Don't disturb the sorcerer's scientific research

Chapter 220 Since things have come to this, let's conduct the experiment first.
In the southeast of Goward City, in an inn called "Demon's Den," on the second floor, Jia Xiu had a small notebook on his table, filled with various information about the Unity Society, as he pondered where to find a breakthrough.

He has booked the entire hotel as his base for activities and testing grounds for the next period of time.

There's no particular reason for choosing this place; I just liked the name.

Calling a place teeming with demons a "Demon Cave" sounds pretty cool.

According to the hotel owner, this is one of the best hotels in the city, and choosing it was definitely a smart decision.

Upon further inquiry, it turned out that there were only two hotels in the city, either number one or number two.

Since demons don't have a basic need for housing, they find places to live to show off their status or for their hobbies. If they don't have money, they don't have to live anywhere.

As for those who come to do business, in order to maximize profits, they will choose to set up tents, since there are plenty available. Tourists with strong tastes in prostitution, gambling, and drugs usually stay in those kinds of establishments.

This results in very little demand for pure hotel accommodations, making it difficult to find even two such establishments.

Even though it's called "Devil's Den" because it only provides accommodation, it's considered a "trendy" business in Gowad.

Actually, Jasmine's experiment didn't need such a large space; Elizabeth could cast the spell while he captured the signal.

The reason for making such a big fuss is partly to cover up the lie that was told in the first place.

Mia and Ram both need a venue to verify the experimental goals they've announced.

Moreover, the slaves "guinea pigs" that Ram brought back needed a place to be housed.

Jia Xiu had originally thought that he might help these pitiful-looking slaves a little.

Then it was discovered that these slaves were basically all bankrupt from gambling or had their minds controlled by drug addiction. Unable to survive, they were sold into gangs as slaves.

Suddenly I didn't want to help anymore.

It's hard to think about helping gamblers and drug addicts; they feel that helping them would be pointless and a waste of money.

So we decided to send it back after the experiment, and then do whatever we wanted with it.

Mia and Ram went out to buy some equipment and props to make the fake test site look real.

The owner of the Demon Cave Inn was quite easy to talk to.

"As long as the money is there, the store can be modified however you like. It doesn't matter if it doesn't need to be restored. Just add a little more money, and we can do the restoration ourselves."

That's what the boss said at the time.

The way he spoke, so excited and thrilled, made it seem as if he were looking at Jia Xiu's second parents.

Jia Xiu had been studying what exactly was wrong with that manor.

He spent most of the day there, and saw almost everything that was worth seeing.

Workshops, farmland, canteens, housing, wine cellars, warehouses, classrooms, libraries—that manor even had a library, and a hall with a magic array installed.

That auditorium was probably the only place in the entire manor that looked somewhat suspicious.

The magic circle claims to "allow members with magic to share their magic with members without magic."

Before going to that hall, Jia Xiu guessed that it was a magic array that appeared to share magic power but was actually a mind control array.

However, after seeing it in person, I realized that it really was just a magic circle used to share magic power, and I couldn't see any other function.

He also watched the operation process live.

Hybrids with magical powers, whether human or demon, enter the designated location within the magic circle.

In about ten seconds, a fixed amount of magic power will be absorbed into a special artificial magic crystal for storage, and then given to people without magic power to use.

A fixed unit of magic power is enough to keep a magic lamp in the classroom burning for about three hours at night. For a spellcaster with even a little skill, this amount of magic power is not a burden.

There are two points worth noting. First, how did the Unity Society manage to persuade the demons to willingly give up their magic? When did the demons become so sharing-oriented?

Secondly, this magic circle is very powerful. Although its function is not difficult to implement, it is made to a high standard and runs very efficiently. It will standby in a low-consumption state normally, and will start to draw magic power as soon as someone enters the designated location. Multiple designated locations can operate independently.

Moreover, the "code" is very elegant.

In other words, the runes are very well-constructed.

Magic is a profession that demands great attention to detail. Even with the same spell, there can be significant differences in skill level depending on the specific details of rune application, which ultimately affects the effectiveness and efficiency of the spell.

The magic array in the manor's auditorium is of an exceptionally high level.

There are experts in the Unity Society who have conducted in-depth research in magic and may have received formal "classical" education.

Jia Xiu had this guess because the orderly and neat magic circle didn't seem like the style of the demon race. The demon race's magic was also powerful, but it was basically a "powerful brick flying" pattern.

While studying research on demons, I read many analyses of demonic spells.

That thing isn't even a question of whether it's aesthetically pleasing or not; it's the kind of thing that makes you wonder how it can even work.

In comparison, this magic circle is very academic.

As for who it is, it's still unknown; Little Jack can't say whose work it is.

Jia Xiu summarized and integrated the information recorded in his notebook.

There are only two doubts surrounding the manor.

Who created the magic circle?

And who exactly is Becky, who can have the demons of the deep hell as her guards?

After summarizing, Jia Xiu looked at the 0% task progress and felt a headache coming on.

I can only go back another day to see if I can find out more information.

At the very least, we need to find out who set up the magic circle.

Becky, whose background is clearly extraordinary and who is "blind to the sight," is left to Margaret to study.

Ever since leaving the manor, Margaret has been trying to recall her memories.

She said she felt like she'd seen Becky somewhere before, but couldn't quite place it.

Jasmine was skeptical of the reliability of Margaret's uncertain memories; perhaps the person in her memory just looked like her.

However, if the mentor had indeed met Becky before, that would at least prove one thing.

This Becky used to mingle in human noble circles.

It's quite rare for a human noble to receive treatment that doesn't seem to decline much when they move to the territory of the demons.

Jia Xiu stretched his stiff neck and casually closed the notebook.

Let's put the manor matter aside for now.

He had not forgotten his primary purpose for coming here: to figure out the signals the demons were using to disguise themselves.

If you really can't figure out the secret of the manor, developing a plan to identify demon spies would be a backup plan.

Jia Xiu walked out of the room and downstairs.

The place he chose to set up as a laboratory was the hotel's original warehouse, for the simple reason that the warehouse was spacious.

"How are the preparations going?"

Jia Xiu arrived at the warehouse.

It looks like that now.

Some of the obscure and difficult books on the shelves were all taken from the Goward secondhand store.

It contains obscure magical knowledge that's hard to verify; it's definitely not suitable as a teaching material, but it's enough to serve as a formality.

The table and cabinets were filled with oddly shaped bottles and jars, as well as liquids of unknown purpose.

This place is more like an alchemist's "secret hut" than a spellcaster's testing ground, where they hide and tinker with strange and unusual things.

In fact, these things were bought from alchemy supply stores, and most people couldn't distinguish between alchemists and spellcasters.

They are equally mysterious, equally capable of creating miracles, equally prone to failure, and often hide in their houses and refuse to come out.

Many runes were temporarily carved on the walls of the warehouse, which at first glance appeared to be for protective purposes, suggesting that the experiments being conducted here might be very dangerous.

With this setup, the original warehouse now looks quite like a stereotypical spellcaster's laboratory.

"It's basically over."

Mia replied.

How many more days do we have to stay here?

"What's wrong? Are people this enthusiastic about returning to school?"

"Do you know how difficult it is to teach a succubus whose brain seems to be slow to process information? I also have to constantly make up knowledge according to her wishes, even if it's wrong! It's too difficult." Mia rolled her eyes and replied.

On the very first day, she had already had enough of the one-on-one math tutoring sessions for amateurs.

"If all goes well, it should be in a few days."

"What if things don't go smoothly?"

"That depends on how well they perform."

Jia Xiu couldn't give an exact date either.

"Now that the site is almost ready, let's not waste any more time and start the experiment as soon as possible. After the experiment, send the slaves from the demon's side back quickly."

The entire experiment was very simple. All participants first registered their racial identities and then entered the venue one by one, standing at designated points.

After a short while, inscriptions will light up and surround the experimental target.

This part is purely for visual effect and has no practical function; it's just to make the experiment look more like magic in the eyes of the subjects.

Once the light obscures the view, Elizabeth, hidden in a small box, will help cast the tentacle monster's transformation spell.

Jasmine couldn't use this spell well at his current level; he could only rely on Elizabeth's help.

The reason this large bat had to hide in the box during the experiment was simply because she was experiencing social anxiety and felt more comfortable hiding in a place where no one could see her.

As Elizabeth casts her spell, Jasmine will simultaneously capture the magical signals that are fed back to her.

Jashu had tested this process several times before coming to Goward.

He tested it on his companion and himself.

Not only to test whether the process would work, Jia Xiu also wanted to experience what it would feel like to have the vampire-turning spell applied to him.

It turned out I didn't feel anything.

At least during the brief period when the signal is received, there is no sensation.

Through internal testing, Jia Xiu has figured out what kind of signals should be returned by unmasked humans.

It was written in just one line, very clear, and matched perfectly with the unambiguous parts of the authentic divine magic in the dark room, so it was basically certain that this approach was correct.

In Jia Xiu's expectation, the feedback signals from disguised demons should ideally be very clear and obvious, so that they could be detected immediately.

Soon, the first experimental target was brought into the field.

It is a bull demon.

It's either a pun or a reference to the Bull Demon King.

A demon that looks like a corrupted minotaur, the correct name should be Giant Minotaur, because such demons are usually very tall and strong.

However, the person in front of me is not.

He looked emaciated, like a bamboo pole, and didn't look "giant" at all.

It's obvious he's inhaled too much.

It turns out that even the demons' bodies can't withstand the ravages of the addictive drugs.

Jia Xiu felt that since a demon had fallen to such a state, he might as well commit suicide and return to the abyss to start over.

Anyway, they're pretty easy to restart.

"Why would you rather be a slave than just die and go back to the abyss?"

Out of curiosity, Jia Xiu still asked the same question.

The Bull Demon answered haltingly, panting, "The Abyss...doesn't have...addiction drugs."

Listening to it say even a single word makes me feel exhausted.

Faced with an experiment that seemed quite intimidating on the surface, the bull demon was somewhat afraid, perhaps genuinely terrified of dying and being unable to suck up any more energy.

"What kind of experiment is this... Before the experiment, could you, could you give me a bite, just one bite?"

Jia Xiu couldn't take it anymore.

Without giving the Bull Demon a chance to fulfill his wish, the process was initiated immediately.

The results will be available in a few seconds.

The result was even better than expected.

That's a bit too good.

The obtained signal is so different from known human signals that it is practically unrelated.

This is so easy to detect, anyone with eyes can tell.

Jia Xiu immediately summoned a second one, a snake demon, to verify whether all demons emitted the same signal.

However, reality soon delivered a heavy blow.

The snake demon's signal was completely different, and the difference between it and the previous bull demon was not much smaller than the difference between it and a human.

Indeed, is the difference between demons as great as the difference between demons and humans?

Although it was a bit unexpected, it's okay, as long as the signal is different from that of humans and other races.

There's no need to figure out the specific race; just kill anyone who isn't.

Jia Xiu had this idea.

Although it's not perfect, it's still a usable solution.

But something even worse soon followed.

In the experiment, there was a snake demon that appeared in human form, but its feedback signals were exactly the same as those of a human, and it was not in the form of a snake demon.

It's getting bad.

In the makeshift laboratory, Jia Xiu frowned.

Where did things go wrong?
Was the initial analysis of the Holy Light Divine Art wrong, and was it not used to distinguish the demon race?
He then immediately tested several demons in human form.

The results were all the same.

It appears in human form, and the signal is in the form of a human.

This forced Jia Xiu to temporarily suspend the experiment.

If we don't figure out whether the problem lies in the process or the theoretical conjecture is fundamentally flawed, there's no point in continuing the experiment.

Jia Xiu put all the existing signals together.

Human, demon, the same race as the test demon, but disguised as human.

Start looking for the differences.

In order not to miss any detail, I immediately started using the "sage time" to find the differences.

However, the conclusion that followed was quite bad.

They are exactly the same.

Jia Xiu paced back and forth anxiously. The worst-case scenario was that the money had been wasted, the people had come for nothing, and the direction had been wrong.

At this moment, Ram, who had observed the entire experiment, spoke up.

"Boss, do you need them to be different?"

“I hope they are different, not that they ‘need’ to be. Fake data is useless.”

Jia Xiu strongly dislikes academic misconduct.

"Is it possible that..."

Ram scratched his head and asked, "They look the same, but they get there in different ways. Of course, Ram is just saying, boss, you don't need to worry about it too much..."

"and many more!"

After listening, Jia Xiu thought for a few seconds.

"Don't say it, don't say it!"

"Lamu didn't say..."

"No, I mean you have a point."

(End of this chapter)