“In order to investigate the reasons behind his abnormality, I had him hidden in the research lab ever since his appearance,” Fourth Elder explained solemnly.

So this was his motive… but…

“Is it only because of his DNA?” Yao Si inhaled deeply before adding, “Are there any other reasons?”

Fourth Elder stiffened, his face paling as though a frightening thought had struck him.

“Fourth Elder, you mentioned an organization, what kind of organization is it?”

“It-it…” His gaze turned frantic, wandering about, not daring to look her in the eyes.

“Is it Euphoria?” she asked, not giving up. “What part do you play in the organization and was the doomsday virus also created by the Heavenly Bestowed Yard?”

“No! It wasn’t!” He shook his head violently, bolting up in agitation. “How could I have created such a monstrous virus?”

“Then why?”

“Because… Because…” He struggled to find the words, opening his mouth several times, but nothing came out. Maniacally, he started to mutter, “I-I-I didn’t want to betray the bloodlings. I didn’t want to! Didn’t want to!”

“Fourth Elder?” Yao Si’s heart sank; something wasn’t right there. “What’s wrong?”

He completely disregarded her, as though her words didn’t reach him. Taking a step back, he stumbled a few times, stood up, and retreated back once more. “I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to… But, they wanted to… Psh!” Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly spat a mouthful of blood.

“Fourth Elder!” Yao Si shouted, slamming the emergency alarm. The other Elders and Bai Yi, who she had requested for specifically, came rushing over. Once they saw what had happened, it shocked them into a daze.

“Fourth Elder…”

“Hurry up, open the doors!” Yao Si pointed toward the laser gates in front.

The Elders were immediately alerted and switched off the laser gates in the cell; however, Fourth Elder who had been trapped inside was already drenched in blood.

“Fourth Elder, are you alright?” Yao Qian stepped forward to support him. “What happened here?”

“Hurry! Send him to the medical room,” Yao Si ordered them.

Just as Yao Qian was about to reach for him, Fourth Elder pushed him away. “It’s okay! It’s useless… useless. Your Highness! Your Highness…” He reached out to grab her with a death grip while struggling to speak. “You must be careful, they—”

Before he could finish the sentence, another wave of blood came rushing out of his mouth.

He… couldn’t speak!

“Fourth Elder, stop talking.” Yao Si turned toward the person beside her. “Bai Yi, use your ability.”

“Ah… Oh!” Bai Yi stilled momentarily, then activated his ability.

Lord of Subtitles activated right away, but unlike all the other times, the message was short, containing only one sentence.

Your Highness, please be careful!

She couldn’t seem to decipher the meaning behind the sentence. Fourth Elder grabbed onto her hands, but he was too weak and they slipped away. That was the last thing he did, leaving a glaring splash of fresh blood on Yao Si’s arms.

–

Fourth Elder sank into eternal hibernation, which was quite unexpected. Yao Si had a suspicion that he was trying to warn her about something, but somehow he wasn’t able to name it. And last but not least, what did his last sentence asking her to be careful mean?

Was she Euphoria’s next target?

Fourth Elder’s eternal hibernation was incomprehensible: he seemed to be all right one moment, and was gone the next. No one knew the reason behind his eternal hibernation, and even Mu Xuan couldn’t figure it out.

Yao Si felt a chill inching up her spine. The problem of Euphoria was starting to get increasingly complex. Every time they came closer to a thread, it seemed to be cut off instantly. It was like a shadow. Even though one knew it was around, they didn’t seem able to catch hold of it.

Fourth Elder’s betrayal was kept a secret, and a grand funeral was held in his memory. Yao Si could understand the reason for it. First, it was to ensure that the enemy would not be alerted and hide even deeper. Also, since Fourth Elder was already dead, there was no need to pursue the matter any longer.

“Does Fourth Elder have a cub?” Yao Si asked suddenly.

“No.” Yao Qian shook his head. “The bloodling after him was formed through inheritance. He once had a mentor, but that was a very long time ago… He once mentioned that his mentor belonged to the last batch of earthlings.”

Earthling?

Was that the reason behind his research craze—to allow clones to gain sentience? He probably wanted earthlings to return to the Galaxy.

But all clues ended there, with Yuan Han being the last source. But Yao Si didn’t hold much hope for Yuan Han. Besides, according to the information that Yao Qian had obtained, Yuan Han wasn’t very well informed. Even the doomsday virus he had obtained was from a stranger through the Galactic web. All that person had told him was that it would be useful in helping him defeat the bloodlings. After that, he signed with Euphoria and didn’t ask any more questions.

On the other hand, the reasons for Yuan Han’s hatred for bloodlings was hilarious.

“Don’t think I’m not aware of your disgusting motives. You just want to turn me into a bloodling!” Yuan Han glared at her with disgust as though he would fight to his death against her. “I’m an earthling, the last one standing. Even so, I would rather die than become one of you, a blood-sucking monster.”

“Oh,” Yao Si replied emotionlessly. It was starting to get funny. Where did he get his knowledge about bloodlings from?

Yao Si continued to humor him, before retrieving all his information from Heavenly Bestowed Yard and having it flash in front of him. His reaction started with disdain, then turned to suspicion, before ending with disbelief and a slight craze.

“No, it can’t be true, how can I be a clone? You must be lying, you are definitely lying!” He waved his hands in distress, trying to push the screen away. Suddenly, he was reminded of something, biting down on his lip, he pointed at himself. “I traveled through time to come into this time, I’m a real human. Don’t you dare to trick me into thinking otherwise. Justice shall prevail!”

Justice? Stop trying to drag justice’s name down the drain. You’re just a child!

“You don’t have to believe.” Yao Si straightened. She would rather head home for dinner than talk to such an ignorant person. “Oh right! I forgot to mention, we have never eaten human blood. All we eat is duck blood curd!”

Yao Si finally understood his hatred toward bloodlings. He had woken up and gained sentience in Heavenly Bestowed Yard. Moreover, he possessed memories of an earthling that hated vampires. He must have known that he was going to get converted, and it triggered memories of blood-sucking vampires from movies the earthling had watched. His resentment then morphed into the unwillingness to get converted, forcing him into his escape.

Basically…

#TooManyMovies #VictimParanoia.

What was even more hilarious was that even though he escaped and spent five years in the Galaxy, he didn’t learn anything about the bloodling race! Or was he actually aware but chose to live in denial, preferring to rely on the memories of the earthling?

He certainly has an extremely inflated ego!

“Impossible, you must be lying. You’re all blood-sucking monsters, how can you not suck human blood!” Yuan Han bellowed, seemingly trying to convince himself rather than her. “I’m not wrong, I was just trying to protect myself. I just didn’t want to turn into a monster.”

“You can rest assured.” Yao Si stopped in her tracks, turning to sweep a glance at him. “Regardless of whether it’s the past or present, no one has any intention of converting you into a bloodling.” Fourth Elder was interested simply because he was the only clone that had gained awareness.

Ever since the beginning, no one had the intention of forcing him to become a bloodling; it had always been his one-sided assumption.

“As for the future…” Yao Si inhaled deeply. “I assure you with my status as a fifth generation bloodling that I will never let you become any bloodling’s cub. You would only be dragging the average bloodling intelligence down!”

Countless people in the Galaxy want to become bloodlings, and do you think we care? Bloodlings can be picky as well! They were particular about the earthlings they converted since millions of years ago, so why would they touch human blood?

“You-you…” Yuan Han was left speechless, his face pale with disbelief.

Cherish your life, avoid ignorance.

Yao Si ignored a certain someone who seemed to be left in shock and turned to head home. As for his punishment, it would be in Yao Qian’s hands. She was more worried about the Galactic account that had provided him with the doomsday virus.

When everything calmed down, she got Bai Yi to track the account, but nothing came up. Euphoria had vanished once again.

A strong sense of threat started to cloud Yao Si’s senses. This time, it wasn’t just about the bloodlings—it was primarily concerned with her own well-being!

–

In a blink of an eye, it was time for school yet again.

“What, you guys are graduating?” Yao Si exclaimed in shock when she saw the two who had been waiting for her at the school gates.

“Yes.” Nephew Gu nodded, turning toward the bashful Luo Ying beside him. Their hands were tightly clasped together. “Your Highness, we have decided to graduate this semester before going on a holiday.”

“Oh, how long are you going to be away?” Honeymoon. She understood.

“We aren’t sure yet.” Nephew Gu shook his head. “I have already made the arrangements. In the future, you can call us for matters you need help on. Also, I have already planned out the student committee’s duties, so you don’t have to worry. Various department heads will tend to the minor matters.

“As for the others, the bloodlings in the committee will solve it, so you won’t be inconvenienced. Since Bai Yi is rather well versed in the Galactic web and information matters, you can hand him the issues such as the machine competition and other liaising jobs that deal with other academies. Also…”

He rambled on continuously, tying up the loose ends as he operated the optical computer and sending her a bunch of information. Basically, he had arranged everything so that she could continue to wield power without having to do anything. His understanding of her personality was immaculate. She should really pay him wages!