Standard Resource morning roll call proceeded with its usual soul-crushing efficiency. I stood in line with the other walking blood bags, maintaining my carefully cultivated expression of beaten-down compliance while mentally cataloging the security protocols that had tightened following yesterday's failed escape attempt.

  Maya approached with her clipboard, eyes flicking down the list with practiced detachment until she reached my designation.

  "4172." Her eyebrow raised slightly. "Report to Advanced Testing Laboratory instead of regur work detail."

  Beside me, Eliza's breath caught. "The b again? That's unusual for Standard designations."

  Fantastic. Nothing quite like being singled out in a pce where anonymity equals survival. Just call me Standout Sera, defying the odds and winning unwanted attention since... well, yesterday.

  I kept my face neutral while my stomach twisted. The b had taken routine samples from all new acquisitions during processing, but repeat visits were clearly uncommon for my cssification. A deviation from routine meant visibility, and visibility was the enemy of survival in this clinical hellscape.

  "Dr. Harding specifically requested you," Maya added, studying me with new interest. "Apparently yesterday's samples were... interesting."

  Of course they were. Because the universe clearly felt I wasn't having enough fun being livestock. Let's add 'b curiosity' to my resume. Right below 'betrayed hunter' and above 'future vampire juice box.'

  I allowed just enough nervousness to show—which wasn't difficult under the circumstances—while keeping the calcuted terror of a hunter recognized as such safely buried. Maya gestured for a security escort, and I was led away from the familiar monotony of my assigned work detail toward the gleaming horror of the research wing.

  The security protocols had intensified since my previous b visit. The guards examined me with heightened attention, running the scanner over my barcode twice before nodding to the b attendant. Standing at the entrance, tablet in hand and eyes already dissecting me, waited Dr. Harding—a thin human man whose clinical detachment made most vampires seem warm by comparison.

  "4172. Good. We have several protocols to complete today."

  Love the personal touch around here. Nothing says 'valued team member' like being greeted by your barcode. Though I suppose 'specimen' would be worse.

  The boratory had expanded its horrors in my absence. New sections were visible beyond gss partitions, filled with equipment I recognized from hunter intelligence reports—advanced blood analysis machines with vampire-specific calibrations. Machines designed to hunt anomalies in human blood. Machines that could potentially identify hunters through the physiological markers our training left behind.

  "You'll be directly involved in our quality enhancement research today," Dr. Harding expined without making eye contact, his attention fixed on his tablet. "Your blood exhibited unusual properties in preliminary screening."

  He led me to a specialized testing station in the "Composition Analysis" section, where a woman in a pristine b coat waited with the practiced patience of someone accustomed to treating humans as walking petri dishes.

  "Dr. Chen specializes in quality markers research," Harding offered by way of introduction. "Her work is developing more efficient methods for identifying optimal extraction candidates during initial processing."

  Transtion: they were creating better ways to identify valuable blood during intake, before captives could blend into the general popution. A direct threat to any resistance operative who managed to get captured but maintain cover. Like, for instance, me.

  Just my luck. Of all the vampire blood farms in all the territories, I had to walk into the one developing hunter detection methods. The universe isn't just ughing—it's having a full comedic special at my expense.

  Dr. Chen's clinical efficiency would have been impressive if it weren't currently focused on making me a more effective scientific contribution to vampire cuisine. She collected multiple small samples rather than standard extraction volume, subjecting each to different testing conditions—temperature variations, chemical additives, stress hormones.

  "Subject maintaining unusual composure," she noted to an assistant, not bothering to lower her voice. "Note corretion with sample stability."

  Damn it. Even my blood is too well-trained for its own good.

  I immediately activated counter-interrogation techniques from hunter training. Control the breathing to regute heart rate. Project micro-expressions that simute appropriate stress while masking actual emotions. Temporarily alter blood pressure through mental focus. It was a delicate bance—appearing too controlled would be suspicious, but too reactive would draw attention to unusual conditioning.

  The hunter academy had never covered "How to make your super-soldier blood seem mediocre when being cataloged by vampire scientists." Major oversight in the curriculum, really.

  Dr. Chen frowned at her readings. "Unusual cortisol regution compared to standard baseline."

  She consulted with another technician, both studying my results with increasing interest. Dr. Harding abandoned his tablet to examine the data personally, his previously disinterested demeanor sharpening into focus.

  "These response patterns are simir to those observed in military subjects."

  Well, shit.

  I immediately feigned a stress reaction—not difficult considering the circumstances—letting my pulse spike and my breathing quicken. Sometimes the best cover is a yer of truth.

  "Subject now showing more typical stress response," Dr. Chen noted, but the suspicion remained.

  "Previous combat training?" I heard Harding murmur.

  "Check acquisition records for background," came the response.

  My cover story is about to have more holes than a vampire victim's neck. Time for Pn B... except there is no Pn B. There wasn't even supposed to be a Pn A. This was a standard intel gathering mission until my team decided I looked better in the rearview mirror.

  The next phase introduced something called "resonance testing for compatibility markers." Dr. Chen expined that certain blood types "resonated" more strongly with vampire physiology, creating enhanced effects during feeding. They connected me to sophisticated equipment measuring chemical reactions when my blood was exposed to vampire blood samples.

  The excitement in the b grew with each reading. Dr. Harding could barely contain himself as he studied the results.

  "Exceptional reactivity across multiple markers!"

  Great. I'm not just food—I'm gourmet food. Premium grade human juice. If I survive this, I'm definitely adding it to my hunter resume: 'So delicious, vampires created a research study.'