After hearing what Lumian said, Franca blurted out: "Fuck! Is it related to those people again?"
"What on earth does Huguet Artois want to do?"
"I don't understand what's the point of creating such an explosion in a chemical plant... Maybe it's just a coincidence. Bono Goodville and Hugh Artois have a very good relationship, and it's normal for them to visit each other. It just happened that an explosion happened in the chemical plant today..." Lumian said thoughtfully.
We cannot underestimate every coincidence in life, but we cannot treat every coincidence as a problem either.
Franka nodded slightly and said, "Indeed."
"But I must remind you that the chemical plant explosion was not meaningless. It may have caused a lot of deaths, which is very important for many evil rituals. Living people are always the third best sacrifice."
“Can this be a ritual?” Lumian was quite surprised.
Franka corrected him: "As part of the ritual, there is no essential difference between killing the sacrifice with a knife and killing the sacrifice with a chemical plant explosion. To the gods that the host of the ritual wants to pray, your understanding of ritual magic is still too one-sided. Of course, some rituals may require the creation of similar explosions to be effective."
Is this just like in the "Substitution Technique", where before the ceremony is performed, the "stand-in" is allowed to live as the person being replaced for a sufficient period of time? Lumian roughly understood.
Franca then sighed: "This is just my guess, it doesn't mean it's true. Maybe the coincidence you mentioned is the correct answer, but no matter what, we need to remind the official Beyonders to pay attention to the traces of the ceremony and the role played by the congressman's office in this disaster.
“Damn it, if that wasn’t a congressman, I would go and capture him tonight, hang him from the ceiling, whip him, and interrogate him about what he wanted to do and what his relationship was with those evil believers.
"Alas, in that explosion just now, I don't know how many people lost their parents, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters or children. I don't know how many people are praying, worrying and suffering for their injured relatives."
"For example, Janna." Lumian said.
Franca was stunned for a second: "What did you say?"
"Janna's mother works at the Goodwell Chemical Plant, didn't you know?" Lumian asked.
Franca was stunned at first, then asked with concern: "How is her mother now?"
Lumian briefly recounted how he and Jannah ran to Saint-Germain Street to find Elodie, and how he used the remaining healing potion to save Elodie from the brink of death.
Franka breathed a sigh of relief, and then said in great pain: "Why wasn't I there! Why wasn't I there!"
Lumian's mouth twitched, and he said calmly: "You still have a chance now. Janna is worried about the subsequent treatment costs."
"I'll go to the Holy Palace Hospital right away!" Franca's eyes lit up and she was about to rush out of the apartment.
Lumian quickly stopped her and said, "Don't forget to bring the Sting Gang's healing potion. I'm worried that the situation will recur."
Just like Mr. Rule did.
Without waiting for Franca to respond, he added: "Also, help Janna bring the skirt she wore this morning.
"Well... I want to borrow 4,000 Fel Gold from you, using half of my share of the 'Harvest Festival' as collateral. I have already collected all the auxiliary materials for the 'Arsonist' potion."
"So soon?" Franca was shocked. "I haven't even started looking for you yet!"
Lumian smiled and said, "I met the boss at the door of the councillor's office last night. I told him that I was about to be promoted and had received an advance of money. I also asked him to help me keep an eye out for the auxiliary materials for the Arsonist potion."
The more Franca listened, the more complicated her expression became: "You are more cunning than I thought... Confessing this to Gardner is indeed the best way to deal with this matter.
"But, can't you consider me? Do you know that I also want to help you collect auxiliary materials for the Arsonist Potion through Gardner? He is a Sequence 6 Conspirator or Sequence 5 in the Hunter Pathway. He has a group of Hunters around him, so he will not lack similar things. Fortunately, I haven't gone to see him these two days, otherwise he would definitely suspect that I have an affair with you."
Lumian had always thought that Franca would search for materials through the Curly-haired Baboon Research Society, but he didn't expect that she would go to Gardner Martin for help based on the principles of proximity and convenience, which almost led to the exposure of their private relationship.
Franca returned to the room and took out 4,000 Fel Gold bills from somewhere. She handed them to Lumian and solemnly told him: "After getting the main ingredients, don't rush to prepare the potion. You must ensure that you are in a state that can withstand the impact of the promotion. Otherwise, it is best to postpone it for a while. The main ingredients are much easier to store than potions."
"I know very well," Lumian replied calmly.
He thought for a moment and said, "You'd better contact the authorities first before looking for Janna. The explosion happened not long ago, and there may be some clues left."
"Yeah." Franka agreed.
Before Lumian was about to leave, he curiously asked: "A living person is the third best sacrifice, so what are the second best and the first best?"
"The second best is a creature with extraordinary characteristics, and the first best is..." At this point, Franka smiled, demigods.
…
Noor District, 6th floor of Holy Palace Hospital.
When Jenna returned to the ward from the bathroom, she saw her brother Julian helping her mother Elodie tuck in the quilt.
Elodie was still unconscious, but her complexion had improved a little.
Julian stood up, pulled his sister aside, and whispered, "Chelia, don't worry about the subsequent treatment costs. I will find a way. You can continue to learn your drama performance in the old pigeon cage."
Jana felt warm in her heart and asked, "Did the doctor tell you?"
"Yeah, what I just said." Julian nodded heavily.
Janna pursed her lips and said, "Don't worry. My friends have agreed to lend me money, which can be repaid in three years with very low interest. I can save a little from my income as an underground singer and you as a worker, and it should be enough. It will not affect our apprenticeships."
Julian was silent for a few seconds and then said, "That Charles?"
"Yes, he is one of them, but there are other friends, um, the 'Red Boots' Franka I mentioned last night."
Janna felt that she had to explain the matter clearly, otherwise she was worried that her brother would go to extremes.
She remembered that two years ago, Julian wanted to secretly sell himself to the Bairam-Pass Import and Export Company without his mother's knowledge to work as a mercenary in order to repay all his debts and send his sister to the theater as an acting apprentice. Fortunately, he was stopped later.
Julian was about to say something when he saw a tall and slender girl appear at the door of the ward.
She was wearing a women's shirt, light-colored breeches, a black and white plaid tweed jacket, and red boots. Her long flaxen hair was simply tied into a ponytail, her eyebrows flew into her temples, her eyes were bright and lively, and she had a charm that made people unable to take their eyes off her.
Janna greeted him happily: "Franka."
... ...
White Coat Street, inside the safe house.
Lumian, who had already bought the Holy Star Lily and was in the process of distilling and extracting the hydrosol, sat down and waited for a reply from the "Magician" lady.
Fire salamander blood, magma pyroxene powder, and red-crowned impatiens powder were lined up on the desk in front of him.
When the Holy Star Lily Hydrosol was about to be prepared, the arm-high "doll" wearing a light gold skirt and with delicate but slightly weird features appeared on the windowsill.
It put down a metal cookie box, sniffed, and said, "Use this hydrosol next time you summon me."
“Okay.” The other party’s request was so strange that Lumian was unable to react for a moment and could only answer instinctively.
Soon, the "puppet" messenger disappeared from his sight. Lumian opened the lid of the bright silver biscuit box and saw the small red "heart" that was burning silently.
Without hesitation, he took the prepared beer glass and shook the "Arsonist" extraordinary characteristic into it.
Then, Lumian poured the bottle of fire salamander blood, which was just over 50 ml, into the cup.
A sizzling sound was heard immediately, and the red liquid evaporated a lot, turning into blood mist, lingering around the "heart".
The Arsonist's extraordinary characteristic had softened a lot compared to before, and the surface was like a lake, with ripples forming.
As Lumian placed the magma pyroxene powder, red-crowned impatiens powder and holy star lily hydrosol into the beer glass according to the potion recipe, the blood mist lingering around the "heart" suddenly shrank inward, causing a lot of yellowish liquid with red bubbles floating there.
This is the "Arsonist" potion, it caught Lumian's eyes.
Lumian didn't rush to take the medicine, but closed his eyes.
In his mind emerged the body of the madman Flamand hanging from the window frame and the white paper with the other party's suicide note, Mr. Ruhl who died of festering all over his body, Mrs. Michel who drank heavily, sang ballads and finally hanged herself in the morning light, and the cries that came one after another in the Whistle Square.
He then saw himself being stubborn and persevering while wandering, himself not giving up despite repeated setbacks, another ending for himself, and the sadness, unwillingness, powerlessness and depression of trying hard to pursue hope but being buried in darkness.
The mockery of fate rang in his ears, and the fire in his heart that he had tried so hard to suppress suddenly rose up, burning more and more fiercely: If this is my inevitable end;
If this is the destiny of the dust;
If effort is unrewarded, if hope is forever out of reach;
Then I will fight with my life to change all this!
Even if there is no light ahead and hope is extremely slim, I will fight until I die!
Fuck you congressman!
Fuck you Guillaume Bennet!
Fuck your evil belief!
Fuck you Thermopylae!
Fuck your fate!
Lumian opened his eyes and summed up his last rule for playing the role of "Provocateur": Provocation is a symbol of indomitable spirit!
He didn't need this to help him digest, so with the fire burning in his chest, he picked up the beer glass and gulped down the liquid in it.
It was like a ball of high temperature flame, burning from his mouth to his esophagus, to his stomach, and to his heart.