Chapter 53

Chapter 53

After enduring a night of tormenting headaches and then being forcibly roused from a much-needed nap, Lorca still felt utterly exhausted. Thankfully, the sedative and pain-relieving effects of the sleeping pills hadn't completely worn off, so the headache wasn't as severe.

Eve noticed his displeased expression, and her heart sank.

...Had she already offended him from the very start?

She wasn't surprised that Lorca had immediately deduced she was an alchemist. After all, she was still wearing the same Agnes-brand black cloak, and the basement entrance was hidden within the alchemy lab. Anyone with a modicum of intelligence could connect her to Agnes.

In contrast, Eve was more curious why he showed no surprise at waking up to find a mysterious person in his room.

Unaware that Lorca had already known about her previous visit through his Spiritual State, she asked, "Aren't you scared that I suddenly appeared here?"

"Why would I be scared?"

Lorca glanced at her, stating with certainty, "You know who I am."

"Yes," Eve admitted openly, nodding. "I know you're the First Young Master of the Oliver Family."

She had originally intended to be direct with Lorca from the outset, but his current indifferent demeanor was the scenario she had least wished for. It suggested Lorca was not easily swayed.

Because of this, she had to change her approach.

Lorca typically kept to himself and rarely made public appearances, so few people recognized him. Coincidentally, Luo Wenzhou also maintained a low profile, overshadowed by his accomplished older sister.

After several days of observation and a night of careful deliberation, Eve concluded that the two had likely planned to come out together, and Luo Wenzhou might have even brought personnel from the Luo family. However, Lorca's travel was probably kept secret. Given the Oliver Family's protectiveness of him, even in an emergency, they would never allow their young master to reside in such a humble little room.

Furthermore, the cloaked figure likely had a cooperative relationship with them, but nothing more. If the cloaked figure had truly cared more about Lorca's well-being, she wouldn't have left so many potent sleeping pills within his reach.

Eve wasn't entirely clear on the fundamental reason for Lorca's presence here, but she had a preliminary guess.

The cloaked figure was undoubtedly an exceptionally skilled alchemist. Although Eve had never heard of any Grand Alchemist in the current era who was such an eccentric non-human, working as her assistant daily allowed Eve to notice that she had recently been delving into books on medicine and toxins.

Since Lorca had managed to establish cooperation with her, it was highly probable that he was seeking a solution to the toxic condition he had suffered from since birth.

For this very reason, he would also be particularly wary of anyone using the same excuse.

Eve had initially planned to offer help in alleviating his toxic condition as a means to gain Lorca's cooperation, but now it seemed like a perilous move. If even the cloaked figure couldn't completely resolve Lorca's problem, then her rash proposal would only arouse his suspicion and displeasure.

She needed a more suitable excuse.

Noticing that the masked figure in black had spoken only a few words before falling silent, Lorca turned to scrutinize her properly, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"So, what's your purpose here?" he asked. "You came down without Agnes knowing, didn't you?"

Who is Agnes?

Eve's mind raced, quickly connecting the name to the cloaked figure—after all, the laboratory upstairs belonged to her.

She swiftly scanned her memories but found no recollection of a Senior Alchemist by that name.

Uncertain whether she was supposed to know that Agnes was the cloaked figure's name, Eve was grateful for the mask that concealed all her bewildered expressions, allowing her to continue bluffing even while utterly confused.

Collecting herself, she ignored the latter part of his question and continued in a lowered voice, "After the young master went missing, the Oliver Family issued a mission. I'm a mercenary hired to locate you."

Pretending to be a house retainer of the Oliver Family would have been more convenient—after all, she was an alchemist, which would naturally lend credibility to her disguise.

However, the initial exchange had already revealed her unfamiliarity with Lorca, so she had to settle for the next best option: pretending to be a mercenary.

Lorca's emerald-green eyes fixed on her, as if assessing the truth of her words. After a long pause, he slowly said, "To ensure my safety, my family wouldn't issue a widespread mission."

"So it was a special invitation for a specific team."

"Which squad are you from?"

Just as Eve was about to answer, she suddenly remembered that Upside Down Wonderland had been deliberately led into a conflict with Poison Fang, and the mastermind behind it was likely either Lorca or Luo Wenzhou.

Luo Wenzhou's wristband could access the basement, meaning Lorca hadn't been completely cut off from outside information. Upside Down Wonderland should currently be embroiled in their conflict with Poison Fang—and even if they weren't, they certainly wouldn't have the capacity to take on another major mission.

As for other mercenary squads, they were either not currently in the Carol Star System or not skilled enough to warrant a special invitation from the Oliver Family.

—Lorca was testing her.

Fortunately, in her panic, Eve suddenly recalled the team-up post she had made when she first arrived in the Carol Star System. One of the replies had been from a member of a top ten squad, who mentioned returning to the Carol Star System the following month.

Doing a quick calculation, she figured they should be back by now.

"...I'm from Cold Star," Eve said slowly.

Her expression beneath the mask was cool.

Lorca remarked, "Cold Star always seems to be short on alchemists, doesn't it?"

"I only joined recently. The captain said a new face would be better for going undercover, so they sent me."

This aligned with what he knew—even Cold Star's recent attempts to recruit an alchemist on the black market matched up. The cloaked figure wasn't lying.

Lorca nodded, his attitude softening considerably.

As he remained awake longer, the effects of the sleeping pills gradually wore off, and the familiar headache began to reassert itself. Still, Lorca remained composed. The dim yellow light cast across half of his pale face made him appear weak and harmless. He asked, "So, how do you plan to rescue me?"

Even though he had most likely left voluntarily, he used the word "rescue" without any hint of guilt. Eve couldn't help but think how thick-skinned he was.

She asked, "Do you want to leave?"

"If I've been given this mission, does it matter whether I want to leave or not? Can I just leave you here if you refuse?"

Lorca also found the black-cloaked figure's question rather odd. "What does whether I want to leave have to do with you carrying out your mission?"

"Of course it matters," Eve explained patiently. "If you want to leave, we can work together from the inside and outside, making things much easier. If you don't want to leave, I'll have to go through the trouble of knocking you unconscious and taking you away."

Lorca was momentarily speechless.

Was such crude language something an alchemist should be using?

He was momentarily dumbfounded. Having grown up in the Oliver Family, he had met many alchemists. In his impression, it was supposed to be an elegant and refined profession. Why were the alchemists he encountered lately becoming increasingly rough?

Indeed, harsh environments tempered people. On Black Star, even alchemists accustomed to handling glass vials had learned to wield firearms.

Well-versed in the principle of adapting to circumstances, Lorca quickly changed his tune. "I'll go with you."

Eve didn't respond, nor did she indicate whether she believed him or not. She felt something slippery and cold brush against her ankle, but when she glanced down, she saw nothing.

Perhaps it was just her imagination.

After a pause, she decided not to tell him that the starship was going to be blown up in two days. Instead, she said, "We still need to plan this out. It's getting late, so I should head back for now. Is there anything you need?"

Lorca said, "The sleeping pills are almost gone..."

"No, strong sleep aids can damage your nervous system if taken excessively," Eve interrupted him, glancing at the bedside table where only three pills remained, and frowned. "Do you have severe insomnia?"

It was actually headaches caused by the toxic condition, but Lorca didn't want to expose his critical vulnerability. Since insomnia was merely a side effect of the headaches, it wasn't entirely inaccurate to say so.

He nodded. "I can't sleep without the pills."

"There are alchemical potions that can aid sleep. They work better than sleeping pills and have no side effects."

"I know," Lorca smiled faintly, a subtle, unhealthy blush spreading across his pale face, making him look strikingly handsome. "But I prefer sleeping pills, especially when I take extra. There's a peculiar sense of security—all sensations fade away, as if returning to the beginning of life."

Eve: "..."

She wanted to say that it wasn't returning to the beginning of life; it was nearly poisoning himself to death, fast-forwarding directly to life's end.

She beckoned to Lorca. "Come a little closer."

"What for?" Though he said this, Lorca instinctively obeyed and scooted to the edge of the bed.

A slender hand rested on his head, and the next moment, the world spun as an overwhelming drowsiness swept over his cerebral cortex. His eyelids immediately grew heavy and drooped shut.

In the last second before losing consciousness, Lorca barely registered that the hand extended by the cloaked figure belonged to a woman.

A woman, after all... he thought hazily, before his consciousness faded entirely, plunging him into a deep, sweet slumber.

Eve quickly reached out to catch Lorca as he slumped unconscious, laying him down and tucking him back under the covers.

She used her ability to force him into sleep for two reasons: first, she was afraid the young master would overdose and actually kill himself, and second, she wanted to take this opportunity to examine the current state of Lorca's internal condition.

The moment her psychic energy invaded, Eve successfully glimpsed into Lorca's mental world.

—It was a desolate wasteland, with dense dark clouds dominating the sky and black, lifeless soil. On the other side of this mental world, shimmering gray particles danced chaotically, completely out of place. Staring at them for too long even made Eve feel slightly dizzy.

She quickly withdrew her psychic energy, guessing that this was a concrete manifestation of the toxic condition inside Lorca's body.

It truly didn't seem like something that could be cured—too bizarre. Direct transformation probably wouldn't work either, since it was inside Lorca's body, and the slightest mistake could lead to disaster. The alchemists relying on the Oliver family wouldn't dare risk it.

No wonder Agnes went through the trouble of bringing him to Venomfang for treatment. There was a reason for it.

After a brief observation, Eve had some theories about the toxic condition, but she needed to observe further.

She planned to go upstairs and look for Agnes's notes. Agnes must have studied Lorca's condition for some time and might have some new findings.

Just as she was about to step away, the familiar slick, cool sensation brushed against her ankle again, this time tightly coiling around her right calf.

It was flexible, thick, long, and very much alive.

She slowly looked down and saw a pitch-black snake coiled around her right leg. Though wrapped tightly, it wasn't using much force—not a hunting posture—and was instead wriggling aimlessly.

Eve: "?"

She wasn't afraid of snakes. Having grown up in an orphanage in her previous life, she was familiar with snakes, rats, or centipedes. In this interstellar world, she regularly fought the Zerg. Compared to those massive, ugly insects, a jet-black snake was quite pleasing to the eye.

But how could there be a snake in Lorca's basement? No matter how careless Agnes was, she wouldn't just let such a large snake in.

As if sensing the human's puzzled gaze, the black serpent stopped spinning and shyly poked its head and neck out from under the bed.

Then Eve saw that the black serpent had a vivid red blossom growing on its head.

"…?"

What the hell.

Eve's train of thought was completely derailed, her face full of confusion.

Even after reading through the entire Interstellar Bestiary... she had never seen a snake with a flower on its head?!