I'm a proper student; I only take nine kinds of potions every day.

Chapter 116 The Relationship Between the Healing Church and Copperification

After witnessing Ivan's powerful perception of potions, everyone gathered around the kerosene lamp and began exchanging information.

When Richard heard the full story of how Ivan had killed the factory owner, his rugged face first showed joy, then was covered by worry.

"I'm so sorry, I've dragged you into this."

Ivan leaned against the wooden crate and waved his hand as he spoke.

"If you say that, then you really are treating me like a stranger, not like a brother."

"Dr. Armitage specifically entrusted me with investigating that virus, so I have no intention of standing aside."

Hill nodded in agreement: "Richard, don't always think we'll never grow up."

She glanced at Evan, her gaze carrying a pride she herself wasn't fully aware of.

"Ivan's growth has exceeded everyone's expectations, and he is now capable of standing on his own."

Richard was silent for two seconds, then let out a relieved laugh.

"Haha! I was overthinking it."

Setting aside his worries and burdens, Richard took the lead in sharing his thoughts.

"Then let me share the progress of my investigation."

"What is certain at present is that a significant component of the virus originated from the Healing Church."

"The healing church seems to be aware of it, but they haven't paid much attention to it, and their attitude is ambiguous."

"It is unclear who is actively pushing this, but it is certain that it is not the Red King Laboratory."

""

A sneer appeared on his lips: "Those self-righteous tree spirits have become targets used by others to cover their own tracks."

Erlong asked as he fiddled with the beads around his neck.

"Have you tried to communicate with the dead?"

Richard's expression turned somewhat strange: "There are no dead."

"All I could find were bronze-corroded corpses, empty shells that could move on their own, their souls long gone."

Evan interjected curiously, "Could those bronze-colored thugs under the factory owner's command have been sold to them by the Healing Church?"

"Could his pursuit of his senior brother be related to this?"

Richard shook his head and said.

"The Healing Church does have similar business, but it's not a secret. Everyone in the industry knows it. He has no reason to hunt me down over such an open business."

"He pursued me because, during my investigation of the virus, I touched upon some taboos that I myself was unaware of."

Ivan nodded, smoothly steer the conversation towards what he truly cared about. "Senior brother, what exactly is the Healing Church's attitude towards bronze transformation? I get the feeling they've monopolized this characteristic?"

Richard had seen Ivan's copper plague and knew where his concerns lay.

"Copperification does indeed originate from the Self-Healing Church, and its origins seem to be quite ancient, but this characteristic has always had significant side effects."

.

"Extremely weak electrical current, stripping away the user's mind and stiffening the body."

"Over time, a person becomes a brass puppet that only follows orders."

"For many years, the Healing Church has been trying to optimize this feature and reduce side effects."

"The nuns handing out copper pills for free on the street are looking for suitable experimental subjects."

Upon hearing this, Ivan nodded knowingly.

Richard continued, "The reason this thing is sold to the public is because the failure rate is too high and the cost is too great."

"They would selectively sell some of the failed products, namely those bronze corpses that had completely lost their minds, to external forces to use as puppets."

"And the factory owner's characteristics—money contracts—perfectly allowed him to control these bronze corpses, so the two sides hit it off immediately."

David, on the left, added while chewing a cane.

"The source of the copper is said to be a dungeon where the Holy Grail may be buried."

"The earliest origin is that of guards who stayed in the dungeons for a long time. After staying in the dungeons for a long time, their bodies would gradually show signs of copperization."

"At first, they thought it was a gift from the healing Father, because after being copperized, they not only became incredibly strong, but also gained great strength, and even could not feel pain."

"And then—"

Erlong sighed in his deep voice.

"It was that insane and bloody Copper Man Rebellion that directly split the Healing Church into three from within."

"Wasn't there an Iron Man rebellion?" Ivan asked curiously.

David looked disgusted: "No, Iron has a very low status in the mystical community."

"Copper corresponds to Venus, which represents love and beauty; iron corresponds to Mars, which represents war and brutality."

"No serious alchemist would use iron as a core material."

"After all, there are plenty of alchemists and philanderers, you probably haven't heard of iron smelting, have you?"

Ivan couldn't help but laugh and said, "I really haven't heard of it."

After David finished explaining, Erlong gave him a serious warning.

"Evan, if you ever encounter someone from the Healing Church, the first thing to look at is their clothing."

"The man in the white coat belongs to the healing evangelical sect. He's a normal person. Just communicate with him normally. Be polite when necessary and do what needs to be done."

"The men in black robes, the Inquisition—these guys are generally quite fanatical."

"Never joke around in front of them, and definitely don't say anything bad about the Healing Church!"

Finally, he explained with fear in his voice.

"Red-robed men, red gloves, the execution squad with holy swords."

95

"Once you see them, run as far away as you can. These guys are a bunch of bloodthirsty madmen. There's no reasoning with them, and no room for negotiation."

Ivan's heart skipped a beat, and he nodded solemnly, "Understood."

After Evan wrote down all this information, Richard added another paragraph.

He didn't directly point out Ivan's copper plague, but instead reassured him indirectly.

"The source of copper-based products is monopolized by the church, but they do not object to others using this property."

"Over the years, there have been quite a few people who have obtained copper-like abilities through various means, but this thing has too many side effects and its application is very narrow."

"The positive effects are improved physical fitness and copperization of the body. The side effects are what I just mentioned: decreased self-awareness, stiffness throughout the body, and extremely weak electrical charge."

"As a result, apart from a small number of people within the church who cooperate with a specific system, it is not used much by other factions."

Hearing these words, Ivan finally felt relieved.

The Healing Church will not cause him any trouble because he has bronze-like features.

At least not for now.

Richard looked around at the people present and assigned them tasks.

"Erlong, keep an eye on your mission. Ivan and I will handle this virus trail."

"Hill, do your best to fulfill your teacher's instructions and become an expert."

Hill nodded: "Understood."

After that, Evan and Hill moved into the villa.

The place was dilapidated, but it had many rooms.

The entire second floor is bedrooms. Although each room is musty and old, it is still habitable.

After the meeting, everyone went back to their rooms.

Instead of going to sleep right away, Evan moved closer to David.

"David, do you have the recipes and ingredients for purification potions and energy potions?"

David was tidying up his messy pile of tools, nodding casually as he spoke.

"We have them all, do you want them?"

Evan hummed in agreement: "Yeah, I plan to practice with these two first."

David thought for a moment and said, "Alright! As a gift for your initiation, I'll give you a set of ingredients for each of the two potions."

He sounded a little embarrassed as he said this.

"Don't think it's too little! I'm also short on cash."

Ivan smiled broadly: "Thank you, big brother!"

David then dictated the recipes for the two potions, which Evan quickly memorized.

After taking notes, David asked, "What do you plan to do with the crucible material?"

Ivan countered, "Approximately how much?"

David estimated the size and gestured with his hand: "Including losses, it should be at least twenty pounds of copper, preferably mixed with some materials related to you."

"This increases the spiritual resonance rate during casting, improving the success rate of subsequent medicine refining."

"After all, a cauldron is like a potion workshop; once you make one, you use it for life, so don't replace it casually."

"Therefore, the choice of basic materials is quite crucial."

Evan thought for a few seconds: "Okay, I can bring two pieces on Monday, but they're two big pieces of rusted bronze that need to be restored."

David grinned, revealing his teeth, which were stained yellow from the hammer.

"That's easy! I'm good at this."

"Over the years, I've collected a lot of scrap and smelted it myself."

"I'll prepare the materials and give them to you once you have the crucible."

I returned to my room.

A bedroom that was just as dilapidated as the apartment on Guding Street.

There were spider webs in the corner and mold on the window frame.

Although the bedding on the bed was old, it was at least washed and had a slightly sun-dried smell.

Ivan lay down.

squeak~

There was no familiar scream of a trampoline.

This bed is made of solid wood, and the only sound is the friction between the wood planks.

Even falling asleep is slower now that I'm in a different place.

As time passed, the entire villa gradually quieted down.

Ivan had his eyes closed, but he wasn't asleep.

His 11.6 physique grants him superhuman hearing, allowing him to hear the slightest sounds from everyone in the quiet of the night.

First was Richard.

The snoring was loud, like the heavy breathing of a tiger's growl, and then every few tens of seconds the breathing would suddenly stop.

After holding his breath for a good ten seconds, his voice sounded like a drowning person finally surfacing, and he began to gasp for air.

Then the cycle repeats itself.

"This level of sleep disorder doesn't seem like a common illness." Ivan opened his eyes in the darkness.

"Perhaps it's related to the long-term side effects of the potion."

Then he heard a sound from another direction.

It sounded like someone was crying, or like someone was praying.

"I'm sorry—I shouldn't have slept—I don't deserve to sleep—"

It was Erlong's voice.

"But I want to sleep—please—let me sleep for a while—please—"

The voice was broken and intermittent, filled with pleading and humility.

Ivan's demon-hunting vision confirmed that there was nothing else in that direction.

There were no spirits, no intruders, and no interference from any supernatural level.

He seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps consulting with something in his head.

"I never expected this—" Evan thought silently in the darkness.

"Someone who was so kind and cheerful just now turns out like this at night."

"Spiritualism, it seems that potions used for spiritualism cause far more damage to the mind and soul than I imagined."

From another direction, the first sound heard was—

Chew, chew, chew —

The chewing sound was especially clear after nightfall.

But it's completely different from the leisurely and enjoyable rhythm we just experienced.

The voice was urgent and anxious, as if trying to distract itself and lessen its pain.

Chew chew chew chew chew ————

After a long chewing, interspersed with a sigh full of pain.

Then continue chewing.

David, who was just moments ago cheerful and lively, even laughing and joking after being beaten up, is now suffering from something tormenting him.

Only the direction belonging to Hill was quite quiet at this moment.

Breathing is steady, heartbeat is regular, and there is no unusual noise when turning over occasionally.

She was completely asleep.

"Does Hill also have some special physical constitution?" Evan wondered to himself.

"It's amazing that it wasn't affected by the negative effects of the potion."

"Or is it that her pain occurs not at night, but during the day?"

Lost in random thoughts, my consciousness gradually blurred.

Upon waking up, the first thing I do upon opening my eyes is naturally to check the control panel.

You reversed the side effects of the shark potion.

Your vision and sense of smell have been enhanced. Your constitution has been permanently increased by 0.05.

[Your sense of smell and taste will be enhanced by 200% in the next 48 hours.]

You reversed the side effects of the spiritual potion.

Your electrical resistance is permanently increased by 1%.

[Your self-awareness will improve in the next 20 hours. Spirituality +0.05.]

You reversed the side effects of the Iron Mouth Potion.

Your electrical resistance is permanently increased by 1%.

-

Your skin is now more resilient. Your constitution has been permanently increased by 0.01.

You reversed the side effects of the complex snake venom.

[In the next 50 hours: Reaction speed increased by 10%, explosive power increased by 10%, self-healing ability increased by 10%, endurance increased by 10%, and resistance to blows increased by 10%.]

Upon seeing this information, Ivan suddenly sat up.

What a pleasant surprise!

"I never imagined that the side effects of both the Spirit Potion and the Iron Mouth Potion could enhance electrical resistance?"

Upon further reflection, he immediately understood the logic behind it.

"The effect of spiritual potions is to raise the energy level of the soul, and copper represents energy conduction in mysticism."

"The stronger the energy, the deeper the resonance of copper, and the more obvious the defects of weak current become."

"As for the Iron Mouth Potion, iron is a metal after all, and it has strong conductivity, so weak electricity is normal."

After completing the analysis, Evan quickly jotted down these lessons.

-

"In addition, the Iron Mouth Potion's side effects can also reduce the skin's defenses, making it sensitive and fragile. David should take as little of this stuff as possible."

Finally, his gaze fell on the reverse effect of the compound snake venom.

All five attributes are increased by 10% simultaneously for fifty hours.

"As expected of a hybrid type." Ivan's face was full of smiles.

"There are so many areas for improvement."

At this moment, he could clearly feel that his body, from mind to body, had been lubricated in every aspect.

This is no longer a conventional numerical improvement, but an optimization at the entire mechanism level.

To give an analogy, this thing doesn't increase the material strength of mechanical parts, but rather adds a layer of lubricant between each bearing and gear.

The same power output results in less energy loss.

Same response speed, but lower latency.