Chapter Sixty-Five: The Return of Youth

That evening, at the same hour, within Commander Lu Biao's residence.

Tonight, Lu Biao had canceled all his engagements, hurrying home as soon as work was done. He sternly instructed his servants that no one was to disturb him under any circumstances. Then he locked himself in his study.

Upon the desk lay a briefcase that Lu Biao had brought back, pitch-black, with a pronounced metallic sheen. Inside was the very item Ye Chen had fought so desperately to retrieve the previous night. By some uncanny stroke, Ye Chen’s final knife strike had avoided harming anything within.

Lu Biao’s breath grew rapid, his fingers trembling uncontrollably. His shirt was open at the chest, and he could hear the frantic pounding of his heart within. The sound of the briefcase opening echoed through the silent study. A plume of white nitrogen mist billowed from within.

He gently lifted the lid, as though afraid to damage what lay inside. When the mist dissipated, three items were revealed: a syringe, a small vial filled with crimson liquid, and another vial holding a deep blue fluid.

There was no light in the room, but as the case opened, the red vial glowed with a piercing scarlet radiance. Beside it, the blue vial shone with a profound azure halo.

Lu Biao caressed the red vial with one hand, while his other softly rubbed the blue one, as if admiring the most exquisite treasure in the world. His pupils reflected red in one eye, blue in the other.

“At last, I’ve waited so long! Finally, finally, the City Lord’s Mansion recognizes me! Ha ha ha!” His voice brimmed with hysteria and an inexpressible excitement.

He snatched up the syringe, fitted the red and blue vials into their respective slots, took a deep breath, and with a grimace, plunged the needle into his exposed chest, right into his heart.

...

The next morning.

Outside the study, Commander Lu Biao’s wife was violently pounding on the door, her blows reverberating. When there was still no movement inside, the captain’s wife, clad in her nightgown and her face drawn with sagging skin, furiously scolded the trembling, beautiful maid beside her:

“Don’t you have any sense at all!

“That old fool told you not to disturb him and you just listen? Normally, you’re always sneaking into his study!

“You little fox, if anything happens to the master in there, I’ll beat you to death!”

She vented her anger by pinching the maid’s arm, while the girl tried to retreat without provoking further wrath, hoping to lessen the pain.

But it was all in vain.

The captain’s wife refocused on pounding the door, shouting with all her might:

“You old rascal! What are you doing in there? If you don’t open up, I’ll have the door smashed down!”

Inside, Lu Biao, sprawled on the floor, began to awaken. As the relentless knocking and his wife’s shrill, blood-pressure-raising shouts filtered through the door, he frowned in annoyance.

He felt as if his dream was about to reach its climax—a vibrant vision of his youthful days, vivid in color—only to be shattered by the sudden intrusion. No matter how he tried, the dream would not return.

Just as he was about to storm out in fury, he remembered what had happened before bed last night, and immediately snapped awake.

Listening to the incessant banging, Lu Biao cleared his throat and rose to open the door.

As the door swung open, he saw his wife poised to strike it again. He felt a surge of irritation and, with the authority of his station, barked:

“What’s the meaning of this? I already said I had important matters to attend to—no one is to disturb me!”

He swept his stern gaze over his wife and the maid, but unlike usual, he did not see fear in their faces.

Instead, their expressions were stunned, bewildered, and incredulous—as if they’d seen a ghost.

“Master... is it really you?” the maid asked, her voice trembling.

Lu Biao’s wife instantly recognized him—now twenty years younger—but still clutched her nightgown in terror, stammering:

“Master, you should look in the mirror! I... I almost didn’t recognize you!”

Lu Biao roughly pushed past the two and strode to the bathroom. He knew what they meant, but had to see it for himself.

Next moment, he gazed at his reflection, and saw he had miraculously reverted to his form from twenty years ago.

His belly was no longer round, his limbs less thick, the wrinkles at his eyes diminished, and even his groin felt firmer. Most importantly...

“Ha ha ha, my hair has grown back!”

Seeing his newly luxuriant hair, Lu Biao nearly wept with joy. To him, this was the greatest gift the Zero Formula had brought.

Yes, this time, as a reward for the Zhang Jingye incident, the Inner City bestowed upon Lu Biao a set of the Zero Formula.

After admiring his rejuvenated physique, Lu Biao shouted to the two who were still sneaking glances from the door:

“Well, what are you waiting for? Go fetch me some suitable clothes!”

Then he began whistling, absorbed in grooming his new hair.

...

Early that morning, Ye Chen sat on his hospital bed, enjoying the hearty breakfast brought by the cafeteria auntie.

What counts as hearty? It was much more than he usually got when dishing up his own meal.

Ye Chen’s heart skipped a beat; he secretly wondered if all the nurses in the infirmary were cafeteria aunties moonlighting as medical staff... That would truly be something.

He tried not to think about it, but once the thought arose, it opened a floodgate. The breakfast lost its appeal, and he imagined the auntie’s gaze was tinged with pink.

Thus began the morning’s farce.

Ye Chen insisted on being discharged early, but the old, rigid physician blocked his way, refusing to budge.

It was as if he was saying: "If you want to leave, step over my dead body."

Truth be told, Ye Chen was genuinely moved by the doctor’s professionalism and exemplary medical ethics.

In the end, Ye Chen had to tear off all his bandages to show he was truly healed, finally leaving the infirmary under the doctor’s astonished gaze.

Breathing in the cold winter air, Ye Chen felt instantly refreshed.

He foolishly imagined himself as a wolf from the wild, not a dog raised in a greenhouse by sisters.

Soon after, Xu Fan arrived in a brand-new uniform to pick Ye Chen up from the changing room.

Ye Chen’s pitiable uniform and his beloved overcoat had become a collection of holes.

He chose to discard the ruined uniform, but secretly kept the overcoat.

“Did you say Captain Lu wants to see me?” Ye Chen asked Xu Fan as he changed.

“Yes. Chief Dai said after I pick you up, I’m to take you straight to Captain Lu’s office,” Xu Fan replied, his expression tinged with envy. “This is definitely a good thing—I guarantee it with my sixth sense!”

Ye Chen was quietly amused... your sixth sense?

When the two reached Captain Lu’s office, Xu Fan wisely waited outside.

Ye Chen found, besides the familiar Chief Dai, a young man he didn’t recognize. This young man seemed to have a peculiar habit: whether talking or observing, one hand was constantly fiddling with his hair.

Chief Dai cleared his throat:

“The man before you is none other than Captain Lu of our Outer City Patrol Bureau.

“It’s just that today his appearance is drastically different—even I barely recognized him this morning.”

What?!

This young man with a thick head of hair was actually the formerly bald Captain Lu.

Well... the facial contours were indeed somewhat similar.

And, truly, a man’s hairstyle is of utmost importance.

Ye Chen suddenly realized Captain Lu’s transformation must be connected to the item he had fought to retrieve.

No wonder Qiao Mu Cao had said, mysterious as ever, that the gag order would last no more than a day.

After all, who could resist the temptation of a youth-restoring elixir?

If it were him, he’d have used it that very night.

Yet Ye Chen pondered another question... Could a potion that restores youth so easily truly have no side effects?