The atmosphere in the living room was somewhat heavy at the moment.
The young Lord reached into his pocket and took out two strange objects, placing them on the table in front of the girl.
Wendy lowered her head slightly, trying hard to discern the outlines of the objects.
On the left was a small glass bottle.
The bottle contained a dark red, viscous liquid, exuding a twisted, evil sheen, displaying an unsettling liveliness as it slowly slithered within the bottle.
To the right was a pale golden polyhedral crystal.
The crystal stone was exquisite and beautiful, refracting a sacred halo in the rays of dawn, resembling a star fallen to the mortal world.
Ed, standing nearby, was also staring at the table and suddenly realized something, his expression amazed.
These two items must be related to the sea!
Ed was no stranger to dealing with such 'abnormal objects'; in an instant, he sensed the breath coming from the deep sea.
From perilous sailing routes to bloody battlefields, the Alliance Legion had relied on the bounty of the deep sea to hold their ground against the Northern Empire's covetous gaze.
Ed became increasingly perplexed.
He knew very well the expensive value of objects from the deep sea, so he completely did not understand the Lord's actions at this moment.
Lin Lan did not care about Ed's expression.
He rubbed his dark circles, sitting patiently in front of the girl, waiting for her to make a decision.
Lin Lan had exhausted himself using the Reconstructor all night.
Perhaps due to internal damage to the machine, most of the formula descriptions had turned into chaotic gibberish, and this problem was especially serious with medical supplies.
Divine Enzyme, Genetic Editing Capsule, Neural Reorganization Device, Antibody Evolution Injection...
All these formulas tantalized Lin Lan's curiosity, but unfortunately, they either had corrupted source files or required unheard-of synthesis materials.
Fortunately, some basic formulas were still feasible to synthesize.
Lin Lan selected from a pile of formulas targeting symptoms during Blood Plague outbreaks and finally managed to synthesize two products, one of which was:
[Formula 093: Blood Activation Gel]
[Formula Introduction: An excellent nutritional supplement, capable of efficiently replenishing blood components and promoting the body's hematopoietic function]
[Formula Appendix: Due to unknown reasons, company operations consultant Professor Esk illegally violated company protocol, deciding to analyze the synthesis principles of the Reconstructor's product. He chose the stable and harmless 093 as the analysis object and attempted to change the appearance and taste of 093]
[During secret implementation of the project, an encounter with ■■■■■ occurred, the Humanity Council urgently sealed off the site, Professor Esk went missing, and all his assistants turned into ■■■■■■, with no survivors on site]
[Warning: Do not seek the molecular Reconstructor's item generation principles! Do not adjust the item's synthesis parameters!]
Although this thing looks somewhat intimidating from the outside, consuming 093 actually has no negative effects, and its synthesis materials are only a large quantity of vegetables and water, making it quite convenient to synthesize.
The other finished product was something Lin Lan held even greater hope for:
[Formula 066: Fake Philosopher's Stone]
[Formula Introduction: A Celestial Principle carrier capable of devouring curse phenomena]
[Formula Appendix: Bearing Its gaze is not without cost; using 066 incurs a chance of falling into ■■■■■]
[Warning: Relax, take deep breaths, contain your curiosity! Do not trust voices from ■■■■■!]
The synthesis materials for this thing are not cheap, starting with 66.6 grams of pure gold.
Lin Lan had committed heavily last night, feeding all of his predecessor's savings to the silver giant, successfully turning into a genuine pauper.
He looked at the pale golden crystal stone and recalled the appendix of the Philosopher's Stone formula.
The gibberish in the grooves...
What exactly is the cost, damn it, make it clear!
Strands of morning light spilled in from the window sill, yet the gray-haired boy's profile was hidden in the shadow on the other side, and for some unknown reason, he became inexplicably restless.
Suddenly, he realized the girl before him was staring straight at him.
Even under the sunlight, Wendy's beautiful face remained bloodless; she resembled a withered white camellia, and even a vicious curse could not deprive her of beauty.
Perhaps warming up was the reason her special azure eyes regained a bit of spirit.
"Let me explain their functions to you,"
Lin Lan sighed silently, pointing at the table as he began prattling, "The red liquid on the left may not look appealing, but it's actually safe and harmless, you can drink it without worry, and the crystal on the right can remove curses, except..."
He paused, his brow involuntarily furrowing, "Using it comes with an unknown cost."
The girl nodded with difficulty.
Then, she leaned forward, slowly and firmly reaching out her hand.
Did she finally make a decision?
Indeed... she had no choice...
The unique clean scent of ashes wafted into Lin Lan's nose the next moment.
The girl's soft strands of hair danced in the sunlight, but she didn't touch the precious objects on the table; instead, she tightly clasped Lin Lan's hand.
"Thank you... you..." She met the boy's gaze, with a look both gentle and firm.
Lin Lan was taken aback for a moment.
"There's nothing to thank me for; I'm just using you for an experiment." He shook his head, "This is just a transaction, where we each take what we need."
"It's not like that..."
The girl shook her head gently, "You're trying to save me with something very precious..."
She looked at the slightly fatigued gray-haired boy, her voice like a warm breeze soothing the waves, "And that unknown cost... was never your fault..."
Beside her, Ed nodded in agreement.
The young lord before him seemed to be truly different from other nobles.
Lin Lan was silent for a moment.
He slowly withdrew his hand and picked up the glass bottle containing red liquid, handing it to her.
Wendy took it, without a trace of fear or hesitation, she tilted her head back and drank the strange substance of unknown origin in one gulp.
"How do you feel?"
Lin Lan asked aloud, Ed looked tense.
Under the gaze of the two, Wendy's skinny cheeks gradually grew flush.
"It's warm, very comfortable..." she murmured, her body no longer trembling slightly. Clearly, 093 took effect extremely quickly, it almost instantly adapted to the patient's blood type.
The active gel began enveloping organs, autonomously pumping the newly birthed blood to every part of the body's network.
"Lord, it really works!" Ed's eyes gleamed with joy.
Yet, the next moment, disaster struck.
'Deprive the soul spirit! Blood sacrifice for the Abyss! Deprive the soul spirit! Blood sacrifice for the Abyss!'
As if some homunculus had been enraged, a piercing, bizarre wail suddenly erupted from Wendy's body!
In Ed's horrified gaze, pale red mist seeped outward from the girl's skin, snaking around in the air, converging together, finally sketching a chilling blood-red eye in mid-air!
'Separate the soul spirit! Blood sacrifice for the Abyss! I have marked you!'
It venomously glanced downward, filled with malice and madness within its spiteful shrieks.
The girl's face turned painfully anguished again, she curled up helplessly, the replenished blood drawn into the air once more by the curse.
"It really is a curse..."
Ed's face turned pale, muttering, "Why would the Lion Heart Royal Court use such cruel and malicious methods against a child..."
Lin Lan stood beside the girl, looking up at the red eye.
Paying gold was indeed worth it, the curse-absorbing Fake Philosopher's Stone proved useful.
But can Wendy truly pay the price?
Lin Lan closed his eyes.
Being reborn in the merciless Otherworld, he had long been prepared to abandon his conscience and protect himself.
As a Transmigrator, he should have stood in an absolutely safe position, coldly watching others struggle to survive, then offer supposedly precious items as if benevolent, thus receiving gratitude.
Doing so, naturally, had no problems, even someone might elevate him, viewing him as a bringer of hope.
Personally getting involved, wallowing in the mud was undoubtedly a foolish act.
It would only attract ridicule, being seen as a madman and freak.
At this moment, Lin Lan suddenly realized the root of his frustration.
Indeed...
——He could justify himself to anyone, yet couldn't deceive his own obsessive even somewhat sinister thoughts.
Lin Lan suddenly smiled with relief.
The provoked curse continued to spread.
The scarlet ghost lurked in mid-air, surveying its prey, growing serrated around the eye's edges, seemingly joyful...
The prey on the brink of falling into the Abyss suddenly gained some vitality, but it was irrelevant; whether flesh or pain, it had decided to feast heartily!
Wendy's eyes dimmed again, tears streaming down, she wanted to grab the stone to her right, only to despairingly realize she had lost the strength to lift her arm.
Hope so close, yet infinitely distant.
Familiar cold as tides swept in, even the dream's flames became nothing but ephemeral bubbles...
No... I will not give up... Little Lisa is still waiting for me...
Wendy gritted her teeth, refusing to let herself fall into darkness, instead exerting all her strength to reach for that glimmer of light.
Yet she grasped at nothing.
Because, someone had already seized that pale-golden Crystal Stone!
Golden threads crawled up the back of the gray-haired boy's hand, etching flame-like golden lines at the corners of his eyes.
"I've completely figured it out, what's the point of being a timid wimp..."
He lifted his head, grinned, sneering.
"If I'm going crazy, I'm going all out!"