"Ouch..."

Ouyang woke up groggily, unsure how long she’d been unconscious.

A tingling numbness still lingered at the base of her skull. Instinctively, her hand reached back—only to brush against something cold and rigid encircling her slender neck. A chill shot through her. Her eyes snapped open.

She was still wearing the antiseptic-smelling white coat.

After a quick check confirmed no injuries beyond the collar locked around her throat, she let out a tiny sigh of relief.

"I performed minor surgery while you were out."

A cold voice behind her made Ouyang jump. She whirled around to see Claudia fully armored—bulletproof vest, gas mask, insulated gloves—as if treating Ouyang like a biohazard.

"Minor surgery?"

Bloodkin bodies healed fast, even from grave wounds.

Claudia’s eyes narrowed slightly, watching with quiet satisfaction as the bewildered girl probed for abnormalities.

"I implanted a microchip beneath your neck’s skin. It syncs with external metal devices. If you lose control during training and go berserk, I can subdue you with it."

"Subdue me? That’s overkill..."

Claudia’s gear and tone unnerved Ouyang. She forced calm into her voice. "I’m not that dangerous. Take this thing off. Now."

"We’ll see after this injection."

Ouyang’s breath hitched as Claudia produced a blue syringe. It slid gently into her arm—then Claudia retreated swiftly.

"What *is* this?!"

"A temporary serum that strips Mosterians of reason. It amplifies aggression."

As the drug flooded her veins, the agony eclipsed even drinking the Bloodkin Prince’s blood.

The world spun. Destruction. Smash everything. Her skull throbbed. Nothing felt right. She *needed* to shatter this place.

Ouyang lunged off the operating table, charging toward glass cabinets filled with vials.

"Told you—this plan shouldn’t have started early."

Ouyang snarled like a feral monkey mid-pounce.

One second before she could wreck the equipment, Claudia activated the collar. Electricity locked Ouyang in place, muscles rigid.

"Well? Thrilling enough?"

Ouyang blinked through the haze, clutching her pounding head.

"Thrilling... Yeah. Numb-thrilling."

"Our enemies know our weaknesses. They’ll have mind-controllers. If you can’t master yourself *here*—" Claudia’s gaze turned sharp. "—out there, you’ll be deadlier to allies than enemies."

The serum’s heat still simmered under her skin. The electric shock had only buried the rage. It was rising again. Gritting her teeth, Ouyang straightened.

"Again."

"One more move to hurt yourself, attack me, or break *anything*," Claudia warned, "and I’ll zap you silly."

Ouyang pushed herself up, Claudia’s nagging buzzing in her ears.

"You haven’t eaten, have you? Power without control is a death sentence."

She was right. Ouyang’s deepest fear: losing herself and hurting those closest to her.

*No.*

She closed her eyes, chasing the fury down. *Tomorrow, I pick up Little Qiu from school. After that... I kill the Bloodkin Prince.*

"Do you really want to spend your life as the Prince’s velvet toy?"

Claudia’s words jolted her.

*Never.*

"No. Absolutely not!" Ouyang’s voice cracked like ice.

"Then you know what to do."

*Calm the rage. Think of happy things.*

Memories surfaced—steamy nights in the castle with him. Heat flooded her cheeks. The berserk tide inside her ebbed.

"Perfect. First step complete."

Claudia handed her a black cup. "Hydrate."

Ouyang gulped it down—then froze. The sweet, familiar tang. *Blood.*

The empty cup slipped from her fingers, shattering on the floor. The coppery scent ignited the rage anew, fiercer than before.

Claudia drew her pistol and dagger, bracing.

*Some walk in. Some get carried out.* The warning applied to more than Mosterians.

"Troublesome creatures," Claudia muttered. *Especially this one.* "A proper lady’s discipline is the only solution."

Ouyang vanished—then reappeared inches from Claudia’s face, eyes vacant.

"Don’t blame me. This is for your own good."

Claudia aimed at Ouyang’s temple—

—and froze. Her body refused to move.

*When did she learn mind control?!*

Bullets were useless against regenerating Bloodkin. Only one option remained.

Claudia drove the dagger into her own thigh. Pain shattered the hold. She fired.

One shot wasn’t enough. Holy water doused Ouyang’s body. Smoke hissed from her skin until she lay utterly still.

"Welcome back to reality. How was death?"

Ouyang woke to Claudia’s cheerful voice.

"Nothing. Just... nothing. Like last time in the castle." She touched the blood on her forehead, sitting up like a zombie. Her mind still reeled, trapped in a dizzy haze.

"Training’s over." Claudia had gauged her limits. "The blood you drank? It’s your new weapon."

She removed her gas mask, sighing at the worst-case scenarios flashing in her mind. "Keep the collar. For everyone’s safety. We’ll remove it after this war."

Suddenly, she scrolled through her phone. "Yaomo has a half-Bloodkin, half-human boy. Exceptional control. He’ll mentor you."

Hope sparked in Claudia’s eyes. "Let’s go meet him~"