Jin had Deneb 1, one of the Quinta, wear the clothes Elsa and Mine had purchased, then sent her out to buy outfits for the rest of the units.
Anne had advised that brand-new clothes would be too conspicuous, so they opted for second-hand clothing instead. After making several trips to Blue Land, everyone had acquired a wardrobe by the end of the day. Now that they could blend into human society unnoticed, Jin began their deployment.
"Alright, I'm counting on you."
"Understood, Chief."
They scattered to various regions, using locations with Warp Gates—Port Rock, Blue Land, and the fort ruins—as their starting points. Each unit was instructed to check in with Laozi twice daily, morning and night. There were also plans to install small-scale Warp Gates at strategic points in the future.
"There, that's done for now," Jin said, exhaling as he watched the last of them depart. "Now, what's next?"
Anne was ready with an answer. "Goshujin-sama, regarding the medicine you were researching the other day—how are you preserving the blood samples?"
"Hmm? I've got them frozen."
"In their original state as whole blood?"
"Yeah, that's right."
Anne looked panicked. "That won't do! Blood is incredibly difficult to preserve!"
"Laozi? Anne is worried," Jin called out.
Laozi replied immediately. "Yes, she is correct. I finished organizing the data we recovered from Anne last night and took immediate action. I apologize for the delay in informing you, My Lord."
Jin felt a wave of relief. "I see. As long as it's handled. It would be a waste to ruin such rare materials. So, if freezing isn't an option, how should we store it?"
Anne took over the explanation. "It is not the red cells that are required, but the liquid component. Once separated, it can be preserved in an Ether Stocker with virtually no degradation."
"An Ether Stocker?" Jin hadn't heard the term before.
"An Ether Stocker is a storage chamber where the concentration of free ether in the atmosphere is maintained at twenty percent or higher. It can preserve magic-bearing materials almost indefinitely," Anne explained.
This was excellent news.
"I constructed the storage chamber last night and transferred the blood," Laozi added. Though it was a reactive move, Jin had no intention of scolding him. On the contrary, he praised him for his initiative.
"Good work. So, Laozi, have you analyzed the official method for producing recovery medicine?"
"Yes. The ambiguous sections have been clarified, and the procedure is fully understood."
They immediately moved to production. Since the medicine's efficacy had already been proven with Mine, Jin expected demand to surge soon.
The centrifugation process was exactly as Jin had surmised. While sub-sonic speeds weren't strictly necessary, the intensity meant the subsequent filtration steps were significantly shortened.
"Usually, you'd filter the serum, right?"
"Yes. It typically requires three rounds of filtration. However, thanks to Reiko-san, we only need to perform the final stage."
Reiko’s high-speed centrifugation had bypassed two whole stages of labor. They processed ten liters this time, yielding about three liters of true serum. The remainder was stored in the Ether Stocker; apparently, it could be used for various other medicines or even potent poisons.
"This is practically liquid free ether," Jin noted.
Anne nodded. "Indeed. If magi-crystals are crystallized free ether, this is the liquid equivalent."
The purity was over seventy percent. Anne mentioned that anything over thirty percent was highly practical, so this was a significant result.
"If you subject it to a concentrated bath of free ether, impurities precipitate and the purity increases further. The resulting substance is called a drug base."
There seemed to be a specific component in the true serum that bound with or absorbed free ether. This component was more prevalent in magical beasts with higher magic power.
"In that case, what would happen if we used Father's blood?" Reiko, who had been listening quietly, spoke up. "Father likely possesses higher magic power than even a Sea Dragon."
"What...? Hmm."
Jin mused on the thought. According to his hypothesis, free ether was absorbed through the lungs and dissolved into the blood. Therefore, a higher capacity to bind with ether should correlate to higher magical power. It was like the relationship between red blood cells and oxygen—more cells meant better oxygen intake.
"Maybe I'll try it with my own blood eventually."
Despite his words, he didn't look particularly keen on the idea.
Shifting focus, Jin quickly constructed a free ether box—essentially a unit with four times the capacity of a standard Ether Stocker.
"I just leave it in here?" Jin asked, sliding the drug base into the unit, which was roughly the size of a large refrigerator.
"Yes, one day is sufficient. The remaining impurities will settle, killing two birds with one stone."
By the end of the session, they had processed another twenty liters of blood, yielding a total of ten liters of drug base.
Lunch that day was a feast prepared by Mine: freshly baked bread, citran marmalade, persica juice, and a vegetable stir-fry.
After eating, Jin shared news of Reinhard with Elsa.
"He's at the Azul River now. He was complaining about the wait again."
"Mm. It took a week just to cross those two rivers on the trip out," Elsa recalled.
"Honestly, what is that country thinking?" Mine said. "Reinhard-sama needs to be extremely careful. It's dangerous out there."
Jin shared her concern, but he figured a high-ranking diplomat wouldn't be targeted in broad daylight. With that, he returned to Hourai Island.
"I'll have the Quinta search for suits of armor we can use for Golem suit research. What should we build this afternoon?"
Jin immediately started brainstorming.
"You lack a variety of land transportation," Anne suggested. "The 'automobile' I saw the other day... perhaps a similar vehicle should be developed for the Army?"
Jin nodded. Tanks, armored cars, and military trucks flashed through his mind.
"Right. I've already developed a suspension system for the carriage. I can repurpose those Golem arms."
He began sketching the concept. Caterpillar tracks were too much of a hassle, so he opted for an eight-wheeled design. Since rubber tires wouldn't hold up, he reinforced them with Sea Dragon hide.
The vehicle featured eight-wheel independent suspension and an eight-stack Golem Engine—one for each wheel. The frame and armor plating were made of adamantite.
For visibility, he included retractable emergency windows, but the primary view was provided by magic screens, offering a 360-degree panoramic view as if the walls were transparent. It featured zoom functions and night vision.
As for armament, it carried one Laser Cannon, one Railgun, and one Water Jet. It had a capacity for four crew members and was equipped with a manacam and a barrier generator. He added a wire rope and winch for recovery in muddy terrain.
Furthermore, he installed four auxiliary Magi Jet Engines, capable of lightening the vehicle's effective weight to one-fifth of its total. The interior was climate-controlled, and despite the tight space, it included two folding bunks for taking shifts during long missions.
Jin kept piling on features. It was becoming an absurdly high-spec machine.
"Alright, that should do it."
"Goshujin-sama, you also need drinking water storage, a food locker, and medical supplies. And a searchlight."
Anne filled in the gaps. He decided to make the searchlight capable of infrared and ultraviolet output as well as visible light.
With the basic design relayed to Laozi, the automated facilities would handle everything except the core components only Jin could forge. His burden was light. And so, the third day came to a close.
That night, during his manacam call with Reinhard:
"I'm in Dali. It's as busy as Telurus, but there are some shady characters lurking around."
"Are you going to be alright?"
"Yeah, there are Shouro Empire guards stationed in this city. I've requested an escort, so don't worry."
"If you say so."
"Oh, that reminds me—I ran into someone unexpected."
"Who?"
"Someone you know, Jin."
"Someone I know from the Celuroa Kingdom? Is it Stearena-san?"
"Bingo. She's on her way back home after delivering a report to the palace."