Qiao Suisui awoke, feeling icy cold all over.
The surroundings were pitch black, and she seemed to be lying in an enclosed space the size of a coffin. She tried to struggle, but she found her hands and feet were all secured, and her body was connected to many fine tubes.
"Is anyone there!"
"Ruka... Ash..."
[System, where is this?]
The System did not respond, no matter how she called out, there was not the slightest reaction from the outside world.
She was somewhat frightened and struggled even more fiercely.
Suddenly, the sound of an airbag releasing rang out, and the hatch above mechanically opened. A man with silver hair pushed up his glasses, silently observing her.
"Who are you? Can you let me go?"
The silver-haired man did not answer or do as she requested, but instead noted with interest: Language system normal, Earth language series.
"Where is this? Are you the one who locked me up?"
Zong Fang glanced at his wristwatch, continued to record: Heart rate 180, emotional change can trigger physiological function changes, need to observe the indices under different emotions.
Qiao Suisui bit her lip, gazed at him fixedly, and changed her attitude, attempting to leverage his sympathy.
"My hand feels a bit numb, can you help me?"
Zong Fang's hand holding the pen paused, looking at her misty eyes and the softened tone, his interest involuntarily surfaced.
"Which hand?"
Seeing that the man finally spoke, Qiao Suisui's brows furrowed slightly, and her soft appearance would make anyone feel pity.
"The right hand. Can you help me undo this thing?"
Zong Fang curved his lips, jotting down: Personality cunning, skilled at exploiting male weaknesses to achieve her own goals.
After writing, he used the cap of his pen to trace along the inside of Suisui's arm all the way to her wrist, the cold pen felt like a scalpel, causing a shiver wherever it touched.
"This one here is the vein... I wonder what would happen if it were cut."
Hearing his muttering to himself, Qiao Suisui's pupils dilated, and she bit her lower lip tightly.
Zong Fang suddenly laughed abruptly, bent down, his silver hair slipping down his back, with a few strands falling on her cheek, tickling her a little.
The man then used his pen to tap on her lip, saying, "No biting."
Suisui felt a chill run down her spine.
"What's your name?"
Actually, Zong Fang had already mastered her basic information before he came; he was asking now merely to perform a compliance test.
"...Qiao Suisui."
"Age."
"18."
"Gender."
Suisui frowned, paused for a moment, realized what he was asking these questions for now, and immediately a rebellious emotion surged in her heart, so she looked at him and said, "What's your name?"
The man was taken aback, his smile widened, and the interest in his eyes intensified.
"Zong Fang."
"Age."
"83."
Beastmen, in their continual evolution, had longer lifespans, with males generally living over 200 years and females over 150 years. Zong Fang's age was the prime of manhood among the males.
"Gender." She enunciated these two words very clearly and slowly, as if to silently counter.
At her words, he let out a laugh that could turn the world upside down, and then he drew a few inches closer to Suisui, his lips against her ear, his breath hot enough to make her shiver involuntarily.
"What is gender, can't you tell? Little guy."
He extended his tongue and licked her earlobe, then said in a lowered voice, "Male."
Qiao Suisui had goosebumps all over her body, and a thick sense of fear rose in her heart.
This person is not normal!
She immediately turned her head away, her face full of resistance.
Zong Fang smiled and took notes: Competitive spirit is strong, very good at disguising.
In the following time, no matter what Zong Fang asked her, Suisui did not open her mouth again. She hung her head and ignored him, letting him press and probe all over her body.
When examining her abdomen, Zong Fang's hand paused, then pressed gently again. Her flat belly suddenly bulged a little, then quickly returned to normal, and Suisui also felt as if there was something moving inside her stomach.
Zong Fang was astonished, and he examined her abdomen up and down, left and right three times, incredulously asking, "Are you pregnant?"
Upon hearing this, Qiao Suisui was also stunned.
"You didn't know?"
He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but soon he stopped fussing over her attitude, urgently calling for his assistants.
Then, seven or eight people surrounded the cylindrical observation chamber, starting to examine Qiao Suisui with various instruments.
She looked up at the heads above her and their earnest faces, as she felt like a frog tied to a dissection table. But she didn't have the luxury of emotions at that moment, for she was yelling in her mind at the System: "What's going on? Am I pregnant?"
"Yes, the detection confirmed the first pregnancy has been successfully implanted. Species: Lion. Genes: Excellent. Number: 4."
Qiao Suisui's mind exploded.
"Pregnancy period three months, please do not attempt any abortion actions, otherwise electrical shock punishment will be administered."
The System seemed to be able to read her thoughts and preemptively gave her a warning shot.
At this moment, Qiao Suisui felt utterly despondent. She instinctively resisted the idea of giving birth, and although she had to compromise for the sake of survival, she still couldn't accept it when it actually happened.
"Can you help me get out of here?"
After asking this question, the System fell silent again. She had noticed that this System only answered her questions about childbirth; it ignored everything else.
While she was communicating with the System, Zong Fang had also seen through the instruments the little life in her belly. Four budding shapes like little bean sprouts appeared on the monitor, and seven or eight assistants gasped in shock, some of the males even moved to tears.
"It's a natural conception... Lion genes, oh my god, and there are four of them in a single pregnancy."
"You know, for Beastmen of a size like lions, it's already fortunate if one cub is born safely per pregnancy; this little female is actually carrying four."
"They are Ancient Humans, Ancient Humans! Don't compare your collected data on Artificial Females to this."
"This experience is too precious; I must record it."
The assistants were chattering excitedly; at that moment, Zong Fang's hand slowly covered her abdomen, no longer pressing recklessly, but softly stroking it, his expression complex.
"You're pregnant and yet you would attempt such dangerous actions?"
He had witnessed the entire process of Suisui jumping from the Flying Ship; if it had not been for that lion saving her, he would only have a corpse to study now.
Qiao Suisui lifted her eyelids slightly but said nothing.
To Beastmen, offspring are the most important thing because they carry the responsibility and hope of propagation, especially now in the Interstellar, where only Qiao Suisui could naturally conceive and give birth.
Now it wasn't just her, but also the cubs inside her, that had become a matter of great concern to the entire Federation.
"If you dare do anything like that again, I'll make you into a specimen and display you at the Interstellar Museum," he said fiercely in her ear.
For the next several days, Zong Fang had people lock Qiao Suisui in the observation chamber, where her every need was tended to by others, and he ordered cameras to be installed in the chamber to observe her every move, 24 hours a day. Qiao Suisui felt she had no dignity left.