Chapter 5 – Pregnancy
Translator: lazysoozan ()
The battle is over!
The cabin burst out in great cheers, wild with the joy of escaping from death.
No one died, no one even got hurt, and they actually got out of this nightmare! And it was all because of this thin young man before them who did not appear very strong!
Whether it was a pa.s.senger or a member of the starship"s crew, they were all indescribably grateful to Yuan Xi.
[Even] in such a warm atmosphere, Yuan Xi"s expression did not relax at all. He helped the fallen middle-aged woman up from the ground, and handed her over to her husband.
Yuan Xi knew that it wasn"t over yet.
As if to prove him right, the starship that as already struck twice was struck once again with a lethal blow. The aftershock from this blow was twice as violent as the previous. .h.i.ts.
The faces of the pa.s.sengers on board changed, and the captain quickly explained: "It must be the federal patrol ship. They don"t know what"s going on inside the ship. When I get through to headquarters and explain [the situation] clearly, we"ll be able to land [and everyone will be able to disembark] safely!"
Some of the nervous pa.s.sengers were relieved as soon as he said this
Only Yuan Xi, from beginning to end, did not relax. [In fact, he felt the situation] looked even more serious than before.
The middle-aged woman caught her breath*, she noticed Yuan Xi"s expression and asked in concern: "Child, do you know anything?"
Yuan Xi looked at her with hesitation in his eyes. He didn"t know whether or not he should tell her what he witnessed. Rescue wasn"t outside at all. They might have managed those criminals, but they were most likely going to die by their own side.
Seeing Yuan Xi"s hesitation, the middle-aged woman said: "My child, my name is Lin Suyun. You can call me Aunt Lin. If you can, you might as well tell me first."
Yuan Xi looked at Lin Suyun. Lin Suyun looked about 40-years-old, but [her looks] were well-maintained. Only the small details of her appearance and clothing revealed her age.
Lin Suyun was very beautiful with very white skin, black hair, and black eyes but her eyebrows were not any less solemn than a man"s. In fact, as can be seen from her previous attempt at looking weapons, this woman"s character is both strong and rational.
Yuan Xi needed someone to help him think [and plan]. Thus, he lowered his voice and talked about how Feng Yun listened to the thugs" [threats and demands], how Feng Yun was indifferent [to their threats], and how the negotiation finally collapsed.
Hearing this, Lin Suyun narrowed her eyes slightly, then said to Yuan Xi: "Not all of them can be informed. It would cause riots, and then everything really will be out of control."
Yuan Xi agreed, but they couldn"t be so naive as to believe that they will be rescued. They needed to save themselves, and they needed to work together to escape from this [new] crisis.
Finally, Yuan Xi said: "Everybody, quiet. Just now, I overheard the conversation between the two criminals and the federal patrol." After a pause, he added: "The negotiations were unsuccessful. The criminals finally forcibly cut off all contact with the outside world, so we can"t send any information out."
Yuan Xi explained the situation clearly, but he was also vague about the whole incident at the same time, pushing all the blame onto the two dead thugs. It"s not that Yuan Xi wanted to save General Feng Yun"s reputation, but that he really didn"t want to discourage these people.
In order to stabilize their emotions and keep them motivated to fight, Yuan Xi lied. In fact, this was also a last-ditch attempt to protect them. The less they knew, the longer they lived.
Despite this, many people panicked knowing that there was no contact with the outside world. Unable to contact the outside world and unable to convey the situation, they were unable to stop the attacks [from] outside. They were just a pa.s.senger ship. Even if all the energy went into the shields, they couldn"t escape; they could only die!
Yuan Xi also knew all of this. Suddenly, he remembered the scene he witnessed in the power room, the long tube that had always made him wary!
Yuan Xi rushed to find that thing. Just as he held it up in his hand, Lin Suyun"s pupils shrank sharply. She nudged her husband: "Yucheng, you…you…look at this…"
The middle-aged man named Yucheng looked down, and he was suddenly stunned. The look in his eyes was both surprised and frightened. His voice trembled a little [as he spoke]: "This…this…they stole this!"
Although Yuan Xi did not know why, [he realized] they must know what this was based from the look of the couple. Yuan Xi thought for a moment, then finally pulled the couple to the power room and told them what he saw.
Lin Suyun"s face changed, and she finally told Yuan Xi: "Let your uncle talk about it."
Yucheng was a very calm man. Even in his old age, his eyebrows were mature and handsome, but he was not p.r.o.ne to laughter nor was he talkative. He licked his lips and said half-loudly: "If this is what I think it is*, we might be able to escape."
After a pause, he went on to elaborate: "This is the latest research project of the Federal Research Inst.i.tute. It"s [based on the] idea of breaking through warp 10 using the antimatter in the energy bar to drag s.p.a.ce, reconstruct a distorted s.p.a.ce, and jump on it to achieve an unimaginable super-high speed. Most importantly, when we enter this reconstructed s.p.a.ce, we could avoid all attacks and no defense system available now could stop us."
Yuan Xi only understood half of [what Yucheng said], but there was no time for him to ask. He just knew it would be enough to escape!
However, it suddenly occurred to Yuan Xi to question why the two criminals didn"t quickly leave but instead attempted to negotiate with the government, which failed, if they had a means for escape. Instead of rushing to flee, they had time to kill the hostages first? They"re actually madmen, ba!***
Yuan Xi was doubtful, so Yucheng explained: "Because there was not much antimatter in the energy bar, there wasn"t enough to ensure that so many living organisms survive at the same time. The fewer the living organisms, the higher the probability of survival, so they had to kill all the hostages."
"How could this be…"
Yucheng added: "This research wasn"t completed, and there are very big hidden dangers. I can guarantee that this entire starship will enter the distorted s.p.a.ce, but I can"t ensure that we can all exit it. In that distorted s.p.a.ce, we won"t be conscious. We"ll only be able to fly with the help of the starship"s AI, so whether it will exit [the s.p.a.ce] or not is not guaranteed at all. Perhaps we"ll always remain in that distorted s.p.a.ce."
Yuan Xi was stunned. It was so risky.
But, what could they do? The attacks outside never stopped. Feng Yun destroyed their communication system, so they could not communicate with the outside world and could only wait to die.
One choice leads to a chance for survival, the other leads to complete death. Such a questionable choice didn"t need to be considered at all.
Yuan Xi looked steadily at Yucheng: "Uncle, are you sure this will work? As long as we can avoid the attacks now, we can always survive, and as long as we survive, there will [always] be hope!"
There was no more time for hesitation. Yucheng looked directly at the young man in front of him. He nodded solemnly.
Yuan Xi took a deep breath, turned to Lin Suyun, and said: "Aunt Lin, let"s go to the cabin. Everyone has the right to know the risks, and they have the right to make the choice to live [or to die]!"
Lin Suyun nodded, agreeing with what Yuan Xi said.
When Yuan Xi arrived in the cabin, he explained what Yucheng said about the [likely] end result [of their situation] and probability of survival, excluding all the difficult terminology and jargon.
There was complete silence as soon as his voice trailed off.
Yuan Xi added: "We don"t have any time to think. The protective shield is on the verge of collapsing. When it breaks, we"ll be reduced to ashes! Whether you want to survive or just sit back and wait to die, I"ll await your answers!"
There was [only] a brief silence this time [before a shout of] "live!" was heard. It was like throwing a pebble in a still lake, causing [small waves to] ripple [out]; bursts of "Live!" and "We don"t want to die!" [were heard]. One after another, everyone made a choice, the only choice.
At that time, Yucheng came over and advised the Captain: "[We should] pour all the nutrient solution into the life support system, and everyone should lie down in the escape pods."
As time was urgent, no one had any objections. Everyone who knew [even] a little began to help prepare, while those who didn"t understand [anything] obeyed the commands [given].
Because the preparations were not too complicated, everyone was lying down in a coffin-shaped escape pod in less than a minute.
Yucheng"s familiarity with the starship amazed the starship pilots. He was able to do the work of a whole starship crew himself, and the procedures he set up in such a short amount of time were very advanced. He was a genius!
Yuan Xi didn"t understand [any of] this, but he was able to see that Yucheng had better control of the energy bar than those two criminals. He was able to bring [the energy bar] to its greatest value, giving them a much higher chance of survival.
Finally, Yuan Xi also lied down in an escape pod. To say that he was unafraid was a lie, but what could he do? Fear often prevents people from solving problems, but facing [obstacles] bravely is the way to survive.
The escape pod was closed. Yuan Xi felt a familiar pulling sensation, and his consciousness gradually faded. He knew that Yucheng had successfully operated [the energy bar].
As fell unconscious, Yuan Xi had a small fantasy in his heart. He dreamt that he woke up and returned to Earth. Although he was alone, his life was full, busy, and safe…
However, he didn"t know that what he woke up to would be even more astonishing.
***
When he regained consciousness, Yuan Xi at least knew that he was alive. The cover of the escape pod was opened and light was streaming in. He squinted in discomfort and [his eyesight] barely adjusted to the brightness.
He first saw Lin Suyun. The small hope of returning to Earth completely disappeared. He reluctantly smiled and slowly looked around.
It seems that they were no longer in the starship, but rather in a very s.p.a.cious room. The material of the wall was totally strange, with fine lines and a slight sheen.
Yuan Xi was a little fuzzy, so he looked at Lin Suyun. Lin Suyun smiled at him and said: "Son, we"re alive."
Yuan Xi nodded. He wanted to sit up, but suddenly felt heavy.
At this point, Lin Suyun came over and helped him up. Yuan Xi thought in his heart that he likely slept for a very long time and his body was [subsequently] slow.
He opened his mouth and asked in a hoa.r.s.e voice: "Aunt Lin, how long have we been flying and where is this?"
After a short pause, Lin Suyun said: "Child, don"t get agitated or anxious about this matter later."
Yuan Xi was a little confused. He had no idea what Lin Suyun was talking about. He just replied: "Aunt Lin, my name is Yuan Xi. You can call me Xiaoxi****."
With a nod of her head and a flash of complicated emotions in her eyes, she half-loudly said: "We flew for 8 months."
8 months!?
Yuan Xi was completely muddleheaded. It"s been so long! G.o.d, they couldn"t have flown to the end of the universe!
It was beyond Yuan Xi"s imagination. He thought that he would fly for a week, at most. Who could have thought that they would fly for 8 months? Fortunately, they survived and didn"t completely wander about dest.i.tute in the vast universe.
Yuan Xi breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up with feeble legs. It took a while for him to get used to [standing], but then he realized something was wrong.
He…Why was he so far?
Wait, wait, wait, he, what"s wrong with his belly?
When Lin Suyun saw that he finally realized there was something strange about himself, she began to speak with difficulty: "Xiaoxi, you"re pregnant."
The author has something to say:
I solemnly announce that I killed the ma.n.u.script saver 【啥啥啥
But you can be a.s.sured that the King will never fall!
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*那名中年女人已经缓过劲 was translated as the middle-aged woman slowed down but, given the context, I felt that saying she recuperated or caught her breath makes more sense and flows better.
*"如果是这个东西 was translated as "if it were this thing" or "if that"s the case" on baidu, but "if this is what I think it is" makes more sense in context, I think.
***再丧心病狂也不至于拿自己的姓名开玩笑吧！ Does anyone know what this means? It was literally translated as "if you"re mad, you can"t make fun of your name". Based on my research, I think it means that they were madmen in action and not just by name, or something, but I could be wrong.
**** xiao = little. Adding it to a name makes it a diminutive.
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T/N: Buahahahahahahaha, omg, how scary to wake up 8-month pregnant for a woman, let alone a man! ( ՞ਊ՞)
I feel like 8 months of the pregnancy pa.s.sing by like that is such a cop out – I wanna see MC go through pregnancy! But, at the same time, I love the visual of MC waking up to discover that – surprise! – he"s pregnant and about to give birth in about a month!
If you like what I do and wanna support me, you can ❤