Chapter 383: First Heir |
"Phew."
Uncle Li stood by the window. After gazing out at the scenery beyond his office and letting out a long exhale, he sat back down in his extremely soft office chair, feeling thoroughly content. To have made it this far, he was already satisfied.
Indeed.
He knew very well that the Human Civilization advancing to a Tier-9 Civilization was not the end. Following their promotion to a God-Level Civilization, a massive war was bound to break out. However, he had absolute faith in Boss Mang.
Along this journey, Boss Mang had given him an immense sense of security. As long as he stood behind Boss Mang, it felt as though there was nothing left to fear. Even if the sky were to fall, it would not matter.
Meanwhile—
In another office within the same university, a man who had grown slightly stout sat at his desk. He chuckled as he looked at a photograph on his desk—a group shot of himself, Uncle Li, and Boss Mang—while his thoughts gradually drifted away.
That was a long time ago.
In the photo, only Boss Mang's back could be seen.
Throughout this journey.
He felt as though he had not experienced any real hardships. He had only done one thing: steadfastly follow Uncle Li. Wherever Uncle Li went, he followed. He knew he lacked special abilities and was even more aware that he possessed no great talents.
But he knew Uncle Li was a capable man. He firmly believed that one day, Uncle Li would earn Boss Mang's appreciation and be promoted. When that day came, a rising tide would lift his boat as well.
This was the life plan he had laid out for himself.
Fortunately!
He succeeded. Now, he was the most impressive dean of students at the most impressive university within the universe's most impressive civilization. Aboard the train, anyone could order him around, but off the train, anyone who saw him had to respectfully call him a leader.
How wonderful.
The man's thoughts drifted further, recalling the days he had spent with Boss Mang during the apocalypse a long time ago.
Though those days had been a bit bitter and dangerous, they were profoundly memorable.
"A Tier-9 Civilization now."
Inside the train, Chen Mang chuckled lightly. He looked at the train's components that had yet to reach their maximum level. After a brief pause, he murmured, "First, we need to solidify the exclusivity of the name 'Human Civilization'."
"Then, we will use all the resources of the God-Level Civilization 'Human Civilization' to upgrade the train's components."
"Once every component on the train is maxed out."
"That will be the day we officially make our move."
His goal was not just a God-Level Civilization, but to become an absolute, peerless civilization leading the entire universe. Every living being within this universe would have to submit to the majesty of the Human Civilization.
"In that case..."
Chen Mang glanced at the political mother star of the God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization" displayed on the Doppelganger Radar. He slowly pushed the control lever forward. "The farce is over. Since they fired first, let's just go straight to war."
"I want to see exactly what tricks this God-Level Civilization has up its sleeve."
The next moment—
The Stellar Train suddenly erupted, accelerating to several times the speed of light as it shot toward the depths of the universe. It vanished from its spot in the blink of an eye, utilizing multiple spatial jumps to rapidly approach the political mother star of the God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization".
The first target.
Was this so-called God-Level Civilization, "Human Civilization".
The flames of war were about to spread across the entire universe.
At the same time.
Inside the Stellar Train, Carriage No. 5 had devolved into a chaotic mess.
"Are you serious? How is that even possible?"
Yan Yao rushed over to Xiao Fang, her face filled with disbelief and urgency. She carefully looked at Xiao Fang's slightly bulging belly, her voice trembling. "Is it really Boss Mang's? Could it be that you had a secret affair with someone else recently?"
"What are you saying?!"
Ji Chuchu glared at Yan Yao. "If anyone hears you say that, you'll be in massive trouble. Do you think you can casually slander Boss Mang's woman like this? Besides, do you and I not know what kind of person Xiao Fang is?"
Yan Yao shrank her neck, realizing she had spoken out of turn. She awkwardly tried to cover her tracks, "I didn't mean it like that..."
Right after.
Ji Chuchu looked at Xiao Fang with a complex expression. "When do you plan to tell Boss Mang about this? My advice is to tell him as soon as possible. Absolutely do not harbor the thought of having the child first and explaining later. What are your thoughts?"
Xiao Fang.
A woman with an extremely low presence aboard the train.
When the apocalypse first struck, she was the personal maid Lao Zhu had found for Boss Mang, primarily responsible for his daily living needs. Later, thanks to her excellent scallion oil noodles, she earned Boss Mang's fondness, though they never shared any physical intimacy.
Later...
Later, through a twist of fate and coincidence, Xiao Fang received Boss Mang's favor.
Yet she never expected that she would actually get pregnant from it.
Without a doubt, Xiao Fang's status on the Stellar Train would skyrocket limitlessly. She might even have the chance to become his official wife. Even if she did not, as long as she gave birth to a son, he would be the future successor of the Human Civilization.
This was Boss Mang's first child.
Destined to receive boundless doting and love.
Even without an official title, Xiao Fang's status would be elevated infinitely because of this.
Was she envious?
She was going utterly crazy with envy. But what use was envy? She didn't even know how Xiao Fang managed to get pregnant. The train had always kept its Population Control System active to prevent pregnancies. How could she possibly be pregnant? God only knew how it happened.
"I plan to go and tell Boss Mang in a little while."
Xiao Fang whispered nervously, "I'm a bit..."
Before she could finish her sentence.
The carriage door was violently pushed open.
Chen Mang strode in with a dark expression. He walked straight up to Xiao Fang and stared intensely at her slightly bulging belly. After an expressionless silence that lasted for quite a while, he finally patted Xiao Fang's head and motioned for her to follow him. They headed toward the medical pod, preparing to run a test to verify if this was truly his child.
It was supposed to be impossible to get pregnant on the train.
God only knew how Xiao Fang had gotten pregnant, or whose child it was.
The train was constantly under Xiao Ai's surveillance. For an event this major, Xiao Ai would definitely inform him immediately.
Three minutes later.
Standing in the control room, Chen Mang looked at Xiao Fang lying in the medical pod. He remained silent, listening to Xiao Ai's report in his ear.
"Scan complete. It is your biological child, Captain."
"Over two months along."
"It's a boy."
"Congratulations, Captain. You are having a child."
"You can tell the gender at two months?"
"I am a max-level AI."
"Retrieve Xiao Fang's activity logs for this period."
"Retrieval complete. She has not had contact with any other males, nor has she ever left the train. Furthermore, I have reviewed all of Xiao Fang's dreams during this time. There were no erotic dreams, meaning that even a Virgin Mary-style immaculate conception via a dream is impossible. It is virtually one hundred percent confirmed to be your child, Captain."
"But I recall that pregnancy is prohibited on the train."
Chen Mang furrowed his brows slightly. This was a function from a long time ago. It was the Population Control System feature acquired when the train reached Level 3. Once that button was pressed, no living creature on the train could conceive unless they were in the breeding carriage.
But he didn't remember ever doing it with Xiao Fang in the breeding carriage.
"That remains unclear for now. I am still investigating. What is wrong, Captain? You seem as though you don't really want a child. If so, that is fine. With the train's current technology, performing a painless abortion is incredibly simple. A breeze, really."
"That's not it."
Chen Mang shook his head, exhaling softly as he rubbed his temples. "It's just too sudden. I have zero preparation for this. I'm also slightly worried that this might be a conspiracy by some other civilization—that the child in her womb is actually some sort of monster, or a method to bypass our armor and invade the train's interior."
"There is no need to worry about that. I can confirm with absolute certainty that it is a perfectly normal, developing child in the embryonic stage. It is not a monster."
The next moment—
Xiao Ai suddenly went silent. When he spoke again, his tone was oddly complex. "Um... Captain, do you remember when Xiao Fang awakened that Three Purities Manifestation talent? That time you had a blast playing around with Xiao Fang's Past State, Present State, and Future State simultaneously?"
"I remember."
"I just retrieved all the data regarding this Racial Talent from my database. It turns out this Racial Talent has a hidden effect: it guarantees one hundred percent conception."
"Every single shot?"
"Not exactly. Rather, it ignores all infertility effects. For instance, a person with this Racial Talent can absolutely never be infertile. Even if they were previously, they would be instantly cured. Furthermore, it bypasses any Overlimit Effect that prohibits pregnancy, unless it involves external fertilization or direct physical isolation."
"That is exactly why Xiao Fang was able to get pregnant on the train."
"Is that so?"
Chen Mang let out a long sigh of relief. Figuring out how the child came to be made him feel much more at ease; his only fear had been that it was an unknown civilization's plot. He then looked over at the nervous Xiao Fang standing nearby, smiled, and waved his hand. "Come here, let me take a look."
"Yes, Boss Mang."
Feeling apprehensive, Xiao Fang walked up to Chen Mang and waited for his judgment, unsure of what she was about to face.
Chen Mang crouched down and pressed his ear against Xiao Fang's belly. Listening to the faint sounds coming from within, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl into a smile. Suddenly, he felt a sense of tranquility blossom in his heart, as if his connection to this world had grown significantly deeper.
"Good. Good. This is great."
He couldn't hold back a laugh. Looking at Xiao Fang before him, he found her even more pleasing to the eye for some reason. The maternal aura she radiated was surprisingly alluring. He then turned toward the door of the control room and bellowed.
"Lao Zhu, get in here!"
"Coming!"
Lao Zhu, who had already been waiting outside the control room doors for quite some time, hurriedly trotted inside eagerly.
"Find a comprehensive nursing team for Xiao Fang. Moving forward, your most important task is to ensure that Xiao Fang safely delivers this child. Furthermore, this child will tentatively be the First Heir of the Human Civilization."
"Next, convene a general meeting. We need to think of a good name for my child."
"Understood!"
Inside the control room.
Many of the higher-ups gathered here for the first time in a long while. Biao Zi, Lao Zhu, Qi Ke Xiu, Uncle Li, and everyone else who held influence on the train were assembled. A momentous event had occurred today.
The Human Civilization now had an heir.
Boss Mang was going to be a father.
This news left everyone in a state of high excitement.
Especially Chen Mang. He had never once thought about having children, but strangely, when it happened so abruptly, he accepted it incredibly fast. He even felt happy. Deep down, he secretly rejoiced that it was Xiao Fang who had gotten pregnant. If he absolutely had to have a child, he wanted the child to have a clean, untainted mother.
"Let me think, how about Chen Yi?"
Biao Zi suggested enthusiastically, "'One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things.' Boss Mang's child will be the most noble existence in the universe from birth. Naming him Chen Yi perfectly aligns with the will of heaven."
"I don't think that works. It's a bit too simple," Lao Zhu said after pondering for a moment. "How about naming him 'Chen Yiliang'? Gentle and kind."
"Give me a break."
Uncle Li shook his head. "Does Boss Mang's child need to be gentle and kind? The young master's style of doing things will become the legal standard for the entire universe. I think we should go with a more domineering name. How about 'Chen Tian'?"
Chen Mang sat in his chair, smiling cheerfully as he watched the group. He turned his head to glance at the Doppelganger Radar. The political mother star of the God-Level Civilization "Human Civilization" was already closing in; he had arrived nearby via a space-time jump.
Originally, according to the plan, they should have been preparing to strike right now.
But because of this incident, it had been temporarily put on hold.
It seemed they needed to speed things up even more.
He wanted to ensure that by the time his child was born, the entire universe would be their family's private garden, allowing them to go wherever they pleased. Creating a sufficiently peaceful universe for his child would be much more beneficial for their physical and mental well-being, after all.
Meanwhile—
Inside Carriage No. 5.
Ji Chuchu, who was staring at Xiao Fang with eyes full of envy, suddenly noticed a notification panel popping up on her Iris Chip. She was momentarily stunned before quietly slipping away and walking alone to Carriage 2.
Xiao Ai was already standing there.
"You're here."
Xiao Ai took a pill out of his pocket and handed it over. "Boss Mang's orders. You are to have your Racial Talent excised immediately. Do it now."
"..."
Ji Chuchu froze for a second, then suddenly realized something. She looked at Xiao Ai with a complicated expression. "Is it because this Racial Talent is what led to her pregnancy?"
"Yes."
Xiao Ai made no attempt to hide the truth. "Boss Mang does not want you to get pregnant."
Ji Chuchu looked up at Xiao Ai. After a long daze, she finally took the pill from Xiao Ai's hand. Without another word, she popped it into her mouth and swallowed hard, suddenly letting out a bitter laugh. "I always thought I performed the best out of all the women, and that Boss Mang would like me the most."
"Your assumption isn't wrong."
Seeing Ji Chuchu swallow the pill, Xiao Ai casually continued, "Boss Mang does indeed favor you the most. At the very least, he likes you more than Xiao Fang. But you must understand—time can be reversed, but a person's life cannot."
"Everything that happened in the past is the cause, and everything you experience now is the effect."
"Whatever grievances you might have, they are unimportant."
"The experiences you've had in your life dictate that reaching your current position is already your absolute limit."
"Humans are different from AI. You cannot simply wipe your database and start over."
Ji Chuchu looked at Xiao Ai. After a long moment, she suddenly laughed, though a hint of desolation lingered deep in her eyes. "Suddenly, I'm a little envious of you AIs. Absolutely clean."
"..."
Xiao Ai glanced at Ji Chuchu again. "That is because we AIs are absolutely loyal to our masters, and we will never have a second master. For that sake, even if we are smashed to pieces, it does not matter. This is the destiny of an AI."
"Humans are different."
"Humans will always find countless excuses for their actions. AI has no excuses."
"Alright, you may return."
Immediately after.
Xiao Ai watched Ji Chuchu's departing back, tilting his head thoughtfully. It seemed he had spoken a bit too much. Could it be because his way of thinking was becoming more akin to a human's?
He shook his head and didn't dwell on it further.
Instead, he hurriedly pushed open the doors to the control room and slipped inside.
He too wanted to join the captain's brain trust to brainstorm names!
After all, naming things was an AI's specialty!