhong Jing, rather than being a coincidence, was more like a standard of judging based on observation.

Thinking back to the last time when Wan Yue stepped in to save her and Jiang Yao after their desperate fight with the mutated Black Blood Clan knight, Jiang Yan felt there were stakes and interests involved that she couldn’t understand.

“Why is getting a new identity free?” After about ten seconds, Jiang Yao couldn’t help but ask.

“You think just anyone can contact Zhong Jing and me through Huang Gu’s line? Alright, if you have anything to say, tell Xiao Zhao!”

Wan Yue threw away her finished cigarette, her sexy body curves swaying as she returned to the driver’s seat. After a roar, she drove away.

“Miss Jiang, shall we begin?” Seeing Jiang Yan still in a daze, Zhao Peng smiled slightly and opened the SUV’s trunk.

Jiang Yan finally came back to her senses, quickly nodded, and then led Jiang Yao to the back of the car.

“Brother Zhao, you’re not Orthodox Vampires, are you?”

As Jiang Yan packed the blood bags, she finally voiced the question that had been pressing on her mind for nearly a month.

“Orthodox Vampires? Hehe, you mean those old turtles? We mind our own business with them. We live our lives in our own way. But sometimes, it’s necessary to contact them, like for these things…”

Zhao Peng’s attitude was very easygoing, seemingly not treating this question as a question at all, just lightly patting the blood bags in the cooler, his smile becoming a bit more mysterious: “The demand for blood is very high, sometimes, Sister Wan also gets some goods from them. Especially vampire drugs like internal and external hormone inhibitors, temperature-raising medicine, they currently monopolize these.”

“Then their Fief Knights…”

Jiang Yan thought for a moment, but still decided to share her recent encounter with Sister Tan.

“The Fief Knights of Orthodox families, they’re just a bunch of working stiffs loyal to the family, but their own strength isn’t enough to enter the core. While enjoying benefits, they manage local industries for the big families, provide various tributes including money, and when necessary, they even have to obey the family’s war conscription. In fact, their peaceful lives are often exchanged with their lives.”

Zhao Peng was much more easygoing than Sister Wan, and more candid, answering Jiang Yan’s questions in more detail.

“Generally speaking, these basic managers of Orthodox Vampires must have a strength level of at least Knight-level. However, it’s said that in Europe, due to small territories and low population, competition is fierce, and in some families, only those at Baron-level are qualified to serve as Fief Knights.”

“As for their attitude towards Wandering Vampires, it varies from person to person. These Fief Knights are local tyrants, they might kill, drive away, or even incorporate Wandering Vampires as their own vassals.”

After saying this, Zhao Peng thoughtfully put a pack of ice packs into Jiang Yan’s bag.

Jiang Yan nodded slightly, finally having a more complete understanding of Sister Tan’s situation.

Sister Tan probably belonged to that type of typical old turtle who only sought a quiet life in seclusion, without any tendency to spread, and was at the very bottom of the Dark Arrow Unit’s strike list.

But if an Orthodox Vampire family wanted to hold an Embrace ceremony to develop new members, or frequently blood invade ordinary people within a certain range and time, once their identity was exposed, they would inevitably become a key target for the Dark Arrow Unit.

“Alright, next time you need anything, just call me or leave a message, I’ll deliver to where you live.”

Zhao Peng closed the trunk, then fished out a small box from the front passenger seat and threw it to the idle Jiang Yao: “This is from Sister Wan to Miss Jiang Yao, she said you’ll need it. External hormone inhibitor, it’s been hard to get lately.”

Looking at the small box in her hand, Jiang Yao suddenly felt a bit awkward. She looked up at Zhao Peng, her expression strange as she moved her lips: “Giving this to me, does that mean… I’m, very weak?”

Zhao Peng smiled without speaking, nodded politely to Jiang Yan, and then got in the car and left.

The scene returned to calm, with Jiang Yao still standing in place, her thoughts wandering.

“Alright, stop daydreaming, let’s go back.”

Taking a few steps forward and patting the pale golden-haired girl’s shoulder, Jiang Yan tried hard to hold back her laughter.

“No, this needs to be clarified! Brother, do they look down on me?”

Jiang Yao looked like she couldn’t let it go today, actually turning back to look at Jiang Yan with a cute serious face.

“Don’t overestimate yourself, everyone below Baron-level is an ant. Would others bother to look down on you with something that costs tens of thousands per dose and might not even be available?”

Jiang Yan grumbled as she shouldered her travel bag and turned to walk towards the parking lot exit.

“That’s not necessarily true… By the way, sister, that big flesh mass, I mean, are we very special? Otherwise, why would Huang Gu and the old witch, and that Zhong Jing, care so much about us?”

“They all seem very powerful, giving us new identities for free, and even giving free external hormone inhibitors. Why don’t we ask if we can follow them?”

Jiang Yao quickly caught up a few steps, finally voicing her thoughts after her mind had wandered.

The black-haired girl stopped her steps, and it took a while before she turned back, revealing a trace of bitterness: “What’s free is often the most expensive… Xiao Yao, remember, the more special we are, the easier it is for us to become tools for others.”

……

……

Two hours later, on a highway service road in the suburbs of C City, an SUV was parked by the roadside.

Wan Yue leaned against the car, the cigarette in her mouth flickering with a bright and dark light in the night as she inhaled.

A small truck came from a side road and finally stopped in front of the SUV.

Huang Gu, dressed as a courier, appeared in front of Wan Yue, carrying a large canvas bag in his hand.

“Do you have the investigation results?”

Wan Yue looked at her confidant, threw away her cigarette butt, and revealed a smile.

“Sister Wan, the Dark Arrow Unit has started a full-scale purge of the Tang family in D City. The Tang family patriarch who escaped from the underground factory earlier died in N City, most likely ambushed by the Black Blood Clan’s Black Dragon Society.”

“Now the Dark Arrow Unit’s people are still sealing off the underground factory. Neither drones nor people can get in, so we still have no clue about what the Tang family did. I could only take some photos from a distance.”

As he spoke, Huang Gu took out a small digital camera from his pocket.

“Tang Zhaowen was an upper-level Baron of the Altai Vampires, it’s not easy to ambush and kill him. Since when did those Black Dragon Society mongrels have such clean and efficient capabilities?”

Wan Yue’s brows slowly furrowed, seeming to doubt this news, but after about ten seconds, she returned to her normal expression, “Alright, anything else?”

“This, I brought it for you to take a look.”

Huang Gu chuckled, squatted down, opened the handbag, and took out two sets of tattered and dirty Dark Arrow Unit combat uniforms: “These are what Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao secretly buried in D City back then. The arm patches are from the Black Armor Squad, should be from the Dark Arrow members who assaulted the underground factory at that time.”

Seeing the familiar black combat uniforms, the smile on Wan Yue’s face grew bigger and bigger: “Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao should be their fake names, but that doesn’t matter anymore… These two little girls, they’re not simple, hard to understand… Maybe they can bring some truth. Huang Gu, you really are a lucky person.”

“Hehe, the two are quite honest, they’ve opened a small shop in the territory of Wang family’s Fief Knight Tan Ling, living a decent little life. I’ll go invite them to join in a few days.”

Huang Gu put away the bag on the ground and patted his chest with a smile.

Wan Yue smiled without speaking and got back into the car.