May awoke in the middle of the floor in Zu Chen's room. She scrambled to her feet despite just awaking from a nightmare, fearing the entity that had possessed Zu might still be present. But Zu was alone on the ground, unconscious and seemingly completely unresponsive. May approached cautiously and confirmed that nothing suspicious was happening anymore.

  She considered moving Zu to the bed but decided against it. Her hand appeared burnt, and recalling the gruesome sounds her body had made earlier, it was very likely the entity had broken many of her bones while inhabiting her. It was safer to go for help and get a qualified healer.

  She exited safely, closed the door, and hurried to the Healing Hall as fast as she could. There, she reported finding Zu Chen unconscious on the floor of her room.

  "We’ll send someone immediately...!" exclaimed the receptionist, who seemed to be in a great rush.

  Zu Chen was one of the geniuses, so her name was widely known. As a patient, she held the highest priority, and the receptionist immediately dashed off to fetch the best physician to save her.

  May had no intention of going back there. She had fulfilled her duty by informing the healers of her condition. She felt no pity for Zu Chen. The girl had only herself to blame for forming a pact with that strange entity and betraying May in the process. Ultimately, May wanted nothing more to do with her.

  I was the target of that creature... Did Zu know that when she made a contract with it? It's possible. But even if she didn't know, I still don't like it.

  Just one day free from nightmares, and the prices were so exorbitant. However, she had no choice at the moment, because otherwise her soul could be damaged.

  Ugh... Minnie, you said that if I buy for the whole week, it will be cheaper...?

  “Yes, that's right. Buying freedom from nightmares for the whole week will only cost 3,000 [mu]... A saving of over 500!” Minnie confirmed.

  That means that even with all my savings, I only have two weeks at most!

  This meant she had to get to work and grow her business to the max! Of course, she considered asking for help, but... she didn't want to do that. This thing knew about May's identity and that she wasn't from this world. She was afraid that if she asked someone for help, the secret would be revealed!

  I can't take that risk! However, I think I have a solution...

  May took part in Hua Tang's alchemy test, so her idea was to seize the opportunity. Not only would she discover something that would guarantee her place as a student of this famous alchemist, but it would also bring in a large income!

  She had no time to waste. She headed for the Alchemy Department. She went inside and asked for a room. As Hua Tang had said, she was given a top-quality laboratory that even the professors at Cloud Academy would envy.

  In addition, I have a budget of five thousand from Hua Tang... In theory, this money can only be spent on research, and we have to keep accurate records of what we spend it on. However, I have ways to cheat the whole process a little!

  Thanks to the system, she could buy some ingredients cheaper. She would write the normal market price in the register, but she would buy from the system at a price several times cheaper, so she could keep the rest for herself!

  Forgive me, Fleming, for my sins, but I will turn your altruistic discovery into a money-making machine.

  As it turns out, when Alexander Fleming discovered that in America they were trying to patent penicillin, he was furious. This was understandable, as the discovery was intended to serve humanity and fight disease. May intended to do exactly the same thing, which drove Fleming crazy.

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  Penicillin... It won't be easy. However, I have supernatural abilities, so even without the right equipment, it should be possible, but the question is, do the same types of mold that produced penicillin exist in this world? I can't be sure, and it may require a lot of trial and error, but I still have just over a month.

  After all, May was a biotechnologist, and a pretty good one at that. Of course, that didn't mean she knew everything about the field, but she thought she could handle it.

  Assuming that Penicillium fungi exist here, which is not such a stretch considering that many Earth species are present here, such as humans, cows, and even daisies and apples, the most difficult stage will be isolating the active substance, but I had already done similar things here.

  May had never heard of anyone in this world knowing about the existence of antibiotics. Most of the alchemical remedies in this world were based on the use of ingredients rich in Qi energy. Therefore, effectiveness was usually linked to price. The more expensive the ingredients, the more Qi they contained, but this came at a price.

  Penicillin, on the other hand, could be produced cheaply, or at least relatively cheaply compared to Golden Water Clover or Thousand-Year Ginseng.

  May wrote down everything she knew at the very beginning, but quickly noticed gaps in her knowledge. Fortunately, she didn't have to remember everything, as she had access to the cheap and all-knowing Wikipedia!

  “Minnie, I want to buy information about this part...” she said, pointing to her notes.

  When May asked for a detailed description of the production of penicillin, she would of course get it, but it would cost nearly half a million. However, if she asked for small details...

  “1,000 [mu],” Minnie replied coldly, irritated by May's constant questions about the price of the information.

  “Hmm, still too expensive... Okay... I can do without that, I can handle that... That too... Culture medium? I can manage. Oh, I don't know about that...”

  “I'm a biotechnologist, not an industrial chemist. I don't know the optimal conditions... I have to experiment,” she said to herself.

  In the end, she didn't know many things. Which Penicillium species to choose? What are the pH parameters? Temperature? How to prevent contamination with toxins (like aflatoxins for example)?

  Step by step, she filled in the gaps in her knowledge. She wrote down 80% of the knowledge herself, and the system helped her with the rest, providing new information and sometimes correcting existing information. In this way, she managed to draw up the entire production diagram!

  It took her nearly four hours, but seeing the results of her work, she smiled to herself. Of course, this was still the simplest stage, but no less important. She managed to acquire all this theory without spending even 500 [mu]!

  May left the alchemy department for a moment and headed to the north wing of Cloud Academy, which was the only place where she could get fresh produce. She needed mold, and not just any mold. The source of the antibiotic is fungi of the genus Penicillium, which can be found on spoiled citrus fruits or bread.

  “Please wrap up everything you have…” May said to the saleswoman, who was shocked. After a moment, however, she smiled. Few students decided to buy fresh produce. This market was aimed rather at ordinary workers, non-cultivators of the academy, such as cleaners and stable hands. Students and professors rarely ventured into these parts.

  “Hohoho! Right away, Honorable Cultivator!” said the old woman, packing up all her remaining fruit.

  May bought lemons. To tell the truth, she didn't even need them, but in case Hua Tang wanted to check her results, she had to have them.

  Fungi of the genus Penicillium are extremely resistant, and May intended to store them for later “inoculation” of a new batch of culture medium.

  So it was enough to buy it from the system. May had already confirmed the price: a thousand mu. Then, all she had to do was transplant a tiny piece of the growing mold onto a fresh batch of culture medium every few weeks to keep it alive, and in this way she had unlimited access to antibiotic production.

  Out of curiosity, May decided to try to grow Penicillium naturally herself, but it was just curiosity. This method was too unreliable, so she couldn't rely on it completely. The expenses were not small, but she expected a large return on her investment. After all, only wealthy cultivators could afford expensive medicines.

  Take syphilis, for example. It was the perfect disease to treat with antibiotics, and it affected many people in the capital! Interestingly, there was a cure, but from what May knew, it cost many thousands. It was made from expensive alchemical ingredients, and what's more, the ingredients for its production were controlled by a few well-known alchemists and herbalists.

  May returned to her laboratory. She bought a few things on the way. She bought a couple of bags of rice, which she intended to turn into a nutrient medium, as well as a few other necessary items. She already had the equipment she needed. It wasn't the best, at least not by 21st-century standards, but it would have to suffice for the standards of this world.

  Not wanting to waste any time, she got to work. It was already late, but in a few days she was to have her first consultation with Hua Tang. She didn't want to approach him empty-handed, but rather have something to show him.

  However, having said that, I doubt he'll be able to advise me on anything... She thought dismissively.

  Although May had to admit that he was an outstanding alchemist, he didn't even know about the existence of bacteria, so how could he help her produce an antibiotic? To be honest, she had a problem with how to explain her project to him. Was she supposed to show him how antibiotics work on bacterial strains? First, she would have to explain their existence to him!

  She sighed quietly to herself.

  However, that was a problem for later. Today, she wanted to at least prepare the nutrient medium. Of course, she could have bought a ready-made one from the system, but if she could make it herself, why not? She couldn't buy everything from the system, especially if she wanted to start mass production in the future.

  First, she wanted to prepare a growth medium, as rice alone was not enough. May had to create a liquid nutrient solution that would optimally nourish the mold. Bean seeds, providing nitrogen, sugar, and powdered lime. Thanks to her [Microscopic vision] ability, which had recently become her first D+ level skill due to regular training, she could monitor the reaction of the nutrient solution!

  “Microscopic vision is truly a cheater's skill... It's far from what I would expect, but I still suspect that every alchemist would kill for the chance to have this skill!”

  It took her a long time. May was exhausted, because even something so simple required several attempts, which wasted a lot of her time. Finally, however, she succeeded and prepared a large amount of medium, which she placed in ceramic vessels.