Blood Queen

The middle-aged bearded man was called Huang Gu, at least that was his current name.

Huang Gu was just an unlucky fellow who, after being blood-infected, chose not to affiliate with any vampire family or faction, simply going into hiding like a stray dog under an assumed identity, and had now become a member of the small town.

Over thirty-plus years, Huang Gu had to change his place of residence every seven or eight years, gradually growing from an ant-like lowest-tier blood servant to his current mid-tier attendant status. However, due to his poor personal aptitude, he had been stuck at this level for over a decade with no further advancement.

Perhaps in a few more years, he would have to change his identity again and find a new place to settle.

His family memories had grown vague. Huang Gu now had only a mundane reclusive life, having witnessed this country's entire process of transformation from isolation to openness and prosperity.

...

Late at night, on the highway from D City to C City, a small truck began to slow down and stopped outside a tunnel entrance after several dozen seconds.

Dozens of vehicles were already backed up ahead. Huang Gu stuck his head out of the driver's cabin to look deep into the tunnel, seeing a temporary checkpoint set up halfway through.

"Hey, the fourth checkpoint we've hit today. Wonder what the hell happened in D City these past few days..."

Huang Gu flicked away his cigarette butt and spat out the window, then slightly turned to look at the cargo compartment behind him.

At this moment, Xia Yan was pressed against the compartment wall behind the driver's seat with full concentration, his right hand holding a gun that had been loaded and ready since departure, while his left arm embraced the drowsy Gu Yao.

For some unknown reason, shortly after departure, Gu Yao had begun showing blood-thirst-like symptoms again, her spirit becoming increasingly listless, looking as if she were carsick, though fortunately her body temperature hadn't shown any abnormalities.

Midway, Xia Yan had opened a bag of blood trying to feed it to Gu Yao, but she vomited immediately upon tasting it, as if the blood reeked in her mouth.

Feeling the small truck slowly moving through the tunnel, Xia Yan quietly put away his gun.

"Officer, I'm going to C City. Hey, it's the May Day holiday, and my two nieces want to go sightseeing."

After checking the driver's license and comparing it with the photo, the stone-faced traffic officer said nothing. His partner, also dressed as traffic police, used a camera-like device to film Huang Gu for over ten seconds.

Seeing his partner shake his head slightly, the officer turned his attention to the cargo compartment with a serious expression: "You're driving a small truck—carrying passengers in the cargo area violates traffic regulations. Don't you know that? We'll write you a ticket later; pay the fine online yourself."

With that, both officers walked toward the compartment door, one in front and one behind.

"Hey, that's how we do things in the countryside. When we're not hauling cargo, we give relatives rides and such—nothing fancy about it."

Huang Gu nodded and bowed obsequiously beside them, personally opening the compartment door.

Two beautiful girls were huddled together among a pile of packages. The black-haired girl wore a light blue T-shirt with dark gray tight jeans, while the pale golden-haired girl wore a white T-shirt with blue denim overalls. Both wore sneakers and looked like college students on vacation.

"Uncle Huang, please drive slower—I'm getting a bit carsick."

Xia Yan first looked at the traffic officer with slight surprise, then spoke softly to Huang Gu while holding Gu Yao a bit tighter.

The officer with the special device filmed the two girls for over ten seconds, then shook his head slightly.

Facing the camera lens, Xia Yan's expression remained unchanged, but his heart was racing frantically, and small beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He knew this was the Shadow Arrow Force's dedicated thermal imaging recorder, capable of precisely sensing human body surface temperature. This was already the fourth inspection since taking to the road today, though it had become much simpler.

Vampire body surface temperature was generally about 2 degrees lower than ordinary humans—enough to expose an unprepared vampire's identity, or at least provide key evidence.

At this moment, in front of the Shadow Arrow members disguised as traffic police, the thermal recorder's screen clearly showed the outlines of two girls with relatively normal readings. The pale golden-haired girl's temperature was even slightly elevated.

"Is saving that bit of money worth it? Aren't you afraid they'll get heatstroke in the vehicle this season? Sigh..."

Looking at the sweating girl, the traffic officer muttered and shook his head, making a hand gesture toward the blockade line behind him to let them pass.

The small truck exited the tunnel. Xia Yan's body relaxed, slumping powerlessly against the compartment wall, feeling completely soaked in sweat.

Now they had successfully entered C City's territory.

...

J District, C City—a riverside old residential area awaiting demolition.

Across the river, brightly lit skyscrapers were within arm's reach, yet this place resembled massive garbage heaps waiting for sorting and recycling—old, chaotic, lifeless, and deserted.

Under dim streetlights, a small truck slowly drove past and finally stopped at a dark corner.

The compartment door opened. Xia Yan helped Gu Yao's weak body down from the truck and gave the bearded uncle a grateful smile.

"There's still some warming medicine left in this bottle—keep it, just in case. As for the internal and external hormone suppressants, consider what I gave you earlier as my gift. I can't spare any more—they're expensive, so you'll have to figure that out yourselves."

Huang Gu, cigarette dangling from his lips, pulled a small paper box from his pants pocket and handed it to Xia Yan.

After traveling under surveillance together, Xia Yan knew he had bet correctly this time. This middle-aged vampire, who was at most an E-level mission target, was a trustworthy member of their kind.

"This is the contact information for C City's underground shop—blood, warming medicine, all available. If you're lucky, you can buy both internal and external hormone suppressants there. For your identity problems, you can find this person to solve them."

Huang Gu pulled out a piece of paper and a business card, waved them under the streetlight, then folded them together and handed them to Xia Yan.

"Thank you, Uncle Huang..."

Xia Yan nodded gently, adjusted the travel bag on his shoulder, and steadied Gu Yao's body.

"I'll handle the aftermath at Yang Ping's house. From here on, you choose your own path... Remember vampire rules—don't suck ordinary people's blood in someone else's territory. When you don't know the other party's background, avoid them if you can. We wandering vampires can live longer by keeping a low profile and not causing trouble. Sigh, vampires have their own underworld, big and small."

With that, he laughed self-deprecatingly and opened the car door.

The two girls' figures gradually disappeared into the darkness. The external hormone suppressant injected hours ago hadn't yet reached its half-life, so Huang Gu couldn't sense their specific whereabouts.

The area around the small truck fell silent again, even the distant streetlight dimming weakly. Huang Gu exhaled his last puff of smoke and pulled out his phone.

"Sister Wan, it's me, Huang Gu... Yes, I discovered two promising newcomers, but they're a bit strange—their strength after blood-boiling can reach attendant level. Please take another look...

"...Right, they're rare blood types. I suspect they're former Shadow Arrow members who were blood-infected, possibly related to yesterday morning's incident with the Tang Family."

The call ended. Huang Gu started the small truck and drove away.

In the demolition-awaiting residential area forgotten by the era's prosperity, inside a dilapidated small building that had lost half its wall, Xia Yan gently laid down the confused Gu Yao.

Under dim candlelight, Xia Yan gazed at the pale golden-haired girl's weak, flushed face, touching her fevered arm. After several minutes, he silently unwrapped the gauze from his wrist and raised the fruit knife again.

The previous cut had somehow healed without a trace, the wrist like new. A fresh line of blood appeared, seeping droplets as an invisible fragrance that only certain people could smell filled the air.

Gu Yao, leaning against Xia Yan's side, twitched her nose a few times, then suddenly opened her eyes like a manipulated puppet. Her pupils turned red within seconds, though the depths remained vacant and lifeless.

Almost before Xia Yan could reach for a cup, Gu Yao desperately grasped his wrist and opened her small mouth to latch onto it.

The soft sounds of greedy sucking and swallowing rose and fell. Xia Yan felt as if her tongue was trying to burrow into his wound.

Huang Gu looked at us with a kind of fear, but when he first appeared, his strength was far above ours. Xiao Yao's explosive state from who knows where instantly left Huang Gu powerless to fight back—that must be attendant-level strength.

What exactly did that terrifying giant meat monster turn Xiao Yao into? And am I really fine?

Stroking the confused but blood-drunk Gu Yao beside him, Xia Yan fell into deep thought.

A draft of night wind blew out the candle in the corner. Gu Yao, with a satisfied and blissful expression, fell asleep in Xia Yan's embrace. But Xia Yan remained sleepless, just staring blankly at the night sky through the broken wall.