Chapter 40 – Reunion
After hesitating for a moment, Hua Mian timidly retraced her steps. She looked perfectly normal—her portrayal of a socially anxious, timid researcher was remarkably convincing.
She had noticed earlier that the researcher she imitated had a special gem-auction emblem on his chest.
She didn’t have one on her clothes, but fortunately, he hadn’t noticed.
Now, at least, she had something to cover for it.
Hua Mian pinned the ID card in her palm to the spot on her chest where the emblem should be. Heaven was helping her—this happened to be dinner time.
She needed to find a way into the laboratory.
She swiped the ID card to open one of the labs and, luckily, no one was inside.
She poured the perfume into a beaker and set it over an alcohol lamp. The scent evaporated quickly. Then she turned on a hot-air machine and blasted it thoroughly.
She didn’t know whether this perfume would actually help, but Yujin had bought it online after discovering that the gem auction house’s soothing agent smelled similar.
In the interstellar age, online shopping was incredibly fast—if the package was from the same planet, it arrived in minutes.
After finishing her preparations, Hua Mian cleaned up the equipment.
Then she returned to the restroom and changed back into Lucas’ appearance.
Now, all she could do was wait.
Time passed through the late afternoon. A Ning grew increasingly anxious, trying several times to speak, only to be silenced by Hua Mian’s cold glare.
Things weren’t going the way she had planned—Yujin hadn’t smelled the perfume at all.
But someone else had.
“Strange… why does the lab smell like roses today?”
“You smelled it too? I thought it was just me! It’s faint, but I’m sure this perfume is the best rose scent made on Ilika Star.”
“You’re familiar with it?”
“Of course. The pheromone soother I’m courting comes from a family in the perfume business. I studied up just to have something to talk about with her.”
“You’re courting a soother? Since when? How come I didn’t know?”
“Well… nothing’s official yet.”
“So we’re not friends anymore?”
…
Yujin licked his cracked lips, listening closely to the two beastmen who had come to retrieve equipment.
After they left, he frowned in thought.
A sudden rose-perfume scent?
A spark of realization flashed across his mind. Quietly, he climbed out of the hidden compartment inside the equipment room.
There was no ventilation here. If people didn’t come to open the door now and then, he would’ve suffocated.
Three hours later, the same two beastmen returned to put the equipment back.
Yujin struck them both unconscious with two heavy hammers, then swiftly cut their throats.
He changed into one of their uniforms, removed their ID cards, shoved the bodies into his hiding place, and walked out as if he belonged there.
Entering an empty lab, he quickly went to the vent and sniffed.
A familiar rose scent—he had just bought this exact perfume for Hua Mian a few days ago.
His heart began pounding rapidly.
Had she come?
He recalled her bright eyes—radiant even when she had been covered in mud last time.
Hua Mian wasn’t like other females. She was the one who’d thought up the trick with mud and tree bark to fool the bloodthirsty vine monster.
He knew she was clever. If she had a chance, she would definitely come for him.
So… Hua Mian was here?
Yujin thought rapidly.
If he were Hua Mian, how would he infiltrate this place?
The first choice would be a researcher—but very few researchers entered from the front gate.
Next would be a guard.
She could only access the outer guards. Last time she had disguised herself as Sophia using homemade materials.
She could do the same now.
He needed to get to the surveillance room and check if anyone had come in from outside today.
With that plan, Yujin headed toward the surveillance room using the route he had memorized.
Unfortunately, today there were three beastmen on duty.
And he was alone.
Under their suspicious stares, Yujin spoke quickly, urgency in his voice.
“My coworker is missing. Can you help me check the cameras?”
“My name is Yu Heshan, from the genetic analysis lab. My colleague Xue Chenhui went to return equipment but never came back! The equipment room door won’t open now—I think something happened to him!”
At the mention of the equipment room being stuck and someone missing, the staff immediately turned to check the nearby cameras.
Cold light flashed in Yujin’s eyes.
“Found it!”
The other two hurried over.
“The person coming out of the equipment room is—”
Before the word “him” could be spoken, Yujin snapped the man’s neck and stabbed the next one with a metal tool.
The last one kicked Yujin in the stomach—right where he was already injured—and pain blanked his mind.
But seeing him reach for the emergency alarm, Yujin’s long leg swept out, sending him crashing to the ground.
The two grappled fiercely on the floor.
Yujin wasn’t skilled at fighting, but he had learned a few moves from Chen Xueji. The technician wasn’t skilled either, but at least he wasn’t wounded.
For a while, they were evenly matched—one punch answered with a kick.
After several rounds, Yujin’s face turned pale; he was close to exhaustion.
He pinned the man down and used a blade hidden in his mouth to slice open the man’s carotid artery.
Spitting out the blade, wiping the blood from his lips—ignoring the cut at the corner of his mouth—he hurried to check the surveillance.
He spotted Hua Mian quickly. Even disguised as a beastman, he recognized her at a glance.
His fingertips brushed over her figure on the screen. After confirming her location, he rushed out of the surveillance room.
“How long do we wait?” A Ning finally whispered, unable to hold back.
“Just a little longer.”
Hua Mian felt tortured by the uncertainty—what if Yujin hadn’t smelled the perfume? Or what if it hadn’t worked at all?
At this point, all she could do was gamble.
But she would only wait until morning. If nothing happened by then, she planned to rescue a random imprisoned beastman and escape.
She had already done her best for Yujin.
Hua Mian repeated her plans silently in her mind.
No one knew how long they’d waited—A Ning felt numb.
Then they heard footsteps.
Hua Mian and A Ning exchanged a glance, then quietly listened.
The footsteps were steady. It didn’t sound like someone coming to use the restroom—he was opening every stall door.
Soon, he reached theirs.
A Ning tightened his grip on his weapon.
Hua Mian suddenly realized something. Just as the stall door was pulled open, she pressed down on A Ning’s hand.
Her gaze met Yujin’s.
Her waiting had paid off.
It was Yujin.
“Mianmian.”
Yujin pulled her into his arms with a force that showed how desperately he had missed her, as if he wanted to merge her into his very being.
She had really come for him.
Hua Mian gently stroked his back, soothing him.
