After having a fairly decent lunch, Xu Huo left Lady Lily’s residence and went to the trading post to pick up the props he had reserved.
"This prop, called ’Masterpiece,’ can easily secure any object, including props. Once tied on, it doesn’t easily fall off. It underwent tens of thousands of experints before being put on sale. Unless there are particularly tricky characteristics or props involved, generally props at Rank A and below won’t have any effect."
"However, even though it’s a Rank A prop, its function is limited to this."
After the manager’s introduction, he confird once again whether Xu Huo really wanted to purchase this prop, given that even a seemingly minor Rank A prop was not cheap.
Xu Huo tested its feel and length, and after tying it with the "Perfect Aid" and having the staff test it on the spot, he paid for it.
His requirents for this prop weren’t high, just needing it to be "not easy to fall" and "quick to bind." One end of it tied to a ring only required placing the other end on a knife handle, and the rope would secure itself, making it easy to manage.
On his way back, Xu Huo also bought so groceries and daily necessities, and took the opportunity to learn about the pollution situation in Zone 011 through different channels.
From the nurous reports, it seed to be true. However, after such a long ti, Zone 011 had mostly dealt with it, though the water supply area hadn’t yet recovered, causing considerable losses. Most of the pollutants were completely destroyed, but a few were given to powerful nobles. Many people wanted to use this pollution incident to gain bargaining power for their families, and developing an effective antitoxin was a great way to do so.
After confirming the news wasn’t fake, Xu Huo bought a lot of "inside information" from the black market, including so from the Herta Family.
However, he wasn’t very interested in the pollutants themselves. What he wanted to uncover was their origin. If it could be figured out from the existing records in Zone 011, he wouldn’t have to make a trip to the secret laboratory.
Since the information was already out, there were plenty of people willing to risk dealing with these pollutants. The market ssages circulated, but without a specific direction. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Xu Huo stopped his investigation upon learning this much.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Lab at the Castle wasn’t yet set up, he found a relatively small city to order enough bottled water, storable food, and other daily necessities.
The energy-saving appliances from the ga could be placed in the "Snowflake Hotel," and with the addition of energy storage panels, this would be quite sufficient for one person’s use.
However, since the storage prop was so convenient, it was naturally better to stock up on as much as possible. Besides the hotel warehouse already intended for storing daily necessities like bed linens, towels, utensils, and toiletries, the two top-floor suites of the hotel would also be used as warehouses.
First, concerning water, bottled water can be stored for a long ti without an issue. After checking the hotel’s water storage equipnt, Xu Huo found it had an in-built drinking water treatnt system. As long as there’s a sufficient water source, if the pollution level isn’t very high, it can process it to a drinkable level, which is quite convenient. The only issue was finding a water source.
Next was food. So well-sealed foods could be stored for a long ti, but truly fresh vegetables and fruits were difficult to preserve for long. Although the hotel did have a cold storage, using it would be a bit wasteful.
Getting a small freezer to store a bit wasn’t a problem.
There wasn’t much to say about other daily necessities; stocking up on decades’ worth wouldn’t be a problem.
However, the hotel’s built-in energy equipnt, such as electrical appliances and kitchenware, required purchasing additional energy storage panels. The set provided by the ga was placed on the third layer of the suite by Xu Huo.
The basic items that a hotel should be equipped with were all present in the "Snowflake Hotel," and all the bed linens were new and included. Arranging a few housekeeping robots was enough for operational needs.
After completing preparations and inspections, Xu Huo was very satisfied and stayed one night in the hotel before returning to Base City.
At that ti, Lady Lily had already sent him the tiline and route map for the Herta Family’s transportation of pollutants.
He went ahead to scout out the Herta Family’s secret laboratory. While the lab’s external packaging was quite secure, it didn’t seem to place much importance on the incoming shipnt of pollutants. The lab had not even increased its personnel inside or out.
A laboratory with such a not-very-high level of confidentiality was not particularly difficult to infiltrate.
But stealing was unnecessary. Xu Huo followed a lab worker, learned the operation manual simply, hypnotized the worker to replace him, and set up a small accident in the lab. Once the pollutants were brought into the lab, the "small accident" triggered a minor explosion in so experintal materials, conveniently damaging a sealed pollutant storage box.
The pollutant leaked inside the laboratory, prompting all staff, including players, to evacuate urgently while sealing off the lab to prevent external contamination. They then called in specialized handling personnel with professional equipnt to manage the situation.
Nothing was stolen, and nothing went wrong on the way. However, Lady Lily achieved her intended effect, as none of the other families had issues with pollutant managent except the Herta Family, which not only lost a laboratory but also had to ask the district governnt’s specialized team for assistance.
Regarding the post-incident investigation, unfortunately, the Herta Family had already sealed off part of the lab ahead of ti to prevent leaks of their upcoming experintal research, so there were no monitoring recorders. The inspection of the explosion site concluded that insufficient storage of other experintal items, due to creating enough space for the pollutants, was the cause—it seed they could identify the issue, but couldn’t precisely place bla.
In such a situation, they could only accept the misfortune.
"They can’t even manage properly, yet they want to research antitoxins?" Lady Lily’s publicly ridiculing remark about the Herta Family at a banquet spread widely.
As for the pollutants, Xu Huo didn’t take much, and coincidentally, the laboratory at the Rose Castle had already been set up. He handed over the pollutants he brought to Dr. Deng.
"Looks sowhat like the ones you gave before," Dr. Deng said with a sharp gaze.
Xu Huo nodded; the pollutants parasitic on Yuguo were screened so that they had to survive inside him while keeping him alive. The Guile Sound Knights’ findings might cover more ground, potentially revealing their origin.
"Leave it to ; I’ll try my best," Dr. Deng said, storing the pollutants carefully before inviting Xu Huo to tour his new lab.
The lab’s underground portion had been expanded, with both equipnt and safety levels enhanced. A two-story building of the sa size had been built above ground, eting the select grade standards of a Zone 011 lab, only slightly inferior to those of the district governnt.
Most of Dr. Deng’s interests in potion research were located above ground, while Xu Huo’s poisons and Perfect Potion were kept below.
"You truly haven’t found the Perfect Potion?" Dr. Deng revisited old ground.
"What do you think?" Xu Huo retorted, patting his shoulder, "Maybe revisit your past research outcos; they might yield insights into degeneration aftereffects."
Dr. Deng’s expression was unnatural. "If I could do it, do you think I’d still be here with you?"
Xu Huo stared fixedly at him, then after several seconds, said softly, "Do you know how much this laboratory cost ?"
"Talking money hurts relationships..." Dr. Deng’s chuckling response was cut short by hearing, "Or maybe I should test so potions on you to make sure you don’t run off, leaving nowhere to recoup costs?"
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