Chapter 383: Tracking the Hot Post

Chapter 383: Chapter 383: Tracking the Hot Post

Jiang Xia leaned toward the camera, a proud look on his face. "Haha, Admiral He, I got a high contribution medal too."

With that, he pulled out the medal to show it off. In the past, only He Hanshi had something like this, but now several of them did. This was especially true for Shi Lan; her spirit body’s contribution had been the greatest, and a huge number of Contribution Points had been deposited into her account.

In the Empire, Contribution Points could only be obtained through tangible achievements, making them far more difficult to acquire than money.

Many soldiers, for instance, hoped to save up enough Contribution Points to get a better spot in the queue for being assigned a Female.

He Hanshi’s gaze was gentle, his eyes filled with admiration. "Well done. You were all amazing. Thank you for all your hard work."

"Hehe..."

Being praised so suddenly by He Hanshi actually made Jiang Xia a little embarrassed.

Mu Tangfeng, on the other hand, greatly appreciated the praise, coming as it did from his long-time idol. While it might have seemed like he did nothing during the confrontation with the former Monarch, his help had been indispensable in evacuating Lanlan and providing support.

As for the others, none of them felt he was undeserving of the high contribution medal either.

In their minds, simply protecting Lanlan was the greatest contribution of all.

...

After the matter with the former Monarch was settled, Capital Star began to rebuild, and everything returned to normal.

The population of the Insect Clan on the Border Defense Star also returned to its previous, normal levels after the recent outbreak.

In short, everyone’s lives returned to their former stability. Shi Lan could finally stop worrying constantly that she would be captured by Dr. Ai and the former Monarch.

Seeing that things had settled down, Jiang Xia, Mu Tangfeng, and Yan Huoshui also returned to their respective posts.

But as Shi Lan’s belly grew bigger with her second pregnancy, one of her Beast Husbands had to be with her at all times to tend to any needs that might arise and promptly serve his wife.

The men took turns according to their original rotation. He Hanshi’s shifts were temporarily covered by the other four.

Having gone through her first pregnancy, Shi Lan had expected carrying twins to be even more exhausting, but it seemed her symptoms weren’t as severe this time around.

’Perhaps it was because her first pregnancy had been so tumultuous. It had been a turbulent time, she had been captured, and her emotions had been a tense, unstable mess, all of which had taken a toll on her.’

Now that she no longer had to worry about her safety, Shi Lan felt happy and blissful every day. She spent her time watching the big mushroom cub transfer its spiritual power, caressing her belly to interact with the cubs inside, and knowing her Beast Husbands could be summoned to care for her at a moment’s notice.

In the fifth month of pregnancy, the twin cubs were once again moved from her womb into two large mushrooms.

When the due date for the first of the twins arrived and the baby still hadn’t been born, Shi Lan grew worried. The first-time fathers would get up several times a night to check on the cubs, constantly searching the Star Network for information on cub births.

This led to a popular post suddenly appearing on the Star Network, titled: "My wife is 10 months pregnant. Why hasn’t the cub come out yet? The cub isn’t in trouble, is it?"

Some of the "pro-Female" activists who saw this title were all set to jump in and flame the original poster. But when they looked closer, they saw the post was made under a real name: Jiang Xia. Following his post were replies from Mu Tangfeng, Yan Huoshui, the Monarch, and Admiral He—each of them officially verified, with the insignia of a high contribution medal next to their names.

Reply #2, Mu Tangfeng: [Same question here.]

Reply #3, He Hanshi: [Thank you, everyone.]

Reply #4, Yan Huoshui: [Hoping someone can offer concrete, constructive advice. Any helpful suggestions that are adopted will be rewarded.]

Reply #5, Ye Ming: [We encourage all citizens to speak freely, but please adhere to the rules of online discourse.]

Seeing this lineup, the entire galaxy now knew that the pregnant Female in question was Shi Lan.

However, it was common knowledge that the Monarch’s family was a harmonious one, and all the Beast Husbands treated Miss Shi Lan very well. As the only 3S Female in the galaxy, her family already garnered a great deal of public attention. That wasn’t even mentioning that her Beast Husbands were all powerful and influential; any slight disturbance would instantly become a trending topic online.

Besides, what male wouldn’t treasure such an outstanding Female?

This was the kind of blessing you couldn’t hope to receive even if your ancestors had been accumulating good karma for three generations!!

The pro-Female activists who had initially seen the title and, mistakenly believing the poster only cared about the cub and not the Female, had wanted to start a flame war, instantly softened their tone when they saw who these men were.

#6 MyWifeIsATreasure: [Have you gone for a prenatal check-up? For a problem like this, shouldn’t you be asking a doctor?]

——OP Jiang Xia replied: [No, the situation is a little different...]

——MyWifeIsATreasure replied: [What are you waiting for? Go get her checked out! Since when is asking on the internet more useful than seeing a doctor?]

Following this, the comment received over two thousand replies, all echoing the same question: why not go to the hospital for an examination?

’Jiang Xia wanted to, but... who else has a baby incubating in a giant mushroom? How were they supposed to get *that* checked out?’

Still, they monitored the cub’s heartbeat every day, and occasionally, the imprint of a kick would appear on the mushroom’s surface.

It was only because of this that the men could barely maintain their composure and find the time to seek help online.

#7 NeedMyWifeAndCub: [You’re concerned about the Female but you come online instead of going to a doctor? I have a reasonable suspicion that the first five replies are just a humblebrag.]

——OneBowlIsNotEnough replied: [Dude, I’ve seen the light! You’re right!]

——HereForTheDrama replied: [Damn, another day, another reminder. Is having a wife really that great? *Cries*. You have no consideration for us single males at all.]

——NobodyLovesMe replied: [The more I think about it, the more horrifying it is. He’s showing off two things at once: a wife and a cub.]

——OP Jiang Xia replied: [I’m not that kind of person!]

——Mu Tangfeng replied: [I can confirm he’s not showing off. After all, the cub isn’t necessarily his.]

——He Hanshi replied: [...]

——Ye Ming replied: [No.]

——Yan Huoshui replied: [Please don’t misunderstand. We really are concerned about the cub.]

——GimmeGimme replied: [La la la, I can’t hear you! Aaaaaah, I want a wife and a cub too!]

With that comment derailing the thread, the subsequent replies inevitably went off-topic, no matter how hard people tried to stay on track.

Everyone came to the consensus that Jiang Xia and the other four were just showing off. The post ended up with more downvotes than comments, but thanks to its huge number of views, it quickly went viral anyway.

The five of them were understanding, however. ’It can’t be helped,’ they thought. ’Those of us with a wife and a cub just have to be more considerate of the single males.’

In the end, they didn’t find anyone online who gave them a serious answer; the vast majority just told them to go see a doctor.

The five men read every single comment on the post from top to bottom but came away with nothing useful. Their only option was to pay close attention to the big mushroom cub for any unusual activity.

Thankfully, a few days after Shi Lan had transferred the twins, the big mushroom finally began to "blossom."

The process was rather slow. At first, the movements inside the big mushroom became more pronounced, and then it gradually started to turn transparent.

Xiao Du focused its senses. This was its first time helping its master incubate a cub, so it hadn’t known exactly when the baby would be born. But after carefully sensing again, it finally confirmed, [The cub is about to be born.]