"Sigh... Failed again."
Lan Qingyou let out a sigh and gathered mana in her palm to wipe away the ruined alchemy circle. Then, with a face covered in soot, she started over.
This was already her thirteenth failure.
But the progress was obvious.
At the very beginning, she would fail after just two symbols, sometimes before she even had a chance to draw the outer circle. Now, failing on the very last stroke—wasn't that just a different kind of success?
At least, that was how she encouraged herself.
After countless attempts, as the time shifted from afternoon to night, the iron base suddenly emitted a burst of golden light. The alchemy circle was finally a success.
This alchemy circle consisted of an outer circle, a triangle inside, and several symbols. It looked very simple.
"Whoa! A Golden Legend!"
Seeing the faint golden glow shimmering along the lines of the alchemy circle, Lan Qingyou cupped her face in her hands and let out an excited exclamation.
As she spoke, three thick, outward-curving legs rose from the points of the triangle on the iron base.
"No wonder the cauldron didn't have legs. It was meant to be used with the base."
Looking at the three legs, Lan Qingyou glanced at the night sky outside the window and then at the mechanical alarm clock on the table. It was past 11:00 PM.
"It's already so late. I'll grab a bite and head out quickly."
Muttering to herself, she turned and left the workshop.
The later it got, the higher the probability of encountering danger. Lan Qingyou was well aware of this logic.
Flying through the night sky, feeling the night breeze brush against her face, Lan Qingyou couldn't help but spread her arms wide.
That was the scent of freedom;
That was the hymn of life;
That was... the scent of supply chests!
At that moment, Lan Qingyou was clutching one supply chest in her arms, with another nine tucked inside her herb bag.
If she weren't worried that the supply chests would crush the herbs and ruin their efficacy, she would have stuffed this one in there too.
Oh, there was another one.
Without a second thought, Lan Qingyou dove down, reached out to scoop it up, and used the momentum to drift back into the air.
Her movements were fluid and seamless. She didn't stay on the ground for more than three seconds. She was clearly a seasoned professional.
In fact, over the past few days, Lan Qingyou had been deliberately practicing her little aerial tricks.
After a four-day buffer, she had basically mastered how to move in this flight posture—what kind of force to use as thrust in different environments, how far she would glide, and so on.
Now, aside from her uncontrollable legs inevitably dangling on the ground after a descent, she could even harvest herbs without landing.
Knowing when to quit, Lan Qingyou happily returned to her shelter with a supply chest tucked under each arm.
Today’s harvest was bountiful: a total of eleven chests.
For food, she obtained: bread4, instant noodles3, canned food3, self-heating hotpot2, large meat buns3, sourdough mantou2, ham sausage1, and a 12-pack of frozen chive and pork dumplings1.
As for water, there was: mineral water3, Chafan tea1, Leibi1, Ice Cola1, canned beer3, Little Red Classmate1, and Bull Energy Drink*1.
The miscellaneous items were truly numerous.
Shufen sanitary pads1, cotton sports bra sets2, tissues1, a 200ml enamel mug1, a northeast floral cotton-padded coat1, a Bashu red apron1, a cozy memory pillow1, a Little Yellow Duck crossbody bag1, 100ml Xiaobao facial cleanser1, and a 10-pack of stainless steel hangers1.
Though they seemed like a random mix, they were all useful things to Lan Qingyou.
The red apron alone was great; wearing it while standing before the cauldron for alchemy would instantly set the mood, and she wouldn't have to worry about being splashed by boiling potions.
After contentedly organizing these items, Lan Qingyou went to her magic desk.
Collecting trade requests once a day was something she and Shang Chuan had agreed upon.
Another twenty-something boxes of test tubes today. Happy days.
Seeing that she had enough test tubes, Lan Qingyou bottled the entire batch of potions from the day before yesterday and listed them on the exchange.
After a few days, it wasn't just Lan Qingyou who had become familiar with her talent; others had as well.
While her gathering speed hadn't increased much, dealing with magic creatures or daily tasks had become much easier.
Magic creature cores were starting to appear on the Regional Exchange, but they were only being traded for mana potions, still at a 1:10 ratio.
In fact, many people were constantly urging Lan Qingyou to brew more potions.
After all, becoming familiar with one's talent meant a massive consumption of mana.
However, Lan Qingyou didn't respond, continuing to act according to her own pace.
After listing the potions, Lan Qingyou turned to the chat channel.
"It appeared! It appeared! That ghost appeared again!"
As soon as she clicked in, Lan Qingyou saw someone warning that the ghost from the other night had reappeared.
"Are you looking for a beating, kid?" a hot-tempered guy replied.
"No, I really saw it this time! The angle of my magic desk was just right, and I even took a picture. Here's the proof. [Image]"
Lan Qingyou clicked on it. In the pitch-black night sky was an object emitting an eerie green light.
Crap, there really is a ghost?
Lan Qingyou couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. She had just been out roaming for over an hour; she was lucky she hadn't run into it.
"Damn! There really is a ghost!?"
"I saw it too. It was wearing a white dress that looked a bit worn and dirty. Long hair, no face."
"The eerie green light outlined her silhouette. I'm guessing it's a female ghost."
"Exactly. And the flight posture was bizarre."
"I saw it too! It was a 7! That outline was definitely a 7!"
"Eerie green light? That's not right. Didn't Zhao Doulai say it was faint blue before?"
"Bullshit, he said the day before yesterday it was a faint blue-green light."
"There's a picture right there and you still don't believe it. What do you want?"
"Does the magic desk have a camera function? How come I didn't know?"
"It's on the small screen. Study it more when you have time; there are quite a few functions on that screen."
"Okay, thanks, man. I'll go check it out."
"Stop talking! Lan Qingyou is selling mana potions again! Holy cow, she listed hundreds of bottles at once this time."
"Be right back."
"Smart people buy first and then come here to chat."
"Damn! You guys are fast!"
"@Lan Qingyou, any more? List them quick!"
The crowd went wild at the sight of the potions, constantly urging Lan Qingyou to list more.
However, at this moment, Lan Qingyou was covered in a cold sweat. How could she care about listing more potions?
Outline of a 7? White dress? A bit dirty? No face? Emitting an eerie green light?
Good heavens... the ghost they're talking about... is it me?
The Green Ghost of the Abandoned Forest?
Looking at the photo, the more Lan Qingyou looked, the more she felt that this was exactly how she looked while clutching a supply chest.
Great, just great. So the ghost I've been worrying about all this time was myself?
So all that sneaking around while looking for chests, terrified of being spotted by the ghost, was just me battling wits with thin air?
Rate on N.U.
