Ralph was a very capable potion maker. He could handle several steps of the brewing process at once, which saved a great deal of time.
After about an hour, Ralph took a bottle of sky-blue potion out of the refrigerator.
Looking at the blue liquid in the glass vessel, he asked Luke, "Detective Chief, judging by the potion's color and clarity, the brew was a success. I just don't know how well it works. Could it be... better than the aphrodisiac I made?"
Luke smiled. "Why don't you try it and find out?"
"Try it? Here? A small sip shouldn't be a problem."
Ralph reviewed the ingredients and extraction process in his mind, deciding that a small sip wouldn't be enough to overwhelm him.
With the spirit of if I don't offer myself, who will? Ralph took a tiny sip of the blue potion.
"It goes down much smoother... and it takes effect quickly... I can feel a fire burning in my lower abdomen..." Ralph carefully felt the changes the potion was bringing to his body. "This feeling... it's a little better than my aphrodisiac. Just a little... but something seems different..."
Sensing that the potion's effects were somewhat different, Ralph gulped down the entire bottle.
His skin quickly flushed red.
"Ah... ah..." Ralph cried out. "This feels incredible! I feel like I'm back in my prime, and this strength is no illusion!"
Ralph picked up the refrigerator used for the experiment and lifted it with ease. Before drinking the potion, he had struggled just to open its door.
"This definitely isn't an aphrodisiac!" Ralph set the refrigerator down and turned to Luke.
His eyes were bloodshot, the veins on his forehead bulged, and the muscles in his neck were taut, twitching with excitement.
"I never said it was an aphrodisiac. You'd better suppress the effects quickly. At your age and with your constitution, you can't withstand this kind of berserk state."
After hearing Luke's warning, Ralph immediately rummaged through a cabinet of reagents for a neutralizing potion. His trembling hands knocked several bottles to the floor.
Once he found the neutralizer, he quickly drank it.
It took about two minutes for his condition to gradually settle.
Drained of energy, Ralph slumped into a chair. He panted heavily, but his eyes were still alight with excitement.
Luke asked him, "How do you feel?"
"I, I..." Ralph took a deep breath before he could speak. "I never imagined that such a tiny adjustment to my aphrodisiac could turn it into such an excellent berserk potion.
"It takes effect quickly and reaches its peak fast. Most importantly, the user can retain some reason while in the berserk state. It does consume a lot of energy, but because of my age, I can't accurately gauge how exhausted I'll be once the effects wear off. I can't judge the toll it takes afterward.
"From my experience, a legitimate magic potion with the same effects could probably sell for twenty thousand Imperial Marks a bottle, while our aphrodisiac only sells for a thousand..."
Luke hadn't expected Ralph to still be thinking about his aphrodisiac.
"Keep producing your aphrodisiac. Set up a separate production line for the berserk potion, and hand every bottle over to me for distribution. You've been involved in black magic potions for a long time. You should know that this berserk potion is enough to get you and all your sons killed and fed to the fish."
Luke wasn't threatening Ralph.
According to the course of events, Ralph would create this high-efficiency berserk potion by chance in an experiment a few months later. Soon after, his entire family would die in an accident at sea, and someone else would turn his invention into a money-making machine.
Ralph had lived long enough to know that this high-efficiency berserk potion was worth far more than his aphrodisiac.
Especially in the Cape District, far too many people had been killed for possessing things they shouldn't have.
"I know what I need to do, Detective Chief. I won't tell anyone this berserk potion exists. I'll hand over every bottle we make to you."
"Good. This is Kailina, my secretary. She'll handle all your accounts, procurement, production, and sales on my behalf.
"I'll also arrange a safer location for your potion workshop. We can't limit our products to berserk potions and aphrodisiacs. You'll need a larger, more advanced laboratory, proper management, and brand-new production equipment."
Ralph thanked Luke earnestly. "Thank you, Detective Chief. I'll never forget what you've done for the Ralph Family."
Luke said, "Make me twenty bottles of this high-efficiency berserk potion now, then make five hundred more and deliver them to the Secret Intelligence Bureau before nightfall. Will that be a problem?"
Ralph considered the production capacity of his workshop.
"No problem. The high-efficiency berserk potion only requires a slight change to the ingredients and process for the aphrodisiac. I can definitely deliver five hundred bottles to the Secret Intelligence Bureau before nightfall.
"I'll make the potion you're taking with you right now, Detective Chief."
The potion room already had all the ingredients for the aphrodisiac. Once he had recovered, Ralph worked with practiced ease and produced twenty bottles of high-efficiency berserk potion in a single batch.
The potions were measured and poured into bottles. Each was a cylindrical shape that fit comfortably in one hand, making it easy to carry and drink.
After getting the potions, Luke had Kailina inspect and audit the workshop's accounts. She recorded all its suppliers and sales channels so the Secret Intelligence Bureau could assign people to investigate them once they returned.
The workshop's hired workers also needed their identities verified before they were invited to the Secret Intelligence Bureau for "questioning."
They had to bring the entire potion workshop under their control.
Even though it was her area of expertise, Kailina was busy until after noon before she finished the main tasks. The remaining details weren't urgent and could be worked out with the workshop later.
Luke and Kailina left Black Potion Alley and returned to the Secret Intelligence Bureau at 2:30 p.m.
Some of the sponsors invited to the meeting had already arrived early.
Luke and Kailina grabbed some ready-made food from the cafeteria to fill their stomachs, then hurried back to his office.
Shelley had been waiting anxiously all morning. When she heard the Detective Chief was back, she immediately went to see him.
"Detective Chief..." Shelley pushed open the door and immediately noticed something different about Luke. "You've changed so much. Not in appearance, but... you've gotten stronger."
"Have I? That's a good thing. Tell me what's happening with the Mad Axe Gang. Can they still hold out?" Luke didn't explain his change to Shelley.
Since Luke said nothing, Shelley didn't dare ask.
She sat down opposite his desk and said, "Without a heavyweight fighter like Jumu to hold the line, the Mad Axe Gang is having a hard time. If the castle weren't sturdy and its defenses weren't so comprehensive, they wouldn't have lasted a single night.
"Lambert wants us to help them find more mercenaries, but...
"Our sponsors have all received warnings from the Security Bureau. Some of them are wavering."
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