Chapter 376 - 367: Quantity

Chapter 376: Chapter 367: Quantity

In the castle conference room, Velin had just summarized the laboratory’s victory in the simplest of terms.

Tristan, Valerius, Barrett... Officials of all ranks from the Development Department, Technology Department, and Security Department were seated on both sides, their faces beaming with the exhilaration of surviving a disaster.

"So, you’re saying we won?" The head of commerce, Ola, could no longer contain himself. He slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet, his portly body trembling with excitement.

"On a laboratory level, yes," Velin replied.

"Wonderful!" Ola nearly jumped for joy. "Lord Count, I’ll immediately arrange for all our stockpiled purification potions and protective suits to be sent to the quarantine camps! We can even prepare a small celebration..."

"As for a celebration, we’ll have to wait a little longer."

A calm voice interrupted Ola’s euphoria.

It was Elvin.

The botanical expert stood up. He didn’t look at anyone, merely laying a report on the long table as if it weighed a ton.

"The cultivation conditions for Shadowgrave Grass are extremely harsh."

"It requires soil mixed with Obsidian powder and volcanic ash, and has strict requirements for temperature, humidity, and pH levels. Most critically, it can only grow in an environment rich with shadow energy. In the entire domain, the only places that fit the criteria are the graveyard and a few underground caves."

Elvin’s finger pressed down hard on the last line of the report.

"Its natural growth cycle is three months."

The temperature in the conference room seemed to drop by twenty degrees.

"Three months?" The smile on Ola’s face froze. "Are you kidding? Can we afford to wait three months?"

He looked at Velin in desperation.

"My lord, don’t you have... that ability to accelerate plant growth?"

"The Spring Messenger’s acceleration process drains the plant’s life potential," Velin’s voice was calm. "Forcing its growth only leads to an insufficient accumulation of the active ingredients. I’ve tried it. The Shadowgrave Grass I rapidly grew had only one-tenth the potency of a normal plant. It’s a waste of our precious blood resources."

"This..."

"Moreover, the extraction and formulation processes are exceedingly complex," an alchemist from the Technology Department added, his expression grim.

"From material preparation to mother-liquor extraction, then to aetheric blending and fusion-aging, every single step requires a skilled alchemy apprentice several hours to complete. Even if we put every apprentice in the research institute on it, we couldn’t produce five potions a day!"

Everyone’s gaze subconsciously converged on Tristan, the chief executive officer who held the domain’s resource data.

Tristan said nothing, merely pushing a papyrus sheet covered in numbers to the center of the table.

"Based on our current production capacity, the monthly output will be less than one hundred doses."

He paused, then delivered the final blow.

"And according to the latest report, yesterday alone, there were nine new cases across all quarantine camps. That number is still rising."

As if all the strength had been drained from him, Ola collapsed back into his chair.

The conference room fell into silence.

The hope that had seemed so tangible just moments ago was shattered in an instant.

The smiles vanished from everyone’s faces. They had the potion, but the numbers—the damn numbers—were crushing them.

In the midst of this silence, an abrupt laugh rang out.

It was Velin.

He was actually laughing.

All the officials looked up, staring at him with incredulous eyes.

"If this had happened in any other domain in the Duchy, then yes, we could declare the apocalypse now."

Velin rose to his feet, his eyes sweeping over faces that were shocked, confused, or despairing.

"But this is the White Tower Earl’s Domain."

He looked down upon the bureaucratic system he had built with his own hands, his voice suddenly rising.

"In the past six months, how many people have graduated from our literacy classes? How many workers have our workshops trained who understand basic operational procedures?!"

He didn’t wait for an answer, instead turning directly to Valerius.

"Master Valerius!"

"Here!"

"I need you to do one thing!" Velin’s hand slammed down on the tabletop with a loud BANG. "Break down the production process for the Blood Cough Potion! I want it split into thirty—no, fifty—independent steps! Each step must be simplified to the point that it can be completed by anyone who can read a diagram and understand basic operations!"

His voice echoed through the conference room. A powerful aura emanated from Velin, and the others were all stunned by his confidence.

"We don’t have enough alchemists who can complete a step in just a few hours!"

"But we have thousands, tens of thousands, of industrial workers who can complete a single, simple step, even if it takes them a dozen hours!"

"We can absolutely use quantity to make up for quality!"

...

DONG—!

DONG—! DONG—!

As the Count’s orders flowed out of the castle like a torrent, the sound of a bronze gong shattered the tranquility of Minas Tirith Port.

The streets were sparsely populated and most shops were closed, with only the clatter of the Patrol Team’s leather boots echoing on the stone-paved roads.

Inside the Thousand-Household Command of the Third Residential District, Laine had assembled his one hundred Ten-Household Captains.

"What is it now?" A stout Ten-Household Captain tugged at his mask in frustration. "Just this morning, a young lad in one of my households started coughing up blood. His whole family was taken away! People are panicking, I can barely keep them in line!"

"Indeed, Master Laine," another, older Ten-Household Captain said, worried. "The Lord’s quarantine order is correct, but what about the medicine? If we don’t get medicine soon, morale will collapse!"

Laine looked at the anxious faces of his subordinates. He cleared his throat, trying to make his voice sound steady and strong.

"Everyone, the Lord Count has asked me to gather you all precisely for the matter of ’medicine’!"

Everyone fell silent, their eyes fixed on him.

"Just today, the Technology Department succeeded!" Laine’s voice suddenly rose, and he could feel the excitement and tremor in his own words. "The miracle cure for the plague, the ’Blood Cough Potion,’ has been developed!"

"Really?"

"My heavens!"

After a brief moment to process the news, the room erupted in thunderous cheers.

"But!" Laine waved his hand forcefully, pulling everyone’s attention back to him. "We have the potion, but production can’t keep up! The Lord Count needs people, a lot of people, to participate in the production!"

"The Count has now issued a decree, calling on all who are skilled in cultivation, especially those who have raised magical plants, or craftsmen who know how to mix potions, even if they were only a Pharmacist’s apprentice, to report to the city hall immediately!"

"Even if you don’t have that experience, as long as you’ve graduated from a literacy class, you can go!"

He had thought he would need to give a whole speech to rally them.

However, before he had even finished speaking, a Ten-Household Captain shot to his feet.

"One of the families under me, the father is an herb merchant. His son’s been learning from him since he was a kid, he’s definitely got the know-how!"

"There’s a retired old craftsman in my area who used to do odd jobs in a Mage’s tower. He said he can identify several types of mineral powders!"

"Me! I’m the most literate, let me go! I’m not afraid to die!"

"Count me in!"

Laine stared, stunned, at the impassioned crowd. He quickly recovered, a warm current surging through his chest.

"Good!" he roared. "Stop fighting! Now, go back immediately and bring me everyone who meets the criteria and volunteers! We, the Third Residential District, will be the first Chiliarchy District to answer the Count’s call!"

In less than half an hour, over a hundred excited craftsmen and literacy class graduates had gathered in the open space before the Thousand-Household Command.

Laine looked at the troop, his heart swelling with unprecedented pride. ’This is over a hundred skilled workers! This time, I, Laine, have definitely made a huge contribution!’

After he gave a spirited wave, the group began to march toward the city hall.

However, after crossing just two streets, they were forced to stop.

Ahead, the wide main road leading to the city hall was already flooded with a dense sea of people.

Countless people had formed several long, winding queues that stretched out of sight, shuffling forward slowly within a channel marked by the Patrol Team’s hemp ropes, creating a noisy hum.

Everyone wore the simple masks issued by the domain, and though they kept a certain distance from one another, it still felt incredibly crowded.

Laine immediately spotted an acquaintance, a clerk named Fred, who was sweating profusely as he maintained order alongside the queue.

He quickly squeezed his way over.

"Fred! It’s me, Laine!"

The clerk named Fred looked at him with an expression that said he was about to cry.

"Master Laine, why have you brought people here too?"

"I brought over a hundred of our district’s best!" Laine patted his chest, proudly pointing to the group behind him. "All elites! Can you let us cut in line? I’m here to make a great contribution!"

"A contribution?" Fred looked at him as if he were an idiot, then pointed at the endless sea of people. "Look around you! What’s this handful of people you’ve got? The Second Residential District just came through with three hundred people! The Golden Sail Commerce Association organized five hundred on their own! By a rough estimate, there are at least three thousand people signed up here right now!"

Three thousand people...

Laine’s jaw dropped. He was speechless.

"There are too many people, it’s too dense, the risk of infection is skyrocketing!" Fred lowered his voice, speaking rapidly.

"Lord Tristan was just in the city hall, absolutely furious. He completely chewed out Captain Barton, who’s in charge of security! Forget cutting in line, get your people to disperse and queue up at the very back! Otherwise, the Patrol Team will be using their whips to drive people away!"

Laine looked back at his hundred or so men with their expectant faces, then at the endless line of people coiling like a great serpent down the street.

His small contribution, his spark of pride, was instantly crushed by this vast ocean called "the people."

Just then, a Patrol Team captain standing on high ground roared through an alchemical amplifier, his voice cutting through the clamor.

"Attention everyone! By emergency order of the Executive Hall! Stop registering at this location!"

"All applicants, evacuate to the East District Preparatory Plaza immediately! I repeat! Evacuate to the East District Preparatory Plaza! Officials from the Technology Department will conduct a unified screening there!"