Chapter 517: Stirring Things Up

Chapter 517: Stirring Things Up

The man holding the pipe was named Oro. As the officer handling this location, he knew little remained here. The area’s lockdown wasn’t stringent, for the Cursed Witch had scrubbed away all traces. What evidence stayed in the desert could be easily buried? Digging underground?

Don’t kid him. Tens of meters down was all sand—what clues could surface? Yet, given a witch’s power , turning the place to this state suggested the Cursed Witch faced formidable foes. Another witch?

Hardly likely. When a witch died, peculiar phenomena usually manifested. That’s why Dan Marina reacted skeptically when first hearing the Undying Witch was dead—no such anomaly occurred, especially considering the Undying Witch’s immense strength.

So the Cursed Witch’s target might not have been a witch?

Yet that made little sense… A witch’s power overwhelmed nearly everything. A slight disadvantage could lead to instant annihilation against them. Only the rarest entities, like the monster Dan Marina once encountered, presented exceptions.

Even if such creatures surfaced, witches seldom bothered unless driven by purpose. Other witches’ motives could be analyzed, but here—after the Cursed Witch acted—what remained?

Consequently, Oro continually pondered the Cursed Witch’s reason for striking. Records showed she rarely intervened; even the most detailed accounts noted fewer than ten confirmed actions. Yet recently, she shattered that record.

Deserts formed at five locations!

Averaging more than per day, the efficiency was staggering. However, no new sites emerged in the past two days. The Cursed Witch might have stopped—or withdrawn due to the Church’s official involvement.

Perhaps useful intel could be extracted from this dragon. Oro maintained his slight smile while studying Zheng Yichen. “Sir Connor, what brought you here?”

“Looking for someone.” Zheng Yichen scanned the desert, already dismissing hope. Loris detested contact with the Church. Even if she lingered earlier, she’d be long gone now.

He sighed softly and waved dismissively. “Continue working. I’m leaving.”

Certain nothing remained, Zheng Yichen saw no reason to stay. Oro didn’t press—forcing intel from him was pointless. Zheng Yichen operated solely through an Alchemical Avatar; he was utterly unfazed by trouble.

Abandoning this shell meant nothing.

“Pity…” Oro murmured as Zheng Yichen departed, his eyes regretful. Then he chuckled. “Pack up. Nothing else here. The Cursed Witch targeted something unique. Rather than tracking her, monitor recent Aberrations.”

Earlier, similar investigations drained resources. Now, the Magic Weapon Forum offered shortcuts. Why hadn’t the Creator updated the interface yet? Layout changes meant streamlining workloads—no more tedious searches amid the forum’s frantic post volume. Ordinary Magic Weapon Summoners couldn’t monitor it constantly.

The forum overflowed with Aberration discussions, including debates about these new deserts—discovered first by Magic Weapon Summoners.

Meanwhile, Zheng Yichen reviewed Qin’s information en route, sighing helplessly. Seeing these deserts rendered other intel irrelevant. Loris “working” at Qin’s place? Did they think he hadn’t considered it?

His departing self hadn’t used her Alchemical Avatar! Zheng Yichen couldn’t find her!

What exactly was her true self pursuing? Did she destroy forests to create deserts, thinking the world too verdant?

Tearing open a Personal Space rift, Zheng Yichen slipped in before refocusing on his primary Alchemical Avatar. He wanted Dan Marina’s analysis—but she had vanished. Few remained at the Quarantine Camp, mostly Church girls idling in temporary stations.

Bored, they noticed his gaze and whispered. His sharp ears caught their topic: Why would a dragon prefer Human forms and styles?

He rolled his eyes. What could he do? He was from Earth.

Setting aside the headache-inducing “book” on Spatial Expansion, he knocked his head. Right—Loris distracted him too much to study.

He’d update the Magic Weapon Summoning Book as planned. Edits flowed smoothly now. He’d even structured its core to reduce “disassembly” for future changes—though not fully “computer”-like, efficiency improved year by year.

Last year, he hadn’t imagined simplifying edits this much. Insufficient foundational knowledge back then solved with broadening perspectives. In a decade, updates might require no disassembly at all…

By evening, he’d integrated the forum’s new layout. Upon uploading it, all active Magic Weapon Summoners sensed their tools flicker. Even those without summoned books felt their Magic Weapon Contract pulse faintly—imperceptible to most.

Veterans remained unfazed; frequent updates habituated them. Brief disconnects were trivial compared to past outages.

Re-entering the Magic Weapon Forum revealed a drastically cleaner interface. The homepage retained its aggregated post design but linked directly to sub-forums. Users could browse homepage threads or target specific boards.

An announcement post—as always—explained this. Yet…something felt amiss this time. Comparers found its tone unusually bland: devoid of new slang or emoticons. Almost…Creator uncharacteristically formal? Had someone else posted it?

“Haah…finally finished.” Zheng Yichen tossed the Magic Weapon Summoning Book into a Personal Space rift. The forum update required under two hours; “hyperlink” integration consumed the rest. Tch!

Regular optimizations were overdue. Organizing threads exposed accumulated “junk.” Post-processing fixes were possible, but next core adjustment should restructure fundamentals.

Beyond his single-room window, isolation reigned late. Only patrols moved in the Quarantine Camp. He yawned again. Tomorrow for Dan Marina’s analysis—now back to the Underground Base.

Transferring focus, Zheng Yichen dropped by Loris’ room—a Ghost Maid tidied inside. Scowling, he withdrew and visited Dan Marina’s body. Staring at her resting form in the Crystal Coffin, he scratched his head and snapped photos. She’d see them tomorrow—alleviating…well, unnecessary concern. He doubted she’d actually worry.

Handling miscellaneous tasks, he entered Annie and Irene’s shared Laboratory. Both remained intensely focused. Treading softly, he retreated—no interrupting their research.

Returning to his own Laboratory, Zheng Yichen retrieved the seldom-used Power Core. Its hollow spaces overflowed with absorbed energies—Magic seeds from witches, transmuted by his ability into deployable forces. His bespoke equipment.

Though storing numerous witches’ Mana, wielding them felt like being a Saintess—commanding high-tier power without their core abilities, only their Magic’s imprinted aspects emerged.

For example, Irene’s Mana granted Super-Magic-buffed spells during casting. Annie’s Magic offered potent healing, even nonspellcasting—yet merely reflected her ability’s “life” aspect surface. Zheng Yichen manifested its broadest form.

“Broad” equaled mediocre coverage rather than Annie’s surgical precision. Deep manipulations required her inherent power.

Then Dan Marina’s power. Oh, devastating—shattering his world’s constraints to wield Prophecy Art…though useless for much else. Its unique trait was extraordinary quality.

Lastly, Loris’ power—an ominous crimson energy unstable as a cancer cell glutted with nutrients. Uncontrolled, it violently proliferates. Anything touched contracts terminal affliction. Among stored seeds, even the Undying Witch’s touch-of-death Magic paled by comparison.

Loris’ power ran wild even idle—no wonder she once concealed herself fully. Suppressing it required constancy.

Rogue or not—time to use their power! Zheng Yichen was…up to something!