Chapter 3141 Two Plans

"...That's the way it is." Portia tapped her eyebrows with a folding fan and showed a helpless expression: "You also know that Granny Nail has left the Southern Region. It is impossible to find her to help refine the hat."

“According to what Sister Dong Liz said, I can only look for you now.”

　　At this point, Portia chuckled: "Originally, I was thinking about how to contact you, but what I didn't expect was that just when I was distressed, Regina came to me."

 “You should know what happened next.”

Portia wanted to find Angel, and Angel happened to be looking for her, so today's meeting happened.

 “In that case, it’s quite a coincidence.” Angel raised his eyebrows.

　　Portia Smiler’s swinging folding fan: “Since it’s such a coincidence, do you want to accept my request?”

Angor was silent for a moment and said, "Is this a condition of exchange?"

 On the condition of liberating Qili, exchange him for refining hats?

  Portia: "If you want it to be a quid pro quo, that's fine. Just so, if you want to solve Qili's matter, I have two options here, and one of them can indeed be used as a quid pro quo."

Angor was stunned for a moment: "What do you mean?"

According to Portia, one of the solutions can be obtained without any exchange conditions?

If this is the case, wouldn’t it be enough to just choose this option?

Portia seemed to see Angel’s doubts and explained: “After listening to my two options, you will understand...”

 Next, Portia began to describe in detail her solution to Qili's matter.

 The first option does not require any exchange conditions. Portia directly ordered the director of the Fragrance Department of Ashley College to cancel Qili's mission and revoke the ban and punishment on Qili.

This plan is actually the solution that Angel had thought of at the beginning to deal with Qili.

At that time Angel was thinking that Portia might use this plan to exchange conditions with him.

But now it seems that Portia does not intend to use this to "blackmail" Angel?

 After hearing this plan, Angel had some doubts in his mind. Did he think too badly of Portia? Or does Portia have a deeper meaning in doing this?

 Portia did not explain much about the first plan, but directly stated the second plan, which could be used as a "quid pro quo".

"The second option is that I won't come forward to solve the matter, but I can privately teach Qili a special extraction method. The extraction speed of this extraction method is similar to that of the general extraction method, but the extraction speed of each extraction is Measurement, but much more than previous extraction methods.”

“In other words, if Qili learns this extraction method, she can clean up the No. 1 raw material warehouse faster.”

“And this special extraction method was created by me and has never been spread to outsiders. How about I use this unique extraction method in exchange for you to help Dong Liz refine a hat?”

 After hearing Portia’s second plan, Angel’s expression was a little subtle.

 In Portia’s solution, there is actually an option of “accelerated extraction”.

As expected, the alchemist masters actually had the same idea, and Portia actually had the same idea as Midora.

However, this plan sounds different from when he went to Stirling to borrow equipment?

It costs money anyway, so there seems to be no difference?

Thinking about it this way, it seems that the first option is better?

But why did Portia choose the first plan and help unconditionally, but would make an exchange for the second plan?

This bias is because Portia feels that the second option pays more for her?

 Indeed, given a special extraction method, the cost must be high. But for the first option, she obviously didn't need to pay anything, she just needed to give an order.

 …Wrong.

Angor thought about it carefully. If Portia used the first option, she would actually have to pay. What she paid was her face, or in other words, her credibility.

 She used her own credibility as a guarantee to bail Qili out. People in the fragrance circle are willing to agree because they care about Portia.

 This kind of intangible contribution may be more than the tangible contribution.

 After all, it is difficult to accumulate credibility, but it is easy to collapse it.

Moreover, what Qi Li destroyed was the "spiritual belief" of the fragrance wizards. Even if Portia could use her credibility to save her, this method would also make some fragrance wizards feel resentful.

 Many times, the decisive factor that affects the collapse of a building may not be the cracked earth or a violent disaster, but an inconspicuous breeze.

 The resentment in the hearts of some fragrance wizards is this seamless thread. It won't be much at first, but as it accumulates, once something happens to Portia, they will all come together and become the straw that breaks the camel's back.

 Hence, using credibility as a guarantee may actually cost more than tangible expenses. But why didn't Portia use this plan to exchange conditions with Angel?

 —Because, without exchanging, she might gain more.

 Intangible contribution, how much this contribution is, is unknown.

The price she will recover is naturally unknown.

 There is only one "unknown" that Angel can think of, and that is... human feelings.

 The first plan does not seem to require any exchange conditions, but the invisible price Portia paid is enough to exchange Angel's favor.

 Favor debts are the most difficult to repay.

Now, Portia has not asked Angel to exchange the special magic pattern for life alchemy; but what if she uses favors in the future?

Thinking about it this way, the first plan seems ordinary, but it is actually a big pitfall.

The second option is to clearly mark the price, and everyone does their own thing and owes nothing to each other... Maybe the second option is more appropriate?

Angor's choice at this time has begun to change. From the beginning, he was leaning towards the first option, and now he is seriously thinking about the second option.

 The second option seems to be slower, but learning the special extraction method will benefit you throughout your life. Moreover, it is actually possible to solve the problem of "too slow" of the second solution.

 That is, both a special extraction method and a Stirling machine are needed. These two methods happen to be non-conflicting and can be performed simultaneously.

Once both sides start working at the same time, Qili may even be able to completely clean out the No. 1 raw material warehouse in less than half a month, or even less than a week.

This speed is definitely not slow.

However, if you want to achieve this speed, Angel will have to pay a lot.

While Angel was weighing his thoughts, Portia suddenly said: "You seem a little confused?"

Angor did not deny it and nodded: "I am indeed a little confused."

Portia did not ask what Angel's "confusion" was, but asked: "Do you think it is better for me to eliminate Qili's punishment with just one sentence, or for Qili to gain a different view in the fragrance circle by completing her original goal?" Would you like to be treated better?"

 Ingres: "...the latter."

 Portia smiled and said nothing.

 But Angel understood what Portia meant.

  She was reminding Angel of something: Qili wanted to eliminate not only punishment, but also the prejudice against her by the entire fragrance industry.

 Portia can relieve Qili's punishment in one word, but this only eliminates the punishment, but does not eliminate the prejudice. It even aggravates this prejudice.

And if Qili relies on "her own efforts" to clear the No. 1 raw material library - at least in the eyes of others, it is her own efforts - this is the way to truly eliminate punishment and remove prejudice at the same time.

This is why Portia used this plan to exchange conditions with Angel.

 It’s not just because of this method that Portia needs to pay for a special extraction method; also, this method is the real solution to Qili’s dilemma.

At this point, Angel’s choice is actually very clear.

 The second option is definitely more appropriate.

 Furthermore, in addition to the reasons mentioned before, he actually also took into account Qi Li's own thoughts.

 At the beginning, the reason why Qili decided to clean up the No. 1 raw material warehouse was because she felt that she had implicated the allies of Lilith House. Also, the reason why Qili doesn't want Kanter to help is because she has a mental problem.

 To solve this matter, punishment alone is definitely not enough. Qili’s psychological factors must also be taken into consideration.

Qi Li may not care about the prejudice of the fragrance industry, but she cares about the attitude of the families affiliated with Lilith House, and these affiliated families care about the prejudice of the fragrance industry. Going around and around, prejudice can definitely be regarded as one of the factors affecting Qili's psychology.

The only way to solve prejudice is the second option.

Anger: "If I had to choose, I would choose the exchange special extraction method."

Angor did not directly give a conclusion, but added "if" in front of the words because he actually had more than one option at this time.

 He can also use Stirling machinery to solve Qili's problem.

Of course, a two-pronged approach is definitely better, but the second option involves an unpredictable variable - Winter Liz.

Angor must understand the complete picture of Dong Lizi's refining before he can decide whether to take over the refining.

Especially, Dong Liz kept saying that the hat refining was her sister's request, which made the hat refining drama even more confusing.

 Even though Angel was leaning towards the second option, it would be difficult for him to make further decisions before he knew the full picture of Dong Liz’s alchemy.

Angor expressed his thoughts: "...If you really want to refine a hat, at least let me know what is going on with her sister?"

 “Ms. Portia, do you know anything about Winter Liz and her sister?”

 Portia pondered for a long time before speaking: "I don't know more about Dong Liz than you do. However, her sister is indeed a problem."

“Dong Lizi has said many times that her sister is behind her. But I can’t see her sister.”

“Based on the results of the power word spell, Dong Liz did not lie. However, at that time, I still didn’t believe that she was accompanied by a sister.”

"Because Power Word can only detect normal people. If a mentally ill person with hallucinations imagines a sister by her side, and she is convinced that her sister is real, then Power Word cannot detect the truth."

 In other words, when Portia and Winter Liz met for the first time, she treated Winter Liz as a mental patient.

　It wasn’t until later, after Portia contacted the Witch of Shalu, that she changed her mind a little.

“Although Witch Xia Lu appears to be very crazy, this is because her brain circuit is different from other people’s. As long as you understand her brain circuit, you can understand her thoughts.”

“I have known Witch Xia Lu for many years, and we have been doing close business recently, so I can probably understand some of her behavioral patterns.”

Portia: "From some of the details shown by Witch Xialu, I can be sure of one thing. She is very supportive of Winter Liz's decision to refine the hat."

“This kind of support is not like supporting Dong Lizi herself, but supporting an unknown existence.”

 Angel: “…Dong Liz’s sister?”

　　Portia nodded: "Yes, that's my guess. Witch Xialu gave strong support to Sister Dong Liz's decision."

“It is precisely because of this that I began to doubt my previous judgment.”

“Perhaps Dong Lizi really has a sister, but we can’t see it.”

　　Portia sighed softly and glanced at Angel: "I know, this conclusion is a bit absurd. But then I asked Witch Xialu about it, and the answer she gave was yes."

“Witch Xia Lu also admitted that Dong Liz’s sister exists.”

 “I don’t believe in Winter Lizzie, but I believe in Shalu Witch.”

 Although Portia has not found any clues about Sister Dong Lizi so far, she is already inclined to believe that such a person does exist.

Angor thought for a while and asked, "Can others see Dong Liz's sister?"

"As far as I know, no one can see it, even..." When Portia said this, she hesitated for a moment, as if she didn't know whether to continue speaking. In the end, she said what she had not finished: "Even I think, Witch Xialu can’t see Dong Liz’s sister either.”

“Witch Xialu can’t see Sister Dong Lizi?” Angel said in surprise.

Portia nodded: "Yes, I have observed Witch Xia Lu. When she faced Dong Liz, her eyes wandered every time, and in the end her eyes did not freeze in one place, as if she was looking for Nothing, but nothing was found.”

"So I think Witch Xialu may have used other methods to confirm the existence of Dong Lizi's sister, but she, like others, cannot see Dong Lizi's sister."

Angor: "If that's the case, why is Witch Xialu so supportive of Sister Dong Liz's decision?"

Portia took out the folding fan and waved it: "I don't know about this. Maybe there is something special about Winter Liz's sister that we don't know about? And her specialness happened to be discovered by Witch Xia Lu."

“How about you and Sister Dong Liz talk in person?”

 (End of this chapter)