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

After finishing the dried ghoul claws, Evan turned and raised an eyebrow at the family of victims before pushing open the car door and getting inside.

The moment I stepped into the carriage, several new prompts popped up on the panel at the same time.

You ate the ghoul's remains.

You have ingested the cadaveric cyst gland. Effect duration: Permanent.

[Effect: Significantly increases the body's resistance to attacks; Constitution permanently +0.3.]

Does this reverse the side effects?

"Twist!"

[Reversal progress: 60 hours.]

As Evan walked down the corridor, he silently sighed to himself.

"The cadaveric sac gland. It should be the gland in the ghoul's claws that specifically secretes cadaveric poison."

"Wow, 60 hours?"

"As expected of poison!"

Generally speaking, the greater the side effects, the longer it takes to reverse them.

Immediately afterwards, a new notification popped up.

[Copper plague has devoured putrefactive fungi! Progress +1.5%.]

[Copper plague has devoured bone marrow parasites! Progress +1.8%.]

[Copper Plague has consumed 3% of the Corruption trait! Progress +2%.]

Ivan raised an eyebrow.

"There's a hint of extraordinary ability hidden in its claws."

"As expected of a demon, every part of it is a treasure."

He quickly reviewed what he had gained in his mind.

"The bone marrow parasite didn't die this time, giving me an extra 0.6% of progress."

"In other words, the living environment in my stomach is significantly better than that in my blood..."

Ivan patted his belly.

"Stomach, you're a bit lame!"

……

The connecting area between the carriages.

The middle-aged family of four looked at each other in bewilderment.

The young wife broke the silence first, pulling the little boy beside her even further behind her.

"He... is he a witcher, right?"

She asked the question tentatively.

The middle-aged man blinked and adjusted his glasses.

"I think...right?"

The eight- or nine-year-old boy who had just wet his pants huddled behind his mother's coat, his voice trembling.

"But...but what respectable witcher...eats ghoul claws?"

The little girl in the red woven plaid skirt was much calmer than her brother.

She tilted her chubby little face up and blinked her big eyes.

"And... how come he wasn't poisoned?"

Her tone was genuinely confused.

"I remember that our corpse poison, combined with bone marrow parasites, can turn a target into a living corpse that obeys us within minutes."

Why didn't it work?

The middle-aged man stared at Ivan's departing figure, then looked at his own empty right sleeve.

"Perhaps it's a matter of tradition."

He pondered and analyzed.

"The abilities of witchers are inherently diverse."

"Who knows what strange things he stuffed into this lineage during its transmission."

"Nine times out of ten, it's related to the blood that can corrode our nails."

The family stood there quietly discussing the strange witcher.

Once inside the carriage, Evan jogged up to find Karp, who was discussing something with two young bodyguards.

"Why are you back?"

Garp frowned slightly, somewhat displeased with the dereliction of duty.

Ivan lowered his voice and quickly recounted what had just happened at the carriage door.

Of course, some details have been omitted.

"They don't seem to be lying."

He came to a conclusion.

"Normal scammers would just beat me up and run away."

"After I beat this family up, they didn't run away; instead, they seriously explained their difficulties."

"This trip should be a real opportunity for the family to make money."

Karp did not answer immediately.

He stared at Evan with a thoughtful expression.

Evan's performance today had already been reported to him by a spy hidden in the crowd in another carriage.

In two hours, this kid had driven away more than a dozen groups of people.

Many people were beaten black and blue by him, and they rolled back to their own carriages, covering their faces.

It even included several high-level swindlers wanted by the police and some peripheral members of cults.

This shows that the kid is quite clever.

His judgment was surprisingly accurate.

His current trip to report doesn't seem like he's been deceived.

Garp nodded.

"Take me to see it."

Ivan turned and led Karp to the connecting area between the carriages.

When the middle-aged man outside the carriage saw Garp approaching, he immediately straightened his three-piece suit and put on a respectful and reserved expression.

"Mr. Karp."

He bowed slightly, giving a gentlemanly salute.

Garp frowned slightly.

Which company are you from?

The middle-aged man took out a gold-embossed business card from the inside pocket of his suit and handed it over.

The business card was printed with great care.

The thick, off-white cardstock has two lines of text printed in gold foil in cursive script.

"Jack Leto. Leto Funeral Services, Independent Owner."

"Our family has been running the Wild Rose Cemetery for fifty years."

Leto spoke slowly and deliberately.

"We have a stable and ample customer base. The company's total annual revenue is approximately between $10,000 and $25,000."

"Based on a profit margin of approximately 25%, our company's annual net profit is between $2,500 and $6,250."

As he spoke, he took out a neatly folded city map from his briefcase and laid it on a small table at the junction of the carriages.

The map accurately circles the location of the cemetery, the surrounding factory area, and three potential land parcels nearby in red.

He also took out a business license certificate stamped with a notary's seal from his briefcase and placed it neatly next to the map.

The whole process was unhurried, with all the documents in place and the logic clear, just like a formal business negotiation.

"Currently, the main pressure regarding the construction of the new factory comes from the Sap Mining Group."

"They have recently started investing in the steel industry."

"You can choose from three plots of land."

"But they specifically chose our area."

Garp, who had been calm just moments before, had a flash of cold disgust in his eyes when he heard the words "Sap Mining Group".

He glanced at Leto's empty right cuff.

"What happened to this hand?"

Leto remained unfazed.

"This hand is a prosthesis."

He explained it casually.

"There was a slight misunderstanding just now. This gentleman accidentally knocked me away."

After listening, Karp hummed in agreement.

He turned and glanced at Evan.

There was a hint of genuine satisfaction in that glance.

That kid.

As long as you pay me, I'll really go for it!

Garp nodded.

"I understand. Please come in with me."

He gestured for Leto to enter, and led the funeral home owner into the carriage.

Ivan was left at the junction of the carriages.

That's how class works.

Some levels have absolutely nothing to do with your abilities or the merits you've made.

Those who are truly equals should always be invited in.

What should always be left at the door are the tools.

Evan didn't expect to get in.

That move to ask for shares just now was purely a preemptive strike, a way to test the waters even if there's no real opportunity.

Anyway, I didn't spend any of my own resources, and I even ate a dried boneless ghost claw, which increased the progress of the copper plague by 5.3% and my constitution by 0.3. I've already made a huge profit.

As for his own identity.

He glanced down at the three-piece suit he had just put on that day.

It is clear.

As a monster, Leto understands the rules of the supernatural world better than he, a novice witcher.

Ivan turned his head and focused his attention back on his attribute panel.

The progress of the copper epidemic has surged to 15.371%.

"When I left home this morning, the number wasn't even in single digits."

"We still need to get out and do more work!"

He clicked his tongue in amazement.

"We've now completed half of the first phase of progress."

"I hope I can take another look at those bronze incense burners before I get off the bus."

"If the copper plague can also activate Phase One."

A subtle twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Then I'll be safer for the rest of the operation."

Localized copper plating.

By then, even a bullet to the head will just make a thud.

Time passed slowly as the long negotiation took place inside the train carriage.

Leto spoke for a full forty minutes.

There were still twenty minutes left before the train arrived in New Haven.

The door at the junction of the carriages was pushed open.

Leto walked out, his face beaming with barely suppressed joy.

His empty right sleeve was blown up and down by the wind, but his entire aura was completely different from two hours ago.

His wife immediately went to greet him.

"Did it work?"

Her voice was almost trembling.

Leto nodded emphatically.

"Um."

"Miss Hearst is willing to help us."

The ghoul couple were embracing each other tightly at the junction of the carriages.

The little boy, still wearing damp wool pants, hugged his father's leg.

The little girl in the red plaid skirt took her mother's hand.

A family of four.

Neat and tidy.

No, one of its paws is missing.