Two days passed after the blood donation.
Nothing changed.
That bothered Jared more than it should have.
He sat in his room, staring at the small bandage on his arm like it was supposed to do something interesting.
"…you've been looking at that for five minutes," Iris said, leaning against the door.
"…observation," Jared replied.
"…it's a bandage."
"…correct."
"…what are you expecting? It to glow?"
Jared didn't answer immediately. Instead, he replayed the event in his head.
Trigger: blood loss.
Result: cognitive enhancement.
Delay: minimal.
"…growth should be continuous," he said finally.
Iris blinked. "…no. That's not how anything works."
"…unconfirmed."
She walked closer and crossed her arms. "…you're obsessed."
"…accurate."
Jared leaned back slightly in his chair, closing his eyes as he organized his thoughts.
The improvement he gained wasn't random. It followed a pattern. That meant it had rules.
And rules could be exploited.
"…so what's your plan?" Iris asked cautiously.
"…replication."
Silence.
"…what."
"…replicating the condition that triggered the change."
"…you mean donating blood again?"
"…or an equivalent method."
Iris froze.
"…no."
"…controlled environment," Jared continued.
"…NO."
"…minimal risk—"
"…ABSOLUTELY NOT."
Jared opened his eyes and looked at her.
"…emotional resistance detected."
"…COMMON SENSE DETECTED."
He paused, processing.
Then nodded slightly.
"…fine."
Iris blinked.
"…that was too easy."
"…temporary."
"…I KNEW IT."
Jared looked back at his arm.
The idea didn't disappear.
It stayed.
Persistent.
If controlled blood loss increases intelligence…
Then frequency matters.
He exhaled slowly.
Not yet.
But eventually—
He would test it.