The Boyfriends I Picked Up in Horror Games Are Bizarre - Chapter 131

In the year 2233, technology had developed rapidly, and many ideas that were impossible to realize in the 21st century had already been achieved. With the advancement of society, humanity’s colonies had expanded into the boundless universe.

However, the birth rate had declined sharply, reaching a highly pessimistic level. Compared to having children, young people preferred to indulge in food, drinks, and entertainment.

Although synthetic human technology had already become very advanced, and no country lacked labor power, synthetic humans were, after all, merely machines and not true humans.

If no measures were taken to increase the birth rate, the scenes of “artificial machines” conquering Earth, as mentioned in science fiction novels, might truly come to pass.

To alleviate the pressure of population decline, someone proposed the “Paradise Island” plan. The so-called Paradise Island meant adding a mechanical structure similar to an artificial womb to the bodies of assembly-line-produced synthetic humans.

As long as a fertilized egg was placed inside their bodies to grow and develop, a true human being could be born.

Of course, if artificial wombs were required, it was entirely possible to establish a specialized factory that would implant artificial wombs into synthetic humans, since this was an experiment designed by capitalists to maximize profit.

In an era where ordinary entertainment could no longer satisfy young people, everyone sought thrills, and the fetishes of certain wealthy individuals were even more bizarre.

On the black market, many placed orders to have underground factories customize synthetic humans entirely in accordance with their personal preferences.

Although synthetic humans were merely machines with human-like appearances, their looks could be perfectly adjusted to suit human desires, which made them extremely popular.

Imagine a synthetic human playing the role of a human partner and then “giving birth” to a child for that partner. As long as no one spoke of it, who could tell whether they were synthetic or not?

But to put it plainly, for humans, this was nothing more than a game of make-believe.

Nevertheless, the existence of this function in synthetic humans did offer hope of easing population pressure and maintaining social stability and harmony.

As time passed, human genes also began to change. Children born through natural conception between men and women possessed stronger physical fitness than those born through assisted methods.

The problem, however, was that natural conception between men and women had become especially difficult. Out of a thousand couples, perhaps only two or three could successfully give birth to a child.

What was worse, the gender imbalance was severe, with the number of women far lower than that of men, making the situation even more dire.

Thus, over two centuries of evolution, social trends underwent drastic changes. Many wealthy men, in pursuit of healthy and strong heirs to inherit their families, had no choice but to chase after the scarce women who could easily conceive.

As a result, web novels such as “One Birth Always Brings Multiple Treasures: The Delicate Beauty Relies on Her Good Fertility to Be Pampered to the Heavens by the Interstellar Overlord” emerged in endless succession.

Inside a white transfer station, all four sides were lined with glass walls stretched from floor to ceiling, and beyond the windows stretched the starry sea of the galaxy, occasionally twinkling with points of light.

This was the largest interstellar transfer station in the world, and also the only one that provided direct access to the Andromeda Galaxy.

Among the people coming and going within the station, men were the majority. Women were present too, but their numbers were very limited, since the gender imbalance of more men and fewer women had already reached an alarmingly severe level in this era.

A girl in a white dress sat on a chair. She was very beautiful, with snow-white skin and jet-black hair, exquisite features, and a radiant, elegant demeanor. Even though she was merely sitting there, playing with her holographic wristband, not sparing a glance at anyone else, she still easily drew attention.

For some reason, her brows furrowed, as though she had just seen something disgusting.

Someone nearby speculated whether she might be a synthetic human.

It was not that they had never seen beautiful women before. With technology so advanced, every synthetic human produced on an assembly line possessed the most perfect appearance. Yet those attractive synthetic humans never seemed as full of life and vitality as this girl.

Nowadays, men and women alike, whether for physical needs or psychological satisfaction, often save money to purchase a synthetic human for themselves. By programming the personality they preferred, the synthetic human could become the ideal tool for passing the time.

But synthetic humans were, after all, not true humans. For those seriously seeking a partner, it was still necessary to find a real human being.

Someone sneaked a glance at her neck. There was no barcode behind it, so she should not be a synthetic human.

It was rare to see such a beautiful, genuine human woman. Quite a few men stirred restlessly, and one even summoned the courage to stand and approach her.

However, a man in a blue uniform strode over first and addressed the girl. “Excuse me, are you Bai Yao, Miss Bai?”

Anyone with common sense would recognize the uniform he wore. He was a soldier of the First Fleet, whose Commander was rumored to be devastatingly handsome, cold and ruthless, and invincible in battle—a true demon king.

Ordinary people dared not offend members of the fleet, so they could only regretfully withdraw their gazes.

Bai Yao, who had been idly browsing, had accidentally clicked into a melodramatic novel in which the female lead won a man’s affection by constantly giving birth to children. The content had stung her eyes, and now, upon seeing a refined and handsome man, her eyes finally felt a little soothed.

She closed the holographic screen on her wristband, stood up, and smiled. “I am Bai Yao. May I ask who you are?”

The man stood straight. “Hello, I am Van Gogh, adjutant of the First Fleet. The Commander sent me here to pick you up.”

He added, “Our ship is already docked outside the transfer station. The Commander… He is rather busy, so he asked me to come in his place.”

His words were hesitant, and he avoided looking at Bai Yao, suggesting that things were not so simple.

But Bai Yao did not care about such trivial matters. She picked up her bag. “Let’s go.”

Every transfer station had designated docking points for fleets. If the First Fleet’s ship had not happened to be passing through the Andromeda galaxy, Bai Yao would have had to wait ten days or even half a month for a passenger ship heading there.

She could wait, but her inspection mission could not.

To ease the awkwardness, Van Gogh began describing the Commander’s recent activities.

Not long ago, they had successfully completed a mission, rescuing survivors from a planet on the verge of explosion. Unfortunately, that planet had only two survivors left.

With the mission complete, the crew was allowed to take leave and rest at home.

However, since the Commander had decided to escort the survivors back to their planet, he was now piloting a spacecraft with a few others toward the Cygnus constellation, and along the way, they would pass by Bai Yao’s destination.

Bai Yao boarded this ship, named “Conqueror.” Since it was not during working hours, they could not take a battleship out freely, so this vessel belonged to the Commander personally.