Chapter 159: A Minor Accident (3)

Being shrunk, he naturally couldn't see anyone, and because he was now so small, his perspective had shifted completely. Everything looked entirely new to him, which was why he hadn't noticed at first.

Why had he shrunk?

This was a question he desperately wanted the answer to himself. He was racking his brains, trying to retrace his steps through the experiment. Where had he gone wrong? How on earth had he suddenly shrivelled down to this size?

Despite all this, however, Ye Lang did not panic in the least. He remained completely calm, primarily because he was already far too accustomed to such unexpected mishaps.

It wasn’t the first time, so why on earth would he panic?!

Back in the day, Ye Lang had once accidentally turned someone into a small rabbit—ah, yes, that incident with Zhen Xiaoyan. In fact, he himself had been the very first to transform back then, also the byproduct of an unexpected accident.

In alchemical experiments, even if you possessed a ten-tenths guarantee of success, unexpected outcomes could still occur; that was common knowledge!

Precisely because they were accidents, some effects would manifest only once and could never be replicated again, for no one could possibly remember the exact conditional factors required to produce that specific result.

Take this time, for instance. Ye Lang had shrunk, and he guessed it might be related to one of the alchemical effects—a property that inherently possessed the ability to enlarge or shrink objects. The catch was that it normally only worked on inanimate matter and frequently ended up destroying the target; it was an extremely immature alchemical technique.

Ever since then, Ye Lang had tried numerous methods, none of which had ever managed to reproduce this particular effect!

What should he do now?

Nonsense! The obvious priority was to find a way to restore his body!!

Realizing his reduced stature, Ye Lang leaped onto the experimental workbench. Fortunately, he still retained his foundation in martial arts; otherwise, simply climbing up onto this table would have cost him quite a bit of effort.

And so, in the Second Laboratory, a tiny little figure hopped back and forth across the tabletop. If any young girl were to see this, she would undoubtedly find it utterly adorable—a sight capable of melting any heart.

However, if Cold-Blood Thirteen were to witness it, he would most certainly toss Ye Lang straight into a cage and subject him to punishment. After all, who else but Ye Lang would leave his laboratory in such an absolute mess?

As for how Cold-Blood Five would treat Ye Lang, that mystery would be revealed very shortly.

Two days later... "Frank! Are you in there?" Cold-Blood Five pushed open the door of the Second Laboratory and called out to Ye Lang.

"I'm here!!" Ye Lang shouted back.

Cold-Blood Five heard Ye Lang’s voice, but could not see a soul. Having shrunk into such a tiny person, Ye Lang was simply too inconspicuous. Besides, nobody would ever expect a human being to be that small, so her mind naturally overlooked him.

"Where are you? Are you trying to play hide-and-seek with me?" Cold-Blood Five said coldly, looking slightly displeased. She certainly didn't enjoy playing such childish games with anyone, and Ye Lang was no exception—he held no special privileges.

"Play hide-and-seek? Do you think I have the time for that? I’m right in front of you, take a closer look." Ye Lang’s voice rang out, allowing Cold-Blood Five to pinpoint the direction, after which she peered intently at the surface.

"..." Cold-Blood Five saw him. A miniature version of Ye Lang was sitting cross-legged right there on the table, wearing an expression of deep, agonizing thought.

Cold-Blood Five rubbed her eyes. Once she was certain she wasn't seeing things, she walked over and stared at Ye Lang for a moment. Her gaze remained as icy as ever, devoid of any emotional expression.

Then, she reached out a finger and gave him a gentle flick...

"What the hell, Little Five, what are you playing at!!" Ye Lang was flicked flying across the table, tumbling a few times before coming to a stop. He immediately glared at Cold-Blood Five with a furious roar.

Cold-Blood Five ignored him, staring blankly at Ye Lang before pinching him between two fingers and lifting him into the air.

"Put me down right now! What on earth are you doing? Stop messing around when I'm in the middle of trying to find a cure!!" Ye Lang struggled, shouting and hollering at Cold-Blood Five.

Cold-Blood Five didn't react. After a long silence, she finally spoke in a flat, expressionless tone: "You look pretty good like this."

"..., Good my foot! Try getting shrunk yourself and see if you'd be saying that. I'll say it again, put me down right now!!" Ye Lang grabbed onto her delicate finger and kicked his legs furiously.

"You can still talk just fine like this. That's settled, go ahead and keep talking!" Cold-Blood Five remained completely indifferent to Ye Lang's size; her only concern was the knowledge he was supposed to impart to her.

"Hmph, this young master is in no mood to talk to you right now. I want to grow back," Ye Lang said, crossing his arms across his chest with a deeply disgruntled expression. The look was as cute as it could possibly be.

As it turned out, being miniature was absolute justice!

"Just stay like this, I like it!" Cold-Blood Five stated coldly. As a cold-blooded assassin, she was still a young girl at heart, and she was just as susceptible to the charm of adorable things—though her threshold for showing it was much higher.

This unexpected situation with Ye Lang made Cold-Blood Five desperately want to scoop him up and give him a hug and a kiss. But she was, after all, Cold-Blood Five, and in the end, she managed to hold herself back!!

"..., You might like it, but I certainly don't! Little Five, be a good girl. How about I tell you even more later? Hurry up and help me recover first—it'll be much more convenient if you're helping out." Ye Lang began trying to coax her. He didn't care whether the other party was Cold-Blood Five or not; all young girls worked the same when it came to flattery. At least, that was what Ye Lanlan had told him.

As for needing Cold-Blood Five's help, it simply meant having her fetch certain items for him. In his current state, handling objects was thoroughly inconvenient; if not for that handicap, his progress would have been vastly quicker.

"Are you trying to coax me?" Cold-Blood Five froze, blurting out the question inadvertently, as no one had ever attempted to coax or flatter her before.

Ordinarily, anyone in that situation would stubbornly deny trying to flatter her and desperately scramble for some other excuse to cover it up. Ye Lang, however, was entirely different; he nodded without the slightest hesitation.

"Yep!"

"I refuse to accept it!" Cold-Blood Five said coldly.

"Such a pain in the neck, time for my ultimate move!" Ye Lang muttered. With that, he lunged forward, grabbed one of her fingers, and opened his mouth wide for a bite—

"Ow!" Stung by the sudden pain, Cold-Blood Five loosened her grip.

Taking full advantage of the opening, Ye Lang wriggled free from the clutches of doom. He landed firmly on the table and glared defiantly at Cold-Blood Five, looking immensely pleased with himself. Now you know my power, see if you ever dare grab me again!

"You little pint-sized pest, how dare you bite me!" Cold-Blood Five muttered in mild irritation, reaching out with her hand to snatch him up and teach him a lesson.

Though Ye Lang had shrunk, his agility hadn't vanished. With a swift dodge, he sidestepped the grab and jeered tauntingly from the side— "Come and get me! Come on, catch me if you can!!"

Cold-Blood Five stared at him coldly without a word, though her hand moved with lightning speed, lunging toward him without the slightest hesitation.

Yet, just as easily, Ye Lang sidestepped her grasp once more, continuing to pull comical faces at her.

I refuse to believe I can't catch you!

For a split second, Cold-Blood Five paused in astonishment, but she immediately accelerated her movements to pounce on him again. Her brief moment of shock stemmed entirely from the unexpected realization of how nimble Ye Lang was.

What shocked her even more, however, was that even after she sped up her attacks, Ye Lang still managed to dodge effortlessly. Could this Frank actually be a hidden martial arts expert? No, impossible!

It must be because he had shrunk that he had become so nimble, while she simply hadn't grown accustomed to catching such a tiny creature yet!!

Looking at Ye Lang's seemingly clueless expression, Cold-Blood Five firmly refused to believe that he could possibly be a master martial artist!!

(To be continued)