Chapter 213: Chapter 213: Testing

Jiang Zheyu was a little confused, so he tapped the equally thin and malnourished female in front of him. "What happens if your Fertility Value is low? Why does that female up there look like her world is ending?"

The females here seemed to represent two extremes—some were incredibly heavyset, while others were painfully thin.

The thin, malnourished female in front of him turned to look at Jiang Zheyu. Seeing that he was just as thin, she pursed her lips slightly. "That female just now was born prematurely. Premature babies usually don’t have high Fertility Values. They’re all sent to the Female Cave. You only get one chance in your life to have your Fertility Value measured. Females with low values are all cast into the Female Cave to live or die on their own."

She was also born prematurely, and she wasn’t considered good-looking. Neither her Beast Father nor her Beast Mother liked her. Still, she hoped her Fertility Value would be higher. As long as a Male Beastman made her a Beast Mate proposal, she would be able to survive.

"You must be hoping for a high Fertility Value too," the thin female said, glancing at Jiang Zheyu. "Even though Yin Ji is already your Beast Husband and you won’t have to go to the Female Cave, having only one Beast Husband is still very dangerous. What if he dies while out hunting? If you don’t have another Beast Husband to provide for you, you won’t survive."

Jiang Zheyu paused for a moment after hearing this. "What is the Female Cave for?"

"It’s not for anything. It’s a place where you’re left to fend for yourself," the thin, malnourished female replied. "The tribe won’t share any of its hunting spoils with you. You have to be completely self-reliant. These days, the Male Beastmen have to hunt in groups just to catch any prey. A female alone can’t possibly survive."

Jiang Zheyu fell silent upon hearing this. ’In the interstellar era, spiritual power determines your rank, but females are still rare and precious. Even one without spiritual power could find a male willing to build a life with her. If she had great abilities, like a protagonist in a story, she could live very well without any spiritual power at all.’

’Once I leave this planet, I’ll report this to the Star Emperor. I’ll have him take over this world and bring them into a new technological era. Then things like this won’t happen anymore.’

Jiang Zheyu said no more, and the female in front of him fell silent as well. They waited quietly in line.

After a short while, a plump female placed her hand on the stone. It soon lit up with a dazzling glow.

"Fertility Value: 9," Grandma Witch announced after a glance.

Instantly, the crowd was in an uproar. The Male Beastmen grew excited.

"Heavens, what a high Fertility Value!"

"I’ve decided! I’m going to make her a Beast Mate proposal."

"I’m going to make her a Beast Mate proposal too! She’ll definitely be able to give me lots of cubs."

"If a female could bear my first litter of cubs, what a great honor that would be! I want to be her first Beast Husband."

...

When the heavyset female heard Grandma Witch announce her Fertility Value was 9, she didn’t seem surprised. She swaggered off the platform, her face a mask of arrogant confidence.

Many Male Beastmen quickly approached her and made their Beast Mate proposals.

One by one, the other females continued to go up and have their Fertility Values measured.

He also noticed that the ones who ate a lot and were plump generally had higher Fertility Values.

Meanwhile, the malnourished, gaunt females all had low Fertility Values.

Watching this, Jiang Zheyu couldn’t help but think, ’This so-called Fertility Value is obviously just about physical health. The healthier someone is, the easier it is for them to have children.’

’Of course someone who’s malnourished would have a hard time getting pregnant.’

’Instead of fawning over females with high Fertility Values, these people should just take good care of the ones in the Female Cave. Once they’re healthy, their Fertility Values will naturally go up.’

Next, it was Jiang Zheyu’s turn.

Jiang Zheyu felt that since he ate well, was dressed well, and wasn’t the least bit malnourished, his Fertility Value was bound to be high.

So, he confidently placed his hand on the stone.

The stone flickered faintly. That’s right, just one faint flicker before it dimmed, ending up as a dull glow, as if coated in a layer of dust.

Jiang Zheyu: ...

’That was a miscalculation. I didn’t expect this dusty glow of mine to be even weaker than the light from the malnourished female ahead of me.’

"Fertility Value: 1," Grandma Witch announced, glancing at Jiang Zheyu.

From the few females before him, Jiang Zheyu had figured out that the Fertility Value was on a scale of 0 to 10. The higher the value, the easier it was to conceive and bear children. Conversely, a low value meant you probably couldn’t. 0 meant completely infertile, while 1 meant you could still have children, it was just very difficult to conceive.

After his Fertility Value was measured, Grandma Witch’s expression turned sour.

Jiang Zheyu had actually noticed this already. Grandma Witch would smile benevolently at females with high Fertility Values, but for those with very low ones, she’d put on a cold face, as if they owed her a million bucks.

Jiang Zheyu: ...

Grandma Witch gave Jiang Zheyu a cold look. "Go wait over there on the left."

Jiang Zheyu awkwardly withdrew his hand. ’This isn’t right. It defies logic. How could that malnourished female’s Fertility Value be higher than mine?’

But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Because his Fertility Value was so low, Grandma Witch couldn’t stand the sight of him there. It seemed if he didn’t get off the platform soon, she was going to start shooing him away.

For a moment, the Male Beastmen below the wooden platform all let out long sighs.

"Heavens, how can his Fertility Value be so low?"

"What a real shame. Such a good-looking female."

"Sigh, what a waste..."

...

Because of his extremely low Fertility Value, the many fiery gazes that had been fixed on him gradually drifted away.

Before Grandma Witch could chase him off, Jiang Zheyu silently walked over to where the females on the left were gathered. The female who had explained so much to him was also standing there. When she saw him come down, she gave him a look of shared misery.

Jiang Zheyu: !

’Whoa there, what’s with the "shared misery"? I still have Yin Ji. You, on the other hand, haven’t gotten a single Beast Husband proposal.’

Jiang Zheyu didn’t know whether to be happy or sad.

But looking down at his flat stomach, he figured his Fertility Value probably was really low. ’Otherwise, after all the tumbles I’ve had with my many Beast Husbands, and with so much time having passed, I don’t seem to be pregnant with any of their cubs.’

’I don’t feel pregnant at all.’

’It seems my body really does have a hard time conceiving.’

’So that stone was pretty accurate after all. My Fertility Value really is very low.’

Jiang Zheyu calmly accepted it.

’Good thing I’m not really a female from this world.’

Soon, all the adult females had finished having their Fertility Values measured.

Even the females next to him with Fertility Values of 2 and 3 were receiving proposals from Male Beastmen.

’With such a low Fertility Value, I wonder what Yin Ji will think. Will he change his mind?’

’But he became my Beast Husband the moment he brought me back. He can’t go back on it now.’