Chapter 85: The Possibility of Blood Crystal Mass Production

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The Possibility of Blood Crystal Mass Production

"So how exactly would we go about this..."

Xiang Yi murmured, half to himself and half directing the question at Master Chang.

He knew that mass production wasn’t just a matter of having the right tools and resources — there was a lot more groundwork to lay first.

Master Chang seemed to have some experience in this area. "If you’re seriously going to do this... you’ll need to sort out your Abnormality tool, a steady supply of animal meat for conversion, and a distribution channel."

"Distribution is the least of your worries. The real headache, as I see it, is the tool itself."

Xiang Yi glanced down at the Laser Cutter in his hand.

Master Chang’s point was clear enough.

Right now, only his Spiritual Energy could produce that tool.

How fast he could turn them out would directly determine how quickly the Blood Crystal production could scale up.

"As for the tools... it comes down to the Blood Crystal Material needed for modification, my Spiritual Power, and the base tools themselves."

"Material isn’t a problem. Every Blood Crystal we produce can feed right back into future modifications. At worst, lower quality only affects the laser’s output power — it won’t change their fundamental properties."

"Then there’s Spiritual Power. For modifications at this level..."

Xiang Yi held up the Laser Cutter. "I can manage about thirty a day."

"But it’s not suitable."

"But it’s not suitable."

Xiang Yi and Master Chang spoke in unison, both zeroing in on the same core problem with the modified Laser Cutter — it simply wasn’t built for assembly-line Blood Crystal production.

If they were serious about mass production, they’d need equipment purpose-built for a production line. That was the only way to do it efficiently.

"For maximum efficiency, you’d probably want custom-designed equipment. But at a smaller scale, close-enough substitutes should get the job done."

"I can go pick up a batch of serviceable gear for you. There’s space at the junkyard to set it all up — worst case, we just throw up another building."

Xiang Yi raised another point. "A production line would need someone to design and optimize it, right?"

"True, though if we’re not chasing peak efficiency, a basic line will do. The humanoid robots can adapt to new tasks."

"Still, modifying all those tools is going to take a serious toll on your Spiritual Power, isn’t it?"

"I’ll be fine."

Xiang Yi didn’t mind in the least. Spending Spiritual Power was exactly what it was there for.

Besides, he’d noticed over the past few days that his total Spiritual Power seemed to have grown. Burning through it was likely the very way Spiritual Ability Users trained themselves.

No need to rush it.

"Alright, the equipment problem’s basically sorted then."

"For raw materials, I know a guy who runs an animal farm out in the northwest."

"It’s too late to reach out tonight though. I’ll go ask around tomorrow."

"Sure." Xiang Yi nodded, then brought up a question that had been sitting in the back of his mind ever since he started thinking about where his Spiritual Energy could take him. "Does any of this count as a scientific contribution to the Human Federation?"

Master Chang blinked, caught off guard by the question. He thought it over carefully before answering. "Just producing Blood Crystals on its own? No. But if you can supply equipment for research purposes, then yes, it counts."

"So you mean letting people study the Abnormality tools my Spiritual Energy creates?"

"Exactly."

Master Chang pointed at the Laser Cutter in Xiang Yi’s hand. "Scientists who specialize in Spiritual Energy research have the ability to replicate the effects of your Spiritual Energy using Spiritual Materials and various Spiritual Technology methods."

"In fact, any Spiritual Ability User’s Spiritual Energy effects can be replicated as long as they exist — it’s just a question of difficulty."

"As long as you’re willing to hand over the products of your Spiritual Energy for study, someone will find a way to replicate what you can do."

"And once it’s proven that the results came from your Spiritual Energy, the patent royalties you’d earn across the entire Federation would dwarf anything you’d make grinding away at a production line here."

"On top of that, the charge against you... well, crimes against humanity is a pretty unique charge. As far as anyone knows, there’s never been a single pardon for it."

"But if you’re the one who makes a whole class of Abnormality Material available for mass production, you become the founding figure behind nearly all Crystal Technology in the Human Federation’s future."

"Prison, Iron Shell Company — all of that becomes irrelevant. You’d be the first person ever pardoned for crimes against humanity."

"The real kind, I mean."

"In your case, you just need to get your name out there. Someone will come looking to investigate the circumstances behind your charges, and after that, everything falls into place."

Master Chang snapped his fingers. "The key is figuring out how to go public with this technology. Honestly, that part isn’t too hard — it just takes time."

"First you have to prove your Spiritual Energy is worth studying. Then you need someone willing to actually research it. By the time results come out, we’re probably talking years."

"You can’t even leave this planet right now. That’s a long way off."

Master Chang was nudging him to put it on the back burner for now, but Xiang Yi wasn’t ready to let it go. "That’s exactly why we need to start now."

"Fair point. But can you write a technical paper? Something on Spiritual Energy and Abnormalities? You’d want to file a patent on this technology under your own name first."

"No, I can’t."

Master Chang spread his hands. "I don’t think anyone I know has that skill set either. We’re completely locked down right now — nothing gets in, nothing gets out. Going outside for help isn’t an option. Looks like the very first step is already a problem."

Xiang Yi thought about it for a moment.

He recalled finding Suzi Technology Company online earlier. If the internet had services for equipment maintenance, it probably had something like this too.

But there was no way he’d hand over something this sensitive — information that touched on the very nature of his Spiritual Energy — to a stranger online. It would have to be someone he knew in real life.

Speaking of people he actually knew in real life... wasn’t there someone who could handle exactly this kind of thing?

Ning Ye.

"I know someone who can help. She’s trustworthy enough. Only problem is she left the city a couple of days ago — she won’t be back for a few more days."

"Left the city? A scavenging crew?"

Xiang Yi had only just arrived recently, so he was unlikely to know anyone in the military. That left scavenging crews as the most logical explanation for someone heading out and returning within a few days.

"Yeah."

Master Chang had his doubts about whoever Xiang Yi had in mind, but since Xiang Yi seemed confident, he wasn’t going to push back outright.

"Let’s aim to get the first batch of Blood Crystals out within three days."

"Deal."

Once that first batch rolled off the line, mass-produced Blood Crystal Material could give Xiang Yi financial independence in a remarkably short time.

Even faster than whatever Ning Ye might get from selling her High-Quality Blood Crystals.

And Ning Ye’s side was a one-time deal. If this factory with Master Chang actually got off the ground, it would be a steady income for life.

Since Master Chang didn’t want to get into the government situation and there was nothing Xiang Yi could do about it anyway, the priority was building himself up first.

Once the Blood Crystal production facility was up and running, the lies the prison had told would fall apart on their own.

When they finished talking, a silence fell between them. Neither made any move to get up.

Because there was still one last critical issue they hadn’t touched on.

Money.

Xiang Yi and Master Chang were not equals — not in power, not in standing.

Master Chang could easily have Xiang Yi working for free.

But without Master Chang, Xiang Yi couldn’t have set up a production line this fast, let alone recognized the unique properties of his Spiritual Energy when used with Abnormality Material so quickly.

And without Xiang Yi, Master Chang would never have had this opportunity in the first place.

Together, they both won. Apart, they both lost.

They both knew it. But how should the profits be split?

Xiang Yi stayed quiet. Master Chang was the one who spoke first.

"This run... let’s call it a trial run. I’ll cover all the upfront costs myself. Since I left the service, I haven’t had much to spend money on anyway — might as well put it to use."

"Once the first batch of Blood Crystals comes out, we reinvest the profits to keep expanding."

"On that basis, I want a 5% stake in the patent rights to your technology, and 50% of the profits from the Blood Crystal production facility we build here."

When it came to business, Master Chang was all seriousness — none of the easy warmth from when they’d been talking about the military or teaching earlier.

But the terms he’d just laid out were overwhelmingly favorable to Xiang Yi.

Master Chang was genuinely the only good person Xiang Yi had met since all of this began.

Trading 5% of future patent rights for a chance to pull the future into the present — and for Master Chang’s trust.

To Xiang Yi, that was more than worth it.

"I have no objections."