Chapter 440: Drink?

Chapter 440: Drink?

Upgrade service… in full, it was the follow-up service to enhance value.

This was something Zheng Yichen said with great confidence recently after his skills improved. Alchemy and Engineering were now difficult to improve quickly. His boldness in mentioning upgrade service now came from his progress in the Life Domain. He still had the original Blueprint for Qin’s Alchemical Avatar. He just needed to modify it slightly.

This modification didn’t need to be overly complex. He just needed to slightly change many structures inside the Alchemical Avatar. There were many changes, but it wasn’t a major overhaul. There were just too many minor adjustments. Through these adjustments, Zheng Yichen would add parts that were truly made of flesh and blood. The Avatar was already made from top-tier materials. Adding flesh parts would only make it more perfect.

Even if it wasn’t as good as the Avatar used by Dan Marina, which was truly an Avatar… what was the standard for a real Avatar? Not only did it have a substantial body, more importantly, an Avatar could produce offspring! Producing offspring in this world wasn’t as simple as on Earth.

First, without a Soul, even a body of flesh and blood wouldn’t produce offspring! Even with normal bodily reactions, even if offspring appeared… it wouldn’t be complete. This incompleteness didn’t mean physical disability or malformation as on Earth, but the lack of a Soul!

To produce offspring in this world, it wasn’t just about physiology related to Earthly knowledge. It also involved the Soul domain… Simply put, when the True Spirits of parents engaged in that indescribable activity, a certain connection was formed, generating a new True Spirit, or fishing out a pristine, cleansed original True Spirit that had been soaking in the River Styx for who knew how long.

It was like an invitation in a certain game. A man and a woman had to log into the game and send the invitation simultaneously. Without a Soul, without a True Spirit, it meant one didn’t have the Activation Code. They couldn’t even log into the game, let alone use the invitation feature inside… Generally, that was the case.

But in games, there were GMs, right?

So Zheng Yichen never claimed that the Alchemical Puppets he made were true Avatars. But Dan Marina’s was different… Even if that thing had no Soul, its inherent special nature was like giving that Avatar GM privileges. Even without the game login Activation Code, it could still log into the game. Being able to log in meant some of its functions could still be used.

“How long will it take?”

“At the fastest, at most thirty hours.”

“Then, sorry to trouble you.”

So, Zheng Yichen carried this ‘real-life figurine’ that could probably be sold at an extremely high price on Earth back to his Dragon Lair. He entered the Laboratory and took out a pile of materials. Several Mana Threads swiftly swept across, and the Alchemical Puppet in front of him immediately became clean.

“Ahem!” He coughed lightly and rubbed his nose. When he made it before, he watched as the Alchemical Avatar gradually formed from the skeletal structure to the body, from the inside out. He didn’t feel anything then. Now, after so long, re-modifying and upgrading it felt different from the outside in.

He was a Human, a visual creature! Having such a feeling was normal. What was wrong with that?

He exhaled, placed the Alchemical Avatar into a pool filled with a Magic Potion he had prepared, and began processing the materials he took out. Hmph~ What’s the point of learning just one Secondary Profession? Mastering them all was the most important! Zheng Yichen hummed twice in his heart. Anyway, the more he learned, the smoother things went for him in many tasks!

If he lacked any equipment while making Magic Potions, a normal Magic Pharmacist encountering this would be embarrassed for a while and rush to buy it. Zheng Yichen didn’t need to worry about such problems. Whatever he lacked, he simply made himself. What he was doing now also involved Potionology.

The Magic Potions soaking the Alchemical Avatar had a permeating effect on the materials, making it easier for him to process later. Speaking of this, Zheng Yichen really wanted to comment. Actually, Potionology and Alchemy could often be combined… He didn’t know why the original creators or something else separated them.

Anyway, the more Zheng Yichen learned, the more he discovered their commonalities. The difference lay in their focuses. Even some Magic Potions, if he was proficient enough, he could concoct them using Alchemy knowledge, even if the effect was slightly worse. But they were still Magic Potions… And a special type of potion in Alchemy could also be concocted using Potionology knowledge, the difference also being in effect strength and focus.

The Alchemy potion made using Potionology methods leaned more towards Magic Potions, and especially towards affecting living creatures, unlike Alchemy potions which primarily affected materials. Overall, Potionology focused on assistance, while Alchemy focused on invention. And then, this could be linked to Engineering!

Engineering was also invention… Well, put it this way: Alchemy was invention related to Magic, while Engineering was physical invention, like Spellcasters and Warriors. Although it was said that way, both also involved special power. Spellcasters had Mana, a special power. Warriors also had it.

So with knowledge of Secondary Professions, the more one learned, the more one wanted to learn. Zheng Yichen now had a thought… He really wanted to learn all the knowledge, to eliminate gaps between the Secondary Profession knowledge he mastered, to integrate it all, and create a complete Secondary Profession system.

Not the current situation, which seemed like various single-focus versions specially separated to suit Human Talent and time constraints. For example, even Engineering… Zheng Yichen felt one had to learn some Blacksmith skills. But because this world had Magic, related parts could be ignored. Some shape-forming could rely on Magic. Alchemy had spells for processing and refining materials.

Getting back on track, the reason Zheng Yichen used not an Alchemy potion from Alchemy but a Magic Potion was for the later addition of living tissue parts. Using Magic Potion was more suitable. After this Magic Potion, made with some Alchemy knowledge, deeply penetrated the Alchemical Avatar, not to mention affecting the materials, mainly the compatibility would improve!

Then came the configuration of a series of internal bionic systems: “Technical work, I love this!”

He rubbed his hands together, dismissed distracting thoughts, and entered a state of focused work. In the Sanctuary Church, the issues left by the Undying Witch were mostly resolved. The Border Great Wall returned to peace. The inside of the Containment Barrier had been clean recently. The garrison responsible for periodically clearing Corrupted Creatures inside could be withdrawn and used elsewhere.

With other garrisons, a rotation effect was achieved. Some garrisons could get rare holidays… The people from the Sanctuary Church also withdrew from here. The place returned to its original daily routine. Therefore, both could handle other things now. Achille now brought two invitations to Saintess Deya.

One invitation was his; the other was for the Saintess. Originally, he had no interest in such gatherings. It was only because he received internal news that the Dragon would also attend this gathering. Even if it wasn’t his real self going, but an Avatar, that was enough. The reason they didn’t frequently contact the Dragon was because his attitude remained unclear. What if they suddenly contacted him and the Dragon abandoned this body and ran away?

Now there was a good opportunity, so of course he had to go. After all, the Purple Vine Guild had a significant cooperative relationship with Zheng Yichen. In that kind of setting, Zheng Yichen wouldn’t just run away without a word. It was also good timing since other matters were mostly handled now.

“Brother, can’t you rest and recover for a few more days?” A young girl looked at the young man who had packed his equipment and was preparing to leave, reluctantly trying to keep him.

“My body is fine now. My staying here doesn’t look good for you.” Oss lifted his arm. Compared to his former skinny body, this arm was much stronger. He wanted to leave here days ago, but his sister’s urging made him stay two more days.

In a place related to the Sanctuary Church, he felt quite uneasy. If it weren’t for his sister also being here, he would have found various opportunities to leave after being able to move.

“I don’t mind…”

“But I do.” Oss smiled lightly and patted his sister Nancy’s head softly. “You’re not like me. Your future prospects are good. Alright, I’ll come back to see you when I have the chance.”

“…” Watching Oss’s departing back, Nancy slightly pouted. She really wanted to say, stupid brother, this isn’t what I wanted. But these words ultimately didn’t come out. There were too many helpless things in this world. She understood, just like Oss, the feeling of powerlessness without strength.

Even her obsession with power was deeper than Oss’s! Didn’t Oss become a Cultist precisely because of her? Now that she had joined the Sanctuary Church and had access to information at a level ordinary people couldn’t touch, she was no longer as naive as before. Once becoming a Cultist, there was no turning back.

She used to naively think that with enough effort, she might help her brother shed his Cultist identity. Once the Evil God’s power was accepted, a Cultist was like gaining a trait of cancer cells spreading throughout the body. This trait could even stain the Soul. Even if the Evil God took back the power given to the follower, such staining wouldn’t disappear.

How to eliminate it? Well… the recently appearing purification potions had some effect, but those things couldn’t affect the Soul. To eliminate it from the Soul, one had to throw their True Spirit into the River Styx for reincarnation. The purification potions weren’t great enough to affect the Soul.

Knowing this, Nancy’s motivation diminished a lot. Learning medicine couldn’t save her brother, so what was the use of learning it… Ahem. Anyway, even though motivation was insufficient, she didn’t plan to leave completely. Even if she couldn’t pull her brother out of his Cultist identity or completely erase his traces, wasn’t it still possible to master powerful strength?

At least then she wouldn’t be bullied, and her brother wouldn’t need to struggle and fight desperately outside.

“Sigh~” After leaving the Sanctuary Church, Oss felt the pressure on him finally disappear completely. This place wasn’t a core area of the Sanctuary Church, just a peripheral one. But here, there were still many Sanctuary Church people. With his unpopular status, he got many disdainful looks.

Although Oss could endure it, enduring it for over half a month straight without exploding showed his good temper. “It seems the Blood Essence power can also stimulate temper.”

He rubbed his forehead. With the pressure gone, his mood naturally improved a lot. The next step was to gather his companions. Speaking of this time being taken care of by his sister, she often mentioned Lena. Her hints couldn’t be more obvious. But Oss also felt helpless about this.

He admitted he had a good impression of Lena. That girl was very attractive. The longer he spent with her, the more he was drawn to her. But Lena was someone you could admire from afar but not… uh, it was difficult to truly get close to her. Oss had long given up such unrealistic thoughts.

So regarding his sister’s various explicit and implicit hints, apart from a bitter smile, Oss simply didn’t know how to answer his sister. He couldn’t say your brother is useless and can’t chase your ideal sister-in-law.

Sigh~ Oss couldn’t help sighing again. He found Gale and the others waiting in an inn. Seeing that Lena hadn’t left, his increasingly conflicted mood on the road improved a lot. Chasing her was impossible, impossible for this lifetime, but being friends seemed nice too.

“Captain, you finally came! If we waited two more days, I would have barged into the Sanctuary Church to demand you!” Seeing Oss return, Gale immediately jumped up, saying excitedly.

“Demand the person? Wasn’t it more like demanding money?” Wood asked with a smile from the side.

“Uh~ Ha, how could that be!” Gale laughed awkwardly. “Anyway, Captain, any plans after this?”

“This… Lena?” Oss looked at Wood and Rick’s more relaxed expressions, especially Wood’s, who looked even more at ease. He couldn’t help sighing inwardly again. Wood and Rick really intended to retire from this line of work. But that was fine too. This experience could already be an adventure story told for a long, long time.

For them, stopping here wasn’t inappropriate or shameful, but a successful retirement.

“Let’s go to Kaja. It’s lively there now. It seems the Purple Vine Guild also has new moves recently. There will be a very good Auction.” Lena said with a smile. “That Auction is quite important for the Purple Vine Guild. So if we want to sell Magic Potions, it’s better there.”

The higher the level of the Auction, the higher the price some things could fetch.

“As reliable as ever.” Gale said sincerely. Lena was simply the best secretary in their team, irreplaceable. Matters about Kaja weren’t exclusive information; anyone who inquired more could find out. But at times like this, Oss could ask her and get an answer right away. It wasn’t simply about inquiring more.

With her presence, they saved a lot of brainwork. What a shame, the team would soon disband.

Gale also felt a bit emotional. Had to admit, the days adventuring with Oss were even more exciting than all the days before combined. Especially during the Undying Witch incident. After being scattered in the Mist, he thought he was done for. Waking up later, he was in a tent of the Sanctuary Church rescue team. Feeling fortunate, his heart was also full of lingering fear.

“Then let’s go to Kaja.” Oss nodded, deciding the next destination. That expensive Magic Potion had been in his hands too long. Holding it always felt uneasy. After all, it was a potion. What if it accidentally broke or got lost? The money would be gone. It was more reassuring to have real gold coins.

“I’ll go buy the tickets.” Lena stood up and walked towards the door.

“Buy tickets? What about our vehicle?” Oss was surprised.

“It’s broken.” Dan Marina shrugged lightly. “Although the Sanctuary Church compensated later, I think there’s no need to buy a new one, right?”

“Hmm… Sorry to trouble you.” Oss nodded slightly. As Lena reached the door, he called her back. “Lena, when does the Auction in Kaja start?”

“Three days later.”

“Then buy tickets for tomorrow morning.”

“Heh~ Still planning to have a drink?” Lena chuckled lightly and asked.

“Want to join?” Oss asked. He did have this idea. Since they would part soon, having a couple of drinks in advance was fine. After this, meeting would be more troublesome, let alone gathering regularly from time to time. When he asked Lena, he didn’t hold much hope. Before, Lena rarely drank alcohol. Her drinks were mostly things like juice.

“Okay, just this once.” Lena smiled lightly. Oss showed a hint of surprise, paused momentarily, then nodded.

“Haha, though a bit jealous, it seems Captain, your chance has come?” After Lena left, Gale made a suggestive expression at him. He had also invited her to drink before, yet failed every time. Adventurers weren’t soldiers. Restrictions on drinking were low. As long as it wasn’t in a dangerous place or they drank to oblivion, it wasn’t a big issue…

Oss gave a bitter smile and shook his head hard, glancing at his companions. “You guys, you think too simply. When has Lena ever done anything she wasn’t sure about? This time, we might all get knocked out…”

Gale and the others couldn’t help but pause, thinking about Lena’s past actions. It seemed she never suffered losses. So this time she agreed so easily, maybe it wasn’t something she was uncertain about. She was a girl with not-strong physique. Could she really be a hidden master drinker?