After the lockdown was lifted, the Incubation Center did not encourage the candidates to leave the building, but they tacitly allowed them to stroll around the vicinity.
However, the sudden news of someone “showing” caused everyone to lose interest in wandering. Lunch lost its flavor, and no one could nap properly. As soon as the scheduled time arrived, they swarmed toward the activity room. A massive crowd squeezed into the reading room; those who could not fit pressed themselves against the door, straining their necks to catch a glimpse inside.
They were all there because the first and only candidate to show a pregnancy bump was sitting inside.
The reading room lacked tall bookshelves. Instead, the entire space was designed with comfortable features like gentle-sloped tatami mats and beanbag chairs. The books available were mostly introductory materials, such as children’s encyclopedias.
Two burly male nurses kept everyone at a two-meter distance. Clad in a white coat, Lu Yanqiu was softly inquiring about the situation. Peng Yunhan was her student and the first to show. Naturally, she was delighted.
“From the current perspective, the young beast is developing smoothly. Given your physical condition, you are fully capable of supporting the nutrients required for its growth.”
Hearing his mentor’s conclusion, the tall, sturdy soldier gently caressed his abdomen with his rough palm. In that fleeting moment of looking down, his entire being seemed enveloped in the glow of maternal love.
Had this been back in the army, everyone would have mocked him for being a “King Kong Barbie” or for acting unmanly. At this moment, however, no one felt like joking. Hundreds of eyes were filled with nothing but envy.
Lu Yanqiu seemed to have further matters to attend to, so she lowered her voice to ask for Peng Yunhan’s opinion. Peng Yunhan glanced at the spectating crowd, bit his lower lip, and knotted his head, his ears flushing deep red.
“Rest assured, it will not affect the young beast’s development. Doing this is also a necessary part of the beast-taming process.”
As she spoke, Lu Yanqiu turned around and smiled at the crowd.
“I know everyone is curious and has many questions. I will first briefly answer a few points that previous candidates have been concerned about.”
“First, Peng Yunhan is indeed the first candidate of our Class 15744 to show. Counting from the integration of the beast egg, it has been ten days. This timing is not particularly early, as there are many cases of showing within a week. It is also not too late. There are plenty of candidates who only show two or three months after integration. So, there is no need for everyone to be anxious.”
“Second, the most obvious sign of showing is a protrusion in the lower abdomen, but there are other symptoms as well. These include fatigue, somnolence, nausea, loss of appetite, and frequent urination. Once you experience similar symptoms, you must closely monitor changes in your abdomen and inform your mentors, doctors, and nurses the moment you notice you are showing.”
“Third, showing is a characteristic of the early stage of pregnancy. Incubating a war beast is similar to a normal pregnancy. It is divided into the early, middle, and late trimesters. The difference lies in the fact that the duration of these three stages varies greatly. For instance, it took ten days for Peng Yunhan to show, but if the young beast develops rapidly, he might give birth in just two or three days.”
“Generally speaking, however, the longer the incubation period, the longer each stage will last. Of course, every war beast being incubated is different, and anything can happen. Therefore, if you find yourself showing, you must inform the Incubation Center immediately to make full preparations.”
“That is all I wanted to say. If you have other questions, you may ask me or your mentors separately. Next,”
Lu Yanqiu’s pause made many people restless.
Noticing the eager expressions on their faces, she smiled slightly. “Peng Yunhan has agreed to let everyone observe his abdomen. Consider this a preliminary experience for the prenatal education course. Everyone, please line up and come one by one. Considering that Peng Yunhan should not be overworked, each person is limited to half a minute.”
As expected of well-trained soldiers, before she had even finished speaking, the chaotic crowd immediately shifted formation. They transformed from a disorganized mass into a coiled, spiral queue that extended all the way out of the reading room.
Lu Yanqiu smiled again. This class of candidates was more united and easier to manage than any she had ever seen.
She turned her head. “Yunhan, are you ready?”
However, she saw Peng Yunhan grab his collar. His arm muscles bulged, and with a loud rip, he tore off his maternity clothes. His muscular body was left wearing only a pair of white underwear.
“Come at me!” the soldier said in a deep voice, his flushed face filled with the spirit of sacrifice.
If this had happened in the past, Qin Zhen would have called the police immediately. A room full of people surrounding a muscular naked man? What was this? Were they not afraid the police would let them rot in jail?
But now, as a link in the spiral formation, he moved along with the line. He was almost drooling.
A young beast! A showing young beast!
The Goddess said that after showing, birth could happen very soon. By then, Peng Yunhan would be the first person in this batch to have a war beast! What a proud achievement that would be!
“Ni Hong, Ni Hong!”
Ni Hong was tapped on the shoulder. He turned around and unexpectedly met a pair of eyes flashing with a frantic red light, which gave him a fright.
“Switch with me. I am getting a bit impatient and thirsty.” Qin Zhen slurped back some saliva.
Ni Hong nodded hurriedly and retreated behind him. He exchanged a look with Leng Fei, who was lined up further back, with his face filled with alarm.
Leng Fei let out a silent, cold sneer.
Ni Hong saw the meaning behind that smile and could not help but say, “We probably thought wrong. Brother Qin is just like everyone else. It is his first time seeing someone showing, so he is just too excited.”
“So he is thirsty?” Leng Fei continued to sneer.
“Uh,” Ni Hong felt that Brother Qin’s reputation was likely beyond saving. To use a word as blunt as thirsty suggested that Brother Qin’s desires were indeed extreme.
One had to remember that he had just done something with Adjutant Qi this morning.
Ni Hong could not help but glance at Leng Fei again. It seemed Leng Fei’s analysis was correct. Adjutant Qi’s duration was too short and simply could not satisfy Brother Qin. Brother Qin only acted satisfied because of Adjutant Qi’s prominent status. It made sense; with a body as strong and sturdy as Brother Qin’s, that sort of thing should take at least half an hour.
Thinking of this, Ni Hong’s face turned beet red. He reflexively looked toward the outside of the reading room. The reading room had glass walls. He could only see the candidates lining up in the corridor. Aside from Lu Yanqiu, no other mentors were present.
“Why is your face red?” Leng Fei’s voice suddenly entered his ears.
“No! It is nothing.” Ni Hong quickly lowered his head.
With half a minute per person, the line moved at a steady pace. However, Qin Zhen waited with extreme anxiety, his hands uncontrollably rubbing his own lower abdomen. His belly was flat as always. When would he finally show?
He pondered this as he finally reached the innermost circle. Able to observe Peng Yunhan from a close distance, he immediately focused his attention.
The person whose turn it was happened to be a female soldier. Compared to the male soldiers who reached out to touch immediately, she was clearly much more reserved. She stared at Peng Yunhan’s stomach for a while first.
On the contrary, Peng Yunhan was too embarrassed to look at her. He lowered his head and clenched his fists.
Peng Yunhan had a large frame and superior physical condition. His body fat was not as low as Qin Zhen’s, and his lines were not as defined, but his muscle volume was quite exaggerated. Even with his arms hanging down, his deltoids and biceps were towering and bulging.
Similarly, his abdominal muscles were not flat. Instead of defined blocks, they looked more like swollen buns.
“Showing? Where exactly is it showing?” the female soldier asked with a frown.
“Here,” Peng Yunhan pointed to a certain spot.
No wonder the female soldier could not see it. The location of the male incubation sac was not at the abdominal muscles. Only when the showing reached a high degree, such as when gestating a human infant, would the bulging position gradually move upward to the abdomen.
As for Peng Yunhan, perhaps because the incubation period was still short or because the young beast itself was very small, the showing position was still below the abdominal muscles, mostly hidden by his waistband. That position was very close to another protrusion further down.
“You can try touching it. It is much harder than other places. You can feel it as soon as you touch it.” The tips of Peng Yunhan’s ears were almost bleeding red.
The female soldier was clearly not as informal as the others. She raised her hand to approach, then stopped a few centimeters away. Her hesitation made Qin Zhen impatient just watching.
Qin Zhen took a large step forward and urged the female soldier, “Touch it! He has already stripped naked for you to touch, and you are still not touching!”
Without waiting for a reaction, he reached out, grabbed Peng Yunhan’s waistband, and yanked it down.
Lu Yanqiu was standing nearby. Seeing things take a turn for the worse, she intended to stop him, but her speed was no match for Qin Zhen’s. By the time she reacted, not only was the showing location exposed, but parts that should not be seen were also laid bare.
Lu Yanqiu froze. The female soldier also froze. The candidates lining up around them widened their eyes.
Leng Fei and Ni Hong instantly locked eyes. The former curled his lips. The latter’s dull gaze slowly fell upon Qin Zhen.
It was the thing feared most: a sudden, deafening silence.