Chapter 66

Chapter 66

The hovercar pulled up in front of a bar with an understated facade.

A leg clad in tall leather boots emerged from the hovercar, followed by tight black trousers, a fitted leather corset, and a white silk shirt with voluminous lantern sleeves. The entire ensemble, though limited to black and white, created a striking visual impact due to the wearer’s exceptional physique. While such an outfit might seem overly dramatic in everyday life, it was perfectly suited for a bar, striking just the right balance—neither frivolous nor overly formal, exuding an effortless charm.

The person who had just stepped out of the hovercar was Eve.

She looked up, her eyes narrowing as she surveyed the bar’s exterior. "Looks quite inconspicuous," she mused.

The dark facade was draped with layers of curtains, devoid of dazzling lights or booming music. Unfortunately—Eve’s gaze drifted to the row of high-end establishments nearby, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.

It was a facade of modesty, for if it were truly inconspicuous, it wouldn’t occupy what was arguably the most prime and expensive location on the capital planet.

When Eve had asked Luo Lin to arrange a meeting with her teacher yesterday, she hadn’t expected it to be so easy. Louis’s words had served as a warning, so when drafting her message, she didn’t disclose the entire alchemy formula she wished to inquire about. Instead, she framed her questions around specific material interactions and arcane transformations.

It was common for alchemists without a master-disciple relationship to be evasive in their exchanges, as precious alchemy formulas were priceless. However, few took such precautions when seeking guidance from a higher-ranking alchemist; sometimes, a valuable formula itself served as a form of payment for instruction. Thus, by concealing her intentions despite knowing the other party was a superior alchemist, Eve was, in fact, being quite impolite.

Yet, she recalled Luo Lin mentioning that her teacher had evaluated Cionanado’s manuscript collection when she first recommended it.

And since learning that this was indeed the legendary figure’s manuscript, Eve had seriously pondered how it came to be in the Medici family’s possession.

The Medici family did periodically acquire rare alchemical manuscripts, but life wasn’t a fantasy novel where one could simply stumble upon a legendary secret manual from a mysterious old man on the street. The probability of casually acquiring a work by the Divine Realm Lord was infinitesimally close to zero. Instead, Eve leaned towards the theory that someone had intentionally placed the book there.

Information concerning the Divine Realm Lord was privy only to Four-Star or higher-ranking Senior Alchemists. Initially, she suspected the First Steward, but privately leaking such information to non-Senior Alchemists was a serious breach of conduct. This led her to suspect Luo Lin’s teacher.

Not everyone could afford the consequences of being sanctioned by the Alchemist Association for violating regulations. Not only was it a violation, but to brazenly display the book in the family library, as if daring someone to report it—even the First Steward, with the backing of the Medici family, wouldn’t act so recklessly. After ruling out that possibility, the mysterious teacher became the prime suspect.

But now, standing at the entrance of the meeting place, the answer seemed to be on the tip of her tongue.

The owner of this bar was no simple figure. Ostensibly, they were merely a minor noble on the capital planet, but securing such a substantial establishment in such a prime location clearly indicated deeper connections.

Rumor had it that the bar enjoyed the patronage of a Senior Alchemist. As the intermediary, Luo Lin had thoroughly explained the vested interests to Eve beforehand. The bar’s owner was indeed a Senior Alchemist, but she was Luo Lin’s senior sister. Thus, the bar also served as a discreet and secure trading hub for other alchemists on the capital planet who had not yet been integrated into established factions. For the teacher to choose a student’s established base for this meeting was indeed a shrewd decision.

Eve pushed the door open. A golden bell suspended above the entrance chimed crisply as she entered. A beautiful bartender stood behind the counter, immediately calling out sweetly, "Welcome, customer."

It was still daytime, so there weren’t many patrons. Small groups of people were scattered in booths, chatting in hushed tones. The bar’s furniture was entirely wooden, and the air diffuser emitted a scent of moss after rain, mingling with the aroma of alcohol to create an indescribably intoxicating and refreshing atmosphere. Soft, swaying music played at a moderate volume—loud enough to be heard, but not so loud as to drown out conversation, nor so quiet as to fail to mask it.

Out of deference as a junior and to survey the bar, Eve had deliberately arrived half an hour early.

Her demeanor was nonchalant, and she wore a mysterious pure silver mask, creating a captivating contrast. The moment she stepped into the establishment, she attracted numerous overt and covert glances, but Eve pretended not to notice and walked directly to a stool at the bar.

"What would you like to drink, customer?" asked the bartender, also wearing a half-mask, with a pleasant smile.

As she approached, Eve had noticed that all the bar’s employees wore half-masks. These weren’t the kind that covered the upper half of the face, leaving only an insignificant portion exposed. Instead, they seemed more like decorative pieces, with intricate patterns covering the right half of the face, leaving only the employees’ beautiful left halves visible.

Eve’s interest in drinking was limited to social occasions at banquets or to cut through rich food during meals. Otherwise, she rarely drank, especially when important matters were at hand; she kept her distance from alcohol, which could dull the senses.

She scanned the drink menu and finally ordered a mix of fruit juice and sparkling water.

The bartender smiled sweetly. "Customer, this contains no alcohol."

"I know," Eve said, her dark eyes fixed on the other party with sincere earnestness. "I’m underage."

The bartender: "..."

There was no law in the empire prohibiting minors from drinking, though it was morally discouraged. By stating this, Eve effectively preempted any further attempts at upselling.

Fortunately, the bartender was clearly professional and quickly prepared the drink, placing it before Eve. She wiped her hands and, since the bar wasn’t busy and Eve was the only one seated there, decided to strike up a conversation.

"By the way, customer, why are you wearing a mask?" she asked curiously, almost as if hoping Eve would remove it.

Unfortunately, Eve glanced at her, and then with a click, flipped up the lower part of the mask, revealing only up to below her nose, not an inch of skin more.

She took a small sip of the drink. It was sweet, with bubbles bursting on her tongue. It tasted quite good, so she casually said, "My face is disfigured."

The bartender laughed in response. "Can’t it be healed? Are you an alchemist? Non-alchemists don’t often come here."

This was an odd thing to say. Why wouldn’t people come to a bar open on the street? Eve glanced at the exorbitant, almost extortionate, four-digit prices on the drink menu, her lips curling into a smile as she joked, "Because only alchemists can afford the prices here?"

The bartender laughed heartily at this.

Both of them knew what kind of place this was, which was precisely why Eve’s joke was amusing.

After all, it was common knowledge that alchemists were wealthy.

The bartender had been tasked with sounding Eve out. The gleaming demon-mask earring on her ear was a communication device, connected to someone higher up, transmitting their conversation in real-time.

That person hadn’t yet decided whether to meet with Eve, but after chatting for a bit, the bartender had genuinely taken a liking to her. They exchanged a few more casual words, and just as it was the bartender’s turn to respond, her expression suddenly changed, her eyebrows twitching unnaturally.

"..."

It seemed some instruction had come through the demon-mask earring.

Under the dim, mesmerizing lights, Eve appeared to be chatting amiably with the bartender, but in reality, her eyes were constantly scanning the club, speculating on where the alchemist she was supposed to meet was observing her from. Because of this, she overlooked the bartender’s unnatural expression.

"I just remembered something. I have matters to attend to. My colleague will take over shortly. Would you mind chatting with her for a while, customer?"

Eve was always lenient with service workers, and her conversation with the bartender had been primarily to pass the time and try to glean whether she knew about today’s arrangements.

Seeing the other party’s uneasy expression, she had no intention of making things difficult and waved her hand dismissively. "Don’t worry about me. Go attend to your matters."

She picked up her four-digit-priced fruit drink again, slowly sipping through the straw until she felt an unabashed gaze directed at her from the side.

She turned her head slightly and saw that someone new had taken a seat behind the bar.

Though the style was still half-mask, half-beautiful-face, the new bartender’s green hair was too different from the previous bartender’s light chestnut hair. Even with the lighting providing cover, Eve couldn’t pretend not to notice the change.

Somehow, Eve felt this new bartender had an indescribable aura about her, one that suddenly reversed their roles, making it seem as though Eve were the one providing service and the other party the paying customer.

Before she could speak, the other party greeted her first, smiling and saying, "Hey, lonely little customer. It’s rare to see someone at a bar during the day—are you meeting someone here?"

A perfectly normal opening.

Eve took a sip of her drink, using the act of swallowing to hide the nervous movement in her throat. She kept her eyes down, acting much less familiar with this bartender than the previous one, being exceedingly sparing with her words. "Yes."

"You don’t seem very enthusiastic toward me."

The bartender suddenly reached out, hooked her finger under Eve’s chin, and forced her to look up.

The unmasked half of her face was exquisitely beautiful, her eyes the same grassy green as her hair. This made her seem gentle even while performing a somewhat coercive action, though the strength in her hand suggested otherwise.

Eve felt a sensation like blunt wood rubbing against her chin. She didn’t understand how someone’s hand could be so rough. The new green-haired bartender spoke to her in an affectively gentle tone: "I don’t like being ignored, so please be more attentive and enthusiastic when speaking to me, customer."

She really couldn’t even be bothered to put effort into her acting.

Eve didn’t quite understand why this Senior Alchemist was so invested in this theatrical urge, but she, who was supposed to play along, didn’t have the right to refuse. She could only first free her chin from the other’s grasp and then play along: "...Sorry. But why are you asking about this?"

"I can help check the reservation for you! If you've got the wrong time, wouldn't waiting here be pointless?"

Gu Zhaoxi made things up on the fly, leaning slightly over the counter with a slight forward tilt, her eyes fixed intently on Eve, a faint smile tugging at her lips: "—So, may I ask, who is it you're here to meet?"

But the problem was, the other person hadn't given a name—how was she supposed to check?

Eve watched her silently, while the green-haired bartender met her gaze innocently.

She looked away again, understanding full well that this was intentional teasing on the other's part.

There was still a small amount of juice left in the glass. Eve simply pulled out the straw and chugged it, then placed the empty crystal cup on the table with a smile: "Finished, could you take this away?"

Hearing this natural command, Gu Zhaoxi raised an eyebrow. She seemed like a clever kid and must have recognized her identity—so how could she be so confident giving orders?

Yet, her gaze shifted to the emptied crystal cup. The lingering fragrance of the juice still remained in the glass, and she sniffed lightly.

Since she had chosen to play a role, she ought to play the part.

"Alright."

After only a brief pause, Gu Zhaoxi flashed a smile and reached for the empty cup on the table. And in that very moment, Eve moved with lightning speed—rising to her feet, fingers curled into a claw, she launched a sudden attack toward Gu Zhaoxi, aiming straight for her heart.

Trying a sneak attack?

Gu Zhaoxi's expression shifted. Stirred by excitement, a wood-like pattern faintly spread across the half of her face that remained intact. Her reflexes were no match for Eve's; even as she reacted, she was a split-second too slow. Leaning to the side, she knew she couldn't dodge it and simply waited in place for Eve's attack, ready to test it against the defensive alchemical tool she wore.

Unexpectedly, the fierce and swift assault shifted abruptly as it reached her—hardened steel becoming soft as silk, gentle as a breeze or butterfly wings, brushing lightly past Gu Zhaoxi. Taken by surprise, she only felt something being taken from her.

When she came to her senses and looked closely, Eve was holding a green-gold rectangular metal plate in her hand—it was her ID badge.

"Weren't you just saying you'd help me check the reservation?"

Eve studied the engraved ID badge, though her excessive attentiveness came off as somewhat theatrical:

"If the name isn't wrong, it should be Gu Zhaoxi, right?—The time should be this morning. Could you help check?"

Her tone carried an unchecked pride, yet it wasn't off-putting, merely revealing that this young girl was perhaps a bit too clever and sly.

"When did you figure it out?"

Gu Zhaoxi stared at her unblinkingly, her grass-green eyes seeming to hold boundless vitality and verdure, full of interest and appreciation.

She grinned, revealing neat, snow-white teeth, and said: "Quite the impressive youth. I'd already decided not to take any more disciples after little Luo Lin, but now I see you're quite remarkable too. I'm impressed with you. How about it—would you like to become my apprentice?"