Shang Chuan: "Got everything you need. Accept the delivery."
Lan Qingyou: "Done. I'll come to you if I need any additional tools."
Shang Chuan: "No problem."
Shang Chuan worked fast.
In just over half an hour, he'd delivered the "Mineralogy" textbook and a measuring tool — a pair of calipers — to Lan Qingyou.
Alongside those came a bullet sample and an assortment of minerals.
Copper ore, iron ore, saltpeter, sulfur, and even charcoal — clearly meant for gunpowder.
Without a word, Lan Qingyou scooped up the mineralogy book and Steel Wire Ball, headed to her room, and went to bed with her reading material.
Please — it was way too late for experiments. Better to hit the books first.
Building up her knowledge of this world was the real priority.
After all, even though this world also had copper and iron ore, they were fundamentally different from their Blue Star counterparts.
To state the obvious: minerals back on Blue Star didn't come with a built-in "mana" attribute.
Early the next morning, after finishing the breakfast Gu Xiaobei had delivered, Lan Qingyou set Steel Wire Ball loose to play and dove into the day's work.
Shang Chuan's side seemed desperate for ammunition, but Lan Qingyou paced herself calmly.
She'd only gotten the books yesterday, after all. The knowledge inside hadn't even been fully absorbed and distilled yet — how could she possibly jump straight to the experimental phase?
At the end of the day, this bullet project was a mutually beneficial collaboration.
One side urgently needed bullets; the other urgently needed knowledge.
A perfect match — and just like that, Shang Chuan had instantly become the investor bankrolling Lan Qingyou's research lab.
If she succeeded, great. If not? For Shang Chuan, it was simply an investment that didn't pan out.
A professional merchant should know full well what investing in a laboratory entails.
Of course, Lan Qingyou had no intention of slacking off. Brewing potions with one hand while reading textbooks with the other — all of it was in service of making those bullets a reality.
Crafting ammunition was, in its own right, a fresh challenge in the field of alchemy.
But one thing had worked out beautifully.
She'd scored sulfur for free.
Both the Explosion Potion and the Flame Potion required the stuff.
Of course, she also needed E-rank fire-attribute monster crystal cores.
Which was why Lan Qingyou currently had a face mask strapped on.
Come on — she was about to toss sulfur into the crucible and cook it. That was bound to produce toxic fumes, right?
She wasn't entirely sure it would, but she wore the mask anyway.
Kids, definitely do not try this at home.
After eight solid hours of work, all three types of potions were finally ready.
"Crude Explosion Potion (E-)"
"Effect: Creates an explosion in a 3x3 area, dealing 30 HP of instant damage and inflicting 1 HP of burn damage per second for 10 seconds."
"Description: A potion with lackluster blast radius and power. You wouldn't even use it for dynamite fishing."
"Crude Flame Potion (E-)"
"Effect: Creates a burning area of 3x3, dealing 2 HP of damage per second for 30 seconds."
"Description: A potion with lackluster burn radius and power. Maybe you could use it to warm yourself up."
"Apprentice Fire Resistance Potion (E)"
"Effect: Increases fire resistance by 10 points for 10 minutes."
"Description: A standard apprentice-level potion that provides a measure of fire resistance. But remember — it isn't a cure-all. Learn to know your limits."
After portioning them out, Lan Qingyou quickly appraised all three potions through her glasses, then decided to head out and test them while there was still daylight.
It was a spur-of-the-moment decision, but conveniently, there was a monster spawn point right nearby.
Better yet, it was a swamp spawn point that barely anyone bothered visiting, making this experiment session a breeze.
Plus, it was already past five in the afternoon — zero chance of anyone seeing her.
The results, however, were underwhelming.
Boom!
Explosive as it was, the 3x3 blast radius didn't exactly do much to the Slimes wallowing in the swamp.
If anything, fire-based potions and explosion potions probably just shouldn't be used in this kind of terrain.
Even the "Monsterology" textbook stated that monsters had elemental affinities, and exploiting weaknesses was the key to maximizing damage.
But no matter.
Was damage really what Lan Qingyou was after?
Of course not.
All she wanted was the sheer thrill of being a "bomber."
With a flick of her wrist, over a dozen Explosion Potions sailed down from the sky in a neat line, detonating across the swamp in a chain of thunderous blasts.
The spectacle reminded Lan Qingyou of a certain island nation whose historical "fireworks display" had been particularly... memorable.
"Combat! So satisfying!"
Thanks to the Slimes' infuriating self-repair ability, Lan Qingyou hadn't managed to achieve any tangible results with her bombing run. But spiritually? She was on cloud nine.
If she hadn't been limited to just two hundred potions, she might very well have kept at it until nightfall.
After returning from the swamp, the only thing on her mind was a bath.
Believe it or not, just flying around up there for a bit had actually made her break a sweat.
All she could say was that a happy mood did wonders for one's metabolism.
"Squee-squee-squee—"
The moment Lan Qingyou walked in, Steel Wire Ball charged at her with a barrage of squeaky protests — angry about being left behind yet again.
Unable to understand the squeaking but getting the general gist, Lan Qingyou rolled her eyes at Steel Wire Ball, set the creature down on a towel, and went to take her bath.
Once she was done, she immediately sat down at the Magic Desk, placed Steel Wire Ball on her lap, and opened her friends list.
Lan Qingyou: "[Fire Resistance Potion] Want some?"
Li Huai: "Yes. Name your price."
Lan Qingyou: "20 potions = 1 Fire Elemental Essence. 2 potions = 1 jin of Flame Bellflower. 1 potion = 1 jin of sulfur."
Li Huai: "How'd you know I have Fire Elemental Essences?"
Lan Qingyou: "Lucky guess."
Ever since she'd obtained her own Water Elemental Essences, Lan Qingyou had been speculating that Li Huai — this guy camping out at a volcanic crater — likely had Fire Elemental Essences on hand. Ditto for the sulfur.
She'd simply been testing her theory.
And what do you know — she was right.
He hadn't mentioned the sulfur, which probably meant he had that too. For all she knew, even Shang Chuan's sulfur supply might have come from Li Huai.
Li Huai: "1 Fire Elemental Essence for 100 potions."
After a short pause spent deliberating, Li Huai sent his counter-offer.
Lan Qingyou: "Deal!"
Was a hundred potions per essence expensive?
Honestly, not one bit.
Lan Qingyou agreed without a moment's hesitation.
Li Huai could only grumble that he should've aimed higher!
In the end, the two hundred Fire Resistance Potions netted Lan Qingyou one Fire Elemental Essence, twenty-five jin of Flame Bellflower, and twenty-five jin of sulfur.
The Flame Bellflower and sulfur wouldn't arrive until tomorrow, of course — those counted as an "order."
"Fire Elemental Essence (D)"
"Function: Can be used in alchemy, enchanting, and for lighting fires or heating. Effectively accelerates the growth of nearby fire-attribute plants."
"Description: The purest concentration of fire-element energy, born from the prolonged intertwining of fire-based mana."
"What a treasure."
Lan Qingyou admired the Fire Elemental Essence's description with a sigh of appreciation.