A childcare specialist is both a mentor and an observer.
Every expectant parent who arrives at the Gestation Center is assigned to a childcare specialist. From gestation and birth to postpartum recovery and training, the presence of a childcare specialist is indispensable.
They are highly experienced and capable of guiding the expectant parents on how to adjust their physical and mental health to welcome the birth of the young beast in optimal condition. They also teach them how to communicate and cooperate with the young beasts, fostering a harmonious and tacit relationship between human and beast.
Just as one can judge a person’s character by their childhood, the same theory applies to young beasts. It can be said that the type of childcare specialist a combat beast encounters during its early growth, or even its gestation period, determines to some extent the heights that both the beast and its master can achieve in the future.
Naturally, individuals in such vital roles are no ordinary people.
Every childcare specialist either possesses a powerful background from an elite family or has an outstanding resume with an extraordinary future. As mentors to the expectant parents, besides raising the combat beasts, the resource advantages they can provide are immeasurable.
Therefore, competition among the expectant parents is inevitable.
From the perspective of the childcare specialists, it is also inevitable that they would choose excellent candidates with outstanding potential to cultivate.
“In my current state, I cannot even compare to those who need gestation sac transplants. I am afraid no childcare specialist will be willing to take me,” Ni Hong’s voice dropped in disappointment again.
“But did you not say that everyone must be assigned a childcare specialist? It is not as if they can just refuse to”
Qin Zhen’s voice cut off, and a sudden, intense light burst from his widening eyes. “I have it!”
“What?”
Qin Zhen gave a profound smile. “Put your heart back in your chest and follow me this afternoon. I guarantee that whichever childcare specialist is the best, that person will be your mentor.”
His confidence stemmed from a very simple principle: a parent’s status rises with the child.
Looking at the 15,744th class of expectant parents, whose egg was larger than his, and whose gestation sac was stronger than his? Even the Vice Commander and the Dean had personally visited him. It was clear how much weight he carried in the eyes of the high ranking officials.
Simply finding a childcare specialist for his newly recruited little brother should be an easy task.
The period from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM was lunch break, a luxury that a base level soldier could not even dream of. But Qin Zhen did not have time to enjoy it. He counted the minutes until 3:00 PM and immediately knocked on the door next door.
“Little Ni, follow me.”
The nickname came out of nowhere. It sounded close, yet felt strange, leaving Ni Hong a bit at a loss. At the thought that they were about to be assigned childcare specialists, he could not help but feel nervous and followed closely behind Qin Zhen.
It was said that the state of the fused beast egg is unstable in the early stages, and any accident or fright could lead to a young beast miscarriage. Therefore, the building where this batch of expectant parents stayed was isolated. Their daily lives, meals, examinations, and surgeries were all completed within this building.
The place for assigning expectant parents was the second floor activity room.
The activity room was equipped with some gentle entertainment facilities. Perhaps because everyone was nervous, they began exploring the place to distract themselves.
“A yoga room, a meditation room. Are you joking? With my iron arms and legs, can I really use these?”
“They must be prepared for the female soldiers.”
“Do not talk nonsense. We female soldiers prefer simulated combat cabins.”
“Oh, there is also a prenatal education room. Is this a bit too early?”
“What is early? Many people show a pregnancy bump in three days and give birth in a week. If anything, I am afraid there will not be enough time for prenatal education.”
“Wow, indoor snorkeling! I like this!”
There were many rooms, and as over a hundred expectant parents moved back and forth, the flow of people became dense. Qin Zhen did not notice it while eating, but he suddenly realized that the female soldiers were also there. Their pink gestation clothes had a ring of light lace around the cuffs and hem.
If not for the fact that the female soldiers’ skin was also on the darker side, these dresses would have been quite pleasant to look at.
In comparison, their gestation clothes would be more suitable if worn by someone else.
His gaze shifted, and his eyes lit up. Yes, if worn by the fair skinned and beautiful Doctor Lu Yanqiu, it would be perfect.
“Doctor Lu Yanqiu!”
Qin Zhen greeted her excitedly as she walked toward the entrance. His steps were small, but his waving hand was as vigorous as a dog’s tail, immediately triggering a prompt from his bracelet: “Please do not run or jump; be careful of miscarriage. Please do not”
Qin Zhen covered the bracelet and looked at the great beauty standing close by. Embarrassed, he blurted out, “Have you eaten?”
Lu Yanqiu could not help but laugh, covering her mouth and nodding.
Qin Zhen wanted to say more, but he saw her step back to the side of the door as the little old man he had met last night walked in.
“Good afternoon, Old Dean!” This time he did not greet him randomly, and his military salute was formal.
Except, Old Dean?
Dean Lao’s brow furrowed. Before he could react, Qin Zhen had already turned around to greet someone else.
“Little Ni, come over quickly!” Seeing Ni Hong hesitating to approach, Qin Zhen grabbed him. “Old Dean, this is my brother Ni Hong. Little Ni, this is our Gestation Center’s highly respected Old Dean. Do you know that? Greet him quickly, Old Dean!”
“Good afternoon, Old Dean.”
Now Dean Lao heard it clearly; it was indeed Old Dean.
Several Old Deans in a row felt like a rain of knives stabbing into his heart.
Dean Lao felt extremely aggrieved. Heaven knew he was only forty years old! If not for the backlash from the death of his combat beast that caused him to age prematurely, he would still be considered a famous middle aged handsome man in the Empire.
This Qin Zhen! This Qin Zhen!
But the activity room was full of people. As the Dean, how could he be embarrassed enough to lose his temper at Qin Zhen over this?
Dean Lao tightened his face and took a deep breath. Only after a long while did he squeeze a sound from his nose: “Mm.”
Having said that, he turned to Lu Yanqiu, whose smile was stiff, and said, “The Vice Commander has arrived with the childcare specialists. Come with me to welcome them.”
Watching the two of them leave again, Ni Hong finally voiced the doubt in his heart: “I remember the Dean’s surname is Lao, right?”
“What?” His voice was too low, and Qin Zhen did not hear him.
“It is nothing. Brother Qin, are you well acquainted with the Dean?”
“More than just well acquainted, and not just with the Dean!” Qin Zhen pointed his thumb toward the door. “That was your first time seeing the Old Dean, but surely it is not your first time seeing Vice Commander Ding? Hehe.”
It was that same unfathomable smile again.
Not far away, in the elevator area.
The elevator doors had already closed, so it was quiet outside. However, inside, Lu Yanqiu was terrified by the loud thumping sounds of Dean Lao kicking the wall, fearing he might kick the elevator down.
Thinking that she was only on the second floor and the elevator would not crash and kill them, she did not speak up to stop him.
“Xiao Lu!” Dean Lao suddenly stopped kicking. The red veins in his eyes made Lu Yanqiu’s heart skip a beat. “Did I not tell you to teach him proper etiquette?”
“I have not yet”
“It was bad enough that he offended the Supreme Commander in public yesterday, but today he dared to humiliate me in front of so many people!”
“Dean, Dean, perhaps you misunderstood. Qin Zhen did not mean to humiliate you.”
“Misunderstood? I may look old, but I am not truly old, and I am not deaf! I can still tell the difference between Lao and Old!”
“Qin Zhen has an accent problem!”
“An accent?”
“Yes. The Sixth Star Sector is the most remote star sector in the Empire, and he comes from the most secluded colonial planet in that sector. It is very normal for him to speak with an accent.”
Dean Lao was skeptical but eventually snorted. “Whether it is an accent or not, this person definitely has major issues! Do you not know yet? Elder Chang’s wife has even complained to me. She said that when Qin Zhen was having his gestation sac checked this morning, he seduced Elder Chang. When the seduction failed, he used force!”
Lu Yanqiu was dumbfounded.
“In short, we cannot keep such a troublemaker. Otherwise, what will happen when he becomes a beast soldier? Yes, Tie Tu is among this batch of childcare specialists. I will arrange for him to be Qin Zhen’s mentor!”
Hearing that name, even Lu Yanqiu’s face turned a few shades paler.
But she could not argue. After all, Tie Tu would become a childcare specialist for several expectant parents anyway; why should Qin Zhen be excluded?
Furthermore, Qin Zhen only had himself to blame for this. He had been at the Gestation Center for less than a day and had already offended so many untouchable high ranking officials, and he had even been reported by the highly respected Elder Chang.
I can only help you this much, Lu Yanqiu sighed in her heart. Whether you can successfully give birth to a combat beast depends on your own fate.
At 3:30 PM, the Vice Commander arrived, leading a disciplined army in full uniform.
The uniforms of beast soldiers were different from those of single soldiers. Single soldiers wore solid black, while beast soldiers had many white lines added. At the officer level, the white elements increased further. For example, Vice Commander Ding Xiaoyi wore half black and half white, while the Supreme Commander wore flawless, pure white.
Looking at this group, more than half were officers, and the rest were beast soldiers. Everyone had a metal nameplate with their name on their chest.
When these uniforms stood face to face with the blue and pink gestation clothes, their aura completely overwhelmed the expectant parents, making everyone afraid to even breathe loudly.
In this atmosphere, Qin Zhen was naturally not stupid enough to try to get close to the Vice Commander. He pulled Ni Hong to the front, his eyes shining as he looked at the specialists, completely oblivious to the Dean’s slightly mocking gaze.
“I do not need to say more about the importance of childcare specialists, do I?”
The Vice Commander spoke, his gaze sweeping around and lingering for a moment on Qin Zhen’s face.
He had already learned from the Dean how wicked and audacious this soldier was. Regarding the punishment proposed by the Dean, he naturally would not object.
The Empire cherished beast soldiers, but the Empire was never short of one.
If there was anyone who was truly indispensable, it was only Supreme Commander Cang Bai throughout the hundred years of the new era.
And this Qin Zhen actually dared to insult the Supreme Commander’s eyes with his filthy body!
At this thought, Ding Xiaoyi could not help but curl his lips and give a cold laugh.
Who would have thought that this smile and this gaze would take on a completely different meaning in Qin Zhen’s eyes?
Qin Zhen nudged Ni Hong’s arm and gave him a proud look that said, “See?” However, the sensitive Ni Hong noticed the strangeness in the Vice Commander’s smile, and a sense of foreboding rose within him.
But then, the Vice Commander continued, “Each childcare specialist can serve as a mentor for a maximum of five expectant parents. In the spirit of preferential treatment for this batch of reserve beast soldiers, you are permitted to choose your mentors first. If too many people choose the same mentor, the final right of choice will be given to the mentor.”
“Five?” One expectant parent noticed something was wrong and could not help but whisper, “Are there not only fifteen specialists? There are over a hundred of us in total.”
“Could there be some kind of elimination mechanism?” The timid ones began to scare themselves.
The Vice Commander looked at Dean Lao. Dean Lao clapped his hands, and outside the activity room doors, four doctors in white coats appeared in a line, two men and two women, and joined the line of childcare specialists.
In addition, Lu Yanqiu, who was standing beside Dean Lao, stepped forward and took her place at the end of the line.
“The number of childcare specialists is limited, so in this class, three mentors will have to work a bit harder and take six students,” the Dean explained, gesturing as he introduced them. “These five are childcare specialists selected from the Gestation Center, whom I assume you have all met.”
“Ah, it is Doctor Wu who checked me this morning!”
“Elder Chang is actually a childcare specialist too?”
Indeed, the old doctor whom Qin Zhen had hugged and kissed was among them.
However, Qin Zhen’s attention at this moment was entirely on Lu Yanqiu. His mind was filled with only two words: surprise!
Doctor Lu Yanqiu was actually a childcare specialist too?
Then did he even need to worry about whom to choose? Of course, it would be his dream goddess, Doctor Lu Yanqiu!
His heart beat wildly, and he completely failed to hear the whispers behind him.
“That is not right. If 108 expectant parents are assigned to 20 mentors, eight mentors would have to take six students. Why did the Dean say only three mentors would work harder?”
“Yes, according to the Dean’s statement, there should be twenty-one mentors.”
“In other words, is there one mentor who has not arrived yet?”
Just as this speculation surfaced, thump, thump, thump, thump.
Heavy footsteps, like those of a giant beast marching, appeared in the corridor.