"Sigh... Failed again."
Lan Qingyou let out a breath, gathered mana in her palm, wiped the ruined alchemy array clean, and — sporting a soot-blackened face — started over.
This was her thirteenth failure.
But the progress was undeniable.
At the start, the array had blown up before she'd even finished two symbols — let alone drawn the outer circle.
Now she was failing on the very last stroke. If that wasn't a kind of success in its own right, what was?
At least, that's how she pumped herself up.
After countless more attempts — afternoon bleeding into evening — a golden glow finally emanated from the iron base.
The alchemy array was complete at last.
It consisted of an outer circle, an inner triangle, and a scattering of symbols. It looked deceptively simple.
"Whoa! Golden legend!"
Gazing at the faint golden sheen tracing the array's grooves, Lan Qingyou cupped her face in both hands and blurted out the exclamation.
And as if in response to her outburst —
three thick, outward-curling legs rose from the triangle's corners on the iron base.
"So that's why the crucible doesn't have legs. It's meant to sit on the base."
Looking at the three supports, Lan Qingyou glanced out the window at the night sky, then turned to the wind-up alarm clock on the table. Past 11 PM.
"This late already? Better eat something and head out."
Muttering to herself, Lan Qingyou turned and left the workshop.
The later the hour, the higher the chances of running into danger. That much she knew very well.
Soaring through the night sky, feeling the evening breeze caress her face, Lan Qingyou couldn't help spreading her arms wide.
It was the breath of freedom.
It was a hymn to life.
It was... the scent of Supply Boxes!
At this moment:
Lan Qingyou had one Supply Box clutched to her chest. Nine more were stashed inside her herb bag.
If she weren't worried about the chests crushing her herbs and reducing their potency, the one in her arms would've gone in too.
'There's another one over there.'
Without hesitation, Lan Qingyou dove, scooped it up with one hand, and rode the momentum back into the sky.
Her movements were fluid, seamless — she didn't spend more than three seconds on the ground. Clearly a repeat offender.
In truth, Lan Qingyou had been deliberately honing her aerial maneuverability over these past few days.
After four days of practice, she'd essentially mastered the nuances of flying: how to move in this posture, what force to apply in what environment for propulsion, how far each push would carry her, and so on.
Now, aside from her uncontrollable legs inevitably dragging on the ground when she descended, she could even gather herbs without touching down.
Knowing when to quit while ahead, Lan Qingyou headed home with a Supply Box tucked under each arm, thoroughly satisfied.
Today's haul was exceptional — eleven boxes in total.
Food: Bread x4, Instant Noodles x3, Canned Food x3, Self-Heating Hot Pot x2, Large Meat Buns x3, Sourdough Mantou x2, Sausage x1, Frozen Chive-Pork Dumplings (12-pack) x1.
Drinks: Mineral Water x3, Chafan Tea x1, Lei Bi x1, Ice Kuo Luo x1, Canned Beer x3, Little Red Classmate x1, Gong Niu Energy Drink x1.
Miscellaneous items were truly plentiful:
Shufen Sanitary Pads x1, Pure Cotton Sports Underwear Set x2, Tissue Box x1, 200 ml Enamel Mug x1, Northeast Floral Quilted Coat x1, Bashu Red Apron x1, Memory Foam Pillow x1, Little Yellow Duck Crossbody Bag x1, 100 ml Xiaobao Facial Cleanser x1, 10-pack Stainless Steel Hangers x1.
It looked like a random assortment, but for Lan Qingyou, every single item was useful.
Take the red apron alone — wearing it while standing in front of the crucible during alchemy? The vibe would be instantly elevated. And she wouldn't have to worry about getting splashed by boiling potion.
Content, she organized everything and then headed to the Magic Desk.
Collecting trade requests once per day — that was the arrangement she'd established with Shang Chuan.
Today: another twenty-something boxes of test tubes. Delightful.
Seeing she had enough test tubes, Lan Qingyou bottled up all of the potion from the day before yesterday's batch and listed them in the shop.
After several days, Lan Qingyou had grown quite familiar with her talent — and so had everyone else with theirs.
Gathering speed hadn't improved much, but handling monsters and daily tasks had become considerably easier.
Monster Crystal Cores were now trickling into the Exchange, but the only thing sellers wanted in return was Mana Potions — still at the 1:10 ratio.
Quite a few people were pestering Lan Qingyou daily to hurry up and brew more.
After all, growing comfortable with one's talent meant burning through mana faster.
Yet Lan Qingyou offered no response, continuing to move at her own pace.
After uploading the potions, Lan Qingyou turned to the chat channel.
"It appeared! It appeared! The ghost is back!"
The very first thing she saw upon entering was someone raising the alarm about the ghost from that night.
"Are you looking for a beating?!"
Came the retort from one of the hot-tempered regulars.
"No, I really saw it this time! The angle lined up perfectly with my Magic Desk and I even took a picture. I have proof! [Image]"
Lan Qingyou tapped the image. Against the pitch-black night sky, a pale green-glowing object was clearly visible.
'Wait — there's really a ghost?'
Lan Qingyou broke into a cold sweat.
'I was out flying around for over an hour just now. Good thing I didn't run into it.'
"Holy crap! So there IS a ghost?!"
"I saw it too. Wearing a white dress — kind of old and a bit dirty. Long hair. No face."
"The green glow illuminated her silhouette. I'm guessing it's a female ghost."
"Yeah, and the flying posture was abnormal."
"I saw it too — the silhouette is definitely a 7! Absolutely a 7!"
"Green glow? Wait — didn't Zhao Doulai say it was pale blue before?"
"Nonsense. The day before yesterday he said it was a faint blue-green glow."
"There's a photo right there. You don't believe photographic evidence? What would you believe?"
"The Magic Desk has a camera function? Since when?"
"It's on the small screen. Poke around when you're free — there are quite a few features."
"Oh, thanks bro. Let me go check."
"Never mind the ghost — Lan Qingyou just listed Mana Potions again. And this time she dropped several hundred at once."
"Be right back."
"Smart people buy first, chat later."
"Damn! You guys are fast."
"@Lan Qingyou, got any more? Hurry up and list them!"
The instant potions went up, the channel erupted. Everyone clamored for more.
But Lan Qingyou at this moment was drenched in cold sweat. She couldn't care less about listing more potions.
'Silhouette like a 7? White dress? A bit dirty? No face? Glowing green?'
'Oh god. The ghost they're talking about — that's me, isn't it?'
'The Green Ghost of the Abandoned Forest?'
Staring at the photo, the more she looked, the more she was certain: that was exactly what she looked like when hugging a Supply Box.
'Great. Wonderful. So the ghost I've been worrying about for days — was myself the entire time?'
'All that sneaking around while searching for chests, terrified of running into a ghost — I was fighting air.'