New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 226 The Talented Frog-Killing Girl
It's a pity that the other party is not the kind of 'family heirloom', and was even raised by humans from childhood. They like to eat meat and chili peppers and know nothing about traditional elf culture.

But its pointed ears were unusually primal, and its irises were an unusually natural emerald green. In short, it looked fantastic, a 'fake elf' that could easily be mistaken for a real one.

Taking her out as a secretary would be very prestigious. This is one of the other party's "selling points".

However, given her excellent physical attributes, the fact that she hasn't been sold yet, and instead has been reduced to having an unknown like myself interview and sign a contract, clearly indicates a more serious flaw.

Is it really just a psychological disorder like 'autism and timidity' that would lead to being rejected? Yuan Zhu didn't quite believe it.

So he perked up and began to question her seriously, trying to find any loopholes (hidden dangers). At the very least, he could use this to negotiate a lower price.

In the ensuing one-on-one, demanding questioning, Yuan Zhu gradually formed an initial impression of Nie Yin.

...

【Rain Academy】, as the only university in Running City and with a huge area, is completely different from the 【University】 in his memory of his old home on Earth, which was purely about teaching and imparting knowledge.

In short: [A country within a country]. [Rain Academy] possesses privileges equivalent to, and even subtly superior to, those of a municipal government. However, this 'power' is not used within Running City, but rather within the 'academy itself' and the [Spirit Realm].

Above all, [Rain Academy] is like an alliance formed by several less powerful 'extraordinary sects', sharing extraordinary knowledge and technology internally. It is similar to the 'Five Mountains Sword Sects' that moved their mountain gates together, maintaining the independence of each sect while sharing basic martial arts and techniques, advancing and retreating together to resist the oppression of the major sects (Holy Hall, Buddhist Sect).

Furthermore, [Rain Academy] resembles the 'core enterprise' of a comprehensive conglomerate. Based on 'extraordinary knowledge,' it extends countless tentacles, intervening in all sectors of Runing City and wielding influence in every aspect. Hidden behind the scenes, it controls multiple 'extraordinary enterprises.'

Such a "Rain Academy" has a strong demand for "talent". In addition to regular "university students", it has also set up a large number of institutions similar to "secondary vocational schools" and "vocational high schools" within the academy.

Furthermore, they collected a large number of talented orphans from nearby cities and rural areas. They trained them from a young age to mass-produce hardworking and skilled "technical laborers".

Nie Yin was one of them. He received 'vocational training' from a young age and was supposed to become a high-quality technical worker.

But she is truly talented. She stood out from the bottom-level jobs and, with her keen insight and meticulous, precise operation, was assigned to the "Frog School" to receive further advanced education.

In an attempt to evolve into an even rarer and more valuable "high-end bull and horse".

It was probably her unique 'low-class cow-horse's counterattack script' combined with her 'fake elf' appearance and her young age that made her stand out from her 'classmates'.

Others are 18 years old, academically excellent, and have spent a lot of money to get into school. You're only 17, and you've already been auditing classes at [Frog School] for 3 years. If you're not being ostracized, who is?
Add to that poverty, a huge debt (a loan from the college), and being taught from a young age to be honest, obedient, and submissive... all of which made her personality stand out from the crowd. While others were healthy, she was withdrawn; while others were cheerful, she was timid... She was also considered inferior, and so, over time, she entered a familiar vicious cycle of being bullied.

...

After learning about her background, Yuan Zhu discovered the first blind spot. Compared to the 'high-quality technical oxen and horses' mass-produced by the academy, Nie Yin's price was a notch higher.

This isn't the price for vocational high schools or technical colleges, but the price for university students!

Ordinary college students are free to come and go as they please, and can be hired directly. But Nie Yin is the private property of [Rain Academy], so hiring her costs more. It's like paying a 'bride price' to the academy to make up for the years of raising her, and you also have to constantly repay the debt of gratitude.

Furthermore, compared to ordinary college students, although Nie Yin audited the "Frog School" for three years, she only learned theoretical knowledge. Due to poverty, exclusion, low status, and other reasons, she lacked practical experience. She had never tried many experiments or operations that required money.

Finally, let's talk about some advantages. Other ordinary college students can only be hired on an equal footing and cannot make too many harsh or excessive demands. But Nie Yin is different. As the private property of the academy, if Yuan Zhu offers a sufficient price, the academy is willing to sell her and can accept some 'excessive' demands.

Tsk tsk... In that case, it's not unacceptable that the autistic girl has slightly lower overall abilities and a higher price.

Is this also why the senior chose her for herself?

Yuan Zhu: "Besides studying, what else do you usually do at the Frog School? What talents do you have that can immediately generate returns after I hire you?"

After a series of probing questions, Nie Yin gradually adapted to this style of communication. She didn't look up, simply answering mechanically and honestly: "My main job in the [School] is to feed, process, and prepare 'experimental-grade frogs' for the entire class. I'm responsible for all the [skinning, head removal, and internal organ cleaning] work. In addition, I'm responsible for the basic extraction of the [Quenching Fluid] raw materials, as well as the blending and drying of the byproduct [frog skin]... all of these generate revenue."

Because she was not a 'traditional paying student', she had no parents, no background, no savings, and was heavily in debt to the college. Therefore, she did the most basic repetitive work to earn her living expenses and collected service fees from her classmates.

Yuan Zhu: "Can these make money?"

Nie Yin answered with a hint of confidence: "Yes! The 'skinning' of experimental-grade frogs involves the sacrifice of the [Frog God]. The textbook calls it the [Skinning Ritual]. The 'skinned frogs' that pass through my hands will transform from ordinary creatures into 'quasi-supernatural materials'."

"Tell me, why is it considered 'quasi-extraordinary material'?"

Nie Yin: "Starting from the moment the skin is completely peeled off, the head is removed, and the internal organs are removed, the 'skinless frog' only possesses 'quasi-supernatural attributes' when it is on the test table for no more than 3 hours, or when it is completely dead. Once it leaves the range, exceeds the time limit, or dies, it will become ineffective and turn into an ordinary frog."

Yuan Zhu: "What's the principle behind this?"

“It’s difficult to explain to you clearly, as this involves the Frog God. It’s like the popular ‘rat head monitoring, information storage, and projection playback’ technology. The fact that ordinary rats can achieve these effects is closely related to the deity, the Rat King.”

Yuan Zhu: "I think I understand. You do have some skills. Do you have any other talents in the Frog School?"

Nie Yin said coldly, "That's all. Occasionally, I'll be assigned cleaning tasks, but the main job is just repeating the same things. The academy has extremely high requirements for 'skinned frogs' and a huge demand for them."

When it came to skinning frogs, Yuan Zhu looked at Nie Yin, whose expression had changed from one of inferiority and timidity to one of calm and indifference.

For no apparent reason, I thought of the saying, "I've been killing fish at RT-Mart for ten years, and now my heart is as cold as the knife I used to kill fish."

This girl must have been killing frogs, skinning them, and gutting them since she was a child... She looks like a typical "frog-killing girl" from a market. Every day, besides attending classes, she spends all her time "skinning and working" in the lab, living the life of a corporate slave at such a young age, and also being bullied.

"Besides skinning frogs, do you have any other hobbies?"

Nie Yin said coldly, "Peeling skins isn't a hobby, it's a way to make a living. In my spare time, whenever I have time, I go to the library to read professional books. I also clean the lab for other students or teachers, cleaning up any contamination. If I'm lucky, I can stay and observe experiments, broaden my horizons, and secretly learn some small bits of knowledge. However, I've never had the chance to operate or try it myself."

Yuan Zhu: "Is it mainly because we don't have money?"

“It’s not just about money. My social status is also lower than that of ordinary students, and I’m not qualified to use many of the equipment. Besides basic work like ‘skinning,’ I’m using my spare time to teach myself ‘engraving techniques.’ I hope you can provide financial assistance to help me master this skill. I will repay you with this skill.”

"Could you please introduce me?"

"Yes, I can create special tattoos on different skin textures based on individual constitutions, granting extraordinary power. This technique can be applied to ordinary people, allowing them to master extraordinary power with a limited limit. It can also be used on simple 'skin' to create equipment with scroll and talisman effects."

Yuan Zhu instantly understood why she was studying this. "Frog skin?" "Yes!"

The frog-killing girl works part-time while studying, and is treated like a tool, but she also has her own little ambitions. She can't control her life, nor does she have the money to fund her own research, so she can only start with her daily work.

She skinned and gutted the frogs for the entire class. The remaining 'skin and internal organs' became the easiest materials to obtain.

So she painstakingly researched how to determine the attributes of the skin. She separated the internal organs, mixed them with other materials, and created pigments with the effects of the five elements; then, based on the texture, she drew unique tattoos and infused them with extraordinary effects.

...

Through Nie Yin's introduction, Yuan Zhu quickly learned that this tattooing technique itself did not involve any extraordinary origins; it was purely a technical skill.

It requires extraordinary perception and precise, stable operational skills. Furthermore, it involves analyzing 'skin texture' based on extensive experience to calculate hidden attributes.

This craft is close to palmistry and metaphysical analysis. Then comes the 'pigment mixing', which involves extraordinary knowledge. These pigments use 'internal broth' as ​​a medium and involve the mixing and balancing of various 'polluting materials'.

Ultimately, the 'extraordinary pigment' is etched into the 'skin'. Tailored to individual needs, the resulting tattoo designs possess both 'symbolic' and 'rune/array' meanings.

After hearing Nie Yin's introduction, Yuan Zhu's opinion of her rose even higher. If the [Frog School] was the foundation, then the [Tattooing Technique] was a bonus.

This girl's buy-one-get-one-free offer seems less of a waste now. He commented, "Although it's a niche field, she's definitely quite talented."

He thought of his senior, who was illegally researching the corpses of 'loose immortals' within the [Dangerous Botany School]. She herself hadn't received the 'Three Flower Dao Seed' and remained an ordinary person. She was attending university purely to broaden her horizons and accumulate knowledge and experience.

At the same time, one can, with the body of a mortal, deeply study the [Immortal System], cultivate 'Tao Seeds' and create 'Immortals'.

Meng Xiyue from the neighboring Taixi University is similar; she's not even a [Species], yet she's incredibly skilled with the [Skull Server] and has even started setting up a 'bug-based server network' in [Bug City].

They belong to the type that are not particularly involved in "pollution" themselves, but have already walked a part of the "polluting system." And they can easily withdraw and start over in a different industry.

Perhaps this is the composure of college students?
In contrast, Yuan Zhu himself was completely different. His soul was first bound by [Shadow Contamination], and only then did he belatedly realize that he wanted to build his own extraordinary system.

Or only by jumping into the quagmire of [Holy Light Contamination] can one be qualified to begin cultivation from [Holy Marks and Seals], with absolutely no chance of regret.

Since Nie Yin did not have a 'pollution system' within him, Yuan Zhu couldn't help but ask curiously, "What are your plans for the future? Which system do you want to cultivate?"

The Frog Girl shook her head: "I haven't thought about it. I just want to perfect my [Inscription Technique], have the means to make a living, and pay off my debts to Qing Academy. Then, based on my own needs and strengths, I'll find a suitable [System]."

In Nie Yin's view, although the top pollution source has a bright future, the infighting is so severe that there is no chance of getting ahead, and joining it will only make you cannon fodder.

The root causes of garbage are everywhere, and there is no future in such a place. Therefore, people who are qualified to go to university often have very high aspirations and are not in a hurry to choose sides.

She did the same, mastering the complete foundational knowledge of the "Frog School"; then she independently developed and perfected her "tattooing techniques." Finally, she found a boss to pay off her debts, allowing her to plan her life with ease.

At this moment, she had reached the final step. Yuan Zhu was interviewing her, and she was also evaluating Yuan Zhu.

Unaware of the situation, Candle was filled with curiosity about this self-reliant frog-slaying girl, enjoying the interviewer's amusement: "I can understand your lack of interest in the [Frog School]. But are you not interested in any of the extraordinary inheritances possessed by the [Rain Academy]?"

Nie Yin lowered his head, thought for a moment, and decided to reveal some of his thoughts to Yuan Zhu. After all, he was the future boss, so he needed to gain his trust first.

"The academy's extraordinary school of thought is not suitable for me. I have some ideas about the [Industrial Divine Kingdom], but the threshold is too high. So, I want to go and take a look at other 'universities'."

The minimum requirement for an "Industrial Divine Kingdom" is to have a factory and to cultivate a "brand" with "divine status," which requires massive wealth to support it.

Poverty kills frog girls and creates an industrial legend? ...Let's just wash up and go to sleep. Let's get our spirits up, work hard to skin frogs, and then draw 'frog skin temporary tattoos' to pay off our debts to the school as soon as possible.

In Yuan Zhu's view, since she didn't choose the 'Extraordinary System', this is perfect for the [Anti-Law]! She can be given special attention and bewitched to work for him.

Yuan Zhu: "You've come to see me, so you should understand that I intend to hire you, right?"

Nie Yin nodded: "Yes, I'm prepared."

Yuan Zhu hesitated and said, "How so? I'm not simply hiring you to work part-time and provide technical support. I want more! I need you to be deeply involved in my business, and you will have access to many of my private matters and secrets."

Upon hearing this, Nie Yin, who had been keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact with Yuan, twitched his small ears slightly, revealing his restless heart.

She had long since had enough of the low-skilled manual labor. The instructors always kept the paid tutorials involving advanced techniques to themselves, never showing her this kind of 'ox-and-horse labor'.

Before the experiment begins, she usually goes in first to prepare the equipment, killing frogs, skinning them, and removing their heads, and then touching the contaminated materials with her bare hands. After she has done all this, she is asked to leave.

After the teacher and the paying students finished imparting the secret knowledge, she would enter the site to clean up the various highly polluting and corrosive 'dangerous experimental subjects', and disinfect the instruments and equipment.

Sometimes, when experiments involved dangerous procedures, she had to take the blame. After completing the dangerous procedures, she would be kicked out and not allowed to observe or receive secret instruction. Even so, she managed to discover and summarize a large number of unsystematic 'tips and tricks for dangerous experiments'.

Now, it's unclear what skills this 'small boss' possesses.
But the other party said upon meeting that he was going to do some "illegal operations" and needed a trusted "one of his own" to take the blame for him... This promise made her heart flutter.

Isn't this the kind of opportunity I'm lacking?
As for violations and risks… Nie Yin didn’t care. What he feared most was that you were just an ordinary, honest, and unambitious frog farmer, running a garbage breeding farm, never having a dream, and paying low wages, which would waste her youth.

As for illegal 'orc human experiments,' unlicensed 'potion development,' and dangerous 'frog school experiments,' she wanted more of them. Normally, I wasn't even allowed to observe, but now it's finally my turn to step in!
I'm going to do it right now!

So the frog girl said weakly, "I'm willing!"

Why do you seem to want to marry me?

Yuan Zhu shook his head: "No, I didn't ask if you were willing. I just wanted to say that I need employees who can keep secrets. I need you to gain my trust, not betray me, report me, or steal my research results! A pledge of loyalty, do you understand?"

"I understand. I have a way!"

(End of this chapter)