Chapter 38: Ke Lin’s Father… or Mother?

Chapter 38: Ke Lin's Father... or Mother?

The next day, Jiang Yi and Ke Lin arrived at Hera’s office.

Although the conflict outside was intensifying, Hera still hadn’t revealed her identity and continued to play the role of the administrative director of Starry Vault Academy.

When Jiang Yi saw Hera, he noticed her gaze had grown sharper. Her demeanor remained calm and reserved, but a flicker of fervent triumph was hidden in the depths of her eyes.

It seemed the plans of the Wild Wolf Corps were progressing smoothly. After years of lying low and scheming, they were finally on the verge of victory—no one could help but be excited.

After meeting, Hera looked Ke Lin up and down.

A young, robust werewolf like Ke Lin was in his physical prime, and she didn’t detect anything wrong with him.

Ke Lin was wearing a slightly loose black-gray short-sleeved shirt today; an ordinary person wouldn’t notice his belly at all.

Jiang Yi cut to the chase and told Hera about the hospital’s diagnosis.

Since they needed her help, withholding information would only complicate things.

“Pseudocyesis?” Hera sounded incredulous upon hearing it.

Despite her power, she was still a young female wolf in her thirties. She had never considered pregnancy, let alone heard of a male werewolf experiencing pseudocyesis.

“I think it’s necessary to take Ke Lin back to the infirmary at the Corps headquarters for a check-up,” Hera said.

“Fine, but I’m going too,” Jiang Yi replied. He knew Hera wouldn’t harm her own kin, but he wasn’t comfortable letting Ke Lin go to the Wild Wolf Corps headquarters alone.

Hera hesitated for a moment before saying, “You’re a high-level Esper and haven’t clearly declared your stance. I’ll need to apply to headquarters.”

Although Jiang Yi and Hera had cooperated multiple times, Jiang Yi also worked for the Federation, had served with an Esper Team, and was a registered human Esper.

Normally, he wouldn’t be allowed into the Wild Wolf Corps headquarters.

But due to Ke Lin’s status, the Chief of the Wild Wolf Corps had made special arrangements for them, and the application was quickly approved.

Hera sent them the rendezvous point.

When Jiang Yi and Ke Lin arrived, they found an off-road vehicle waiting for them.

Hera was already in the passenger seat. She rolled down the window and said, “Get in. Headquarters is in the neighboring city, about a two-hour drive.”

After they got in, a head popped up from the driver’s seat—it was Kaiser, wearing sunglasses.

“Hey, you two, remember me?”

Ke Lin had caught his scent as soon as they got in the car, but he was in a bad mood. He cocked a fist at Kaiser and said, “Want another beating?”

Kaiser immediately turned his head back, muttering, “Told you, it was a misunderstanding.”

Upon reaching their destination, Jiang Yi was surprised to find that the Wild Wolf Corps headquarters was actually a nationally renowned military academy.

“Originally, our headquarters was in the suburbs. Eight years ago, the Chief led a team to secretly take over this military academy,” Hera explained proactively.

Jiang Yi finally understood where the Wild Wolf Corps’ confidence came from.

They had people in every military unit across the Federation.

When not launching a coup, they were protectors of ordinary citizens, safeguarding all humans and Minority Races equally.

Once they launch a coup, they will follow the new leader, overthrow the current federal regime, and establish a new, more equal, and better world.

This is also the cleverness of the Wild Wolf Corps.

"Is this the way to the infirmary?" Jiang Yi asked. He didn’t think the infirmary’s entrance would have guards posted, and upon entering the second gate, it even required Hera’s iris scan for verification.

"I apologize, but our Chief wishes to see you."

"Why?" Jiang Yi stopped walking. They couldn't be important enough to warrant a personal reception by the Chief.

Thinking about it this way, for a place as important as headquarters, Hera had led them in so readily—unless she never intended to let them leave from the beginning.

Hera was also an Esper, with abilities close to the eighth tier. Jiang Yi couldn't easily use his powers on her, but judging from Hera’s expression, there was definitely something else going on.

It wasn’t just about helping Ke Lin with his condition.

"In that case, let’s not go. Master, let’s leave," Ke Lin said. He hadn’t wanted to come in the first place.

Seeing this, Hera blocked their path.

Originally, she had planned to have Ke Lin examined by a doctor first, but after the Chief found out about Ke Lin’s false pregnancy, he ordered her to bring them directly to him.

"Believe me, we mean no harm. Perhaps our Chief can personally help resolve Ke Lin’s problem."

"How long does it take to walk a few dozen meters?"

A deep, authoritative voice came from the end of the corridor.

The wide wooden doors of the reception hall automatically swung open on both sides, and Tian Rui, the leader of the Wild Wolf Corps, stepped out.

He stood nearly two meters tall, with a tall and burly build, deep-set facial features, sharp eyes, and wore a dark green military uniform and high-top military boots, exuding a commanding presence.

While Tian Rui was sizing up Jiang Yi and Ke Lin, Jiang Yi was also observing him.

For some reason, he felt a faint sense of familiarity from this completely unfamiliar leader of the Wild Wolf Corps.

Tian Rui approached, looking at Ke Lin, who was slightly shorter than he had expected, and the tense curve of his lips softened a little. "Little Wolf cub, show me your beast form."

Ke Lin looked at him in confusion, about to blurt out a refusal, but his body seemed to act on its own. His size rapidly increased, and right in front of everyone, he transformed into his beast form in the corridor.

Ke Lin stared at the torn clothes scattered on the floor, baring his teeth angrily at Tian Rui.

It must have been this Chief who used some method to force him to transform.

Damn it! He hated transforming without any preparation.

In Tian Rui’s eyes, Ke Lin was nothing more than a newly grown cub. His angry expression only seemed cute. Looking at Ke Lin in his wild wolf form, whether it was his fur or his demeanor, there was a slight resemblance to his younger self.

He chuckled softly, "You really are my son, Little Wolf cub. You’ve finally come home."

"Awoo?" Ke Lin hadn’t expected things to unfold this way at all. He let out a confused, adorable wolf howl.

From as far back as he could remember, he had been in a shelter and had never seen or heard of his parents.

Was this tall man in front of him really his father?

They didn’t look alike at all.

At this moment, Jiang Yi’s gaze turned somewhat gloomy. Hera had probably known Ke Lin’s true identity all along.

The whole "helping Ke Lin see a doctor" thing was just a pretext; the real goal was to bring him back to meet his family.

He was happy that Ke Lin had found his relatives, but there might be hidden dangers and ulterior motives behind it.

If it would harm Ke Lin, he’d rather Ke Lin had never met his family.

In this vast alternate world, having each other was enough.

Ke Lin sensed Jiang Yi’s displeasure and walked over to him, lowering his head to nuzzle him.

Things wouldn't have gotten to the point of a false pregnancy otherwise.

“Come inside with me first,” Tian Rui said.

Once they were in the reception room, Ke Lin, with no clothes to wear, refused to revert to his human form and stayed close to Jiang Yi, pressed up against him.

Even when Tian Rui called him over to examine his belly, Ke Lin didn’t budge, so Tian Rui had to walk over himself.

Ke Lin’s abdomen had a slight bulge even in his wolf form, though it was less noticeable than in his human form.

The abdomen was an extremely sensitive and vulnerable area, only the closest people could touch it.

Ke Lin and Tian Rui were meeting for the first time. Although they were father and son, they'd just met and had no bond yet.

When Tian Rui reached out his hand, Ke Lin instinctively shrank back toward Jiang Yi.

Tian Rui sighed and suddenly yanked the longsword hanging on the wall.

Though the sword had long been displayed as decoration, it was sharpened, its blade shining with a cold, silver gleam.

Just as everyone held their breath, wondering what he was about to do, Tian Rui sliced his finger with it.

Ke Lin was naturally sensitive to scents, especially the smell of blood.

Tian Rui brought his bleeding finger close to Ke Lin’s nose.

Ke Lin took a step back instead, grumbling softly, “No need to get so close. I can sense it.”

Among the werewolf clan, the ability to sense bloodline kinship through blood was ingrained in their genes.

The person before him was indeed his blood relative.

When Tian Rui touched Ke Lin’s abdomen again, Ke Lin didn’t avoid him.

A moment later, Tian Rui pulled his hand back.

There was no gestational sac inside Ke Lin—it was merely false pregnancy.

It seemed Ke Lin hadn’t inherited his ability to conceive.

“It’s nothing serious. There’s no child inside. The swelling will gradually subside,” Tian Rui said.

But Ke Lin disagreed. “Why is there no child? Didn’t you give birth to me?”

The power of bloodline told Ke Lin that he was not only this man’s son but also born directly by him.

Tian Rui hadn’t expected Ke Lin to be so perceptive, so he just said bluntly, “Our bodies are built differently. I can give birth, but you cannot.”

Beside them, Hera was stunned. She had never seen a male werewolf conceive or give birth, let alone imagined that the tall and mighty Chief had personally given birth to a wolf cub!

No wonder no one has ever known who the Chief's mate is. Going by the timing, the Chief had just escaped from human society back then, so it's highly likely the other party was a human.

Hera felt she could no longer focus solely on war planning; the breeding habits of the wild wolves were also worth studying.

Otherwise, if she ever took care of her urges and accidentally got a male werewolf pregnant, it would be a huge problem.

Jiang Yi had searched for information about wild wolf biology yesterday, so he had some idea what to expect.

But hearing it directly from Tian Rui was still a real shock.

It went way beyond his understanding of human anatomy and modern medicine.

Fortunately, Ke Lin was only experiencing pseudopregnancy.

He couldn't bear the thought of the person he loved enduring the hardships of pregnancy and giving birth to a child for him.

Especially something as mind-boggling to him as male pregnancy.

He wasn't hung up on having offspring. After he and Ke Lin got together, he hadn't even thought about it—having Ke Lin was enough.

But Ke Lin was hung up on something else. He was fixated on why he hadn't inherited his father's ability.

Why couldn't he give birth to a child with his master?

Maybe they all got it wrong?

His father could have children, so he could too.

It was just that his gestational sac was hidden somewhere more secretive.

His little baby must be hiding somewhere in his body, unwilling to be discovered.

It was getting late, so Tian Rui arranged accommodations for them and had someone take them to their rooms.

After Jiang Yi and Ke Lin left,

Hera worriedly said to Tian Rui, "Chief, Ke Lin's condition seems off. If he insists on believing he's carrying a child, I'm afraid his belly won't shrink gradually but might even grow larger."

Tian Rui had also noticed this. "I really don't know what's so great about that Jiang Yi kid, making Ke Lin's desire to bear offspring for him so intense."

Only a genuine desire to have a child would make someone so resistant to accepting the truth.

"What should we do? Should I take them to the medical room tomorrow?" Hera asked.

Their medical team currently focused mainly on researching how to activate werewolf bloodlines and the genetic suppression injected into the neck collars by the laboratory. They weren't actually more professional than outside doctors when it came to Ke Lin's situation.

Tian Rui said, "No need. The people in the medical room don't have a better solution either. They'd only force Ke Lin to abort, and he wouldn't cooperate. I have other arrangements. For his health, his 'child' must be aborted."