However, even though the new materials were incredibly exciting, there was still a slight sense of regret.
After all, it was still an Ethereal. Even with Meow-Da's lightning-fast paws, the quantity of materials gathered was still far, far less compared to the two fully intact dragons from before.
But Meow-Da had specifically targeted the highest quality and most intact parts when harvesting materials. So, calculating the final quantity, it was actually about the same amount of materials you'd get from carving after normally finishing a quest, plus the reward materials transported back by the Guild.
Most importantly, they essentially got to handpick these material parts themselves. So with this entire operation, even if they couldn't make a full set of armor, crafting a weapon or two shouldn't be a problem at all.
However, compared to the hunter's joy brought by the materials, Andrew was actually still preoccupied with another important matter.
That was the situation regarding the Frenzy Virus.
Although the crisis brought about by Nineveh in Hollow Zero had indeed been resolved this time, Andrew hadn't forgotten that the source of the Frenzy Virus had yet to be found. There was also the symptom of the Frenzy Virus where, if one failed to overcome it after infection, sudden death was the only possible outcome. As someone who had personally experienced exactly what that felt like, Andrew could be certain.
That most primal, most tyrannical urge born from human instinct welling up from the bottom of one's heart—its mental erosion on the infected was no joke. If the ordinary citizens of New Eridu were to be infected, saying they had a one-in-ten chance of survival would be an incredibly optimistic understatement.
Thinking of this, even with Andrew's already incredibly steady mindset, a trace of lingering worry couldn't help but well up from the bottom of his heart, and his brows subconsciously furrowed slightly.
But he quickly adjusted his mindset back. No matter what, he still needed to test whether the existing vaccine would be effective before he could determine the severity of the situation. It would be absolutely wonderful if it worked.
That way, they could directly attempt to replicate and mass-produce the vaccine. Given New Eridu's production capabilities, they could quickly have a large batch of vaccines on standby. When that time came, even if there was a large-scale outbreak of Frenzy Virus erosion, there would be no need to worry.
But if they encountered the worst-case scenario—that the normal vaccine was ineffective against the mutated Frenzy Virus...
"Tch..."
The problem would return to square one. There wasn't a single reliable scholar capable of conducting professional research in this field...
Moreover, when the scholars in New Eridu faced this completely unknown virus, even with the vaccine as a reference, exactly how much reference value it still held after the virus mutated due to Etherealization was truly a huge question mark.
Andrew wasn't doubting whether New Eridu's scholars could research it or not. What he doubted was the time it would take. For a virus that had emerged and evolved in a completely different ecological environment, waiting for them to first figure it out, then research it, and then proceed to clinical trials...
He was afraid that by then, the Frenzy Virus would have already begun to spread on a massive scale, yet the vaccine research still wouldn't be complete.
That would be way too terrible.
Because of Andrew's deep thought and solemnity, Ellen and Belle, who were beside him, also coincidentally fell slightly silent, tacitly choosing not to interrupt his train of thought.
Ellen, who was no longer angry, looked at Andrew's tightly knitted brows, a trace of unrestrainable worry revealing itself in her eyes. But fortunately.
Realizing that thinking about all this messy stuff right now was meaningless, Andrew broke free from his thoughts. Noticing the faint worry in the eyes of the two girls staring at him, he immediately realized it was because of his previous behavior.
Consequently, he immediately let out a forced laugh and explained,
"Ah, man, I got so many materials in Hollow Zero this morning, I'm just agonizing over what exactly to use them for. It's triggering my decision paralysis. It's really tough."
This excuse was truly far too contrived, so much so that even Andrew himself had trouble keeping a straight face after saying it.
But now that the words were out, having no good reason to change his tune, Andrew had no choice but to face Ellen's gaze—which had shifted from her initial worry to absolute suspicion. After all, that expression he had just shown really didn't look like he was merely agonizing over such trivial matters.
However, right at that moment, Belle—who had been silent the whole time, pretending she didn't exist—suddenly popped her head out to divert attention, simultaneously asking with a hint of confusion:
"Wait, Andrew, why did you only mention Meow-Da's situation? What about Soldier 11, who headed out with you this morning?"
Although she didn't know exactly what Andrew was worried about, judging by the grave expression he had before the search began this morning when he mentioned that virus never before heard of in New Eridu... Knowing the causes and consequences, she successfully managed to guess the gist of it.
Speaking of which, he suddenly realized he hadn't yet synced up with Belle regarding the fact that Soldier 11 was currently with the Obols Squad. Consequently, he immediately answered:
"Oh... after what happened this morning, she was left behind with the Obols Squad, who are currently temporarily stationed over by Hollow Zero just in case."
Even though the excuse Andrew came up with earlier was incredibly lame, Ellen's attention was still drawn by his words.
To think that the white-haired, extremely aloof-looking older sister she had seen earlier was actually a member of the Defense Force? The Manager actually had connections with people in the Defense Force. No wonder he could enter Hollow Zero.
A trace of doubt that had previously sprouted in her heart was resolved. At the same time, Ellen, completely unaware of the actual situation, also found a logical excuse for herself.
He showed such a worried expression earlier, it must have been because he was worried about that older sister stationed beside Hollow Zero, right?
But what she completely didn't expect was... Even though she was just a 14-year-old middle schooler, considering the other party was actually less than a year old, having the other party call her 'older sister' would probably be a bit of a stretch.
Meanwhile, seeing that he had successfully bluffed his way past this issue, Andrew, to prevent Ellen from overthinking things, immediately called out to her to get ready to head over to the Seliana Smithy so they could prepare to continue opening the shop and working.
However, right before leaving, Andrew—knowing that the siblings were currently using the military's equipment for a massive data haul—spoke up seriously:
"Belle, this time, I need to trouble you to help me look for data on that special rift inside the Hollow. The one with the special frequency from when you first met me, and also Meow-Da."
Back when he first met the siblings, because he had already crossed over to this place for many days, the siblings had only managed to capture a very faint trace of that special frequency on his body. And this frequency was also similarly present on the several monsters that had appeared later.
It was just that by the time those monsters were found or encountered by him, many days had also passed for them, so prior to this, the group hadn't been very certain themselves. They even acted as if they thought it was just a normal phenomenon.
But the recent encounter with Meow-Da, who could be said to have crossed over not long ago, allowed Belle to confirm it. This was the special Ether frequency possessed by the special rift connecting the Monster Hunter world and New Eridu.
And this meant that as long as they could find a rift with this special frequency inside the Hollow, Andrew could return to the Monster Hunter world through the rift.
He hadn't specifically gone looking for this kind of rift before. One reason was that the Hollows in New Eridu were simply too numerous and massive, while the number of rifts within them was also way too complex and chaotic. Searching for such a rift was simply relying far too much on luck.
And the other reason was that Andrew was truly not at ease with just leaving all of New Eridu in an environment without any hunters. Belle, Astra, Eve, and the many friends he had made.
Without any guarantees, Andrew simply couldn't bring himself to abandon everything and run back to the Monster Hunter world. Besides, with the old timer, Evelyn, and the others over there, it made no difference whether he went back or not.
But now, things were different.
With Meow-Da around, Andrew could be certain that even if some accident caused a monster invasion, there wouldn't be any problems. Yes, this was the solution Andrew had thought of.
Since it was highly likely that neither he nor the scholars of New Eridu would be able to quickly produce a vaccine, then why not just go directly back and find the scholars who specialize in researching the Frenzy Virus and Monster Hunter ecology?
Anyway, in the Monster Hunter world, various special energies from other worlds emerged endlessly, and monster mutations were even more innumerable. For that bunch of scholars who had seen it all, monster mutations caused by special energies could be said to be an everyday occurrence.
With those highly experienced folks taking action, they would definitely be able to complete the research and development of a new vaccine at the fastest possible speed.
Hearing this, although Belle didn't completely understand what Andrew meant... she, who unconditionally supported Andrew's decisions, immediately nodded very seriously and then said:
"Understood. I'll have my stinky brother add an extra data parameter for a specialized search while he's collecting data. Hollow Zero is the largest Hollow in all of New Eridu. The special rift you need to find must definitely be inside it."
"So don't worry, with Phae... with the two of us siblings working together, we'll definitely be able to help you find it as quickly as possible!"
Although given the sheer size of Hollow Zero, the difficulty of this was no less than finding a needle in a haystack, Belle still decisively patted her full chest and promised.
Andrew revealed a smile upon hearing this. Reaching out, he rubbed Belle's head and said with a chuckle:
"Yeah, I believe in you."
Following that, with Belle's guarantee, Andrew didn't delay. He turned around and led Ellen toward the workshop of the smithy.
Inside the workshop.
The pile of documents under the map, originally used for organizing return data, had already been completely cleared out by Meow-Da upon Andrew's instructions.
Meow-Da was constantly bustling back and forth, placing samples and specially purchased experimental equipment onto this specially cleared-out workbench.
The virus materials—pitch-black yet revealing a dark purple hue, while faintly flashing with subtle bright purple veins—were placed by Meow-Da into special glass bottles originally meant for healing potions. There were over a dozen in total, all virus materials collected by Meow-Da.
And in the transparent box next to them were over a dozen white mice that Meow-Da had gotten from who knows where.
Although he had never actually done it hands-on... Even if he had never done it professionally, he had seen it done enough times. Andrew still knew exactly how to conduct the most basic efficacy experiments.
The half-finished Paolumu armor meant as a gift for Belle and the others had been carefully tidied away to the side by Meow-Da, but Andrew no longer had the time to continue crafting it.
And seeing everything before her, Ellen instantly understood that Andrew, who now had official business to attend to, would highly likely be unable to help out next.
Suddenly turning from a support to the main workforce... Although after yesterday's adaptation and learning, she actually didn't have any problems doing the work, it couldn't change the fact that the workload had directly doubled.
Not to mention, she hadn't even gotten a raise. Doing the same wages with multiplied workload... that promised high salary really wasn't so easy to earn after all, huh?
"Uh..."
Knowing that he was going back on his word a bit by doing this, Andrew hurriedly added:
"Don't worry, the commission fee will be doubled, and the original time limit is directly canceled. How about that?"
However, expecting a young girl like Ellen to finish all this doubled workload in front of her wasn't very realistic either. Besides, although the salary was doubled, the workload was more than just doubled.
Looking at Ellen, who was puffing out her cheeks and glaring fiercely at him, Andrew scratched his head in utter embarrassment and said with some hesitation:
"How about... I hire another helper for you?"
"Hmph!"
Seeing Ellen standing with her arms crossed, looking somewhat puffed up with anger, Andrew had just begun to ponder where he could hire someone else to come help out when a phone call suddenly came in.
Looking at the caller ID, it was none other than his acquaintance—Von Lycaon.
As the call connected, Von Lycaon's familiarly steady and elegant voice drifted over from the other end of the line.
"Esteemed Manager, it is quite presumptuous of me to contact you so suddenly. I sincerely apologize for the intrusion. May I ask if you have the time to take a call right now?"
Knowing that Von Lycaon would never casually contact him for no reason, Andrew couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled. He hadn't had any dealings with the city administration these past few days, had he?
But since he couldn't figure it out, Andrew decided not to dwell on it and spoke directly:
"What's up, Von Lycaon? Calling me all of a sudden—is there something you need me for?"
Hearing this, Von Lycaon didn't dawdle and spoke concisely and clearly:
"Yes, Manager. Someone within the Defense Force has, much like the Mayor, contacted and commissioned me to pass some items on to you. They said it is a reward and a gift for this morning's incident. May I ask when you will be free, so that I may have the opportunity to deliver these items to your hands personally?"
Hearing these words, Andrew instantly guessed that this was highly likely the compensation from the Defense Force after this morning's interception battle against Nineveh.
However, Andrew wasn't actually all that interested in these things, which held no real meaning for his hunting or growing stronger in combat. At the end of the day, it was probably just some money.
For Andrew—who had previously made a fortune from TOPS, and who was already making a steady, endless stream of money from the sale of videotapes—even having more Dennies didn't hold any real meaning in itself.
So, compared to taking these rewards that offered no help to his current situation, it would be better to prioritize the most crucial experiments first.
But for Andrew, as a hunter... No matter what, he still had to conduct the vaccine experiments first. As for anything else, no matter how important it might be, everything had to be pushed back until after this was done.
____
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