Chapter 7: On the Edge of Losing Control

The lights inside the isolation chamber remained at a ghastly, constant brightness, devoid of day or night, devoid of time—only endless monitoring and experimentation.

In the third week of Chloe being confined to the second basement level of the Arklay Research Facility, the dormant restlessness within her body finally refused to remain silent.

At first, it was just subtle anomalies: her earlobes would burn for no reason, her vision would occasionally blur with double images, and her fingertips would tremble uncontrollably.

She thought it was just the fatigue from long-term confinement, until one late night, a scorching heat surged without warning from her chest, rushing through her blood vessels to every limb.

That was the riot of the T-ε virus.

Just like the children who lost control at The Ark Orphanage, fury, restlessness, and the desire for destruction surged like a tide, instantly drowning out all her tranquility.

Chloe pushed herself up from the floor, her pupils contracting slightly in the darkness, a faint trace of crimson flashing across her previously clear eyes.

Her breathing turned ragged, and she dug her nails deep into her palms, but the sharp pain could not suppress the rising violence within her. Everything she looked at—the glass, the metal, the instruments—was stained with a maddening hue at that moment. In her mind, only the most primal impulses remained: to destroy, to tear apart, to break free.

She lunged violently at the transparent bulkhead and slammed her fist against it.

"Thud—"

The dull sound was piercingly loud in the silent laboratory.

William, in front of the monitoring screens, lifted his head almost immediately, his gaze shifting instantly from indifference to tension. On the screen, all of Chloe's physiological data flashed red; her heart rate, neural activity, and aggression index had all broken past the warning line—every indicator was almost identical to those of the completely out-of-control test subjects.

"It's here..." he murmured, his fingertips flying across the console, "The berserk phase of the T-ε has finally arrived."

Inside the isolation chamber, Chloe's movements became increasingly violent. She gripped the bulkhead, her body trembling slightly as her sanity was torn between madness and lucidity.

She knew she was losing control, and she knew that if this continued, she would become a monster just like Lisa on the third basement level, but that power from the depths of her body could not be suppressed by willpower alone.

Just as she was on the verge of completely losing her sanity.

"Hiss—"

A faint sound came from the ventilation vent in the corner of the ceiling, and a pale white sedative gas slowly began to permeate the room.

At the same time, William outside the glass pressed another button. A hidden injection port in the corner of the isolation chamber automatically extended, and a tiny needle silently aimed at Chloe's arm.

The serum was instantly pushed into her body.

A cool sensation spread rapidly through her blood vessels, like a sudden downpour, forcibly extinguishing a portion of the raging flames.

The violent heat was forcibly suppressed, her surging emotions gradually receded, and that layer of crimson shrouding her consciousness faded bit by bit.

Chloe's movements froze abruptly.

She leaned against the bulkhead, gasping for air, her forehead covered in a fine layer of cold sweat. The madness that had almost swallowed her just moments ago receded rapidly like a tide.

A strange restlessness still lingered in her body, her muscles were still trembling slightly, and the desire for destruction deep in her heart had not completely vanished, but at least, she had regained control over herself.

William watched the data on the screen gradually return to normal, letting out a long sigh of relief, his eyes igniting once again with a fanatical light.

"Very good... very good..."

"The same T-ε strain, the same berserk threshold; as long as it is stabilized with external serum, she can immediately regain consciousness... This is the adaptability of a perfect vessel."

He felt not a shred of sympathy, only the excitement of a successful experiment.

William watched the data on the screen gradually return to normal, letting out a long sigh of relief, his eyes igniting once again with a fanatical light. He did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately pressed the switch on the other side.

The side wall inside the isolation chamber slid open silently, and a fully automated blood-drawing arm slowly extended. Its metal joints were cold and precise, and the needle at its end glinted coldly under the lights.

Chloe instinctively recoiled, but her wrists were gently secured by soft restraints that popped out from the floor, preventing her from breaking free without causing any unnecessary harm.

She did not struggle, simply watching quietly as that mechanical arm approached her arm.

The moment the needle pierced her skin, there was only a slight sting.

Dark red blood was slowly drawn out, flowing through a transparent tube into a labeled frozen sample vial. On the label, there was only a line of cold code:

S01 · T-ε · Blood sample from post-berserk stable phase

One vial, two vials, three vials.

The mechanical arm collected a sufficient quantity of blood methodically. The entire process was devoid of warmth or emotion—only pure research objectives. William leaned over the console, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the blood-drawing process, as if admiring a rare work of art.

To him, this was not the blood of a child, but the key to unlocking the mystery of the perfect vessel.

The blood collection finished, the mechanical arm automatically retracted, and the tiny wound on her arm was instantly covered by a spray of hemostatic gel. The restraints loosened, and the inner wall closed back up, as if nothing had ever happened.

Chloe slowly pulled back her arm, gently pressing against the faint red needle mark on her skin.

Chloe slowly slid down to the floor, her back against the cold bulkhead, her head bowed slightly.

She did not look at the man outside the glass, nor did she show any fear, simply calming her breathing in silence.

She remembered that moment of losing control clearly.

That sensation of being swallowed by darkness, of her sanity about to snap, was etched into her bones and felt real.

She knew she hadn't endured that by herself.

It was the medicine, the external intervention, the control methods in William's hands that had forcibly pulled her back from the edge of collapse.

And her meager persistence was nothing more than barely holding onto the last sliver of sanity before the medicine took effect.

The gas inside the isolation chamber was gradually pumped away, and everything returned to its original, deathly silence.

The surveillance camera remained fixed on her, recording her every subtle reaction.

Chloe slowly raised her hand, looking at her slightly trembling fingertips.

The T-ε within her had not disappeared; it was merely sleeping.

The fury had not been eradicated; it was only temporarily suppressed.

The next riot would only come faster and more violently.

On the third basement level, Lisa's roar came faintly again—distant, desperate, and never-ending.

Chloe closed her eyes, burying all her emotions deep within her heart.

She was still on the edge of sanity.

And also on the edge of losing control.

Between being a vessel and a monster, there was only the distance of a single injection.

And this thin line could snap at any moment.

She had to do something!