Chapter 12: One million sin crystals!
As soon as Richard started creating the breakthrough potion, almost all the purple youths inside the auditorium switched on their virtual interface. Leo noticed that the virtual interface on Riku and Jaya sitting beside him had a close-up view of the center stage. It was so realistic that it was as if Richard was right in front of them.
Looking around Leo was astonished at the level of technology. Even the technology on Earth needs a few decades to catch up with the underworld. While Leo concentrated on the show he noticed various data sheets popping here and there on the virtual screen explaining every minute detail.
'No wonder these people are so excited to come here. It was not only a bet also a sort of live seminar for the potion hall.'
Rika and Jaya were busy studying every graph with full concentration and all their playfulness vanished like smoke. Leo felt like he was looking at completely different people. He was curious about so many things but didn't disturb them and silently watched on the sidelines.
Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. Leo became bored looking at the numbers and graphs for so long. He took a glance at the beauties around him and saw their unwavering concentration coupled with their perspiring face added an invisible charm to their face. Instead of a virtual interface, he found their faces much more interesting.
Another hour passed, now Leo was tired of looking at their faces too. He just yawned and was about to take a nap but he noticed a sudden change in the body language of the people around him. Everyone started behaving as if they encountered a serious enemy and furiously started to exchange data.
Leo peeked at the interface of Jaya and noticed that a group chat was taking place. Inside the chat, everyone started expressing their regret as if they already experienced failure. But what he saw on the stage was different, Richard continued to tinker with the machines and seemed confident in his success.
Without understanding the situation Leo asked in a low voice "Riku what is going on? Why are guys giving up all of a sudden?"
Riku showed a graph and started crying as if it was the end of the world. Jaya was emotionally mature, hence explained the matter better.
"Leo as you can see big brother succeeded in almost all the critical steps but his final chemical equation is unbalanced. Currently, he is aware of the problem but still trying to form a potion using mystic arts.
After countless tries big brother realized that just using technology he couldn't complete the last piece of the century-old puzzle. So he decided to use the mystic arts to get over the finish line. Big brother knows that the success rate is zero with an unbalanced equation but he is hoping to encounter a miracle using the mystic arts.
Over the years he had tried countless mystic arts but had no success. He even tried different permutations and combinations of mystic arts and the unbalanced equation but again no success.
After the repeated failures and wastage of countless resources potion hall concluded that no mystic arts would help them reach the finish line unless they balanced their equation. But no one in the entire underworld could come up with a solution for this. Even deity-level experts are tongue-tied.
We have posted the equation in the mission hall of the adventure alliance that has a network all around the entire underworld but no satisfactory answer appeared till now despite the astronomical reward placed on it. If things go on like this potion hall would have to close down eventually as it would be a waste of crystals to play a redundant job which the pill hall is already carrying out."
Leo understood the situation better and asked tentatively " So what's the reward anyway?"
Jaya replied casually "One million sin crystals with an honorary elder position in the potion hall."
'ONE MILLION SIN CRYSTALS!'
Leo sucked a deep breath. His mind was blown away by the huge reward. He didn't even process the rest of the sentence after he heard one million sin crystals.
Leo sighed internally 'Just how deep is the pocket of alchemy alliance.'
Leo thought of something and asked "Jaya, can you share the data with me. I am also interested in the pharma research so I want to take a look."
Jaya didn't mind sharing the data as the data was readily available on the mission hall in the adventure alliance. Jaya didn't even consider that Leo would be able to complete the century-old problem. Common, even deity level experts couldn't crack the equation and Leo hadn't even set foot in his cultivation journey.
Although Leo was not able to do the impossible task there was no reason his system couldn't. Leo remembered the system saying -Everything was possible with a price. Leo was hundred percent confident that the system would be able to crack the equation. But his fear was how to deal with the consequence.
No doubt he would create a huge sensation in the entire underworld and get the attention of deity-level experts in no time. When facing the deity level experts all his secrets would be exposed in a matter of seconds. Although he would gain instant fame and money he would not live long enough to enjoy either of them
Leo wasn't sure how to handle the entire situation without creating too many ripples. Forgetting the consequence, for the time being, he asked the system by providing the data through his virtual interface. The system replied positively with a price of hundred crystals.
'I knew it.'
Leo's heart started beating fast and he started sweating profusely as if he was going to lose his virginity soon. He was nervous, excited, scared, and stimulated. His mind was in a mess without knowing what to do. Finally, he couldn't sit anymore and excused himself for fresh air.
Leo didn't bother himself with the result of the event. He was sure just like 99% of the people in the hall that it would be another failure. His current problem was how to deal with the golden opportunity which was right in front of him.
'If I let go of this opportunity god knows when I will get this amount of sin crystals. Without taking a risk I can't grow in this ruthless underworld. The only other option for me in the underworld is joining the entry mission with a 1% survival rate. I can't foolishly assume that I would be in the lucky 1%.
Depending on the creation system is another way but it is also filled with variables. What if Alice was killed right after her reincarnation. Although in web novels various plot armors would prevent that from happening, it is real this time.
But handing the equation without thinking through is nothing but suicide. There is zero doubt about it. First I need to deal with this Divine soul and then come up with a suitable identity. With my current identity, I would easily be scammed the moment they get hold of the equation. Forget about the reward, keeping myself alive would become the difficult part as they could silence him to keep the matter secret.'
Leo came to a preliminary decision but unknowingly he had walked into a pill hall store. The store was just like a supermart on Earth. He could see many pills and QR codes below on every shelf. Once you scan the QR code using the virtual interface, one would get all the information of the pill along with user reviews.
Leo was no longer surprised by the technology. His stereotypical mindset of the underworld long vanished into thin air. He started adjusting to the new environment without any complaints. Leo would be rather in a world with some familiarity rather than a completely unfamiliar world. Technological familiarity greatly aided Leo to quickly get over home away feeling of Earth.
Leo simply started browsing without any particular goal as he didn't even have a single penny to buy anything in the store. The store owner was similar to store owners on Earth. If he stood in front of a pill for more than three seconds, he would proactively promote the product.
Leo didn't show in his face that he was a penny less pauper. He actively nodded and acted as if he was seriously considering the suggestion. But the moment owner felt like the deal was almost in his grasp, Leo would mercilessly move on to other products.
The owner had a headache dealing with a slippery guy like Leo. Eventually, the owner also felt tired and gave up on his proactive initiative. Leo also let out a relieved sigh.
'Being poor is a serious sin. One day you wait, I would buy everything in this store without even blinking my eyes.'
Leo silently vowed in his heart. Just as he was about to exit the store he noticed that a pillbox was rapped inside another pillbox. Leo suddenly had a realization and laughed hard scaring the store owner. He quickly excused himself and asked the system.
'System can you camouflage my soul using Alice's soul. Even deity level experts should not feel any doubt.' Leo's voice started cracking internally.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
nandu25
nandu25 Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone