Chapter 86: Strategic Acquisitions and the Scythe’s Secret

Bai Yu settled into a comfortable chair within the library, taking a moment to sip her drink.

It struck her as odd that, despite the school’s closure, the vending machine inside remained fully functional; perhaps it was running on a backup power supply.

As Bai Yu scrolled through her phone, idly engaging in a group chat, a reply to her previous message arrived swiftly.

The message originated directly from the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau’s headquarters.

Upon glancing at the screen, Bai Yu was met with a single, perplexing question mark.

‘What in the world?’ she wondered. ‘What could a mere question mark possibly imply?’

A wave of mild exasperation washed over Bai Yu. Had her initial communication been flawed? Had the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau failed to grasp her intent?

[Hello, this is Bai Yu.]

Bai Yu responded politely, understanding that as the one making a request, it wouldn’t do to adopt an imperious attitude.

[Greetings. This is the Resource Management Department of the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau. We would like to confirm if there was an error in the materials and books you requested.]

The operator assigned to communicate with Bai Yu nearly convinced themselves they were seeing things. They had received explicit directives from the Commander to offer the Divine Favored, Bai Yu, the utmost support.

They had mentally prepared for Bai Yu to make exorbitant demands, recognizing that a genius of her caliber would naturally require vast resources, a fact the Commander had already acknowledged.

Furthermore, if Bai Yu were to fully mature her powers, she would undoubtedly become an invaluable asset to the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau—a transaction that promised no loss.

Yet, the sheer scale of the list Bai Yu had submitted left them utterly bewildered; they even suspected she was jesting.

The quantity of items was hundreds of times what an average Arcanist might need. Surely, even an extraordinary genius wouldn’t require *this* much?

[There is no error. Is the headquarters unable to provide them?]

Bai Yu’s calm, unperturbed reply nearly made the operator leap from their seat!

They certainly had no desire to incur the wrath of the esteemed Divine Favored. After all, the resources weren’t coming from their personal coffers, so even if Bai Yu’s requests were somewhat extravagant, it was of little consequence to them.

[There is a way, indeed! However, some of these items are incredibly rare and not currently held by the Bureau, but we can certainly procure them.]

[They might take two days to deliver.]

The operator’s fingers flew across the keyboard, typing with desperate speed, utterly terrified that a single misstep in their words might prompt Bai Yu to report them, jeopardizing their position.

[That will be perfectly fine.]

Witnessing the seamless progression of events, Bai Yu offered a subtle smile, confirming her belief that official organizations indeed operated with remarkable efficiency.

Were it not for the severe constraints on personal freedom, she might genuinely entertain the idea of joining the Dragon Summer Investigation Bureau.

Bai Yu carefully placed the books she had unearthed in the library to the side, realizing the sheer volume made it impossible to carry them all back by hand.

Lacking any truly effective storage-type wondrous items, she understood that a trip to the storage room was now imperative.

During her previous visit, she had spotted numerous valuable treasures there, but their exorbitant prices had ultimately led her to ‘acquire’ only a single item for free.

She mused about the Old Man; he had seemed to be a spiritual entity who had vanished entirely after Bai Yu lifted his curse.

The warehouse still stood in its original location, yet the Arcanist spell that had concealed the storage room was gone, leaving behind only a simple, visible door.

Bai Yu unlocked it with a key, finding the interior precisely as it had been during her last visit, utterly unchanged.

However, the Old Man had indeed disappeared. By breaking the curse, Bai Yu had, in a sense, helped him fulfill his final wish.

Bai Yu glanced down at the gun holstered at her waist, noting that recently, there had been no occasion whatsoever to employ it.

After all, it had proven utterly useless within the dreamscape.

She recalled taking the fruit knives she had previously coveted.

The previous price of fifty thousand Dragon Summer coins for a single blade had once made her hesitate, but now, she was acquiring them for free.

‘How about this?’

A surge of quiet satisfaction filled Bai Yu; as the Fruit Knife War God, she absolutely required her signature weapon.

These were no ordinary fruit knives, distinctly different from the disposable ones Bai Yu had utilized before.

These particular fruit knives had been ‘liberated’ from an aberrant Secretary.

They were perfectly capable of channeling her Arcanist spell, allowing the [Blade of the Faceless Moon] to manifest at its absolute peak.

Her mother would no longer need to worry about her being unarmed.

As for the remaining weaponry, Bai Yu merely cast a cursory glance, then dismissed them. With such a multitude of items, she couldn’t possibly transport them all, so her priority remained finding the storage-type wondrous items.

Bai Yu paced back and forth, reflecting that while she had initially perceived the space as quite expansive upon her arrival, it now felt remarkably small, having become her own.

It felt as though she had thoroughly surveyed everything in an astonishingly short amount of time.

There remained a scarcity of wondrous items specifically designed for storage. After searching for a considerable time, Bai Yu had found only a handful, and among these, merely one bracelet could be worn on her person.

Even that, however, offered a mere 20 cubic meters of space.

This capacity was generally sufficient to clear out the entire storage room, as there were no particularly large objects within.

However, her most crucial objective in coming here was not these items themselves, but rather to begin learning Arcanist spells that could address her current deficiencies or to acquire wondrous items serving the same purpose.

Storage was merely one such aspect.

What Bai Yu currently lacked most, of course, were healing and defensive capabilities.

Her offensive powers were abundant; aside from the divine spell [Fantasy World], nearly all her abilities were geared towards attack.

Her auxiliary abilities ranked next: [Kin of the Night] was one, and [Aura Concealment], a recently acquired skill, also fell into this category.

[Shadow Wolf Summon], conversely, was purely a summoning ability, and thus another form of offense.

She had already tested it in her room; currently, her use of [Shadow Wolf Summon] allowed her to conjure only Shadow Wolves of her own rank, and, notably, only Xiao An.

While she was relieved that Xiao An had not vanished, she was disheartened that she could now summon only a single wolf, Xiao An.

Her power had been significantly diminished, transforming her from a primary combatant into merely a support role.

Reflecting on this, Bai Yu conceded the truth of the matter. She had been operating within the Dream World previously, where she could exploit her abilities without restraint. Now, in the real world, it was simply impossible for her power to continue expanding unchecked.

Bai Yu let out a weary sigh, casting these bothersome thoughts aside, and resumed her search within the storage room.

She wasn’t particularly anxious about defense, primarily because she would soon be absorbing Reverse Metal, an item promising not just minor, but monumental enhancements to her capabilities.

By then, even without defensive Arcanist spells or wondrous items, her physical body would achieve a state of invulnerability.

She would no longer have to dread passing out from the effects of Tidal Magic.

Furthermore, according to Moweila, after absorbing the Reverse Metal, her regenerative abilities would dramatically amplify, potentially even reaching a level akin to light-speed regeneration.

“What is this?”

Bai Yu noticed a collection of instruments tucked away in a dusty corner; they appeared quite ancient and possessed a peculiar, almost alien design.

[This item is very useful. It’s an alchemical tool. Though it’s quite old, it can still be used after repairs. Take it.]

Bai Yu nodded in understanding, acknowledging that such an instrument was absolutely essential if she intended to absorb the Reverse Metal from the scythe.

“Are these sufficient?”

Bai Yu inquired of Moweila.

[How could they be? At the very least, you’ll need an instrument capable of melting that scythe, and it must also be able to withstand the scorching heat of Heaven’s Fire.]

Moweila murmured.

[That scythe is virtually impervious to ordinary flames. Only by employing a specialized instrument to draw forth the Heaven’s Fire concealed within it can it truly be melted.]

Bai Yu was rendered speechless. It was abundantly clear that such an item would never be found within this storage room; the question remained, where on earth was she to acquire it?

“I suppose I’ll search for other things first.”

Bai Yu decisively set aside the matter of the instruments for the time being, opting instead to search for useful Arcanist materials.