Chapter 584 - 383: Left Foot Stepping on Right Foot, Spiraling into the Sky

Chapter 584: Chapter 383: Left Foot Stepping on Right Foot, Spiraling into the Sky

Still uneasy, Anya turned on her phone’s front camera and checked her reflection multiple times. Finally, she let out a long sigh of relief, tipped forward, and flopped onto Li Wei.

She rolled over him twice before sprawling out on the bed.

"Scared me to death..." She handed the phone to Li Wei. "Look at this."

Li Wei took the phone. It was an Instagram post featuring a photo of a medical aesthetics clinic in New York, accompanied by several screenshots of lab test reports. The gist of it was that a high-end medical aesthetics clinic in the Upper East Side of New York—one with an excellent reputation among socialites and wealthy wives—had been exposed for using counterfeit hyaluronic acid and Botox.

The clinic charged double the standard rate, but the actual injectables were smuggled goods acquired through gray channels. The scandal had only broken after a socialite got work done on her face and discovered severe complications.

"I’ve been to this place before," Anya said, touching her face. "When they first opened, I went in for a hydrating treatment and acne removal. I actually thought the results were pretty good at the time."

"Well, aren’t you fine now?" Li Wei handed the phone back. "I think your skin is already perfect. You don’t need any of those maintenance treatments."

"I’m fine now, but what if there are side effects later?" Anya huffed angrily. "Besides, I went back to Moscow for too long last time. It interrupted a treatment course for two weeks, and when I came back to redo it, it hurt so much! After the injections, my face stayed swollen for two whole days."

"No wonder you refused to video call me those few days," Li Wei realized with a dawn of comprehension.

Anya rolled her eyes at him and kept chattering away. She jumped from the weather in Moscow to the hygiene standards of New York aesthetic clinics, and then to a girl in her friend group who went to Switzerland for an anti-aging package that cost over a hundred thousand USD per session, four times a year.

Li Wei had no idea why Anya had such intense appearance anxiety. She was at an age so young and radiant that one could practically wring water from her skin, yet she had already put anti-aging treatments on her agenda.

Still, if she wanted to talk about it, let her. As Li Wei half-listened to Anya’s rambling, he absentmindedly took out the [Chattering Court Jester’s Skull] from his inventory.

Chatting with the [Jester’s Skull] was better than listening to a woman’s mindless nagging.

Besides, Anya couldn’t see it anyway.

As soon as the [Jester’s Skull] floated out, its Ruby eye sockets flashed.

[The Northern Monarch’s daughter is worrying about her flesh sack again... Humans can hardly resist the aging process of time.]

[Unlike me. I have already become an immortal skeleton. Heh heh heh...]

"Shut up," Li Wei thought to himself. "Tell me a story."

He hadn’t managed to pry any quests out of the [Jester’s Skull] lately, which left him feeling a bit dissatisfied.

Even the [Deceiver’s Mask] could at least provide a few skills. As a Gold-tier item, why did it have absolutely no prestige?

The [Jester’s Skull]’s Ruby eyes flashed again, and a dialogue box popped up.

[Speaking of which, if it weren’t for the fact that Magic is nearly extinct in this world and the Elf Race has fled to other worlds, acquiring a bottle of Elf Water wouldn’t be a problem for the daughter of the Northern Monarch.]

"Elf Water?"

Li Wei’s attention instantly sharpened.

"What is Elf Water?" he eagerly asked in his mind.

The [Jester’s Skull]’s Ruby eye sockets flickered twice.

[Elf Water... Elf Water is a secret elixir that the High Elves pray for from the Life Ancient Tree. It is created by infusing the rainwater that falls upon the Life Ancient Tree with the blessings of elven Magic.]

[During the Golden Era, an Elf Envoy emerging from the deep forests would occasionally present Elf Water as a gift to human Kings.]

[Upon consumption, one’s Spirit and Constitution will be permanently enhanced, granting at least ten percent of the abilities of a Golden Knight.]

[However, for those who haven’t embarked on the path of cultivation, the only effects of Elf Water are maintaining youth and enhancing physical beauty.]

[But that effect is more than enough. During the Golden Era, it was the most highly sought-after luxury item in the upper-class society of the Great Empire.]

"Ten percent..." Li Wei thought. "So that means Spirit and Constitution each get plus one point?"

A quest prompt instantly popped up before Li Wei’s eyes:

[The Chattering Jester’s Skull has discovered a new Magic Potion clue.]

[Quest Chain: Elf Water]

[Task 1: Search for the whereabouts of the High Elves]

[Task Description: The High Elves have disappeared from the world. First, you need to find a High Elf.]

[Task Reward: +0.2 free attribute points]

[Ultimate Reward for Quest Chain: Elf Water x1, crafting method for a weakened version of Elf Water]

Li Wei asked in his mind, "Where are the High Elves?"

The [Jester’s Skull]’s jawbone clicked open and shut a few times.

[High Elves... much like the Golden Giant Dragon, have not appeared in this world for a very long time.]

[Perhaps they have already left this world where Magic is gradually fading away, and where the undead, giant dragons, and Mages are slowly going extinct, heh heh heh...]

[Strange. Since Magic has died out, why am I able to wake up?]

[Could it be that I am a special bone...]

"...Don’t you think she’s out of line?" Anya’s mouth was still running non-stop. "I was nice enough to forgive her, but she just assumes I’m too good-natured and didn’t even bother to keep me company..."

"Yeah, yeah," Li Wei said absentmindedly. "Way out of line."

He stared at the ceiling and pondered.

Last time with the ancient Magic Potion, he had obtained clues through Don Quixote’s sleepwalking, found the Alchemist’s formula, and synthesized it in the lab.

So what about the High Elves?

Li Wei’s train of thought shifted.

Wait a minute.

According to the system, wasn’t he inside a space-time fragment right now?

Elves no longer existed in the real world, but the "world" defined by the system wasn’t just reality. Previous quests had already proven that the system treated an entire movie as a space-time fragment.

In *The Last Flying Dragon*, wasn’t his teammate, played by Ryan Reed, an Elf Mage?

"Aren’t I in a space-time fragment right now?" Li Wei eagerly asked in his mind. "Isn’t my teammate an elf?"

The [Jester’s Skull] paused, seemingly baffled by Li Wei’s bug-exploiting logic.

[He is indeed a High Elf... but that doesn’t mean the one you meet in the space-time fragment can give you Elf Water.]

[Elf Water is exceedingly rare, even among High Elves.]

Li Wei didn’t reply. Smiling, he stowed the [Jester’s Skull] back into his inventory.

He thought, "You’re right. The elf in the space-time fragment might not have it. But the thing is, this movie hasn’t finished shooting yet, and I’m its biggest investor. If I suddenly want to film some extra footage, is there a problem with that?"

Absolutely not.

This was a classic case of stepping on his left foot with his right foot to spiral straight up into the heavens.

"Right?" Anya turned to look at Li Wei. "You think it’s ridiculous too, don’t you?"

"Exactly," Li Wei said. "Truly way out of line."

Anya excitedly hugged him and planted a loud SMACK of a kiss on his cheek. "I knew you were on my side."

Late May.

Warner Bros. Burbank Studio, Soundstage 9.

The art department had spent an entire week building a destroyed Dwarves’ camp inside the soundstage. The collapsed stone walls bore scorch marks from Dragon Breath. A Dwarves’ forge lay toppled in a pile of rubble, while leather boots, shattered ale barrels, and assorted tableware were scattered across the ground.

Director Del Toro’s demands for the set were exceptionally high. Every single detail required his personal approval. He had argued with the production designer for over half an hour just about the orientation of the forge’s flue.

"Scene G-1, Take 1! Action!"

Li Wei put on the [Deceiver’s Mask (Silver)] and stepped into the camera’s view.

[Lovi and his three companions arrived at a destroyed camp, the most recent location they had found devastated by a giant dragon.]

[Thief Tucker crouched down, dug out a hammer head from the rubble, and weighed it in his hand.]

[Tucker: "Dwarves’ craftsmanship. Great quality. Could fetch a good price."]

[Knight Commander (kicking Tucker in the ass): "Show some respect. Hold off on stealing for a minute."]

[The Elf Mage walked up to a forge and traced a rune. "The blessing of the Dwarf God has not yet faded. There should still be quite a few survivors here."]

[Lovi (played by Li Wei) approached a ruined building.]

[Elf Mage: "Weapons forged by the Dwarf God can pierce a giant dragon’s scales. We will need such weapons."]

"Cut!" Director Del Toro took a sip of coffee. "Ryan Reed, your last line was a bit too dry! Let’s do another take!"

"Sorry, Director!" Ryan Reed scratched his head, but inside he was absolutely thrilled.

At least Director Del Toro finally knew his name.

An update popped up on Li Wei’s interface:

[Quest: Dragon’s Heart (6) Completed]

[You have discovered the cause of the giant dragon’s injury—weapons blessed by the Dwarf God can harm a giant dragon.]

[You have obtained: 0.1 free attribute points]

[Quest: Dragon’s Heart (7) Initiated]

[Task Objective: Acquire Dwarves’ weapons]

[Task Reward: +0.2 free attribute points]

After shooting it two more times, the scene was finally done. They took a half-hour break, followed immediately by the next scene.

The art department had built an interior set of a Dwarves’ refuge in Zone C. Surviving Dwarves had made camp inside a cave. Hammers, tongs, and various forging tools hung all over the cave walls, while barrels of ale were stacked in the corners.

According to Director Del Toro’s concept notes, the Dwarves had two main passions: forging iron and drinking alcohol. Once they were drunk, they would host a bizarre drinking game: they would smash their bellies into one another until one party threw up, declaring a winner.

When Li Wei read the script’s setting, his immediate response was:

"Makes me kind of crave a meat-egg-and-scallion chicken bowl."

"Why?" Don Quixote asked. "What made you suddenly think of that?"

"Nothing." Li Wei put down the script and equipped his mask. "Let’s shoot the scene first."

The extras playing the Dwarves were already in position. The makeup team had attached thick fake beards and eyebrows to them, and they were dressed in Dwarves’ armor adorned with leather and brass buckles.

"We have a surprise guest cameo today," Director Del Toro announced. "I didn’t tell you in advance because I wanted you to capture the genuine feeling of seeing him for the first time."

Without waiting for Li Wei or the others to react, he grabbed his megaphone and shouted:

"Scene F-10, Take 1! Action!"