Had Qin Zhen not been so distraught upon his arrival, he naturally would have heard the nurse’s reminder regarding the surveillance cameras in the pre-delivery room.
Unfortunately, he did not.
After catching a glimpse of the full-length mirror by the door, his only thought was to find the location of the gestation sac that had caused him such humiliation. He stripped off his clothes in a matter of seconds. Comparing himself to the location of a female uterus, he reasoned that if a male had a gestation sac, it should be located in a similar area.
He kneaded his lower abdomen inch by inch. He could not find a gestation sac, nor could he even feel the massive combat beast egg that had burrowed into his body.
Qin Zhen suddenly recalled the pain he felt after boarding the dropship and taking his seat. He wondered if the gestation sac grew in the buttocks.
As a straight man, he rarely paid attention to his own backside. If an extra organ truly had grown there, it would not be unusual to have missed it. Furthermore, according to the Fusion Manual, combat beasts are conceived in the abdomen and birthed from the rear.
The more Qin Zhen thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
And so, he spread his legs, bent over, wrapped his arms around his calves, and struggled to tuck his head between his thighs.
“Nothing here.”
He wondered if it might be in the gluteal cleft.
Pondering this, he straightened up, twisted his neck to its absolute limit, and spun in circles in front of the mirror many times.
In the Observation Hall, the Dean’s aged face was full of awkwardness, and Ding Xiaoyi’s expression was mortified. Most terrifying of all was Supreme Commander Cang Bai. His pale, calm face and steady gaze remained fixed on the surveillance screen, making his mood impossible to decipher.
“I have it! He is doing yoga!”
Except for Cang Bai, the other two snapped their gazes toward Lu Yanqiu.
Lu Yanqiu realized too late how impulsive her outburst had been. Qin Zhen’s resume was so inspiring that she truly could not bear to see him disciplined for something like this.
She had no choice but to double down. She pressed her hands down in the air, mimicking Qin Zhen’s earlier bending motion.
“Qin Zhen was unconscious in the fusion field for a long time, and then he sat on a starship for three consecutive hours. He probably felt his joints were too stiff while preparing for a shower, so he is using this yoga pose to stretch his muscles and bones.”
Before she could finish, Ding Xiaoyi asked coldly, “And now?”
On the screen, the man was spinning in circles with his head twisted in an awkward position.
Lu Yanqiu replied, “He is dancing ballet.”
“Ballet? A grown man, naked in front of a mirror at night, dancing ballet?”
“Yes. While ballet might not stretch the muscles the same way, the light footwork can verify if the body has been stretched properly.”
With the Supreme Commander present, Lu Yanqiu’s fabrication lacked any real conviction.
If not for the vibration of his communicator, Qin Zhen, who still had not found his gestation sac, might have kept spinning like a top indefinitely.
The call was from Xiao Hua. In fact, he had called several times before, but Qin Zhen had not been in the right headspace to answer. Having exerted himself and recovered some spirit, he realized his brothers would worry if he did not pick up now.
Qin Zhen went to the bathroom, wrapped himself in a towel, and answered.
“The Captain picked up!”
As soon as Xiao Hua shouted, the screen was immediately crowded by four faces.
“Boss! You finally answered. We thought something happened to you!”
“The few of us were ready to take leave and buy tickets to find you!”
“I told them that with the Boss’s strength, he would definitely be fine! How about it, Boss? Was the fusion successful?”
As the question was asked, the four teammates stared straight at the camera, putting heavy pressure on Qin Zhen.
Having lived through two lifetimes, Qin Zhen was nearly ten years older than these teammates in terms of mental age. He had always viewed himself as the Big Brother, carrying the responsibility of looking after his younger siblings. Consequently, this pressure quickly transformed into motivation, bringing him fully back to life.
“It was a success,” Qin Zhen replied with a smile, pointing a thumb at himself. “Your Boss found a giant egg, the likes of which have never been seen before and will never be seen again!”
“How giant?”
“As big as both your arms wrapped around it. You tell me, is that giant?”
“Giant! That is way too giant!”
“Boss is bragging, right? How could there be a beast egg that big?”
“When has the Boss ever lied to us? If he says it exists, it exists!”
“True, true. An egg that big. I really want to see what it looks like with my own eyes! Boss, can I come visit?”
“I want to watch the Boss give birth to the combat beast, too!”
“Get out of here. What are you dreaming about? Do you think the Central Legion’s Gestation Center is a place you can just visit whenever you want? Did Xiao Hua not check? No visitors are allowed during the gestation period, only after the birth!”
The teammates chattered away. Their familiar rowdiness gradually infected Qin Zhen, making his slightly stiff smile more natural.
Suddenly, Xiao Hua’s hesitant voice came through, causing the others to fall silent simultaneously.
“Captain, you do not look very happy. Is something on your mind?” Xiao Hua was always more sensitive than the others. “You mentioned finding the egg, but you did not mention the fusion. Did something go wrong with the fusion?”
Qin Zhen’s smile froze. He quickly flipped the camera to show them the room.
“Of course nothing went wrong. If the fusion was not successful, how could I be staying in a pre-delivery room at the Gestation Center? It is just”
He flipped the camera back. The smile had vanished from his face. After a moment of thought, he decided to tell his teammates the truth. After living and dying together for so many years, if he could not even open up to these brothers, he would have been a Big Brother in vain.
“Do you guys know about gestation sacs?”
The teammates looked at each other. Old Pan nodded. “Yes, we know. Why the sudden question, Boss?”
Heat rushed to Qin Zhen’s face again. He steeled himself. “I tested positive for a gestation sac!”
There was a moment of silence on the other side of the lens.
Xiao Hua’s weak voice rang out, “Actually, I have a gestation sac too. It is normal, Captain. Many people in the Legion have them; they just do not talk about it.”
“Xiao Hua, you have a gestation sac?” Jiang Chang, always the joker, grinned. “Let us not let the good stuff go to outsiders. You are so handsome, why do you not have a baby for me?”
“Go to hell!”
Xiao Hua delivered a sharp elbow strike, making Jiang Chang cry out in pain.
Old Pan was the oldest and most steady of the group. Whenever Qin Zhen faced a difficult problem, he often sought Old Pan’s advice. He clearly saw the embarrassment Qin Zhen was struggling with and kicked Jiang Chang.
“Stop messing around,” Old Pan said, looking into the camera. “Boss, to be honest, I have a gestation sac too.”
“You too?” Qin Zhen was shocked. “Then your kid”
“My wife gave birth to him, not me,” Old Pan laughed. “So, whether a man has a gestation sac or not is not a big deal. It is just an extra organ in the body; it does not affect getting married or having children.”
“Also,” Jia Yuzhe added immediately, “I heard that people with gestation sacs have a natural advantage when it comes to fusing with and gestating combat beasts.”
“What kind of advantage?”
“I do not know the specifics. I just overheard some guys from the Combat Beast Legion chatting during a mission once.”
That settled it. The Combat Beast Legion were veterans; they would not spread groundless rumors.
Qin Zhen finally moved past the hurdle in his heart, feeling deeply grateful to the brothers on the screen. At the same time, he felt guilty. He had actually considered whether or not to leave his brothers behind to stay in the Central Sector. He should not have even entertained the thought.
He would definitely give birth to this combat beast properly and go back to reach the pinnacle of life with his brothers.
“Do not worry about me, and do not come to visit. Travel is very expensive. Gestating a combat beast only takes a few days. With recovery and training, I will be back in a month at most!”
“Alright, we will be waiting to throw you a welcome-back party!”
After hanging up, Qin Zhen took a quick shower, then opened his communicator again and went straight to the forums.
It was said that the Combat Beast Legion had a dedicated military forum for exchanging experiences, but it was closed access. Gestators who had just fused with an egg did not have access permissions.
Qin Zhen logged into a civilian forum for combat beast enthusiasts.
After searching, he skimmed through many posts related to gestation sacs. He was enlightened, yet also somewhat surprised.
He was enlightened because the gestation sac was indeed an indispensable organ in the process of gestating a combat beast. People without one needed to undergo a gestation sac transplant within 48 hours of a successful fusion, which was a rushed and painful process.
In comparison, those born with a gestation sac not only avoided the pain of a transplant but could also provide more direct and comprehensive nutrition to the young beast. The gestation speed was significantly increased, and the resulting combat beasts were often stronger, with a tighter mental link to their masters.
This was not an organ to be ashamed of; it was a powerful advantage.
As for his surprise, Qin Zhen found it strange. He had dreamed of owning a combat beast and had been browsing this forum for years; how had he never noticed posts related to gestation sacs?
It must have been his male ego at work.
“This is the interstellar era; that backward mindset from Earth will not do!”
He reached a conclusion. After a moment of self-reflection, he looked around smugly. Seeing no one in the room, he pushed open the window, wanting to shout to the heavens that he really was the chosen one.
Of course, he restrained himself.
This was the Central Legion Gestation Center, also known as the Empire’s Heart of Hope, and it was heavily guarded. On one hand, he could not be reckless. On the other, this place was full of hidden talents, and he could not let his guard down too easily.
Everything would have to wait until the ancient divine beast in his belly was born.
Qin Zhen rubbed his stomach affectionately and gazed at the night view outside. The lights of the row upon row of buildings were brilliant. Above the architecture, a starship was accelerating like a meteor streaking upward against the current, piercing the clouds.
This was a small, unmanned warship. There was only one man and one snake inside the cabin, and it was very quiet.
Dim light flickered across Cang Bai’s face, leaving his expression unreadable. However, from his pulse and heartbeat, the White Python could feel that he was as composed as ever.
His tone was the same.
“Are you certain you did not sense any energy traction?”
His combat beast was unique.
Generally speaking, although a combat beast and its master share a connection of minds, they are physically separate and independent. But the White Python could merge into Cang Bai’s body, discarding its massive serpentine form to become a white tattoo extending from his arm to his left chest.
The number of such combat beasts was extremely small, and their method of releasing reproductive urges was entirely different from ordinary beasts.
Ordinary beasts only need to find interstellar species of the same category to release their desires; the laws of the universe provide natural reproductive isolation. However, when this type of combat beast experiences reproductive urges, it follows instinct to merge into its master’s body, soothing the urge through the master’s actions.
Therefore, at that time, the White Python was merely a tattoo on Cang Bai. Cang Bai was the medium for it to release its urge, and the object of that release could naturally only be Qin Zhen, who was also human.
This brought about a lethal hidden danger, the failure of reproductive isolation.
The White Python’s genes entered Qin Zhen’s body through Cang Bai’s fluids. If Qin Zhen possessed a gestation sac, it would be extremely easy for him to conceive the White Python’s offspring. The offspring would have an incredibly strong connection to the White Python; regardless of distance, it would continuously drain the White Python’s power until the White Python withered and died.
Simply put, under the constraints of universal law, the offspring would replace the White Python as the only existence of its kind in this interstellar world.
Because of this, after Cang Bai used the White Python’s genes to obliterate the young beast inside Qin Zhen, he had the White Python inject venom into Qin Zhen to purge the injected genes and eliminate future trouble.
By all logic, Qin Zhen should have been deported back to the colonial planet due to a failed fusion, yet here he was at the Gestation Center.
Cang Bai had seen the energy detection records. Though weak, there was indeed an exotic beast energy fluctuation. But to say Qin Zhen’s fusion was successful was too absolute; after all, the White Python could not sense any energy traction from an offspring.
“How many times do I have to repeat it for you to understand? I said there is not any, so there is not.”
The White Python was as impatient as ever. “With such a weak energy fluctuation, there are only two possibilities. Either the little soldier has residual exotic beast energy on him that will dissipate in a few days, or we underestimated our opponent and lost once.”
“Lost?”
“One mountain cannot hold two tigers. My genes fought that young beast for the little soldier’s gestation sac and failed to win. Is that not losing? If that is the reason, then that young beast is formidable. Not only did it defeat my descendants, but it also had the ability to withstand my venom. If it was not poisoned into a cripple, it will be a force to be reckoned with in the future.”
The starship passed through the artificial atmosphere and entered space.
The various planets and star-lands of the Central Sector reflected in Cang Bai’s eyes. The originally vivid colors were veiled by a thin mist, making those eyes appear deeper and more solitary.
He had naturally thought of the possibilities the White Python suggested, but was that truly the case?
If it were true, and if Qin Zhen could truly add a powerful combat beast to the Empire, then the Beast Empire would stand even more firmly in the volatile interstellar landscape. And he, having held the torch high for a century, could finally pass it to a successor.
But if not, a flash of coldness flickered in those eyes.
He opened his communicator and dialed his adjutant’s number. “Cancel all schedules for tomorrow afternoon. Change them to the Gestation Center.”