Chapter 83 : Way of Survival
Still the same W District private hospital, the hidden elevator descending directly to the underground morgue.
Eight refrigerated Black Blood Clan corpses were laid out on metal platforms, while a middle-aged man in a white coat with glasses was seriously examining them one by one.
Today, the followers accompanying Wan Yue were no longer Zhao Peng, but Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao.
At this moment, both had their long hair pinned back, wearing long-sleeved white shirts with black bow ties, paired with black A-line skirts, giving both a professional look. Both stood behind Wan Yue with hands clasped in front, heads slightly lowered.
Standing behind the white-coated Elder Jin was a very young female doctor, and the busty kind at that.
"Not bad, Old Jin. Even your granddaughter's been pulled in. Your Wang Family really is spreading everywhere. When I first met her, she was still in kindergarten."
Wan Yue smiled as she looked at the white-coated girl behind Elder Jin, nodding slightly.
"Su Xiaomeng, greet your senior." Elder Jin turned back with a loving smile and a hint of pride. "From now on, you'll be the one liaising with Hyacinth."
People of Old Jin and Wan Yue's status communicated almost everything face-to-face when they needed to discuss matters, rarely using phones. While this achieved information security, it actually took up considerable time for both.
Now with Su Xiaomeng as a trusted intermediary, both were freed from this time pressure.
"Hehe, should I call you Aunt Wan or Sister Wan?"
After getting her grandfather's approval, Su Xiaomeng quickly walked to Wan Yue's side, intimately hugging her arm while curiously sizing up the Jiang sisters behind her.
"Xiao Zhao isn't here today?"
Elder Jin casually flipped over a female Black Blood Clan Attendant riddled with bullet holes, while glancing at Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao, saying offhandedly: "Rare blood types, quite impressive. Don't recognize them, but they have more potential than Xiao Zhao... Newly brought out?"
"Mm, letting the kids come out to broaden their horizons. Zhao Peng alone is already stretched thin."
Wan Yue extracted her arm from Su Xiaomeng's embrace, sat on a nearby bench, nonchalantly took out a cigarette and lit it, her sexy black stockinged long legs crossing.
The Wang Family person before them, like Wan Yue, only gave off a faint, easily overlooked chaotic sensation at such close distance. At least Baron level. Listening to the two bosses' commentary, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao both held their breath, kept their eyes downcast, and stood even more properly.
Like the mysterious Wang Family boss's assessment, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao also understood this outing as part of Wan Yue cultivating them as trusted confidants.
Unlike Jiang Yao who seemed somewhat distracted, Jiang Yan used both eyes and ears, concentrating entirely on watching what Wan Yue and Elder Jin were currently doing.
Jiang Yan was particularly interested in many details of how Hyacinth established itself in this world.
"...You all have the ability to take down a Black Blood Clan nest, yet you smashed all their heads. "
Elder Jin finished examining all the Black Blood Clan corpses with slight regret: "These past two months, domestic supply has greatly decreased and prices are rising, yet you're acting like you have too much money, being wasteful."
"Are you reaching your lifespan limit? Why are you getting more long-winded." Wan Yue rolled her eyes, flicking ash from her cigarette. "Since the market prices are rising, stop being picky. I spent big money to kill these disgusting beasts too."
"One Mid-tier Knight, seven Attendants. I'll count it as nine million for you." Elder Jin removed his glasses to wipe them on his clothes, gesturing to his granddaughter Su Xiaomeng. "Mengmeng, you stay here and record the autopsy details. I'll go upstairs with your Aunt Wan... Aunt Wan for some tea."
"Grandpa, since you're the same generation, should I call her Grandma Wan?"
Su Xiaomeng blinked and smiled as she moved closer to Elder Jin.
"If you dare call me that again, I'll give you blood infection on the spot."
Wan Yue glared viciously at the sweet-talking girl, while secretly gesturing to Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao behind her, then stood up and walked toward the distant elevator.
Soon, only three girls remained in the underground morgue.
"Hehe, I'm an ordinary person, just like Zhong Jing from your Hyacinth. I help my grandfather handle some affairs now."
Su Xiaomeng had a very cheerful and generous personality. She now pulled out three lollipops from her pocket, putting one in her own mouth and stuffing the remaining ones into the Jiang sisters' hands.
"No wonder when you came out with the boss just now, I felt something different."
Jiang Yao was also quite nosy and was probably infected by her friendliness, immediately no longer feeling constrained. "Hey, your grandfather's expression when looking at Sister Wan was a bit different."
"Hehe, my grandfather pursued Aunt Wan back in the day. He told me himself! But my grandfather was quite the player. He already had my grandmother then, and she was an ordinary person too!"
Su Xiaomeng spoke carelessly, then put on gloves, picked up a scalpel, and began carefully examining a Black Blood Clan corpse.
As soon as she finished speaking, both Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao's mouths twitched simultaneously, feeling there was a lot of information there.
Seeing her fearlessly handling Blood Clan corpses, Jiang Yao couldn't help swallowing: "Don't you find these disgusting?"
"I've loved dead mice and dead frogs since childhood, so I chose forensic medicine when I grew up."
Su Xiaomeng muttered carelessly while seriously examining the Black Blood Clan corpse: "Besides, these Black Blood Clan are all rotten to the core. I have no psychological burden no matter what I do to them."
Jiang Yao had been asking questions all along, but Jiang Yan, who had remained silent, finally asked something.
"Miss Su, are they very valuable?"
"Hm? Of course they're valuable. The internal and external hormone suppressants you use, the big golden pills, little golden pills, the ingredients for these medications are all extracted from Blood Clan tissue and organs. There are also many high-end imported anti-cancer drugs that can't do without these. What, you didn't know?"
Jiang Yan's expression immediately became grave, while Jiang Yao beside her instantly went pale, then covered her mouth and stomach and began dry heaving, because she had taken a big golden pill just this morning.
"You... you make medicine from Blood Clan corpses..."
Jiang Yao finished dry heaving and slowly pointed at the row of Black Blood Clan corpses before her, her tongue trembling: "The medicine we take... then what difference is there between us and Black Blood Clan?"
"They're beasts, of course they're different from us."
Su Xiaomeng picked up a clipboard nearby, carefully filling out autopsy records, looking slightly surprised: "You two are Knights, really newcomers brought out by Aunt Wan? You seem like you just entered the business."
Jiang Yao stopped talking, while Jiang Yan slowly raised her palm to examine it carefully.
"Actually, I quite want to be Blood Clan. Staying young and beautiful would be great. But my grandfather said he's afraid I couldn't even pass the first barrier of blood infection."
Su Xiaomeng put down the scalpel, removed her gloves, and sat on the bench, sighing lightly: "Being ordinary people has ordinary people's pain. Dealing with various diseases and ailments for a lifetime, birth, aging, sickness, death, lifespans of just decades... But I understand grandfather's meaning. Become Blood Clan, and you become someone else's meal. Doesn't it feel like an ecosystem?
"Besides, I might not be lucky... Even the Wang Family can't guarantee that people with poor aptitude can advance beyond Blood Servant. Better to honestly be my ordinary self."
Yes, ordinary people are treated as blood food by Blood Clan, but aren't Blood Clan also dishes on ordinary people's plates... Taking out a little golden pill from her suit pocket to toy with lightly, Jiang Yan fell into deep thought.
…
…
On the top floor observation deck of Sacred Mercy Hospital, Old Jin and Wan Yue stood side by side against the railing, gazing at the distant cityscape.
"Old Jin, tell me honestly. Did your Wang Family tip off Shadow Arrow about D City's Tang Family?"
Wan Yue smoked while scanning Old Jin's face several times from the corner of her eyes.
"What am I? I'm just Wang Family in-laws... Don't be fooled by my guarding this C City territory. Many main family matters leave me completely clueless too."
Old Jin removed his gold-rimmed glasses to wipe them, looking innocent: "However, the main family did have me pay more attention to you... Xiao Yue, if you really have difficulties, tell me. Especially don't let the main family misread some matters, or that would be real trouble."
"Feel like you're warning me? You know about some things too?"
Wan Yue frowned, her cigarette trembling slightly.
Looking back at Wan Yue's somewhat annoyed expression, Old Jin smiled and turned around, leaning back against the railing.
"The Wang Family has spent great effort over the past two hundred years maintaining a balance, encountering all sorts of monsters and demons. You and I, despite appearing high and mighty as Barons in others' eyes, are ultimately still children of this era.
"Life has finally been peaceful for decades, but some people are already getting tired of the Wang Family. Yet the Wang Family has no choice but to manage certain affairs. There’s no way around it. When the sky falls, the tall ones must hold it up. That's what the Wang Family is. If we don't hold it up, Shadow Arrow will force us to."
Wan Yue chewed on the implications in his words, nodding slightly: "Surnamed Jin, I can't afford to provoke the Wang Family. I might not even qualify to curry favor. My current clinging to the Wang Family's coattails isn't freeloading.
"Last time when you told me about the Goebbels Family secrets, that probably wasn't your personal idea. The Wang Family let me know these things, so I assumed they were prepared to back me... Old Jin, don't toy with me. Many of Hyacinth's children aren't even qualified to be your chess pieces, but they're still dozens of lives."
With that, Wan Yue dropped her cigarette butt and turned toward the deck exit.
Old Jin smiled lightly, noncommittal.
"What? Scared today? That Su Xiaomeng, is she someone who can't keep her mouth shut?"
…
…
In the car returning to Golden River Club, Jiang Yan and Jiang Yao were both somewhat absent-minded.
Wan Yue drove while looking at the two girls' awkward expressions in the rearview mirror, a mysterious smile quietly playing at her lips: "You're still doing okay though. When I explained some things to that boy Zhong Jing not long ago, his expression was much more exaggerated than yours."
"Sister Wan, if I die someday, would I..." Jiang Yao slowly raised her head, trembling all over, pale-faced with endless fear in her eyes. "Would I also be made into medicine like those Black Blood Clan..."
"Depends on whose hands you fall into. If Hyacinth can get you back, I'll give you a grand funeral. If you fall into other hands, well... probably... maybe... You should worry more about staying alive."
Wan Yue chuckled coldly, but the murderous coldness in her eyes grew stronger.
Gently embracing the trembling Jiang Yao, Jiang Yan also lowered her head silently.
"By the way, what do you think of Su Xiaomeng?"
At a red light ahead, the car slowly stopped as Wan Yue turned back to ask.
"Very cheerful personality, appears carefree but does things meticulously."
Jiang Yan thought for a moment and gave her assessment: "She has her own clear views on ordinary people and the Blood Clan world, so she won't be easily influenced by others."
"Not bad, quite good at reading people." Wan Yue smiled and nodded. "Hyacinth has dealings with the Wang Family. I used to maintain contact with Old Jin, but now we're both very busy and it's not appropriate to meet too often. Su Xiaomeng will handle liaison between us and the Wang Family from now on. Just think of her as the Wang Family's Zhong Jing."
"The Wang Family probably has many such people." Jiang Yan suddenly said.
"Mm, a big family can't directly handle many things, so they need such people. A thousand-year-old family like the Wang Family has already penetrated every level of society. Don't think orthodox Blood Clan families are all Blood Clan from top to bottom. Having some ordinary people or even relatives working outside isn't surprising...
"Take Old Jin. His father was a major Republican-era merchant who married a Wang Family branch female Attendant and had him. But his mother died giving birth to him, and he was born Blood Clan himself."
Wan Yue nodded slightly, lightly pressing the accelerator as the car continued forward.
"Old Jin's wife was also ordinary, but she passed away a few years ago. His daughter was fortunate, still ordinary. She married an ordinary person after coming of age, now the Su family, famous private medical entrepreneurs in S Province. Several private hospitals nationwide belong to the Su family. Speaking of which, they also have business cooperation with Zhong Jing's family."
"These big families are so impressive, with deep connections on both sides... Hard to imagine what the Wang Family's core members are like."
Recalling some vaguely-worded lectures she'd heard at the Shadow Arrow training center, Jiang Yan gradually realized the extent of deep entanglement and coexistence between orthodox Blood Clan major families and normal human society.
"Let me tell you another secret. The destruction of D City's old turtle Tang Family was probably the Wang Family leaking some intelligence to Shadow Arrow through these peripheral channels... Very interesting, borrowing a knife to kill, everyone has a bright future. Though that's just my guess, they didn't directly admit it."
Ahead, the familiar Golden River Club building appeared as Wan Yue turned back with another mysterious smile.
"It's precisely because of the cooperation of extremely 'sensible' orthodox Blood Clan major families like the Wang Family that the country can concentrate resources and energy to deal with those disgusting Black Blood Clan and some restless wandering Blood Clan forces or small families. Hyacinth being able to live peacefully until now is also thanks to clinging to the Wang Family's coattails."
Jiang Yao had stopped trembling and was staring at Wan Yue with her mouth agape, while Jiang Yan was much calmer, just with a bitter smile at the corner of her mouth.
"So... Su Xiaomeng also knows Zhong Jing?"
The now-calmed Jiang Yao suddenly blurted out.
"Mm, the Su and Zhong families are close, and both are people in our circle. These two kids have been together since kindergarten. You tell me how familiar they are.
"Su Xiaomeng is two years older than Zhong Jing, a straight-A student... I heard she even pulled down Zhong Jing's pants in kindergarten. She's also the only woman Zhong Jing doesn't dare provoke."
Looking at Jiang Yao's strange expression in the rearview mirror, Wan Yue felt like laughing.
Returning to Golden River Club, it was once again the golden business hours of evening. The gorgeous golden ocean rippled again. Songs were sung, dances were danced.