Outside Li Lin's room, Caitlyn, Kai'Sa, the Kiramman couple, along with the butler and several private doctors from the Kiramman family, gathered at the closed door, staring anxiously at it.
It had been over an hour since Li Lin's genetic enhancement potion began to take effect, and he hurriedly returned to his room and shut himself in.
Despite Kai'Sa's compliance with his request not to be disturbed, she waited outside the door for a long time, even knocking several times, but received no response from Li Lin.
If it weren't for her "Void Sensing," which detected a growing strong life force inside the room, she might have even suspected that Li Lin had died inside.
Finally, unable to wait any longer, Kai'Sa went to find Lady Cassandra, who had just finished dinner, and explained the situation to her.
Shortly after they arrived outside Li Lin's room, Caitlyn, who had just returned home, heard about the incident from the servants and hurried over.
In the corridor, besides the silent breathing of everyone, there was a profound silence.
After some time passed, the butler cleared his throat, breaking the heavy atmosphere. "Lady Cassandra, should we use the spare key to open the door?"
"According to Miss Kai'Sa's description, Mr. Li Lin has been emitting visible heat for over an hour now..."
Speaking was an elderly man in a white coat, with a monocle over his left eye.
He was a prestigious doctor who had signed an exclusive service contract with the Kiramman family and had considerable fame throughout Piltover.
Lady Cassandra glanced at Caitlyn, who was struggling to maintain her composure, her eyes showing constant nervousness, then pondered for a few seconds before turning to the butler. "Do you have the key?"
"Yes, I do."
"Alright, open the door..."
As soon as Lady Cassandra's voice fell, there was a loud "bang," and Li Lin's door was violently pushed open.
Li Lin appeared in front of everyone wearing only a pair of pants, his upper body bare, a towel draped around his neck.
His hair was wet and messy, still dripping with water, and his skin was all over a bright red, though not emitting the billowing heat described by Kai'Sa.
But what was different from before was that he seemed to have grown several centimeters taller, and his muscles, including his eight-pack abs, were more robust and prominent. With each heavy breath, they could easily be compared to the muscular physique of Jayce, who had been playing with hammers since childhood.
Caitlyn was the first to notice the anomaly, her face showing a hint of confusion. "Li Lin? Is it really... you?"
"If it weren't Li Lin, who else could it be? Caitlyn, you spend time with him every day; can't you recognize him?"
Tobias, adjusting his goatee, looked Li Lin up and down. "Hmm... but it does seem like something's different from before."
Seeing everyone gathered at his door, Li Lin was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Kai'Sa standing behind Caitlyn.
"I was afraid something might happen to you, so I asked Lady Cassandra and Mr. Tobias to come..."
"Sorry to worry you."
Li Lin smiled apologetically at Kai'Sa, then exchanged a glance with Caitlyn, who furrowed her brows slightly.
"What's going on with you?"
Caitlyn took a few steps forward, reaching out to pinch Li Lin's biceps, then poking his chest and abs, which were as hard as marble.
Then, she reached up to Li Lin's head, comparing his height with her own.
This was the most obvious change for Caitlyn.
If before, Li Lin only needed to lower his face, and she only needed to tiptoe slightly to kiss him.
Now, she had to bend down a bit, and even stand on her tiptoes to touch his lips.
"Cough, cough..."
Seeing her daughter behave so intimately with Li Lin in front of so many people, Lady Cassandra couldn't help but cough lightly, reminding her to maintain her composure.
Hearing her mother's voice, Caitlyn suddenly realized that there were also the butler and several doctors present. Her cheeks flushed slightly with a hint of embarrassment, and she pretended to nonchalantly step back two steps, returning to Kai'Sa's side.
Lady Cassandra raised her chin slightly, crossing her fingers in front of her. "Explain yourself. What's going on?"
"Um, the specifics are a bit complicated... Give me two minutes to put on some clothes, and then let's go to my workshop first."
...
...
Seven or eight minutes later, Caitlyn, Kai'Sa, Lady Cassandra, and Tobias followed Li Lin, who had reluctantly put on some clothes, to his workshop.
Because Li Lin said the matter was urgent, the butler and the other private doctors went back to attend to their own affairs.
"Speaking of which, this is the first time I've come here after assigning the workshop to you," Cassandra looked around, noticing the many precise and expensive instruments added here, a faint smile appearing on her face.
The Kiramman family was not afraid to spend money, especially on craftsmen like Li Lin who could create significant value.
Seeing such a talented and progressive young man, Cassandra couldn't help but admit that her daughter's judgment was indeed quite good.
She glanced at Tobias beside her, her smile growing wider.
"Just like my good judgment."
Tobias, as a craftsman, hadn't personally made anything since Cassandra became a councilor for several years.
Piltover's technological upgrades were rapid, and Li Lin's workshop was fully equipped, even with large bottomed computers he had never seen before.
The orderly workshop, devoid of any clutter, reignited his "artisan's heart," and he walked around from time to time, examining some novel gadgets.
Li Lin didn't linger too long in the largest workshop, leading the four straight to the chemical and biological laboratory.
He took two bottles of potion from the shelf and handed them to Caitlyn and Lady Cassandra.
Then, he took two more bottles and handed them to Tobias and Kai'Sa.
Caitlyn held the potion bottle under the light suspended from the ceiling, staring at the slightly viscous gray-white liquid inside. "What is this?"
"This is a new potion I recently developed to enhance the body. Each person can drink three bottles, and depending on individual physique, it can increase physical attributes by about five times."
"...Don't tell me you became so strong just by drinking this." Caitlyn withdrew her gaze, staring at Li Lin with suspicion, trying to catch a trace of joking on his face. "And you even grew a few centimeters taller?"
"I'm not kidding, Caitlyn, I'm serious."
Li Lin squeezed his fist, the bones of his fingers crackling, his muscles about to burst through his clothes.
The effect of these two bottles of genetic enhancement potion far exceeded his expectations.
Now, calling myself the "Piltover Captain" is not an exaggeration!
He thought excitedly in his heart.
Caitlyn stared at Li Lin's brown-black eyes for a few seconds, relenting. "Okay, I'll pretend you're not joking..."
"But this potion of yours, it should have quite a few side effects, right? Just like when you went back to your room and soaked in cold water earlier." Cassandra followed up on Caitlyn's statement. "I think we shouldn't put this potion into production."
"In fact, it has no side effects. I just didn't initially realize that it takes at least half an hour to take effect. I drank two bottles in a row, so that's why I had that situation just now."
Li Lin shook his head. "And, I don't plan to sell this potion to the public. It's likely to increase the crime rate and be detrimental to the stability of the twin cities."
"So what do you mean?" Tobias asked.
"I only intend to give it to close friends or acquaintances, like you guys."
Cassandra looked at the daily clothes originally tailored for Li Lin, now pushed up by his muscles, exposing half of his belly and calves.
"Well, I think, even if your potion is really as effective as you say, it's not suitable for me..."
Caitlyn nodded, agreeing with her mother.
She didn't want to drink this and turn into a "Barbie Kong."
"Don't worry, this is just the first version. I'll continue to optimize it."
Li Lin smiled at Tobias, a strange look in his eyes making him shudder involuntarily.
—Hiss!
Why do I feel like you're up to no good...
As Tobias expected, Li Lin did say the sentence he anticipated, "I think you can try its effects first."
(End of this chapter)