Anelina and Robin were startled by his roar and stumbled backward in a panic. Robin bellowed even louder, “What are you shouting for? We are volunteers with the right to protect our own interests; what gives you the right to tell us to get out?”
Anelina’s eyes reddened with tears, and she said indignantly, “Exactly! We have not done anything wrong; we were just asking a few questions. You can be angry if you want, but you have no right to scold us!”
Even Will looked startled, glancing at Jiang Fanxing with confusion. While Anelina’s comments were indeed outrageous—leaving him feeling both angry and disappointed—he thought it was perhaps too harsh to just tell them to get out.
Jiang Fanxing suppressed his murderous intent, staring coldly at the three people who disapproved of him. At that moment, he felt nothing but total disillusionment with Will. He had known since he was a child that not all parents loved their children. His own parents had been like this, and this couple was no different. To them, a child was merely a tool to demonstrate parental authority. Children were expected to obey; they were not allowed a shred of defiance. If the child failed to meet their expectations, their first instinct was not to educate or nurture, but to deem the child unworthy. Perfection was expected, and any imperfection was unforgivable. Some people were simply not fit to be parents.
Jiang Fanxing turned away from the couple and spoke to Will. “Will, you have disappointed me, both in your choices and your values. Our cooperation ends here. Goodbye.”
Seeing Jiang Fanxing turn to leave, Will panicked and rushed to stop him. “Mr. Niu, wait! Please give me another chance. I will send them away right now and find a new volunteer couple.”
Anelina and Robin were incensed. “Mr. Will, how can you do this? We have already signed a contract. This is a breach of the law!”
Will cursed them internally for causing him trouble, his gentle facade shattering into pure rage. “Shut your mouths! I told you not to do anything unnecessary. You breached the contract first. Not only am I terminating our agreement, I am going to make you pay for the damages!”
Anelina and Robin panicked. “It was not our fault! We were just asking questions!”
Will made an angry phone call, ordering security to come up and remove the couple. “Do not talk to me; talk to my lawyers.” The couple tried to play the emotional card, “Will, we are your…” but before they could finish, a group of bodyguards rushed in, muffled their mouths, and dragged them away.
Jiang Fanxing watched the infighting coldly, remaining silent. Afterward, Will apologized profusely, looking utterly ashamed. “I am truly sorry, Mr. Niu. They are actually my cousin and her husband. Everything that happened was because of my own bias, and I will pay the price for my actions. Please, give me another chance.”
A flicker of disgust crossed Jiang Fanxing’s eyes. He had held a degree of respect for Will, but this man’s lack of judgment had severely damaged his image. Over the past two days, he had researched this world online and knew that Will Technology was the largest, most powerful corporation in the world. Even if he wanted to find someone else to perform the surgery, no one would dare to take the job if it meant crossing Will.
Suppressing his revulsion, Jiang Fanxing said coldly, “I hope so. My temper is not good. If this happens a second or third time, even a saint would lose his patience.”
Will turned red, stammering apologies and swearing that such an absurd situation would never happen again. With that, they moved on. Will quickly contacted another couple he had previously vetted and told them to rush to the lab for surgery. That couple, Yalin and Toby, had thought they would never have the chance to bring life into the world, only for the situation to turn around. They agreed joyfully and rushed to Will Technology, crossing paths with the evicted Anelina and Robin in the hallway.
The couple left in disgrace, glaring with hatred and jealousy at the joyful pair. That opportunity should have been theirs, but now it was benefiting someone else. Anelina could not accept the result and sobbed. “Honey, why did this happen? We did nothing wrong. Why did Will and that Mr. Niu kick us out?”
Robin was even angrier. He had always craved children of his own, and now that the chance had slipped through his fingers, he gnashed his teeth in hatred. He tried to control his expression as he glared at the Will Technology building, patting Anelina’s shoulder while trying to comfort her and himself: “Just wait. I will not let them get away with this.”
Anelina sobbed, “Yes, I believe in you, honey.”
They had intended to go to Will’s parents to beg for intervention, but on the way, they bumped into a group of people.
Two days ago, Xie Yunqing and his three teammates had entered the small rift behind Jiang Fanxing. When they regained their senses, they found themselves standing in front of a tavern. They were dressed in plain clothes, with their weapons either hidden beneath their garments or tucked away in their backpacks. To any observer, they looked like a group of travelers. The tavern owner, assuming they wanted a drink, welcomed them inside. Xie Yunqing signaled to his team, and they entered. Lacking local currency, Xie Yunqing traded one of his military knives for cash to buy each of them a drink, and under the cover of the environment, they quietly began gathering information. They soon learned that the world was gripped by a fertility crisis.
Xie Yunqing and his team fell silent. After emerging from the first rift world, the government had monitored it until it slowly closed, causing no further damage to reality. This confirmed that closing the rifts and saving the worlds was indeed the path to protecting their own home. Through collective brainstorming and systematic analysis, they concluded that to close a rift, they had to help the humans inside resist their doomsday crisis. This was still a hypothesis, however, and required further verification, which was their primary mission for this new rift.
Therefore, learning that no newborn had been born in this world for over 100 years left them speechless. If their hypothesis was correct, the only way to close this rift and leave was to help these people regain their reproductive capability and ensure the survival of their species. But this was far beyond their ability to solve! Even Zhou Peng, who had some medical knowledge, specialized in emergency trauma, not research. Zhang Zhiyuan remained silent, as usual.
Lin Zihan smiled bitterly. “Are they suggesting we have children here?”
Zhou Peng choked on his drink. “Do not even think about it. We likely have reproductive isolation between our worlds.”
Xie Yunqing spoke up suddenly: “Stop talking nonsense. Watch what you say.”
Lin Zihan clamped her mouth shut, and Zhou Peng pouted, staying silent. Xie Yunqing took a fake sip of his drink. “Tomorrow, we will go out to shop and gather essential supplies.”
“Understood.”
Over the next two days, they pretended to shop while scouting the city, eventually learning about the world’s advanced medical technology. Zhou Peng fell in love with this world; it was a physician’s paradise. The serums were one thing, but he was particularly enamored with the equipment—surgical robots, chemical analyzers, and electron scanners far exceeded anything in reality. If he had this equipment and his own evolved hands, he would be invincible; he could snatch anyone back from the jaws of death. Lin Zihan coveted the various beauty serums, though she could not afford them, and Zhang Zhiyuan was thrilled to hear about the existence of cancer-treatment serums. Xie Yunqing was similarly stunned by the medical level of this world. Recalling the rewards from the previous world, he felt an urge to solve this crisis quickly. If they succeeded, they might obtain some of these serums and technologies.
But he soon calmed himself. The mission in this world was too difficult; it was highly probable they would fail. If they did, they might die in this world, never to return to reality. At that moment, he remembered the person he had encountered in the previous world. Did his return to the rift mean he knew how to save this world’s population? Otherwise, why would he take the risk twice?
Today, they appeared in front of Will Technology by chance. Xie Yunqing looked sternly at Zhou Peng, who had wandered off on his own. “Do you realize how dangerous that behavior was? Leaving the team without permission is a serious disciplinary offense!”
Zhou Peng looked unfazed. “But I did not do anything wrong; I did not affect anyone.” He only wanted to see the company that invented those serums. What was there to be angry about?
Xie Yunqing’s face darkened. Lin Zihan and Zhang Zhiyuan knew that Xie Yunqing was a retired special forces soldier who lived by military code. Since they were volunteers from various walks of life and not soldiers, they felt his requirements were too strict.
Lin Zihan interceded for Zhou Peng: “Captain, do not be angry. Zhou Peng is fine, and nothing bad happened. Give him another chance.”
Zhang Zhiyuan added, “It was a small matter. Let us all take a step back.”
Xie Yunqing looked at the three of them, feeling a headache coming on. This world was peaceful, but if they remained this undisciplined, they would eventually pay a price. Yet, he knew that if he humiliated Zhou Peng now, it would only alienate the other two members, making them even less obedient.
He looked deeply at the three of them. “Let this be the last time.” He would not let Zhou Peng’s insubordination slide; if they returned to reality, he would ensure the man faced the consequences. After settling the matter, Lin Zihan pleaded, “Captain, let us go inside.” She wanted to see the beauty serums and their price tags, even if just to let the idea go. Xie Yunqing nodded in agreement.
Before they could reach the door, they bumped into Anelina and Robin.
Anelina muttered, “Those reproductive organs must be mine. I will be the first person in this world to become pregnant.”
Robin whispered, “Just wait. We are going to find Will’s parents and stop them from proceeding with the surgery.”
Xie Yunqing had excellent hearing. After catching the word “pregnancy,” he immediately became alert. “Wait.”