81: Chapter 81 First Pharmaceutical Production

"Zhou Wen?"

Su Wan asked in confusion, "Why is it related to him again? Jinsi, didn't you say before that Zhou Wen's physique wasn't very suitable for this dungeon?"

Lin Rui, who was beside them, looked at this [practice flying broom] and somewhat understood Hu Jinsi's meaning.

He explained for Hu Jinsi, "I think Jinsi means that with this [practice flying broom], Zhou Wen won't have to walk on his own for the entire journey.

It's just like what we heard before getting on the bus about those classmates who used flying carpets last semester.

It's just that this [practice flying broom] is considered a degraded version of a flying carpet and isn't as comfortable as a flying carpet. I think I guessed right, right? Jinsi."

Hu Jinsi gave Lin Rui a thumbs up directly and said, "You're right. It was because I thought of magic carpets that I focused on searching the mount category."

"To a certain extent, this [practice flying broom] is quite mediocre; it doesn't fly fast or high, and it has a weight limit."

He counted on his fingers for Su Wan, "But Zhou Wen is a mage. With his thin and weak physique, how much weight could he have? Even if you strapped a big iron pot to Zhou Wen, it wouldn't weigh 90 kilograms. As for the speed, just let him buff himself with magic."

Su Wan clapped her hands excitedly, "Then I'll go find Zhou Wen now. He's on the bus anyway, right?"

Lin Rui shook his head and said, "Send Zhou Wen a message first, telling him to talk after getting off the bus, to see if Zhou Wen is interested. If he is, it'll be past 11 o'clock after we get off, so we can find a Silver Arch to sit down and chat slowly."

"Received." Su Wan replied and quietly sent Zhou Wen a message.

After getting off the bus, the three members of the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad quietly waited for Zhou Wen's arrival in a corner of the campus.

After seeing Zhou Wen, the three first greeted him simply and asked about Zhou Wen's dungeon experience this week.

Zhou Wen's expression instantly collapsed. He sighed, sat down on a bench, rested his hands on his knees, and lowered his head as he began to recount.

"Don't even mention it. It was simply a nightmare."

He raised his head, his eyes full of exhaustion, "The team we formed might be one of the teams with the worst progress in the class this time."

"Our team of four lost one person on the hillside of the third stage first. The slope was too steep there; one of us stepped into the air and rolled straight down, and his forced teleportation talisman shattered on the spot."

"Immediately after, we made another mistake at the trestle bridge, and one person fell off the cliff."

Zhou Wen's voice grew lower and lower, "The two remaining people obviously had no way to deal with the Wyvern. But we didn't want to force quit the dungeon and receive a penalty, so my remaining companion and I spent the rest of the dungeon time trembling on an open space under the Wyvern."

Speaking up to this point, he gave a bitter smile, "Can you imagine? For two days, the two of us huddled behind a rock, not daring to even breathe loudly, terrified that the Wyvern would discover us. We took turns sleeping for a little while, and whoever was awake would stare at the sky to see if it had flown over."

"Such an experience obviously didn't make any of the four of us happy, so it is highly likely that our team will disband this week."

Lin Rui and Su Wan were a bit surprised after hearing this. They knew the third stage was difficult, but they didn't expect it to torture a four-person team like this.

Seeing that Zhou Wen had spoken so straightforwardly, Hu Jinsi said directly to him, "I believe you have guessed our purpose. We want to pull you in to continue working together in this dungeon."

Zhou Wen was very excited at first because, in the last two months of the previous semester, he had worked very well with the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad. Being able to continue teaming up with such compatible teammates was undoubtedly the best choice for him.

His eyes lit up, but they quickly dimmed again.

However, he shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that's difficult. During the third stage, I had already discovered that it was very difficult for me to pass through the terrain of the third stage, which delayed us for a long time. It was because we didn't reach the trestle bridge until near nightfall that we continued to lose members on the trestle bridge."

"And although I haven't experienced the subsequent stages, I have heard clearly from the chats after leaving the dungeon. I think the terrain of this dungeon isn't very suitable for me."

He bowed slightly, his tone sincere but carrying a hint of helplessness, "Thank you for your kindness. I might go to the other two dungeons to form a team and see how things are."

As he spoke, Zhou Wen turned to leave.

Hu Jinsi grabbed Zhou Wen and didn't let him go.

"Wait."

He lowered his voice and leaned mysteriously into Zhou Wen's ear, "Can your little treasury still come up with 5,000 credit points?"

Although Zhou Wen didn't understand what Hu Jinsi meant, he still said very proudly, "As a mage, 5,000 credit points? You underestimate me too much."

Hu Jinsi indicated that would be easy then.

After speaking, he showed Zhou Wen the [practice flying broom] in the mall.

The moment Zhou Wen saw the [practice flying broom], he understood.

His eyes lit up instantly, as if a candle had suddenly been lit in the darkness.

This thing was simply a tailor-made transportation tool for a mage with poor physique like him.

Although the 0.9-meter hovering height wasn't high, it was enough to overcome most terrain obstacles.

The 90-kilogram weight limit was not a problem at all for him; including him and his equipment, he only weighed sixty-something kilograms.

Although the speed wasn't fast, combined with his own [Longstrider] speed boost, it was perfectly sufficient.

"I understand." Zhou Wen nodded, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth for the first time.

He stopped dawdling, immediately took out his communication terminal, and completed the order. Then he put away the terminal and said crisply, "Now the problem has been solved. How are we going to act next?"

Lin Rui said, "No rush. It's just approaching noon. Let's find a place to eat and chat, discuss the plan in detail, and sort out the tactics while we eat."

The three of them walked to the Silver Arch near the school and found a corner by the window to sit down.

The afternoon sunlight shone through the glass window, making the tabletop feel warm. There weren't many people in the shop, mostly students from nearby schools, gathering in twos and threes to chat about gossip from the dungeons. The air was filled with the mixed scent of fried chicken and coffee, which was quite relaxing.

After ordering, Hu Jinsi explained their tactical hypothesis, including the one that hadn't been implemented yet but had a high probability of success.

Zhou Wen listened while biting into his burger, nodding from time to time.

Hearing the end, he swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "No problem."

At the same time, he said, "I have already learned [Longstrider] to cope with the defects of my own movement speed."

"As for [Spider Climb], it was already in my learning plan after this dungeon. Even without the operation with your team, I would have learned it."

He looked at Su Wan, "As for Su Wan's side, please learn [Spider Climb] first. I only have 2 spell slots for 2nd-level spells, which is not enough to buff the entire team."

Su Wan nodded while biting her straw, "Then I'll learn [Spider Climb] first."

After everyone finished eating simply, they agreed to conduct new tactical drills after returning to school.

Afterward, they each returned home.

Hu Jinsi parted ways with Lin Rui and Su Wan at the entrance of the residential area and returned to his home with slightly tired steps.

He threw his backpack onto the sofa and lay paralyzed on the sofa for a while, dazed. Outside the window, the sky had already darkened, and the streetlights in the distance lit up one by one. He didn't start meditation immediately but clicked on the professional mall, selected a few herbalism recipes he had been eyeing, and only started meditating after clicking to place the order.

Around 8 o'clock in the evening, the doorbell rang.

Hu Jinsi exited the meditative state, got up to open the door, and the items he ordered had arrived.

Fortunately, the prices of this series of herb-related items hadn't risen; instead, they had a trend of steady decline. It might also be that with the beginning of the new semester, there was a sufficient supply of these large quantities of low-level materials again.

Therefore, Hu Jinsi was also glad that he didn't buy them during the vacation. During the vacation, he originally had the intention to buy them, but because he discovered at that time that the raw materials were actually more expensive than the successfully refined finished products, he gave up on this plan.

This time, Hu Jinsi acquired five recipes and the corresponding raw materials in one go, basically investing all his vacation earnings, except for the money set aside to buy a vehicle.

[Recipe: Minor Healing Potion]

[Materials: Peacebloom × 1 + Silverleaf × 1 + Empty Vial]

[Effect: Immediately restores 70-90 HP. Tastes slightly bitter with a sweet aftertaste when consumed.]

---

[Recipe: Minor Defense Potion]

[Materials: Silverleaf × 2 + Empty Vial]

[Effect: Provides a shield that can absorb 50 points of damage, lasting up to 5 minutes.]

---

[Recipe: Hemostatic Powder]

[Materials: Licorice × 3 + Angelica × 1]

[Effect: Immediately restores 100 HP.]

---

[Recipe: Qi-Circulation Powder]

[Materials: White Peony Root × 1 + Ginseng × 1]

[Effect: Immediately restores 2 points of Qi/Internal Energy/True Qi, 1-minute usage interval.]

---

[Recipe: Antidote Pill]

[Materials: Honeysuckle × 2 + Licorice × 2]

[Effect: Removes common toxins/miasma.]

---

It is very obvious that the first two recipes here come from the famous Azeroth.

Because the newbie maps of Azeroth didn't just land in Goldshire of Wei City and the Wandering Isle of Daibei City; other newbie maps also landed all over the country, so the related materials were not very scarce.

It's just that the drop rate isn't very high, but with the fermentation of a semester, there is gradually some stock on the market.

Overall, unless these otherworldly recipes have special effects, their prices are not very astonishing.

This is also because the herbs needed for these otherworldly potions are produced in dungeons. Although after these dungeons are digested by Water Blue Star, Water Blue Star will gradually produce corresponding materials, generally speaking, it still takes time for everyone to accept new things.

However, under the existing market, these potions all have other substitutes, so they are not rigid demands. Therefore, Hu Jinsi only spent 2,000 credit points on each of these two recipes.

The remaining three recipes are standard local-style recipes.

Hu Jinsi is also not very sure if these recipes were dropped from dungeons or derived by some Alchemists or pharmacists themselves. Anyway, for Hu Jinsi, as long as they can be used, it's fine.

Among them, the recipes for Hemostatic Powder and Antidote Pill are not too expensive, 1,500 credit points each. The only one that is a bit pricey for Hu Jinsi is the recipe for Qi-Circulation Powder, which actually cost Hu Jinsi 4,000 credit points.

With the recipes, of course, it's time to start the medicine-making work.

Fortunately, these recipes are very simple, primary recipes, and the environmental requirements for medicine making are not too high; a few simple medicine furnaces are enough.

Unlike forging, which requires strength, medicine making mainly relies on fine perception and dexterous movements, which Hu Jinsi doesn't seem to lack. 20 points of perception and 19 points of agility are definitely far beyond the minimum requirements for refining these medicines.

Hu Jinsi laid the herbs on the table one by one and took a deep breath.

Contrasting with online instructional videos, combined with the medicine-making memories and inspiration that appeared out of thin air in his mind after learning the recipes, he began his first attempt at medicine making.

He carefully controlled the heat, putting the licorice and angelica into the medicine furnace one by one. The temperature in the medicine furnace needed to be precisely controlled; too high and it would burn, too low and it wouldn't refine the medicinal effect.

Fortunately, the muscle memory brought about after learning the recipes made his technique unexpectedly steady, and every movement of his fingers carried an indescribable sense of fluidity.

Not long after, a faint aroma of herbs wafted from the medicine furnace, filling the entire room.

Soon, he had refined his first portion of Hemostatic Powder.

Due to the feedback of the specialty [Master the Life Stream] (Effect: Insight and Medicine are incorporated into your professional field; you can now gain professional experience through medicine-related behaviors; you have gained the ability to skillfully operate herbal tools), Hu Jinsi also felt in the dark that he had gained a little professional experience.

This bit of professional experience was a drop in the bucket compared to his current upgrade needs, but this was the first time Hu Jinsi had gained professional experience at home outside of meditation.

Although in terms of time efficiency, the professional experience gained from this alchemy was not yet comparable to the efficiency of the experience gained during Hu Jinsi's meditation, it was at least a new path for him.

Moreover, he and his squad had a genuine need for these potions, so this experience was merely an additional byproduct.

The reason for rushing to start the potion-making process was also due to the limitations of Su Wan's spell slots.

Su Wan's six spell slots each theoretically had their own role in combat, and it wouldn't be ideal to remove any of them.

However, considering the squad's current setup, Hu Jinsi simply suggested that Su Wan give up healing entirely and replace her most frequently used "Healing Word."

Hu Jinsi provided two reasons for this.

First, the String Manipulation Academy that Su Wan chose clearly followed a control-oriented path, and any related healing magic in the future would not benefit from any buffs or bonuses, so it would have to be abandoned sooner or later.

Second, Hu Jinsi's Life Stream Sect could take over the effects previously provided by "Healing Word" through the refining of medicinal pills.

Whether it was healing or detoxification, these were originally effects of Su Wan's spells.

Furthermore, Su Wan didn't use "Healing Word" very often anyway; she hadn't used it at all during this dungeon run.

Most of the time, the healing Lin Rui received came from picking up the healing mist generated by Hu Jinsi's attacks, with a small amount coming from potions Lin Rui drank himself.

Of course, most of these potions were items that had dropped sporadically in previous dungeons, with the "Cold Plains" dungeon contributing the most.

However, these potions were now gradually running out.

Furthermore, the potions themselves had an expiration date.

The potions obtained from "Cold Plains" last year were on the verge of passing their final expiration date, which was another reason why Hu Jinsi was rushing to start his alchemy.

After his first successful experience, Hu Jinsi struck while the iron was hot and refined one finished product for every recipe he had on hand.

Among these, except for the Qi Circulation Powder which could provide Hu Jinsi with 2 points of professional experience each, the rest provided the minimum of 1 point of professional experience.

Of course, the amount of professional experience was not important right now.

Hu Jinsi quickly took screenshots of the finished products and sent their attributes to Su Wan and Lin Rui.

Su Wan and Lin Rui were very excited after seeing these finished products.

"Self-sufficiency!" Su Wan said with a smile. "Our squad finally has a complete system. From now on, we can freely chug potions when we go into dungeons."

Lin Rui also rarely sent a voice message: "Jinsi, you're awesome. From now on, you're our logistics manager."

Su Wan said, "Since Jinsi has succeeded on his end, I'll start preparing to replace my spell. I plan to do as you said and replace 'Healing Word' with 'Spider Climb'."

Hu Jinsi smiled at his terminal and then continued to briefly introduce the potions, saying:

"The Lesser Healing Potion and Hemostatic Powder do not share a cooldown, so each squad member can take some. A single dose now can restore nearly 1/2 to 1/3 of everyone's health, which is much more than those raw, unprocessed herbs."

"As for the Lesser Defense Potion, just divide a few bottles among yourselves for emergencies; relying on it in combat isn't realistic. Its damage absorption doesn't factor in armor, so it's only useful for mitigating environmental damage or sudden AOE."

"As for the Qi Circulation Powder, you won't need it, only I will. You should each take some Detoxification Pills, though."

He continued, "The raw materials for these pills are actually not very expensive, and parts of them can be gathered in many dungeons. I gathered some of the raw materials for the Lesser Healing Potion and Lesser Defense Potion back when I was at the 'Wandering Isle,' so I still have some stock and don't need to buy any for now."

"I will purchase some of the other necessary materials tonight and try to refine them before the next dungeon run, enough for our next two dungeon runs. The related expenses will be paid directly from the squad's public fund."

"No problem with that, that's definitely how it should be," Lin Rui and Su Wan immediately agreed. "After all, it's a service for the squad, so the squad's fund should naturally cover the cost."

After the conversation ended, Hu Jinsi told the two to go get some rest. That evening, after Hu Jinsi finished refining all the medicinal materials on hand, he began his meditation.

It must be said that meditating in a room filled with the scent of medicine was a brand-new experience for Hu Jinsi. The faint herbal smell lingering at the tip of his nose was not pungent at all; instead, it made him feel exceptionally peaceful.

---

The next morning, Hu Jinsi was startled awake from his meditation by a knock on the door.

He rubbed his eyes and checked the time; it was only eight in the morning. These people were too enthusiastic.

When he opened the door, he saw that it was Lin Rui and Su Wan. Along with them came breakfast for Hu Jinsi—steamed buns and porridge, still hot.

"Why are you here?" Hu Jinsi picked up a bun and took a bite; the temperature was just right.

Lin Rui scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. "We've never seen potion refining up close. Although classmates in our class with life professions have relevant skills, we were both too embarrassed to bother them."

"As for you..." Su Wan said with a grin, "we don't have to use such distant words as 'bothering.' We mainly just wanted to see it up close and, by the way, ask about your actual experience with this kind of life skill."

Hu Jinsi rolled his eyes after hearing this.

What kind of experience could there be?

But he didn't say anything, just took the breakfast and started eating slowly.

Not long after, the herbs ordered last night were delivered.

In front of them, Hu Jinsi began a new round of refining. During the process, Su Wan and Lin Rui held their breath, not making a sound the entire time. Su Wan even covered her mouth, afraid of accidentally disturbing him. Lin Rui stared intently at the swirling medicinal liquid in the medicine furnace.

It wasn't until Hu Jinsi finished his work that the two let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew—" Su Wan exhaled, "Watching you refine medicine is even more nerve-wracking than casting my own spells."

Su Wan asked, "Jinsi, with this kind of alchemy, what does it feel like for someone like you who has absolutely no experience?"

Hu Jinsi gave the same answer: "What kind of feeling could there be?"

"These recipes themselves are certified by the World Consciousness of Water Blue Star. Once you learn these recipes, you also simultaneously learn the experience and knowledge gained from refining that recipe."

"This knowledge isn't just as simple as telling you the words of the recipe; it includes muscle memory, as well as the body's relevant reactions when facing various accidents during the refining process—all of it is bestowed upon you along with the recipe."

Su Wan said in surprise, "That's so magical?! It's a pity my profession doesn't have relevant production skills... It's such a shame."

Hu Jinsi said, "This isn't a true production-related skill either. Compared to those true potion-making professions, what I've obtained is just a castrated version of the ability."

"I can merely refine medicine, and the professional experience I gain is very little—only 1 point. As I chatted with you before, in the squad I met in Daibei City, they actually had a Pharmacist profession."

"In addition to being able to learn recipes and refine medicine like me, Pharmacists can also try to develop recipes without having them, and can improve recipes after obtaining them. Compared to me, theirs is what a complete life profession and skill should look like; mine is just a simple application brought about by my school."

After finishing the conversation with Hu Jinsi, Lin Rui suddenly slapped his thigh, as if remembering something important.

"Right! That Half-Orc bloodline has already been sold."

"This Half-Orc bloodline is really very easy to sell. Although I don't know who would choose this thing that lowers intelligence and charisma, I set a starting bid of 20,000 and a maximum price of 30,000 last night."

"After setting it, someone bought the Half-Orc bloodline directly at the maximum price within a few minutes. Obviously, the price I set was a bit low. But I also asked my father about the value of this thing after I left the dungeon."

"My father told me this thing is only worth 20,000 to 30,000 credits. At the same time, he also said that if I had obtained some other bloodlines, such as an Elf bloodline, selling it for 100,000 or several hundred thousand credits would be possible. However, the audience for this Half-Orc bloodline in the country is generally not very high."

"Many people here in the country don't buy it for themselves, but as stock. If they hoard a certain amount, they use cross-border teleportation arrays to take them abroad to sell; it's said that these Orc bloodlines are quite popular in other countries."

"These bloodlines combined with certain wild-natured professions can indeed exert amazing effects, but now the world is generally evolving in a more civilized direction, so those wild professions have gradually been marginalized."

"As for the remaining piece of equipment, the 'Tauren Cast Iron Bracers' have also been reserved by Wang Jingshan, as you know."

"We agreed to trade money for goods on Thursday when we return to school. 5,000 credits, not expensive; it's a friendly price for an acquaintance."

"As for the rest of the worthless materials, I plan to ask the Alchemist Li Hao if he wants them after we get back to class. If Li Hao doesn't want them, I'll just throw them to the class monitor to handle. But these things aren't worth much; once they are sold, the proceeds can just go into the squad's public fund."

The three of them are now splitting the bulk of the money, with each person getting 10,000 credits.

But Lin Rui also reminded them that this income has not yet been taxed.

"Although everyone is still a minor, the taxes that should be paid still need to be paid. So don't forget to file your individual tax returns at the end of the first quarter. After all, everyone is already an Awakened, so don't leave a stain on your record because of this small issue of individual income tax; that would be too terrible."

After finishing all the business, Lin Rui and Su Wan said goodbye to Hu Jinsi.

Today, they are going to take Su Qing and Su Yu shopping, and by the way, go to the store to see the physical all-terrain vehicle and experience its effect on the spot.

Thinking of this, Hu Jinsi quickly said, "Since Su Wan has already bought a practice flying broom, Lin Rui, you don't need to buy an all-terrain vehicle. Didn't you want to buy a heavy motorcycle before?"

"Huh?" Lin Rui asked him, "If I don't have an all-terrain vehicle, what will I do in the next dungeon?"

Hu Jinsi said, "Wait until I finish speaking; what's the rush? You go ahead and shop today, and after you're done, send me the link. Consider that all-terrain vehicle bought by me, but I won't be driving it in the next dungeon. You just unload your equipment and drive my all-terrain vehicle in the dungeon."

Lin Rui was a bit confused at this point and said, "Then if I drive the all-terrain vehicle, Su Wan has a practice flying broom, and Zhou Wen also bought a practice flying broom, what about you?"

Hu Jinsi patted Lin Rui's shoulder with a look of exasperation: "Of course I'll just run up the walls and cliffs directly. Even with you guys driving the all-terrain vehicle, you might not be as fast as me running vertically up the cliff. This all-terrain vehicle is meant to improve maneuverability and save you stamina; on this kind of terrain, it can't run that fast. To be honest, it's not even as fast as me using 'Unarmored Movement'."

Lin Rui and Su Wan thought about the scene of the sixth level; indeed, with them driving up the mountain road in circles, it might really not be as fast as Hu Jinsi running vertically up the cliff.

Lin Rui understood Hu Jinsi's meaning after hearing this and said, "Alright, then thank you very much."

Hu Jinsi quickly said, "Don't just say thank you and leave it at that."

"Don't forget that you're responsible for preparing the food for the next dungeon. Hurry up and buy what needs to be bought today; I don't want to be gnawing on compressed biscuits in the dungeon next time—eating too much of that stuff makes my stomach uncomfortable."

Lin Rui and Su Wan agreed with a smile and turned to leave Hu Jinsi's house.

Hu Jinsi waved his hand and closed the door.

The room became quiet again, and the medicinal scent had not yet dissipated. He looked at the remaining medicinal materials, sighed, and continued to bury himself in his work.