136: There, here

Pitch black.

As Kong Jiamu crawled out of the mud-like Star Worm Nest sludge with a teammate on his back, the buzzing of insects still echoed around him.

It was supposed to be a simple mission to investigate suspicious energy, but they were first discovered by guards, and after a chaotic battle, they happened to stumble right into a Worm Point?

They were sent to this unknown planet just like that, and their communicators were completely dead.

They had to escape the swarm first and find the Star Worm Point that threw them here before they could return.

Or, hide themselves and wait for rescue.

But for six people alone outside, facing overwhelming numbers of Star Worms, their supplies and firepower were not infinite.

Fortunately, they found a Worm Nest and could mask their scent by covering themselves in nest mud.

However, during the process of fighting and retreating, the squad had already lost three people.

"Colonel... they... we won't get out of here, will we?" Of the remaining two, one knelt on the ground, his face deathly pale.

Kong Jiamu, who always wore white, now only had eyes that remained clean and sharp. He carefully placed the man on his back onto the ground, watching as the Worm Point not far away slowly closed and disappeared with each pulse.

The surrounding light seemed to be completely absorbed, leaving only a ring of residual energy ripples.

He narrowed his eyes.

The original path had completely vanished; they couldn't go back.

"Colonel..." The wounded soldier he had carried over had clouded eyes, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

Kong Jiamu leaned down. "Stay alive," he commanded.

The man looked up, a forced smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Sorry... I'm going to have to disobey orders."

He pleaded intermittently: "I'm gone... but she's still there... I mean, the mother of my Children. She's just a Foster Mother. Please, take care of her."

The man summoned his last bit of strength and grabbed Kong Jiamu's hand.

Kong Jiamu stared intently at him and nodded. The man's head slumped to the side, and his eyes closed.

A suppressed, low wail came from beside him.

Kong Jiamu silently placed the man's hand back on his chest and gave a military salute. For a split second, the image that flashed through his mind was actually Pearl's smiling face.

Is she doing okay... if he doesn't make it back this time, maybe no one would even go out of their way to notify her.

He couldn't entrust her to anyone else either.

Frowning slightly, he suddenly thought—no, he had asked Hain. That was fine then... Hain was always so reliable.

"Let's go, we need to hide well."

Patting his only remaining teammate, Kong Jiamu looked toward the road ahead once more.

***

At Kong Jiamu's home, the ground floor living room had been directly requisitioned by Tu Nan. In one corner, a large table was set up, covered with various potion bottles, perfumes, and folders.

It had effectively become an office for the three ladies, though now most of the time only she and Lance used it.

The elite team led by Hain would mostly bypass this fragrant area.

Amy and the two little ones, however, often passed through here to drag Tu Nan out to play or rest.

A startup company actually had so many trivial matters; this far exceeded Tu Nan's expectations. In her previous life, the brief experiences she had were with very mature company operations.

Even Lance, a researcher, was forced to bury his head in various tasks every day, and Tu Nan was the same.

She didn't consider herself a pregnant woman who needed special care. After all, on Beast Star, it was just difficult to conceive; once conceived, she hadn't heard of any trouble giving birth... the attrition of Foster Mothers was another matter.

But today, an accident occurred.

Not long after lunch, Tu Nan felt restless several times. Her stomach was churning constantly; was there something wrong with the food she just ate?

She sat up straight, trying to suppress the nausea, but it was no use.

Finally, she scrambled to her feet and rushed to the bathroom.

"Pearl?" Lance's pen was knocked to the floor as he hurriedly followed, only to see Tu Nan clutching the toilet in the bathroom, vomiting uncontrollably.

After a long while, Tu Nan finally emptied her stomach. She felt both exhausted and relieved, only able to stand up with Lance's support.

"What's going on?" Lance was very worried.

"I must have eaten something bad."

"We didn't eat anything unusual... and I'm fine..." A Foster Mother's stomach was indeed fragile, but whether it was Kong Jiamu or Hain, the meals prepared for the ladies here were very exquisite.

At least Lance, as a Foster Mother, had no trouble eating them.

Tu Nan didn't think much of it. After rinsing her mouth, she returned to the living room, just as Ao Ao came running in alone.

"Mama!" He ran ahead and reached Tu Nan's side, handing her a small pastry. "Amy made this. It's yummy, Mama eat it."

Miao Miao came catching up from behind, babbling and shouting. "I have one too! Mama eat mine!"

Tu Nan smiled and crouched down, intending to thank the Children, but then her expression changed drastically again.

The sweet scent of the pastry wafted into her nose, and her just-calmed stomach began to boil again. She dry-heaved several times and ran toward the bathroom again, her face pale.

"Mama! What's wrong!" Miao Miao was practically screaming.

Hain rushed out from the second floor, flipping directly over the railing to land in front of Tu Nan.

"What's happening?" His expression shifted.

"To the bathroom! Carry her there!" Lance caught up and gave direct orders. She felt... she knew what it was.

If it hadn't been for Lance's firm attitude, Hain would have almost carried Tu Nan straight to the hospital.

But in any case, after vomiting several more times under Hain's worried gaze, Tu Nan sat on the sofa holding warm water, having returned to normal.

"...I'm really okay." She innocently tried to shoo them away. "I really don't need to go to the hospital. There was just a dish at lunch that didn't digest well."

Tu Nan glanced at Lance.

Lance immediately helped her cover it up. "Yeah, my stomach feels a bit off too. I just took some medicine. I thought it was only me... hahaha..." Their eyes met, and they both understood the situation.

Hain was skeptical, but in the end, he couldn't win against Tu Nan and went upstairs full of worry.

One of his secretaries on the second floor saw all this, frowned, thought for a moment, and remained silent.

In the afternoon, Lance went out for a bit and came back with some pills that had their packaging removed for Tu Nan.

"Here, once in the morning and once at night." Lance slumped onto the soft carpet of the master bedroom. "No side effects, it suppresses pregnancy reactions."

Tu Nan immediately took one.

It was truly a lifesaver; otherwise, how would she eat dinner? Hain and his group often appeared in the dining room at dinner time.

"Clearly, it was fine last time," Tu Nan muttered.

Lance was speechless; discussing this with her was useless since she had no experience.

Tu Nan looked at Lance, who was slumped there like a puddle, and increasingly felt she was a partner sent from heaven—very timely and very reliable.

She had a problem that had remained unsolved; maybe she could ask Lance to continue helping?

"Um... there's something I don't think I've ever told you."

Tu Nan was truly a bit nervous, but since she had decided to speak, she might as well get it over with.

"There's something... I can't tell you how I know, but... the conclusion is correct. I have a way to increase the Rank of the child in my belly."

She secretly observed Lance's reaction from over the rim of her water glass.

Lance had already pulled her upper body straight up from the carpet, staring at her expressionlessly.

"...Miao Miao and Ao Ao have awakened their Talents. They will be S-Rank."

Lance's gaze was vacant.

Tu Nan swallowed, her eyes turning slightly red and her throat tightening.

She raised a finger and swore.

"It's true... you're not dreaming..."