Chapter 20: The Spreader: Time is Tight

Peering through the crack in the door, a familiar figure stumbled past—it was another probationary apprentice who came to the Black Mist Jungle at the same time, An Di.

This boy from a merchant family was always trembling with fear.

At this moment, he was holding a pile of books, running towards the library in a panic.

"Another one wanting to find a breakthrough at the last minute..." Luo En shook his head secretly.

This situation had become more and more frequent recently.

As the assessment deadline approached, those probationary apprentices who were not sure about passing the assessment either went astray like Luo Ke and Emily, or were studying desperately like An Di.

But no matter which path they chose, the results were often unsatisfactory.

"Still have to proceed step by step."

Luo En looked at the refreshing potion in his hand, secretly making up his mind.

Although his progress now was not particularly fast compared to those geniuses with higher star ratings, this was just the beginning of his growth path.

On this path, every step is taken solidly, every bit of progress can be seen and touched, and he will go faster and faster, finally leaving everyone behind.

Thinking this way, he sat back on the bed, preparing to continue today's practice.

Time is precious, and he cannot waste the effect of this bottle of refreshing potion.

………………

Luo En had just finished his meditation practice and was resting when he heard a burst of laughter coming from the corridor.

"... That necklace is really beautiful, it must be very expensive, right?" a female voice came from behind the door.

"It's okay, it was all rewarded by the master. Speaking of which, do you know what Master Ma Ge Si is researching recently..."

He pulled open a crack in the door and peeked outside silently. From afar, he could see that the people talking were several slaves of apprentices. Judging by the voices, it seemed they were not the same batch as last time.

But from their carefully dressed attire and jewelry, one could see that their status was far from that of ordinary servants.

"Sigh, not everyone has this kind of luck."

One of the voices was slightly envious:

"I heard that the new guy, the one who just 'broke through' last month, also took a special path."

"Shh—keep it down. But honestly, I heard it too, it really only took three days..."

"Really? I remember he seemed to be from the black market side..."

"Don't talk too much about this kind of thing, but I heard that a few new merchants have come recently, specifically to acquire some rare materials."

The tone of the conversation was light and breezy, as if it were just idle chatter, but every word revealed a certain hint.

Luo En noticed that faint light was leaking from behind several tightly closed doors.

Those probationary apprentices who were still struggling for a breakthrough were clearly all listening.

"Hey, who was that over there? Yes, the one who went to find the black market merchant two days ago."

One of the slaves suddenly lowered her voice: "I heard..."

"Stop talking, stop talking, let's discuss this kind of thing less."

Another hurriedly interrupted: "But indeed, the things in the hands of those merchants are quite powerful."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard the effect is particularly fast. My master said that as long as you grasp the dosage and timing, especially when..."

Hearing the conversation of these slaves, Luo En suddenly remembered that when he had just walked out of the herb shop yesterday, he had encountered several gorgeously dressed female slaves wandering at every street corner of the market.

At that time, there was a hint of inquiry in the gazes they cast. Now that he thought about it, they were probably looking for possible "targets."

Those slaves had clearly received specialized training.

They always chose to talk loudly about those "special channels" in crowded places, and they were all gorgeous women, which attracted more attention when speaking and seemed more natural.

Every detail was carefully designed just to make those probationary apprentices who were about to despair believe that this was a "reliable piece of news."

"This kind of method is really..." Luo En sighed lightly.

The experience of growing up in the Earl's mansion of Ralph made him all too familiar with this kind of "news guidance."

Back then, those subordinates who wanted to curry favor with his father often deliberately spread rumors favorable to themselves on certain occasions.

But in the Black Mist Jungle, the consequences of this method were much more serious.

Here, a wrong decision not only meant a drop in status but could also directly threaten life.

The slaves continued to chat one after another and gradually walked away.

But those faint "messages" had already fallen like sparks on dry firewood, burning secretly in the dormitory area.

"Truly insidious." Luo En sneered and shook his head.

The example of "three-day breakthrough" they mentioned was exactly Luo Ke, who had already mutated.

But in their narrative, they deliberately ignored the miserable state at the end and only emphasized the effect of the potion.

For those probationary apprentices who had reached a dead end, this was undoubtedly a fatal temptation.

"The three-month deadline is really too short for some people..."

He looked at the gradually darkening sky outside the window and sighed in his heart.

As time passed, those who could not see hope would inevitably become more and more desperate.

And the spread of these "messages" was undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.

In just a few days, several probationary apprentices had already taken risks.

Luo Ke and Emily were just the beginning; I am afraid more people will walk on this path of no return later.

Who was behind the slaves spreading the news, and who those black market merchants were related to—these were not difficult to guess.

In this world where the weak are prey to the strong, the weak are always the targets to be hunted.

Whether it is becoming an experimental subject or becoming someone else's slave, for some people, it is just a game of harvest.

"Still have to get stronger quickly, I don't want to be manipulated by others like this..." Luo En took a deep breath and readjusted his mindset.

He closed the door tightly and sat back on the edge of the bed.

Although the discussion coming from outside gradually faded away, those deliberately spread "messages" had already left ripples in the dormitory area.

He could hear the pacing sound coming from Da Lun De's room next door. Clearly, this neighbor who was addicted to noise spell research was also affected by the discussion.

Da Lun De usually focused on his own experiments and rarely paid attention to outside matters, but now even he couldn't sit still.

"Time is indeed running out..." A sense of urgency also arose in Luo En's heart.

(End of chapter)