Lu Heng glanced at Su Cheng twice. "My profession is pharmaceutical manufacturer."
Just as I thought.
The moment she heard about his profession, she immediately recalled how Lu Heng had turned herbs into pills earlier.
So that ability came from his profession.
Su Cheng reached a conclusion: besides the gene lock and the skills it granted, apartment residents could also develop professions.
The apartment revealed absolutely none of this information. Residents had to figure everything out themselves...
Lu Heng had no idea she had fished information out of him. "Leave the rest to me. We'll talk once I'm done with these people."
Was he going to save people again?
With that thought, Su Cheng nodded. "All right."
Su Cheng entered the village while Lu Heng went to reassure the crowd. He could produce medicine out of thin air, and with his identity as Su Cheng's companion, he naturally carried considerable persuasive weight.
As Su Cheng walked into the village, she found more eyes studying her, only their gazes were more fervent than before.
The villagers living near the entrance must have witnessed what had just happened.
As the divine envoy designated by a "miracle," Su Cheng's prestige instantly soared.
Su Cheng looked around, planning to find somewhere shaded to rest while she waited for Lu Heng to finish.
A villager opened a window. "Divine Envoy, are you looking for Divine Envoy Lu's residence?"
"Yes. Could you tell me where it is?"
Waiting near Lu Heng's house did seem more convenient.
"I'll take you there!"
Su Cheng followed the villager to a small wooden house. It was not large, and a little wooden awning had been erected in front to provide shade.
"This is Divine Envoy Lu's residence."
"All right, thank you."
The villager hurriedly shook their head. "If you need anything, please just tell the villagers. Everyone would be happy to help you."
After the villager left, Su Cheng sat on a bamboo chair beneath the awning. It was still rather hot, but at least she was out of the blazing sun.
She did not enter the house. After all, it was Lu Heng's private space, and barging in would be impolite.
As was her habit, Su Cheng took out some alcohol and sprayed herself before pulling down her protective suit. Since Lu Heng was staying here temporarily, he should have disinfected the place properly, right?
She recalled the healthy complexions of the villagers in the other houses, apart from those in the quarantine area.
Somewhat reassured, Su Cheng took out bread and water to tide herself over.
Lu Heng still had not returned by the time Su Cheng finished eating.
She simply reclined in the chair to rest for a while, kneading and massaging the muscles in her arms and legs.
So hot.
Su Cheng wiped the sweat from her forehead. Although her constitution had improved and her Self-Healing ability would keep her from getting heatstroke inside the stuffy protective suit,
she still could not change the heat she felt on her skin.
Su Cheng took a small fan out of her smart bag and aimed it at her face, but the air was hot. The breeze from the fan could only ease the heat.
At a time like this, I should be sitting under an air conditioner.
Just as Su Cheng was wondering what portable item could work as well as an air conditioner, Lu Heng finally returned.
Su Cheng hurriedly stopped him from approaching. "Have you disinfected and washed yourself?"
She had just watched Lu Heng come into contact with those infected patients.
Lu Heng spread his hands. "Don't worry. I even changed my clothes. There are absolutely no hidden risks on me."
"Good."
Su Cheng looked closely. The protective suit Lu Heng was wearing now was indeed cleaner than the previous one.
In fact, Su Cheng need not have worried. With Lu Heng constantly dealing with infected patients in this village, he naturally paid even closer attention to protection.
Lu Heng headed inside. "Let's talk inside."
Author's note:
None.
Chapter 33
After entering the house, Su Cheng went straight to the point. "I want to know how you obtained your profession."
Now that she had helped Lu Heng reassure the infected crowd, it was time for him to fulfill their earlier bargain.
Su Cheng had originally intended to have Lu Heng use his ability to turn the herbs in her bag into more effective medicine.
But that had been before she knew about "professions."
Now, information about professions was clearly more important than exchanging goods.
A probing look flashed through Lu Heng's eyes. "That's what you want from this trade? Don't you already have a profession?"
Su Cheng began making up a lie without blushing or missing a beat. "I'm asking for a friend. I plan to compile several people's experiences and analyze the conditions for obtaining a profession."
"Is that so..." It was unclear whether Lu Heng believed her. "Actually, my profession is related to what I studied in the real world."
"I'm a pharmacist, so I was already very familiar with various herbs. I happened to use herbs to save someone in an instance, and that triggered my profession."
Lu Heng spoke casually, but Su Cheng suspected he was holding something back. "It's that simple?"
"It's that simple. I haven't lied to you about a single word."
Lu Heng looked so open that Su Cheng could not be certain whether he really was telling the truth.
Seeing that the suspicion in Su Cheng's eyes had yet to fade, Lu Heng sighed deeply and touched his face with some puzzlement. "Do I look that much like a liar?"
Su Cheng nodded silently, then asked, "Are you saving these villagers because of your profession?"
Lu Heng's eyes flickered. "That's right. You're very perceptive."
He admitted it without any hesitation. "Every person I save gives me profession experience. The more serious the illness, the more experience I gain."
Su Cheng raised her eyebrows slightly. She knew it-an ever-smiling, smiling tiger like Lu Heng did not look like a compassionate, benevolent person. He had none of a saint's bearing or halo!
Su Cheng used to play games, so she understood what "profession experience" meant.
Usually, enough experience would let someone level up their profession and obtain more powerful skills.
The way Lu Heng had obtained his profession offered little useful guidance. If obtaining a profession really were that simple, she would have heard Yan Yu or Xu Shaowei mention it long ago.
Professions probably depended even more on talent and luck than the gene lock did.
Lu Heng asked, "How did you obtain your profession?"
Su Cheng looked up. "You want to know? Then let's make another trade."
The faint smile on Lu Heng's face briefly faltered. "What do you want?"
Su Cheng took the herbs, wild fruit, and other things she had gathered out of her smart bag. "Help me turn these into medicine."
Lu Heng glanced at them, his expression briefly turning strange. Why were they all herbs he had gathered before? "Do you recognize these herbs too...?"
"I picked them at random. Just tell me whether you can do it."
"I can, but I seem to be getting the short end of this deal."
Lu Heng continued, "I can help turn all these herbs into medicine. I don't need to know how you obtained your profession, but I do need you to do me a favor."
"What favor?"
"After I leave the instance, help me look after the newly recovered villagers for twenty-four hours."
Su Cheng was puzzled. "Why?"
Once apartment residents left an instance, they no longer had any connection to the people or things inside it. Why would he do this...?
Lu Heng frowned in distress. "Because of my profession. If someone I save relapses within twenty-four hours, nearly half the experience gets deducted."
"After I leave the instance, there will still be a few people who need to go a full day without relapsing."
Su Cheng suddenly felt that Lu Heng's profession skills were not worth envying at all.
What a hassle.
He even has to provide a day's after-sales service.
Su Cheng thought it over. Looking after a few villagers would not be difficult. "All right."
Lu Heng nodded. "Sorry for the trouble. I'll turn these herbs into medicine for you now."
"Okay." Su Cheng handed him all the herbs she was holding. "Aren't you afraid I'll lie to you?"
Lu Heng shook his head. "You don't seem like someone who would lie to me. Besides, every trade should be built on a basic level of mutual trust."
Although Su Cheng had already lied to him about her profession, she nodded in agreement now.
Indeed, if there was no basic trust between them, there was no point making a trade.
Otherwise, she would have to worry about Lu Heng tampering with the medicine, and Lu Heng would have to worry about whether she would keep her word.
Lu Heng transformed Su Cheng's herbs one after another into six antidiarrheal tablets, four stomach-protecting pills, four syringes of antibiotic solution, eight syringes of painkiller solution, and five syringes of hallucinogenic solution.
Lu Heng put all the tablets and pills into white medicine bottles, with the names of the medicines written on their labels.
He put the liquid medicines into syringes, writing the names on the barrels.
Lu Heng handed everything to Su Cheng and added, "These medicines were all transformed according to the properties of the herbs. The resulting medicines are more potent than ordinary ones and have no side effects."
He pointed at a syringe containing antibiotics. "This antibiotic works well against diseases like the Black Death."
"This hallucinogen was transformed from the red fruit you gave me... If you hadn't looked so inexperienced, I'd suspect you knew medicinal ingredients too."
Su Cheng, who "lied habitually," put all the medicine into her smart bag, looking so innocent that she seemed not to understand the probing undertone in Lu Heng's words.
"I just picked everything at random. I got lucky, that's all. Thank you."
"Then you really are lucky."
He thought for a moment and said, "The villagers have cleared out an empty house for you. They've taken you for a divine envoy too."
"Make sure you graciously accept the villagers' enthusiasm."
Su Cheng soon understood what Lu Heng meant by that last remark.
After Su Cheng moved into the house the villagers had prepared, the villagers began bringing food over one after another, since epidemic prevention requirements kept them from holding a welcoming celebration.
The villagers called this food "offerings."
"We don't have much at home. Please don't disdain it, Divine Envoy..."
"A divine envoy is a representative chosen by the god in person. You came for our sake... Our village is poor, and we already feel terribly guilty that we can't put you in a fine house. Please accept these things!"
Every visiting villager said plenty of things along those lines.
They not only said it but insisted on giving her things. If she refused, they would guiltily say they had nothing good to offer, which was why she disdained it...
It had been a long time since Su Cheng had been treated with such warmth and respect.
She could not deny being a "divine envoy," either. After all, she had personally staged a scene in which a "god" appeared.