Chapter 85: The Production Capacity of Nine-Dragon Serum (Second Update)

Brilliant golden flames illuminated the entire underground tunnel. Johnson didn’t even have time to utter a sound before he was consumed by the Xuanhuang Flame of Merit.

Under the scorching blaze of this divine fire, all Spirit Energy equipment, specialized alloys, and mutated augmentations were reduced to ashes.

The heavily armed soldiers behind Johnson had already been mesmerized by the Confusion Technique at the first moment of confrontation. Their souls were extracted and thrown into the Soul Banner, becoming nourishment for the damaged wraiths.

In fact, even Johnson’s earlier confession—pouring out the truth like spilling beans—was the result of Lu Yan’s spiritual suggestion using the Confusion Technique.

If Lu Yan hadn’t been after the information behind the USB and the Great Purge, he would’ve killed Johnson the moment he showed up.

Though it cost a little time, the clues obtained about the USB and the motive behind the purge gave Johnson a sliver of value before his death.

With a flick of his finger, Lu Yan sent a wisp of Xuanhuang Flame of Merit onto the other corpses. In a flash, all evidence was completely erased.

The Xuanhuang Flame of Merit could sever karma and erase all traces.

Lu Yan’s casual movements left Shack completely stunned.

As the owner of the arena, Shack was fully aware of Johnson’s strength.

He was one of the oldest and most experienced police chiefs in Midtown. Just by personal combat power alone, he could crush Shack with ease. More importantly, his suit of heavy-grade liquid metal armor—designed for main battle engagements—was strong enough to resist direct hits from Spirit Energy cannons.

Aside from not being armed with heavy artillery, he was practically a walking war machine. Even if he faced off with an enforcer like Scott, Johnson could win in a direct confrontation.

And yet, this heavily equipped Johnson was wiped out in an instant, unable to mount any resistance. The armor that could deflect Spirit Energy cannons was incinerated like paper under that golden flame.

Shack had always known Lu Yan was strong, but their gap had been too large for him to grasp. Only now did he finally understand what true overwhelming power looked like.

To Lu Yan, someone like Johnson was no different from a fragile child.

“Before he fell from power… what was his status within the Cosmic Conglomerate?

A department head? A regional branch manager? Or had he already reached the level of an area director?”

Just as Shack was guessing, Lu Yan—standing by the tunnel exit—spoke.

“Shack.”

Shack immediately tensed up and bowed deeply. “Yes, sir!”

“You heard everything Johnson said. The Great Purge from the Upper City against the Lower City is already inevitable.

Your job now is to use the Nine-Dragon Serum to build connections across the board and unite them to resist the Upper City’s purge.”

A glint of shadow passed through Lu Yan’s eyes.

He had long suspected that threats from the Upper City were looming, but he hadn’t expected them to come so soon.

In truth, this outcome wasn’t entirely unexpected.

Back when Lu Yan had just arrived in this world, two officers had mistaken him for a Spirit Energy user from the Upper City. Their formulaic questions had vaguely hinted at the coming purge.

Now, the world’s version update progress was only a quarter through. There were still four and a half months left before he could leave this cyberpunk version. But with danger already so close, he had to act.

Although Lu Yan now possessed considerable strength, individual might was insignificant in the face of an entire civilization.

Once the Upper City’s purge began, even if he abandoned the underground pharmaceutical plant and fled to deeper subterranean zones, it wouldn’t guarantee his safety.

After all, Johnson had made it clear—whether it was underground cities, wilderness zones, or no-man’s lands, all of them were within the purge’s reach.

His only option was to use the Lower City’s collective power to delay the purge.

If he could hold out for four and a half months, Lu Yan would be able to activate the version update and escape this maddened world.

But before that, he had to do everything in his power to help the Lower City prepare for the purge.

Since it wasn’t convenient for him to take direct action, he needed a proxy—and Shack was the obvious choice.

“The Upper City wants to send people to the Heavenly Computation Center, but they can’t use large-scale weapons in the underground. That’s the Lower City’s only advantage.

You need to use the Nine-Dragon Serum to rapidly train a batch of Spirit Energy users and turn them into combat power. You must be ready for anything.”

“I will obey your command without question!”

Shack was overjoyed. He was acutely aware that this opportunity might be the greatest one of his life.

If he succeeded, he could become Lu Yan’s spokesperson and rise to the very top of the Lower City.

And if he failed? Worst case, he’d die—or end up in the Heavenly Computation Center as a source of processing power.

But could that really be worse than having his soul drained for a hundred years?

Struggling to suppress the excitement curling at the corners of his mouth, Shack cautiously asked a crucial question:

“Sir, may I ask—what is the current production capacity of the Nine-Dragon Serum?”

While the serum could help make low-grade Spirit Energy medicine effective, it didn’t work after just a few doses. It required heavy use before one could hope to awaken as a Spirit Energy user.

If the production capacity was too low, it could limit their plans.

Lu Yan held up a single finger.

“One hundred units?”

Shack was a bit disappointed. For modern industrial needs, that was too little. Then again, considering the serum’s extraordinary value, it was understandable.

That amount might only be enough to raise his own private force—not nearly enough to sway all the major factions in the Lower City.

But Lu Yan shook his head.

Shack’s heart skipped a beat with hope.

“A thousand? If we can produce a thousand a day, we could easily win over most of the Lower City’s powers.

Even without the Upper City’s purge, we could unite them using the serum alone.”

Yet Lu Yan shook his head again.

“The current daily production capacity of the Nine-Dragon Serum is ten thousand. This can be increased later as needed.”

Lu Yan gave a deliberately conservative figure.

In truth, the production line could output over fifty thousand units—a full nine-vial treatment cycle for every user.

But the core of the Nine-Dragon Serum was the powdered Spirit Stones added to it. One Spirit Stone could provide energy for a thousand units.

If output went too high, the Spirit Stone consumption would be unsustainable.

After all, when Lu Yan left the Xianxia version, he had only managed to bring around three thousand Spirit Stones. If he ran the factory at full tilt, he’d burn through them in no time.

Fortunately, he already had a solution in mind, ready to implement once he returned.

While Lu Yan wasn’t fully satisfied with this production volume, Shack was absolutely thrilled by the number.

Ten thousand units of Nine-Dragon Serum—even if only one hundred of them became Spirit Energy users by combining the serum with low-grade medicine, it would still yield a powerful fighting force.

Such production capacity could drastically shift the balance in the Lower City.

For the first time, Shack felt that, with Lu Yan’s backing, the Lower City might actually have a chance to resist the upcoming Great Purge.

(End of Chapter)