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After writing down the list of required medicinal ingredients, the young master immediately assigned some teenagers the task of finding the ingredients he needed.
The kids were efficient in using the Internet; in less than an hour, they had managed to gather all the required ingredients needed for the Bugu Dan. Now he only needed the pharmacy to deliver the goods. The ingredients for the Baidu Dan were slightly more difficult to find, especially considering that there were over a hundred poisons that were needed. Currently 30-40% of the poisons had been found. The rest of the poisons were scattered around the world which made acquisition harder, but he believed he would receive news about them soon.
Gong Lixin ended the call, relieved by how quickly all the ingredients had been gathered and were just waiting to be delivered. His eyes brightened as he thought about his school's chemical laboratory. He hadn't expected for this world's refining tools to be so advanced; there were high-pressure boilers that could raise the temperature to over a thousand degrees, liquid ammonia bottles that were able to lower the temperature to below freezing point, and there was no need to worry about purifying substances because there was countless types of equipment that could be used. With these tools, he would be able to refine at least a few hundred pills each day. His speed would increase as his familiarity with the equipment increased.
Since the Bugu Dan's effects would last for a month or two, the young master would thus only need to eat four to five pills a year since his cultivation of "Reverse Spirits" would extend the time limit of the Bugu Dan's effects by a month. The reason why he was refining so many Bugu Dans was because he was preparing them for the Gong family. He might not need as many, but that wasn't to say his loved ones didn't need them. As for the Baidu Dan? It was useless for those who did not have internal force since it was the equivalent to intestinal poison. Gong Lixin didn't dare to risk his family with the Baidu Dans.
Because they knew about Gong Xiangyi's space ability, food was being bought en masse. With her support, Gong father, Song Big Brother and others would not have to worry about hunger too much. Moreover, the Bugu Dan tasted bitter and was hard to swallow; it was in no way comparable to the fresh food collected by Gong Xiangyi. However, the world was changing, and because he could refine the Bugu Dans now, he would. He would always be prepared. The Dans would be used in case Gong Xiangyi was no longer on good terms with them, or if she met an accident.
Gong Lixin didn't care whether Gong Xiangyi had an accident or not, his mood would forever be unchanging when it came to matters concerning his sister. At first he had held some expectations but whenever he attempted to deepen their relationship, he was met with hostility from the girl. Those expectations disappeared immediately, and now Gong Xiangyi would forever be a stranger to him.
After preparing the medicinal ingredients, Gong Lixin went downstairs to have breakfast. The other people in the Gong family had already gone to work. There were still ten months before the apocalypse, everybody was utilising this period of time to complete all the preparations.
Gong Lixin's mood was poor as he sat at the empty table. He finally had a happy family and he could explore the colorful world. The sun and the hustle and bustle of the city would disappear when the apocalypse begun. Was God that desperate to take life away?
His mood was no longer depressing as he thought about God. If God truly wanted to take life away, then he would do all he could to fight against God. He had already died once, what else was there to fear? With his mind made up, Gong Lixin discarded the distracting thoughts and began enjoying the hearty breakfast in front of him. The delicacies that could be eaten now should be enjoyed; he wouldn't let matters that would occur in the future affect his appetite.
Gong Lixin took his bag and went to school when he had finished eating. Once he arrived at the school, he made his way to the principal's office so he could gain permission to use the senior laboratory that was usually reserved for the university's usage.
Facing Gong Lixin, the principal did not dare to refuse the request. He gave him the key to the laboratory without asking anything.
Sincerely thanking the principal, Gong Lixin skipped class to utilise the laboratory. With the key, access to the laboratory was unobstructed. He began memorising the functions of the various equipment he would be using. He then familiarised himself with the operation methods. Once he was confident in his ability to use the equipment, he picked up the medicinal ingredients that needed to be refined, and put it aside. He had called the pharmacy earlier to have them send the bought ingredients directly to A affiliated secondary school.
With the medicinal ingredients in hand, he was prepared to start refining but hadn't realised that morning had already passed. Song Haoran had come to pick him up, but he was unable to find Gong Lixin. When Song Haoran couldn't find Gong Lixin in his classroom, he went to the principal's office to ask for the whereabouts of the young master. Following the principal's directions, Song Haoran arrived at the laboratory."After skipping class this morning, what are you doing here?" He knocked on the door of the laboratory, the door opened and he saw the child standing calmly in front of him. Song Haoran relaxed his tense mood but there was still a trace of worry remaining on his face.
After spending over a month together with Gong Lixin, his feeling towards the boy had unconsciously deepened. When he was unable to find Gong Lixin, his heart nearly stopped.
"I am refining medicine. I don't have time to go to class." The young master moved his hand away from the doorknob and leaned his head back, squinting with round cat eyes as he confessed about what he was doing. Towards the closest and most trusted person he had in this life, Gong Lixin felt no need to hide anything from Song Haoran.
Scratching his head, Song Haoran asked, "Refining medicine? What kind of medicine is it?" A puzzled expression could be seen on his face.
Gong Lixin took Song Haoran into the room and pointed at the pills on the table."A Bugu Dan, you can eat one and won't feel hunger for half a month."
Song Haoran raised his eyebrows, picked up the pill and looked at it. He asked with a smile, "Where did you get the recipe for this pill? How do you refine Bugu Dan? Is it really that useful?"
"The recipe was found in the Shaolin Yijin Sutra. Very useful. If an apocalypse did happen, we won't have to worry about going hungry." Gong Lixin's main focus was on that fact.
Although he couldn't reveal his origins, he didn't need to lie. On that day, he looked at martial art manuals left by Gong Lixin and occasionally saw this prescription in one of the books. Although there was a recipe, refining Bugu Dan also needs someone to understand the quantity of ingredients used and the order in which the ingredients are used. The slightest mistake would result in failure. The recipe had been passed down for thousands of years but the refining technique had long been lost in the river of time. It was no wonder that modern people only knew of Bugu Dan from stories and legends.
Song Haoran was such a person who had originally thought that Bugu Dan was just a mythical pill. He hadn't thought that Gong Lixin would discover the core of ancient texts, he had thought that Gong Lixin was simply curious. After all, what man didn't yearn for such martial art legends to be true as a child?
However, Gong Lixin's small appearance that was full of confidence was rather funny. Song Haoran couldn't help but smile.
It seemed that after he saw "Resident Evil" last night and after they had a short discussion about his thoughts on an apocalypse, he had become somewhat inspired. It was not always a good thing to establish a sense of crisis this early on and ruin other's temporary happiness.
Song Haoran's face darkened. He patted Gong Lixin's shoulder and praised him, "Good, if the apocalypse really does break out, this medicine will be useful. If you refine some, remember to give some to Song Big Brother."
Although he knew these medicines were useless, Song Haoran couldn't bear to attack Gong Lixin's enthusiasm. Moreover, he was pleased when he spoke to Gong Lixin, who was serious but very cute. The sense of crisis and heaviness from the approaching apocalypse would always disappear whenever he saw the youth.
"Hn, I was planning on giving Song Brother a bottle anyways." The young master nodded with a smile.
Hearing this answer, Song Haoran's cold heart was completely melted. The more he looked at this well-behaved child, the more comfortable he felt. He wanted to grab onto those shoulders and squeeze him into his arms until the child was a little dizzy. He stopped himself from hugging the boy because he knew he would be unwilling to let go.
"Well, the medicine will need to be refined another day. It's important that you train your small body." Song Haoran dragged Gong Lixin away from the laboratory and headed for the special forces training camp on the city outskirts.
As the apocalypse approached, he would need to improve Gong Lixin's fitness as fast as possible so Gong Lixin would have the ability to protect himself.
The duo arrived at the training camp. Lin Wenbo who wore a military uniform, was waiting at the training ground. When the uniform was on, his usual gentle expression hardened, revealing a languid sense of wildness.
Gong Lixin jumped out of the car and ran up to Lin Wenbo; his eyes sparkling as they roamed the stunning man's body. Seeing Gong Lixin's eager eyes, Lin Wenbo smiled; resentment unable to be seen on the man's expression. In the past Lin Wenbo was disgusted by the youth due to his lust-filled eyes, however, the Gong Lixin's eyes were no longer tainted by that lust.
Song Haoran was unsure of how to feel when he saw Lin Wenbo attracting all of Gong Lixin's attention. He parked the car before walking towards the two. He stood in between both of them so that Lin Wenbo would no longer be in Gong Lixin's line of sight.
"Song Big Brother, this set of clothes is really cool. Do I get to have one?" Gong Lixin had quickly become accustomed to modern aesthetics since he had been like a blank slate when he had reincarnated. Like all boys, he especially liked military uniforms.
"Of course, I have already prepared one for you. Go to the locker room to get changed and we will start training immediately." It turns out that the military uniform was what captivated the boy's attention! Song Haoran's tense mood relaxed. He took Gong Lixin to the locker room before handing him the brand-new military uniform.
Gong Lixin delighted by the fact he received a uniform, quickly walked into a cubicle to change. Once he was done, Lin Wenbo began his brutal training regime. Of course, the word'brutal' applied to the scholarly Lin Wenbo. For Gong Lixin, the training was a piece of cake.
Song Haoran was prepared to harden his heart. No matter what, he would force Gong Lixin to finish all the different kinds of field training, but he had not expected Gong Lixin to complete all of it with ease. Even the five-kilometer cross-country run had been completed from start to finish. Gong Lixin had even been in front of the group without even breaking a sweat whilst the last person in the group was barely breathing. Song Haoran and the other veterans were embarrassed.
"As expected from the son of uncle Gong! With his physical ability, he was practically born to be a soldier!" Song Haoran's deputy exclaimed before shaking his head in disappointment when he saw how tired Lin Wenbo was.
Song Haoran gave a small smile, eyes never wandering away from the youth's figure that stood on the training ground. He continued to watch with pride, never even glancing at his friend that was barely able to breathe. Lin Wenbo was a big man, there was no need to worry about him.
When the training ended that day, Gong Lixin looked like he had been taking a stroll whilst Lin Wenbo looked like he was half-dead as he staggered about like a zombie.
Lin Wenbo stared at Gong Lixin's small face, "Lixin, have you trained before?" Gong Lixin's outstanding performance today had completely changed the way he thought about the boy. Gong Lixin was not sullen and paranoid, instead he was very independent. His tenacity proved that he was completely different compared to other spoiled children.
"No, today was my first time." Gong Lixin shook his head before running up to Song Brother, smiling.
You can still run?! Lin Wenbo stared at the back of the running Gong Lixin, completely shocked. He then looked down at his own legs and smiled. Sure enough, if you kept on comparing yourself to others, it would be better for you to die[1].
"Great work Lixin! You were even better than this Song Brother yours!" Song Haoran held his arms wide open for the teenager that was rushing towards him. He was unable to fully express how pleased he was with Lixin's performance.
"Actually, I have practiced a bit, so it wasn't too hard." The young master was modest, but he himself, was stunned by his performance today. If there was no internal force, he would barely last half and hour in this kind of high-intensity training. Song Big Brother was an ordinary person with no internal strength but he could persist in this kind of training every day. Song Big Brother was really strong.
"When did you practice? How come I don't know?" Song Haoran heard the young boy's words, it was different from what he remembered about the boy.
"I meditate every night and have internal strength to protect my body." The boy explained honestly. In front of Song Haoran, he always told the truth, he didn't hide anything. However, Song Haoran thought Gong Lixin was joking and chuckled into the boy's shoulder.
From behind the two, Lin Wenbo heard and also laughed but, deep inside, he was feeling jealous. His heart was dark. He didn't expect the boy to be this humorous. He didn't think that with such a serious face, the boy would have been able to tell a joke which made the other laugh.
The little master didn't know what he said to make the two laugh and leaned forward, his delicate eyebrows slightly twisted and his big eyes filled with doubt. His pink lips were in a straight line and he looked even more serious.
[1] E/N: Stop comparing yourself to others, because there would be no way for you to be better than everyone. Just fuck off and die since it is pointless.
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