24. Observing the Process

Perhaps the improvisation did not receive recognition from everyone, and the passion for creation was extinguished by the cold reception. Old Neil's subsequent actions were impeccably standard, his language accurate but lacking in humor, as if he were silently protesting against Angel and others.

"Miss Granger, please help turn on all the gas lamps and adjust the brightness to the maximum. Mr. Moretti, please brush the pot next to you with the brush and, while you're at it, pass me the third glass bottle from the left on the table. Dunn…"

Old Neil quickly assigned tasks, and when it was Dunn Smith's turn, the latter shrugged his shoulders, stepped back two steps, and stood in front of the door to the alchemy room, indicating he would not partake in concocting the potion.

"...Alright, I'll do the rest myself."

Placing a silver box next to the iron pot, Old Neil took out a yellowish-brown sheepskin parchment from it. Angel noticed that it was written with ink as red as blood in several lines of Hermes script, looking dangerous and mysterious under the flickering light of the gas lamps.

"First is 100 milliliters of pure water, thank you, Mr. Moretti." Old Neil took the glass bottle handed over by Klein and casually poured some into the freshly brushed iron pot.

Angel frowned, wanting to remind Old Neil that there was a graduated measuring cup nearby, but she dared not speak out and disturb him.

Klein on the opposite side seemed to have the same thought, their gazes met, and both shifted back to the busy Old Neil.

"Next, 13 drops of night-blooming grass juice, just adding a drop to perfume will..." Old Neil took out a brown bottle from the box, used a dropper to extract the liquid, and dripped it into the iron pot, spreading a faint fragrance throughout the alchemy room.

Halfway through the introduction, he remembered he was still giving everyone the "cold shoulder" and stopped talking.

"Seven leaves of gold mint, three drops of poison violet juice, and lastly, 9 grams of dragonblood grass powder." He glanced at the formula on the sheepskin parchment while taking out various materials from the box and gradually adding them to the iron pot.

"These are just auxiliary materials for the potion; deviations in their addition sequence and amounts won't affect the final effect. Of course, we generally don't let it differ too much." After weighing the dragonblood grass powder, which was as black as coal, on a balance scale and pouring it into the iron pot, he stirred it with a wooden spoon a few times before speaking again to explain.

"The main materials are crucial; they are Beyonder materials, and the amounts must not be too much but can be slightly less, and not too little either, as both would result in a failure to advance, or even direct death."

Finally, it came to the critical part...

Angel perked up, closely observing Old Neil's next actions. He took out an opaque glass bottle with a blackened surface from the box, fetched a brand-new test tube, and extracted a tube of azure liquid from the glass bottle with a dropper.

"10 milliliters of lava octopus blood, which decomposes rapidly in sunlight, losing its effectiveness, so it needs to be stored in an opaque container."

After carefully checking the scale on the test tube to ensure the accuracy of the dosage, Old Neil poured the bubbling lava octopus blood into the iron pot. As the sound of "whoosh" filled the room, the dim light enveloping the alchemy room also took on a hint of blue.

"Lastly, star crystal, 50 grams, haha, we just happened to have a stock of 100 grams here, and today, you two little ones have split it all, not leaving a bit behind."

Old Neil took out the second piece of Beyonder material, which was a crystal so pure that it reflected specks of starlight under illumination, as if mirroring the entire starry sky.

After reconfirming the weight of the Star Crystal with a balance, Old Neil used a knife to cut off a piece the size of a fingernail cap to avoid using too much material, and then threw the whole Star Crystal into the pot.

Like cold water dropping into a pot of oil, a "sizzle" sound was heard as mist emerged from the pot, filling the entire alchemy room. Angel, who had approached to observe closely, was unable to dodge in time and was enveloped in the mist. She widened her eyes, as if seeing the starry sky within the Star Crystal through the fog.

She almost thought the potion making had failed, but Old Neil calmly scooped the now thick, dark blue liquid from the pot into a cup and handed it to Klein, who was equally astonished.

"Drink, your Seer's potion is ready."

Klein took the cup, hesitated, and looked at Old Neil.

"Just drink it like this?"

"You can add some Ollmiller wine to it; it will taste better that way."

Seeing Klein still frozen in place, Old Neil added with a smile, "If you don't care about the taste, just drink it down. This is just the lowest-tier potion; no extra rituals are needed."

"In fact, what most people find hardest to obtain is the potion formula and its Beyonder materials, also known as the main ingredients. As you saw, the entire making process is not complex and even allows for minor mistakes. Once the potion is made and placed before you, all you need to do is..."

He pretended to hold a non-existent cup in his right hand, lifted it to his lips, and mimicked the action of drinking.

"...Cheers."

Perhaps infected by Old Neil's restored humor, Klein's tense expression relaxed. He lifted the cup to his lips, took a deep breath, raised his hand, tilted his head back, and drank the potion.

For the first time observing the potion's effects from another person's perspective, Angel carefully watched Klein's subsequent actions.

Klein's hand holding the cup suddenly stiffened, his entire body tensed up as if having a seizure, his eyes bulged, and then his limbs began to twitch. Just as his stiff ankle joints were about to cause him to fall, it was as if his soul returned to his body, and the twitching stopped.

He frowned, refocused his vision, shook his head a few times, and let out a low groan, like a drunkard waking from a hangover.

Is that it?

Angel looked at Old Neil, who seemed unfazed by the reaction to the potion, watching Klein gradually come to with a calm face.

Dunn Smith, standing by the door, seemed completely uninterested in the process, leaning against the door frame and squinting at Angel.

Their gazes met, and Angel quickly looked away.

Is he monitoring me?

After all, her request to observe the potion-making and consumption process was somewhat unusual. To those who have already become Beyonder, such knowledge isn't novel unless one intends to collect the potion formula or to disrupt the potion-making process.

Upon reflection, her actions did indeed seem suspicious...

Angel's worries, which had been buried deep inside her since killing Mrs. Sharon, resurfaced. She looked back at Dunn, only to find that he had already shifted his gaze away, looking at Klein and Old Neil, as if the scrutinizing look she felt earlier was just her imagination.

Could it be that she was overthinking? Or perhaps because she observed the entire process without doing anything inappropriate, she was temporarily free of suspicion?

Beside, Klein, with the help of Old Neil, was entering a meditative state by imagining non-existent objects, in order to master the power of the new potion he had taken. This foundational knowledge could be found in the memories of Cole Granger. Combined with the scare Dunn Smith had given Angel just now, she felt there was no need for her to stay here any longer.

Seeing one teaching with focus and the other learning with care, Angel, carrying her own materials box, came to the door. Dunn's gaze returned to her, his eyebrows raised as if in question.

"Captain, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading back now. These materials need to be processed as soon as possible."

Angel shook the wooden box in her hand, finding a reasonable excuse.

The expected questioning did not come; Dunn simply nodded lightly in agreement.

Angel secretly breathed a sigh of relief, swallowing back the words she had prepared for any follow-up questions, and turned to leave.

"Wait a second," a call from behind made her spine stiffen, "I forgot something."

"What is it, Captain?"

Angel turned back, squeezing out a smile.

Dunn smiled, "I forgot to tell you, even if you're working from home, you need to report to the company once a day. Of course, you don't have to on your day off."

So it was that... Angel was relieved: "Okay, Captain."

Seeing Dunn seemed to have nothing else to say, she stepped back onto the stone-paved underground passage, heading towards the crossroads connecting different places.

She hadn't walked a few steps when Dunn's voice came from behind again.

"Wait, there's another thing."

Hmm, what's the situation?

Angel turned back with a puzzled face, confirming that Dunn was not deliberately making things difficult for her but was really... a bit forgetful.

"I forgot to say it earlier, go to Old Neil to get one of our badges, so you can prove your identity to the police. Also, pick up a new gun," he looked back at the alchemy room, from where the conversation between Old Neil and Klein could faintly be heard. "Come back when you're free, it won't be over here for a while."

Remembering her old revolver that was almost worn smooth from lack of maintenance, Angel nodded.

This should be it now... She turned to leave again, while carefully listening to the sounds behind her.

Fortunately, this time she made it to the crossroads without being called back again.

~~~

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