Chapter 525: Things That Necessary to Clarify

Chapter 525: Things That Necessary to Clarify

“I’m so pissed off!” The Chief Supervisor let out a long breath after seeing Zheng Yichen wipe away the mud she’d rubbed onto his face. Beating a painless Alchemical Puppet didn’t make her happy. If possible, she’d rather hold Zheng Yichen’s real head and rub it against the ground instead – even if he was a dragon!

“Why are you so angry? What did that Dragon do to get you this worked up?” After Zheng Yichen left, Dan Marina arrived, carrying a stack of documents. She glanced at a Spellcaster outside who was repairing the ground. The Spellcaster surveyed the deep score over twenty meters long, making clicking sounds with his tongue. He cast a minor spell, and the mark on the ground smoothed out rapidly.

The Chief Supervisor fumed, “Don’t even mention him! Let me tell you about that Dragon… I’ll beat him once, see him once!”

Dan Marina looked at the woman before her with a knowing smile. The Chief Supervisor was Ti Xiya, a sprightly seventy-one years old!

She had lived quite a long time, but her immense strength kept her youthful. For her age and power level, she could already be considered a Legend. By the way, she was also a nameless one, which signified she came from an ordinary family. Generally, those powerful enough would define a surname for themselves; almost all beings like her did. But she hadn’t done so, hinting at something special. Ti Xiya didn’t care about lineage or legacy. It essentially meant everything ended with her. There were quite a few strong individuals like this, and honestly, a surname held little real meaning for such powerful entities—maybe just symbolic importance for descendants. Hmm… making that symbolism a bit more pronounced.

Not having one wasn’t an issue… but those who didn’t usually either didn’t care about heritage or preferred to keep their existence somewhat obscure.

“You probably won’t get that chance.”

“Tch, I can certainly wait a hundred years or so…” Ti Xiya paused, her expression growing complex. “Finished the work?”

“Here.” Dan Marina handed the stack of documents to Ti Xiya. Ti Xiya took them, skimmed through, and nodded in satisfaction. At last, something that lifted her mood. Work that would’ve taken her a long time to complete, Dan Marina, after taking it over, finished in less than a fifth of the time Ti Xiya usually needed…

That efficiency was staggering.

“Ah, if it wasn’t the first time doing this kind of thing, I could have been even faster.”

“Even faster…!?” Ti Xiya felt her eyelid twitch involuntarily. She was no slouch herself at handling these matters; after all, she’d lived close to a hundred years and done plenty. Even if she wasn’t quite as quick, she wouldn’t be much slower. An efficiency like Dan Marina’s could already be called excellent, yet this woman claimed she could do better?

That was just showing off!

“It’s simple data organization. I’ve had some basic training in it before, so, yeah, just how it was.”

“…Fine, you’re in full charge of this project now.” Ti Xiya delegated authority decisively. Contract restrictions were in place anyway; Dan Marina wouldn’t—couldn’t—step out of line. “Work here from now on. I need to figure out how to take it out on that Dragon…”

Ti Xiya trailed off as she noticed Zheng Yichen had reappeared unnoticed. He was looking at her with an indescribable expression. “I heard you want to fight me?”

“Precisely!” Ti Xiya clenched her fingers lightly, glaring at Zheng Yichen. “Don’t let me catch your real body!”

“Eh-ha~ Don’t worry, I definitely won’t let you catch me,” Zheng Yichen evaded with a laugh.

Ti Xiya snorted coldly. “Don’t be too sure. The Church has already figured out the Witch Hunt interval for the Cursed Witch. Tell me, will you be showing up when the time comes?”

Dan Marina, who had been silent beside them, gave Ti Xiya a slightly strange look. That was a rather… peculiar thing to say. Noting this point of interest, Dan Marina maintained her strategy of keeping quiet and benefiting. She’d analyze these findings later. For now, she wondered what Zheng Yichen had come back for.

“Why are you back?” Ti Xiya demanded.

“Of course, with a new design. Something very useful.”

Zheng Yichen produced another design document. Ti Xiya didn’t give him a chance to elaborate further. She’d said before she’d approve anything of his that wasn’t useless or a money scam, but basic review was still necessary. She needed to see what he was presenting this time. After examining it quickly, she waved a hand dismissively. “Approved!”

What Zheng Yichen presented this time was undeniably useful: the Filtration Net. A product of Magic and Alchemy. Once deployed, it generated a special filtering effect, capable of purifying air and even separating minuscule lifeforms adhered to people’s bodies, as long as they were smaller than a certain size!

Zheng Yichen set this size at about a third the tip of a pinky finger’s width. Magic Artifacts were rarely that small anyway, and one couldn’t expect Mercenaries or Adventurers to have highly miniaturized tools. Thus, this filter size was sufficient. Beyond that, the net also had air-cleaning capabilities. Its energy consumption was low, given it wasn’t a defensive tool.

The air purification and underground isolation effects, however, grabbed Ti Xiya’s attention. Currently, transmission of the Flesh Seeds only occurred through injuries, but no one could guarantee new vectors wouldn’t emerge. The critical threat was passive carrying and transport. The Quarantine Camp had already experienced similar issues in the past few days. While designed for such threats and quick to suppress problems, the risk remained significant.

Therefore, the Filtration Net could largely prevent such Flesh Seed transportation… Importantly, those seeds were living!

Even if Mercenaries and Adventurers strictly avoided locally sourced water and food, the living Flesh Seeds could still creep in undetected. Like ants, they crawled, were incredibly tiny and could even seep through the ground like liquid blood. They were fiendishly hard to guard against. Sleeping individuals might even find micro-seeds entering their bodies through nostrils or ears. The net would block such intrusions; items falling below a certain physical size threshold couldn’t pass either in or out.

“Anything else?” Ti Xiya stared at Zheng Yichen.

Zheng Yichen smoothly produced another proposal. Ti Xiya gave it a look and sighed inwardly, feeling she’d been played. Everything he presented earlier paled in comparison to the importance of what he offered now. She couldn’t help but glance at Dan Marina. Had these two scheming partners colluded earlier, just waiting for this moment to trick her?

Cheng’s second proposal was for a reconnaissance device. Remote-controlled, it was crafted using Magical Modification techniques applied to Magic and Alchemy – a low-magic-tech version of the ‘Magic Eye’. This made Ti Xiya reassess Zheng Yichen. Such Talent… wasted by associating with the Cursed Witch.

“Given that you hit me earlier… I won’t get mad, but hiking these prices up by ten percent doesn’t seem excessive, does it?”

“Then please, feel free to get angry!” Ti Xiya hissed.

“Ah, forget it. I’ll just keep these for my own use. Sure, you’ve looked at the designs and understood the concept, but if you develop them normally yourselves, it’ll take you at least ten days to half a month, right? How many do you suppose will die here during that time?”

“Even if you protect everyone from The Church, by the time the Mercs and Adventurers are mostly gone, exactly how much helpful power do you think they’ll be providing?”

Zheng Yichen felt like a ruthless merchant, willing to do anything for profit…

“Then just stay angry!” Ti Xiya emphasized each word.

Beside her, Dan Marina rubbed her temples. Seeing this motion, Zheng Yichen winced. He might have jumped into a pit.

“Oi oi oi! Doesn’t The Church operate based on serving the people?!”

“I said! Just stay angry! Keep it at the original price. Not a penny more! One cent extra and you take your stuff away! Thinking you can milk me dry? Impossible!!”

“Hah! You want me to spread your words just now? I bet a crowd would come after you immediately!”

“Go on then,” Ti Xiya said casually, examining her fingernails.

“…”

In the end, Zheng Yichen left everything behind. Making blood money was something he just couldn’t stomach. He knew the state of the Temporary Camp well. Every day delayed meant more casualties. Even though this was a different world with different people, fundamentally, they were Humans too.

Zheng Yichen left his things, walking away frustrated. Ti Xiya claimed a verbal victory. Though Zheng Yichen had stood firm initially, she would have ultimately agreed to the ten percent hike if he’d pushed all the way. But he backed down first.

This prompted a new shift in Ti Xiya’s perception of Zheng Yichen. That Dragon… leaned so heavily towards Humans. So… had the Cursed Witch’s… not upbringing, but training really been that potent? To have nearly completely Humanized a Dragon?

What could she say? Zheng Yichen backing down showcased his significant regard for Humans. It was practically full-fledged Human allegiance.

Fine. A Dragon showing such allegiance to Humans wasn’t bad at all. Overall, Zheng Yichen being like this was… good. Well… considering just this point, her attitude towards him could improve a little going forward.

“Why are you looking at me?” Sensitively noticing Dan Marina’s gaze, Ti Xiya, slightly lost in thought, instantly resumed her usual cool demeanor.

“Just observed your mood suddenly improved quite a bit. Found it curious.”

“…Nothing’s curious. Anyway, this place is your office from now on. Mine is right next door. If you encounter any unsolvable problems regarding official duties, come find me.”

With that, Ti Xiya left hastily, exiting the room that had just become Dan Marina’s office. The remaining Witch chuckled softly to herself. Yet again… she’d uncovered a new secret concerning one of her sisters—a Witch’s secret. Indeed, precisely that. Gleaning others’ secrets was ordinarily simple for her. But amongst Witches, because their Power levels were akin, plus the uniqueness of each Magic ability, and the existence of specialized interference techniques Witches possessed, it was quite challenging to uncover secrets a fellow Witch wished to conceal using her own abilities.

However… this time, Dan Marina had detected this new secret through mundane means—observation and interaction. And it involved the Cursed Witch! Ti Xiya absolutely shared an incredibly delicate relationship with Loris—one that amplified her aggressive attitude whenever Zheng Yichen appeared. There was also that intense ‘jealousy’ she directed towards him.

Wasn’t that subtle enough?

Had the Cursed Witch done something in the past that spawned such a person? Love or hate rarely struck without cause. The Sanctuary Church hunted Witches primarily to uphold world stability, harboring no extra hatred… most members wouldn’t. It was driven by duty—a sense of mission.

Therefore, Ti Xiya’s pronounced hostility was itself a significant anomaly. When linked specifically to the Cursed Witch, the anomaly became even more suspicious—something Dan Marina understood better than the Church. The Cursed Witch hadn’t interfered substantially with the outside world in at least the last three centuries.

Wiping out a village or town for a bit of amusement out of boredom? Hardly. She wasn’t so idle as to plunge to such depths. Consequently, there shouldn’t be lingering grudges. Yet Ti Xiya was only seventy-one years old… Ah, how did Dan Marina know Ti Xiya’s precise age?

Simple. When signing the Contract, Ti Xiya wrote her True Name. Dan Marina was a master of Contract Magic. While establishing their agreement, she’d ‘casually’ perused Ti Xiya’s pertinent information—including age—as a matter of routine necessity. Soul age couldn’t lie.

Like when Annie examined Zheng Yichen’s body, it was clearly a Little Dragon under five. But inspecting his Soul? It registered as over twenty years old.

Seventy-one years ago… Ti Xiya must have intersected with the Cursed Witch. Was it love? Hate? That needed investigation later. Her current Avatar’s capabilities were severely restricted. Maintaining this identity remained crucial; its utility was too significant. Besides, she’d spent this time meticulously shaping the Avatar’s persona. Abandoning it now would squander all that carefully cultivated uniqueness.

Regardless, having pinpointed the time period, uncovering the details of the events back then became far more manageable. Tasks like this must wait until her true self awoke. Uh… she also needed certain extra preparations. Diverting Loris’s attention would be essential… Hmm, well then… it was time to set up groundwork. Boring? Not likely.

She deemed it absolutely necessary to clarify this!

Ti Xiya belonged to the Sanctuary Church… and was fairly high up in the ranks too.