Chapter 97: Time Travel as Soon as the Door Opens

Chapter 97: Transmigration the Moment You Open the Door

Li Hongli cradled her belly and locked eyes in mutual confusion with her husband.

"Because of me?"

Since becoming pregnant, she had indeed suffered from many pregnancy complications. She was one of those pregnant women who had it rougher than most. If not for martial arts to divert her attention and watching martial arts videos online to pass the time, she would have long been overwhelmed.

But these symptoms weren’t new—they had been present for weeks now. The pregnancy sickness was so severe that she and her husband had even sought medical help, yet no effective solution was found. These were just typical pregnancy reactions, albeit more intense for her, leaving her no choice but to endure.

"If it’s because of me, then others should have started feeling unwell long ago." Yet, glancing at her husband beside her, Li Hongli shot him an annoyed look. His healthy glow made her wan face look even paler—clearly, he remained unaffected.

Earlier when someone mentioned men getting pregnant, Li Hongli had been heaving her guts out.

Between retches, she pinched her husband’s arm, declaring sarcastically that if it were true, they could plan for a second child—each bearing one, truly achieving gender equality.

But in her most tormented moments, when pregnancy sickness wrecked her, the harshest thought she’d entertained was making her husband share her suffering.

"I never intended to drag others into this."

After all, the child in her belly had nothing to do with anyone else, and her misery wasn’t caused by outsiders. Though her temper was unpredictable these days, her fundamental morals remained intact.

"The text said everyone would be affected *after* you transmigrated. You haven’t gone yet." Her husband had paid closer attention to the details. As he explained, his hands were shaking like leaves.

His wife had transmigrated?

When did it happen?

Where had she gone?

No matter the destination, the fact that she’d soon be injured and ill suggested that world was downright dangerous.

And it must have been a *physical* transmigration. Otherwise, the first shared affliction wouldn’t have been pregnancy—unless she’d possessed another pregnant woman’s body, which seemed unlikely.

A *physical* transmigration meant starting from scratch—no resources, no identity. Even in peaceful times, survival would be tough. If misfortune struck and she landed in chaos—

*"White bones lie bleached in the fields, no cock-crow for miles around."* (Classical Chinese allusion to war and famine)

*"That year, drought struck the south; in Quzhou, men ate men."* (Classical Chinese allusion to famine)

No need to consult history books—just a few lines of poetry painted a chillingly clear picture.

In such a world, even without pregnancy, survival would be a struggle.

And now, with a child in her belly?

Her husband went sheet-white as his gaze dropped to her abdomen. "This child really came at the worst time."

Without it, she would’ve stood a fighting chance.

Li Hongli instinctively cradled her bump protectively. Though her husband had spoken softly, his words struck her clearly.

She swatted his arm. "Don't you dare say that?!"

She'd snapped countless times before, frustrated by her inability to practice her martial arts because of the baby, muttering the exact same thing. But hearing it now felt like a fist squeezing her heart.

Despite her sharp retort, Li Hongli knew in her gut—if she really had transmigrated, she had no confidence in protecting both herself and the child.

Nonsense? Not even close.

But seeing his wife's expression, the man opened his mouth but ultimately didn't argue.

"This time around, the apocalypse isn't due to widespread injuries, overwhelmed medical resources, or leaving almost no survivors."

Sheng Qingquan realized the true cause of the apocalypse.

"If Li Hongli gets injured, everyone else gets injured too."

"This means that once Li Hongli dies, every single person on Tianlanxing, regardless of age or gender, will also die."

Sheng Qingquan kept reading further.

"Indeed, humanity would go extinct in the blink of an eye. If anything happens to Li Hongli, everyone will perish alongside her. Not a chance."

"With this kind of death toll," Li Hongli forced a smile, "even slave-era kings didn't have as many living sacrifices when they died."

Like this was something to be proud of?

The man remained silent.

After so many years together, they knew each other too well. Having that many lives depending on her would crush her.

"In that case, having med-pods in every household is useless."

"Can healing units cure illnesses? Can they counter this fate-driven death sentence?"

"Are we supposed to have Li Hongli bring a healing unit when she crosses over?"

"Even if she did, it wouldn't help. Severe injuries and illnesses can't be treated, and even if they could, there might not be enough time. If there's no food, healing units can heal wounds and diseases, but they can't cure hunger."

"Besides, possession invites trouble. The healing unit might cause trouble before it helps, making Li Hongli die even sooner than in the original plot."

Upon hearing the idea of bringing a healing unit, the man jumped up to search through the cabinet for one. But after these words, he tossed it aside in disappointment instead of handing it to his wife so she'd have it ready.

"But this is all pointless speculation."

"Rather than worrying about what to do after crossing over, the simplest and most effective solution is to stop the crossing from happening altogether."

"As long as Li Hongli doesn't cross over, the curse won't activate. Nothing will begin."

Right, he realized!

They could stop this at the source.

The man's eyes lit up. His anxiety-frozen mind finally cleared and began working again.

"Let me find out how Li Hongli crosses over."

Sheng Qingquan started scanning the book, followed by a long silence.

Everyone tensely waited for his thoughts to resume.

A condemned man waiting for reprieve probably felt the same way.

"That's it!"

A glance at the clock showed only six minutes had gone by.

Yet everyone felt as though they hadn't waited six minutes, but six months, maybe six years worth of nerve-wracking tension.

It was like finally getting fresh air again. Everyone quickly perked up and listened intently.

"It says here that Li Hongli got up at night to use the bathroom. Barely awake, she pushed the bathroom door open, intending to go to the toilet. But when she stepped in, the toilet was nowhere to be found—only then did she realize she had entered another world."

"'Upon noticing the terrifyingly unfamiliar surroundings, it only hit her later that something was wrong. It only hit her later that there had been signs the moment she opened the door. She'd absentmindedly flipped the switch, but the bathroom remained dark. At the time, she thought the bulb had burned out, but now she realized the environment had likely already changed by then.'"

"Looking at it this way, if it had happened at any other time—if Li Hongli hadn't been half-dead with sleep—she wouldn’t have crossed over."

"Because the change in the bathroom’s environment could have been observed beforehand."

"Li Hongli could have simply chosen not to enter."

"And if she hadn’t gone in, she probably wouldn’t have crossed over?"

"Exactly! As long as she doesn’t go in, it’s fine!" Some color finally returned to Li Hongli’s pale face as she couldn’t help but complain, "Who'd expect danger in your own damn bathroom?"

"In the story, I just wasn't careful enough. From now on, I’ll stay vigilant and won’t make the same mistake again."

It wasn’t hard to do—just double-check every time, confirming the surroundings hadn’t changed before proceeding. Then nothing would go wrong.

Thinking this, Li Hongli finally unclenched a bit.

Her husband let out a relieved sigh. "From now on, wherever you need to go, nudge me awake. Even if it’s just a midnight bathroom trip—shake me awake, and I’ll go with you. With two pairs of eyes watching, there's less chance of screwing up. It’s safer."

One pair of eyes might miss something, but it’s unlikely two would make the same mistake.

"Shit!" Li Hongli suddenly gasped, clutching her stomach.

In the midst of tension earlier, she hadn’t felt anything. But now, as she relaxed, a sudden stab of pain hit her gut.

Then came a dull, persistent ache.

Li Hongli broke out in a cold sweat, dampening the fine hairs at her temples and sticking them to her skin.

"What’s wrong? Is it the baby? I’ll take you to the hospital!" He scrambled in panic—until his gaze landed on the nearby med-scanner. Only then did he remember it could be used for an immediate checkup.

The med-scanner finally proved useful.

The baby was definitely agitated, but thanks to the quick response, no serious issues arose.

When the commotion died down, Still trembling, Li Hongli was helped back to bed by her husband.

Sheng Qingquan remained unaware of his neighbors’ near-crisis. Staring at a line in the book, he got lost in thought.

"Li Hongli crossed over after pushing open the door."

"Does that mean the act of pushing the door is the trigger for her crossing?"

Back when Sheng Qingquan read quick-transmigration novels, several stories featured protagonists who would start crossing worlds every time they pushed open a door. Each push would open a passage to a new world.

If Li Hongli’s situation was the same...

"Every time she opens a door, she’d step into a new world. Normal life would be impossible."

"To avoid crossing, she’d have to stay inside, never going out. That might be manageable short-term, but being cooped up would drive anyone crazy."

"Besides, with repeated links to new worlds, god knows what could happen? What if the two worlds started merging?"

This was Sheng Qingquan’s greatest fear.

Simply put, from the known plot, the new world is anything but peaceful. Unlike the previous ancient world, where everything went smoothly as long as preparations were made, no major issues arose after the merger.

"Li Hongli ended up in a magical world—backward, poor, and crawling with dangers."

"She showed up at night. Thankfully, though she was in her pajamas, she’d been too lazy to take the necklace off and her wedding ring was still on. Li Hongli yanked them off quickly, and by dawn, traded the gold necklace for cash—or else she’d have starved."

Thankfully, she’d been too lazy to take the necklace off her neck, even while sleeping.

Same with the ring. When she got married, she bought an adjustable wedding ring. After gaining weight during pregnancy and her fingers swelling, she simply adjusted the ring and kept wearing it without taking it off. Otherwise, she would have been truly helpless after the crossing.

Relieved but kicking herself: "I shouldn’t have bought a diamond ring back then."

Though in the plot, she initially sold the gold necklace—perhaps because the ring was her wedding ring, while the necklace was just an ordinary gold piece with no special meaning, making it easier to part with.

Forget the diamond—even the platinum setting was a bad call.

Platinum’s no gold—it’s not even close.

"Ten fingers—why leave ’em empty? Should’ve loaded up on gold rings, one per finger. That way, I could’ve eaten for ages."

Her wrists too—should’ve loaded up on gold bangles and chains.

She shouldn’t have avoided earrings just because they tangled in her hair. With pierced ears, gold earrings should have been worn as well.

Knowing she wouldn’t screw up again, Li Hongli still hauled out her jewelry box.

She put on all the gold pieces inside, then took out the silver jewelry and wore them one by one.

Only once she was decked out in gold and silver did Li Hongli feel halfway safe.

"Once she had money, before Li Hongli could blow through all her cash, she was targeted."

Not just her money—they wanted *her*.

That wiped the relief right off their faces.

That false sense of security? Gone in a heartbeat.

Even if Li Hongli weren’t particularly attractive, what happens to a woman who’s targeted? You can guess.

Turns out, reality was worse.

"Looks? Wasn’t about that."

No time to breathe—"Or rather, not just looks," Sheng Qingquan’s inner voice continued.

"They discovered Li Hongli was pregnant—and alone."

"Dark mages *love* this. Pregnant women can be used for unique magical experiments—not to mention being ideal sacrificial offerings for summoning demons. They can be offered whole, or the fetus can be extracted and sacrificed separately. Many demons favor this, making the summoning success rate relatively high."

"After capturing them, they can be exploited for pleasure, then sold—first for magical experiments, left hanging by a thread afterward, and finally used as sacrifices. Wring ’em dry."

"Pregnant women? Black market gold."

"Not long after Li Hongli time-traveled, she was forced into hiding and didn’t stay safe for long. Even though those people were careful not to harm her too severely to avoid causing a miscarriage, Li Hongli still ended up badly injured."

"Worn down by terror and exhaustion, she got sick just days into her escape. This illness led to her capture. Had it not been for their intention to sell her for more, Li Hongli might have died much sooner."

"Her one bit of luck in that world was not facing a language barrier. Though the locals didn’t speak the most common language of Tianlanxing, they used a widely spoken dialect—one Li Hongli happened to understand and speak. This kept her from dying right away."

"But even so, that world was way too dangerous."

"It wasn’t just dangerous for those who time-traveled. Even the merging of worlds posed a huge risk."

"With magic and demons on the other side, if the two worlds truly merged, even Tianlanxing’s high-tech weapons would leave us decimated—assuming such technology even worked against them."

"So, no matter how cool magic seems, for now, it’s better to avoid merging if possible."

This wasn’t just Sheng Qingquan’s opinion—others agreed.

During his visits to the capital, Sheng Qingquan had discussed this with the high leader, who also believed there was no need to rush.

Haste would only invite disaster.

It was better to process what we’ve got first—step by step, steadily and cautiously.

"But the real problem was worse. If Li Hongli didn’t time-travel, who could promise that every time she opened a door, it would lead to the same world?"

"What if each opening connected to a different world?"

"After all the chaos, would Tianlanxing end up merging with multiple worlds at once?"

Just thinking about it made Sheng Qingquan dizzy.

The others looked just as sick.

"Does she have to go through?"

"Even if she does, most stories say that after staying for a while, one can return. But upon returning, new worlds would still open. We’d still end up screwed."

"And if she couldn’t return after going through..."

"No matter how well-prepared she was before leaving, how’s she supposed to survive in that world if she can’t come back?"

"Don’t forget," someone reminded, "if we’re all dead, who cares?"

"We wouldn’t even need to worry about Tianlanxing merging with too many worlds—if we’re all dead, why bother worrying?"

With no viable solutions in sight, the group felt stuck with no way out.

Sheng Qingquan thought of another approach.

"Or, what if Li Hongli doesn’t open the doors herself? She could get someone else to open them for her. Maybe that would bypass the issue?"

"If she’s not the one opening them, perhaps they wouldn’t link to other worlds."

This might actually work—worth a try.

Just as Li Hongli swore off touching any door—not just room doors, but even wardrobe doors—Sheng Qingquan figured out something big.

"So it really is about opening doors to time-travel."

"Which means Li Hongli’s condition isn’t due to picking up some cursed object or external influence. It’s her own bloodline, kicking in after she got pregnant?"

"No, what kind of bloodline is this? Never heard of anything like this on SkyBlue Star. Isn't she a pure human?"

Sheng Qingquan immediately consulted the Grand Leader, confirming that SkyBlue Star had no prior records of such phenomena.

"If it existed, you would’ve been told long ago." Sheng Qingquan’s clearance was high enough to access such information.

Moreover, he possessed the Book of Prophecy, and the apocalypse survival efforts depended on his warnings. Any matter potentially triggering the apocalypse would’ve been shared proactively by the Grand Leader, even if Sheng Qingquan hadn’t asked. The absence of such information wasn’t due to concealment—it simply didn’t exist, at least not within official records.

Before Sheng Qingquan raised the issue, they had never known that human bloodlines could contain such traits.

"Wait!"

Sheng Qingquan had a worse thought.

"If Li Hongli’s bloodline is unusual, is she a one-off case?"

"With so many humans on SkyBlue Star, who can guarantee that other seemingly ordinary individuals don’t carry hidden bloodline traits?"

"SkyBlue Star’s recorded history goes back nearly 10,000 years. If we include unrecorded eras, it’s even longer. Who knows if other races once coexisted, or if humans mixed with them?"

"Those races may have vanished, but their bloodlines might still linger within humans."

If others also had their bloodlines awaken—even at a low rate, say one in a hundred thousand—

Considering SkyBlue Star’s current population...

Even excluding the ancient people from previous fusions, the original inhabitants alone reached astronomical numbers.

The mere thought made Sheng Qingquan dread the future.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

After collecting himself, Sheng Qingquan focused on studying the specifics of Li Hongli’s bloodline.

"Setting aside its origin—what exactly are the effects of her awakening?"

"Whatever race her bloodline is mixed with, one thing is certain: its power is tied to space. That’s why, upon awakening, she can connect to other worlds."

"Due to the bloodline’s dilution, her abilities remain uncontrollable even after awakening. When linking worlds, she can’t do so effortlessly—subconsciously, she relies on external mediums. That’s why opening doors is necessary to establish connections."

While Li Hongli was still processing that she wasn’t purely human, she blurted out, "I read a lot of fiction."

Especially after learning about the apocalypse, she’d been binge-reading novels at an even higher rate. Pregnancy had also left her with more free time, and reading became her go-to pastime.

She’d practically become a voracious reader.

"Quick-transmigration novels, apocalyptic tales—I’ve read plenty where the protagonist’s OP ability was ‘open a door to travel.’"

"Maybe that influenced me."

"After my bloodline awakened, I unconsciously mimicked it?" Li Hongli speculated.

"If the bloodline is anomalous..."

Sheng Qingquan paused thoughtfully before a thought struck him.

"Could we prevent the awakening by replacing her blood?"

"A complete blood replacement—if all her blood is replaced, wouldn’t that stop the awakening?"

The moment Sheng Qingquan considered this, he knew it wouldn't work.

"The term 'bloodline' refers to blood, but aside from blood itself, the more crucial factor is likely genes. For traits to be inherited, it probably relies on genetic inheritance."

"In that case, just swapping blood would have an almost negligible effect. Rather than a blood transfusion, getting a whole new body might be more useful."

However, Tianlanxing wasn't advanced enough for that yet.

"If we can't remove it, then the opposite approach—if the issue of abnormal bloodline can't be resolved, perhaps triggering its awakening would work."

"In the plot, Li Hongli would get transported to another world as soon as she opened a door because her bloodline was too diluted, making her ability uncontrollable after awakening. If her bloodline could be strengthened, would her ability become controllable after awakening?"

"Then, she could connect to other dimensions whenever she wanted or refrain from doing so. That would eliminate all problems."

"Even if she traveled and the entire population of Tianlanxing became bound to her with a life-or-death bond—though the novel never explained why—as long as her ability was under control, she could just avoid making connections."

"No connections means no traveling, and no traveling means Tianlanxing's people would remain safe."

"Wait..."

Sheng Qingquan suddenly realized another possibility.

"Could it be that it's not after traveling that her injuries affect others, but rather after awakening?"

"Is this actually a self-protection mechanism of Li Hongli's race during their vulnerable period after awakening?"

"When facing danger, her instinct drives her to protect herself, so she binds others, forcing them to protect her in order to survive?"

Confronted with this theory, Li Hongli was speechless.

She could swear on her life that she would never do such a thing intentionally and would even do everything to prevent it. But what if her ability was uncontrollable?

There was no guarantee such a thing wouldn't happen.

If it was truly uncontrollable, it wouldn't change based on her will.

"If only there were another dose available. Maybe Li Hongli could try drinking one."

"The gene serum could force evolution and effectively improve genetic issues. Perhaps after drinking one, Li Hongli's awakening would succeed, and her ability would become controllable. That would nip all risks in the bud. Later, when the time was right, Tianlanxing could even use this to explore other worlds and gain advantages."

Unfortunately, there wasn't another dose available on Tianlanxing.

As for the first one...

Sheng Qingquan glanced at his stomach—it had been metabolized completely.

Barring that, was there any other way?