When Lu Ning and Boliwell realized the problem at the same time, they knocked on Old Howard's door. After Old Howard opened the door with a curse, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief, but when they heard Lu Ning say that she would not be there all day, Old Howard's expression also changed a little.
"Go...go see what you lost?"
Lu Ning immediately knew that the guy pretending to be her had probably entered her house, but she was not too worried. She had brought all the important things with her, and the calculation scripts that would reveal her identity had long been burned and scattered in the yard. The other party will definitely not be able to find such important items. But on the other hand, it may be a little troublesome. There is a type of magic curse that requires some personal items or even magic on the cursed person to cast the spell. This makes it difficult to judge whether the other party has come with such a purpose.
She hurried back to her house and knew with a glance that the things had indeed been turned over. Due to her suspicious personality, she liked to set up some small mechanisms for some items to verify whether they were opened or closed. For example, when she left before There was a small piece of clothes tucked into the edge of the box, but now it's gone. In the same way, the arrangement of the charcoal pens in the pen holder on the table, with two long ones pointing outwards and one short one facing inward, has also changed.
This person was obviously not a good counter-reconnaissance expert. Although he cleaned up enough when he left, he left many traces that she could distinguish. But this is not the point. Now that the door is open, it can be explained that the person opened the door and left when he left. Obviously, he had no intention of hiding it. The problem is that if the other party can wait until the store closes to leave without worrying about his sudden return, it means that he knows that he and Soygo have gone to the laboratory and will conduct experiments until late.
"Wait a minute, since that person is not worried about being seen out at all and is just trying to deceive him again, then the reason why he tidied up so neatly is not to hide himself from crossing the room..." Lu Ning glanced at the room again and understood instantly. , "Hidden trees in the forest! This was done by deliberately looking over everything."
"Did you lose something?" Howard came over and asked.
"No, I carry everything of value with me. That person didn't take anything away." Lu Ning gritted her teeth. It was true that she didn't take anything with her, but she couldn't tell what the other party found. This was the real truth. Purpose.
=
Dawn came slowly.
A drunken man left the tavern and staggered onto the road. The sky turned white, but it was not bright yet. The drunk man suddenly felt the urge to urinate, and turned around and ducked into a small alley.
The cleaning staff have warned me many times but these people don't care. The drunk man was not completely drunk yet. After entering, he immediately saw the same "fellow" standing facing the wall. He immediately felt happy, walked over and stood next to him, and said drunkenly: "Brother... go back... home?"
The other party didn't answer. The drunk man turned his head and found that his hands were hanging down and his body was twisting slightly from side to side. At first, he thought he had drunk too much, but after rubbing his eyes, he realized that the other party was really twisting.
"Hey, you kid..." The drunkard was overflowing, and the drunkard reached out and grabbed the other person's shoulder, and pulled the other person's face - a face covered with hair.
Horrified shouts were stuck in the throat, dawn arrived silently, and the sun passed over the violet spire, dyeing the ground with light again. On the wall of the alley, there are now two slightly twisting people.
"The twelve divine beasts have been released."
In the Chengxi District of the central city, a man with a waist and a monkey's back squatted on the platform above the temple here. One of his eyes was normal, and the other had a vertical pupil like a beast. The eyepatch that originally blocked it was in his hand.
The person speaking to him was a tall weirdo wrapped in bulging clothes behind him. The clothes were too strange, as if a pile of rags had been forcibly sewn together with zippers, forming an almost human-like shape. Even the head was pointed, and the chain was only slightly pulled open in the middle to leave a gap. After the man reported, a fly flew in front of him, and a black tentacle suddenly popped out of the gap and sucked the fly in.
"is it safe?"
"There is one in every outer area. Their guards are useless and their release is effortless."
The man with vertical pupils licked his lips and showed an evil smile.
"Then we can finally announce to everyone that Evolution is officially visiting Evarang."
"Today?" Rag Man asked in a sullen voice.
"Yeah... today is a beautiful and sunny day, isn't it?" The man with vertical pupils straightened up and slowly stretched, "The ultimate in magic is the absolute uniqueness of an individual, but many people don't understand it at all. , but it should be popularized... What is the difference between something produced by a homogeneous education and cheese churned by the same method on a farm?"
"When to act?"
"Just in the morning, people are most receptive to new things when their minds are clearest, aren't they?"
=
Lu Ning didn't sleep well.
This unexpected intruder was not enough to make her sleep and eat uneasy, but it would take a little energy to guard against a possible enemy. Lu Ning rubbed her eyes and stood up, walked outside the house, took a few deep breaths, and then took the picture. I patted my head and walked towards the store in front.
Surprisingly, old Howard didn't look after the store here.
Lu Ning asked the clerk and found out that Old Howard had actually gone to purchase goods.
The one-eyed squid is usually not out of stock. Even with the teleportation partition now, she has seen two or three vehicles pulling in to unload the goods. Old Howard can get supply replenishment without leaving the store even half a step.
"What kind of goods does he need to carry out in person?"
The clerk turned around and pointed to the shelf, where there was an obviously empty space.
There were a lot of things in the grocery store. Lu Ning moved closer and looked carefully at the labels, only to find that the medicinal herb called Sweet Gardenia was sold out. This medicinal material probably belongs to the category that is neither rare nor common. It is not usually used in alchemy, but it is easy to use in potions and potions.
"Sold out yesterday?"
"Yes, I found out when I checked the shelves today that they are gone. But in our store, there are a lot of random goods, and it is normal for them to have any defects. These are not daily necessities. Dad is actually in a hurry to replenish the goods. I don't know why... "Muttered the clerk.
"Do you know where dad goes to restock?"
"As for medicinal materials, that can only be the morning market."
Lu Ning thanked her and ran out in a hurry.
As an alchemist, she basically didn't learn much about the medicinal properties of pharmacies. She just took advantage of the pharmacist's knowledge that was given to her for free before. She would jot down some introductions to the medicinal properties of medicines when she encountered them. Sweet gardenia is a drug that can relieve fatigue, relieve coughs and reduce phlegm, and improve concentration. In pharmacy, it is often used in the formulation of energy and magic recovery potions. But Old Howard would definitely not purchase goods just because of this. The only reason she could think of was that someone had placed a big order.
So what else is sweet gardenia used for? As a medicinal material, there is of course the possibility of overdose. Gardenia extract has a high degree of neurostimulation ability. Although it is not addictive, it can cause symptoms such as mania, hallucinations, and gibbering. The weaker the soul, the more likely it is to overdose. The biological effects are more obvious. But Howard Sr. obviously didn't know that with his money-grubbing temperament, he would definitely accept any big business.
Fortunately, it was not too late for Lu Ning to arrive. There were still some vendors selling medicinal materials in a small open space that was somewhat difficult to find. Old Howard was discussing the price with a medicinal herb who was about the same age as him.
"Howard, we are now in a closed state. Although we can bring in medicinal materials from outside, the difficulty of getting some medicinal materials has doubled. Isn't a 20% price increase too much? We are not an official channel." The stall owner said this. When the time came, Lu Ning arrived just in time.
"Didn't I come to you because you are not an official channel and the price is cheap? Why should I buy it if it is so expensive now?"
"You can't say that. When you buy medicines from the government, you have to register and there is a limit on the amount you can buy. Don't you still have to come to a place like ours that supplies unlimited amounts of money and goods without any questions? Look at you, you have a big business ?”
"Bragging, you, unlimited supply?"
"Is it really a big business?" The stall owner grinned, "How about this, if everyone makes money, then we can share it directly?"
"You..." Before Howard could answer, Lu Ning called out: "Dad! Wait a minute!"
"Hey, your daughter?"
"Just take it as such." Howard turned his head and glanced at Lu Ning, "Lillian, what are you doing here?"
"Dad, it's best not to do random business in the medicinal materials business in this situation."
"What?"
"The city has been unsettled recently. Whenever something goes wrong, there must be someone behind the scenes. You haven't taken over this kind of medicinal material business, have you? But someone must know that you have a special supply channel."
"What and what? Be clear." Howard frowned.
"That's why they don't buy from regular pharmacies! Because it's hard to tell for such a large amount! Dad, you also have to consider whether the other party has other purposes before doing business!"
Before Howard could speak, the stall owner took over: "I think your daughter is right. I'm a medicine seller, and I know what medicinal properties this stuff has. Although it won't kill you, there's nothing wrong with it. It’s a problem. You can make a lot of money in our business, but you have to pay attention to protecting yourself in extraordinary times, right?”
"You guy..." Howard glared at the stall owner, but his attitude was obviously a little relaxed.
"Dad, why don't you first tell me who the person who ordered so many things looks like? Is there anything suspicious about him?"
"Suspicious? That's a fat man with a shiny face. He seems to be a wealthy businessman somewhere. He said he wanted to purchase a batch of goods in Evarang and take them away to sell elsewhere when the city gate opens. He seems to know a lot about medicinal materials. , I was a little dazed by what he said, but since I like the products here, I agreed." Howard recalled carefully, "He probably...came here yesterday afternoon. At that time, Lillian, well, I was the one who was there anyway. chat."
Is that fake one there too?
Lu Ning thought for a while and asked, "How fat is that wealthy businessman? If he looks particularly weird, it should be very impressive."
"Anyway, it's almost horizontal and vertical, and the face is almost covered by the flesh. Fortunately, I can still speak like that. My guys also saw it."
"Did you say how to deliver these things after you buy them?"
"He rented a warehouse on the east side of the Moonstone District and said that he could just transport the goods there, and then he would pay and deliver the goods."
"...Then we have to go to that warehouse and take a look first." Lu Ning felt relieved. If there were clues, it would be easier to handle.
Howard, Lu Ning, the stall owner who was joining in the fun, and three or four young people from the market walked towards the warehouse. The distance was not particularly far. After more than half an hour, everyone arrived near the warehouse. Howard looked around twice and coughed slightly: "Boss, the one-eyed squid was delivered yesterday."
After a while, there was a response from the warehouse, and then the door was pulled open by a hand.
The first time Lu Ning saw this man, she felt that her world view had been refreshed. Leaving aside the details, this is a giant fat man whose length, width and height are two meters.
Howard was not exaggerating at all. If the fat man's legs hadn't been spread apart, Lu Ning would have thought he rolled out of the door. When he saw so many people, he was stunned for a moment, and then he smiled: "Are you all here to deliver goods?"
"Boss, please introduce me. This is a famous herbal medicine dealer here. The quantity you want is quite large. I can't hide it no matter what, but don't worry, we are all good friends." Howard introduced the stall owner.
The fat man nodded hard: "Hello friends, hello friends, where are the things?"
"We are collecting money. Didn't I come over to take a look at your warehouse? Don't have any problems when transporting it here. Evarang is stricter now, so there will be less trouble." The stall owner was also a ghost and immediately took up what Howard said. .
"Well, you won't cause trouble, that's right." Fatty said cheerfully, "Then, come in and take a look."
Several people looked at each other. Although the fat man looked a bit shocking, he didn't look more than a human being. Moreover, if there was any accident with that kind of body, there would still be room for counterattack. Finally, they walked over together, and the fat man turned around with one foot on the ground, and then squeezed back into the door, leaving a small hole in the ground.
"...Old man, no matter whether there is any problem with the boss you are looking for, he is not an ordinary person in stature." The stall owner smiled softly at Howard.
"Stop talking nonsense, go in and see what's going on."
The warehouse is not small, and there are already a lot of goods in wooden boxes and sacks stacked inside. The aroma of medicine is floating in the air, and it seems that the medicine is really purchased. There was no one else here. There was a huge millstone on the ground. The fat man walked over and sat on it. It seemed that this was the one that could hold him up.
Of course, Howard and the stall owner went up to bargain, while Lu Ning quietly looked at the warehouse from behind.
Weird - without any guards, dragging such a body that is inconvenient to move, but Lu Ning has never heard of such a person in so many days. She pays great attention to all kinds of strange things around her. This fat man's size alone should be enough to be used as material, but how could she not hear about it?
At this time, through the warehouse window, she saw a bunch of daytime fireworks rising into the sky.
