A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 72: Big Shots and Drama Queens
Chapter 72: Big Shots and Drama Queens

”Ahem,” Zeta coughed again, interrupting the increasingly indecent exchange of glances.

Sykes was his uncle, after all. He couldn’t let him be too embarrassed.

So Zeta changed the subject and looked at Matis. ”Mr. Kering, do you have any proof for what you just said?”

”Yes!” Matis nodded confidently.

Then he opened his opticomputer, enlarged the 3D virtual screen, and projected a video hologram above the long table.

In the hologram, it showed Arix saving people and the data from the testing equipment.

The air in the conference room quieted down instantly as the video played. Everyone watched the video carefully, afraid to miss any details.

After the video ended, the seven people returned to their serious demeanor, no longer arguing but thinking deeply.

”Director Quillan, what do you think?” Zeta asked the most professional person there.

The other five admirals also looked at Quillan.

”If we only look at this video, it seems that Arix’s psychic power is the reason she can heal the shattered psychic world,” Quillan said after thinking for a while.

”Could it be because of her Supergiant+ psychic level? But the Empire’s prince is also a Supergiant+, yet he hasn’t been known to cure psychic power diseases,” Virek said, raising an eyebrow.

”I think you forgot one thing. Since Arix’s psychic power is Supergiant+, maybe she also awakened her Psychic Incarnation?” Fane, who dealt with psychic power every day, was the first to react and boldly guessed.

”Even if Arix has the Psychic Incarnation, so what? Besides Director Quillan, who here doesn’t have it? Just having the Psychic Incarnation doesn’t mean you can heal,” Sykes interjected.

Quillan, who had nothing, silently covered his chest, and glared at Sykes. ’Thank you for pulling me into this. Really, thank you,’ he thought sarcastically.

If they kept talking, Arix’s secrets would soon be fully exposed. Knowing that, Matis finally couldn’t sit still. He quickly said, ”Before coming here, Arix told me to inform the Military Research Institute that she could help develop a psychic power healing potion. That’s why I brought Director Quillan today.”

”A psychic power healing potion?!” The big shots were shocked and exclaimed in unison.

”Are you sure?” Quillan couldn’t sit still, looking at Matis with intense eyes.

”Yes, Arix did say it was a POTION!” Matis emphasized the word ”potion” to prevent these smart people from digging too much into his granddaughter’s secrets.

”Wow! That’s great! That’s just fantastic!” Quillan didn’t care what Matis was thinking; he was simply overjoyed.

The Military Research Institute had been working tirelessly to solve the problem of psychic power diseases for hundreds of years. They almost worked around the clock, but until now, they had not found a solution.

Quillan’s initial hope had turned into despair over the years. No one understood the bitterness in his heart.

He couldn’t wait any longer.

Quillan felt he couldn’t sit still. He wanted to go to the Hecaris immediately and dive into researching the psychic power healing potion with Arix.

”Don’t get too excited yet,” Matis said, trying to control the situation. ”Arix had two requests. First, she need three more days before she joins in the research. Second, the research should be done in the Hecaris. I’m sure everyone agrees to these small requests, right?”

Matis lied about the second request to keep the advantage for himself. Arix didn’t actually make that request, but Matis wasn’t going to let go of the benefit.

If the research took place in the Hecaris, the Fifth Legion would be the first to benefit from the potion once it was developed. Matis was determined to ensure this advantage.

The other four admirals exchanged glances. Although they wanted to object, they couldn’t deny the importance of the potion. Letting Matis’s people benefit first was acceptable, but they planned to negotiate the potion’s distribution later.

Thus began the session of sympathetic bargaining.

Mael started with a sorrowful expression, ”Everyone knows that my First Legion guards the most dangerous Unicorn Galaxy, just a few space stations away from the insectoid nest. We suffer the highest casualties every year. So, me asking for 20% of the potion isn’t too much, right?”

Everyone closed their eyes in thought, fingers on their chins, and then nodded.

Sykes wanted to garner sympathy too. He pinched his thigh but didn’t feel any pain, at least not strong enough to make him cry. Desperate, he imagined his wife left him for someone else.

Instantly, tears streamed down his face as he said in a sorrowful voice, ”I know our Second Legion’s frontline isn’t the most dangerous, but the living conditions are the worst. The surrounding planets are covered in sand and trash. Our soldiers get excited seeing even a small piece of chocolate. They are fine soldiers of the Alliance but live worse than those picking garbage on Planet Waste. Can you bear not giving us more potion? Of course, I’ll only ask for 20%.”

Everyone was deeply moved, fingers on their chins, and nodded in agreement again.

Virek quickly thought of a story and instantly acted like he aged ten years. Then, with a weary voice, he said, ”And my Third Legion is stationed at the farthest edge of Alliance territory. Because of the distance, husbands and wives often can’t reunite, and children don’t remember their fathers. The most important issue is that due to transportation difficulties, our soldiers often can’t get treatment in time. But I only ask for twenty percent of the potion. That’s not greedy, right? After all, we are so far away.”

Everyone felt his pain and nodded thoughtfully in agreement.

Chapter 77: Mysterious Ingredients

Matis saw that everyone was about to divide the potion and quickly spoke before Fane could. ”Everyone knows the situation of the Fifth Legion, right? Not only is the potion Arix’s work, but with the recent insectoid tide, the Fifth Legion has been attacked the most. The hardships we face are immense. So, I must ask for thirty percent of the potion. If not, Arix might be too distracted to focus on the research, and if she fails to make it...”

Before Matis could finish, everyone interrupted, ”Fine, fine, you can have it!”

Matis smiled discreetly, then said with a touched expression, ”Thank you, everyone, on behalf of the Fifth Legion.”

Fane was left with only ten percent. Not happy, he said coldly, ”I’ll take fifteen percent for the Fourth Legion. So the Third Legion will give me 5% out of their 20%.”

”Hey! Why pick on me?” Virek glared.

Fane glanced at Virek and said calmly, ”Next year, I’ll give you an extra ten percent of Psychic Ware.”

Virek hesitated, wanting to refuse, but then he swallowed his words. With a righteous look, he declared, ”OK, for more Psychic Ware next year, I agree.”

The others looked at Virek with disdain but were secretly envious. Trading 5% of potion for 10% of Psychic Ware was incredibly unfair, but unfair for the Psychic Ware side!

Though Virek appeared bitter, he was thrilled inside. Potions might be rare for others, but not for the Brant family. They were a potion-making family with thousands of Master Chemists and tens of thousands of chemists. If they got the formula for the psychic healing potion, they could easily produce it themselves.

With this in mind, Virek felt even smarter.

Thus, the Alliance’s top-level meeting ended ”peacefully.”