Professor Song enlarged the image of Qian Wei’s teeth.
The outer canines appeared only slightly longer than normal, but narrow folded structures rested inside them. Each was connected to a modified channel leading toward glands near her jaw.
Qian Wei stared at the image. "Are you certain those structures are designed to draw blood? Could they serve some less disturbing purpose?"
"The channels connect directly to an altered absorption system. I cannot prove their function without further testing, but the structure resembles biological feeding mechanisms found in certain animals."
"I would have preferred you to say they were harmless."
"I would have preferred to find ordinary teeth."
Professor Song adjusted the scan. "Your canines are approximately three millimeters longer than the measurements in your previous medical record. The internal structures also appear capable of extending when your body requires them."
Qian Wei closed her mouth firmly. "They return to normal when the hunger fades."
"Not completely. The visible fangs retract, but the altered structures remain folded inside the original teeth."
Qian Wei looked at her hands. Years of training and handling weapons had left them stronger than those of an ordinary young woman, but they still appeared human.
"What if my body eventually decides that teeth are not enough and gives me claws?"
Professor Song’s eyes brightened. "That would reveal how extensively the mutation can adapt your physical structure."
Qian Wei stared at her. "I was expressing fear, Professor. You are not supposed to sound excited by the possibility."
Lin Mei turned her face away, but the slight movement of her shoulders suggested she was hiding a smile.
Professor Song seemed to remember that the subject of her fascination was a living person. Her expression became serious.
"Adaptive restructuring does not automatically mean you will become less human. Your body appears to change in response to specific needs, while the system helps your consciousness retain control."
"Could you explain what adaptive restructuring means without using scientific language?"
"Your body changes according to what it believes you need. Hunger causes the feeding structures to extend, while danger may eventually trigger other responses."
"That still sounds as though claws are possible."
"They are possible, but not inevitable."
Qian Wei sighed. "I don’t want to become scientifically fascinating."
Professor Song’s voice softened. "Project Dawn will do everything possible to keep the mutation from erasing your identity or turning you into a danger. I cannot promise that your body will stop changing, but I can promise that we will search for ways to help you control it."
The sincerity in her response eased some of Qian Wei’s fear.
"Thank you. I may complain throughout the research, but I will cooperate as long as you remember that I am still a person."
"I will remember."
Professor Song dismissed the dental image and opened another section of the laboratory.
Part of the wall slid aside, revealing shelves filled with sealed containers and equipment.
Qian Wei glanced toward the hidden compartment. "I thought this laboratory had no equipment."
"The room stores everything behind sterile walls until it is required. Leaving instruments exposed would increase contamination and waste space."
"That is more believable than a laboratory containing one platform."
Professor Song removed a transparent packet filled with dark-red liquid.
Qian Wei stepped backward immediately. "I already told you that I will not drink human blood."
"This is synthetic plasma. It does not contain human blood or cells taken from any living organism."
"It looks exactly like blood."
"That is because it performs several of the same functions."
Qian Wei folded her arms. "Its function does not change what it looks like."
Professor Song rubbed her forehead. "The liquid contains laboratory-produced proteins, electrolytes, nutrient compounds and artificial oxygen carriers. No person or animal was harmed to create it."
"Could the manufacturer not make it another color? Blue would make it look like an ordinary sports drink."
"The dark-red color comes from the oxygen-binding compound. Changing it for aesthetic reasons could reduce its effectiveness."
Qian Wei continued staring at the packet.
Professor Song’s patience began to weaken. "You volunteered to cooperate with reasonable testing, and this is one of the safest substances available."
"I agreed to cooperate. I did not promise to drink something resembling a bag of blood without asking questions."
Lin Mei stepped closer. "Major General Qian, the aircraft leaves in approximately one hour. If the hunger becomes worse during the operation, you could endanger the entire team."
Qian Wei looked at her. "At least you remembered my new rank."
"I was hoping it would make you behave like someone responsible enough to carry it."
That response left Qian Wei unable to complain.
The hunger tightened again, reminding her why they were conducting the test. Her dislike of the liquid did not matter as much as the lives of the people travelling with her.
Refusing a safe treatment merely because it looked unpleasant would contradict her reason for approaching Project Dawn.
Qian Wei lowered her arms. "I will try it, but Professor Song must stop the test immediately if my condition becomes worse."
"I will monitor every change, and you may stop whenever you choose."
Professor Song handed her the packet.
Qian Wei accepted it as though it contained poison. A narrow tube extended from the top when she touched the seal.
She examined it. "Future medicine comes in drink packets?"
"It allows patients to consume synthetic plasma without using an intravenous line. You should appreciate that because an injection would qualify as more invasive."
"That is a surprisingly effective argument."
Qian Wei placed the tube between her lips but paused.
"If I turn into something strange after drinking this, I will blame you."
Professor Song raised an eyebrow. "Your body has already developed retractable feeding structures. We passed strange several hours ago."
Qian Wei nearly threw the packet at her.
Instead, she took a cautious sip.
The liquid was warm and slightly salty. It did not taste like blood, although Qian Wei had no desire to learn enough about human blood to make an accurate comparison.
The moment she swallowed, her body reacted.
The hunger vanished.
Relief lasted less than a second.
Then the craving returned with enough force to bend Qian Wei forward.
Her fingers tightened around the packet as pain tore through her stomach. The heartbeats inside the laboratory became unbearably loud, and her canines extended before she could stop them.
"What did you give me?" she demanded through clenched teeth. "You said this was supposed to help."
Professor Song hurried toward the monitors. "Your body absorbed the oxygen carriers immediately, but something else is reacting to the compound. Try to remain still while I identify which response belongs to the system."
Lin Mei moved closer, intending to support her.
Qian Wei raised one hand. "Please stay where you are. I can hear your heartbeat too clearly, and I do not want you within reach."
Lin Mei stopped.
The system chimed.
[Compatible energy compound detected.]
[Absorption efficiency: Eight percent.]
[System Energy restored by one percentage point.]
[Current System Energy: Three percent.]
Qian Wei stared at the message. The system had changed the display from units to percentages as its internal monitoring became more precise, but the meaning remained clear.
The synthetic plasma had restored part of its energy.
"What is compatible about this liquid when it nearly made me attack someone?"
[Initial absorption stimulated mutation hunger.]
[Recovered energy redirected to background mutation regulation.]
The pressure in Qian Wei’s jaw began fading.
Her canines folded back into place, and the heartbeats around her became easier to ignore. Warmth spread through her chest as her temperature rose slightly.
Qian Wei straightened slowly.
Professor Song studied the changing readings. "Your heartbeat has increased to forty-six, and your temperature is rising."
"The hunger is also becoming weaker," Qian Wei admitted. "The first reaction was terrible, but the system used the recovered energy to regulate the mutation."
Professor Song looked at the remaining synthetic plasma with renewed interest. "Then we have found the first substance your system can use."
"Eight-percent absorption is not impressive."
"No, but it gives us a starting point. If we identify which component it consumed, we may be able to create something safer and more efficient."
Qian Wei handed the packet back. "You may improve it after I return from Donghai. I am not drinking the rest all at once."
Professor Song accepted the packet. "We still have time to test several alternatives before departure."
Qian Wei looked toward the newly opened shelf, where more suspicious containers had begun moving forward.
She suddenly regretted agreeing so easily.
Finding food for the Zombie System might prove almost as dangerous as allowing it to remain hungry.