Chapter 84 – Infiltration
"Oh? That fast?"
Professor Wesley looked a bit surprised. He opened the alchemy kit, took a bottle of Intelligence Potion from the rack, gave it a shake, examined the sediment, then uncorked it and sniffed the contents.
"Excellent quality—not something a novice could make. Sturwell, have you reached Advanced level in Alchemy?" Professor Wesley asked.
Zhou Ning thought it over and felt there was no need to hide it. In fact, if he hadn't been concerned that advancing too quickly over just a few days might alarm the professor, he would have told him outright: he was already at Expert level.
He nodded without hesitation. "Yes, I reached Advanced a couple of days ago."
"Very good. It seems I underestimated your talent." A rare smile appeared on Professor Wesley's usually stern face. After counting the potions, he reluctantly pulled a roll of bills from his coat pocket, placed it on the table, and pushed it toward Zhou Ning. "I didn't bring quite enough with me—only 222 Vecktas and 3 Roshens. Is that alright?"
Zhou Ning: ????
Are you the devil? At 15 Roshens per bottle, 150 bottles should total 225 Vecktas—you're shorting me 27 Roshens!
Still, Zhou Ning decided not to fuss over it. Professor Wesley was always stingy and meticulous when it came to money. With a forced smile, he replied, "It's fine."
Professor Wesley chuckled. "I knew I wasn't wrong about you. You're a gentleman. By the way, I'd like to know—what deity do you follow?"
Zhou Ning's mind worked quickly. Based on his memory, the body's original owner worshipped the Sun Goddess. In this game world, religion was a serious matter, and consistency was important.
"I follow the Sun Goddess," Zhou Ning said.
Professor Wesley gave a small nod. "Then I suggest you get certified by the Alchemist Association as soon as possible and start taking commissions when you can. You'll need to begin preparing for the Master Alchemist stage early."
"Alright," Zhou Ning nodded. He fully understood what the professor meant. In fact, he had already planned to do just that. In Apocalypse, the Alchemist Association was an ancient organization founded by one of the Four Heroes—High Priestess Louisa. Its influence spanned the entire game world. The guild headquarters was in the capital city of Ruins, Saint Ronald, and there was also a branch in Darkland. They provided a range of services for alchemists, including the purchase of herbs, finished potions, rare formulas, and more.
Of course, all of that required enough reputation. Fortunately, this wouldn't be difficult for Zhou Ning, as he had a good relationship with the West family, who controlled the Darkland branch of the Alchemist Association.
After saying goodbye to Professor Wesley, Zhou Ning returned to his apartment. He changed into a white dress shirt and black vest, pulled on a light trench coat, and left Vick University.
He arrived at a nearby rental service—just like rental companies in his previous life, this one offered not only carriages for rent, but also sedan chairs, all priced by the day and quite expensive.
Speaking of renting carriages, Zhou Ning had heard a story in the game—though he wasn't sure if it was true. Twenty years ago, there was an alchemist named Charles Hobson who invented a carriage fare meter powered by an alchemical array. It could precisely calculate the fare based on ride time—a very convenient tool. But the carriage company owners didn't like having their earnings determined by a machine. So, they conspired to murder Charles Hobson—got him drunk, then drowned him in the Seton River.
No one knew if the story was true, but the price of renting a carriage certainly was outrageous. A lightweight two-wheeled carriage cost 20 Roshens per day.
Spending 20 Roshens, Zhou Ning rented a carriage and rode toward the canal district. He had to admit, Darkland was huge. You couldn't really tell while playing the game, but after living here for nearly half a month, he could feel it firsthand. Even though some areas were sparsely populated due to extreme weather, the navigable area alone was nearly double the size of Chengdu.
Zhou Ning sat in the carriage, peering out the window and scrutinizing the buildings lining the streets.
Most of the canal district's buildings were shops. After circling the area for nearly two hours, the carriage turned toward the Seton River district.
Compared to the canal district, which was closer to the lower-class residential areas, the Seton River district was considered the heart of Darkland. The famous statue of the Four Heroes stood there, as did Withershire Cathedral Square, where the attempted regicide had taken place.
Just before dusk, something caught Zhou Ning's eye—a somewhat rundown two-story building with a blue roof, typical of the Bryston middle-class style, and a small garden in front.
"This must be the place!" Zhou Ning perked up.
He quickly logged into the forums and compared it with a pinned video post. The location, layout, and architecture matched perfectly.
But Zhou Ning didn't signal for the carriage to stop. Instead, he let the driver continue to the end of the road, not halting the ride until the building was out of sight.
"Thank you. That'll be all for today," Zhou Ning said with a smile.
Rain began to fall. After watching the carriage drive away, Zhou Ning rented an umbrella from a nearby shop, opened it, and made his way slowly toward the target building.
Up close, the house was even more dilapidated than he had expected. The garden hadn't been tended in ages. The building was eerily quiet, with no sound coming from within.
135 Ropewalk Avenue—Zhou Ning memorized the address.
There was a hotel nearby. Zhou Ning used a false name to book a room, then kept watch on the house across the street from his window.
Night eventually fell. Zhou Ning stepped out of the hotel and quietly approached the side of the small building, hiding in the shadows and looking up toward the second floor.
The front door was shut tight. The second floor was pitch black, windows closed. It looked deserted. But Zhou Ning didn't linger—he turned and walked away without hesitation.
His first instinct was to report it to the Sunwatchers. Why not report it—wait for New Year's? But after thinking it over, he decided to investigate first. With Phoenix No. 1 and [Damian's Ordinary Mirror], he should be able to come and go undetected.
He locked the hotel room door, selected Phoenix No. 1 from his inventory, and equipped it.
In an instant, a golden-red battle suit was fully equipped on his body. After checking his gear, he pulled out the mysterious artifact, [Damian's Ordinary Mirror], and chose to enter the mirror world.
Once inside, Zhou Ning walked down the endless hallway, heading toward his destination. 135 Ropewalk Avenue wasn't far. The mirror world was reversed in orientation compared to the real world—once he figured out the direction, it wasn't hard to navigate.
As he walked through the corridor, possibly due to the location being in the city center, he encountered countless suspended mirrors within just a short stretch. Through these mirrors, fleeting glimpses of the real world flickered by, as though he were peering into reality through cracks in time and space.
After five full minutes of walking, Zhou Ning finally reached his destination—a mirror quietly suspended before him.
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