A few hours ago.
"Fortunately, potions can enhance memory—"
Lorne carefully fiddled with the glass test tube in his hand while feeling inexplicably lucky.
Starting from Sequence 8 "Robot," the potion's physical transformation brought about an extremely strong memory.
Because of this, he could clearly recall those popular science videos he had watched long ago, buried deep in his memory, as well as the dry formulas and principles from chemistry textbooks. Otherwise, with only the half-baked knowledge in his head that he had mostly forgotten, let alone conducting experiments, he probably wouldn't even be able to use these glass test tubes properly.
"Fortunately, the society I transmigrated into isn't purely ancient; chemistry-related materials are quite complete."
Beakers, test tubes, condensers, alcohol lamps, and even medical alcohol and other equipment—Lorne had easily purchased them in Backlund. Although these tools appeared somewhat crude, heavy, and unrefined to modern eyes, their basic functions were not much different.
He stroked his chin. "Hmm—to some extent, I should praise Roselle."
"Of course, even more so, I should praise—garlic."
What he was going to try making this afternoon was one of the legendary essential artifacts for transmigrators: allicin.
When he saw a vendor selling garlic in the market that day, he had a sudden flash of inspiration. This world had garlic too!
Compared to penicillin and other antibiotics, garlic was incredibly easy to obtain.
Roselle had indeed created some prototypes of modern medicine back then, but unfortunately, to this day, those medicines were still not perfect.
Producing penicillin required the right bacterial colonies and harsh conditions, and the development of other antibiotics required sufficient experimentation and luck. In contrast, extracting allicin had become a relatively easy path to achieve.
Before transmigrating, he had also used allicin. Although the lingering, strange smell of garlic made him somewhat wary, the effect was indeed real. As a broad-spectrum antibiotic, it produced almost no drug resistance and had miraculous effects against many basic bacterial infections.
For today's experiment, Lorne had bought almost half the market's garlic, even giving up the sliced boiled pork with mashed garlic he had been longing for.
The experimental process was tedious but orderly.
First, a large pile of peeled garlic was crushed vigorously to completely break the cell walls. Then, it was heated using a salt bath method to allow enzymatic hydrolysis for half an hour at a constant temperature. The properties of allicin are very specific; the temperature cannot exceed 60 degrees, or the active ingredients will be destroyed.
Fortunately, with the enhancement of the "Robot" ability, precisely controlling the temperature wasn't too difficult for Lorne.
Next, medical alcohol was added and stirred evenly. Then, a simple reflux device was built using a condenser, and it was left to sit for over an hour at a low temperature of around 40 degrees, allowing as much allicin as possible to dissolve into the ethanol. Finally, a funnel was used to filter out impurities, followed by distillation and concentration.
After a busy afternoon, he finally obtained some slightly yellow, simple allicin medicinal liquid.
"How much active ingredient this stuff has is still open to debate."
Lorne picked up the glass bottle containing the medicinal liquid and examined it closely under the gas lamp; the liquid inside didn't look very "high-end."
"But—I used some of my accumulated luck, so the result shouldn't be too bad—"
"It should be useful for bacterial infections and pneumonia, but for viruses—"
He knew very well that antibiotics only work on bacteria and have no effect on viral colds and diseases.
And the influenza prevalent among the workers in East Borough was mostly viral—
To solve this problem, Lorne thought of an unconventional method combining "mysticism" and "science."
He looked at the large water basin next to him, which contained a runic steel sword and a Sun Talisman.
Inside was a full basin of holy water!
He picked up a clean beaker and carefully scooped out some holy water. Then, he took out a small bottle containing a dark green liquid—the healing potion he had brewed using the herbs Father Utravsky had given him.
He was going to make an interesting attempt.
"Purified water, allicin, holy water, herbal potion—"
Lorne carefully mixed these items in decreasing proportion of their preciousness. Watching the liquid in the beaker gradually turn a strange color, he picked up a glass rod and began to stir slowly.
"Antibacterial and anti-inflammatory allicin, plus holy water with its purifying effect, and finally combined with a healing potion that has restorative effects—this is a true compound medicine! I'm so talented!"
However, Lorne's joy did not last long.
Through constant stirring and mixing, he finally obtained a bottle of pale green liquid with a somewhat strange color.
"Is this—really useful?"
Looking at this bottle of green stuff with its somewhat shabby appearance, Lorne felt a bit uncertain.
Moreover, he had only roughly mixed several substances, and he didn't know if the potion's effects would manifest stably, or if it would produce any unexpected and terrible changes on a mystical level.
After thinking for a moment, he took out a pendulum, suspended it gently over the medicine bottle, and chanted silently, "This potion is harmful to patients."
"This potion is harmful to patients."
"This potion is harmful to patients."
After asking several times, the suspended pendulum began to rotate slightly counterclockwise, representing a negation.
"My spiritual intuition hasn't reacted either."
"It seems that mixing these things together at least won't turn them into poison—"
Since it was intended for patients, Lorne felt it was necessary to try it himself.
He was a Sequence 5 Beyonder; even if there were a problem, it wouldn't be life-threatening. At worst, he still had his accumulated luck to use.
He took the bottle of potion, poured some into a nearby coffee cup, then frowned and took a small sip.
"Ugh—"
With one sip, Lorne's brow instantly furrowed into a knot.
This taste was too strange! The herbs were already bitter, and now a lingering, strong garlic smell was added, while the holy water brought a slimy sensation, making the potion's texture even more bizarre and indescribable.
"But—it seems there really are no signs of poisoning." He endured the discomfort and carefully sensed his body's condition. "And—my physical strength seems to have really recovered a little? I also feel a bit more refreshed mentally?"
The physical recovery effect of the herbs, combined with the purification of the holy water, gave him an inexplicable sense of refreshment.
Although the effect was weak, it was indeed useful!
"If it's somewhat useful for a healthy Sequence 5 like me, then for ordinary patients, the effect shouldn't be too bad."
"Moreover, the purification effect of holy water should also have an inhibitory effect on viruses."
"allicin itself can also enhance immunity."
"Sterilizing, anti-viral, and can recover physical strength—"
It can also be applied directly to external wounds to prevent infection.
This is practically a degraded version of a panacea!"
"The most critical thing is that the cost isn't high—" This was Lorne's first experimental product. Aside from water, most of the active ingredients were the allicin he had extracted himself. Although the holy water and the herbs from the Church of the Earth Mother were precious, their proportions were low, making the cost acceptable.
"The specific formula will definitely need a few more experiments, but it probably won't differ much—"
"Next, I need to find a way to produce allicin on a large scale; that's the main component. I can find a way for the holy water. Although the herbs in the Church of the Earth Mother's potion aren't cheap, as long as the content isn't high, the cost will be acceptable."
"As for the price—"
Lorne quickly did the math in his head. If he only distributed this medicine for free to his own workers, the cost would still be within his tolerance.
"I'll find some volunteers to test the effects another day."
"The proportions of the formula will definitely need further adjustment."
"I also need to find a way to deal with the shelf life. The shelf life of allicin is very short; even with ritual magic, it will only be valid for a few weeks at most—"
"Also, I can't let others know the specific ingredients, or it could easily cause religious incidents."
"Humph—" He looked at the greenish, poorly presented potion in the bottle and suddenly chuckled, an irreverent thought popping into his head.
"Sun holy water—the Earth Mother's herbs—"
"This mixture... why does it feel like... a child born from the union of the Sun and the Mother?"
"In myths and legends, the two of them should... have no relationship, right?"