CHAPTER 100: CHAPTER 100: THE ANOMALY IN DOLREN CITY

Before this, Ethan only guessed that potions from Dawnfall Online could be made in the real world once you had the right recipe. He made that guess because the secret group [Ghostfang] was dead set on getting the [Blue Ice Potion Recipe intel].

[Grinning Ghost] has now confirmed his guess. That means Ethan can try to get that potion and improve his physical condition.

If that works, he might not only live longer, he might even fully cure his illness.

Ethan took a deep breath. He couldn’t get excited or panic. He needed to get more useful info from [Grinning Ghost].

But no matter how he tested him, [Grinning Ghost] stayed cautious.

[Grinning Ghost]: [Stop wasting time. Say what you want, and what you can offer in return.]

[Windchaser]: [I have the Blue Ice Potion recipe.]

[Grinning Ghost]: [I know. You’re smart. You wouldn’t give up the Blue Ice Potion recipe.]

[Windchaser]:[ I want to know how to find the materials in the real world, and intel about Dawnfall Online.]

[Grinning Ghost]: [Do you have other potion recipes?]

Ethan took a deep breath. He didn’t expect [Grinning Ghost] to respond so fast and get so close to the truth just from his words.

Thanks to Elise’s help, Ethan basically has two [Blue Ice Potion] recipes now.

Items like the [Blue Ice Potion] recipe disappear after use. Still, once an [Apothecary] learns a recipe, they can tell others how to brew the potion.

But that approach is very risky. You can trick someone just by slightly changing the required ingredients.

[Grinning Ghost] already realized that Ethan must have another potion recipe to use as a bargaining chip.

Ethan thought for a moment and replied: [That’s not important. Answer my questions first, then I’ll consider trading with you.]

[Grinning Ghost]: [Even if I tell you, you won’t be able to get those materials.]

[Grinning Ghost]: [You’re just an ordinary person living in a false peace. Hand over all your potion recipes to us instead, and we’ll give you a chance.]

[Windchaser]: [A chance to join you?]

[Grinning Ghost]: [That’s right.]

Ethan frowned a little. Joining [Ghostfang] would bring many benefits, but it would also tie him down.

Unless he had no way to extend his life and was truly desperate, he wouldn’t join any group in the real world.

So he dropped that topic and began negotiating with [Grinning Ghost].

He wanted to get more for himself and learn more real-world intel, but [Grinning Ghost] was just as smart and kept quiet.

Ethan stated his terms: he wanted [Grinning Ghost] to give him a potion in the real world that could improve his body. After he got the potion, he would hand over the Blue Ice Potion recipe to [Grinning Ghost].

[Grinning Ghost]: [Even if I give you the potion, do you dare use it?]

[Windchaser]: [I’ll hand over the recipe only after I get the potion.]

[Grinning Ghost]: Oh? Sounds like something has pushed you to take a risk.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. The more he dealt with [Grinning Ghost], the more he felt this person had an uncanny intuition.

[Grinning Ghost] could quickly read his real situation from just a few words.

He was taking a risk, yes, but not a big one. Recipe intel was clearly very important to a group like [Ghostfang].

Also, after he gets the potion, Ethan won’t take it right away. He’ll find a way to test it first.

He’ll only risk injecting it if he truly has no other way to extend his life.

[Grinning Ghost]: [I like helping when people really need it, not just adding icing on the cake. I agree to your terms. My gut tells me we’ll be in touch again.]

[Grinning Ghost]: [Tomorrow at 12 p.m., by the fountain at the entrance of Dolren City City Hall. I’ll have someone bring the potion and wait there.]

[Grinning Ghost]: [Oh, and one more thing—Dolren City is about to see something unusual. You’d better stay out of it.]

Ethan looked at the message on his watch, a bit surprised. He hadn’t expected [Grinning Ghost] to agree so fast.

He mentioned his "gut." Ethan didn’t think that was just an excuse.

Intuition, huh?

Ethan shook his head and started thinking about how to make sure [Grinning Ghost] couldn’t trace his real identity when he picked up the potion tomorrow.

As for that last warning, Ethan instantly thought of the recent cold snap in Dolren City and the moves by Leo’s secret department.

He knew [Grinning Ghost] seemed to be warning him, but was really hoping he’d get involved in this so-called "anomaly."

...

Dolren City, inside a certain government official’s mansion.

Skyler lay in bed, slowly opened his eyes, looked at the light on the ceiling, and said with no expression:

"Tell logistics to prepare a vial of [Low-grade Enhancement Potion] and deliver it to Dolren City before noon tomorrow."

The room looked empty except for Skyler, but after he spoke, a figure emerged from the shadows in the corner and answered in a hoarse voice:

"Captain, by the rules, we have to apply three days in advance before logistics will give us potions."

Skyler said directly, "I know you can make it happen."

The figure in the corner stayed silent for a moment before finally saying, "Captain, your talent is just too crazy. If I say I can’t do it, you’d probably figure out I’m lying just by instinct."

Skyler’s face didn’t change at all, like he had no expression at all. He looked toward the corner and said:

"Okay, go to Veritas Snow Group’s lab later and check how far they’ve come."

"The current Ice Virus isn’t at the level we want. A lot of things in the organization can’t be made without it. We need their research to speed up."

"Send someone to keep an eye on the Faceless Division in Dolren City. Watch the Faceless closely. We can’t let them stop the Ice Virus research."

The person in the corner answered in a serious tone, "Understood, Captain. The latest news just came in — [Black Sea] and [Prism] people have also arrived. Should we take care of them?"

Skyler shook his head. "No. Our goal is to get the Ice Virus in a specific state. We can’t let the Calamity happen, and we also can’t let anyone stop the research on the Ice Virus."

"Besides, my gut feeling tells me that the people sent by [Black Sea] and [Prism] this time are really dangerous."

"Let’s just watch and see. I hope nothing goes wrong."

After saying that, Skyler walked to the bathroom, washed his face, and then stared at the mirror for a while.

The [Ghostfang] organization and the government’s Faceless Division actually have similar views. Neither of them wants the [Calamity] to happen, which could cause a lot of unexpected deaths.

But [Ghostfang] needs the Ice Virus in a specific state. Right now, he still can’t stop Veritas Snow Group from researching it.

As for the guys from [Black Sea], their arrival definitely means they want to speed up the [Calamity].

But why is [Prism] getting involved too?

Skyler couldn’t figure it out.

He had a vague feeling that [Prism] wasn’t here just for the Ice Virus or the [Calamity].

Could it be that the legendary person in [Prism] who can see the future has finally woken up again?

Skyler felt a little frustrated and washed his face again. He looked into the mirror, took a deep breath, and slowly said:

"Smart people always end up in a pain they can’t escape. Windchaser, are you ready for what’s coming?"

"The person who makes my talent, Absolute Instinct, react this strongly can’t be an ordinary guy."

Since Skyler met Ethan near the exit of Safe Zone 9527, he had been trying to find out who [Windchaser] really was.

He started by checking retired special forces and killers, hoping to find out who [Windchaser] was. But all his efforts came up empty.

[Absolute Instinct] didn’t always work. The real world had its limits, and Skyler couldn’t trigger his talent as often as he could in Dawnfall Online.

That’s right, his talent in Dawnfall Online was also [Absolute Instinct] — a golden-quality talent!

And the guy who was hiding in the corner of the room just now had a talent called Shadow Affinity, which was orange-quality. He could disappear completely in the dark or shadows.

He could even hide inside someone else’s shadow!

That’s why Skyler sent him to Veritas Snow Group.

As he thought about this, Skyler began to feel a little curious. He wanted to know what kind of talent [Windchaser] had.

In general, when regular people enter the Dawnfall Online world, their real-life bodies start to change as they level up.

But without strong physical abilities and special methods to guide and trigger their talents, most people have to wait a long time before they even realize they have a talent.

[Windchaser] had a chance to automatically unlock his talent after using a [Low-grade Enhancement Potion].

But the higher the quality of the talent, the lower the chance. Unless someone used some special method to guide and trigger it, like Skyler did.