"Excuse me," Lin Ye thought he had misheard her, "W-What did you say?"
Lin Ye's words made Warfarin pause, with Lin Ye's arm halfway to her face, before immediately turning towards Lin Ye, with a shocked expression.
"Ahem," She coughed slightly, quickly following up, "Your personal hygiene is good... It seems that you still have some doubts about me. That's no good, you know, I'm a senior doctor."
"... I'm not afraid of you anymore," Lin Ye said slowly.
"Is that so? That's good."
"But what were you doing just now?"
"What was I doing just now? You're overreacting," Warfarin said solemnly, "I was just going to take some blood from you."
"... Is that so?"
"Of course, it is. Hey, you don't seem to trust my professionalism very much." Warfarin sighed exasperatedly, "Don't you know who I am? I'm Doctor Warfarin. The person who manages the blood bank, and one of the veteran members of Rhodes Island. I am a person with great self-discipline, I can control myself, even if your blood is the greatest thing that I've ever smelled, just trust me."
Obviously, she had just repeated herself. However, the feeling that she was giving off a few minutes ago and right now were completely different for Lin Ye. Before, her words contained a touch of sadness and melancholy, which immediately filled Lin Ye with sympathy and compassion.
But now, he felt that she was running her mouth, trying to cover up something.
This is the same person, so why does she feel completely different after just a couple of minutes? Is it because of my blood?
Lin Ye sniffed his arm, before turning to Warfarin with a look, "Is my blood special? Can you smell it?"
"Of course not. It's impossible to be able to smell blood so easily, even for my race." Warfarin coughed again, "In short, you can rest assured that I have no interest in your blood at all. Don't judge me just because I'm a Vampire. We just happen to be a very common sub-species of Sarkaz."
"Why do I feel that you're acting completely different than before?"
"You're so annoying," Warfarin snapped, revealing her sharp fangs, "What, is the big man scared of a little needle? Stop talking nonsense, let me collect some blood from you and record it in the database."
Lin Ye was still unsure, "Do you have to take it now?"
"Yeah, didn't you agree to it just now? Please, do you understand how busy I am every day?" Warfarin hugged herself with both of her arms and said solemnly, "So many tasks waiting to be done, so many projects waiting to be carried out. It's already rare enough for me to find time to spare during my busy schedule, to collect your blood-."
Warfarin suddenly covered her mouth with her hands.
Lin Ye raised a brow at this, "What's the matter?"
Warfarin shook her head, while thinking in her heart, That was close. I talked too much. Some of my saliva almost fell out just now.
"Come with me already, stop wasting my time," Warfarin grabbed Lin Ye by the arm, as she turned and began walking away from the R&D lab.
"Where are we going?"
"To the blood bank, of course."
Lin Ye thought that Warfarin's grip was a bit tight and attempted to protest, "But I'm waiting for Liz, and what about the food I bought for Liz? This can't be brought into the blood bank, right?"
"Oh, it doesn't matter, it's just food, you can bring it anywhere you want."
Lin Ye thought to himself. Didn't you say that it was wrong to do so?
The blood bank was right next to the R&D department, and Lin Ye, who had originally arrived to visit Liz, had been abruptly intercepted by Warfarin, which made him a little helpless. Lin Ye didn't even know if he'd survive to see Liz after Warfarin had collected his blood.
… Wait, why did I have such a terrifying thought?
Startled by his grim thought, Lin Ye frantically looked around the blood bank. Upon seeing that it looked no different from an ordinary laboratory, he let out a small sigh of relief.
"Sit down, I'll begin preparing," Warfarin told Lin Ye, gesturing to a chair.
"Hurry up, please, I still have to find Liz," He said as he took a seat.
"Well, it won't take you too long. By the way, I've known Liz for a long time, so why haven't I met you before?" Warfarin said, while preparing the blood extraction equipment, "Ah, I forgot to say it earlier, we can continue to chat, don't be too nervous. Nervousness tends to ruin the blood- Ahem! Ahem! I mean, it can complicate the process."
Lin Ye had never heard of that being a problem when blood was being taken.
Did the needle need to pierce his heart or something?
Warfarin continues to ask, "What race are you? A Sankta? You don't seem to have a halo though."
Lin Ye thought about how to answer, "I'm definitely not an angel, I'm a pure human."
*Bang!*
A loud crash resounded throughout the room, just after Lin Ye finished his sentence.
Turning around, Lin Ye saw Warfarin kneeling on the ground, the equipment she had gathered scattered on the floor all around her.
Lin Ye immediately stood up in shock and concern, "Doctor Warfarin?! What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine," Warfarin held her head in her hands, as she slowly got back up, before speaking, "What race did you just say you are?"
Warfarin suddenly raised her head and stared at Lin Ye with an incredulous face, "Did I hear you right? Pure human, you said you're a pure human, right?"
"...Yes"
"Yes, yes," She nodded to herself, "I see."
Within seconds, Warfarin jumps to her feet, leaps over the dropped equipment and runs towards Lin Ye.
This startled Lin Ye, causing him to stumble back into the chair.
Lin Ye heard the chair's armrests groan as Warfarin latched onto them, as she leaned over him. An intense look in her eyes, as she gazed at Lin Ye in such a focused manner.
"A pure human?! Are you really a pure human?!"
Lin Ye was taken aback, not expecting Warfarin to be so sensitive to his race. Although purebred humans were indeed very rare in this world, there was nothing special about them at all. In fact, the only unique thing about them was how they were weaker than every other race in the world. Maybe that's why they were almost extinct in the first place. Most people had no interest in pure humans, but Warfarin was obviously an exception.
Lin Ye felt that her eyes were shining as if she had won the lottery.
He slowly nodded to her question.
"So you were a pure human!" Warfarin excitedly grabs Lin Ye's hand, "Why didn't you say so earlier!"
"...You didn't ask."
"Oh, yes. But that's not the point," Warfarin slowly released Lin Ye's hand, a wide smile on her face, "Ah! I'm so lucky to finally be able to meet a purebred human! This day must be recorded on the calendar."
Lin Ye couldn't understand what was happening now at all, "Is that really necessary?"
"Of course," Warfarin walked away from Lin Ye and back to the blood collection equipment, "I've been alive for hundreds of years, but I've finally managed to meet a purebred human!"
Lin Ye looked at Warfarin's back, feeling a bit dry in his throat, "How old are you again?"
"Ah." She leaned down and gathered the fallen blood collection instruments, "You sound rather surprised. Did you not know that Sarkaz has a long lifespan?"
"... Is that so?" Lin Ye suddenly became a little worried, as a thought entered his mind, "So how old is Liz now?"
"Liz?" The vampire tilted her head, "That little girl just reached twenty this year, I believe. I believe I may have worded it wrong. I am a vampire, a sub-species of Sarkaz, and the average Sarkaz cannot live as long as me."
The moment Warfarin answered Lin Ye's question, the second half of the sentence, he was relieved, "Fortunately, it's okay. Only twenty years old."
Just thinking that Liz might have been an old devil who lived for hundreds of years, had made Lin Ye feel uneasy in his heart.
"I don't know why you people are so sensitive about age," Warfarin muttered, "What's the difference between twenty and two hundred?"
Lin Ye thought to himself, There is a big, big difference...
"But compared to purebred humans whose average lifespan is only fifty years, we are indeed a very long-lived race," Warfarin suddenly sighs, "Oh well. Beautiful things often don't last long."
Lin Ye thought about what Warfarin had just said. Though Lin Ye didn't know much about the lifespans of the other races, in comparison to Sarkaz, pure human lifespans were indeed very short.
Glancing at the clock, Lin Ye noticed that almost an hour had passed,"Dr. Warfarin, it's getting late. Are you finished preparing yet?"
"Okay, I'm ready."
Lin Ye nodded and was about to present his arm, but paused when he saw the equipment Warfarin had brought over, "Wait, Dr. Warfarin, how much blood do you intend to collect?"
"What do you mean? Just a little bit," Warfarin patted a barrel, "Just fill this up."
Lin Ye's face changed drastically, "Do you want to kill me?!"
"Huh? Why is that?" Warfarin asked, seemingly confused by his reaction.
"What do you mean?! Are you taking a blood sample or sucking me dry!?" Lin Ye concernedly shouted, "Only pigs can fill up that thing!"
"This?" Warfarin's brows raise, as she realizes what Lin Ye was talking about, "You misunderstand, how could I ask you to fill this thing?"
"So, it isn't for me?"
"Of course not," Warfarin rolled her eyes, "I'm a professional doctor. Why did you think that I might have made this kind of mistake? I'm just going to get a sample from you, here, the test tube is in the barrel."
Lin Ye breathed a sigh of relief, "So it was just a container, that almost scared me to death-."
Before he can finish speaking, Lin Ye sees Warfarin take out a test tube that was as large as a Coke bottle. His eyes bulged again, "You really are trying to kill me?!"
"Huh? Isn't it possible to extract this much? Sure, you might be tired for a couple of days, but you'll live!"
Lin Ye immediately backs into his seat, "You're going to take my life! You must want my life! You're just trying to kill me, right?!"
"No. Why would I want to do that?"
"Then why do you have such a big container! Can this thing really be a test tube?!"
"Of course. Hey, this is something that just can't be helped. You're an incredibly rare, purebred human. I have lived for hundreds of years without ever meeting a purebred human, so I want to take this precious opportunity and collect more blood."
"Isn't that too much?"
"No." Warfarin said in a serious tone.
Feeling her hunger begin to return, Warfarin couldn't help licking her lips, "Quickly, let me see what you taste... I mean, make sure your body is okay."
Lin Ye didn't miss Warfarin's action, as he finally understood the difference between her and Skadi, Blue Poison and others.
…That the rumours about her were true.
Why are all women in this world such a pain to deal with?!
Looking at the big test tube in Warfarin's hands, Lin Ye could only try to find a way to retreat for the sake of preserving his own life, "Wait, Dr. Warfarin, I just remembered that I can't give blood tonight."
"Ah? Why?"
"Because I promised Skadi that I'd work out with her later. So-."
"Wait." Warfarin interrupted Lin Ye, "Skadi? You know Skadi?!
"Yes.", he nods.
Lin Ye thought that maybe he could use Skadi to press Warfarin, and immediately said, "My relationship with Skadi is very good actually."
Before, Lin Ye had always hoped that the rumours about Skadi would disappear from the island, but right now he was hoping to use Skadi to frighten off Warfarin. What Lin Ye didn't expect was that Warfarin's eyes would light up once more, when he mentioned Skadi.
"Your relationship with her?" Warfarin asked, "You mean, you and Skadi are on very good terms, possibly even being friends?"
"... Yeah. We are." Lin Ye answered a little uneasy,
"That's it! That's great!" Warfarin loudly cackles, "Then you can help me. I also want Skadi's blood!"
"Her blood?" Lin Ye asks, "Why?"
"Don't get me wrong, I just want to do research with Skadi's blood. You're not a researcher so you can't even begin to understand what her body means to us. She's a huge treasure in her own right, waiting for us to dig into it! If there hadn't been Kal'tsit's interruption last time, my sleepy black tea plan for Skadi would definitely have been successful. After all, it's impossible for even Skadi to resist 200 sleeping pills!"
Seeing her maniacal appearance, Lin Ye could only say in his heart, A madman, this woman is definitely a lunatic, she'd even try to take Skadi's blood, she used two hundred people's sleeping pills for god's sake! I thought Warfarin was a respected veteran before! Now it seems that I really am a fool!
Lin Ye began to inch towards the door, but was immediately noticed by Warfarin.
"Hold on, what are you trying to do? I haven't collected your blood yet! Stop right there!" Warfarin hefted up the needle and ran towards him, "Just a little bit!"
"Get away from me, you old hag loli!"
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
Liz finished putting the final touches on the assignment that she had been assigned to do. All that she had left to do was hand them over to Dr. Warfarin. A simple task really.
She knocked on the door to the blood bank that doubled as Dr. Warfarin's lab, and asks, "Dr. Warfarin, are you there? I've gathered the trial data on the drugs that you asked me to collect.", she opens the door and steps in.
She expected Dr. Warfarin to be doing some research or intensive testing of blood samples.
She certainly didn't expect to be met with the scene that was in front of her.
Lin Ye was holding a tray in front of him like it was a shield of some sort. The tray was weighed down by the three needles embedded in it.
Standing opposite him was Warfarin, now holding 10 needles in both of her hands.
A knocked over chair was visible behind them and various lab equipment lay scattered around on the tables and fallen on the floor.
"You can't run away forever, boy." Warfarin chuckled as she stepped closer to Lin Ye, needles ready in her hands.
"I can try, you old hag loli!" He said as he lifted the shield.
The sound of the door clicking shut behind her catches their attention, as both turn towards her.
"What are you doing here, Dr. Lin Ye?"
Silence filled the room. Then Lin Ye broke it.
"Liz! Get a bunch of onions! I need them to ward off a crazed vampire!"
{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}
Draft: Jaq
Proofread: ComradePanzer56
Edit: Jaq