Chapter : 86

[Successfully passed Sigret Academy's entrance examination (In Progress)]

[Become the 『Midas Touch』 of 『Mandiper』 (Completed)]

[Do you wish to claim the phased quest reward?]

Yan Yunqing, who had left the high-stakes area, casually clicked to claim it. The experience pool for this series of quests was also very rich, and completing just half of the quests gave him a large amount of experience rewards.

Yan Yunqing took a look and found a blueprint box in his backpack.

Huh? The quest description didn't say there would be a blueprint box as a reward.

Yan Yunqing studied it for a bit and realized that for the quest of becoming the Midas Touch, he had received an S-rank evaluation. This blueprint box was a hidden reward for a perfect evaluation.

...Then why didn't his previous Sunset Village quest have an evaluation? Could it be that his previous completion wasn't good enough?

Or did the game system prefer him to show off?

Yan Yunqing paused. Thinking of the clip that was edited into the game's internal recording, he understood.

It must be that the game system prefers him to show off, right? Is this encouraging him to show off?

After a moment of silence, Yan Yunqing decided not to speculate about the thoughts of the thing on the other side, whether it was human or ghost.

Showing off? He was good at that. If they loved to record, then so be it. It just so happened that he could also manage the persona of a story protagonist. Yan Yunqing didn't mind more things that would create influence for him for free.

At most, it would just be a little socially awkward.

Yan Yunqing casually clicked "use" in his backpack. The blueprint box was opened in the backpack, leaving only a purple blueprint.

Purple?

Yan Yunqing's eyes lit up. He had gotten something good! In the ranking of blueprints, a purple blueprint was a rare quality, second only to an orange blueprint!

Yan Yunqing, with his mind on two things at once, clicked on the blueprint.

[Blueprint·Substitute Doll (Purple)]

After learning, you can craft a [Substitute Doll].

[Substitute Doll]

A cute and loyal doll. "When the distance between you and the doll does not exceed five hundred meters, you can actively swap your position with the doll. The cooldown for each active swap is 20 minutes. (Passive: When your health drops to 10% and you suffer a fatal attack, the doll, eager to protect its master, will actively swap positions with you, taking the fatal attack for you. After this passive is triggered, the doll is automatically destroyed.)"

[Because of the special nature of the substitute doll, you cannot hold multiple dolls at the same time. Only one substitute doll can exist at a time.]

Yan Yunqing: ?

Yan Yunqing read the skill description again in disbelief. He clicked his tongue.

Was this really just a rare quality blueprint? According to this skill description, this substitute doll could be a golden-tier item.

The active position-swapping skill was similar to the function of a portable anchor point, just with a shorter distance. But it could also block a fatal blow!

What was this? A life-saving artifact!

Yan Yunqing rubbed his hands together. Could it be that his luck was very good right now? Why not try opening the blueprint boxes he had stockpiled and not opened before?

He decided to try it right away. Yan Yunqing directly opened a white blueprint box.

[Recipe·Berry Jam (White)

After learning, you can make [Berry Jam].

Yan Yunqing: ?

Isn't it a bit much to get a recipe from a blueprint box?

Could there be a bug?

Yan Yunqing clicked a couple more times. The recipe still lay there silently, not changing at all.

Yan Yunqing: ...

Unconvinced, Yan Yunqing opened another green blueprint box.

This time, he got a [Formula·Color-Changing Potion (Green)], a potion that could change one's skin color at will after being made.

Yan Yunqing took a deep breath, closed the backpack interface, and didn't look at the two ridiculous blueprints he had just opened.

Now he knew that the things opened from blueprint boxes weren't necessarily alchemy blueprints; they could also be recipes and potion formulas.

Also, his luck today was really not that great. The first time he got gold might have been because of the pity system from his previous draws, or perhaps the system was very satisfied with his showing off and gave him a little treat.

But there was nothing more.

In order to avoid further heartache, Yan Yunqing decided not to open any more boxes, lest another recipe pop up and anger him to death.

But being able to draw this substitute doll made Yan Yunqing's plan even easier to implement.

He first looked at the materials needed to make the substitute doll, which were surprisingly simple. All he needed was shadow spider silk, mithril, a branch from an ancient tung tree, and a little of the substitute master's blood.

Yan Yunqing had all of these things in his backpack, especially the shadow spider silk. He had happened to encounter a nest of them on his way to Free City and had wiped them out, which also contributed a lot of experience points to him.

Yan Yunqing went straight back to his room. Rocco hadn't returned yet. He had been given a task by Yan Yunqing: to steal a few bracelets.

Because Rocco's talent skill only required physical contact, and upon success, the stolen target would be transferred to him. So even if the guest couldn't take off the bracelet themselves, Rocco had a way to steal it.

Because he was going to cause trouble later, Yan Yunqing needed more bracelets to stir up the water.

A few days ago, Rocco had already successfully obtained two bracelets, one from the low-stakes area and one from the mid-stakes area. So far, no one had noticed anything amiss. But after Rocco's successful theft today, he had to stop. Things shouldn't be done more than three times. It would be bad if Mandiper became suspicious.

Seeing that Rocco was not there, Yan Yunqing took out the alchemy station from his backpack and started hand-crafting the substitute doll.

He didn't know if it was because his hand dexterity had increased and his eyesight had become much more precise, but the doll he crafted was surprisingly exquisite.

Because of his personal preference, Yan Yunqing made the doll into a little Joker, with chestnut hair, red eyes, and a mask. It was the size of half a palm, exquisite and cute.

At this moment, it lay in his palm with its eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

Yan Yunqing poked its cheek, but there was no reaction.

Huh, could it be that it only has a substitute function?

Yan Yunqing hesitated. He followed the instructions for the substitute doll, pricked his finger with a needle, and squeezed a little blood onto the doll's eyes.

The doll's soft cloth skin quickly absorbed the drop of blood, so fast that Yan Yunqing didn't even have time to react.

With a whoosh, the substitute doll opened its eyes and sat up in Yan Yunqing's palm.

It can actually move!

Yan Yunqing poked its head. It tilted to one side and then climbed back up, seemingly puzzled as to why Yan Yunqing was poking it. But it still affectionately hugged Yan Yunqing's finger and rubbed its soft cheek against his finger.

Yan Yunqing: !

It's a little cute, huh?

"Can you talk?" Yan Yunqing asked.

The Joker doll tilted its head, seemingly not understanding Yan Yunqing's words.

Looks like it can't talk.

Yan Yunqing poked its little belly again, "Then do you have your own thoughts?"

The doll covered its belly with its chubby hands, still showing no particular reaction.

Oh, so it doesn't have thoughts either.

It couldn't be considered an alchemical life form. It was more like the alchemical city guards outside Sigret Academy, which could only execute pre-set programs.

That made sense. After all, it was just a purple blueprint. If one could create a living being through alchemy, it would have to be at least a golden blueprint, right?

Yan Yunqing poked the doll again. This soft and fluffy feel was really nice.

He placed the doll in the washroom of the room, walked to the bedside himself, and used the position-swapping skill. In an instant, the scene before his eyes changed, and he appeared in the washroom.

Walking out, he saw the doll lying on the floor by the bed, lying quietly, inconspicuous.

Yan Yunqing picked up the doll and stuffed it into his backpack. After trying out this skill, he was even more confident in his plan.

***

After obtaining the honor of 『Midas Touch』, Yan Yunqing could freely enter and exit any hall in Mandiper, no longer restricted by his assets. He also had the qualification to participate in the competition, as well as the various invisible benefits Mandiper provided for the 『Midas Touch』.

For example, he could have a luxurious room exclusive to the 『Midas Touch』.

The rooms on this entire floor belonged to the Midas Touches. Coincidentally, the Black Snake Mercenary Group that had taken Nana away was also on this floor.

Before Yan Yunqing was a Midas Touch, even with the help of the children's group as insiders, he had no way to sneak onto this floor to find Nana.

And the children's group had previously been banned from entering this floor because Nana had violated Mandiper's rules.

If Yan Yunqing wanted to take Nana out, he had to first become a Midas Touch to have a chance to get close to this place.

The panel had not shown any quest failure prompts, so Yan Yunqing felt that Nana should not be in trouble yet, but she probably wasn't having a good time either. After all, the Nana in the quest description was a flower about to wither.

After wandering around the Midas Touch's floor for a while, Yan Yunqing confirmed the location of the Black Snake Mercenary Group.

He placed the doll in a blind spot, and after confirming that there were no devices around that could record images, he left.

Yan Yunqing used the chat system to ask Rocco to go to the washroom in the primary area. He went into a stall first and activated his roleplay skill to turn into a black cat. As his body shape changed, the bracelet on his wrist also fell off.

He deactivated the skill and picked up the bracelet on the floor.

This bracelet had a positioning function. He couldn't use Xavier's identity to cause trouble next, so the bracelet's positioning had to be changed.

Yan Yunqing took out a bracelet that Rocco had stolen from his backpack. The positioning function of the bracelet in the backpack would be blocked, so Rocco had given it to Yan Yunqing after stealing it, and he had put it directly into his backpack.

He put on the new bracelet and moved his wrist.

Just then, Rocco had arrived. He asked him where he was via private message. Yan Yunqing came out of the stall and stuffed his own bracelet into Rocco's arms.

Rocco was stunned.

[Yan Yunqing (Private)]: Take this bracelet back to the washroom in the room, then don't leave the room and wait for me to come back.

If someone comes in the meantime, pretend that I'm taking a bath and try to stall for time as much as possible.

Xiao Ai had said that this bracelet only had a positioning function and wasn't advanced enough to detect whether it was worn on a person's wrist. But Yan Yunqing was still a little worried, so he reminded Rocco once more.

Rocco nodded gently. Yan Yunqing waved his hand to let him leave.

After Rocco left, Yan Yunqing switched to Joker's persona. The mask of [Face·Masquerade Ball] on his face was a bit strange in Mandiper. He gently took off the mask.

In the mirror, the chestnut-haired youth with a high ponytail had exquisite and gentle facial features, yet with a hint of dangerous sharpness. He looked completely different from when he had black hair.

Of course, Yan Yunqing wouldn't be foolish enough to use his real face in Mandiper. He had been in disguise since he entered Free City. Only his prominent features had not changed. He still had black hair and red eyes, but his appearance had changed.

So he had switched from one face to another, which perfectly fit his onion-man persona.

He put the mask back on. Hmm, since he was going to cause trouble anyway, he might as well wear the mask.

Yan Yunqing tugged at the leather gloves on his hands. The exquisitely tailored suit he wore was not out of place in Mandiper. Or rather, the guests in the high-stakes and top-tier areas were all dressed more or less like this.

Yan Yunqing re-entered the stall, locked the door from the inside, stood in the corner, and chose to swap positions.

The scene before his eyes changed, and he returned to the floor of the 『Midas Touch』.

Yan Yunqing moved his wrist and walked towards the room he had marked on his minimap earlier.

He knocked on the door, and there was some movement inside.

But the door didn't open.

Yan Yunqing knocked on the door again. This time, a hoarse male voice came from inside: "Who is it? Don't bother me at this time!"

Yan Yunqing frowned. He looked at the minimap again, which showed that there were three people in the room.

One red dot and two yellow dots.

The red dot was undoubtedly a member of the Black Snake Mercenary Group. But what about the two neutral yellow dots?