A Perilous Situation

As night fell, Ye Mo came out of her room to eat, noticing her grandmother and aunt looking at her with anxious expressions.

“Ye Mo, is there a reason you haven’t gone out lately?” Grandma asked cautiously.

Ye Mo blinked, sensing something was off. “Grandma, is something wrong?”

Her aunt cut in impatiently, “Ye Mo, your grandma’s hesitant to tell you because she doesn’t want to upset you, but you need to know. People are asking about you. Infertile wealthy men and even interstellar traffickers are after your unborn child!”

Ye Mo’s eyes widened in shock. “This child is mine—do they really want to steal it?” This possibility wasn’t mentioned in the book she had read, although it did note the child’s mysterious disappearance.

Aunt Yu nodded gravely. “Yes, they want to steal it! And more than that, as a fertile woman, you’re their main target. They see you as a potential baby factory—once you’ve given birth, they believe you could do it again.”

The thought of becoming a perpetual source of children for traffickers turned Ye Mo’s stomach. She could easily end up nothing more than a reproductive machine.

Grandma clutched her chest, her worry plain. “Ye Mo, you’re currently the only pregnant woman on this planet, and you’re unmarried. If the authorities suggest a match for you, don’t agree without thinking it through!”

Though Grandma wanted the best for Ye Mo’s future, she feared her granddaughter could be exploited for her fertility. Thankfully, in the interstellar era, women still retained autonomy. Despite their family’s modest means, they had rights that no one—not even the higher-ups—could easily strip away.

Children were the most valuable commodity in the interstellar age. Even on their planet, Camo—a poor outpost in the vast interstellar system—the wealthiest families might pay a hundred million star coins for a child. On the richest planets, the price could skyrocket to ten billion or even a hundred billion star coins. Such stark disparities fueled the madness of interstellar traffickers, who, despite the risk of execution, were driven by the lure of unimaginable wealth.

Fortunately, Ye Mo’s sudden move to a wealthier district had thrown her pursuers off. Their old home was under tight surveillance, but with no knowledge of their current location, those searching were left waiting in vain. Now, with Ye Mo and her family aware of the danger, Grandma declared that no one would leave the house until Ye Mo gave birth. Determined to ensure her safety, both Grandma and Aunt Yu decided to learn midwifery themselves.

In the days that followed, except during meals, Ye Mo rarely saw her grandmother or aunt. It wasn’t until she accidentally found them watching videos and learning midwifery skills that she realized how serious they were.

Ye Mo was speechless. She promptly approached the housekeeper and requested a medical care robot, knowing it was a simple solution to their concerns. There was no need for her relatives to go through such lengths.

When Grandma and Aunt Yu saw the robot, they were a bit embarrassed but eventually saw the benefit in learning. Aunt Yu soon enrolled in various courses, while Grandma, to everyone’s surprise, found herself engrossed in online card games, forming new friendships along the way.

After fifteen days confined at home, Ye Mo grew restless. Her cultivation level had plateaued at 30, just shy of the threshold to becoming a Ghost Warrior at level 31. Despite her repeated practice, she couldn’t break through the barrier. Frustrated, Ye Mo seized a moment when her grandmother and aunt were distracted and quietly left the house in her spaceship.

Ye Mo wore a mask to remain incognito, curious about who was keeping watch. Flying her spaceship near their old neighborhood, she was stunned by the scene. What was once a rundown, deserted civilian area was now unusually lively, especially in front of their former home, where a crowd had gathered.

Among the onlookers were her cheap father Yu Feng Qi, her aunt’s ex-husband Fang Da Wei, and her former fiancé, Zhang Yu Ming. At that moment, Yu Feng Qi was deep in conversation with Zhang Yu Ming.

“Uncle Yu, will Ye Mo really come back?” Zhang Yu Ming asked, sounding impatient after days of waiting. If he’d known Ye Mo would attract so much attention, he would have treated her differently, especially since she had once been infatuated with him.

Although he enjoyed the attention she gave him, her false claim that he was the child’s father had angered him. Now, however, seeing the lengths to which others were going to find her—and hearing someone offer Yu Feng Qi fifty million star coins for Ye Mo’s child—made Zhang Yu Ming reconsider. He was tempted, and so were Yu Feng and even Fang Da Wei, who was just there to get a piece of the action.

Zhang Yu Ming couldn’t help but feel regret. Had he married Ye Mo when he had the chance, that fifty million star coins would now belong to their family.

“The old lady knows a lot of people around here. She’ll probably come back,” Yu Feng Qi said, visibly desperate. With no news of Ye Mo, he had been forced to let his wife take the fall for her absence, which was beginning to affect Xiao He.

Yu Feng Qi was fixated on the fifty million star coins, seeing it as not just a path to a better lifestyle but also a means to restore their family’s reputation. In the interstellar realm, money could silence critics and elevate one’s status. With enough funds, they could simply relocate and start afresh.

Little did Yu Feng Qi or Zhang Yu Ming know that someone had already targeted Xiao He, Ye Mo’s sister, for her similar fertility value of thirty-five. Given how easily Ye Mo had become pregnant, traffickers were eyeing Xiao He with the same interest. Luckily, Xiao He had been staying home, ashamed by her mother’s imprisonment due to her involvement with Ye Mo, which kept her safe from kidnapping attempts.

Meanwhile, Ye Mo’s spaceship was parked near her old house, capturing every sound around her. She listened as Yu Feng Qi told Zhang Yu Ming, “Once the money comes in, I’ll buy you and Xiao He a house. After you’re married, you can live on your own.”

Ye Mo found Yu Feng Qi’s words absurd. If they really had that kind of money, Xiao He would never settle for Zhang Yu Ming. The answer was clear—if they had access to better prospects, neither Xiao He nor her mother would have bothered with him in the first place.

Both Xiao He and her mother had always been opportunistic, gravitating toward material wealth. If better options were available, Zhang Yu Ming wouldn’t even be on their radar.

Bored with what she heard, Ye Mo eventually left with her spaceship, uninterested in the schemes unfolding below.

(End of Chapter)