Leaving the stunned woman behind while still wearing her coat left a bad feeling within her, but it can't be helped.

Who knows how long the red tape would need to run until someone tells her anything?

It would be better to explore while she still can and know something rather than nothing.

Talking about the white coat, how small was she that the edge of the lab coat could reach her ankle?

Fidgeting a bit at her coat and lamenting her bare-footedness, as the ground are slippery, and the grip of her soles are less than ideal, but the bark on the bottom of her feets is doing its job as she would have complained about the gravel if she still has her normal human skin instead of bark.

Looking at the group of young scientists ahead of her and assuming that the standard adult height now is still 170 cm or 5 foot 6 inches for an adult male.

Then extrapolating the angle that she can see from her eyes to the distance between them she roughly gauges her height to be around 120cm or 4 foot tall, which is the average height for a nine years old girl.

It would be a problem if she needs to overpower someone, but her small stature should make it easier for her to hide if need be.

Unfortunately, she was so focused on calculating the height that she has gotten careless.

She slipped on the wet ground and resulted in her falling face first on the ground.

There was an awkward silence after she slipped, and there was a faint feeling of embarrassment, but after a while, she lifted her head, and everyone that she can see is shocked at her sudden movement.

"Umu..."

She pouted and puffed her cheek, and even though she realized it is childish to do so.

But she cannot help it.

It is because while she is unhurt from the fall, her pride is another matter entirely.

After standing up and brushing off the dust coating, her white coat has become a bit stained.

She tried to save what pride she had left by quickly schooling her facial expression into a stern and commanding one and quickly pointing straight at the group of young scientists with a flourish.

"You did not see that."

Not knowing what to do the group of scientist awkwardly looked at each other as if asking what should they do in this situation from their colleagues.

None of them dare to laugh at the subject of their interest and nervousness.

Chance!

While everyone is distracted, she quickly rushed towards the closed door by going through the group of people in her way.

Shocked, some people jumped out of the way and capitalizing on the path which has suddenly become clear, and dodging the reluctant attempt to grab her, she maneuvers through them like an expert.

In a short time, she managed to exit the group, and the way is clear to the door.

She prays in her heart that the door is automatic, as she made the short distance, and is glad to be rewarded as the door automatically opens as she enters the brightly lit and utilitarian hallway.

As the door moved to close, she can hear the shout of the middle-aged woman whose white scientist coat she wore.

"Don't just stand there like an idiot! Catch her quickly!"

Before the group of people can react, the door has closed, and she moved quickly again, not waiting around for them to catch up she runs through the hallway like greased lightning.

"Pisha...Pisha...Pisha."

She murmured random words, even though she's unsure why exactly she is saying those words, but it seems appropriate when chased and needs to escape in haste.

She had distanced herself quite far before the closed door opened again, and a mob of people rushed out looking for her.

They managed to spot a glimpse of her as she turns to the left of the intersection.

She sees a closet nearby, she rushed in and closed the door behind her.

She looks around, and she can see cleaning supplies as well as other random tools inside the cramped room.

Behind her, she can hear the thunderous stampede of panicked mob chasing after her.

Reacting with quick reflexes, she jumped and used both of her hands and legs as she holds herself horizontally above the narrow space above the doorway.

She can hear someone shouting curses from behind the door as she tensed her body and trying to be quiet.

"Shit! I don't see her anymore! She runs fast for a kid! Come on! I saw her going this way! We need to catch her, or it's our head on the line guys!"

After that, she can hear the mob running down the hallway towards the direction they believe she has moved.

As the sound grows fainter with distance, she congratulates herself for her brilliant idea and quick action as she began to relax.

"Sigh the boys have certainly landed themselves in big trouble this time. I have never seen our instructor be that mad before."

She heard someone's conversation and footsteps through the closet door and started tensing again.

"True, but the guys are chasing after her like the hounds of hell themselves are chasing them you know?"

"With the importance of this project to the managers, do you blame them? I know the management also pressurized the instructor for this project. I wouldn't be surprised if the culprit or culprits of this fiasco are dumped into deep space as punishment."

"You're kidding. Anyway, do you girls think the guys have missed checking this closet in their rush to chase her?"

Shit, cold sweat starts to pour out of her like a waterfall as she hears a group of them approaching her hiding place.

"I don't know, it could be, but it won't hurt for us to check again."

Please no, please don't open the door.

She prays fervently to anyone who will listen.

Looking down, she can see the doorknob turning, and the door opens as a young woman walks in through the door looking around.

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"No, there isn't anyone here. It looks like the guys have checked this place already."

Don't look up, don't look up.

Cold sweat starts collecting at the tip of her nose as the young woman below her turns around to look outside the door.

Don't drop, don't drop.

However, no one answers her prayers as a drop of sweat falls from her nose and to her perspective it's like seeing the water droplet fell in slow motion as it starts to approach the top of the woman's head below her.

As the drop impacted the top of her head, she screams, and her heart drops to her stomach.

"Ewww! I've got dirty water dripping on my head! Let's look somewhere else. Everyone is looking for her, so it's only a matter of time until she is found."

As the woman below her turns, exit the closet and closed the door.

By using all her willpower, she managed to stop herself from sighing as she can hear footsteps becoming fainter as the group moved farther and farther away from her hiding place.

She did not dare to move from her place as she calms her beating heart.

Wait...

She can't feel her beating heart!

She dropped down to the ground, and she presses her hands towards her chest, trying to feel around for any heartbeat.

After a while, she gives up and feeling her wrist for a pulse instead.

Which also resulted in the conclusion that there is no pulse that she can detect!

Schooling her facial expression and calming her mind, she tried to feel what else is different about her body.

In the total silence of the closet room, she ponders and considers.

Wait... Total silence?

She cannot hear the sound of her breathing!

How is it possible?

Then how does she move if there is no process of using oxygen to convert food matter into energy through the chemical process and the distribution of said energy and oxygen throughout her body!

As she sits cross-legged on the ground, she tried to think about this logically.

Isn't she at least half plant?

So how do plants breathe?

She knows that plants exchange carbon dioxide and replace it with oxygen, and with photosynthesis, there is the creation of energy and water for the nutrient distribution within the stems.

While rooted in thought, she unconsciously resorts to twirling her hair.

She then freezes and stares at her hair, which is a leaf she realizes that the leaves are her method of air absorption!

She breathes through her hair, which is leaves!

Nodding with the revelation, she files it as part of her new body information but laments that this means she has to keep her hair long if she wants to breathe better and that means cutting her hair short to be her natural manly hairstyle to be out of the question.

Now that is settled, she tries to think about what she should do now while everyone is out searching for her.

From the words of the young woman earlier, they sounded very confident that they will find her eventually.

That means where ever she is now would be a secure place, and in the event of her escape, the facility would be under lockdown with no one being able to come in or going out of the facility.

If everyone expects her to flee, then they would seal the exits and do a sweep of the entire facility while looking for her.

Then what can she do?

What can she use in this closet room, and what does she have available to her right now?

Standing up and looking around once more, she sees cleaning supplies and cleaning equipment which is worthless to her in her current situation.

Then what does she have with her now?

The white coat the woman gave her earlier, but there is nothing in the pockets and maybe her small body for hiding.

Her small body.

An inkling of a crazy idea starts forming inside her mind.

It is so crazy that it might just work!

She didn't have any better idea, and the alternative is capture and whatever it is they are going to do to her.

If everyone expects her to try to escape, then she will stay nearby the place where she started instead! While staring at a medium-sized carton box of cleaning supplies on the rack near the floor. She lifts it, opens it, and takes out all the large bottles of cleaning solution inside it.

After taking out a dozen of the large bottles, the available space is enough for her to lay herself inside the box.

She slides the cleaning solution bottles sideways under the rack and puts it tidily and nicely as if the janitor is trying to conserve available space.

Next, she puts the empty carton box back on the shelf where it originally was, though she put the empty box sideways with the top box opening facing her.

As she calculates in her mind, she took a step back and then jumped in the opening of the carton box while tucking in her arms and legs.

The force of her action pushed the carton box in and rotated it back so that the cardboard box opening is back on top again.

She did this because there is no space even for her small body to squeeze through if she tried to enter it the usual way in between the different layers of the rack.

Even though it is a bit cramped inside, she wiggled her body to make it more comfortable for her and closed the opening of the carton box by crisscrossing the flaps to seal the box from the inside.

Feeling secure, now she needs to wait it out while everyone is looking for her in vain.

She cutely yawns as she became sleepy.

Maybe she will sleep first and when she wakes up surely everyone who is looking for her would have given up already.

"Good night everyone..."

As her eyes flutter to a close, she wills herself to sleep while waiting for her chance to move out again.