...

...

Sun Hang did not linger at the frontline camp. Instead, he immediately found Ganna to get a plane and flew directly back to Tianfu City.

Getting off the plane, Sun Hang headed straight to the observation room where Yang Lian was, but just as he reached the door, he was stopped by Yang Qi, who had a somber expression on her face. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

"Don't go in yet," Yang Qi said in a low voice. "I'm afraid that seeing you might make her emotionally unstable, causing an anomaly in the enigmatic embryo inside her."

"...Alright." Sun Hang nodded obediently, "So, how is she doing now?"

"Her physical indicators are all normal, basically in line with the early pregnancy state of a typical woman," Yang Qi said. "Someone suggested removing the enigmatic embryo from her body, but she strongly opposed it."

"What do you think should be done?"

"Forcibly removing the embryo might result in memetic infection. Since the enigmatic embryo is currently in a relatively stable state inside her, it is best not to touch it. The Dubhe Tower also holds a similar opinion; I consulted Mr. Pei, who said that the decision is up to you," Yang Qi said, gently rubbing her temples, a trace of exhaustion showing in her eyes.

Yang Qi was not yet aware that Pei Zongjun had completely perished. When she said she was consulting Mr. Pei's opinion, she was actually consulting the central brain's will. For the central brain, the decision ultimately circled back to Sun Hang, the successor.

"Actually, if she was simply pregnant with your child, even if that child were an infected individual, I wouldn't be too surprised... However, the high congruence between the embryo's memes and Chimera 17 has raised my vigilance," Yang Qi said slowly, staring into Sun Hang's eyes. "Sun Hang, you need to be honest with me. Did you swallow Chimera 17 in that giant cocoon?"

Due to numerous secrets involved that might provoke interference from the Three Apes, Sun Hang did not explicitly reveal the final fate of Chimera 17 to them. He only acknowledged that Chimera 17 had disappeared, and the results of memetic testing supported Sun Hang's claim from various angles.

At that time, the only person authorized to forcibly demand Sun Hang reveal the truth was Pei Zongjun. However, Pei Zongjun, having seen those "prophecies," would not do so.

"If you did swallow Chimera 17, logically, Chimera 17's memes should be detectable within you. It wouldn't be surprising for your child with Yang Lian to carry these memes... But I remember after that mission was completed, the medical department conducted a detailed examination on you, and no changes were found in your memetic fragments compared to before the mission... So, did you swallow Chimera 17 or not?"

"No," Sun Hang said. "I made a deal with it."

"A deal?"

"It wanted me to eliminate it. In exchange, it would use its final power to dispel the eternal night for me," Sun Hang said.

He was telling the truth this time, only he did not reveal the real identity of Chimera 17.

"Why would it do that?" Yang Qi asked in astonishment. "Wasn't its purpose to destroy Shuzhou?"

"From the beginning, it was not particularly interested in destroying Shuzhou or humanity. It simply wanted self-destruction. Due to some unknown reason, it was constantly in a state of extreme pain, unable to endure such torment, desperately seeking release. I happened to have a way to free it, so we reached this deal," Sun Hang explained.

Yang Qi took several deep breaths before confirming with Sun Hang: "Sun Hang, now is not the time for jokes. Can you assure me that you're telling the truth?"

"Absolutely," Sun Hang said. "There's no need for an oath or vow."

"I believe you... it's just..." Yang Qi sighed. "Frankly, I would prefer if you told me that you swallowed Chimera 17... Otherwise, the origin of the memes in Yang Lian's body becomes somewhat inexplicable."

"Are you suggesting... 'post-contamination'?"

"Yes, it's possible that she was originally carrying a normal human embryo. According to current big data statistical results, the probability of infection in offspring born from the union of an infected person and a normal human is roughly fifty percent, right down the middle. Within these statistics, the proportion where the mother is infected and the father is normal is higher. Conversely, if the father is infected and the mother is normal, the infection probability for offspring is actually only around twenty-nine percent, less than thirty percent."

Yang Qi sighed deeply and continued: "I'm worried that the memes infecting the embryo in Yang Lian are 'foreign entities.' In that case, her situation is quite concerning."

"Does she want to give birth to this child?" Sun Hang asked.

"Yes..." Yang Qi nodded, "but I'm worried that what gets born won't be just an infected child, but a formidable entity with infection progress surpassing the threshold..."

"By the way, can't the equipment determine the current state of the embryo?"

"Currently, the embryo is only showing responses to enigmatic memes, but its physical form is still indistinguishable from a normal human embryo," Yang Qi said.

"How many weeks will it take to know what the embryo will become?"

"Not weeks... but at least a year," Yang Qi sighed again. "In addition to having enigmatic memes, the biggest difference between this embryo and a human embryo lies in its extremely slow developmental speed. The rate of cellular division and differentiation is only one-fifth of that of a normal human embryo. According to our estimate, Yang Lian's pregnancy might last up to four years."