CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: LOST MEMORY

"Is this the Filtering Skill?"

"Yep, it protects against dust, dirt, sweat, bacteria, and can also block minor ethereal fluctuations. As long as you don’t engage in intense activity, it works for an hour with a single use, so you don’t have to wear those cumbersome clothes."

Miaomiao gently patted a lush green fern-like Spirit Beast at the doorway, "Thank you."

The leaves swayed back and forth, as if responding.

Lin Guang watched Miaomiao operate among the pile of instruments with great interest. He didn’t mean to disturb her, just curiously looking around.

Soon, he saw something and couldn’t help but show a surprised expression on his face.

On a table were several familiar-looking bottles, labeled in red and white with the Protective Umbrella logo. However, they were all empty except for one, which still had about half a bottle of liquid remaining.

"Is this... Meditation Potion No. 13?"

"Ah, this is the project Dr. Kaiwen assigned to me."

Miaomiao popped her head out from behind a machine that looked like a centrifuge, speaking as she held a few tubes of suspension seemingly centrifuged at an unknown time, placing them into another machine for the next step of separation. She continued, "Meditation Potion No. 13, the latest product from Protective Umbrella Company, although currently not produced in large quantities, is also the best Tier One Meditation Potion in Zhen Sheng City."

She finished her work and walked up to Lin Guang, lifting the half-full bottle and gently shaking it. Under the white incandescent light, the brilliant blue potion seemed to have countless pink stars dancing within it.

"This potion is at least 20% more effective than its counterparts, and if it’s of perfect quality, it can be another 20% stronger. There’s even a rumor that Meditation Potion No. 13 isn’t costly to produce and has a decent profit margin. Protective Umbrella Company plans to produce it on a large scale without applying for a patent."

Without applying for a patent, there is no need to disclose the formula and manufacturing process. Lin Guang understood this point well.

Therefore, he immediately realized something and slightly furrowed his brow, "So, Dr. Kaiwen wants you to help decrypt the formula?"

The Protective Umbrella Company clearly intends to make Meditation Potion No. 13 their flagship product to win over various forces, so the potion must be encrypted by a High-Star Miracle Master.

Due to the presence of Ether and Miracle Masters, the formula for this kind of thing is extremely difficult to crack through simple ingredient analysis. Either find a way to obtain the "key", or use brute-force decryption (the exhaustive method), conducting experiments bit by bit within a roughly outlined scope—even a High-Star Miracle Master would have to do the same. Without sufficient knowledge and luck, it’s almost like finding a needle in a haystack.

"I’m just assigned this task by Dr. Kaiwen. Trying hard is enough; it’s not necessary to produce results."

"Is that so..."

Although their interaction was brief, Lin Guang didn’t think Dr. Kaiwen would purposely make things difficult like this.

Not that she is particularly kind, but mainly she seems unlikely to do anything pointless. This might mean Miaomiao has a real chance of completing the task.

"I guess it’s because your Talent is related to plants?"

"But even so, the difficulty of this project is still too high... and you don’t have advanced equipment or professional personnel to assist."

Lin Guang shook his head as he spoke, recalling the distinct plant aroma of Meditation Potion No. 13. Seeing the setup of this research student’s room, the answer was clear.

"Ah, you’ve discovered my Talent~" Miaomiao stuck out her petite pink tongue, playfully being cute, "Thanks for your concern, but Dr. Kaiwen gave me a three-year time frame, and it’s not necessary for me to produce results alone. It’s fine as long as there’s some progress in between."

"So laid-back."

Lin Guang thought for a moment, "I guess this project isn’t something Dr. Kaiwen seriously assigned to you but just casually let you try."

"Ah, yes, this is actually an assignment from the Education Bureau."

Miaomiao said seriously, "The Education Bureau acknowledges the effect of Meditation Potion No. 13 and has issued a reward to all Miracle Masters, researchers, and research institutes within Zhen Sheng City to decrypt the formula of Meditation Potion No. 13. The rewards are quite generous."

Lin Guang had a thoughtful expression: "It seems the higher-ups don’t get along well with the Protective Umbrella Company."

He pondered, "That’s right... the families, enterprises, government, Spirit Master Association, the relationships are all so complex, it’s hard to sum it up in one sentence."

"Things like that have nothing to do with students like us."

After pausing for a moment, Miaomiao asked with a grin: "Lin Guang, are you interested in working with me on this project? If there’s even a little progress, Dr. Kaiwen should allow you to do research with her."

"Me?"

Lin Guang was slightly taken aback.

"Yeah, I remember your childhood dream was to be a researcher."

Miaomiao smiled warmly, "At first, you didn’t recognize me, and I thought you even switched dreams. But what you said this morning confirmed to me that you’re still the same as before."

As soon as she said that, Lin Guang suddenly fell silent.

The silence lasted for about seven or eight seconds, and seeing that he remained speechless, the faint smile on Miaomiao’s lips faded. She lightly bit her lip: "...Did I remind you of some painful memories again."

"No, I didn’t."

Lin Guang came back to his senses, shook his head with a wry smile, "I did think of my parents, mostly just trying to recall things from back then. But, sorry, perhaps it’s a self-protection mechanism of the brain; I can barely remember anything from my childhood."

"...It’s okay."

Miaomiao lightly pressed her lips together, her eyes wandering, her expression a bit uneasy, "Haven’t scholars researched this? Childhood memories become blurry or even disappear when you grow up. I just have a better memory, I know I’m special."

Although Miaomiao said so, Lin Guang still felt that she somewhat resented him, so he awkwardly changed the subject, "So, did I tell you before?"

"Yes, you did tell me that your dream was to become a Spirit Beast Researcher like Uncle Lin and Auntie Ning... I actually wanted to apologize to you, I didn’t mean to mention them. I didn’t expect your reaction to be so sharp."

"...It’s okay."

Lin Guang slightly lowered his head and adjusted his glasses, dispelling the strange confusion in his heart, and sincerely said, "No need to apologize, there’s no need for us to be so distant from each other."

"That’s what you said, so I won’t be polite anymore." Miaomiao quickly returned to her lively self, smiling cheekily and said, "So, what’s your answer?"

"Aren’t you worried I’ll get distracted and lose the exchange competition?"

"It’s a long-term project, and I believe you’re not someone who can’t prioritize."

"...You do see people quite clearly."

"Then welcome to join Miaomiao’s project team."

Miaomiao extended her right hand with a smile, and Lin Guang also reached out to shake it—her hand was slender and soft, unlike Vishdair’s strong and powerful hand.