Chapter 277

Page Eighty-Eight

Unstable State

[12:30]

[Research Institute Hall and Cafeteria]

“Haha! Something like this actually happened?”

During lunchtime, Old Lady and the others came up from the Deep Research Institute. I confessed what I did to Yǐn Tiānjié earlier, which caused Old Lady to burst out laughing without any restraint.

Miss Kē Màn and Senior Sister carried the transformed infant Yǐn Tiānjié away to be cleaned. I asked, “Why did she turn into an infant? Even Cherry Sauce couldn’t explain… Could it be that there’s something wrong with Miss Kē Màn’s spell?”

Seeing the beautiful girl suddenly revert to a baby, even someone as experienced as me was at a loss.

Wiping away tears from the corners of my eyes, Old Lady explained, “It’s about that. I just checked, her transformation state is unstable; mainly the age keeps fluctuating within a certain range… It’s not too serious. This spell can be reversed, and I can change her back later.”

As she said this, she took a few bites of her boxed meal and gave a chicken leg to Yòu Zi.

The food tasted pretty good, even with two chicken legs.

The back kitchen of the research institute, disguised as a street-side food stall, delivers meals daily. However, today’s meals seem insufficient. Usually, researchers take turns resting, but today everyone was gathered for a lecture, exceeding the cafeteria’s expectations.

Currently, the food stall is hurriedly preparing the second batch of boxed meals.

Listening to Old Lady, Bā Hé Mèi sat down beside me with her meal tray, lamenting, “Oh, so it needs to be undone?”

“You can’t go out into society with someone whose age changes.”

“Then don’t let him out! He’s not a criminal, right?”

“Lifetime imprisonment? Yǐn Tiānjié isn’t that bad…”

“Why are you so interested? Are you really going to use him as a test subject?”

Being questioned, Bā Hé Mèi shook her head quickly.

She straightened her beret and said, “Not a test subject! It’s just that this state is quite amusing.”

“Don’t treat people like toys!”

Old Lady joined in the reprimand.

“Bā Hé, the content I covered this morning, you didn’t listen at all. The existence of magic must be kept secret; exposing it casually is dangerous. After all, no one knows what Heaven’s Path might do.”

I retorted, “But you use it so casually yourself.”

“My situation is different. You know very well, and I’ve never messed up either.”

“But did you really teach this in your class this morning? I think the people here, including Bā Hé, are quite cautious.”

Old Lady sternly said, “Just being ‘quite’ cautious isn’t enough; it has to be ‘absolutely’ cautious! Any slackness will cause trouble for those around you. Magic is like that, after all, the path you walk is contrary to Heaven’s Path.”

“Then combine the heretical path with the orthodox one. Heaven’s Path recognizes science, right? So wouldn’t mixed spells blur the boundaries and still be rejected by it?”

Speaking was Senior Sister, who was wiping her hands as she walked from the deep corridor of the research institute.

“That’s just a gamble. No one knows what Heaven’s Path thinks.”

Facing Old Lady’s sigh, Senior Sister smiled generously, “At least it’s a feasible attempt. If it doesn’t work, we’ll find another way.”

“How is the little baby doing?” I asked.

“Director Kē is taking care of her and told me what happened yesterday… Bā Hé, when did you learn this?”

Senior Sister placed her hand on Bā Hé Mèi’s bowed head.

Bā Hé Mèi timidly raised her head and asked, “Did Sister Xiǎo Màn tell you everything?”

Senior Sister shook her head and made a clockwise motion with her hand on Bā Hé Mèi’s head.

“She wanted to take responsibility for you, but I know her; she’s not someone who breaks rules. Trying something without fully understanding it leads to such consequences, and it’s not anyone’s fault.”

Dazed and confused, Bā Hé Mèi continued her last defense, “It’s because Boss always kept things hidden! I didn’t know the full transformation spell!”

“You’re blaming me again?”

Senior Sister sighed while crossing her arms, “I keep secrets to prevent misuse of magic. And your actions today prove I was right.”

I understood that Yǐn Tiānjié’s current unstable state was due to Bā Hé Mèi using an incomplete transformation spell, and no one had authorized this.

Bā Hé Mèi lowered her head and said, “Boss, I’m willing to accept punishment.”

“You’ll stay with the professor on vacation. For a week, you can’t return to the institute, nor can you let the professor come back. After seven days, submit a 4000-word reflection. Of course, during the reflection period, all your magical energy batteries will be confiscated, and you can’t use spells.”

Using vacation as punishment was unheard of. Hearing she couldn’t research magic, this little witch looked pale and wailed, “How could this happen?”

Depriving Bā Hé Mèi of magic was like taking her life away.

It felt a bit like internet addiction?

“Use this opportunity to visit your parents.”

“I can see my mom and dad now? But the contract said three years…”

“Idiot, such contracts have no legal effect. I only prepared those documents to avoid trouble. But observing them, your parents are reasonable people.”

Bā Hé Mèi looked sideways, stating realistically, “I think it’s just that Boss gives too much. And I send money home every month…”

Senior Sister continued, “You look similar to your mother. I’ll also have Professor accompany you. With her testimony, your parents will understand. Then, you can enjoy yourselves.”

Senior Sister’s intention was mainly to let Professor Shí rest properly.

“Where are Bā Hé’s parents? Not local?”

Excited about going home, Bā Hé Mèi smiled, “My family is in the neighboring city. There are mountains and rivers there! Will Sister Língmèng join us?”

Facing Bā Hé Mèi’s invitation, I waved my hand and said, “No, hiking is too tiring.”

“You really lack taste!”

Actually, I was just lazy.

Afterwards, some unimportant dialogue followed, but compared to me, Bā Hé Mèi preferred talking to Old Lady.

Bā Hé Mèi’s thirst for knowledge was strong, but Old Lady didn’t plan to give her special attention, leaving her pouting unhappily.

“Bang!”

A sound echoed in the research institute corridor, like a door being forced open.

A staggering woman, naked except for a white coat, rushed out. Clearly, she hadn’t expected so many people, but she gritted her teeth and headed toward the elevator… saying she was rushing, her speed wasn’t fast. The effects of the anesthetic hadn’t worn off yet, making it hard for her to control her limbs.

No one tried to stop her. The elevator required an IC card from the research institute to function.

Miss Kē Màn came out holding her stomach, clearly hit by a sudden attack. Senior Sister sighed and gestured towards the elevator direction, her meaning clear: whoever caused the problem should clean it up.

Bā Hé Mèi stuck out her tongue and pulled out a pink ball from her pocket, smashing it against the elevator floor. The ball instantly turned into a pink cloud of smoke.

“What’s this?”

“Catch-and-Anesthetic Jade.”

“Oh? Can it be used directly without traps?”

“Just inhale it, even an elephant would sleep for four hours.”

“… Is this still considered magic?”

As the smoke cleared, the fleeing woman… no, Yǐn Tiānjié was dragged out of the elevator and pushed back to the ward on a board cart.

She looked about twenty-eight years old now, with a more striking figure. Even under a blanket, I didn’t know where to look.

“Is Miss Kē Màn okay?”

Miss Kē Màn shook her head.

“I’m fine, she can barely exert any force.”

“But she’s seen you both inside and outside the institute. We can’t just discard her anymore.”

Bā Hé Mèi asked, “Uh, is there a spell to erase memories?”

“There is, but it’s not very stable.”

Old Lady answered, poking Bā Hé Mèi’s beret.

“And you, don’t think erasing memories and discarding her is the end. Even if this person is scum, she shouldn’t suffer so much.”

Bā Hé Mèi covered her head and asked, “Are you going to transform her back?”

“Then the punishment won’t work, right?”

“So what does Master suggest?”

Old Lady obviously had an idea. She moved closer to the bedridden Yǐn Tiānjié and smiled, “Let me optimize your poor spell, improve its controllability, and add some experimental functions… Yes, let’s make it our afternoon project!”

That wicked smile made me think Yǐn Tiānjié’s situation was about to get worse.

“Anything needed?”

“Let me think, I need to prepare some props to deceive her.”

Willing to share magic knowledge, Old Lady soon fit in with the group. Senior Sister seemed helpless about what she planned to do.

I leaned over and whispered, “Where’s Brother Zhú?”

Straightening my white coat, Senior Sister replied, “Běihǎi is still underground. He’ll come up once the second batch of boxed meals arrives.”

“Afraid to meet ‘Qiǎnxià’?”

“It should be said that ‘Qiǎnxià’ doesn’t want to see him. After all, Běihǎi’s actions towards you and your father are hard to forgive.”

Actually, my mother was angry because Brother Zhú secretly flirted with her. It’s better not to tell Senior Sister about this.

My phone rang. It was AJ.

“Língmèng~”

Her usual casual tone sounded cheerful. There must have been progress between Sister Tāo and Sister Yǐjī last night.

“What kind of nickname is that? Just say what you need.”

“Sister Yǐjī and I found a new house. It’s big and the rent is cheap!”

“Oh, congratulations. Are you asking me to check it out?”

“I want you to help us move our stuff over… I don’t have much besides clothes, but Sister Yǐjī’s equipment needs to be moved. Otherwise, we can’t start streaming. Hehe.”

Hehe?

This AJ actually wants me to be a moving company!

I snapped, “What do you need to move? Just come and get it yourselves!”

“Uh, coming back now would be bad, right?”

“Disguise yourselves and come through the back door?”

“Huh? Back door?”