The Pharmaceutical Research Institute was located on the Capital Planet, so after A-Wu mailed out her pills, they did not reach the institute’s testing department until the next day.
The testing department received dozens, sometimes even hundreds, of pharmaceutical samples almost every day.
Most of them were medicines whose effects were uncertain. The people who made them simply filled in what they thought the medicine did, then paid to have the institute test them.
After all, once a medicine had the Pharmaceutical Research Institute’s signature and official seal, it had a legitimate and recognized origin, regardless of what its actual effects turned out to be.
Of course, the sender had to pay the postage and testing fees themselves.
Neither was cheap.
Poor A-Wu had emptied almost her entire savings just to scrape together enough money for the two fees.
The testing department was staffed by junior researchers from the institute. Two researchers worked together in shifts each day.
On this particular day, the researchers on duty were one man and one woman.
There were a total of eighty-four pharmaceutical samples.
After randomly dividing the workload between them, the two researchers began working.
As researchers, they took every sample extremely seriously and examined each one carefully.
A-Wu’s pill happened to be assigned to the male researcher, Tang Ke.
Since her medicine was stored in a porcelain bottle, it stood out among the countless pharmaceutical samples stored in test tubes.
Tang Ke tested all the medicines in test tubes first before finally picking up A-Wu’s bottle.
When he discovered that the medicine inside was solid, Tang Ke put on a pair of specially designed gloves and carefully poured the pill out.
The round, golden-brown pill gave off a unique fragrance.
Because Tang Ke was wearing a filter mask, he could not smell it.
However, he could clearly see the three silver patterns on its surface.
The three silver pill markings represented a high-quality third-grade pill.
This was the first time Tang Ke had ever seen this type of medicine.
He picked up the information form and glanced at it.
When he saw the stated effect of the medicine, his eyebrows immediately rose with interest.
Tang Ke took a small sample and placed it into the testing machine to analyze its exact effects and possible side effects.
He then took another small sample to analyze its ingredients.
By the time he finished, only two-thirds of the pill remained.
Even the most advanced testing equipment needed about fifteen minutes to determine the exact effects of a medicine.
Fifteen minutes later, the ingredient analysis finished first.
There were nineteen ingredients in total.
But nine of them were marked as unknown.
Looking at the long string of question marks on the screen, Tang Ke was stunned.
As a researcher, he encountered unknown things almost every day.
He knew very well how extensive the database of the institute’s testing equipment was.
That was precisely why the Pharmaceutical Research Institute had become one of the most respected names in the pharmaceutical field.
If even the institute’s equipment could not identify an ingredient, then it was either something the institute was currently researching…
or an ingredient that the Federation had not yet discovered.
Nine unknown ingredients appearing in a single medicine was astonishing.
Tang Ke became even more eager to see the results of the effects test.
Another fifteen minutes passed.
The results finally appeared.
Tang Ke immediately looked at the screen.
One column showed the effects claimed by the person who had submitted the medicine.
The next column showed the conclusion reached by the testing system.
Clearly displayed on the screen were the words:
Effect: Consistent with the stated claim.
Toxic or adverse effects: None.
That alone was enough to surprise Tang Ke.
But the final remarks section contained an even more shocking result:
Additional effect: This medicine may improve the user’s physical constitution, with an estimated probability of 87.56%.
Tang Ke was truly shocked this time.
The testing system was extremely precise.
If it gave an 87.56% probability, that essentially meant the medicine definitely possessed this effect.
The only uncertainty was how strong the effect would be.
The results were complete.
No matter how shocked he was, Tang Ke still finished all the required procedures.
He entered the name and stated effects of A-Wu’s medicine into the pharmaceutical certificate, along with the additional effect discovered by the testing system.
Finally, he stamped it with his official work seal and signed his name:
Tang Ke.
Following standard procedure, Tang Ke mailed the pharmaceutical certificate out.
After finishing all his work, he immediately contacted his mentor, Lin Zong.
Lin Zong was one of the leading researchers at the Pharmaceutical Research Institute.
His main field was human genetic engineering.
Recently, he had been researching genetic mutations in babies developed through artificial external gestation.
Over the past few years, the Federation had discovered an increasing number of babies who developed genetic mutations after being born through external gestation.
Not only did some of them have problems awakening their innate abilities, but new and incurable genetic diseases were also appearing with alarming frequency.
These cases were scattered across hundreds or even thousands of star systems throughout the Federation.
Individually, they were easy to overlook.
But when all the cases were gathered together and compared with data from several years earlier, the situation was frightening.
Lin Zong had received this research project the previous year.
After nearly a year of research, his only significant conclusion was that babies carried inside the mother’s body had a much lower probability of developing genetic diseases.
Other than that, he had made almost no progress.
Lin Zong had just turned fifty that year.
He was a mental-type ability user whose main talent was enhanced brain function.
His outstanding achievements in his field were closely related to his ability.
Ability users generally lived for more than three hundred years, and as a high-level ability user, Lin Zong’s lifespan would be even longer.
At only fifty, calling him a young genius would not be an exaggeration.
Lin Zong was obsessed with unraveling the mysteries of the unknown.
Whenever he researched something, it was purely because he was curious.
This project was no exception.
He did not have some noble dream of increasing the Federation’s birth rate.
He was simply fascinated by all kinds of strange genetic mutations.
The longer he failed to find useful conclusions, the more obsessed Lin Zong became.
Recently, he had practically been living in the laboratory, sometimes spending an entire month there without leaving.
His students and assistants, however, were becoming increasingly anxious.
They were worried that working at such an intense pace for so long would damage his health.
After all, more than one researcher at the institute had worked themselves to death in the laboratory.
Tang Ke looked at the testing report containing nine unknown ingredients.
He had a feeling that this time, he could finally lure his mentor out of the laboratory!
Once he made up his mind, Tang Ke immediately called Lin Zong.
At that moment, Lin Zong had just finished an experiment.
He was instructing his assistants to prepare the materials for the next experiment when he received a call from his youngest student, Tang Ke.
Lin Zong answered.
Tang Ke’s image immediately appeared on the smart ring’s holographic screen, as clear as if he were standing right there.
“What is it?”
Lin Zong was as cold as usual.
Even toward his favorite student, he rarely showed a smile.
Tang Ke had long grown accustomed to his mentor’s aloof personality.
There was no point in rambling and annoying him.
So he went straight to the point and explained that they had discovered nine unknown ingredients in a newly tested medicine.
After finishing, he secretly waited for his mentor’s reaction.
Tang Ke had been working under Lin Zong for four or five years.
Combined with Lin Zong’s mental ability, he immediately saw through Tang Ke’s little scheme.
Nine unknown ingredients were indeed very tempting.
But Lin Zong had no intention of putting aside his current experiment to investigate something else.
Lin Zong removed the antique glasses he usually wore more as decoration than for practical reasons.
A faint smile flashed across his eyes.
He knew that several of his students and assistants had been worried about him lately.
But he knew his own condition and had no intention of giving them what they wanted.
He slowly wiped his glasses before putting them back on.
Only then did he say to Tang Ke,
“When it comes to pharmaceuticals, Elder Gu and Elder Shi are the real experts. Send the information to them. If there’s nothing else, hurry back and help with the experiment. That’s all.”
With that, Lin Zong ended the call and immediately returned to his next experiment.
Tang Ke looked at the disconnected communication screen and pouted.
His mentor was obviously skilled in pharmaceuticals too!
Ah…
He had not expected that even nine unknown ingredients would fail to lure his mentor out of the laboratory.
What a pity!
Tang Ke stopped dwelling on it.
He directly forwarded the information to the two pharmaceutical experts at the institute, Elder Gu and Elder Shi.
Both of them were leading experts in pharmaceuticals.
Elder Gu in particular was currently researching ways to increase the natural pregnancy rate among humans.
He would surely be very interested in this medicine!
Tang Ke sent the report directly to the public email account of the pharmaceutical department.
The information clearly stated:
Medicine Name: Enchanting Fragrance
Effect: Increases the user’s sexual responsiveness and attracts members of the opposite sex within a ten-meter radius.
Additional Effect: 87.56% probability of improving the user’s physical constitution.
Yes.
The first pill A-Wu planned to sell was none other than the Enchanting Fragrance that was practically a must-have among the female disciples of Bixue Palace.
Although she had never used it herself, its popularity among the lower-level female disciples of the Hehuan Sect was enough to show how sought-after it was.
How many female cultivators from Bixue Palace had successfully won the attention of their dream men because of this pill?
Most importantly, the Enchanting Fragrance had absolutely no side effects.
It also did not affect a person’s mind, so there was no issue of anyone being forced against their will.
It was practically the perfect tool for Bixue Palace disciples looking for a one-night encounter!
In interstellar terms, its effect could be explained as stimulating the body’s natural hormone production.
It greatly increased the user’s attractiveness at the level of pheromones, thereby attracting members of the opposite sex nearby.
As for describing the medicine’s effects, A-Wu had really racked her brain.
At first, she had wanted to write something like:
“Take it and you’ll go into heat and attract the opposite sex.”
But in the end, she felt that sounded far too vulgar.
So she combined it with the original owner’s memories and carefully modified the wording until it became the more elegant description she had submitted.
That day, the public email account of the pharmaceutical department was being managed by Lin Lele, one of Elder Gu’s students.
Since she worked at the same research institute, she naturally had complete trust in the testing department’s results.
As soon as she received Tang Ke’s report, she excitedly notified her teacher, Elder Gu.
Elder Gu had been struggling with his research project recently.
Researchers at the institute often shared information and resources with one another.
He also knew that Lin Zong’s project had made little progress.
Its only major discovery had actually become one of the biggest obstacles in his own research.
Elder Gu had conducted countless experiments and tried every possible method to solve the problem of declining sexual desire among humans and increase the natural birth rate.
But after two years, the results had been minimal.
In this truly gender-equal interstellar era, both men and women could become pregnant.
All they needed was an artificial womb.
People could simply choose whether the father or the mother would carry the baby.
It was incredibly convenient.
Yet even so, the birth rate continued to decline every year.
If there was no love involved, who would be willing to endure ten months of pregnancy and spend so much energy carrying a child?
If the only purpose was reproduction, having a baby developed outside the body was enough.
After receiving the communication from his student, Elder Gu immediately realized how useful this medicine could be for his research.
He hurried out of the laboratory.
After confirming that the report was genuine, he immediately began studying the nine unknown ingredients.
When he discovered that even he could not identify them, he immediately told Lin Lele to contact the pharmacist who had submitted the medicine.
The commotion also attracted the attention of Elder Shi.
He was extremely curious about the nine unknown ingredients as well.
Fortunately, he had just finished another research project, so he joined Elder Gu’s team and began studying the mysterious medicine together with them.