Ming Dynasty and New Rome and Infinite Magic Machine

Chapter 1641 Alchemy
"Are you done yet?"

"Alright, almost done."

Is watching my pain really that interesting?

Han Xingzhi lay alone in the middle of the room, with only Wen Yuan watching him—not because Wen Yuan wanted to watch him, but because he was responsible for holding up a piece of fried chicken in front of Han Xingzhi.

He was wearing a helmet the size of a rice cooker, with only his eyes showing, and fried chicken was placed in front of him.

Fried chicken is a simple and pure food, with a crispy golden-brown crust encasing juicy meat. Carbohydrates, protein, and fat achieve a harmonious balance at this moment, evoking pure hunger just by looking at it, because hunger itself is a desire for nutrients. And hungry people will want to see such a nutritionally complete piece of fried chicken.

Pure hunger is important. The target here cannot be snacks, because snacks can be eaten even when you're not hungry. It also cannot be beverages, because beverages are associated with thirst. Nor can it be staple foods, because sometimes even if you're full from eating vegetables, you can still feel hungry because you haven't eaten any staple foods.

At times like this, a piece of fried chicken can trigger the purest form of hunger. Han Xingzhi's hunger, however, was remarkably clear-cut—he wasn't starving because of poverty; he was simply starving for the sake of starving, as if someone wanted to keep him hungry. His hunger contained no desire for survival, no other distractions; he was simply too hungry.

His hunger was transmitted via a wire overhead to the other side of the room, to a churning flask. Inside the flask, a pre-placed potion was being slowly refined by signals transmitted through the wire—this was alchemy.

Because alchemy was more important than watching Han Xingzhi starve, everyone except Wen Yuan watched the reaction products from the other side of the room.

"Big brother, are you done yet?"

“Wait a minute, let me ask.” He asked Victoria, “How’s it going? I haven’t studied alchemy, so I can’t really tell.”

“Something’s not right. Something’s not right about him. There’s something else going on in his hunger.”

Shangluo walked up to him with his hands behind his back: "Something's not right with you."

"I've been tied up and tortured by you, what could possibly be wrong with me!"

“Our technicians said you have distracting thoughts. Tell us, what else are you holding onto?”

"Why are you talking like you're going to electrocute me right here! Isn't this all about gathering evidence? Who tortures a witness just to gather evidence?!"

"But you're putting me in a difficult position right now. You're thinking about all sorts of other things, where does your pure appetite come from?"

"So, if I tell you, you won't be angry?"

"Hey." Shang Luo waved his hand. "I'm not your parent, I'm your friend."

"Good heavens, I forgot about that. You tied me up here, and I thought it was an order!"

"No, no one gave this order. I'm just asking you for a favor."

"Then I'll talk!" Han Xingzhi finally straightened his neck. "You put the fried chicken here, but you won't let me eat it! If you won't let me eat it, how am I supposed to feel genuinely hungry?! I can't eat it at all!"

Ah, that's true.

Hunger is the physiological sensation caused by an empty stomach and a strong urge to eat. The prerequisite for hunger is the sight of something edible. However, Han Xingzhi is currently practicing spiritual cultivation, and theoretically, he shouldn't eat fried chicken at all—he simply cannot eat fried chicken.

Because he couldn't eat no matter what, his appetite was naturally no longer pure. It was mixed with other emotions such as envy and resentment.
"I understand. Then you can eat."

Before he could finish speaking, the machine behind him suddenly started beeping.

"Wow!" Victoria exclaimed. "What incredible hunger! He's so hungry, he'd probably eat people if he let go!"

"How is the extraction progress?" Shangluo asked.

"Wait a moment, it's already started. Keep it running until the liquid evaporates. Keep it running! Keep it running!"

The flask is boiling, and a white precipitate is forming at the bottom, which is the final product to be produced in this experiment—white starvation.

Victoria's alchemy skills were only at a middle school level; she couldn't concoct either golden or purple Hunger Potion, but she could manage white Hunger Potion, since it was lead-based. Lead-based alchemical potions were often suitable for beginners, not only because the raw materials were easy to obtain, but also because lead-based alchemical potions actually had a very high potential; they could withstand symbols of the same concentration as gold.

Of course, all of this comes at a price: the ultimate goal of all alchemical potions is to grant immortality. Lead-based potions, however, are impossible to consume with peace of mind; even a small amount can lead to lead poisoning.

However, for experimental purposes, lead-based reagents are just right.

"Speaking of which, how exactly is hunger instilled?" Shangluo asked. "What's the underlying principle?"

"Let me think," Victoria said, using her middle school level knowledge to consider, "Have you ever baked puff pastry?"

"I've never grilled it, but I've eaten it."

He had eaten mooncakes with flaky pastry. After baking, the outer layer of flaky pastry becomes fluffy and crisp, creating a contrast in texture with the soft filling.

"Do you know how puff pastry is baked?"

"I really don't know that."

"Actually, it's quite simple—when kneading the dough, you need to mix the flour and oil together to make the outer layer of the pastry. Then you put it in a pan to fry or bake it. During this process, the oil inside the pastry will come out due to the high temperature, while the oil pores remain in place. The finished product is a crispy pastry."

"Ah! So the principle is the same?"

“Hmm.” Victoria nodded. “In alchemy, we choose to react the potion with lead first. After the reaction, the potion is easily detached and replaced by starvation—and then you see the lead-based starvation, which is white.”

This is why the Purple Hunger is simpler than the Gold Hunger. Although both use gold, the Purple Hunger technique is the same as the lead-based refining method—simply replacing a portion of the reaction products after creating the gold compound. The Gold Hunger technique, however, is more like true enchanting.

"So this is some kind of redox reaction? Copper can't participate in the reaction directly, so you put copper into sulfuric acid to turn it into copper sulfate, and then use the copper sulfate to react or something."

"Yes, that's it. It's very simple, isn't it?"

(End of this chapter)