[Chapter 169: He Doesn't Like Older Women]
Anne Hathaway pulled her phone out of her bag, glanced at it, and said to Daniel, "It's my agent, Molly. Should I have her come over?"
Daniel shook his head. "That agent of yours doesn't have the best track record. She ditched you and ran off yesterday."
Anne smiled. "It's normal to be scared of ghosts. I don't need her to be perfect -- just effective enough to help me secure roles and fight for resources."
Daniel looked at her thoughtfully. "Fair enough. Let her come over."
"Molly, I'm at..." Anne gave the address of the restaurant. "Come find me here."
...
Just as Daniel and Anne finished their meal and prepared to leave, Molly arrived. She looked surprised to see Anne and Daniel together.
After greeting them, Molly asked, "Anne, how did everything go?"
Anne smiled brightly, showing no sign of dissatisfaction with her agent. "Daniel is very capable. He already sorted everything out for me."
"That's good."
Molly relaxed. "Come on, Anne -- you still have that commercial shoot today."
"Okay, just wait a moment."
Anne suddenly leaned into Daniel's arms and shared a long, lingering kiss with him.
Molly's eyes went wide.
She stared at Anne and then at Daniel, utterly baffled by how these two ended up together.
Only when Anne pulled away and urged her did Molly snap out of it. "Okay, okay, I'm coming."
As they left, Molly couldn't help but steal another glance at Daniel.
Getting into the driver's seat of Anne's sleek Mercedes, she started the car with practiced ease.
Watching Anne through the rearview mirror, she said quietly, "Anne, I shouldn't meddle in your love life, but..."
"He's incredibly powerful -- beyond what most people can imagine," Anne interrupted.
Molly nodded. "I know he's an Exorcist with skills most don't have, but that doesn't pay the bills. You're a star; you should focus on your work and your image."
Anne replied, "He's about 8 inches..."
Molly's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wow, really?"
Anne smiled knowingly. "I found out last night-- it's at least that much, maybe more."
Molly swallowed hard. "That's definitely a plus, but..."
Anne added casually, "He lives in Beverly Hills."
Molly blinked. "Is that his own place?"
Anne hesitated. "He's a billionaire, about to invest in a company we both know. I promised to keep it a secret, so I can't tell you more."
Molly was stunned. "Uh..."
Anne continued, "Since I've been with him, my skin and complexion have improved noticeably. He has extraordinary abilities... his cum can even change..."
Suddenly, Molly slammed on the brakes, the car screeching to a stop on the side of the road.
She looked back at Anne. "Is it too late for me to go find him now?"
Anne met her gaze and said, "He probably doesn't like older women."
Molly sighed and started driving again. "Can he help you with your career?"
Anne nodded. "Don't you know he can change a person's luck?"
Molly frowned. "That's just a legend. Nobody's confirmed if it's true. Has he actually changed your luck?"
Anne shook her head. "He asked me, but I refused for now. Still, he promised that no matter what trouble I face, if I go to him, he can solve it. Any trouble."
Molly said softly, "Anne, I'm a little envious of you."
Anne smiled. "It's not enough yet. Right now, we're just enjoying the benefits. But I need to hold onto a man like him even tighter."
Molly warned, "Then you're going to have to give more in return."
Anne grinned. "There's no such thing as a free lunch -- even kids know that."
---
Daniel drove home alone.
He checked private messages on the web forum.
He had been in contact with Marcus Hale recently.
But the medicinal herbs he needed were becoming increasingly scarce and harder to find, and Daniel was growing frustrated.
He understood why.
Many herbs were primarily used in Alchemy. Though Marcus Hale was from a family of herbalists, the people he dealt with were likely doctors, not Alchemists like him. Those are two very different things.
It was already impressive Marcus could help Daniel find as many herbs as he did. Finding more would be a matter of luck.
Besides Elixirs, Daniel also worked on Artifact Refining.
The primary material he was using was still Lightning-struck wood.
Although excellent, it was gradually becoming insufficient.
As for better materials -- Daniel looked over the names and knew he could mostly forget about them.
Materials used in the Artifact Refining mainly rely on energy, momentum, fortune, and power.
Energy can be Physical energy, Evil energy, Dark energy, and so forth. Any object containing these types of energy can serve as material for Artifact Refining. For example, an executioner's blade that has killed many people. A general's sword or spear that has slayed ten thousand enemies. They contain powerful Evil energy and are natural Magical Artifacts.
Fortune and momentum come into play with items like the Five Emperors Coins, which carry Physical energy from passing through countless hands and the fortune of an entire dynasty.
That's why the copper coin sword Daniel wielded was so strong.
Power refers to materials like Lightning-struck wood, which, through a stroke of luck, absorbed the force of heavenly lightning.
Better materials are those containing stronger versions of these powers.
These things can only be found by chance -- they're extremely rare.
---
Around 6:00 PM, Anne Hathaway returned to Daniel's house.
"Daniel, I bought groceries. Come help me carry them," she called from the garage.
Daniel walked over and saw she had brought a lot of bags.
"You went to a supermarket?"
"Yeah." Anne pulled out two cookbooks like they were treasures. "Look, I even bought cookbooks."
Daniel was surprised and took one for a closer look.
They really were cookbooks teaching how to make Indian, Mexican, and Chinese food.
But as he flipped through, he noticed the recipes taught a modified version of these cuisine, tailored specifically for Americans.
Daniel shook his head. "What are you doing? Don't you know how to cook?"
Anne looked serious. "I'm planning to learn."
Daniel said, "These cuisine are difficult to make and the there are a lot of spice varieties. If you're really serious, start by learning how to make regular food first."
"Regular food?" Anne asked, confused.
"You know -- scrambled eggs, salads, boiling some pasta -- start with the simplest stuff."
"Those are really simple?"
Daniel just smiled. "Yeah."
*****
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