At this moment, Evenheiler’s mind was a complete blank, and far away, Raytin’s expression had turned somewhat peculiar.
He was currently closing his eyes, mentally coordinating his fleet and screening various star sectors within the Human Federation. But simultaneously, he had diverted a portion of his energy to monitor Evenheiler’s condition.
That collar—which was merely gold-plated copper—currently possessed a bizarre strength sufficient to resist the Resistance’s laser cutters, precisely because Raytin was remotely maintaining its stability and integrity.
Since a sliver of his power and will was present there, how could he not know what had transpired?
After all, he had long ago etched remote analysis and situational monitoring into his very DNA.
And then, he was profoundly shaken. He was utterly stunned.
*Pre... Pregnant?!!*
In mid-air, Raytin had originally been preparing to take a long-overdue nap, but now all traces of sleepiness had vanished.
He swore to the heavens that he had never intended to get Evenheiler pregnant—though they hadn't used contraception. Given their status as high-level espers and Evenheiler’s physical condition, any sane person would have thought such measures unnecessary.
When an esper’s power reached B-class, their life form already began to diverge from that of normal organisms. The bodies of espers at this level underwent subtle, all-encompassing evolutions that varied from person to person. This evolution, which included the mental plane, was gradual before they reached maturity, but followed an extremely sharp upward trajectory afterward.
At the same time, while such people might not necessarily display particularly striking differences from childhood, the internal changes made it naturally difficult for them to mingle harmoniously with ordinary people.
Furthermore... it would begin to lower their fertility rate.
In nature, the more powerful a creature, the fewer offspring it produced; the more highly evolved an intelligent being, the lower its birth rate. This was a natural balance, ensuring that a race possessing the three advantages of "individual strength," "high intelligence," and "rapid reproduction" would not easily appear in this world.
The reason for saying "not easily" was that such creatures had indeed appeared in history. Regardless of their racial origins, they were collectively known as "Biological Final Producers," and on the Star Net, they had another, more theatrical name: "Calamity Species."
As the name implied, biological races possessing all these advantages had, without exception, eventually become disasters that plundered resources throughout nature and the starry skies.
The only existing "Calamity Species" was the "Great Devouring Insect." The S-class esper codenamed "Architect" was the matriarch of this race, and she was also the only S-class esper in the galaxy—past or present—to have successful bloodline descendants.
There were currently about a hundred and thirty suspected S-class espers in the galaxy. At least twenty of them had lived for over three hundred years, and a few among them were particularly fond of pleasure, having fooled around for centuries without a single issue.
If the fertility rate of an S-class was this low, it was even more so for a Double S. In fact, there was no historical record of a Double S ever being able to conceive a child with anyone.
How could you expect a natural "esper mecha" to produce offspring with a biological being?
Even a mere hint of dissipated energy from a Double S could easily kill a B-class or lower esper, let alone allowing the genes of two parties to combine under such an energetic threat!
Forget miracles; it could only be a disaster!
If the host’s power was strong while the foreign genes were fragile, the latter would be ruthlessly consumed by the former, ending the pregnancy before it began. If the situation were reversed, the foreign side would destroy the embryo with overwhelming force, leading to the same result.
Raytin’s brow furrowed as he paced back and forth.
Truthfully, he was reluctant to let Evenheiler sense the greater anomalies within that collar. If he did, the man would undoubtedly use every means at his disposal to destroy it, as it inevitably exposed the Resistance’s confidential information.
Just as now—though Raytin could not see the specific appearances of the Resistance high-ranking officials, he had already memorized their energy fluctuations and general physical outlines. As long as they appeared within his range of fine perception, he would certainly be able to seize them.
His methods could fully be described as "peeping" or even "surveillance," and they had nothing to do with what was "right." No normal person would accept having their life monitored like this, but Evenheiler’s identity, stance, and physical condition left Raytin with no choice.
Raytin’s frown deepened.
He quickly flipped through the Human Federation’s internal network, pulling several terabytes of relevant papers and various records from authoritative medical databases. While using his Double S brain to digest the knowledge at high speed, he hesitated over whether to project more power to personally investigate Evenheiler’s physical state.
After hesitating for a long time, he finally couldn't resist projecting more power and computational capacity when Evenheiler returned to his private room alone.
A child, a bloodline descendant, and—a descendant shared *with Evenheiler*.
This matter was of immense significance; he had to confirm the truth of the information.
More importantly, pregnancy and childbirth were difficult for most viviparous carbon-based organisms, and humans were no exception.
Although after so many genetic adjustments, Orion humans had not faced childbirth issues due to their own constitutions for many years, and the "Omega" body was relatively suited for reproduction...
Whether this embryo—which might not have even finished the fusion process—would place a burden or cause harm to the person carrying it was the more important concern.
Even though the current Evenheiler could still punch through a standard bulletproof steel plate, in Raytin’s eyes, his body had already become fragile to a worrying degree.
If this child existed, it would be a massive burden for Evenheiler.
***
Evenheiler returned to his room.
His expression was heavy and full of worry, his face slightly pale. When he entered and closed the door, he inadvertently let out a "Bang!" that he would never normally make.
The sound startled even him. He reflexively darted to the other side of the room, staring at the door. Then he froze, a surge of irritating shame and anger rising in his heart: this made him look like a cat frightened by its own shadow.
*Too stupid,* he thought, gritting his teeth.
Whether it was his overreaction, the disastrous relationship between him and Raytin, or even his original choice to approach the man... No, going back further, he shouldn't have returned to the Federation at all. He should have spent those ten years wandering the galaxy under a brand-new identity!
Evenheiler fell backward, collapsing into his soft bed, recalling every fragment of his time with Raytin over the years.
A moment later, he struck his forehead with his hand in resentment, covering his eyes.
His life always seemed to encounter some unexpected error at every critical juncture.
The whole thing was a stupid disaster.
What was even more disastrous was that in the next moment, he realized his wrist was being held by a hand that was warm yet far too hard.
The sensation felt unfamiliar yet far too recognizable, so much so that he didn't even struggle. Instead, after a long silence, he suddenly let out a cold laugh.
*Not surprising,* he thought.
"A miracle, right?" The blonde man pursed his lips and said hoarsely, "Are you satisfied? Look at me, 'Sun Star.' What have you turned me into?"
Since he had provoked a sun, or a giant steel tower that pierced through heaven and earth, he should have known clearly that he wouldn't be let go so easily.
But this collar... he really had to find a way to destroy it soon.
"..."
Raytin was also somewhat speechless.
He rarely had moments like this—usually, when he didn't speak, it was because he was thinking or simply didn't want to talk. That was nothing like the current situation.
Evenheiler gave his hand a tug. When the grip was controlled and released, he moved his hand away from his eyes.
He saw a moving metal figure. It was clearly fashioned from the metal isolation wall of his cabin, its form a blurred outline of Raytin himself.
The fellow had even specifically heated the metal to prevent him from being chilled.
This caused Evenheiler to stare at the place where the eye sockets should be for a moment before he suddenly said, "Don't tell me this is the limit of your control."
After a moment of silence, every inch of the metal statue’s appearance changed in synchronization. In less than two breaths, it became a lifelike, detailed figure, right down to the strands of hair.
It was a mature, steady enemy soldier, a general, a commander, and also a young man of twenty-seven.
And the "father of his child."
*Fuck.*
Life was truly full of variables—if Evenheiler himself were only twenty-seven, he certainly wouldn't have imagined that he would one day fall in love with a young man nearly twenty years his junior, and even... er, reach this stage.
This was really... not great.
If the other person weren't this man.
Evenheiler closed his eyes again and sighed, "You know everything?"
"...Yes," Raytin replied.
He reached out, wanting to pull him into his arms from behind as they had done every time they were together before.
But after extending his hand, the cold, sharp silver reflection made him suddenly realize that he had only diverted a portion of his spare mental energy here. This body was an alloy statue; no matter how he controlled the temperature, the tactile sensation could never be like his own body.
Thousands of miles away, Raytin slumped into his seat, letting out a somewhat powerless sigh.
As the "Sun Star"—facing war, disasters, extraterrestrial visitors, darkness, despair, and ancient crises... from the "last time" to this time, he had never feared any of it in the slightest.
But if he briefly set aside the "Sun Star," set aside his power, wisdom, and status, to think about the only person in this world he couldn't deal with using those things, yet absolutely had to protect—Evenheiler Kang...
...He truly had a headache.
"Come back, Even..." he whispered, offering the gentle persuasion he had given countless times over these past days. "Regardless of whether I'll be a father, your physical condition needs better medical maintenance, which the Resistance cannot provide..."
As he spoke, his expression suddenly changed, and he stopped talking. At that moment, a communication redirected by "Tianhe" lit up on the peripheral terminal before him.
And the user submitting the communication—was "Imperial Blade," whom he hadn't seen for some time.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 生物终产者 | Biological Final Producers | A term for races that are powerful, intelligent, and fast-breeding. |
| 灾厄种 | Calamity Species | A more dramatic name for Biological Final Producers. |
| 巨噬虫 | Great Devouring Insect | The only existing Calamity Species. |
| 建筑师 | Architect | The S-class esper and matriarch of the Great Devouring Insects. |
| 帝刃 | Imperial Blade | A character or title (Di Ren). |
| 天河 | Tianhe | Likely an AI or network system (Sky River). |
