Chapter 395: And Also?

Chapter 395: And Also?

At first, Zheng Yichen did not quite understand why Deya came here. He thought she really just passed by. But as he listened to her words, Zheng Yichen realized that this was not just passing by at all. She had come all this way specifically to help solve problems. He had spent some time causing trouble with Dan Marina, and even if nothing else, his observation skills had improved.

Discovering this, Zheng Yichen felt a bit awkward about what he said earlier. How should he put this? Could he say something else to fix the situation… She came all this way so sincerely to help, yet he was thinking about how to trick her. Thinking back on some of his previous thoughts, he felt a little guilty…

Wait! Dan Marina had told him before that once he started to empathize with someone, or even felt guilty about his past actions toward them, if that person was a good person… it meant he had been influenced by them. This was not a bad thing. Encountering such a situation also indicated that the person involved had a so-called conscience.

If someone was completely insane, this would simply not happen. Therefore, the best way to handle this situation was not to get angry and try to eliminate the source of his guilt. That would only make him seem more lacking in style. The best way was to accept it openly.

Once a thought arose, denying it was meaningless. Trying to forcibly change what had already happened was pointless. It would not disappear because of his actions or his anger.

So accepting it openly was best. It would not bring him any real loss; instead, it might bring extra gains. He should not always look at the bad side. Looking at the good side, he might find he gained more… Having someone who truly cared about him was a huge gain, wasn’t it?

If the other person could influence him to this extent, it clearly showed their sincerity… Of course, if he was deceived, that was another story, but would Zheng Yichen be tricked?

Did he forget that he had four ‘old monsters’ paying attention to his place in Kaja? If it was some kind of deception, could it really hide from them?

“Well, that thing you mentioned, I also saw it on the Forum. Actually, I think if they want to compete, let them. As long as it doesn’t affect my research, it’s fine,” Zheng Yichen said a bit helplessly. If people were pushed too far, the worst-case scenario was to just go his separate way and disappear. As long as the process of disappearing was not exposed, he could still use this identity to release new products later. Others could only worry helplessly; what could they do to him?

“It’s not just about competition… The main problem is that when some people can’t win, they will do many crazy things. If they can’t win, the best way is to make sure no one can win.” These words were said by Achille to her, and the possibility was very high. For example, if Zheng Yichen was recruited by some families focused on pure-bloodline continuation, to prevent that family from dominating everything with the Awakening Potion Zheng Yichen might develop in the future, other families and forces would surely unite to kill Zheng Yichen, ending it all so everyone could return to the original starting line.

Do not think about monopolizing the benefits.

As for the idea of everyone progressing together, when it came to interests, that possibility would be pushed to the back, not the forefront. Unless everyone faced the consequence of total annihilation would it be placed first for collective improvement. Even then, there would still be crazy troublemakers… At other times, it was basically unthinkable. Gradual progress was acceptable to everyone, but if progress appeared that could allow one to dominate completely, well… unless everyone could enjoy it, and it did not affect the current situation too much, staying within acceptable limits, then there might be hope for implementation.

Alternatively, there was the Magic Weapon Summoning Book created by the identity ‘Creator’. The identity of the Creator was always a mystery, and no one could find him, nor was there any trace of clues. Coupled with the initial distribution method of the Magic Weapon Summoning Book, by the time everyone realized its special nature, it had already grown like a cancer.

In the end, everyone had to accept the existence of the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. Until the Creator’s identity was exposed, this situation would continue.

As for Magic Potions, it was very difficult to operate. First, many of Zheng Yichen’s current developments required resources. Monopolizing might indeed be a good way to make money, but the problem was… insufficient production capacity. Making Magic Potions was not like making Alchemical Puppets or Engineering tools, where a production workshop could mass-produce them. The process of making Magic Potions had too many variables because not all materials were equally stable. Even with materials of the same type, the ‘values’ when used had some fluctuations. Such fluctuations meant that during the process of making Magic Potions, the Magic Pharmacist needed to closely observe and adjust in real-time.

This was also why Magic Pharmacists initially failed when learning to make Magic Potions, even when starting with the most stable and simplest Elixir Formula. The formula was stable and had the highest success rate, but the material quality might not perfectly match the formula’s standards. Without adjusting properly, even the most stable formula could fail.

It was like preparing medicine. If using herbs with weaker potency, the quantity might need to be more. If using herbs with stronger potency, the quantity naturally needed to be less. These things required many attempts and accumulated experience to master, not something an assembly-line machine could replace. Making Magic Potions was not like making molds… The nature of the two differed too much.

However, Zheng Yichen currently had a rough solution: using an Alchemy Core as a special Database to store a large amount of information related to the Magic Potion-making process, striving to record every type of variation. This way, he could try having Alchemical Puppets replace human labor in making Magic Potions. However, doing this required collecting an enormous amount of data. Among a thousand batches of the same type of Magic Potion materials, having a few with the same variation was considered lucky. Therefore, perfecting such a Database would be very time-consuming.

Well… everything is difficult at the beginning. Once perfected, wouldn’t it become simpler in the future? Okay… not that simple either. After all, for this Database plan to succeed, it needed not just the variation data from all the production processes of one type of Magic Potion, but of most Magic Potions. Even if this sounded unrealistic, at the very least, the variation data of all mainstream Magic Potions needed to be collected.

As for the current progress… uh, zero. Although Zheng Yichen recorded relevant variation data every time he made a Magic Potion, doing it alone was ultimately too inefficient. Hiring people was not suitable at the moment, so it was delayed. Maybe later… later, after he completely boosted his reputation with the ID ‘Eight Intentions,’ which focused specifically on Magic Potions, human resources would be easier to solve.

In short, if Zheng Yichen wanted to make money with Magic Potions, he could not monopolize. He also did not have the ability to monopolize; the limitation of production capacity was too great. Monopolizing would not be as convenient as cooperating with Qin now and lying back to collect his share.

“Are you suggesting I join the Sanctuary Church?”

“If that happens, it would be best, but you don’t have that idea, do you?” Deya shook her head slightly. The fact that Zheng Yichen was related to Witches meant the Church could not recruit him again. Moreover, if Zheng Yichen had such thoughts, he would have done so from the start. Thinking of this, she suddenly felt she had been overthinking. Zheng Yichen’s ‘talent’ was also being watched by Witches.

And it was the particularly troublesome Dan Marina. As long as she remained sufficiently interested in Zheng Yichen, would she allow others to touch him? Dan Marina might act unconventionally, do things casually, and seem never to get angry, always wearing a smile, but that did not mean she was kind and friendly. Those who truly offended her would end up dying in frustration and confusion, not even knowing who was targeting them… If they offended her severely, they would find death impossible, regretting ever being born.

Although such things were rare, they had indeed happened. The Sanctuary Church even had relevant records, and there was even a surviving example… Well, the only one. But that person’s life was almost like death, finding it difficult to die. The Church had considered helping that victim ‘find release,’ but the final result was… forget it, ‘slightly’ inconveniencing that person was better.

“Mainly, I think it’s nice to research freely on my own, without any constraints, and ideas can proceed entirely as I wish,” Zheng Yichen said, spreading his hands slightly. “As a collaborator of the Sanctuary Church, I’m not someone others can just mess with, right? Oh, about those incomplete formulas you provided, I’ve found some new insights. Probably in a while, there should be some results.”

“Huh!?” Deya’s expression stiffened, and her look at Zheng Yichen became somewhat odd. Having developed the Semi-Awakening Potion, was he now going to create a new Magic Potion? This was not just being a prodigy anymore!?

“Ahem, mainly, my method of researching Magic Potions is a bit unique…” Zheng Yichen lightly coughed and quickly explained, “While researching the Semi-Awakening Potion, I encountered many obstacles, so I had to reference a large number of Elixir Formulas, including those incomplete ones. Luckily, I happened to come across some insights. But at that time, I was focused on researching the Semi-Awakening Potion, so I just noted them down without further research╮(╯▽╰)╭…”

At this point, Zheng Yichen showed a helpless expression and continued, “Even so, I ultimately had to settle for second best and made the flawed Semi-Awakening Potion. The development process was just too demanding!”

“I see… Can I go back for a moment?”

Deya, whose flow was disrupted by Zheng Yichen, thought for a moment and said. The situation had changed; it was better to ask a professional to avoid causing trouble for Zheng Yichen. Originally, his situation could be resolved well. But if he now said something and got carried away spreading certain news, the consequences could either make him more stable or make even those who had no thoughts before want him dead.