Chapter 294: Analysis Witch Sophia

Upon hearing that the other party was actually the universally despised, crooked merchant from District 666, the onlookers on the periphery immediately grew agitated.

As one of the five universally recognized founding figures of District 666.

Lan Qingyou, the "Witch," had already taken such a commanding lead that no one could even muster a shred of resentment toward her.

Sherlock, the "Slave Owner," had been blown to smithereens by Lan Qingyou, reduced to nothing but ash.

Xin Tianle, who had absconded with the funds and directly caused the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands, of people, was nowhere to be found.

The cross-dressing pervert Yasuda Naeko had also vanished without a trace.

Therefore.

Out of those five original prominent figures, the only one still relentlessly engaging in scummy behavior was this crooked merchant, Shang Chuan.

Like Lan Qingyou, Shang Chuan had made a name for himself just a few days after the transmigration, so naturally, everyone recognized him.

...the initial capital accumulation phase of this bottom-feeding scum had caused countless people to curse his entire family.

If someone accidentally listed an item at the wrong price, this scum would snatch it up in less than ten seconds. How could people not curse him?

It was important to remember that during the early days of the transmigration, everyone severely lacked supplies.

Yet this guy relied on buying low, selling high, and exploiting loopholes to become the number one merchant in District 666. Whether it was before or after the districts merged, or even now that the barriers had been completely lifted, this bastard lived an incredibly comfortable life.

"Right now, the Tower Witch has already granted me the construction rights for this place, as well as the temporary management rights of the outer city. So, if you want to continue living here and receive the Witch's protection, you had best listen to me obediently," Shang Chuan declared.

The crowd's insults grew increasingly out of line, reaching a point where even a thick-skinned profiteer like Shang Chuan struggled to maintain his composure.

So, deciding not to waste any more time, he straightforwardly laid out his intentions and addressed all their doubts.

Well, truthfully, he was never the type to dawdle anyway; if anything, he was quite impatient.

And when the crowd heard that the Witch had actually appointed a crooked merchant like Shang Chuan to handle the housing construction, they completely lost their minds.

Good grief.

Letting a profiteer handle the development while forcing them to provide the manual labor? Wasn't that just textbook capitalist exploitation?

But... the other party truly held the authority to kick them out.

He could even have them killed.

Thus, this fierce and ferocious bunch had no choice but to bow their heads, becoming slaves to capitalism and construction workers under the contractor's thumb.

And completely unpaid, to boot.

'Whoever the hell said the Witch was a good person yesterday, step forward. I just want a nice, friendly chat,' many thought bitterly.

...

Meanwhile, after leaving the Witches' Forest, Lan Qingyou teleported straight to the Empress's farm in the Cursed Corridor.

"Whoa! It seems Durandal is truly in a rush," she muttered.

The moment she teleported in, Lan Qingyou spotted ten Witches standing in neat formation inside the room.

Just like Lan Qingyou, these Witches wore various styles of robes and pointed hats—an iconic attire that identified them as Witches at a single glance.

It seemed their self-awareness regarding their racial identity was quite well-developed.

"Greetings, Tower Witch. I am the Analysis Witch, Sophia. I am also the captain of the Apprentice Witch squad dispatched by the Supreme Council to study magic arrays," a Witch stated formally.

Just as Lan Qingyou was observing the group, this Witch dressed in a white robe stepped forward, her face stern and her tone highly official.

Lan Qingyou gave her a brief look.

Visually, she appeared to be in her twenties. Unlike her Western-sounding name, her facial features were quite soft, making her look more like a Central Asian beauty.

"Analysis Witch. That is a nice title. Is it because of your Magic Eye?" Lan Qingyou asked.

"Uh... yes."

Sophia, who had been keeping a straight face, instantly lost her composure at Lan Qingyou's single remark.

Her Magic Eye was indeed called the Analysis Magic Eye. It was capable of analyzing the structure of physical objects. While it lacked the direct impact of combat or defensive types, it was a supremely helpful auxiliary Magic Eye when it came to studying and learning.

It could easily be considered a lower-tier version of Lan Qingyou's own Analysis Magic Eye.

It was precisely because she possessed this specific Magic Eye that she had been chosen to lead this squad.

Yet, the very moment they met, the other party had completely exposed her deepest secret.

'Then again... many Witches use their Magic Eye's function as their Title, so it is only natural that she guessed it,' Sophia reasoned to herself.

Speaking of a "Title," this was not the kind of stat-boosting Title recognized and bestowed by the world's will. Rather, it was a self-appointed moniker used for greetings and to display one's racial characteristics.

At the same time, it made addressing one another much more convenient.

It was the same principle as Susi and her friends calling Lan Qingyou the Origin Witch, while outsiders referred to her as the Tower Witch.

"There is no need to be surprised. As the Clan Head of the Witch Clan, easily accessing the information of every Witch is child's play for me," Lan Qingyou said with a smile.

Seeing the other woman's bewildered expression, Lan Qingyou chuckled.

Although she had offered an explanation, it felt like no explanation at all. In short, she had not told the whole truth, yet what she said was technically an undeniable fact.

"Is that so? I see."

Realizing that Lan Qingyou had not merely guessed, but had instead used some unknown Clan Head authority to peek at her details, Sophia decided not to press the issue.

'I suppose this counts as a piece of intelligence regarding the Tower Witch,' she noted mentally.

"Tower, you have arrived."

As Lan Qingyou stepped out of the room, she bumped right into Jiang Lan, who was walking inside.

"Since we are about to begin the magic array lessons, I came over right away," Lan Qingyou replied.

Jiang Lan, who was completely unaware of the deal Lan Qingyou had struck with the Chairman of the Supreme Council, smiled and warmly welcomed her.

"I see. In that case, you had better head out quickly."

"Hmm?"

Lan Qingyou was baffled.

However, the moment she walked out of the room and stepped into the backyard, she instantly understood what Jiang Lan meant.

At this moment, countless Witches dressed in flowing robes and pointed hats were standing, sitting, or crouching all across the backyard of the Empress's Shelter.

Some of the Witches even had juvenile monsters trailing beside them.

Judging by the distinct crests on the creatures' foreheads, they were clearly Familiars bound via Contract Scrolls.

Upon seeing Lan Qingyou drift out of the house seated on her Magic Broom, every single pair of eyes locked onto her.

Even Lan Qingyou—who had long grown immune to gazes filled with curiosity, doubt, gratitude, and sheer worship—felt a tiny bit self-conscious.

After all, when faced with such a vast array of beautiful women—some delightfully plump, others elegantly slender, some radiating mature allure, and others exuding youthful innocence—anyone's heart would skip a beat.

"There are no ugly Witches." This phrase, which occasionally popped up in the World Channel, was fully validated at this very moment.

"Just... how many people are here?"

After a brief moment of bashfulness out of pure respect for the sight, Lan Qingyou turned to ask Sophia, who had followed her out the door.

"Including myself, there are exactly one hundred and one of us. We are all the absolute top-tier Apprentice Witches under the Supreme Council."

Stepping forward, Sophia answered her question.

As the captain of this squad, it was only natural for her to answer any questions raised by their instructor, Lan Qingyou.

Despite Sophia's bold claim, a small fraction of these Apprentice Witches were not actually the absolute best among the ten thousand Witches.

After all, this was a last-minute decision made by Durandal.

Furthermore, Lan Qingyou's instructional sessions were scheduled to begin immediately.

Therefore, during the hasty conscription process, it was inevitable that they had struggled to find enough perfectly qualified candidates and simply pulled in a few stand-ins to make up the numbers.