Chapter 307: Crisis
Taking a deep breath, Spark forced a smile onto his face and greeted Argus, "Hello, Captain Argus. When did you get back?"
The moment he said it, Spark immediately regretted it. He had personally seen Argus turn into a being of life element before—this person clearly wasn't him. Asking such a question so casually might provoke the other party.
"Just got back not long ago." Argus's expression didn't change; he still wore a faint smile as he asked, "My men and I are drinking at the tavern up ahead. Would you care to join us, Mr. Spark?"
As Argus spoke, Spark sharply noticed that although the man was smiling, his eyes were fixed coldly on him—without the slightest trace of warmth. Keeping his composure, Spark shook his head. "N-no need. I still have to head home first."
"Ah, that's a shame." Argus's lips curved faintly into a smile, yet his feet remained unmoving, eyes still boring straight into Spark.
Spark felt a chill crawl all over his body. It took tremendous effort to suppress the instinct to run. He forced out a polite farewell, careful not to turn his back to the man, and deliberately backed away several steps. Only when he had put some distance between them did he tip his hat slightly in parting, then turned to leave.
From the corner of his eye, he saw that Argus still hadn't moved—still standing there, staring straight at him.
"What the hell is going on…" Spark screamed silently in his heart.
His home was about half a kilometer away. Still shaken from what had just happened, Spark carried his luggage home, his mind heavy with unease. As soon as he opened the gate, he froze—there were lights on inside his house.
He had lived alone ever since the age of twenty-four. Could it be…?
A dreadful premonition surged within him. Fighting down the rising fear, he crept quietly to the west window, pressed against it, and peered inside. His pupils contracted sharply.
Inside the room sat someone identical to him, lounging casually on the sofa, chatting with others. Among them were two former members of the "Miracle Study Society"—Davian and Jones, both sons of senators. Also present were his elder brother, Joshua Lambert, and Joshua's mistress, Marilyn Squire.
"What do I do now? Rush in and expose him? No, most of these people have already been replaced. My brother might not even believe me. And… our relationship has never been good." Spark's mind raced. Yet another possibility he dreaded crept into his thoughts—his brother Joshua might already have been replaced as well.
Just then, he noticed the shadow before him suddenly expanding. His heart leapt. He spun around sharply.
Behind him stood another "himself," face cold and expressionless, staring straight at him. The voice that came out was hollow and chilling, no longer human.
"Who are you looking for…"
"Damn it!" Spark's scalp tingled; goosebumps erupted all over his body.
In the next instant, the fake Spark's clothes bulged from both sides, and four shadowy black tentacles burst forth, whipping toward Spark, who still stood frozen in shock.
"Pride makes one progress; humility makes one pathetic!"
Reciting the proud clan's creed, Spark raised his arm and drew the greatsword strapped to his back. The blade instantly enlarged, yet remained agile as he slashed down at the tentacles surging toward him.
The impostor let out a shriek as the phantom tentacles erupted with black smoke and fell to the ground.
But within moments, more of those shadowy limbs sprouted and lashed toward him again.
Spark swung his greatsword furiously, hacking down one after another. From the corner of his eye, he saw more figures converging toward his direction. Seizing a narrow opening, he turned and bolted, crashing through the gate with a clang as he fled for his life.
Levia Street was crowded with people—some were even members of the Earth's Ring patrolling nearby. But when Spark glanced toward the corner ahead, he saw several adventurers standing there, staring at him with sinister smiles. Behind him, his brother Joshua Lambert followed distantly with Davian and Jones. His worst fear was confirmed—Joshua had been replaced too.
"What now? Ask the Earth's Ring for help? No—there are too many of them. If I accuse someone and they turn it on me, I'll be the one locked up as an aberration. The Earth's Ring is ruthless when it comes to heretics…"
Overwhelmed by helplessness, Spark bit back his tears, quickly turned onto another street, and flagged down a horse-drawn cab.
"Go! To Saint Raymond Cathedral! I'll pay double!" Spark shouted as he climbed into the backseat, not even noticing that the cab was already full—sitting opposite him was a tall, gaunt middle-aged man.
At this point, his only chance was to hide in the cathedral for sanctuary, then find a way to contact Wayne Sturwell. Right now, only Wayne could be trusted—and had the power to help him.
"Who are you looking for? Where do you think you're going?"
The man across from him lifted his head and asked. The other passengers—adventurers—also began smiling eerily.
"You're… Argus?"
Spark felt as if he'd fallen into an icy abyss.
...
Time rolled back to a little over an hour earlier. Zhou Ning was riding in a carriage toward Doyle's Alchemy Shop in the western trade district. As always, the shop was quiet—no customers in sight. Aside from the sign at the door that read "Buying Life Cores in Bulk," the main door was tightly shut. Nothing about it suggested this was the workshop of a master alchemist.
After paying the fare, Zhou Ning lightly jumped down from the carriage and knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Who is it? We're closed today!" came Master Turing's gruff voice from inside.
"It's me—Wayne Sturwell," Zhou Ning called out.
"Wayne? Hold on." The voice inside immediately brightened. Before long, the door opened, and Turing, in his wheelchair, gestured for him to come in. "Come in and sit."
The room was cluttered with bottles and jars. Zhou Ning followed him to the only empty table. No sooner had he sat down than Turing impatiently asked, "Wayne, did you get the life cores?"
"I did," Zhou Ning nodded.
"How many? What's the quality? Let me see them," Turing urged.
"A lot." Zhou Ning swept his right hand over the table, instantly filling it with life cores—at least two hundred of them, all carefully chosen high-purity ones. "Will this do? If not, I can get more."
"That's plenty. I only needed about a hundred, but I'll take all of them—can't let your effort go to waste." Picking one up and sniffing it, Turing smiled. "Good quality."
"Two hundred and thirteen in total." Zhou Ning grinned, happy to make a generous deal.
Turing nodded, fetched a special container from a nearby shelf, and carefully stored the life cores inside. A moment later, a system notification popped up for Zhou Ning.
[D-Rank Quest: The Great Alchemist's New Invention II Completed]
[Completion Rate: 213%]
[You gained 715,000 experience points.]
[Darian Turing's Favorability +50. His personal shop has added several new items.]