The Genius Evolution Store

Chapter 178: Tracking the Enemy

Arnie thought for a moment. Auric had told them about the poison-creation process. That was the most important one.

Hence, Arnie asked, "What about the ruins? Does it play a role in anything else?"

"Other things... such as?" Auric shook his head. "I don’t see anything. Unless they have a room that is different from everything we’ve seen so far, I can only say that the barrier is there only to help with the mix.

"They’re trying to recreate the barrier in the form of a poison." Auric contemplated. "Do you have any blades?"

"No." Arnie shook his head.

"If you just need an object, you can use this." Maya took out a hairpin.

"This will be enough." Auric walked toward the barrier and put the hairpin in the energy path. "Now that I think about it, have you hurt anyone with the artifacts?"

"Yes." Maya nodded without hesitation. "My family is dealing with this business, so I’ve seen people hurt by the artifacts."

"Did their energy remain?"

"No, why?" Maya shook her head. "Usually, we just patched things up with a band-aid or something unless the injury was severe."

"Interesting." Auric crossed his arms. "It looks like the barrier itself is not dangerous. The dangerous part is the extract."

"What do you mean?" Arnie asked.

Auric pulled the hairpin back from the barrier and checked the energy on it. It didn’t stick, so Auric managed to reach a certain conclusion.

"You see. The energy from the barrier didn’t injure someone even though they got hit by an artifact. Meanwhile, they used the barrier to create the poison. They hurt people, but the energy stuck to them. What’s the difference between these two?"

Arnie raised his eyebrows. "So, the materials are the problem?"

"Yes. When I touched the barrier, the energy from within flooded into my body. It was because the barrier recognized me as a medium.

"The same can be said for the artifacts. The ruins recognize the artifacts as the medium, which forms the artifacts themselves.

"The energy on the artifacts sticks in the outer layers. If a bottle turns into an artifact, the energy will be outside the bottle.

"The same could be said of our bodies. The energy that floods our bodies will stick only to the outer layer, which in this case is our skin or our flesh.

"If the barrier continues that way, we will feel as if we’re drowning. The energy from the barrier will stick to our noses or even throats, which results in us being unable to breathe.

"That is why even if you are injured by an artifact, the energy won’t flow into the body. The energy from the barrier first recognizes the artifact as the medium, but it doesn’t think of our bodies as a medium.

"On the other hand, this liquid is different. The beast material can flow in our body. If not, how do they even enter our bodies and increase our energy?"

Arnie and Maya widened their eyes.

Maya explained, "No one has ever mentioned that. How do you even know it will stick to the outer layers?"

"Hmm?" Auric tilted his head in confusion.

Lindwurm explained, "I don’t know about it either. If you have an artifact and try to sense the bottle from the inside, you will feel the energy there as well."

’Ah.’ Auric realized that they were still clueless about it. All this time, people only considered waves or auras to be forms of energy. Only he could see the particles.

In the first theory, it was normal for it to enter the bottle. According to this theory, the purest form of energy would flow through everything. That was why the Earth was filled with energy.

However, Auric knew it only stuck on the outer layer, but the particles released that ’aura-like’ power which people considered to be the purest form of energy. That was the one that entered an item, not the particle itself.

Auric said, "Can’t you sense that?"

"No, no. I don’t think you can." Maya waved her hand.

"Well, that is indeed a good theory, but can you explain to me the significance of the extracted liquid?"

"The beast essence is supposed to be consumed because it has been affected by affinity. Now that I think about it, why can the ruins have a specific element rating? Does the world have its own energy storage or something?"

Arnie smiled wryly. "The theory is interesting, but I’m not exactly a scientist. If you want to continue your research, you can, but can we finish this first?"

"Ah, right. I guess we should." Auric decided to drop the idea for the time being. He continued with his explanation. "Anyway, the situation is like this. You already know that we consume beast essence, right? Just track the beast material and deal with it."

Arnie smiled wryly. "Like I said, I’m no scientist. I’d appreciate it if you could explain the situation in human language."

Auric scratched the back of his head. "You know what beasts they’re extracting this liquid from, right? However, there’s a limit to how many beasts you can find inside the ruins. In fact, the beasts most likely won’t have the exact same rating. They can be higher or weaker, but it won’t go beyond a certain point.

"However, the poison is created with the exact same rating as the energy in the barrier. You just need to know which one it is and track those materials."

Arnie’s eyebrows were twitching. He looked like he wanted another summary.

Maya rolled her eyes and answered it for him. "You have a list of patients all over the country?"

"I do."

"Figure out the element’s rating of that poison. Track the circulation of beast materials of that specific rating. Then find the ruins with the exact same rating."

"Oh, finally!" Arnie sighed.

Maya pointed at him while snorting. "Ignore this dumb idiot."

"Now that’s not nice. Let’s just say I prefer the practical to theory." Arnie shrugged.

"There’s a chance that the ruins might not be registered."

"I understand that." Arnie nodded. "We’ll first track down the location of what we can find. Anything that can’t be found must mean the unregistered ruins."

Auric shrugged. "So, anything else?"

"No. That’s more than enough. I now know where I’m supposed to go. I’m going to make a call first. You can check the lab for a bit longer, but let’s get out as soon as possible."

He had to exit the lab before he could call Jennifer. Meanwhile, Maya shook her head helplessly. "Anyway, we’re probably done here. I guess we will have to go back tonight."

"You can’t leave for long?" Auric asked.

"After the recent leave and temporary reinstatement as an adjudicator, they only gave me a day. So, we will have to return today."

"I see. That’s a shame." Auric nodded in understanding. "By the way, I want to consult you about something."

"Sure? What is it?"

"I’m thinking about opening a flash store in another city. Actually, I have a city in mind."

"Sounds dangerous, especially at this time."

"I understand. That’s why I want to go to Florestina City."

"Oh! The Aheron family."

"Yes. I will be opening a flash store there. I will ask the Aheron family to return the favor by providing me with space and protection."

Maya thought for a moment. "Why do you want to open a flash store?"

"For my dark element. I will go there as a dark element evolution master."

Maya realized that his intention was to gather the light and dark elements. He was well-known to have multiple elements, but the customers coming into his store all had the six basic elements.

They didn’t have the light and dark elements, let alone unique elements.

That was why Auric wanted to go to another city to get the light and dark elements.

Maya thought for a moment. "I think that is a good idea. However, you should know that when you ask for this kind of favor, make sure you do it to people you deem as friends. More importantly, these people have to value you greatly."

"Why?"

"Because they will fulfill their promise wholeheartedly or even more. And it’ll be better if you also research whether they’re fighting against other families or corporations. You don’t want to get involved while you’re there."

"I will consider it in the future. Then again, not many people owe me yet." Auric nodded in understanding.

"That’s true as well. Maybe I should start having you go around the country." Maya crossed her arms.

"I don’t think I will do that even for fun. I still have plenty of things to do in Thunderer City."

"Just a suggestion." Maya shrugged.

Auric nodded. "I think I have seen it all. Do I need to check the other rooms too?"

"I don’t think so. It looks like he has figured out the entire situation, so we should wrap this up. It’s not like there’s anything different, right?"

"Yes. Only the sources are different. However, he should have gotten the idea of what kind of beast he should be pursuing, so there’s no need for my help anymore."

"In that case, let’s get out." Maya nodded.

Auric asked, "What will you do if I say I can recreate this poison?"

Maya’s eyebrows twitched. "You can?"

"The process itself is simple. If it’s just a small portion, then yes. As long as you get ruins with multiple elements, you can set up a small workshop. That’s why they must start monitoring those ruins."

"I will tell them about that." Maya agreed.

"However, even without ruins, I can probably do the same thing myself." Auric only speculated, considering he didn’t have the affinity. His energy might not enter their circulation. "Have you heard about battling people with elemental fusion that cause this kind of injury?"

"First of all, that kind of case is extremely rare. Not many people in this world can do it. Secondly, their energies might have a difference, which won’t be as effective as this poison. In addition, there is also the matter of injury. This poison has a form, liquid, which can easily enter your veins. On the other hand, elemental fusion is created by energy."

"Fair enough." Auric thought for a moment. "If I change the concept a bit, I am sure I can replicate something like this with my own power. But this is not exactly my first priority."

"Indeed." Maya nodded in agreement.

Once they exited, they saw Arnie still talking to Jennifer over the phone.

"One sec." Arnie immediately lowered his phone and asked, "By the way, would you mind treating those patients? They’re playing their part in this investigation, so..."

Auric glanced at Maya.

Maya raised one finger. "Why don’t you do it while opening your flash store?"

"I don’t really mind." Auric agreed with her suggestion.

"Good." Maya nodded to Arnie. "If you can bring them to a certain city, it should be fine. I will tell you the time and place later. Just make sure you do it discreetly."

"Also, please send their information first to me. I have to review them first."

"Got it. I will take care of that." Arnie nodded and immediately returned to the call.

Auric asked, "Now that I think about it, can I experiment with the barrier again? Even a little is fine."

Maya simply grabbed his arm while smiling. "We’re leaving."