Magic Potion

After the Red Dart Merchant Association was completely wiped out in less than half an hour for hiding Forbidden Items and attacking a Handler,

some companies in the megacity began actively cooperating.

They provided intelligence on Forbidden Items and even proactively traded with the authorities for Forbidden Items they had "happened" to acquire.

This helped speed up the authorities' containment efforts.

Meanwhile, in a conference room at the Processing Department headquarters in Border City No. 3, someone was analyzing the details of the operation.

"Night General really knows how to surprise us. How did he even manage to infiltrate them?" an old man said with a low chuckle as he read the detailed report.

Another elderly man rubbed his forehead. "He's lucky his strength was up to the task. Otherwise, it would've been a nasty shock!"

"The Red Dart Merchant Association's real controller was the Whisper Path psychic hidden in the shadows. He disguised himself as Xu Shi's bodyguard, while secretly using his ability to control many key figures. He was the true leader of the Red Dart Merchant Association. Usually, he stayed at a settlement in the wilderness and controlled the association remotely."

"After the Illusion Band incident broke out, the number of psychics in the megacity surged. We got most of them under control, but some still slipped through the cracks. He took advantage of the Red Dart Merchant Association's ability to travel between the wilderness and the megacity to gather some wild psychics in the wilderness. Then, using his ability, he planted suggestions in them over a long period of time. They became his most loyal subordinates."

"But this cautious man came to the megacity and exposed his identity just to take Greed Gold Coin. In the end, Night General cornered him. The curse that guarantees a powerful enemy really is more effective than we imagined!"

"From what we can tell, 'always encountering powerful enemies' works within a certain radius. After the cursed person defeats the enemy in front of them, it guides all sorts of 'coincidences' to bring another powerful enemy before them. The curse only stops once there are no more powerful enemies in the area. In the megacity, it's a handy way to search for enemies. We should have Night General join some other operations sometime. He might just lure out a big fish."

"Of course, there won't be any excessively dangerous enemies in the megacity. Even if there are, we can send in reinforcements. But out in the wilderness, it would be far too dangerous," said a deeply wrinkled old woman.

Just then, an unexpected voice rang out.

Unlike the elderly voices of the others in the conference room, this one was low but distinctly young.

"Always encountering powerful enemies. I'm so jealous. I wish I had a curse like that."

The speaker was a young woman.

She wore a black trench coat and sat at the edge of the conference room. A distinctive bone greatsword rested by her feet.

She was strikingly beautiful, with delicate features, but her brow was clouded with gloom. Her eyes were as black as night, utterly lifeless.

Now, she spoke in an even tone. "Night General's curse is actually an opportunity for him to grow stronger quickly. If you're willing to let him venture deep into the wilderness, near the dangerous areas, then as long as he survives, his curse could make him strong enough to reach captain level—or even surpass it—in less than three years."

It wasn't an unreasonable point. Always encountering powerful enemies meant there would be no shortage of danger and combat. Each battle and each dangerous situation would hone Li Yèlái's skills and resolve. As long as he survived each time, he would undoubtedly grow stronger.

"That's far too dangerous. Not everyone is as strong as you, capable of escaping danger again and again and growing stronger from it. Even under the influence of your curse, we still consider you powerful and exceptionally talented," an old man said. "Little Mad King."

"Don't call me that insincerely. You've never believed in me," Little Mad King said evenly. "Even now, you still don't believe me."

The old man shook his head. "That's just the curse at work. We'll rely on our own willpower to choose to believe you."

Little Mad King didn't respond to that. Instead, she picked up her greatsword and continued, "Night General is very talented. If he wants to grow stronger, he can try venturing deeper into the wilderness. Don't waste such a fine talent and curse."

The wilderness depths referred to the areas near the various Forbidden Zones. Wanted psychics, Void Realm Creatures, and Forbidden Zone natives often passed through there.

It was an extremely dangerous area.

If the curse that guaranteed powerful enemies activated there, he would inevitably encounter one powerful enemy after another. The results would probably be astonishing.

If he still survived, he would naturally grow stronger. Becoming a captain within three years wasn't an exaggeration.

"Too dangerous," the old man said, shaking his head. "Besides, he has a mission of his own. He still has to deal with the Ark."

"I'm only making a suggestion. Don't waste Night General's talent," Little Mad King said coldly.

Then Little Mad King left the conference room. She had only come to report on her work. Since they weren't on the same page, she might as well leave.

Only after she was gone did an old man speak. "She actually said Night General's curse was good? As if bad luck doesn't matter! One wrong move, and it could cost him his life."

"Her curse means no one trusts her, and she lives in constant misery. When she was a child, no matter what happened, people suspected and slandered her. No one could trust her. Compared to that, perhaps she would prefer a curse that makes her always encounter powerful enemies," an old man sighed. "Poor thing."

"If she really does succeed the Mad King, will the various departments be able to trust her under the curse's influence?"

"Then," a voice emerged from the darkness, "we'll get it done before I die of old age!"

Meanwhile, when Cheese drove to the Red Dart Merchant Association, she saw a group of Handlers chatting beside a battered off-road vehicle.

At a glance, Cheese knew what had happened. She'd experienced the vehicle killer herself.

"All right, everyone. Our Night General isn't taking well to the West City climate, so I'll take him back now," Cheese said with a bright smile as she greeted them.

The people from the West City Branch wore strange expressions. What kind of climate problems could there be in a megacity? They just wanted to get on Night General's good side. How stingy!

Li Yèlái stepped on a nearby manhole cover. When nothing "unexpected" happened, he confirmed that his curse had disappeared.

He said goodbye to everyone from the West City Branch, then climbed into Cheese's off-road vehicle with the Large Black Umbrella.

"How come you have time to pick me up?" Li Yèlái asked curiously.

"I happened to be going to the Trading Post in North City today to pick up your package. On my way back, I heard you'd taken down the Red Dart Merchant Association, so I came by to get you." Cheese's peach-blossom eyes flicked toward Li Yèlái, and she pointed to the back seat. "A caravan from Border City No. 1 arrived today."

Border City No. 1? A package?

Li Yèlái froze for a moment, then understood.

The Anti-spiritual power helmet!

The Anti-spiritual power helmet he'd requested for a trial had arrived!

Li Yèlái was a little excited. With it, perhaps Li Yúnyān's curse could be suppressed. She wouldn't have to be afraid of everyone she met anymore.

"Thanks!" Li Yèlái said gratefully.

Cheese shook her head slightly. "You don't have to be so polite with me. Anyway, how'd you end up in West City?"

Li Yèlái told Cheese what had happened to him.

"Wow, they dragged you all the way from East City to West City just so you could take them down. Hard to say who was the unlucky one," Cheese quipped. "Still, I'm glad you weren't hurt. You also helped recover a Forbidden Item, so you'll get Merit Points for that. Did you gain anything yourself?"

What had he gained?

After thinking it over, Li Yèlái replied, "I got a clear understanding of my own combat strength."

That was true. This was his first real fight since obtaining the Chilong Ji.

He hadn't killed anyone during the operation.

He'd controlled the force of his blows and where he struck.

The Scavengers controlled by suggestions and the wild psychics had only been knocked unconscious.

As for the Scarred Woman, who was also at Second Awakening, Li Yèlái had beaten her with ease.

The Male Bodyguard had been a little troublesome, but one Dragon Raises Its Head had ended the fight.

Apparently, that Male Bodyguard had also been a Third Awakening psychic of the Whisper Path, just like Cheese.

So does that mean I can take on Cheese now? Li Yèlái wondered. Was this what people meant by fighting above your level?

"I know what you're thinking. Are you wondering if you can beat me just because you defeated that Third Awakening Whisper Path psychic?" Cheese seemed to have read Li Yèlái's mind. While they were waiting at a red light, she leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Come on, then. If I win, you'll do what I say. If you beat me, you can do whatever you want with me."

Her words were full of teasing and temptation, and the warm breath she exhaled sent a shiver through Li Yèlái.

"Keep dreaming if you think you can take advantage of me!" Li Yèlái retorted.

"You're the one who should keep dreaming." Cheese turned back and shot Li Yèlái a sidelong glance. "There's a huge gap between wild psychics with no faction backing them and Handlers. And that Third Awakening psychic had been knocked silly by the car. Once he got out, all of you surrounded him. It wasn't a one-on-one fight."

"Setting combat experience aside, the Scavengers were indeed experienced fighters, probably even more practiced than rookies. After all, anything could turn up in the wilderness."

"But in other areas, they lag far behind."

"Psychic Weapons—without the support of a major faction, there's no way they can produce equipment like that.

"Support equipment, like chainsaw swords, Heat Guns, and plasma bombs. Those are all products of the megacity's technology, and they're hard for wild psychics to get their hands on.

"Magic potions are an even bigger issue. Almost all wild psychics have no way to get them. They can't even find the recipes, let alone the ingredients. Even if one of them happens to get a suitable potion recipe, it's still hard to obtain the ingredients from the wilderness depths or a Forbidden Zone. But we in the official forces don't have to worry as much. The Night Watch gather plenty of ingredients.

"Psychic techniques are something they can try to figure out on their own, but they can't train systematically like we do."

Cheese explained, "That's why wild psychics are generally weaker than Handlers."

Li Yèlái nodded, agreeing with her.

Those wild psychics hadn't even mastered the Psychic Barrier technique. They had psychic power and strength, but couldn't use them effectively.

That was why Li Yèlái had been able to defeat them so easily.

"Still, you did great to face that many enemies at once," Cheese said. "But don't think that means you can fight above your level. Each Awakening creates a substantial gap. A First Awakening psychic might just manage to fight a Second Awakening one, but a Second Awakening psychic would have a hard time beating a Third Awakening one. The farther you go, the wider that gap gets."

"For example, my divine speech and suggestions. If you couldn't immediately silence me when you faced me, my ability would affect you," Cheese said. "Listen to Me: Cover your head."

Li Yèlái's hands lifted a few centimeters on their own, but he didn't cover his head.

"See?" Cheese took a sugar tablet and swallowed it before continuing. "Your physical strength is high, and your psychic resistance is high too, so you can resist my suggestions. But they still interfere with some of your actions. What if that happened in a fight? That interference could be fatal. Don't get overconfident. Don't try to fight above your level unless you have no choice."

"Understood," Li Yèlái said solemnly.

"You've reached Second Awakening now, and you have a Psychic Weapon. You can start considering a Third Awakening magic potion. A Third Awakening potion costs around three hundred Merit Points. Your main goal now should be saving up enough Merit Points. Don't worry about the Anti-spiritual power helmet," Cheese suggested. "To do a good job, one must first sharpen one's tools!"

"Mm." Li Yèlái asked, "Do you recommend any Third Awakening magic potions for the Myriad Paths?"

"There are only two Third Awakening magic potions for the Myriad Paths that you can buy directly across the four megacities." Cheese thought for a moment. "Barbarian Beast and Mimicry: Scale Armor. The first lets you transform to gain the traits of a certain extraordinary creature, while also enhancing your agility and strength. So you might see some colleagues with animal ears on their heads. Furry fans rejoice."

"Wow." Li Yèlái was amazed. If I learned that, would I have to wear animal ears too?

"The second one strengthens your defenses by letting you mimic a creature's defensive scales. Of course, the effects vary depending on the ingredients you use. Furnace Captain, for instance, gained the Lava Dragon Armor, which has extremely high resistance to fire. So he can ignore high temperatures and flames and fight surrounded by fire."

"Which one should I choose?" Li Yèlái frowned.

"Ask the captain when you get back. He seems to have prepared some potion ingredients for you. They might be rare materials you can't get on the market," Cheese reminded him.

"Can't get?" Li Yèlái asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Take Furnace Captain's Lava Dragon Armor, for example. He added a mysterious ingredient from a Lava Dragon to his potion," Cheese replied. "He got a Psychic Weapon containing Lava Dragon materials by chance while fighting the Ashes Church. He dismantled it and added the materials to his potion. Ordinary Handlers don't have the resources or luck to get something like that. That's why it's so hard to find on the market. Lava Dragons are monsters from the Doomsday Forest. It's not like you can go around hunting them in packs. The King of the Forbidden Zone there isn't just for show."

"I understand. Better ingredients can make your abilities stronger," Li Yèlái said with a nod. "But I only reached Second Awakening recently. Third Awakening is probably still a long way off, so I can take my time thinking about it."