Chapter 322: Can’t Afford It!

Chapter 322: Can’t Afford It!

To avoid raising too much suspicion, this time Qin deliberately slowed down her efficiency when acting on the vehicle information posted by the Tianwang Online Store. Even though she slowed down, she timed it perfectly. She had secretly prepared for what couldn’t be done openly. By the time others realized the business opportunity, she was already fully prepared and half a step ahead of them.

It didn’t seem like much of an advantage, but with thorough preparation, gaining that half-step meant she had more staying power than the others, and the gap quickly widened.

The competing guilds hardly suspected anything. They only thought the boss of the Purple Vine Guild had sharp vision and acted decisively. If she had done this right after the vehicle information was released… there were many clever people. Even if each person only considered one possibility, some would figure out the real reason.

Of course, Tianwang was just Zheng Yichen’s alternate ID. Even if someone guessed there was a hidden secret, why let them guess if it could be avoided? Maintaining the status quo was more beneficial. Why make things more troublesome for momentary satisfaction?

Having already done extensive public relations work, the Purple Vine Guild didn’t give the other guilds much time to react. Those who could be persuaded were mostly brought to their side. To avoid suspicion, the public relations efforts weren’t all-encompassing—there were many oversights. However, those overlooked were people the Purple Vine Guild had screened out as the most troublesome but lacking sufficient influence.

These were targets only considered when there were no other options. Why choose the less favorable, hard-to-handle ones when there were clearly better public relations targets?

Let others deal with the headaches.

During the Purple Vine Guild’s actions, Zheng Yichen didn’t look at the skyrocketing pre-order numbers. His attention was caught by something else—his little follower seemed to be in a bit of trouble… Well, it wasn’t too dangerous, just plain troublesome. Normally, Zheng Yichen wouldn’t pay much attention to this kind of thing.

As long as it wasn’t a matter of life and death, since they chose the profession of Infiltrator, if they couldn’t solve the trouble they encountered, why choose such a trouble-making profession? And since it was a profession prone to causing trouble, they should specialize in solving it too.

The problem was, this involved Lily. Zheng Yichen didn’t understand why his little follower, who had just discovered a group of Demon Sword Cultists near the Academy, ended up involved with Lily. With so many students in the Academy, the odds seemed a bit fake.

Though he felt like complaining, Zheng Yichen wouldn’t let this make him panic. He might not be the best, but he was better than many. He hadn’t been in many fights, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t fight… Infinite Magic Arms System… No, Zheng Yichen thought about adding a golden light screen effect behind him and coating his Scales with shiny gold paint… hehehe.

“This trick of yours is so convenient. Can’t you teach me?” Zheng Yichen looked at the “live broadcast” image reflected in the basin before him, then turned his gaze to Dan Marina, who was not far from his feet.

“Don’t even think about it. Only those proficient in Prophecy Art can do this. Even if Irene came, she couldn’t do it.”

“Huh? There’s something she can’t do?” Zheng Yichen asked in surprise, earning an eye roll from Dan Marina.

“Some things really can’t be mastered through learning. Prophecy Art involves another layer. Magic can be learned by those with Talent, or even those without Talent using special methods. But Prophecy Art requires innate aptitude; you can’t acquire it later.”

“As for you? Hmm~ let’s put it this way: you have the potential to pluck the Threads of Fate and ignore the Power of Fate, but Fate has no connection to you.” Those who could learn Prophecy Art were people with a unique perception of the Power of Fate. This unique perception was hard to describe. To explain it simply, only those born with explosive sixth sense, without any special training, had the aptitude to learn it.

Why did some people suddenly change paths while walking? Then an explosion occurred on that path due to a conflict between two Professionals, involving a bunch of unlucky bystanders. If the person who changed paths hadn’t done so, they would definitely have been involved.

On Earth, this would be called exceptional sixth sense. In this world, such people had the aptitude to learn Prophecy Art.

“Forget it then. You being here makes no difference…” Zheng Yichen shook his head and said, staring at the basin. He didn’t notice the woman’s delighted expression.

Zheng Yichen watching the live broadcast here wasn’t without preparation. The Ring Lily wore was part of that preparation. And as long as she summoned the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, Zheng Yichen could appear at any time with a move like “Heavenly Justice.” Huh? Maybe in the future, when he became completely awesome, he could try adding a “call for help” function to the Magic Weapon Summoning Book?

Not calling for others, but for himself—the “big Boss”!

Each time would consume a huge amount of Mana or a large number of Mana-containing offerings… Thinking about it, it sounded pretty cool. He’d note this down and consider it after his identity was exposed in the future.

“Ah-choo… Ugh, this sucks.” Carlin rubbed his nose, holding back a sneeze. He cautiously looked around. Sleeping rough outside, battling the cold ground at night, even though he could alternate with his older sister in combat, their bodies were shared. Accumulated effects remained and didn’t reset with the switch.

Otherwise, Carlin felt he could develop new combat tactics. Encountering a powerful enemy, he’d charge in without a word, fighting fiercely until both were injured. Even if he was more severely wounded and the enemy still had the power to kill him, a soul switch could restore him to full health and Mana. He could just imagine the enemy’s “what the hell” expression.

But that was all ideal and not real. If he was injured, switching souls would change the body, but the injuries wouldn’t disappear with the switch.

He finally understood why his older sister had kindly taken over for longer periods, letting him work the night shift. He initially thought he could slack off happily, but it turned out to be a scheme. She must have noticed some issues with their body and chose to do that. At least during the day, the temperature was suitable and wouldn’t be suffering, while nights were colder and harder to endure.

“She really is a sister who can’t be separated from me.” Carlin muttered to himself, rubbing the tip of his nose again, also feeling a bit puzzled. Given his physique, he shouldn’t be on the verge of a slight cold just from the night chill. Logically speaking, once when he ambushed a troublesome target with a high bounty, he hid in a cold swamp for two whole days without moving. Wasn’t that environment worse than here?

And he didn’t catch a cold or anything back then.

Could it be that he had been too engrossed in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book lately, causing his physique to decline? If it declined this quickly, why would others bother training hard? Working so hard to improve, only to regress from a small oversight… Who wouldn’t feel frustrated?

“Hopefully, the Boss will reimburse me.” Carlin flipped over, changed position, and using cover, flipped through the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. He entered a saved Online Store and quickly bought a bottle of medicine… Well, it was a potion, not a Magic Potion.

The difference? The difference was that potions could be used by ordinary people, while most Magic Potions contained Mana and weren’t suitable for ordinary people. However, some potions said to be usable by ordinary people didn’t mean they were ordinary. Magic Potions contained Mana and relied on certain Mana properties to take effect, while potions depended more on the materials themselves.

Magic Potions had limited effects against certain anti-magic physiques, while potions didn’t have such drawbacks. For example, some toxins could be neutralized by potions just as effectively as Magic Potions, and at a much cheaper price. Strictly speaking, the line between Magic Potions and potions wasn’t clear-cut; it was blurry. They could even be considered the same category. If the Mana content reached a certain standard, it was a Magic Potion; below that, it was a potion.

This bottle of his was a potion to dispel “wind-cold.” It had good effects. After drinking it, Carlin felt his body warm up a bit, but his somewhat listless spirits… remained listless!

“Huh? No effect?” He was surprised. It shouldn’t be. For just a minor issue with his body, this bottle should have fixed it immediately. But now, while his body was warm, it seemed the minor ailment wasn’t gone. This potion only seemed to produce a warming effect?

This is ridiculous! Did he buy fake medicine?

He couldn’t help but check the Online Store again. Hmm, it was the Purple Vine Guild’s Online Store, with exclusive certification. Would such a store dare sell fake medicine? With the Creator’s strict rules, if fake medicine was sold, wouldn’t the Purple Vine Guild fear its reputation being ruined? Even if they could suppress the impact, could they withstand the Creator’s sanctions?

If reputation was damaged in the Magic Weapon Summoning Book’s Trading Zone, it would directly affect reality now. Besides, even if they were counterfeiting, would they stoop so low as to fake potions? Were their standards that low?

Should he try a Magic Potion instead? The price would jump several times. He had traveled light, carrying little gold. That extremely rare Spatial Ring was also tossed around like trash by Zheng Yichen and not given to him. So, Carlin awkwardly realized that as a socially respected High-level Stalker, he actually… couldn’t afford a low-end Magic Potion!!