Lord: Starting with Biological Modification

"Master, please give me another bottle!"

"I’ll do anything!"

"It feels like ants are crawling all over me!"

"One sip! Just one sip is all I need!"

Mia hugged Velin’s leg, her whole body hanging off him, smearing snot and tears all over his pant leg.

Velin had a look of resignation on his face.

He’d only wanted her to have a taste to test the effects of the replicated formula.

Who knew she’d down the whole bottle in one go and end up like this?

’It was just a bottle of homemade soda. Was all this drama really necessary?’

He himself hadn’t had a proper one in almost a year. If it weren’t for brainstorming some unconventional tactics to deal with Fabian, he would have almost forgotten the stuff existed.

Seeing Mia, a mess of snot and tears, he knew the conversation couldn’t continue unless he made another bottle.

Velin grabbed Mia by the scruff of her collar and peeled her off his leg.

"To the lab."

He led the still-sobbing Mia toward his exclusive laboratory in the Origin Association.

Inside the laboratory, all sorts of oddly shaped glass vessels and ceramic jars were arranged neatly.

Mia watched him take a ceramic jar labeled "Maple Syrup" from a shelf. He scooped out a viscous, dark brown syrup, poured it into a copper pot, and placed it on a small stove to simmer slowly.

A cloyingly sweet aroma wafted out, making her instinctively swallow.

Next, her master walked over to another shelf.

Velin walked over to another shelf, where a row of earthenware jars sealed with damp cloths was placed.

He uncovered one of them, and a strong, sour smell that Mia had never encountered before assaulted her nostrils.

She leaned in curiously for a look. Inside the jar, a pile of lemons covered in black mold made her wrinkle her nose.

’This stuff... is it edible?’

"Master, this is all moldy. Hasn’t it gone bad?"

"This is Aspergillus niger. Without it, you wouldn’t get that tingly, fizzy sensation in your mouth," Velin explained.

"Bubbles!" Mia’s eyes lit up again. "I want lots and lots of bubbles! The more, the better!"

Velin glanced at her.

"...Fine."

He then walked to a huge wooden barrel in the corner. Complex pipes were connected to it, and next to it were some grayish-white stones and a bag of salt. Mia had no idea what any of it was.

"I use electricity to turn saltwater into caustic soda. The caustic soda absorbs fine particles from the air, turning into sodium carbonate. The sodium carbonate reacts with limestone, and finally, I get this white powder."

Velin picked up a small bag. Inside was a fine, white powder.

"When mixed with an acidic liquid, it produces lots and lots of gas."

Mia was completely bewildered by the explanation, but she grasped the main point—lots and lots of gas!

She didn’t care about the process, only the result.

Velin mixed the caramelized maple syrup, the extracted citric acid solution, and several essential oils distilled from cinnamon and coriander seeds together in specific proportions.

Finally, he poured the mixed, dark brown liquid into a glass bottle and added the baking soda powder.

Only then did he stop it tightly with a cork.

"Shake it before you drink, and then..."

As he spoke, Velin placed the bottle on a Frozen Magic Array.

A layer of white frost quickly covered the glass bottle.

Mia’s gaze was glued to the bottle. Her throat bobbed unconsciously, and drool nearly trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"What’s this drink called? I’ve never had anything so delicious!"

"...Let’s just call it ’Happy Water’."

Mia immediately memorized the name, and her little hand reached for it.

But Velin didn’t let go.

"If you succeed in your mission, I’ll reward you with one bottle a day."

Fear and temptation waged war in Mia’s little head.

On one side were the Priest, the Holy Water, the burning flames, and the screams of her kind being reduced to ash.

On the other, the cool wall of the bottle, the fine bubbles that formed when it was shaken, and that sweet, stimulating rush that shot to her head and made every pore tingle with delight.

In the end, the desire for that strange drink overwhelmed her fear of the Priest.

But she still felt like she was getting a raw deal.

"What... what am I supposed to do?" She looked up, already switching into work mode.

"A homeless orphan," Velin said. "Because you stole something, or whatever. You need to look miserable and starved, but with an unyielding streak. Fabian loves to save those kinds of lost lambs."

Mia nodded, seeming to digest the character profile.

Velin continued, "Get close to him. Observe him. What he eats every day, when he rests, any special habits he has. Whether he’s secretly in contact with anyone. And especially, whether he has any... private, unknown predilections."

"Like, some Priests are gluttons?" Mia blinked, saying tentatively, "Or... some like to get ’close’ to children?"

Velin looked at her.

"How did you know?"

"Back when I was with Hector, I saw a fanatical Knight."

Mia pursed her lips.

"That guy whipped himself with a spiked lash every night, claiming it was to purify his soul. He was just a pervert."

Velin nodded. It seemed Mia was no stranger to such people.

’This saves a lot of trouble.’

Seeing Velin’s tacit agreement, a layer of mist instantly clouded her eyes as she looked at him pitifully.

"Master... Mia is so cute. What if that Priest is a pervert and bullies me..."

Velin felt a twinge of guilt, but he immediately realized she was haggling.

He then gestured with his eyes for her to continue her performance.

Seeing her opening, Mia immediately pressed her advantage, holding up two fingers.

"Two bottles a day! The risk is too great, you have to raise the price!"

"Too much sugar is bad for your teeth," Velin countered without batting an eye. "Three bottles every two days."

"Deal!" Mia happily agreed at first, but then it dawned on her.

’Bad for my teeth?’

’Is he treating me like a child?’

She puffed out her cheeks, but looking at the iced drink in Velin’s hand, radiating its deadly temptation, she swallowed her protest.

Only then was Mia able to take the bottle, holding it as if it were a rare treasure.

"What if I find a weakness?"

"Tell me, and we’ll discuss the rest later."

Mia clutched the bottle in her arms and glanced at Velin again.

"What if... what if I get caught?"

Her voice still held a trace of a tremble.

"You won’t."

Velin replied.

"You’re not Mia. You’re a clumsy but lucky little thief. You just want to find a place where you can get a full meal."

He picked up a blank booklet and a charcoal pencil from the table.

"Xiaolan will be your contact. Every dusk, she’ll go to the dry well behind the church to fetch water. You’ll draw what you observe each day in this booklet, using the code we agreed on, and then find a chance to give it to her."

He handed the booklet and charcoal pencil to Mia.

"Remember, you can’t read now."

Mia took the items and nodded.

She quickly left the laboratory.

***

Back in her own squalid little cabin, the first thing Mia did was to carefully place the bottle of "Happy Water" in the cleanest corner by her bed.

Then, she took a deep breath, and her expression changed.

She rummaged through her belongings, finding and changing into an old linen tunic riddled with holes and covered in stains.

She walked to the cold fireplace, grabbed a handful of soot, and without hesitation, smeared it on her face and in her hair.

Her once-delicate face was instantly grimy and gray, its true features unrecognizable.

She then tousled her smooth, silver hair until it looked like a messy clump of weeds.

After all this, she looked at her murky reflection in a basin of water. The dirty little beggar with a stubborn glint in her eyes was a stranger even to herself.

’Very good.’

’One last thing.’

She picked up the frosted bottle of "Happy Water."

With a POP, she pried the cork off with her teeth.

She tilted her head back and poured the cold, dark brown liquid straight down her throat.

GLUG... GLUG...

Countless bubbles exploded in her mouth and esophagus. The sweet, refreshing, and stimulating sensation overwhelmed all her senses.

The bottle was empty in an instant.

A loud, satisfied burp echoed through the messy room.

Mia wiped her mouth. In her violet eyes, not a trace of fear remained—only a burning fighting spirit.

’For the Happy Water!’