Chapter 602: Ointment

Liam Sterling had only kept one of the jars of ointment Evelyn Ford gave him. He gave another to Ryan Rowe, and after consulting with Rhys Chase, he sent the remaining jars to the laboratory. Once the lab reverse-engineered the formula, Liam wanted to ask for Evelyn’s permission to send it to a pharmaceutical factory for mass production.

The ointment was incredibly effective. A single layer applied to a burn would quickly stop the bleeding and itching, and it was also effective at treating festering sores.

The formula was also quite simple. Besides some basic medicinal herbs, it only contained aloe vera gel and the rhizomes of the Cannibal Flower.

The entire Cannibal Flower plant is poisonous, but once the toxins are isolated, its rhizomes can be used to make all sorts of antidotes.

Although the formula was simple, the Cannibal Flower was extremely difficult to find.

The base’s medical team had also developed several ointments to treat burns and festering wounds, but their effects were mediocre at best. People were dying every day in the settlement housing, and several patients at the base were on the verge of death. Everyone was pinning their hopes on the ointment Liam Sterling had brought.

"Cannibal Flowers are only found in the southern regions. Many parts of the south have a subtropical climate, and these flowers grow in tropical rainforests. You can usually find them in areas with poisonous miasma."

Without the Cannibal Flower or a suitable substitute, the ointment couldn’t be mass-produced.

"Are there any Cannibal Flower seeds in the base’s medicinal herb storeroom?"

"No, and even if we planted them now, it would be too late."

The other person grew anxious. "But without the ointment, many more people will die."

Liam Sterling, of course, understood the ointment’s importance. It was just that the Cannibal Flower was too rare. ’Evelyn Ford probably doesn’t have any, either.’

That afternoon, he returned to The Undercity, carrying the last remaining jar of ointment.

At that moment, Evelyn Ford was inside her space with the others, air-drying refined salt. The purification of the purplish-red salt was complete, and many of the water storage barrels Rhys Chase had sent over were still empty, perfect for storing the refined product.

As Evelyn was shoveling salt, Ronan Kendrick suddenly turned his head toward her. "There’s a noise outside."

Evelyn closed her eyes and shifted her consciousness outside the space. Sure enough, she heard knocking at the door.

"That must be Liam Sterling," she said. "For him to come see us at this hour, it must be urgent."

Evelyn put down her shovel. After a quick word with the others, she and Ronan Kendrick left the space.

When they opened the door, Liam Sterling was standing before them.

"Mr. Kendrick, Evelyn, I’m sorry to trouble you again."

Evelyn noted his disheveled hair and the thin sheen of sweat on his face. ’Looks like this isn’t a simple matter.’

"Just tell us what’s on your mind." They all knew each other well enough to be direct. If she could help, Evelyn wouldn’t hesitate.

"Evelyn, about that ointment you gave me... I shared some with Ryan Rowe and the others, and sent a few jars to the lab. They reverse-engineered the formula and even tested it on a few burn patients. The results were excellent. The lab wants to mass-produce it at the pharmaceutical factory to save more patients with burns and festering wounds. The only problem is, they discovered the formula contains Cannibal Flower rhizomes. That ingredient is the core of the ointment, and it’s almost impossible to substitute. The base’s storeroom has neither the flowers nor the seeds, so... I had to come and impose on you again, shamelessly. Do you have any more of the ointment? The base will compensate you, of course. Mr. Chase said you can take your pick of any herbs and seeds from the base’s storeroom, as much as you want."

Evelyn was stunned for a moment after Liam finished. She knew the ointment she made was good, but she’d never expected that adding the Cannibal Flower rhizomes on a whim would make it capable of treating festering wounds.

’In fact, when I gave it to him, I just meant for it to be used as a sunblock and burn salve.’

"Mr. Kendrick, Evelyn, if you don’t want the herbs, we can trade for other things. Cotton, brown sugar, salt, toilet paper, canned goods, flour, fresh meat and vegetables..."

Evelyn quickly waved her hand. "We don’t need any of that. I have several hundred pounds of Cannibal Flower rhizomes here. Since it’s used as a catalyst, you don’t need much for each batch. A few hundred pounds is enough to make hundreds of thousands of units of ointment. And since the lab has already reverse-engineered the formula, I don’t need to write it down for you. If you’re in a hurry, you can take the rhizomes right now."

’The last time I planted herbs, I planted a few acres of Cannibal Flowers. This time, I planted a full ten acres. I never expected they’d come in handy so soon. Rhys Chase isn’t a petty man, and cooperating with him has more pros than cons. What’s the harm in giving them a few hundred pounds of rhizomes for free?’

Liam’s eyes welled with tears. He hadn’t expected the matter to be resolved so easily. He had agonized over how to ask before coming here. He was always asking Evelyn and Ronan for something, and with each request, he found it harder and harder to bring himself to do it.

Evelyn, on the other hand, didn’t see it that way. They were living in The Undercity, safe, clean, and free from conflicts and troubles—all perks provided by Rhys Chase. Over the past few months, they had helped him a great deal and had received plenty in return. The cooperation was a win-win. Besides, the Cannibal Flower rhizomes were meant to treat the sick and save lives. ’It’s not like they’ll turn to gold just sitting in my space,’ she thought, ’so why not?’

Ronan Kendrick went with Liam Sterling to move the Cannibal Flower rhizomes to the storeroom. They had initially thought about putting them in the bedroom for Liam to carry out, but several hundred pounds of anything would require multiple trips. With people constantly coming and going in the hallway, it was better to move them to the storeroom to avoid attracting attention.

As for the base’s medicinal herbs, Evelyn didn’t hesitate to accept the offer. She figured that once she acquired them, they’d be in her space, and she could simply take what she needed, when she needed it.

When the lab received the rhizomes from Liam Sterling, all the researchers were stunned.

"Liam, where on earth did you get these? This is Frelia! And these rhizomes are still fresh—they were obviously harvested recently."

Liam had promised Evelyn he would keep her identity a secret, so he obviously wasn’t going to give her up. That meant he had to let Rhys Chase take the credit for this one.

"Mr. Chase found them. As for where he found them specifically, I don’t know either. Why don’t you guys go ask him?"

The researchers quickly waved their hands in dismissal. "Forget it! We don’t have a death wish. The important thing is we have the ingredients; the source doesn’t matter. Alright, everyone, let’s get to work. We’ll have to push ourselves for the next few days to get this ointment made. There are patients in the hospital whose lives depend on it."

After handing over the rhizomes, Liam Sterling immediately returned to the administration building to report to Rhys Chase.

"Mr. Chase, the ointment situation is resolved. The sun toxin has been getting worse these past few days. The experts predicted it would dissipate within two weeks, but at this rate, it’ll probably take one or two months before it starts to weaken."

Rhys Chase nodded. "The meteorology department and the science division have sent over numerous reports. The data confirms the sun toxin is getting worse every day. The majority of those burned this time are young adults. In fact, ninety percent of the fatalities have been people between the ages of twenty and forty-five."

Liam Sterling frowned at the news.

"Why is that?"

"We’re still investigating. Young people have more vitality and stronger immune systems, which allows them to fend off most germs and viruses. But against the intense heat of the sun toxin, those same strengths seem to have become a fatal weakness."