Chapter 417: Wanted Solid Proof?

Chapter 417: Wanted Solid Proof?

Not long after Zheng Yichen arrived at this convenience point, the number of people slowly increased. Regardless of why they came, it didn’t stop them from gawking at the ‘celebrity’. Many clearly understood that if not for the Undying Witch’s incident, Zheng Yichen’s recent exploits wouldn’t just be trending second on the Magic Weapon Forum; he’d be number one.

After all, the two biggest events recently were caused by the Undying Witch and Zheng Yichen’s Semi-Awakening Potion. So, having a chance to see the person himself in the flesh? Naturally, they couldn’t miss it. Besides those just looking, others wanted to see if Zheng Yichen really had the skills rumored about!

He was right here at the convenience point, acting as that semi-volunteer. They hadn’t had this chance before, but wasn’t this a perfect opportunity to observe his abilities now?

So, Zheng Yichen soon received a pile of ridiculous Magic Potion requests. While the requested potions were medium-grade at best, their difficulty was among the most complex. Though not high-grade, their failure rates were the highest. Faced with this malicious behavior, the Potion Department quickly took countermeasures!

Though this kind of thing was happening for the first time, decisive action was needed. New rules appeared almost immediately. Magic Potion types eligible for preferential treatment at the convenience point must be those usable within the Containment Barrier or essential supply types. Other potions unrelated to the Border Great Wall, ones with no use here? No discounts. They even incurred extra charges!

The reason? You were wasting the time of those semi-volunteer Magic Pharmacists. Wasn’t that reason enough for extra fees?

The extra charge was three times the normal price… then it increased to five times… and finally ten times! The malicious requests finally started to lessen. Even then, Zheng Yichen was left with a significant pile of orders. They were all specified for him by name. While staff usually scheduled things based on a pharmacist’s known speed, Zheng Yichen stated his efficiency was such that for potions below high-grade, his crafting time wouldn’t exceed one-third of the fastest Creator’s time.

Directly doubting a Magic Pharmacist was rude. To be safe, the staff double-checked that Zheng Yichen wasn’t just boasting. Once confirmed, they scheduled him based on that claim. That was why his order pile grew so much so fast. Apart from a small number of standard potions,

The rest were those troublesome, failure-prone potion types. Some even gave Zheng Yichen a slight headache. Success rate wasn’t his worry – the concept existed because material fusions could create instability during reactions, unavoidable like minor bugs in a computer system.

He could suppress the unstable elements with his abilities. What irked him were the tedious processing steps. “Fine! Just this once…” Zheng Yichen mumbled, starting on the first order. He knew nothing about the rule changes at the convenience point or the extra charges skyrocketing tenfold in less than two hours. He only learned about it later, after clearing his orders, and felt stunned.

This… He’d grumbled while clearing those orders. But now, should he actually thank those malicious testers? Testing didn’t bother Zheng Yichen right now; this identity was cooling off anyway. Let them test. He could imagine their stunned expressions later. But while that outcome might be amusing, the sheer audacity of the malicious requests disgusted him. Looking back now, though… huh, actually good?

Changing the rules just because of his presence had already made an impression. But what left them speechless was that every single potion Zheng Yichen took on succeeded without exception! People were stunned. They weren’t potion makers, but they knew just how tricky those requests were. And yet, Zheng Yichen succeeded on every one.

It made some suspect foul play. Others loudly demanded Zheng Yichen make them publicly…

“When did the Border Great Wall get so full of troublemakers?” Jenna, now aware of the issue, rubbed her temples. She’d barely put down the earlier malicious act, and now this group was making noise. It was frustrating. They argued they had a point, using slogans like “Reject Secrecy! Reject False Fame!”.

While ‘the law doesn’t punish the masses’ didn’t fully apply here – a determined ruler would punish unreasonable rioters – but now… with the Undying Witch still unresolved, scheming people kept popping up.

There wasn’t time for thorough investigations on who stood behind them, but part was clear: some were mercenaries or adventurers with notoriously poor reputations. Probably they’d done too many reckless things? Hard to understand their mindset. Didn’t they grasp the consequences of provoking a highly skilled Magic Pharmacist? Was Zheng Yichen’s ability lacking?

Jenna stopped having that thought after he produced those extra two hundred bottles of Fixation Potion… Wait, maybe they did understand the consequences and were just being used as pawns? With enough reward, and as long as it wasn’t fatal, there was nothing some people wouldn’t do.

“I knew it…” Jenna felt her head throb again. When assigned to handle Zheng Yichen, she predicted this. Fame, especially newfound fame for a pharmacist, always drew skepticism. That skepticism didn’t just come from the bored troublemakers but also from peers.

She wondered what Zheng Yichen was thinking now.

Zheng Yichen’s thoughts were simple. If you doubt me, I’ll just shut you up. His basic potion-making skills were solid. Sure, his ‘unscientific’ methods using material conflicts were innovative, but for normal potions, relying purely on his unique abilities was enough. Anything else? Following textbook procedures precisely would do the job.

As for achieving absolute, perfect accuracy? Unnecessary…

Zheng Yichen gave this public reply, silencing the troublemakers. He made it clear, so what more could they say? Further pushing would seem deliberate. And being too outrageous? Did they think the Border Great Wall and the Sanctuary Church wouldn’t step in? They hadn’t intervened because the crowd’s complaints were presented logically. Even a guarantee from both wouldn’t satisfy those demanding to ‘see it themselves’, calling everything else fake.

But now, he invited them to watch openly, dared them to dig for proof he was a fraud. Further fuss would be stepping over the line. Would discrepancies be found? Zheng Yichen saw no flaws. His success was from his talent. Other talented pharmacists had similar innate gifts – why weren’t they doubted?

Doubting him implicitly doubted all talented Magic Pharmacists. The consequences of that were grave. Even with incentives, the troublemakers wouldn’t dare cross that line. Not all pharmacists were patient. Powerful ones had immense influence. Questioning them collectively meant risking disappearance without seeing the next sunrise.

The pharmacists wouldn’t even need to speak. Others would be sharpening knives, eager to use the troublemakers as sacrifices to earn favor with the pharmacists.

“Tsk. Annoying!” Zheng Yichen watched staff set up the open-air workshop within the convenience point. He dug irritably at his ear, fingers touching the input tube inside. Hmm, didn’t need fueling yet. He considered the fallout. If he was exposed as a fraud, backers achieved their goal. If he crushed the allegations? Mission accomplished for them too – it proved his skill, giving them future reasons to keep trying to buy or win him over.

“Hmph! Boring people.” Inside the Potion Masters Association, a young woman who once wanted to meet Zheng Yichen muttered while reading the forum posts. She felt indignant; having one’s effort denied felt awful. Being a genius? Talent demanded even more work! Only then could one not squander their gift. Zheng Yichen clearly put in serious study to succeed.

Seeing many trying to stir trouble on the forum worsened her mood. She left her room and went straight to the Vice President’s office. Seeing her again, the old man sighed inwardly. A crafty… ah, experienced man, he saw many things clearly. He guessed her intent even before she spoke. Her poorly hidden expression, plus his own attention on the Border Great Wall situation involving Zheng Yichen, gave it away.

“Only genius tempered by setbacks is true genius. Our Association shouldn’t intervene directly. It would harm him and affect us.”

“Huh?” The girl tilted her head, her confusion visible. “Shouldn’t the Association help potion makers more?”

“Yes, normally,” the Vice President replied, feeling exasperated. Nurturing talent wasn’t just teaching skills; it included moral guidance. Her upright outlook, honed by the Association, was why. No one wanted to invest in a twisted traitor they feared might flee after achieving fame. He really needed to explain this well. “His position is fragile. The only reason he’s unbothered now is his neutrality. Many factions want him. Announcing Association support suggests he might join us, destroying that balance. Danger for him.”

He wouldn’t say he yearned for Zheng Yichen’s membership… just not now. Perhaps later… or, maybe after developing another blockbuster potion.

“But we are strong too?”

“We are, child, but nowhere near as unrestrained as the Sanctuary Church or Dark Church,” the Vice President gently shook his head. “Against a few factions, we succeed easily. Against too many? Powerless. To prevent such situations and truly change things? It requires constantly increasing the Association’s power and influence. Achieving that falls to your generation, not us veterans.”

“I’ll work hard!” The girl nodded firmly.

The Vice President smiled. Still a child…

“But I want to go out for experience! You said it yourself – only genius tempered by setbacks is true. You called me beyond genius; I shouldn’t skip this step!”

He smacked his forehead mentally. He was old. Though Fixation Potion offered more living time, really? Must fate taunt him?

“Huh?”

Coughing lightly, thankful she hadn’t picked up the darker slang on the forums, he continued. “Experience trips will be arranged. However, we must wait until the Undying Witch incident concludes. With the Border Great Wall crisis, the lands are chaotic now. Traveling wouldn’t be training; it would be suicide.”

After convincing her to leave, the Vice President sighed deeply. He pondered how to report this to the President without getting whacked…

“Hey Dan Marina, help me note these names in your little book. Deal with them any way you please whenever you feel bored.” Within the Underground Base, seizing a break during the open-air workshop setup, Zheng Yichen found Dan Marina. He thrust the Magic Weapon Summoning Book at her, its screen listing a long row of forum IDs. Being annoying outside was bad enough, but openly acting foolish on his Magic Weapon Forum? Did they not want to exist?

Did they not know it was his turf?

Such audacious stupidity?

“Oh? Well, I have felt quite idle lately.” Dan Marina scanned the IDs once, memorizing them instantly. “The Undying Witch aims very high this time. She’s even linked up with Abyssal Creatures.”

“Huh? How? Isn’t the Containment Barrier sealing that place?” Zheng Yichen asked, confused.

“Sealed doesn’t mean perfectly sealed. Didn’t Evil Gods slip out before? Though they aren’t true Abyssal Creatures, so the barrier targets them less,” Dan Marina explained. Besides guarding against a potential Abyssal Creature invasion, the Border Great Wall dealt with leftover Evil Gods inside the Abyss. “The Church faces major trouble within the barrier now.”

“I see…” Zheng Yichen frowned, thinking deeply, then shook his head. He lacked too much information. Even knowing the Undying Witch planned big, his guess was some scheme to breach the barrier, flood the world with Abyssal Creatures, and… enjoy the chaos? Wasn’t that usually the trope?

“Say… Did the Undying Witch suffer some great tragedy that turned her bitter?” Zheng Yichen inquired.

“Unclear.” Dan Marina shook her head. “Her known past locations were far from mine. Our paths never crossed. Furthermore, she meticulously erased her tracks. I find little to Retrace.”

The Undying Witch’s actions held deep deception. Others easily fell for it at critical points. Like now, discovering her Abyssal Faction links made some analyze only her purpose for that contact – Was it a pact? Was she seeking resources unique to the Abyss, impossible to find elsewhere?

The Abyss was its own twisted ‘world’. Materials saturated with sinister power existed only there. Dumping such material elsewhere corrupted the land into an Abyssal Environment… Those materials were uniquely potent. Known Evil Artifacts involved such substances.

Evil Artifacts resembled Magic Arms… akin to Apophis. However, weapons like Apophis gained their curse from evil Magic Rune Arrays. Evil Artifacts were different. Forge them blank – no enchantments – and they possessed immense power. The base Corrupting Aura inherent in the material never vanished. Used offensively, this aura dealt heavy damage and inflicted Curses hard to cleanse. Adding dark magic or secret methods only amplified the artifact’s brutality.

Ultimately, Dan Marina saw it: debating whether the Undying Witch made some ‘dark bargain’ with the Abyss meant falling prey to deception yet again. Fooling others was easy. But Dan Marina knew her strength. These elaborate measures concealed a vital goal. That aim was not Abyss-related! She exploited the Abyssal power.

“Brain ache. Heading back.” Zheng Yichen felt his attention pull towards the finished workshop. Finding a quiet spot, he lay down, entering a trance-like state. His main focus surged back to the Alchemical Avatar. At the Border Great Wall, Zheng Yichen clapped his hands together, surveying the convenience point crowd. “Alright. Who’s first?”

A ripple of silence passed through the crowd. Zheng Yichen’s utter lack of hesitation caused unease amongst some. Did this mean his skills were real? That would undermine their employer’s plan… But surrounded by so many spectators, plus a detachment of Border Great Wall soldiers eyeing them? Agitating the crowd was dangerous here. “I’ll go!”

A man in adventurer gear stepped forward, clutching a pouch. He stated his request: “I need Dream Devourer Potion.”

Dream Devourer Potion? Zheng Yichen recalled it instantly: a mid-grade potion with unique properties. A Dark Attribute potion using toxins to cleanse other toxins and purge negative effects… More potent than some Purification spells. But being Dark Attribute-based, its inherent instability made it notoriously difficult to brew.

Starting with a challenge? Too bad, he picked the wrong target…