Chapter 78: A Mistake

"You!" Shizi Shan pointed at himself.

"Leave your contact number with me. From now on, you’ll be in charge of them." Xuan Xuan had memorized Shizi Shan’s contact number before departing.

She had barely been gone a few moments when the people below began to buzz with excited conversation, and Wan Qiwu finally came to his senses, as if the recent events had all been a dream.

That young lady was truly no ordinary person.

Wan Qiwu glanced at the iron tree in the flowerpot on the table, then at the bottle of green potion in Shizi Shan’s hand, his eyes gleaming with gold. If these were auctioned off, the results would astonish countless people—the Green World might just go mad.

Seeing Wan Qiwu’s heated gaze, Shizi Shan hurriedly stuffed the items into his backpack. Only after he finished did he remember that these were materials from the Pearl Pavilion, created by its own people. Yet, he couldn’t bring himself to hand them over. Considering their rapid growth rate, he felt that giving away the potion would be no different from surrendering his own life.

Shizi Shan coughed twice, his face tinged crimson, turning away to avoid Wan Qiwu’s gaze and feigning indifference. Such shamelessness was a first for him.

Wan Qiwu was conflicted as well. Though the items belonged to the Pearl Pavilion, he dared not mention it, since the young lady was no ordinary member. The man before him would soon be the closest person to her. Even if Wan Qiwu lacked tact, he would never risk offense. Wasn’t it said that one could master this in a year?

Gritting his teeth, he thought: what’s half a bottle? There would be more than enough in the future.

He steeled himself and pretended not to notice, though his heart bled.

"Mr. Shi, the woman who just visited was Miss Xuan, assigned by Third Young Master to oversee your potion training," Wan Qiwu said, still maintaining a respectful tone.

Shizi Shan responded with a simple "Mm," as if nothing had happened. Since she hadn’t asked for the items, he was all the more pleased. "Third Young Master has already spoken to me."

"Miss Xuan doesn’t like us to contact her; she’ll reach out to you herself. Please be mindful."

Shizi Shan nodded. He wasn’t foolish; with someone like her, he’d cling to her support rather than risk offense. "Rest assured, Director Wu."

"And please pay special attention to these twenty-nine others."

"Understood."

After much instruction, Wan Qiwu reluctantly departed, needing to report to Wan Qilian Hao.

Right after Wan Qiwu logged off, someone exited the laboratory.

"Director Liu." The person was one sent by Deputy Director Liu. He bowed, grinning obsequiously. Though Liu was only a deputy, he disliked being addressed as such—so those seeking favor simply called him Director.

Deputy Director Liu sat in his office with an air of authority. "Well?"

"I’ve found something out."

"Oh?" Liu’s heart stirred. "Speak."

"They went directly to the newly built laboratory at the back. Though I watched from afar, guess who I saw? I spotted Shizi Shan."

Liu’s brow twitched. "Shizi Shan of the Federation’s First Military Academy?"

Shizi Shan’s mentor, Old Ji, was renowned, and Shizi Shan himself was a top student at the Academy, a rising star in the Wan Qi family’s laboratory. How had he come here, and what dealings did he have with Wan Qiwu?

"You’re sure?" Liu asked urgently.

The man nodded. "I saw clearly—it was Shizi Shan, and there were about thirty others in the lab."

Thirty people. Liu’s heart skipped a beat. "Was that mysterious figure Wan Qiwu brought among them?"

"I don’t think so. She spoke a few words and left. I suspect it might be Wan Qiwu trying to curry favor with Shizi Shan by bringing his relatives along."

"How was her relationship with Shizi Shan?"

"Not close—they barely spoke, and Wan Qiwu didn’t see her off. I’m certain Wan Qiwu was just putting on airs to intimidate you."

"Good," Liu relaxed. He’d suspected Wan Qiwu had no important guests; all that talk of connections with Master Yi Qiong was likely a sham meant to fool the gullible.

Still, the fact that Shizi Shan was present in the new lab, and Liu knew nothing of it, troubled him. He asked, "Did you hear what research they were conducting?"

"I was too far to hear, but I saw them gathered around a flowerpot."

Liu’s worries eased. He knew Shizi Shan and his mentor had been working on plant growth lately.

Yet, he was still uneasy. Wan Qiwu had been acting secretive, and it seemed a large number of potions had been moved into the lab today, but only trusted aides were involved, and Liu had no access. He beckoned the man over. "Come here."

The man approached, and Liu handed him an identity badge. "Take advantage of Wan Qiwu’s absence to check what potions they moved in. If there are many, bring one out for me to see."

"Yes, yes." The man hurried off, leaving Liu to pace anxiously, worried something might go wrong. If caught, he’d just claim the badge was stolen. Yes.

With that, Liu felt at ease and sat down to leisurely sip his coffee.

At last, the man returned. "Well?"

"Heh heh," he chuckled, "Look."

Liu took the bottle. It was exquisite, but the clear liquid inside—what was it?

Wan Qiwu would have recognized it immediately: it was one of the batch of intermediate mana potions Xuan Xuan had left behind. It had originally been stored separately, but with the new lab, it was moved for convenience. Liu had unwittingly committed petty theft.

"What’s this?" Liu asked.

"I don’t know. But since it was stored in the safest, most concealed spot, it must be important."

Liu inspected it but found no clues. Given his work at the Pearl Pavilion, he wouldn’t dare test it himself. "All right, you may go—you’ll get your reward."

The man’s eyes lit up. "Thank you, Director Liu."

Neither Liu nor Wan Qiwu realized that after leaving, the man exited the Pearl Pavilion, performed several spatial jumps, and arrived at a large estate in the imperial capital’s outskirts.

He entered a secret room.

"Why are you here?"

"Master," he replied.

"No one noticed?"

"I was very careful. Today, I discovered Shizi Shan at the Pearl Pavilion, along with thirty researchers. Wan Qiwu personally escorted a white-robed, masked woman into the building, treating her with great respect. Liu sent me to investigate, and I took these." He produced two bottles: one, the intermediate 'Mana Source' he’d given Liu; the other, a coral-hued 'Volcano Potion.'

"Do you know what these are?"

"I don’t know about this one," he said, pointing to the clear 'Mana Source.' "But as for this, if I’m not mistaken, it’s the 'Volcano Potion' that caused a stir some time ago."

"'Volcano Potion'?" his master asked. "The one with unknown effects, auctioned for six million, the one that Kuang Shao and his team failed to obtain?"

"Yes," he nodded. "After that event, only the masked woman received special treatment from Wan Qiwu. Thirty potion researchers were assigned to the Pearl Pavilion for these items; I suspect the presence of Shizi Shan means this is no ordinary potion."

"Excellent. Continue your work. You’ve done well."

After the agent departed, his master sat at the desk, tapping it thoughtfully as he examined the two bottles, undecided.

He quickly ordered a team to analyze them. Even if the 'Volcano Potion' was genuine, it was only a virtual item. Why did the Wan Qi family value it so highly?

They had even assigned Shizi Shan to study it in the star network—surely it wasn’t so simple.

"Someone, investigate the white-robed, masked woman entering the Pearl Pavilion."

Soon, a photo appeared on his communicator: a masked woman in a flowing white dress, hair flying, seated atop a black mecha.

The pen in his hand snapped in two as he gnashed his teeth and uttered a name: "Zhan Yu!"

"Hmph, I hadn’t intended to dig deeper, but now I have no choice." He summoned someone, pointing to the white figure on the communicator. "Investigate her thoroughly and monitor her every move."

With a cold laugh, he thought: I didn’t expect an opportunity to present itself, but she’s come to me. Zhan Yu, you can’t blame me now.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director Liu had no idea what he had in his hands. He anonymously consigned it to Wanbao Pavilion for auction, with no name attached but a starting price of one hundred thousand.

He might not know what it was, but he wasn’t stupid; anything that Wan Qiwu treated with such care couldn’t be ordinary. As for appraisals, Liu didn’t care about the cost.

He’d done this many times before, feeling no guilt as he consigned the item to Wanbao Pavilion. The last 'Volcano Potion' had fetched six million; perhaps this one would be even more valuable.