Exploring Technology in a Wizard World

Eden, Mechanical Processing Sector, inside the laboratory.

Two chairs were placed more than a meter apart, with Richard and the Witch Demon Elder sitting on them respectively.

Richard looked at the Witch Demon Elder and said, "Go ahead."

"Go ahead with what?" the Witch Demon Elder asked. As he spoke, he kept rubbing various swollen, red parts of his body, grinning in pain because Pandora had knocked out half of his teeth during the beating, making his voice sound a bit funny and leaky.

Richard spread his hands, calmly looking at the Witch Demon Elder, "You can start with the basics. I already know that you're the soul in the Witch Demon Life Box, so why don't you tell me your name? The previous owner of your current body was named Ford, so you should have a different name."

"Ford, huh." The Witch Demon Elder curled his lips after hearing it, unsure if it was out of pain or plain disdain. His voice continued to leak as he said, "This... This name is really dumb, every letter reeks of stupidity and vulgarity. My name is far superior, elegant, and noble."

"What is it then?" Richard asked.

"I'll tell you, my name is... Ah!" The Witch Demon Elder stopped mid-sentence, his expression freezing bit by bit, and his eyes fixed.

A few seconds later, the Witch Demon Elder scratched his head, looking troubled, and said, "Ah, it seems I've slept so long that I've forgotten what my old name was."

"Surely you have some faint recollection?" Richard said.

"I do have a vague impression, it's somewhat... somewhat similar to the name you mentioned earlier... Something like..."

"Ford?"

"Ah, I've got it." The Witch Demon Elder excitedly slapped his thigh, wincing in pain as he touched a sore spot, and said, "My previous name seemed to be... Ford Sike Russell Domhazha Buck Rollman Tole..."

The Witch Demon Elder stuttered and stammered for over a minute, reciting a name over a hundred letters long.

Richard listened quietly, his mouth slightly open, suddenly feeling that it was truly normal for the Witch Demon Elder to have momentarily forgotten such a name. The fact that he could remember it was quite impressive.

The Witch Demon Elder glanced at Richard, who had a surprised expression, and smugly said, "Well, kid, did my elegant name scare you?"

"Not really."

"Then why do you look like that?"

"I was just thinking, with a name so... um, elegant, how should I address you appropriately? If I addressed you by your full name every time, then more than half of our conversation time would be wasted."

"Is that so." The Witch Demon Elder thought for a moment, then earnestly said, "Then you can call me Mr. Ah Fu."

"Mr. Ah Fu? Alright." Richard nodded slightly, looking at the Witch Demon Elder, "Mr. Ah Fu, my name is Richard. Now that we know each other, we can properly discuss the matter of your compensation to me."

"Compensation?" The Witch Demon Elder raised his eyebrows, instantly on alert, and looked at Richard wide-eyed, asking, "What do I owe you? On what grounds are you asking me to compensate?"

"Mr. Ah Fu, what do you think you owe me? Isn't it obvious—you used the corpse I brought back without my permission," Richard said.

"This!" The Witch Demon Elder's expression stiffened, he opened his mouth to refute but said nothing because what Richard said was indeed the truth.

In response, Richard did not intend to let it slide, looking seriously at the Witch Demon Elder, "Mr. Ah Fu, I understand your urgent desire to be resurrected, but before this, it seems we hadn't reached any effective agreement. You asked for too much, and I didn't agree to help you be resurrected.

Under these circumstances, did you consider the consequences of using the corpse I brought back at will? For example, did you consider what this corpse means to me? Did you consider what identity this corpse had?"

"This!" The Witch Demon Elder blinked, instinctively shrinking back. He touched his face, then looked at Richard's face, and thought of something, revealing a flustered expression as he tentatively asked, "The corpse I used wouldn't happen to be some relative of yours, would it? Like... your grandfather? Great-grandfather? Great-great-grandfather?"

Richard opened his mouth, giving the Witch Demon Elder a deep look, and said in an exasperated voice, "Not at all, actually, he was a beggar who died suddenly. I encountered him and wanted to figure out the cause of his death, so I brought him back."

"Phew." Hearing this, the Witch Demon Elder let out a long sigh of relief, the pressure greatly reduced, "That's a relief, that's a relief."

"Is it really a relief?" Richard said seriously, "Maybe it's a relief for me, as I don't have a random addition of a relative. However, for you, Mr. Ah Fu, it's not necessarily good. Because regardless of the identity of the corpse, once I brought it here it became my personal property. You used it, which means you've damaged my property, so I have the right to take measures to restore it to its original form."

"You want to kill me?" The Witch Demon Elder instantly became unsettled, shifting his seat.

"No." Richard earnestly corrected, "I don't want to kill you; I just want to kill the corpse that originally belonged to me but was unexpectedly resurrected due to external forces."

"You!" This time, the Witch Demon Elder jumped straight off his seat, cautiously distancing himself from Richard for fear that Richard would actually attack him. Given his current state, he really wasn't confident in withstanding an attack.

However, Richard remained steadily seated, not moving, quietly observing the Witch Demon Elder with a meaningful expression.

Five seconds passed.

The Witch Demon Elder understood something, and his expression changed from wary to hesitant, then to thoughtful, and finally to solemn, as he sat back down bit by bit.

Glancing up at Richard, the Witch Demon Elder spoke, "You're not really intending to kill me, are you? You're a smart guy who knows that killing me brings no benefit, as a corpse won't bring you much value. On the contrary, letting me live will allow you to gain what you want. Your words and actions were just to force me to cooperate with you."

Richard spoke, "Mr. Ah Fu, I think saying 'force' is inappropriate. Actually, from the beginning, I wanted to have a fair trade with you, but back then, the initiative was in your hands. You disagreed, and I had no choice.

Now that you're resurrected, and you've used the corpse I owned to do so, as well as tried to destroy my personal space afterward, the initiative has shifted to my side. Naturally, I won't be polite and will strive to facilitate a deal."