The World of Beasts: She's Got Their Hearts

"But there are so many distressed males. How many pints of blood is that going to take? This isn't happening. We're going back now, and we're going to put this

freaking research behind us!" Finlay grabbed Analise's hand and turned around, intending to leave.

"Finlay!" Analise snapped. "This is my

decision."

He immediately stiffened and gave her a surprised look. "Ana, you can't put yourself on the line just because you want to save the others."

"I know that." Analise stood on her toes and leaned close to Finlay's ear. "Have you forgotten that I'm not an ordinary pure human female?"

"But....." He trailed off. Of course, he understood what she meant. Pursing his lips, he glanced at Gideon. "Can we trust him? What if he's so focused on saving lives that he puts you in danger?"

"I'm a female, silly." Analise curled her finger and tapped his head. "I know you're worried about me. Relax. We know what's at stake."

"Well, are you really going to sleep with him tonight? Are you going to leave me alone?" Finlay felt a little sorry for himself when he recalled how Gideon taunted him.

"I am. Because I've already promised him." Analise nodded.

"Fine."

Analise followed Gideon downstairs and to the lab. She also checked on Clarice and saw how the latter was doing.

It was definitely possible to save Clarice. There was something in Reward Store that could substitute for her parts, but it was very costly.

Analise was a little conflicted about the whole deal. Firstly, she couldn't afford to buy the replacement part, but there was another reason holding her back. She wasn't sure if Clarice was worth the trouble.

She might not have been a businesswoman, but she did have her fair share of time in the industry. Self-interest would always come first whenever she was dealing with someone she didn't know or wasn't very close to.

"Clarice's situation is rather unique. You can think of it as her being in a vegetative state now. We need to find something suitable to swap out the glossy black chip in her chest," Gideon said when he saw Analise looking at Clarice.

"But there's something intriguing about her. This female's willpower is just extraordinary. Even in her vegetative state, she was still trying to communicate with us via her consciousness."

Gideon walked over, turned on a device next to Clarice, and pointed at a frequency range. "This frequency showed up often, and I'm still trying to decipher it."

"Do you know what it means?" Analise looked at where he pointed.

"Yeah. If I got it right, she's probably saying, 'Analise, save me."" Gideon spread open his hands.

"I've been too busy lately, and there are too many new repeating frequencies that I didn't have the time to decipher them." Gideon took out an elastic band and several test tubes.noveldrama

"Come on. I'm just going to draw a little blood for now." He rubbed her shoulder with his face, looking uneasy.

"Are you starting to feel itchy?" It looked like he was getting her to scratch it for him.

"Yeah. That's why we need to hurry with the research. Once the infection sets in, it can take as little as threez days for the frenzy state to kick in." Gideon wrapped the elastic band around Analise's arm and grabbed the syringe.

Finlay stood to the side with a nervous look on his face. "You just need it for your research. So, don't draw too much blood from her. Do you know what you're doing?I don't want her to suffer unnecessarily."

"I can probably do it fine." Gideon was feeling a little nervous, too.

The itchiness had started to set in because he infected himself with the virus, and he was doing everything he could to hold it in. It was so straining that his forehead was covered in sweat.

"It's done." Gideon immediately covered the needle head with a sterile cotton the moment he pulled it out. Then, he immediately dripped the blood onto the solution he had prepared long ago.

The blood started blending with the green solution in the test tube, turning it transparent as seconds trickled by. It took about ten minutes for the solution to turn completely transparent.

"We did it!" Gideon's tensed muscles finally relaxed, and he instantly wrapped his arms around Analise with excitement.

"Now, all that's left is for me to drink it." He took the test tube and chugged it. Then, he walked to the laboratory module and sealed himself in.