A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 261: The Cure
Chapter 261: The Cure

Inside the tent, the atmosphere was tense, a stark contrast to the lighthearted, even silly mood outside.

Arix and Varden were both busy, working at an incredible pace, as if every minute needed to be stretched into ten.

Fortunately, both of them were nearly at Grandmaster level in potion-making, allowing them to conduct their research quickly and accurately.

Varden relied heavily on research instruments. At that moment, he was typing commands rapidly while keeping a close eye on the screen, where lines of complex code were appearing at lightning speed.

”The Inferno virus has been traced back to its origin—gliomia, one of the deadly diseases in the galaxy,” Varden explained to Arix as he analyzed the code in his mind. ”Gliomia is a brain disease. The virus can spread through the brain, leading to a high recurrence rate and a high mortality rate. However, for some reason, the death rate is currently low. Instead, the virus causes hallucinations, visual disturbances, and severe mental chaos in those infected. It spreads through saliva, air, and blood, with a nearly 100% infection rate among Celesterrors.”

Arix nodded seriously, appreciating Varden’s explanation. ”Thanks. I’ll take it from here.” She then resumed her own frantic work on the experiments.

Now that they had identified the cause of the illness, the process of finding a cure became much simpler. Arix’s mind was already overflowing with potential treatment plans, but with time running short, she had to move even faster to test them.

Time flew by.

On the other side, the Eden’s mecha team was hard at work.

”Captain, we did it!” The chemist from the Eden’s mecha team ran out of the tent in excitement, waving the potion in his hand. The commotion immediately caught everyone’s attention.

Although the Alliance’s mecha team members felt a pang of envy, they remained rooted to their spots, openly expressing their admiration.

Meanwhile, the expressions of the mermen turned more complex. A few of the Sirens exchanged subtle glances before turning their eyes to their captain.

Vlad’s face still bore a harmless smile, but his fingers secretly made a gesture.

”Are you sure?” Blaze, overwhelmed with joy, hadn’t noticed the unusual behavior of the merman mecha team.

”Absolutely. We’ve already tested it on a Fallen Beast, and this potion is definitely the cure!” The chemist from the Loran squad was about to hand the potion to his captain when suddenly, someone rushed toward him.

Blaze’s eyes narrowed as he instantly recognized the intent of the approaching figure. His hand, which had been reaching for the potion, suddenly changed direction to strike at the person trying to steal it.

Vlad dodged the attack. Instead of feeling embarrassed at being caught, he only became more brazen. ”Oh, come on, Captain Blaze, don’t be so stingy. I just wanted to take a look.”

Once Blaze was sure his teammates were protecting the chemist, his formerly kind and harmless demeanor vanished, replaced by a cold, piercing gaze aimed at Vlad.

”I think you’d rather be a dead fish,” Blaze said with a chilling smile. In that moment, a terrifying psychic power burst from his body like a raging beast.

”You... you actually have Supergiant+ psychic power!” Vlad’s shock was impossible to hide, his eyes wide with disbelief. ’How can this seemingly innocent, almost delicate-looking guy possess such terrifying strength?’

Blaze, the ”sheep,” was anything but weak.

Despite his surprise, Vlad quickly regained his composure. His own psychic power was nothing to scoff at—it was also at Supergiant+ level. Without missing a beat, he ordered his team to keep pushing forward, determined to get their hands on that potion.

What followed was explosive. The merman mecha team, already itching for a fight, clashed head-on with the Eden mecha team, whose anger had been simmering just beneath the surface.

It was like throwing a match into a pile of dry wood. The battle escalated in seconds, spiraling completely out of control.

The Alliance’s mecha team, who had been watching from the sidelines, was initially caught off guard by the sudden outbreak of violence.

They tried stepping in to break things up, but soon realized that this was not their fight. In fact, if either team took a hit or lost a member, it only meant fewer enemies for them to deal with down the line. They decided to let it play out.

At that moment, Arix emerged from the tent, holding a vial of the cure in her hand. She stopped short, staring at the chaos before her with a confused expression.

”What’s going on?” Arix asked, clearly puzzled by the scene.

”Oh, nothing much, just a little fight,” Drexel replied, trying to sound nonchalant. But as soon as he realized what he’d said, his eyes went wide with panic. He whipped around to see Arix standing there, and his heart nearly stopped.

A cold shiver ran down Drexel’s spine when he noticed the potion she was holding. ”Arix! Get back inside, now!” he shouted, his voice laced with fear.

He knew exactly why the two teams were brawling like this. If they found out that the Alliance had also developed a cure, they’d become the next target, and the fallout could be even worse.

But Drexel’s warning came too late. One of the merman mecha members had already caught sight of the vial in Arix’s hand.

The Siren’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous excitement as they pivoted and lunged toward her. Grabbing that potion would make them a hero in the eyes of their team.

With that thought driving them, the Siren’s expression turned vicious, and they launched a deadly, merciless attack at Arix.

When the Sirens attacked, Arix didn’t have a second to think—her body just acted on instinct.

Her hand shot up, and before she knew it, a powerful surge of psychic energy blasted out, sending one of the Sirens flying.

It wasn’t until she saw the guy crumpled on the ground, coughing up blood, that it hit Arix what she’d done.

Arix quickly pulled back, a wave of guilt washing over her. She glanced at her brother, her voice shaky, ”He’s coughing up blood... is he going to be okay?”

Even though she had a gut feeling this person had bad intentions, the sight of someone hurt like that made her uneasy.

Drexel gave the barely conscious merman a quick, sympathetic look before turning back to Arix. ”He’s fine. Not exactly a good guy, though—he was here to steal the potion.”

Relief flooded Arix, and she let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. ”Oh, that’s a relief,” she muttered, thankful she hadn’t just hurt a passerby. That would’ve been hard to live down.

Drexel’s reassuring smile didn’t last long. Suddenly, his eyes widened with panic, and he yelled, ”Arix, move!”

Even though she didn’t fully understand, Arix trusted her brother. She quickly threw up a psychic barrier around herself.

A split second later, sharp limbs slammed against her shield with a loud crack.

”Insectoid?!” Arix gasped as she stared at the jagged limb pressing against her barrier.

She then looked up in shock at the creature standing before her.

An insectoid showing up in the middle of the competition was the last thing she expected. And judging by the stunned expressions on everyone else’s faces, they were just as blindsided.