Chapter 18: The Counterfeit Philosopher's Stone

The paper that caught Xia De's attention was like parchment material, one corner was pressed by the book "Psychology and Abnormal Psychology," but it only covered the signature and did not affect the main content:

【Academy Bounty Order

The illegal organization 【Mercury Blood】, carrying the Secret Keeper-level relic 【Counterfeit Philosopher's Stone】, has appeared in Tobesk City and surrounding areas. A bounty is offered to all correspondence Ringed Shushi in the area to closely monitor the movements of 【Mercury Blood】. If the 【Counterfeit Philosopher's Stone】 is submitted to the Academy, 5 practical credits for this academic year can be deducted, the academic assessment grade for this semester will be automatically upgraded to 'Excellent', and other rewards will be discussed with Professor Luogesi of the Mechanical Academy.

Note 1: This task is extremely dangerous; it is not recommended for students at or below the 3rd Ring to directly contact the 【Mercury Blood】 organization in any form.

Note 2: For specific information about the relic 【Counterfeit Philosopher's Stone】, please consult the Academy in detail.

Note 3: The Orthodox Churches have already obtained this news; if you intend to complete the task, please be careful not to expose your identity to the Church.】

Below was the signature that was covered up, which seemed to be an announcement jointly issued by the Public Affairs Management Office of St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy and the Mechanical Academy.

"What if it's exposed to the Orthodox Churches? I forgot to ask the doctor just now."

Xia De thought, then put the document bag on the desktop and sat back on the sofa.

So far, no one knew the secret that he could understand all kinds of strange languages, so the possibility that this thing was also forged by the doctor was not high. On the contrary, the appearance of this Academy bounty order proved that what the doctor said was highly likely to be true.

"However, credits, academic assessment... what chilling terms. I didn't expect to encounter this kind of thing in the era of steam civilization."

Xia De thought silently, recalling his life in his hometown. This made him more determined to come into contact with the mysterious and find a way to go back.

It's just that he didn't expect that after coming to another world, he would still have to study and take exams. What's more, he might even have to write a thesis.

"There are always more solutions than difficulties."

He thought in his heart and waited patiently for the doctor to return.

Although the doctor had just treated him to lunch at the goose restaurant not long ago, because the terrible scene he saw in the morning was really impressive, Xia De actually didn't eat much.

At this time, he had plans for the future, his mood improved, and the feeling of hunger came up. So he took advantage of the doctor not returning and asked Mrs. Kara for some snacks, saying he wanted to have afternoon tea.

The doctor probably told Mrs. Kara that Xia De was an important guest, so when the middle-aged maid wearing a floral apron knocked on the door and entered, Xia De saw that she was actually holding a porcelain plate.

"This is Mr. Shi Nai De's collection."

The middle-aged maid smiled. She looked to be in her forties, older than the blue-eyed doctor. Her figure was plump, which was very consistent with Xia De's imagination of middle-aged women in ordinary families in this era.

Although this world did not have a great Eastern country, it still had porcelain, and porcelain was still precious; only special soil and technology in special areas could burn such fine products.

Xia De thanked Mrs. Kara and didn't care much about the porcelain plate. He looked at the exquisite yellow fluffy small cake on the plate, and the red cherry on top of the cake that seemed to be able to reflect light, and swallowed his saliva subconsciously.

"Xia De, don't lose the face of an outsider!"

The outsider who had just arrived here said to himself in his heart, and then, as expected, heard the pleasant laughter of the woman in his mind again.

They agreed to meet at two o'clock, but the doctor did not appear for a long time. If it weren't for the fact that when Xia De went to the washroom, he found that no one was really stopping him from walking around, he might have suspected that he had fallen into some trap.

Because this was someone else's place, after confirming that he could leave at any time, Xia De returned to the original room to wait. He didn't have the bad habit of rummaging through other people's things, and he was also worried about seeing documents he shouldn't see, so he sat bored on the sofa and looked at the interior decoration of the room.

Having been in this world for nearly 40 hours, he had a higher understanding of the development level of the country he was currently in. The characteristics of the steam era were manifested in every aspect of life, not only gas lamps and steam pipes, but also the exquisite mechanical structure buckles that appeared on various furniture, and the lifting platform controlled by large gears and pulleys and ropes on the side of the bookshelf—these were all things Xia De had never seen in his own world.

He had never thought that he could come to such a world. While wandering, he also tried to exchange his knowledge for money. But he really didn't know much, and he didn't have an extremely excellent photographic memory. For his future life, he was actually still full of anxiety.

Dr. Shi Nai De only appeared at two-thirty. He changed into a coat, and now the coat was black.

When he pushed the door and entered, he began to apologize:

"I'm really sorry, some completely unexpected things happened. I ordered a batch of sensitive drugs on the black market—no, don't show that kind of expression, it's not for the patients in the clinic, I don't do that kind of thing. It's for my own research on wonders. As a result, something went wrong when picking up the goods. It's really bad luck."

As he said this, he sat down again, and the maid followed in, providing a new pot of black tea for the two men:

"So, have you decided?"

The doctor asked solemnly, his blue eyes looking at Xia De's eyes. Xia De had observed the eye color of this body in the mirror, and it was still the deep brown that looked like black, which was the same as before.

"Decided."

Xia De sat up straight and nodded, giving the answer solemnly as well:

"I want to try to come into contact with that Poet-level relic 【St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy's Dream】."

A big smile appeared on the doctor's face:

"Although the luck today is not very good, I found that, Detective Hamilton, as long as it is related to you, things will always go very smoothly."

As one of the three major wonder academies, St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy has the ability to deliver 【Relics】 remotely. But Xia De is not a formal Ringed Shushi yet, so Dr. Shi Nai De naturally wouldn't let him know what this method is.

After waiting alone in the room for more than ten minutes, the doctor pushed the door in holding a black paper box.

That was really a black paper box; there was nothing but black. Xia De didn't even find where the seams of the paper box were at first.

"【St. Byrons Comprehensive Academy's Dream】 is a product of the last era, that is, a product of the Fifth Era. At that time, the Academy had just been established, and that legendary founder, the Thirteen-Ring Shushi Miss Mana Feilian'anna, obtained this 【Relic】 after a summer nap. This 【Relic】 must be contained in a black space; it can be considered a 【Relic】 with a relatively simple containment method."

"Was the Academy only established in the last era?"

Xia De was a bit puzzled; he thought it was that kind of ancient organization passed down for several eras.

"Actually, the five Orthodox Churches and the three major wonder academies all appeared in the last era. Remember this common sense: the Fourth Era was an era of darkness and chaos, where evil and distortion ran rampant in the world. The Fifth Era was the era of witches, where only women possessed spell-casting abilities, powerful witch emperors partitioned the world, city-states fought each other, civilization made no progress in the Fifth Era, and it was a wild and primitive era, but equally terrible. By the Sixth Era, the supernatural was not obvious, and human civilization was able to progress to the current era in the hands of ordinary people."

The doctor did not introduce more ancient eras, and Xia De did not ask, because the two were sitting on the sofa, and Dr. Shi Nai De had already opened the box.

Leaning over to look, the paper box was covered with straw, and on the straw lay an exquisite enamel cloisonné snuff bottle, the size of a palm. The bottle body was generally fetal blue, painted with bright yellow sunflowers, connected by golden lines, making people can't help but think of the pleasant time of summer. ===== CHAPTER 19 =====