Dragon Clan: I am Lu Mingfei, the Intelligence Strategist, the God of Concepts!

Chapter 214 Alchemy Prodigy Girl, Newton's Manuscript (12k)

Erii had already changed into her favorite lace princess dress and high-heeled ankle boots before breakfast, clearly looking forward to going out today.

But she was always easy to talk to in front of Lu Mingfei, especially since the new change plan was exactly what she had been looking forward to.

Back upstairs, in the room.

"Take off your clothes first," Lu Mingfei said.

Erii blinked... Wait, isn't this supposed to be singing?
Su Xiaoqiang, standing to the side, couldn't help but cover her face. Lu Mingfei had told her about it when she was making breakfast, so after finishing, she didn't rush to change into her travel clothes. Instead, she continued to wear her loose and comfortable home clothes, preparing to receive Lu Mingfei's... follow-up examination.

The thought of such things made her face burn like fire.

I never expected to be with Erii...

I felt really awkward.

Erii began to undress. She preferred a large, puffy skirt with lace and tassels sewn along the sides and metal support inside. She skillfully reached behind her to unzip the skirt, revealing her smooth, snow-white shoulders. Then, the fluffy skirt slid down naturally, exposing her slender, fair body to the air.

A fresh and pleasant fragrance wafted over... Lu Mingfei had already prepared himself mentally, but he was still feeling dizzy.

This smells like some kind of shower gel.

Girls all have these, it just depends on which one they like.

Erii loves hops shower gel, a kind of thing called 'cherry blossom dew', which has a milky scent.

"Hey, stop, stop, stop, stop!"

While Lu Mingfei was stunned, Erii tilted her head and continued to reach for the bra clasp.

Although she didn't understand why she had to take off her clothes to sing, and her teachers had repeatedly told her not to take off her clothes in front of strangers, Sakura wasn't a stranger.

Fortunately, Lu Mingfei reacted in time and called a halt at the last minute, preventing this step from happening.

"That's enough," Lu Mingfei said, taking a deep breath.

Erii lowered her hands and stood still obediently.
She immediately turned to look at Su Xiaoqiang, as if to say, "Sister Su, are you going to take off your clothes too?"

Su Xiaoqiang opened her mouth. Having learned from yesterday's experience, she deliberately wore very thin clothes this time so as not to hinder Lu Mingfei's massage. However, after thinking about it, she slowly began to take off her clothes.

The main reason was to prevent Erii from feeling awkward being alone.

After a moment, the two girls stood quietly under the light, looking like beautiful crystals or diamonds, and it was clear that they were radiating light.

After taking a quick look at the cute matching lingerie worn by the two of them, Lu Mingfei had a lot of complaints to make.

But in the end, Lu Mingfei held back, trying his best to raise his gaze and carefully offered an explanation.

"That's right, Erii, your Su-neechan wasn't actually singing yesterday..."

After a moment, Erii understood, her eyes sparkling as she held the small notebook to her chest.

"Wow, that's amazing. I never knew Sakura could heal people."

Although she wasn't singing... she was even happier.

Su Xiaoqiang rolled her eyes. Lu Mingfei's reason for giving her the information was to help her become a mixed-race person. So, without even asking, it was obvious that the reason given to Erii was to help her stabilize her bloodline.

Hearing Lu Mingfei say it to her face without batting an eye, she still thought... what utter bullshit!

The two major problems that Nuwa herself certified had been without any progress for so long, but suddenly overnight they all found solutions, and in the same...approach?

She would eat this if she weren't a pervert!

But since things had come to this, Su Xiaoqiang could only try her best to cooperate and act as if everything was normal... Even with her sinister thoughts, Su Xiaoqiang was also a little curious about Erii's name.

"So, who goes first?"

Lu Mingfei, still in a democratic manner, inquired.

His gaze swept back and forth between Su Xiaoqiang and Erii, looking quite serious and proper.

Su Xiaoqiang subconsciously avoided Lu Mingfei's gaze, her body tense. Even now, she was still a little afraid to recall the feeling of yesterday. "How about Erii goes first... I'll go get two bath towels later."

Su Xiaoqiang suddenly blushed and ran towards the bathroom.

Erii looked puzzled and held up her notebook: "What do you need a bath towel for? Do you want to take a shower first?"

Lu Mingfei said somewhat guiltily, "Uh... I don't know. You can take a shower later if you want. You don't need to now. Just lie down."

Erii lay obediently on the bed, her shoes off, leaving only a pair of white socks that made her delicate feet look even more beautiful and petite, swaying back and forth.

Lu Mingfei swallowed hard, no longer dwelling on whether or not to take off his socks, and earnestly instructed, "If you feel uncomfortable in a while, just move around."

Erii's feet stopped moving.

……

In the bathroom, Su Xiaoqiang leaned against the cabinet and took a deep breath. Instead of grabbing a towel, she washed her face first.

"calm down."

She didn't intend to bury her head in the sand in the bathroom forever. It wasn't that she was worried about Lu Mingfei, afraid that he would touch Erii inappropriately... After all, this guy's 'treatment process' was clearly all about touching her. Her main concern was that Erii wouldn't be able to bear the pain in her bones and muscles, and that she would be too sullen to refuse, and in the end, she would lose her temper and cause the building to collapse.

At least I can keep an eye on her if I'm there, and if all else fails, I can take over for her... Ugh! What am I thinking!

Su Xiaoqiang spat at herself in the mirror.

Normally, you should refuse something like this, how can you do this? Do you really think they can act with impunity just because they have many 'friends'? Why didn't I see his true colors before? Now that lecherous man is getting all the benefits...

I grabbed two bath towels, intending to just cover them up a little later.

Anyway, with so many people, it's unlikely to be...

Su Xiaoqiang took a deep breath and pushed open the door to return to her room.

I couldn't help but be stunned.

Having not heard any noise outside for a while, I assumed they were still waiting.

But I didn't expect it to have already started?

……

Having learned from his experience with Su Xiaoqiang yesterday, Lu Mingfei was much calmer this time. He grabbed Erii's foot with one hand and bent it up, while using the other hand to explore the key nodes of tendons and bones according to the theory of alchemical biology, checking the dragon transformation.

Because Erii was contaminated by the blood of an ancient dragon embryo from the embryonic stage, it has continuously affected her physical development over the course of eighteen years of growth. Although Herzog found the Deadpool embryo serum to help slow down her dragonification process, the parts that had already been dragonified in the past could not be reversed.

The vast majority of these manifestations are scales on the surface of the bones, small barbs at the joints, etc. They usually appear as temporary signs of second- or even third-degree bloodlust, but Erii is always in this state, only hidden beneath the surface of her body.

Therefore, Lu Mingfei's movements were particularly slow during the examination, almost touching the toes inch by inch, with hardness, length, width, and shape being important indicators.

They spared no effort, even using more force on some areas than they had on Su Xiaoqiang yesterday; this was the significance of the examination.

But both Su Xiaoqiang and Lu Mingfei underestimated Erii.

They always took good care of Erii, treating her like a child and cherishing her like a precious jewel. But in reality, Erii handled this level of stimulation with remarkable ease.

His face didn't even turn pale, let alone furrow his brow.

Compared to the pain from previous injections and the deep-seated pain from bloodline activation after using the Word of Power, the pain on the surface of muscles and bones is nothing.

They might even genuinely feel the comfort of the massage and let out a soft sigh of praise, not in words, but just a series of long breaths.

After her small, delicate feet with dense bone structure, came long, slender legs with prominent meridians, and soft yet powerful arms. When Erii got serious, she could probably lift a Hummer and throw it.

Then there's her smooth back. Her spine is different from a normal person's, with more obvious joints. When she lies flat on the bed, the protrusions are clear but not abrupt. Then there's her front. Erii isn't as three-dimensional as Su Xiaoqiang, but she's not extremely thin either... Judging from the feel, her body fat percentage is slightly higher by one to two percentage points.

Finally, the nearly half-hour data collection was over.

Lu Mingfei patted her foot.

Erii shifted her body, picked up the small notebook next to her pillow, and wrote: "Is it over?"

"Yes, Erii is very brave."

Lu Mingfei stood up calmly. After a moment of respect due to the insufficient feedback, he became immersed in the examination itself, just like a real doctor and patient.

Erii tilted her head, not quite understanding why Lu Mingfei suddenly praised her.

I was clearly enjoying the massage, but can enjoyment be praised as 'brave'?
"Your turn." Lu Mingfei glanced sideways.

"..."

Su Xiaoqiang was completely dumbfounded. Erii's behavior last night was completely different; she didn't utter a single word.

Erii should probably keep quiet.

But that makes her seem really strange... especially since Su Xiaoqiang glanced at her and realized that Erii didn't seem to need a bath towel at all!

Damn it, does that mean I'm the abnormal one?
Su Xiaoqiang's face flushed red as she imagined what was about to happen, and she froze on the spot.

and many more!

If I'm in front of Erii later... what will she think of me?

At this moment, Erii took the towel and draped it over her head, then innocently held up her notebook: "Sister Su, you have to be brave too."

Then he stared at her intently.

"...Hehe, hehe."

Su Xiaoqiang gave a dry laugh, her expression even worse than if she were crying. "Eri, can you go take a shower?"

"Okay, Erii, go take a shower," Lu Mingfei said, trying to help Su Xiaoqiang out of the predicament.

"Ok."

Erii roughly sensed Su Xiaoqiang's embarrassment. Although Su Xiaoqiang had been looking at her the whole time, she didn't insist on looking back and gracefully walked into the bathroom.

She has always been very understanding.

Thump, click—

The bathroom door closed, and Erii began filling the bathtub with water and a little duck.

In the dim light,
Her ears suddenly twitched.
A soft "hmm" came from outside, the same sound as yesterday.

……

After pressing Erii and Su Xiaoqiang, Lu Mingfei let them play by themselves.

One person locked himself in the room, meticulously studying their parameters.

Strictly speaking, apart from the similar process of 'data scraping,' Erii and Su Xiaoqiang are completely different in terms of design.

One is the Dragon Blood Circulation Matrix, and the other is the Filtering and Separation Matrix. Both matrices will exist in the form of 'matrix groups', with hundreds of miniature alchemical matrices implanted throughout the body to work synergistically.

Specialized matrix models need to be designed to address the individual physical characteristics of Erii and Su Xiaoqiang.

Norton taught Lu Mingfei the overall design concept and process plan.

However, Lu Mingfei had to complete all the details entirely on his own.

The two girls allowed him to collect data because they trusted him.
Lu Mingfei would never hand over Erii and Su Xiaoqiang's bio-alchemy parameters to anyone else.

……

on the street.

Poke.

Su Xiaoqiang brushed aside the small hand that was gently poking her waist from behind, and followed the location sharing to head towards the path to meet up with Nuwa and Ling.

Poke.

Su Xiaoqiang reached out and pressed down, turning back to look at him with a resentful expression.

Erii was poking Su Xiaoqiang's waist repeatedly, dazed but stubbornly waving a small notebook in front of her, on which were written some questions that Su Xiaoqiang was too embarrassed to ask.

Erii didn't stay in the bathroom after taking a shower; instead, she came out to watch the second half of Su Xiaoqiang's massage.

She felt that Sister Su was unusually comfortable.

It is suspected that Lu Mingfei gave him special treatment.

Su Xiaoqiang was on the verge of tears... What kind of problems were these? She really needed to find some help quickly, she couldn't take care of the child by herself, it was so embarrassing.

As the red and green markers on the map get closer and closer.

In the distance, Ling pushed a specially made wheelchair belonging to Nuwa, who was pretending to be disabled, and waved to the two of them.

Su Xiaoqiang quickly waved his hand as well.

Suddenly, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

Nuwa was seen comfortably leaning back in her wheelchair, her silky hair brushing against Zero's hand. They were talking and laughing... Zero wasn't even wearing gloves?
This……

It seems like we've gotten a little too close!

Su Xiaoqiang knew that Zero was a bit of a germaphobe; before this, only Lu Mingfei and Erii were not averse to contact.

Ling was always polite to her and Nuwa, but she subtly kept her distance.

It seems that Zero and Nuwa have cleared up their misunderstanding?
Uh... could it be!?
She had suspected that there was something wrong with Nuwa and Ling suddenly going shopping together today. She had been comforting herself that it was just a matter of avoiding each other, but now it seemed that it was not the case at all.

Su Xiaoqiang was startled and said quickly, "Eri, I need to tell you something!"

"Ok?"

Erii tilted her head in confusion, feeling as if she had been pulled into something.

……

Lu Mingfei stayed in the room until the next day before coming out.

My vision became blurry due to prolonged brain overload.

He originally planned to design an alchemical matrix in one go, estimating it would only take three days and two nights at most. He thought the young man could finish it in one go with a little effort.

Compared to making Su Xiaoqiang a hybrid, it is naturally more important to restore Erii to full health. Since the former requires necessary materials, the circulation matrix part of Su Xiaoqiang needs to be designed in combination with the actual situation of the serum.

Unfortunately, Lu Mingfei's trip to Portugal this time wasn't to simply change locations for research.

He also had official duties to attend to.

For example, we had an agreement with the Oliveira family to hold a liaison meeting of major European families and powers in their territory today.

Therefore, only the framework of the alchemy matrix has been designed for now.

Stepping out of the room, Lu Mingfei looked extremely weak, as if he hadn't slept for two days.

His dark circles were obvious, and his steps were a little unsteady...

Su Xiaoqiang had already changed her clothes and was waiting in the living room. The event was being held at the Oliveira family's house, so she was naturally going to attend. On the other hand, Nuwa wouldn't be showing up this time. Upon seeing Lu Mingfei's appearance, she immediately blurted out, "Why do you look more tired than me?"

"Why are you tired?" Lu Mingfei was taken aback.

"I...it's nothing." Su Xiaoqiang opened her mouth, then quickly shut it up. "Oh dear, hurry up and change your clothes."

"Okay, sure."

Lu Mingfei didn't think too much about it and naturally spread his hands, letting Su Xiaoqiang put the clothes he had prepared on him. Expensive clothes are often very particular about how they are worn, and Su Xiaoqiang used to help him dress at home.

A black Maybach was already waiting downstairs, and we drove towards the Oliveira Estate in the suburbs.
In the past six months, the orthodox movement has expanded its influence in Europe significantly and established good cooperative relationships with many parties.

The fact that Lu Mingfei, as the legitimate representative, chose to hold the meeting at the Oliveira family's location this time carries many symbolic meanings.

The car was parked at the end of the straight, flat road.

The trees on both sides of the fortress parted to reveal various facilities already set up on the Bermuda lawn beside it.

The driver opened the car door—Lu Mingfei, dressed in a traditional Tang suit, walked down the red carpet arm in arm with Su Xiaoqiang, who was wearing a pale yellow palace dress, immediately drawing attention and applause.

When the main characters arrived, the two greeted everyone around them with a smooth, almost rehearsed manner. Lu Mingfei's smile was subtle and gentle, while Su Xiaoqiang also walked with ladylike steps, the hem of her long dress swaying gracefully with her steps, showing no trace of immaturity, as if she was born for this kind of occasion.

"Why are you so skilled?"

Su Xiaoqiang asked in a low voice while forcing a smile. Who knows how long she practiced yesterday? She always felt that Sister Nuwa no longer loved her. Suddenly, she arranged the strictest etiquette teacher for her, teaching her orthodox manners, and then the three of them left her to go out and play—but why does Lu Mingfei know so much about etiquette?
"Isn't it enough to just have hands? I learned a little bit before, so that's enough."

Lu Mingfei maintained his fake smile. Fortunately, he had dozed off for a while in the car, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to force a smile now.

"Tch, so vain."

Su Xiaoqiang grumbled unwillingly, pressing her body even closer to Lu Mingfei's arm.

Strictly speaking, Lu Mingfei's demeanor is not particularly standard, but he is Lu Mingfei, so no one can criticize him.

"Don't push me," Lu Mingfei whispered.

"Hmph... I'll squeeze in, I'll squeeze in!"

Once the two entered the arena, Su Xiaoqiang finally relaxed a little.
After the emcee's introduction, everyone understood Su Xiaoqiang's identity and her connection with the Oliveira family.

This was the first time Lu Mingfei had appeared in public with another woman.
In other words, the way Lu Mingfei brought Su Xiaoqiang in, and the choice of the venue for this meeting, naturally made it clear to people that the Oliveira family had connections with Lu Mingfei and the orthodox. In the future, whether to cooperate with or make things difficult for the Oliveira family, people would have to first consider the weight of the people behind them.

This is also what Lu Mingfei wanted to do.

Supporting Su Xiaoqiang is not just something to be said.

The two walked to the gate at the end of the front hall, where a medieval plate-armored servant wearing a coat of arms opened the door for them, and they slowly entered the castle.

……

Most of the attendees at this meeting were familiar faces from various factions.

For example, the mixed-race power from London, Westminster Abbey, sent a young countess named Victoria Snowton, while the Temple of Solomon sent a knight named Glenn... Lu Mingfei chatted with this knight for a while.

As everyone knows, the Temple of Solomon is skilled at raising dragons, and coincidentally, Lu Mingfei wanted to recruit a group of shadow warriors, and the dragon's body was a perfect fit... Of course, he was too embarrassed to say it directly, so he asked indirectly, but unfortunately, the Knight Glen's 'partner' was just a dragon that was roughly equivalent to a fourth-generation species.

Lu Mingfei wasn't very interested in dragons of this level; their bloodline was too low, their elemental sensitivity was insufficient, and they would only take up a slot for consciousness splitting.

The first generation of dragons cannot be relied upon; the main concern is whether there are any clues about the next generation of dragons.

Unfortunately, the information obtained from Knight Glen is that in the past few centuries, pure-blooded dragons of the second generation in Europe have almost disappeared from the world and have never appeared in large numbers again.

Knight Glenn was still lamenting that the Solomon Temple had been trying to find a way to cooperate with a higher-level dragon race through technology, but hadn't had a good opportunity yet. Lu Mingfei said that they should be careful of Angers first.

Soon, Lu Mingfei met the person he was planning to meet.

A young woman in an elegant evening gown walked over gracefully. Her long, light-gold hair was styled in a bun on her head, and her delicate, fair face had a touch of baby fat. She smiled, but her every move exuded an air of authority.

[Name: Charlotte Gottingen], [Bloodline: S]... [Affection Level: -3], [Tags: Heir to the Gottingen family, Alchemical genius, High-class beauty, Tsundere girl, Aristocratic temperament, Likes to drink milk, Acting head of the Gottingen family, Board member of Kassel College...]

“Hello, I am Charlotte Gottingen, the current patriarch of the Gottingen family. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lu.”

Charlotte, dressed in an elegant gown, held a glass of red wine and politely introduced herself.

Extend your empty hand.

"Hello, Ms. Charlotte."

Lu Mingfei roughly guessed that this was a gesture of 'kissing hands'. He wasn't used to this etiquette, but... he would give it a try.

So he reached out, gently lifted his fingertips, and bent slightly to touch his lips.

"...?"

Charlotte froze for a moment, and before she could touch him, she quickly pulled her hand back in fright. She looked at the handsome man in front of her with a somewhat ancient Eastern charm with a confused expression. The little bit of goodwill she had managed to regain almost disappeared again.

Lu Mingfei was also completely bewildered.

At this moment, Su Xiaoqiang, who was standing next to him, chuckled and whispered in his ear, "Usually only married women give a hand kiss as a greeting. She's obviously a young girl; she's just shaking your hand."

"Uh... Oh, sorry, it's not a hand-kissing greeting, is it? I'm not familiar with it since I'm new to Europe."

Lu Mingfei suddenly realized what was happening and quickly apologized sincerely.

"It's alright, I really like Chinese culture." Charlotte gave a slightly awkward but polite smile and withdrew her hand.

A small interlude caused the atmosphere to suddenly become awkwardly silent. While Lu Mingfei was analyzing the panel, Charlotte was also observing him.

She first heard the name from Elizabeth Laurent, who said that it was an ally recommended by Principal Angers. Later, Charlotte began to seriously collect information about Lu Mingfei, and couldn't help but recall a sentence her grandfather had once told her: some people can make people look at them with new eyes as soon as they stand out. It doesn't take thirty years for fortune to change, or even three years, three months is enough.

Lu Mingfei is clearly that kind of person, and his appearance nowadays is actually in line with her taste.

I took the initiative to contact them as Elizabeth suggested... but I never expected that I would make three calls in two days and not get a single answer!

The first time, a woman answered the phone, and there were other women's voices nearby.

The next two attempts were completely unsuccessful.

And now, first he looks so weak and listless, like he's overindulged in lust, and then he's acting crazy and trying to kiss her hand... He's definitely a lustful glutton, right? He clearly spent the whole night doing it again last night!

Charlotte was furious; she was always very good at judging people!
She hates men like that the most.

It's a bit strange... What kind of pervert stares at the top of a girl's head? Is my hairline receding?

Charlotte resisted the urge to touch her head to confirm. She was a true noblewoman and would never do something so abrupt and rude, even if the other party had been very impolite.

"Did you come alone?" Lu Mingfei suddenly asked. "Why didn't I see Ms. Elizabeth?"

Charlotte's smile froze. Was she going to ask another lady about her schedule right away, especially in front of her female companion?

But she probably realized that the man in front of her was just that kind of straightforward guy.

Charlotte had no choice but to say seriously, "Duchess Laurent is currently on an investment visit to Australia and I'm sorry I can't attend this gathering."

"Oh, it's alright, it's alright," Lu Mingfei said, indicating his understanding.

It doesn't matter who wants you, but isn't it possible that your initial mass invitation to unfamiliar ladies was the real abruptness... Charlotte was speechless, and even lost hope in the so-called alliance.

Sure enough, she was not suited for such occasions; coming here was clearly a mistake.

Let Elizabeth meet him next time, and then I'll talk to Principal Angers about it later.

There's no way I could form an alliance with such a rude pervert.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Charlotte turned and left without looking back, only to see the old patriarch of the Oliveira family walking towards her. She greeted him, after all, he was the master of the territory.

The old patriarch returned her greeting with elegant manners, "Noble Miss Charlotte."

Then he looked at Lu Mingfei.

"Mr. Lu, are you sure that statue you took last time is the real treasure of Flammel's house?"

Charlotte paused, her ears perking up.

A statue? Flammel's House? Treasure?
Before she came here, she had heard about the history of the Oliveira family and the first Nicholas Flamel. When visiting someone else's territory, it is a kind of aristocratic etiquette to take the initiative to learn about their history. Although the Oliveira family is insignificant compared to the Gottingen family, Charlotte would not be impolite in this regard.

"Oh, really?" Lu Mingfei paused, then asked, "What's wrong?"

"I just wanted to confirm with you. Now that you've found and taken the Easter egg, we'll need to change how we introduce it to other guests," the old patriarch said respectfully.

"Oh, then don't tell them. Just mention it briefly. But I can't return the items to you for now. I... need to study them for a while longer."

Lu Mingfei said after considering it for a moment.

In fact, Lu Mingfei had a pretty good grasp of the alchemical matrix inside the statue and the 'transformation' it carried; the rest was just a matter of spending some time settling down.

However, Lu Mingfei does not intend to return the statue to the Oliveira family.

Because he had previously discovered that the first Nicholas Flamel, the alchemist who was active in the 13th century, seemed to be alive.

Centuries ago, Nicholas claimed he would take any descendant of the Oliveira family as his apprentice if they could solve the mystery of the statue, and it seems he wasn't joking.

The moment Lu Mingfei deciphered the statue with his mental power, he resonated with the mental power of the other party in the dark.

In other words... Lu Mingfei 'saw' Nicholas Flamel.
Nicholas Flamel also saw Lu Mingfei.

This ancient relic has actually survived from the 13th century to the 21st century!
According to Jormungandr's own testimony, the powerful humans in history were all super hybrids who had made significant achievements in the 'spiritual' realm. They possessed an overwhelming advantage over young dragon kings, but their only drawback was their limited lifespan.

Even assuming, hypothetically, that the original Nicolas Flamel was such a gifted super-hybrid.

Eight centuries... clearly exceeding the scope of 'limited'.

If this were a normal thing, Lu Mingfei would be willing to slap himself.
Let's wait until someone takes him as a disciple. I really want to see what he's got.

The old patriarch left in a hurry, continuing to tell the stories of Flammel House to the visiting guests.

……

Charlotte stopped in her tracks and looked at Lu Mingfei with great interest.

"Mr. Lu also likes alchemy?"

"Oh? It's alright, just an amateur," Lu Mingfei said casually.

He could naturally tell that the young matriarch of the Gottingen family wasn't particularly fond of him.
But I am not surprised by Charlotte's sudden change in attitude.

After all, according to the intelligence and panel display, Charlotte's family, the Gottingen family, is known as the "Flower of Gottingen," and the heads of the family have been immersed in the study of alchemy. This nickname means that they are admired but difficult to get close to.

Charlotte herself is even labeled as the "high-mountain flower" among the "flowers of Highgarden"... A woman with multiple layers of buffs is just as difficult to deal with as those who know.

In fact, Lu Mingfei didn't really care about forming an alliance or not. If it hadn't been arranged in advance and he didn't want to stand someone up, he would be in the laboratory designing an alchemy matrix for Erii and Su Xiaoqiang right now.

"Excuse me, I'll take my leave for a moment." Lu Mingfei said goodbye decisively.

He was ready to run away on the spot and discuss the dragon taming issue with Knight Glenn again; he felt that dealing with a burly man in armor was more interesting.

“Mr. Lu, please wait!” Charlotte suddenly said.

"Is there anything else, Miss Charlotte?" Lu Mingfei asked, turning his head.

"Um, I'm also an alchemy enthusiast..."

Charlotte gave a sweet smile: "May I take a look at the statue you mentioned to Mr. Oliveira? I'm very interested in the legacy of the great Flamel."

"It's not convenient," Lu Mingfei said, shaking his head. "Let's talk about it next time."

"...?"

Charlotte was momentarily stunned.

Is that such an ungentlemanly way to refuse? What's wrong with this man? He was acting like a lecherous glutton just a moment ago, and now he's a saint? Does he think I'm some kind of monster or what?

But Lu Mingfei didn't have time to play games with her.

Before she could react, her footsteps had already quickly walked away.
"Wait! I'm willing to pay the price!" Charlotte cried out anxiously, losing her composure.

Lu Mingfei immediately stopped, backed away from where he started, and stared blankly at her.
"what?"

Charlotte took a deep breath, finally calming herself down, and a noblewoman's smile appeared on her face: "I am genuinely interested in Flamel's legacy, and I won't just look at you for nothing."

“This is no ordinary thing,” Lu Mingfei said cautiously. “You’d better think it through first.”

The moment money was mentioned, Lu Mingfei's expression changed completely.

Charlotte cursed inwardly.

Damn it! Turns out he's not just a pervert, he's also a money-grubber!

……

"This girl is an idiot."

After a moment, Lu Mingfei made a judgment in his mind.

Lu Mingfei naturally had reservations upon noticing Charlotte Gottingen's unusual interest in the first Nicholas Flamel.

He tentatively made an outrageous demand, and to his surprise, the woman gritted her teeth and actually agreed.

Well... that's not impossible.

"Miss Charlotte, let's discuss this in more detail later. I really need to excuse myself now."

Lu Mingfei's smile became noticeably more sincere as he pointed in the direction of the venue.

"Okay, Mr. Lu."

Charlotte maintained a stiff smile, but inside she was on the verge of going crazy. This bastard is a monster!
Lu Mingfei naturally took Su Xiaoqiang's arm and left.

"Tsk, so that little statue is so valuable, you have to pay the price of a Philosopher's Stone just to use it once?"

Su Xiaoqiang secretly glanced back at the young lady of the Gao Tinggen family, who was still standing there in a daze, heartbroken. A smile couldn't help but spread across her face. Of course, she remembered the small statue that Lu Mingfei had given her before, which she hadn't liked.

"Why not take advantage of a rich person's generosity when it's offered to you?"

Lu Mingfei gently scratched Su Xiaoqiang's palm and said with a grin, "Anyway, they are very rich. Angers said that he would take out some Philosopher's Stones for you to use. Prepare more, because you will become a very powerful hybrid in the future."

"Hmph." Su Xiaoqiang wrinkled her nose and snorted, but she was secretly delighted.

It wasn't that she genuinely believed Lu Mingfei's repeated promises to help her become a half-blood; he was simply using the opportunity to touch her...

Su Xiaoqiang was very satisfied with Lu Mingfei's attitude when he was talking to Miss Charlotte.

With just a few words, he completely offended this beautiful noble lady. Charlotte's affection for Lu Mingfei must have plummeted to rock bottom, thus virtually eliminating any possibility of him getting involved with other women!
This is what Su Xiaoqiang truly cares about.

With internal troubles looming, her biggest worry is the emergence of a few more external enemies!

……

By the time the party, reception, and dance were all over, it was already the next day.

Fortunately, Lu Mingfei was nominally the initiator of the meeting, but his actual work was simply to say a few words, share a drink with everyone, and introduce themselves. The rest was handled by professionals, as Nuwa had already arranged.

In the morning, at the Göttingen family ancestral estate in southern France.

A helicopter slowly landed at the private airport.

"Wake up, Mr. Lu? We've arrived."

Charlotte hesitated, glancing at the man sleeping soundly across from her.
Her slender fingers tentatively reached out and then withdrew.

Despite having dark circles under his eyes all day yesterday, Lu Mingfei was eating and drinking heartily at the banquet and dancing with incredible agility. So why did he look even worse after a good night's sleep?

As soon as Lu Mingfei boarded the Gauttingen family's helicopter, he fell fast asleep again.

At first, Charlotte was secretly pleased, at least she didn't have to deal with this guy's constant glances at her scalp.

But what if I can't wake up?
Charlotte suddenly regretted that Miss Su hadn't come along. She really had no other choice, since leaving a guest alone on the helicopter was a very impolite thing to do.

Just as I was about to call the housekeeper,

"Hmm—where am I?"

Lu Mingfei finally caught his breath, rubbed his eyes to wake up, and subconsciously touched the strangely shaped belt and the briefcase behind him, cautiously observing his surroundings.

Charlotte's eyelids twitched at the sight of the series of actions.

This guy must have been a gangster before, right?
“Mr. Lu, we’ve arrived. This is Gottingen territory, you don’t need to be so nervous,” Charlotte repeated with difficulty.

"Oh, sorry, I was a little tired last night." Lu Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief.
The two got out of the car.

Just then, the sound of a car came from outside the helicopter; it was a classic old car.

An elderly man stepped forward and bowed: "You must be Mr. Lu Mingfei? It's an honor to meet you. I am Ek Fox, the butler of the Gottingen family, here to answer your call."

Lu Mingfei glanced at him casually. The butler looked a bit old, but he was very energetic and dressed impeccably. His clothes had a long list of highly cultured titles on them.

It doesn't seem like a housekeeper, but more like a consultant.

"Hello." Lu Mingfei greeted the butler respectfully, without any hint of disrespect.

“Fox, don’t keep the guests waiting,” Charlotte said calmly, regaining her aristocratic composure.

"Yes, Miss." The old butler bowed slightly.

"Please follow me, Your Excellency Mr. Lu. Due to family regulations, outside vehicles are prohibited from entering the family territory, so I will lead the way from here on out."

"Ok."

Before Lu Mingfei came, he had learned that the Gao Tinggen family, as elders of the Secret Party, had always been famous for their alchemy. Alchemists have always held a transcendent status, and most of them are researchers who live in seclusion and have little social interaction. It is normal for them to have many rules.

But soon, as he reached the outskirts of the airport, Lu Mingfei discovered that this old car could actually pop up a control panel...

Alchemy and creation?

Lu Mingfei immediately became interested.

"Mr. Lu, did you see something?" Charlotte smiled. "Next, we're going to go deeper into the manor. There's a large alchemical matrix inside that's designed for defense. Regular vehicles will malfunction once they enter, and any mixed-blood outsiders who don't have a guide will have their minds disturbed and get lost inside."

"This vehicle is specially made and can be recognized by the alchemical matrix."

"amazing."

Lu Mingfei gave a sincere compliment.

With a slight thought, the Bloodline Domain silently expanded once again, taking in all the information about the hybrids in the Göttingen territory.

Charlotte, seeing him gazing around in a daze, assumed he was admiring the scenery of the manor, and raised her delicate chin, her mood brightening slightly.

A moment later, the vintage car drove into the heart of the Gottingen family's residence.

Nestled in a quiet grove is a white manor, its steps, walls, and fences all pristine white, standing out starkly against the verdant forest—a scene straight out of a fairy tale.

"How will the transaction proceed?" Lu Mingfei asked.

"..."

Charlotte's face immediately fell as she was about to hear Lu Mingfei praise her a few more times.

"Please follow me." Charlotte's face darkened.

Arriving at a three-story building covered in ivy, Charlotte waved away the maid who came forward and led Lu Mingfei through the door.

"This is the library of our Göttingen family, a place of great importance to our family. I will study your statue here next. After that, I will return the statue as promised, as well as the Philosopher's Stone that I promised you. During this time, you can read the books in the library. There are many rare copies of alchemical texts here."

"After you've finished studying the statue?" Lu Mingfei raised an eyebrow. "That's not what you said before, is it?"

"It won't take me too long."

Charlotte looked at Lu Mingfei with a confused expression.
"And you can read these books during this time. This is the accumulation of the Gottingen family. Didn't you come to Gottingen's territory with me for this reason?"

Lu Mingfei then realized what was happening.
Oh, so this girl is taking advantage of me?
Actually, he volunteered to come along, just to keep an eye on the statue and check the quality of the Philosopher's Stone.

Lu Mingfei quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, what I meant was... I have limited time, so I might not be able to wait for you for too long."

Charlotte couldn't hold back any longer and began to doubt whether this person could even understand polite words or sarcasm.

"How long did it take you to study the statue?" she finally asked, her smile fading and her voice turning cold.

"one day?"

Lu Mingfei said hesitantly, "I originally wanted to tell the truth and say I'd only be a minute, but then I remembered that the girl is actually a very nice person, and now it seems like I've annoyed her..."

"Then I only need half a day!" Charlotte sneered.

"Don't act impulsively," Lu Mingfei quickly advised. "How about this, if you can't figure it out today, I can take the statue back first and come back tomorrow. What I mean is, I can't go home too late; my girlfriend is worried about me spending the night with another woman..."

The voice grew softer and softer.

Charlotte's face was clearly extremely pale.

If eyes were knives, Lu Mingfei would have been hacked to death by her right now.

What do you mean your girlfriend is worried about you spending the night with other women? When the hell did I ever say I wanted to spend the night with you?

Lu Mingfei wisely shut his mouth, realizing that what he had just said was indeed grammatically incorrect, so he simply stopped talking and stared innocently into Charlotte's eyes, like a pure little white rabbit.

"If you have no objections, come with me." Charlotte turned around expressionlessly.

Lu Mingfei obediently followed.

"The library is a private property of the Gottingen family and outsiders are not allowed to enter. You have the right to read a portion of the collection. If you need any books, you can ask Ruth to get them for you, Ruth!" Charlotte suddenly raised her voice.

"Yes, ma'am."

The maid following behind bowed and then secretly glanced at Lu Mingfei. It was the first time she had ever seen her quirky young lady so angry with a man.

...Although she was also very angry.

"Okay, thank you, Miss Ruth."

Lu Mingfei nodded in a friendly manner, glancing towards the inside of the passageway. The reading area was simply furnished with a long table, a few chairs, and several bookshelves filled with books. Warm kerosene lamps shone overhead, creating a cozy atmosphere.

“The Gottingen family used to be the center of the European Classical Alchemy Association, but that was nearly a hundred years ago. Back then, many association members came here to exchange ideas and discuss things. Now, magical mechanics is more popular and requires modern laboratories. This place has been idle for a long time,” Charlotte explained coldly.

“Okay, I also like classical alchemy.” Lu Mingfei said without hesitation.

Charlotte's lips twitched, and she turned her head to point to the side: "You can read here for a while."

"The books on the shelf are about alchemy, but they are not so precious as to need to be kept in the library. You can browse them freely, but please take care of them. Most of them are ancient books and the materials are very fragile."

"Ok."

Charlotte led Lu Mingfei to the second floor: "Just like the first floor, you can also read the books here. Most of them are manuscripts by modern scientists, involving alchemy. In order to preserve these original manuscripts, we set up an alchemy matrix. It would be very troublesome for you to set it up yourself."

"They even have Newton's manuscripts?"

Lu Mingfei glanced at it briefly and was taken aback.

"The Gottingen family's influence far exceeds your imagination... That's about it. The third floor is the core area of ​​the library, involving some of the Gottingen family's secrets, so I can't let you in. I'll be studying the statues up there. If you have anything to say, talk to Ruth."

Charlotte stretched out her palm and placed it in front of Lu Mingfei.

This time, Lu Mingfei wouldn't treat it as a hand-kissing gift. He took the statue out of the suitcase and handed it to her.

"Thank you," Lu Mingfei said.

"Hmm." Charlotte's brows relaxed slightly, and she turned and went back to the third floor without looking back.

Watching the beautiful figure of the girl hurrying upstairs.

Lu Mingfei seemed to be deep in thought.

Before coming here, I thought Charlotte was a 'martial arts fanatic' with an extraordinary fascination with alchemy.

But now he's starting to realize it.

Given the Gottingen family's wealth and influence, Charlotte wouldn't be so eager for the knowledge stored inside Flamel's statue. After all, strictly speaking, the Gottingen family's alchemical heritage and Flamel's personal heritage are not inherently superior or inferior to each other.

As the saying goes, "Don't bite off more than you can chew," Charlotte didn't have the energy to master both traditions.

This statue may serve as a 'key'.

Charlotte probably hoped to use some of the effects or principles of the sculpture to 'pry open' something.

Of course, this has little to do with Lu Mingfei.

After all, Charlotte had already paid a sufficient price. Whether it was the Philosopher's Stone or the access to the valuable materials in the Göttingen Library, their value far exceeded the 'Transfiguration' itself.

Along the way, Lu Mingfei had already seen many books that interested him.

“Hello, Miss Ruth.” Lu Mingfei turned his head and spoke in a friendly tone.

"Hello, Mr. Lu."

The maid Ruth smiled, but there was a hint of nervousness in her expression.

"Is there a limit to the number of books I can read at one time?" Lu Mingfei asked.

“…You are a valued guest. Just tell me what you need, and I will get it for you,” Ruth said.

"Okay, thank you for your help. Please retrieve these books according to the serial numbers on the cover."

Lu Mingfei handed over a slip of paper with a smile.

(End of this chapter)