Chapter 8 The Value of Dirt

The next day, Shen Wei waited until 11 p.m. The laboratory floors of Clearsky Pharmaceuticals were empty except for the automated furnaces and a single night-shift supervisor who spent most of his time watching combat replays on his personal tablet in the break room.

He badged in with his standard access card. Late-night work was not unusual for employees pulling extra shifts or catching up on reports. He made his way to the Quality Assurance testing lab on Floor 3—small, equipped with instruments a generation behind, but more than sufficient for basic material analysis. Spectral Qi analyzers. Compound identification arrays. Density calibrators.

After discovering what the pendant could do, quitting his job had crossed his mind and been immediately dismissed. Clearsky’s database held information unavailable to the general public, and he needed that information to understand the other world. The lab equipment here was also preferable to unaffiliated labs, which were tightly controlled and monitored—a visit there would increase his risk of exposure.

He laid out his samples on the workbench and began.

The soil sample went first. He ran a standard composition scan. The results flagged elevated Qi-reactive compounds at levels marked “outside standard parameters.” The analyzer’s reference database, calibrated for Tianji’s current geological baselines, had no framework for soil this rich. It defaulted to error messages and suggested recalibration.

He moved to the spirit herbs. He placed a single Three-Leaf Ginseng leaf in the compound identification array and waited. The machine worked for sixty seconds—almost three times its usual duration. It produced a result that made him close his eyes and take a long, slow breath.

The herb was genuine. Naturally grown. Qi density rating: 94 out of a theoretical maximum of 100. The highest-rated synthetic Three-Leaf Ginseng on the commercial market scored in the 40s.

He tested the Spirit Grass. Rating: 88. The Cloud Moss: 91. The water sample produced an overflow error: “WARNING: Sample exceeds instrument detection range. Recommend dilution.”

Shen Wei sat on a lab stool and let the numbers arrange themselves into meaning.

A single Three-Leaf Ginseng leaf at a Qi density of 94 would sell at the premium natural materials market for approximately eight thousand yuan. He had collected six intact plants with multiple leaves each—conservatively, sixty leaves. At market rates, roughly four hundred and eighty thousand yuan.

He had picked them off the ground in twenty minutes.

The Spirit Grass was less valuable individually but far more abundant. The Cloud Moss had specialty applications in pill refinement that commanded premium prices. The water, at this quality, was used in the most expensive cultivation elixirs. He had collected approximately two liters.

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He ran the calculations three times, adjusting for market fluctuations, buyer premiums, and the discount he would need to accept for selling through unofficial channels. Total value, conservatively: between five hundred thousand and seven hundred thousand yuan.

One hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and seventy-five months of his salary. For a single trip.