I’m Addicted to your Pheromones from the First Moment We Met - Chapter 7

The excessive fatigue caused by staying up all night and exhausting her mental strength left Yu Zhouyao feeling completely drained. She lay on the bed and dozed for a while longer. By the time she opened her eyes again, the sky outside was gradually turning dark.

She climbed out of bed, grabbed a nutrient solution from the medicine cart, and gulped it down.

Dr. Pei had mentioned that both the transportation base and the school were sending representatives. Just thinking about it gave Yu Zhouyao a massive headache. She had caused quite a stir, and she needed to think carefully to find the right words to smooth things over.

With this in mind, Yu Zhouyao opened her device, found Eric in her contacts, and sent him a message. He replied almost instantly.

[God of Wealth]: Monkey, you still alive? [Banana Lover]: Alive! You are alive too! Where did you go? After I woke up, I heard you vanished from the hospital. [God of Wealth]: …Went to school to enroll. [Banana Lover]: Did you make it? [God of Wealth]: Success. Am I awesome or what? [Banana Lover]: Awesome! Congratulations! [God of Wealth]: Teacher Monkey, when I take action, success is guaranteed. [Banana Lover]: Congrats! Oh, by the way, the base people said they are looking for you. They asked me where you went. [God of Wealth]: I know. I figure they are on their way here now. [Banana Lover]: They asked me about the accident details. [God of Wealth]: What did you say? [Banana Lover]: Exactly what you taught me. The ship was too old, an accident happened, we got lucky and sensed the danger early, and we saved our lives by getting into the escape pods in time. [Banana Lover]: Take care of yourself. [God of Wealth]: Will do.

Their conversation ended, and Yu Zhouyao sprawled on the hospital bed in a daze.

Just as her mind was wandering, Dr. Pei pushed the door open. Behind her were several familiar faces from the base, including the bald Director Zhou.

Speak of the devil.

Yu Zhouyao put on a smile and greeted them. “Dr. Pei, Director Zhou, hello to you all.”

Zhou Tongwei nodded to her. “Student Yu, how are you feeling?”

“Quite good.”

Dr. Pei added sharply, “She is doing exceptionally well. Otherwise, she would not have run away yesterday.”

Yu Zhouyao gave a sheepish laugh. “Heh… I was just in a hurry to get to school and enroll.”

Zhou Tongwei scolded her in a gentle tone. “Little Yu, did I not tell you yesterday? You should have stayed in the hospital to recover. The base would have sent someone to handle the enrollment. Why were you so reckless?”

“Haha… Thank you, Director Zhou. I was just too anxious to see the school. Director Zhou, Dr. Pei, I am sorry for causing you all trouble.”

Zhou Tongwei nodded. “You must be more careful in the future.” As he spoke, he gave Dr. Pei a look. Seeing the signal, Dr. Pei left the room and thoughtfully closed the door behind her.

“Alright, Little Yu. There is no one else here. Since you are in good condition, I want to discuss the spacecraft with you.”

Yu Zhouyao nodded obediently. “Of course, Director Zhou. I promise to cooperate.”

“Yesterday at 2:00 PM, the base detected a crash signal and launched a rescue plan.”

“Yes… our ship malfunctioned.”

“To ensure the safety of the crew, we sent multiple communication signals to the ship during the initial rescue phase but received no response.”

Yu Zhouyao lowered her gaze, controlling her breathing. “Director Zhou, I do not remember that happening.”

“Please think carefully.”

“Sorry, I truly do not remember.”

Zhou Tongwei paused, looking at her intently before continuing. “After failing to get a response, our researchers concluded the crew had lost consciousness. Based on that, we took a conservative defense approach.”

“I see.”

“During the process, we unexpectedly discovered the escape pods ejected from the ship and rushed to rescue you from mid air.”

“Thank you, Director.”

“Your ship was on the verge of falling apart. The researchers were very surprised that both people in the pods survived. According to official Imperial Flight Department data, the survival rate for a crash this severe is less than five in ten thousand.”

Yu Zhouyao nodded. “You are right. The accident was very dangerous. Eric and I both thought we were going to die. The Emperor is merciful and protected us. We luckily got our lives back.”

“It seems you are indeed very lucky.” Zhou Tongwei emphasized the word lucky.

Yu Zhouyao replied with a joyful expression. “Yes, Director Zhou. This time, I was truly fortunate. Not only did I escape a crash, but I also made it to enrollment at the last second. Anyone would say I have incredible luck.”

“Indeed.” Zhou Tongwei stared directly into her eyes, trying to dig for more information. “To be honest, your luck is so good it is suspicious. Our researchers are very curious about this accident—and especially about you. As soon as the pod landed, you were able to push the door open yourself. After being sent to the hospital, you had the energy to sprint to school. These are not things a typical crash survivor’s body can do. Yu Zhouyao, how did you do it?”

There it was. She knew the base people would ask this. Fortunately, she was prepared. She could not show any weakness in this critical battle.

Yu Zhouyao’s expression remained unchanged. She said in a low voice, “Director Zhou, to be honest, I am not entirely sure myself. As you know, I am from M419. I flew to Planet Aurora specifically to enroll at Dawn Military Academy. It is rare for someone from a frontier star to have the chance to leave for school, so I treasure it deeply. I kept thinking that even if I only had one breath left, I had to hold on until I finished enrolling. Everything that happened feels like a hazy dream. I was like an obsessed person, staying hyped up until I finished the task. Looking back… I do not know how I finished it either. Perhaps it was destiny. My friends and neighbors back home must have been protecting me from afar.”

Yu Zhouyao’s strategy was simple: play dumb.

Zhou Tongwei paused as if weighing the truth of her words.

Yu Zhouyao complained internally: What a joke, this is one hundred percent the truth. I am not lying, so good luck trying to catch me out with a polygraph.

After a moment, Zhou Tongwei continued. “Yu Zhouyao, the research institute considered that possibility. You have not started school yet, but in the military system, we call it ‘Mental Blood Burning.’ It is when someone explodes their mental strength in a crisis to maintain a high state of excitement to complete a task. Your case is unique, so we thought of Mental Blood Burning immediately.”

Yu Zhouyao blinked. Wait, bald uncle, I can’t believe you actually bought it.

Zhou Tongwei’s tone shifted. “However… the conditions for Mental Blood Burning are very strict. According to our follow up investigation, we do not believe you possess the ability to trigger it.”

“Is that so? Sorry, Director Zhou, I have never heard of ‘Mental Blood Burning.’ I do not know what you are talking about.” Yu Zhouyao gave an apologetic smile.

“According to Dr. Pei’s report, although your mental strength is S+ rank and you have the potential, you have never received systematic training. It is absolutely impossible for you to accidentally enter a Mental Blood Burning state.”

Yu Zhouyao blinked. The Director’s words contained a lot of information. Wait, Dr. Pei didn’t update the base on her latest checkup results?

She made her voice sound confused. “Director Zhou, I only heard the term ‘Mental Blood Burning’ for the first time today. Everything you are saying sounds too mysterious to a frontier resident like me. I do not know if it was Blood Burning or not. I just know that at the time, I was incredibly anxious and desperate to get to school and force the teacher to process my enrollment.”

“Is that so? We are also puzzled and cannot find a logical explanation.” Zhou Tongwei wiped non existent sweat from his face. “We tested the ship fragments and found traces of mental strength fluctuations. After comparing them with the pod, we confirmed they belong to you.”

Yu Zhouyao shook her head. “Director Zhou, I was too tense. If you ask me to remember exactly what I did, I only remember the basics. Maybe I left some mental strength on the ship while I was piloting it.”

“Then how do you explain the escape pod?”

“The ship was about to disintegrate. Eric told me to abandon ship. I thought about it and decided to give it one last shot. I turned on the autopilot for Planet Aurora. But things got too dangerous, so we fled into the pods to save our lives. I was inside the pod after that, so I am not sure what happened.”

“Not sure?” Zhou Tongwei repeated.

“I was inside the escape pod.”

“Did you fall asleep in the pod?”

Yu Zhouyao thought about it. “I do not know. My mind was still racing. I could feel my thoughts and mental strength were very active—active enough that I felt like I could get into a fight with someone.”

“I see.” Zhou Tongwei moved on. “Have you always been in good physical shape?”

Yu Zhouyao nodded. “Yes. Very good.”

“According to our data, when you escaped the hospital, your running speed was close to that of a typical new recruit.”

“Was it? Director Zhou, I already said I was in a rush. Your people were chasing me, so I ran a bit faster. Perhaps I just exceeded my usual speed.”

Zhou Tongwei pursued the lead. “Why did you run when you saw the base people?”

“I was in a hurry to enroll.”

“I told you the base would contact the school for you.”

Yu Zhouyao smiled bitterly. “Director Zhou, I am in a strange place with no one I know. I was afraid you were just tricking me. That is not hard to understand, is it?”

“…Alright.” Zhou Tongwei said with regret. Seeing that Yu Zhouyao was a tough nut to crack, he decided to end the questioning. “We will stop here. Yu Zhouyao, if you remember anything else, let us know immediately.”

“Of course, Director Zhou.”

Yu Zhouyao watched the group from the base leave the ward. As soon as they were gone, Dr. Pei entered to check on her.

Yu Zhouyao said helplessly, “Dr. Pei, I am still a patient. Could you let me rest for a while after that intense interrogation?”

“You are not sick. All your indicators are perfect. You being targeted by the base is your own doing.”

“You should not say that. Should a doctor not be friendly to patients to maintain a good relationship?”

“Everyone in a hospital is a patient.” As Dr. Pei spoke, she adjusted the screws on the bed and began pushing it out of the room.

“Wait! Dr. Pei, where are you taking me?”

“Moving you to a regular ward. If there is nothing wrong with you, stop occupying the ICU and wasting public medical resources.”

Dr. Pei pushed the bed impatiently. The metal wheels rattled over the marble floor. After a few minutes, she stopped. “We are here.”

Yu Zhouyao looked up at the room number: 1314. Well, this time they had put her on the 13th floor to prevent her from running away again.

Dr. Pei knocked.

“Coming!” a cheerful voice replied.

A second later, the door opened. Yu Zhouyao saw a familiar face, it was the girl she had saved in the teaching building.

“Cousin! Yu Zhouyao! I have finally been waiting for you. I was getting so anxious!”

Wait, cousin? You two know each other? Yu Zhouyao was stunned.

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