Chapter 4165

At the large round table during dinner, everyone did not keep talking about these serious matters. Viga smiled and said that when everyone left in a while, they should remember to take a few bottles of perfume with them; they were new arrivals for the spring and summer seasons, and she thought everyone would like them.

Besides Xia De, Viga, Angelina, Luvia, Dorothy, and Rixia, Miss MacDonald was also invited to sit down. Viga had higher requirements for her followers than other Great Witches, but she was also genuinely fond of Miss MacDonald, never treating her as an ordinary follower.

Miss MacDonald appeared somewhat reserved during dinner, but Dorothy soon began discussing school life with her. Dorothy was a graduate of a local girls' academy in Tobesk and had experienced formal education, making her the most highly educated person present besides Miss MacDonald.

After all, the two princesses of the Cavendish family and Miss Astley were all raised with aristocratic home education. Although the Outlander held an honorary doctorate in history, essentially, he still belonged to the category of an illiterate who hadn't even experienced prenatal education in this world.

Viga was in high spirits and even suggested during dinner that Luvia and the others should visit her often; she welcomed everyone's visits. However, Xia De had a night class tonight, so the group planned to leave after dinner.

Viga knew that Xia De would have a whole day to spend with her tomorrow, so she wasn't disappointed at all when they parted.

Her physical condition was much better than it had been initially, so she and Miss Rolin, along with Miss MacDonald, saw everyone to the front door of the mansion. The carriage would take the four of them to the Blue Ink Library.

"See you tomorrow, Xia De."

She hugged him lightly, while Angelina, standing to the side, waved goodbye to her sisters, thinking that after trying the incantation Viga had taught her tonight, she should still have time to flip through some interesting books found locally before twelve o'clock.

The carriage had stopped at the mansion gate, and everyone waved goodbye to Viga. Dorothy and Rixia were just about to enter the carriage when they noticed Luvia, who was beside Xia De, change her expression.

The purple-eyed girl looked at Eve MacDonald, who was beside the witch, with a look of confusion in her purple eyes. A moment later than her, Xia De also heard the "click" of gears turning that he had heard last Sunday, and he too looked at Miss MacDonald.

"What's wrong?"

The tall girl asked, then frowned slightly and pressed her hand to her chest. As Viga moved to support her, Eve MacDonald had already fainted.

Click—click—click—click—

The sound of gears turning continuously in her chest sounded to Xia De like some kind of machine in constant operation.

"Back into the house, let her lie down first."

Xia De said while holding Miss MacDonald's right hand and using 'False Immortality':

"It's not a twisted fire seed, and I don't sense any abnormal whisper elements. What exactly is going on?"

Miss MacDonald was soon sent back to her own room. Even in her unconscious state, she remained frowning, looking extremely pained.

The bedroom was quite large, and everyone could stay there. However, Xia De did not act immediately to treat her, but instead let Dorothy and Rixia step forward:

"I want to see her heart directly."

The writer and the princess nodded together. As they reached out toward Miss MacDonald, the clothing, skin, and flesh over her left chest became transparent, allowing Xia De to see her heart directly without causing any harm to her body.

The heart was beating, pumping blood throughout her body, but embedded in the right side of the heart were three gears the size of fingernails. The three gears were interlocked, rotating continuously with the beating of the heart.

Even though there should be no linkage between flesh organs and metal gears, everyone who saw that heart felt that those three gears had clearly become a part of the heart's operation.

"What is this?"

Viga asked with concern:

"You said before you left on the weekend to let Eve pay attention to her physical safety, and I have been observing Eve's condition these days. Until just now, she was clearly perfectly healthy."

"Can you not hear the click-click sound?"

Xia De confirmed. Aside from him, no one else could hear it; even Dorothy and Rixia could only barely hear the sound by leaning in very close.

Luvia, who had discovered Miss MacDonald's problem even earlier than Xia De, said:

"Although I can't hear the sound, I can feel... a sense of foreignness. This feeling is very strange, as if a monster that shouldn't be there suddenly appeared in the street scenery I see every day. No, no, I don't mean Miss MacDonald is a monster; I mean something that shouldn't exist has appeared in her body."

"Xia De, can it be treated?"

Viga asked with pursed lips. Xia De nodded:

"It can be treated. Since there are no whisper elements and it has nothing to do with the world's calamity, it should be fine as long as I replace the abnormal part of the heart. As for what exactly this situation is... I'll treat it first and then see."

Although it would be more convenient to let Dorothy and Rixia open a spatial hole so Xia De could touch the heart directly, Xia De decided to use the most conservative surgical method to prevent any hidden problems in the heart from suddenly interfering with a stable space.

With so many high-ring sorcerers present, there was no need for much extra preparation. After Viga, who was worried, had Miss Rolin fetch some potions that might be needed, Xia De prepared to act.

In addition to the 'False Immortality' state, Xia De summoned a lit match using 'Door Key: Match Girl' and had Angelina place it in Miss MacDonald's hand.

Then, he had Viga and Luvia help remove Miss MacDonald's upper clothing. After making preparations, Xia De reached out without changing his expression. Crimson moonlight condensed into the shape of a small knife, cutting through Miss MacDonald's skin, while pre-sprinkled potions prevented any massive bleeding.

The heart beating in her chest soon appeared before his eyes, the three gears rotating and interlocking looking even more bizarre than before.

Then, the light of the red moon cut off the entire heart steadily and accurately. As the flame of the match dimmed suddenly, Xia De carefully patched the missing part of the heart with a lump of clay he had molded into a rough shape.

After multiple upgrades, the 'Active Clay' created organs that could adapt to the human body very quickly. To be safe, after connecting the heart to the various blood vessels, Xia De injected the life energy he had gathered using 'Life Tempering' into it.

Seeing that the heart had returned to normal but was not beating, Xia De squeezed the heart gently with his hand a few times, then summoned red moonlight with flesh-nourishing effects, letting the light enter the heart.

Thump-thump—thump-thump—thump-thump—

The heart began to beat again, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, there was no need for suturing; 'Moon Fire', 'Sunlight Healing', and witch secret arts accelerated the wound healing together, and with the potions Viga had prepared in advance, just five minutes later, there wasn't even a scar on Miss MacDonald's chest.

The entire surgical process lasted less than ten minutes. Viga checked carefully, determined there were no problems, but did not wake Miss MacDonald immediately, intending to observe for another ten minutes to see if the heart developed any other issues.

As for the heart with the gears that Xia De had cut out, it had already been soaked in tissue fluid prepared by Miss Rolin in advance.

The potion's effect maintained the heart's vitality; the heart was still beating, and the gears were still rotating.

"What exactly is this? Since it's not an artifact effect and has nothing to do with twisted fire seeds, this clearly looks like the product of illegal human experimentation."

Viga said softly:

"But Eve hasn't acted alone at all these past few days. How exactly did her heart become like this?"

"Recently, isn't there a rumor in the black market that a mechanical infectious disease has appeared locally? Angelina, Miss MacDonald, and I heard about it when we went to the Candle Keep black market over the weekend, but the local church blocked the news, so there was no more detailed information about this disease in the black market."

Xia De reminded her, and Viga instructed her housekeeper to contact the church through black market channels to investigate what exactly was going on. Now that Viga was the sole representative of the 'Witch Council' locally, and given the harmonious relationship between the Council and the Five Gods Church, she was qualified to request information from the church.

With such an incident occurring, Xia De and Luvia and the others certainly wouldn't leave just like that. And regarding this technology that looked so much like human alchemy, under Xia De's suggestion, Viga soon brought in a 'professional' to analyze and judge it.

"Good evening, Xia De."

Megan pushed the door and entered the study on the second floor of the Fragrant Mansion half an hour later. At this time, Miss MacDonald had already woken up, and although she considered herself fine, she was still required by Viga to stay in bed and rest.

The discussion moved to the study. The heart was sealed in a glass container that Viga had imitated from the 'life solution' she had used to preserve her sister a few days ago. Megan entered, greeted Xia De, and saw the thing in the glass jar at a glance.

"Tsk tsk—"

She couldn't help but click her tongue and leaned in to look, while Luvia introduced:

"I just tried to perform a divination on the origin of these three gears, and there was no obstruction at all. The divination result is that they grew naturally out of Miss MacDonald's body. Yes, flesh and blood grew metal."

Megan then asked:

"Viga, does this student of yours have any alien race bloodline? I remember that in ancient times, there existed some pure mechanical races. Although it's unclear whether they could reproduce with flesh-and-blood life, the possibility of alien bloodline awakening cannot be ruled out."