"Do you want to go back to the place where I hunted dragons with my parents and see if you can find another adult serpent dragon?"
However, although Karen was initially taken aback, before Hayden could continue, she shook her head again.
"Although the serpent dragon is a primitive and unintelligent monster, it is also very cunning. Unless it is attacked and driven away by a powerful enemy, it will usually hide in the same well-managed nest for many years. On the other hand, since it has already been attacked by the God of War, even if there was a second serpent dragon, it would have run away long ago."
Ah this
That's not wrong.
Putting himself in the other person's shoes, Hayden also felt that if he had been attacked by the Peacock King's lair once and had actually survived, he would definitely run as far away as possible and would never stay in the same place.
"In short, I don't think your idea will work... um."
Before Karen could finish speaking, she suddenly frowned and swallowed the rest of her words.
why?
Because she suddenly remembered that Hayden's intuition and premonitions could sometimes be quite uncanny. Even back in college, Hayden's intuition was adept at skipping the process and directly finding the answer. Karen had previously suspected that Hayden might have some kind of precognitive ability.
Prophets are rare.
Neither the old gods nor the new gods can create someone with genuine prophetic talent through genetic modification or any existing magical technology. In fact, it's almost an unobservable and unverifiable talent. Because the phenomenon of prophets making predictions is virtually uncontrollable, no one can demand that a prophet predict anything specific, and no one can even know for sure that someone is truly a prophet.
Karen was only suspicious. Hayden's intuition was indeed remarkably accurate, sometimes to an absurd degree. Sometimes, a few offhand remarks from Hayden would later prove prophetic.
If Hayden truly was a prophet, and this was indeed his premonition, then completely ignoring his thoughts would clearly be unwise…
...Of course, it's equally unwise to take this intuition at face value.
So Karen simply took out her phone, made a mark on the map, and sent it to Hayden.
"I still don't recommend that you just run over there like an idiot, that would be too stupid. But just in case, I'll give you the address first."
This time, it was Hayden who was a little confused by Karen: "Huh? You're really taking what I just said seriously!?"
"What if?" Karen said thoughtfully. "Besides, you've been pretty free lately anyway."
"Who's got more free time?!"
Hayden immediately protested.
But Karen remained calm and said, "At least you're definitely more free than me."
This is indeed true.
After last month, Huanxitian stopped directly using force to launch attacks. Since then, Hayden hasn't personally engaged in combat. Just like those renowned镖头 (bodyguards/escorts) in martial arts novels who don't need to personally fight, recently, the daily work of the "Retribution Military Employment Agency" has almost entirely been handled by Eric leading the teams.
Eric was a top-tier Level 2 enhanced human, with an already excellent foundation. Hayden had mentored him for several months, and now this "disciple" was considered a first-rate expert among mortals, even more powerful than Hayden was last year. With him holding the fort in the commune, there weren't many things Hayden needed to do. Recently, Hayden only needed to stay at home, spending his days studying, training, and conducting research.
Karen, on the contrary, is busier. She is now a rising new capitalist, and in the imagination of ordinary people, such a person may no longer need to work hard and can live a life of luxury while sitting on countless banknotes.
However, in reality, Karen now works ten to fourteen hours a day and has absolutely no concept of holidays—most office workers at least have a tiny bit of that.
In addition, Karen has recently started to pick up her martial arts skills again, which she had abandoned for ten years. Every morning at six o'clock sharp, she gets up and practices martial arts for at least one or two hours. This may not make her improve much, but it can at least help her gradually recover her rusty skills and fighting awareness to their peak when she was a teenager.
After finishing her training and breakfast, Karen would rush to her office as soon as possible. She didn't need to spend too much time on the shop's affairs, but recently she had been contacting and arranging some more complex matters. She wanted to establish a base to supply basic necessities, a safe haven to rely on during times of social unrest… All of this was in preparation for the massive storm that the Peacock King had mentioned was about to arrive.
In comparison, Hayden is really too idle.
"...So, why did you come to my house for breakfast so early in the morning?"
So every time Karen heard Hayden say something like that, she felt like giving him a good whack on the head.
"Repaying that witch's favor is important, but you should also be realistic about your abilities. Don't really get yourself into trouble."
Unfortunately, she had other things to do. Unfortunately, she had a lot of work to do.
Because a storm is coming.
--------------------------
After Karen left, Hayden returned to his studio and got back to work.
Abigail told him to look at the love potion recipe first and coordinate his story so that he wouldn't give himself away if Adam called to probe later. It sounded insignificant, but Hayden still had to do it properly.
When he carefully examined the recipe Abigail had given him, Hayden couldn't help but feel both annoyed and amused.
Almost all modern potions, and every modern alchemical recipe, require the use of at least one ingredient from a magical plant, animal, or mineral.
Of course, all potions use normal, non-magical ingredients, such as porcupine quills or rose petals. However, every modern potion recipe requires at least one ingredient from magical plants, animals, or minerals—such as dragon blood or the root of a datura plant.
This is because this is how potions become truly potent. The energy contained within the magical ingredients is reawakened and released during the alchemy process. Potion making utilizes the magical potential within the ingredients. The potion's effectiveness is not due to the maker's own magic, but rather to the processing and recombination of the existing magic within the alchemy process.
This is why potions are cheaper and less strenuous than direct spellcasting, and why modern potions use more powerful magical materials instead of making do with ordinary materials like many ancient people did.
The ancient love potion recipe Abigail gave Hayden didn't use any magical ingredients. Its excipient was champagne, and the ingredients were chocolate, rose perfume, lace, the candlelight of a burning red candle, a sigh, and the ash from a burned love letter.
Finally, just take out one more banknote, tear it into very small pieces, and throw it in, and the whole prescription will be complete.
Why banknotes? Need I say more? They're a classic aphrodisiac. And money—it's incredibly sexy!
Compared to modern arcane potions, this classic love potion is much less potent and easier to resist. This is its drawback.
However, it has both advantages and disadvantages. It is obviously much, much cheaper, and most importantly, it leaves almost no magical residue, leaving no pollution or trace afterward. This is because in this kind of classic potion, what matters is not the actual energy that the materials possess, but the conceptual meaning that these materials represent.
Similarly, this is why Hayden and Karen both felt that the blood of a young serpent dragon could not be used to make medicine for Abigail—how could the blood of a young serpent dragon bring about the concept of aging?
In this age where everyone is a magician, arcane love potions are easily detected by others, but this classic potion is almost impossible to detect.
This is indeed the kind of aphrodisiac that the Dark Witch would like; it's the kind that's hard for others to detect.
In addition, Abigail had added many clever touches to this formula. A standardized process had been developed, making it closer to arcane magic than pure classical sorcery. In other words, theoretically, anyone could make this love potion by following the standard procedure with the ingredients.
For a fleeting moment, Hayden even began to seriously consider whether he should make a batch of this drug himself to play with... Unfortunately, just as he was struggling with this internal struggle, his phone rang first.
Moreover, the name displayed on the screen was Adam.
So Hayden sighed, composed himself, and answered the phone. His old friend Adam's handsome face was immediately projected onto the screen.
"It's been almost a year! How have you been, buddy?"
Moreover, he greeted Hayden warmly with a smile.
"I heard you've actually started dating Karen. You're not being abused by her all the time, are you?"
If Abigail hadn't given him a heads-up, Hayden himself wouldn't have realized that the smiling Adam was there to sound him out.
At least Hayden couldn't laugh so smoothly and easily.
"It's still relatively harmonious."
He scratched the back of his head, carefully choosing his words, trying to project a cheerful attitude.
"Brother, don't blame me for not doing my job properly with the research funds you gave me, and instead going after Karen for some high-end job, right?"
Adam raised an eyebrow at this, but instead showed an understanding expression: "What's so strange about it? Aren't we all classmates and friends? I admire your ability to get along well with Karen. But then again, you two were already quite close in college."
"Now that we're all going to be live-in sons-in-law of Mitra Group's executives, and we're good brothers, it'll be even easier for us to help each other out if we ever need anything in the future!"
So Adam said.
He clearly wasn't saying these things to joke around with Hayden.
Hayden immediately understood. Just like the saying "testing the waters," Adam was testing his willingness to cooperate.
To be honest, Adam felt a little jealous when he learned that Hayden had inexplicably gotten involved with the only daughter of the Peacock King. Adam had put in so much effort, starting in college, working hard to cultivate connections, using his silver tongue, and even dealing with a rebellious terrorist organization after joining the company to climb the corporate ladder and achieve sufficient performance targets. He had finally become the son-in-law of the Heavenly King of the Nation, gained the trust of the senior management, and climbed to his current position.
For this reason, Adam even allowed the devil, an accomplice, to possess his wife.
What happened to Hayden and Karen?
Hayden himself knew all too well how much he had sacrificed, nearly losing his life to get to where he was today. But to outsiders, it seemed like Hayden had just gotten lucky and climbed the social ladder, and they had no idea how hard he had worked.
Adam only knew a part of it vaguely. Besides, it's human nature to easily feel that you give the most but receive less than others.
However, Adam's brilliance lies in the fact that although he was slightly jealous at first, he was not truly envious.
After the initial surprise, Adam immediately began to calmly calculate what benefits Hayden and Karen would gain for him, and what new value they would bring him.
Sour? How much is sour worth? If your friend wins the lottery jackpot, what good will your sourness do?
You'd be better off figuring out how to get this friend to use their bonus to buy the insurance you're selling.
So what Adam is doing now is, frankly speaking, testing Hayden—hey buddy, are you willing to invest your prize money with me?
Hayden didn't know how complex Adam's thought process was, but he could at least understand the final meaning.
"Of course, we're good brothers!"
So, of course, that was all Hayden could say, all the while laughing heartily on the video call.
"If there's an opportunity to make money, everyone should definitely cooperate and share it!"
This performance might be a little over the top.
But all Adam wanted was this attitude anyway. He immediately smiled with satisfaction and continued the conversation, saying, "Actually, I recently saw a money-making opportunity, and you're the one who showed it to me."
……ah?
"It's the recipe for that love potion you sent me."
Seeing that Hayden didn't react, Adam immediately explained with a smile,
"Your love potion, which is based on sympathetic magic, probably won't work on modern people and magical beasts with strong magic, right? But if you use it on ordinary animals with weak magic, the effect will be very significant."
That makes sense. But, well, who would want to give an ordinary animal a love potion?
"Although we now have the technology to mass-produce objects through industrial cloning, it costs money, and it's very expensive."
Adam waved his hand and said,
"On the contrary, the aphrodisiac you developed this time has a very low cost. A cheap aphrodisiac that leaves no residue, we can simply use it on sows... on livestock in large quantities to increase their reproduction rate. Isn't that a business opportunity?"
Hayden was stunned.
Is Adam's imagination when it comes to making money a little too terrifying?
106: Market Changes and Opportunities
"Using aphrodisiacs to increase the reproduction rate of livestock? Are you kidding me, buddy...?"
Hayden considered himself to have a rich imagination, but even he was speechless after hearing Adam's words.
Honestly, Hayden didn't possess this kind of logical thinking.
Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Adam was able to climb the corporate ladder and even become the deputy of Dhritarashtra, acting on behalf of God.
"It's not like we have to do it right now. After all, I just got this prescription, so I can't make a decision right away, right?"
Adam smiled, unconcerned.
"Don't worry too much. I'll have the experts in the company study the feasibility again. If we really do do it and there are losses, I'll bear the responsibility myself, and it won't be your fault. If it succeeds, I'll definitely remember your kindness, brother. Whether it's the honor or the money, you'll definitely get a share."
Wow, if you lose money, it's on you; if you make money, I'll get a share? That sounds like a really brotherly thing to say!
However, Hayden's lips twitched slightly upon hearing Adam's words: Honor? Reputation? What kind of honor?
Is this the kind of honor one would bestow upon someone who uses love potions to enhance the reproductive efficiency of sows and increase pork production?
It's not that Hayden looks down on such honors. After all, these days, ordinary people at the bottom of society eat artificial foods, and the meat that the poor can afford is mostly synthesized in factories using materials like krill. As for whether it can meet basic nutritional needs or whether they will starve to death, that's certainly not the case, since the protein they eat is real.
The old witch, a woman over four hundred years old, often speaks highly of capitalist society because she witnessed and lived through a time of starvation that was truly tragic. That's no joke. No matter how miserable modern life is, it's difficult to understand how miserable life was for people in feudal times. At least people in this era aren't so easily starved to death.
However, on the other hand, most people still can't afford real pork, or at least can't eat it often.
If Adam really did manage to increase sow productivity using Abigail's love potion recipe, leading to higher pork production and lower prices, making pork affordable for ordinary people every day—then the magnitude of this achievement would probably be second only to Hayden's ideal of developing and promoting inexpensive potions.
If everyone has access to medicine when they are sick, and everyone has meat in their bowl, then achieving either of these two things would be considered a divine achievement.
Furthermore, if Adam were to bestow the honor and fame brought by this technology upon Hayden—from then on, Hayden's name would likely be associated with increased sow productivity.
When the time comes, everyone's first reaction upon hearing Hayden's name will probably be: "Oh, is that the guy who developed the aphrodisiac for sows?"
Although such an honor is absolutely unprecedented and will be remembered for generations, Hayden couldn't help but cover his face with his hands at the thought that his name might be forever linked to "sow-producing aphrodisiacs" in history.
Of course, this is really just Hayden letting his imagination run wild. Capitalism is inherently profit-driven. Even if Adam genuinely intended to give Hayden a portion of the financial rewards and major recognition, the company would still inevitably use that to make a profit. Making real meat affordable for everyone is clearly not that easy.
Besides, this is just something we're talking about right now. Nothing's even remotely confirmed yet.
"While it's unrealistic to think that a new aphrodisiac technology can increase pork production, new technologies shouldn't be limited to just one application. We need to maintain flexibility in our thinking and avoid narrowing our perspective. That's the way to make money."
Adam spoke with great conviction on the projected screen. Given his status and achievements—rising to the position of a top executive vice president at the age of thirty—he certainly had the right to say such things. Regardless of whether his methods were dirty or not, Hayden still admired Adam in this respect. This way of thinking was very much in line with his style, very much like what Adam would say in the past.
This even made Hayden feel a little nostalgic, reminding him somewhat of the interactions between the two of them during their university years.
Unfortunately, the past will never truly return.