Chapter 66: Survival Mission
At that moment, Leonardo was utterly confused. Two players with different IDs were standing next to him. One of them, XB, had a shifty look about him, while the other was a petite female player named Jinse.
Jinse? She seems to be a celebrity, Zhou Ning thought, raising an eyebrow as memories surfaced.
She's the star of the Deep Blue Club, a master alchemist, and one of the top five warrior-type players in the country. In my past life, she was the one who maxed out Leonardo's favorability and discovered the secret of the Flame Oil. I didn't expect her to be in the closed beta.
A slight smile touched Zhou Ning's lips as he started walking over. Compared to XB, Jinse was undoubtedly a higher-quality leek to be harvested. He remembered the forum post from back then; Jinse had painstakingly completed 492 quests to raise Leonardo's favorability—a true god-tier bootlicker. It was far better to harvest this prize himself.
Meanwhile, Jinse was feeling a little anxious. Hailing from West County, near the Docklands, she had rushed over as soon as she'd unlocked the map, only to find she'd missed the main story event. This morning, she'd come to the University of Wick to try her luck, but the only noteworthy person she'd found was Leonardo, who seemed like just another passerby and didn't seem interested in talking.
Think about Wayne, who was so friendly to players in the promotional videos, she grumbled internally. Why is the gap between NPCs so huge?
Hey, who is that?
Jinse's eyes, scanning like radar, locked onto a stunningly handsome NPC walking toward her from a distance. Isn't that Wayne Stewell?
He's gorgeous. Jinse's heart began to pound, and a blush crept up her cheeks as if she were drunk.
…Wake up, now is not the time to be a fangirl!
As Jinse snapped back to her senses, a new notification suddenly popped up in her quest log.
`[You have triggered an instant quest: Give NPC Wayne Stewell a cupcake. There might be a surprise! Do you accept? Yes/No.]`
Jinse's eyes lit up. A quest! Finally!
She immediately accepted. Her gaze darted around, and she quickly spotted a breakfast shop nearby. She trotted over without a second's hesitation.
At the same time, XB also saw Zhou Ning. He instantly abandoned Leonardo and ran over excitedly. "Morning, Boss."
Zhou Ning nodded at him and sent him a private quest to buy breakfast.
A moment later, Jinse returned with a steaming cupcake. "Here, sir!"
Zhou Ning feigned a slight look of surprise and smiled. "Is this for me?"
"Yeah!" Jinse nodded desperately, barely suppressing the urge to scream. That smile was handsome enough to make her dizzy.
"Thank you," Zhou Ning said, taking the cake. He then asked casually, "Wait, you seem to know alchemy?"
"Yes, yes," Jinse continued to nod vigorously, feeling that this NPC was even more mysterious than she'd thought. She had started the game as an alchemist's apprentice and currently had the elementary alchemy skill.
"I see. In that case, I have some simple tasks for you. Are you willing to accept?" Zhou Ning asked.
"I am!" Jinse replied hastily, overjoyed. The closed beta was ending in less than two days, but at least she could establish a relationship with the protagonist. That would make things much smoother when the game officially launched.
Zhou Ning wrote the address of his alchemy lab on a piece of paper and handed it to her. "Come by this afternoon and we'll see what you can do. But if you're not up to the task, I won't be lenient."
Just then, XB returned with breakfast. Seeing the situation, he looked at Zhou Ning with pleading eyes. "Boss, what about me?"
"Thank you." Zhou Ning took the breakfast with a smile and settled the quest payment for him before turning to walk toward Leonardo.
XB was left standing there.
He felt a deep, uncomfortable pang in his chest. His current state of mind was a bit like hiding under a car and watching the person you love get into a different vehicle, holding hands with someone else.
I was here first!
Leonardo was also a little bewildered. He had just wanted to ask for directions, but two strangers had appeared out of nowhere, surrounding him and chattering away. Then, just as suddenly, they had left him to swarm someone else with even greater enthusiasm.
It's not like I care, he thought, but what is this inexplicable sense of loss?
Zhou Ning handed the breakfast XB had bought to Leonardo with a friendly smile. "Good morning. The weather is nice today."
"Yes, it hasn't changed in at least two hours. A beautiful day," Leonardo replied, accepting the food. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "I'm looking for the Pig and Whistle breakfast shop on campus. Senior, do you know where it is?"
"I do. Are you going to see Mr. or Mrs. Tulin?"
"Mr. Tulin. My father asked me to come and say hello to him," Leonardo said.
Zhou Ning glanced at his pocket watch. It was almost nine o'clock. "Mr. Tulin likely won't be at the shop right now. I know where he lives. If it's not urgent, wait here for a bit, and I can take you there later."
"Okay, thank you very much!" Leonardo bowed gratefully to Zhou Ning.
`[Leandro de Pesa's opinion of you has increased. Current Status: Friendly.]`
Zhou Ning walked along the cobblestone path to the three-story building that housed the Alchemy Department. Following his memory, he found Professor Weasley's office.
Knock, knock. He rapped on the door.
"Come in," Professor Weasley's voice called from within.
As Zhou Ning pushed the door open, he saw Professor Weasley sitting at his desk with a serious expression. "Hello, Stewell. What can I do for you?"
"Good morning, Professor Weasley."
Zhou Ning stated his purpose directly. "My alchemy skills are approaching the advanced level, and I recently rented a lab off-campus. So, starting next semester, I probably won't be able to continue as your teaching assistant."
"Oh? That's excellent news! I approve," Professor Weasley said, standing up with a look of pleasant surprise. "What level have you reached? Can you make the Intelligence Potion?"
"I don't have the recipe, but I should be able to," Zhou Ning answered honestly.
The Intelligence Potion was an intermediate formula, so it wouldn't be a challenge for him. But seeing Weasley so happy to let him go… Why does that make me feel a little unhappy?
Professor Weasley pulled out a quill, tore a sheet of paper from a notepad, scribbled down a recipe, and handed it to him. "This is the recipe for the Intelligence Potion. The university is organizing an expedition to study weather and tides soon, and we'll need a large supply. The school can provide the herbs, and I'll pay you two roshens per bottle for your labor. Alternatively, you can provide the materials yourself, and I'll buy each bottle for fifteen roshens. Are you interested?"
"I am." Zhou Ning's mouth twitched slightly. Professor Weasley was as stingy as ever. There was still a profit to be made at that price, but it was basically just manual labor for pocket change. Still, considering the free experience points, he endured it.
After settling the business, Zhou Ning tipped his hat, said his goodbyes, and left.
Stepping back into the sunlight, he unfolded the paper with the recipe. It read: Intelligence Potion: Gastrodia elata leaves + daisy roots + golden-edged agave roots… not difficult at all.
Wait… what is this? Zhou Ning's sharp eyes noticed some faint lettering remaining on the torn edge of the paper.
Does that say… Innoc University? Why would Professor Weasley be using paper from Innoc University? Zhou Ning frowned. In his memory, Professor Weasley was from North West County, and all his family and friends were there.
When he returned to the main boulevard, Leonardo was still waiting. Zhou Ning called out to him, and the two walked out of the university side by side.
Just as they passed through the school gates, a prompt suddenly appeared on his panel.
`[You have triggered the survival mission: Survival!]`
`[Mission Tip: Cultists from the shadows have set their sights on you. Please be careful.]`
`[Quest Requirement: Survive the cultists' attacks.]`
`[Reward: Unknown.]`
Zhou Ning's heart sank.
Suddenly, every hair on the back of his neck stood on end, a chilling sensation like the pricking of a thousand needles.
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