In Tokyo, Chiyoda Ward, at Kamijou Private Hospital, Luo Shu stood at the hospital's main entrance, eyes flicking over the hospital's name, his face twitching slightly as he muttered to himself, "The technology at this hospital must be excellent." After all, it was Kamijou Hospital. Hmm, did Touma Kamijou open a hospital by self-teaching after being hospitalized every day?
As Luo Shu internally mused, Kirika, unaware of his thoughts, extinguished her cigarette and said calmly, "Of course, if the hospital's technology wasn't good, I'd have already reported to higher-ups and had it torn down." "In our line of work, if medical logistics fail, it's deadly." "Alright, no more idle talk. Let's get inside the hospital. Don't worry, it's run by our own people. Although it's open to the public, they only receive influential figures from politics and business. As long as you don't disclose anything patients aren't allowed to hear, everything else can be discussed freely."
"I understand," Luo Shu nodded slightly, then asked, "So what's the reason you brought me here?"
"You'll see if you follow me." Kirika didn't explain further but gestured for Luo Shu to follow. Not wanting to ask more, he kept pace and stepped inside the hospital, taking the staff elevator straight down to the sixth basement level—an underground hospital.
In the underground hospital's consultation room, Luo Shu saw Lacus wearing a white dress edged with purple, radiating purity and beauty with her pink hair.
"Lacus?" Luo Shu was momentarily stunned. What was she doing here?
Lacus, humming a light tune while sitting on the sofa, turned her head, smiled upon seeing Luo Shu, and said, "Good morning."
"…Good morning," Luo Shu replied, his tone a bit awkward.
At that moment, Kirika took the lead into the room, sat down in a high-backed chair, crossed one leg, and asked, "Stop asking questions for now—how are the instruments set up?"
Lacus picked up the haro doll resting on her lap and answered, "Checks are complete. The doctors are all waiting for us now."
She then turned to Luo Shu, smiling, "Kirika probably brought you here without telling you anything, right?"
Luo Shu glanced sideways at Kirika's slightly uncomfortable expression and replied, "An insightful guess from the Chairwoman."
"I'm just following confidentiality rules," Kirika said, teasingly wanting to light a cigarette but only clicked her tongue since Lacus was present.
Hearing this, Lacus smiled and didn't expose her, but stood up and spoke to Luo Shu, "Kirika probably hasn't told you about the basic welfare your SDS department members receive, right?"
"No," Luo Shu said, glancing at Kirika and raising his voice a little.
Kirika was nearly speechless. "He's only been with us for a few days, not even through the three-month probation. No, today is actually his fourth day in the department." "But Luo Shu-kun is already department leadership, on the same level as you, Kirika," Lacus said with a smile, making Kirika's forehead vein twitch.
Luo Shu secretly gave Lacus a thumbs-up.
"Alright, you win," Kirika threw up her hands and leaned back, giving up on arguing.
Lacus chuckled, then turned her head and said, "The so-called department benefits basically mean new members receive a genetic medicine potion." "As for what kind of potion it is—Luo Shu, you should be familiar with 'SEEDs,' right?"
"SEEDs?" Hearing that term, Luo Shu's surprise was unmistakable. SEEDs referred broadly to those born into Lacus's world, where genetic adjustment took place during the embryonic stage, tweaking genes. These SEEDs typically had superior intelligence and physical abilities, learned quickly, were immune to many diseases, and generally possessed good looks. Simply put, they were artificially engineered geniuses and elite soldiers—technology-made prodigies.
Recalling all this about SEEDs, Luo Shu said with a subtle expression, "So the genetic medicine turns people into SEEDs after birth?"
"You could say that." Lacus cuddled the haro doll and approached Luo Shu, elaborating, "But it also incorporates unique technology from this world, greatly enhancing the SEEDs' augmentation. It even extends lifespan with minimal drawbacks."
"According to current data, using the SEED genetic medicine can improve physical and mental qualities by 8 to 10 times within three months."
Lacus then added, "Well, at least that's true of the sixth-generation medicine."
Eight to ten times—that was a significant boost. Luo Shu wondered if it would work for him, but then thought about the drawbacks. Didn't SEEDs traditionally suffer from fertility problems?
"Wait—does the sixth-generation medicine still have the fertility issue?"
Hearing this, Kirika suddenly looked up at Luo Shu, seemingly surprised at how he knew about that. No, just now they exchanged quiet words about that, right? What SEEDs? What's that? Are you sure you're not talking about 'flirts' instead?
Mentally grumbling, Kirika snorted and said, "You're thinking of the first-generation medicine. That was the problematic one I was injected with. But the current sixth-generation kind doesn't have that effect. According to feedback, fertility is only reduced by about 3% to 5%."
In other words, fertility remained at around 95% to 97%, which seemed acceptable. Wait a sec—what medicine do you take, Kirika? Luo Shu glanced at her stomach.
"What are you looking at?" Kirika rolled her eyes. "Do you think I'm dumb? Didn't you know I froze some eggs in advance just in case? Even if I hadn't, Lacus would have urged me to. Actually, you should worry less about me and more about her—she's a first-generation SEED too."
"Oh." Luo Shu gave a stiff reply and turned his head to Lacus. He had long known about her fertility issues.
At that point, Lacus had her index finger pressed to her lips but sighed in relief when Luo Shu said nothing.
From Lacus's point of view, Luo Shu already knew she was a first-generation SEED, not just a potion user. Kirika didn't know this. In fact, the technology Lacus was born into was even worse than the effect of the first-generation medicine.
Lacus knew Luo Shu was aware of these facts, which was why she silently signaled him not to speak.
Fortunately, Luo Shu said nothing further and thus avoided Kirika losing control when hearing the truth.
"In short," Lacus continued, "the sixth-generation medicine has passed all testing and been confirmed safe." "But due to genetic complexity, each dose needs personalized creation after gene analysis."
Kirika snorted coldly nearby. "Speaking of which, our American colleagues want us to develop a cheap, common version soon. Even if it's inferior, they don't care."
"They even claim they're willing to pay a reasonable price."
Upon hearing this, Lacus smiled gently and said, "Kirika, you've heard too? They really don't give up." Shaking her head, Lacus glanced at Luo Shu and remarked, "Never mind the fact that making the medicine requires several Sacred Abyss artifacts."
"Simply revealing the capability for large-scale production of this genetic drug would probably cause the entire world to gang up on us." Lacus said this lightly but the words carried great weight.
"Besides, mass production inevitably involves some mortality and mutation rates. No matter how low, multiplied by 6 billion people, that's a huge number."
"Also, our personalized doses stabilize our position in America." "For SDS interests, large-scale production of this medicine is impossible."
The first part was about life safety; the latter was purely about profit.
Everyone present was on the same side and had no objections to Lacus's plan, Luo Shu included.
"I like your tone at times like this," Kirika said, producing a pack of cigarettes. Her lips curled up as she crossed her legs.
"By the way, Luo Shu, will you take a genetic test?"
Kirika's tone was playful as she warned, "That test can reveal a lot of things, you know?"
Lacus glanced at Kirika with a slightly reproachful tone but still sweet, "Kirika, you know why I'm here."
Kirika laughed aloud, "Isn't this brat always hiding things? I'm curious to see if he's willing to do genetic testing."
Lacus sighed and turned to Luo Shu, "According to regulartion, genetic test reports can only be read by the direct leader, me, and the medicine production manager." "But considering your position, Luo Shu, this report will only be kept by me, and the related personnel will have their memory erased afterward. Can you accept that?"
Seeing Lacus say this, Luo Shu looked at her deeply, realizing she must have deliberately lingered in Japan for this trust test. Or rather, judging by Lacus's character, she truly wanted to express trust but the method leaned toward a trust test—the sign of a political family daughter.
Thinking that, Luo Shu smiled and said, "Genetic testing? Sounds like an interesting thing to try."