To ensure this business deal lasts longer, setting a price that won't make the other party feel too much pain is crucial—it's about a steady stream of income.
"Pleasure working with you." After the deal was struck, the other party was very prompt with the payment. He took the gun and played with it for a while, attempting to twirl it on his finger like Zhou Ning, but failed. He cleared his throat awkwardly and handed four vikta to Zhou Ning. "Oh, by the way, it's best not to go out at night if it's not necessary these days. There have been a lot of incidents recently. The councilors are even considering implementing a curfew."
"Alright, thank you." Zhou Ning took the banknotes and noticed they were two 5 vikta and two 10 vikta notes. This was the first time Zhou Ning had seen a 10 vikta note in real life! The main color was green, printed with the portrait of Blystone's first King, Charles I. The designer had even meticulously crafted a watermark anti-counterfeiting feature in his beard, emitting a refreshing scent of ink.
Good heavens! One of these notes was his stipend for two months!
Perhaps due to the influence of his predecessor's memory fragments, at that moment, Zhou Ning felt he had fallen in love with the banknotes in his hand at first sight.
Zhou Ning managed his expression, suppressed the embarrassing urge to kiss the banknotes, folded the money, and put it into his bosom, then asked casually, "This law probably won't pass, right?"
"Obviously, this law steps on too many people's toes. Without nightlife, many people won't have sex life, and even tax revenue will decrease by a third," Sherlock said sarcastically. "According to my guess, this brainless councilor will soon be out of office."
That made a lot of sense, because even after Zhou Ning transmigrated, he never heard of any curfew law in Blystone in the game. He silently lit a candle for that unknown councilor in his heart.
The two chatted for a while longer, then Sherlock politely tipped his deerstalker hat and took his leave.
Once he had walked a few steps away, Zhou Ning, who had also been about to leave, turned around. He hesitated for a moment but still spoke, "Agent Sherlock, have you ever heard of the Life Alchemy Society?"
"Life Alchemy Society?"
Hearing Zhou Ning's words, Sherlock paused for a moment, immediately reacting.
"The Life Alchemy Society, a bunch of madmen who believe life can be created through Alchemy, originating from the Ruins Kingdom in the east. They are keen on experimenting to create various Alchemy life forms. What, do you think this case is related to them?"
"Just a guess. I heard that within the Life Alchemy Society, there is a faction that is not only obsessed with researching how to create life through Alchemy but also with refining themselves through Alchemy. Initially, they tried to modify themselves with machinery and animal organs, but later found it didn't work. The human body is more compatible with the human body..."
Just then, a prompt popped up on the panel: You have triggered a B-rank quest: Alchemy Ghost. Do you accept? Yes/No?
"Of course, this is just a rumor I happened to hear. You can just take it as a story," Zhou Ning said at the end, discreetly accepting the quest and adding a supplement.
"No, what you said is true! So that's how it is!" Sherlock's expression was both surprised and excited.
What he had initially thought was a tricky case now had a glimmer of hope for a solution thanks to Zhou Ning's hint. He quickly jogged towards the carriage parked outside the woods.
The panel quickly gave a prompt: [B-rank quest Alchemy Ghost has been completed 25%.]
On the other side, a group of police officers were still busy, and even more police officers had arrived at the scene.
Homicide cases were actually common in the Blystone Kingdom, but they were definitely not common in places like Vik University.
As the top academic institution in the Blystone Kingdom, all students who could study here were future valuable talents for the Blystone Kingdom, or children of high-ranking officials and nobles.
If this case were to spread, it would likely cause quite a sensation throughout the entire kingdom.
For this reason, both the Daklan Police Department and the school authorities were under immense pressure.
After a while, the Vice-Chancellor in charge of school affairs walked up to the students and announced that all students, including faculty and staff, were not allowed to enter or leave the school for a short period, pending investigation.
Although he understood the Vice-Chancellor's intention was to assist with the investigation, Zhou Ning still shook his head. This case was clearly committed by an extraordinary individual. This method might work for ordinary people, but what about extraordinary individuals?
Not far away, several police officers began questioning passing students. Probably because they had been notified beforehand, Zhou Ning was not stopped. He put on his hat again, walked to the end of the path, turned a corner, and stopped at the entrance of the Pig and Whistle Breakfast Shop.
This was a breakfast shop named after the Old Town tavern in world of warcraft. The owner, Mrs. Turing, was over seventy years old, caring for her paralyzed husband who was ten years her senior. On good Weather days, she could often be seen pushing her husband's wheelchair for a stroll on campus.
"Mrs. Turing, I'll have three pounds of cupcakes."
"Alright, little Wayne. By the way, what happened at the apartment?" Mrs. Turing asked while picking out cupcakes.
"Someone died in the woods. The deceased was Sharon, a second-year student from the Alchemy Department," Zhou Ning answered concisely.
"My goodness! I remember her, a very good girl. We were quite close. What a pity, just two days ago I heard her say she had just gotten a wonderful boyfriend," Mrs. Turing said with a regretful expression, clasping her hands together in the prayer gesture of the Ascetic Church.
"Oh? She had a boyfriend?" Zhou Ning was a little surprised. The version he heard was that Sharon had a terrible temper, had no friends, let alone a boyfriend.
"Yes, I'm sure. She told me her boyfriend was handsome, talented, a distinguished gentleman, and loved her madly," Mrs. Turing recalled.
This boyfriend was a bit suspicious. Zhou Ning nodded, a hint of doubt flashing in his mind. He carried the cupcakes and walked towards the Alchemy Building.
The Alchemy Building was not far from the student apartments. It was an independent four-story building. Professor Wesley's Alchemy laboratory was on the second floor.
As Professor Wesley's teaching assistant, Zhou Ning's duties, in addition to helping him with coursework, also included being on duty in the Alchemy Building and helping to prepare Alchemy tools.
Since the new semester was starting in a few days, the Alchemy Building was already bustling with activity.
As soon as Zhou Ning entered, he saw Sherlock inquiring about something at the front desk. Zhou Ning greeted him and then walked up the stairs to the second floor.
Opening the laboratory door, a pungent smell of alcohol immediately assailed him.
Zhou Ning opened the window for ventilation. He majored in Applied Alchemy under Professor Wesley, studying how to apply Alchemy to daily life. Of course, Potion Alchemy was also one of the compulsory subjects.
Today he had to prepare iodine, sage, peacebloom, silverleaf, sunpetal, daisy root... "Ding! You have completed an Alchemy material appraisal and gained 3 experience points."
"Ding! You have completed an Alchemy material appraisal and gained 2 experience points."
There were various ways to gain experience in the game "Apocalypse," besides fighting monsters and quests, life skills could also provide a lot of experience, so life players were not unplayable.
Zhou Ning skillfully prepared dozens of materials that Professor Wesley would need in the afternoon, earning him almost 200 experience points.
He let out a breath. The next four hours were completely his to command.
Currently, he only had a few basic materials available for practice, and the quantity was limited.
Zhou Ning opened his Alchemy skill. What he had mastered proficiently was pitifully small, only two types at the moment: Basic Mana Potion and Basic Healing Potion.
The former required peacebloom, wild steelbloom, and iodine, while the latter used more common ginkgo leaves and daisy root, which were plentiful in the laboratory's stock.
Purely for leveling up and increasing proficiency, making Basic Healing Potions was clearly more cost-effective.