Chatlotte was not in charge of this department. But she still quickly heard the news in the company's pantry.
Chatlotte: "?"
'What?'
'Asher is already this impressive?'
'Directly jumped into the patent process?'
'And it's a very, very rare material patent?'
"If I remember correctly, in the past fifty years, only one breeder has ever applied for a material patent, and it was approved."
"That's right, that's right. That person lived off the dividends of that material patent for half a lifetime. When he got old, the patented material was replaced by a newly discovered natural material, but that didn't stop him from earning a bit of pension money every year."
"Tsk tsk tsk! Envy! Why are some people just so versatile?"
"Can't compare, I'm just saying a few words, don't go spreading it around. If I hear company rumors, it's definitely you few who leaked it."
Those people were still whispering, and Chatlotte had already left.
As she left, she glanced around, no one else was nearby.
'Good.'
She definitely wouldn't spread it either, just a little curious.
'Forget it.'
'Let's wait and see.'
Whether it passes or not, since it's related to Asher, there should be results soon.
Sure enough, the result came even faster than Chatlotte expected.
Asher applied the previous night, Chatlotte heard the news in the morning, and the application was approved before the end of the workday.
Chatlotte silently typed another question mark.
"The department's work efficiency has already reached this level?", Chatlotte's face was full of disbelief.
Really couldn't believe it. Everyone at the Beast Tamer Alliance headquarters, sometimes they weren't deliberately delaying.
But doing too much, staff overwhelmed, work backlog, those were all normal. Usually resolving something within three to five working days was considered very fast.
But the speed at which Asher's patent was handled, still far exceeded Chatlotte's imagination.
However, since the patent had already been approved, Chatlotte no longer hid her curiosity and decisively called Asher.
Hearing Chatlotte's barrage of questions, Asher rubbed his forehead and said helplessly, "You're really quite well-informed."
"I did apply for a material patent, but it's not a material that can be widely promoted. Consider it tax avoidance," Asher said very calmly.
Chatlotte: ["...You're a bit too calm about this. You're even saving that little money?"]
"No choice, there are too many gold-devouring beasts at home," Sincerity is the ultimate killer move, and Asher said very sincerely, "Not to mention others, just the angel."
"Training is useless. I have to use materials. How am I supposed to gather that many materials?"
"Money, money, money. No money, it's not gonna work."
Chatlotte: "..."
In this regard, she and Asher had a little bit of mutual understanding.
Because… after bringing back the mechanical little octopus, she knew all too well how gold-devouring mechanical attribute beasts were.
Anyone in any department wanting to ask the little octopus to help with work had to pay with all kinds of steel materials or other resources as labor compensation.
The little octopus earned quite a lot.
Their pockets were emptied quite a lot.
Terrifying.
The little octopus's work efficiency and learning ability had improved quite a bit, but that didn't make up for the tiny damage to their wallets.
["...I get you, I really get you. As long as you know what you're doing, just don't do anything stupid."]
Asher, "Do you think I'm that kind of person?"
["Haha, just a reminder,"] After satisfying her curiosity, Chatlotte chatted a bit more with Asher and then hung up the phone.
When she was getting ready to clock out, only then did Chatlotte realize something else.
"F*ck," Chatlotte muttered under her breath, "Is this the difference between people?"
Asher casually made a new type of material just to save and make money.
Dreams? Doesn't exist.
And it really was a casual thing.
Chatlotte was absolutely sure that not long ago, before she left Asher's research institute, Asher definitely wasn't researching this thing.
How long has it been? Definitely not even a month.
After all, it was only the end of May.
Still a few days before June.
Chatlotte remembered a document she saw a few days ago, saying something like some young people in a certain city developed a potion that could temporarily boost the firepower of fire-attribute pet beasts?
Thinking about it, Chatlotte shook her head.
'Time waits for no one. Life is full of ups and downs.'
———
[Q City]
"Achoo—" Inside a little cabin, a young girl sneezed a big sneeze.
She frowned, rubbed her nose, still feeling itchy.
The young girl turned her head to the boy about her age beside her, "Brother, the potion smells so strong, can we think of a way to improve the scent?"
"And the taste too, won't it be awful for the pet beasts to drink?"
"Let's leave it for now," Her brother Langdon said helplessly, "Let's first make a batch of the potion, sell for some money, then when we have money, we can get better materials and work on improvements."
"Anyway, we're not giving this to Little Fire and Little Wolf."
Little Fire and Little Wolf were the pet beasts of Langdon and his sister Lisa.
The siblings were both seventeen years old this year, and had only recently formed contracts with their pet beasts. Their family ran a small vacation resort that combined farm and ranch.
Not big, but in the small place that was Q City, it could still attract quite a few tourists.
Q City was a cultural and entertainment city that combined traditional drama with modern pet beasts.
Not a constant flood of visitors.
But a steady stream nonetheless, and it would increase during holidays.
Most locals in Q City had the surname Q.
Just like Langdon Q and Lisa Q.
This vacation resort was their parents' business, but not long ago, the couple got into a car accident on the way back from procurement, and both were hospitalized.
No life-threatening injuries.
But both treatment and recovery would cost a lot.
The family's savings were already emptied and still not enough.
In this situation, Langdon and Lisa worked to keep the family business running while also trying to find new ways to earn money.
Borrowing money wasn't an option.
Their relationship with relatives was bad. Friendly old customers and acquaintances donated a little out of goodwill, barely enough for the siblings' living expenses.
Using it for treatment was out of the question.
Then there were their pet beasts, which had been prepaid before their parents' accident, otherwise, they would've wanted to cancel the orders.
It wasn't that they didn't like or want them, but compared to pet beasts, their parents mattered more.
Under all the pressure, Langdon showed his talent, in potion making.
"Right, about Chairman Q...", said Lisa, frowning, looking quite annoyed.
Everyone in Q City had the surname Q, but not much blood relation.
In a very short time, Langdon developed a potion for the most common and in-demand fire-attribute pet beasts that temporarily increased flame power.
Very suitable for members of adventure teams stationed outside the forbidden zone in neighboring Satbury City. Who didn't have a fire-attribute pet beast?
Buy one, in real danger, it might help you survive.
Or when encountering treasure, and your strength is just barely lacking, go all in, wealth comes with risk.
The moment the potion appeared, supply couldn't meet demand.
Because the two were still young and didn't hide well, they were soon discovered by the Satbury City Beast Tamer Alliance chairman.
Chairman Q initially acted very friendly, wanting to cooperate with the siblings.
But soon, the siblings realized that Chairman Q had his eyes not just on the potion.
Chairman Q wanted to create stars.
Not celestial stars.
Celebrity stars.
Langdon and Lisa: "?"
Couldn't understand.
Langdon's potion-making skill was good, but not earth-shatteringly outstanding, it was just a potion.
And those truly hard-to-make, miracle-effect potions had very specific requirements for the maker.
Chairman Q knew a bit.
First, you couldn't be a Beast Tamer.
Couldn't even awaken Beast Tamer talent skills.
So Langdon was destined not to go far down this path.
But that didn't mean his potion-making skill was useless or not worth promoting.
Just needed the right comparison target to ride the hype.
Chairman Q had his eyes on Asher.
He wanted to package Langdon as a young genius pet professor like Asher, but fearing it would be exposed, he added Lisa too.
Not just hyping up a genius.
Twin stars shining together.
Just hearing it, it didn't sound like forced association, just normal linking.
Can't deny it, Chairman Q had some talent in this area.
But he never once asked Langdon and Lisa's opinions.
Do kids' opinions matter?
Would kids not want to be famous?
Chairman Q's thinking was just that simple and blunt.
By the time Langdon and Lisa found out, Chairman Q was already making moves, and even wanted to secretly outshine Asher.
To this, Langdon just wanted to roll his eyes.
"Does he not even see what level Professor Asher is at, and what level I am?"
"How am I supposed to compare with Professor Asher?", The more Langdon spoke, the angrier he got, he almost ruined the potion he was making.
"Bro! You're my real bro! Calm down!", Lisa quickly tried to diffuse the situation.
This potion was expensive.
Not just expensive ingredients, it also sold for good money.
Four thousand each.
Not cheap.
But for adventurers, it was an acceptable price.
One trip into the forbidden zone could earn five figures, even more if lucky or strong.
Spending four thousand for a temporary rage buff?
Among adventurers, this one-time fire boost potion for fire-attribute beasts was called rage drink or rage potion.
Drink it and go berserk.
For the siblings, it was also very profitable.
The materials and resources were low-grade, only one main ingredient was mid-grade, but one portion could make a hundred potions. After cost averaging... easily a 120% profit...
Ahem, they really weren't profiteers.
Research and production costs also had to be averaged in.
Langdon calmed down and didn't waste the potion in his hands, "Let's just deal with it for now. After Mom and Dad recover, we'll talk."
"If it doesn't work out, maybe we can try contacting Professor Asher ourselves and apologize,".Saying this, Langdon was quite troubled.
Chairman Q's ambition and guilt toward Asher, put them in a bind.
Since they needed money, they didn't dare openly oppose Chairman Q.
Chairman Q's personality was domineering and never listened to others.
If he tried to sabotage them, they'd struggle just to save themselves, let alone help their parents' situation, which still urgently needed money.
"Just bear with it a bit longer. At most one more month, Mom and Dad will regain consciousness soon," Langdon mumbled mostly to reassure Lisa, but also himself.
Don't do anything irreversible out of impulse.
Lisa sighed. At this point, they could only endure.
In the end, Langdon couldn't hold back, slamming the table.
"I'm really not that genius."
"If I truly had that ability, I'd admit to being the villain. The road ahead would be smoother, but I really don't."
Seeing Langdon's look, Lisa didn't try to stop him and nodded, "Let's send it secretly. I agree, Chairman Q definitely won't stop here. He must have more tricks."
The siblings looked at each other.
Same thought.
They had to do it now.
Anyway, they had just finished making a full batch of ten thousand potions.
All preordered by adventurers, they had worked day and night nonstop not just to earn money, but to have the capital to turn on that old schemer.
Very soon, a special email was sent to the public inbox of Asher's research lab.
———
The person in charge of handling daily external communication was Sarah.
Previously, the cooperation with Asuka New Media was discovered by her through that same inbox and processed by her.
In this area, Sarah was very patient and meticulous.
Her efficient work quickly brought her to that email.
"Q City?"
Seeing the city, Sarah was momentarily stunned, then remembered the reminder Asher got from Asuka New Media a few days ago.
Something about…
"Q City Twin Stars? That was the trending topic, right?", Sarah pulled out her phone and checked the trending list.
To her surprise, not only had the trend not disappeared, it was actually rising.
Sarah: "?"
'There is a problem.'
'It's definitely someone trying to harm Professor Asher.'
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