Chapter 83: Harvest of Retrospection
[Two new items have been added to your Hall of Wonders. Please click to view them.]
Frankly, the rewards for this retrospective event were unexpectedly good. Not only did he get two new collectibles for his Hall of Wonders, but he even received an extra purple-tier talent.
It was a rare and long-lost feeling for Zhou Ning to experience the illicit thrill of a cheater.
So this is what it feels like to cheat? It's amazing!
Opening the Hall of Wonders, he saw two new items displayed on the "Infinity War" shelf: [Tony Stark's Super Soldier Serum] and [Cosmic Cube].
Clicking the "Claim" button behind each item yielded 7 and 8 Crossing Coins respectively. Including the 12 Crossing Coins he had been rewarded for clearing the stage, his total earnings for this run came out to a surprising 27 coins.
It was a novel feeling. Zhou Ning, who had been relying on cash recharges to get by, was finally experiencing the joy of getting something for free.
Afterward, two new entries appeared in the item bonds section, one of which was already complete.
[Serum Collector (2/2): Super Soldier Serum + Tony Stark's Super Serum. After activating the bond: Agility +2, Stamina +2.]
[Infinite Spirit Stones (1/6): Cosmic Cube + ??? + ??? + ??? + ??? + ???]
No wonder people who play mobile games love to draw cards, he thought. The collector's instinct is a powerful drug.
He closed the Hall of Wonders, opened his item bag, and selected the two new items to view their details.
A panel prompt appeared:
[Tony Stark's Super Serum: An Epic-quality item. A serum developed and improved by Tony Stark from the Earth-83716 universe. It is a semi-civilian product with relatively mild effects and no side effects. It can be directly injected, enhancing the user's metabolic function and all bodily functions to develop human potential. It is compatible with any other enhancement serums.]
[Cosmic Cube: The container of the Space Stone, one of the six Infinity Stones in the Infinity War world. Contains one Space Stone. This item is only valid in the Earth-83716 universe and some of its derivative universes. It has only collectible value in this plane.]
Zhou Ning was speechless.
He'd had high hopes for the Cosmic Cube, but it turned out to be a mere collectible. He could ignore it for now. The effect of Tony Stark's super serum, however, was a pleasant surprise. I'll never doubt Tony Stark again. The man is a true genius! To create something that can strengthen a person even after they've been injected with the original super soldier serum... that's a completely different level of thinking.
Zhou Ning took the serum from his inventory and, without hesitation, injected it into a vein.
A sharp pain instantly spread throughout his body. His heart hammered in his chest, and he felt the blood in his veins begin to boil, as if two flames were colliding and expanding within him.
But the stinging pain came and went quickly, subsiding after about half a minute. The two flames in his blood merged into one. Zhou Ning could feel subtle changes throughout his body; his physical fitness had clearly improved significantly.
When he opened his game panel again, the screen was flooded with notifications.
[You have used Tony Stark's Super Serum. It is now fusing with the Super Soldier Serum...]
[Fusion complete! Your permanent attributes have increased!]
[...]
[Injection complete. You have gained a total of: Strength +7, Agility +8, Stamina +9, and Spirit +3.]
[Your elite specialty [Superb Physique] has been upgraded...]
[Upgrade complete! Your specialty has become [Superb Physique (Advanced)]!]
[Superb Physique (Advanced): Your physique has reached an extraordinary level. Increases your primary attribute bonus by 0.5 per level. Passively increases your health regeneration by 4 points/second and your stamina regeneration by 4 points/second.]
Zhou Ning couldn't help but be slightly surprised. If the specialty was powerful before, it was truly superb now. Not only had the main attribute bonus increased from 0.35 to 0.5, but it also had a new passive effect on health and stamina recovery. It was equivalent to having half a dragon's bloodline, greatly improving his endurance.
What was even more amazing was that the main attribute bonus was retroactive.
Zhou Ning opened his panel to look at his attributes. His Agility had gained an additional 2 points, while Spirit and Willpower had each gained an additional 3. He was only level 16, yet his Agility had already exceeded 50. In his previous life, some level 30 Rogues didn't have such high agility. If he kept this up, he'd be able to steamroll his way to any boss.
…
Having stayed up past 5 a.m. playing the game, Zhou Ning didn't wake up until 10:45 on Thursday morning.
He found some bread in his room, ate a few pieces, then put on his coat and hat and hurried out of the apartment.
He had already planned his day last night. Professor Weasley's batch of intelligence potions was due in a week, but since they were already finished, there was no reason to delay the delivery. As for the afternoon, Zhou Ning planned to rent a carriage and drive along the canal district and the Seton River to see if he could find the blue-roofed house from the television show.
Professor Weasley should be in his alchemy laboratory at this time.
More than half an hour later, Zhou Ning retrieved the 150 bottles of intelligence potion from his own lab and walked over to the alchemy building, knocking on the professor's door.
"Come in," Professor Weasley's voice called out.
Zhou Ning pushed the door open to find the laboratory filled with smoke. Gears and mechanical parts were scattered across the floor. Professor Weasley was busy working on something, with a girl Zhou Ning didn't recognize serving as his assistant. She must be the new teaching assistant who replaced me. When she looked up at him, she was stunned for a moment, then her face turned red and she quickly looked away.
Quite the innocent one, Zhou Ning noted with a glance.
As he got closer, Zhou Ning saw a collection of unassembled mechanical parts lying on a table. Etched into the parts were countless alchemical arrays, filled with intricate patterns and obscure symbols. It was clearly some kind of applied alchemy project, and judging by the sheer number of parts, it was a massive undertaking. Zhou Ning narrowed his eyes. He knew Professor Weasley was proficient in applied alchemy, but he never realized his skill was this advanced.
"Wait a moment, please," Weasley said, looking up from his work.
"Of course." Zhou Ning simply stood aside and watched.
Although his own alchemy skill had reached the expert level, his expertise was entirely in potions; he had little experience in applied alchemy. After watching for a while, a prompt appeared on his interface:
[By observing Albert Weasley (lv48) perform [Applied Alchemy], your alchemy proficiency has increased by 17 points.]
…
About twenty minutes later, Professor Weasley breathed a sigh of relief. A bulky, half-human-sized mechanical puppet was now complete. Its hands had been modified into a shower head and a broom, ready to be used for cleaning under the power of the alchemy array.
"It's so clever. Is it alive?" the girl asked curiously.
"No, it is merely a puppet operating according to the alchemy array. To create life is to trespass into the domain of the gods," Professor Weasley said in a low voice. He then took off his gloves, walked over to Zhou Ning, and asked, "Sternwell, what can I do for you?"
"Sorry to bother you, Professor. I've finished the 150 bottles of intelligence potion you requested," Zhou Ning said politely, lifting the potion box in his hand and placing it on the table.
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