684: Chapter 676: It’s Just Makeup 684: Chapter 676: It’s Just Makeup Although he was a professor and not just a doctor, Professor Barnard’s office was in the hospital, and his laboratory was there too.
He was a workaholic.
Except for teaching two classes a week at the University of Cape Town Faculty of Health Sciences, he spent most of his time at the hospital.
Finding Professor Barnard was straightforward and smooth.
When Professor Barnard’s visitor left his office, Ryan immediately slipped into the office.
“Hello, Professor Barnard, I am a staff member from the South African National Intelligence Agency.
Here’s my ID.
There are some matters that require your cooperation.
If you have any doubts about my identity, you can call the National Information Center’s public number to verify it,” Ryan said.
There was no kidnapping or intimidation; Ryan chose the most direct method.
He showed an ID with just a name on it.
The ID was fake, but if Professor Barnard really made the call, the people at the South African National Intelligence Agency would confirm Ryan’s identity.
Professor Barnard didn’t make the call; he was just extremely surprised by Ryan’s visit.
“National Intelligence Agency?
What happened?
What do you need me to cooperate with?” he asked.
Ryan gestured invitingly and said, “Please come with me.
We need to go to a secure place to talk.
It is for your personal safety, and time is pressing.
Please do not waste time.
If you have any doubts, please contact the National Intelligence Agency.
If you do not know the phone number, you can call the police station first, and they will provide you the public phone number of the National Intelligence Agency for verification.”
Professor Barnard appeared uneasy.
After hesitating briefly, he spoke in a grave voice, “I believe you, but I don’t understand why the Intelligence Agency would be looking for me?
Sir, I am about to leave work.
Where do you want me to follow you to?”
Ryan, expressionless, said, “Just within the hospital.
Please take your coat and personal belongings.
We are leaving immediately.”
Professor Barnard donned his clothes and followed Ryan out of his office, uneasily.
They didn’t walk far; the place they were headed was just one floor up from Professor Barnard’s office.
After taking the elevator up a few floors, Ryan opened a door and said, “Please come in.”
Medusa and Sergei were waiting inside.
When Professor Barnard entered the room and saw them, he seemed even more uneasy.
His face grew tense as he said, “Gentlemen, what happened?
I really need to know what is going on.”
Ryan spoke solemnly, “Here’s the situation.
A group of international terrorists intend to kidnap you to treat their leader’s heart condition.
Don’t worry, our goal is to protect you and capture all the terrorists.
Professor Barnard, please take off your clothes, shoes, and all your personal belongings, including your wallet, car keys, house keys, mobile phone, and any other possessions.”
Professor Barnard, somewhat panicked, said, “Do I need to take everything off?
Why is that necessary?”
Listening to the conversation outside, Gao Yang was also curious because he didn’t know how to transform into Professor Barnard.
Consider that he was Asian, and Professor Barnard was Caucasian; the race was different.
How could makeup artistry possibly fool anyone?
Soon after, Ryan and Medusa, carrying a pile of clothes, walked into an inner room, placed the suit they had taken off Professor Barnard beside them, then Medusa nodded to Gao Yang and said, “You can start now.
Take off your clothes.”
“Do I need to take everything off?”
“Yes, everything.
You need to put this on first.”
While speaking, Medusa took a pair of underwear from her box, thankfully brand new, with a specially designed secret pocket at the crotch area.
Gao Yang, looking distressed, said, “Can you step out, please?”
Medusa threw the underwear to Gao Yang and then turned around, saying, “You have one minute.”
Ryan also turned away, and Gao Yang quickly removed all his clothes, putting on the underwear Medusa had given him.
“I’m ready,” he said.
Medusa and Ryan turned around, examined Gao Yang from top to bottom, and Ryan frowned, saying, “The physique looks quite similar, it probably doesn’t need any special treatment, does it?”
“Ram is thinner, but it probably doesn’t require any special treatment.
However, Ram is half an inch taller than Professor Barnard, we’ll need to see if the shoes need adjusting after putting on the clothes,” said Medusa.
After speaking to Ryan, Medusa, touching her chin, walked around Gao Yang a couple of times, making his face flush, and finally said, “Alright, sit in front of the mirror.”
There was a large window in the room.
Medusa first opened the curtains, allowing the setting sun to light the room, then opened her box.
Medusa had three large leather suitcases; she opened one filled with bottles and jars.
She picked two small bottles, poured some powder from them, mixed it into a bottle of liquid, and then, walking behind Gao Yang, started to apply the liquid to his face.
Where the liquid touched, the skin began to lighten, and it looked very natural.
After applying it all over Gao Yang’s face, neck, and any other exposed areas like his arms, his skin color looked like that of a Caucasian.
Seeing the familiar yet strange face, Gao Yang couldn’t help saying, “Incredible!
Hey, Medusa, isn’t this stuff perfect for women’s makeup?”
Medusa smiled and said, “This is nanoscale pigment.
It’s very expensive, extremely so, and using too much can cause skin sagging and even the risk of skin cancer.
Alright, don’t make that face; you are not using it long-term.”
After that, Medusa took a fine needle, dipped it into a small bottle, then pressed it onto Gao Yang’s face and began massaging back and forth.
Soon, Gao Yang saw wrinkles being added to his face.
Gao Yang looked at the wrinkled face in the mirror, barely able to recognize himself.
Despite his youth, his skin looked taut, though lined with unnatural wrinkles.
Medusa picked up another small bottle and started applying it to Gao Yang’s face and hands.
Soon, his skin became very loose, and the face of an old man appeared in the mirror.
“Will I look like this when I’m old?
This feels so strange.
Hey, Medusa, I won’t have any aftereffects, will I?
I don’t want to keep looking like this, and my girlfriend wouldn’t like it either.”
Gao Yang felt a bit anxious for no reason, so he cracked a joke to ease his nervousness.
“No, the effect on your face will last for no more than twenty-four hours.
Just remember not to wash your face or hands.
You can get a little wet, but don’t scrub too hard, and that should be fine.”
After saying this lightly, Medusa intoned, “Don’t talk, don’t move, I need to elevate your nose.
Don’t move until the material sets.”
Medusa, holding something like putty, pinched and shaped Gao Yang’s nose.
Then, holding his nose, she quietly said, “Blow-dry.”
Ryan started blowing Gao Yang’s nose with a hairdryer, the kind used for drying hair.
Five minutes later, Ryan put the hair dryer down, and Medusa, after examining Gao Yang’s nose for quite a while, finally nodded, “Okay, it looks fine now.”
An old man with a high nose bridge and white skin appeared in the mirror.
Having experienced Medusa’s makeup artistry firsthand, Gao Yang thought it was all simply magical.
Medusa rummaged for a while, then spread Gao Yang’s eyelids to insert a pair of contact lenses, turning his brown eyes blue.
After examining Gao Yang’s eyes for a long while, Medusa nodded and said, “Very good.”
At that moment, Ryan whispered, “The hair, Ram’s hair is too short.”
Medusa touched Gao Yang’s hair and said, “I need to check on Bernard’s hair color again.”
Medusa went to the door, took a quick look outside, came back shortly afterward, grabbed a clipper without greeting Gao Yang, and swiftly shaved his head clean.
She then picked up a grayish-white wig, put it on Gao Yang’s head, and began snipping away with scissors, transforming a shoulder-length wig into a short cropped style.
After examining it closely, Medusa began spraying some product on the wig to slightly alter its color and finished styling it before nodding, “Alright, the appearance part is basically done.”
Gao Yang couldn’t hold back any longer, he spoke scarcely above a whisper, “Can I talk now?”
“You can now.”
Gao Yang exclaimed, “Medusa, I never thought that besides being a makeup artist, you’re also a hairdresser.
This is art.
With this skill, you guys should stop being assassins and just be makeup artists in Hollywood instead.”
Medusa smiled slightly, ignored Gao Yang’s banter, and looked at Ryan, “Dear, the voice is tough to manage.”
It then dawned on Gao Yang that even if his appearance matched, speaking would give him away—he didn’t believe Medusa could change his voice too.
In fact, Gao Yang soon discovered he was mistaken; Medusa indeed could change his voice.
“Changing Ram’s voice would require a long, careful adjustment, at least three hours.”
Ryan laughed and said, “There’s no need to make his voice sound exactly like Professor Bernard.
Um, just make it sound different than before would suffice, like a raspy voice from a cold, with a bit of nasal tone.
That’ll do.”
Medusa smiled slightly, picked up a small can, and sprayed something into Gao Yang’s open mouth and nostrils, and then had him drink a bit of some unknown liquid.
After an extremely uncomfortable process, when Gao Yang spoke again, his voice was entirely different—like that of someone recovering from a severe cold, somewhat hoarse and nasally.
Once everything was done, Medusa looked at Gao Yang for a long time, clapped her hands, and said, “Absolutely perfect.
Now you are Professor Bernard.”
Gao Yang looked at the utterly unfamiliar old face in the mirror and marveled, “This is miraculous.”
Medusa laughed and said, “There’s nothing miraculous about it; it’s just makeup, a skill every woman masters.
Here’s some advice—if you’re looking for a girlfriend, you might want her to wash her face a few more times, choosing a date at the pool or a beachfront is a good place.”
Gao Yang chuckled and said, “Good thing I already have a girlfriend, and I’m sure she’s a natural beauty.
But, I still think this is miraculous, utterly incredible!”
Medusa whispered, “Nothing miraculous, really, just makeup.
If you were familiar with Korea, you’d be truly amazed, especially by the Korean beauty pageants that always baffle me because all the handsome men and beautiful women in Korea look the same to me, and I try to differentiate the contestants, but I just can’t do it.”
Ryan also smiled and said, “Plus, the effects of Korean beauty treatments are permanent, though they require surgery.
If you just want to make a good impression online, that’s even simpler.
There’s a technique called ‘photoshop.’ Alright, put your clothes on, and let’s see the final result.” (To be continued.
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