I'm a proper student; I only take nine kinds of potions every day.

Without giving Ivan a second glance, without making any hints, he was elegant and restrained, like a true scholar.

If it weren't for the "2% base vampire chance" label on the panel, Evan would have almost doubted whether he was overthinking things.

At lunchtime, Evan sat down in the cafeteria with his lavish lunch of twelve cents.

Black bread, butter, bean soup, milk, and an apple.

There was still no one around.

The table within a two-meter radius was empty, as if an invisible wall separated him from the others.

But the content of the whispers changed.

Previously it was "syphilis," "filth," and "prostitute disease."

Now there are some new terms: "gang", "thug", "mafia", "I heard he has connections in the dock area", "I heard he always carries a knife".

Evan chewed on his bread, but his face was full of ease and comfort.

Rumors always travel faster than the truth.

A familiar scent of sandalwood and bergamot perfume wafted over.

Priss appeared on the opposite chair like a gentle breeze, setting down the plate with precise and silent movements.

"How was yesterday?" The voice remained calm, as if asking about the weather.

Ivan put down the bread, his face beaming with undisguised excitement.

"Excellent! Professor, I feel incredibly strong now!"

He lowered his voice, but the excitement in his tone was impossible to suppress.

"Yesterday I even went to the docks to work as a laborer, carrying goods for five hours! I feel my body getting stronger all the time!"

He clenched his fist and added, "Today I also delivered a brilliant counterattack against those who bullied me!"

Pulis grunted in agreement, picked up his fork, cut off a small piece of fried fish, and put it in his mouth.

Behind the glasses, a pair of light blue eyes silently scrutinized Evan, as if reading a lab report.

"Are there any unusual urges or other side effects?"

Ivan stroked his chin, pretending to be seriously recalling something.

In front of a superhuman vampire, he dared not lie too much.

The highest level of lying is not fabrication, but selectively telling the truth.

"It's very hot. I have a strong urge to exercise. I have low blood sugar. I get hungry very quickly."

He paused for a moment.

That's all.

Pris's lips curled up slightly, the curve so small it was almost imperceptible.

"Very good, keep eating."

He put down his fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and spoke as if it were just a casual remark.

"By the way, you haven't taken any other medications these past few days, have you?"

Ivan scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"I took some mercury pills and aspirin. My body ached a lot when I took these two medications together yesterday."

Pris's gaze lingered on his face for a second.

"When you take the medicine I give you, stop taking those other things first."

Ivan nodded respectfully: "Understood."

Pulis then stood up and left.

He barely touched his lavish twenty-cent lunch, leaving most of the fried fish and vegetables untouched on the plate.

The milk was finished, though.

Evan watched his figure disappear at the cafeteria entrance, then calmly pulled the plate left by Priss in front of him.

The fried fish was still warm, and the butter on the vegetables hadn't solidified yet.

He mixed the remaining food together, packed it up in his tin-plated biscuit tin (which he usually used for serving rice), and took it away.

A twenty-cent lunch—why not take it?

Back in the lab, Priss closed the door and chuckled softly in the dim light.

The laughter was soft and short, but it contained something complex.

There was excitement, greed, and the kind of determination that only a hunter shows when he finally confirms the value of his prey.

The ordinary-looking female assistant in white stood next to the locker, holding a notebook in her hand. She looked up when she heard the laughter.

"Just as I expected." Pulis took off his glasses and wiped the lenses with his shirt cuff, the movement slow and pleasant.

"He didn't mutate; instead, he absorbed the extraordinary properties of the potion."

The female assistant, whose face had been expressionless until now, showed a rare look of shock.

"Absorbed?"

Priss nodded, put his glasses back on, and his light blue eyes behind the lenses burned with a cold yet intense light.

“I sensed it. There are supernatural characteristics in his body that belong to vampires, faint, but definitely present.”

He walked to the lab bench and took a wooden tray out of the drawer.

Several glass slides were neatly arranged on the tray, each coated with a thin layer of dark red sample. This was the finished product after the blood was drawn from Evan's arm last night, having been separated and processed.

"It has no mutations, no bloodlust, and is not afraid of sunlight."

"His fighting spirit is strong, and his physical activity has increased significantly."

He picked up a slide and looked at it under the light of the desk lamp, and the smile on his lips widened even further.

"The side effects of anemia were almost ineffective; in fact, his blood quality improved instead of decreased."

He put the slide back on the tray, turned around, and braced his hands on the edge of the lab bench, his voice suppressing an almost trembling excitement.

"He became immune to the side effects."

"By blood father, I have finally encountered such a rare physique."

The female assistant's lips trembled slightly, and her voice was very low.

"Master, then... should we arrest him?"

Priss remained silent.

His excitement subsided completely within seconds, as if someone had tightened a valve.

His light blue eyes regained their usual indifference and caution.

"Need not."

He walked to the window, feeling the heat of the sunlight through the heavy curtains, and his voice calmed down.

"Let's find out in secret what kind of special physique he has, and whether there's anything strange behind him."

He paused for a moment, his tone becoming meaningful.

"Don't forget the lesson we learned in Innsmouth."

The female assistant stiffened slightly and then remained silent.

That was more than just a failed experiment.

More than anything, it was a nightmare...

Chapter 16: Unexpected Misfortune

For the next three days, Evan's life was like a machine on track, with every gear meshing and operating precisely.

He did not disobey Pris's orders to stop taking mercury pills, aspirin, and phenobarbital, and only took two kinds of magic potions each day.

I attended classes during the day and carried sacks at the dock at night.

With his mental attributes fully restored, even without the boost of phenobarbital's four times the concentration, Evan can complete his daily homework during breaks and lunchtime.

His mind cleared, his memory returned, and he finally regained the learning efficiency that a normal person should have.

Those middle-class kids didn't cause him any further trouble.

When LeBang saw him from afar in the corridor, he would lower his head, his eyes filled with resentment and a strange smile on his lips.

But he dared not speak, and quickened his pace to take a detour.

Thompson wouldn't even stay on the same floor; as soon as Evan came into view, the football rookie would quickly turn towards the nearest exit and disappear.

But they changed their strategy.

Instead of taking action, they opted for complete isolation.

Throughout the entire school, apart from the teacher standing on the podium, no student spoke to Evan.

I don't touch him, I don't make eye contact with him, and I don't sit at the same table with him.

Even when walking towards you in the corridor, you will take a half step to the side to avoid it, as if you are avoiding an invisible obstacle.

Evan didn't care at all.

He enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Without social distractions or insincere small talk, every minute can be used wisely.

Professor Pulis stopped sneaking around to have his blood drawn starting the next day.

He openly and legitimately instructed Ivan to come to the lab every two days at 4:30 PM sharp to have a small tube of blood drawn for experimental analysis.

The process was very formal, with a record sheet, a signature column, and they even prepared a clean cotton ball and a piece of tape for Evan.

Evan had no reason to refuse in order to secure a continued supply of potions.

Engineering studies are as heavy as a mountain that can never be moved.