Laboratory Seven looked nothing like the research facilities Qian Wei had imagined.
She expected crowded worktables, glass containers filled with suspicious liquids and machines connected by tangled wires. Instead, the room was almost empty.
Smooth white walls surrounded a circular platform, while several transparent screens floated near the ceiling. No cabinets, instruments or medical supplies remained visible.
Qian Wei stopped at the entrance. "Are you certain this is the laboratory? It looks more like a room someone forgot to finish furnishing."
Professor Song walked past her. "What did laboratories look like three hundred years ago?"
"They had tables covered with test tubes, strange liquids and enough visible equipment to make people believe scientific work happened inside them."
"You have been reading too many fictional stories."
Qian Wei could not deny the accusation.
Before dying, she had enjoyed novels involving rebirth, systems, wealthy company presidents, cultivation and the apocalypse. Unfortunately, none of them explained what someone should do after becoming the research subject.
The systems in those novels usually offered generous welcome packages, enormous storage spaces and detailed information about every disaster.
Her system had given her ten inventory slots, two units of energy and an attitude.
She had also travelled into the future instead of being reborn before the apocalypse with useful memories. There was no magical jade pendant containing farmland and unlimited spiritual water.
"Those novels seriously exaggerated the benefits," Qian Wei muttered.
Professor Song glanced back. "What benefits are you talking about?"
"Nothing important. I was comparing my situation with some stories I read before."
"And did those fictional characters volunteer for medical examinations after developing a craving for human blood?"
"Usually, they received a magical spring that solved every problem before anyone discovered it."
Professor Song looked almost offended on behalf of science. "You will receive no magical spring here, but you will receive evidence. I consider that more useful."
Lin Mei remained near the entrance.
She no longer kept one hand close to her weapon, but her attention stayed on Qian Wei. The caution was understandable. Qian Wei’s hunger had lessened after leaving the conference room, yet every heartbeat remained painfully clear.
Professor Song approached the circular platform and pointed toward the center. "Please stand inside the marked area. The initial scan will not touch you or collect any samples."
Qian Wei examined it. "Will the platform restrain me?"
"Not unless you lose control and attempt to attack someone."
"You should have mentioned that before asking me to step onto it."
"You asked whether it would restrain you, and I answered honestly. The containment field will remain inactive unless Director Shen or I authorize it during an emergency."
Qian Wei looked toward Lin Mei. "Will you also be able to activate it?"
Lin Mei nodded. "Only if you become an immediate threat and Professor Song cannot respond."
At least they were being transparent.
Qian Wei stepped onto the platform.
A wall of pale light rose around her body.
She stiffened.
Professor Song noticed. "The light is part of the scanner. It will not prevent you from leaving."
Qian Wei tested the claim by extending one hand. Her fingers passed through without resistance.
"Thank you for proving it before I began imagining how to break the machine."
"I would prefer you not to test that idea. Laboratory Seven is expensive."
Transparent screens appeared around the platform as the scan began.
Qian Wei could not understand most of the information, but Professor Song’s expression became increasingly serious.
"Your body temperature is thirty-four point two degrees," the professor said. "Your resting heart rate is forty-one beats per minute, yet your blood pressure remains normal."
"Does that mean I am in danger?"
"If those readings belonged to an ordinary person, she would already be receiving emergency treatment. You remain alert, coordinated and capable of conversation, which means your body has adapted to them."
Professor Song moved another set of results onto the central screen.
"Your muscle density has increased by approximately twelve percent during the past three days."
Qian Wei stared at her. "How could you know how much it changed when this is the first time you have examined me?"
"We obtained the medical evaluations completed during your work with the police. The comparison is not perfect, but those records provide a reliable baseline."
The future Qian Wei had undergone routine health checks as an officer. That gave Project Dawn detailed information about her body before she collapsed.
The records raised the same question that had troubled Qian Wei since the hospital.
Had her consciousness entered another woman’s body, or had the temporal transfer reconstructed her original body inside an existing life?
If she had replaced the future Qian Wei, where was that woman’s consciousness?
Professor Song continued, "Your bone density has increased by eight percent, while several older injuries visible in the previous scans have disappeared."
"What injuries?"
"A minor fracture in your left wrist and tissue damage near your right shoulder."
Qian Wei did not remember either injury because they belonged to the year she had lost.
"Could those changes happen naturally?"
Lin Mei asked the question before Qian Wei could.
Professor Song looked toward her. "Not within three days. Even the most advanced treatment would require targeted procedures and a longer recovery period."
The scan moved across Qian Wei’s chest.
An image of her heart appeared.
Qian Wei leaned closer, although she could not identify anything unusual. "Is there something wrong with it?"
"Structurally, your heart is healthy. The problem is that it no longer behaves according to ordinary human metabolic rules."
"That sounds worse than saying something is structurally wrong."
"It may not be harmful. Your heart pumps fewer times per minute, but each contraction moves blood more efficiently. Your cells also consume less oxygen while producing more energy."
Lin Mei looked between them. "What does that mean in practical terms?"
"It means Qian Wei’s body can sustain itself with fewer resources than an ordinary human body. Her circulation has slowed without reducing the oxygen reaching her organs."
Qian Wei remembered the zombie’s cold skin and impossible strength. "Could that explain why the creature inside Apartment 3-17 continued moving despite severe tissue decay?"
Professor Song’s expression became thoughtful. "Possibly. If the infected cells use energy through a different process, they may remain active after ordinary organ functions stop."
"So, my body is becoming efficient because it is learning how to survive without normal human functions."
"That is one interpretation."
Qian Wei frowned. "Do you have a less alarming interpretation?"
"Not until we complete more tests."
Professor Song enlarged the cellular scan.
"Your human cells remain alive and healthy. They are not decaying like the sample recovered from Apartment 3-17. Something is changing their energy use and strengthening their structure instead."
"The system?"
"Either the system is directing the process, or it is controlling a mutation caused by the bite. We need to identify which changes occur naturally and which require System Energy."
Qian Wei addressed the system. "Can you tell me whether you caused the increase in muscle and bone density?"
[Changes resulted from accelerated mutation.]
"Did Basic Control cause any of them?"
[Basic Control improved conscious regulation. It did not initiate physical enhancement.]
Qian Wei repeated the answer.
Professor Song looked pleased. "That supports the second theory. The bite initiated the mutation, while the system regulates it."
"Then what happens if the system runs out of energy completely?"
[Background mutation regulation will cease.]
[Host survival remains possible.]
[Loss-of-control probability will increase.]
Qian Wei’s expression darkened as she relayed the warning.
Professor Song became serious. "We need to restore the system’s energy before you leave for Donghai."
"That would be ideal, but neither the system nor I know what it can consume."
"We will begin with substances related to oxygen transfer, cellular repair and biological energy. One of them may produce a response."
Another screen appeared.
Professor Song looked at Qian Wei. "Please open your mouth so I can inspect your teeth and gums."
Qian Wei pressed her lips together. "My teeth are not causing pain at the moment, so I don’t think that is necessary."
"You reported that your canines lengthen when the hunger becomes severe. I need a baseline before we test any energy source."
"They have already returned to normal."
"That is exactly why I need to examine them now. Without a normal measurement, we cannot determine how much they change."
Qian Wei considered stepping off the platform.
Professor Song folded her arms. "You agreed to a non-invasive examination. Looking at your teeth qualifies."
Lin Mei turned her face slightly, but Qian Wei could tell she was hiding amusement.
"You seem to be enjoying this," Qian Wei accused.
"I am only relieved that Professor Song is arguing with you instead of asking me to help restrain you."
"That is not comforting."
Professor Song pointed toward the dental scanner. "Please open your mouth. I will finish more quickly if you stop negotiating over every harmless procedure."
Qian Wei reluctantly obeyed.
A small light passed over her teeth.
Professor Song’s expression changed.
"What did you find?" Qian Wei asked, although speaking around the scanner made the words unclear.
The professor enlarged the image.
Qian Wei’s canines looked normal on the surface, but a second structure rested inside each tooth.
Professor Song stared at it. "Your fangs did not retract."
Qian Wei’s stomach tightened.
"They are still there?"
"They folded into the original teeth and formed an internal channel connected to modified glands near your jaw."
Qian Wei closed her mouth immediately. "What kind of channel?"
Professor Song looked directly at her.
"One designed to draw blood."