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

Chapter 194 A Professional Parasite Called a Witch

The next morning, Evan stretched comfortably as he got up.

Although I drank quite a bit of alcohol yesterday, I was fortunate to be able to recover thanks to my extraordinary physique and the effects of the Nine Dragons Power.

Now, he not only doesn't feel dizzy at all, but he has also gained an improvement of 0.01 in physical fitness and 0.01 in mental strength.

"This whisky is still too weak, so I'll give you this little bit."

"Yesterday I drank about thirty liters—I'd conservatively estimate thirty liters!"

Evan clearly remembers that yesterday, the four of them were eating meat while simultaneously drinking from a bucket.

Since these people were all in good physical condition, they drank it down in large gulps. In the end, the few who got so excited that they even activated their demon hunter forms, each one more insane than the last.

"The price-performance ratio is still too low. It's a waste of time and the price is too high."

Previously, their main purchases were alcoholic beverages and meat, with alcoholic beverages accounting for the majority.

Because the purchase volume was so large, they even went directly to large distributors for wholesale, but the price was still quite expensive.

Yesterday, the four of them drank about 120 liters of whiskey, which cost them $64.

This is definitely not a small amount for them.

If it weren't for the fact that Evan helped them make some money this year, they wouldn't have been willing to drink like this.

In Richard's words, he borrowed Ivan's light.

I've been saving every penny for the past few years, but now that I'm better off, why not indulge myself to the fullest!

Ivan strode downstairs and saw that his three other buddies had also gotten up.

Although he wasn't in the same condition as Evan and seemed a bit dazed, he was still quite lucid.

It was already 9:30 in the morning. Richard, unusually dressed in a brand-new black cotton pajamas, looked out the pristine white window with a slight frown.

A thin layer of frost had formed on the windowpane, and the yard and path outside were completely covered by last night's heavy snow.

Erlong, who got up early, had already cleared the roads in and out and was now preparing breakfast for the pet dogs and cats.

"Why hasn't Hill arrived yet?"

David casually chewed his food and said, "Maybe I got up late. In the dead of winter, girls generally like to stay in bed a little longer."

Richard nodded in agreement.

They met up the day before and agreed to meet again on the morning of Christmas Day to exchange gifts.

Just then, Ivan came down the stairs, stretching as he said, "Could it be that Senior Sister was arrested by her parents?"

David, chewing on a hammer, grinned and asked, "Why would we arrest her? Can her parents even stop her?"

Evan joked, "Maybe her parents used moral blackmail on her and sent her to some ladies' academy. It's not impossible."

"After all, didn't my senior sister reconcile with her parents a little too quickly?"

Richard laughed and said, "I don't think so. How could parents treat their children like that?"

Ivan inwardly scoffed, "My senior brother, you still underestimate the diversity of the human species."

Afterwards, everyone had a simple breakfast together and tidied up the messy living room.

Empty wine barrels and gnawed bones were piled up in one corner, and it took the four of them quite a while to tidy up the room.

They waited until 10:30, and everyone had finished packing, but Hill still hadn't arrived.

At this point, all four of them sensed that something was amiss, since Hill was usually very punctual.

David spat out the hammer and said, "Is the snow so heavy that it's blocking the trams?"

At this moment, Erlong pulled out the cracked tortoise shell from somewhere and said, "I'm going to do a divination."

Erlong then quickly returned to his room.

The three waited outside for about three minutes before Erlong came running out with a serious expression.

"Something's not right. It means Hill's presence is extremely faint, and she's very, very far away from us."

"Something might really have happened!"

The three men's expressions changed drastically after hearing this.

Richard quickly put on his warm cotton coat, layer after layer, and casually stuffed two bottles of his usual potions into his pocket.

"David, Erlong, you two stay here to keep watch and carry out the follow-up preparations."

"Evan, let's go to the Hill's house!"

Ivan immediately nodded: "Wait while I go to the restroom!"

A minute later, he got dressed and quickly followed Richard out the door.

At 11:10 a.m., the two finally arrived at Federal Avenue by tram.

After a heavy snowfall, the neat road of Federal Avenue has been cleared clean, revealing the gray-black stone pavement. Only the roofs of the various villas on both sides are still covered with a layer of white snow.

In the courtyards of the detached houses on both sides, each clean and tidy window is covered with all kinds of decorations, red and green garlands, and warm yellow light shining from inside the windows.

Some children, led by their servants, are building snowmen outside the courtyard, their laughter filling the air and adding a touch of wintery festive atmosphere to this usually luxurious and cold upscale neighborhood.

At this moment, the two had no interest in looking at these things. Led by Richard, they quickly arrived at a detached villa on the west side of Federal Avenue.

The brass plaque is engraved with the words "Adolf" in exquisite cursive script.

Richard rang the doorbell, and the sound echoed in the empty courtyard for a while, but no one came to open the door.

Just as Richard was about to activate his Demon Hunter vision, a familiar voice suddenly came from the side.

"Arkham, are you here to visit someone?"

After listening, Ivan turned around and saw Morales, dressed in winter clothes, and his father carrying gifts, seemingly on their way to visit someone.

Seeing the father and son, Ivan's eyes lit up slightly: "Merry Christmas!"

Old Morales smiled and nodded, then turned his head to look at the villa with the door locked and said...

"The Adolf family left in a hurry last night."

"They said they had some urgent business to attend to and needed to visit some relatives."

Upon hearing this, Ivan immediately asked, "Uncle Morales, how many of them traveled together?"

Old Morales sighed, "Not counting servants, it's just a family of three."

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"I heard from Adolf that his daughter is a real handful."

"It caused them a lot of worry. Instead of being a proper lady, she insisted on going out to work hard."

Morales muttered, "Miss Adolf has her own life and work, why are you all so nosy?"

Old Morales glared at him: "If I didn't care about you, would you have such a bright future now?!"

After listening, Morales muttered twice and then fell silent.

Ivan walked over with a smile and asked, "Uncle Morales, have Adolf and his wife been acting strangely lately, or said anything unusual?"

Old Morales seemed a bit wary: "Why are you asking these questions?"

For these elite middle-class, or even upper-middle-class, families, things that happen within their circles should circulate only within those circles.

Although Evan is very talented and a good person, his current level is still too low.

Evan naturally understood what Old Morales meant, and then took out his senior detective ID from his pocket and said.

"I received a report from an unknown person that Adolf's eldest daughter has gone missing."

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"That's why we came to investigate, only to find that the whole family had already left."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of shock crossed old Morales' brown eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses, and he muttered to himself, "I can't believe they actually did it?"

Upon hearing this, Ivan immediately sensed something was wrong: "What?!"

While old Morales hesitated, young Morales exclaimed, "Dad! Arkham is a truly good man, a responsible and righteous person!"

"Now that they've all disappeared, what's there to hesitate about?"

Hearing this, old Morales sighed and said, "I had a long chat with Mr. Adolf at the family tea party a few days ago."

"They seem quite envious that I've raised such an excellent son."

As he spoke, a hint of pride and smugness flashed across his face.

Evan chimed in, his emotional appeal palpable: "Yes, Morales is indeed a very outstanding young man among his peers."

Hearing that he had been recognized again, old Morales became even more positive in his words.

"Then during the conversation, I heard Mr. Adolf say that this would affect the honor and face of the entire Adolf family."

"After that, he mumbled something about the bloodline of some ancient sage, but I didn't quite understand it."

"Then he said he had found an excellent teacher who would definitely be able to turn his daughter into a true lady."

"I jokingly said at the time that the child is so grown up that no teacher can change an adult's mind."

At this point, a hint of doubt appeared in old Morales' eyes.

"But he shook his head very firmly, saying that this time he would definitely succeed and that his daughter would definitely become a true lady."

"Finally, he lowered his voice and boasted to me that it was the power of a legendary witch."

"If my daughter or son misbehaves in the future, he can help me find a partner, and there will even be a price discount."

"Witch!!?"

Upon hearing those two words, Ivan's mind went blank for a moment, and he couldn't help but curse inwardly.

"My damn jinx! Even in a parallel world, there really is a 'Sheep Professor'!?"

While inwardly scoffing, Ivan hurriedly asked, "That's a really rare word. How can there be witches in this world?"

Old Morales sighed, "I didn't believe it before either, until what happened to my son last time—"

"Thank you so much!"

Old Morales stopped talking halfway through his sentence after seeing Richard standing to the side.

It's clear that old Morales is quite knowledgeable and trustworthy.

After clarifying the situation, Ivan expressed his gratitude.

After watching the father and son leave through the snow, Richard quickly walked over and sighed, "You really have a wide network of connections! You've been a huge help!"

Ivan then asked, "Senior brother, what exactly is a witch? I met a guy the other day who said he worshipped witches."

Richard paused for a moment, then organized his thoughts and began to explain.

"Witches are a kind of extraordinary phenomenon."

"Strictly speaking, being a witch is not a profession, but in various supernatural contexts these days, witches are still treated as a special profession."

"She exists outside the conventional professional system —"

"Because the witches existed much earlier than the current supernatural system of the five symbols."

At this point, Richard thought about it carefully again and corrected his wording, saying, "You can understand it as a kind of talent, a talent that comes from a mutation of the extraordinary characteristic called witch."

"By now, you should have learned some basic professional knowledge from Dr. Armitage, right?"

Ivan nodded: "Humanity is fundamental; the essence of the extraordinary lies in human desires and subconsciousness."

Richard rubbed his hands together and nodded, "The power of all extraordinary professions has never been equal."

"For many years, the five major symbols have been vying for people's subconscious and desires."

"Whoever grabs more will become stronger."

There's only so much food on the plate; if you add more, I'll have less.

"All extraordinary professions, as history progresses, experience varying degrees of decline and enhancement."

"The most powerful path during the Dark Ages was undoubtedly the Holy Grail."

"The most powerful thing in the subsequent Renaissance was the Tree of Life."

"The moon and the sun have always been relatively stable, neither too hot nor too cold."

"Until the advent of the industrial age in recent years, gold has suddenly risen to prominence."

Ivan nodded. "What does this have to do with witches?"

Richard said, "The transcendental characteristic known as the Witch is like a parasite; it can simultaneously reside beneath five transcendental symbols, drawing energy from these paths."

"It remains within the conventional system, because all witches have their own professions."

"But at the same time, they also have a talent called witch, which allows them to draw on other extraordinary powers across professions."

Upon hearing this, Ivan nodded knowingly: "I've heard that potions are the work of witches?"

Richard nodded and said, "It's not just potions; the formation of the three oldest professions—witch hunters, sorcerers, and mages—is all inextricably linked to witches."

"But I don't know the details; I only heard about it."

"The only thing that's certain now is that the witch created the potion, and the 'witch' in the potion refers to the witch."

"Since all the extraordinary systems can no longer function without potions, the concept of witches has been incorporated into the eighteen professional systems, especially us witchers."

"And witches draw their power from the desire and need for potions among us extraordinary professions."

Upon hearing this, Evan instantly understood why Aiden was so fanatical and obsessed with the witch.

"So what should we do next? We don't have any leads right now!"

Richard turned to look at the villa: "I'd like to go in and investigate, but security here is tight. Going in openly like this would probably cause a lot of trouble."

"Especially since I don't have any good lock-picking skills, except for breaking glass and kicking the door open —"

At this point, he sighed, "I really don't have any good way to get in."

After a moment's hesitation, Evan said, "Leave it to me, I'll go in and take a look."