Chapter 96: New World, Men Are Pregnant?!

Chapter 96: A New World—Men Can Get Pregnant?!

Why?

Because they're pregnant?!

Everyone thought they’d misheard.

"I must be too exhausted—that's why I misheard. Or maybe I've developed delusions from martial arts training, a qi deviation (martial arts energy imbalance). Otherwise, how could I possibly hear him say that a man is pregnant?" Downstairs, someone who had collapsed onto their bed like a zombie, utterly drained and about to fall asleep, suddenly jolted upright at Sheng Qingquan's inner monologue, as if like a corpse springing to life.

Sitting on the bed, they questioned their sanity: "Did I accidentally mistake 'woman' for 'man'?"

"Is it a woman named *Nanzi* who's pregnant?!" Another person desperately denied it. "Or *Nanzi,* *Nanzi,* *Nanzi...*"

"Even though I haven't heard of anyone in the building with that name before, what if someone new moved in recently?"

"Lately, I've either been working or training—zero free time at all. It's totally normal I wouldn’t notice a new resident."

"Even if it's not a new tenant, maybe it's a relative or friend visiting someone here."

"That must be it." They nodded, convincing themselves.

However, not many shared this line of thought.

Among the staff, the more rational ones recovered from their shock quickly: "Actually, men getting pregnant isn’t impossible."

"Tianlanxing has seen cases like this before."

"Last year, wasn’t there news about the world’s first pregnant man giving birth? They said it was a transplanted uterus—some kind of artificial womb. It blew up online back then."

"Maybe that’s what Sheng Qingquan is referring to?"

"It might not even be someone in our building."

"Nope," corrected a medical staff member, dispelling their colleague’s misunderstanding. "It wasn’t an artificial womb or a transplanted female uterus. The media skipped details for clicks."

"That 'first pregnant man' was originally female. When they became male through surgery, they deliberately kept their uterus. That’s why they could still get pregnant and give birth normally."

"It was just a gimmick."

Oh?

Wait, really?

But this led Tao Qingmiao to wonder: "Could it be someone intersex? Outwardly male but with female characteristics—a fully functional reproductive system, especially a uterus—and then got pregnant?"

That wasn’t impossible either. Stories like this surfaced every few years.

"If that’s the case, which poor bastard drew the short straw?" At this thought, men couldn’t help but panic.

Imagine living half your life as a man, dead certain you were a man, with everyone around you seeing you as 100% male—only to suddenly find out you’re pregnant.

Plot twist! You’re not actually male, and oh, you’re also carrying a child.

What a *fantastic* surprise!

Just the gender whiplash alone would be torture, let alone the pregnancy. If they’d known about this ability since childhood, fine. But to have it sprung on them out of the blue—who could handle that?

Just imagining they might be the unlucky ones, a lot of the guys couldn’t suppress a shudder.

The staff were okay—they’d come in after all this started. So far, none of them had been affected.

But the other male residents in the building found it hard to accept.

Especially those in their sixties or seventies—these old guys kept muttering prayers under their breath: "Please, don’t let it be me."

"I get annual check-ups, both free and paid. They’ve never flagged my gender as anything but male. Public or private, every year I go through all kinds of tests, and there’s never been any question about that. If there were an extra organ inside me, the doctors wouldn’t just sit around doing nothing. Hospital scans would’ve picked it up!" Some, though uneasy, tried to reassure themselves.

"I’ve had abdominal surgery before. If I had a uterus, I’d have known by now. It wouldn’t just pop up out of nowhere." The more they talked themselves into it, the surer they felt—or at least acted like it.

Even the most level-headed guys were on edge, their cool totally gone.

Meanwhile, the women were totally unfazed.

"Talk about perfect timing—we haven’t even tried for a baby yet. Didn’t you want a child? If you’re the one who can get pregnant, your wish just might come true," some wives ribbed their husbands.

Many women made similar remarks. In response, some husbands looked like they’d just bitten into something rotten, while others, genuinely devoted, said, "Well, if it’s me, at least you won’t have to suffer through it."

Sheng Qingquan’s random thought sent the whole building into a frenzy. But that was nothing compared to what came next.

Sheng Qingquan thought male pregnancy was as weird as it could get—until he glanced downward.

"Wait, more than one guy’s pregnant?"

"Regardless of age or status, every last guy’s belly was bulging!!!"

His eyes widened in disbelief. He double-checked, triple-checked—no mistake. But it still didn’t feel real.

"What’s going on? This can’t just be from fooling around."

"Status aside—that’s irrelevant to pregnancy—but how can *every* man, young or old, be pregnant? This isn’t natural."

"Never mind whether men even have the capability—even if they all suddenly had uteruses, how could a kid who’s not even fully grown be carrying a baby?"

"Even if it was some immaculate conception, the biology doesn’t add up!"

*Every* man was pregnant?!

Nobody was listening to Sheng Qingquan’s mental spiral anymore. Their minds buzzed with shock. Some slumped to the floor, dazed, watching a clueless kid play with toys, their heads pounding.

That child was a boy.

The idea of his little grandson being pregnant was beyond him. No—wait, he was too upset to think straight. Even if it were a granddaughter, what kind of parent could deal with a kid having a kid?

His gaze involuntarily dropped to the boy’s belly.

Kids naturally have round, slightly protruding bellies—a normal physiological trait that fades with age. Yet, despite knowing this, his brain went straight to worst-case scenarios.

What if that roundness wasn’t just baby fat? What if a tiny embryo was growing inside?

The more he thought, the more horrified he became, fighting the urge to haul the kid to the ER for scans.

Then it hit him—something out of those novels he’d read.

"Is this… the world shifting into ABO dynamics?"

"Or is it boys' love (BL) fiction?"

"So, has something appeared on Tianlan Star again, pushing the world toward this?"

"Such a massive change."

Hearing Sheng Qingquan's inner thoughts, they weren’t clueless. Having looked into novels, everyone was well aware of the well-known ABO and BL tropes in fiction.

"Could be!"

"In these two fictional worlds, men can conceive and give birth. And it’s as normal as women getting pregnant in real life."

"Or it could be a female-dominant world. In some female-dominant settings, men are the ones who bear children."

"So, has anyone picked up something they shouldn’t have recently?" Though they said this, rather than suspecting others, they couldn’t help but check themselves.

As they reflected on their own actions, everything felt off.

"On my way back from night class, I brought back a bucket of mineral water. Was the water the issue? Maybe it’s tainted, and drinking it gradually changes the body?"

"I bought a new box of tissues yesterday—were the tissues messed with?"

"There were sales recently, so I placed over a dozen online orders. Could the thing have been hidden in one of the packages?"

...

They racked their brains, throwing out every idea to pinpoint the culprit, even getting paranoid.

"But that doesn’t make sense. In ABO worlds, while Beta and Omega males can get pregnant, Alphas only get others pregnant—they don’t conceive themselves."

"That alone doesn’t match."

"Not to mention, an ABO world couldn’t make all men pregnant at the same time, right?"

"Wouldn’t it happen one by one?"

"And it’s not like pregnancy can happen without reason. There’d have to be sex or artificial insemination first. Without seeds, good soil won’t grow anything."

"Looking at it this way, it can’t be a BL or female-dominant world either."

Their overanalyzing was interrupted by Sheng Qingquan’s inner thoughts.

So, was all this searching for nothing?

Just as they thought so, someone suddenly realized—that might not be the case.

"Maybe the thing only turns people into Betas, Omegas, or BL-style characters. And upon successful transformation, artificial insemination occurs."

The more they thought, the likelier it seemed.

Not getting it right away, Sheng Qingquan just kept reading.

"What? It’s not just men."

"It’s just that male pregnancy is so rare that everyone’s attention was initially focused there."

"But soon, as more and more people tested positive for pregnancy, they realized—this isn’t just about men. Everyone’s getting pregnant."

"That's even more terrifying!"

At first glance, it might seem like women getting pregnant is no big deal. But considering the context, it's not just women of childbearing age who are pregnant—women who weren't planning for pregnancy, as well as those outside the typical age range, are all expecting.

"When this first came to light, no one knew it was a mass pregnancy phenomenon. Compared to the few who were already trying to conceive or undergoing fertility treatments, their first reaction upon realizing they were pregnant was sheer panic."

"Some women, after experiencing symptoms, went to the hospital and were diagnosed as pregnant. Several immediately filed police reports on the spot."

"Being single yet pregnant—wouldn’t you assume you’d been roofied and violated?"

"A child getting pregnant—after questioning, if no early relationship was found, wouldn’t you suspect the child had been groomed or assaulted by an adult?"

"It even led to numerous divorces. Calculating the timing, the pregnancies occurred when the couples hadn’t been intimate. No intimacy, yet a pregnancy—even the strongest trust would crack. Suspicion of infidelity arose. How else could this happen? The proof was literally in the womb."

"Chaos and heartbreak erupted everywhere."

"It wasn’t like with men. When men were diagnosed as pregnant, since men biologically can’t get pregnant, the first reaction was to assume a medical error."

"After confirming there was indeed something in their bellies, the next thought was whether it was some kind of illness."

"Suspecting tumors or something similar."

"As for pregnancy—how could that be possible? After ruling out every other explanation and realizing it was true, many couldn’t accept it. They felt like monsters. Some, pushed to the edge, committed suicide. But most people’s first reaction was: How do we give birth? Or rather, how do we get rid of it?"

"Giving birth as a man isn’t like for women, with established procedures. Doctors and midwives have extensive experience. If complications arise during delivery, they can intervene promptly."

"Male childbirth has no historical precedent. So, as the first pregnant men, wouldn’t they just become lab rats for untested procedures?"

"The one small mercy is that this is happening in modern times, where C-sections exist. If this were ancient times, no one would have a clue how to deliver it."

"The scariest part is that everyone got pregnant at the same time—meaning they’d likely give birth around the same time too. Forget the men being pregnant; even if only women were pregnant, hospitals would be swamped."

"If prenatal appointments are swamping clinics already, imagine the chaos during actual deliveries..."

Sheng Qingquan didn’t dare dwell on it. Those who had been stunned earlier now looked like their world had ended upon realizing these implications.

But if this was a mass pregnancy phenomenon, maybe it wasn’t about gender transformation like ABO. Maybe it was aliens invading human biology—an extraterrestrial species capable of forcing their reproduction on us.

After discovering Earth, they began aggressively propagating their offspring.

Honestly, this theory clicked way better than the ABO or 'ger' theories.

Just as everyone was entertaining this thought, Sheng Qingquan’s astonished voice rang out again.

"After being diagnosed as pregnant, it wasn’t long before people returned to the hospital—but not for prenatal checkups."

"Instead, they had gaping, gruesome gashes running down their arms, covering half their length."

"The wounds were horrifying—flesh torn open, bone-deep, bleeding like faucets."

"It wasn’t just one person. Everyone had the same injury. Some had tried patching themselves up before arriving, but doctors quickly noticed: their patients’ wounds were a perfect match for theirs."

"As if the same wound had been stamped onto every person."

"Most crucially, just like the inexplicable pregnancies, these wounds just showed up—no explanation."

"Doctors didn’t even need to ask. They knew the patients, like themselves, hadn’t touched sharp objects, hadn’t fallen or bumped into anything, hadn’t done anything—and certainly hadn’t been attacked. Yet the wounds had popped up out of nowhere."

"Sure enough, as doctors stitched them up, the patients confirmed: the injuries had just shown up—no explanation."

"This is just the beginning."

"Soon, everyone began suffering new injuries—this time on their calves."

"Then, one morning, people woke up feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Along with brain fog, they suffered from nasal congestion, sore throats, and frequent coughing."

"A bad case of the flu."

"Just as they started recovering, they began coughing up blood, accompanied by stabbing chest pain."

"Tests at the hospital showed severe internal damage."

"Simply put, there was no respite. Every time a problem arose, it wasn’t isolated—everyone experienced it together."

"Many who’d feared dying in childbirth soon realized that dying in labor was wishful thinking—they wouldn’t even live long enough to reach that point."

"The less resilient were already completely overwhelmed, while even the healthier ones wondered—how many more rounds could they endure?"

"Medical resources were severely strained, especially since doctors and nurses were also affected. Even medical staff weren’t spared."

"Before treating others, they often needed treatment themselves or for their colleagues. But recovery wasn’t instant. Working hurt or sick tanked their efficiency."

"Especially with surgeries, which require extreme precision. Basic stitches they could handle, but in poor condition, medical staff couldn’t perform complex operations at all."

"As care slowed, patient numbers exploded."

"With the gap widening, many couldn’t receive timely treatment. Bleeding out wasn’t rare anymore, not to mention infections."

"Sometimes, before old ailments could be addressed, new problems emerged—endlessly."

Now it made sense—this was how humanity would end.

"Trying to solve this at its root was impossible—no one even understood what was happening."

"Fear took hold."

"Don’t worry, things are different now." People clutched their pricey med-units, finally feeling a sliver of security.

Childbirth was a lost cause—the devices didn’t handle delivery. But at least for injuries or illnesses, the med-units ensured timely care.

At least no one’d die waiting for an overworked nurse.

Now *that’d* be a shitty way to go.

Blame the hospitals? No—it was obvious they were drowning in patients. The problem wasn’t incompetence—it was the sheer number of victims.

"What fresh hell is this?!"

While others fumed, Sheng Qingquan froze—this collective suffering rang a bell.

Like déjà vu from a book.

Then it hit him.

"Talk about 'shared destiny'—this was it."

"One falls sick, the whole world aches."

Sheng Qingquan quickly flipped backward through the pages, skimming through the text. His eyes darted across the lines, searching for keywords.

"Just as I thought! Li Hongli traveled to another world. After her crossing, whenever she got injured, people on Tianlanxing would also get injured. When she fell ill, people on Tianlanxing would also fall ill. Everyone's fate was bound to hers."

"And Li Hongli..."

Sheng Qingquan recalled the people he had encountered in the elevator recently. Her slightly rounded belly wasn’t very noticeable—it even looked like anyone else’s. But amid the nationwide martial arts craze, she had stayed on the sidelines.

Not to mention, earlier that morning, he had seen her lamenting in the neighborhood group chat, saying the timing of this pregnancy was terrible. If she’d known, she would’ve waited—no need to rush having a kid. After all, even if she waited another two years, she still wouldn’t be considered an older mother.

Now, while everyone could learn martial arts, she—because of her pregnancy—had to strictly limit even her walking time, let alone engage in the more strenuous training.

She didn’t dare train at all. All she could do was watch enviously as everyone else trained. She was practically dying of envy.

"Li Hongli is pregnant! So after she crossed over, everyone tested positive for pregnancy."