Number 007!

The next day, the weather was gloomy.

A light rain began to fall, and a young girl in a black trench coat walked down the street.

She looked up at the hazy sun, then unconsciously tightened her throat.

"Ah, ah, ah~"

"Still no good..."

The girl sang three syllables, her voice extremely hoarse, with little difference between them.

She returned home and pushed open the door, revealing a room filled with musical instruments like a piano, guitar, and violin.

In one corner, various CDs were piled up, and the walls were covered with posters of different singers.

The girl took off her trench coat and sat in front of the computer, trying to sing a song.

But her voice was hoarse, and her a cappella singing was terrible.

The girl was a popular online singer named Xi.

Her voice was beautiful, ethereal, and very unique; no matter what song she sang, it had a charm that others couldn't replicate.

However, two months ago, her voice suddenly became hoarse.

She usually took great care of her throat, avoiding oily, salty, or spicy foods, and never smoked or went to smoky places.

Until two months ago, her throat had been perfectly fine.

Then, one day two months ago, she fell seriously ill, suffering from a high fever for several days, and her throat felt so dry it was as if it would smoke.

After recovering from her illness, the girl was invited to appear on a television show.

She felt fine during the show, but when she went on stage to sing, she completely lost her voice.

Her throat was extremely hoarse, and by the time the girl realized what was happening, it was too late.

She forced herself to finish the song, and her fans, who had come specifically to see her, were all stunned.

"Is this... a voice kissed by an angel?"

"More like a voice dragged by a chainsaw, right?"

After that, the girl fell from grace overnight.

No matter how she explained that it was due to a cold and fever, no one cared.

All they cared about was whether the girl could still produce her beautiful voice as before.

The girl was very anxious, but it was as if fate was playing a cruel joke on her; her voice never recovered.

After a month, unable to bear the pressure from public opinion and her manager any longer, the girl participated in a concert.

Knowing her voice still hadn't recovered, she planned to lip-sync.

This had been agreed upon with her manager; they would get through this wave of public backlash, and then figure out the next steps.

However, this lip-syncing performance, unexpectedly, went wrong.

She was actually exposed for lip-syncing on the spot!

With things having reached this point, the girl was in a difficult position and had no choice but to sing again.

And then, the name Xi was completely ruined.

This lip-syncing incident caused even her loyal fans, who had supported her, to turn away.

It could be said that from the moment she lost her voice, she had lost everything.

Because everything she possessed was built upon her voice.

After that, the girl disappeared from the public eye and was quickly forgotten.

The internet's memory is short; new things constantly flood people's attention, and no one pays attention to a singer who has deceived their fans.

To this day, the girl still couldn't produce her former voice.

The girl put on headphones and listened to the playback of her recent a cappella singing.

It was still unbearable to listen to.

A tear rolled down the girl's face as she curled up, hugged her knees, and sobbed quietly.

But even her crying was still hoarse.

After a long while, the girl wiped away her tears and went out onto the balcony.

This was the eighth floor.

The girl walked blankly to the edge of the balcony, then closed her eyes and leaped off.

The descent was fast, with no slow-motion montage.

The girl plummeted to the ground with a whoosh.

But the expected pain never came.

The girl opened her eyes to see a man wearing a white mask, hanging upside down in front of her.

No, it wasn't the man who was upside down; it was the girl.

The man held the girl's ankle in one hand and shoved the other into his pocket.

At that moment, the girl's head was less than a centimeter from the ground, her hair already brushing against it.

Huh?

The girl blinked, but the man in the suit and mask before her suddenly let go.

Thump!

The girl's head hit the ground with a thud.

The crisp sound told her it was a good head.

The girl got up, cradling her head with both hands. "Ouch, ouch, ouch... What are you doing?"

Hearing her, the man tilted his head, confused.

"What are you doing?"

"Can't you tell? I'm committing suicide, of course!"

The girl clutched her head, looking as if she might cry.

"I thought it was a form of performance art."

Chen Ye said this as he took out a white cloth to wipe his hands, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of crimson liquid.

"Since you're going to kill yourself, why not assist my research before you die? Make your death a little more meaningful."

The girl looked at Chen Ye with a puzzled expression. "What research?"

"Research concerning... life."

As he spoke, Chen Ye handed the Vampire Agent No. 1 directly to the girl.

"Drink it."

"What is this?"

"You're going to die anyway, why bother asking so many questions?"

"At least I want to die with understanding," the girl said.

Chen Ye's expression was blank. "It's poison."

Poison...

The girl looked at the liquid in her hand and pondered for a moment.

"Will it hurt?"

"Are you going to die or not?"

Chen Ye kept his hands in his pockets. While finding a test subject by chance was cause for happiness, he disliked curious people.

Facing Chen Ye's impatience, the girl took a deep breath and tilted her head back, drinking the agent.

Gulp.

The agent tasted fishy, like blood.

As the agent passed down her throat, the girl's body began to convulse violently.

"Ugh, ah..."

Was the effect kicking in already? So fast?

The girl curled up on the ground in pain, her body wracked by excruciating agony, as if all her muscles were being torn apart!

Watching the suffering girl, Chen Ye began to record the data beside her.

The main ingredients of Vampire Agent No. 1 were human blood + bat + salamander + the blood of Deep One Generation 2.

The only difference with Agent No. 2 was one ingredient.

Vampire Agent No. 2 did not contain human blood; leeches replaced the human blood component.

Both materials involved the concept of blood. Chen Ye wanted to see how a subtle change in material would affect the overall efficacy of the agent.

Soon, scales began to grow on the girl's body, and fins sprouted from her ears, her long hair turning dark green.

Before Chen Ye could react, the girl's legs suddenly contracted and merged together, forming a fish tail.

Is this... a mermaid?

No!

This was a vampire agent!

What the hell is with the mermaid? The effect is off by more than just a little bit!

Sigh, this is troublesome.

The Vampire Agent might need to be completely redone.

Although reluctant, Chen Ye still recorded the girl before him into the file on his phone.

Subject 007: Siren.

Subject 007: Siren (Mermaid)