Chapter 796 - 659: Attack of the Ghost Ship

In the underground "black clinic" of the old bookstore.

Jeming stood at the workbench, in front of him neatly stacked were twelve sealed metal test tubes.

The liquid inside the test tubes was a deep amber color, slightly glowing under the light, like some highly purified essence.

Each test tube label was marked with a number, date, and a rune symbol designed by Jeming.

That was his "signature," indicating that this batch of potion had been improved by him.

Harding stood opposite the workbench, hands behind his back, his gaze swept over those test tubes, his expression bland, but there was a subtle hint of satisfaction in his eyes.

Deke stood slightly behind, a portable detector in hand, sampling one of the test tubes.

The screen on the detector displayed a stream of green data, all indicators within safety range, significantly higher than similar products on the market.

"All twelve have been optimized according to your requirements." Jeming placed each test tube into a specially made metal transport box, closed the lid, and pushed it in front of Harding. "The increase in success rate is slightly higher than the previous batch, approximately by six percent. Moreover, the side effects of failure have been weakened, concentrating the side effects within twenty-four hours post-injection to fever and drowsiness, with no signs of organ damage observed."

"Impressive, your technical level far exceeds our expectations."

Harding nodded, took out a flat metal box from within his uniform, and pushed it in front of Jeming.

The box was slightly larger than a palm, without any markings on its surface, but Jeming immediately felt the faint energy waves emanating from inside.

"The materials are fewer this time." Harding's tone carried a hint of apology, "The prophet sent from headquarters will arrive in a couple of days; the association's focus is entirely on internal investigation and responding to potential changes. Most of the resources have been allocated to support those key areas, the quota allocated to collaborative researchers has been compressed quite a bit."

Jeming opened the box, inside were several eerie fragments sealed in resin, and a sealed container wrapped in velvet.

His All-Purpose Eye had not activated, but merely through the tactile perception of his fingers, he could roughly judge the level and quality of these materials.

Two Hazard Level fragments, five Dangerous Level fragments, and inside the sealed container... a complete Dangerous Level anomaly.

Although the quantity was a bit less than the previous two times, the quality was not low.

Especially this complete Dangerous Level anomaly, it was a rare item on the black market.

You could only say it lived up to being an official organization, even under scarce circumstances it far surpassed the so-called underground black market.

"Understood." Jeming closed the box and placed it at the side of the workbench, his tone calm. "At times like this, the association's resources should certainly prioritize internal operations. I can wait."

Harding observed his expression, his gaze turned slightly scrutinizing.

He had met many collaborators, when resources were cut, some would complain, some would haggle, some would threaten to terminate cooperation.

But Jeming said nothing extra, simply accepted calmly, and continued doing his work.

This attitude, either he genuinely didn't care, or he had enough confidence in his own technology.

Harding felt it was both.

"Once this matter is over." He said, his voice lower than before, as if afraid of being overheard by someone who shouldn't hear, "The association will re-evaluate the resource allocation for collaborative researchers. By then, a large batch of materials and data can be authorized. I will also strive for the internal research files you applied for."

"Then I thank you in advance." Jeming's lips curved slightly into a faint smile.

Deke packed up the detector, turned around, his gaze lingered on Jeming's face for a moment, then moved away.

His feelings toward Jeming were always complicated.

After all, this person's origins were unknown, yet his skills were absurdly high, and interacting with him always gave Deke a vague feeling of forgetting something.

But Harding trusted him, and the association's legal department approved the cooperation agreement, him being an external staff had no stance to say anything.

"You need to be careful during this period too." Harding walked to the staircase, glanced back at Jeming, "If the mole doesn't want to be exposed, they'll definitely stir trouble before the prophet arrives. We've already received intelligence from several areas, the frequency of various anomalous events has clearly increased recently. It's not ruled out that someone might be deliberately creating chaos to divert the association's attention."

Jeming nodded: "Understood."

Harding and Deke ascended the stairs.

Footsteps echoed a few times in the first floor of the bookstore, then came the sound of the wooden door being opened and closed again.

Jeming stood in the underground "black clinic," lowered his head, and looked at the metal box containing materials on the workbench, his fingers gently tapped the box lid twice.

Suddenly, his eyes subtly shifted.

His gaze pierced through the ceiling, casting toward the distant sky.

In that direction was... the port.

Jeming's Spiritual Power sensed a strong Energy wave, seemingly indicating something had "infiltrated" this area externally.

Then, a loud explosion sound came from afar.

Rumble...

Continuous heavy explosion sounds emanated from the direction of the port, despite several kilometers of distance, penetrating through the fog and the obstruction of buildings, reaching the old town as muffled indistinct sounds.

But even with that indistinctness carried a frequency that instilled instinctive unease.