Chapter 402 - 269: King Arthur’s Intelligence
(PS: While organizing my notes yesterday, I realized I forgot to tie up a loose plot thread. I’ve edited Chapter 253 to add some content. Basically, Lin Qi took the Tier One Extraordinary Item—formed from the kidney he cut out of the Aishwarya Clan’s Wizard—to the Doomsday World for temporary safekeeping.)
Lin Qi took out the over-spec A-Class Potion and placed it on the table.
’I’ve managed to create this over-spec A-Class Potion, but its effects are hard to determine.’
As a "quasi" S-Class Pharmaceutical Researcher, Lin Qi actually found it difficult to determine the effects of an A-Class Potion.
Based on the formula’s ingredients, the general effect of this A-Class Potion was still physical enhancement—the most common type of potion.
But the problem was that the concentration of Spiritual Particles attached to the potion was severely excessive.
It was nearly ten times the normal amount for an A-Class Potion made in the Cyber World.
’A normal A-Class Potion is mostly used by Extraordinary Professions like Tier Three Martial Artists and Knights. But with the Spiritual Particle concentration in this one, a Tier Three Extraordinary Professional might not be able to handle it.’
The impact of Spiritual Particle concentration on a potion’s effects was undeniable.
But that didn’t mean the higher the concentration, the better.
Take Wang Qiang from the Doomsday World, for example. He suffered terribly because the liquid Extraordinary Item circulating in his body had absorbed too many Spiritual Particles, causing continuous damage.
The Spiritual Particle attachment effect of a potion was even stronger than that of regular Extraordinary Items.
A Tier Three Extraordinary using this thing might even get injured.
Physical injury wasn’t the scary part. The fear was that this thing could affect their Sea of Consciousness, or worse, excessively erode their nervous system, causing those Extraordinaries—who were already loaded with Prosthetic Bodies—to fall into cyber psychosis.
Lin Qi felt a headache coming on. Developing a potion without corporate collaboration was indeed inconvenient; it was difficult to conduct clinical trials.
No wonder so many corporations opened branches in Alliance City.
In a place like Alliance City, there were far too many "volunteers" like Jingang who were willing to participate in corporate experiments.
After a moment of thought, Lin Qi made a decision.
’Since experimenting is inconvenient, I’ll just give it to King Arthur, or even the Capitalist!’
The Capitalist, needless to say, could mobilize more resources than even the average major corporation.
As for King Arthur?
’She’s already used an S-Class Potion, so what’s there to fear from an A-Class?’
’Even if the A-Class Potion’s concentration is excessive, its side effects can’t possibly be worse than an S-Class Potion’s.’
Having figured this out, Lin Qi took out the bracelet he used to contact King Arthur and began composing a message.
[The new A-Class Potion I mentioned before is finished. Its effects are geared toward physical enhancement, but according to data from the development process, an ordinary Tier Three Extraordinary would have difficulty withstanding its potency. It needs a Tier Four Extraordinary to test it. I have one sample on hand. Are you willing to give it a try?]
Lin Qi wasn’t trying to trick King Arthur; he explained the potion’s situation completely.
He left the choice up to King Arthur herself.
Although it was almost five in the morning, King Arthur—who was being squeezed dry by Guang Ling for God knows what—actually replied to Lin Qi’s message instantly.
[You finished it that quickly? I can test it for you! If a Tier Three Extraordinary can’t handle it, that means it will have an effect even on a Tier Four Extraordinary. This could be a groundbreaking technology, one that might break the dependency that professions like Tier Four Knights and Martial Artists have on S-Class Potions!]
King Arthur’s choice was about what Lin Qi had expected; she was more than willing to be the test subject for the over-spec A-Class Potion.
Beyond that, Lin Qi gleaned another piece of information from King Arthur’s message.
’Tier Four Knights and Martial Artists are dependent on S-Class Potions?’
That was something Lin Qi hadn’t expected. He had always thought that, with the exception of the unique Extraordinary Profession of Wizard, all other Extraordinary Professions could advance freely, or at least didn’t have bottlenecks related to needing specific Extraordinary Items.
It now seemed reality deviated somewhat from his expectations.
Lin Qi continued sending messages.
[I can provide the potion sample to you for free, but you’ll have to cover the shipping costs. Aside from that, I hope you can give me some data-based feedback after you use it.]
This potion would be worth a considerable amount in the Cyber World, but Lin Qi wasn’t in a hurry to charge for it.
After all, its effects weren’t yet clear, making it difficult to set a price.
Pricing it too high or too low would affect future sales of the potion.
’Although for Lin Qi, the cost of this thing was practically zero.’
’Just wild resources from the Doomsday World, and the labor costs fell on the shoulders of beasts of burden who didn’t get paid anyway.’
’The only real cost was for his own handiwork.’
[Okay. I’ll contact Guang Ling to help with it later.]
King Arthur and Lin Qi had long ago reached a tacit understanding regarding their transactions.
They never traded privately.
All transactions went through Guang Ling as the middleman. With Guang Ling as a witness, it reduced a lot of potential trouble.
After they finished discussing the transaction, Lin Qi also asked about King Arthur’s recent situation.
[How have you been lately? You’re not resting at this hour, are you still on a mission?]
It seemed like he was concerned about King Arthur, but what Lin Qi actually cared about was the Mercenary Corps’s mission.
’What was the situation with the master sample?’
Since the temporary chat channel was gone and the Mercenary Corps hadn’t held any recent meetings, Lin Qi knew very little about the mission’s progress.
Perhaps because Lin Qi had mentioned the mission, King Arthur’s resentment seemed to run deep, as the first sentence of her reply was a complaint.
[Guang Ling really screwed me over this time.]