Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Eve crouched, her fingertips brushing the delicate petals of the red flower adorning the snake's head. The large, round petals, vaguely reminiscent of poppies, were cool to the touch, mirroring the serpent's scales. They were rooted in the python's triangular skull, where the surface was slightly concave.

Startled by the touch, the black snake seemed to recoil shyly, attempting to retreat beneath the bed. Yet, its long body remained steadfastly coiled around Eve's calf.

Noting its docile nature and lack of aggression, Eve grew bolder. She stroked the black python's head again and inquired, "Are you Lorca's Spiritual Manifestation?"

The initial sight of such an unusual serpent had momentarily stunned her, but with her mind now clear, Eve realized this was likely no ordinary beast.

Typically, a Spiritual Manifestation wouldn't appear without its master's summons. However, given the chaotic state of Lorca's spiritual world, it wasn't inconceivable for him to lose control of his own manifestation.

Still, Eve had never encountered a Spiritual Manifestation quite like this.

The Spiritual Manifestation dossiers sent by the Second Steward had detailed the Oliver Family and Miasma Wind-type Spiritual Manifestation creatures. While serpentine forms were common in this category, none were depicted with a large red flower atop their heads.

The black python seemed to comprehend no human words, merely gazing blankly at her. Its eye membranes were a luminous green, like camphor leaves glowing in the night, with black vertical pupils at their center. Coupled with its uniformly dark scales, its coloring strikingly resembled Lorca's, though a vast chasm of intelligence clearly separated the two.

This thought brought a touch of humor to Eve, and she couldn't help but chuckle.

Even knowing the black python couldn't understand her, she spoke gently, "I have matters to attend to and must leave now—could you please release me?"

This time, the black python seemed to grasp her meaning. It hissed, flicking out a slender, crimson tongue, and slowly uncoiled itself from her right calf.

The entire serpent lay motionless on the ground. Then, before Eve's eyes, the massive creature seemed to melt like black wax, dissolving into a pool of dark shadow on the floor. This shadow, as if imbued with life, then glided back beneath the bed.

Eve was utterly astonished.

She wondered if the snake had been similarly concealed in the shadows when she arrived yesterday. Its hiding was remarkably effective; she hadn't detected anything beyond the two individuals in the room, let alone a dormant Spiritual Manifestation.

She couldn't gauge the black python's offensive capabilities, but if formidable, it would be a highly potent assassination-type Spiritual Manifestation. Just from this brief display, its rank was likely far from low.

No wonder Agnes felt secure leaving the frail Young Master alone here. With a Spiritual Manifestation watching over him, as long as he didn't court disaster, any intruder would likely be silently neutralized by the black python.

Before finally departing, Eve cast a lingering glance at Lorca, who lay in a deep coma. His pale, handsome face, nestled in the pristine white blankets, appeared innocent and harmless.

Who would have thought this person lived like a breathing trap, constantly ensnaring others whether awake or asleep?

She drew her cloak tighter and ascended the stairs.

Time was pressing. The day after tomorrow, Upside Down Wonderland would detonate the pre-planted explosives, destroying the starship. She needed to find an effective cure for Lorca's poisoning before then, ensuring they could immediately relocate to the Oliver Family's territory after the incident.

The explosion at Venom Fang would be significant, especially since Black Star had always been under the purview of the Roche and Oliver families. The event would undoubtedly draw their attention.

The original plot hadn't been this intricate. In the novel, it wasn't until after Lorca's death that the Oliver Family turned its attention to Black Star—meaning Ludwig was supposed to arrive in the Carol system and take the female lead, Alice, a year later.

Now, the plot had veered wildly off course. Lorca, fortunately, remained unharmed. Eve estimated that soon after the dust settled, the Oliver Family would dispatch someone, most likely Ludwig.

Ludwig was deeply paranoid, even more so than his brother. While she could leverage her connection with Alice to gain entry to the Oliver Family, even once inside, this family—exceptionally skilled in poisons and alchemy—possessed countless ways to make her vanish without a trace within their somber mansion.

To secure her place within the Oliver Family, she needed to demonstrate her unique value. Since her Spiritual Manifestation couldn't be revealed, the best approach was to use Lorca's poisoning as a stepping stone.

Hence, Agnes's notes became critically important. Given her expertise, she had undoubtedly conducted thorough research into Lorca's poisoning by now. Despite their superficial teacher-student relationship, Eve felt no compunction about benefiting from Agnes's hard work.

Agnes's desk was a chaotic mess. Not only were other alchemists' manuscripts haphazardly strewn across it, but there were also numerous draft papers filled with her random thoughts. Eve skimmed them—mostly stream-of-consciousness notes, valuable but not immensely so. She refocused on finding the notebook.

For alchemists, who relied purely on flashes of insight, keeping notes was indispensable. Even if Agnes was a mysterious non-human, as long as moments of inspiration occurred, a record of them would surely exist.

True to form, after tidying the jumbled manuscripts, Eve discovered Agnes's personal notebook at the very bottom, lying open and obscured by three or four other works. Comparing the handwriting to the adjacent draft papers confirmed it was indeed Agnes's.

The small book wasn't very thick, likely started only after her arrival at Venom Fang. Eve pulled up a chair and began reading diligently from the first page.

"I didn't expect her to be so meticulous and clear in her notes, even though she usually seems indifferent to everything."

Eve flipped through a couple of pages, surprised by her nominal teacher's clear expressive ability.

According to the notes, Agnes had performed a full-body examination on Lorca during her first week at Venom Fang. Eve had already discerned through internal observation that Lorca's poisoning had infiltrated his spiritual world, a fact Agnes also noted—though her examination was more detailed.

She believed Lorca's poisoning was a type of mental toxin. While its physical manifestation was merely extreme weakness, the underlying issue was far more severe. For instance, Lorca's Spiritual Manifestation, the Wall-Imprisoned Serpent, had mutated as a result.

Eve recalled the vibrant red flower on the snake's head.

—So it truly was a mutation. No wonder she had never seen a Spiritual Manifestation like that.

She continued reading.

The Wall-Imprisoned Serpent's theoretical rank was S-class, but due to the parasitic red flower, its actual strength was only A-class. Agnes also seemed quite proficient in Spiritual Manifestations; the next several pages were dedicated to analyzing this problem. Eve read each sentence carefully, then turned the page to find Agnes's forceful handwriting, almost piercing the paper:

"We must perform the surgery as soon as possible!!"

Eve: "…..."

She might have finally understood why Lorca, who seemingly had more time, died so prematurely in the original story.

Turning another page, she saw Agnes had scheduled the surgery for three days later.

Fortunately, it seemed the surgery wouldn't happen—after all, in three days, this starship would be obliterated.

Beyond that, the notes contained Agnes's ideas for detoxification. She also believed that a complete resolution of the poisoning was unlikely, favoring direct transformation. However, performing such a conversion within the body was too risky; even she couldn't guarantee 100% success, which was why the surgery had been repeatedly postponed.

Her recent reading and research were essentially attempts to find a safer surgical method. Eve noticed she had specifically circled Cionanado's manuscripts, though Agnes didn't elaborate much on it. She only vaguely mentioned that the safest conversion method was Cionanado's Creation Method—unfortunately, she hadn't finished learning it before inexplicably losing the book.

So Agnes had read this book too?

Eve had initially thought the book was a fabrication by the novel's author, merely a plot device to hasten the demise of a female supporting character. She never expected others knew of it, or that the author might even be a real person, since Agnes referred to him directly as Cionanado.

But even the name "Agnes" was something Eve had never heard before.

She quickly finished the notebook, then immersed herself in her thoughts, pondering the newly acquired information.

For the first time, Eve realized that beyond their shared supreme authority, each of the four great families held absolute dominance in different fields.

The true emperor in the field of alchemy was the Oliver Family. Thus, even someone as detached from worldly affairs as Lorca could establish connections with mysterious and powerful alchemists like Agnes, while ordinary people might never even hear these powerful figures' names.

Eve suddenly felt an urge to seek out Lorca and demand a full explanation.

This impulse had nothing to do with schemes or calculations—it was purely driven by a desire to understand absolute truth and the wisdom of mysterious predecessors. But soon, rationality regained control, suppressing this rash impulse.

"Sigh..."

Eve sighed and muttered to herself, "This isn't something to rush. We need long-term planning."

There would be plenty of time ahead. All these questions about alchemy and alchemists could be slowly investigated after infiltrating the Oliver Family. The immediate priority was to exert every effort to secure a place at the table of fate, to preserve herself in this negotiation and showcase her bargaining chips as much as possible.

She pulled out a piece of paper and flipped back to an alchemy formula a few pages earlier. Agnes had written it to stabilize Lorca's condition. While it couldn't completely resolve the poisoning yet, merely suppressing it wasn't a significant challenge for Agnes.

This formula seemed quite useful, so Eve decided to note it down.

-

On the other side of the starship, in Young Master Leng Feng's bedroom.

The young man leaned against the headboard, gasping for breath, his eyes darting nervously, a stark contrast to his earlier triumphant demeanor. After the outburst, his handsome but pale face was etched with weakness and panic.

Before arriving, Alice had deliberately implanted some fear-based triggers in him to better control him. Under the influence of this psychological manipulation, Leng Feng's memory became disordered, and he would often throw tantrums like a child, trusting no one except Alice. He even adopted a "three-no" attitude toward his own father, Leng Tian: he refused to acknowledge him, get close to him, or trust him.

Having just forcibly administered a sedative to his son, Leng Tian stood by the bed with his hands behind his back, his heart heavy with bitterness. "Ma'am, do you think Feng'er can still be saved?"

Agnes shot him a glance. "If I said he couldn't, would you truly give up on him?"

"Of course not! He's my only son!"

"..."

Agnes was exasperated by his pointless remark. "Then there you have it."

Frowning, she examined Leng Feng. Logically, after yesterday's reckless treatment, he should have calmed down by today, even if he hadn't fully recovered. Why was his condition worse than yesterday?

Agnes cast a suspicious glance at the masked, black-haired mercenary nearby—the so-called savior of the Young Master. This person claimed to have found Leng Feng in the ruins of the Black Star Bar, who had survived the disaster, and went to great lengths to revive him. However, by the time he woke up, he was nearly insane.

Perhaps this was why Leng Feng was so dependent on her.

Agnes had left early that day and hadn't paid attention to what the other mercenaries present looked like. But the rest of Viper's Fang trusted this savior of unknown origins, so she kept her suspicions to herself.

Humans selectively believe in people and things they prefer to believe.

Her gaze lightly swept over the masked mercenary before returning to Leng Feng.

"Don't come any closer. The Young Master will feel uneasy."

A hand suddenly intervened, blocking Agnes from getting closer to Leng Feng. Even sedated, Leng Feng on the bed remained panicked. He hid deep within the large bed, curling his adult body into a ball, and let out incoherent, trembling sounds of "ah, ah."

Agnes frowned, irritated, and glared at the mercenary blocking her. "If I can't approach, how am I supposed to examine him?"

"But..."

"Enough, Lisa."

Lisa was the alias Alice was currently using.

Seeing the two argue, Leng Tian had to step in as a mediator. He sighed and said to Alice, "You should leave for now. I'll keep an eye on things here. The Alchemist won't harm Feng'er. Go attend to your own matters."

Though he said this, it was essentially a way to dismiss Alice. She had entered under the pretense of being the Young Master's savior—what other matters did she have to attend to?

But with Leng Tian present, it would suffice. Alice curled her lips into a smile and glanced at the mentally unstable Leng Feng.

She had preemptively implanted a psychological suggestion: if Leng Feng had close contact with anyone else, he would throw a tantrum, and Leng Tian wouldn't allow anyone to bully his son.

She gave a respectful nod to Leng Tian and withdrew.

Walking along the corridor not far from the logistics department, she turned a corner and found Luo Wenzhou, who had been waiting anxiously with his back turned, his toes tracing circles on the ground.

Alice called out, "Hey."

Luo Wenzhou immediately turned around, his furrowed brow relaxing. "You're here."

"Did you bring the items I asked for?"

"They're in the warehouse. Are you going to pick them up later?"

Alice nodded. This was their prearranged code, and the "items" referred to the other three members of Upside Down Wonderland.

Luo Wenzhou had hidden the three of them in boxes and brought them aboard the starship along with other supplies he was responsible for procuring. The boxes were now stacked in the logistics department's warehouse. After checking in with the manager, the two were granted access to the warehouse.

He stood at the warehouse entrance without following her in. After all, the team likely had matters to discuss among themselves, and it would be tactless for an outsider to intrude.

Still, Luo Wenzhou found it hard to believe that the three had come empty-handed, without even bringing any high-damage weapons. He couldn't help but feel surprised and vaguely uneasy. "Are you really just here to rescue someone and nothing else?"

"What else should we do?" Alice glanced at him. "An eye for an eye only leads to endless vengeance. Rescuing our teammate is already an achievement. We don't have the energy to oppose an organization as large as Viper's Fang."

Were these people really so forgiving and gentle?

Luo Wenzhou doubted it, but his slight doubts were quickly erased by the constant Mind Control Alice exuded. He scratched his head. "Alright, then be careful. That Lu guy or whatever—he's probably assisting in that Lady's lab. That Lady isn't someone to be trifled with."

Alice hummed in acknowledgment.

"I'll try my best to cover for you."

"Thank you."

She walked deeper into the warehouse, where three stainless steel boxes were lined up together. Upon opening them, the boxes transformed into cultivation soil for mushrooms, with three familiar heads popping up like mushrooms.

They were Frank, Eugene, and Qi Ying.

Frank: "Starting now?"

Eugene: "After all, it's going to blow up the day after tomorrow."

Qi Ying: "I'm not very skilled in combat."

"It's okay, Brother Qi. If you lack combat skills, make up for it with technical expertise," Alice reassured him. "I'll take you to the logistics monitoring room now. Keep an eye on things for the Captain and Sister Eugene. Don't doze off."

Qi Ying: "...Okay."

Frank and Eugene quickly disappeared like shadows through the exhaust fan opening in the warehouse ceiling. Qi Ying followed closely behind Alice to the entrance, where the logistics manager was busy scrolling through his terminal.

Alice whistled cheerfully. "Hi~"

The manager looked up in confusion. In the blink of an eye, a swift chop to the back of his neck sent him collapsing unconscious.

The two stripped him of his clothes, and Qi Ying took out his tools, performing a near-perfect disguise that replicated the manager's appearance flawlessly. He removed the manager's watch and terminal, then stuffed the unconscious manager into the box he had just emerged from.

"Go attend to your tasks," Qi Ying said. "I'll handle cracking the terminal in a bit."

Alice nodded, clearly pleased with her Brother Qi's rare display of competence.