The Vampire collapsed on the spot after Camellia sank her teeth into his neck and injected a special tranquilizer designed specifically for Vampires.
And just like that, Camellia had captured Royce on Ethan's request - using a weapon she hated to rely on: a teenage girl's tears, along with a few tricks she'd picked up from female Vampires.
Only now did Camellia feel justified in her painful decision to extract all four of her human canines and replace them with artificial fangs modeled after real Vampire teeth.
However, there was one inconvenience: humans didn't possess venom glands or the mechanisms to produce venom like Vampires did. She would have to endure the pain of recharging the artificial fangs with sedative once she got back to the Library.
"You guys? Do something already!"
Camellia shouted for help from the students of Class 11D, while they continued to gleefully record and take close-up photos.
She had intended to push the now-limp Vampire's body aside with dramatic flair, then spring up coolly like a true Vampire Hunter - but she couldn't. Royce was far too heavy for her physique.
So Camellia had to wait until Cherry and Autumn finished taking photos from every possible angle and screaming to their heart's content before she was finally rescued.
Right after that, the students of 11D carried Royce down to the schoolyard. The sedative Camellia had loaded into her fake fangs would keep Royce's consciousness intact, but his body would remain immobile for the next two hours.
This meant Class 11D would have plenty of time to decorate his statue-like body with fruit. And the Vampire, who hated being touched by girls, would be fully aware of what was being done to him - yet utterly powerless to stop it.
"Mua ha ha ha! Serves you right!"
Camellia burst out laughing at the thought of the Vampire regaining control. He would definitely be furious and would try to catch her for revenge. She had just two hours to prepare traps to deal with him.
"Ahem!"
Ethan cleared his throat and showed her the screen of his phone.
"Your app 'The Staker – Vampire Hunter' is bugged. I already marked the order as completed, but I can't upload the photo or write a review. The loading spinner just keeps spinning. I tried closing the app and restarting it several times, but it's still stuck."
"Ohhh. That bug is really serious. But I can't fix it right now. We'll have to wait until Royce wakes up."
"Huh???"
"Royce coded the app, so only he can fix his own bugs. Your face just turned pale. What's wrong, Ethan?"
"So… Royce created this slick vampire-hunter booking app for you. Then he got hunted by his own crush through the app - for the price of 30 cups of milk tea?"
Ethan stared wide-eyed at Camellia. His face radiated pure shock mixed with a hint of fear. That expression made him look so innocent, sweet, and pure that anyone would feel the urge to protect him.
"And who placed the order to hunt Royce? You did. You think you're off the hook or something?"
Camellia shot the question right back at Ethan.
The Bloodbound boy could only stay silent and bite his lip as he met her cold, unrepentant gaze. Then, with visible sorrow, he muttered a line that had become Royce's signature:
"Women truly are the ultimate pain!"
"Mua ha ha ha. So what?"
Camellia laughed wickedly, then yanked Ethan down toward the Harmony schoolyard before he could let out a sigh.
The schoolyard had never been more lively than now, as the Five-Fruit Tray Decoration Contest for the Mid-Autumn Festival officially kicked off at 4:30 PM.
"Yes! As teachers and fellow students already know, the Five-Fruit Tray Decoration Contest is the highlight of Harmony School's Mid-Autumn Festival event this year. All twelve classes from grades 10, 11, and 12 received identical boxes of fruit and decorative items this morning, including flowers, star lanterns, and ribbons. With such an even playing field, which class will rise to the top and claim victory today?"
Acting as the event's MC, Flora from Class 11C - who usually stumbled and stammered like a chicken with a sore throat - was now speaking with impressive fluency and charm.
"Fair? My ass!"
From the 11B section, Nathaniel Nguyen shouted, his handsome face now filled with murderous rage. An orange-colored juice was trickling from his clenched fist - he had just crushed an orange!
The fruit and decorations for Class 11B looked slightly better than those of Class 11D, but still far from enough to create an attractive Five-Fruit Tray.
So it wasn't just Nathaniel who was about to go feral. Most students in the B-group classes, except for Andrew the Detective, were fuming on behalf of 11B. The vibe around those classes now resembled rival street gangs on the verge of a turf war more than a cheerful school competition.
There really was no fairness here!
Through the binoculars, Camellia observed the competition unfolding. The three classes in Group A were steadily completing their fruit trays. The A-group classes always collaborated during Events to prioritize earning Harmony Points for the graduating class. So, it was highly likely that Class 12A's tray would end up looking far more impressive than those of 11A and 10A.
Meanwhile, Group C was pursuing a different strategy. The trays from Classes 12C, 11C, and 10C all had very similar designs. A quick glance suggested that their aesthetic level might be on par with the tray Class 12A was putting together.
It seemed the Five-Fruit Tray Decoration Contest was truly cutthroat this year!
Over in the Group D area, things should've been peaceful and relaxed - if not for the absolute chaos coming from Class 11D.
Class president Lucas had somehow acquired a megaphone and was shouting clear instructions to the entire class.
"Alright boys, listen up! Group 1: slice the apples and soak them in salt water. Group 2: peel the pomelos and separate the segments. Group 3: string the grapes into chains. Group 4: handle the watermelon according to Ethan's concept. Once your group finishes, holler for me to check it, then pass it to Ethan!"
Secretary Simon, as always, was silent like a ghost. And he took full advantage of that silence, moving unnoticed to negotiate decoration trades with students from Classes 10D and 12D. These two classes weren't interested in competing, so they happily handed over their best materials to 11D.
According to the original plan, the girls of 11D were supposed to decorate the fruit tray on Royce's body. But after the guy bolted upon hearing the plan, Ethan didn't have the heart to carry it out even after they'd captured him.
So now, despite Royce sitting completely paralyzed from the tranquilizer, it was Ethan himself who took charge of the decoration process. By his side, Autumn flitted around helping out. Both wore gloves - Royce had a serious phobia of being touched by girls.
As for the 11D girls, Ethan had reassigned them to video production duties - creating a promotional clip to boost votes for their tray. They worked under the direction of Cherry, the president of the Royce Fan Club at Harmony School.
Camellia smiled.
Maybe going to school in person and joining in school events wasn't so bad after all.
"Owaahhh huhuhu… Ethan! Help! Help us!"
Suddenly, Cherry and a group of 11D girls came sprinting over to Ethan's work area. Cherry shoved her phone at him, clearly in distress.
Autumn also rushed over to see what had caused such emotional chaos among the girls.