Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales
A cook? And in the field of pharmaceuticals? Enzo Rota frowned as he thought for quite a while. He strove in contemplation over and over, but he was unable to think of any legendary figures in the realm of pharmaceuticals that had the hobby and profession of being a military cook.
“Yeah.” Qin Fen felt out two jelly beans from his chest pocket. “He said that I won’t be able to eat nutritious meals while dispatched on this mission, so he gave me these. He wants me to eat one along with my meals each day.”
Enzo Rota carefully took the jelly beans. He studied the jelly beans in detail for a long while, and he even brought it up to his nose to take a real good sniff. His unfeeling cheeks suddenly flashed with a cold light. Enzo Rota only acted like this when he was excited.
Pop.
With a gentle use of force, the jelly beans in Enzo Rota’s hand turned into powder. He gave a light lick of the powdered jelly beans with the tip of his tongue. Then he stuffed the rest of the powder completely into his mouth.
Though Enzo Rota was always calm when it came to just about anything, the pupils of his eyes suddenly contracted at extreme speeds. Caution, never before seen, appeared upon his face.
His tongue slid back and forth in his mouth for quite a while, and his cautious expression became more serious. From the perspective of an average Joe Schmoe, the only thing special about this jelly bean was its subtle sweetness. However, in the hands of someone who truly knew the ropes, a completely different assessment was the result.
“Strong!” Enzo Rota gave a thumbs up, his tone heavier than usual.
Oh? Qin Fen’s eyelid twitched for a moment. Enzo Rota was actually an extremely prideful individual. Qin Fen had known Enzo Rota for many years, and he could count the number of people Enzo Rota praised on a single hand.
This was the first time Qin Fen heard the word ‘strong’ come from his lips.
“Really strong.”
Enzo Rota increased his assessment by another level.
There were many methods for an ordinary person to discern whether the ability of a pharmaceutical master was strong or weak. The simplest method was to see who could synthesize and mix together more kinds of drug ingredients into medicinal pills of equal sizes. Whoever could mix more was considered to have a stronger ability.
Enzo Rota slowly nodded his head once more. He was a genius in the field of pharmaceuticals. He knew the importance of these jelly beans more than anyone else.
An ordinary person could only get it half right when it came to discerning a pharmacist’s ability.
Pharmaceuticals was a special field. The synthesis and blend of all sorts of medicinal compounds was an extremely dangerous matter. There was even the possibility of a user dying when taking a drug formed from the mixing of two ingredients.
To be able to take two to five different ingredients and synthesize them together into something that wouldn’t kill the consumer… now that was enough to be called a first-class pharmacist, even if the consumer of the drug won’t obtain any benefits from taking it.
This pill, which was the size of a jelly bean, contained over a hundred ingredients inside. Such a person capable of creating such a pill that wouldn’t kill the consumer was extremely rare. Such a person was qualified to be a true pharmaceutical master.
From Enzo Rota’s perspective, these jelly beans of Qin Fen’s were drugs that had clearly been made in haste due to a lack of time.
These drugs were created under the pressure of time. Yet not only did they not kill upon consumption, the ingredients within these drugs were able to all display certain efficacies. The ingredients helped Qin Fen’s bones become sturdier and increased the strength of his muscle fibers. The person who made these drugs was absolutely an expert at the master level, at the very least.
Enzo Rota was certain that he wouldn’t be able to create a jelly bean of the same intensity under the same circumstances.
Enzo Rota was enraptured by purely the technique alone. Not only were the fundamentals of concoction extremely solid, the marvelous thoughts and clever ideas were bold and imaginative like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies.
Enzo Rota nodded his head once more. The way this man paired his ingredients in his drugs was very rare among the world of pharmacists, like a sword that moves with a sidestroke. Just a slight mistake on the subtlest level in terms of the ratios would cause the consumer of the drug to likely die on the spot. Even a sudden hysteria into death would be normal.
The creator of this drug didn’t walk the path of mainstream pharmacists! Enzo Rota’s brow wrinkled deep as he pondered for several dozen seconds. Then he suddenly faced Lin Liqiang. He said, “Lin, I’m taking time off.”
Lin Liqiang replied, still holding and examining the biochemical beast egg. “No problem. Three days or five days?”
“Three months.”
“What?” Lin Liqiang was so shocked that he nearly threw the biochemical beast egg to the ground. “That long?”
Enzo Rota nodded very seriously. “For now.”
“For now?” Lin Liqiang took off his special spectacles he used to examine the egg. He studied Enzo Rota once again.
They were both geniuses, and Lin Liqiang naturally knew that Enzo Rota’s fundamentals were sturdy. He also knew of Enzo Rota’s amazing ability to learn. Very few teachers could last a week in teaching him.
Those in the pharmaceutical circle had given him a nickname. Teacher Killer.
Practically every teacher who taught him suffered from a mental breakdown for a period of time after their time together. When faced with such a strong learning and assimilation ability, the only people who could still treat the situation lightly were the ones who had a few screws loose in their heads.
“For now? You feel like three months of time isn’t enough?” Lin Liqiang voiced out his doubts.
“Yes.”
“You want to learn how to make drugs?” Lin Liqiang began to wonder if there was anything else that could get his interest. He wondered if there was a totally different field out there, not that of pharmaceuticals, that could do this.
“Yes.”
“This long?”
“Three months at the very least.”
Lin Liqiang gently shook his head, not daring to believe it. “It’s already hard to find someone that’s willing to be your teacher, let alone someone who’s willing to teach you for three months.”
“Three months at the very least.”
Lin Liqiang rubbed his chin as he studied Enzo Rota for quite a while. In the end, Lin Liqiang’s eyes suddenly lit up. He placed his attention on Qin Fen. “Old Enz, is that person a beauty? I’ve been suspecting that Old Enz, who’s cold on the outside but passionate on the inside, will soon reach his mating season.”
Qin Fen laughed. Lin Liqiang was Lin Liqiang, after all. “He’s a man. A fat man.”
“Ooooh.”Lin Liqiang’s lit eyes dimmed down immediately. “Then this bro is not interested anymore.”
Qin Fen laughed. Enzo Rota just had this sort of personality. He did what he wanted to. It was just… it would be hard for him to have Cook as his teacher if he doesn’t enter the military, right?
Qin Fen lifted his large cup and sipped a mouthful of coffee. If Old Enz needed some help in the future, Qin Fen would do his utmost to help.
Lin Liqiang studied the biochemical beast egg for a while before finally taking off his spectacles, which looked like were meant to be used for examining jewelry. He let out a long sigh. “These numbers are indeed a bit abnormal. It’s just that we’re not in a lab environment right now. I can only do a simple examination.”
“Abnormal?” Qin Fen motioned for Lin Liqiang to continue to explain.
“It is a bit abnormal.” Lin Liqiang placed the biochemical beast egg back in Qin Fen’s hand. “It’s different from my initial calculations back then, but from what I see from my examination just now, it doesn’t seem like there are any problems with this thing.”
“Oh.” Qin Fen hung the biochemical beast egg back around his neck.
Lin Liqiang packed up the tiny instrument he kept on his body at all times and continued to say, “In fact, it should be a good thing. These numbers are much higher than my initial numbers for growth. In theory, it should have hatched long ago with such numbers. However, it’s fine that it hasn’t hatched. A woman carries a child for around nine months and twenty-six days, but not all cases are like this. A late birth isn’t really a problem.”
Qin Fen laughed, and Lin Liqiang finished putting away his instrument. “These numbers are already high even though it hasn’t hatched. Theory-wise, having a good foundation should lead to even better growth after it hatches.”
“Hey hey hey! Now that’s a beauty! Nine point five out of ten. It looks like she didn’t have any plastic surgery done.”
Xue Tian’s low voice sounded out, and Lin Liqiang’s eyes immediately illuminated, following Xue Tian’s line of sight in search.
“Oooooh, she really is a beauty!” Lin Liqiang’s thumb stuck up and wiggled back and forth. “Within her age bracket, her comprehensive quality is a nine out of ten!”
Comprehensive quality… Qin Fen laughed helplessly. What in the world did Lin Liqiang mean by comprehensive quality? He had never heard Lin Liqiang say this term before.
Lin Liqiang’s overall quality not only included the external appearance of the body but also the bearing and revealed demeanor. It even included temperament, awareness, and voice. All these qualities were combined together to form a score.
As Lin Liqiang observed with his gaze, the woman, who sat facing a wall, lowered her head to read a fashion magazine. She held a cup in her hand, and she slowly sampled the drink inside. Her long black hair faintly covered part of her cheeks.
This kind of faint temperament by the wall resembled nature itself. It was as if the paintings on the wall had become brighter from the illumination of her radiance.
She wore a tight-fitting, super-short skirt, but it didn’t give off a feeling of lasciviousness at all. Creating charm and attraction was all it did.
“Brother!” Xue Tian touched his chin. “We still don’t know what her voice sounds like, right?”
Lin Liqiang’s eyes revealed the same curiosity. “Even so, no matter her voice, her score can only increase.”
“What if…?”
Lin Liqiang and Xue Tian locked gazes. They read the same message in each other’s eyes.
“Talk is cheap and boring.” Lin Liqiang held his cup of coffee and whispered. “If we can get her number….”
Xue Tian shook his head. “Based on my experience in weaving through gardens of flowers, I feel like it won’t be easy to get this woman’s number.”
“That’s right. That’s right.” Lin Liqiang nodded over and over. “You see the way she holds her cup of coffee? Her fingers are soft and flowing. The way she holds it and grips it is synonymous with beauty.”
“Yeah. Yeah.” Xue Tian’s eyes opened as wide as saucers. “There’s also her sitting posture. Her jade legs are lightly crossed, and her back is totally straight in a slight recline. A hint of lethargy seeps through her capable and experienced bearing. She’s a beauty rarely seen in life.”
Qin Fen saw how enthusiastic these two were talking, and he couldn’t help blurting, “Don’t just score her. Go ask for her number, ‘kay.”
Enzo Rota was now interested as well. He looked at Lin Liqiang with an expression that was like a smile but wasn’t a smile. He softly spat, “Normal.”
Qin Fen smiled. Enzo Rota usually didn’t say much, but he wasn’t lacking in persuasive skills. What he meant by ‘normal’ was how Lin Liqiang would normally brag about ‘always nailing a girl.’
“Brothers, this one is different.”Lin Liqiang did not blush in the slightest nor did he find it embarrassing. Instead, he began explaining strictly like a university professor. “My strength in this aspect has only just attained a score of ninety. I have no certainty in my chances of getting her number.”
Enzo Rota didn’t say anything. He just curled his lips as a sign of scorn.
Xue Tian nodded over and over from the side. “This woman seems to seep an amiable air, but she actually has an extremely powerful air inside that repels people. It really is very hard to get her number.”
Lin Liqiang had the same feeling deep inside. He nodded. “Yeah. Out of us four, only I have the chance and ability to get her number….”
Enzo Rota and Qin Fen merely smiled. Their expressions said that they were waiting for Lin Liqiang to continue tooting his horn.
“Don’t believe me?” Lin Liqiang beamed and stood up. He tidied up his clothes and appearance for a moment, and his somewhat frivolous appearance instantly went through an enormous transformation. Now he had the air of a refined and educated scholar.
“Wait for the news of this young master’s victorious return.” Lin Liqiang left behind these words in a whisper as he lifted his legs and left their coffee table.
