Chapter 201: with translation of chapter title

Title: "Chapter 205: The Magic Stone in Hand, Gone Again"

"Two hours later."

"The ghostly wails and wolf howls finally stopped."

"But the experiment is far from over; there is still much work to do."

"Lin Ke first turned on the lab's ventilation and disinfection, waited a while, then entered."

"Fortunately, there was no strange odor."

"It seems the thugs, intimidated by Lin Ke's growing reputation, actually stopped eating and drinking several days in advance to empty their stomachs."

"A single minor mist‑rain spell sent five bursts of water mist spraying into the thugs' faces, jolting them awake."

"Before they could react, Lin Ke injected them with the second batch of potion to replenish their vitality."

"The 'Fairy' potion was developed based on the idea of biochemical modification and enhancement to boost the fairies' innate abilities."

"The fairies' innate abilities involve both soul and body."

"Whether strengthening the soul or transforming the body, a great deal of vitality is required."

"The fairy king's scheme, based on accepting knowledge from the abyssal demons, had a major flaw: it failed to promptly replenish the large amount of vitality needed."

"Past mistakes serve as lessons for the future."

"Lin Ke developed the Fairy potion aiming to enhance wizards' qualities, which likewise involve both soul and body, so he naturally did not overlook this."

"The Fairy potion comes in a set of three vials."

"The first vial has the strongest stimulative and destructive effect; it follows a 'break then build' approach, heating the wizards' initially stubborn, iron‑like qualities until they glow red, hammering them hard to knock out impurities and forge them into fine steel."

"The second vial is the gentlest, promptly replenishing vitality, allowing quick recovery without over‑exertion."

"The third vial finishes the process, healing hidden injuries and locking in any unabsorbed potency so it does not leak out, which would diminish the enhancement effect."

"With their vitality replenished, the thugs' twisted limbs and expressions gradually relaxed."

"Their minds also gradually cleared."

"Precisely timed, ten minutes later Lin Ke administered the third vial to the thugs."

"Afterward, he stopped worrying about their suddenly complex emotions; the thugs, awaiting their fate, went on their own to examine the various detailed monitoring data."

"Judging by the data, the Fairy potion's effect is still quite impressive."

"The thugs, who had average intermediate second‑grade qualifications and were over twenty years old yet remained second‑grade apprentice wizards, all received a notable improvement."

"The thug leader with upper‑intermediate second‑grade qualification rose directly to middle third‑grade."

"The two thugs with middle‑intermediate second‑grade qualification advanced to lower third‑grade, on the verge of breaking into middle third‑grade."

"The two thugs with lower‑intermediate second‑grade qualification also rose to lower third‑grade, yet still fell short of reaching middle third‑grade."

"Factoring in the subsequent absorption of potency, the two thugs with middle‑intermediate second‑grade qualification might have a chance to reach middle third‑grade qualification."

"However, this hope is not very great."

"This increase is considerably lower than the enhancement scheme developed by Seren Witch based on the properties of the 'Bone‑Piercing Worm'."

"This does not mean that the Fairy potion Lin Ke developed has only this much potential."

"After all, the Fairy King, as a fourth‑grade transcendent lifeform, could use that very prototype scheme for biochemical modification and enhancement."

"Rather, Lin Ke, seeking stability, did not sacrifice the potion's stability in pursuit of a larger boost."

"Because of this mishap with Molly, Seren Witch has already sealed away the 'Bone‑Piercing Worm' enhancement plan."

"She has restarted research into the various traits of the Bone‑Piercing Worm, revisiting the breeding program used for the experimental pair."

"If Lin Ke did not examine Molly's body once a week to confirm her soul's stability and that her flesh shows no signs of disintegration,"

"Molly could hardly be leisurely enjoying the windfall of a huge boost to her wizard qualification."

"She has long been scolded until she's drenched in dog's blood."

"For now, setting aside Molly's matter, Lin Ke released the restraints on the five thugs, allowing the fully sober and ecstatic thugs to move freely."

"\"For the next few days, stay in the East District, in the hotel we arranged for you; do not return to the West District, especially the black market. Understood? \""

"Lin Ke pushed up the gold‑rimmed glasses on his nose, gave a gentle smile, and gave his instructions in a calm, friendly tone."

"\"Yes. \""

"\"Whatever the boss says, we'll do. \""

"\"Boss, rest assured, we will absolutely not run around recklessly. \""

"A long‑dreaded fear suddenly struck, the thugs shivered, instantly breaking out of their ecstatic state and returning to calm."

"It felt as if their heads had been plunged into an icy mixture and vigorously stirred."

"A chill to the heart, spirits soaring."

"How could the thugs dare to defy this gentlemanly boss who smiles while killing?"

"\"Go on, go back and experience it, see if there's any change and how much. Come back here for a re‑check at this time tomorrow. \""

"Lin Ke gestured toward the stairwell."

"\"Boss, goodbye. \""

"\"Thank you, boss. \""

"\"Boss, we're leaving first. \""

"The thugs bowed repeatedly, like craftsmen, filing out of the lab in single file and climbing the stairs upstairs."

"Lin En quietly arrived at the underground lab, awaiting orders."

"\"Monitor them; if there is any abnormality, activate the contract's contingency as I previously told you, understood? \""

"Lin Ke pulled five copies of the contract from his pocket, handed them to Lin En, and gave the instruction in a detached tone."

"\"Understood. \""

"After receiving the contract copies and carefully storing them away, Lin En responded and left the lab to carry out the boss's assignment."

"Even though they felt they were not far from becoming official wizards, the five geniuses of the Brotherhood grew ever more in awe of Lin Ke."

"They sincerely wanted to cling to this powerful thigh and never let go."

"A few fresh bloods from the Storm Sea could, like them and the Social Fear Group, already be equipped with the 'Defender 3202' set during their apprentice stage."

"Not to mention the abundance of 'credits' and magic stones."

"This boss is not bad at all."

Lin Ke chose low‑profile, unnoticed thugs from the western district's underclass for his experiments, making them easy to control.

He didn't need to act personally; sending his brothers' team, or even the social‑anxiety group, was enough to keep those five thugs in check.

But Lin Ke didn't become careless or lower his guard just because controlling them was easy.

He not only obtained a valuable secrecy contract from the sorceress Serin, but also left more than one hidden clause in it.

If the five thugs were pawns of certain people, or if any of them tried to earn extra money on the side, activating those hidden clauses would kill them instantly.

As for handing the original contract to Lynn, there's no worry about it being lost or snatched away.

There's absolutely no need to worry.

After the contract was signed, the original document ceased to be a carrier of rule‑power and became a signal relay station.

Only those whom Lin Ke specially authorized can trigger the contract.

This is also one of the gains from studying the auxiliary true‑spirit wizard knowledge system, concerning the advancement and fine‑tuned use of mental power.

Lin Ke continued to stay in the underground lab for a while, examining the data.

He mainly compared the thugs' experimental data with Jasmine's data obtained from the sorceress Serin.

After studying it carefully for a long time, he saw nothing wrong.

Although Jasmine's wizard aptitude had greatly improved beyond expectations, the cause remained unknown, leaving a hidden danger in her.

It could erupt at any moment.

It might stay calm forever, or it could explode the next second.

Therefore, we must quickly identify the cause and determine whether it will cause harm.

So we don't end up rejoicing now only to suffer later.

After securing both sets of data, Lin Ke left the underground bio‑lab and went to the second‑floor potion‑making lab.

In two months the autumn term will end; other advanced‑study wizards will go to various front‑line battlefields for internships.

With his newfound free time, Lin Ke will start running the Grand Potion Shop.

This is the usual choice for the vast majority of first‑tier wizards: stay in the homeland, work, and accumulate magic stones and strength.

Upon promotion to second‑tier wizard, they will study at the academy's main campus for two to three years, then enter the front‑line battlefields to fight alongside the legion across the realms.

Or they may take a position teaching at an elementary academy.

Only a tiny minority of first‑tier wizards, for various reasons, choose to go straight to the front lines from the start.

Don't keep your head in your pants; risk your life and strive to build a future.

Lin Ke hasn't yet decided which path he should take.

Should he stay in the homeland, run a potion shop while cultivating a direct‑line force that's free to do anything?

Or should he return to the front lines, follow the Paragon Sage Legion, and fight across the worlds?

It's not that Lin Ke lacks foresight or planning; he simply can't yet determine what strategy the Lucian family currently has toward him.

Does he have enough time to develop while staying in the homeland?

Sorin Lucian led a large portion of the Lucian family's elite, following Peter Leonel to support the Leonel family's conquest of the Tree‑Spirit World. (See Volume 2, Chapter 90)

The Lucian family has been consistently contracting overall, keeping a low profile.

Even Hawk Lucian, who is studying at the advanced academy, ignores Lin Ke when they meet.

It seems the Lucian family, from top to bottom, has completely forgotten Lin Ke Grand, the man Sorin Lucian wants to kill as soon as possible.

The more this happens, the more vigilant Lin Ke becomes.

A dog that bites doesn't bark.

Who can guarantee that the Lucian family, lying dormant, won't suddenly strike a deadly blow at Lin Ke?

No one can determine whether Peter Leonel's support will be long‑lasting or short‑lived.

The Tree‑Spirit World is merely a medium‑level civilization whose highest sage rank is five.

The Leonel family has already been conquering it for a full thirty years.

Even though the Tree‑Spirit World's sage cap is five, just like the Fairy World's, there is a huge difference between them.

The former is at least ten times stronger than the latter!

But the legion led by Peter Leonel might very well be the final straw that breaks everything.

By then, Lin Ke's potion shop may be booming, but still undeveloped; hearing that Sorin Lucian has returned victorious, wouldn't he have to flee again?

Having no choice, Lin Ke can only prepare two plans.

He will open the potion shop, cultivate his direct line, and also be ready to run at a moment's notice.

Speaking of opening the shop, the "fairy" potion as the store's treasure cannot be heavily advertised; it can only be whispered about within the potion‑shop circle.

To face the public and the market, the Grand Potion Shop needs at least one flagship potion as appealing as "Super Brain" or "Body Forge."

With one bright, public face and one hidden, inner strength, the shop can quickly capture the market and secure its footing.

When the sorceress Serin first returned to open a potion shop, some shop owners came to "smash the scene," testing her abilities.

This "bad habit" is just like the nonsensical rules of the Tianjin martial arts school in a certain movie Lin Ke saw in his past life.

Lin Ke dislikes it but can't change it; he can only prepare in advance.

Having secured the inner foundation, the outward façade must not be lacking.

During the development of the fairy potion, Lin Ke's potioneering talent triggered, and a research idea came to mind.

Before, I single-mindedly worked on the "Fairy" potion, couldn't divert attention to retreat into this line of thought.

Now the development of the "Fairy" potion is complete; we can take that line of research, study it carefully, and then push forward quickly.

This new potion, Lin Ke tentatively named it "One-Mind".

It mainly targets mental power and brain computing power, improving concentration during learning, thinking, and spellcasting.

Taken together with the "Super Brain" potion, it will be even better.

"Super Brain" boosts brain computing power; "One-Mind" restrains thoughts, focuses attention, controls thinking, to more efficiently utilize the surging brain computing power, preventing waste.

Combined, they instantly turn an ordinary person into, in a short time, Albert who loves to stick out his tongue.

Think about it, this degree of improvement is still very attractive.

However, these are still just Lin Ke's ideas for now.

He needs to quickly develop the "One-Mind" potion, conduct experiments, collect data, feedback and optimize, and finally finalize it.

This process takes some time.

The autumn semester still has two months left, which is enough.

After doing some preliminary preparations for the experiments, Lin Ke left the Grand Pharmacy, drove the Phantom Coupe back to the academy.

For the rest of today, he again immersed himself in heavy study.

Over the next few days, Lin Ke will regularly go to the Grand Pharmacy each day.

First, to test the condition of the five hooligans and collect data;

Second, to advance the development of the "One-Mind" potion.

Both tasks received fairly good feedback.

The five hooligans' wizard aptitude genuinely improved; both meditation speed and spell power showed significant improvement.

Moreover, no negative side effects have been detected so far.

After continued observation for a period, the "Fairy" potion can be released within the pharmacist community.

Accept the joint smash-the-place from the owners of the East District pharmacies in Ruowosisu City.

The development progress of the "One-Mind" potion is optimistic; the main ingredients have been decided, the auxiliary ingredients are still lacking and need further selection.

The first batch of trial samples, after testing, has already achieved the expected effect.

Subsequently, just keep trial-producing, testing, gathering feedback, and optimizing.

After the five hooligans confirmed that their wizard aptitude had genuinely improved, they became more attentive to the tasks Lin Ke assigned, proactively suggesting to return to the western district to inquire about the news of the "Molten Gold Mother Ore" and the "Rock Iron Mother Ore".

After Lin Ke inquired of the Benevolent Brother Group, who were responsible for taking turns surveilling the hooligans, and received their reply that the hooligans had all behaved well, he agreed to the hooligans' request.

He only required that they return to the Grand Pharmacy every day to undergo one examination.

Since it concerned their own lives, the hooligans naturally agreed without hesitation.

Thus, the hooligans, as if reborn, returned to the chaotic western district where they were born and raised.

After a not-so-intense struggle.

In less than ten days, the five hooligans who had all advanced from second-tier wizard apprentices to third-tier wizard apprentices secured a territory.

Even though this territory was merely a very remote alley, only slightly better than the Spider Tail Alley that had fallen into ruin.

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But this is also a territory, a foothold.

With a foothold, the five hooligans could expand and thrive, creating glory anew.

However, glory is a matter for the distant future; the news of the two mother lodes that the boss ordered them to find was obtained first.

During the time when they still maintained the daily examination, the hooligan leader excitedly reported this news to the boss.

After making the report, the hooligan leader secretly hoped.

They always heard that the boss was very generous, never stingy with rewards.

The hooligan leader recalled that when he had previously worked for the boss, he always received Magic Stone, and thus agreed with this saying.

So now, the hooligan leader looks forward to the generous boss not being stingy in awarding a little Magic Stone.

Lin Ke's approach did not disappoint the hooligans.

Each person received twenty pieces of standard first-grade Magic Stone.

They were handed out on the spot.

However, the hooligans, elatedly taking their Magic Stone and leaving the underground laboratory, did not see Lin Ke's face suddenly collapse.

After a long delay, the reward for the Paragon Sage Legion's "conscription" of Lin Ke's three "paper" results, which had just been obtained yesterday, might not be retained?

Those lovely standard second-grade Magic Stones, Lin Ke hadn't even warmed them up yet.

Could it be that he is destined never to make a fortune in this life?

Lin Ke clenched his back teeth:

I don't believe it!

Thanks to reader Huihui20051225 for the tip, thank you!