What witch? The Deadly Pharmacist!

He thought for a moment, then raised his hand and shook his finger:

“That batch of finished products has been confirmed to be Mr. Griffin’s goods. The magic essence must have been acquired by his distributors. He only trusts his own people. At this time, if a stranger were to supply him, he would definitely think of him as a spy for the Earl.”

“But all of Mr. Griffin’s dealers in town are your informants. Would they… dare to take such a big risk to deceive you?” the captain asked cautiously.

"The fact that these bastards are my informants proves they're two-faced opportunists, not a single one of them is trustworthy!" Caron said disdainfully. "I dare say, it's definitely one of them who's hiding from me where they're getting their goods from!"

"Then I'll try to put some pressure on them and review them one by one?" the captain suggested tentatively.

“That would take too much time.” Caron touched the family crest ring on his finger, pondered for a moment, “Perhaps we should try a different approach.”

"Change direction?"

"Mr. Griffin is in dire need of high-purity magic essence. If someone suddenly produces such a product, their reputation within the organization will definitely rise."

Caron pointed at the captain and instructed, "Find other informants to inquire in this direction, and while you're at it, find out which of those people has recently expanded their territory!"

"Yes," the captain bowed and left.

Chapter 39 exposed

Owl Recycling Shop, Shekou Lane, Bourbon Street.

A series of urgent knocks came from the door. The shop owner, who was taking a nap on a recliner, frowned, but did not open his eyes or pay attention, pretending that he was not there.

The secondhand recycling shop was just a cover for him. Although it was partly a personal interest, it wasn't really his job. He could rest whenever he wanted.

Just then, the person outside spoke through the crack in the door in a low voice: "Sir, are you there? Roddy introduced me."

Upon hearing the coded message, the shop owner opened his eyes, struggled to his feet, and realized that this was the real business for him.

He walked to the door, opened the small window, and a familiar face appeared in the window—it was Martin, the heretic inquisitor who usually ran errands for Caron Esso.

"It's you." The shop owner was relieved and unlocked the door. "Please come in..."

The moment the door opened, he suddenly froze on the spot, as if he had been shot by an arrow.

Martin stepped aside the moment the door opened, and it was only then that the shop owner noticed there was another person behind him.

“Old pal, long time no see.” Caron Esso stood there, grinning at the shopkeeper.

"Lord Esso!?" The shopkeeper was caught off guard, and after a moment he reacted with a beaming smile. "What brings you here?"

Seeing the head of the Inquisition standing there, alarm bells began to ring in his mind.

"Can't I come to see you once in a while?" Caron raised an eyebrow.

"No, no, no, you're too kind. I just didn't think of that. If you have any instructions, you can just send someone to let me know. There's no need for you to come in person," the shopkeeper said with a smile.

"Are we going to stand here and talk forever?" Caron suddenly shrugged.

"Ah! Please come in, please come in." The shopkeeper could only step aside to invite Caron into the house. "Sorry, it's a bit messy here..."

"It's nothing, it's not like it's my first time here." Caron walked into the house with his hands behind his back, looking around the shop with interest.

Martin followed Caron into the house and stood guard at the door, locking it behind him.

The shop owner was nervous, but he maintained his composure and quickly cleared an empty table, bringing over a chair to invite Caron to sit down.

"Please sit down, sir. I'll make you some tea right away."

"No need for tea, let's get straight to business." Caron called out to the shopkeeper who was turning to get the tea set, and then winked at Martin.

"Oh, sir, you've come this time..." the shopkeeper said, turning around.

What came into his view was Martin, who suddenly stepped forward and raised his fist.

Captain Martin delivered a powerful punch, and a flash of golden light disappeared before the shop owner's eyes, causing the world to turn upside down.

He screamed and fell to the ground. Before he could react, Captain Martin had already used a grappling technique to twist his arms behind his back, lifted him up, and pinned him to the small table.

"No!" The shopkeeper, having finally recovered from the pain, looked at Caron, who was standing motionless, with a mournful face. "Sir, what are you doing?"

“Oh, old friend, you know better than I do,” Caron replied with a smile.

"What are you saying, sir? Is there some misunderstanding?" the shopkeeper continued to argue.

"Martin." Caron winked at his subordinate again.

Captain Martin pressed down on the shop owner's wrist with one hand and grabbed the man's left little finger with the other, twisting it forcefully.

With a crisp snap, the shop owner's finger broke off.

The shopkeeper instinctively let out a scream, but Caron placed his hand on his head beforehand and forcefully pressed his head onto the table.

With his chin pressed against the table, the shop owner was forced to clench his teeth under the pressure, suppressing any shouts he might make.

"You only have ten fingers, so you'd better use them sparingly," Caron said with a chuckle, releasing his grip only after the shopkeeper had recovered.

"Oh, sir..." the shopkeeper began to sob and cry, "What did I do wrong? Why are you treating me like this?"

"The batch of magic essence that Mr. Griffin received, which was 80% of the amount you handed over, was it? Where did it come from?" Kalon asked with a smile.

"That has nothing to do with me! I've been trying to find out who handed it in!" the shop owner exclaimed, his eyes wide.

“Two,” Caron said to Martin, then pressed down on the shopkeeper’s head.

"Ugh, ugh, ugh!" The shopkeeper struggled to squeeze out a sound from between his teeth, unable to even utter a clear "no."

Martin did as instructed and broke the shopkeeper's left ring and middle fingers, resulting in another muffled scream.

“Don’t pass out, old man. Tell me, you still have a chance,” Caron said.

"It really has nothing to do with me, you've got it wrong, you've definitely got it wrong! Who's trying to sow discord between you? Let me confront him! Please!" the shopkeeper pleaded with Caron in a tearful voice.

"I heard you've been doing quite well lately. You were fighting with someone for that shop on South Street, and now Mr. Griffin is going to give it to you? Are you planning to open a branch?"

Caron patted the shop owner's face and asked in a stern voice, "Congratulations! You must have done a lot of good work to get this, right?"

"No...you're mistaken! It was 'Crocodile Dar' who was punished for saying the wrong thing to Mr. Griffin, which is why Mr. Griffin gave me the shop. You can go and ask someone else to clarify," the shopkeeper argued.

He spread some rumors to cover for himself, but he wasn't sure if they could fool Caron.

"Perhaps it would be better if you came to my office for a chat, so we can talk things out more clearly?" Caron smiled. "You're injured like this, so it's not good for you to work. How about you take some time to recover?"

The shop owner's expression changed slightly. Caron's intention was to discard him like a used tool, arresting and disposing of him as he saw fit, since he had other informants who could help him dispose of the stolen goods.

But he still didn't confess, and started to cry miserably: "Sir, if you don't need me anymore, you could have just told me. Why did you have to do this?"

"I've worked for you for years, what have I done wrong... Why are you treating me like this? Why don't you trust me!"

"No, no, old buddy, I've always needed you. You're the most reliable person among your group."

Caron chuckled and said, "Even if you've been hiding something from me, we still have a bond. If I have extra goods to sell in the future, I'll still come to you. I've always trusted you; the question is, do you trust me?"

The old shopkeeper looked up in surprise, but Caron's smile remained unchanged:

"Are you misunderstanding something? If you tell me, it's not like I'll stop you from making money. It's just that the person you're working with will change. Does that make any difference to you? Why suffer unnecessary pain?"

Upon hearing this, the old shop owner gradually composed himself and began to think seriously.

Caron's meaning seemed to be that he wasn't going to blame him, but rather was more interested in the source of the goods.

Even after finding out the source of the goods, Caron still planned to replace that source and continue to sell the stolen goods through him in the future.

For him personally, there was actually no loss.

This combination of whip and candy began to loosen his defenses.

Caron, observing the change in the shop owner's expression, knew what was going on: "Martin, go out. Let me talk to my old friend a little more."

Captain Martin did as instructed, released the shop owner, and went outside to guard the shop for a while.

A moment later, Caron came out alone.

"Chief, what's next..." Martin asked for the next instructions.

"That's enough. Your work ends here. There's no need to investigate any further. Forget everything that happened today," the director replied.

“Yes.” Martin was somewhat surprised, but this wasn’t the first time Caron had suddenly interrupted the investigation.

Caron walked slowly away from Shekou Alley, a smile playing on his lips.

The shop owner never revealed the person's name, because he himself didn't know.

But from that brief description alone, Caron already knew who the other person was.

That man was the Inquisitor, and besides Captain Martin, only one of his men had ever contacted the shop owner.

“Fenrir, Leon Sett… Heh.” He muttered the name to himself, the image of that insignificant junior judge under him flashing through his mind.

Chapter 40's BOSS spawned in his own base.

Inside the labyrinth's workshop, Leon poured a bucket of slime into a basin filled with concentrated salt water and then put the lid on.

The slime immediately began to wriggle violently in the basin, trying to escape, but Leon held the lid firmly down.

The high concentration of salt quickly caused the water in the slime's body to be extracted, and the slime began to shrink, and its peristalsis became slower and slower.

The slimes are not dead, they have just lost their ability to move. They can be revived at any time as long as they are given water.

Leon opened the lid and began to cut open the shrinking and hardening slime with a sharp scalpel. He reached inside with his fingers, removed the core, and carefully placed it in a glass jar.

The slime's magic essence is basically concentrated in its core.

The remaining mucus, after being brined with salt water and treated with some chemicals, can be turned into a gel.

Whether it's slaughtering headhunting rabbits or slimes, Leon has become quite adept at it.

"The monsters are multiplying faster than expected, especially the slimes which keep splitting. If you plan to continue increasing the scale, we'll have to expand the breeding tanks."

Lena said as she washed her hands, explaining that she had just used the headhunter rabbit's brain and heart to create some magic essence.

"We can dig another one in that corner over there, and then try to make a connection."

After Leon finished slaughtering the slime, he went to the sink to wash his hands.

He rubbed his sticky hands, made a bubble wrap with his fingers, and tried to blow a bubble.

The bubble burst before it could fully form, and Reina, who was standing nearby, vaguely felt herself being splashed a little.

"What are you doing? Stop playing around and wash me right now!"

Lena scooped up some water with a ladle and said with dissatisfaction.

Leon grinned and reached out his hand, while Lena frowned and used water to wash the sticky substance off his hands.

"How many rabbits have you killed so far?" Leon asked while drying his hands after washing them.

“Five heads,” Lena replied.

“The magic essence and gel can be stored, but the headhunter rabbit carcass is difficult to preserve without processing,” Leon pondered. “How about we ship out a small batch ahead of time?”

"Whatever you want."

Lena walked back to the workbench, preparing to use the slime core to make another batch of magic essence. Leon, understanding her perfectly, stepped forward to help organize the experimental equipment.

“You forgot to wear gloves again,” Lena glanced at Leon and reminded him.

"Oh." Upon hearing this, Leon picked up his protective gloves and put them on.

Raising monsters in the maze has resulted in a significantly shortened breeding cycle, allowing their breeding scale to expand faster than expected.

With the increased production in the maze, at this rate, they should be able to produce another substantial batch of goods before winter.

Five years... no, I'll try to earn enough money in four years. Of course, if Lena can create the antidote next year, maybe I can stop next year.

Even if the money he gets is used to help Melissa and the others, it will also leave him with some savings.

Leon silently calculated in his mind.

At that moment, the sound of unfamiliar footsteps appeared without warning at the entrance to this former knightly encampment.

A tremendous shudder exploded within both of them simultaneously, and they turned around at the same time, staring wide-eyed at the entrance.

The person had been walking quietly since entering the maze, and only now did their footsteps begin to sound.

The faint light of the lantern first appeared at the entrance, followed by a burly figure.

Lena gasped in fear and instinctively hid behind Leon, who immediately drew his gun and aimed it at the door.