“This is crazy...” May said as she wandered around the huge building, which resembled a spacious hall. She was currently an hour away from Cloud Academy.

  “The previous owners died, and their spendthrift son decided to sell the place. The price is quite low due to the less-than-ideal location,” Hua Tang told her, looking around. “However, the free space and available infrastructure make up for it.”

  Although she knew that Hua Tang was serious about this investment, she did not expect him to decide to buy such a huge complex just to produce a single medicine. She didn't even want to think about how much it must have cost. She herself was currently broke.

  This was because she had to pay 3,000 every week just to prevent nightmares. If she didn't, her soul could be damaged.

  As a result, all the money she had was gone... She was saved only by the income from the sale of game boards, the scholarship she received from the academy, and the funds intended for the test, which she embezzled.

  Fortunately, today she was supposed to receive the first money from Hua Tang for the purpose of scaling up production. Secretly, however, she had to use it to survive...

  In addition, due to the test and business development, she didn't have much time for cultivation. Her martial arts, weapon fighting, and stats were currently at a standstill. However, her skills that she used so often in the penicillin production process, such as Qi Sensing and Qi Manipulation, had increased!

  As soon as we start mass-producing penicillin, I'll finally be able to stop worrying so much about money and won't have to live week to week anymore...

  Of course, her heart still suffered due to the amount of money she had to spend on something so foolish... It was almost 156,000 a year! Strengthening the soul (whatever that meant) in Devil Hole was certainly not worth that much.

  “Are you okay?” Hua Tang suddenly asked her, noticing her frown.

  Although she had the urge to confide in someone about her predicament, he was certainly not the right person. Maybe in the future, if she trusted him more, once he became her official master.

  Well, all things considered, there's no other option but for me to pass this test...

  “I'm just impressed by this place,” May said. “But won't we be drawing too much attention to ourselves?”

  “If people knew that your company, Ten-Year-Old Girl Company, bought this complex? Yes, it would certainly be like a huge bonfire in the middle of a dark forest. That's why, even though it will be your company's property, it would be better to appear as if it's my property.”

  This was not fundamentally different from reality. Although he had bought the land with May's company in mind, even if he used it, he would still have the right to it.

  “Yes... I guess that would be better,” May replied.

  “However, it won't be possible forever. Sooner or later, the truth will come out,” he said seriously. “Penicillin... This discovery is our sect's most important achievement in years. It will certainly attract a lot of attention.”

  May smiled. “The more attention, the better. We'll be able to make a lot of money from it.”

  The man let out a deep sigh. “It’s hard for me to believe all of this.”

  May was surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere. Hua Tang was looking at her as though he was trying to learn something. May swallowed loudly.

  “I’m afraid I don’t understand what Senior is referring to…” she replied cautiously.

  “I’m referring to the fact that you shouldn’t be able to discover something like this medicine. Its method of production is so strange and unusual that I can confidently say I have never encountered anything like it in alchemy.”

  May quickly realized that the discovery of penicillin must have seemed absurd, even impossible, from his perspective. After all, he had devoted his entire life to studying alchemy, so he must have understood very well that creating something like this out of nothing and at such a young age was essentially impossible.

  “Perhaps it is precisely because my knowledge of alchemy is so poor that I was able to create something so bizarre that no one else had ever thought of,” May said, trying to justify her extraordinary discovery, one that defied any logic. “Not to mention the fact that I was very lucky that this one specific species of mold I happened to find turned out to have such exceptional properties.”

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Hua Tang watched her closely in silence, as if trying to understand her secret. For a moment, May was even afraid that he had realized she was not from this world. It was impossible, of course, but his piercing gaze sent shivers down her spine.

  “Luck, huh? If it was just simple luck… May, I wonder if you yourself understand what you have accomplished?” the man asked her, staring straight into her eyes. “I assure you that there are people far more talented than you, both in cultivation and alchemy, and those who work ten times harder than you, but still would not be able to accomplish what you have done.”

  May didn't know how to respond. Had she gone too far? It seemed that this discovery was too absurd even by the standards of this world. She felt a piercing chill throughout her body.

  However, she had no other choice. If she hadn't done it, she would have had no real chance of earning three thousand a week. It would have ended in her death. Discovering penicillin so early was a mistake, but it was a mistake she had to make, because the only other possibility was death.

  Seeing that May was not responding, Hua Tang shook his head and sighed quietly. “ Such things are called miracles. You did something that had such a low probability of success that it was basically zero.”

  May frowned. She understood very well that her discovery certainly seemed suspicious and too good to be true, considering her age, lack of experience, and the short time in which she had achieved it, but…

  “Senior Tang, aren't your words a bit overdramatic?” she asked.

  He just shook his head. “No, they're not. According to my predictions, within a year, your company will become the most profitable alchemy workshop in the entire sect.”

  Alchemical products were usually only purchased by cultivators. However, her discovery meant that even ordinary people could afford to buy an amazing medicine that could cure a variety of diseases at a surprisingly low price. The potential revenue made Hua Tang himself dizzy.

  The discovery of penicillin was like Gutenberg's discovery of the printing press... In this respect, Hua Tang was amazing in that he was able to see the revolutionary potential of her discovery so early on...

  “Then we should seize this opportunity, Senior.” She smiled at him, knowing that he certainly liked money. “And this is just the beginning... Yes, we're drawing attention to ourselves, but without risk there's no fun, is there?”

  He looked at her obliquely and frowned.

  “What a dangerous way of thinking. However, indeed. To accomplish great things, one must take risks. I understand this better than anyone else…”

  “So there's no problem...?”

  “No,” he replied. “Whether it was a stroke of luck, as you say, or something else, it doesn't matter now. Be aware that my title of Golden Alchemist is certainly not undeserved. I sense a risk here, but it is as you have said. Therefore, I accept that risk and will not question it.”

  Even despite these words, May knew that he had concerns about her. Was his love of money so great that he decided to trust her? No, he certainly had doubts about how she managed to create penicillin.

  He had surely already investigated her past and would certainly continue to be wary of her. However, he seemed to be the type of person who would make a deal with the devil as long as it was beneficial to him.

  He knew May was suspicious, but he was blinded by the glitter of gold.

  “In that case, let's move on to how we're going to set up these rooms, Senior...”

  ───── ??☆?? ─────

  May had classes at Cloud Academy that day, but she didn't attend any of them because she was busy with her business. Normally, this would have been impossible, but with Hua Tang and his status, the school ignored the issue, especially since he was one of their geniuses.

  It was quite ironic. Everyone dreamed of getting into Cloud Academy in the Inner Court. May also dreamed of it, but once she got in, she hardly attended any classes.

  They couldn't teach her much about alchemy anyway. However, she was only missing out on cultivation and fighting skills. Recently, she had hardly trained in martial arts or spear fighting.

  Normally, this would be a problem, given that even an alchemist must be able to fight.

  However, in May's case, it wasn't that much of an issue, as she had the Pay-To-Win system.

  This was the first sum of money she had received from Hua Tang for developing mass production. More precisely, it was half of what she had received. She had not deposited everything into the system. However, even though it seemed like a huge amount, Hua Tang himself thought it was not enough.

  May smiled to herself. If she had to develop it herself, it would indeed be insufficient. However, instead of trying trial and error, she could obtain ready-made information about the operation from the system for a much lower amount. May decided that only half of the total amount she received would be enough for her.

  “The other half, the entire 30,000 [mu], goes into my pocket!” She chuckled quietly to herself as she sat in an armchair in her room.

  Thirty thousand meant she could buy freedom from nightmares for a whole 10 weeks! It was her security fund.

  “It’s good to keep some money for a rainy day, but shouldn’t you buy some skills? With that amount you could buy one or two good techniques… Or at least improve your martial arts proficiency by a few percent?” Minnie asked out of nowhere.

  “Safety first. Once the penicillin starts earning on its own, then I’ll move on to purchases,” she said, lazily stretching out in the armchair. “It should only be a matter of a few weeks. Until then, I’ll stay cautious and keep a low profile.”

  “According to what Hua Tang said, penicillin will shock the entire sect,” Minnie continued. “Shouldn’t you prepare for that somehow?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “For example, what if someone tries to attack you to steal your production method or something like that?” Minnie replied. “Admittedly, you’re not weak, but you lack experience, a strong counterattack technique, and any form of defense.”

  “You’re not wrong, but… that will have to wait. Impulsive purchases now could be more dangerous than the potential threat you’re talking about. After all, something might still happen that causes the penicillin to fail, and then I’d have no money, and the nightmares would torment me every night until they eventually destroyed my soul.”

  Minnie didn’t argue with her any further and fell silent.

  If she wasn’t mistaken, the results announcing who would become Hua Tang’s disciple were supposed to come out tomorrow. Well, the outcome was obvious. She didn’t particularly feel sorry for the other participants of the test. She had won fairly.

  May let out a quiet sigh to herself and closed her eyes. An intense couple of weeks awaited her. She had to find a way to mass-produce penicillin, expand her business, all while continuing her regular studies at the academy. All of this gave her a headache. Her next invention should be paracetamol.