Chapter 472: Medical Examination (2)

‘A blood-selling business.’

Lennok understood why Alejandro Murphy was running such a business.

A revolutionary idea: providing the blood of high-level superhumans as a doping agent to clients across the continent.

Even Lennok was slightly impressed by the plan to reduce rejection reactions to foreign blood and enhance its efficacy using vampire abilities.

In a world teeming with superhumans who desire and crave various forms of power, the immense potential of such a business goes without saying.

However, Lennok giving a positive assessment of Murphy’s business and Lennok agreeing to his conditions were entirely separate matters.

“So there was a reason Madame was reluctant to connect me with you.”

Lennok said, staring intently into Murphy’s eyes.

“Even if the experiment proceeds without revealing my identity, I’m still taking a risk. Is this how things were handled in Ars Nova?”

Wooooong…!!

The moment he mumbled softly and channeled his magic, an intense pressure instantly constricted the space around them, seizing Murphy’s shoulders and pressing down.

An immense pressure burst forth just from a light rotation of the magic within his body.

Murphy, who had been alive since the fall of Central City, would surely know the level of density and compression that had been achieved.

But Murphy, though trembling with a pale face, didn’t lose his composure.

“I apologize if I offended you. But it’s no lie that this process is necessary to access and compare analysis with Central City’s medical records.”

“……”

“You know, of course, that patient information must be thoroughly protected. But to continue this work, sometimes the experimental process needs to be revealed to the public.”

Murphy, with trembling hands, took out his glasses from his pocket, put them on, and smiled.

“Those participating in this video conference are my clients and prospective investors interested in the business itself. If I can secure their investment, the examination and treatment you desire can also proceed more effectively.”

“So you need to show overwhelming results even to secure investment?”

“I’d like you to think of it as a convergence of our interests. I, too, felt it was a burden to tamper with Central City’s medical records solely at Madame’s request.”

Saying so, Murphy snapped his fingers once more.

At that moment, the view of the massive isolation chamber beyond the glass window darkened again, and only the examination room where the two stood came into full view.

“As I said before, if you’re uncomfortable, you can refuse at any time. We wouldn’t have discussed anything here today.”

“……”

“Having revealed sensitive aspects of my business, that should be sufficient assurance that I will keep the secrets of your body.”

It wasn’t that Lennok couldn’t understand Murphy’s words.

The motivation to raise investment for desired medical research was a common concern even among wizards.

He’d heard that it was common for wizards researching pure spell formulas to present achievements aimed at improving energy system efficiency.

It was ironic that Lennok’s thesis on power and magic conversion systems was considered the pinnacle of such a trend, but it wasn’t strange for similar things to be happening in the shadows.

However, it was also true that Lennok didn’t necessarily need to understand and tolerate such circumstances.

‘It would be best not to antagonize Madame or the doctor if possible…’

But if necessary, there’d be no need to avoid such a situation.

Lennok thought so, then slowly nodded.

“Alright. Let’s begin.”

“…Thank you for making a difficult decision. I’ll begin preparing for the blood draw, so could you indicate where you’d like the needle inserted?”

“My left arm.”

Lennok said, naturally mimicking taking off his coat with his right arm, and gently tapped Davi, who was squirming inside.

As if understanding Lennok’s thoughts, Davi immediately sent a telepathic message.

[I’ve almost completely taken control of the underground facility’s internal systems. The video feed, video transmission, and medical equipment controls can all be manipulated at any time.]

‘The examination database?’

[I’ve secured the data’s location, but the volume is so vast and the firewall so complex that it will take some time.]

Inside his coat, the cyber spirit flapped its tail as if distressed.

[The database security is quite rigorous, even by the standards of this city’s central network. The sheer volume of data is enormous, and if you don’t access and get approval for every packet simultaneously, the server is designed to shut down.]

‘……’

[To have security on a character-by-character basis, yet the security method itself takes up almost no space… This is a method I’ve never seen before. It’s truly groundbreaking!]

Such powerful data security, impressive enough for Davi to call it groundbreaking. It must be a legacy of Central City.

Just this alone was enough to realize the value of the technology and heritage lost when Ars Nova fell, and why the front lines formed around that city still dictate the continent’s political landscape.

That’s why Lennok was even more determined to acquire access at this very moment.

Sharing the reaction experiment process was unavoidable, but the data had to remain entirely under Lennok’s own control.

That was why Lennok accepted Murphy’s proposal at this point and secretly had Davi begin her work.

[Still, there are security gaps where it occasionally breaks, so I can copy and download the administrator’s privileges in about 20 minutes.]

Davi’s assurance that it wouldn’t be impossible if they exploited the vulnerabilities arising from the medical records being brought out of Central City.

It would take some time, but as long as he had the certainty that the information about his body wouldn’t fall into Murphy’s hands, it was enough.

Murphy stared silently as Lennok brought the syringe to his arm, then his eyes gleamed.

“You seem quite accustomed to blood draws. It doesn’t look like your first time.”

“I’ve had various experiences.”

To be precise, he had become skilled at handling syringes more through the process of injecting various things into his body rather than drawing blood, but Murphy seemed to have understood it differently.

“I see… It’s not strange for a wizard with talent like yours to have gone through all sorts of hardships. It seems we’ve both had difficult times.”

“……”

It seemed he was making another strange misunderstanding, but Lennok simply kept quiet at Murphy’s somewhat more favorable gaze.

“It’s done.”

As Lennok drew a syringe-full of blood and set it down, Murphy quickly approached and began to staunch his arm.

After applying gauze and securing it with practiced hands, Murphy very carefully picked up the vial of blood Lennok had drawn.

When he inserted the ampoule containing blood into a device set up in a corner of the examination room, a long needle rose from near the device’s screen.

Murphy, without a moment’s hesitation, plunged his palm onto the sharp, gleaming needle.

Thwack!!

His palm was directly pierced through the center, and blood began to flow profusely, but Murphy paid it no mind, turning his gaze to Lennok.

“This is the process of altering antibodies to minimize rejection and adjusting purity to a level suitable for injection. It’s equipment I personally created for vampire blood flow manipulation.”

“……”

“Don’t worry, no impurities will be mixed into your blood.”

“Just get on with it.”

At Lennok’s unenthusiastic reply, Murphy also said no more and focused on his work.

The blood in the ampoule spun quietly, then its volume gradually decreased as if evaporating.

What remained after the process was less than 10% of the blood Lennok had drawn.

Murphy very carefully separated that blood, drop by drop, and poured it into different glass tubes.

“Preparation is complete. Let’s begin immediately.”

Saying so, Murphy snapped his fingers once more, and beyond the examination room, lights came on again, brightly revealing the spacious isolation chamber.

Below the isolation chamber, where the video screen was on, stood someone dressed differently from Murphy.

A man in a pure white mask, dressed like an MC in a tuxedo.

He bowed deeply with an exaggerated gesture to the dozens of people looking down at him.

“Greetings, everyone. I sincerely thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to be here today.”

[Doctor, you appeared too late.]

[Why did the lights suddenly go out midway? Was there a problem?]

Lennok turned his gaze to the reactions of the people who naturally perceived that man as ‘Doctor’.

“Who is that?”

“He’s a servant created using vampire abilities.”

Murphy answered, leaning comfortably in his wheelchair and watching the scene.

“I’m not the type to blabber in front of people, so I needed a suitable substitute. So far, it’s been working very well.”

“……”

As if his words were true, the man skillfully spun words even in front of clients who subtly criticized him.

“Ahaha, my apologies. We’ve put so much preparation into this demonstration, so please understand that we’re striving for the best possible results.”

[If anyone else handled things this way, I’d cancel the appointment immediately.]

[We can overlook it because the products the Doctor has provided so far have been satisfactory. Remember that.]

“Isn’t that why we planned this demonstration, to clear up precisely those lingering doubts? Don’t worry.”

Murphy’s servant said so and began to stroll leisurely in front of the isolation chambers.

Five isolation chambers, transparently revealing their interiors. The creatures confined within the massive, container-like chambers stared at him with uneasy eyes.

“Many clients have been curious about how the products I’ve sold are prepared. Today, I’ve invited you all to transparently reveal that entire process and gain your trust.”

It’s natural to reveal a product’s manufacturing process to secure investment for a business.

The important thing is to showcase peak performance in the manufacturing process to investors and secure firm investment commitments.

Murphy was examining Lennok while simultaneously presenting the process to investors, aiming to expand his business.

It was natural that a process involving the blood of Adamant Thunder, renowned even in the mega-city, would yield far better results than the blood of other superhumans.

“Before your eyes are five isolation chambers. We will inject blood into the creatures held within and test their reactivity.”

The man, as if acting as an MC, announced in a lively tone.

“Through the reaction data generated from these five control groups, the blood is processed, stabilized, and then delivered to you.”

Murphy, watching, added.

“Originally, two vials of blood are drawn: one for the reaction experiment, and one for processing into data through the experiment.”

“……”

Does that mean he only drew one vial for the experiment from the beginning, because he had no intention of selling Lennok’s blood?

Without bothering to reply, Lennok turned his gaze to the isolation chambers.

Five isolation chambers, containing an animal, a magical beast, an ordinary human, a 3rd Hierarchy magic user, and a 5th Hierarchy military ability user.

Unlike the first three chambers, the chambers holding the 3rd and 5th level superhumans were restraining them with all sorts of binding devices.

Despite the clear scene of human experimentation, none of the observing clients protested.

Instead, with glittering eyes, they simply pressed their cameras closer, trying to get a more detailed look into the isolation chambers.

[How fascinating.]

[Indeed, it must be effective because they’re experimenting on humans.]

[I had faith in the Doctor. This makes me trust him even more.]

“Now, I will show you the process without any omissions.”

The man said so and immediately stood in front of the first isolation chamber.

In the center of the large isolation chamber, a fluffy white rabbit trembled violently.

“This is the first animal used for the reaction experiment. It’s a specimen with a fast metabolism and immediate physical reactions, making it easy to observe the results!”

A syringe attached to the end of a long mechanical arm descended from the ceiling, swiftly approached the rabbit’s back, and administered the injection.

[Ohhh!!]

[Finally!!]

Murphy and the other clients swallowed hard, and Lennok also stared intently at the scene.

The convulsing rabbit instantly collapsed and died, foaming at the mouth.

[……]

[Is that all?]

The other clients were speechless at such a futile end.

But Murphy’s servant didn’t panic and naturally moved to the next isolation chamber.

A magical beast, like a transparent slime. The bizarre shapes of organs and blood vessels visible within its body were striking.

“…This is the magical beast Krojannon, brought from the southern jungle. It possesses the unique property of transparent internal organs, and its blood circulates at a similar rate to humans, making it a highly valuable rare species for clinical trials. Let’s begin!!”

[It looks incredibly disgusting.]

[I’ve heard stories of Krojannon being used as a specimen for clinical trials.]

[This time, it’ll be different, right?]

While the other clients conversed over the video feed, a single drop of blood was injected into the magical beast’s body.

Krojannon’s transparent body turned crimson, then began to writhe as if something was trying to burst out from within.

Unlike before, the clients’ gazes changed at the rather violent reaction.

[Something’s trying to burst out!!]

[Is it, like, evolving?]

At that moment, Krojannon’s body stiffened and miraculously stopped moving.

A reaction that was entirely unsatisfying. The clients’ voices instantly turned disgruntled.

[…Well, it’s just a specimen, after all.]

[Wouldn’t it be better if no major problems occurred…?]

“……”

[But for inviting us, there’s nothing particularly enticing on display.]

[The Doctor seemed so confident, but so far, it’s just… so-so?]

Even Murphy’s servant seemed slightly flustered after two unusual reactions.

Seeing the servant subtly glance at the examination room, unseen by the clients, Murphy gestured.

A signal to continue.

The servant tried to lighten the mood, diverting the clients’ gazes.

Confined in the third isolation chamber was a grim-faced middle-aged man.

He was muscular and hardened, but just an ordinary human with no magic.

“Damn it, to be dragged into some lunatic’s lab and used as a test subject… I should’ve just rotted away in prison.”

He resignedly offered his arm to the syringe descending from the ceiling, accepting his fate.

The other clients, perhaps due to the previous two experiments, also seemed distracted and unfocused.

The man weakly rubbed his forearm where the syringe had been pulled out, muttering.

“If I’d had magical aptitude from the start, I wouldn’t be stuck here dying like this… I can’t even die in peace… huh?”

Whoosh!!

At that moment, an immense burst of light erupted from the man’s body, and simultaneously, his body slowly began to float into the air.

“Waaaaagh!!”

The man, elevated and emitting a pure white glow from all seven orifices, thrashed his arms ceaselessly.

The other clients watching via video conference also shrieked in surprise.

[Wh-what is that!!]

[Is something finally happening!!]

[Show us something, quickly!!]

At that moment, the light bursting from the man’s body extinguished, and his body dropped to the floor.

Thud!!

“Ugh!!”

The man who fell with a thud mumbled curses, but conversely, the voices from all directions abruptly ceased.

Even Murphy’s servant stopped speaking and just stared silently at the isolation chamber.

“The hell, what is it? Why am I suddenly so uneasy…”

The man, feeling an ominous presence, subtly scanned the isolation chamber’s space, and his eyes widened.

Unlike the man who had fallen to the floor, objects like the bed and shelves inside the isolation chamber were still floating in the air.

“Wh-what is this…”

He pointed with a trembling hand at a nearby floating shelf, and the shelf began to move, still suspended, following his gesture.

Someone watching muttered.

[It’s telekinesis…]

[Unbelievable. Did he awaken a psychic ability? Here and now?]

“This… is a psychic ability?”

Only then did the man realize the change in his body and began to move various objects in the isolation chamber.

Manipulation so natural, it was hard to believe he hadn’t perceived his own ability just moments before.

But the expressions of the other clients watching him were rigid.

Murphy, too, had his lips tightly sealed, and even Lennok tilted his head slightly.

However, the reaction experiment on the next subject, a 3rd Hierarchy magic user, was not on that level.

“I… I’ve ascended to a higher Hierarchy!! I’m now a 4th level…!!!!”

As soon as the 3rd Hierarchy magic user was injected with Lennok’s blood, he instantly leaped over a Hierarchy with a rapid amplification of magic.

The condemned man, with a look of ecstasy, forgot his bound state and ran wildly around the isolation chamber.

[……]

A chilling silence descended.

Now, no client added any further comments after seeing that sight.

“Experiment on me quickly!! Give me that, you bastards!!”

The 5th Hierarchy military ability user, watching from the last isolation chamber, was shouting to quickly be administered that substance.

Murphy’s servant also injected the blood without another word.

Hiss!!

“Kwahahaha!! You’re all dead now, you motherfuckers!!”

The man, laughing maniacally, glared around with bloodshot eyes and shrieked.

“If I get something like this in my body, my power will definitely grow, you motherfuuuckers!! I’ll tear all your limbs off and hang them…!!”

KABOOM!!!

At that moment, the 5th level superhuman’s head exploded on the spot.

Red blood and brains splattered all over the isolation chamber’s glass, and the impact even caused faint cracks in the reinforced glass.

[…He’s dead.]

[What should we call that? An explosion death? Suicide?]

[What does it matter what he died from? That’s not what’s truly important.]

Dozens of gazes on the video screen simultaneously turned towards Murphy’s servant.

This wasn’t the time to think about reaction experiments or business investments.

What was important was the very existence of the blood used in this demonstration.

Though the Doctor had explained it as nothing much, the results were far too extreme to be merely a demonstration of a reaction experiment.

Blood with such outstanding output that it not only almost unconditionally helped low-level superhumans but also overloaded a 5th Hierarchy magic user.

It was already akin to a miraculous elixir in itself.

There was no one foolish enough not to know that this was no ordinary substance.

The gazes of those staring at the camera with bloodshot eyes were all tainted with mad greed.

[The blood used in this experiment, I will purchase it with money.]

[I’ll give 5 billion Cells. Deliver it immediately, no… I’ll come pick it up myself.]

[Only 5 billion Cells?! I’ll buy it for twice that!!]

[I’ll write a blank check. Tell me right now where that blood came from!!]