Over the next several days, Lan Qingyou did nothing but read. She didn't even fire up the crucible to brew potions. If not for Gu Xiaobei sending meals through the Small Screen on schedule every day, she might have forgotten to eat altogether.
The mana turbulence's howling winds and lightning struck every night, then vanished by morning.
After a few cycles, not just Lan Qingyou's Level 3 Shelter, but even the Level 2 residents had developed immunity.
People passed the time cracking jokes in the channel whenever they had nothing better to do.
Of course, there were also the timid types who hadn't dared step outside. Once their food reserves ran dry, they resorted to begging in the channel.
But District 666 didn't believe in tears, and nobody paid them any mind.
The more hot-tempered observers would fire off a round of abuse, feel better about themselves, and then vanish.
But these days of hunkering down hadn't been without benefits.
First and foremost — studying.
She'd learned a tremendous amount from the books. Even the ones that seemed like supplementary reading had provided no small amount of inspiration.
The second benefit was information about changes that had appeared after the Novice Protection Period ended.
Most of it centered on monsters.
During the novice period, the forest had contained little beyond wolves, One-Horned Rabbits, and Colored Feather Chickens.
After the novice period? Monsters sprouted like mushrooms after rain.
And the species diversity was impressive.
Plant-type Man-Eating Flowers. Earth-type Slimes. Water-type Water-Spitting Fish. Fire-type Jumping Pigs. And of course, their old friends the wind-type Wargs.
Don't ask how anyone knew the names.
People had taken the remains to the Small Screen for appraisal. Some had even eaten them.
Fortunately, they were all E-rank, so while troublesome, they hadn't caused massive casualties.
Ten or so deaths a day, at most.
Lan Qingyou's only reaction was gratitude that she'd stayed indoors, though she genuinely admired those people.
Knowing full well that the mana turbulence was still active, they'd encountered monsters and, instead of running, chosen to fight head-on.
How could she not respect that?
Beyond the monsters, there was another piece of news: everyone was forming groups.
Not just District 666 — the entire world was doing it.
The world channel was now dominated by people searching for family, teams recruiting members, and internet beggars.
There were even cases of two factions from the same district having screaming matches on the world channel.
Since there was no mute function in this world, everyone could see it. And oh, was it filthy.
Nobody could figure out why these people chose the world channel as their battlefield.
Were they putting on a show for everyone's entertainment?
If nothing else, it gave Lan Qingyou an impressive display of biodiversity.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
One day, while Lan Qingyou was lounging in her recliner, soaking up the sun and reading, the Magic Desk downstairs started pinging.
Li Huai: "When are you going to sell potions?"
Lan Qingyou: ......
Floating beside the desk, Lan Qingyou stared at Li Huai's message, speechless.
In truth, it wasn't the first time someone had asked.
Shang Chuan had posed the same question two days ago.
She'd been so engrossed in her books that she hadn't brewed a single potion in days. The outside world's supply had long since dried up. On the black market, +30 mana potions and healing potions had been bid up to a record 1:100.
They were anxious, but so was Lan Qingyou.
They could lose their mana and still fight with weapons, reflexes, and agility. They'd survive. But if she lost her mana, all she could do was wait to die.
Exactly.
These days of intensive study had taught Lan Qingyou just how monumental a challenge it was to develop a custom remedy for her legs.
No — not just her legs. Developing any new potion was incredibly difficult.
Beyond the sheer unknowns, the birth of most new potions involved some degree of coincidence. You could even call them products of luck.
Some reference texts even claimed that new potion breakthroughs were purely "pranks played by the gods."
Pranks by the gods, huh.
Their forced transmigration was already pretty prank-like as it was.
Lan Qingyou closed the chat window and returned to her recliner on the second-floor terrace to keep reading.
The next day, Li Huai messaged again.
Li Huai: "The mana turbulence outside is gone. We can go out now."
"Sigh..."
Lan Qingyou pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled.
Lan Qingyou: "I know you're in a hurry. But slow your roll."
She'd never met Li Huai in person, but she guessed this thirty-something-year-old uncle had a formidable talent — possibly one that devoured massive amounts of mana.
Which meant his dependence on potions was far greater than most.
Li Huai: "What do you need?"
Well, when someone put it like that, she could hardly refuse. After all, he was a genuine combat asset. Who knew when she might need him for something?
Call it mutual aid.
Besides, she hadn't brewed in six or seven days. Time to dust off the crucible.
Lan Qingyou: "Obsidian x 100, Magic Crystal x 10, D-rank Monster Crystal Core x 10."
Li Huai: "I don't know about the rest, but I know where to find Obsidian."
Lan Qingyou: "Name your price."
Li Huai: "Two +50 mana potions per piece."
Lan Qingyou: "What level are you?"
Li Huai: "Level 6."
Lan Qingyou: "Any changes after leveling up?"
Having never once killed a monster or gained experience, Lan Qingyou was genuinely curious.
Li Huai: "Attribute values increase. Only one point per level, with distribution weighted toward your specialty."
'Developers! Where are the developers?!'
'One attribute point per level? What kind of garbage game is this?'
'And the distribution is weighted toward your specialty? Does that mean if I ever leveled up, I'd only gain Spirit?'
'Everything else can only be raised with items?'
Lan Qingyou: "Got it. I'll order one hundred Obsidian."
The 2:1 ratio stung a little, but Lan Qingyou accepted Li Huai's price.
It was just one crucible batch either way, and at least one of the Level 4 Shelter materials would be fully secured.
Plus she'd gained a piece of intel. Not a total loss.
Li Huai: "So... could I get an advance...?"
God only knew what it cost Li Huai to type those words. He was apparently staring at his screen with his head ducked, expression invisible.
Lan Qingyou: "I only have +30s right now. Take them all."
Li Huai: "Thank you."
Lan Qingyou sent over the twenty potions she'd kept in reserve, then checked the channel.
Sure enough, everyone was talking about the mana turbulence disappearing.
'So it's been another week. Could there be some kind of cycle?'
After mulling it over without reaching any certainty, she decided to hold off on brewing and go gather herbs instead.
All that studying had driven home how critical it was to maintain a diverse stockpile of alchemy materials.
The more variety she had on hand, the less likely she'd be caught without ingredients when inspiration struck for new potion development.
As for the mana potions... she could make those after returning at noon. Plenty of time.
As long as she delivered them to Li Huai today, she wouldn't be breaking her word.
After some preparation, Lan Qingyou flew out of the room. But she didn't leave immediately. Instead, she headed to the rock that marked the boundary of her shelter's Magic Shield.
She dropped low and drifted forward, slowly passing the rock. Nothing happened. Only then did she exhale.
Even though the mana turbulence had truly subsided, she had no intention of venturing far from the shelter. Just a loop around the general vicinity.
The previous incident had left a lingering shadow on her psyche.
Honestly, if Albert hadn't written that non-urgent materials should ideally be gathered by hand, she wouldn't have stepped outside at all.