Mad Alchemist

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi pushed open the door and entered.

"This store is closed. If you want to buy anything, please come early tomorrow!"

Akea, who was tidying up the counter, said without looking up.

Bai Xiaowen stepped forward, smiled, and said, "I'm here to make a deal."

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Akea looked up abruptly, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "It's you? You should have found the Crow Organization by now."

Suddenly, a yellow Spell Talisman pattern appeared in Bai Xiaowen's hand, which he then inserted into Akea's forehead.

Spirit Realm Rules Message:

"Warning: You are attempting to attack Akea, a legitimate resident of Hodge Town. Your actions will have unpredictable consequences."

Bai Xiaowen's movements paused only slightly before returning to normal.

Meanwhile, in Blackwater Alley.

Just as Bai Xiaowen cast the Confusion Talisman, Joshua, located at the Crow Organization headquarters in Blackwater Alley, suddenly collapsed to the ground, causing a panic.

"Joshua fell down?"

"Strange, it doesn't look like a fall... it looks more like death?"

"That despicable bastard deserved to die; it's a great relief."

Gide came out from the backyard. "What nonsense are you spouting? Get out of my way!"

The level 7 Elite Tier of the Gide was very powerful, and with Bai Xiaowen backing him up, his prestige was further boosted, and the other members all lowered their heads and gave way.

Gide' eyes narrowed instantly when he spotted Joshua lying dead in the crowd. He quickly took two steps, knelt down, and checked Joshua's breathing.

"... How is this possible?" Gide was terrified, then gritted his teeth, quickly peeled off Joshua's clothes, and searched his entire body, but found no injuries.

"It must have been that person who did it."

"That's right, who else has that ability besides him?"

The hushed whispers around him filled Gide with fear. He could only attribute Joshua's mysterious death to Bai Xiaowen. The crucial point was, Joshua hadn't done anything to betray them, so how could he have angered Bai Xiaowen?

Or is Bai Xiaowen essentially a Cold Blood killer, unpredictable and manipulative? Does he believe those who oppose him die, and those who obey him live?

For a moment, Gide even had the thought of abandoning everything and running for his life.

"This might be a Voodoo Cult Curse Arts. That person has Mutated Giant Corpse from the Voodoo Cult and is also inquiring about information about the Voodoo Cult, so he must be related to the Voodoo Cult."

"I've heard that the Curse Arts of Voodoo Cult are very strange; once a spell is cast, it can take the life of the victim no matter how far away they are."

"I think Joshua isn't the only one cursed..."

The pointed remark caused Gide's face to darken. He stood up and scolded, "Nonsense! Joshua was taken from us by the lord because of his incompetence. Instead of working hard for the lord and proving your worth, do you want to follow in Joshua's footsteps?"

The others were also terrified. One of them said, "We don't even know that person's name, and we haven't received any orders from him. How are we supposed to do anything?"

"Even if the lord hasn't given the order, we should still find a way to take the initiative!" Gide said through gritted teeth. "I remember... besides investigating the Voodoo Cult, the lord is also quite concerned about missing persons cases... let's start from that point and think about how we can help the lord!"

Bai Xiaowen didn't care about the reactions of Gide and the others. He didn't even know that his unintentional action had led to Joshua's death in Blackwater Alley, and had become a death example to spur on all members of the Crow Organization.

The main reason was that the Crow Organization was relatively weak and knew nothing about the missing persons cases, so Bai Xiaowen didn't spend much time on them.

Right now, Bai Xiaowen's main focus is on Akea, who is right in front of him.

Akea's eyes were lifeless, and her behavior was mechanical; she had clearly been successfully deceived by Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen quickly flipped through Akea's fragmented memories. A minute later, he opened his eyes.

"Fortunately, the mistake I made earlier wasn't fatal, or rather... the vigilance of this Voodoo Cult's secret hideout wasn't as strong as I expected. I now know the Voodoo Cult's stronghold; let's talk as we walk."

While reviewing the lists of materials brought by the Voodoo Cult's Corpse Monster in Blackwater Alley, Bai Xiaowen suddenly realized that the location of the Voodoo Cult Boss Tier must be very close to Blackwater Alley.

Otherwise, it's hard to imagine a Voodoo Cult Corpse Monster traversing most of the town, parading through the streets; it would be strange if it didn't attract the attention of the sheriff and patrols.

Because of its proximity to Blackwater Alley, Bai Xiaowen narrowed down his thoughts. As the only shop on this street selling alchemical items, Akea's Cauldron easily came into Bai Xiaowen's view.

Bai Xiaowen was confident that the Secret of the Voodoo Cult stronghold was definitely related to Akea's Cauldron shop, and very closely so. Since the Voodoo Cult's Corpse Monster didn't mind scavenging materials from underground organizations, they certainly wouldn't mind coming to the only alchemy shop on this street to buy some necessary alchemy tools.

The greedy boss, Akea, was completely clueless when asked about hidden religious sites in the area, even refusing to earn gold coins – which was highly unusual. However, Bai Xiaowen was focused on the main quest at the time and left after obtaining information about the Crow Organization, thus overlooking this point.

That's why Bai Xiaowen thought she had made a mistake.

Consider this: if Akea were vigilant enough, she might have gleaned some unfavorable information from Bai Xiaowen's questions and reported it to the Voodoo Cult! If she alerted them and the Voodoo Cult received the information prematurely, it would be troublesome.

If the other side received advance notice and prepared for battle, that's not so scary. Bai Xiaowen is confident he can complete an A-Tier Elite Quest in a head-on confrontation. But if the other side backs down and chooses to run away, then he'll have to gather intelligence all over again.

According to Akea's fragmented memories, he did not choose to warn the Voodoo Cult's secret stronghold. During the time Bai Xiaowen left the shop and went to Blackwater Alley, he stayed in his shop.

This highlights the lack of vigilance within the Voodoo Cult, and is also a key reason why Bai Xiaowen's mistake did not affect the overall situation.

Although this mistake did not affect the overall situation, Bai Xiaowen still reflected on his actions. Directly asking an unidentified boss Akea, about a "secret religious site" was rather reckless.

After listening to Bai Xiaowen's explanation, Li Shuyi said with relief, "This mistake... you think it's a mistake, but I don't think so. If it were me, I probably wouldn't have even thought that there was a problem with this shop."

Bai Xiaowen shook her head, a slight smirk playing on her lips.

Li Shuyi happened to look up and see that smile, and immediately scolded playfully, "What are you laughing at? It feels like you're mocking a low-IQ mortal like me, how awful!"

"No way, if you're low-IQ, then there's no such thing as a high-IQ person," Bai Xiaowen quickly clarified, while changing the subject, "We're about to fight. Although the enemy is few in number, maybe only one or two people, their strength should be very strong. In this Black Tide Plane, the overall level of the characters is very high, so we need to be careful."

When the Crow Organization killed their leader Benny, Rageclaw's ultimate move, Li Shuyi's weapon skills, and accessory burst skills had already been used. In the next few hours, their combat power would drop by a level.

But there's nothing we can do about it. Level 8 Elite Tier Benny has nearly 500 Life Value, making him difficult to kill, especially with his stealth ability. If we don't decisively unleash our full power to take him down, and Benny manages to command the rest of the Crow Organization to attack, it will be quite dangerous. We'll often have to pay a higher price to escape, and we might not even get any clues about the Voodoo Cult.

The Crow Organization may seem weak, but it is still an underground organization with about a hundred members. The wisest choice is to capture the leader first, quickly kill Benny, Stun the others.

Hearing Bai Xiaowen get down to business, Li Shuyi nodded quickly. She adjusted her breathing, as light as a cat, and followed behind Bai Xiaowen, winding her way into the backyard of "Akea's Cauldron".

In the backyard, there was a hidden cellar. Because of the fragmented memories, Bai Xiaowen easily found the cellar entrance switch and opened the lid.

Immediately, an unpleasant odor wafted out.

"It seems the source of the sewage and stench that permeates the entire street is here," Bai Xiaowen muttered to himself, then followed the descending steps of the cellar entrance and walked in step by step.

After descending about forty or fifty steps, Bai Xiaowen finally reached the bottom of the cellar. He looked up and saw nothing but emptiness.

"My God..." Li Shuyi exclaimed in the Team Channel, "Did they hollow out the entire underground of the street? This is practically an underground hall!"

"It would be better to call it the Voodoo Underground Research Lab." Bai Xiaowen squinted, examining the structure of the underground hall in the dim light.

Wall lamps adorned the four walls of the hall, each burning with a whale oil candle. Sealed boxes, exuding a chilly aura, sat on the floor, resembling coffins.

Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi slowly walked to the end of the hall.

Deep inside, there was a large experimental table, with a group of large, Stitched Corpse Monster standing against the wall, but they all had their eyes closed and were motionless.

"Hello, foolish and audacious strangers."

Suddenly, a slightly muffled voice rang out.

Li Shuyi looked around, her hands already on the hilt of her sword. However, she couldn't find the source of the sound. The sound was strange; it seemed to be coming from right in front of her, yet also from all directions.

"Hello, you fanatical Voodoo Cult."

Bai Xiaowen gently grasped Li Shuyi's wrist with his slender hand, and the steady grip immediately calmed Li Shuyi down as well.

"Hahahaha... To correct you, I am not Voodoo Cult; I am merely an alchemist from Voodoo Cult. Of course, before you foolish mortals, I am a god."

"Those who call themselves gods will never realize how vast the gap is between themselves and gods," Bai Xiaowen said, squinting.

"Hmph, in the code of the Church of Light, God created all things. But in my view, the means of creating all things are not sophisticated. Through alchemy, I can turn stones into gold, fish eyes into pearls, and gravel into diamonds... I am no different from God in essence."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaowen quickly concluded that this Voodoo Cult alchemist was likely a severe case of adolescent delusions of grandeur.

However, Bai Xiaowen intensified his mental search, while outwardly continuing to chatter nonsense with this delusional alchemist, "You're wrong. Everything you've done is merely 'transformation,' fundamentally different from God's 'creation.' Most importantly, God can create humans, create living beings. Can you? Don't try to make up the numbers with these rotting corpses in your lab."

"Hmph! Foolish and ignorant mortals! In my eyes, even the creation of gods is nothing special," the chuunibyou alchemist roared, probably having been hit where it hurt. "I have already made a preliminary breakthrough and can endow the Suturing body with a certain degree of thinking ability! In the future, I will definitely be able to create life and reach the realm of gods!"

"You finally admit you're not a god." Bai Xiaowen's ability to seize upon a conversation is unparalleled.

The alchemist's voice paused for a moment.

However, the alchemist was clearly not stupid. He quickly realized that Bai Xiaowen's purpose was to provoke him. In a fight, the one who takes it seriously loses. He tried to lighten his tone. "At least, in front of a mortal like you, my abilities are nothing short of divine. Besides, stop wasting your time searching with your mind. Your Divine Might is far inferior to mine; you won't be able to find me."

"Yeah?"

Bai Xiaowen suddenly changed the subject, raised his hand, and Fatty tall, fat Voodoo Stitched Monster appeared, hurling a chain at one of the Mutated Giant Corpse in the corner! After a clanging sound, the tip of the chain pierced the Mutated Giant Corpse's belly, followed by a Pure Note metallic clang!

The Meat Hook skill is activated, dragging an oval-shaped sphere directly out.

Crack!

The oval sphere split open, and a short old man, less than 1.5 meters tall, collapsed out. Fatty's Meat Hook also retracted with a clatter.

"How did you find me?" the old man asked, looking astonished.

"Guess?" Bai Xiaowen quickly offered his Insight to the old man.

[Norton (Level 8 Boss Tier)]

[Race: Human Species / Human Race]

[Occupation: Voodoo Alchemist]

[Attributes: Strength 25, Agility 22, Constitution 53, Spirit 80]

[Skill 1: Toxin Toss: Norton throws a prepared poison. The effect varies depending on the type of poison.]

[Skill 2: Potion Mutation: Norton drinks a specially prepared mutation potion, causing his body to mutate and allowing him to rearrange his attributes.]

[Skill 3: Super-Strong Antibody: Long-term voodoo experiments caused Norton's body to mutate, reducing poison damage by 75% and other types of magic damage by 30%.]

[Skill 4:???]

[Skill 5: Voodoo Cult Leader Lv. 2: Increases Life Value by 400 points, reduces the duration of abnormal statuses and control skills by 40%.]