Her partner hesitated before following Qian Wei into the corridor.
He had promised the doctor that he would make sure she reached home safely, but the speed at which she walked suggested that she wanted to escape from him as much as she wanted to leave the hospital.
"Qian Wei, you said you needed fresh air, but the exit is in the opposite direction," he called after her. "If you want a few minutes alone, I will give them to you, but don’t wander so far that I have to ask hospital security to find you."
"I only need somewhere quiet," Qian Wei answered without looking back. "The sounds on this floor are making my headache worse, so please wait for me near the lift."
He slowed reluctantly. "You should tell me if you feel dizzy again. I would rather annoy you by following too closely than explain to the doctor why you collapsed after he placed you under my supervision."
"I won’t collapse."
"That confidence would be more convincing if you hadn’t regained consciousness less than an hour ago."
Qian Wei might have argued under normal circumstances, but every second she remained near him made the hunger worse. She continued walking until the sounds of his footsteps faded behind the noise of the ward.
The corridor was brighter than the hospital room.
At first, Qian Wei assumed the lights had been designed that way, but she soon realized her vision had changed. She could see every detail too clearly. The smooth walls were no longer plain white; she could distinguish faint patterns in the material and tiny marks left by passing equipment. Even the words on a display at the far end of the corridor appeared sharp enough for her to read.
The lights felt harsh against her eyes, forcing her to raise one hand as she hurried forward.
People passed her in both directions.
A nurse pushed a medical trolley while speaking to an elderly patient. Two visitors stood beside one of the doors, quietly discussing whether they should return home. A young man leaned against the wall and stared at a transparent screen hovering above his wrist.
Qian Wei heard all of them.
Their voices were so clear that she could separate each conversation, even when several people spoke at the same time. Beneath the voices, footsteps and humming equipment were dozens of living heartbeats.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Every rhythm was slightly different.
Some were quick with anxiety, while others remained slow and steady. Qian Wei could hear blood rushing through arteries and pulsing beneath warm skin.
Her stomach clenched.
She lowered her head and walked faster, afraid that someone would notice the way her gaze kept drifting toward exposed throats and wrists.
The system had described her condition as abnormal, but that word was far too mild. Nothing about craving another person’s blood could be considered a simple abnormality.
A woman carrying a sleeping child passed close enough for Qian Wei to smell both of them.
The hunger reacted violently.
For a terrible instant, she imagined grabbing the woman’s arm and sinking her teeth into the large vein near her wrist.
Qian Wei stumbled away and struck the wall with her shoulder.
The woman looked back. "Are you alright?"
"I’m fine, but I stood up too quickly and became dizzy," Qian Wei replied, forcing her voice to remain calm. "Please continue. I don’t need assistance."
The woman hesitated before walking away.
Qian Wei watched her until she entered another ward. Shame joined the hunger twisting inside her.
She had become a police officer because she wanted to protect people. Yet, only a few hours after waking in this world, she could barely stop herself from viewing innocent patients and visitors as food.
She dug her fingernails into her palms and continued toward the emergency exit at the far end of the corridor.
The heavy door opened into a concrete stairwell. Qian Wei rushed through it and pulled it closed behind her, shutting away the bright lights and most of the people.
The difference was immediate, but it was not enough.
She could still hear heartbeats through the wall.
They were quieter now, no longer overwhelming her from every direction, but the hunger had already awakened. It clawed at her stomach and tightened her throat until swallowing became painful.
Qian Wei moved down several steps before leaning against the wall.
"What is happening to me?" she asked inwardly. "You said the mutation was incomplete, but you never mentioned that I would start wanting human blood."
Ding!
The transparent panel appeared in front of her.
[New mission available.]
Qian Wei stared at the words. "This is not the time to give me work. I need you to stop whatever is happening to my body."
The panel changed.
[Beginner Mission: Suppress Hunger.]
[Objective: Resist the urge to attack a human for ten minutes.]
[Reward: Basic Control increased by 10%.]
[Failure Penalty: Loss of Control.]
Qian Wei’s eyes widened. "What do you mean by loss of control? Are you saying that if I fail, I will attack someone whether I want to or not?"
[Failure will allow mutation instincts to temporarily override Host consciousness.]
"That is not a penalty. It is a threat."
[Mission conditions were not created by the system.]
"Then who created them?"
[The mission reflects Host’s current biological condition.]
Qian Wei understood.
The system was not causing the hunger to increase as punishment. It was warning her that she had ten minutes to establish control before her body overwhelmed her mind.
That explanation should have made the mission less frightening.
It did not.
A timer appeared beneath the objective.
[09:58.]
"It has already started?"
[Affirmative.]
"You might have warned me before using two of my seconds."
[09:56.]
The system clearly had no intention of pausing the countdown while she complained.
Qian Wei moved farther down the stairwell. Each level placed another layer of concrete between her and the busy hospital corridor, reducing the heartbeats to faint, distant rhythms.
She stopped on a landing where no one seemed to be nearby and lowered herself against the wall.
Ten minutes should have been manageable.
She had endured longer physical exercises during police training, including situations designed to test her ability to make decisions while exhausted, injured or deprived of sleep.
However, none of those exercises had involved resisting her own body.
The hunger intensified with every passing second.
Qian Wei wrapped one arm around her stomach as a sharp cramp passed through it. Her nails scraped across the floor while she fought the urge to return to the corridor.
People were only a few flights above her.
It would be easy to find someone alone.
The thought entered her mind with such cold practicality that Qian Wei became frightened of herself.
"No," she whispered. "Those people are not food."
[08:41.]
She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing.
Inhale slowly.
Hold.
Exhale.
The method had helped her remain calm during combat exercises at the academy, but her new senses made every breath more difficult. She could smell traces of blood carried through the ventilation system. Someone nearby might have undergone surgery, or perhaps it came from a medical storage unit.
Her body did not care about the source.
It wanted blood.
Qian Wei pressed the back of her head against the wall.
"You are Qian Wei," she told herself. "You graduated from the police academy, and you swore to protect the public. You will not attack the same people you promised to protect simply because your body is hungry."
The words gave her mind something to hold, but the mutation pushed back.
Her heart slowed further.
Her vision darkened along the edges, while her hearing became even more focused. The scattered sounds in the hospital faded until only the nearest heartbeats remained.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
[06:23.]
Qian Wei clenched her teeth.
A dull ache spread through her jaw. It began near her gums before concentrating around her canines.
She raised a trembling hand and touched them.
They were longer.
The sharp points pressed against the inside of her lower lip.
"No..."
Her voice sounded rough and unfamiliar.
She covered her mouth, terrified that someone might enter the stairwell and see the change. As she continued touching the canines, they gradually returned to their original length.
Qian Wei lowered her hand.
For a moment, she wondered whether she had imagined it. Unfortunately, the lingering ache in her gums told her that the change had been real.
She was developing fangs.
[04:52.]
"Why would I have fangs if I am not turning into a zombie?"
[Mutation characteristics have not stabilized.]
"That still does not answer my question."
[Host should prioritize mission completion.]
Qian Wei gave the panel an irritated look. "If I survive this, you and I will have a much longer conversation about your habit of avoiding questions."
The system did not appear intimidated.
Minutes passed with agonizing slowness.
Qian Wei tried counting backward, reciting academy regulations and remembering every member of her graduating class. None of the distractions lasted. The hunger always pulled her attention back toward the living people inside the hospital.
Sweat gathered along her forehead despite the coldness of her skin.
[01:14.]
Only a little more than one minute remained.
Qian Wei focused on the countdown. If she had endured almost nine minutes, she could survive one more.
Footsteps sounded above her.
She opened her eyes.
Someone had entered the stairwell.
The heavy door closed, and the person began walking down the steps.
Each footfall travelled through the concrete. Qian Wei could hear fabric moving, air entering a familiar pair of lungs and blood rushing through a strong heart.
She recognized his scent before he spoke.
Her partner.
"Qian Wei, are you down here?" His voice echoed through the stairwell. "You have been gone for several minutes, and I am not willing to keep pretending that you only needed fresh air."
Qian Wei’s body became rigid.
The hunger she had barely contained erupted.
His heartbeat was stronger than all the distant rhythms beyond the walls. Every beat drew her attention upward.
Thump.
Warm blood.
Thump.
Living flesh.
Qian Wei gripped the edge of the step. "Please go back to the corridor. I need another minute alone, and I will come to you when I’m ready."
He stopped above her.
"You sound unwell, so I am not leaving you alone in a stairwell. If your headache has worsened, we should return to the ward."
"I am not asking for your opinion," Qian Wei replied through clenched teeth. "Go back and wait for me."
Her harsh tone might have driven away someone less concerned.
Instead, he continued descending.
"That is exactly what you said before you collapsed yesterday. I listened to you then, and I have regretted it since. You may become angry with me if you want, but I need to see that you are alright."
Qian Wei squeezed her eyes shut.
He was trying to help her.
If he came any closer, she might kill him.
[Warning: Hunger level rising.]
The panel flashed red.
[00:18.]
"Stop where you are," Qian Wei warned. Her voice no longer sounded entirely human. "Do not come any closer to me."
His footsteps stopped.
"Qian Wei, look at me and tell me what is happening. You are frightening me more by refusing to explain."
[00:12.]
She should have remained facing the wall.
Instead, the sound of his heart pulled her around.
He stood only a few steps above her, watching with a mixture of concern and caution. His hand hovered near his side, not reaching for a weapon but ready to catch her if she fell.
Qian Wei saw the pulse moving beneath the skin of his neck.
Her thoughts disappeared.
[00:07.]
She rose slowly.
"Qian Wei?" he called again. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
She stepped toward him.
His posture changed. He did not retreat, but his instincts had clearly warned him that something was wrong.
[00:04.]
Qian Wei reached the step below him.
Her canines lengthened, pressing against her lips. She leaned closer until his scent filled every breath.
[00:03.]
Her hand rose and settled on his shoulder.
His muscles tightened beneath her palm.
"If you are about to faint," he said carefully, "you should tell me before both of us fall down these stairs."
[00:01.]
Qian Wei’s lips parted.
Ding!
[Mission complete.]
[Reward distributed: Basic Control increased by 10%.]
The hunger vanished so suddenly that Qian Wei nearly lost her balance.
Her mind cleared.
She became painfully aware of how close she stood to her partner. One hand remained on his shoulder, while her face was only a short distance from his neck.
He stared at her.
Qian Wei stared back.
She had almost bitten him.
Worse, judging by his guarded expression, he knew that whatever she had intended was not normal.
Qian Wei’s mind searched desperately for an explanation and found nothing believable.
In the end, she patted his shoulder twice as if that had been her intention all along.
"Thank you," she said before stepping around him.
He remained motionless for several seconds. "What exactly are you thanking me for?"
"You came to find me."
"That does not explain why you were staring at my neck as though you intended to eat me."
Qian Wei continued up the stairs without looking back. "You must have misunderstood because I was dizzy."
"I have seen dizzy people before, and none of them looked at me like I was the last meal available in the city."
Her footsteps quickened.
He followed her. "Qian Wei, avoiding the conversation will not make your behavior less strange."
"I am not avoiding anything. I have decided that you were right, and we should leave the hospital before the doctor finds another reason to keep me here."
Her partner watched her hurry toward the door.
He did not believe her explanation.
Qian Wei could tell from his silence that he would ask again later.
For the moment, however, she had a more immediate problem.
The mission had suppressed the hunger, but it had not removed it.
Something inside her still wanted human blood.