Chapter 190: Chapter 189: Suddenly Alert
Potter walked near the crowd, followed by three students who were particularly strong.
Seeing Potter, the crowd voluntarily parted, allowing him to lead his group through, and approached the twisted corpse at the center of the circle.
Upon reaching the corpse, Potter glanced at it and realized it was barely recognizable as a human body. The corpse had fallen from a great height and was contorted into a bizarre shape, like a rag doll.
Potter looked around, said nothing, and gestured for the three students following him to carry the body away. Then he cast a spell, using water-element magic to cleanse the deck.
Looking up, Potter observed the surrounding faces filled with complex expressions—some with confusion, some with concern.
After thinking for a moment, Potter decided to stabilize everyone’s emotions.
Clearing his throat, Potter quieted the murmuring crowd and said slowly, “I won’t say much, as I’m sure everyone is aware, this is the third identical incident. The exact reason is still unclear to me, but I am investigating. If we can’t find an answer, I will report to the Master Wizards and ask them to intervene.
In any case, there’s no need to worry too much about this incident. Just go about your normal life. The White Stone Tower wouldn’t have let you board without guaranteeing your safety, ensuring a safe arrival at your destination, unless you’re eliminated during the tests. That’s all.”
After Potter finished speaking, he nodded slightly and turned to leave.
The crowd stood still, watching Potter depart, and after a brief chatter, gradually dispersed.
In the following days, Potter indeed continued the investigation, yet the deaths of the sailors persisted—one each day on the dot—four in a row, five, six…
But on the seventh day, it was unclear whether the killer decided to take a rest or whether Potter was making progress in his investigation, as there were no deaths—a rarity. Even after scouring every corner of the ship, no sailor’s body was found.
People breathed a sigh of relief, believing the murders had ended.
However, Richard’s opinion was the exact opposite; he didn’t see it as a good thing. It was very likely, this simply marked the end of the first phase of the killer’s plan and the beginning of the next.
On the seventh night, inside a cabin.
Richard, who should have been sitting in a chair, now leaned against the bed. Pandora, who should have been in bed, sat in the chair instead.
In one hand, Pandora held a White Jade Plate, and in the other, a carving knife. Frowning, she pondered over a pattern drawn on the Papyrus Scroll spread out on the table, as if deciding on a major life choice.
After a long while, Pandora moved her gaze from the scroll to the White Jade Plate and gently scratched the plate with the carving knife.
Jade dust fluttered, and a deep incision appeared on the plate.
After completing the incision, Pandora exhaled as if she had accomplished a significant feat, then lifted her head once more to look at the Papyrus Scroll.
After looking for a moment, she picked up the carving knife again and started working on the White Jade Plate.
With a slight relaxation of focus and a failure to control her strength, the White Jade Plate instantly broke into two pieces.
Staring at the broken pieces, Pandora was stunned for a moment, then turned her head toward Richard.
With a smile on his face, Richard encouraged her, “Continue.”
“Hmph, no way!” Pandora exclaimed, tossing the White Jade Plate and carving knife onto the table. She stood up from the chair, strode to the bed, and said indignantly, “Liar, this is no fun at all!”
“Not fun!” Pandora’s voice was certain.
“I’m sleepy, I’m going to sleep, move aside.” Pandora declared, opening her eyes wide.
“Uh, alright.” Richard moved aside with a tinge of helplessness, watching as Pandora quickly climbed into bed and fell asleep in a moment, already entering dreamland.
Shaking his head, Richard couldn’t help but smirk bitterly.
Alright, he had to admit that his plan had failed.
Originally, he had thought that since Pandora always idled away the time she wasn’t sleeping, it was a bit of a waste of labor. Why not make “effective use” of it? Even if Pandora couldn’t help with anything major, she could still do some simple tasks.
Like etching a few not-so-intricate magic runes onto the White Jade Plate. Even if she failed, it wouldn’t matter; he was very patient—patient enough to slowly train Pandora into a skilled low-technical laborer.
But… as it turned out, his patience alone wasn’t enough, as Pandora had none. In Pandora’s eyes, nothing was more important than sleep. And if the choice was between idling and working during the times she wasn’t sleeping, then she might as well continue sleeping.
Looking at Pandora on the bed, Richard couldn’t help but wonder if she would end up sleeping twenty-four hours a day from now on.
If that were true, with a total of twenty-four hours in a day, if she spent all twenty-four hours sleeping… then what would be the difference between that and being in a coma?
He exhaled and shook his head again, casting his thoughts aside. He stepped toward the desk, deciding to slowly figure out the issue with Pandora later. For now, he had to start his research work.
Yesterday, he had already optimized and improved the magic rune of Wind Light Spirit and successfully etched it onto the No.1 Ring. This resulted in the No.1 Ring holding three fixed spells: Wind Light Spirit, Wind Force, and Pearce’s Nerve Sensitivity Technique.
Thus, when the No.1 Ring was activated, it allowed for faster speed, greater strength, and sharper reflexes, significantly enhancing close-combat physical abilities.
However, he wasn’t satisfied just yet. What he wanted to research now was the magic rune found on the inner wall of the Drifting Bottle.
Through continuous observation, he had copied part of the magic rune onto the Papyrus Scroll, which was now unfolded and laid out on the desk.
He had some speculation about the drawn magic rune; it was very likely a super complex compound rune, possessing multiple functions such as stimulating biological growth, development, mutation, and evolution.
He felt that it would be entirely possible to extract certain specific functions for use, such as: increasing the speed of cell division, hastening wound healing; increasing the speed of bodily metabolism, enhancing overall physical conditions; reducing telomere attrition during cell division, increasing the limit of cell divisions, extending cell lifespan, and so on.
This research was not simple. The complexity of the magic rune made it quite difficult, but he believed that with enough effort, it could be successful.
Thinking about these things, Richard concentrated his spirit, sat on the chair, and set his gaze upon the spread-out Papyrus Scroll. Taking up Pandora’s discarded engraving knife and a new White Jade Plate, he began to work.
“Scratch, scratch, scratch…”
The carving knife moved over the White Jade Plate, engraving line after line of magic runes. For the finer details, he used the Space Iron Ring to process, continuously testing the functional units of the magic runes and their effects.
The lampwick of the oil lamp quietly snapped and crackled as time flowed by inexorably…
Having worked for half the day, Richard stood up, added new oil to the lamp to stabilize the light, and stretched out, his body making a string of popping sounds.
After a brief rest, Richard sat down ready to work again, but suddenly felt something, sprang to his feet and turned sharply, looking intently towards a corner of the cabin.