Dumitru District, Secret Investigation Department.

Beneath the glow of the Dawn streetlights, spaced five meters apart, a tall figure and a short one returned hand-in-hand to the Logistics and Investigation Department near the main gate.

CLICK.

The gas lamp in the Investigation Department One office lit up.

Lisi let go of her hand and forced a smile. "Welcome home, Tina."

The white-haired girl’s hollow eyes slowly roamed the room, as if she were familiarizing herself with the office.

After a long moment, she hopped over to Wei’en’s desk with a strange gait. "Tina, Wei’en."

Her voice was even stiffer than before, as if a hard rock were lodged in her throat, producing a grating sound as it scraped against her vocal cords.

Lisi said softly, "He’s alright. You saved him."

"Tina, happy."

"Yes, we’re all happy that you two are safe."

"Tina, safe."

Tina shook her head, or at least tried to. The stiffness in her neck caused her whole body to sway with the movement.

"Yes, you... you’ll be alright, too."

Lisi bit her lip, her eyes filled with sorrow.

’She knew perfectly well that when the death knell tolled, no one would be spared.’

’But why did it have to be Tina?’

’Why must such a small, frail body bear the weight of the world?’

She recalled Director Ales’s words before she brought Tina back.

"Lisi,"

Ales’s posture was still upright, but his gaze had grown clouded. "You must be extremely careful with Tina. She is hope, but she is also disaster."

"My time is short. From now on, it’s up to you. I hope you can buy us some more time."

’Doom and salvation, sacrifice and rebirth...’

’How ridiculous.’

Just then, Tina tapped her toes and leaped lightly to the window, pressing her small face against the glass to stare at the red moon in the night sky.

For the first time, a different color was reflected in her vacant, lifeless eyes. "The red moon... is smiling..."

Lisi walked over, lifted her down, and carefully drew the curtains to block the red moon’s glow. "Tina, don’t worry about that. All that matters is that you’re smiling."

"Mm, Tina, smile."

As she finished speaking, the corners of the white-haired girl’s mouth curled up, stretching to her earlobes... revealing a huge grin. "Like... this?"

There wasn’t a hint of a smile in her eyes. Under the dim yellow light of the gas lamp, her smiling face looked all the more grotesque.

Lisi forced a weak smile. "Yes, just like that."

"Tina thinks of Wei’en, smiles."

"When it comes to him... you don’t have to do that. He probably prefers how you look when you’re not smiling."

Tina nodded as if she half-understood. "Tina knows."

Lisi watched her smile vanish and sighed inwardly. ’I hope she really does know. Otherwise, I’m afraid Wei’en might end up with some serious trauma...’

...

...

[You have successfully crafted a Healing Potion. Healing Potion knowledge has been added to your Alchemy knowledge tree, Level 1. Special Reward: Survival Points +3, Spirit Level +1.]

[You have successfully crafted a Spirit Defense Potion. Spirit Defense Potion knowledge has been added to your Alchemy knowledge tree, Level 1. Special Reward: Survival Points +3, Spirit Level +1.]

After carefully crafting the three types of Magic Potions, he had officially been initiated into alchemy, and the knowledge for all three potions became upgradeable.

’Finally learned them all. Upgrading alchemy is a bit more complicated than runology.’

Immediately after, Wei’en raised the levels of his Enlightenment Potion, Healing Potion, and Spirit Defense Potion skills to max.

1/1,

[Enlightenment Potion Lvl. 1 (1/1), upgrade?]

[Upgrade.]

[Congratulations, your Alchemy Knowledge: Enlightenment Potion has been upgraded to Lvl. 2. Effect: 20% chance to craft a Perfect quality potion.]

[Enlightenment Potion Lvl. 2 (1/2), upgrade?]

[...]

[Enlightenment Potion Lvl. 9 (9/9), upgrade?]

[Upgrade.]

[Congratulations, your Alchemy Knowledge: Enlightenment Potion has been upgraded to max level. Effect: 100% chance to craft a Perfect quality potion.]

[Congratulations, your Enlightenment Potion proficiency has reached max level. Your Alchemy Initiate Advancement Progress: 1/10. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1.]

[...]

[Congratulations, your Healing Potion proficiency has reached max level. Your Alchemy Initiate Advancement Progress: 2/10. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1.]

[Congratulations, your Spirit Defense Potion proficiency has reached max level. Your Alchemy Initiate Advancement Progress: 3/10. Special Reward: Spirit Level +1.]

As the proficiency levels for the three Magic Potions increased, a flood of knowledge related to them poured into his mind.

Wei’en felt a brief headache, and then the knowledge was fully assimilated.

’The quality and precise quantity of ingredients, the timing of their addition, the crafting techniques, the secrets to improving quality...’

As he absorbed the knowledge about these three Magic Potions, he finally began to understand the principles behind their creation, such as the fusion and dissolution of the ingredients’ Extraordinary properties...

’So that’s how it works—’

The essence of a Vengeful Spirit acts as a trigger, transferring the beneficial spiritual properties contained in the brain matter into the user’s soul.

Meanwhile, the Sea Octopus’s soft tentacles absorb and dissolve the corrupting properties of the other two ingredients, ensuring that only the beneficial properties remain after everything is fused together.

The reason he could achieve 100% perfect quality with his Magic Potions was because of the knowledge provided by the system panel.

It allowed him to accurately identify the subtle differences between various ingredients and optimize the crafting process accordingly, thereby producing Perfect quality Magic Potions.

The effects of Magic Potions varied greatly depending on their quality. For example, a user could only absorb less than half the potency of an Inferior-grade Magic Potion.

Take the Enlightenment Potion, for instance. An Inferior quality one lasted only 30 seconds, while a Perfect quality one lasted 120 seconds.

On top of that, the rate at which they restored Spiritual Power was also different...

Comparing the two, the difference in their effectiveness at restoring Spiritual Power was immense.

After figuring all this out, Wei’en couldn’t help but clench his fists, a look of excitement spreading across his face.

Unlike the caution he had to exercise when crafting Magic Potions before, he was now completely confident he could make these three potions without a single failure.

To put it vividly, it was as if he had crafted them countless times, knowing every step by heart.

He was even crystal clear on certain steps in the process that could be simplified.

’And this is just the initiate level. If I get my alchemy to the proficient level, how much money could I make?’

Wei’en wiped the corner of his mouth, feeling a surge of motivation. He wished he could make a massive amount of gold pounds right now and get rich overnight.

Without stopping, he proceeded to turn the remaining ingredients into bottle after bottle of Magic Potions, which shimmered with multicolored light as he lined them up neatly on the workbench.

"One, two, three... fifteen bottles."

Aside from the first batch of three Magic Potions, which were only Inferior grade, the other twelve were all Perfect quality.

Wait,

’They’re all Perfect quality?’

Wei’en stroked his chin, pondering for a moment as he looked at the potions. ’I can’t sell all of these at once.’

Moreover, out of caution, he would have to intentionally lower the quality of the Magic Potions.

’That part’s simple. There aren’t many ways to improve quality, but there are plenty of ways to lower it...’

He just needed to alter the crafting steps, which was equivalent to changing the formula for a Perfect quality Magic Potion, to achieve the desired effect.

’When you’re weak, even revealing a hint of your true ability is a crime...’

Wei’en had understood this principle for a long time, but he’d never had a chance to apply it.

After all, no one expects a robber to target someone who’s dirt-poor.

Next, Wei’en cleaned the leftover material residue from the workbench, washed the crucible and scales, and then stored the Magic Potions in his Space Ring.

’Finally, a skill that can make me some serious money.’

’It really hasn’t been easy.’

He’d been in this world for over ten days, and his only income had been the base salary of an Intelligence Officer and the wages from punching in at the Secret Investigation Department.

Even with the translation work for the Gonzalez language, his earning speed was still severely lacking.

But now that he had the ability to craft Perfect-grade Magic Potions, things were different.

The material cost for one Enlightenment Potion was 15 shillings. An Inferior quality one would sell for 10 shillings, an Excellent one for 15 shillings, and a Fine one would fetch double that, at 1 gold pound and 10 shillings.

As for a Perfect quality Enlightenment Potion, the price could be as high as 3 gold pounds.

The other two types of Magic Potions had similar profit margins—a 300% profit.

Coupled with a 100% success rate... ’I’m rich.’

At this thought, Wei’en almost couldn’t stop himself from grinning from ear to ear.

The only problem now was finding a suitable and safe channel to sell these Magic Potions.

He had previously planned to sell them directly to his colleagues at the Secret Investigation Department, but now, that seemed completely out of the question.

For one thing, the Secret Investigation Department had its own Property Management Department, which could not only produce some common Magic Potions but also procure them from other channels.

These suppliers were Alchemists, organizations, or individuals that the Property Management Department worked with regularly.

If he wanted to muscle his way in and peddle his potions, he would have to use his Perfect quality Magic Potions to carve out a new channel for himself.

But doing so would greatly increase his risk of exposure.

If the Secret Investigation Department were to discover that he was the one making the Magic Potions, it was hard to say what the consequences would be.

There was no guarantee they wouldn’t just lock him up and turn him into a tool for mass-producing Magic Potions...

Therefore, to avoid such a fate, Wei’en decided to keep a low profile.

Even if it slowed down his earning speed, he still felt it was the right choice.

’In the end, it all comes down to a lack of strength.’

If his power was as great as Lisi’s, he wouldn’t have to be so cautious...

Wei’en looked up at the time; it was already ten o’clock at night.

’I didn’t expect making Magic Potions to take so long.’

He looked at the pile of materials and tools for making a Mechanical Puppet on the floor and decided to put it off for now.

After the nerve-wracking experience of making the Magic Potions, he wasn’t confident he could succeed in crafting the puppet on his first try.

Compared to the simple techniques for alchemy, the steps for building a Mechanical Puppet were far more complex...

Therefore, Wei’en felt it was necessary to spend more time studying Jerry’s journal, especially the blueprints for the [Iron Heart Fury]. He had to master them to perfection.

With that in mind, he turned to leave the workshop and return to his bedroom to rest.

Hmm?

Wait a minute.

Wei’en suddenly remembered that there was another way—

The effect of the Mechanical Box was to imbue mechanical materials, equipment, or puppets with the death attribute, which meant...

He immediately put his thought into action. Wei’en commanded the driver through his Origin to cast the Mechanical Box Spell on the materials on the floor.

The Mechanical Box (Death God) Rune Mark on the driver’s forehead suddenly expanded, occupying the space between its brows. Its eyes stared at an empty spot nearby as its mouth opened and closed, shouting, "Abdeljalil!" (Mechanical Box!)

A crack split open in the floor, and an aura reeking of decay, death, and ruin... seeped out.

As the crack widened, a rust-covered, steam-powered Mechanical Gate rose from it.

It had a round, heavy, brass-colored frame, and a large clock face was carved into the teal door.

As the hands on the clock turned, the Mechanical Gate slowly swung outward, revealing a void-like space.

’This is the Mechanical Box?’

Wei’en was stunned for a moment. The Magic didn’t feel like it was opening a subspace; it felt more like it had summoned an ancient Mechanical Gate...

But he didn’t dwell on it. ’If the Death God Origin Rune can exist, what’s so hard to accept?’

Next, he placed the materials from the floor into the Mechanical Gate one by one.

After all the materials were inside, Wei’en drew the flintlock from his waist and shoved it in as well.

’A flintlock is also a mechanical weapon. If it can be imbued with the death attribute... combined with my marksmanship, wouldn’t my peashooter turn into a Divine Artifact?’

Once he was done, he signaled for the driver to dispel the Magic.

Wei’en watched the Mechanical Gate disappear back into the crack. ’Seems like marksmanship isn’t entirely useless after all. If I can just find a way to improve the flintlock and boost its power...’

He looked at his remaining Survival Points on the panel, and after a moment’s thought, he decisively spent them on Marksmanship.

’Upgrade!’

PS: Thanks to the patron Nan Ke for the donation. Thank you.

Only one Chapter today, but the word count isn’t much less than two Chapters.

As usual, I’ll release extra Chapters on the weekend. I have more time when I’m resting...