"Whatever the case, this skill has finally leveled up! My mana bar has increased, and I’ve gained Flora Mastery. Becoming an interstellar master apothecary is just a matter of time!" Lan Lingdu was in a fantastic mood.
She cast All Things Flourish on a small patch of grass again.
The grass, which had been wilted from the sun, suddenly turned vibrant and lively, even sprouting a new, tender leaf.
Using the skill this time felt incredibly smooth; there was none of the stuttering caused by a weak mental capacity as she had experienced before.
Only then did Lan Lingdu set off, full of hope, for the wormhole portal. She boarded the wormhole shuttle and transported herself to Planet 313, an agricultural planet registered under her name.
*
On an unnamed planet, a mass of black mist was fiercely pursuing a werewolf that had transformed and was fleeing for its life.
"Awoo..."
The werewolf howled in despair, a chilling sound in the silent night.
Just as the black mist was about to engulf the poor creature, it suddenly shuddered and stopped for no apparent reason.
The gray wolf glanced back, pushed off with its hind legs, and dove into the dark forest, escaping.
The black mist that had stopped in its tracks slowly coalesced into a figure draped in black robes.
[Ding! Male, the Federation government has forcibly matched you with a female Beast Husband. Please locate your wife immediately and strictly adhere to the Interstellar Beast Husband Code. Do not harm your female wife. Once discovered, you will face life imprisonment, or in severe cases, total erasure of your beastly existence!]
The shadow shrouded in the night gave a scoff, and a hoarse, hazy voice slowly drifted out, "A female?"
Suddenly, a gruff voice came from the darkness in the distance, "Brother Ye! How could you let that little wolf cub get away?"
A tall figure arrived in an instant, and a bright light pierced through the pervasive darkness.
The figure that had just been hidden in the night was instantly exposed. He was wearing a black bamboo hat, the brim pulled low, concealing his face completely.
The tall man who had arrived didn't care how the shadow reacted and shoved his large face close to the other’s Light Computer. "A female wife? Is it that time of the month for your forced matching again?"
The tall man’s rugged face was full of excitement. "Let me see what kind of creature your forced wife is this time!"
The next second, the man’s eyes widened, and his voice shot up an octave. "Lan Lingdu! Fertility value: 0? What is this? Sterile? Is she even a female? Are you sure the system isn't retaliating by matching you with a male Orc?"
The man’s rapid-fire questioning seemed to stun the shadow, who stood there in silence for a long time.
"No way, no way? Could it be that they really matched you with a male this time?"
After a long while, the hoarse voice spoke up as a warning, "Dongfang Ming."
Dongfang Ming, the tall man, gave a "heh-heh" laugh, acting like a brazen scoundrel. "You’re twenty-five years old now. For the past few months, you’ve refused the Federation’s forced matching every time. You’re so broke you can't even pay the massive fines, aren't you?"
If he had cut off the wolf cub's head earlier, he might have been able to cover that exorbitant fine.
As things stood? Dongfang Ming was just dying to know how this guy intended to deal with his "wife."
It was well known that females didn't care whether their Beast Husbands had one extra or one less; some were even happy to see it happen.
The shadow: "..."
Dongfang Ming shook his head, gloating. "Tsk, tsk! How truly miserable!"
Come to think of it, Phantom was a rare, stubborn mule. To resist the forced marriage, he had become a lethal bounty hunter, taking on assassination missions every day just to fill the hole left by the massive fines.
He had gone from a "super bounty hunter" with endless money and a bright future to a pauper eating instant noodles in the slums!
"Phantom," hidden under the bamboo hat, raised a slender finger and rubbed his chin. "So, what do you think I should do?"
"Actually, marriage isn't as terrifying as you imagine. At least half of the females in the interstellar are gentle and cute."
Dongfang Ming, fearless, reached out and patted Phantom on the shoulder. "That little wolf cub escaped, which means you won't have the money to pay the fine. Why not just go along with this female for once? Besides, she's sterile anyway..."
Phantom’s hoarse voice dripped with deep disgust. "I find it filthy."
"What if? What if you really run into one of those one-in-a-million females?"
Ye Xingze’s hoarse voice was filled with intense chill. "Do you even believe what you're saying?"
"Cough! Even if some females are spoiled, unreasonable, and promiscuous—maybe? Maybe your wife this time is a gentle and cute one?"
Dongfang Ming’s statement would have made sense if the latter part wasn't phrased as a question.
Interstellar females certainly looked the part, easily triggering a protective instinct in males; they were truly delicate and cute.
However!
The Federation government made sure they knew they were national treasures, so they ran wild. The better-bred females might show their Beast Husbands some manners.
But they would never grant their Beast Husbands equal status.
If you ran into one with a bad temper, she would treat her Beast Husband like a beast of burden.
After all, the laws of the interstellar space couldn't touch them. Even if a Beast Husband could not bear the abuse and reported it to the interstellar court, even with absolute evidence, the authorities wouldn't let the female be harmed; they would only allow for a peaceful divorce.
Who could help it when the male-to-female ratio in this world was hundreds to one?
This was the tragedy of the male Orcs in this era.
If they didn't want their race to go extinct and wanted to continue to reproduce, they had to be subservient to the females.
And as for Ye Xingze... he loathed females!
After a long time, Ye Xingze’s hoarse voice drifted slowly through the night air. "I said..."
Dongfang Ming looked like he was all ears. He really wanted to know how Brother Ye, penniless as he was, intended to solve his massive fine—or perhaps, just get married.
"Since you say the system matched my 'wife' as a male, then I’ll just find it and kill it. That's reasonable, right?"
Dongfang Ming was so shocked he nearly lost his soul; his mouth hung wide open. "What?"
Dongfang Ming: "You... you’re trying to get yourself killed, aren't you?"
Harming a female! Leave it to this lunatic to come up with that!
His only response was a mass of black mist sweeping away into the distance.
"Wait! Are you serious?!"
"The guy has finally lost his mind!" Dongfang Ming cursed under his breath. The perverts in the Federation had finally pushed a killer to the edge!
Afraid that the world might inexplicably lose a cute female—and that he might lose a friend—Dongfang Ming scrambled to follow!
*
Lan Lingdu, who was preparing to get to work, had no idea that the assassin Beast Husband she had been forcibly matched with had gone mad from a lack of money and was coming to eliminate the source of his trouble—her!
She was currently busy admiring her new territory with great excitement.
Not far from the wormhole landing site stood a small wooden cabin built in advance by the Cultivation Land Association. A few dozen meters away lay a small oasis with water, which kept the greenery in the area lush.
The air was exceptionally fresh.
The cabin sat on a small plain, and Lan Lingdu guessed it was likely the safest spot on the planet.
She was very satisfied; at least this ensured she wouldn't have to sleep in the wind or rain while she broke ground.
She released the cultivation robot she had received from the headquarters and gave the order: "First, get the basic infrastructure set up. I’m planning to use half the land for crops and the other half for medicinal herbs!"