Chapter Thirty-Two: Searching for Lost Friendship

After handing the excerpts from Electra’s notes to Gong Hao, Andrew went to see Heinz.

“Did you give the material to that little fellow?”

“Yes, Mentor,” Andrew replied with a smile. “He seemed very excited.”

Pierre couldn’t help but ask, “Mentor, do you really believe a boy who’s studied alchemy for less than half a year can contribute to our research?”

“Oh, Pierre, do not underestimate the power of talent. Alchemists may not require magical aptitude, but their need for intellect is even greater. It’s clear that Shu Eagle is an exceptionally bright lad, and for such people, you can safely place pressure upon them. True, his understanding of alchemy is still shallow, but knowledge is not the sole ingredient in alchemy. The great Electra once said that merely pursuing knowledge leads to a loss of creativity; doing so only makes you a superb assistant, never a great discoverer. To become an outstanding alchemist, knowledge is but the foundation we require—creativity is the wellspring that elevates us.”

With a sigh, Heinz continued, “I am already old. I believe that, after decades of tireless exploration in alchemy, I have mastered all relevant knowledge, yet I have not been able to recreate Electra’s brilliance. Andrew is right—Purgatory Island needs fresh blood among its alchemists. Our work on the Giant Demon and magic runes also requires extraordinary thinking. Look at what that child has done in the potion laboratory. Though I care little for the peculiar gadgets he’s invented, I see something different in him. He possesses the two essential treasures for becoming an exceptional alchemist—a fervent thirst for knowledge and the courage to break from all old habits of thought. These are precisely what we lack.”

Pierre respectfully bowed his head to the mentor. “Great Mentor, I believe this is where I will never match you. Your wisdom leaves me in awe.”

Whatever else might be said of Heinz or Pierre, their dedication to alchemy was genuine, bordering on fanaticism and professionalism.

Through the crystal sphere, Heinz observed Shu Eagle beginning his study of the notes, utterly absorbed.

Heinz nodded in satisfaction.

————————————

From that day on, Gong Hao plunged into studying the flesh-and-blood puppets with a kind of mad obsession.

Electra’s notes were clearly written in a casual, journal-like style, mostly recording his thoughts after failed experiments.

From these musings, it was apparent that Electra possessed an extremely active mind. While developing the flesh-and-blood puppets, he was simultaneously researching dozens of different branches of alchemy. This approach left Gong Hao astonished—he could not fathom how Electra managed it.

Alchemy is a vast and profound discipline; nearly every subdivision could consume a lifetime. Just as science divides into physics and chemistry, and physics itself branches into advanced physics, mathematical physics, experimental physics, and countless further subdivisions, so too does alchemy. Every branch has its immense body of knowledge—just one could occupy someone for a lifetime.

But Electra’s notes overflowed with all manner of alchemical musings.

Yet these entries were utterly incomplete, recorded wherever his thoughts led him. They appeared chaotic and random—one sentence might discuss the making of flesh-and-blood puppets, while the next jumped directly to potion refinement, with no connection between them.

Gong Hao seriously doubted whether Electra’s notes were even worth perusing; he feared that even Electra himself would have trouble finding what he’d recorded after jotting it down.

Among these notes were even musings on spatial magic and the Giant Demon, meaning that, as an apprentice, Electra had already begun preparing to research and explore these fields.

According to Electra’s notes, his initial motivation for creating the Giant Demon was simply the need for more powerful magical puppets to protect himself—conquering the world was never his interest.

He was a pure alchemical fanatic—madder even than Heinz. That was the only thing Gong Hao could ascertain from his notes. Yet, as for how to recreate the true flesh-and-blood puppet, Gong Hao had no clue whatsoever.

The notes were too disorganized, too casual, and nearly impossible to comprehend. Even so, Andrew had only excerpted a portion, not the full content.

This left Gong Hao deeply troubled.

Still, from those musings, it was clear that Electra believed a truly powerful puppet warrior should possess intelligence. His original motivation for making flesh-and-blood puppets was to create an intelligent magical assistant.

Throughout Electra’s decades-long research career, no one ever worked alongside him. He was entirely alone in his alchemical pursuits. The reason was that Electra later succeeded in inventing magical assistants with a degree of intelligence. Though the technique for making such assistants has since been lost and the extent of their intelligence unimaginable, Electra’s achievements shone with enviable brilliance everywhere.

The flesh-and-blood puppet was merely a byproduct of his research into magical assistants. When young, he attempted to embed a fully formed soul within an ordinary puppet warrior, using a tool called the Soul Magic Orb as the vessel, thus endowing it with intelligence.

But Electra later discovered that a soul, separated from life, would gradually dissipate, like ice melting into water. Even the Soul Magic Orb couldn’t prevent this. Therefore, Electra eventually found a way to preserve a trace of soul memory for resonance with magical elements, abandoning all else, thus creating the flesh-and-blood puppet. Through this transformation, he allowed the soul to remain in the Soul Magic Orb for a long time.

Heinz, Andrew, and the others had always sought the method Electra used to let a soul, once housed in the Orb, still resonate with surrounding elements and thereby cast magic.

They ultimately chose the most intelligent humans, retaining only a sliver of resonance ability through extensive discarding and elimination.

This is the origin of today’s flesh-and-blood puppets.

Undoubtedly, this was an extraordinarily complex and profound topic. Gong Hao realized that Heinz was indeed a genius. The preservation of souls had always been the domain of soul mages, though this field, like necromancy, was forbidden—no one dared to study it openly. Without any understanding of soul magic, Heinz managed to achieve this solely through his extraordinary alchemical skills. Yet, compared to Electra, who could use the soul of an ordinary magical beast to create a flesh-and-blood puppet capable of casting three spells, he was still far behind.

Heinz was like a poor cook: after exhaustive research, he could only use the finest ingredients to produce the worst dishes. Electra, with his effortless abilities, could make exquisite cuisine even from the poorest materials.

The gap between them was vast—much as Gong Hao himself was far from Heinz.

Gong Hao could only shake his head.

Under these circumstances, unraveling Electra’s secret of flesh-and-blood puppet creation seemed unimaginably difficult.

In the days that followed, Gong Hao threw himself into research day after day, nearly sleepless, pouring all his energy into the puppets and the notes.

Even Gong Hao, who could always remain calm no matter how much work he bore, now found himself stretched too thin for the first time.

Time flew by—only when fully immersed in work does one realize how quickly it passes. In the blink of an eye, three months had gone by.

Compared to three months ago, Gong Hao was now utterly dispirited, realizing his research into flesh-and-blood puppets had yielded no progress whatsoever.

It had squandered all his precious time, yet brought him no advancement.

He had tried every possible idea and method, but none succeeded. Gong Hao even began to doubt whether Electra had truly completed the flesh-and-blood puppet described in his notes—or perhaps he used some other method, such as magic runes?

But history told him Electra had not invented magic runes at that time; the notes clearly stated that engraving resonance arrays on the human body was still just a concept, not yet implemented.

Moreover, magic runes were obviously unsuitable for magical puppets.

So how did this damned genius accomplish it?

He rubbed his face in painful frustration.

————————————————

“Eagle,” Andrew called as he entered Gong Hao’s laboratory.

“Sir.” Gong Hao stood up.

“Still no progress, I assume?”

“Yes, sir. Electra was truly an extraordinary genius; I cannot imagine how he achieved any of this. I have absolutely no clue in my research on the flesh-and-blood puppets.”

Andrew cheerfully patted Gong Hao’s shoulder. “Mentor and Pierre spent twenty years researching flesh-and-blood puppets before they managed to make one that could cast a single spell. You’ve been an apprentice less than a year, and your understanding of alchemy is still just beginning. There’s no need to be discouraged. Remember, academic exploration should be gradual—never expect to reach the summit in one leap. We won’t rush you in your research; we see your effort.”

“Yes, sir.”

“All right, you’ve worked hard these days. Go relax, take a break, and come back after some rest. That might revive your mind, which has become rigid from overwork.”

“My mind isn’t rigid, Sir,” Gong Hao replied with a bitter smile.

“Oh, you’re learning to contradict me now?” Andrew was not offended.

Gong Hao smiled. “That’s a sign of your care for me.”

“Well said.” Andrew laughed heartily and took Gong Hao’s hand. “Come now, child, you’re only thirteen—you have plenty of time for research. Let’s go to the port for a stroll. Perhaps you’ll discover something interesting there.”

“The port?” Gong Hao was puzzled. “But today isn’t the day the Liberty arrives.”

“Oh, the Liberty isn’t the only ship that comes to Purgatory Island. I thought, after last year’s incident, you’d understand that.” Andrew winked at Gong Hao.

Gong Hao was taken aback, and an image of a girl long absent suddenly surfaced in his mind.

Could it be…

Andrew’s smile was mysterious. “All right, little fellow, hurry and change your clothes, dress smartly, and get ready to meet the ship. Our distinguished guest… is someone only you can handle.”

“She has come for you, seeking her lost friendship.” He winked at him.