The starship was large enough to accommodate over one hundred people. The cabin was so spacious that Lu Yanqiu had to use a megaphone to ensure her voice reached every Fuser.
Her soft, elegant voice continuously called out the seat numbers of those with raised hands. The male soldiers in those seats called back their names for her to check off on her documents.
Out of more than fifty male soldiers, half of them actually possessed a gestation sac.
After recording the last person to raise their hand, Lu Yanqiu spoke again. “For the male soldiers who did not raise their hands, are you certain that no male elders within three generations of your family had a gestation sac? Activating the gestation sac gene is much more convenient and less painful than a transplant.”
“Of course I am sure, Doctor Lu,” one male soldier shouted. “From my mother to my great-grandmother, they are all female. There is no way I carry the gestation sac gene.”
Doctor Lu gave a slight smile. Her gaze suddenly landed on Qin Zhen’s face. “What about you, Qin Zhen?”
Qin Zhen had not yet recovered from his shock and answered subconsciously, “I grew up in an orphanage. I do not know anything about my parents.”
As soon as he said this, everyone’s eyes converged on him again, filled with surprise.
The Interstellar Union advocated for equality, but the existence of War Beasts and Beast Soldiers meant that all citizens were destined to be divided into social classes. Those from affluent backgrounds, no matter their current profession, almost always had ancestors connected to War Beasts.
This class disparity influenced education, resulting in 99% of the students admitted to the Imperial Military Academy relying more on family support than pure individual ability. An orphan with zero background getting into the Imperial Military Academy was not impossible, but it was definitely as rare as a phoenix feather.
Furthermore, the Fusion Operation required two criteria to qualify. First, the candidate must hold a rank of at least Private Third Class. Second, their military merit points must reach at least one thousand.
Looking at him, Qin Zhen was only in his early twenties. It was impressive enough for an orphan to get into the military academy on his own, but to rise to Third Class and amass a thousand merit points at such a young age was incredible.
For a moment, the other Fusers present, who were mostly descendants of wealthy families, were completely stunned. Their faces showed genuine admiration.
Lu Yanqiu possessed the resumes of all the Fusers, so she was well aware of Qin Zhen’s background. It was out of kindness that she singled him out. By letting everyone know how capable Qin Zhen was, she hoped to restore his image so he would not become the laughingstock of the Gestation Center.
Taking in everyone’s reactions, Lu Yanqiu smiled with satisfaction and continued to address Qin Zhen. “I know you were an orphan and are not sure of your mother’s sex. I just wanted to confirm if you have ever had a gestation sac screening.”
“Hahaha! Hahahaha!”
Qin Zhen’s sudden outburst of laughter startled Lu Yanqiu.
“What are you laughing at?”
“You are joking, Doctor Lu. You are really funny! Hahaha!” Qin Zhen continued to use laughter to mask his embarrassment. “How could a big man like me have something like a gestation sac?”
According to Doctor Lu, if he had the gene, it would mean the parents he had never met also had them. To put it more bluntly, it would mean his mother was not a woman, but a man. Furthermore, it would mean that he himself could give birth. Qin Zhen could not accept this premise under any circumstances.
However, his reaction struck the starship’s Interstellar natives as bizarre.
“Why would it not be possible? So many people raised their hands.”
“If men could not give birth, the interstellar birth rate would never recover. Do you not know such basic common sense?”
A female soldier added, “Did your parents never teach you that a boy away from home needs to guard against fire, theft, and his brothers? If you get slept with by a brother, you could end up pregnant.”
“He is from an orphanage! He is an orphan!” the person next to her quickly interrupted.
Even if these comments were meant as lighthearted teasing, they helped Lu Yanqiu realize why Qin Zhen’s reaction was so strange. It was because he was an orphan. If he had parents, he likely would have received private warnings during his teenage years just like many others. A boy away from home must learn to protect himself.
Lu Yanqiu gestured for silence and smiled at Qin Zhen again. “It is okay if you do not know. I happened to bring a test strip. A quick test will tell us if you have the gene.”
She opened her portable medical kit and took out a long white strip with two indentations. The top indentation was circular, while the middle one was a rectangular slot containing a white strip of paper. The moment he saw the device, Qin Zhen felt his blood rush to his face. He was so mortified he wanted to crawl under his seat.
This was essentially a pregnancy test. In front of everyone, they wanted a grown man to use a pregnancy test.
Seeing Doctor Lu hand the strip over, he snapped back reflexively, “I cannot pee right now!”
Lu Yanqiu froze again, then realized his misunderstanding. Suppressing a smile, she said, “It is not a urine test. It is a blood test. Just put a drop of blood into the sample hole. If you do not have the gene, only one red line will appear. If you do, two lines will show. You will know the result in two minutes.”
Qin Zhen understood, but his embarrassment only deepened. Somehow, this farce was spiraling out of control. Eager to end the awkwardness and prove his innocence, he snatched the test strip. “Fine, I will test it.”
Ignoring the blood-sampling needle Doctor Lu offered, he bit his index finger and squeezed a drop of blood into the sample hole.
“Do you think he will test positive for a gestation sac?”
“Who knows? You cannot tell just by looking at someone.”
“I think he has it. Did you notice? Even though he is tall and tanned, his facial features are very delicate. It would be a waste if such excellent genes did not produce children.”
Though it was meant as a compliment, the words made Qin Zhen grit his teeth. He considered himself a legendary protagonist who was about to conquer the sea of stars. How could a legend give birth? How could he have a gestation sac?
Qin Zhen stared fixedly at the display area, desperate to use the result to prove everyone wrong. His silence spread through the cabin until the entire ship fell quiet.
Amidst the faint roar of the engines, the seconds ticked by. Finally, a faint red line appeared on the snow-white display. Qin Zhen confirmed it several times to make sure he was not seeing things. Excited, he leaped from his seat, completely forgetting he had unbuckled his safety lock, only to be yanked back down by the seatbelt.
Yet, he still held the strip high. “One line! It is one line! I do not have a gestation sac!”
The cabin was silent. The lighting was dim, and no one could see the tiny display clearly.
Lu Yanqiu leaned in for a look and nodded. “Congratulations, Qin Zhen. You have a gestation sac. You will not need a transplant.”
“Like I said, I could not possibly have,” Qin Zhen froze, his brain trailing a beat behind her words. “What did you say?”
A second red line had appeared in the display area. It had lagged thirty seconds behind the first and was currently turning from a faint pink to a deep, blood red.
A cheer erupted in the cabin. Qin Zhen was dumbfounded. He slumped in his seat with his legs splayed. His mouth was trembling and he was unable to close it for a long time.
A legend can give birth? His world had collapsed.
The blow was so heavy that Qin Zhen still had not recovered by the time the starship landed. As the nurses led the Fusers to their respective pre-delivery rooms, Qin Zhen remained in a daze.
Lu Yanqiu sensed the aura of grief radiating from him. Though she was baffled, she decided to escort him personally to Room 1069. Upon opening the door, she intended to offer some comfort, but Qin Zhen suddenly bolted inside and slammed the door shut.
“Qin Zhen, you”
“I am fine,” the man’s slightly choking voice came from behind the door. “Go about your business, Doctor Lu. I will not do anything rash.”
“Oh.” Lu Yanqiu thought that not needing surgery for a transplant was a good thing, so she could not understand why he would do something rash.
She shook her head and left. She had many things to handle upon her return. Besides, there were cameras in the pre-delivery rooms and security guards stationed on every floor. If Qin Zhen really did do something rash, someone would arrive instantly.
There was a full length mirror on the wall by the door. The mirror reflected a tall, upright man wrapped in a military uniform, wearing a look of utter despair. To be honest, Qin Zhen thought he had been quite handsome in his previous life, but compared to this life, there was no contest. After four years of military tempering, his reflection was even more heroic and masculine.
Someone like him was supposed to be a warrior. How could he have something like a gestation sac? He clenched his fists and violently ripped open his collar buttons.
Lu Yanqiu reached the Director’s office just as the Director was rushing out. Upon seeing her, he waved immediately. “Quick, come with me to welcome the Commander!”
There were several commanders in the Central Star Sector, but only one could be addressed simply as The Commander. This was the Supreme Commander of the Empire, Cang Bai.
Lu Yanqiu jogged to keep up. “Does the Commander not usually wait until the day after fusion to inspect?”
He had just been at the Fusion Grounds this morning, and now he was at the Gestation Center at night.
“Who knows,” the Director replied. “Given how much the Commander values the Fusion Operation, no action is surprising.”
“But the new Fusers just arrived. They have been exhausted all day and are not familiar with the environment. How can they receive an inspection?”
“Then we will welcome him to the Observation Hall first. Perhaps the Commander just wants to check on the status of the new Fusers.”
The Observation Hall was a surveillance hub located at the center of the Gestation Center complex. It was a vast circular hall where the inner walls were made of high definition screens, gathering feeds from the pre-delivery, recovery, training, and combat zones.
As soon as the Director made the tactful suggestion, Cang Bai nodded. Accompanied by Vice Commander Ding Xiaoyi, the group escorted Cang Bai into the Observation Hall. As expected, the Supreme Commander looked neither left nor right, walking straight toward the monitors for the pre-delivery zone.
Ding Xiaoyi and the Director exchanged a look, and the latter immediately instructed the operator to pull up the feeds for the new Fusers.
The wall was soon covered in a dense, orderly grid of squares showing the surveillance feeds for the 108 pre-delivery rooms. Ding Xiaoyi began reporting on the current Fusion Operation. Since the final results had already been reported by phone, this report was more detailed.
“A total of 108 participants in the 15,744th Fusion Operation, all from the individual soldier corps of the Empire’s seven star sectors. Among them are 57 males and 51 females. All fusions were successful.”
“All of them?” A cold voice interrupted the report. Cang Bai tilted his head to look at him. “Wasn’t there one soldier who failed?”
Ding Xiaoyi’s caught his breath. He suddenly realized he had miscalculated. The Supreme Commander had not heard the news of Qin Zhen’s success over the phone. He also realized why the Commander had not waited until tomorrow. He had come to settle accounts.
“He succeeded in the end,” Ding Xiaoyi said, secretly relieved. “After I finished reporting to you, energy fluctuations were detected from Qin Zhen. So, the fusion rate for this operation is 100%, not 99%. It was my error in reporting that interfered with your judgment.”
But his joy did not reach the Commander. Cang Bai lowered his gaze and looked back at the screen. “Pull up his feed.”
“Room 1069,” Lu Yanqiu whispered before the Director could ask. Memories of Qin Zhen’s dejected state upon arrival flashed through her mind, and she felt a sense of dread. He would not really do something rash, would he?
Lu Yanqiu grew tense. Among the dense grid of squares, one unremarkable small square was rapidly enlarged until it covered a massive section of the wall. This made the person on the screen appear much larger than the people outside, and as a result, it caused everyone to stop breathing simultaneously.
Lu Yanqiu gasped, covering her mouth. It was not that the scene was bloody, but rather that the giant image was an absolute eyesore. There was a naked man on the screen. He had his side to the camera, his legs splayed, and he was bending his waist forward to the absolute limit.
A deathly silence lasted for a moment before the Director sputtered, “He… he…” He choked on his own saliva, his face turning red from coughing.
Vice Commander Ding Xiaoyi was also red-faced, shouting in exasperation, “What is this bastard doing?”
From Cang Bai’s collar, a small python head poked out and flicked its tongue. Its long, sharp hiss sounded remarkably like a mocking whistle.
“Whoa, this little soldier is more flexible than me, and I am a snake. Would you not agree, Mr. Frigid?”