**Chapter 119: Transforming the Laboratory**
After settling in Golden Harbor, Jie Ming began to plan his next steps.
No longer constrained by contribution points, Jie Ming calculated and realized his current objectives were twofold.
The first was to collect certain special materials, extremely rare and unsuitable for gathering in the wizarding world, particularly in a place like Noren Workshop, a pure “wizard’s petri dish.”
The second was to deeply study the divine faith network of the Elosia plane—a resource highly valuable to any wizard, arguably the most precious thing in the entire plane.
To facilitate in-depth research and covert experiments, Jie Ming decided to purchase a suitable residence in Golden Harbor.
Through an agent, he quickly set his sights on a target: a luxurious villa on the city’s outskirts, belonging to a minor noble planning to flee.
“Lord Jack, you have impeccable taste!” the real estate agent, a short, stout man with a mustache, said with a fawning smile, rubbing his hands incessantly.
“This ‘Dawn Manor’ is a rare gem in Golden Harbor! It boasts vast grounds and exquisite gardens. Although Baron Garcia is eager to sell and has lowered the price, its value far exceeds anything comparable on the market!”
Jie Ming calmly glanced at the property blueprint, filled with lavish descriptions and intricate depictions of the villa.Golden Harbor’s northern location, at the crossroads of multiple nations, contributed to its prosperity.
However, under the shadow of planar wars, many nobles in Golden Harbor were hastily selling their properties, seeking refuge in the south or west.
This gave Jie Ming plenty of options for his purchase.
“Enough talk,” Jie Ming said in a low, commanding tone. “I just want the bottom price and how soon the paperwork can be done.”
The agent flinched under Jie Ming’s imposing presence, a flicker of fear crossing his plump face.
But upon hearing Jie Ming’s follow-up, he quickly reverted to his obsequious demeanor. “Yes, my lord! The bottom price is three thousand gold coins. Given the tense situation, if you can pay in full, I can convince the baron to lower it by another two hundred. The paperwork… it can be finalized this afternoon! I guarantee the fastest service without a moment’s delay!”
“Three thousand gold coins, this afternoon, done,” Jie Ming said, pulling out a heavy bag of gold coins and placing it on the table.
The “gold” in the Elosia plane differed slightly in composition from the gold common in the wizarding world, but for a wizard skilled in the Alchemy Technique, it wasn’t a challenge.
Even if his current Alchemy Technique couldn’t directly alter a material’s particle structure, extracting a pile of gold coins from any mine was simple enough.
“Yes, yes, my lord! Rest assured!” The agent’s face lit up, bowing repeatedly as he clutched the heavy bag of coins.
Even though the bag was so heavy it made his hands tremble, he held on tightly, as if afraid Jie Ming might change his mind.
He had never met such a decisive and powerful client.
He even vaguely suspected this “Lord Jack” was no ordinary adventurer but likely a “black glove” planted in Golden Harbor by some mysterious family or faction—how else could someone produce such a massive sum so casually?
Just a few hours later, Jie Ming received the villa’s deed, officially becoming the new owner of Dawn Manor.
Stepping into the spacious living room, he admired the intricately carved walls and furnishings, feeling quite satisfied.
With this stronghold, he could begin his ambitious renovations.
Given enough time, he could fortify the place to withstand even a third-tier creature’s assault, relying on his arrays to eliminate the enemy.
As for the materials needed for the renovation and the equipment for his research…
Jie Ming pulled out several spatial expansion bags, inspected them carefully, and smiled with satisfaction.
These spatial expansion bags were a rare perk for newcomers.
While a spatial ring, a device unaffected by environmental rule differences, required a sixth-tier spatial wizard skilled in the Alchemy Technique to craft, a simple spatial expansion spell was accessible to third-tier wizards.
Wizards had been invading the Elosia plane for some time and had adapted to most of its rule differences, so crafting storage bags wasn’t difficult.
Since he wasn’t short on points, Jie Ming had purchased several of the largest spatial expansion bags before setting out, along with multiple sets of research equipment.
Moreover, after thoroughly studying the local spatial rules, he could use something even more significant than the bags.
“It should be in here…”
Jie Ming rummaged through one of the bags and soon pulled out a small ruby.
“Here it is, a universal spatial expansion core. Oh, right, this villa should have a basement…”
Using the Alchemy Technique to scan the villa, Jie Ming quickly located the basement’s entrance.
Opening the wooden door, he wrinkled his nose at the musty smell wafting from below.
With a wave of his hand, the Alchemy Technique gathered all the mold and dust into a single ball.
Even the basement’s brick walls automatically smoothed out, becoming as glossy as a mirror in an instant.
He removed the rotting wooden door and pulled a large metal block from his spatial bag. Using the Alchemy Technique, he molded it into a several-ton metal door in moments.
After installing the metal door seamlessly at the basement entrance, Jie Ming nodded in approval.
“Protective measures can come later. For now, let’s expand the space.”
He easily opened the metal door and leaped down, eyeing the cramped basement space. Pulling out a full set of equipment and runic arrays from his spatial bag, he began his work.
He installed the equipment in the basement and placed the ruby into the core’s slot.
*Buzz…*
A low hum, almost blending with the basement’s silence, echoed.
Geometric patterns appeared on the core’s surface, and the red crystal suddenly emitted a steady glow, like an awakened heart.
It floated smoothly from the device, drifting to a spot an inch below the basement’s central ceiling.
“Coordinate anchoring, dimensional reference confirmed…” Jie Ming muttered the parameters, connecting and adjusting the core with his mental energy.
As the device activated, the metal runes on the walls and floor seemed to melt, spreading out. Soon, the entire basement interior turned silver-white.
Now was the moment!
With a thought, he initiated the spatial “reshaping.”
The core shuddered—not physically, but as a ripple of space itself, stirred by the core’s power.
An invisible wave, dizzying to any sensitive creature, surged outward from the core in all directions!
It was like a stone tossed into water—but the stone was reality itself.
When the ripple touched the walls, floor, and ceiling, there was no physical collision.
The metal-coated walls seemed to turn into flowing mercury, their rigid physical structure kneaded, stretched, and extended by a higher-dimensional force.
Amid a strange, low hum like countless grains of sand rubbing together, Jie Ming felt his vision distort.
The ground beneath him seemed gripped by an invisible giant hand, steadily and irresistibly expanding outward and downward.
The nearby walls, as if pushed back by an unseen force, shattered and reformed the sense of space.
The smooth metal surfaces stretched in his vision, their textures turning into threads, then blurring and merging into the expanding space.
The oppressive, low ceiling rose like a curtain, pulled upward, higher and higher.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…*
The sound of air flowing became audible—not a howling wind, but the rush of external air filling the vacuum created by the sudden expansion, diluting the stale air.
The musty, damp odor rapidly dissipated as the air circulated.
Jie Ming stood still, feeling the ground shift smoothly beneath him.
The expansion didn’t last long. After a few breaths, the omnipresent spatial ripples stabilized, and the strange grinding noise faded, leaving only the core’s low hum.
Like a miniature sun overhead, it radiated steady light.
The basement had transformed completely.
The once-cramped space was gone, replaced by a vast square hall, roughly the size of a football field.
The walls had receded far into the distance, and the ceiling was now high enough to hang complex instruments without feeling oppressive.
The former sense of confinement vanished, replaced by an exhilarating openness.
“Not bad, not bad. This will be my laboratory!” Jie Ming checked the space’s stability, nodding with a smile.
“Next… time to install the elemental pool.”
…
…
After settling into Dawn Manor in Golden Harbor, Jie Ming focused his efforts on transforming the basement.
However, he didn’t lose sight of his goals. The laboratory wasn’t fully built yet, and research on the divine faith network couldn’t begin, but he could start collecting special materials.
In the following days, when he had free time, Jie Ming stopped lingering at the Adventurer’s Guild for intel. Instead, he immersed himself in the city’s pulse, experiencing its raw, vibrant energy.
He wandered Golden Harbor’s streets, changing his route daily.
Sometimes, he strolled through bustling markets, listening to vendors’ calls and customers’ haggling.
Other times, he sat by the docks, watching sweat-drenched workers unload cargo, feeling the salty tang of the sea breeze.
At night, he mingled in the slums that never slept, listening to the drunken ramblings of vagrants, sensing the raw struggle of life at its lowest.