Su Wan listened quietly, the confusion in her heart growing deeper.
Did these conversations mean...
This woman was going to give birth all by herself?
No midwife, no doctor, no medical equipment, not even a single person to help?
Just her, lying in that simple room, giving birth alone?
Su Wan’s perception probed the room again.
The woman remained curled up, her breathing slightly more rapid than before.
But she didn’t scream or groan, only letting out a low, muffled grunt from her throat every now and then.
There was no expression of agony or distortion on her face, only a focused, straining expression.
It was as if she wasn’t undergoing childbirth, but simply performing a task that required intense concentration.
A storm of shock surged within Su Wan’s heart.
Had giving birth become this easy for women in this apocalypse?
Her consciousness remained immersed in her perception, observing every detail in that room without blinking.
Time ticked away, minute by minute.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour...
The woman’s breathing became more labored, and her grunts more frequent.
But she never once let out a scream or a cry for help.
She simply focused, in silence, doing what she needed to do.
The women at the door remained on guard, occasionally exchanging whispers, their expressions as calm as if they were waiting for something perfectly ordinary.
Su Wan suddenly felt a strong sense of absurdity.
On Blue Star, childbirth was one of the most dangerous moments in a woman’s life.
It required doctors, nurses, various medical equipment, and the presence and care of family.
The slightest mistake could cost two lives.
But here—
A woman lay alone in a sparse room, without any help or tools, bringing a child into the world so calmly and silently.
What exactly was going on?
Had humans in this world changed through some long process of evolution?
Or was there some deeper reason?
Su Wan suppressed her confusion and continued to observe.
Another half-hour passed.
Suddenly—
“Waaaah—!!!”
A loud, clear infant’s cry rang out from the room.
The cry was incredibly piercing, instantly shattering the silence of the seventh floor.
Su Wan’s mental power clearly captured the moment the cry sounded—
The faces of the women at the door simultaneously relaxed into expressions of relief.
“She’s delivered! She’s delivered!”
“Listen to that voice, it’s a sturdy one!”
“Quick, quick, let’s go in and see!”
The women pushed open the door and filed inside.
Su Wan’s perception followed them into the room.
Inside, the woman was still lying on the bed.
Beads of sweat covered her forehead and her face was slightly pale, but her spirits were surprisingly good.
Her eyes were bright and full of life; seeing the others enter, she even managed a weak smile.
“Congratulations! Is it a boy or a girl?”
“A boy,” the woman said softly. Her voice was a bit raspy, but it was full of vigor.
The women gathered around the bed, busying themselves with various tasks.
One found a tattered but clean quilt in the corner and wrapped the wrinkled infant in it.
Another brought a bowl of water, supporting the woman’s head and carefully helping her drink.
One helped the woman tidy the bed, rolling up the blood-stained rags and tossing them aside.
Another pulled a small piece of brown bread from her tunic, crumbled it into some water, and held it to the woman’s lips.
“Eat something to get your strength back.”
The woman nodded, took the chipped bowl, and sipped slowly.
Though her movements were slow, she didn't seem weak or powerless at all.
Su Wan’s perception lingered on the woman, carefully observing her state.
Her face, though pale, had a healthy flush to it.
Her breathing was steady and strong, and her heart rate was normal.
Her eyes were clear, and her consciousness was sharp.
Aside from obvious exhaustion, she showed none of the weakness a woman should have after giving birth.
Su Wan’s shock was beyond words.
She had witnessed the entire delivery.
From start to finish, it took less than two hours.
A woman, alone, without a doctor, tools, or help.
She had brought the child into the world so calmly and smoothly.
And after giving birth, she could speak clearly to others, eat on her own, and—
At the exact moment the infant cried, the system’s notification rang in her mind:
【Ding! Abnormal energy fluctuation detected!】
【Source: Female tenant (ID: F-077) currently giving birth in a room on the 7th floor.】
【Fluctuation characteristics: During the delivery process, a certain special substance within the target’s body became highly active, reaching a peak before rapidly receding.】
【Similarity of this substance’s energy signature to the “Death Tide active substance” extracted from the four items: 78%.】
【Notice: There may be an unknown connection between the two. Further observation and research are recommended.】
Su Wan’s pupils contracted sharply.
Death Tide active substance.
The substance highly active within the woman during childbirth.
The two were similar.
What did this mean?
Su Wan’s thoughts raced.
She remembered what that woman had said before—
“In this world, it’s much easier for us women to survive than for men.”
“Because we women can get pregnant.”
“As long as you’re pregnant, a woman’s body gets stronger. No matter what illness you had before, no matter how serious, the sickness slowly gets better once you’re carrying.”
“Even if you’re heavily injured, as long as you don’t die on the spot, getting pregnant will let you recover slowly.”
She thought of the middle-aged man named Old Zheng, whose wounds from the Death Tide mist healed so slowly.
She thought of the boy, Ah-Hao, whose leg had been eroded almost to the bone, yet seemed on the verge of recovery after taking medicine.
She thought of the children running around the corridors, skinny as skeletons but bursting with energy, as if they never knew fatigue.
Pregnancy healed women.
Children were immune to all toxins.
Incredible self-healing before the age of sixteen.
Resilient to hunger and easy to raise.
These were the consensus of the people in this apocalypse, the “common sense” everyone took for granted.
But Su Wan came from Blue Star.
She knew that this “common sense” did not exist in normal humans.
The Death Tide.
Arriving punctually once a week.
The grey-white mist that could penetrate anything and corrode all flesh and blood.
Was that mist really just a simple “disaster”?
Or was it giving something even as it destroyed?
Those points of light drifting in the mist, those active substances “left behind” when the mist receded—
What happened after they entered the human body?
The substance highly active in a pregnant woman’s body was so similar to them—
Could it be that these substances were the cause of it all?
Could it be that with every Death Tide, that mist was “sowing” something into this world?
Rate on N.U.
