Chapter 155: Mint Club

Regarding the compensation, I am willing to negotiate with my family to apply for as many Philosopher's Stones for you as possible. I hope Master Yanqing will agree," Caesar said humbly.

Constantine smiled politely.

"Three milligrams. I am already showing the utmost sincerity."

Caesar continued seriously.

"Pfft! Cough, cough!"

Norton finally burst out laughing, forcibly covering his awkwardness with coughs. He turned his head away and happily whistled a tune.

This guy is simply too funny!

To him and Constantine, what Caesar's compensation actually consisted of didn't really matter. What mattered was the Delusion Lu Mingfei would provide later on; that was the truly valuable item to them.

The Visions manufactured by Lu Mingfei had effects somewhat similar to Delusions, except that Visions came with an additional binding function and were much safer to use.

When he told Chen Motong and the others that a Delusion was essentially just an amplifier, he was just pulling their legs.

There was no such thing as an amplifier called a Delusion in this world. A Delusion was simply an alchemical creation capable of granting the user elemental power, and in essence, it wasn't much different from a Vision.

Therefore, since Caesar needed an amplifier, Lu Mingfei had no choice but to ask Constantine to build one and brand it as a Delusion. But in essence, it was still just a miniature Spirit Chant amplifier.

Thus, building such a thing wasn't actually very difficult for Constantine. The Secret Party possessed an amplification device that allowed the Vice-Principal to maintain a massive-range Domain twenty-four hours a day. As the King of Bronze and Fire, who excelled the most in alchemy, it was completely normal for Constantine to be able to manufacture a miniature Spirit Chant amplifier.

So the question arose: could an amplified Kamaitachi compare to the top-tier fire manipulation of a Vision?

This... was a question.

For the sake of his reputation, Constantine intended to tamper with the Spirit Chant amplifier slightly, causing a certain degree of alienation and modification to Caesar's Spirit Chant. Otherwise, even if Kamaitachi were enhanced ten thousand times over, it would still just be a Spirit Chant that strengthened hearing. In combat, whether such acute hearing could even be considered a positive gain remained questionable.

"."

Watching Norton's reaction, Caesar felt a slight pang of panic. He felt that the Philosopher's Stones he regarded as supreme treasures didn't seem particularly precious in the eyes of a true master alchemist.

Perhaps it was because they came into contact with them so often?

Then how should I negotiate...

Just as Caesar frowned in silence, the friendly Constantine took the initiative to speak. With a smile, he said, "Mr. Caesar, you are our teammate and also a friend. Your strength increasing will allow us to execute our mission better."

"Therefore, I plan to charge you only a nominal alchemical fee, purely for the sake of better completing the school's mission. Ten million US dollars, what do you think of that?"

"Ten million US dollars?"

Caesar was startled. He wasn't shocked because the figure was too expensive, but rather because it was too small. An alchemical creation capable of amplifying Spirit Chants on the go was worth way more than ten million by any metric. This truly was a nominal fee charged in the spirit of Jormungandr.

"Do you feel it's inappropriate?"

Constantine asked with a slight frown.

"No, no, no. It's appropriate, extremely appropriate, couldn't be more appropriate!" A smile appeared on Caesar's face as he asked with utmost satisfaction, "Then, may I ask how long it will take Master Yanqing to forge it, and whether additional material supplies are needed?"

"Time? About a week. Also, I don't need your material supplies; you can consider it a gift from me to you," Constantine replied.

Although he said a week, in reality, he didn't need that much time to finish it. Constantine was simply afraid that unexpected events might occur and delay his alchemical progress. Besides, he still had to craft a little bra for Fenrir to wear!

A cute little pink bra~

"But if it's just like this, wouldn't you be taking too big of a loss? I feel somewhat bad for you," Caesar said, looking at Constantine sincerely.

He knew very well in his heart that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. The seemingly unprovoked kindness he was enjoying would most likely be paid for by others in invisible ways, or he had already paid for it in some invisible way himself.

If he accepted this goodwill simply and directly, he didn't know what he might lose, nor did he know what others might potentially lose.

Therefore, he would use his own strength as much as possible to express his goodwill in the transaction.

No matter what he had to give up, his attitude had to be right.

"It doesn't matter, I don't mind."

Constantine said with a smile.

"But I do mind. How about this, I will arrange a Mint black card for you."

"A Mint black card?"

"Mint is a wealth club that exclusively serves top-tier high-net-worth individuals, and it will fulfill every possible demand of its members to the best of its ability. For example, if you suddenly feel like watching a performance at the Tokyo Kabuki-za theater after dinner, but there are no airplanes available to fly you to Tokyo, and tickets for the Tokyo Kabuki-za are completely sold out."

"But don't worry, you just need to make a phone call to Mint, and the moment you walk out your door, a supersonic passenger jet will be waiting to pick you up. That is what Mint is," Caesar explained in detail.

"Sounds rather nice."

Constantine's demeanor shifted slightly. The status of a Mint member held far greater value than Philosopher's Stones or pure money; through Mint, he could accomplish many things that were normally impossible.

Beside them, Norton's expression also changed. Previously, he had regarded Caesar as a joke, and the arrogant Dragon King hadn't taken him seriously at all. After all, he hadn't expected this guy to offer anything decent. To a Dragon King, neither money nor materials could move them.

Yet, he had offered power and possibility.

Just as Caesar had thought, although on the surface he didn't need to pay much to obtain the Delusion, in Norton's eyes, he had already been labeled as a clown—and that was merely part of the invisible cost.

Now it was different. Caesar, who took the initiative to give more, seemed to have taken a massive loss, but he had earned the respect from Norton that he otherwise wouldn't have received.

"As long as it suits your wishes."

Caesar replied with elegance, his charred clothes and face failing to conceal that aristocratic demeanor.

*'Mint Club?'*

Not far away, Lu Mingfei also stopped smiling. The introduction to this club opened his eyes; he had never known such an organization existed in this world.

Though, that was normal. He used to be an ordinary high school student who couldn't be any more pathetic. If not for the accidental transformation he encountered, perhaps he would still be the same as before.

"What, Brother, are you envious?"

Lu Mingze's figure suddenly appeared. He looked at the silent Lu Mingfei with a smiling expression and said.

"This club is indeed quite nice. If possible, I'd like to get a membership myself." Lu Mingfei didn't beat around the bush and openly admitted the thought in his heart.

Because he knew he had the ability to strive for this status; he had money and a certain reputation within the hybrid circles. As long as he wanted to strive for it, he could secure a spot in this club. Therefore, there was no need for him to conceal his desires at all.

Along with the growth of one's abilities, a person's mindset would gradually change. A person who had grown up would more decisively admit their desires and focus their efforts on achieving them, rather than blindly suppressing themselves.

Or even hinting to themselves: *I don't need it.*

"Brother, actually, you are already a member of this club." Lu Mingze sat on a chair, casually swinging his small legs as he spoke.

"Huh?"

"You are a shareholder member of the Mint Club, which is different from ordinary members like Caesar. Shareholder members can receive a certain percentage of dividends from the club every year, allowing you to earn even more wealth while enjoying it," Lu Mingze continued.

"How come I didn't know I was a member?" Lu Mingfei asked in surprise.

"Because I just arranged it for you, Brother. Devil service is always this thorough." Lu Mingze said with a smile.

"."

Lu Mingze had been treating him a bit too well lately, and Lu Mingfei always felt something was off, though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. However, he didn't dwell on it and subconsciously asked Furina:

"In your Teyvat world, do you have your own Mint Club, or something similar?"

"Yes."

"There really is one?"

"As long as you have enough Primogems, the Traveler is your Mint Club. She will complete all your requests with the highest efficiency within her capability. From delivering takeout to ordinary people to helping me deal with the Fatui Harbingers, as long as it's reasonable and you have enough Primogems, there is nothing she cannot do."

"Six."

"Of course, aside from the Traveler, I also have an exclusive customer service representative who can fulfill all my requests within his ability." Furina's smile gradually grew richer.

"Exclusive customer service? Who?"

"Guess~"

After finishing the main points of the transaction, Caesar's gaze instinctively focused on Constantine's Delusion. He asked with full expectation, "Master Yanqing, would it be possible for me to try out what using a Delusion feels like in advance?"

Constantine frowned slightly. The Delusion on him was not an amplifier; this thing was a modified Promax version of a Vision. If Caesar used this thing, he could beat Nonu to the ground, so handing it over directly was definitely out of the question.

However, refusing outright didn't seem very polite either...

"No, you can't use his Delusion." Norton stepped forward to defuse the situation.

"Why?" Caesar asked.

"His Delusion has a relatively high amplification ratio. If you use it, there might be a certain degree of risk, with the possibility of the Spirit Chant going out of control," Norton replied.

"Are the ones you use yourselves that dangerous?"

Caesar felt a bit surprised.

"The process of studying alchemy trains mental strength. Hybrids who excel at alchemy like us possess stronger mental strength than ordinary hybrids, so the alchemical creations we use are not the same version as the ones you use," Norton said.

"How come I never knew about this?"

"Probably because the people you've been in contact with previously weren't very proficient in alchemy. Without a sufficiently strong mind, it is absolutely impossible to reach the Seven Supreme Achievements of alchemy—the Seven Kingdoms. Those who have walked far down the path of alchemy are bound to temper their minds," Norton said.

"The Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy?"

Caesar's pupils gradually dilated. He had heard of the Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy: Elemental Displacement, Mental Recasting, Conceptual Armament, Time Reversal, Spatial Opening, Life Creation, and Causal Separation.

These seven things were god-tier abilities in any fantasy setting!

For a hybrid to pursue the Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy was, in a sense, similar to a human on Earth trying to understand the Trisolaran civilization—and moreover, having a single person try to understand an entire civilization!

The Vice-Principal had once said that the essence of alchemy was killing matter and then regenerating it. So the question arose: what kind of matter could be killed to achieve causal separation? What kind of matter could be killed to reverse time? What kind of matter could be killed to create life?

The answer was simple: killing matter was merely alchemy as humans could currently understand it. The wisdom and power of Dragon Kings were beyond human comprehension!

Dragon Kings could use mental power that transcended human understanding to directly control laws, thereby achieving a degree of utilization and control over those laws. This had nothing to do with killing matter.

Kill matter?

That was something low-level alchemists worried about. Top-tier alchemists directly controlled laws through their minds, making the world into whatever they desired through those laws. A powerful alchemist was bound to possess a powerful mental will.

"Can humans really reach the Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy?" Caesar couldn't help asking.

"Perhaps there will be in the future, but right now, probably not. However, any alchemist who wants to approach the Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy must temper their mental will in ways ordinary people cannot comprehend. Without a sufficiently strong mind, it is utterly impossible to master the Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy," Norton replied.

"Then... does the Vision belong to a Conceptual Armament?"

Caesar continued to ask.

"."

Norton fell silent for a moment. He looked at Chen Motong, who also wore a curious expression nearby, and replied, "It merely brushes against the edge. The structure of a Vision isn't particularly complex, but the grade of its materials is extremely high, which is why it achieves the effect it has now."

"If you put it that way, doesn't Junior Lu Mingfei already approach the Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy?" Caesar's expression gradually turned to shock, and the way he looked at Lu Mingfei began to change.

"Approach? He's still far from it. Mastering the Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy requires an immense amount of knowledge. His understanding of various kinds of knowledge is simply insufficient; only his mental strength and bloodline meet the standard."

*Only his mental strength and bloodline meet the standard?!*

Caesar's expression twisted slightly, the shock in his heart reaching its absolute peak. If his mental strength and bloodline both met the standard at the same time, didn't that mean as long as Lu Mingfei continuously accumulated knowledge, he would eventually achieve the Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy? How could you call that "simply"? Were you just jealous?

"Cough, cough!"

Constantine coughed twice and instinctively poked Norton in the ribs with his elbow. Norton quickly realized his slip of the tongue and continued:

"The amount of knowledge required by the Seven Kingdoms of Alchemy is enough for a hybrid to study for thousands of years. Compared to accumulating knowledge, the requirements for bloodline and mental strength are already very low."

Caesar: (⊙o⊙)

(End of Chapter)