Joining the Patrol Bureau, Sequence 7 Potion Formula (9k2)

Joining the Patrol Bureau, Sequence 7 Potion Formula (9k2)

"This is C-112 Squad. I am Executive Officer C01."

Xia Zhi switched on the pager hanging from her collar.

"An aggravated assault has now been confirmed at a high school in District D. The perpetrator is a humanoid monster affected by an unknown ability."

"C-112 Squad has taken control of the scene, but there are numerous injured. We require medical aid and support from other field squads."

"This is the Patrol Bureau." Only after a moment did the pager respond. "All field squads are occupied with various homicide cases,

and are temporarily unable to support your squad."

"However, according to the Aid Application and Action Guidelines, we have dispatched a medical team from a partner company to provide assistance."

"They will arrive with medical supplies in approximately twenty minutes."

So there was barely any help at all. Xia Zhi shut off the pager and said sternly,

"Within twenty minutes, we need to eliminate every enemy here and clear the way for the medical team—C02!"

"Here!" Ji Jin immediately stepped forward.

"You and C05 will conduct emergency rescue work and protect the injured civilians."

"C03, you and C06 will mobilize any capable civilians at the scene and evacuate the non-ability users who can still move."

"C04, C07, you're coming with me. We'll fight and restrain all the perpetrators!"

She issued her orders crisply. Everyone immediately saluted her before efficiently splitting up.

The group sprinted forward, turning into several swiftly darting black shadows as they rushed into the school like black hawks flying low to the ground.

The scene inside the school was utterly horrific. Many innocent students had already fallen to the ground, bearing obvious wounds inflicted by "Void" monsters.

Many had stopped breathing. Only a few of the recently injured still had faint rises and falls in their chests as they lay unconscious in pools of blood.

Before long, Ji Jin and C05 arrived beside a girl lying in a pool of blood.

"Don't be afraid, little sister. Come with me—"

Ji Jin expanded her Personal Reality, blowing out a bubble large enough to fit one person as though she were blowing soap bubbles. It enveloped the girl before her, whose abdomen had been pierced by a "Void" monster and was pouring blood, leaving her on the verge of death.

The next instant, the blood that had just sprayed out and still hung in the air flowed back as though time had reversed.

She clearly still had a huge wound, yet no blood leaked out. Instead, it circulated normally through her damaged blood vessels...

The girl inexplicably felt warmth spread through her body, followed by a surge of strength. Staggering, she followed Ji Jin and C05 toward the school exit.

C03 and C06 nearby refused to be outdone, quickly beginning the evacuation of civilians from the athletic field and school buildings.

A "Void" monster caught the scent of gathered humans and let out a ferocious roar as it tried to charge the evacuees, only to be blocked by C04 and C07, two physical enhancement ability users—

Then came a cold warning.

"You have violated—forget it. You probably wouldn't understand anyway."

"Under the Armed Escalation Principle, C-112 Squad will employ lethal force against you. The District D Central Patrol Bureau will issue a ruling on this incident based on the law enforcement record."

Xia Zhi rattled off the formal statement. The next moment, her body flickered, and she appeared out of thin air behind the monster C04 had stopped. Looking at the grotesque growths on the "Void" monster's body, a trace of disgust appeared on her face.

The next instant, she waved her hand without hesitation, sending a seemingly light hand chop toward the monster's arm.

But the result was anything but light!

The space through which her hand swept trembled, rippling with visible distortions.

Her palm blade passed lightly through it, and the monster's arm vanished into thin air as though swallowed by some invisible abyssal maw!

At the same time, the grotesque limb with its impossibly smooth severed surface appeared in midair nearby and dropped silently to the ground.

Before long, it charred as though scorched by fire, then crumbled into gray-white ash.

But after cutting off the monster's arm with her ability, Xia Zhi immediately furrowed her brow.

Obvious spatial fluctuations appeared around her, and a fatigue like that caused by overusing her ability welled up from the depths of her heart. The familiar sensation instantly stirred her memories.

This monster is affecting my Personal Reality?!

She could not help recalling the serial killer Ron had once tracked down and arrested.

That man's ability had also been able to affect her Personal Reality. Why was this happening? Could this monster have been turned into such a thing by a similar mutated ability?

Xia Zhi pondered the matter, but her hands did not slow.

The instant the monster howled in pain, she delivered several more hand chops, easily severing all four of its limbs and ensuring it could no longer resist.

"All right, one living specimen should be enough. Keep an eye on this one. I'll deal with the rest of the perpetrators."

She gave C04 and C07 a few instructions. The two Patrol Bureau officers in black immediately obeyed, pulling various restraint tools from the cases on their backs.

Only through great effort did they manage to bind the monster—which was still struggling desperately despite having been turned into a human-shaped thing and was ramming about with only its torso—into a tight bundle. Meanwhile, Xia Zhi drove her ability at full force and leapt rapidly through the school.

If a monster was close, she simply waved her hand and sliced the "Void" monster slaughtering people in half.

If it was farther away, she did not go over directly. Instead, she casually picked up a few pens from a classroom or stones from the ground. With just a snap of her fingers, those objects appeared inside the "Void" monsters' heads and blew them apart from within.

Still, although there were not many monsters in the school—only a dozen or so—

After dealing with around ten of them, Xia Zhi's face had turned pale, and a distinct dizziness flooded her mind.

What kind of effect do these monsters carry? Why do I feel so exhausted every time I use my ability to attack them?

She had only used her ability several times in ordinary ways, yet Xia Zhi felt as if she had gone without rest for a very long time. Even the spatial teleportation she normally used effortlessly had become sluggish, and she could no longer easily transport miscellaneous objects into the monsters' heads.

Holding her forehead, she walked forward, searching to see whether any stragglers remained in the high school.

But after only a brief lapse in focus, as she rounded a corner, she froze upon discovering a monster hidden in the shadows, lunging at her while she was off guard!

Damn it...

Suppressing the dizziness in her brain, she moved noticeably slower as she tried to activate her Personal Reality and cut the monster before her in half.

But like butter dropped into a blazing oven and melting completely in an instant, Xia Zhi's Personal Reality could no longer hold after touching the monster and partially collapsed...

Though she solidified it again the next moment and her ability resumed working, it was already too late.

The monster's grotesque, blade-like limb had already swung before Xia Zhi. The next instant, it seemed poised to slash across her body and carve a huge gash through her chest and abdomen!

But—

A pebble shot out with perfect precision, brushing past the hair by Xia Zhi's ear before instantly shattering the monster's limb.

Xia Zhi's Personal Reality took effect again, slicing the monster into several pieces and leaving it piled on the ground, its grotesque overgrown limbs burning into charcoal and crumbling into gray-white ash.

What a precise, fast throw. An ability user? Someone helped me?

She turned around and saw Ron tossing a pebble in his hand. That stone projectile from before had clearly been his doing.

"I didn't expect a Patrol Bureau officer like me to need help from an ordinary civilian. You must have seen quite a sight."

As she spoke, lingering fear remained in her voice. "If you hadn't happened to be over here, I might really have been hurt—"

A coincidence? Not at all.

If you had run a little slower so I could keep up, it might not have been that urgent—

Ron silently grumbled to himself, though outwardly he nodded in agreement.

In fact, when C-112 Squad had first arrived, Ron had already been secretly observing them from the school building.

This monster attack and the many murder cases were simply too strange. Ron had no choice but to suspect that someone had set up the high school.

A terrorist attack? Or some company conducting biological experiments?

Ron could not figure it out. Nor did he know whether the District D Patrol Bureau was involved, so naturally he did not dare trust the patrol officers completely.

Only after observing for quite a while and seeing Xia Zhi and the others doing everything they could to hunt the monsters and save civilians

did Ron finally confirm that they had nothing to do with the incident and were simply fulfilling their duties as police officers.

That was why Ron had tried his best to catch up with Xia Zhi, who was frantically blinking around with spatial teleportation, and helped her out. Xia Zhi did not remain caught up in her lingering fright for long. She quickly recovered, carefully examined Ron, and asked with concern,

"These monsters seem capable of damaging Personal Reality and affecting ability users' powers—

"How are you? You aren't hurt, are you?"

You should worry about yourself instead.

Looking at Xia Zhi's pale face and sluggish ability use, it was obvious that the "Void" had worn her down to the point where she was nearly unable to use her ability. Ron could not help sighing.

He had already unequipped his [Fantasy Dissolution], and its durability had now almost fully recovered.

These "Void" monsters were not particularly dangerous to Ron. As long as he controlled his consumption, he could deal with them easily.

But Xia Zhi was different.

Seeing Xia Zhi use her ability without restraint to hunt these "Void" monsters, Ron understood that she definitely did not know about the Void.

If she knew about the [Anti-Mystery Equation] and the Void, she would know that within the Inner City of Ideal City, when facing these "Void" monsters,

the best choice was to wear them down using the least possible expenditure.

After all, once their portion of power originating from the Void was canceled out with Personal Reality, the monsters would immediately be countered by the [Anti-Mystery Equation] and gradually eroded into ash.

What Xia Zhi was doing would only rapidly wear down her own ability until she temporarily could no longer use it, turning her into meat on the "Void" monsters' chopping block—a lamb awaiting slaughter.

Even graduates of Heavenly Listening University and Discipline Patrol officers from the Patrol Bureau don't know about the Void and the [Anti-Mystery Equation]. This really is a highly classified secret. Ron considered this, exchanged a few simple pleasantries with Xia Zhi, then seriously told her about his discovery.

"...You're saying these monsters were originally students from this high school?!"

Xia Zhi stared at Ron in astonishment, then stubbornly began examining the monster she had just cut into several pieces, whose remains had already turned to ash...

Only after inspecting it carefully did she spot a damaged pattern of the high school's emblem on a tattered corner of the monster's clothing, hidden beneath bloodstains. If Ron had not sworn that it was part of the school emblem, she would probably have dismissed it as meaningless lines—after all, she had never attended this high school.

But after Ron pointed out this blind spot, Xia Zhi immediately sank into thought. Recalling her earlier deduction, she murmured,

"Students from this high school... Could this be some kind of biological experiment?"

"The mastermind who controlled the duplicates and made them commit suicide must have been trying to cover up that biological experiment—"

A biological experiment?

Xia Zhi, an experienced patrol officer, had reached the same conclusion as me. This line of thought was probably right.

Considering those grotesque monster organs on their bodies...

Ron suddenly shuddered. A thought immediately sprang into his mind—could it be [Noah Pharmaceuticals]?

He recalled Beck, who had been modified by [Noah Pharmaceuticals] and transformed into that monstrous form.

Beck had been altered with materials that had fallen from the Void. The organs of the out-of-control monster had turned him into that appearance. If these students had also undergone improved technological modification, then

wouldn't it be only natural for them to take on the forms of these "Void" monsters?

But why would they modify these monsters and attack the high school?

Though Ron strongly suspected that [Noah Pharmaceuticals] had acted in order to target him, he knew that was impossible for the time being.

Because [Heavenly Hearing Media] had already discussed Ron's situation with [Noah Pharmaceuticals]—

In other words, [Heavenly Hearing Media] had already warned [Noah Pharmaceuticals] that Ron had now accepted investment from [Heavenly Hearing Media].

As one of the three major corporate giants, even if they bore countless grudges against each other and wished the other would go bankrupt overnight and collapse into pieces, they still had to show some respect on the surface.

After all—"[Noah Pharmaceuticals] can attack Ron, and [Heavenly Hearing Media] can attack Yuan.

They were all top corporations in Ideal City. Who would sit back and watch an important person they had invested in get assassinated?

But what exactly was [Noah Pharmaceuticals] trying to accomplish? As Ron pondered, he suddenly heard a clear sound from the sky, like glass shattering.

The next instant, Xia Zhi's expression changed.

"Damn it! I was right, but what could break out from space—"

She muttered as she looked up. The previously normal sky had inexplicably split open with a hole two people tall, filled with murky, multicolored blackness.

Viscous darkness ignited around the edge of the Void, becoming blazing streams of fire that dripped down from its rim.

Then, a semi-illusory monster with a humanoid body, a bull's head, and muscles as massive as those of a physical enhancement ability user fell from the Void—

After spitting out the monster, the flaming Void seemed to have something else struggling to break free from the murky darkness and leap out.

But blurry block-like spots, like mosaics, flickered across the sky.

Under the high-frequency flickering of those mosaic spots, the small Void was quickly erased, returning the sky to its former clarity.

The monster that had been trying to break free vanished with the Void. Only the two-person-tall Minotaur remained, landing on the ground, drawing the stone axe hanging at its waist, and unleashing a furious battle roar—

Then, like a red-eyed bull, it charged recklessly toward the nearest civilian it could find!

A small Void was actually born?!

Ron was stunned. These artificially created modified monsters attacking the school truly were connected to an experiment that had touched unknown knowledge!

He looked at the monster and easily saw the semi-transparent mist covering its body like a gauzy garment.

This was the enhancement granted to it by the Void—if he was right, once that layer of mist was erased, it would be exposed to the [Anti-Mystery Equation] and turn into ash in an instant.

But before that, the Minotaur would remain unaffected and could freely vent its overflowing desire for destruction!

"Where did this monster come from? Damn it, let's take it together!"

The patrol officers who had been steadily evacuating civilians were only stunned for an instant when they saw the suddenly charging monster. They quickly calmed down and worked together with practiced coordination.

Physical enhancement Lv.3 ability users like C04 and C07 had not been afraid at all when they saw the two-person-tall Minotaur. They immediately activated their abilities and became even more muscular than it was, charging into it without hesitation—only to be sent flying as though they had foolishly tried to stop a large hovering freight truck. They smashed brutally into a nearby concrete wall, leaving deep dents, and passed out on the spot.

Normally, such an impact was merely standard combat intensity for Lv.3 ability users and would never injure them in a single blow.

But although both their abilities were Lv.3, the moment they came into contact with this monster, their powers were weakened and affected—

This was not a collision between Lv.3 ability users at all. Instead, C04 and C07 had endured the full-force charge of an Lv.3 ability user with only the strength of Lv.1 ability users!

Had their abilities not immediately recovered to Lv.3 after leaving the Minotaur,

they might not even have survived that collision!

The remaining people were no better off. Though they were not completely countered like the physical ability users, every ability they used on the Minotaur was worn away completely, leaving them unable to achieve anything.

"No, it looks like we'll have to use the Formula to bring the director here directly. We can't handle this monster—"

Watching everyone fall into a disadvantage in mere moments, Xia Zhi muttered to herself and pulled several game tokens from her pocket—

But Ron reached out and stopped her.

"No, there's no need."

He shook his head and looked at the Minotaur with great interest, eager to try.

Although this was his first time seeing a monster from the Void, he still remembered the records in the mad supervisor's notebook.

Monsters from the Void... dropped Beyonder materials!

Though they were somewhat illusory compared with ordinary Beyonder materials, they could still serve as main ingredients and had allowed the mad supervisor to embark on the Beyonder path.

Ron did not know what Sequence this Minotaur was associated with, but judging from its performance alone, he could tell it was a Sequence 7 Beyonder creature. If he could obtain Sequence 7 Beyonder materials from it, then even if they likely had nothing to do with Ron's Potion Sequence, it would still be no small gain!

After all, his [Beyonder Loss of Control] urgently needed to be resolved. Once he entered the Potion Era, this Sequence 7 Beyonder material might become his first pot of gold and support his exploration of the Potion Era.

"Don't do anything foolish. Your Lv.1 Mutated Telekinesis may be highly destructive, but against this monster—"

Xia Zhi froze, instinctively trying to stop Ron, only to see him smile before leaping down from the school building. In midair, he pressed the button on the Silver-White Collar around his neck.

[Ability Amplifier activated.]

[Remaining battery: 99%]

The next instant, Ron's Personal Reality expanded dramatically, rapidly covering an area roughly ten meters around him!

The reason he dared confront this obvious Sequence 7 "Void" monster head-on was the Ability Amplifier around his neck.

This had replaced his previous Ability Limiter. Now, not only could it help Ron restrict the Ability Model of [Vector Manipulation], it could also temporarily activate Ability Amplification.

Relying on its built-in Supercomputer Chip, it enhanced Ron's Personal Reality and performed external calculations to help him control his Ability Model.

After obtaining this thing, Ron had only tried it out a few times. He had never actually used it in combat—

Now, though, was a chance to test Lv.3 [Vector Manipulation]!

He could feel that everything around him seemed to be under his control. Many vectors that had previously been beyond his grasp gradually fell into Ron's hands as his control over the Ability Model increased. Ron could not help feeling excited. This was his first time wielding a Lv.3 [Vector Manipulation] that gave him such complete control.

Without hesitation, he clenched his fist. [Vector Manipulation] operated at full power, and the charge of the "Ability Amplifier" plummeted—

Sand and stones flew through the air as fierce winds surged.

Heat rapidly drained from the Minotaur's body.

It desperately tried to leap toward Ron, seemingly intending to punch down the moth that had dared descend upon it. But Ron freely took to the air, easily evading its pounce. He also reversed its gravity, sending it crashing down and embedding it deep in the ground.

It was unable to move.

The Personal Reality of [Vector Manipulation] wore each other down against the Void power on the Minotaur's body, finally exposing an opening. A tear split open in its illusory gauze-like cloak—

The next moment, it suffered a devastating blow from the [Anti-Mystery Equation]. Its entire body began turning charred black, as though it would soon collapse into ash.

Ron had prepared for this. He controlled the swirling sand and stones to bury it completely.

He landed on the ground. The flying dust obscured both him and the Minotaur's battlefield from view.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ron deactivated [Fantasy Dissolution] and reached into the pile of sand and stones, feeling around the Minotaur's remains.

Before long, he touched a warm, spherical object that seemed to still be beating.

So it really did drop Beyonder materials. But as expected, it was not like in the "Potion Era," where he could obtain a description.

He wondered what description he could extract if he killed this monster in the "Potion Era"...

He controlled Iron Sand to wrap the object up tightly before slipping it into his pocket beneath the cover of the dust.

Suddenly, a beeping alarm sounded. Ron opened the brain-computer popup and realized that the "Ability Amplifier" was nearly out of charge.

[Remaining Charge: 9%]

A full-power Lv.3 attack had consumed ninety percent of its charge in barely twenty seconds?

[Vector Manipulation] really did consume a lot.

Ron could not help sighing inwardly, but then he suddenly felt the ability that had been entirely under his control fluctuate slightly, as if it were beginning to weakly collapse.

What was going on?

Ron frowned and discovered that the temporary enhancement had seemingly pushed his ability slightly beyond the restrictions of its Ability Model—

Along with that, the Loss of Control from [Beyonder Loss of Control] had increased by another twenty percent!

His Loss of Control was already at fifty-five percent. If his estimate was correct, once it exceeded sixty percent, Ron's [Vector Manipulation] would no longer be able to advance any further.

Even the slightest increase would overload and lose control.

He had expected it, but was this not happening far too quickly?

It seemed it was time to put returning to the "Potion Era" on the agenda.

Ron sighed and turned off the "Ability Amplifier."

The swirling dust finally settled. Everything had happened in an instant, and no one could have noticed that he had secretly taken a Beyonder material.

They merely stared blankly at Ron, momentarily at a loss.

But Xia Zhi immediately teleported down from upstairs and calmly began assigning tasks, evacuating and settling the civilians.

Only after confirming that there were no other monsters and finishing the cleanup did Xia Zhi walk over, looking at Ron with endless amazement.

"—What is going on with your ability level?"

She found it utterly unbelievable.

"Was that a Lv.3 ability? I remember you were only Lv.1 before the College Entrance Exam, weren't you?"

"How did you do that?"

It is not like I could tell her I had cheats.

"Just luck."

Ron grumbled inwardly, repeatedly playing himself down as he pointed at the Silver-White Collar around his neck.

"Mainly thanks to the 'Ability Amplifier'—"

It took quite some explaining before Xia Zhi finally believed that Ron had gained a Lv.3 ability through completely legal means. A trace of envy crept into her voice.

"Even with the 'Ability Amplifier,' having a Lv.3 ability is incredible. After all, it means you already have a Lv.2 ability level—"

Her tone turned a little wistful as she continued.

"With an ability like yours and a Lv.2 ability level, even if you only became Lv.2, getting into one of the Three Great Academies should be effortless."

"How did your exam go? Are you still set on Moen University?"

Ron raised one finger.

"Just barely."

"Just barely?"

Xia Zhi looked puzzled. "Was this College Entrance Exam that difficult? Even with an ability like yours, you only barely got into the Three Great Academies?"

Ron shook his head and took out the transcript he had found in the teachers' office before Xia Zhi and the others arrived.

Xia Zhi instinctively looked at the transcript, only to freeze when she saw a glaring "1" on it.

Only then did Ron's voice drift over.

"I did not just barely get into the Three Great Academies. I just barely got first place."

Looking at the ranking on the transcript, Xia Zhi choked on her saliva and coughed several times.

She looked at the obvious smug curve of Ron's lips, wanting to tease him, but then she suddenly thought of something. She looked Ron over a few times, her expression turning thoughtful.

"Ron, you have not signed an employment agreement with any company or organization, have you?"

An employment agreement?

[Listening Media] was only an investor. Apart from [Knowledge-Seeking Experiment], they probably would not be involved in anything else, and they had not made me sign any employment agreement...

Ron shook his head. "I am not short on money right now, so I do not plan to work while I am in university."

"Then that is perfect—"

Xia Zhi curled her lips into a smile.

"Do you remember when I said that if you got into one of the Three Great Academies, I could give you a great gift?"

A great gift?

That really had happened. Ron immediately became interested. "What are you planning to give me, Sister Xia Zhi?"

"A bright future!"

Xia Zhi patted her chest and proudly pointed at the Patrol Bureau badge on her chest.

"Though it is still early, as long as you are sure you can join one of the Three Great Academies, I can pull you into the Patrol Bureau and fill the last spot in our squad—"

"So, what do you say? Want to join the Patrol Bureau?"

Join the Patrol Bureau?

Would that not mean fighting on the front lines every day and dealing with all sorts of trouble? If he encountered life-threatening danger, that would be no joke. "Then I will pass."

But before Ron could fully voice his refusal, Xia Zhi hurriedly explained.

"Do not be so quick to refuse. There are plenty of benefits!"

"Credit Points, personal merit, living allowances—of course, and most importantly, credits you can earn for completing Patrol Bureau missions!"

"Junior Ji Jin joined the Discipline Patrol just to apply for the computational Authority of [Yabina] and have it calculate an Ability Formula for her. She has been accumulating credits ever since."

Her voice was full of temptation as she continued.

"I imagine you do not want to spend four bitter years constructing only a half-finished product, have your advisor reject it outright, and then delay graduation by several more years, right?"

"If you are lucky and take on more missions with us during breaks, you might save up enough credits to apply for your first Intelligent Brain computational Authority not long after enrollment!"

"You may have just finished the College Entrance Exam and not understand the value of credits, but—"

"Say no more."

Xia Zhi was doing everything she could to persuade Ron and was about to say more, but Ron interrupted her.

Nothing else needed to be said.

Why had she not said credits could be rewarded sooner? If he had known Patrol Bureau missions could earn him credits, how could he have said even half a word of refusal?

Ron looked sincerely at Xia Zhi and tightly grasped her hand.

"As a citizen of the Ideal City, I should contribute to Ideal City's public safety and social order!"

"I voluntarily join the Central Patrol Bureau. Captain Xia, when will you issue my credentials?"

Was that not a little too fast of a change?

I have not even finished my prepared speech. Xia Zhi shook her head. "Today will not work. This monster injury case will probably take a long time to handle. Even if you want to join the Patrol Bureau—

there is no time to process it today—"

"Once the Patrol Bureau has time in a few days, I will message you and help you complete the Discipline Patrol onboarding procedures."

As she spoke, she saw an ambulance pull up at the school gate, and several medical personnel stepped out.

"All right, reinforcements are here. I know you are probably confused about this case too. I will apply for the credit on your behalf, but we can skip the statement. No need to waste your time."

She waved goodbye to Ron, then quickly threw herself into new work arrangements, beginning to treat the severely injured people hurt by the monster.

He did not even need to give a statement?

Well then, having connections in the bureau really was nice. It spared him plenty of trouble. The time saved would be perfect for making preparations after returning home and taking a trip to the "Potion Era."

Ron made his plans inwardly, found Fu Hui, who had already sent off the old teacher, and left with Fu Hui after confirming that the old teacher's injuries had stabilized.

A long time passed.

Only when the sun had set and the red moon rose to fill half the sky did the patrol agents left behind at the high school finish handling the aftermath. They returned to the Central Patrol Bureau with the Void monster that had been reduced to a person and several piles of remains.

Long after they had left, a limbed man suddenly emerged from the shadows and headed precisely toward the spot where the Minotaur had crashed down and been buried beneath sand and stones—

He searched through the pile of sand and stones for a long time, but apart from rocks still clinging with a few embers, he found nothing.

"Damn it—"

He could not help cursing under his breath again, then let out a long sigh and hesitated for a long while.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and made a call.

"Minister," he said hoarsely. "The experiment succeeded. The [Biological Modification Experiment] did indeed trigger a Void."

A burst of static sounded, followed by a somewhat distorted voice from the other end of the call.

"That is an answer we already knew. You do not need to repeat it to me—You know what I want."

"—The Patrol Bureau moved too quickly. A squad took over the scene before the Void could fully unfold."

The man swallowed, speaking awkwardly.

"We did not have time to recover the experimental material."

"Did not have time?"

The person on the other end snorted coldly.

"A bunch of useless trash—I do not care how you do it. If I do not see new materials handed in within a week, you will be the subjects of the next promotion experiment!"

Then the call ended, leaving behind only cold static.

"Materials..."

"It looks like we can only conduct another experiment and trigger another Void—"

The man sighed deeply and left helplessly.

Meanwhile, completely unaware that he had automatically picked up someone else's experimental material, Ron returned home and immediately excitedly took out the spherical object wrapped in Iron Sand.

After dispersing the Iron Sand, Ron discovered that it was actually a beating, bright-red heart. After putting on the [Age of Gods Remnant], he could see in Magic Vision that it was covered by a misty gauze-like cloak, resisting the erasure of the [Anti-Mystery Equation].

Besides that, bright-red magic power surged across it, turbulent and abundant.

Ron grasped the heart and took out the spellbook he had sealed away long ago. The spellbook radiated heat and, as expected, wrote a line of text across a blank page—[Potion Formula]

[War] Sequence Three "War Overseer"

"Potion materials: One rusted military banner of a battle-hardened squadron spirit + one Minotaur's Heart + 300 milliliters of pure water + 10 grams of Night Shadow Grass + 35 milliliters of the drinker's own blood."

"Method: Pierce the Minotaur's Heart with the military banner. Drip blood mixed with rust into the pure water. After letting it stand for one day, add a mixture of Night Shadow Grass and the drinker's own blood."

Above that passage, "Minotaur's Heart" was shining brightly.

So it really was a Beyonder material from the [War] sequence?

And it was even the main ingredient for a Sequence Three [War] potion?