Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 97 Research

Forewarned is forearmed, without prejudging the waste.

Acting on impulse without a plan, without a plan, will almost certainly lead to failure unless you're incredibly lucky.

Link made up his mind and began to draft a research plan.

Generally speaking, there are nine commonly used research methods: field observation, interviews, questionnaires, meetings, seeking expert predictions, sampling, typical cases, statistics, and literature.

This afternoon's site visit-style investigation is a form of on-site observation, which can obtain direct, vivid, and reliable first-hand information.

However, what is observed is often the surface phenomenon or external connection of things, which is somewhat accidental and greatly influenced by the subjective factors of the investigators, making it unsuitable for large-sample surveys.

Link would definitely need to combine several other survey methods to obtain a highly credible survey result and form a meticulous and comprehensive survey report.

After much deliberation, Link decided to divide the research subjects into two categories: one category named "fragrances circulating in the market" and the other category named "fragrances unique to each store".

For fragrances circulating in the market, we can start with literature review and statistical survey methods to obtain preliminary results, and then consider how to refine them.

Link plans to hire people to conduct on-site observations and typical investigations regarding the unique fragrances of each store, especially the unique fragrance of Lucia's family apothecary.

Where are the investigators hired from?

XC zone, of course!

While the division is done in this way, in practice, it can be carried out together.

After careful consideration, Link took action.

He first found all the relevant materials he could find in the East District Library.

Although there are few records about Eastern District pharmaceuticals, especially fragrances, they are not entirely unfounded.

At least Link now knows which management agency he can go to to retrieve the import and export records of goods.

After noting down all the useful information, Link finished his research as evening approached and returned to the pharmacy to pick up Jasmine from get off work.

On the way back to the college by rail transit train.

Jasmine hesitated several times before finally speaking: "Link, this afternoon, you weren't in the shop, and Wizard Ella said some bad things about you."

"What bad things are you saying?"

Link knew that Jasmine wasn't one to gossip behind people's backs, so there must be a reason why she brought it up. He then continued the conversation.

"She said, she said..."

Jasmine carefully chose her words and stammered, "She said you are an extremely cold-blooded person at heart. Last night you saw Antoine Hilton die in the ring, and then you personally killed Rivers Francis. Today you act like nothing happened, as if nothing can move your heart."

Link remained silent.

Wizard Ella's assessment was spot on and very insightful.

Even though he was trying to integrate into the wizarding world, Link still felt a strong sense of detachment.

It's like playing a highly immersive virtual game, with a first-person perspective and realistic sensory experience; everything seems no different from the real world.

However, there's always a voice reminding the player that you're not from this world!

Therefore, Link felt nothing for Enrique Bernalis, Harold Andrews, and Rivers Francis, who died at his hands, or for Antoine Hilton, who died before his eyes, except for a few moral turmoil deep within his heart.

It's as if those aren't human lives.

He was extremely cold-blooded.

Link thought for a moment, then smiled and comforted her, "She can say whatever she wants."

"But……"

Jasmine raised her voice slightly, a little anxious, "But Salia the Wizard, Tina the Wizard, and even Celine the Wizard heard it, and it will affect their impression of you."

Link laughed and said, "I don't live for the impressions others have of me, so I don't need to care about those things."

To divert Jasmine's attention, Link changed the subject: "By the way, I went out to investigate this afternoon, and your idea from last night actually has a slight chance of coming true."

"Yeah?"

Jasmine knew Link was trying to change the subject, but she still tried her best to cooperate.

She knew Link didn't want her to dwell on it, so she picked up the conversation and asked, "Then what can I do?"

Jasmine could have done so much in this matter.

Collecting literature, organizing data, finding research materials and development directions, carrying out research and development, and so on.

Jasmine is already a fairly competent assistant, and she has the potential to work independently.

Back at the academy, after filling their stomachs in the cafeteria, Link and Jasmine headed straight for the library.

Whether it's books in the library or materials in advanced document databases, anything related to fragrance is gathered up.

Take a quick look, keep the useful ones, and discard the useless ones.

The next day.

Link and Jasmine went to work as usual.

The only difference from the previous two weeks was that Link made a point of recording information such as the types, effects, and prices of the women's fragrances sold in the store.

This action was observed by the witch Celine.

Knowing just how talented Link was in botany and pharmacology, she immediately understood that Link had found inspiration and direction for research again.

Without hesitation, the sorceress Celine immediately beckoned Link over and asked directly, "Are you interested in women's fragrances?"

"Yes."

Link replied frankly, "I encountered setbacks in developing the Li Xuancao aromatherapy essential oil before, and I considered switching to fragrances. I had some understanding of it. Yesterday afternoon, while strolling around the East and South districts, I found that the sales of women's fragrances were very good in several large pharmacies, which gave me the idea of ​​making one or a few fragrances."

"The main function of fragrance is to calm, soothe, and relax the mind, and women do use it frequently in their daily lives."

Celine the Wizard nodded in approval, "This market is indeed worth developing, and our store does have a limited selection of women's fragrances."

After a pause, Wizard Celine asked, "How do you plan to proceed? Will you conduct research and development independently, or continue with collaborative development?"

The reason Celine the Wizard asked this question was not because she coveted the potential benefits of the Lady's Fragrance, but because she needed to provide different levels of assistance based on Link's choices.

The wizard Paro sent the promising genius to her for a part-time job—was it really just a part-time job?

This is called nurturing!

How could an ordinary wizard apprentice possibly have the opportunity to practice potion making and alchemy potion making one or two years in advance?

Link replied decisively, "I plan to develop it myself first. If I encounter any insurmountable obstacles along the way, I will ask Wizard Celine for your help."

"That's fine too."

The witch Celine strongly approved of this approach.

The "cooperative development" model for the previous Li Xuan Cao aromatherapy essential oil was an exception.

At that time, the wizard Paro made two preparations.

If Antoine Hilton is too afraid to take on the challenge from Rivers Francis, then Link Grande will have to be sent in.

That's why Link Grand was given a chance to acquire a large amount of magic stones in a short period of time.

This time, let's get research and development back on track.

Link couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

This was a carefully prepared test.

If you want to track the women's fragrances sold in a store, you can do so at any time.

Why choose a morning when other employees are not around, and when the wizard Celine can notice?

It was all to attract the attention of the witch Celine.

The conversation that follows attracting attention may seem simple, but it actually contains a lot of implications.

Link confirmed one thing from Celine's reply: Paro would not be doing anything like what happened the night before last that Link needed to do.

The two promises made in exchange for accepting six months of access to the laboratory, which were supposed to be within their capabilities, have now been nullified.

The Wizard of Paro keeps his word!

Why was this test necessary?

Ultimately, whether Lin Kecheng admits it or not, the mad Rivers Francis had already planted a thorn in his heart.

That thorn is called "distrust," or "doubt."

Rivers Francis, who had already lost some of his rationality and was acting more on instinct, knew that he had no chance of taking revenge on the wizard Paro.

This is the behind-the-scenes bigwig who controls the "New Blood Mutual Aid Society," holding a fishing rod and baiting a number of fools like himself and Antoine Hilton.

Like a drowning man grasping at a straw, he placed all his hopes on Link Grand, who seemed exceptionally talented in every way.

In order to bury that thorn even deeper, Rivers Francis was willing to sacrifice his fading life.

Empty words and empty promises are nothing compared to the vivid memory of a bloody death!

Anyway, he's doomed.

What if this thorn comes in handy sometime in the distant future?

That would be a huge profit!

Reassured, Link began to steadily advance the research progress.

After finishing the pre-processing of plants and herbs in the morning and having lunch, Link asked the wizard Celine to write a letter of introduction for borrowing data before heading to the central city.

Among the many management bodies in the city of Rivosos, there is one that is very inconspicuous but of great importance.

That is the Goods Import and Export Administration Bureau.

Goods entering and leaving the city of Rivosos via the "Airport" and "Freight" stations are not categorized, and all entry and exit tickets must be submitted to the Import and Export Authority for filing and future reference.

Even in the West End black market, aside from the truly illicit goods where leaking information would lead to death, this is the case.

Without Celine's letter of introduction, if Link dared to approach her for data on the import and export of women's fragrances in recent years, he would definitely be controlled by the intelligent law enforcement puppet.

With this letter of introduction, Link obtained the data he wanted very smoothly.

After that, without having time to analyze the data, Link entered the West District from the South District.

Instead of venturing deep into the West Side, Link wandered around its outskirts a few times, hoping to find some easily controlled thugs to work for him.

Link has always been lucky; he actually managed to catch those five street thugs from last time.

"come over."

Lin Kechong waved to the thugs who wanted to turn back as soon as they saw him.

The awakened fear prevented the thugs from disobeying Link's orders, even though this place was on the outskirts of the West District and not as chaotic as the interior.

"Big...Big brother, is...is something the matter?"

The gang leader, hunched over with his neck half-shrunken, asked timidly, his voice trembling.

Link could tell at a glance what the thugs were afraid of.

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, smiled politely, and said in a warm tone, "Don't worry, I'll be here for you if something good happens."

As soon as he finished speaking, the thugs became even more frightened.

Brother, you said you meant no harm last time, but you not only scared us, but you also made us kill someone for you.

Now that you're saying there's good news, doesn't that mean you're going to start a massacre?

I'm just a good-for-nothing street thug, please let me go.

The gang leader had a lot on his mind, but his reply was completely sincere: "Brother, please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything."

"This is a deposit; you'll receive another one after the deal is done."

Without a word, Link pulled out a bag containing ten standard level-one magic stones, shoved it into the thug leader's hand, and said seriously, "I need to know the types, quantities, effects, and prices of all the specialty women's fragrances sold in every apothecary in the East District, as well as their approximate monthly sales. You have three days. Can you do that?"

After a pause, Link emphasized, "Remember, these are unique women's fragrances brewed by each apothecary!"

The thugs, especially the gang leader, breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

As long as it's not murder, it's fine.

They were on tenterhooks for a long time after that incident.

Although they had been living quite comfortably for a while.

Not only did they get ten magic stones from Link, but they also looted a lot of spoils from the corpse and sold a lot of magic stones.

This is just gathering information, something I'm good at, no problem at all.

The gang leader gripped the bag containing the magic stones tightly and asked, "Boss, we've compiled the data. How should we hand it over to you?"

"East District, Celine Wizard's Apothecary."

Now that things are different from two weeks ago, Link isn't afraid to reveal some of his information. He frankly says, "Just organize and copy the data, and come find me here."

"Shall we go back and prepare?"

The gang leader asked tentatively.

"Go."

Link waved his hand, watching the thugs turn back into the West District, and then he returned to the East District.

Now that there's a new project and Celine the Wizard has given new support, it's perfectly reasonable to borrow the space in the apothecary.

Back at the pharmacy, enter operating room A.

Link took out his personal smart device and carefully analyzed the data he had "copied" from the Import and Export Administration.

In particular, the purchase data for women's fragrances from Lucia's family pharmacy.

The data shows that the market-circulated fragrances mainly sold in major pharmacies in the four urban districts have one thing in common: they are more practical.

However, Link didn't jump to conclusions or rush to decide on the direction of fragrance development.

He then turned to reading fragrance-related materials and literature downloaded from an advanced database.

In the evening, Jasmine finished get off work, and they returned to the college together.

After a quick dinner, the two went into the lab to begin preparations for formal research and development.

Then, two days passed peacefully.

The thugs clearly took Link's instructions to heart, and delivered the collected data to Celine Wizard's apothecary before noon on the third day.

Link readily paid another ten standard level one magic stones.

One should be true to one's word; if you promise to give me a second copy after the deal is done, then you should give me a second copy.

The thugs left happily.

After reviewing the data, Link was pleasantly surprised, but also felt a sense of urgency.

The Lucia Family Pharmacy is preparing to hold a new product launch event for its new remedies, including a new fragrance line.

The opportunity to snipe has arrived, and the target has been identified.

The question is whether Link and Jasmine can develop high-quality fragrance products in time to compete with Lucia's family's new fragrance products.

The real question is whether we can win.

Link thought about it and decided that they still needed to differentiate themselves from competitors.

Perhaps, without being overly practical, the focus should be on highlighting the fragrance and emphasizing its allure while ensuring that the effect is no less than other fragrances?

To make money off women, you have to consider fame and beauty.

I recommend a book by a renowned expert:

Gu Changsheng, the Supreme Being

Focusing on one lifetime and supplemented by countless worlds, it witnesses various iconic scenes. It's fast-paced and doesn't drag. Those who are interested can check it out.

(End of this chapter)