Chapter 15 Reunion in the City

After a hearty breakfast at the wealthy Reina's apartment, Suren left feeling refreshed.

He had arranged to meet Mr. Black today.

Aside from catching up, he also had many things he wanted to ask him in person.

Mr. Black had taken a humble position as a librarian at the "Royal England Parliament Library" in Lingdun. He spent his days there, reading, organizing books, and occasionally restoring ancient texts. Unassuming as it was, it was the intelligence core of the Dawn Organization in Lingdun.

The library was located in the Franklin District, an area that didn't have the obvious divisions between the rich and poor districts. It was a hub for many large and medium-sized enterprises, a place where the elite of the commoners worked actively.

Suren rode his steam motorcycle across two districts, taking half an hour to reach the library.

It was a magnificent complex of buildings, with a classic Gothic style, a beautiful golden clock tower, and various turrets. It was the most impressive building Suren had ever seen in Lingdun.

He parked his motorcycle in the shed near the library square and walked over.

The weather was nice today, and there were many people in the fountain square feeding the plump pigeons with bread crumbs.

Where the rich gather, even the pets are fatter.

He contacted Mr. Black, who was currently organizing ancient texts in the A section of the book collection.

Suren glanced at the map and entered the library.

Although the library was open to everyone, proper attire was required for entry.

In Royal England, a decent outfit, including a top hat, leather boots, and a cane, cost at least ten thousand lisuo.

Most commoners simply couldn't afford such an expensive ensemble. So, although the library appeared to be open to everyone, it effectively excluded the lower classes.

Allowing a select few to access knowledge was still considered a gift from the aristocratic class to the commoners.

...

Suren entered the library, feeling as if he were entering a maze of books.

This "Parliament Library" was one of the two largest libraries in the world, alongside the "Royal England Academy Library".

The public areas of the library held over two hundred million recorded items. It also received a large number of social donations every year, and this number continued to increase.

It collected books, manuscripts, newspapers, ancient scrolls, stamps, drawings, and some strange cursed objects. The book section alone contained classics recorded in over a thousand languages, covering ancient relics from dozens of civilizations.

In short, it was very, very large.

The library was brightly lit, and a few people were flipping through books on the mahogany chairs.

Suren looked around, feeling a little envious, thinking how great it would be to have such a library in his little void realm to carry around with him.

The deeper he explored in the field of alchemy, the more he was filled with awe for the vastness of knowledge.

Before long, Suren arrived at a corner of the A section.

This was the book sorting area, and there was no one there except for the librarians.

As he arrived, he saw Mr. Black on the second floor, buried in sorting a large pile of ancient scrolls.

Suren called out, "Mr. Black... long time no see."

Mr. Black chuckled and replied, "Don't call me 'Mr.' That's not appropriate..."

He was a disciple of Mr. Mirror, and Suren was Mr. Mirror's junior brother.

In terms of seniority, Mr. Black had to call Suren "Little Uncle-Master."

Suren would never dare to presume, this old gentleman was always in his eyes the wise man, senior, and elder he respected. He had also helped him solve big troubles several times in old Lingdun.

Moreover, Mr. Black was a true erudite.

Although Suren had harvested so much miscellaneous knowledge, most of it had been scavenged from pirates and combat personnel, how many books could they read? Removing the overlapping ones, whether in depth or quantity, he was far behind Mr. Black.

But with respect in his heart, Suren still joked with Mr. Black when he saw him, "How about we address each other as we please? I'll still call you 'Mr.,' and you call me 'Little Uncle-Master'?"

Mr. Black didn't get angry, but instead laughed loudly, "Hahaha..."

They both knew that neither of them cared about the address.

Mr. Black pointed to a chair next to him, "Suren, just find a place to sit."

Not being an outsider, Suren didn't stand on ceremony. He pulled up a chair and sat down, looking at the ancient scrolls on the table with great interest.

Mr. Black also saw it and pointed to the ancient scrolls on the table, saying, "Sorry, I originally wanted to meet somewhere else. But I'm really too busy with work."

Suren didn't care about that at all.

After a pause, Mr. Black introduced, "This is 'Kimberley script,' an ancient script from a very rarely recorded lost civilization. An adventure team excavated it from a sunken ship in the South Sea last month, and it was just sent to the library yesterday. With just this box of ancient scrolls, even if you searched all the libraries in Royal England, you probably wouldn't find a second box..."

The words seemed to have a kind of magic, and when he talked about it, the scholar's calm eyes showed brilliance.

Suren had never even heard of this lost civilization, and he looked quite interested, asking, "It seems to record some kind of alchemy?"

Mr. Black's erudition was immediately evident, "Yes. Naturally, anything that can be preserved so well is valuable writing. Because knowledge is fragmented, the translation isn't very accurate, but it roughly records an ancient alchemy for extracting seawater..."

"Oh."

Suren listened and gained some knowledge.

He was even more envious of the "treasure-gathering effect" of a metropolis like Lingdun.

Royal England adventurers searched the world for treasures, excavating ancient ruins. But in the end, almost all the good things were transported to Lingdun after being excavated.

Especially things like ancient relics.

Because only people in big cities like Lingdun could afford to buy them; and only here could they find expert teams with enough knowledge to translate them and discover the true value of the relics.

Just looking at these few scrolls in the library, they were probably rare treasures that ordinary people would never have the chance to touch in their entire lives.

And Royal England was a vast empire.

The accumulation of thousands of years in Lingdun City was absolutely unimaginable to outsiders.

These foundations were also the most important reason why this place was called the "Holy Land of Alchemy."

Suren was envious, and still envious.

And the more he compared, the more he felt like a nouveau riche.

More than anything, he felt he needed more knowledge to enrich himself.

There was endless knowledge in this library, as vast as the endless starry sky.

Mr. Black found such an identity to hide himself, for both his hobbies and for his own professional advancement.

Suren felt that if he ever saw the world, retiring as a librarian would be a good choice.

...

Reunited with an old friend, Suren curiously sensed Mr. Black's soul fluctuations, raised his eyebrows in amazement, and asked directly, "Mr. Black... what is your strength now? I feel like you're unbelievably powerful."

If it wasn't special, he wouldn't have asked.

He knew that Mr. Black had also advanced to the fifth rank, but the feeling he gave was as deep as the sea.

Even when facing any sixth or even seventh rank professionals he had seen before, Suren had never felt this unfathomable.

Those wise eyes seemed to be able to see through everything.

Mr. Black didn't respond directly, but instead smiled, "Young friend Suren, you're the impressive one. Your record of fighting twenty thousand enemies alone in the Molos City-State is something no one can do... Now you are the 'strongest professional' in the eyes of Royal England's young people."

Hearing this, Suren didn't know whether to laugh or cry, saying, "Mr. Black, please don't make fun of me. Don't you know what the truth is?"

Mr. Black's turbid eyes contained a smile, but he wasn't entirely joking, saying, "I'm not making this up, it's written in the newspapers. At least in that situation, even a seventh-rank professional wouldn't be able to defeat so many enemies."

In front of a scholar, Suren couldn't bring himself to boast, he returned to the previous topic and asked again, "So, what is your combat power now?"

Mr. Black thought for a moment and said something ambiguous, "Knowledge makes me fearless."

"..."

Suren rolled his eyes, his expression as if to say: speak human language.

Mr. Black looked at his teasing expression and finally thought for a moment, saying very steadily, "Well... to be honest, I probably can't be defeated below the seventh rank."

Suren listened to this and seemed to get a satisfactory answer, "I think you're being modest."

According to this old man's modest nature, if he dared to say that, it meant he had to be a little higher.

If anyone else said this, it could even be interpreted as... I am invincible below the seventh rank!

Even Suren, who thought he was already very powerful, wouldn't dare to say he was invincible below the seventh rank.

Just like when he encountered the mastermind behind the [Ghost Bride], with that kind of black magic puppet, whether it was the fifth or sixth rank, Suren was not sure he could definitely defeat it.

But Mr. Black dared to say this, he must have certain confidence.

As strong as ever...

Suren thought in his heart.

To be personally accepted as a disciple by Mr. Mirror, Mr. Black's talent was definitely beyond question.

This old man was good at everything, just a little too low-key.

He was already among the most erudite people in the world, but he always acted like an ignorant schoolchild, always with a humble and restrained calmness.

After chatting for a while, Suren talked to Mr. Black about serious matters.

The recent situation in Royal England, the current situation of the Dawn Organization, and the reactions of the major forces...

Hearing that Mr. Mirror and the others had gone to the Saenodia Province and that the organization was developing well there, Suren breathed a sigh of relief.

He also told Mr. Black about the clues he had discovered yesterday.

At least he could let the Dawn's intelligence organization make some preparations in advance.

The two chatted from morning until afternoon.

If Suren didn't have other things to do, he would have really planned to stay in the library for a few days to ask for advice and learn.

Before leaving, Suren gave Mr. Black the [Void Resistance Potion] and a space material he had obtained earlier that was highly compatible with the [Scholar] profession.

...

Before long, Mr. Black sent Suren to the library door, "This professional material is indeed very suitable for me, Suren, you have a kind heart."

Not only the materials, but also the rare [Void Resistance Potion] and those lost ancient void alchemy techniques, which would greatly increase his spatial ability.

For this scholar, the increase in strength would be even more terrifying than for ordinary people, that kind of affinity would cause a qualitative change in his spatial techniques!

Suren didn't care about these things.

Not to mention that they were both members of Dawn and had a relationship with Mr. Mirror, Mr. Black had helped him too much in old Lingdun.

Mr. Black also said, "By the way, I went to see about that [Isaac's Alchemy Manuscript] you wanted, it is indeed in the Royal Academy Library. But it's not easy to get it out. It's a permanent collection of the Royal Academy, and even the royal family doesn't have the right to give it to anyone. So... the only way to obtain it is to use some extraordinary means. But the library has very clever security restrictions, and even I haven't come up with any solutions to bypass them."

"Oh?"

Suren frowned upon hearing this.

He didn't just want to get the contents inside to refine the [Isaac's Giant Strength] armor, but also wanted to get the classic itself.

It was left by Sir Isaac, and besides knowledge, it was a very powerful treasure in itself.

Suren felt that the treasures of his master's sect should naturally be collected in his hands, and besides, his teacher Sereia said that there was a big secret hidden in the notes.

But it didn't seem easy to get.

Mr. Black said, "I think you can go take a look yourself sometime, after all, your All-Knowing Eye talent can see more things."

Suren nodded, "Yeah."

Going to the Royal England Academy was also one of his plans for the next few days.

He would go see that manuscript, and also go see his disciple Zeke, who liked to study bombs.

Mr. Black also said, "Also, you can ask Kit about this. He is proficient in various restriction cracking and lock picking skills, and may be able to help. And he would probably be very interested too. After all, the treasures in the Royal Academy Library Treasure Pavilion are regarded by thief-type professionals as the 'ultimate challenge' for thief emperor certification. The last one to successfully challenge it was one of the ten legendary hunters, the 'Thief Emperor' Carlo Merdis..."

Suren smiled upon hearing this.

Before parting, Mr. Black also said, "Danny has opened a potion shop at 171 Rowton Street in the Queen's District. When you go, remember to tell him that I have found the batch of ancient pharmacology classics he was looking for, and he can come and get them at any time..."

Suren nodded, "Okay."

...

Before long, Suren rode his steam motorcycle to the Queen's District again.

Rowton Street was the location of the "Royal England Pharmacists Guild" headquarters, and also the only place in the empire that certified senior pharmacist qualifications.

This street gathered pharmacists from all over the country, and therefore also had the largest pharmaceutical materials market in Royal England.

Pharmacology was one of the most important basic disciplines in alchemy, which Suren himself was proficient in. It just so happened that recent experimental research was lacking some materials, and Doctor Banks had given him a long list, so he planned to purchase them himself.

After Suren drove the motorcycle over and parked it on the street corner, he leisurely strolled around the market.

Various pharmaceutical material shops hanging signs were dazzling, and Suren casually strolled through a few.

It had to be admitted that this Rowton Street distribution market was indeed the largest pharmaceutical materials market in Royal England. Here, you could find almost all the pharmaceutical materials you needed!

There were also various finished potions sold in the shops, from the lowest-level healing potions to life-saving potions worth tens of millions, they had them all here.

As long as you had money, you could buy almost any potion with the ideal effect.

The pedestrians on the street were bustling, and apart from pharmacists and professional merchants, a large part of them were adventurers who came to buy potions.

Because it was the main distribution center, the potions here were much cheaper than in other places.

However, Suren only bought a few urgently needed materials after strolling around, and then stopped.

It wasn't that he didn't want to buy more, but that these materials were too expensive!

Suren had been mixing in the North Sea pirate circle, and was used to the "discount prices" of the pirate black market.

Now, when he came to the regular market, the materials were so expensive that he found it outrageous.

Materials that could be bought for one thousand lisuo in the pirate city of Hestlin, might cost ten thousand, or even tens of thousands here.

The materials were basically four or five times more expensive on average, and some were even dozens of times more expensive.

Suren gave up the idea of sweeping the goods.

Although he wasn't short of money, there was no need to waste it like this.

These things should still be handled by the wealthy Reina's chamber of commerce.

His own people, with no middleman making the difference, were more suitable for bulk purchases.

Suren didn't linger in the market, looking at the house numbers, he walked all the way through the bustling Rowton Street. Finding number 150, he was already in a very remote corner.

After going around for a long time without finding his destination, he asked the locals, and then found number 171.

That shop was hidden in a dark alley.

Probably like a village in the city, behind the glamorous commercial district of Rowton Street was a very old house, where many porters who worked hard for the medicinal material market lived.

Suren looked at the house number he had finally found, and muttered, "No wonder Mr. Black said it was hard to find..."

This was a very small shop, only hanging a small sign that said "Danny's Potion Shop."

Compared to the big shops on the main street, this was no different from a street stall.

However, the shop was closed.

Suren didn't want to make his arrival in Lingdun City known to everyone, and Danny didn't know he was coming.

But he knew that there were people in the house, and quite a few.

He pinched a warlock seal, and a person covered in a cloak appeared.

Doctor Banks, who came out of the small void realm, looked at the sign on the shop, his voice clearly excited, "Is this Danny's shop?"

Suren nodded, "Yeah. It should be on the second floor. There are a lot of people there."

Just as the two were hesitating whether to knock on the door, a young face wearing a peaked cap appeared on the roof of the second floor.

The man looked at Suren and the two people who were clearly of unknown origin, and cautiously asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Suren looked up, although the hat covered his face, he immediately recognized this person, and greeted, "Kai?"

He had sensed earlier that there was a not-weak third-rank professional upstairs, but he didn't expect it to be an acquaintance.

This was none other than the old captain of the Old Lingdun Cross Society, Kai, who had gone through life and death with Suren.

The peaked cap person was stunned for a moment when he heard his real name called out, "Suren?"

When he saw Suren's face clearly, an unbelievable expression appeared on his face, and he shouted in surprise, "Oh my god, it's really you!"

Kai jumped down lightly and gave Suren a warm hug.

Suren was also very happy to see his old friend.

The alley was obviously not the place to chat, Kai greeted, "Come on, let's talk inside!"

Saying that, he knocked on the tightly closed potion shop door and shouted upstairs, "Enisa, open the door quickly."

Hearing the sound of footsteps going downstairs in the house, the door opened before long.

It was a small nurse wearing an isolation suit, a young girl. She looked at Suren and the two with her big eyes, and asked, "Mr. Kai, is there a new patient?"

Kai didn't explain much, "No. He's an old friend of mine and Danny's."

"Oh."

The little nurse named Enisa turned and went upstairs, "Then Mr. Kai, you greet the guests, I have to help Doctor Danny change the medicine for the patients."

Kai: "Okay."

Suren looked at the few finished potions in the shop and casually asked, "Why isn't the shop open?"

Kai's expression was a little dignified, saying, "These days, the city has been plagued by a strange disease, there are too many patients, and it won't be able to accommodate them if it's open."

Before Suren could think too much, they had already walked up to the second floor.

In the small room, curtains separated more than a dozen beds, and a figure in a white coat was busy.

He seemed very focused, not realizing that there were two more people in the room at all, he just said, "Enisa, inject the patient in bed number three with a 't3 antiviral agent'."

Kai originally wanted to greet Danny to greet his old friend, but Doctor Banks walked over instead.

He didn't look at his son much, but saw the patients on bed number 3, saying, "A t3-level antiviral agent is not enough to suppress the patient's symptoms, at least a t5-level one is needed. Add another five milliliters of 'mercury neutralizer' to neutralize the septicemia in the patient's organs."

Hearing this, Danny didn't turn his head, replying, "There's no t5. Let's use t3 first. I'll think of a way to get the medicine later..."

After saying that, he realized that someone seemed to have said something.

Looking back, he saw a stranger beside him.

Although he couldn't see his face clearly, a familiar sense of closeness arose spontaneously.

Danny wasn't sure who he was looking at, but when he turned his face, he recognized Suren, exclaiming, "Suren?"

Suren nodded and smiled, "Long time no see, Danny."

Seeing his old friend again, Danny couldn't hide the surprise in his eyes.

Since this was Suren, then...

Danny knew earlier that his father was still alive, it was because of those deformity inhibitors sent from the pirate city that he had saved his life.

Then, this person was his father?

Doctor Banks also opened his mouth, speaking in a complicated tone, "Danny, are you okay?"

Hearing this, Danny's eyes filled with tears.

...

The father and son reunited, and the joy was indescribable.

And unfortunately, both of them were deformed, and their appearances were completely different from before.

They couldn't explain their respective experiences in a few words.

However, before they could say a few words to catch up, the patients' coughs interrupted them.

Banks temporarily suppressed the patients' symptoms with some advanced potions he carried with him.

Suren watched the whole process, his eyes very solemn.

Because no matter how you looked at it, these patients had the symptoms of the "Red Death."

When asked, Danny also proved one point.

"This is a new infectious disease, which should have been spread by rats at first. Red spots appear on the patient's body, especially on the face, often accompanied by dizziness, severe pain, and bleeding from the pores. I have tried many methods, but I have not yet found a cure. Some advanced potions can suppress some of the disease's symptoms, so that the patient is not in immediate danger, but the terrible thing is that ordinary people cannot afford the cost of injecting advanced potions."

After a pause, he added, "Moreover, I have found that those speculative merchants who have caught wind of the situation recently have been hoarding goods again. The prices of related potions and materials that can suppress this disease have been multiplied several times, and the prices are still rising crazily... It is difficult for me to buy some materials to prepare potions."

Doctor Banks looked solemn, saying, "Looking at the symptoms, it should be the legendary 'Red Death'."

Danny didn't know what had happened, and asked in confusion, "Father, what is this disease?"

Doctor Banks and Suren looked at each other, and sighed slightly, "Let's go downstairs and talk."

The patients had no problems for the time being, and Danny was finally able to leave the ward.

They chatted downstairs.

Danny had deformities in his body, and his features were frightening, so he didn't like to show his face. But because he had been rescued by the people in the slums of Old Lingdun, that experience also made him always have good intentions towards the lower classes. So when he came to Lingdun, he opened this small potion shop, usually selling affordable potions to the lower classes and treating some patients.

The little nurse named Enisa was a former patient. Danny cured her who was originally bound to die. The girl stayed to work as a nurse for the shop.

Old friends meeting again would have had too much to say, but they talked more about the "Red Death."

Among the lower classes of Lingdun, this "Terror of Blood" was quietly spreading.

Fortunately, Doctor Banks was an expert in this field, and seeing these cases, he also had some treatment ideas.

However, it would still require a lot of clinical trials to test some programs.

No one could say how long this time would take.

This also made Suren more eager to know who was spreading this disease, and who was the supplier of that batch of parasite potions!

...

With Doctor Banks and Danny, professional people, studying the Red Death, Suren didn't need to worry about it.

In the evening, he came to a coffee shop called "Lost Bird" on the banks of the Loko Valen River.

He had agreed with Shabina to meet here at seven o'clock.

They would go to that mysterious "Full Moon Ball" together.

Suren ordered a coffee and sat in the corner by the window, this position was just right to observe almost everyone in the cafe.

Outside the window was the famous Lingdun Iron Bridge.

This suspension bridge was a landmark of Lingdun, and if a giant ship honked its horn, the bridge deck could automatically tilt to both sides to allow the ship to pass.

Suren had just sat down, taken a few sips of coffee, and looked at his pocket watch, there was still a quarter of an hour before the agreed time.

But at this moment, a woman with a scarf covering most of her face hurriedly entered his view. She glanced at the people in the cafe, and immediately focused her eyes on Suren in the corner.

She walked over with light steps, and then, as she walked, she untied the scarf.

The shiny big wavy red hair first caught his eye, and then, looking at that charming smile, who else could it be but Shabina?

Suren raised his eyebrows and smiled, looking at this succubus maid he hadn't seen in a long time.

Shabina didn't honestly sit across from Suren, but sat directly next to him without any hesitation.

Her hot body pressed close, this succubus maid hugged her master's neck, and whined charmingly, "Master, I've kept you waiting!"