Chapter 91: The Giant
There was still about an hour left before the appointed time. Zhou Ning came downstairs carrying a box filled with Devil Fruits and firearms.
Luck hadn't been on his side the night before. The [Potion Trial Formulation] in Alchemy yielded a useless low-level formula. and even after drawing in the lottery for five rounds of ten draws, he got nothing noteworthy—just 17 rifles, 19 handguns, and a pile of junk. Only one weapon was worth mentioning: the famed "Schwarzlose M1909 Pistol of Wilhelm II," which brought his collection progress for Collector of Famous Guns up to 3 out of 5.
He wondered: would collecting famous guns from this world count toward the progress as well?
With his thoughts wandering, Zhou Ning headed to the campus cafeteria.
He was doing better financially now and didn't have to limit his meals to under one Roshen anymore. He splurged a little and ordered a beef bagel and a bowl of oxtail soup.
"Sigh... I still miss the old days..."
Zhou Ning ate and drank at a leisurely pace. Even though he had been here for a while now, he was still more used to the cuisine of his homeland.
By the time he finished, the clock pointed to noon. Zhou Ning bought a copy of the Darkland Times at the newsstand and casually unfolded it. Sure enough, the headline on the front page was about Richard Pessa:
"Serial killer of 9, Richard Pessa, has been slain by a Sunwatcher—Darkland citizens can now rest easy!"
The Sunwatchers had taken the blame for Richard's death. It wasn't exactly a cause for celebration, but at least he wouldn't have to awkwardly explain things to Leandro and his parents.
Apart from that, Zhou Ning scanned the paper and saw no news of Harrison Rivers being investigated—just that the Poor Relief Act was progressing steadily.
He exhaled and set the paper aside, then picked up the box and walked to the meeting point.
There stood the familiar face and the familiar deerstalker hat.
"You again? ...Fine, if it's you, it's you." Zhou Ning didn't have the energy to complain. He handed the briefcase to Sherlock. "17 rifles, 19 handguns, 2 Devil Fruits. No time to make special bullets yet."
Their second transaction went smoothly. Sherlock checked the inventory and handed over a thick stack of cash, completing the deal.
"Just took on a potentially supernatural case and passed by here on the way. Don't think I'm actually that free," Sherlock said, shaking his head.
This deal earned Zhou Ning a total of 1,800 Vecktas. After deducting the cost of the Devil Fruits and guns, his liquid funds suddenly shot up to 3,000 Vecktas—an absolute windfall.
"What kind of case? Need a hand?" Zhou Ning asked with a smile after carefully pocketing the money. With the Sunwatchers' favorability toward him now at the 'Respect' level, he could try initiating some quests himself.
Sherlock thought for a moment. Since they'd worked together a few times and built some trust, he didn't see any harm in sharing. He looked at Zhou Ning and said, "It's complicated. Last night, someone reported seeing a giant near the lake in Woodgate Park. It was around 45 feet tall but vanished quickly. When the city guard went to investigate this morning, they found no trace of a giant at all."
"Couldn't it have been a hallucination?" Zhou Ning raised an eyebrow. Forty-five feet was about 14 meters—he couldn't recall any humanoid monsters that big in the game. What kind of creature could this be?
"Highly unlikely. There were at least fifteen witnesses, one of whom was none other than the former Minister of Finance, Adam Aiden. He's not someone who would lie. And that's what makes it so bizarre. According to Mr. Aiden, the giant looked exactly like the former king."
Zhou Ning: ...
Looked like Charles VI?
Images of Adam Aiden's dossier flashed through Zhou Ning's mind. The Aiden family was one of the nineteen oath-bound families of Bryston, and their family motto was honesty. Bound by such a code, lying was virtually impossible. Which meant... this giant was deeply unsettling.
Zhou Ning frowned slightly.
As an alchemist, he immediately connected Sherlock's description with human transmutation—and the soul of Charles VI being taken by the Life Alchemy Society.
He fell silent for a moment, then said gravely, "Sherlock, this is definitely not as simple as it seems. As far as I know, the Life Alchemy Society does possess the capability to create giant life forms. Is it possible this giant is one of their creations?"
As Zhou Ning expected, a prompt suddenly echoed in his mind.
[You have triggered the chain quest: "The Giant's Trail." Accept/Decline?]
Accept.
Zhou Ning accepted the quest without hesitation.
[Quest Hint: Rumors suggest that a giant has appeared in Woodgate Park in East Darkland. Try to verify the existence of the giant. This will be a difficult task—don't trust your eyes too easily.]
[Quest Objective: Find the trail of the giant]
[Quest Reward: 70,000 EXP, unknown reward]
A chain quest with a 70,000 EXP reward right at the start—that was already on par with a B-rank quest. It was likely to lead into A-rank or even S-rank territory.
Sherlock looked down, fiddling with the gun in his hands as he fell into a long silence. A few minutes later, he finally raised his head and said, "You make a good point. But there are still doubts. Like—why wasn't there any trace of the giant near the lake in Woodgate Park? Not even a footprint?"
I'd like to know that too... Zhou Ning was equally puzzled.
The two chatted a bit more before Sherlock picked up the briefcase and left.
After seeing him off, Zhou Ning returned to his dorm and took a nap. During that time, John stopped by and told Zhou Ning he'd secured a 10,000 Vecktas investment from his father. Over the next few days, he planned to develop a prototype and then apply for a patent at the Darkland Patent Bureau.
Zhou Ning was quite satisfied with that. If things went smoothly, he might not have to worry about money for much longer.
In the afternoon, Zhou Ning followed his original plan and headed to the library. Thanks to efforts across multiple worlds, his reading progress had now reached 4579/5000. If the Mad Clown hadn't had a gray-talent reading disability, he probably would've completed it during the last world reset.
Still, at his current pace, he should be able to finish it during the next simulation or world reset.
He stayed in the library reading until evening, pushing his progress to 4590. Instead of heading back to the dorm, he took a public carriage to the underground market in the old district, planning to attend the Saturday night Supernatural Gathering held there.
Before entering the underground market, Zhou Ning spent one Roshen at a nearby shop to buy a white hard-shell mask. He pulled down his half-height silk top hat and then stepped into the market.
According to Gino McCauley, Zhou Ning was supposed to find the market's manager, Old Tyler, and have him lead the way.
After circling the market and finding nothing of interest, Zhou Ning gave up browsing and walked toward one of the two rooms at the end of the market.
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