Within twenty-four hours, the news of Isabella's "miracle recovery" began to spread through the elite circles of Anambra and Lagos. Austin's phone, which used to only ring for telemarketers, was now buzzing every five minutes.
But with fame comes danger.
As Austin walked into his warehouse laboratory the next morning, he found the lock had been tampered with. His Eyes of Truth immediately scanned the room.
[WARNING: TRACE OF FOREIGN FINGERPRINTS DETECTED.]
[STATUS: ATTEMPTED THEFT.]
Thankfully, Austin had hidden the Ancient Moringa Essence in his System's digital storage, but someone had stolen his trash bins—they wanted the discarded vials to try and reverse-engineer his formula.
A silver Lexus pulled up to the warehouse. A man in a sharp blue suit stepped out. It was Mr. Benson, the owner of the largest chemical factory in Onitsha.
"Young man," Benson said, his eyes scanning the warehouse with greed. "I saw Isabella's face on the news. I'm a man of business. I'll give you ₦10,000,000 right now for the rights to that serum. You'll never have to work again."
Austin leaned against his workbench. "₦10,000,000? That wouldn't even cover the cost of the research for the next level of this medicine. The answer is no."
Benson's smile turned into a cold sneer. "Listen to me, boy. You're playing a dangerous game. You have a little 'magic water,' but you have no protection. If you don't sell to me, I'll make sure no shop in Nigeria stocks your products. You'll be crushed before you even start."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: NEW CHALLENGE ACTIVATED.]
[OBJECTIVE: DEFEAT THE RIVAL BUSINESSMAN.]
[REWARD: UNLOCKS 'SECURITY DRONE' BLUEPRINT.]
"Is that a threat?" Austin asked, his voice steady.
"It's a reality," Benson hissed. "By tomorrow, my company will release a 'Glow Serum' just like yours. Even if it's fake, my marketing will drown you out."
Austin checked his System screen. He noticed a small bottle of "rejected" serum on the table—a batch that had failed because it was too acidic.
"If you're so confident in your scientists, Mr. Benson, why did you send people to break into my warehouse last night to steal my trash?"
Benson turned pale. Austin didn't wait for an answer. "Go ahead and release your copycat product. But remember this: you can copy the bottle, but you can't copy the Divine."
As Benson drove off in a rage, Austin knew he needed to move fast. He needed to officially register his company and get his first batch of products to the people before Benson could play his next move.