The Alchemist's Guide to Flesh and Blood Ascension

The word "business" can encompass many relationships in the eyes of the rat people.

Beyond the most basic trade exchanges, there is also "investment," which goes beyond the literal meaning and also represents a deep friendship that may or may not last.

That night in the sewers, my throat was burned beyond recognition by the acid from the "corrosive spray," as if I had drunk a whole bottle of water from Baidu in one gulp—because my adaptive ability had not yet been developed.

At that time, [Super Regeneration] was like overdrawing one's life limit in exchange for super-strong life recovery ability.

In the dimly lit sewer, the chipped front tooth gleamed, somewhat absurd... but Yonivo couldn't laugh.

"Brother Yunevo... thank goodness you're still alive..." The voice, with a high-pitched quality characteristic of ratmen, came from the darkness.

The short, stout figure moved clumsily in the shadows, hopping and skipping as it approached. Beside it... the ratman dressed as a ranger was none other than the silent Nehta.

"Shh... Keep your voice down, those guys in white aren't far away yet."

Without a word, it pulled out a mithril box that gleamed with a cold light, carefully peeled off the seal, and then casually took out the materials one by one.

Nehta walked past him, setting up tripwires and booby traps at the pipe entrance, standing guard with a crossbow, and occasionally taking the time to apply some kind of paint to both sides.

Later, Yunevo learned that it was the savings that Old Six, the ratman, had accumulated over several years...

Items like the Dragon Saliva of the Abyss Sea and the Sting of the Evil Locust, if taken out individually, would be enough to make several auction houses on the mainland fight tooth and nail for them.

And it was used so casually on Yunevo; some of it was used to heal his injuries, and some was used to conceal Yunevo's presence.

With the support of these things, Yunefu was able to remain so calm and normal the next time he used [Corrosive Spray].

The materials were ridiculously expensive, but Lao Liu didn't care how much it cost.

Anyway, it considers this an "investment," and then, grinning, it says to him, "We can't let this business end here, you know!"

Yunevo sighed. It seemed that even the sixth ratman didn't realize he was "borrowing" anything—the ratmen's thinking was simple: once the person was saved, there would be plenty of business to do later.

They call this "two clearings".

But Yunevo was not a ratman, and he disliked accumulating debts of gratitude one after another. These things... were like high-interest loans, only getting heavier and heavier over time, until he could no longer hold his head up.

It's time to pay it back.

Yunevo opened his eyes, patted Iseria's head, and said softly, "I'm going out for a bit."

Iseria didn't ask him where he was going or how long he would be gone. She just nodded obediently, took a few gold coins from the counter, and quietly reminded him, "Don't forget to eat... Also, when you're unhappy, you can eat some sweet frosting jelly."

"Then... I'll leave the shop to you, boss lady?" Yunefu chuckled and put the money in his pocket.

"Leave it to me!" Iseria patted her puffed-out chest, stood on tiptoe slightly, and straightened the crooked price list. Sunlight streamed in from the window, falling on her profile.

Yunefu was still a little worried, and only after giving Iserlia several instructions did he feel at ease leaving the house.

He didn't go directly to Nehta, since she only said "Sixth Brother is in trouble" but wasn't willing to elaborate...

That proves that it hasn't figured out how to explain itself yet—and obviously, it doesn't want to disturb its old friend Yonivo's private life too much.

Pressing the question will only make the rat-man more awkward.

Unbeknownst to them, Yonivo turned into a narrow alley north of Alchemy Street.

At the end of the alley was a prop shop with a faded signboard—the door was half-closed, and the bottles and jars were covered in dust, indicating that it had been closed for a long time.

He knocked lightly on the door frame three times, paused for two seconds, and then knocked twice more. There was a rustling sound from behind the door, and Yoniv pushed the door open.

Just then, a trapdoor that blended seamlessly into the wall was slowly flipping open, revealing a narrow staircase leading downwards behind it.

Yunevo bent down and crawled inside.

The air in the passageway became damp and cold, carrying the distinctive smell of rust and limescale from the old pipes. On the walls on both sides, a dim magic lamp was embedded every ten steps.

Compared to that day

This is the newly planned rat trail by Nehta, which is also the current "temporary residence" of the sixth rat.

They must not have had a good time in Hart City... That's why Nehta was so decisive when he agreed to come and see the shop.

Following the trail left by the ratmen under the dim light, after walking for about fifteen minutes and turning three corners, Yune stopped in front of a rusty iron gate.

There was no handle on the door, so he knocked lightly twice.

A moment later, a metallic scraping sound came from inside the iron gate—half a face peeked out from the crack in the gate.

The rat-man's distinctive long face and pointed snout slowly emerged, but it was relatively fatter, with grayish-white fur, and a monocle was somehow stuck in front of its eyes.

Like Yonivore, it has aged considerably since then.

"Brother Yunefu...?" the sixth brother called out tentatively.

"It's me," Yonivo said, removing the hood of his black robe to reveal his face.

The short, fat ratman, Lao Liu, had a bright look in his eyes. He opened the door completely, stepped aside to let Yunefu into the room, and quickly glanced behind Yunefu to make sure there was no "little tail" behind him.

"Nichta and I... both thought you would definitely come," it said, closing the door, locking it with three locks, and nervously rubbing its front paws. "Sorry..."

"What's there to be sorry about?"

Yunevo crossed his arms and looked around the basement, which was neither too big nor too small—it was tidy, with several large boxes of goods piled up next to the small bed and many orders nailed to the wall.

On the wooden table with one leg missing, there was a well-preserved account book.

Following Younefu's gaze, the sixth brother subconsciously picked up an abacus and fiddled with the beads, making a soft crackling sound.

"This temporary base... is a bit rudimentary, not as luxurious as it is in Hart City," it said, its chipped front tooth gleaming. "Sit down, please sit down..."

The short, chubby ratman hopped to his feet and pulled a wooden chair out from the corner.

But Yunevo didn't sit down. He just looked at the rat-man who was less than a meter tall and decided to start the conversation first.

After all... his arrival already demonstrated his determination.

"We've known each other for so many years, why are you still beating around the bush..." Yunefu said helplessly, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "Tell me, what trouble have you run into?"

The sixth rat-man slapped the ground with his tail, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly before finally opening the ledger and pushing it in front of Yunevo.

On the ledger, the page filled with entries about Hart City was marked with bright red X's...