172: Chapter 172 If I fail to refine it, will you kill me?

Several days passed.

Gu Changming was still sleeping in the other person's small cabin during these days.

He had mentioned renting a house outside for a few days, but she simply wouldn't allow it, saying the environment outside was poor.

However, Gu Changming knew perfectly well that this fellow was just afraid he would hear news about her if he went outside.

Since he hadn't exposed her from the start, it wasn't easy to bring it up explicitly now.

So, for the past few days, Gu Changming had been sleeping on her sofa, while she, having no bed, could only make a pallet for herself on the floor.

Early morning.

Just as Gu Changming opened his eyes on the sofa, he caught a glimpse of a green figure standing beside him out of the corner of his eye.

He turned his head to look; it was Chen Yiming wearing dinosaur pajamas.

Seeing him wake up, the most brilliant smile immediately blossomed on Chen Yiming's face: "You're awake?"

As she spoke, she briskly pushed a small coffee table cart to the front of Gu Changming. On it were various types of breakfast items and a cup of coffee.

She introduced them enthusiastically: "This is the breakfast I prepared for you, and I brewed the coffee myself."

Seeing this, Gu Changming naturally knew what she wanted to do.

Offering favors for no reason.

It was nothing more than wanting points from him.

"Is there sugar in it?" he asked.

"No..." After Chen Yiming finished speaking, she immediately got up and ran toward the kitchen.

Soon, she ran back holding a jar of sugar cubes, offering it with both hands: "I didn't know your taste, so you'd better add it as you see fit."

Gu Changming took the jar and set it aside before speaking: "Did a problem come up?"

Chen Yiming gave a sheepish smile and quibbled: "No, it's going very smoothly. I've already finished researching the ratio for the medicinal liquid."

"And then?" Gu Changming asked.

"And then... you know, the budget and the actual costs often don't match up."

Gu Changming nodded, a trace of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. "So you're going to tell me some good news? That the development was successful and there are quite a few points left over?"

Chen Yiming's face immediately fell into a bitter expression, not daring to speak further.

Seeing her like this, Gu Changming finally said: "Speak, how many more points are needed to finish?"

Hearing this, her eyes instantly lit up again, as if the embarrassment from just now had never existed.

She held up three fingers: "Thirty thousand. Give me another thirty thousand, and I guarantee I can produce the potion for you."

As she said this, she stole a glance at the points balance on her panel.

At this moment, of the fifty thousand points Gu Changming had given her before, only six or seven thousand points remained.

Gu Changming opened his mouth, but before he could speak, she immediately cut her own price: "If you think that's too much, twenty-five thousand is also okay! I can grit my teeth and make it work."

It was already forty to fifty percent complete; with thirty thousand points, she could definitely pull it off even if she had to grind her teeth to dust.

Gu Changming reached out his hand and tapped a few times in the air in front of him.

Soon, a transfer notification immediately popped up on Chen Yiming's face.

[Do you wish to accept the transfer from the other party? points: 35,000.]

"I'm giving you an extra five thousand so you don't have to grit your teeth," Gu Changming said.

Chen Yiming's eyes lit up. Not even bothering to confirm, she threw herself directly onto the floor in a full prostration:

"Thank you, Boss! May everything go smoothly for you, and may the God of Wealth favor you..."

Gu Changming raised his hand and gave her head a light, measured rap.

"Go to work. None of that nonsense."

"You got it!" Chen Yiming immediately bounced up, grabbed a sandwich from the coffee table, and turned to rush back to the refining station, the tail of her dinosaur pajamas swaying behind her.

Didn't you say you bought that for me? Gu Changming grumbled inwardly.

Afterward, his gaze fell back onto that cup of coffee.

After a few seconds, he glanced at the sugar jar next to it again.

After thinking about it, he still picked it up and took a sip.

Tsk... so bitter.

Gu Changming felt a bit depressed; he had drunk it several times now, so why hadn't he gotten used to it yet?

...

By noon the next day.

Chen Yiming was already spacing out at the refining table, her chin resting in her hands.

She was thinking: Was there a possibility that by using ordinary white-grade herbs worth only dozens of points and applying her special blending, she could rival those potion made from herbs costing one or two thousand points?

Or perhaps: if some low-to-mid-level mutated beast bloodlines underwent continuous purification, they could "revert to their ancestors" and obtain a bloodline close to that of high-level mutated beasts.

Mm... exactly.

Of the thirty thousand points she had "kowtowed" for yesterday, more than ten thousand had already been sunk in.

She had now used up over fifty thousand points; this was no longer a small-time matter of a few thousand points like before.

If she didn't think of a way soon, she was truly afraid she might be turned into a Teru Teru Bozu one day.

As she was lost in thought, Gu Changming walked past her carrying his coffee.

She immediately looked up.

The two of them made eye contact.

"My dearest Boss," Chen Yiming spoke up, "how is your strength?"

"It's okay," Gu Changming nodded. "Quite powerful."

Chen Yiming's eyes lit up, and she immediately had an idea.

"Boss, it's like this," she sat up straight and spoke with a professional air: "There's a special kind of medicinal herb that needs to be used immediately after being picked. You can't buy it in the trading area at all. How about... we go into a Mystic Realm to look for it?"

That's right, she planned to lower the costs even further.

If she picked the herbs herself, the material costs could be suppressed indefinitely. This way, she could continue the research and development.

"Sure," Gu Changming nodded without asking much.

...

After the Strongholds where humans gathered were formed...

Aside from some special Mystic Realm entrances, other entrances would also begin to appear around these Strongholds. This made it convenient for the examinees to obtain points and materials.

Furthermore, the opened Mystic Realms were all targeted.

For example, the several Mystic Realms opened near the Jiwu Stronghold were mostly resource-type realms, producing minerals or herbs.

Deep within the Mystic Realm they had named "Gulin."

Towering giant trees rose from the ground, and precious herbs grew among the thickets.

Gu Changming released the Mimic Beast to keep watch nearby.

Meanwhile, Chen Yiming had long since entered her zone, constantly crying out in low voices among the bushes.

"Wow... is this Moonlight Moss? Such a large patch of it!"

"Purple Swirl Grass! And it's in its mature stage!"

She was completely immersed; one could say she was having a blast digging. She didn't have to worry about anything, with precious herbs and materials everywhere.

After an unknown amount of time, the large back-basket Chen Yiming had brought was stuffed to the brim, so much so that the lid almost wouldn't close.

She patted the dirt off her hands with satisfaction and walked toward Gu Changming cheerfully.

"Alright! A bountiful harvest! Let's go."

Gu Changming glanced at the heavy basket she was carrying and beckoned with his finger.

An invisible force gently lifted the basket, letting it hover steadily by Chen Yiming's side, its weight suddenly vanishing.

"I'll help you carry it."

The two of them headed back along the path they had come from.

Soon, Chen Yiming saw the dark red bloodstains splattered on the grass and leaves by the roadside; those were the bloodstains left by the demonic beasts Gu Changming had cleared out when they were coming in.

Seeing this, the excitement on Chen Yiming's face faded.

She turned her head to steal a glance at Gu Changming's expression, which showed neither joy nor anger no matter the time.

Her heart suddenly began to thrum like a drum.

"That..." she swallowed her saliva and spoke tentatively, "I say... what if, what if in the end... I don't manage to produce that potion..."

"Would you kill me?"