I'm a proper student; I only take nine kinds of potions every day.

Chapter 155 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, But the Cicada Stalker Is Behind It

Ivan got up, brushed the mud off his pants, and then moved on to a poplar tree that looked sickly.

After circling the tree trunk, I saw a blackened, rotten, and dried-out area on the bark.

The edge of that piece of bark curled up, as if extending a seductive invitation to itself.

"Hey bro~ eat me up~!"

Ivan gave a wicked smile: "Then I won't hold back!"

He reached out and tore off the piece of bark, rolled it into a roll in his hand, and put it in his mouth to chew.

The bitter juice and dry, hard plant fibers churned in my mouth.

The taste was somewhere between Chinese medicine and rotten wood, with a slightly astringent sensation that made the back of the tongue tingle.

Fortunately, the coppery teeth quickly chewed the substance into a fibrous paste.

Glug!

The copper plague has devoured the black rot fungus. The plague cluster has been refined!

dong dong dong.

This stuff is really harsh on the throat.

When he swallowed it, the rough fibers made him choke and he couldn't breathe properly. Evan couldn't help but tap his chest twice.

Looking at the five or six plant pathogens he had just collected, he closed his eyes, opened the copper plague virus database, and quickly reviewed the effects of these new members.

The main effect of elm wilt fungus is to block the xylem vessels, preventing the tree structure from properly draining water, leading to dehydration and death of the trunk.

Phytophthora root rot: This fungus penetrates the root epidermis, destroys root cells, and prevents the roots from absorbing water and nutrients, causing them to rot and die.

Armillaria mellea: The hyphae digest the lignin and cellulose in the roots, causing large-scale root rot.

Black rot fungus: After the mycelium spreads rapidly, it secretes a solution that blocks nutrient transport, causing the bark to quickly turn black and rot, producing blisters and oozing gum.

After quickly scanning the germs, Ivan grinned under the moonlight, revealing his teeth, which were now covered in dirt and sand.

"Now we can completely control those little tree spirits!"

After expanding his recipes again, Evan quickly took the tram home.

We will have regular classes tomorrow, Monday.

Just as he returned to Guding Street, he heard Gust's voice.

"That tree spirit from the other day has come again, and he came by himself."

Evan nodded in thanks, then went home and opened the door to find Pilsson standing upright in the house, just like a real tree.

Upon seeing Ivan return, Pilsson nodded respectfully.

"I'm all ready on my end. How's it going on your end?"

Ivan grinned and nodded: "No problem, we can get started anytime."

Pilsner, noticing the sand and dirt stuck between Ivan's teeth, tentatively asked, "Are you alright? You look a bit disheveled."

Evan then remembered and quickly poured himself a glass of water to rinse his mouth.

"It's not a big problem. I just eat a couple of handfuls of dirt and play around with it when I'm bored."

"???"

Pilsson blinked blankly, realizing he was having trouble keeping up with his older brother's train of thought.

Then he remembered the purpose of his visit today, first setting up a spiritual shielding device in the room, and then whispering.

"Tomorrow night at nine o'clock, I'll be working with one of my seniors. He's going to attack a Bloodthirsty race who's brewing potions in an abandoned factory outside the city."

"I'm not entirely sure of the specific reasons; he was the one who led this operation."

At this point, intense anger surfaced on Pilsson's handsome yet effeminate face, and he gritted his teeth.

"That damn guy! He humiliates me in every way because of his privileged background. He not only stole my research results but also stole my credit!"

"That damned old bastard didn't even treat me like a human being. After he was done with me, he made me a slave for other people!"

Ivan frowned slightly: "Isn't this old bastard afraid that you'll betray him? Normally, you should be his darling, and he should take good care of you."

Pilsson scoffed, "He's a master-level tree spirit, plenty of people fawn over him, I'm nowhere near their level."

"Countless people are willing to spend money and effort to become his students. The reason I can still learn from him today is entirely because of that connection."

"He won't show me any special favor because of this."

Ivan nodded knowingly, casually sat down, and asked, "After the dried-up person dies, do you have a way to handle the aftermath?"

Pilsson nodded: "Of course there are. I've already thought of the wording, and there won't be any risks."

"Anyway, that guy has been arrogant for a long time, and my teacher is also very dissatisfied with him. There are quite a few people who want to kill him."

"This guy's name is Myron, he's twenty-six years old, and he's quite arrogant. He's always ordering me around."

"He is an expert tree spirit with strong survival skills and is very good at escaping. You should be prepared accordingly."

"I don't know much about the details of his characteristics. I only know that he can harden his body and also turn into a dozen tree roots to burrow underground and escape."

After a moment's thought, Evan nodded: "Yes, that's enough."

"Give me your address, and I'll be there on time tomorrow."

Seeing Ivan's composed demeanor, Pearson was somewhat shocked, but still reminded him, "You should be fully prepared; after all, he is an expert."

Ivan grinned: "I'm not stupid. I'm not going to go and die. Since he's going to make a move, he's doomed."

Pilsson's face lit up with a look of pleasure and relief: "Then I'll wait for your good news!"

After seeing Pilsner off, Ivan thought for a moment, then got up and left for the tavern in Maverick Square.

I spent $96 at the tavern to buy six potion ingredients.

Two of them are energy potions, two are purification potions, and two are night demon potions.

Then I went to Angel Hands Pharmacy.

I spent fifty dollars on a bottle of Lion Potion and seventy dollars on a bottle of Insight Potion.

It's quite obvious from the price that the Insight Potion, which enhances spiritual vision, is much more popular than the Lion Potion, which enhances physical constitution.

After finishing, he returned home, arranged the covering ceremony, and prepared all six bottles of medicine, but he was in no hurry to drink them.

Now that the weaknesses have been addressed, there's no point in further increasing the resistance.

It's better to use it on the blade during combat.

After everything was ready, he went to the Honey Tavern and had a meal for eighty cents, and then packed another meal for seventy cents to take home.

To avoid startling others, he ate the rest of the meal at home.

After he was completely full, he could clearly feel the energy starting to be stored in his blood.

Like a bear preparing for hibernation, it starts storing fat.

Afterwards, normal study and rest will take place.

On the second day, he ate a full meal of one dollar and sixty cents each day and night to store up enough energy in case of an accident.

After four consecutive meals costing one dollar and sixty cents, Evan felt his thick blood completely filled with energy.

Soon it was seven o'clock in the evening.

He changed into a set of black clothes, then stuffed the Lion Potion and the Insight Potion into his rectum.

Both of these potions have a relatively short duration, so they cannot be drunk in advance.

In times of crisis, when there's no time to eat with your mouth, you can only survive here.

He also had two bottles of purification potion and energy potion in his possession.

Finally, he drank the Night Demon Potion ahead of time.

You have ingested the Night Demon Potion. Effects last: 12 hours.

[Effect: When the drug is in effect and it is nighttime, perception is increased by 30%, and night vision is increased by 200%.]

Does this reverse the side effects?

"Reversal".

[Reversal progress: 4 hours.]

Everything is ready.

Ivan moved swiftly and silently through the darkness.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

Dressed in a black night suit, Pilsson was following a tall young man at a rapid pace.

It's clear that Pilsner was having a very tough time at that moment.

With a large bag on their backs and some wooden, modular tools on either side, the two seemed to be planning to capture the Bloodthirsty Beast and take it back.

However, now all the tools are on Pilsner's back.

The tall, blond-haired figure ahead walked briskly, cursing as he went.

"Hurry up and get out of here! You pretty boy who only knows how to sell his ass."

"Damn it! If we weren't short-handed lately, do you think I would have brought you along?"

The two crossed a hill and arrived at an abandoned factory on the southeast side of the city.

The factory, located on the outskirts of the city, has been abandoned for six years.

Due to excessive levels of chemicals, all residents within a two-kilometer radius have been relocated.

The area is overgrown with weeds, many of the former houses are now abandoned, the walls are covered with dead vines, and half of the roofs have collapsed.

In the open space between the two hills ahead, there stood a dilapidated chemical plant.

The chimney had collapsed, the cans were rusted and had holes, the gate was full of rust, and the view was full of destruction and desolation.

As he walked, Myron took out a scarlet disc, which shimmered with a faint red light, as if something had triggered its reaction.

Myron licked his lips: "Little bat, I've finally found you."

He spent a lot of money to buy traces of this bloodthirsty species.

The reason for going to such lengths to come all this way is certainly not just to capture a Bloodthirsty Beast.

This is no ordinary Bloodthirsty Clan; this guy was once one of Pris's subordinates.

After Priss's death, several Bloodthirsty beings inherited his research materials and seem to be conducting secret research and improvement.

This bloodthirsty species is one of them.

Myron's public claim this time is that he captured a thirsty blood-seeking species to improve the taste of future fertilizers.

But the real purpose was to capture this bloodthirsty creature and obtain the potion formulas that Pris had previously researched.

Such a large amount of valuable scientific research data is a very significant achievement.

This achievement is enough to earn Myron his ticket to becoming a master.

Meanwhile, in the storage room beneath the chemical plant.

The old storage room had been simply renovated, and a dim kerosene lamp was lit around it, under which a figure moved constantly.

Several old wooden tables were placed in the middle of the room.

There was a crucible on the table, with bubbles bubbling up from it.

The pungent smell of sulfur filled the entire room.

A young man with red eyes was carefully brewing the contents of the pot.

His pale fingers gripped a glass stirring rod, carefully stirring the liquid in the crucible.

A few seconds later ————

Pfft!

The liquid inside suddenly turned into a lump of black charcoal.

The young man couldn't help but mutter a curse under his breath: "Damn it!"

If Ivan were here, he would recognize him instantly.

This guy is the same Bloodthirsty One who was controlled by Hill, killed over twenty gangsters in the factory, and ended up scaring himself so much he wet himself.

The young man's name was Bain, and he was one of Pris's former subordinates.

Before his death, Pris had made preparations and given instructions to them.

Upon realizing that Priss was dead, they quickly gathered the remaining materials, divided them into several parts, and moved from the city to the wilderness.

Those capitalists have limited influence in the wilderness, and as long as they don't spend a lot of money to hire others to hunt them down, they can be relatively safe.

For the past few days, Bain has been secretly conducting research outside the city.

There were four of them in total, and each of them received a copy of the information that Pris had left for them.

Bain's research abilities may not be top-notch, but he is loyal enough.

So he was assigned a very important project called Black Sun Potion.

This potion was developed by Priss and Professor Byron shortly after Priss joined the University of the Wise.

Later, for some unknown reason, the two fell out and even became enemies.

Priss did not continue his research in this area after that, but the relevant materials remained.

Bain has been studying this thing these days.

He didn't know the actual effects of the potion, only that he had heard Priss say that it had the potential to help them overcome the sun's weakness.

But as he himself felt, his scientific talent was far too low.

"Damn it! If I had been able to catch that potion-mutant creature that day, I might have had a chance to advance further!"

His face was full of helplessness.

That day, he received intelligence that someone at that factory had failed to refine the potion, so he took a few bat familiars to check it out.

As a result, the familiars all died in less than a minute after he put them in, which scared him so much that he turned around and ran away.

After all, he has almost no fighting ability during the day.

During this time, he kept tinkering with things on his own, and almost spent all the savings he had accumulated.

Every time he got to the crucial step, he turned to ashes; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't control it.

"Damn it!"

After uttering another curse, Bain took a deep breath and calmed down.

"We cannot give up on ourselves! We cannot let our master down! Her Majesty the Queen is waiting for our great cause of revival."

He threw the scraps into the trash can next to him.

You can see that the trash can is already half full of black residue, which shows that he has failed many times.

After cleaning the crucible, they began a new round of refining, completely unaware of the impending danger outside.

A third party, separate from cicadas and mantises.

On the hills to the left and right, two people were looking at the abandoned factory.

The one on the left is naturally Evan.

He put on the mask Hill had given him, and his eyes, enhanced by the Night Demon Potion, could clearly see Myron and Pilsner approaching.

The two were climbing over the hills to the north, moving towards the factory.

Ivan shifted his gaze from them to the factory itself.

His enhanced night vision, enhanced by the Night Demon Potion, allowed him to confirm that there were no suspicious ambushes around.

On the hill to the right.

Another figure stood there.

A jet-black cloak, exquisitely and luxuriously crafted.

The black fabric is embroidered with intricate patterns in red silk thread, interspersed with silver threads.

The patterns shimmered slightly in the moonlight, and even emitted faint glows.

Her tall, sexy body was hidden under the cloak, with only a pale chin and a pair of rosy lips showing.

In the shadows, a pair of scarlet eyes were staring down at the factory.

Those eyes were crystal clear and sparkling like rubies, so captivating that one glance could make you lose yourself in them.

At this moment, the corners of her rosy lips curled up slightly, and her voice was filled with anticipation.

"What a lively day!"