A drug that suppresses Oripathy...
If Lucas Reeve had placed this box of bright green, unknown liquid before Hellagur when they first met, he would have been a hundred percent certain not to believe it.
But now, he had to.
Because, just a moment ago, right before his own eyes, he had personally saved a little girl who was on the verge of death from an acute Oripathy outbreak.
Hellagur understood all too well the importance of such a medicine.
He was, in fact, well aware.
There are so many large pharmaceutical R&D companies on Terra. If they were willing to put in the effort, even if they couldn't cure Oripathy, they could most likely develop a drug to alleviate its symptoms. Yet, almost no pharmaceutical company would choose to do so.
After all.
These R&D companies were, to put it bluntly, still companies, and a company's primary goal is profit.
After investing tens of billions, who would they sell a drug that only alleviates Oripathy to?
The Infected?
Given the status of the Infected worldwide, even if other countries weren't as oppressive as Ursus, 99 percent of the Infected were no different from refugees. Even if such drugs were developed, they couldn't possibly afford them unless the price was set extremely low. But if the price was too low, after deducting all the various costs, the R&D company might never recoup its development costs in its lifetime, let alone make a profit.
No large company was willing to dabble in a business that was almost guaranteed to lose money.
And yet, this Miss Alina could provide it.
This forced Hellagur to re-evaluate just what kind of organization this Reunion Movement was.
The Reunion Movement was developing it in cooperation with Raythean Medica....
Raythean Medica?
What company was that?
Raythean Industries didn't seem to have a medical subsidiary.
And...
That person named Lucas Reeve.
Could he be the current leader of the Reunion Movement?
That name...
It didn't sound like an Ursus native; he was clearly from Yan.
Originally.
In Hellagur's mind, the Reunion Movement was just an organization of Infected hiding out in the ice fields to evade Ursus's pursuit. However... how could such an organization possibly develop something like this? And even if Raythean Medica was a little-known subsidiary of Raythean Industries, why would Raythean Industries, located far away in Columbia to the west, seek out the Reunion Movement, which was hiding in the northeastern ice fields?
Or could it be...
That this Infected organization itself had ties to Raythean Industries?
At this moment.
In Hellagur's heart.
The Reunion Movement, including the leader behind the scenes, the person named Lucas Reeve, had become exceptionally mysterious.
Even...
Hellagur felt that.
The reason Ursus had been so aggressively slandering the Reunion Movement these past few days was purely because... the Reunion Movement had gained a certain level of strength, making it difficult for Ursus to annihilate them easily. Although Hellagur wanted to ask for a meeting, he had many children in Chernobog who needed his protection, so he couldn't leave.
"Thank you..."
Hellagur didn't stand on ceremony; these medicines were far too important to him right now.
"And please give my regards to your organization's Mr. Lucas Reeve. If the Reunion Movement needs any help in the future, even though I have long since left the Ursus military, I still have some connections there. I will do my utmost to provide assistance."
The purpose of Hellagur's words was clear.
He was indicating his former identity and status, as well as the help he could now provide. After all, he knew that cooperation in this world was nothing more than an exchange between equals. You help me, I help you; apart from one's parents, there was no such thing as selfless assistance.
"The military..."
Lucas Reeve was not surprised in the slightest.
From the very beginning, Lucas Reeve had guessed that this Mr. Hellagur was definitely a former big shot in the Ursus military. The sharpness and scent of blood in his soul were similar to Patriot's—the aura of someone who had crawled out of a mountain of corpses on a sea of blood. Only a battle-hardened soldier would possess such an air.
"To be honest with you, our Reunion Movement does indeed have a former military legend among us. He's also Miss FrostNova's father."
Lucas Reeve didn't mention him by name.
He didn't know if the Hellagur before him knew Patriot, and even if he did, he didn't know the nature of their relationship.
Hellagur nodded, though he was a bit puzzled.
This Cautus young lady's father?
He should be a Cautus too, right?
A Cautus soldier? And a legend in the military at that...
Hellagur had never heard of such a person.
He had hardly even seen many ordinary Cautus soldiers, let alone officers.
Speaking of military legends, Hellagur could only think of an old comrade of his.
However...
He was a pure-blooded Wendigo.
This young lady was a Cautus.
How could two completely unrelated races be father and daughter?
Hellagur didn't press the matter, instead examining the case full of syringes with the bright green liquid as if it were a precious treasure.
Meanwhile, Shining and Liz had been staring almost unblinkingly at this case of injections since the beginning. A medicine that could alleviate the symptoms of Oripathy... Shining was composed, as she had at least been exposed to modern medicine before. But Liz couldn't comprehend it. She was a natural-born healer. Even without any knowledge of modern medicine, she could still use her own Originium Arts to treat others. She couldn't understand why a strange liquid could alleviate Oripathy, a condition she herself was sometimes powerless against.
Liz felt a little urge to take the bright green liquid in her hand and observe it. As a healer, she was extremely curious about it, but her personality made her too shy to speak up. She stood timidly behind Shining and Nearl, a trace of longing flashing across her beautiful, angel-like face. She tugged lightly on Shining's sleeve, hoping Shining would understand her thoughts.
She was like a shy, pure white bird, utterly captivating.
In fact.
It wasn't just Liz; Shining was also very eager to have a look.
In the organization she was once a part of, she and her colleagues were constantly developing Originium Arts that could alleviate Oripathy.
The medicine of Kazdel differed greatly from modern medicine.
Kazdel's medicine leaned more towards developing abilities and Originium Arts, while modern medicine was a grand integration of various high-precision instruments and techniques.
However.
Curiosity was one thing, but this was a precious medicine... Shining was also too embarrassed to ask. She glanced at Nearl beside her.
Nearl coughed and quietly moved behind the two of them.
"These injections are just the 1.0 version we've developed for now."
Lucas Reeve explained the usage of the medicine to Hellagur in detail. Of course, he was also speaking for the three women beside them to hear. Lucas Reeve had noticed from the start that two of them were incredibly curious about this medicine.
"1.0?"
Hellagur was taken aback.
"This medicine will need a lot of optimization in the future. If a more effective, optimized version is developed, I will immediately have it delivered to Azazel via a courier company."
This Infected organization was genuinely good.
It had provided Lucas Reeve with tens of thousands of units of Prayer Power in an instant. Wasn't that more reliable than the Reunion Movement at the beginning? But it was no one's fault. The Reunion Movement's members were too diverse, and generally older. The older one gets, the more they experience, and the easier it is for the gratitude in their hearts to fade. It could even... make them suspect that any help offered was part of some conspiracy.
This point.
Lucas Reeve had understood it ever since the Emperor's Blades revealed Talulah's noble status.
One side was people who wanted to kill them at any moment, the other was someone who saved them and even provided all sorts of food. In the end, they chose to believe the words of those who wanted to kill them. One could only say that the human heart is treacherous. It was no wonder the Black Serpent believed Talulah would eventually fall; after all, humans are complex creatures.
The more Prayer Power provided, the purer the hearts of everyone in the organization. Because only pure people can feel gratitude from the bottom of their hearts and then provide Lucas Reeve with a large amount of Prayer Power.
It's like...
Providing the same amount of help.
Lending one hundred dollars to two different people.
A pure person could provide Lucas Reeve with a hundred units of Prayer Power, while another with a filthy, scheming heart might not provide a single bit. That's the difference.
Lucas Reeve was actually more willing to help these pure-hearted people.
"This..."
For a moment, Hellagur didn't even know what to say.
Faced with such a great kindness, even Hellagur, who had been through countless battlefields, was at a loss for how to respond.
"I can't let you operate at a loss, Miss Alina."
Hellagur shook his head.
"How much? We'll consider these medicines purchased. We can't let you lose money..."
Lucas Reeve thought for a moment and didn't dwell on it too much. Too great a debt of gratitude could indeed make people feel overwhelmed.
"Alright. Since the medicine has just been developed, the price hasn't been set yet. Once a price is determined in the future, I will give Mr. Hellagur an internal cost price."
Although Lucas Reeve's power served as direct technical support, reducing the largest R&D cost to its minimum, there were still equipment costs. From what Lucas Reeve knew, Jessica had spent a small ten-figure sum on that equipment. Without Lucas Reeve's technical support, the true cost of full development would probably be in the tens of billions. The few billion her parents gave her likely wouldn't have been enough.
If Lucas Reeve chose to give it away for free, it would be equivalent to making Jessica take a loss.
Based on his understanding of Jessica over this period, she herself would one hundred percent not mind, because to her, money was really just a string of numbers. But Lucas Reeve would feel bad about it. He might not be able to help Jessica earn much, but he would absolutely not let her lose her own money.
"Thank you!!"
With Lucas Reeve's assurance.
Hellagur quickly stood up. His tall frame came before Alina, and he extended a large hand to shake hers, signaling future cooperation and a friendly relationship with the Reunion Movement.
"By the way, the quantity of this medicine is limited for now. Mr. Hellagur can first inject the children with the most severe conditions. It doesn't have to be during an acute phase. One injection per week can temporarily alleviate the Oripathy symptoms. I will entrust a logistics company to deliver more medicine to you later. However, I must remind you that the medicine only alleviates; it is not a cure. It can only extend the survival period of the children for a while."
Originally, Hellagur wanted to host a simple banquet for them, but Lucas Reeve declined.
As the two were about to leave the clinic.
Hellagur, along with all the other children in the clinic, big and small, saw them all the way to the main gate before they left.
At the same time.
Lucas Reeve's Prayer Power rose by another six thousand, bringing the total to seventy-six thousand.
Just after Lucas Reeve left the clinic.
He had only taken a few steps.
A voice came from behind.
"Hello, Miss Alina. May I have a word with you?"
As expected...
Lucas Reeve and FrostNova turned around.
The three wandering doctors had called out to them.
"You may."
Seeing the other party agree so readily, Shining let out a sigh of relief and walked forward quickly.
"I'm very sorry to disturb you so abruptly. The three of us are members of the Infected aid group, the [Followers]. My name is Shining, and these are Liz and Nearl. For years, our [Followers] have been wandering throughout the world, hoping to use our own strength to share and alleviate some of the suffering of the world's Infected. However, our medical skills are humble, and this is the first time we have ever seen such severe Oripathy be suppressed."
In truth.
Lucas Reeve was also very interested in these three...
No...
Actually, he was only interested in the two beautiful Sarkaz ladies. The Kuranta knight lady beside them seemed more like a bodyguard.
And the two Sarkaz ladies could see him.
The one named Shining was one thing, but the angelically beautiful lady named Liz had eyes that were exactly like Ceobe's back then; she could see right through the physical body to the soul he had hidden within Alina.
Moreover.
Their medical skills were... a bit miraculous.
If the Sarkaz's metaphysical medicine could be combined with the modern medicine that Silence and Ptilopsis specialized in from Columbia, it might lead to a major breakthrough in Oripathy research...