Volume One, Chapter 16: Rested Goes to a Matchmaking Meeting

“Weren’t you the one who asked me to come drink? Leaving after just two bottles?”

“No, Resder, you’re really leaving!”

The two of them exited the bar one after the other.

Throughout the walk, Resder’s mind echoed with Galle’s words. Had he truly fallen in love? Lost in thought, he found himself standing before Meng Yu’s door without realizing it.

Night had already fallen; perhaps she had already gone to sleep.

Just as he turned to leave, a sudden cry came from inside the room.

Without hesitation, he kicked the door open.

“What’s wrong?”

Meng Yu was stunned—he just walked in like that? The door was clearly broken; the lock was cracked.

“I’m fine… I just accidentally hit my leg on the corner of the sofa. How did you—”

Only then did Resder realize how rude his behavior was, barging into a woman’s room unannounced.

“Sorry, I was just passing by and came to check on you. When I heard your cry, I thought you were in danger, so I rushed in. Don’t worry, I’ll have someone replace this door for you right away.”

With that, Resder turned and left before Meng Yu could even thank him.

She didn’t think much of it; the colonel was a decent person who sometimes checked on her. It was normal behavior.

To avoid arousing suspicion among the soldiers, Resder used his mental energy to move swiftly, reaching the study in just a few strides and closing the door behind him.

Leaning against the door, he looked up at the ceiling light. The intense brightness made him squint slightly.

He placed his hand over his heart, as if seeing his true feelings clearly for the first time, emotions overwhelmed him.

The moment he heard her cry out in pain, he didn’t hesitate to kick the door open. Tears welled up in his eyes, a physical reaction to the pain—a signal urging him to hold her close.

“No, this can’t be. I can’t possibly fall for a weak human, even if she has strong fertility.”

Resder refused to accept it, sitting at his desk and rubbing his forehead in frustration.

He must have gone too long without contact with a female; that had to be it.

He then opened his phone and accepted a matchmaking arrangement set up by his family.

That night, Meng Yu slept uneasily. For some reason, it was the first time since arriving in this unfamiliar galaxy that she dreamt of her family.

In the dream, she was sitting with her family at a hot pot restaurant when a strange man burst in, biting everyone. They tried to hide, but her family was bitten.

The image of her parents closing the door to block out the zombies, allowing her to escape, was etched deeply in her mind.

But even though she survived, what did it matter? She was the only living person left on the entire planet.

Exhausted, despairing, she stood on a tall building and jumped.

“No… Mom, Dad, don’t leave me.”

A tear slid down Meng Yu’s cheek, falling silently into the night without a ripple.

If one looked closely, the items around the incubator trembled slightly, accompanied by faint waves of mental energy.

One of the larger snake eggs was cracking bit by bit—but then stopped halfway.

At least Meng Yu no longer had nightmares.

The next morning, she noticed this and quickly called out to the system.

“System, didn’t it say the babies would take about a month to hatch? It’s been less than ten days and the egg is already cracking. Could it be spoiled?”

If the system had a physical form, it would surely have rolled its eyes.

[Host, these are snake eggs, not chicken eggs.]

[Host, don’t worry. The quick cracking might be related to the baby’s own mental energy, which appears to be strong. You should be able to earn more points.]

Meng Yu wasn’t concerned about points, but she had no idea what her babies would look like when they hatched.

“Do you think they’ll look gentler and kinder like me, or fierce and evil like that man?”

[Well, I don’t know their appearance, but I can confirm that when they hatch, they will be in beast form.]

“Beast form?”

“That means they’ll look like snakes at first. Later, they’ll have to learn how to evolve into beastmen.”

A thunderous boom exploded in Meng Yu’s mind.

“You’re telling me… they’ll turn into snakes first?”

[Exactly!]

Meng Yu wished she could just throw the incubator out. Being naturally afraid of invertebrates, this news felt like the sky was collapsing.

She immediately summoned her young maid and moved the incubator to the living room, as long as it wasn’t in her room.

At first, she thought she’d get two little babies after they hatched. Snake or not, as long as they ended up as cute little ones, she could pretend not to know anything. No one had told her that beastmen started out in their original beast form!

Though scared, she noticed the newly replaced door and thought of Resder. Since the female housekeeper died, she hadn’t brought him any human delicacies.

So—Meng Yu decided to make some snacks herself to give to him.

She asked the maid to help prepare the ingredients.

After a busy morning, the snacks were ready. She set off for the study with the treats in hand.

On the way, she saw several unfamiliar men carrying a strange tree and, curious as always, spoke out loud.

“What are they doing? And why are they carrying such a weird tree?”

“Miss, to prevent intruders at the kennel, the steward specially selected some thorny trees to strengthen the defenses. These trees were just delivered, so you’re lucky to see them.”

“The flowers at the back are really pretty,” Meng Yu said genuinely. She liked them, as many plants here were unfamiliar to her.

“When the kennel is finished planting, I’ll take you to see it,” they said.

“Thank you, Miss. Following you is the happiest thing.”

And the most dangerous, Meng Yu thought bitterly. Since coming to this planet, every outing had been fraught with danger. So she decided to stay on the estate and not go out. But danger found her anyway, and she had no idea what might happen next.

Usually, Resder was either working for the Federation or handling affairs in the study. They went there naturally but were told by the guard that the colonel had gone out.

Meng Yu asked the guard to give him the snacks when he returned, then she and the maid left the same way.

Back in her room, Meng Yu opened her phone to play, but soon heard the maid’s puzzled voice.

“Miss, I feel like something is missing from the room.”

“No, you must be imagining things.”

“I don’t know. It just feels like something’s missing, but I can’t say what.”

“All right, think about it later. Help me check how much the babies have hatched.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Soon the maid came running. “Miss, I know what’s missing.”

“What?”

“Your babies are gone.”

“What?” Meng Yu jumped up and went to check. The two snake eggs that had been in the incubator were completely gone.

The maid nervously paced. “What do we do? Could some other servant have seen them and thought they were food, then taken them to the kitchen to fry?”