### Chapter 001: Chapter 1

### Chapter 001: Chapter 1

On the edge of the starry expanse, in an uninhabited forest, flames and a massive plume of smoke spread through the trees following an explosion.

Not far from the blast site, two figures faced each other.

Bai Xiaoyu felt a searing pain in his chest as his unfocused eyes gradually regained their focus.

The man standing opposite him let out a surprised sound and, lifting his energy gun, fired another shot.

Caught in a moment of crisis, Bai Xiaoyu snapped back to reality from the intense pain in his chest. Years of survival in the apocalypse had honed his sense of danger, allowing him to roll sideways. Given his skills, evading such a shot should have been no problem. After all, the unpredictable abilities in the apocalypse were far more daunting, yet he had managed to survive. In this moment of peril, he glanced at the energy gun, thinking to himself that it was surprisingly advanced.

It seemed his information was outdated; the publicly known energy guns were of the third generation, but perhaps the fifth or seventh generations had already been secretly developed.

He just didn't know about it.

His expression changed dramatically in the next second. His body couldn't follow the evasive path his mind had planned, and he could only resort to a desperate measure, barely avoiding a direct hit to his chest. The shot pierced his shoulder instead.

The pain was excruciating, almost causing him to lose his balance.

Although the energy gun lacked any physical impact, he somehow knew its power could easily penetrate steel.

The man opposite him raised an eyebrow. "Impressive. It seems you're not as useless as the intel suggested. Of course, someone who's come from a place full of deceit wouldn't be without some skills. You finally dropped your act when faced with life and death. Your demeanor now is completely different from before. Interesting."

Bai Xiaoyu, pale-faced, watched the man with caution, struggling to speak through the pain in his chest and shoulder. "Who are you? I don't understand what you're talking about."

His mind was in turmoil. He should have died in that explosion, along with everyone chasing him. Yet here he was, still standing?

The man chuckled lightly. "Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I'll only make three attempts. You've dodged the first two. If you can dodge the third, I'll spare you and never accept another mission to hunt you down. Not just me, but the entire Dawn Organization will refrain. Of course, I've never failed a mission. Since you're not useless, I'll get serious now. Still using this weapon, the third shot will end you."

With that, he aimed the energy gun at Bai Xiaoyu again, his hand steady.

Bai Xiaoyu's alertness reached its peak. He could feel the man's aura change, the unhidden killing intent directed at him.

His breath caught, feeling like a large predator had locked onto him.

As the man slowly pulled the trigger, Bai Xiaoyu realized he couldn't evade this time.

Even at his peak, evasion would have been difficult. Now, with his weakened body, it was impossible. This body was at its limit.

Someone else might have closed their eyes to accept the inevitable, but Bai Xiaoyu remained calm, watching intently. Even knowing the outcome, he wanted to see it for himself.

Like when he was a child and other kids cried or looked away during injections, he always watched the doctor, preparing himself visually for the pain.

The man was momentarily stunned by Bai Xiaoyu's calm gaze, his expression becoming complex before settling into seriousness.

They stood facing each other until the trigger clicked.

Bai Xiaoyu saw the blinding light of the energy bullet, but there was no time to think. The bullet veered off its trajectory, grazing past his ear.

In the next instant, everything went dark—truly dark.

A large, round, black object fell from the sky, landing directly on the man with a loud thud.

Bai Xiaoyu regained his composure, his usual calmness returning. Seeing the scene before him, even he couldn't help but twitch a corner of his mouth.

The spot where the man had stood was now covered in dust and smoke. When the smoke cleared, a pit had formed, with a round black ball pressing down on the man's back, who was now unconscious.

Noticing Bai Xiaoyu's gaze, the black ball seemed to wobble slightly.

Bai Xiaoyu stared in surprise. What was this thing? Was it alive?

At that moment, a flying vessel he had never seen before descended rapidly from the sky.

Bai Xiaoyu watched several young men in military uniforms emerge, looking anxious as they approached the mysterious object.

One of them walked towards him. "Hello, we're from the Sixteenth Legion..."

Realizing there was no danger, Bai Xiaoyu didn't hear the rest of the words. He glanced one last time at the black object, noticing a hint of white near the bottom.

What was this technology? How could it surpass his understanding so drastically?

Unable to hold on any longer, Bai Xiaoyu lost consciousness.

After an unknown period, Bai Xiaoyu heard a cacophony of voices around him, making his head buzz and throb increasingly.

He frowned involuntarily, wanting to tell them to stop the noise. He was exhausted, in pain, and needed sleep.

But his eyelids were heavy, and he couldn't open them. The voices continued, oblivious to his thoughts.

Gradually, the voices became clearer, and his consciousness slowly returned.

He began to make out the words.

"When will Teacher Bai wake up?"

"This time, Teacher Bai went to retrieve the nutrient solution from the incubation facility. Who knew he'd encounter those damned space pirates? They injured Teacher Bai, stole the nutrient solution, and even destroyed the facility's only spacecraft. Fortunately, the Sixteenth Legion team came to the rescue, or he wouldn't have made it back."

"What do we do now? The eggs in the incubation facility have no nutrient solution, and Teacher Bai is unconscious. He's our only incubator. I wish it were me lying here instead."

At that moment, a stern female voice interrupted.

"How did you sneak in? Didn't I say the patient needs quiet? Get out immediately."

"Yes, Doctor. We'll leave right away. Can Teacher Bai's assistant, Yu Xi, stay behind to watch over him? That would give us peace of mind."

"Fine, but keep it quiet."

Bai Xiaoyu's brows gradually relaxed as waves of pain brought unfamiliar memories to his mind—strange surroundings, strange people, and strange events.

Yu Xi sat beside him, gazing at Bai Xiaoyu's clear and handsome features.

For some reason, Bai Xiaoyu seemed more attractive this time around than before.

At that moment, Bai Xiaoyu was struggling to process the memories flooding his mind. No wonder he had felt something was off; it turned out this was no longer his own body.

This world was set in the future. The energy guns he had seen earlier were not the rudimentary ones from the post-apocalyptic era, which were rare and hard to obtain. In this interstellar age, they were basic weapons, widely used. That flying craft-like object was an aircraft, capable of traversing between planets.

The original owner of this body was a royal descendant of the interstellar empire. Strictly speaking, he was the hundredth illegitimate child of the current emperor.

The current emperor was unmarried but had countless lovers on the capital planet. He seemed to enjoy sowing his seeds far and wide, and the original owner was the hundredth seed that successfully sprouted.

The emperor did not deny his relationships with these children. Three years ago, he announced that the next imperial heir would be chosen among them.

This sparked a frenzy, and over a hundred heirs on the capital planet began a fierce competition.

Among these siblings, the number kept growing, many born into various factions. The original owner was at the bottom, his mother being a commoner and the emperor's first love. They had separated and then reunited, so the original owner was not the eldest but ranked one hundredth.

Moreover, the original owner had a dual F-class physique, making him a rare waste.

Despite everyone knowing he could never inherit the empire, his mother was still the emperor's first love and remained highly favored. This led to the original owner receiving extra attention from the emperor.

Thus, he was 'looked after' even more by his other siblings.

To Bai Xiaoyu's surprise, some of the original owner's siblings could transform into beasts.

Were these demon cultivators?

Soon, he learned that in this world, some people could transform into beast forms, while others could only partially transform, and the rest couldn't transform at all.

The original owner belonged to the latter group.

The imperial family's beast form was a tiger, and among the original owner's siblings, only a few had the tiger form, all of whom were prime candidates for succession.

Even more astonishingly, reproduction in this world involved laying eggs.

Every egg laid long ago could be hatched by parents, but due to the influence of dark matter brought by the insect race, heavily polluted areas required specialized incubation for new eggs to hatch.

Thus, the profession of a breeder became essential.

The original owner's major was breeding. He had been pushed into it by the emperor, with plans to assign him to the Royal Nursery upon graduation.

However, the original owner disliked this field, as no emperor had ever majored in breeding.

Indeed, despite having the worst qualifications, the original owner harbored the highest ambitions—he wanted to be the emperor.

So he began plotting, forming alliances, and doing many things.

The outcome was predictable.

After skimming through some memories, Bai Xiaoyu sighed and slowly opened his eyes.

Yu Xi, who had been watching him, exclaimed in delight, "Master Bai, you're awake. I'll go call the doctor."

As Bai Xiaoyu watched the young man run out, more memories surfaced, and he suddenly held his forehead.

The original owner seemed to have left him a mess.

This boy, Yu Xi, was a part-time student at the nursery and the original owner's assistant.

The original owner, a novice with little breeding knowledge or experience, was the only breeder in the regional nursery!

And now, he, who had taken over this body halfway, knew even less.

Moreover, the original owner hadn't become a breeder to hatch eggs; he was interested in the nursery's sole aircraft and the monthly budget allocation.

The accident happened when he used the budget to buy other items under the pretense of purchasing nutrients, planning to fly back to the capital planet.

Midway, he was pursued by assassins, the aircraft exploded, and the funds vanished.

At that moment, Yu Xi returned with a doctor, his face full of excitement. "Master Bai, you're finally awake. The eggs in the nursery depend on you."

Bai Xiaoyu: "..."

No, he knew nothing about hatching eggs. It wouldn't work relying on him.

He didn't know how to hatch eggs at all!

Could he just refuse this mess?

Bai Xiaoyu's mind immediately filled with a beeping sound, startling him.

"Beep beep beep, I am the Interstellar Egg Incubation System. Detecting the host's intention to escape, starting a mission. Please return to the nursery within 12 hours to check on the eggs. Yes or No?"

Realizing what was happening, Bai Xiaoyu saw that the 'Yes' option was bold and red, while the 'No' was faint and almost invisible, with the button grayed out.

Bai Xiaoyu: "..."

"Why is 'No' not lit up?"

In the next second, a small white cat appeared in his mind. Just as Bai Xiaoyu was startled, he heard a sob, sensing trouble. His mind was soon flooded with the cries of the white kitten.

"Innng..."

"Mew... mew..."

"Mew... mew... mew..."

The little white cat cried until its fur was wet, its ears drooping and its nose twitching, looking utterly pitiful, with tears threatening to flood the entire place.

Bai Xiaoyu felt a headache coming on; he felt like his brain would drown if the crying continued.

"Stop crying. I just wanted to ask, I didn’t say no. I choose yes."

He had only felt unprofessional, but since he had taken over the original body, he naturally had to deal with the mess left behind.

The system immediately stopped crying. "Host has accepted the task successfully. Please complete the task within 12 hours."

Then it vanished.

Bai Xiaoyu: "..."

How heartless.

But this system is called the Incubation System. The round black ball he encountered before looked like an egg.

Bai Xiaoyu chuckled, then quickly shook his head. How could there be such a big egg?