Chapter 211: Tick the Box!

Being able to secure that single word—deal—from Dr. Evelyn Reed was, for Lin Yu, an absolute blessing in disguise amid misfortune.

“Everything… just as I thought.”

Sitting comfortably in the back seat, Lin Yu watched the scenery streak past the window.
He smugly replayed last night’s “battle results” in his mind.

“A woman perched that high up can’t be indulged.”

“The more you give in to her, the more she’ll push her luck.”

“But if you get tough with her, throw a couple of sharp retorts—”
“—that venomous little mouth of hers softens right up.”

With this Ah Q–style sense of victory, Lin Yu headed, as agreed, to Dr. Reed’s new research institute.

This time, the destination was no longer the relatively open Xinhai University.
It was the true power core of Ruikang Biotech Group—
the headquarters campus located in the heart of D District, the Research Zone.

If not for the road signs, Lin Yu might have thought he had wandered into some ultra-luxury wellness retreat for the elite.

There was none of Xinhai’s usual steel-and-concrete jungle here.
Instead, there were vast, meticulously trimmed lawns and low-density research buildings hidden among lush greenery.

It was quiet.
Clean.
The air was fresh.

Like a utopia built inside this cyberpunk metropolis—
a scientific township reserved exclusively for the elite class.

Of course, the threshold to this “utopia” was anything but low.

The moment he reached the entrance, Lin Yu was stopped by heavily armed security personnel.

After an extensive identity verification process, he was finally allowed to board an internal autonomous shuttle.

The vehicle glided smoothly along the silent asphalt road for over ten minutes.

Along the way, Lin Yu even saw two shimmering artificial lakes flash past the window.
By the shore, a pair of swans were leisurely mating.

“……”

It wasn’t until the main research building appeared at the end of the road that Lin Yu snapped out of his daze.

He tilted his head back and looked at the gleaming blue double helix atop the building.
His throat felt dry as he muttered,

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… They say the 21st century belongs to biology.”

“I used to think only fools went into biochem, environmental science, or materials…”

“But now it seems… these biology folks are seriously damn rich.”

As he was still marveling, the shuttle came to a gentle stop.

A tall, graceful young woman was already waiting at the entrance.

Now this was professional attire.

Lin Yu hopped out of the vehicle and gave his sister a thorough once-over.

He was used to seeing her in casual clothes.
Now, dressed in a white lab coat with an ID badge clipped to her chest, she looked exactly like a beautiful scientist straight out of a manga.

Grinning, he patted her shoulder teasingly.

“Heh, being this pretty—are you sure you’re cut out for research?”
“Won’t you distract all those senior lab guys?”

“Since when did you learn to talk slick like that, bro?”

Lin Xue tilted her head slightly.
Her cool eyes carried an unmistakable smile.

“Looks like that big dye vat called Dawn Company really taught you some social skills.”
“So… the way you clashed with my advisor at dinner yesterday—did you learn that from your seniors too?”

At the mention of last night, Lin Yu scratched the back of his head.
The playful grin faded a little.

“Ah… that.”

He sighed, his gaze drifting.

“Honestly, seeing that foreign woman’s attitude back then—I just couldn’t stand that kind of high-and-mighty pressure.”

“For a split second, I even wanted to grab your hand, flip the table, shout ‘Screw this grad school!’ and walk out with you in style.”

“But…”

His voice lowered.

“After thinking about it, that would’ve felt good for me—but it wouldn’t have respected you.”
“I know how many days and nights you worked to fight for this opportunity.”

“Luckily, in the end… heh. That foreign doctor’s got a weird personality.”
“Turns out she responds to hard, not soft. Guess that’s a blessing in disguise.”

Listening to him, Lin Xue lowered her gaze slightly.
Yet a warm smile curved at the corner of her lips despite herself.

“Bro, actually you—”

“Mr. Lin!”

A cool, efficient female voice cut off the rare tender moment between the siblings.

Lin Xue looked up.

The short-haired, commanding woman from yesterday—Sun Hui—was striding toward them in low heels, crisp and decisive.

“Senior.”

Lin Xue, who had been laughing freely with her brother moments ago, instantly looked like an elementary school student who had just seen the dean.
She lowered her head slightly, her posture turning tense and reserved.

“Dr. Sun! Hello, hello!”

Lin Yu, meanwhile, completed a seamless transformation in under a second—from warm, doting brother to humble contractor.

A fawning smile plastered itself across his face.

Sure, he had gone off on her teacher last night thanks to liquid courage.
But now he was the one asking for help—and it concerned his very life.
He needed to get his attitude straight.

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“No time for small talk. Come in first.”

Sun Hui glanced at her watch.
As an efficiency-first pragmatist, she turned and led the way, speaking rapidly as she walked.

“Before we reach the lab, I’ll briefly go over the procedure.”

“First, we’ll conduct a comprehensive deep physical examination.”
“This isn’t some cheap hospital checkup. Our equipment will scan down to each of your cells—even to the molecular level.”

Lin Yu followed behind, nodding vigorously though he barely understood.

Molecular level?
Now that sounded professional.

The tech tree of big corporations really was on another level.

“Once we finish collecting baseline data, we’ll also need to examine your physiological indicators in your [transformed state].”

She paused.

“Are you still able to transform?”

At the mention of transformation, Lin Yu’s face instantly crumpled like a bitter gourd.

“Uh… I can. It’s just… it hurts.”

“It feels like someone scrubbing my flesh with a steel wool pad.”

He swallowed and gritted his teeth.

“But if it’s only for a minute or two… for the sake of treatment, I should be able to endure it.”
“How long will your examination take?”

“A minute or two… is enough.”

Sun Hui nodded, adjusting her silver-rimmed glasses.

Ding—

The elevator doors opened.
The three of them stepped inside.

She pressed the button for the 19th floor.

As the elevator ascended slowly, a brief silence filled the enclosed space.

Just when Lin Yu thought the explanation was over, Sun Hui seemed to remember something and turned to add,

“Oh, right. There’s one more item.”

“To ensure sample diversity and accuracy, we’ll need to analyze various bodily fluids from both of your states.”

“Both your normal state and your transformed girl state.”

“At this stage… we’ll need you to cooperate diligently.”

“Diligently?”

Lin Yu blinked, then waved casually.

“Ah—cooperate? Of course I’ll cooperate! I’m the patient. Drawing blood and running tests—it’s for my own good. I get it.”

He didn’t understand why she emphasized the word “diligently.”

Sun Hui, however, didn’t elaborate.
Instead, she blinked meaningfully and glanced toward Lin Xue in the corner.

Following her gaze, Lin Yu noticed that his sister’s expression had changed at some point.

Her cheeks were tinted an odd red.
The corners of her lips twitched upward, desperately trying to suppress something.

“Bro…”

Lin Xue leaned in, rising on tiptoe to whisper by his ear.

“About what Senior said—‘various bodily fluids’… do you really… understand?”

“What’s not to understand?”

Lin Yu looked baffled, counting on his fingers with righteous confidence.

“Blood draw, urine test, maybe some saliva, or—”

Before he could finish, Lin Xue suddenly poked his waist with a finger and lowered her voice.

“And that too…”

“That what?”

He frowned.

“Can’t you just say it louder?”

“I mean… you know…”

Her ears were bright red.

“When you were in middle school, you’d leave the house, and Mom told me to clean your room…”

“And in your trash can, I found—”

“Alright! Stop! Don’t say it!”

Lin Yu’s face turned several shades paler.

“I… I get it!”