Chapter 18 Pharmaceuticals
Wen Le opened the system store. Only three icons were lit: water, pet food, and pet chew sticks. The other icons were all gray. The medicinal herbs Wen Le needed required level 6 to light up.
Wen Le: “…”
Aside from water, he couldn't eat or use any of the other two things. Wen Le seriously suspected that the system was just a cute pet system disguised as a magical doctor. It was simply selling dog meat under the guise of sheep.
Perhaps sensing the host's emotional fluctuations, the system proactively jumped out to explain: "In order to avoid a fire in the host's backyard that would disrupt the host's life, the system believes it is necessary to appease the family members."
Wen Le: “…”
System, come out! I promise I won't kill you. What do you mean by "avoiding a backyard fire"? And what about coaxing family members? Do pets and family members have anything to do with each other?
Wen Le felt that either he had little education and no longer understood the meaning of the word "family member" in this era, or the system was deceiving him.
According to the nature of the system, Wen Le thinks the latter is more likely.
And then: "You tell me how to make medicine? I can't just boil some herbs together. You have to give me a prescription, right?" He said that he felt like something was missing, and now he remembered that it was the prescription. What's the point of just having an extra pharmaceutical logo?
I was wondering why the system was so easy to talk to today and even offered to explain. It turned out that all this time was just to change the subject.
"System, did you hack into my stuff?" Wen Le asked, poking at the system interface. "Tell me the truth, don't play dead. I'm telling you what's wrong. Others get a newbie gift pack for playing a game, but you only give me some proficiency and credit points. There's definitely something wrong."
The system reacted violently: "You are slandering me! Blatant slander!"
Then, without giving the host a chance to speak, the system spoke a lot in rapid succession. The main idea was that Wen Le had wronged it and did not trust it enough, which had caused it great harm. At the end, it also emphasized that everything generated by the system was converted from energy and was not something that could be easily found.
After listening for a long time, the only thing Wen Le could remember was that the system kept complaining and talking about how difficult it was.
Finally, Wen Le concluded: "You really are hiding something from me."
There must be something wrong when things are abnormal. You know, the system has always been aloof and rarely sends out tasks. It is suddenly so active today that it is difficult for him to believe what the system says.
As soon as Wen Le finished speaking, the system became anxious: "Absolutely not!" It almost squeezed out these four words from between its teeth with gritted teeth.
The system refused to admit it, and no matter how much Wen Le doubted it, it was useless. He couldn't open his head to find the system and interrogate it.
Anyway, there is still a long way to go in the future, and there will always be a chance to ask.
Thinking of this, Wen Le didn't waste time on this question, but asked about the prescription: "Then you have to tell me the prescription, otherwise how can I make medicine?"
"This must be given to you." Perhaps the system felt guilty, so it was very easy to talk to this time and gave him the prescription directly.
Wen Le just felt his head getting hot, and a piece of information flooded into his mind, and finally generated a prescription and a picture of the required medicinal materials.
The system said, "This prescription is the initial one given by the system. The host will need to purchase the rest." It then added, "This is a rule. No one, not the system, can break this rule!"
The system then said, "You can only purchase this medicine if you reach the required level." Then, a book about medicinal herbs appeared on the system panel, telling Wen Le, "I suggest you buy this and take a look. It introduces all the medicinal herbs that have appeared so far, and includes detailed descriptions and dynamic comparison charts. If you read it carefully, you will learn how to distinguish medicinal herbs."
After saying this, he disappeared again without giving Wen Le a chance to speak.
Wen Le was helpless, feeling both happy and disappointed. He had worked so hard for so long and thought that he could buy something he wanted after reaching level five, but he didn't expect that this mall was a huge pit, selling only pet supplies.
Wen Le couldn't help but wonder if the little thing was a relative of the system. For example, why was it taken care of so well?
Recovering his thoughts, Wen Le comforted himself in his heart that having something is better than having nothing.
However, he soon lost his joy because, except for water, pet food and pet chew sticks which can be purchased with credit points, all other items in the system mall require energy stones to purchase.
Wen Le carefully read the description given by the mall and realized that this energy stone is just a general term. Those minerals with energy are also a type of energy stone. The system will estimate the price based on the energy contained in the ore.
The other type of energy stone is a finished product sold on the market, such as the energy stone that Aowei bought last time to replenish the energy shield. This type of energy stone is also graded by the system, leaving no room for Wen Le to pass off inferior products as good ones.
Wen Le went to check the price of the medicinal herbs, and suddenly his eyes went dark. One herb cost two E-level energy stones. This was the lowest-grade herb. The price of those high-grade herbs could be imagined.
Wen Le closed the system interface with great dismay, and he already had a premonition of what kind of miserable life he would live in the future.
He endured for a long time but still couldn't help but poked the system: "System, is the price in the mall too high? It's just a low-level herb, but it costs two E-level energy stones?" How is this different from robbery?
This time, the system responded quickly: "It's expensive for a reason. Host, you should know that cheap products are not good, and good products are not cheap. You will know after you buy them." It then added, "Also, this pricing is to prevent the host from becoming dependent on the system mall and losing touch with reality.
The previous host was so overly dependent on the system mall that he completely lost touch with reality. As a result, he was imprisoned after being discovered. I'm sure you don't want to know his final outcome. I can only tell you that his ending was extremely tragic."
Finally, the system gave a warning: "The system exists to allow the host to better learn medical and pharmaceutical knowledge, thereby promoting the advancement of medicine, rather than relying on the system to satisfy one's own selfish desires. Finally, the host is warned again: please use the items in the mall reasonably and keep the existence of the system confidential, otherwise the consequences will be at your own risk."
Wen Le was speechless. After hearing what he said, how could he still dare to buy it? And since it was like this, what was the point of the mall?
I guess the system is mostly designed to scare him, otherwise it wouldn't say that it's reasonable to use the mall. I guess it's just to remind him to be careful and not to expose the existence of the system.
However, even if the system doesn't tell him, it won't expose the system. Only a fool would ask for trouble.
After exiting the system interface, Wen Le carefully recalled the contents of the prescription and rehearsed the process of making the medicine in his mind several times. Only when he felt that he was completely familiar with the prescription did he tell Ao Wei the news that he could make the medicine.
After hearing the news, Ovi could hardly wait to take Wen Le to Area B. Things are different now because many patients come here to seek treatment. There must be a way to get out safely, otherwise so many people would not be able to get here through the energy storm.
Ovi took Wen Le to the same alley they'd been in before and explained their purpose. The other party quickly produced the herbs they'd prepared long ago. In their own words, it would be best if Wen Le could learn to make medicine, but if not, they could still sell the herbs, which would be the best of both worlds.
Only then did Wen Le realize that the other party was reselling medicinal herbs. Furthermore, this family wasn't some impoverished family forced to do a small business. The reason they lived in a dark alley and lived a simple life was simply to hide their incompetence, fearing being targeted by those with ulterior motives.
The two parties agreed on the terms and signed the contract, and the other party generously allowed Wen Le to take away the medicinal materials and tools needed for medicine making.
On the way back, Wen Le said: "Uncle Li is so generous. He let us take such expensive medicinal herbs back directly." The "Uncle Li" Wen Le mentioned was the hunchbacked old man.
Ovi snorted when he heard this: "If he dares to do this, he must have the means to get his things back." There was a strong smell of blood in his words.
How could he have dared to run a medicinal herb business on Abandoned Star without some influence? I'm afraid that old man's hands would be stained with blood. However, Ovi didn't care about these things. As long as he was honest in his business and didn't go back on his word, he didn't care about anything else.
Upon hearing this, Wen Le wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead and thought silently, fortunately he was bound to the system to make his existence valuable, otherwise his fragile little body might not be able to survive here.
…
After returning to the safe zone, Wen Le couldn't wait to carry his things into his tent, and told his two assistants not to let anyone disturb him.
Then he went into the tent and started making medicine.
Following the instructions on the prescription, Wen Le first used his mental power to sort through all the herbs needed to make a potion. This process was not easy. Although the prescription sounded simple, it was extremely difficult to actually put it into practice.
By the time Deng Wenle sorted out the herbs, a thin layer of sweat had formed on his forehead, and his mental strength had been completely depleted.
Wen Le couldn't help but smile bitterly. His useless body really needed exercise. And his mental strength was too low, which needed to be improved.
After sorting out the medicinal materials, Wen Le took out the medicine-making tools and began to purify the herbs in order according to the prescription. In this process, he once again exhausted his mental energy, but fortunately, the herbs were not wasted in the purification process.
The next step is the most important synthesis. Whether the potion can be successfully made depends on this.
Success or failure depends on this one move.
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