Chapter 5: Perfect Edition

"You..." Candace Scurr clenched her small fists, standing there trembling with anger. She wanted to whirl around and leave. Yet she could not bear to give up that Blood-Energy Strengthening Potion. With Ethan Letherdale supporting her for three years, her Blood-Energy had already broken past six hundred points. If she got her hands on Stellar Group's newest Strengthening Potion, she might surge to a thousand. She might even achieve Meridian Opening and become a Martial Artist. At that point, she would stand above everyone else. Kyle Luet did have money, but he was not nearly as rich or as generous as she had imagined. Last night she had coaxed, pleaded, and sweet-talked him for hours. He talked big, but he still refused to buy it for her. More importantly, that Potion was limited. Even if you had the cash, you might not be able to get one. Candace had already seen it clearly. No matter what she said next, Ethan was not going to hand it to her on his own. After wrestling with herself, she drew a deep breath and forced out a question. "If you say it, does it count?" "So you really are that shameless," Ethan muttered, brows knitting. Even this kind of condition, she could accept. The last trace of disappointment settled into something cold and final. If this was who she was, then nothing mattered anymore. He even smiled. "My word is my bond." "Fine! I agree!" Candace bit down hard and inhaled again. "It's just one month!" "Right. Just one month." Ethan's smile lingered, soft as a devil's whisper coaxing someone off a cliff. He could not be bothered to argue with her anymore. He leaned back on the sofa. "Sweet slave. Come over and serve your master." "...Yes, Master." Grinding her teeth, Candace walked over, dropped to her knees in front of him, and lowered her head. Damn it. A heartbeat later, Ethan cursed in his mind. With how practiced she was, last night with Kyle had definitely not been her first time. Before Kyle, there were probably others. After all, in the three years Ethan had been with Candace, they had never once done anything like this. "Shameless. Filthy bitch." On the cold, hard floor, Ethan kept cursing under his breath. Then his voice turned heavy. "Call him." "C-Call... who?" "Kyle Luet." "...Yes, Master." Candace froze for a moment, then pulled out her phone and dialed Kyle. He had to admit, she had a strong sense of "contract." Once she agreed, she carried it out cleanly and completely. "I told you already! When I get money from my mom, I'll buy you the Strengthening Potion!" Kyle's voice came through, thick with impatience. So I was right, Ethan cursed silently. All that swagger, and he still begged his mommy for cash. His grip tightened. "No," Candace said sweetly. "I just missed you." "Missed me? Heh. Baby, how long has it even been? And you already miss me?" "Ooh... that's so good..." "Wait, what's that sound? The hell? What are you doing?" "I missed you so much, I couldn't help myself..." "So I'm that good, huh? Good girl. Keep going. Harder!" Candace's awareness blurred. On the other end, Kyle only sounded more and more pleased with himself. Ethan curled his lip in a cold smile. What a moron. Two hours later... "Don't forget what you promised me." Candace braced herself against the doorframe, barely managing to stand. She bit her lip, her almond-shaped eyes glossy as she looked at Ethan. "Remember. Whenever I call, you come." Ethan gave a low snort and exhaled a thin smoke ring. Candace said nothing more. Supporting herself against the wall, she staggered out. Watching her leave, Ethan frowned. Why did it feel like that filthy bitch had ended up enjoying herself? "Full!" He shoved the thought aside. During that "workout," a surge of adrenaline had flooded his body. Under the stimulation, his Spiritual Energy refilled completely. "Huh? Why is there more?" [97/97] It was even higher than before. So when Spiritual Energy was completely drained and then refilled, it could raise the Spiritual Energy Cap to a certain extent. For ordinary people, fully exhausting Spiritual Energy was extremely difficult, which meant raising the Spiritual Energy Cap this way was nearly impossible. In fact, on Blue Star, most people's Spiritual Energy Cap was almost fixed for life. Did that mean only Ethan could keep increasing his Spiritual Energy, eventually evolving it into a higher form of energy that could be used in combat? "So it works like that." Ethan's face lit with excitement. There was a bonus like this, too. But that could wait. He stopped overthinking and continued repairing and upgrading the Strengthening Potion. "Done!" A moment later, a brand-new Blood-Energy Strengthening Potion Formula, flawless in every way, appeared in his mind. The original Potion had burned through tens of billions in R&D. What was a Perfect Formula like this worth? Probably an astronomical number. For a moment, Ethan's heart hammered in his chest, then he forced himself to calm down. The real problem was how to turn the formula into money. Even an ordinary drug, from completion to market, had to pass layers of approvals. The paperwork alone was beyond an average person. And this was a Martial Artist-exclusive Potion. With Ethan's nobody background, he probably could not even get the patent filed. As for partnering with a major corporation? That was a fantasy. In a world where people ate people alive, Ethan had no strength and no backing. Taking a formula like this to a giant company was no different from a lamb walking into a tiger's den. He would be swallowed whole. He might not even know how he died. "I need to think this through." Ethan drew a slow breath and settled his mind, planning carefully. "Giant Horned Wild Bull Blood, Iron Armored Raging Bear Heart Tendon, Fire Scale Lizard Testicles..." An hour later, staring at the ingredients listed in his mind, Ethan let out a short laugh. It was all common Demon Beast blood and bits of muscle and tissue. Of course. This was only a Blood-Energy Strengthening Potion meant for ordinary people. How could it possibly require high-end materials? The real value was in the data. The extraction process was simple, too. Following the formula, Ethan, a top student of potion science, could make it himself. "Only a thousand bucks!" He searched online for the raw materials. They were easy to source, and the total cost for one batch came to just ¥10,125, roughly $1,000. And yet a single vial sold for ¥660,000, about $66,000. "Those profiteering bastards." It clicked immediately. Neither the materials nor the process was difficult. The reason it was so scarce, aside from genuinely decent effects, was Stellar Group's hunger marketing. Still, that worked in his favor. If the materials were too expensive, he truly could not afford them. But a few thousand dollars? He had that. Before he sold the Perfect Formula, he needed to know the exact effect of the Potion. The most direct way was to make one and test it. In fact, every Potion had to go through massive clinical trials before it could be released to confirm its effects. "Huh? What's going on?" He clicked Pay, and a message popped up: Payment failed. Insufficient balance! Candace used to give him only ¥200 a month as "pocket money," but he had used the card labeled "Saving for a house." He deposited money into it every month. Over the past year, it had built up to nearly ¥20,000. How could it be insufficient? Ethan frowned and immediately opened online banking. "...Damn it!" When he saw the long string of expenses, he cursed out loud. They had agreed not to touch that money, to save for a house. Yet Candace had spent it all on cosmetics, clothes, and nights out at restaurants and bars. Forget ¥10,000. There was not even ¥1 left. What infuriated him most was that many of the spending records came right after deposit records. In other words, the moment he put money in, Candace blew it. No wonder she never let him check the card. She claimed not knowing the amount would "motivate him to earn more." Turns out she had been spending it behind his back. Which meant Candace had never planned to save for a house in the first place, and naturally she had never planned to marry him. "I'm such a fucking idiot." Now that he knew the truth, Ethan wanted nothing more than to slap himself across the face.