396: Chapter 396 One Hundred

Qin Lin watched her retreating back and reopened the holographic screen.

The light spots were still flickering, so he reached out to continue marking them.

On the day the number of women on The Ark surpassed eighty, Qin Lin stood on the Bridge for a long time.

He looked at the numbers on the panel—Female passengers: 82, Pregnant: 47, Children born: 23.

There was still a long way to go to reach one hundred mothers and one hundred children.

He turned off the panel and continued setting the flight path.

One evening, Murong Wan was waiting for him in her room.

She was wearing that dark blue nightgown, her hair loose, sitting by the window.

When Qin Lin pushed the door open and entered, she put down her book: "Qin Lin, you're finally back."

Qin Lin walked over and sat down beside her: "Auntie Wan, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Murong Wan looked at him: "I was waiting for you. You've been coming back later and later lately."

Qin Lin lowered his head: "I'm sorry."

Murong Wan reached out and touched his face: "You've lost weight. Haven't you been eating properly lately?"

Qin Lin held her hand: "I have. Yuran brings me food every day."

Murong Wan looked at him and was silent for a moment: "Qin Lin, you don't need to be in such a rush. The matters on The Ark cannot be finished in a day or two."

Qin Lin shook his head: "I can't. The bad premonition in my heart is getting stronger and stronger."

Murong Wan reached out and pulled him into her embrace: "But you can't exhaust yourself either. If you collapse, what will happen to everyone on The Ark?"

Qin Lin buried his face in her shoulder: "I know, but I can't stop."

"Fine, with three women a day, you wouldn't have any regrets even if you worked yourself to death."

Murong Wan didn't say anything more, just held him, her hand patting his back gently.

The starry sky outside the window was slowly rotating, and the night was deep.

In the days that followed, Qin Lin still did not stop.

Every day he brought in new passengers, arranged accommodations, assigned tasks, and then continued forward accompanied by the System prompts.

There were more and more new passengers, and there were new faces in the corridors of The Ark every day.

One day, Jiang Xue met Qin Lin in the corridor and saw that he was holding a tablet and looking at data.

She didn't speak, just walked over, placed a cup of tea in his hand, and then turned and left.

Qin Lin looked at the tea in his hand, then at her retreating back, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he picked up the tea and took a sip.

Liu Ruyan was one of the people on The Ark who supported Qin Lin the most.

She stood with her big belly in the living room and said to the new women: "Since you have boarded the ship, you must do the tasks—the More Children, More Blessings Task. Give birth to children; The Ark needs children, and we also need children. Don't be afraid; giving birth doesn't hurt."

The new women looked at her; some nodded, some hesitated, and some lowered their heads without speaking.

Liu Ruyan smiled: "Take your time to think about it, there's no rush. But once you've decided, come find Qin Lin. He is very busy every day; if you don't take the initiative to find him, he won't know when you are ready."

Zhao Shuang nodded from the side: "That's right, Qin Lin won't force you, but you can't keep waiting forever."

The new passengers looked at each other, and some stood up and walked toward the Bridge.

Liu Ruyan watched that retreating figure and smiled with satisfaction.

On the day the number of women on The Ark surpassed ninety, the System prompt echoed in every corner of The Ark.

[Total number of female passengers on The Ark: 92]

[Pregnant: 58]

[Children born: 28]

Qin Lin looked at the numbers on the panel; there were still eight left until one hundred.

He took a deep breath and continued setting the flight path.

The next target was hundreds of kilometers away, a medium-sized survivor gathering place.

The Ark turned and flew in that direction.

Shen Qingyi stood at the entrance of the Bridge for a while, watching Qin Lin's figure, and then walked in: "Qin Lin, the new arrivals have all been settled."

Qin Lin didn't even turn his head: "Mm."

Shen Qingyi looked at him: "You have already brought in three groups of people today. Do you want to take a break?"

Qin Lin shook his head: "No need, I'm not tired. The System has upgraded my Physique again; I am terrifyingly strong now."

Shen Qingyi didn't say anything more, walked over to him, and looked at the scan on the holographic screen: "Where is the next group?"

Qin Lin pointed to a light spot: "Here, there are about dozens of survivors, at least five meet the scoring requirements."

Shen Qingyi nodded: "Okay, I'll go prepare."

She turned and left.

Qin Lin watched her retreating back, and an indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.

Every woman on The Ark was helping him; everyone was supporting him in her own way.

He felt that he could not stop because there was a whole Ark of people behind him waiting for him.

The day the number of women on The Ark reached one hundred was an ordinary evening.

Qin Lin was marking new targets on the Bridge when the System prompt suddenly sounded. It wasn't the usual short ding, but a long, horn-like melody.

[Total number of female passengers on The Ark: 100]

Qin Lin looked at the numbers on the panel and was silent for a long time.

There was still a long way to go to reach one hundred children and one hundred mothers, but at least the number of women had been reached.

He stood up, walked out of the Bridge, and came into the corridor.

The corridor was very quiet, and the night lights had been dimmed.

He walked to the door of Room No. 15, stood still, and reached out to touch the door panel.

"One hundred women now. I will continue to work hard."

No one answered him, but he knew she had heard.

Qin Lin turned and returned to the Bridge.

He turned on the holographic screen and continued marking new targets.

The starry sky outside the window was slowly rotating, and The Ark was sailing through the Universe, carrying one hundred women and new lives in gestation.

The day the number of children on The Ark reached fifty, Qin Lin stood on the Observation Tower and watched the starry sky for a long time.

Behind him was The Ark, the lights, the laughter and crying, one hundred women, and fifty children.

He felt the burden on his shoulders was heavy, but he didn't feel tired because everyone was helping him share it.

He remembered what the woman in Room No. 15 had said: "Too slow."

He didn't know if he could reach the goal before one hundred children were born, but he knew that as long as he didn't stop, he would get there one day.

The starry sky of The Ark was slowly rotating, and the road ahead was still very long.

...

Qin Lin's sense of crisis did not disappear with the number of women reaching one hundred; instead, it became heavier.

Because he realized that one hundred women did not mean the task was completed.

Qin Lin sat on the Bridge for a whole night, staring at the data on the holographic screen.

He needed to get more women pregnant and have more children born.

He called up the scanning array again to search for new survivors in the Central Region Inland.

There were fewer and fewer women who met the scoring requirements because those who should have been brought in had been, but there were still a few scattered ones.

He marked all the light spots, set the flight path, then stood up and walked out of the Bridge.

In the corridor, Su Yuran was coaxing Qin An to sleep.

Qin An was already four years old, but he had been having nightmares lately and would cry out "Papa" in the middle of the night.

Su Yuran held him and sat on the bench in the corridor, humming softly.

Seeing Qin Lin come out, she looked up: "You haven't slept yet?"

Qin Lin walked over and sat down beside her: "I can't sleep."

Su Yuran looked at him: "Thinking about the task again?"

Qin Lin nodded.

Su Yuran was silent for a moment: "Then what do you plan to do?"

Qin Lin looked at her: "Continue to bring in new people, and let those who aren't pregnant get pregnant as soon as possible."

Su Yuran looked down at Qin An, who had fallen asleep in her arms: "Qin Lin, you have already worked very hard; don't be too anxious."

Qin Lin reached out and touched Qin An's head: "I know."

Su Yuran didn't say anything more.

The two sat on the bench in the corridor; Qin An was asleep in Su Yuran's arms, breathing evenly.