My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 262

"Really? Please give me a detailed explanation."

"Yes."

In conclusion, with Duke Yang Hao's financial support and Grovazel's assistance, and most importantly, with a large pool of infected human resources in the infected settlement area, Ms. Kal'tsit was finally able to research and develop a large number of experimental drugs and provide them to the people with abundant resources.

She developed four different drugs, corresponding to four different states: high risk of infection, medium risk of infection, low risk of infection, and post-infection.

These four different drugs were administered to different infected volunteers. The first three drugs, with their low price and good efficacy, did indeed reduce the likelihood of healthy people becoming infected at work, provided they took the medication as prescribed before starting work.

The last drug is the focus of Ms. Kal'tsit's discussion.

"I call this drug the 'Stopping Drug.' It can greatly slow down the progression of Oripathy infection—if taken regularly according to the dosage instructions, and if the use of Originium Arts is reduced or one stops approaching Originium-risk areas, then an infected person who might die from severe infection within a year can survive for more than ten years with the help of the drug."

However, this also carries risks—first, the ban on Originium Arts will cause trouble for some users. Second, prohibiting them from approaching Originium-hazardous areas may also be a significant challenge for them.

"How to say?"

"Because ultimately, furniture containing Originium crystals also falls into the [risk zone]."

"Oh..."

Ms. Kal'tsit's research on the "Stopping Drug" can effectively alleviate the condition of a severely infected person, but the side effects are quite noticeable even in this world:

The prohibition of Originium Arts goes without saying; most furniture requires Originium Arts, and even if a normal person trains for over a decade, their Originium Arts skills are only enough to operate a refrigerator... but this will indeed cause them a lot of trouble in their lives.

The biggest problem is that it prohibits people from approaching areas with Originium hazards.

Because all Originium furniture in this world is theoretically located in Originium risk areas, especially in cities—in this case, infected people who have taken drugs may not even be able to take public buses, let alone work in factories that require Originium testing.

If the crisis truly reaches the point where people need to take "life-sustaining drugs" to stay alive, the last few years of those infected people's lives will probably be extremely difficult.

So after a moment's thought, Koschke realized: this drug wasn't actually meant for high-risk infected individuals. Its true purpose...

"Actually, this is for people with mild to moderate symptoms, so that even if they are near a high-risk area and the medication's effectiveness is halved, it can still alleviate the infection and worsen their condition as much as possible, right?"

"Yes."

"I understand now..."

If severely infected individuals, on the verge of death, can have an additional ten-year period of stability without using Originium Arts or approaching any Originium-risk zones... then does this mean that infected individuals with moderate to low symptoms can have a 2-5 year period of stability even if they use Originium Arts or approach Originium-risk zones?

As far as effective medicines go, it certainly meets the requirements in terms of efficacy. But what about the cost?

Lord Koschke...besides the cost, there's also the difficulty of production...

Reminded by Green, Kosichrie nodded thoughtfully and then asked Ms. Kal'tsit:

"So, based on the current average wage in the Duchy of Kosichè, what would its cost be? And how difficult would it be to produce?"

Currently, these drugs are still manufactured in laboratories—if they could be produced in large-scale factories, the cost should be reduced by tens of times. What Koschei fears is that even if the cost is reduced by tens of times, the drug will still be prohibitively expensive and have no possibility of distribution.

Ms. Kal'tsit's answer relieved her:

"At present, even in the laboratory pharmaceutical model, the cost of the [Stagnation Drug] is relatively low. But the problem is that I have also visited all the civilian factories in the Duchy of Koschche and all the civilian factories in St. Jungleburg... Their industrial machinery cannot meet the needs of large-scale production of this drug. If we want to produce these drugs in large quantities, basic resources are not the problem. The problem is that we need more advanced factories."

Ms. Kelsey shook her head.

"As for the detailed costs... In the laboratory model, the cost of one box of 'stop-the-pan' medication, which can last for two months, is roughly equivalent to half a year's income for a worker in an infected community. If we can quickly move into a large-scale factory production model and minimize labor and operating costs, their income from one week's work would be enough to buy them a year's worth of medication."

"...That's acceptable. Then tell me—what are the standard requirements for that factory?"

"First and foremost, we need to prevent Originium contamination through three-proof measures..."

Lady Kal'tsit explained her requirements for the factory to Duke Koschei. It truly lived up to its reputation as a new type of factory specifically researched for pharmaceutical production; the environmental hygiene standards were so stringent that even Koschei found them somewhat excessive...

It's not just the stringent standards for environmental hygiene; there are also requirements for things like lathe precision and the educational level of the technicians... and so on. If this new pharmaceutical factory is really to be built, the wealth that the Duchy of Kosiché has painstakingly accumulated through taxes and trade recently will soon be depleted...

Expensive, absolutely too expensive!

But considering that this was also her husband's goal..., Koschke ultimately held back his words, "Let's consider such an expensive thing in a few years."

Ugh!

...As he left the Orestone Research Center, Duke Kosiché couldn't help but sigh.

She longed for Yang Hao to come back and spend time with her right now!

And it was just as she listlessly carried Green back to the car, preparing to go home and get some rest...

buzzing-

Her phone rang.

Chapter 208

Without even thinking, the Duke of Kosice knew that it must be her beloved husband calling her!

Although she was still quite dissatisfied with his previous actions, the thousand-year-old black snake felt her heart flutter with joy. Even Green, whom she held in her arms, felt the same way—compared to Koschche, this lonely little cat longed for Yang Hao even more...

So the Duke of Kosiché excitedly took out his phone and answered the call—

"—Yang Hao?"

"...Ah, yes, it's me, Koschke—where are you now?"

"Grin and I are in the car. We were just about to head back from the Oripathy Research Center. Kal'tsit hasn't discovered my true identity. What's wrong?"

"No, it's nothing... I just mean, didn't you run into Monica before? She said she went back to find you..."

"No. I guess she went to see His Majesty first."

Has Monica returned? Koschche blinked, thinking that he had been out all day... He guessed that after Monica couldn't find him, she was helping His Majesty.

So after thinking it over, Koschke didn't see anything wrong with it. But then again...

"..."

Faintly, he could hear a second set of footsteps besides Yang Hao's. Was it Karina? No, it didn't seem like it... Koschke knew Karina very well; she wouldn't walk so hurriedly, much less sneakily follow behind him like that...

Who is that? They don't look like guards. Darling, is there someone behind you?

Duke Kosiché was puzzled by this... but just then, Yang Hao's words brought her back to reality from her reverie:

"Well—my stay in Kazdel might be extended, you know? Kazdel can't take over 20 districts at once, so I'll probably have to postpone my return home by a month or two, I guess."

"...oh..."

what--

This is such a disappointing piece of news...

Kosichrie was disappointed, as was Green in her arms. But seemingly sensing their disappointment, Mr. Yang Hao, who appeared to be already seated on a bench on the other side, chuckled dryly:

"But please don't worry, Green, okay? I'll definitely let you know before I get back, okay? And I'm already planning to try making a moving puppet out of wood..."

"I see. Green is happy too."

"That would be great... Ahaha, I'm taking a walk with Margarita now, so let's leave it at that for now! Koschche, let's talk about the rest of the story when we get home, okay?"

So you were just taking a walk with that little bat—oh, Kosicherry, Kosicherry, please don't be so sensitive, okay? That little bat is so innocent, just like a baby who hasn't been weaned yet. How could she possibly pose a threat to you?

Don't overthink it! Compared to this...

"What happened next?" Kosiché blinked, somewhat confused.

"It's...you know. Princess Wei Qing's side..."

"Oh..."

This statement further frustrated Kosichek and Green: they were truly at a loss as to what to do about Princess Wei Qing's marriage into the family.

More importantly, as the legal wives, they would actually have to... and with Princess Wei Qing's marriage already a done deal, Koschie can no longer use Miss Lorelei's body to hold a wedding with him...

Woo...

Kosic sighed heavily.

She then said "I understand," and after hanging up the phone in a state of agitation, she held Green, a sense of foreboding inexplicably growing stronger...

... .....

the other side.

After his wife hung up the phone, Yang Hao put his phone back in his pocket, then sat on a bench with his first love, enjoying the sunset view in the distance.

Night falls late in Kazdel. Therefore, while it might be dark in most parts of Ursus, the sky here is still a dusky yellow. Yang Hao doesn't particularly like dusk, but it's so beautiful that it's understandable that he can't help but be captivated.

But then again...

"Margarita? Is there something you don't want to tell me in front of everyone?"

Mr. Yang Hao held his childhood sweetheart on his lap, then wrapped his arms around Margarita's lower abdomen and rested his chin on the top of her head as he asked.

After all, it was Margarita who invited him out for a walk, and there really wasn't a soul in sight. Even Ms. Northon, who was worried about her students, wasn't secretly following him... This was a perfect, deserted place, you know? So, Margarita? If you have any questions, may you ask them now?

After all, if you don't ask, Yang Hao won't know how to help, right everyone? So... Margarita?

...

Yang Hao's question made the little bat sitting on his lap seem quite awkward.

She lowered her head and stammered something that Yang Hao couldn't understand at all. Finally, she turned around on Yang Hao's lap and faced him, looking at him.

"...Well, that...that's..." she stammered nervously. "That...Yang Hao...I..."

"Ok?"

...

Then the little bat fell silent again. She seemed shy, perhaps because what was in her mouth was too much of a burden for Margarita?

Seeing this, Yang Hao, showing great emotional intelligence, picked Margarita up again, gently rubbed her cheeks, and leaned closer to look at her:

"Margarita? Relax, take a deep breath, take a deep breath—"

"--call..."

"Feeling better now? Okay, okay, don't be so shy, alright?" Yang Hao rubbed Margarita's ear, thinking that perhaps Margarita wanted to invite him out on a date while he had nothing to do, but was too shy to know how. "Want to ask me out on a date? Or maybe just a walk? That's fine—but you have to say it properly, okay?"

This is also for the sake of our future life—if Margarita comes over in the future and she's so hesitant and unsure of what to do when she wants to go on a date, Yang Hao might inadvertently overlook her, right? So... that won't do!

Margarita, you have to be brave! Otherwise, not only Kosichrie, but even Ms. Northumberland...

"Mmm...mmm..."

Hearing this, the little bat nodded shyly.

Then... to Mr. Yang Hao's bewildered gaze, she shyly reached up and lifted her clothes:

"Well, it's just... I want you to do with me what you did with the teacher before..."

She lifted her clothes, and in front of the dumbfounded Mr. Yang Hao, this little bat with a blushing face and a pure smile was like a blank sheet of paper, hoping to be colored by him.

Chapter 209

Mr. Yang Hao was sweating profusely.

He glanced at the little bat, who was now incredibly shy but was lifting the hem of her clothes, and then at the sun, which was about to completely sink below the horizon in the distance.

“Margarita…—that…”

"...Yang Hao, don't you like me? Even though the teacher did it with you... I don't understand these things, but... but this isn't something that can be done just because we're 'friends,' right...?"

Margarita released his grip and then snuggled closer, looking disgruntled. Her red eyes sparkled as she held Yang Hao tightly in the darkening world, burying his head against her chest so he could hear the pounding of her own heart.

Peng! Peng!

Her heart was pounding strongly, and the strange fragrance emanating from her chest proved that she had deliberately washed herself before dinner—but Yang Hao couldn't care less about that now...

He felt a chill run through his body and was sweating profusely; his mind was now preoccupied with only one thing.

How exactly did Margarita discover his little secret with Norson?!

When exactly did it start? Um... could it be that you noticed it from the moment Ms. Northumberon first "lost control"? But, but that shouldn't be the case...

If we had discovered it then, Margarita, wouldn't you have been...

"—Yang Hao? Yang Hao~!"

Seeing him standing there in a daze for so long, she shook Yang Hao a little, somewhat annoyed. Then, Margarita seemed to realize that if she didn't take the initiative, things would continue like this... without any progress. She began to recall the scene she had secretly witnessed between the teacher and Yang Hao.

.....

She seemed to be deep in thought, and then... she jumped off Yang Hao's lap and knelt in front of him, imitating her teacher.