Intense pain suddenly exploded from her heart, instantly sweeping through Gu Weiran’s entire body.
She curled her fingertips in agony. As she took a deep breath of the scorching air, fragmented memories belonging to the original owner of this body flooded her mind like a tidal wave.
This was the interstellar beast world, and the original owner was a female of the Mole Clan. Unfortunately, her Fertility was shockingly low—a mere 0.1! In the Beast World, where females were scarce, this was practically an original sin that warranted abandonment by her family.
Ironically, despite her feeble Fertility, the original owner was exceptionally resilient. Through years of arduous training, she had purged a massive amount of impurities from her bloodline, making it extraordinarily pure. Little did she know, her own hard work would become her death warrant!
In the eyes of the Gu family, who valued Fertility as the core worth of a female, she was completely devoid of reproductive value. She was considered far less precious than her younger half-brother, whose bloodline was impure. Therefore, they ruthlessly drained the blood from her heart, which contained pure energy, and gave it all to her brother. After doing so, seeing that she was already on the verge of death, the Gu family casually tossed her onto a lounge chair in the central plaza of a neighborhood adjacent to the Gu’s villa, leaving her to fend for herself.
It was widely known that the Mole Clan naturally favored the shade and feared the light. At that time, the original owner still had a breath left in her. If treated in time, she would have had a glimmer of vitality. But this pitiful girl was ultimately burned to death by the intense midday sun.
It was at the exact moment she drew her last breath that Gu Weilan, who had transmigrated from the Apocalypse, entered this battered body, bringing with her a massive surge of energy.
Surprisingly, Gu Weilan, who had inherited the Mole Clan’s bloodline, was not only completely unafraid of the sun but also harbored an almost instinctive craving for it! Sunlight had actually become nourishment for her advancement! As it turned out, all twenty-four-year-old adult females in the Beast World had a chance to awaken their initial talent around their birthdays. And the talent she awakened was the most bizarre in the history of the Mole Clan!
"Host, are you satisfied with the awakening talent the system has matched for you?" The unctuous voice of the system, Pomegranate Seed, rang out in her mind. Its tone was exactly like a sycophant rubbing its hands together in eagerness, exuding a deliberate attempt to curry favor.
"It’s alright," Gu Weilan said flatly as she basked in the sun, feeling the power slowly recovering within her body. "But I told you earlier, giving birth is absolutely out of the question! I was an obstetrician before the Apocalypse, so I know all too well how painful childbirth is."
"You don’t understand, Host! This is the interstellar era! Technology has already developed to version 3.0 of your understanding!" Pomegranate Seed quickly added. "As long as the male wears a Fertility Pod, you can have cubs painlessly!"
These words made Gu Weilan’s eyes suddenly light up. She stretched her body further, allowing the sunlight to hit her more evenly, and felt her whole being become much more relaxed and energized.
"Are you still not satisfied, Host?" Seeing no reaction from her, Pomegranate Seed anxiously threw out another bait. "All you need to do is persuade a male to agree! For every cub born with your bloodline, you’ll receive a random gift, such as a Painless Potion that can raise a Beastman’s rank..."
It babbled on and on. Seeing that Gu Weilan still maintained an indifferent expression, it hurriedly threw out a massive perk. "Once you accumulate enough points, I can even help you find a new habitable planet! You’ll be the lord of the planet then. How awesome is that!"
In truth, the moment the system mentioned that "males can wear a Fertility Pod," Gu Weilan was thoroughly tempted! During the Apocalypse, the Blue Star had also developed Fertility Pods because the population had plummeted and everyone feared extinction. However, the environment was so harsh back then that even if men could give birth, they refused to. They were all far too shrewd! Now, being able to painlessly have descendants of her own bloodline without enduring the suffering of childbirth herself was simply a perk tailor-made for her! An ambitious woman like her was meant to reap such rewards! What a sweet deal!
Just as Gu Weilan silently agreed to the system in her mind, a faint energy fluctuation suddenly rippled through her body.
"Congratulations, Host! You have successfully advanced to the First Rank!"
Gu Weilan frowned. "That’s not right. The original owner was already at the Fourth Rank. Why do I have to start from scratch the moment I take over?"
"Because the original owner is already dead..." Pomegranate Seed’s voice weakened a bit. "Her Beast Rank Energy was drained away by her family long ago."
Gu Weilan narrowed her eyes. Logically, the original owner’s grudges had nothing to do with her. But at the thought of the suffering that pitiful little female had endured throughout her short life, a trace of compassion welled up in her heart. She secretly made up her mind: if the Gu family dared to come looking for trouble again, she would definitely make them pay!
"Uh... Host, the interstellar beast world has laws. You can’t just kill people willy-nilly!" Pomegranate Seed hastily reminded her, then quickly added, "But don’t worry! The Pomegranate Seed system can issue a Curse Technique reward based on the bloodline purity of the Host’s cubs!"
Having been a resident doctor, Gu Weilan was naturally immune to these kinds of empty promises. "Alright, stop beating around the bush. With my current strength at the First Rank and a Fertility of 0.1, what kind of Beast Husband can I even match with? And what bloodline purity does a cub need to reach for me to get this Curse Technique reward you mentioned?"
Pomegranate Seed instantly muted itself. Its silence was deafening.
Right at that moment, a RUSTLING and DRAGGING sound came from behind her. Gu Weilan maintained her reclining posture. Her head hung backward over the edge of the chair, and her arms were splayed out casually. The dried bloodstains on her chest were exceptionally glaring under the sunlight. No matter how one looked at her, she appeared to have been dead for quite a while.
Without blinking an eye, she got a clear look at the newcomers: two male Beastmen were dragging another unconscious male toward her direction.
One of the Beastmen was startled by her appearance and couldn’t help spitting on the ground. "Damn it! Scared this bear half to death! Why is there a dead body here? Is today some auspicious day for dumping corpses?"
"Never mind that! This is a blind spot for the surveillance cameras. Hurry up and dump this guy here!" the other Beastman urged. "He’s about to undergo a berserk beastification! If he ends up eating this ’female corpse,’ then even if that family reports him missing, he’ll either die from going berserk or be executed for killing a female. Either way, he’s dead meat!"
"Right! The male-to-female ratio is 5,000 to 1. A Beastman who kills a female is absolutely dead!"
The two hastily dumped the unconscious male beside Gu Weilan, cast two more glances at her motionless body, and turned to leave.
"Why do I feel like that corpse is still breathing?" the Beastman walking in the back said hesitantly.
"Does it matter if she’s breathing or not? Use some common sense, will you?" the Beastman in front sneered. "That female’s heart’s energy blood has been completely drained! Have you ever seen a Beastman survive being drained of their heart’s energy blood? Stop letting your imagination run wild and hurry up!"
"True..."
It wasn’t until their footsteps had completely faded away and Pomegranate Seed confirmed that there was no one else around that Gu Weilan slowly raised her hand, intending to push away the male Beastman who was currently sniffing around her neck.
But just as she tucked her chin in, she saw that the male had already begun his beastification—he was actually a Black Panther!
The Black Panther directly stuck out its tongue and licked the bloodstain on her chest. Whether it was attracted by the residual energy in the bloodstain or for some other reason, it actually became addicted to licking. Using its front fangs, it gently bit her clothing, squeezed the blood beads out of the fabric, and curled them into its mouth.