Chapter 409 - 272: King Arthur Helps (2)
"With enough of these potions, I might even be able to get an X-Class Prosthetic Body implanted before my Extraordinary Power reaches the Tier Four Limit."
King Arthur gave the Potion high praise. Based on this feedback, Lin Qi was able to estimate the Potion’s approximate value.
The value of an S-Class Potion was generally over sixty million, and the vast majority of transactions were heavily overpriced.
These things were far too important to a Tier Four Extraordinary.
For a Tier Three Extraordinary wanting to break through to Tier Four, taking an S-Class Potion was even a shortcut.
As a "Quasi-S-Class Pharmaceutical Researcher," Lin Qi knew that such a price wasn’t really an exaggeration.
The production cost of an S-Class Potion was very high, with the material cost for a single dose hovering around one million Credit Points.
Beyond that, the excessively high failure rate was a major factor contributing to the steep price of S-Class Potions.
An S-Class Pharmaceutical Researcher needed to constantly try their luck to catch the so-called "inspiration" needed to successfully create an S-Class Potion.
Failing dozens of attempts during this process was perfectly normal.
These dozens of failed potions could only be sold as A-Class Potions, at a significant discount.
When factoring in the labor costs of an S-Class Pharmaceutical Researcher, a price of sixty million was actually quite fair.
The pricing for the above-spec A-Class Potion could be extrapolated from this standard.
If priced in the five to ten million Credit Point range, there would likely be many people willing to pay.
It was the only viable alternative to an S-Class Potion.
Even if it couldn’t enhance the "will" aspect of one’s Extraordinary Power, the boost to Physical Strength was tangible and real.
’To maintain a stable price long-term, I’ll need to control the supply. The output can’t be much higher than that of S-Class Potions. After all, the consumer base is limited. Only Tier Four Extraordinaries or extremely high-level Pure Prosthetic Implantation users would buy this. Producing too much wouldn’t be a good thing.’
Lin Qi’s plan for the above-spec A-Class Potion grew increasingly clear.
At the same time, Lin Qi hadn’t forgotten his main objective. He was contacting King Arthur this time about the Crimson Crystal Stone.
Lin Qi suspected that Brother Green Hair was not an isolated case, and Red Fruit City was not the only place where this situation was occurring.
Wherever Ninghang Technology had a presence, similar situations might be unfolding.
"Since the potion is useful to you, I can sell you a few more at the lowest price. No need to pay me in Credit Points; you can use a T2-class Spacecraft as payment."
"Besides that, I’m contacting you today because there’s something important I need your help with."
Discussing payment first before asking for help with an investigation was standard practice among members of the Highest-Level Mercenary Corps.
Unless absolutely necessary, they never relied on personal favors alone.
Paving the way with benefits prevented any damage to their relationships.
...
Far away in some underground pipe, King Arthur was surprised when she saw the message.
A few?
The phrase "a few" usually implied no less than three.
At the lowest price, a single potion could mean a price difference of several million.
On top of that, paying with a T2-class Spacecraft would create another price differential.
’Wizard is such a good person!’
’But this favor probably won’t be easy to fulfill.’
"I can help. Tell me, what’s the situation?"
The temptation of the above-spec A-Class Potion was still great enough for King Arthur.
King Arthur desperately needed to enhance her combat capabilities. After all, besides the Mercenary Corps’ operations, she had her own agenda.
King Arthur would never forget that her homeland was in the European Administrative Region, not Asia.
The reason she had ended up as a Mercenary in the Asian Administrative Region was purely out of necessity.
...
Lin Qi liked dealing with King Arthur. There was no beating around the bush; she was always straightforward, which was far more comfortable than dealing with certain Mercenary Corps members who seemed to have a thousand schemes up their sleeves.
Lin Qi briefly explained the situation.
"I’ve encountered someone who I suspect is a host of a Ninghang Technology parent sample. Furthermore, a special type of cyber psychosis has appeared in my city. The infected develop an appetite for their own kind. After some research and examination, I believe it might be related to people from Ninghang Technology, but I can’t confirm it yet."
"I need you to help me investigate whether similar cases have appeared in the Cyber City where you are. If they have, please investigate further to see if the patients themselves have had any contact with the parent sample host."
"From what I understand, this could involve a global crisis, and it might be a cataclysmic disaster for Wizard Professionals. I can’t disclose the specific details, but I need intelligence support to analyze more useful information."
Lin Qi’s knowledge about the connection between the Crimson Crystal Stone, the Blood Moon, and the Wizard Profession all came from the Doomsday World, so it wasn’t convenient to tell King Arthur too much.
But Lin Qi didn’t hide everything, clueing King Arthur in on some key points.
Lin Qi carefully chose every word he sent, ensuring his message was logically self-contained.
He also factored in the possibility that Guang Ling was monitoring him, and even crafted a plausible motive.
King Arthur was even more astonished after receiving the message.
’What intelligence has Wizard gotten his hands on?’
’Does Ninghang Technology really have that much power?’
King Arthur frowned and began to ponder.
"Wizard’s background is not simple. He most likely knows a lot of intel that I don’t."
"And behind Ninghang Technology is the European Big Business Alliance. The Round Table Conference has been doing the Big Business Alliance’s dirty work for years, so they’re clearly plotting something."
"Then there’s the Round Table Conference’s Witch Hunt..."
"Wait! Wizard has been constantly asking for T2-class Spacecraft recently, but there clearly haven’t been any corporate-war-level disturbances within the Asian Administrative Region. Theoretically, a T2-class Spacecraft should be useless here."
"Unless Wizard isn’t in Asia, but that’s obviously impossible. I just paid the shipping fee for the new A-Class Potion, and that price was definitely for transport within Asia."
"The spacecraft, the Round Table Conference, Ninghang Technology, and the Round Table Conference’s operation against my father’s company back then..."
King Arthur untangled a few threads, faintly sensing that this matter could be connected to what her family had suffered back then.
Suddenly, King Arthur slapped her thigh, and ripples spread across her snow-white bionic skin.
King Arthur muttered to herself, "What am I even thinking about! Since this involves the Round Table Conference, I’ll investigate!"
"I’ll dig deep! I don’t care if I find anything about what happened back then. As long as the Round Table Conference is unhappy, I’m happy!"
King Arthur composed a message on her wristband and sent it to Lin Qi.
"Understood. I’ll start the investigation now."
After sending the message, King Arthur put away her wristband. She identified her direction in the underground pipes and set off.
...
At the No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic, Lin Qi sat in his workshop. After seeing King Arthur’s message, he put his own wristband away.
The investigation would take time. It would be at least a few hours before he got any feedback.
If he wanted to gather intelligence more quickly, Guang Ling was actually the better choice.
Lin Qi opened his personal email via the Intelligent Brain, preparing to compose a message.
But suddenly, Lin Qi hesitated.
’With Guang Ling’s capabilities, it’s impossible that they wouldn’t have discovered these incidents.’
’Even without my prompting, Guang Ling would have definitely noticed the anomaly.’
’Since it concerns a Mercenary Corps operation, Guang Ling has no reason to hide it.’
’And yet, Guang Ling hasn’t made any plans regarding it.’
’This means the Ninghang Technology affair has wider implications. This mission wasn’t just randomly chosen by Guang Ling. The mission might even be something Guang Ling fabricated.’
’Guang Ling has been leading the Mercenary Corps for so long, they must have their own agenda. Guang Ling has been acting a little too abnormally during this operation.’
Lin Qi thought quietly, not rushing to compose the email.
But very soon, Lin Qi took action.
Composing email:
"Guang Ling, I’ve run into something that I believe is related to Ninghang Technology. I need your help investigating some intelligence..."
The people at Ninghang Technology might not know that Brother Green Hair came to the No. 1 Prosthetic Clinic, but Guang Ling definitely knew.
Even if Lin Qi had doubts about Guang Ling’s motives for this operation, he couldn’t afford to show it.
He had to act as if everything was normal, asking Guang Ling for help when something came up.
To get useful information, he needed to analyze more intelligence. If he didn’t contact Guang Ling, it would be difficult for Lin Qi to get more intelligence related to Guang Ling.