The sudden exclamation startled Lu Xia, making her doubt what she had just heard.
Pregnant?
Her?
The eight people standing before her now looked at her with incredulous eyes, as if observing some rare creature.
“Why would you think that?” After quickly regaining her composure, Lu Xia voiced her confusion.
The young beast-human who had just spoken pointed at the indicator light still flashing on her wrist: “Isn’t this supposed to indicate whether someone is pregnant or not?”
Although the Empire had not seen a naturally conceiving Female for centuries, the function of this indicator light on the Terminal was deeply ingrained in the heart of every citizen.
He absolutely could not be mistaken.
After all, the Empire placed extraordinary importance on the existence of naturally conceiving Females.
At this moment, this small indicator light was flashing incessantly before their very eyes, carrying an unbelievable miracle.
Hearing this explanation, Lu Xia froze for a second before laughing, “What kind of joke is this? Couldn’t it just be that my Terminal is malfunctioning?”
Uh… that possibility might also exist.
Not giving the group much time to ponder this question, Lu Xia said naturally, “Alright, you can go back now. Once the dormitory here is cleaned up, you can stay here in the future if you don’t want to return. Dismissed.”
With those words, Lu Xia wasted no time, turning around and swiftly exiting the conference room door.
The old butler had been standing outside for a long time. Seeing Lu Xia emerge, he was about to ask where to go next when he heard Lu Xia say, “Go buy a few more Terminals, the latest models.”
The old butler was momentarily stunned, not understanding why Lu Xia needed so many Terminals, but he didn’t ask for reasons. Nodding in agreement, he hurried off to handle the matter.
After spending these days with Lu Xia, the old butler had finally come to accept her various unusual actions now.
Perhaps because he had been shocked too many times, he no longer wanted to know the reasons as much as he initially did. Besides, Lu Xia wasn’t a Female who liked to explain much—she only cared about results.
After the old butler left, Lu Xia returned to the hovercar and opened her Terminal, searching for what it meant when the Terminal’s indicator light kept flashing green.
Even though she had appeared very calm and natural in front of the eight people, it didn’t mean she was indifferent to the matter deep down.
Pregnant?
How was that possible?
Wasn’t it said that ‘defective product’ males couldn’t impregnate anyone?
Besides, how many years had it been since the Empire had seen a case of Natural Conception? The Empire’s population growth now relied entirely on ‘artificial’ means, right?
Just as she harbored doubts in her heart, the search result appeared—Terminal Indicator Light Explanation: Used to indicate that a Female has successfully conceived.
That brief statement indicated that the person earlier hadn’t been lying.
This indicator light, whose purpose she hadn’t understood, really was meant to signal successful conception.
Hah, why was there such a bizarre design!
Couldn’t it just be a malfunction? It had to be a malfunction!
How could she possibly be pregnant?
Just as Lu Xia was questioning her existence, the old butler returned, carrying several Terminals in his arms: “Your Grace, the ones you wanted…”
Before the old butler could finish, Lu Xia had already reached out to take the Terminals from his arms: “Alright, give them to me. You’ve worked hard.”
“Not at all, it’s all part of my duty.” The old butler replied formulaically, then watched as Lu Xia removed the terminal from her wrist and began trying on each of the terminals he had brought back one by one. He then saw that every terminal she wore flashed with a unified green light.
Uncontrollable shock appeared in his eyes. Despite the old butler’s attempt to feign composure, he couldn’t restrain himself. What was he seeing?
That indicator light, which existed but had never served any purpose, was actually flashing!
So this thing really wasn’t just for show!
What did this mean? It meant Duke Lu Xia was pregnant?
After trying on dozens of terminals, all with the same result, Lu Xia resigned herself to the situation. She looked up at the old butler, who couldn’t hide his shock, and asked, “Do you also think I’m pregnant?”
“No, but, this…” The old butler was so stunned he momentarily became incoherent. His mind went completely blank, unable to think of what to say or do, his eyes fixed on the terminal on Lu Xia’s wrist.
Every citizen of the Empire knew what the sole indicator light on the terminal signified. Perhaps it was easy to forget in daily life, but once it flashed, no one could ignore its meaning.
Despite the old butler’s unusual reaction, Lu Xia could read the answer from his shocked expression.
It seemed everyone now thought she was pregnant!
“Let’s go home,” she said calmly, though inwardly she wondered if she should find time to go to the hospital for a check-up. Even if it were true, she couldn’t trust a terminal’s detection alone.
“Your Grace, the people from the Reproduction Research Institute will likely find you very soon,” the old butler finally regained his composure, but his words made Lu Xia’s heart skip a beat. “What do you mean?”
As he struggled to calm his inner shock, the old butler explained, “The detection function on the terminal is linked to the Empire’s Reproduction Research Institute. Once triggered, it’s only a matter of time before the institute becomes aware of it.”
“…” Lu Xia was truly speechless now. Did this mean the news of her ‘pregnancy’ had already spread?
Meanwhile, at the Empire’s Reproduction Research Institute, the researcher responsible for monitoring ‘Natural Conception’ let out a bored yawn. It was his turn to be on duty today, and among the researchers, this monitoring task was practically equivalent to ‘taking a break on shift.’
After all, over the past few centuries, this monitoring system had existed, with countless researchers taking turns on duty, yet no feedback had ever been received.
Many even believed this monitoring system was no longer necessary and should be abolished as soon as possible, freeing up funds for other research projects.
Instead of wasting resources on monitoring something that was no longer possible.
The reality was that no matter how hard they tried, the Empire could no longer produce naturally conceiving Females.
Over the centuries, Females had evolved, and perhaps the genes capable of Natural Conception had long since disappeared from all beast-humans.
Continuing this research was utterly meaningless.
“Lin Ke, are you on duty here today? Perfect timing—I ordered takeout. Want to share some?”
Suddenly called by name, Lin Ke, who had been bored, turned his head and responded with a smile, “Then I won’t be polite. I was just thinking of ordering some food to pass the time.”
“Yes, in my opinion, this monitoring should be abolished as soon as possible. Continuing like this won’t…” The speaker’s voice abruptly stopped, his calm gaze replaced by shock. What did he see? The indicator light signaling Natural Conception had lit up!
Not only that, but a piercing alarm echoed throughout the entire research institute!