Chapter 50: A Treasure Trove Discovered
No matter what, the best thing now was to get that jinx as far away from herself as possible.
Yi Ning took a few steps back, pulled out a remote from her pocket, and pressed the button.
The next second, an invisible force hurled Rigil, who had just been spewing threats, out of the base. The force swept him off his feet, rolling him across the ground for several meters before he finally managed to get up.
This was, after all, the only publicly known evil base belonging to Dr. Alien. To prevent other evil organizations from swaggering around D-City, she had outfitted it with every kind of defense imaginable.
If she didn’t want it, not even a fly could get in.
Let alone some mentally questionable coward.
Of course, the attack systems were also layered. Enough for her to boldly declare:
Anyone who dares trespass shall be crushed by Ning!
“Apologies, but in my evil lab, members of the Freedom Alliance and dogs are banned from coming within twenty meters.”
Yi Ning gave a slight bow, waving the remote in her right hand proudly.
Soft earth was clawed into deep gashes by Rigil’s clenched metal fists, soil and grass packed tightly under his metal nails.
This woman… actually dared to compare him to a dog.
He nearly exploded on the spot. He wanted nothing more than to tear Yi Ning apart right now—but the pain in his body forced his sanity back into place, reminding him of his purpose.
He wasn’t here to fight. He was here to seek Dr. Alien’s help.
Still sprawled on the ground, Rigil frowned and looked up at the smug-faced Yi Ning standing beside the base gate.
He had been too rash.
He had assumed that someone like Dr. Alien—an evil scientist who couldn’t even conquer a small town like D-City—would be weak. That a powerhouse like him didn’t need to worry about stepping on ants.
So he had never taken her seriously, viewing her as just another pawn he could manipulate at will.
But reality had slapped him hard.
The pawn had leapt off the board and smacked the player with a ki blast, and the player couldn’t even fight back.
Dr. Alien’s power had far exceeded his expectations.
Even though it was just a minor exchange, Rigil could sense it—this was not an opponent he could easily defeat. Especially not when she was standing at her own base, her absolute home ground.
For evil scientists, a base was like a magician’s workshop—it greatly boosted their power.
That was probably why Dr. Alien had managed to maintain her presence in D-City despite the Hero Association’s efforts.
Rigil climbed to his feet and brushed off the dirt and grass.
He didn’t understand.
With her level of strength, she would have joined a stronger evil organization. Why remain in a small-time group stuck in D-City?
Had she offended some upper-echelon figures in the Evil Council?
He speculated.
But in any case, Dr. Alien’s strength was a good thing for him.
If he could persuade her, their operation to plunder D-City’s Spiritual Veins would gain a serious edge.
And if he could recruit her into the Freedom Alliance, he would surely be handsomely rewarded by the leader.
In Rigil’s mind, Dr. Alien’s value had skyrocketed—she now even rivaled the importance of the Spiritual Veins themselves.
A powerful figure possibly oppressed by the Evil Council’s top brass?
She was practically a gift from the heavens.
He no longer saw her as a mere tool.
Accordingly, his attitude toward Yi Ning softened.
“I apologize for my rudeness earlier.”
Rigil dissolved his fusion with metal and returned to his human form, giving her a clumsy bow.
“I know words may not be enough to show my sincerity, so…”
He reached into his pocket, fingers brushing against the cold metal within.
Clenching it tightly, he hesitated briefly, then gritted his teeth and pulled it out.
“I’ve prepared this for you.”
He walked a few steps closer, stopping at a respectful distance from Yi Ning to show he had no hidden intent.
Then he placed the metal piece in his palm and bowed slightly, holding it out.
“I hope this can make up for conducting evil acts in D-City without your permission.”
Yi Ning raised her brows at the unexpected gift.
Instead of reaching out, she pulled out the remote again and summoned a white, round robot about two-thirds her height.
She pressed a button. The robot walked up to Rigil.
Its hands transformed, revealing a white tray.
Rigil sensibly placed the metal piece onto the tray and stepped back, allowing the robot to deliver it to Yi Ning.
She took the metal, inspected it carefully, then raised an eyebrow and kicked the robot lightly.
The robot’s head folded in, its body elongated forward, transforming into a small lab bench.
Yi Ning placed the metal on it and ran some tests.
The results surprised her.
It was a piece of Rhael Alloy.
A metal nearly monopolized by the Evil Council—rare and invaluable.
She glanced at Rigil, now wearing a respectful expression, and suddenly found him much more pleasant to look at. Even the poorly concealed annoyance in his eyes looked charming.
Had this guy suddenly realized she was his long-lost parent or something?
Yi Ning packed up the lab bench, opened the robot’s belly, and gently stored the alloy inside before sending it back into the base.
Either way, now that the metal was in her hands, it wasn’t going anywhere.
At the same time, her gaze toward Rigil changed.
If she remembered correctly, he had fused this very metal into his skin earlier, turning it into Rhael Alloy.
And skin could regenerate…
What if she captured him and shaved off a piece at a time—wouldn’t she have an endless supply of Rhael Alloy?
And if feeding him different metals could yield more variations…
Yi Ning stared at Rigil with blazing eyes, as if she were beholding a radiant, walking treasure trove.