Zheng Qing counted accurately.

Thomas extracted a total of three bags of blood from him, cut away two pieces of skin slightly larger than a fingernail, and gouged out three pieces of flesh—one bag of blood and one piece of flesh were directly given to Nikita.

If based on Zheng Qing’s physical condition a year ago, he would have gone into shock after three bags of blood were drawn.

But now, he just felt a bit dizzy, breathing was weak, his body was powerless, yet his consciousness was very clear. So when Thomas cut the third piece of flesh from his buttocks, he still had the strength to joke.

"Luckily, I’m not Irish."

The young assistant weakly grunted.

"Why do you say that?" The owner of the lab was very considerate, acting as his foil.

Zheng Qing inhaled sharply, feeling the throbbing pain from his buttocks, trying hard to divert his attention: "Because Irish people are said to be poor and stingy, rumored that their immovable assets are milk and their buttocks. If I were Irish, and so much of my immovable assets were taken by you, I’d have gone mad long ago... Ferocious meat would turn sour, and it might affect your experimental results."

"An interesting hypothesis... Are you trying to get me to say thank you?"

Thomas briskly handled the raw materials in the tray, seemingly wanting to say more, when a huge knocking sound suddenly erupted, making Zheng Qing feel like the whole room jumped a few times from the noise.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Just from the noise, it seemed as if a raging giant monster was standing outside the door.

"Run!"

The young wizard lying on the experimental table called out in fright, "It’s definitely the wizards from the school looking for me, if you don’t run, you’ll all be thrown into the Black Prison!"

Regrettably, of those present, only the little Female Demon was scared by his words, whimpering as she hid behind Nikita, the other two had no reaction, not even glancing at the doorway.

"...If the school discovered this lab of mine, they wouldn’t be courteous enough to knock and wait for me to open the door." Thomas clearly noticed the boy’s disappointment and, after a simple explanation, turned to look at Nikita: "However, coincidentally, it’s time for you to leave. Do you remember what I said before? Don’t take unnecessary risks."

With a serious expression, he handed over a piece of flesh sealed with amber and a bag of blood to the Female Demon, then snapped his fingers. A chilly wind quietly swept in from behind Zheng Qing’s head.

Though unable to see the scene behind him,

from the reflection on a corner of the dressing mirror Nikita used earlier, Zheng Qing guessed that Thomas seemed to have opened a secret passage, the cold wind coming from the passage.

Taking the blood and flesh, the Female Demon gave Zheng Qing a final glance, without looking at Thomas, she spoke softly: "I’ll be waiting on the other side... Let’s go."

The last three words were directed at the little Female Demon.

The rustling footsteps faded from the lab, and the cold breeze stopped.

"Aren’t you worried she’ll just run away?" Zheng Qing had guessed Thomas’s plan and intended to cause him some trouble: "Every wizard knows demons are untrustworthy... You were the one who told me that originally."

Thomas silently watched Nikita’s disappearing direction.

After a moment, he finally spoke again, his voice light but very complex in tone: "Before the experiment, she said not to let me have any psychological burden, that it wouldn’t matter even if the experiment failed. She was willing to be a free test subject. But didn’t she hear that saying? The free ones are the most expensive... This time, the test subjects are too expensive, I can’t afford it."

He patted the boy’s shoulder and sighed.

The knocking sound ’bam bam’ came from outside the door again, this time, Thomas didn’t hesitate, pulling up the white curtain around Zheng Qing’s experimental table and headed straight for the door.

Click.

Zheng Qing craned his neck, through the gap in the curtain, he vaguely saw a figure wearing a raven mask, except that raven seemed not to intend to enter.

He perked his ears, trying to catch every word he could hear.

"...How much time do I have left?"

This was Thomas speaking, his question was direct, his tone as steady as ever, clearly knowing the guest who almost broke down the lab door.

The voice answering him was somewhat urgent: "...The School Works Committee requires that the missing person be found by eight in the morning, but I think you need to reserve enough leeway, retreating two hours in advance is the best last retreating time. I won’t—nor would anyone—interfere with the school’s investigation course on this matter."

"I’m already very grateful you can come and tell me this."

"Don’t thank me, I just don’t want your rashness to affect the professor’s next plan."

As the words trailed off, the raven at the door slightly turned its head, glanced at the lab, its voice lowering even more: "...Professor...materials...reckless...big mess..."

Soon.

The uninvited guest left.

The lab door was shut.

Thomas’s heavy footsteps came to the front of the experimental table, pulling back the white curtain, looking at the young wizard lying obediently on the table with closed eyes, and snickered: "I didn’t give you Mandrake Juice, there’s no need to pretend to sleep."

Zheng Qing immediately opened his eyes.

"Who was it just now?" He was not the least bit polite.

"The best way to keep something hidden is to know nothing about it." Thomas shook his head: "If I said I don’t know the real identity of the other person, I don’t know if you’d believe me."

Zheng Qing thought of the rules of the Seven Sins, subconsciously nodding.

"The reason the professor had us wear masks is to conceal our real identities," the lab’s owner retrieved different-colored extract solutions from the shelf, pouring them into a glass, skillfully stirring: "...of course, to some very familiar people, or to the ravens who don’t mind revealing their identity, the mask’s effect is negligible—in short, only in the lab am I a raven, outside the lab, I’ve always been a reliable assistant."

The liquid in the cup gradually turned a disquieting black.

Zheng Qing instinctively thought of the black tree sap Xiao Xiao mentioned—

"During this Spring Hunting, the Yuzui Hunting Team found some black tree sap in the Silent Forest, do you know? The doctor said it was the mark left by a Black Wizard, is it true? Is your leader of the Ravens a Fallen?"

To the boy’s barrage of questions, Thomas only gave a partial answer: "The professor isn’t a Black Wizard, he’s just traveled further on the path of exploration than many. In any case, I’m very sorry for what you experienced today."

"Ha...!"

Zheng Qing sneered: "You’re sorry, she’s sorry, everyone’s sorry, but only I bled, so what does sorry mean to me? These two words can’t change anything that’s already happened!"

Thomas sighed softly and brought the mixed black liquid to Zheng Qing’s lips: "You’re right, but sorry is all I can do..."

"What is this?" Zheng Qing pursed his lips, his head dodged left and right in a narrow range, almost using his nose to hum the words out.

"A bit of a sedative, it’ll help you get some rest... Occasionally sleeping isn’t a bad thing, it can help you recover your health better."

"I’ve never seen a black sedative!"

"...It also has some stress-reducing effects, it can slightly enhance your body’s capacity, and lessen the ’spirit seed’s’ damage to your flesh. Originally, it should’ve been taken after you used the spirit seed. We’ve confirmed this on other test subjects, it’s the safest formula... Don’t worry, if we really wanted to use you for some terrible experiments, I wouldn’t let you know while you’re awake."

"Am I supposed to say thank you... Gollum..." As Zheng Qing opened his mouth to retort, Thomas very neatly pinched his chin and poured the liquid into his mouth.

Cold and tasteless.

That’s Zheng Qing’s only sensation.

But it must be admitted, its effects were very potent.

He felt the liquid hadn’t even reached the stomach, the voices around were already fading away.

Zheng Qing’s consciousness gradually sank to the deepest parts of the ocean.