Chapter Fifteen: Promotion.

Recently, while Lu Xia was busy with research at Institute One, the Fertility Research Institute was far from idle. Ever since receiving the “natural conception” signal alert, the entire institute convened an emergency meeting.

The meeting quickly divided into two opposing camps, engaging in heated debate.

One faction believed the event was a false alarm caused by a malfunction in the monitoring system.

The other was convinced that the monitoring system was flawless.

Despite their differences, all agreed on one thing: the system needed an upgrade.

Samson took this matter very seriously and personally urged the engineers to enhance the monitoring system, hoping that after the upgrade, they would receive the signal again to analyze its origin.

The significance of “natural conception” was simply too great for them to ignore.

Unfortunately, after the upgrade, the system remained silent, leaving even Samson to doubt whether his previous judgment had been mistaken.

Lu Xia, meanwhile, was unaware of the internal affairs at the Fertility Research Institute, as she was concentrating on screening volunteer information provided by the old steward.

These volunteers all bore varying degrees of scars—some large, some small; some light, some severe.

Selecting suitable candidates from thousands of photographs was no easy task, but Lu Xia never lacked patience.

Once chosen, Lu Xia would send the product to the volunteers along with a modest trial stipend, requesting that they document the fading of their scars daily.

This meant that the facial rejuvenation ointment still needed some time before it could be widely promoted.

However, Lu Xia was in no rush, fully understanding that this process was indispensable.

*

Mullen had once been a firefighter. During a particularly intense rescue, he suffered severe burns that disfigured half his face. Every day, he had to go out wearing a mask and hat—not wanting others to see him, not wanting to frighten anyone, and most of all, not wanting to face the disdain in others’ eyes.

His family tried countless methods to help him, utilizing every technique available in the Empire, yet the degree of restoration remained limited.

His face could never return to its original state.

When Mullen saw the volunteer recruitment notice from Institute One for the facial ointment, he initially had no interest. But the product’s claim—to remove scars and restore skin to its original state—briefly stirred a flicker of hope within him.

Yet deep down, he knew better. Over the years, he had tried countless scar removal products from various companies. Scar removal was nothing but a gimmick.

Sometimes, the more unattainable something is, the more one craves it. Even knowing it might be another fruitless endeavor, he couldn’t resist trying, nurturing unrealistic hopes, only to be met with despair again.

Having been deceived too many times, Mullen kept this attempt secret from his family and quietly registered as a volunteer on the LightNet, posting his photo.

He was soon approved, and the institute sent him the trial product along with the first month’s volunteer stipend—not a large sum, just the Empire’s standard market rate for trial medicines.

Money held little allure for Mullen; it was the ointment he cared about.

The moment he received the package, he eagerly opened it. The ointment, branded with Institute One’s mark, was pitch black inside, with a faint, pleasant scent.

With a mixture of curiosity and apprehension, Mullen applied some to his scarred skin.

According to the instructions, it needed to remain on for twenty minutes before rinsing off with warm water.

During those twenty minutes, Mullen felt no discomfort—rather, a clear, subtle comfort he couldn’t quite describe.

When the twenty minutes passed, he looked in the mirror again and noticed that the once opaque black ointment had gradually turned transparent.

After washing it off, the scarred area seemed, perhaps due to his own wishful thinking, somewhat faded.

He chuckled to himself, certain he must be delusional. Even if it worked, how could it be so fast? He had only used it once.

Suppressing that faint hope deep inside, Mullen uploaded his photo and turned off the lights to sleep.

The next morning, looking in the mirror again, he felt that the area was indeed smoother, and the discomfort he had long endured since the burn seemed to have eased.

This sparked a genuine hope within him. Perhaps it wasn’t an illusion—could the ointment really be effective?

He glanced again at the small bottle on the table, wondering if he’d truly lost his mind.

Many volunteers like Mullen had quickly used the trial samples as soon as they received them, uploading before-and-after comparison photos.

Lu Xia had calculated the timeline carefully: volunteers with mild scars could expect initial results in about three days; those with severe scars might see changes after a month; and within three months, most scars could be completely healed.

And indeed, three days later, volunteers with lighter scars posted updated photos showing their scars had visibly faded, with complete disappearance expected within a week.

Lu Xia was highly satisfied with the volunteers’ results.

Meanwhile, volunteers using Institute One’s facial ointment witnessed undeniable improvements over time.

Reports began to circulate online, initially shared within patient support groups—

“Dear family, I have good news. Recently, I joined the volunteer program for Institute One’s facial ointment. I’ve found their product surprisingly effective—not an advertisement, really not an advertisement. I’ve had a scar on my face for years that troubled me so much I always wore a mask outside. I’ve tried countless methods without success. This time, I only sought some psychological comfort by volunteering, but to my surprise, it actually works!

“Here are some pictures—before and after. This is after three days of use; you can clearly see the scar fading. And this is after one week—it’s gone, completely gone. I’m healed! Family, my hands are trembling as I type this because I’m overwhelmed with emotion. I want to recommend this ointment to everyone suffering like me. It’s not on sale yet, but dear family, once it’s released, trust me—buy it, buy it, buy it, no matter the price. It really works!”

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