Chapter 56

Chapter 56: Missing Potion

Lan's calm words, combined with the terrifying traces of his massacre and various tortures throughout the camp, created an immense psychological pressure. Neken's psychological defenses had already collapsed when he first woke up. During the intimidation process, this man, who could eat human flesh raw, didn't dare to say a single word like "spare me" or "give me a quick death." He seemed eager to pour out all his intelligence to Lan.

Then, Lan gave him a swift death.

This world has magic, but Lan had not heard of any research on the afterlife in this world. In his heart, if death is the complete end of a person in a world, then executing death itself is enough. He did not like torture.

Now, especially not.

The strange taste in his mouth made Lan nauseous, and he wanted to rinse his mouth with a bottle of strong liquor from his pouch. But when he opened the bag, the first thing on top was a small cloth package with fine stitching. It exuded a floral fragrance, dull but without any dirt.

Lan had always kept it well.

The young man pursed his lips and subconsciously rubbed his hands together, as if trying to rub off something. But upon realizing, he noticed that the blood on his gloves from the torture had already been washed off.

Lan was slightly stunned, sighed, and then opened the small cloth package, taking out a bottle of Redanian herbal to gulp down. The alcohol hit his brain, and after one sip, Lan felt a bit more calm, leaning against a tree in silence.

"If the intelligence is accurate, the situation is becoming increasingly complicated, sir," Mentos said timely. Currently unable to access real-time psychological treatment modules, Mentos dared not say much earlier due to Lan's mood. Now, it dared to speak, trying to shift the focus.

"Damn it," the young man cursed, removing his studded leather gloves and wiping his face hard with his palm.

"Neken didn't lie or hide anything. I'm sure of it, both from his eyes and the Axii later."

The kidnapping of White, or rather, the large-scale abduction of children by the cannibals, had always seemed suspicious to Lan. Slavery was illegal in the Northern Kingdoms, even if the children were sold to childless families, the number of missing children seemed too high.

Children weren't kidnapped in this manner. With so many children, you'd have to take care of their needs every day until you found a buyer. And childless families wouldn't place orders in large groups but would buy sporadically.

Holding a group of children for a long time was dangerous and costly. No one would do such a losing business. The cannibals might have eaten human flesh and ruined their brains, but the leader, known as the "Head Eater," was said to be very intelligent and wouldn't make such a mistake.

After Neken completely collapsed, his statements further confirmed this.

"A small camp has five to seven people, and in the entire hill area, Neken has rotated through at least thirteen camps. In the best scenario, they have at least sixty-seven enforcers."

Lan leaned back against the tree trunk, arms crossed, fingers lightly tapping on the outer leather armor as he thought.

Mentos added, "Don't forget their main camp, where there are at least fifty people at the secret port."

That's at least a hundred people, a crime syndicate with a basic organizational structure of over a hundred people.

"Was Vserad raised on shit?!" the young man cursed angrily.

"In his territory, a hundred-strong armed group emerged, and as a lord, how could he not notice before they started committing crimes! "A hundred people with swords! His cavalry would be chopped into meat paste in the hill area!"

"What about household registration statistics? Population flow? Missing persons distribution? The lord of Velen?! A pig would do a better job than him! Pah!"

"It seems that for appointing him, Foltest, is also a stupid pig!"

Cursing from the lord to the king, if the witcher's words were spoken in the city, the city guard captain would probably come running with his helmet in hand, ready to "arrest the rebel." Onlookers would step back three meters to avoid getting blood splattered on them.

Fortunately, Mentos fully inherited Lan's historical perspective. Regarding the world's most noble identity, the AI and the main body had the same attitude.

"Regardless of whether the king is stupid or not, sir. We must make our own judgment," Mentos analyzed calmly.

"There's no way all of these hundred people are cannibals. If their appetite has reached the level of the guy who was burned at the stake, the whole of Velen wouldn't last them a few months."

Lan pinched his nose, his mouth twitching. But Mentos's meaning was already clear. The cannibals were a crime group, but the child trafficking business seemed to have another group supporting it. Thirteen small camp outposts, one main camp, and a secret port. These resources and construction capabilities couldn't be managed by a group of cannibals. So, the real culprits were another group.

"We can't think that far ahead for now, Mentos," Lan shook his head slightly. "We can report the cannibal group and the unknown group to Vserad later. For now, we focus on one thing."

"Rescuing little White from that secret port." The young man's tone was firm, with no room for negotiation.

But Mentos's duty was to pour cold water on the main body's heated head.

"I must respectfully refuse this plan! The current proficiency of [Surgery] is only 60%. This proficiency level is unacceptable even for medical students. And given our current hygiene conditions, the surgery process cannot proceed without potion support. I refuse to provide any assistance regarding gene seed transplantation until the potions are in place."

Lan wasn't affected by the sudden blood-red vision. He casually waved his hand.

"Relax, Mentos. I said it's a last resort; I'm not a reckless person."

The surgical procedure was a result of detailed discussions between him and Mentos. Since they didn't know what reactions would occur after gene seed implantation, whether it would be a long-term adaptation or a short-term violent transformation, the surgical plan had to prepare for Lan's inability to suture himself. Plus, they couldn't have a proper operating room, so potion assistance was necessary.

Currently, they only had the potions left by Bordon and some alchemical notes. According to Mentos's estimate, to complete the surgery, they would need to consume a large amount. But this would lead to severe cumulative toxicity, which even the witcher couldn't handle if he drank potions like water.

Fortunately, the alchemical formula included a superior white honey potion formula, which could be used as an antidote in the final moments.

Mentos fell silent for a moment, and the retinal projection returned to normal. Yes, you're not a reckless fool, but the current you...

Lan hadn't asked about the mood index for a long time, so Mentos kept this indicator to itself. Since Bernie and White's incidents, this curve's trend had been increasingly unsettling for the biological AI.

"In any case, this surgical plan will be sealed until the potions are in place."

"As you wish; we can go to the secret port to investigate the situation first."

***

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