Chapter 31: Alchemical Ghost
As every gamer knows, a red dot means a task has been completed or a reward is ready to be claimed.
And when there was a benefit to be had, Zhou Ning always moved quickly.
Clicking on the taskbar, he saw that the progress for "Literary Life" was indeed complete, showing 1000/1000 and available for collection. As for the other B-rank mission, "Alchemical Ghost," which involved investigating a murder in the woods, Zhou Ning still had no leads.
[B-Rank Mission: Alchemical Ghost]
[Mission Tip: Through the available clues, you have concluded that this incident is related to the Life Alchemy Society. They are obsessed with using alchemy to create life—and just as obsessed with using life in their creations. Three people have already died at their hands. Every second of delay may lead to more deaths. What will you do?]
[Quest Requirements: Capture or kill the alchemical ghost wandering the campus.]
[Quest Reward: 50,000 Experience, Goethe's Alchemy Manual x1]
Zhou Ning had been investigating in his free time, but his only clue was that the deceased, Sharon, had a handsome boyfriend. Some people even gossiped that Zhou Ning had been Sharon's boyfriend and was now seeking revenge for her.
It was outrageous.
However, the mission progress had been updated, climbing from the initial 25% to its current 62%. He wasn't sure if the progress was from his own investigation or from Li Tie's side. Recently, Li Tie could be seen wandering the campus at all hours, rain or shine, wearing a deerstalker hat and playing detective.
Zhou Ning really wanted to know what kind of monthly salary a day watchman like him earned to make him work himself to death.
He clicked to receive the reward for "Literary Life," and a prompt appeared on the panel:
You have completed [Hidden Quest: Literary Life]. You have received 1 [Epic Vampire Zhou Ning Character Possession Card], 1 Skill Point, and 30,000 Experience Points. You have discovered a new series of hidden quests.
[Epic Vampire Zhou Ning Character Possession Card: You can temporarily possess the combat power of the epic vampire Zhou Ning. Duration: 15 minutes.]
What a great reward! A joyful expression spread across Zhou Ning's face. The vampire version of himself from the simulation could defeat the Hulk in hand-to-hand combat; this card would be his ultimate trump card.
[Redeemable hidden mission: Literary Life (II) [Yes/No]]
After selecting "Yes," a new hidden quest appeared in his log.
Hidden Quest: (Can be triggered under special circumstances)
[Literary Life (II)]: You've always harbored a literary dream. Continue to pursue this dream and complete a reading schedule of 5,000 books in both the simulation and the real world. (1,000/5,000)
[Mission Tip: Read ten thousand books and write as if inspired by a god. This is the second step on a long journey. Keep it up, future great writer!]
[Mission Reward: 1 Random Template Reward Card, 1 Skill Point, 50,000 Experience Points.]
Zhou Ning gritted his teeth. Was this game declaring war on his actual studies?
Looking at the achievements column, Zhou Ning couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction at the list he had collected. It was an impressive haul.
Achievements:
[Top Gun] (No attribute bonus)
[Enemy at the Gates] (No attribute bonus)
[Skyfall] (No attribute bonus)
[Furious Pursuit] (No attribute bonus)
[Iron Man] (No attribute bonus)
[Men in Black] (No attribute bonus)
The achievement [Hero Movie Six-Part Saga (Part 1)] has been collected. You have gained 30,000 experience points. You have discovered a hidden quest.
Hidden Quest: (Can be triggered under special circumstances)
[Heroic Character]: Only great heroes can be true to themselves, and true nobility is effortlessly elegant. Please become a great hero recognized by the world in more than three simulated worlds. Mission progress (1/3)
[Mission Tip]: This mission isn't difficult as long as you follow your heart. The hard part is persistence. Come on, hero!
[Mission Reward]: Unknown
Seeing this quest, Zhou Ning breathed a sigh of relief. This one was undoubtedly the simplest; it was practically a freebie. As long as he stuck to his lawful neutral path in the simulations, he should be able to complete it smoothly.
If only I could do this in the real world. I could walk the streets of Dhaka every day, dispensing justice. If one day isn't enough, I'll do it for two. If two days isn't enough, I'll do it for a month. And if I can hold on for a month...
...then the day he went to jail wouldn't be far off.
After taking stock of his rewards, he clicked on the map page and found that a new map had indeed appeared after "Endless War."
Its name was even cooler: Zongheng Sihai. Zhou Ning remembered watching a Hong Kong movie of the same name when he was a child, starring Chow Yun-fat and Leslie Cheung as two gentleman thieves. It was a classic.
The price was even cooler: 25 Time Travel Coins.
Are they kidding me?!
Zhou Ning had thought that his 30 Time Travel Coins made him the king of the world, but now he was just confused. It had taken him so long just to save up enough for one more trip?
Zhou Ning sat woodenly on the bed, staring out the window at the rain. He took a moment to calm himself and suppressed the urge to smash something.
That night, Zhou Ning dreamed of ways to earn Time Travel Coins.
In the middle of the night, Zhou Ning was sleeping soundly when he was suddenly awakened by a strange noise from outside.
When he pushed open his bedroom door, John, who had been sleeping on the sofa, was gone. The entire room was bathed in an eerie, inexplicable red light filtering in from the window.
The moon outside had turned blood-red without him noticing.
A whisper slithered into his ears: Run, pathetic little insect. But you cannot escape the shadow of death. Destruction and demise are always watching you. Everyone will die, no one can escape, including this world...
Startled, Zhou Ning looked around as countless tentacles suddenly erupted from the walls and the cracks in the floor, whipping through the air.
He shot up in bed, gasping. He saw the heavy rain outside the window and the curtains billowing in the wind. He saw the gas lamp still burning beside him and the red light on the gas meter. Damn it! Another Roshen state. Only then did he realize he'd just had a nightmare.
As soon as he opened the panel, he was flooded with a series of prompts.
[You feel the whispers of an unknown existence. Spirit: 15, Willpower: 9. Judgment fails. Willpower -1. Current Willpower: 8/9.]
[You feel the temptation of an unknown existence. Spirit: 15, Willpower: 9. Judgment fails. Willpower -1. Current Willpower: 7/9.]
[You feel the whispers of an unknown existence. Spirit: 15, Willpower: 9. Judgment fails. Willpower -1. Current Willpower: 6/9.]
…
It turned out it wasn't a nightmare. In the short time he'd been asleep, his willpower had been quietly whittled down to 4/9 by a barrage of whispers and temptations. If it dropped to zero, he would probably go completely insane.
If he were still an ordinary player, the worst-case scenario would be to commit suicide and start over. But now, he might only have one life left; he couldn't count on traveling through time again.
Zhou Ning's expression turned grim. This must be what Qian West had warned him about. The Curse Cult and the evil god they worshipped had truly set their sights on him. The reason he hadn't felt it before was likely because his spirit attribute was below 10, not even at the level of a normal person. But today, after being injected with the super-soldier serum, his spirit had reached 15.
There were ways to deal with this, such as increasing his willpower attribute or seeking out Qian West or the Ascetic Church. They should have a way to temporarily suppress the whispers.
As he was thinking, the task panel prompted again:
B-Rank Mission: Alchemical Ghost progress has been updated. Current progress: 85.7%.
Zhou Ning was speechless.
He picked up the pocket watch beside the bed. It was 3:38 in the morning.
He was stunned. What are they paying that watchman? He's unstoppable.
"Hm?"
Because the serum had enhanced his physical fitness, Zhou Ning's hearing was now extremely sensitive. He could vaguely hear the sound of gunfire cutting through the rainy night, seemingly coming from the direction of the Alchemy Building.
I have to check it out.
He made up his mind instantly. The experience reward for the B-rank task was average, but the other reward had caught his attention. Goethe's Alchemy Manual could immediately increase his alchemy level by one, which was incredibly useful to him.
He immediately got up, picked up the white shirt next to him, and started buttoning it from top to bottom.
He put on the shirt and a pair of black trousers, checked the special rounds in his revolver, slipped on a suit jacket, and grabbed a black, half-top hat. Picking up an umbrella, he tucked it under his arm and opened the window.
With the heavy rain, there was no one outside, and all the lights in the apartment were off. No one would notice him.
He took a deep breath, broke into a run, and leaped from the sixth floor of the apartment building, a drop of over thirty feet. With the wind whistling in his ears, his golden and red battle suit materialized around him mid-air. The cloak spread out like wings, allowing him to glide forward.
Seventy meters away, Zhou Ning landed silently. The Alchemy Building was close. His battle suit vanished as quietly as it had appeared, leaving him once again in his formal suit. He placed the hat on his head, opened his umbrella, and walked calmly toward the Alchemy Building.
---
⭐ $5 Tier – Early Access!
Stay 50 chapters ahead of public releases on RoyalRoad and Scribble Hub.
Latest available chapter: 82.
Chapters are uploaded as soon as they're completed, so you'll always be ahead of the curve.
By joining, you'll be directly supporting the story while enjoying exclusive early access.
🔗 Patreon link is in My Profile/About.
⚠️ Please select your membership carefully, as I have multiple novels ongoing.
🍎 If you're on Apple, consider subscribing through your browser instead — it's cheaper for you, and I'll receive payments faster.