Chapter 288: Meaningless?

Chapter 288: Meaningless?

Zheng Yichen did not find Dan Marina, but the Sanctuary Church’s Saintess came to him. This time, she was clearly well-prepared. Although recruitment was still the main goal, was Zheng Yichen that kind of person? Of course, he directly refused! Why would he get recruited and bring trouble upon himself?

“We can cooperate,” Zheng Yichen said to Deya. “You can provide me with materials, as well as some incomplete Magic Potion formulas—the older, the better. If I can research anything, I will share the results with you first. How about that?”

“……” Deya frowned slightly and thought for a moment, feeling a bit troubled. If it involved wielding a sword to fight, she was definitely a professional, but this kind of matter was a bit challenging. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to bring someone else from The Church, but she was wary of that woman, Dan Marina. Since Dan Marina had some interest in Zheng Yichen, how could she easily watch the Sanctuary Church take him away?

“The Witch you mentioned also cooperated with me this way,” Zheng Yichen said, noticing Deya’s hesitation. Dan Marina’s identity had already been pointed out by Deya earlier, but issues regarding secrecy and identity had been resolved by Dan Marina. He didn’t know how, in a world without digital archives, she had falsified her identity and background in such a short time. “I don’t care about her identity; she can bring me things I couldn’t obtain before.”

“Oh, right, she left me this, saying you would agree after seeing it.” Zheng Yichen took out an envelope. He didn’t know what to say about this thing—what was it with these reserved items always being delivered in envelopes? It felt redundant, especially if the two of them were in cahoots—it seemed even more unnecessary.

After reading the letter, Deya couldn’t help but exhale. She didn’t know what Dan Marina’s intentions were. The letter revealed a certain Talent possessed by the young man before her: he had a special ability to greatly harmonize the compatibility between Magic Potion materials, avoiding bad outcomes and achieving good ones. Then, based on the results, he could gradually deduce the formulas for new outcomes.

This kind of ability… The Sanctuary Church had similar abilities, but most of them increased the success rate of Magic Potion production. There were also those like his, but their intensity wasn’t high. Since Dan Marina used “greatly” to describe it, Zheng Yichen’s ability definitely wouldn’t be weak. This was what puzzled her the most: why would Dan Marina directly reveal Zheng Yichen’s secret? Was it some kind of scheme?

She really wanted to ask the young man before her, but considering Dan Marina’s methods, she resisted the impulse. That woman could fool people too easily. If she wasn’t under a “Curse” but was playing around or had other motives, she could easily make the young man trust Dan Marina more than the Sanctuary Church.

“Cooperation is possible,” Deya finally nodded, putting away the letter Dan Marina had left. As for forcibly taking Zheng Yichen away, what if doing so fulfilled some purpose of Dan Marina’s?

“Oh, right, the so-called sharing of results only applies to those from the Magic Potion formulas you provide. Those from others don’t count.”

“Then the materials we provide are also limited to those in the formulas, and even if there are no new results, the priority is to restore the incomplete formulas as much as possible.” Deya wasn’t good at negotiations, but she still had a brain.

“Of course, I wouldn’t stoop to embezzling or withholding things,” Zheng Yichen nodded seriously. After Deya left, his tense expression relaxed. He had finally sent this woman away. Putting on an act in front of a power ful person was also uncomfortable, especially when using the appearance he least wanted to lose.

But after this agreement, he could pretty much use this Alchemical Avatar as a permanent shut-in later. As for the inevitable surveillance, Zheng Yichen couldn’t help it. Living here, Irene and Dan Marina—Irene used an Alchemical Avatar and didn’t go out much. If she wanted to go out, others probably wouldn’t notice. Dan Marina didn’t even bother hiding her identity!

Rubbing his face, Zheng Yichen headed straight for the basement without another word. The Workshop for making Magic Potions was here, and it was completely in an Otherworld style, which made Zheng Yichen quite uncomfortable. Despite the discomfort, his mood improved somewhat. “Hmm, it seems I haven’t been overly influenced by this world’s culture yet.”

It seemed his previous efforts were effective, so he should continue to work hard and stay true to himself. After amusing himself for a while, Zheng Yichen began experimenting with these Otherworld-style tools. Fortunately, he had conducted many experiments. Although these tools had a different style from Earth versions, some effects were at least universal. It took Zheng Yichen most of the day to become proficient in using them, after which he stopped. Then, he moved some materials from the Laboratory.

He filled the storage cabinets and some jars containing materials that couldn’t see the light. Only then did this Workshop truly show signs of long-term use.

“Do you need to expand the space?” Irene’s voice suddenly came from behind Zheng Yichen.

“Huh!? How long have you been watching?”

“Three hours,” Irene said. “Well?”

“Doubling the size should be enough. It’s not a hassle, right?” Zheng Yichen thought for a moment and asked. This Workshop didn’t need to be too large. The Laboratory at the Underground Base was huge because of his body. Here, he used a Human Form Avatar, so such a large scale was unnecessary.

“Easy. You go out first. It’s not safe here during the expansion.”

Nodding, Zheng Yichen left the Workshop. When he reached the living room, he saw Dan Marina—this woman had returned at some point, holding a teacup and sipping the brewed tea inside. Seeing Zheng Yichen, she put down the cup. “Let’s go, let’s go to the Bar. She’s probably getting impatient.”

Seeing Dan Marina’s cheerful face, Zheng Yichen immediately thought of Qin’s face, which was surely pulled into a frown. Why didn’t this woman know how to avoid suspicion? Or did she feel she was disliked too much and no longer cared?

“…Forget it.” Looking at Dan Marina’s smiling face, Qin sighed helplessly and stopped putting on a stern expression. She had realized that unless she got serious, this woman really wouldn’t care about a little displeasure. Getting serious? It wasn’t necessary for such a small matter. Fine, as long as her actions here weren’t exposed, let her do as she pleased. Overthinking it would only add to her worries. “She’s been waiting for almost a day. Aren’t you afraid of problems playing like this?”

“No problem, no problem. Waiting a bit longer now can achieve the goal a few days earlier. I think she’d be very willing to wait a little longer,” Dan Marina said cheerfully, walking to where Annie was sitting. It was clear that upon seeing Dan Marina, her petite body trembled for a moment—not out of fear, but pure anger!

“You… are something.”

“Not bad. A day in exchange for a few days is very cost-effective, right?”

“I feel terrible,” Annie said in a low voice, glancing at Zheng Yichen. “Are you fooling me with this fake person?”

“This is fake, but the one controlling it is real—the one you want to see.”

Zheng Yichen, standing to the side, raised an eyebrow slightly. It seemed he had unknowingly been sold out? Looking carefully at the appearance of the petite girl before him, the moment she removed her hood, Zheng Yichen almost jumped. That familiar black-and-white split hair… he had wanted to ask Dan Marina about her identity not long ago!

“Huh? You know me?” Noticing Zheng Yichen’s odd expression, Annie immediately became interested. She even stopped sitting opposite him and sat right beside Zheng Yichen, reaching out a small hand to knead his Alchemical Avatar. She made admiring sounds as she evaluated it. “What a unique style! It can even reflect emotional responses. Using Alchemy to imitate human functions to the greatest extent—though a bit unorthodox, the concept is good. But the integration of Alchemy and flesh parts is too rough!

“The shaping of the limbs also has some issues. It even needs Magic Potions to maintain its form… This Magic Potion? Was it the Fixation Potion auctioned at the Auction before?”

“Are all Witches this amazing?” Zheng Yichen asked, dumbfounded, looking at Dan Marina. The petite black-and-white-haired girl beside him could understand the structure of this Alchemical Avatar just by touching it. Fortunately, she wasn’t like Irene, who could directly see his Soul appearance with Magic.

“Annie is skilled in this area, so it’s easy for her to see through,” Dan Marina said casually, picking up a nearby half-drunk glass of alcohol and taking a sip. She then shook the glass with about one-third of the liquid left at Zheng Yichen. “Want some? You probably don’t know—even a drop of Annie’s saliva is a rare tonic for ordinary people. A single drop can extend one’s life by over ten days.”

“WTF?” If a drop of saliva was that amazing, could a piece of flesh grant immortality?

“Shut up!” Annie glared fiercely at Dan Marina, snatched the glass from her hand, and drank the remaining alcohol in one gulp. Even though Zheng Yichen was currently using an Alchemical Avatar, if he really drank it, Annie would still feel psychologically uncomfortable. Putting down the glass, Annie continued kneading Zheng Yichen, soon thoroughly exploring the structure of this Alchemical Avatar.

Of course, more detailed designs would require taking it apart to confirm. If it hadn’t encountered her or the Undying Witch, this Alchemical Avatar could be considered nearly perfect. However, some things were destined to have counters. Even though the life vibrations and Soul vibrations of the Alchemical Avatar were simulated very realistically.

But fake was fake—it couldn’t fool her extremely sharp special perception in this area. Being able to create such an Alchemical Puppet, Annie no longer doubted that the person controlling it couldn’t create the Magic Eye. Even so, it didn’t change some of her plans…

“I’ve met him, but this isn’t his true form, so it doesn’t count,” Annie said, withdrawing her hands.

“His true form is a bit special. Even I can’t easily see it. Of course, it’s not completely impossible. You just need to sign a meaningless Confidentiality Contract,” Dan Marina said, squinting her eyes with a smile. Whether it was an illusion or not, Zheng Yichen felt this woman’s smile at this moment would perfectly match a shadow effect covering her eyes.

“That wasn’t part of the original agreement!” Annie said, displeased.

“That was then. If you had stayed quietly in one place these past days without running around, there wouldn’t be such trouble,” Dan Marina shrugged, gently patting the table. “Think about what you’ve done.”

What she had done? A flicker of confusion passed through Annie’s eyes. She had been quite low-key during this time, hadn’t she? Apart from some people causing trouble for her, whom she quietly erased from this world, there wasn’t anything else worth noting, right? Besides that group, she was certain she hadn’t done anything harmful to others!

“Are you fooling me?”

“I wouldn’t do something meaningless in such a setting. After all, I don’t want you to hold a grudge against me. Fooling you does me no good,” Dan Marina said. “Think about what you did some time ago. Hmph, it caused me quite a bit of trouble.”

Some time ago? Wasn’t that just when she dealt with a large group of people?

“…Fine, if it’s just a simple Confidentiality Contract, I can accept it,” Annie frowned, thinking for a long time but unable to recall what she had done that counted as “what you’ve done.” As for the Contract, if it was just a Confidentiality Contract, it was fine. She wasn’t a gossip; she didn’t go around blabbing what she knew. Witches had their own circles, which didn’t open frequently. As for interacting with ordinary people?

Not all Witches were like Qin or Dan Marina. Many maintained a reclusive attitude or hid their identities, secretly observing Human society. To exaggerate a bit, even the fruit-selling village girl on the street might be a Witch in disguise, hiding her power…

“Qin, a private room.”

“…” Qin shook her glass, and a maid active in the Bar came over, leading them to a private room inside. These rooms weren’t just for customers to discuss matters; some were for providing resting places for drunk customers. If they came in pairs, they could even do some indescribable things together.

In the private room, Dan Marina took out a piece of paper made from an unknown Magical Beast’s skin. Annie glanced at the contents of the Contract—it was indeed a very simple Confidentiality Contract, with no additional hidden clauses or traps. However, the ominous aura emanating from it made her somewhat concerned. “A Contract of this intensity—what are you planning? To use it as a basis to protect him?”

“Confidentiality is the greatest protection.”

“Meaningless.”

Annie reached out and picked up the Contract.