ROB RUN Laboratory Guide: Reactor, Freezer, Crystals and Delivery

A reactor batch needs somewhere to go. Freezer capacity, cargo handling and the chosen buyer can become the bottleneck even when the reactor has upgrades.

A house and plot are required for the Chemical Laboratory. Research the laboratory, then Chemical Reactor and Lab Table; Industrial Freezer research follows the reactor. Equipment purchases are separate transactions through the base laptop.

The starting research route lists $160,000 laboratory + $20,000 reactor + $15,000 freezer, or $195,000 before the optional $10,000 Lab Table branch. None of those figures pays for the machinery itself.

Carry the Reagent Canister to the Chemical Reactor and use Add Reagents. This is the input interaction on the machine, separate from buying its blueprint or fitting an upgrade through Modification.

Prepare a free freezer position for the concentrate before starting more production. The reactor and freezer are different stations; a bought freezer still needs room for the next output.

The starter research is $195,000. Laboratory, first reactor and first freezer purchases add $110,000 + $40,000 + $20,000 = $170,000. The combined equipment-and-research subtotal is $365,000 before the house, plot, inputs and protection. Optional Lab Table research and purchase add $25,000, bringing that subtotal to $390,000.

A starting freezer holds four concentrates. Count the output waiting for transfer and the spaces still open before committing another batch. A rarity attachment does not enlarge it. Add the Lab Table only for a deliberate powder workflow: its tempting unit price cannot establish a better return while powder quantity per crystal remains unknown.

World-found Reagent Canisters feed reactor cycles that make Crystalline Concentrate. Quality Reagents and reactor improvements raise the probability of better rarity. Move concentrate into Industrial Freezer to make Hard Crystals.

Hard Crystals can be sold as cargo to the Smuggler. Lab Table is an additional step that makes Crystalline Powder, which goes to the Fence as inventory. Processing further changes both the output quantity question and the delivery workflow.

After the reactor finishes, move the concentrate to a free freezer position. After freezing, take the Hard Crystals as cargo. Deliver the cargo to the Smuggler, complete the sale and collect the payment from the van. If you choose the optional Lab Table route, check the actual powder output before comparing its total sale with the crystal you would give up.

A full freezer is a capacity problem, not a reason to assume the reactor failed. Clear a completed output or prepare another eligible freezer position before committing more reagent.

Higher reactors provide more, shorter cycles. Three rarity-improving attachments can coexist, so quality improvements and station progression are separate planning decisions. Inspect the reactor table for the tier you can research and buy.

Freezer tiers hold four, six or eight concentrates. Evaporator and refrigerant improvements both accelerate freezing and can be installed together. Laboratory Scales attach to the Lab Table and are tier-II stock. If the freezer is full, another quality attachment does not itself create more freezer space.

The rarity table values frozen crystals at three times equivalent concentrate. That tells you a relationship between those two listed outputs; it does not deduct reagent, machinery, protection or delivery costs.

Powder yield per crystal is unknown. A large powder unit price cannot prove crushing beats selling crystals until you know how many units come out. Keep that comparison unresolved rather than assuming one crystal becomes one powder or any other quantity.

Interrupting production drops cargo and loses reagent already inside the reactor. Active smoke reveals the laboratory to other players. The building starts at only 3 defence with six fuse slots, so protection matters alongside machinery.

Cargo follows normal handling rules: drawing a weapon drops it and Police can confiscate it while transported. Prepare storage, carrying capacity and the buyer before committing a batch. More output on the table is not income until it survives delivery.