Today's test was another major failure.

[Test failed!]

[Test failed!]

[Test failed!]

……

After discarding the dregs from the failed refining process for who knows how many times, You Yonghuai glanced at the soaring misfortune on "Accumulated Strength Unleashed," then looked back at the considerable amount of herbs used, and was hesitant to proceed.

Si Xuanyin, on the other hand, was more open-minded, perhaps simply because she didn't need to take action: "Don't be afraid. We've failed so many times already, what's one more time?"

"Giving up halfway is the worst thing you can do!"

With Si Xuanyin constantly nagging in his ear, You Yonghuai felt as if he was about to undergo another test of willpower. Naturally, he stopped dawdling and took out a piece of material from the cardboard box, throwing it into the alchemy furnace.

Although he kept failing, at least each attempt allowed You Yonghuai to become more familiar with the basic process of alchemy. Putting aside the success rate, his movements now already showed some of the demeanor of a true alchemist.

Of course, it still failed.

[Test failed!]

……

"Xiao You, lunch is ready!"

The repetitive, mechanical labor left You Yonghuai somewhat exhausted. When Li Yongqi came to call him for lunch, he had just finished one round of refining and stopped what he was doing.

It still failed.

"Here it comes—"

You Yonghuai responded to Li Yongqi's words, stretched, and glanced at the few vials of medicine on the table next to him, his lips twitching slightly.

Judging from the results of this morning alone, my success rate in alchemy is not one in four, but at most one in ten.

He didn't use any of the conventional potion recipes that Ling Xiuqi left in the storeroom, but rather Si Xuanyin's exclusive secret recipe.

[Inferior Quality Awakening Lotion]

[Effect: Spirituality +0.5 (Note: The effect weakens with increased consumption), restores a small amount of spirituality]

With inferior materials and a pitifully low success rate, even if You Yonghuai drank all the finished products from the morning, it probably wouldn't improve their spirituality at all.

After extinguishing the fire under the alchemy furnace and leaving the storeroom, You Yonghuai followed Li Yongqi to the canteen. After looking around, he did not see Ling Xiuqi and the other person.

Looking down at the unresponsive walkie-talkie in his hand, You Yonghuai frowned slightly, unable to help but feel a little worried.

He wanted to try to contact the two of them, but he was afraid of affecting them, so he had to give up in the end.

After having lunch and taking stomach medicine, the walkie-talkie still didn't respond, and You Yonghuai began to wonder if the two of them had already gone out of the walkie-talkie's effective range.

If Si Xuanyin hadn't stopped him, he would have wanted to go to the campus of Wenjiang Middle School to see what was going on.

Si Xuanyin felt it was unnecessary.

If they win, there's no need to say more. But if something goes wrong, You Yonghuai alone certainly won't change anything. In fact, his misfortune might cause some unexpected developments.

After being persuaded by Si Xuanyin, You Yonghuai stopped insisting and obediently went to the storeroom to tinker with alchemy.

[Test failed!]

"Great, I've accumulated half of my 'great talent'..." Two hours later, You Yonghuai looked at the few remaining glass bottles on the table, his lips twitching.

Whether it was an escalation of bad luck or something else, there were several times when You Yonghuai felt he was about to succeed in alchemy, but inexplicably the check failed.

The dice were about to stop rolling at the winning number when a phone call interrupted them.

They were all calls to Ling Xiuqi.

If something really happens, You Yonghuai naturally won't care, since a few more failures won't make a difference.

But the calls that came in were never serious.

They were calling from salespeople, scammers, and even game characters.

After restarting the furnace, You Yonghuai ignored the inspection prompts in front of him and was about to prepare the next batch of materials when another call came to Ling Xiuqi's cell phone.

You Yonghuai was so frightened that his body trembled.

[A major failure!]

You Yonghuai's eyes widened.

"Bang!"

The alchemy furnace cracked...

After hurriedly extinguishing the fire, You Yonghuai stared in disbelief at the widening crack and the medicine slowly seeping out, then picked up Ling Xiuqi's phone.

If this call is another useless one, he really will break down.

The note displayed on the screen reads "Team Leader".

Realizing this wasn't a strange call, You Yonghuai quickly answered, and a familiar voice came through:

"The one surnamed Ling, there's a result... the one surnamed Ling?"

"Uh, Officer Ling has gone out." You Yonghuai explained the situation briefly and subtly expressed his concerns.

The other person wasn't anxious at all; in fact, there was a hint of amusement in their voice as they introduced themselves: "You're the new recruit surnamed Ling, right? My name is Su Rou, and I'm your team leader."

"You need to have more faith in the Ling family, and also have some faith in our technology. The walkie-talkie will definitely keep in touch, and they'll definitely use it if they need to—"

"Even if he can't win, he can definitely escape... Of course, he's usually hard to lose."

Having worked with Ling Xiuqi longer, Su Rou was obviously more familiar with him, so You Yonghuai felt relieved and asked, "So, what brings you here?"

"Of course there's something, but if Mr. Ling isn't here, then let's just leave it at that for now." Su Rou's voice was somewhat helpless. "Anyway, I've already sent him the document, so it's fine to talk about it later... I didn't mean to exclude you, it's just that Mr. Ling has been handling this matter the whole time, so he should know about it too."

You Yonghuai hadn't paid much attention to it at first, but when he heard Su Rou's words, he was amused and quickly said that he didn't have such thoughts.

Perhaps because she had encountered sensitive people before, Su Rou emphasized it several times and promised that she would tell both of them about it when Ling Xiuqi returned before hanging up the phone.

After putting down Ling Xiuqi's phone, You Yonghuai looked at the alchemy furnace beside him with some despair.

How did it just happen to explode...?

While You Yonghuai was on the phone, Si Xuanyin had been hovering to the side, observing the remains of the alchemy furnace. As soon as the call ended, she said with a hint of mockery, "You've always been lucky."

"I just checked the stove, and there's nothing wrong with it. It just suddenly cracked. Maybe it's because I'm in a bad mood."

"?"

"I mean, it's all your fault!" Si Xuanyin kicked You Yonghuai in the face, her spirit passing right through him, and said, "You just failed your assessment, didn't you?"

You Yonghuai did not deny it, his lips twitching as he looked at the alchemy furnace on the table, and picked up a rag to clean it.

【Name: Small Alchemy Furnace Type 66A (Damaged) (Failure Value: 100/100)】

Upon seeing the content following the name, You Yonghuai frowned.

What the heck is a failure value?

Does the same item break down if it fails inspection too many times?

Thinking of this, You Yonghuai looked down at his stomach.

【Name: Stomach (Failure Value: 35/100)】