Chapter 94 – A Woman with Ulterior Motives

Frontline Camp, Residential Quarters.

When Su Ming carried the exhausted An Zijin back here, Lei Hao, Ye Bai, Jiang Wanyu, Yao Beibei, and the others had also returned one after another.

None of them looked particularly well—exhausted, disheveled, covered in dust and blood, with some even injured.

The injured one was Jiang Wanyu.

This usually energetic junior now lay before everyone, a large gash on her shoulder, looking as if she were on the verge of collapse, causing great concern among the group.

“Wanyu…”

An Zijin and Yao Beibei stayed by Jiang Wanyu’s side, watching her pale face with deep worry.

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Jiang Wanyu forced a smile, but it looked bleak and did little to reassure anyone.

Su Ming, observing Jiang Wanyu’s shoulder still oozing blood, frowned deeply.

“Didn’t you give her an Alchemist potion?” Su Ming turned to Lei Hao.

“We already did,” Lei Hao replied with a grim expression. “But the wound hasn’t healed at all.”

“The wound hasn’t healed?” Ye Bai quickly asked, “Why is that?”

Yao Beibei answered this question.

“The one who injured Wanyu was a Poison Gel Demon,” Yao Beibei replied with a hint of tears in her voice, making Su Ming and Ye Bai fully understand the situation.

“It was actually a Poison Gel Demon?” Ye Bai’s face immediately darkened as well.

The Poison Gel Demon, a type of Phantom Demon carrying potent toxins, was not particularly strong in combat, but the poison it carried was extremely fierce. Moreover, each individual carried a different type of poison, making it difficult to find a universal antidote. Thus, it was regarded as one of the most dangerous lower-tier Phantom Demons, deeply feared by ordinary Professionals.

Jiang Wanyu had clearly been poisoned by the Poison Gel Demon, and it seemed to be a terrifying toxin that prevented wounds from healing and even worsened them, causing her condition to continuously decline.

“What should we do now?” Lei Hao said irritably. “Each Poison Gel Demon’s poison is different, and there’s no universal antidote. To cure the poison, an Alchemist must extract the blood of the specific Poison Gel Demon that inflicted the poison and combine it with other materials to concoct an antidote. We don’t have the means for that right now.”The poison of the Poison Gel Demon was indeed troublesome and tricky, which was why it was considered one of the most dangerous lower-tier Phantom Demons.”

Unfortunately, this frontline did not have an Alchemist assigned for support.

If they only needed Alchemist potions, they could apply for them to be issued from above, but requesting an Alchemist to come specifically to concoct a potion was currently impossible.

Even if it were possible, there was an unavoidable problem to address.

“Where is that Poison Gel Demon?” Su Ming asked with a furrowed brow. “No matter what, we first need to obtain the blood of the Poison Gel Demon that poisoned her. Otherwise, we can’t make the antidote.”

To create an Alchemist antidote potion, the blood of the specific Poison Gel Demon was essential.

Although there were alternative methods to replace this requirement, obtaining the blood would undoubtedly make detoxification much easier and more convenient.

Unfortunately…”Several Toxic Slime Demons attacked at the time, and there were so many Phantom Demons around. Although I managed to kill one, it might not have been the one that administered the poison. The other Toxic Slime Demons had already blended into the main horde of Phantom Demons, and by the time I realized it, they were nowhere to be seen.”

Lei Hao spoke these words helplessly, causing everyone’s hearts to sink one after another.

“Then… what should we do now?”

Yao Beibei’s voice grew even more choked with tears.

“Let’s report it to the higher-ups and let the Academy or the Base City military handle it.”

Ye Bai proposed a solution that wasn’t really a solution.

Su Ming watched Jiang Wanyu’s pale, distressed expression and her increasingly ashen face, his mind beginning to race.

“An Alchemist?”

What came to Su Ming’s mind was the Alchemist he was supposed to meet tonight, the one who would help him refine the Phantom Demon Potion.

“Isn’t this a case of perfect timing?”

Su Ming felt slightly relieved.

Even though the blood of the non-poison-administering Toxic Slime Demon would make detoxification complicated, the Alchemist he had asked someone to invite was skilled enough to refine a Phantom Demon Potion from a Nightmare Species.

If the Alchemist was truly capable, there might still be a way to cure the poison in Jiang Wanyu’s body.

So, Su Ming said:

“I’ll find a way to deal with Junior Jiang’s poison. You all stay here and take care of her.”

After speaking, Su Ming turned and prepared to leave.

“Brother Su Ming!”

An Zijin reflexively stood up.

“Senior…”

Jiang Wanyu’s weak voice followed.

Su Ming glanced at the worried An Zijin, then at Jiang Wanyu lying helplessly on the bed, and smiled, saying, “Don’t worry, just leave it to me.”

Su Ming then left the room.

An Zijin and Yao Beibei exchanged looks, still unable to shake off their anxiety.

Meanwhile, Lei Hao and Ye Bai comforted the junior girls.

“If he says so, he must have an idea.”

“We’ve been his roommates for a year, and we can assure you—he wouldn’t make promises lightly without some confidence.”

The two continued to reassure everyone.

The others didn’t know what to say and could only nod.

An Zijin remained silent, her gaze fixed on the direction Su Ming had left.

…

On the other side, Su Ming, having left the room, immediately took out his phone and contacted that woman.

“My battle here is temporarily over,” Su Ming said directly. “How about on your end?”

Hearing this, a young woman’s voice came from the other end of the phone.

“Don’t rush, my great benefactor,” the young woman said. “Huaming District is a war zone right now. Even for me, entering Huaming at this time isn’t easy. If I hadn’t kept it from my family, I’m not even sure I could have gotten in.”

These words first made Su Ming pause, then startled him.

“You’re here too?”

Su Ming was surprised by this.

“Come on,” the young woman said impatiently. “If I didn’t come, with your personality, would you dare to trust a stranger Alchemist? Don’t you have any self-awareness?”

Su Ming was momentarily speechless.

But it was true.

Su Ming could trust this young woman—he had even told her about his possession of Nightmare Species blood and asked her to help find someone to refine the Phantom Demon Potion.Trusting her and trusting that alchemist were two entirely different matters.

This was the blood of a Nightmare Species, a priceless treasure capable of founding a Super Hunter Family or even creating a Seven-Star Hunter.

Previously, that Phantom Demon Cub only had the potential to evolve into a Nightmare Species, yet it had already stirred up schemes among the Base City’s upper echelons and even drawn the attention of the underground world’s largest mercenary organization, ‘Sin’. If it were exposed that Su Ming possessed ready-made Nightmare Species blood, the severity of the consequences was unimaginable.

If that alchemist had appeared before Su Ming alone, demanding he hand over the Nightmare Species blood, Su Ming truly wouldn’t have been able to comply.

Only with the girl present could Su Ming place some trust in the person she had introduced.

Moreover…

“I also want to see what kind of Phantom Demon Potion can be refined from Nightmare Species blood. If I can witness you successfully adapt to it and become a Hunter with Nightmare Species Bloodline, then this trip would be truly worthwhile.”

The girl spoke these words, but her voice grew increasingly serious.

“However, you should understand how low the probability is for a Sorcerer to successfully adapt to a Phantom Demon’s bloodline and become a Hunter, right?”

Her tone already carried a warning.

“Adapting to a powerful bloodline like that of a Nightmare Species already has an extremely low success rate. You’re also a Sorcerer, and the probability of a Sorcerer adapting to Phantom Demon bloodline is abysmally low. With these two factors combined, anyone would only see failure in your future, including me.”

Clearly, the girl didn’t hold much hope for Su Ming.

Su Ming raised an eyebrow.

“Then why didn’t you try to stop me?”

He had genuinely thought this woman would try to prevent him, and had prepared numerous arguments in advance.

Who would have thought that the girl never attempted to stop him from beginning to end.

The reason was simple.

“My great benefactor, if you were someone easily persuaded, I wouldn’t have to work so hard.” The girl smiled charmingly and said, “I have no confidence in convincing you. As a woman, I never considered stopping a man from risking his life to pursue his dreams and future. So, I can only do my best to lend you a hand.”

At this point, her tone shifted.

“Of course, if you fail, with me here, I can at least preserve your life.”

Hearing this, Su Ming finally understood.

It seemed this was the true reason why the girl had risked entering Huaming District during this period and come to see him in person.

She had come for him.

She came to ensure he could survive when taking the Phantom Demon Potion.

Su Ming didn’t doubt this.

Given the girl’s abilities, she might not be able to help him succeed, but preserving his life should be within her capabilities.

Taking the Phantom Demon Potion wasn’t necessarily fatal – even if one failed, survival was still possible.

Though the outcome would undoubtedly be miserable.

There had been cases where people survived after failing to adapt to the Phantom Demon Potion, without their bodies exploding. However, some lost parts of their bodies and became disabled, while others suffered permanent damage to their Foundation, leaving their bodies extremely weak. Some couldn’t even get out of bed or walk, becoming completely dependent on others for daily life.

Under such circumstances, humanity had developed methods to help people survive after failing to adapt to the Phantom Demon Potion.

And given the girl’s status, the probability that she possessed such methods was one hundred percent.That was why she had risked traveling thousands of miles to find Su Ming.

Of course…

“If I fail, even if I survive, I might end up disabled,” Su Ming said half-jokingly.

Surprisingly, the girl responded cheerfully.

“That wouldn’t be so bad. At least then you wouldn’t run off randomly to avoid me. It’d be much easier for me to keep you.”

These words left Su Ming completely frozen in place.

Damn! This woman really does have ulterior motives!

(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻

(End of Chapter)