Chapter 415: Baby movement
Once Rory finished eating her fruit, Vangar suddenly pulled her up. "Vincent’s office is no fun," he said. "Come on, I’ll take you to mine. I don’t just have tons of warship models over there—I’ve also got a bunch of Zerg specimens to show you."
Hearing that Vangar wanted to take Rory to his office, Vincent instantly snapped. "Marshal, not even a ghost would want to step foot in your office. Are you seriously trying to take Rory there? Those Zerg specimens will scare her half to death."
Could Vangar have any shame? He was the one who had invited Rory over. What right did Vangar have to take her to his office?
"How can you be so sure those Zerg specimens will scare little Rory?" Vangar countered, turning his gaze toward her. "I don’t think she’s as easily frightened as you claim. Who knows, maybe she’s actually interested in them?"
His little female wasn’t even afraid of him. Why would she be afraid of a few dead Zerg bugs? Vincent was being ridiculous.
"Rory, do you want to see those Zerg specimens? I can teach you a bit about them—they aren’t scary at all."
Looking at the two of them, Rory felt a headache coming on. To go or not to go? If she went, Vincent would be upset. If she didn’t, Vangar would be angry. Beast God above... this was too hard to choose.
Both Vincent and Vangar stared at Rory, waiting for her decision.
Rory blinked, then suddenly clutched her stomach. "Oh, ouch... my stomach suddenly hurts. I need to use the restroom." With that, she sprang up from her chair, pushed past them, and dashed out the door.
There was no way to keep the peace between them. Time for option number thirty-six: run away first, figure it out later.
Seeing Rory bolt, Aren and Xarion quickly rushed out after her.
Vincent glared at Vangar. "Why aren’t you at your meeting? What did you even come over here for? Rory is here because I invited her. If you wanted her to go to your office, why didn’t you invite her yourself?"
Vangar felt entirely vindicated. "If you hadn’t put my female in such a difficult spot, she would have already been at my office." He pointed around Vincent’s room. "Look at your place—it’s so empty you could use it as a battlefield. It must have been incredibly boring for her here."
Vincent refused to back down. "Your office might not be empty, but it’s stuffed with dead Zerg carcasses. Aren’t you worried you’ll terrify her?" How did he have the nerve to show her those hideous things?
After escaping the military headquarters, Rory boarded her dark-hulled starship immediately. Sitting inside, she quickly sent Vangar a message: Take some pictures of your Zerg specimens and send them to me. I want to see.
She hadn’t encountered many Zerg in person; almost everything she knew about them came from the communicator. She had only ever seen one in real life.
Vangar, who had just returned to his office, was overjoyed when he saw the message. He knew his little female wasn’t a coward. He photographed every single Zerg specimen in his office and sent them to Rory. He even thoughtfully included a detailed breakdown of each creature beneath their respective photos.
As Rory scrolled through the images, her brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
Aren walked over and handed her a cup of warm water. "Master, you look troubled. Did the pictures scare you?"
"No," Rory replied, shaking her head. "But the more I look at these photos, the more I realize just how little information there actually is about the Zerg on the communicator."
"The Zerg profiles on the communicator make their abilities seem pretty ordinary," Rory said. "It gives off the impression that they aren’t all that terrifying. But the descriptions in these photos Vangar sent are completely different from what’s online."
Aren explained gently, "That’s normal, Master. Most of the data on the communicator is meant for the general public. If Vangar’s photos were leaked, it would cause widespread panic."
Rory pointed at the screen of her communicator device, focusing on a picture of a Zerg creature with a human face. "This one, called the Sanlo tribe... they can actually take on human form? Looking at this, it seems like they don’t leave behind a single Zerg trace after transforming."
Rory had never heard of the Zerg being able to transform into humans.
Looking at the photo she was pointing to, Aren said, "I encountered the Sanlo tribe when I was beyond the borders. Their bodies resemble silkworms, and they grow a pair of black wings. They can take human form, but to do so perfectly, they have to reach the thirteenth tier—and they have to be female. The males can’t manage it."
"The Sanlo tribe has a very hard time reproducing, especially the females. I heard that the female Sanlo Zerg went extinct long ago. There are barely any males left now, either."
So that was it. Aren’s quick lesson gave Rory a general understanding of this mysterious Zerg tribe.
The starship returned to the castle.
Just as Rory stepped off the ship, she suddenly felt something roll over inside her lower abdomen. She was so startled that she froze right on the spot, not daring to move.
"What’s wrong, Master?" Xarion asked in confusion when he noticed her sudden halt.
Rory touched her stomach and reached out, gesturing for Xarion to carry her. "I just felt the baby move in my belly."
She was carrying Vincent’s baby, which was a Firebird egg. Because it was still so small, her lower abdomen remained perfectly flat even though half a month had already passed. Aside from some morning sickness at the very beginning, she hadn’t felt pregnant at all.
She never expected the egg inside her to suddenly shift just now.
Xarion immediately scooped Rory up into his arms and walked swiftly toward the castle. Though he moved fast, his hold on her was incredibly steady; Rory didn’t feel jostled in the slightest.
Walking beside them, Aren comforted her. "Don’t worry, Master. I just checked the communicator, and this is completely normal."
Once Xarion gently placed Rory onto the sofa, she patted her stomach. "It suddenly kicked twice just now, so I thought it was coming out. It feels fine now."
"Firebird children usually take a month before they emerge. It won’t come out this early," Aren reassured her. "Don’t be nervous, Master. It’s perfectly normal for it to just stir a little."
Rory nodded. When she was growing Terry, Terry had grown right out of the top of her head.
Back then, Rory’s only worry was that he might fall off her head. Now, the baby was being carried in her belly, which was a completely different story from Terry’s situation.
Since this was Rory’s first real pregnancy, she didn’t know much about it, which was why she had panicked the moment the baby moved.
Sitting down next to Rory, Xarion quickly opened his communicator interface and fired off a message to Lian, telling him to hurry back. Rory’s brief panic made him realize that the household truly needed a doctor around. That way, whenever their female felt anything unusual, someone could immediately examine her and ease her mind.
Meanwhile, Lian was on his way to the Beast God Mountain when he saw Xarion’s message. He knew instantly that something must have happened to Rory. He immediately dialed her number.
The call rang just once before Rory picked up.
"Rory, did you miss me?" Lian’s voice sounded completely casual over the line.
Rory smiled and replied, "If I say no, will it break your heart?"
"Oh, I’d be absolutely heartbroken," Lian said playfully, his lighthearted tone instantly making Rory relax. "Rory, I’m thinking about you every single second, wishing I could rush right back to your side."