Jiang Zhi's eyes were filled with both guilt and anticipation.
If Shen Zhi died during this mission, he would become my next breeding partner. I didn't care about having a relationship with him. I only needed him to care about me and obey me.
Ruan Wei had someone deliver soup she personally made. Now she was the only pregnant woman left in the base, receiving comprehensive protection. This meant fewer people around me.
My physical foundation was indeed good. After half a month of rest, I had almost recovered. But I couldn't show it - every day I pretended to be depressed and bedridden.
Half a month later, Jiang Zhi obtained access privileges. Hand in hand, we evaded guards and arrived at the white building under night's cover. The place looked different from my previous visits - weeds had been cleared, and staff were busy inside. It seemed the previous earthquake wasn't accidental.
As I pondered how to enter, Jiang Zhi suddenly pulled me into a corner. Passersby discussed work matters: 'It's been almost a month with no news from Major Shen.' 'Transporting the core from such distance isn't easy. If they encounter a zombie horde, complete annihilation is possible.' 'Why would the higher-ups restart this machine?' 'I heard they detected energy fluctuations six months ago.'
Six months ago was exactly when Ruan Wei and I traveled through time.
After they left, Jiang Zhi still didn't release me. Our bodies pressed together, the young man's forehead glistening with sweat. He suddenly kissed me - secretive yet passionate. I turned away: 'Not here, someone might see.' He reluctantly withdrew, breathing heavily. I sensed he was different from Shen Zhi, less bound by rules. If we truly got together, I might not be able to handle it.
13
I finally saw the machine. Towering and solemn, like an ancient beast. Before it, I felt ant-like. Touching its surface, I seemed to feel the clamor of the original world. Whether illusion or reality, this place might connect to my original world.
Jiang Zhi thought time travel impossible, believing the machine was just the elite's spiritual placebo. I didn't tell him I came from another spacetime. I prayed Shen Zhi would return with the core soon.
Back at our quarters, as we climbed over the wall, searchlights suddenly illuminated us. I'd anticipated this - security officers were too experienced for my absence to go unnoticed long. So I used Jiang Zhi. Clinging to him tenderly, I made everyone think I'd taken him as my lover out of loneliness. As my second gene match, with Shen Zhi's fate unknown, the base approved our union. After mild reprimands, the matter was closed.
Ruan Wei often appeared in my sight, her belly now swollen. Everyone pampered her like a wealthy matriarch from TV dramas, even having aides feed her water. Sometimes our eyes met through glass - former confidants now separated by silence.
Another month passed with no news of Shen Zhi's team. The base declared them lost, preparing a second team. My breeding arrangement with Jiang Zhi was scheduled.
Staring at my mirror reflection - human yet treated like livestock - I plotted to delay this. Suddenly, the elder stormed in with entourage. Jiang Zhi saluted, ignored. The elder grabbed my hair: 'You aborted that child intentionally.'
They'd analyzed the embryo in labs, finding drug traces. I meant to deny it, but his words triggered defiance: 'No reason needed. I refuse.' 'So you'd abort again?' 'If this world still treats me as breeding stock, yes.'
His slap made my head spin. 'You owe us,' he sneered. Jiang Zhi stood stunned in his crisp uniform. Ruan Wei stepped forward, then retreated.
They paraded me through streets as warning. Men lining roads cursed me for 'exploiting resources' while 'refusing motherhood,' demanding I be imprisoned below the tower as repayment. But my body's value kept me in the tower's top lab - darkening windows plunging me into blackness.
Following Xiao Xi's path, I became an experiment. They drew blood for research. But unlike her hunger strike, I ate every corn kernel and potato provided.
