Chapter 52

The small episode on the road did not affect the journey, and the Truck successfully arrived at Yingzui City in the afternoon.

When getting out of the car, Bani's head was still dizzy; on one hand, it was a bit of motion sickness, and on the other, he hadn't expected to arrive so quickly.

According to his past experience, it would have taken at least two more days to return.

Mali didn't go looking for a temporary parking lot this time, mainly because it was hard to hide the Truck given its size, so he simply drove it all the way to the city gate.

He had now obtained the status of an Alchemist, so at least on the surface, the Morales Family and other nobles could no longer confiscate his property.

The guards on the city wall clearly also discovered the behemoth approaching from afar and immediately became tense; soon, someone looking like a knight brought a squad of guards to rush over here.

However, when he saw the brooches representing Alchemists on the chests of Mali and Lievre, the serious expression on his face eased slightly, and he took off his helmet to salute.

"Garrison Officer Bannuoke, greetings to the two Masters."

Lievre said with a smile, "Don't worry, Sir Bannuoke, we are just here in the city to handle some private matters."

Bannuoke subconsciously looked up at the Truck beside him upon hearing this.

"We won't take it into the city; we'll just park it here temporarily," Mali added.

This was also something he had planned from the start; this MAN 8x8 Truck camper was much longer and wider than the G300p.

And the roads inside Yingzui City were not very spacious, especially in the Old District, where there were small vendors occupying the road from time to time; besides, it wasn't convenient to make U-turns in the city, so Mali wouldn't look for trouble for himself.

Bannuoke breathed a sigh of relief, "That's for the best. I will also send people to help you watch it to ensure no suspicious characters approach your Alchemy Golem."

"Thank you for your trouble."

Mali also locked the Truck and left Huodun and Xia'er to guard it.

Bani and the other two expressed their gratitude to Mali again before leaving.

Mali had witnessed their fierce battle with the previous group of Lizardmen and was deeply impressed by the taciturn but calm and reliable Markus.

This veteran hadn't abandoned his employer to save his own life until the very last moment, and he had also shown courage and resourcefulness in battle, while also being able to skillfully collect alchemy materials.

Especially the last point; Mali's current team lacked such a role. Although Lievre was well-versed in alchemy materials, he basically only saw them collected or processed.

As the Vice Dean of the Guangyao Staff Alchemy Branch, he rarely needed to go into the wild to collect materials himself.

And Meilisha and the others had only become adventurers recently and didn't have experience in this area either.

It was a pity that Markus had already been hired by Bani; the two had worked together for many years, and Mali didn't feel right about poaching him.

At this moment, another name flashed through his mind.

When he decided to form a caravan, Mali hadn't failed to invite Suoluo, but the Monster Hunter seemed quite satisfied with his current solitary life and didn't want to join any organization other than the Adventurer Association, so Mali could only give up.

However, more than four months had passed since they last met, so if they met again, it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Of course, the top priority right now was to solve the matters at hand.

After Mali and Lievre entered the city, they headed straight for the Alchemy Association, seeing the iconic Baita from afar.

The two passed through the eaves carved with the emblems of the three major schools and walked into the spacious and bright front hall.

It was as deserted as ever, with only the copper sphere representing the celestial bodies rotating on its own in the center of the hall.

The receptionist at the front desk was even so idle that she was knitting small socks; hearing footsteps, she hurriedly swept the wool yarn and sewing needles under the table and stood up to greet them.

"Master Lievre, and Master Mali, what can I do for you?"

"Ah, Youliya, you are pregnant," the old alchemist glanced at the receptionist's slightly bulging lower abdomen and said in surprise.

The latter's face was also full of joy, stroking her belly, "This is all thanks to Master Dao Er Dun's magic potion. I had a miscarriage once before, and Physician Bulin said it would be difficult for me to conceive again. After Master Dao Er Dun learned of my distress, he gave me a bottle of Intermediate Healing Potion."

"Intermediate Healing Potion, that's not cheap."

"Yes, Master Dao Er Dun is truly a good person!" Youliya said happily, "Oh, look at me, I've been talking about my own affairs... I don't know your purpose yet."

"Congratulations. A while ago, I had a batch of alchemy instruments sent here."

"That's right, it should have been seven days ago. I have an impression. Currently, those alchemy instruments are being properly kept in the warehouse on the third floor. I will have someone get them for you right away."

Youliya was about to look for the key, but heard the old alchemist say again, "Wait, no rush. Before going to get those instruments, there is one more thing. Master Mali needs to undergo a magic appraisal."

"No problem, the appraisal room is also empty right now and no one is using it... You need to pay an appraisal fee of two Gold Eagles first, and then I will go invite Master Jia Anda."

"No, no, no, no need to trouble Master Jia Anda; I can preside over it myself," Lievre said with a smile, "I have done this kind of appraisal many times at Guangyao Staff."

"Hmm..." Youliya was still hesitating, but Jia Anda's voice had already come from behind.

"It's no trouble. I happen to be free right now; I'll preside over it."

Jia Anda said this while walking down from the second floor.

She was wearing a pure black silk robe today, with a wide belt with dark silver patterns tied around her waist, perfectly outlining her tall and elegant figure.

Combined with the black veil on her face, it made her whole person seem to blend into the quiet and dark night. And the unique smooth luster of the silk flowed and flickered like the faint light of stars under the night sky.

Mali and Lievre looked at each other. He had tried to self-study magic with the help of the old alchemist's video tutorials while in the Red Mist, but unfortunately, there was no progress.

This was also the reason why he came for the appraisal; Mali wasn't sure what his body's situation was.

His original idea was to have Lievre preside over the test for him, so that even if it turned out he had no magic talent, it wouldn't be too embarrassing.

But now that Jia Anda insisted on doing it herself, Mali didn't know if it was a blessing or a curse.

However, he couldn't find any suitable reason to refuse for a while, and in the end, he could only accept this arrangement.

Compared to Mali, who was uneasy in his heart, the old alchemist was much calmer; he had always firmly believed that Mali was the only candidate to revive the Fusion School, and instead, he wasn't nervous at all from beginning to end.

Seeing that Jia Anda was already leading the way, Mali could only bite the bullet and follow.