Extreme Cold Era: Shelter Don't Keep Waste
Chapter 91 Temporary Laboratory

Chapter 91: Chapter 91 Temporary Laboratory

For Perfikot, analyzing new technology isn’t particularly difficult, but putting it into practical use does present some problems that need to be solved.

Firstly, on this trip, Perfikot did bring some alchemical tools to conduct alchemy experiments during her travels, but these tools could only satisfy simple experimental needs and were far from supporting a somewhat formal alchemy experiment.

Therefore, if Perfikot wants to conduct relevant practical operations, among other things, an alchemy laboratory capable of meeting her experimental needs is essential.

Although she possesses the Philosopher’s Stone, doing everything by hand is not impossible, but it would be unnecessarily troublesome.

So after some consideration, Perfikot decisively wrote a list and had her loyal old butler send someone back to New Shaker City for procurement.

In her view, it was merely some simple alchemy vessels and containers, along with the raw materials related to the experiment, and even if the New Continent lacked the extraordinary heritage, it shouldn’t be impossible to procure such basic items.

Moreover, to avoid the situation where even the simplest items couldn’t be procured, Perfikot specifically annotated each required item with potential substitutes.

Upon receiving the list, Foster didn’t immediately arrange for someone to return to New Shaker City. Instead, he first consulted the island’s plantation manager and the captain of the White Gem to see if they could provide the items on the list.

"Sir, we’re just a plantation. Although the master... or rather, that damned slave master regularly procures supplies from New Shaker City, we don’t have those items here; you’ll have to go to New Shaker City to purchase them," said the plantation manager, or in some sense, the steward of the former plantation owner.

Foster wasn’t surprised by this response. After all, it was just a modest plantation, unlikely to have what Perfikot required.

He had only inquired with a sense of ’just in case.’

However, after receiving the negative response, he still asked the plantation manager, "Is there a relatively secluded building on the island? The lady needs to conduct some alchemical research and requires a quieter place."

"Well..." The manager was taken aback and then showed a wry smile, "The previous damned slave master only cared about whether the plantation could bring him enough profit each year, he didn’t care about anything else. Besides the manor that has already been ordered to be dismantled by the Lady, there are no other buildings on the island.

The only place that could be called secluded is a hidden cave on the other side of the island. It was used to detain unruly slaves. They were usually kept there until he remembered to release them.

But under normal circumstances, the slaves locked inside would starve to death within days."

"I see, I would appreciate it if you could take me to see it later." Foster thought that place might not meet his lady’s standards, but being a competent butler, he couldn’t make assumptions—he needed to check it personally.

Unexpectedly, the captain of the White Gem spoke up: "If Lady Brandelis doesn’t mind the simplicity of the ship, I can offer a suitable cabin for her."

The captain’s words drew a curious look from Foster.

The captain quickly explained, "The White Gem is a luxuriously and comfortably designed large cruise ship. Its deck and cabin arrangements focus on privacy and security, aligning with passengers’ status, luxury, and comfort.

For this purpose, the company even went to the extent of equipping the ship with comprehensive facilities, including a theater, a banquet hall, and a small library."

Hearing this, Foster was incredulous. They had stayed on the ship for nearly a month without knowing there was a library onboard.

"There’s a library onboard? Why weren’t we informed?" Foster immediately queried.

"Uh... because the colleague responsible for procurement didn’t deliver the books intended to fill the shelves, the library has remained closed during this voyage," explained the captain awkwardly, as such matters indeed tarnished the White Star Company’s reputation.

However, there was no alternative. The White Gem was a new ship, and many facilities were newly established, like the library. This was unprecedented; no previous ship had a designated space for it.

In the days of sailing ships, besides the captain’s quarters, which might have navigation journals and maps, it was difficult to find any paper on a ship.

Or any other items for recording text, because before industrialization, paper was an expensive commodity, whether made from plants or animals.

Alongside, books also became very expensive items.

In a way, a library filled with books could be worth more than the entire ship.

After listening to the captain’s explanation, Foster thought it could indeed suit Perfikot for setting up a temporary simple laboratory.

Thus, he didn’t waste words and returned to the White Gem’s cabin with the captain to open the library, which had remained locked all this time.

Indeed, the White Star Company was willing to spend; the entire library was about two stories high, with a modest footprint of less than a thousand square meters, yet it housed over twenty bookshelves.

Being situated near the stern, it had a full wall of five-meter-high curved floor-to-ceiling windows, providing excellent lighting for the entire library.

One could indeed say the White Star Company had invested heavily in this library; even just the furnishings alone were valuable.

However, unfortunately, the twenty or so bookshelves there were mostly empty. The books that should have filled them hadn’t arrived, leaving only a few scattered volumes in the library.

"I think the lady will be very pleased here," commented Foster after inspecting around, believing that Perfikot would indeed be satisfied.

After all, it was even larger and more luxurious than the Brandelis Manor’s library. The conditions weren’t lacking at all, and using it as a temporary simple laboratory seemed quite extravagant and wasteful.

Nevertheless, since the Royal Family had chartered the entire White Gem, temporarily using this bookless library wasn’t an issue.

Thus, Foster nodded with satisfaction and then informed the captain that people would need to be sent back to New Shaker City for procurement. After receiving a satisfactory response, he proceeded with the plantation manager to the other side of the island to inspect the cave he had mentioned.

Even if it might not be used, it still needed to be checked.