Ninth class citizen

Chapter 266 Don't Let Him Down
"Please calm down, Master Stephen." Steward Wu said solemnly, "Your request is extremely reasonable. From today onwards, this female slave's free time outside of the gladiatorial combat will belong to you. I hope you will carefully consider the matter of renewing the contract and not make a wrong decision in a moment of impulsiveness."

Master Stephen glanced at Nan Rong, his tone softening slightly: "That's right. Practice diligently with me, and you might one day be able to synthesize potions independently. Of course, she does have some talent in extracting raw materials, and she shouldn't have sacrificed her life in those bloody gladiatorial combats—am I right?"

In his mind, this was a very small request, and Steward Wu had no reason to refuse. Furthermore, Nan Rong, having thus escaped the threat of death, should also be grateful to him and wholeheartedly provide the high-purity concentrate—a win-win situation.

Nan Rong's expression remained cold, seemingly unmoved, while Steward Wu even showed a hint of hesitation.

Steward Wu was well aware of Master Stephen's importance and believed that even if the young master were present, he should make the same decision, which is why he dared to make the decision on his own.

But not letting Nan Rong participate in the gladiatorial match? Even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to directly disobey the arrangements made by the young master and that distinguished guest, unless the young master changed his mind.

"Well then," he said helplessly, "I'll ask Mr. Carol for his permission right now, in front of you."

With holographic communication established, Nan Rong met the legendary young master of the Blackthorn Arena.

As expected, it really was the person she remembered, only less gentle and more sharp.

Mr. Carol listened silently to Steward Wu's words, his gaze sweeping over Nan Rong and Stephen before he asked:
"You just said that Nan Rong has a talent for extracting raw materials. So what about her success rate and purity?"

Just as Steward Wu was about to report the truth, Stephen interrupted him.

“I’ve assessed him, and he’s quite good. This child has potential, and I want to keep him under my wing and teach him properly.”

“Master Stephen.” In the holographic projection, Mr. Carol sat in a comfortable armchair, his right fingertips lightly tapping the armrest.

"You've been employed by Blackthorn for almost ten years, and you've never been a particularly enthusiastic person. So I'm very curious, just how outstanding does Nan Rong have to be to warrant your personal pleading for her?"

These words were hardly polite. Master Stephen had never been treated this way before, and his face immediately turned red with anger: "Mr. Carroll, are you questioning my motives?"

“That’s not important,” Mr. Carol said calmly. “I just wanted to remind you that the Blackthorn Arena has its own rules of operation, and no one can interfere without authorization, not even a genetic optimization master.”

He said this without looking at Master Stephen's even more unpleasant expression, and directly instructed Steward Wu, who was standing to the side sweating profusely, "Master Stephen is tired, please ask him to go back and get some rest."

Master Stephen was pulled away by two assistants.

Even though he looked resentful and unwilling in front of Mr. Carroll, he didn't mention terminating the contract again.

No sooner had they left than Steward Wu knelt down in front of Nan Rong with a thud.

He was an extremely quick-witted person and had already sensed the strong displeasure in his young master's tone.

In a flash, he had roughly figured out why the young master was angry.

Mr. Stephen was merely an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire; the one the young master was truly dissatisfied with was himself.

The young master didn't want others to know about Nan Rong's abilities, which is why he had himself activate the electric shock immediately to prevent her from revealing the truth to Adrian. Meanwhile, he told Master Stephen everything about Nan Rong, even voluntarily allowing the master to test the results of Nan Rong's extraction of the original essence, and even taking matters into his own hands under the master's pressure.
Steward Wu's back was soaked with cold sweat. Just minutes before, he thought he could read the young master's mind, but now he realized how wrong he was.

Carol looked coldly at the person who was prostrating himself and trembling: "You haven't answered my question yet."

"Ah, yes, yes!" Steward Wu knelt on the ground, opened the material package with trembling hands, poured out all the white crystal test tubes inside, and counted them one by one.

"No need to count," Nan Rong said with a smile. "There are a total of one hundred and fifty bottles of Tier 1 original liquid and five bottles of Tier 2 original liquid, all with a purity of sixty percent."

Mr. Carol's eyes gleamed, but before he could speak, Steward Wu exclaimed in surprise, "Impossible! You only received 155 sets of materials. How could the success rate be 100%?"

“That’s why I said it’s incompetence that limits your imagination.” Nan Rong looked directly into Carol’s eyes: “The previous Master Stephen didn’t dare let me stand on the synthesis platform, so what about you, Mr. Carol?”

Mr. Carol smiled slightly: "I hope your courage matches your ability."

When he turned to Steward Wu, his face darkened.

“Keep an eye on her, and report back to me as soon as it’s over. Then go and collect your thirty lashes,” Little Carol said. “This is the first and the last time.”

Steward Wu understood his meaning. Compared to old Mr. Carroll, the young master was relatively kind to his subordinates.

He always gave them a chance to reform, but only once.

Steward Wu kowtowed gratefully, and only stood up with a look of relief after the holographic projection disappeared.

"Do your best." He thought for a moment, then warned Nan Rong, "Don't let him down."

The crafting table in the Blackthorn Arena is quite different from the general-purpose one in the Delin Federation, but it is still usable.

Nan Rong first synthesized a first-order universal gene repair agent.

She had ten sets of materials in her hand, and she laid them out one by one, proceeding methodically according to the instructions provided by the jelly dumpling.

The impact of reduced properties on drug synthesis is slightly stronger than that of stock solution extraction, specifically in all aspects from refined molecular fusion to quality leaps.

She currently lacks the countless pale golden mists that can be converted into mental energy, so she can only try to adjust the structure of her mental energy grid in an attempt to achieve the greatest effect with the least amount of mental energy.

It was at this moment that Nan Rong suddenly realized that her mental strength was completely different from before.

It's hard to describe this difference in words; it's probably like the difference between carefully operating a large tool and using your own fingers.

The former is powerful, but relatively cumbersome to use. It takes more than one step from outputting instructions to actual execution. Although outsiders may not see any difference, it is far from achieving the effect of being able to control one's own arm.

But the latter is different.