Chapter 15: Sniper: I’m a Pregnant Woman
Xue Yu was mortified, her scalp tingling.
If Blueberry were just an ordinary pet, it wouldn’t matter. It could play however it wanted, and Xue Yu wouldn’t bother to intervene; she’d just chalk it up to kids liking to be close. The problem was, Blueberry was her spirit body, and a spirit body shared a mental link with its master. The “pleasure” generated by Blueberry and that octopus’s shameless behavior would also be fed back to Xue Yu and the sniper.
Xue Yu didn’t dare to even look the sniper in the eye. Steeling herself, she went up and grabbed Blueberry’s tail. She couldn’t use too much force; blue-ringed octopuses on Earth were highly venomous, and Xue Yu didn’t know if this one, as a spirit body, was also poisonous.
She had to apologize to the sniper first. “I’m so sorry. This seahorse is my spirit body. It’s a little… overly friendly.”
The sniper turned to look at her. Under his helmet, his eyes were extremely dark, the pupils so black they almost looked purple. Meeting his gaze felt like being locked onto by a hawk searching for prey.
The sniper’s eyes met hers for a brief moment before he quickly looked away. He reached a hand behind his back and patted the octopus’s head. His voice was raspy, as if he were deliberately disguising his natural tone. “Xiaoxue, let go.”
Such a terrifying octopus, yet it has such a harmless name like ‘Little Snow’, Xue Yu thought to herself.
The octopus’s mouth was located between its head and the base of its tentacles. The two creatures were still locked in a “kiss.” The octopus’s tentacles were thick and strong, several of them wrapped tightly around the seahorse. Xue Yu was worried the octopus might swallow her Blueberry whole.
“Xiaoxue, let go,” the sniper ordered again.
The octopus’s powerful tentacles flowed open like water, releasing the seahorse. Two tentacles cupped the seahorse’s head, gazing at it with longing, reluctant to part.
Xue Yu took her seahorse and held it tightly in her arms. She clenched her fist and pretended to punch it on the head a couple of times. “I could just kill you!”
The sniper’s dark eyes, sharp as blades, glanced at the blue seahorse. “Your spirit body?”
“Yep,” Xue Yu said proudly. “Just like your octopus, it’s a water-type.”
The sniper gave a slight nod. “It’s very beautiful. It looks like it has a boundless future.”
For the three years she had been in this bizarre place, the words that followed Xue Yu like a shadow were always “waste,” “idiot,” and “rookie.” She desperately needed a compliment. The sniper’s “boundless future” nearly made her bloom with joy. She felt giddy, wanting to spin around with the seahorse in her arms.
“Hahaha, it’s alright!” Xue Yu said with a laugh, then asked, “By the way, are you going to the South Continent?”
Sniper: “Mm.”
Xue Yu: “Are you going to see a doctor?”
Sniper: “Mm.”
The seahorse and the octopus were still utterly infatuated, their tails and tentacles intertwined. Xue Yu couldn’t bring herself to be the villain and separate them. She continued to make awkward small talk with the sniper. “Are you going for an injury? Is it serious?”
“It’s fine. I just need a small surgery.”
Xue Yu suspected it was definitely not a small surgery. Judging by his equipment, his status in the White Tower wasn’t low; he should have access to high-quality medical resources. But he was traveling alone on foot to the South Continent for surgery. He must have some difficult-to-treat illness and could only try his luck with the unconventional doctors there.
“It’s not that I didn’t want to give you a ride,” Xue Yu added. “It’s just that the car belongs to my friend. I couldn’t make the decision.”
“It’s fine.” As he spoke, the sniper’s gaze passed over her shoulder to Zhou Siyan, who was standing by the SUV in the distance. Then, he turned and rejoined the walking group.
Xue Yu waved from behind. “Safe travels!”
The sniper, his back to her, lifted a hand and waved back.
Few people ever wished him safe travels, but Xue Yu loved to say it. It seemed to be her catchphrase. During the brief month they were together, he was often away on missions. Every time he left, Xue Yu would call out from behind: Safe travels!
He walked a few more steps and could feel the thing inside his stomach moving, acting up, bumping against his internal organs.
Xue Yu hadn’t recognized him, her ex-boyfriend. But the child in his stomach had recognized its mother.
…
Xue Yu returned to Zhou Siyan’s side, holding the seahorse. “Alright, let’s go. This Blueberry is really nothing but trouble for me every day.”
Zhou Siyan squinted at the sniper in the group ahead. “He’s going to the South Continent too?”
“Yep. To see a doctor. Said he needs surgery.”
“Surgery…” Zhou Siyan was lost in thought.
They got back in the car. Xue Yu put Blueberry in the back seat with Blackbrow and the little seahorse. The moment Blueberry was near the panther, they started acting lovey-dovey again, nuzzling and kissing.
Xue Yu couldn’t bear to watch. She covered her face with her hand and reminded them, “Blueberry, you just kissed that octopus. It was a blue-ringed octopus. It might be poisonous. Now you’re back kissing Blackbrow. Don’t you go and poison him.”
Blueberry blew a stream of bubbles at Xue Yu, looking very pleased with itself.
Zhou Siyan sat in the passenger seat and calmly picked up his scissors and thread, continuing to alter the t-shirt from last night.
Xue Yu started the car. After only ten minutes, they were hit by a rolling sandstorm. The storm nearly buried the SUV and the walking group ahead. Xue Yu and Zhou Siyan took shelter in the car, while in the back, Blueberry and Blackbrow huddled together, holding their child.
Half an hour later, the sandstorm passed. The windshield was covered in sand. Xue Yu pushed open the door to check. The yellow sand had completely buried the SUV’s tires. Looking ahead, the once-green plains had turned a vast expanse of yellow. Half of the group that had been walking to the South Continent was buried in the sand.
“You wait in the car. I’m going to rescue them!” Xue Yu said to Zhou Siyan.
“I’m going with you.” Zhou Siyan got out too, one hand on his stomach as he walked with her.
They dug five people out of the sand. Thankfully, they were all still breathing. The sniper had managed to climb out on his own. He was sitting to the side, clutching his abdomen, looking unwell.
Xue Yu offered him a bottle of water. “Is your stomach bothering you?”
“I’m fine.” The sniper refused her water; he had his own in his backpack.
Dust swirled in the distance as a formidable convoy of five vehicles approached, flying the flag of the White Tower Rescue Team. A tall young woman in a gray-blue rescue jumpsuit got out of the lead vehicle. Her seaweed-like hair had a few purple streaks and was braided into a thick plait that hung over her right shoulder.
“Hello, everyone! We’re the White Tower Rescue Team, here to save you. Don’t worry!” the woman announced.
Xue Yu realized the woman was a former classmate from the military academy, Yan Wantang. Her grades had been excellent, on par with Zhou Siyan’s. She was one of the top cadets the academy had focused on grooming.
Not wanting to reveal his identity, Zhou Siyan turned away and put on a face mask.
Yan Wantang’s eyes were sharp. She spotted Xue Yu immediately and walked over, laughing loudly. “My god, Xue Yu, what are you doing here? Did you get kicked out of the White Tower?”
Xue Yu stammered, at a loss for words.
Yan Wantang’s laugh was loud. She clapped Xue Yu hard on the shoulder. “Hahaha, my little Xue Yu, you still look so… um, incompetent.”
Xue Yu forced a laugh. “You’re here on a rescue mission?”
Yan Wantang loved to laugh, revealing a perfect set of eight white teeth each time. “Yep! Don’t worry, I’ll get you all out of here! A chosen one like me was born to save good-for-nothings like you.”
She quickly organized the rescue, having her team dig everyone out of the sand. The rescue was timely; no one had died. Yan Wantang stood with her hands behind her back, counting them off. Including Xue Yu and Zhou Siyan, there were twenty-five people in total.
She clapped her hands and laughed again. “Twenty-five people, but our rescue vehicles can’t fit that many. What should we do?”
“My friend and I have a car,” Xue Yu said. “Can you help us pull it out? We can take our own car.”
“Even if you and your friend have your own car, we still don’t have enough room for the rest,” Yan Wantang said, looking troubled. Her eyebrows shot up, and she burst into another laugh. “How about this? The ratio of men to women looks about even. Let’s just kill half of them.”
Xue Yu’s eyes went wide. The others were also terrified. Before anyone could speak, Yan Wantang took a coin from her pocket and said with a smile, “Alright, alright, let’s let fate decide. If it lands on heads, the women live. If it lands on tails, the men live. Fair enough, right?”
She quickly tossed the coin in the air and caught it. Slowly, she opened her hands. “Hahaha, heads! Ladies, today is your lucky day.”
Yan Wantang pulled a gun from her waist. The team members behind her got out of their vehicles as well, carrying several strange cases.
A strange look flashed in Zhou Siyan’s eyes. He pulled Xue Yu close and whispered in her ear, “Those are life-support containers. Yan Wantang is involved in organ trafficking with an underground organization.”
“Then what do we do?” Xue Yu’s palms were sweating.
“Don’t make any sudden moves for now.”
Yan Wantang waved her hand. “Ladies, please stand to the right. Gentlemen, to the left. Please accept fate’s arrangement peacefully.”
Several women, their faces covered in sand, huddled together, moving away from the men.
The sniper, who had been clutching his stomach, walked steadily toward the women’s group. He was still wearing his mask and helmet, only his deep-set eyes visible. Feeling Yan Wantang’s scrutinizing gaze, the sniper lowered the hand that had been on his stomach. His voice was extremely hoarse. “I’m a pregnant woman.”
Xue Yu froze, a realization dawning on her.
Yan Wantang walked over, clearly skeptical.
The sniper opened his hands. Through the brown camouflage uniform, the slight swell of his belly was visible. “You can check,” he said calmly.
Yan Wantang held out a hand to her subordinate. “Get me the stethoscope.”
A team member quickly handed it to her. The sniper undid his belt buckle, then the buttons of his outer jacket, leaving only a form-fitting black undershirt.
Yan Wantang placed the stethoscope against his slightly raised abdomen, over the black shirt. Sure enough, she heard a fetal heartbeat.