Chapter 68: Dr. Evelyn Reed

“…Why can’t I find it?”

Lin Yu stood in the very center of the women’s restroom, looking thoroughly troubled.

She had already checked every corner inside and out—at least three times.

The high-precision psionic scanner on her Contract Bracelet kept giving the exact same result over and over:

[No abnormal psionic fluctuations detected]

(That’s weird… Senior Su’s intel shouldn’t be wrong. She said the remains of the Mirror Dweller were hiding inside the restroom mirrors on this floor. But there’s nothing here.)

She lifted a slender hand and tapped lightly on the cold mirror.

The gray-haired girl in the reflection mimicked her movement exactly, that delicate face wearing the same puzzled expression.

(…Did I use the wrong method? Or maybe… it’s in the men’s restroom?)

(No way…)

Lin Yu felt her eyelid twitch.

(If it’s really that kind of bad luck… then things are going to get troublesome.)

(If I change back into my male form, I could walk straight into the men’s restroom with no problem… but then I’ll lose access to all my psionic equipment.)

(But if I stay transformed as a magical girl…)

She thought for a long moment.

In the end, she surrendered to the power of a 40,000-yuan monthly salary.

(…At this hour, there shouldn’t be many people in the building anyway…)

(As long as I act fast, it should… probably… be fine…)

(…Screw it!)

(It’s for work! Yes! It’s for passing the probation exam—just to earn that sweet 40k paycheck!)

Under the influence of money, whatever useless sense of shame she once had had long since been thrown out the window.

To be extra safe, she even ran to the tools closet by the stairwell, dragged out a yellow “Under Maintenance — Do Not Enter” sign, and set it firmly in front of the men’s restroom door.

After completing the entire covert operation, she peeked left and right like a guilty thief.
Seeing the hallway was empty, she finally let out a breath of relief.

The moment she stepped inside, she realized she’d been nervous for nothing.

The annoying elite Apple-boy from earlier was already gone.

(…Left already? Good. Saves me the trouble of explaining anything.)

She relaxed internally and raised her wrist.

This time, the scanner finally reacted!

A faint violet dot flickered on the corner of the screen.

(Found it!)

Joy rose in her chest—
but the next line of text on the bracelet quickly dumped a bucket of cold water over her head:

[Warning: Psionic traces detected, but signal is too thin for precise localization. Preliminary judgment: Contaminant may have already transferred… via unknown method.]

[Recommendation: Operator should temporarily disable electronic devices and attempt to track the remaining aura using personal psionic perception.]

[Friendly Reminder ♥: When tracking, you can wiggle your nose like a cute puppy, close your eyes, and sniff carefully! You might find something surprising~ (ㅅUㅅ)～YO]

(…A puppy?!)

Lin Yu stared at the emoji-filled message, feeling her eyelid twitch even harder.

(I swear… does this stupid company design all magical-girl functions to be this ridiculous?)

Even while mentally screaming, she still obediently complied.

After all, nothing mattered more than money.
Once she’d tasted a financially comfortable life, she absolutely refused to fall back to rock bottom.

She was willing to be a diligent worker.
She was even more willing to be a s*ave to money.

“How… do dogs sniff again?”

She closed her eyes and focused all her attention on her sense of smell.

At first, she didn’t notice anything unusual—just the faint cedar fragrance common to high-end restrooms.

But gradually, as she concentrated, something strange awakened in her mind.

She “smelled” something.

Not a physical scent, but a psionic aura.

It was faint—bitter like black ink, with an odd hint of sickly sweetness.

(…Huh. I really did sniff something out?)

The aura stretched out from the restroom, slithering along the cold hallway all the way toward the deepest part of the building.

There—
the core laboratory zone Lu Ze had shown her earlier.

The malicious, unstable Curiosity-Spectrum aura twisted like a sneaky serpent, slipping through the cracks of the sealed gate and vanishing within.

(…It actually ran in there?)

Lin Yu stopped walking, lifting her gaze to the massive, oppressive alloy gate.

Her brows furrowed tightly.

(…That’s bad.)

She reached out and pushed the cold metal surface.

It didn’t move an inch.

(Tsk… blocked?)

A wave of helplessness washed over her.

She felt like a gamer who finally reached the boss door after a long quest, only to realize she forgot to bring the key.

(…Should I call Senior Su and beg for help? Maybe she can hack the access system?)

Just as Lin Yu was drowning in frustration—

A voice suddenly spoke behind her, hesitant and a bit awkward.

Lin Yu turned instinctively—
and instantly froze.

In front stood a tall, long-legged woman with dazzling golden hair and a graceful aura.

Dr. Evelyn Reed, ReCon Biotech’s authority in genetic engineering.

Standing half a step behind her was a face Lin Yu knew all too well:

Her sister, Lin Xue.

Upon seeing “Lulu”—a girl she had only met once—Lin Xue’s expression twisted into something odd.
The corners of her lips seemed to lift ever so slightly, as if hiding some complicated thought.

Though Lin Yu had no desire to deal with either of them, since they’d already run into each other, she politely greeted:

“G-Good afternoon, Dr. Reed.”

“Oh? You know me? Have we met before? But I don’t recall such a lovely girl.”

Dr. Reed’s sapphire eyes sparkled with curiosity as she studied the gray-haired girl before her.

“N-No, no, Doctor!”
Lin Yu waved her hands frantically, smiling awkwardly.

“I—I just… frequently read your papers! I truly admire your achievements in genetic engineering!”

“Is that so?”

Amused, Dr. Reed’s smile softened further.

“Are you a student here? Hmm… you don’t look like you’re from the Life Sciences department. That outfit… Art major?”

“Ah—no, no!”
Lin Yu quickly corrected her.

“I’m an external technician from Dawn Corporation, codename Gray Crystal. You can call me Lulu. I’m here to service some environmental sensors on the fourth floor.”

“Dawn Corporation?”

Dr. Reed repeated, recognition dawning.

“Oh, I remember. The cleanup company that helps us dispose of certain… experimental waste. I’ve also heard that internally, you like calling your cute agents ‘magical—’”

“COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH!!”

Lin Yu almost died on the spot and cut her off with a violent coughing fit.

“Uh… Doctor,” she said quickly, cheeks flushing with embarrassment, “h-how did you know about our company…?”

“Hehe, of course we know.”

Dr. Reed chuckled elegantly behind her hand.

“After all, ReCon Biotech is one of your company’s major clients. Especially the Prometheus Project I lead. You know—cutting-edge exploration tends to produce… unexpected ‘side products.’ So we often request your company for assistance.”

As she spoke, she pointed meaningfully at Lin Xue beside her.

“Just like this child here—last time she was doing an experiment, she accidentally caused a little trouble. In the end, a certain pink-twin-tailed lady from your firm had to come fix it.”

(Pink twin-tails…)

Lin Xue’s expression stiffened almost imperceptibly.

(Don’t tell me… it was that one?)

“Well then, little technician,”
Dr. Reed said warmly,

“You mentioned equipment maintenance? Are the sensors malfunctioning again? Do you need help?”

“Uh…”

Lin Yu hesitated, then decided to be honest.

Lying to the actual landowner on the landowner’s turf would only make her look stupid.

“Actually… I’m here to deal with a contaminant.”

She explained as professionally as she could:

“According to our intel, there should be remains of a contaminant known as Mirror Dweller lurking inside the fourth-floor restroom. But when I arrived, its psionic traces had already shifted… to the entrance of your core lab.”

As she spoke, she carefully lifted her hand and pointed at the massive, taboo-laden circular gate.

“Is that so?”

Dr. Reed’s smile didn’t change. She didn’t seem concerned at all.

She raised her hand toward the giant gate for access verification.

A cold blue scan swept across her palm.

“Wnnng—”

The thick bio-alloy doors slowly slid open.

Inside was a pure white space flooded with soft light.

“Well, since you’re so certain,”
Dr. Reed stepped aside, making an inviting gesture.

Her elegant smile carried a hint of mystery.

“Please—come in, little technician.”

“And let me, someone who only knows how to tinker with genes, witness how you Dawn professionals deal with these… invisible ‘problems.’”

She paused, speaking in a tone halfway between casual murmur and deliberate hint.

“Who knows—maybe yet another one of my inept students caused something troublesome again.”