The recording ended quickly, leaving only the faint buzzing of the tape.
Fran stared at the blood collection device before her, pondering. "800cc is no small burden for my weight. An ordinary person would probably be sucked dry directly…"
Even a completely healthy person would experience dizziness and weakness after losing 800cc of blood at once. And Fran was the rather slim type, with an already frail constitution, not to mention having just lost a pair of precious kidneys…
For someone whose body was already on the verge of collapse, blood extraction of this degree was more than enough to be fatal.
Clearly, there was another solution to this room's requirement.
It was known that the blood collection container would open once it collected enough liquid. Meaning…the substance filling it didn't necessarily have to be blood. The density difference between blood and water was only about 5%; the difference was actually quite small.
Thanks to salivary glands and the bladder, a normal person wanting to gather 800cc of liquid from their own body wasn't actually difficult.
But the price was that the unlucky person behind the wall would have these things injected into their bloodstream—an entire 800cc of it. That was quite a bit more than a whole bottle of cola…
Out of professional ethics and humanitarian consideration, Fran still chose to transfuse blood.
"Draw from her." In the end, she made her decision.
As the negative-pressure needle of the blood collection device punctured her arm vein, the murky, dark-red blood slowly flowed into the container.
This was a very peculiar feeling. You could sense your life leaving your body in the form of blood, the warmth in your limbs and bones fading away with it.
200, 400, 600… The 800ml container was finally filled with blood plasma.
Fran's already unhealthy complexion grew even paler, her sickly appearance even seeming somewhat delicate.
The latch loosened, and the metal door automatically opened. Fran leaned against the wall as she walked through it.
"A bit tired. If there are puzzles in five rooms or more… I'll just break through them violently." She rubbed her slightly darkened eye sockets.
The layout of the fourth room was no different from before. A table and chair sat against one wall.
On the table was a new tape and a new medical device. Collapsed in the chair was a long-dead man, face swollen and ashen.
Fran pinched his groin, confirming the muscles were soft—rigor mortis had already passed. This guy had been dead for quite a while. But due to the cold and dryness, his decay wasn't too severe.
She briefly examined the corpse's clothing and found a flip-open pendant inside his jacket pocket.
Opening it revealed a wedding photo of him with a woman, both smiling brightly and blissfully.
In addition, a ring rested on his dried, decayed ring finger.
"This should be 'Themis's' husband, John Howard… Looks like this guy has already paid the price. Justice served, I suppose."
Maintaining a cautious attitude, she still took out tools from her medical kit and gave him an "internal inspection."
After all, plenty of mentally unstable types liked hiding clues inside corpses… It was necessary to avoid missing anything.
A few minutes later, aside from a handful of sticky, clotted filthy blood, she found nothing, and had no choice but to give up, disappointed.
The corpse had undergone simple preservation and drying, but the stench of decaying flesh was still extremely pungent—almost reaching the limits of what a normal person could endure.
Fran gave the corpse a kick, knocking the guy off the chair. She took out her own handkerchief, lightly wiped the seat, then sat down without the slightest psychological burden.
"Sitting is comfortable."
She placed the tape from the table into the portable recorder. The soft and slightly cool voice of "Themis" played.
"In the upper-left corner of the room is a surveillance camera. I am watching you. Please do not attempt to evade. Now, you should enjoy the result of your earlier choice. Please use the transfusion device on the table to return the blood you just lost… This is your final trial."
"Hah."
After listening, the corner of Fran's lips curled slightly.
"Well done. I was wondering why the previous requirement was so straightforward… So you were waiting here."
No rejection, able to directly use her own plasma, and massive blood loss…
Indeed, every description mentioned earlier matched her perfectly.
If she had filled the container with anything other than blood at the time, now would be a very ugly ending…
Speaking of which, this level of rule loophole was basically a trap, because the underlying logic of the test was to examine one's humanity.
If Fran had chosen to substitute other liquids for blood, it would mean she had accepted the receiver's death.
Clearly, from a judge's perspective, a doctor who disregards life does not deserve salvation. Choosing to sacrifice others means deciding your own fate.
Fran skillfully operated the transfusion needle on the device. The lost blood quickly returned to her body.
She felt the dizziness gradually fade, her chaotic breathing slowly settling. Some discomfort lingered, but nothing serious.
The sound of the main door opening echoed.
If "Themis" wasn't playing with her, then she should have completed the entire trial process…
"Dr. Fran, although you arrogantly disregard the will of others, your respect for life itself is pure… This door should open for you. Come in. I will restore what you are missing."
A gentle and intellectual female voice sounded from the next room, very clear, without the distortion of taped audio.
The woman calling herself "Themis"… was right behind the door.
"Only four rooms. Not many puzzles, and the difficulty was moderate… So it seems, though her methods were extreme, Ms. Themis isn't a particularly harsh person."
Without delay, Fran arranged her expression again. The friendly, casual professional smile returned to her face.
Before leaving, she glanced at the limp corpse of her fiancé John Howard on the floor.
A flicker of obscure delight and frenzy passed through her amber eyes—gone in an instant. Like a hallucination appearing for a single frame.
"I hope Ms. Themis will like my 'surprise.'"
Fran quickly entered the final room—her footsteps unsteady, movements gentle, like a genuine critically ill patient.
⸻
The arrangement of the final room was clearly different from before.
If the previous rooms were concrete prison cells, this was an operating room.
Clean, neat, complete—like an artwork carefully arranged by a perfectionist. Even with Fran's picky eyes, she couldn't spot any flaws at first glance.
"I thought everyone would show only weak, ugly sides when facing death… Just like my colleague and my husband."
A woman in dark green surgical attire slowly walked out from the shadows. Even wrapped tightly in the gown, her graceful figure was still partly visible.
"You are different from them. You are strong—strong to the point of cruelty… Whether toward others or yourself."
Her tone was gentle, carrying an unbelievable calm, composed to the point of elegance.
"Hiding the key inside the body was the most vicious test I could imagine. But you didn't even scream, didn't even blink… Even a butcher handling livestock might not be so indifferent."
"I originally thought you were someone who disregards life. But… despite being at your limit, you didn't refuse to give blood to an unknown patient you had never met, without a trace of hesitation."
"This makes me curious. Did you see through the solution from the beginning, or did you genuinely want to save others?"
Ms. Themis, remarking softly, glanced at Fran—only to find the woman had already obediently lain down on the operating table, as if unwilling to stand even one extra second and more than happy to behave like meat on a cutting board.
Noticing Themis looking at her, Fran blinked mischievously.
"It should be said both. Even if I hadn't spotted the trap, I would've chosen to give blood. Although my condition was poor then, 800cc shouldn't have killed me."
"A smooth answer." Themis nodded, accepting it.
"One thing to tell you: I only took one of your kidneys… Also, the volume markings on that blood collection tube earlier were falsified. It could actually only draw 400cc."
"And why did you do that?" Fran raised an eyebrow, following her lead.
"I had to ensure someone who completed the test could survive. This is what you deserve." Themis remained gentle and serene.
"Let's begin… You seem quite insensitive to pain. Is it congenital analgesia?"
Based on Fran's earlier superhuman indifference to pain, Themis made a reasonable guess.
Simultaneously, she began operating the dialysis equipment nearby and removed the chilled perfusion box preserving the kidney, preparing for the transplant operation.
"You can think so. Hmm… I don't need sedatives. For anesthesia, muscle relaxation alone is fine."
Taking advantage of the moment before the surgery officially began, Fran asked a question.
"Ms. Themis, please allow me to ask—why, after dealing with your colleague and husband, did you choose me as your next target?"
Themis displayed remarkable patience, almost answering everything.
"You were my enlightenment in medicine and brought unprecedented technological innovation… I admired you. Before those groundbreaking techniques were announced, I couldn't even imagine organ transplantation could be completed by one person alone."
"But then, the scandals about your illegal experiments grew more and more… And so I became curious whether you were fundamentally different from those people. Thus, I decided to personally verify…"
"Hey, is that so."
Fran smiled meaningfully, not pressing further. Her smile was charming, even showing her small fanged canine.
Seeing the questions end, Themis began disinfecting the skin, injecting the muscle relaxant atracurium, applying sterile drapes, and connecting the monitoring equipment.
Even Fran had to praise this colleague's technique—precise and swift, every movement without hesitation, as if she had done it countless times.
No dedicated anesthesiologist, no first or second assistants, no nurses—one doctor handling an entire surgery alone…
This was very classical, absurd even, in modern medicine that prided itself on rigor. This was likely the change brought by "herself."
A kidney transplant is a major surgery; even seven or eight people working together wouldn't be too many.
During this brief moment, Themis had already cut open Fran's skin and begun searching for the previously preserved blood vessels, nerves, and other functional structures.
The surgery entered its critical phase.
Themis removed Fran's kidney from the sterile chamber of the perfusion device and began the laborious reconnection process.
Fortunately, among organ transplants, the kidney was one of the simpler ones.
In about two hours, Themis finished the entire transplant procedure and was performing the final suturing.
Though unsedated, Fran remained silent throughout. She seemed to be dozing—or perhaps simply unable to move due to the muscle relaxants.
About half an hour after surgery, she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Themis standing beside her bed.
"The surgery is complete. Your body is still very weak. The muscle relaxant has not fully worn off. Rest for a while. When you recover, I will take you away."
Themis lifted her brows, exhaling softly as she began cleaning up the instruments.
"Is it over?"
Fran blinked her slightly sleepy eyes and yawned—like someone who had just woken up.
"Of course. Please rest assured… everything is over."
Themis naturally assumed Fran was afraid. She removed her blood-stained gloves and gently caressed Fran's face to comfort her.
"Wrong."
Clearly, Fran wasn't afraid.
She flatly denied Themis's words. The weariness in her eyes vanished completely—there was none of the fatigue or weakness of a post-operative patient.
"Remember the question I asked before the surgery? 'Why did you choose me as your next target?' Your answer… was a lie."
"…?"
Themis furrowed her brows, falling silent.
The previously calm and warm atmosphere instantly dropped to freezing point. The entire operating room grew silent—pin-drop quiet.
"That was my sincere thought. Why would you think it was a lie?"
Themis tried to maintain her calm, but the slight tremble of her fingertips and the wavering in her voice revealed her intense emotional agitation.
"These words can trick me—but tricking yourself into believing them… is a bit unnecessary, isn't it? Dear Ms. Themis, let's be more honest with each other."
Fran felt Themis's hand stiffen against her cheek. Unbothered, the smile at her lips grew brighter, as if genuinely enjoying this.
"For the justice in your heart? To test my morality? To see if I'm different from the trash you once judged? I hope you can understand yourself more clearly… You're simply addicted to this power to kill."
"The authority to decide life and death—how intoxicating, isn't it? Many people fall into it so easily… unable to escape. I can understand you."
"No… that's not it." Themis bit her lip, denying it hastily.
"Really? I'll admit your fiancé and colleague were absolute scum and deserved to die. That was your revenge. I have no right to judge."
"But I have no grudge with you. What right do you have to judge me?"
"You call yourself Themis—the name of the goddess of law and justice, which already reveals your subconscious desire to wield judgment. …Can you tell me your real name?"
"…My name is Tamesis."
Suppressing her anger, she exhaled deeply and finally gave her name.
But this was clearly not a good thing—like a robber showing their face to a hostage. Even a fool would know what the robber's next step would be.
⸻
T/N: Hey readers~! New Translator here! Before I say anything, I'd first like to thank the original author for creating this wonderful story. Without them, I wouldn't have the chance to share this adventure with you. I hope my translation does justice to their work, and that together, we can enjoy this story.
With that said, I'm happy to let you know I'll be uploading daily chapters. And for those who wish to support my work and gain early access, I've set up a Patreon where advanced chapters will be available.
[email protected]/PeakTL