Ch. 242: A Reproductive Suppressant

Taking stock of the metal-attribute materials on hand, Mo Fei recalled that the Displacement Apparatus brought back from the laboratory contained Adamantine.

Just as he set the Displacement Apparatus onto the workbench, Victor came up from the basement.

"You asked last time about a way to stop the rat-hound monsters from breeding." He placed a sheet of paper filled with writing onto the workbench. "Here's the recipe for a medicine to reduce reproductive activity."

Mo Fei's eyes lit up, and he reached out to grab it, but Victor pressed his hand down on the paper first.

"Let's get this straight beforehand: the only one we had was used to test the medicine, and it's already dead, so there's no way to test it again. But the effect should be fine."

"Dead?" Mo Fei's hand froze midair. "Reducing activity to the point of death—isn't that just rat poison?!"

"Once it's dead, it won't breed."

"Well, technically yes, but that's not what I meant!"

Mo Fei crossed his arms. "If that's the case, why couldn't I just use arsenic?"

"It only affects this type of chimera. It has no effect on other living creatures."

Mo Fei rubbed his temples. "Fine, whatever, so the recipe..."

"In exchange for six months' rent."

The corner of Mo Fei's mouth twitched, but he still nodded. "Deal."

Only then did Victor release his grip.

After putting away the recipe, Mo Fei patted the Displacement Apparatus on the workbench.

"This thing contains Adamantine. What are its properties? Can it be used to craft bottled beasts?"

"Adamantine is exceptionally hard and doesn't easily wear down or deform. It can withstand alchemical reactions without degrading no matter how many times it's used, which is why it's commonly used in parts of alchemical devices that bear heavy reactions." Victor paused for a moment. "However, precisely because it is so stable, it barely reacts with anything else. If you want to use it, you must dismantle and purify it first."

"Can't I just take it out and use it directly?"

"When crafting a bottled beast, having more materials isn't necessarily better; rather, the simpler and purer they are, the better. Just like the Heavy Loam and Black Lodestone you used for ZIP—both were pure, with intense and distinct traits, which is why you could draw out that sort of ability."

He paused briefly. "The Adamantine in these devices is mostly embedded within brass components. Both Adamantine and brass are metals and share many similar properties. If you use it directly without purifying it, the outcome will inevitably be influenced by the brass."

After Victor returned to the basement, Mo Fei activated the speaking rune.

"Young Lady, I have a medicinal recipe I'd like the Chamber to mass-produce."

"What kind of medicine?" Flora's voice came through.

"Uh... rat poison. For dealing with the rat-hound monsters."

"Understood. How much do you need?"

"Let's start with fifty portions," Mo Fei said. "We've only tested it on one so far, so we need more trials. If it works well, we'll order more."

"Very well. Penny is delivering goods tomorrow; you can hand the recipe to her then."

The call ended. Mo Fei dismantled the component embedded with Adamantine and placed it into the matrix.

The matrix lit up, and the brass gradually softened during the reaction. Yet the Adamantine trapped in the middle showed no sign of reacting at all, its shape entirely unchanged.

He attempted to control the matrix, drawing the softened brass outward layer by layer. The expelled brass accumulated into a ring along the edges, leaving only a piece of dull, dark metal at the center of the matrix.

"See, extracted. Simpler than I thought."

Mo Fei halted the matrix and picked up the piece of metal, but his brows furrowed.
He had seen high-purity Adamantine in Caldwell's private vault before; it gave off a faint golden shimmer, whereas the piece in his hand was dusty and gray.

He activated his All-Seeing Gaze, and sure enough, there was still a substantial amount of brass in its composition.

Looks like the embedded parts weren't thoroughly cleared.

He placed the metal back into the matrix and increased the intensity. When he stopped the matrix and checked again with All-Seeing Gaze, hardly any brass had been removed; instead, the surface had congealed into a mottled crust.

Hmm... looks like I'm making it worse.

He tried several more times, continuing all the way until evening without any improvement.

...

Late at night, the cloth doll began to twitch.

Corone's voice was as cold and aloof as ever. "Have you finished negotiating?"

Mo Fei recounted the terms agreed upon with the Chamber that morning.

"Acceptable. Then the handover will take place tomorrow night."

The cloth doll fell silent once more. Mo Fei's gaze returned to that piece of Adamantine encased in brass.

Footsteps echoed from the staircase. Victor came up from the basement and walked straight toward the front door.

"Hold on." Mo Fei called out to stop him, holding up the piece of metal. "The Adamantine is wrapped in brass, and no matter how I try with the matrix, I can't separate them. Is there any way?"

Victor halted, took the metal, and turned it over to inspect it.

"If you can't separate it, dissolve it." He handed the metal back. "Use Aqua Fortis. The brass will dissolve, while the Adamantine will remain untouched."

"Aqua Fortis?"

"A highly corrosive liquid. Normal bottles can't hold it; you must use containers fired from a specific type of clay," Victor said. "Natural Aqua Fortis can be found in certain caves, and whatever holds it is usually that kind of clay."

"Where can I get some?"

"The black market might have it."

"It's this late—where are you going?"

"To make money."

"Be careful not to get caught again."

"I know."

Victor pushed the door open and stepped into the night.

---

The next morning, Penny arrived with staff from the Chamber, delivering the goods requested for this cycle by the Witch Coven.

Mo Fei handed her the recipe for the rat poison and took the chance to ask, "Does the Chamber sell Aqua Fortis?"

Penny looked up at him. "No. That's a strictly controlled substance."

If even the Chamber doesn't have it, looks like the black market is the only way.

Not long after seeing Penny off, Toby also arrived at the workshop.

He carried a faint smoky scent, as though he had stood beside a bonfire for half the day. His greeting was quieter than usual, and as soon as he spoke, he lowered his head and set about sorting through the scrap components.

Last time he attended a church event, he came back looking like this too.

Mo Fei thought of Mira; back then, she had been locked in the restroom, and afterward she had merely brushed it off as personal business, refusing to say a word.

"Toby, what was yesterday's event actually about? Why do you smell like smoke?"

Toby's hands froze, and it took him a long while to speak.

"The, the church... is helping people."

"Helping what kind of people?"

"Th-that..." Toby's voice dwindled down. "The church told us to keep it confidential."

What on earth? What's there to keep secret? Acting like it's some sort of cult ritual.

"All right, I won't pry. But if you run into any trouble, remember to tell me. Don't carry it all on your own."

Toby nodded. "O-okay, Mr. Mo Fei."

Before long, Mira also arrived at the workshop.

"Good morning, Mr. Mo Fei."

Mo Fei had been fretting over the draft for the printer, but his spirits lifted the moment he saw her.

"You're here! Let me fill you in on the progress..."

Mo Fei explained the current state of development and how Flora had complained about it being too bulky.

Mira listened from the side, nodding from time to time.

Once Mo Fei finished, she noticed someone was missing from the workshop. "Where is Mr. Jacob?"

"He finished the currency verification machine and headed back to the Chamber."

"I see..."

"Though he did leave behind something interesting."

Mo Fei took out that sheet of paper and handed it to her.

"This paper is coated with a special substance. When exposed to the flowing light of Aether and sprayed with a developing reagent, the parts struck by light turn dark."

The handprint on the paper remained perfectly distinct.

Mira held the paper, studying it for quite a while, her gaze shifting back and forth between the paper and the machine frame.

"Mr. Mo Fei... if we let the flowing light of the array patterns shine directly onto the paper, and then develop it afterward, wouldn't that mean... we wouldn't need ink, and we wouldn't need mechanical arms either?"

Right! Isn't that just like thermal paper... Wait, no, this is aether photosensitive paper!

"Brilliant!" He slapped the tabletop. "I'll leave this approach for you to research."

Mira blinked, taken aback. "O-okay!"

In the afternoon, Lily came over from next door.

"What brings you here?" Mo Fei asked. "Need a hand with the shop?"

"Renovations are mostly done. Preparing stock, testing recipes."

"Then what do you need me for?"

Lily looked at him, pausing for a beat.

"Come with me to pick mushrooms."