Chapter 38: The Child of the Plane
The Trade District was in the southwest corner of the Old City, just under a ten-minute walk. A few minutes later, having arrived, Zhou Ning began searching for a suitable alchemy shop.
In his past life in the game, the Trade District was probably the area players were most familiar with—it was where they learned life skills and conducted trades. There were always crowds of players setting up stalls or engaging in PvP. Now that it was completely empty, it felt a little disconcerting.
Along the way, he inquired at several alchemy shops, but either the alchemy labs were too rudimentary to meet his standards, or the prices were just outrageous.
He had once considered checking out the West family's alchemy store, but they only ran high-end boutiques. When he visited, he found that even after discounts, their prices were still higher than others' regular prices. Definitely not worth provoking.
After visiting several shops, Zhou Ning unexpectedly ran into someone familiar—Richard Pessa, a fellow survivor who had escaped the Jasonat haunted house with him.
It had only been a few days, but Richard Pessa already looked a bit pale. Then again, he was Caucasian to begin with, so it was hard to tell.
He was walking quickly when he spotted Zhou Ning. He froze for a moment before breaking into a warm smile. "Hey, Wayne! Thanks again for your help the other day. I actually wanted to visit you at Vick University to thank you in person, but you know, the campus gates were locked up the past few days."
"No need to be polite. I was just trying to protect myself too," Zhou Ning replied with a smile.
"Maybe it was self-preservation for you, but for me, it was a real lifesaver." Richard glanced at Zhou Ning. "Are you looking for something? I know this place well—maybe I can help."
Zhou Ning didn't stand on ceremony and nodded. "I need to purchase a batch of herbs and rent an alchemy lab."
Richard perked up at once. "Herbs? I've got you covered! I can even give you a discount. As for an alchemy lab… My family has a few sitting unused. You can use them whenever you want."
Zhou Ning: …
A few unused alchemy labs? What, does your family own a mine?
Wait—what's that?
Something caught Zhou Ning's eye: a rather oddly shaped building under construction in the distance.
"That looks like a poorhouse. They're common in many places. People can work there in exchange for food and shelter," Richard explained.
"I see," Zhou Ning nodded as they unconsciously followed the canal and arrived at Richard's family herb store.
That sign looked familiar—Golden Oak Herbal Shop. Wait, wasn't this the herbology trainer's store in the game?
In the game, the shop was run by an elderly couple. They must be Richard's parents.
Zhou Ning gave Richard a surprised glance. This guy looked completely ordinary—but clearly, he had been hiding his true background.
Next to the shop's steps, a few middle school–aged boys were gathered, playing a game called Who Is the Weather Child. In the previous life's Apocalypse, a similar group of NPCs could be found. The real-life resemblance was uncanny.
At that moment, Richard's mouth twitched. He walked up to the boys and raised his voice. "Leandro, unless I'm mistaken, isn't it time for your alchemy lesson?"
"I'm not going! Alchemy's boring! I'm going to be the Weather Child!" A black-haired boy with a scar on his face stubbornly replied, neck stiff with defiance.
Zhou Ning's heart skipped a beat at the familiar line. He recognized the boy.
It was him—Leandro de Pessa! One of the Children of the Plane who appeared across all four game expansions!
Even more importantly, Leandro was the central figure in the main storyline at level 60. Without him, the main quest couldn't be accessed—he was a definite golden ticket.
And in the future, Leandro would possess several universally accessible top-tier skills that all professions could learn. Befriending him would be a major advantage.
Who would've thought the random NPC he saved turned out to be Leandro's older brother?
At the moment, though Leandro was still defiant, he had met his match. After a stern lecture, he had no choice but to yield and obediently follow Richard home.
"Who's this?" Leandro asked, regaining his curiosity as he studied Zhou Ning.
"This is Wayne Sturwell—my lifesaver. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have made it back," Richard introduced.
"Oh, thank you so much!" Leandro gave Zhou Ning a deep bow.
[Leandro de Pessa's favorability toward you has greatly increased.]
Not bad—he'd unintentionally made a valuable connection. At least he wouldn't need to butter him up now.
Things progressed smoothly after that. As a reasonably large chain store, supplying Zhou Ning's needs was no problem at all. But since he'd need a long-term supply, Zhou Ning insisted on paying. In the end, he received a nice discount—20% off. Win-win for both sides.
As for the alchemy lab, Richard hadn't been exaggerating. His family really did have several idle labs.
One of them was perfect for Zhou Ning, located near Vick University, making it easy to access between classes.
It was also well-equipped—almost on par with the university's alchemy building. It even had a small cot for rest, so he could crash there if he didn't feel like returning to the dorm.
Best of all, the rent was dirt cheap. A standard lab would usually cost around 2 Roshens per hour, or at least 4 Vecktas a day. But Zhou Ning only needed to pay 30 Vecktas per month—ideal for someone strapped for cash.
The catch? Zhou Ning had to keep an eye on Leandro at Vick University.
After weighing the pros and cons, Zhou Ning shamefully gave in.
That price, and the only requirement was to "look after" the future protagonist of the Plane? If anything, it should be the other way around.
They settled on the rent—30 Vecktas a month, one month's rent as deposit, and regular herb deliveries arranged.
Zhou Ning expressed his thanks and chatted a bit more with Richard, until a male servant brought out the lease contract and placed it on the table.
After both sides signed, Zhou Ning reluctantly counted out 60 Vecktas in cash and pushed it over.
Richard accepted the cash without counting and then asked, a little hesitantly:
"Wayne… have you had any nightmares or heard strange sounds lately?"
As expected.
Zhou Ning, already suspicious, replied, "Yes. I had a nightmare just last night."
Richard's face darkened. "So it's happening to you too… sigh…"
Watching Richard's despondent expression, Zhou Ning thought for a moment and carefully said, "From what I've heard, a lot of people experience that after a sacrificial ritual. The Ascetics and the Sunwatchers should have ways to relieve—or even cure—it."
"The Ascetics?" Richard's eyes lit up, but then he shook his head with a bitter smile. "No good. I worship the Goddess of Nature. The Ascetics won't allow a heretic to enter. As for the Sunwatchers… I'll think about it."
After chatting a bit longer, Richard left, clearly still troubled.
Having finished the alchemy lab arrangements, it was just about time for dinner.
Just as the Weather Forecast Rod had predicted, a heavy downpour began outside—but bizarrely, just 200 meters away, it was still sunny.
Zhou Ning hastily filled his stomach and began organizing the alchemy lab.
It had been painful spending all that money, but no matter how he looked at it, this now counted as his own little base in the game world.
To celebrate, he decided not to go back to the dorm tonight.
After finishing the setup, Zhou Ning sat down at the desk and began decoding the alchemy books he'd just bought.
The decoding method was simple—forums in his previous life had detailed the steps. All he needed to do was convert the Ruins script to Old Falric, then extract the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th characters of each line to form a new sentence.
Back then, there had been quest prompts and translation was just a progress bar. Now, Zhou Ning had to translate word by word, line by line.
It took him four whole hours to finish decoding the alchemy books.
"Done!" Zhou Ning stretched and rubbed his sore wrists.
Those four hours not only finished the decoding but also granted him 4,000 experience points—a pleasant surprise.
He read through the decoded contents again, and sure enough, a system prompt appeared in his field of view:
"You have obtained the Epic Skill Book: Wendegoon's Alchemical Insights."
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslation. Thanks for your support!)