Chapter 48: Pinky and the Brain.
"Status is a universal key to all the doors in the world," Levi replied calmly, using his voice and other noises to map out the ground floor.
It resembled a hotel with dozens of numbered doors situated near each other. The receptionists were standing at the center of the floor around a circular table.
There were already many people inside. Levi used his spiritual vision to separate the Daywalkers from citizens, now that his echolocation could show him a humanoid figure of everyone.
Of course, if there were Daywalkers, their contracted nightcrawlers would be there too.
Once they spotted Levi, curiosity got the best of them, and they went to check him out.
This time, Ash’Kral wasn’t nearby to use his terrifying voice and reputation to scare them off. But Levi had other allies.
"The f*ck are you looking at?" Blee’der growled murderously, "Stay in your lane, or else, it won’t end pretty for you or your little partners."
"Believe me, he means it." O’rro chuckled, "This isn’t the time to get on his bad side."
Sensing the murderous intent of Blee’der made all the nightcrawlers reconsider getting involved in this situation...Especially, when they had nothing to win from this alteration besides teasing Levi for their amusement.
"Thank you." Levi whispered.
"Never thank me again." Blee’der smirked, "You are my little treasure, and I will never let any harm befall you."
Levi chuckled, knowing that Blee’der would literally do anything to not jeopardize his chance at a Perfect Evolution.
"Miss Shia, please follow me to your lab."
Meanwhile, Shia finished with the lab’s arrangement and was led to the elevator by the cute receptionist.
The others tagged along too, and in no time, they arrived at the highest floor in the building. The moment the elevator door opened, Arthur whistled while holding his hands behind his head.
The lab truly warranted such a reaction, as the entire floor was filled with all sorts of high-end equipment and machinery. Everything looked new and clean, from the glassware to the furniture. There were even AI-powered robotic arms for assistance.
The receptionist extended her arm with a welcoming smile and said, "Welcome to our VIP Experimental Lab. Please, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call us. Our support is online 24/7."
"Thank you, this will be all for now."
Shia wired a heavy tip to the receptionist after scanning her public information with her Neuralens.
All workers put their bank information among their public data to ensure a smooth tipping transaction without any awkwardness.
The receptionist’s smile widened after receiving the tip, leaving them to their peace immediately.
"Now this is a Lab." Arthur commented in fascination as he walked around the place.
But, just as he was about to touch the equipment, one scolding glare from Shia made him retrieve it.
"This must have been expensive. You didn’t have to bother yourself." Levi smiled wryly, "A standard Lab is more than enough."
Levi knew that the formula creation process was quite simple, even for an amateur, not requiring all of this heavy machinery.
"I would rather not take any risks."
Shia lifted a metallic chest and placed it on the nearest table. Then, after scanning the lock with her Neuralens, a soft click echoed in everyone’s ears.
She opened the metallic chest, and the first thing that showed was the Blood Crystal Flower inside a smaller plastic container...It was as glamorous as the ones in the garden.
Yet, the Obsidian Bloodvine had taken the spotlight with its ebony-black vine and razor-sharp thorns. It had crystallized red drops running down its long twisted vine, making it seem like it was weeping.
The rest of the materials were also in the chest, ranging from peculiarly colored liquid bottles, small containers filled with dirt, and other types of common plants.
Shia took hold of Levi’s arm and pulled him in front of her chest. Then, she said with an eager smile, "Everything you have asked for is here."
Levi started naming each material just to be sure, and Shia kept saying check every time until he was done...Only then did he crack a satisfied smile.
"You have carried your part of the deal; it’s time for me to honor my word."
"I can’t wait for the final results." Shia smiled.
Without needing Levi to tell them to leave, Shia made a gesture with her head, and her companions followed her to the waiting room next to the Lab.
Since he hadn’t sold her the knowledge and just made a deal to evolve her nightcrawler, she had no right to spy on the creation of his Evolutionary Formula.
This kind of knowledge was priced in the millions of credits, and she had no plans on asking her family for this much money...Especially, not with the current tension going on.
After they left, their contracted nightcrawlers followed them along, leaving only Levi and Arthur.
Just as Arthur was about to speak, Levi placed a finger near his mouth to shush his brother and then clapped twice. As he gazed at the bouncing sound waves inside the lab, Levi focused on any sort of leak.
But to his pleasant surprise, he found that not a single wave escaped the Lab. It was perfectly soundproof, ensuring utmost privacy.
"As expected of the best public Lab in Tamara. You can talk now, we are in the clear." Levi smiled.
"I just wanted to know what you will need from me?" Arthur rolled his sleeves, prepared to listen to his brother’s instructions.
"First, let’s clean our hands and wear proper gear." Levi said, "I might have done my studies, but this is still my first time doing this, and we should take all precautions."
"Gotchu."
Arthur took his brother to the nearest sink. After they cleaned their hands and wore the proper gear (gloves, lab coats, glasses...etc), they returned to the chest of materials.
"Now what?"
Then, they stood in front of the chest of materials, resembling the famous cartoon characters Pinky and the Brain.
Arthur looked as confused as ever, wearing the gloves on the wrong side, and his coat barely fit him, his muscles screaming to be released.
While Levi was staring at the ceiling, while tapping his hands on the box to use the sound for some visualization.
They looked like they had no business being anywhere near this fancy Lab. If Shia was to see them, she would honestly start wondering if she had been scammed.
"Pull out everything and place them gently on the table." Levi doubled down, "Be gentle."
Arthur did as he was told and lined up all the materials on the long ceramic white table. Then, he picked up the chest and placed it on the ground, clearing some space for them.
Knowing that it would be bothersome to keep tapping his fingers for visualization throughout the process, Levi requested Astra AI to release a constant, low-pitched noise. One that was difficult for human ears to pick up on easily.
Astra AI followed the instructions and released the low-pitched noise straight into Levi’s ear since the device was the closest to it.
But Levi tuned it out and focused on the visualization it created inside the lab. Since this was a sealed room and the sound wave was constant, all the equipment, furniture, walls, and such appeared grayed out and affixed in place!
Levi took a moment to appreciate the stillness of the scene, fully aware that the moment he spoke, the delicate balance would be broken.
His echolocation ability allowed him to interpret the echoes of sound waves bouncing off surfaces, even filtering out background noise to isolate a single sound with precision.
But it came with a limitation: he couldn’t actually hear the sounds themselves, nor witness their impact while the ability was active.
This meant that unless he chose to ignore his own voice or whatever his brother might say, the moment he or anyone else spoke, the fragile silence would inevitably unravel.
"Let’s begin."
Levi requested his brother to bring out the required equipment, ranging from a mortar and pestle to a beaker.
Arthur relied on Astra AI to help him find the equipment, which he had no idea what they looked like.
While Arthur was collecting the pieces of equipment, Levi had already opened the container for The Crystal Blood Flower.
Although it appeared grayed out and had a bit of a chaotic form, Levi still reached out with his fingers and started getting a feel for its petals.
After marking everything important, he picked up a scalpel and sliced the petals off the stem, making sure to be as clinical as possible.
Skreeee...
The moment he did this, Levi tilted his head slightly in confusion after his ears picked up on a very tame high-frequency screech. It was so silent that Levi doubted if humans could even hear it.
"Is this the ultrasonic distress sounds I read about?" Levi murmured.
"What? You heard something?" Arthur looked around them in puzzlement.
"It’s nothing, keep guiding me."
"Okay."
Levi didn’t trust his brother with the process as he knew that his burly hands weren’t used to such agility-based, tiny movements.
However, he was asking for his input every once in a while to ensure that he wasn’t butchering the flower...Especially, now that he heard its scream.
He had read that plants released ultrasonic distress sounds when cut or distressed. He also knew that it was their way of responding to harm, but not pain, as they lacked a nervous system.
Still, hearing its low screeches with each cut made Levi feel an unexplainable amount of sorrow...Especially, when a red liquid was pouring out of the wounds, bleeding all over itself.
’If humans’ ears were receptive to those high-frequency weeps, would it have changed our treatment of the Plant Kingdom?’ Levi wondered to himself after cutting off the Crystal Flower petals and placing them inside a small box.
But, as he listened to the final dying screeches of the Blood Crystal Flower, he shook his head. He doubted anything would change, as he knew that it was within human nature to forgo any morals for the sake of survival.
As long as food was served on the table, nothing else mattered. If it weren’t like this, many humans wouldn’t turn to cannibalism when starvation shut off their brains and left only two wires active to seek food under any circumstances.
He believed even the most veteran vegan would eat meat if no social constraints were placed on him and he were found starving.
It was simply biology, and it was hard to resist it when no one was there to judge.
After Levi pulled the flower’s stem from the soil gently, he collected some of the red liquid and left the rest for the soil to feed on.
Then, he brought the Obsidian Bloodvine over and placed it in the mortar. Next, he poured one of the liquid bottles on them and handed the pestle to his brother.
"Ground them slowly together into a mixture. When you feel some resistance, like the mixture is hardening, pour another bottle of Prismalique Elixer." Levi instructed, "Don’t stop until the mixture has turned into a sticky mess. Above all else, don’t use too much force."
"Say less."
Arthur cracked his fingers and got to work immediately, using his raw strength to break the plants into pieces without an ounce of resistance. Meanwhile, Levi went to prepare for the next stage.
’Ash’Kral, are you here?’ Levi called telepathically.
’What?’
Ash’Kral was currently in the Shadow Dimension to avoid any unnecessary problems. While he couldn’t see what Levi was doing, they could converse telepathically.
’I just want to double-check about heating the distillation chamber.’ Levi asked, ’Five to ten minutes is too broad...Give me a precise time.’
’It’s broad because it doesn’t matter as long as you remain within the recommended period.’ Ash’Kral chided in annoyance, ’Boy, I gave you all the information you need, follow them to a tee and you won’t have any problems.’
"I was just double-checking, asshole." Levi cursed under his breath and stopped reaching for Ash’Kral.