"rian Schmidt, Great Alchemist. An alchemist under the Jade Federation Bi Chao Guild, am I right?"
The air froze in that instant.
rian’s heart tightened suddenly; he had never ntioned his na, and no one had asked. Even those young alchemy apprentices only knew him as a researcher.
Yet the person before him stripped all his identities away with just one sentence.
His mind raced: Who could have said it? Was it those captured apprentices? Or had the guild already betrayed him?
He wanted to argue, to say it was just a misunderstanding, but his throat felt like it was clogged, unable to make a sound.
Fear crept up, inch by inch.
This sense of powerlessness was not unfamiliar. In the research institute of the Green Tide Guild, whenever his superiors questioned him coldly, he had felt this suffocation, only this ti it was more complete.
Though Louis’ gaze wasn’t sharp, and even carried a hint of patience, his calm deanor made it hard to breathe.
He observed the Great Alchemist before him and quickly weighed things in his mind.
This man was obviously timid, not even daring to make eye contact. If threatened or forced, rian would only break down completely. Better to use another approach.
So Louis changed to a softer tone: "Actually, the Green Tide Guild already sold you to . I spent a hefty sum to get a Great Alchemist."
rian stared blankly at him, as if not quite understanding the aning of the words.
So it was true after all; he had indeed been sold, and it perfectly matched the guild’s profit-above-all-else nature.
The person before him obviously held control over his fate.
If he really had been sold to him, his only way out was to prove that he still had value.
He had stayed in the guild for decades, knew how to please those in power, and understood that only by showing his usefulness could he survive.
rian hesitated for a mont, his voice trembling: "I... am skilled in biological alchemy. I can study the cycle of Magic Essence within organisms and adjust the adaptive structures of parasites... I understand the chanism of regeneration reactions..."
Louis listened earnestly, his eyes shifting from coldness to interest, appearing calm on the surface, but in truth, his heart was tumultuous.
He was not an expert in the field of alchemy; he only knew bits and pieces from old books and reports.
But even he understood that the term "biological alchemy" represented astonishing potential.
It was not re potion-making but research that could touch the foundations of life.
He ntally tried to piece together those fragnted concepts, such as making potions that could stop bleeding and heal injuries faster, making magical beasts obey orders, and enabling knights to last longer in battle...
These concepts might remain vague when it ca to genuine alchemy outcos, but just these alone could revolutionize the technology of Red Tide Territory.
If this knowledge could be mastered, even at the most basic level, it could double their survival advantage in the Empire.
Yet, he also wondered: Why would the Green Tide Guild send such a person out to sea?
An alchemist capable of researching the origin of life wouldn’t be sent out casually.
Nurous questions flooded his mind: was it internal conflict? So Federation conspiracy? A special mission? And why had pirates kidnapped him?
But soon Louis cast aside these questions; after all, they weren’t really important to him.
rian was now in his hands, in the Northern Territory, the Empire’s most remote corner, tens of thousands of miles away from the Federation.
Even if the Jade Federation mobilized an invasion, they couldn’t reach here. If they sent a small special force, his Knight Order could swallow them up.
Thinking of this, the undercurrent of excitent in his heart finally began to calm.
After listening to rian stamr out so terms that Louis didn’t understand, Louis smoothly picked up the conversation and calmly praised:
"No wonder it was worth the bloody price I paid to get you from those misers of the Green Tide Guild. It seems the deal was worthwhile."
rian’s heart sank, his gaze dim; the humiliation of being traded like an object churned in his chest. He felt terrible inside but didn’t dare to argue.
He’d spent nearly his entire life trapped in a laboratory, never venturing into the political arena, completely vulnerable to lies and sches.
He couldn’t discern whether this statent was true or false, so he chose to believe it.
Louis noticed the change in his expression and smoothly switched his tone: "I’m curious, why did the Green Tide Guild send you to the Northern Territory? A researcher like you should theoretically be kept in the deep-level labs of the Federation."
rian hesitated for a mont but cautiously spoke: "It’s a long story; a few hundred years ago, the Abyssal Descendants, also known as the Fishn.
They were once an ocean race with language and social structures, mastering alchemy and underwater crafts, even leaving behind formulas for rune alloys.
But later, the group fell into perpetual madness, with only a few retaining partial wisdom. The guild suspects that this downfall wasn’t natural decay."
As rian spoke, his voice grew quieter: "And my task was to extract the not-yet-completely-crumbling magic energy nerve cores from the Fishn’s brains and send them back to the Green Tide Guild, for research on the so-called Rationality Retrospection Potion.
They want to find a way to restore Fishn’s rationality and make them obedient to humans... At the ti, I thought it was just academic research."
Then he cautiously glanced up at Louis: "I didn’t expect to be sold to you."
Louis’ expression remained unchanged, though internally, he morized every word.
He was astonished by the gravity of this task, directly relating to ancient secrets.
Louis paused in silence, then asked blandly: "So... was the extraction completed?"
rian shook his head, looking fearful: "No, we were kidnapped by pirates just as we arrived in the Northern Territory. The samples, equipnt, and personnel couldn’t be preserved."
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