Translator: InkyDragon (https://puukkiss.wixsite.com/inkydragon)

    The door creaked open, revealing a glimpse of Shen Chuan’s face.

    The security guard gasped and then swung the door wide, reacting as if he had seen a ghost. “Director Shen, is that really you? I thought you had already left.”

    Yu Xiao stepped out, wearing Shen Chuan’s skin and voice. She smiled sweetly and said, “I was just catching up with my colleague. You’re doing a great job, by the way. My colleague is feeling a bit down. She made a boo-boo and needs some space. Do me a favour and don’t bother her, okay?”

    “Of course, of course,” the security guard nodded eagerly.

    Yu Xiao walked away, leaving the guard to close the door behind her. She sauntered back to the staff dormitory, humming a tune, and then made a detour to the men’s section to locate Shen Chuan’s room.

    It was the middle of the day, and the dormitory was deserted and silent. Yu Xiao tried the door handle and found it unlocked. She grinned and thought, “Lucky me.”

    The room of Shen Chuan was plain and dull, reflecting his own demeanour. It shared the same furniture and layout as Yu Xiao’s room. It contained a desk, a chair, a single bed with a white sheet, and a small wardrobe, giving the impression that it was uninhabited.

    Yu Xiao lifted the sheet and placed the 【The Thunder Striking Ghost Repelling Talisman】under the mattress, one by one. She smoothed the sheet back and imagined Shen Chuan’s reaction when he triggered the talismans. He would be in for a shock. The noise would be louder than fireworks!

    She hoped the talismans would have an effect on him. She lingered for a moment, relishing the anticipation, before leaving the room.

    As she exited, she bumped into a researcher who identified her as Shen Chuan and greeted her politely. “Director Shen, have you had lunch?”

    “I have, thank you,” Yu Xiao answered. “Say, have you seen Director Qu around?”

    The other person tilted his head and said, “The Director? Isn’t she in her office right now?”

    Yu Xiao waved her hand and said, “Oh, I see.” She walked away with a confident swagger, leaving the other person scratching his head.

    She crossed paths with a few colleagues on her way, but they barely glanced at her. They saw her as Shen Chuan, the Deputy Director, and she acted the part. She reached the Director’s office and knocked on the door.

    “Come in!” Director Qu’s voice was bright and lively.

    Yu Xiao opened the door and saw Director Qu filing some papers. She beamed when she saw Yu Xiao and said, “Oh, good, you’re here. Perfect timing. Can you give me a hand with these papers?”

    Yu Xiao closed the door behind her and locked it.

    Director Qu blinked and said, “What are you doing…”

    Yu Xiao turned around and fixed her gaze on Director Qu, her face emotionless. She walked towards her steadily, like a hunter stalking its prey.

    Director Qu felt a chill, but she was too innocent to imagine what it was. She just wondered why Shen Chuan, who looked a little different today, was acting so weird.

    With a swift motion, Yu Xiao swung her leg over the office desk and slammed her foot down on Director Qu’s paperwork.

    Director Qu gasped, her eyes wide. “What the hell?!”

    Yu Xiao leaned in, her hand snatching Director Qu’s collar and yanking her forward.

    They were face to face now, barely a breath apart. Director Qu felt a surge of fear and fury, but also a strange thrill. She had never been manhandled like this before. She struggled to find her voice, her cheeks burning.

    “Director Shen, you have some nerve!” Director Qu stammered. “This is barbaric, outrageous!”

    Yu Xiao grinned wickedly. “Barbaric? You haven’t seen anything yet.”

    Director Qu snapped, her patience gone. “Are you crazy? What are you trying to do?!”

    “What do you think I’m trying to do?” She leaned closer to Director Qu, her breath hot on her ear. “You’re such a fan of novels and movies, aren’t you? You should know what comes next.”

    Director Qu’s mind raced, *How does he know about my guilty pleasures?*

    “I’ve gone mad. You’ve made me mad.” Yu Xiao let go of Director Qu’s collar. She fell back into her chair, dizzy and breathless. She barely had a chance to blink when she saw Director Shen, his eyes wild, crawling over the desk like a cat towards her.

    “…” Director Qu whimpered, “Please, stop, let’s talk!”

    “Talk? When have you ever listened to me?” Yu Xiao snapped, “You can’t handle this, can you? Look at what you’ve done to me, have you ever apologised?”

    “What did I do?” Dr. Qu stammered, frightened and confused, “Did I ever offend you in any way?”

    “You did everything!” Yu Xiao loomed over her, grabbing her shoulder and shaking it hard, “Are you sick of your bloody dreams yet? Do you love dreaming so much? I’m begging you, wake the hell up, or I might do something you’ll regret…”

    The people passing by the Director’s office heard strange noises from inside, then saw the Deputy Director storm out. His hair was dishevelled, his face grim, his aura menacing, he walked away quickly.

    What the hell was that? Wasn’t Principal Shen the nicest guy ever?

    Then they heard muffled sobs from inside the Director’s office.

    After leaving Dr. Qu’s office, Yu Xiao rushed to the lab. Inside, Zhao Lan and the others were as clueless as ever, scratching their heads over the fact that one underground creature died and another one appeared. Yu Xiao was locked up now, they wanted to do what Yu Xiao did, but they never had the opportunity.

    Just then, they saw Shen Chuan coming, Zhao Lan and the gang tensed up right away.

    Smiley was in jail, was the plan to ambush Shen Chuan still on?

    Zhao Lan barely had time to register Precious’s muffled squeak next to her before she saw him. Shen Chuan. Standing right there, in front of her, with a smirk on his face.

    *What the hell?* She blinked, feeling a surge of confusion. *What is he doing here? I haven’t even started anything yet. He can’t be here to mess with me, can he?*

    “Hard at work?” Shen Chuan asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

    Zhao Lan stared at him, her panic rising. Why was he acting so friendly all of a sudden?

    “Um… not too bad,” she managed to say, forcing a nervous laugh. “Still getting used to things, hehehe…”

    “Great, great,” Shen Chuan said, flashing her a wink that only she could see. “Why don’t you guys call it a day and go get some rest?”

    Zhao Lan: “…”

    “Holy cow,” Precious whispered, her eyes wide.

    Zhao Lan felt completely lost, not understanding Shen Chuan’s intentions, not knowing how to respond, and not daring to move. She stayed rooted to her spot until Shen Chuan raised his voice and announced, “That’s it, everyone! We’re done for today. Go!”

    Except for Zhao Lan and their group of six, everyone else looked stunned. “Director Shen, you want us all to leave?”

    “Yup,” Yu Xiao said, nodding. “Everyone’s off early today. Go on, shoo. I’ll handle the rest of the work.”

    And with that, Yu Xiao herded everyone out of the lab. As they filed out, she suddenly remembered something and stuck her head out of the door, calling out to the colleagues who were still in the hallway, “Hey!”

    They turned around, and Yu Xiao added, “You know what? In my heart, you’re all trash!”

    Everyone: “…”

    The group made their way back to the dorms in a daze. Then, Zhao Lan smacked her forehead, “Oh! I get it now…” (－??)

    Everyone stared at her, and she quickly clamped her mouth shut, dragging Precious into their room.

    Zhou Xiao Zhen burst into the room, bouncing on her toes like a hyperactive bunny. “What the hell is Shen Chuan’s deal? Why did he say those bizarre things to you? Is he plotting something evil?”

    Zhao Lan shook her head, a mix of amusement and confusion on her face. “No plot. That wasn’t Shen Chuan.”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen blinked. “Then who was it?”

    “Smiley,” Zhao Lan said softly. “Remember what her wig can do?”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen gasped. “Oh, snap! That’s why she was giving us those signals! Smiley switched places with Shen Chuan… Do you think she’s going to blow up the underground creatures again?”

    “Most likely,” Zhao Lan said, a laugh escaping her lips. “And making Shen Chuan a social pariah* is just a bonus.”

    (*社死: A slang term meaning to ostracise or socially isolate someone)

    **

    Yu Xiao was not one to do things halfway. The last time she torched an underground creature, another one popped up. This time, she was determined to wipe out the whole lab. Without the lab, Dr. Qu would have nothing to work with.

    But that wasn’t enough.

    Yu Xiao had a better idea. She picked up the lab phone and dialled Shen Chuan’s number. “Hey, Director Shen?”

    “Mm-hmm,” Shen Chuan grunted, bored.

    Yu Xiao put on a worried tone. “There’s something wrong in the lab. The underground creature is acting up. You should come and see.”

    Shen Chuan couldn’t care less about the underground creature. He strolled to the lab, expecting a crowd of people, but found it deserted. He stepped inside and saw the underground creature in the biosafety cabinet, reduced to ashes.

    He felt a crackle in his ear, a sizzle of something hot and dangerous. Before he could react, he saw a flash of orange and red behind him. The whole lab was on fire. Sёarch* The N??elFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    “Boom!”

    The blast rocked the underground base, sending shockwaves through the walls and floors.

    **

    Dr. Qu, who had been sulking in her office, snapped out of her gloom. She bolted out of the door, dodging the security guards who were ushering people to safety.

    “Oh no! Oh no!!”

    “This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening!!”

    Panic-stricken voices filled the air.

    Dr. Qu sprinted until she grabbed someone by the arm. “What’s going on?” she yelled.

    “Sniff, Director… ” The person sobbed, their face pale. “The lab blew up, it’s all gone, everything’s gone!”

    Dr. Qu’s eyes widened in horror, then she slumped to the floor.

    “Someone help!”

    “The director’s heart condition has flared up again!”

    While the entire research institute was in turmoil, Yu Xiao slipped back to the warehouse unnoticed. She took off her wig and settled into the shadows, as calm as ever.

    Well, that was quite a spectacle*~ (美滴很) 人? ?? ?人

    Yu Xiao smirked to herself, feeling rather smug. *Not bad, not bad at all. I’m quite clever, ain’t I? Managed to come up with this kill-two-birds-with-one-stone method. Heh heh heh, now Dr. Qu will wake up, and my nightmare’s revenge is served.*

    “Ha ha ha~” She chuckled wickedly in the dark.

    **

    The explosion echoed through the dorm. Zhao Lan and the others rushed to the window. Zhou Xiao Zhen’s jaw dropped, “Holy cow, what did Smiley do? That noise is insane!”

    Zhao Lan shrugged, “She must have blown up the lab.”

    “Wow, that’s amazing!” Zhou Xiao Zhen gushed, “Smiley is the coolest person ever! She’s my idol for life!”

    Zhao Lan was glad to hear that. Feeling playful, she teased Zhou Xiao Zhen, “So Smiley is your idol? What about Leonardo DiCaprio, Yan Kuan, and the rest?”

    Zhou Xiao Zhen winked, “They’re my husbands!”

    Soon, someone knocked on the door. They opened it and saw Tan Qiao Yin and the rest of the gang, “Did you hear? The lab exploded!”

    Zhao Lan and Zhou Xiao Zhen pretended to be clueless, not wanting to reveal Yu Xiao’s mimic ability, “Really? How did that happen?”

    “Dunno,” Tan Qiao Yin said eagerly, “We were just thinking we couldn’t find a chance to strike, and then the lab blew itself up! Talk about luck, huh?”

    ─── ? ── ☆ ── ? ───

    *Well, that was quite a spectacle*~ 美滴很 (měi dī hěn) – An informal internet slang phrase that roughly translates to “so beautiful” or “very beautiful.” It’s often used in a playful or sarcastic manner to comment on situations or events.