Free Web NovelChapter 11: Chapter 11: Potion
The spaceship landing point was some distance from the prison. The visitor had arrived at the main gate but couldn’t get in, so a robot came to notify her.
Curious, Shi Lan walked toward the main gate. From a distance, she saw a tall figure—a young man. He was wearing a camel-colored coat, leather boots, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, giving him a very gentlemanly air.
When he saw her approaching, the man amicably introduced himself. "Hello, are you the Prison Director? I am Leo, a subordinate of the Prince. I’m here on urgent business to see him."
"The Prince?"
Of the prisoners, Shi Lan only knew He Hanshi’s identity. As for the others, she merely knew that they weren’t ordinary people, but she never imagined a Prince would be among them.
Seeing her confusion, Leo added, "Prince Ye Ming."
"Oh, please wait a moment. I’ll contact him and ask."
Shi Lan had a Prison Director’s communicator, which allowed her to contact the prisoners within the prison’s signal range. She input the number 03, and a communication projection from Ye Ming’s end soon appeared. It was completely pitch-black, save for a pair of brilliantly glowing green eyes.
"What is it?"
The two of them rarely spoke, so Ye Ming’s cold voice held a hint of confusion.
Shi Lan briefly explained the situation, then aimed the communicator’s camera at Leo. "Lord Ye, this man claims to be your subordinate and is here to see you. Take a look?"
’Shi Lan wouldn’t carelessly let anyone in without first confirming their identity and getting approval from the prisoner involved. It was a precaution to avoid bringing trouble upon herself.’
Leo looked excited. "Prince, it’s me."
"Leo? Why are you here?"
Ye Ming sounded baffled. A moment later, as if he’d realized something, he asked, "Has there been a breakthrough in the research?"
"Yes."
Leo nodded happily.
Upon seeing this, Ye Ming said, "Shi Lan, let him in."
"Alright."
Shi Lan acknowledged, finally opening the gate. She disconnected the call and looked at him apologetically. "My apologies. As Prison Director, I can’t just let anyone in for visits. Thank you for waiting."
Leo looked understanding. "I get it. The previous Prison Directors were all the same."
On the way to the cells, he couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Miss, you’re a female. Why come to work on such a remote planet?"
Shi Lan smiled. "Circumstances led me here."
"Oh, it must be difficult for you to come here all alone, Miss. You must miss your family a great deal..."
Shi Lan’s tone turned somber. "Actually, I’m an orphan."
"I’m sorry."
Leo replied, then asked no more questions. Shi Lan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
’She didn’t have many familial attachments, so being an orphan or not made little difference. After all, even when she wasn’t an orphan back in the modern world, she still hadn’t had her parents’ love. She just felt that Leo was trying to probe for information, so she’d used the excuse to end the conversation quickly.’
After escorting Leo to the cell block, Shi Lan was tactful enough to give them some private space.
After she left, Ye Ming slowly emerged from the darkness, revealing his massive, pitch-black body.
Leo greeted everyone in the cell block, paying special attention to He Hanshi. "Vice Admiral He, has your condition improved recently?"
He Hanshi nodded. "Thank you for your concern. It’s manageable."
He wasn’t forcing himself to say it. Ever since his last spiritual power collapse, He Hanshi had faintly sensed that his spiritual power had stabilized significantly.
He used the spiritual power detector built into his chip to check, and his spiritual power collapse value had dropped from 89% to 88%.
It was only a one-point decrease. Being a cautious man, He Hanshi suspected he might be overthinking things and didn’t mention it to anyone.
Leo didn’t quite believe him. He sighed internally. ’If the spiritual power value were below 50%, a female’s soothing might still have an effect. But for those sent here, the spiritual power collapse value is almost always over 60%.
’In this condition, females wouldn’t dare get close, let alone offer any soothing. frёewebnoѵēl.com
’But this also meant they were just in a different state of waiting for death.’
When Leo thought of his own Prince, his heart filled with melancholy.
’Still, there was a bit of good news now. Perhaps *that* could be useful.’
With this in mind, he turned back to Ye Ming.
When Ye Ming saw him approach, he immediately had Jiang Xia use the Ice Sealing Talent Skill. Only then did he say, "You can speak now."
Leo nodded. "Your Highness, Dr. Ai has had a breakthrough in his research. He extracted blood from a Chao Si of the New Mutated Insect Clan and managed to isolate cells that can combat the toxins in the body."
Dr. Ai believes that living organisms are complex. A snake has venom, for instance, but its gallbladder can, to some extent, break down that venom. So, even though the toxins from the New Mutated Insect Clan were accelerating the spiritual power collapse in you and the others, he theorized that the creature itself might also hold the key to slowing it down.
And thus, this breakthrough was achieved.
Leo pulled a small vial from his coat. "This is the serum from his research. Dr. Ai says it has the potential to lower one’s spiritual power collapse value by ten points." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"Really?"
Before Ye Ming could even speak, Mu Tangfeng piped up.
’He had been so worried about He Hanshi. If this research was truly effective, did that mean Vice Admiral He could be saved? Could they all be saved?’
Leo replied, "I can’t guarantee it 100%. There’s always some risk. But Dr. Ai says the risk is only 20% and largely avoidable."
As the Imperial Crown Prince, and because his own spiritual power was so high, Ye Ming had secretly established a research organization years ago, dedicated to studying spiritual power collapse.
Dr. Ai was its chief professor, and Leo was the subordinate he had put in charge of handling such matters.
That’s why Ye Ming had immediately thought of the research the moment he saw Leo.
Ye Ming asked, "Has it been tested?"
Leo hesitated for a moment. "The research institute has only managed to capture two Chao Si. Dr. Ai said the extraction requires a live specimen. One of them died during the process, and we were only able to extract this single dose from the other."
He paused. "Because the situation is urgent, and considering Your Highness’s spiritual power collapse value is already quite high, Dr. Ai decided against testing it on volunteers first. Instead, he sent me to ask for your opinion."
In truth, the reason Dr. Ai had sent him to ask was that he understood Ye Ming’s character. He knew Ye Ming was a man willing to take a gamble. Besides, with fewer than fifty of the new Chao Si mutants having been discovered, the serum was incredibly precious.
Ye Ming stared intently at the small vial. "What are the side effects?"
"Dr. Ai said they’re unclear for now," Leo replied. "But it’s possible it could actually worsen the spiritual power collapse. So, please, Your Highness, consider this carefully."
Leo looked at him earnestly. ’Initially, I disagreed with Dr. Ai’s decision. But he told me that at your current rate of spiritual power collapse, Your Highness, you have a year at most. He said it would be nearly impossible to develop another dose of this serum within that year, especially since this one vial took almost two years of research.
’He said, "The Prince’s life is in his own hands. Let him make the choice himself."’
And so, Leo had come.
A resolute glint flashed through Ye Ming’s deep green eyes. "Give it to me."
