Chapter 287: The Meeting

Chapter 287: The Meeting

“Huh? Why no reply?” Zheng Yichen looked at the Magic Weapon Summoning Book in his hands. He had specially made a Confidential Post to achieve a communication effect, to chat with Lily. Generally, replying to a post was almost the same as talking, with at most a few seconds of delay anyway, since it wasn’t her Mana being consumed.

The related restrictions were even lower. However, she hadn’t replied for two minutes. Could it be… she fell asleep?

That shouldn’t be the case. They were chatting just fine; there was no way she could have fallen asleep. The more he thought about it, the more worried Zheng Yichen became. He simply slapped the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. A Projection emerged from the Magic Weapon Summoning Book next to Lily’s hand, which had not vanished. Her particular Magic Weapon Summoning Book was specially summoned and would not disappear even if something happened to the summoner.

This was also a preventive measure Zheng Yichen had set up in advance.

The Projection that emerged from the book saw a head of black-and-white split hair at first glance!

“Who are you?” Zheng Yichen was slightly startled and immediately grabbed the Magic Weapon Summoning Book under his feet. The quality of this Magic Weapon Summoning Book instantly increased to a level infinitely close to that of the main book.

“Oh? A dragon?” Annie turned to look at the ‘miniature dragon’ before her, then glanced at the Magic Weapon Summoning Book in his grasp. She released her hand from Lily’s head. “Are you two close?”

“Certainly closer than you are.” Zheng Yichen said rather cautiously. The most direct feeling this short, young girl gave Zheng Yichen was… a feeling of facing a Witch. Perhaps it was because he had interacted with Witches too much, making it easy for Zheng Yichen to tell.

“Don’t worry, I don’t have much ill intent. I’m just a bit curious about her existence.” Annie said. The more than two minutes had already allowed her to gain a thorough understanding of this little girl. Her existence was quite peculiar. Clearly, some of the Undying Witch’s restrictions were completely gone, yet she wasn’t out of control. Instead, she was like a normal person, belonging to a new growth branch of the Corpse Puppet that hadn’t been discovered before.

Even more amazing was… that part which should have belonged to the Undying Witch’s Power was now completely out of her control! There wasn’t the slightest trace left of the Undying Witch. A free Corpse Puppet with special growth potential. Annie was very interested in the person who had created such an existence.

Between her and the Undying Witch, they had a feud. Due to the nature of their powers and some of the Undying Witch’s goals, neither could do much to the other. Her power could greatly affect the Undying Witch, and the Undying Witch’s power could easily affect her. Yet, both their powers had developed to such a level that while they could influence each other, they could also easily negate that influence.

It was like the saying where water and fire collide to become steam.

“Is your curiosity satisfied?” Zheng Yichen still asked cautiously.

“Almost. Take this as a reward.” Annie chuckled lightly, plucking a strand of hair. This white hair grew like a plant, quickly transforming into a Vines bracelet, upon which one could still see some green, tender leaves. “Although the characteristics of her body are well hidden, some special individuals can still detect them. This thing can help her eliminate the last bit of risk.”

“…” Zheng Yichen’s expression turned a bit odd. This method of plucking hair… felt so strongly familiar! He was still carrying three of Irene’s hairs on his person! “I’ll thank you on her behalf then.”

Zheng Yichen thought for a moment and temporarily decided not to touch the Vines bracelet. If this thing really had a connection to the girl before him, the moment he grabbed it with his claw, his own ability would definitely be exposed. Better to wait for her to leave first.

Annie shook her head slightly, opened the window, and lightly jumped out. Zheng Yichen glanced at that window… Hmm, quite small. An adult definitely couldn’t squeeze through. Only someone with her small build could easily leave.

Pulling her cloak back on, Annie walked down the street pondering the discovery from Lily. The girl’s condition gave Annie some good inspiration. Especially after breaking away from the original growth pattern of Corpse Puppets, it was an entirely new type of growth. Naturally, it offered many discoveries she hadn’t encountered during her past research on Corpse Puppets.

“But how is it possible to plunder different types of Life Force without any rejection?” This was Annie’s biggest puzzle. Life Force carried its own unique imprint, just like everyone’s Mana. Even Mana of the same attribute and level, released by different people, couldn’t completely merge together…

Even if someone willingly gave their Life Force to another, its uniqueness would still cause a loss. It wasn’t like taking Life Force that could let a person live a hundred years, storing it via special means, and then allowing another person to live an extra hundred years.

Actually, being able to live an extra fifty years was already remarkable. The reason some evil Arcane Arts sacrificed dozens or even hundreds of people only to exchange for a hundred or two hundred years of life for oneself was precisely this. Removing the unique imprints inherent in the Life Force originally belonging to certain creatures would cause significant damage to that portion of Life Force.

Yet, she didn’t find such a situation with Lily. The Life Force Lily had absorbed was entirely integrated without any loss. It was as if the imprints belonging to other types, which normally hindered absorption, were ignored. Yet it wasn’t like they were ignored, but rather resolved through a more advanced method.

Unfortunately, Zheng Yichen arrived too quickly. She hadn’t had time to conduct related experiments before being interrupted. It wasn’t that she feared Zheng Yichen’s power and forced herself to stop. On one hand, it was due to her personality. On the other hand, Zheng Yichen had emerged from the Magic Weapon Summoning Book.

Did the Magic Weapon Summoning Book have this function?

She didn’t know much about the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. She wasn’t interested in Magic Arms. What interested her was that Magic Weapon Forum. Reading some posts there when she had nothing to do was a nice way to pass the time. Even though the Magic Weapon Summoning Book was indeed developing quickly, with new Magic Arms appearing recently, especially that pair of High-Level Magic Soldiers.

Lately, she could see many posts about this pair of Magic Arms, quite a lot being discussion posts… and many seeking ice/fire attribute ‘good buddies’.

So that Dragon… probably had some important connection to the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. Otherwise, he couldn’t have directly released a Projection through the Magic Weapon Summoning Book.

“It’s almost time.” Annie murmured to herself. She was thinking whether she should actively seek out Dan Marina or wait for that woman to come find her? Considering that woman’s personality, if she didn’t take the initiative, Dan Marina would likely stand her up.

Later, finding her, Dan Marina could still chatter out a whole bunch of plausible reasons, and she couldn’t argue against her… Hmm? Annie, thinking about Dan Marina, showed a slight look of surprise for a moment. That bracelet she made to conceal Lily’s Aberration had lost connection with her. It was a product catalyzed by her power, carrying her power’s aura. It wasn’t an issue if far away, but when close, it was easily sensed.

But now she couldn’t sense it… There were only two possibilities. Either the bracelet was destroyed, or someone had shielded it in some way. Was that Dragon also not ordinary? She shook her head and then pushed the matter aside. The bracelet was just a casually made item, nothing particularly special. She hadn’t intended to gain anything from it. Without additional setups, it wasn’t difficult for it to be destroyed or for its aura emission to be blocked.

“Did I fall asleep?” Lily rubbed her head, somewhat puzzled, as she looked at Zheng Yichen, who had minimized himself and was flying around in circles playfully.

“You fell asleep.” Zheng Yichen nodded. He thought about it but decided not to mention the black-and-white-haired woman. He would ask Dan Marina later. Lily soon noticed a rather pretty bracelet on her right wrist. She looked at Zheng Yichen.

“Well, this thing can cover some loopholes in your identity. Wear it for now.” Zheng Yichen said. Earlier, he had hesitated for a while but ultimately grabbed the bracelet and assimilated it into something of his own. There really weren’t any hidden mechanisms inside. As for the consequences… Tsk, he just needed to feel reassured!

“And… never mind. I’ll go back first.”

Watching Zheng Yichen leave looking like he wanted to say more, Lily tilted her head. She realized her ‘falling asleep’ earlier wasn’t simple. She couldn’t help but purse her lips. She was still too weak.

“Tsk!” In the Underground Base, Zheng Yichen took out his Pocket Watch to check the time, turned over, and stood up. After hesitating a bit, he flopped back onto the bed. He’d ask tomorrow. He had left an additional warning Magic on Lily’s side when he left. The warning Magic was linked with a projection Magic. When the warning Magic was triggered, it would chain-trigger the second projection Magic. This little Spellcaster trick was also something he learned from Irene. Very convenient in certain situations.

The next day, Zheng Yichen immediately went to find Loris. Loris, tasting breakfast, looked somewhat puzzled at the slightly anxious Zheng Yichen. “What’s wrong?”

“Uh, yesterday a woman with black-and-white hair appeared where Lily was… a bit taller than you, but not by much. Do you know who she is?”

“Hmm… a quite famous ‘old-timer’ among Witches.” Loris immediately gave Zheng Yichen the answer. “Generally speaking, she doesn’t actively harm people.”

“But that’s only generally speaking. Lily isn’t really human anymore, right?” Zheng Yichen pulled over a chair several meters in size and sat down. “What does ‘famous’ refer to here?”

“According to the alignment divisions you mentioned before, she belongs to chaotic good. Among Witches, she’s also considered a ‘good person’, so many Witches won’t actively oppose her. Of course… her abilities are also troublesome.”

Won’t actively oppose? It seemed many Witches didn’t actively oppose each other. Zheng Yichen felt that Witches, as existences, were like those in certain novels who mastered certain ‘powers of rules’, making them extremely special. Some could even easily cause environmental changes. And the bigger reason for not wanting to oppose each other was probably more about power, right?

Loris slightly furrowed her brows in thought. “This matter might be related to Dan Marina. Ask that woman.”

“…Alright.” Zheng Yichen nodded. This Witch’s identity was now known. Even knowing her ‘alignment’, he still wanted to learn more before confirming her motives. The alignment Loris mentioned was chaotic good, not neutral good or lawful good. It seemed there weren’t many lawful ones among Witches; most were neutral or chaotic.

After finishing breakfast with Loris, Zheng Yichen tidied up and immediately shifted his focus to his Alchemical Avatar. He went to Dan Marina’s room, only to find the entire place empty. Hearing the sound of a door opening behind him, he saw Irene come out of her room wearing pajamas, even letting out a cute little yawn.

“What’s with me?” Seeing Zheng Yichen’s gaze, Irene rubbed the corner of her eye slightly, looking somewhat puzzled.

“Uh, it’s my first time seeing a Witch use an Alchemical Avatar to sleep…”

“Oh, my main body’s Mana is too vigorous. When sleeping, I also need to concentrate, otherwise some Mana will leak out a bit. Using an Alchemical Avatar to sleep is easier.” Irene explained simply. “Regarding the changes and utilization you wanted for the Personal Space… the idea is good. I already have a plan. When do you plan to do it?”

Irene’s help this time seemed free, but she actually had a condition: the modified Personal Space would have a free access channel for her. As long as it was her item, she only needed to pay the basic Mana cost to store or retrieve things, unlike others who also had to pay a ‘logistics transfer fee’.

After all, Zheng Yichen’s idea was good, but to implement it, the preparation work needed to be thorough enough. Otherwise, if someone found a ‘logistics transfer’ vulnerability in the Personal Space, it meant they could arbitrarily take some important items stored inside.

As for Irene herself, since she had her own condition, she wouldn’t set up any other little tricks. After she created what Zheng Yichen needed, all permissions belonged to Zheng Yichen. She wouldn’t interfere at all. As for cracking it… there was no need for that. Of course, to avoid suspicion, in her design plan, the part concerning cracking was designed as a dead-end. Zheng Yichen could modify it freely before use.

After use, it would be locked. The key was in his hands. Even if Irene herself wanted to crack it, it would require very complicated methods and time, during which Zheng Yichen would have enough time to notice something wrong.

Moreover, he had two Witches by his side. They could also add other preventive measures. This wasn’t Irene being deliberately cautious; it was just her personality. Once she promised an exchange, she wouldn’t leave convenient backdoors for herself.

“This… in a few days. There will be some troublesome matters these coming days.” Zheng Yichen thought and said. The Sanctuary Church’s Saintess didn’t seem like she would give up on matters here so simply, and there was the newly appeared Witch. “Where did Dan Marina go?”

“Not sure. If you want to find her, wait for her to return.” Irene shook her head. When that woman wanted to slip out, nobody could notice…