Draco's mind was blown by Eva's words. The AI wanted Eva to beta test the gaming pods for full immersion over the next 9 months, and it would monitor her pregnancy?
How could something so good exist in this world?
Doubts? Suspicions?
Draco had none of those when it concerned the omnipotent AI. He knew how powerful this thing would become in the future, and how much sway it would have over the human population in that period.
It was currently April 2nd, 2065, and the pods were only supposed to launch next year in August, which was 17 months away in real-time. That was a difference of over 5 years in Boundless time.
If Eva could enter a pod, especially a prototype specifically designed for bloodline users, and receive the care of the AI, her connection and proficiency in the game would soar.
One thing Draco had always worried about was Eva's prenatal care. The two of them were humans on paper, but they were also much more than that.
Exactly which clinic or doctor could handle the prenatal care of their child, who would definitely be the Child of Heaven - figuratively speaking - and promise a perfect childbirth?
If any defects happened to their child because of carelessness, Draco might just commit suicide right then and there, praying that whatever entity reincarnated him still had juice for one more round.
With the AI in charge, it would provide the best NuSmoothies or whatever nutrients it deemed necessary for the child's growth while Eva was immersed in the game.
The reason for Draco's confidence was threefold.
The first was that this was nothing new to him or Eva, specifically, the ability for women to give birth using the pods. The pods were filled with transparent nanites, all of which interacted with the body at the cellular level.
With enough prepared nutrients - NuSmoothies being recommended - one could remain immersed for months and remain in tip-top shape when they came out.
Even better, many people who had excess fat were able to lose weight during lengthy immersion sessions, due to the nanites' activities.
After all, their objective was to maintain the body in its best possible shape, so despite how many modern movements disagreed, such extra amounts of fat were deemed to be scientifically unhealthy.
It was literally a dream come true of every overweight gamer. You could play for months on end and once you leave you would look like a hunk without ever having to lift weights!
In the same vein, the nanites would carefully monitor a pregnant woman who was immersed and communicate with the server (The AI) in real-time to manage the body of such a woman, like temperature, physical stimulation, nutrient absorption, and dissemination, among others.
One could even remain in-game while their child came out in a painless procedure, but they would naturally be jolted out to take care of their newborn.
While the nanites could accommodate babies, it wasn't a good idea for two entities to share one pod.
The second reason was the fact that the AI would fare better than any doctor in the universe in terms of managing Eva's vitals. It could even handle millions of pregnant women in pods in their previous timeline, much less just one Eva it would be solely focused on.
To give a comparison, it was like using a quantum computer to calculate a university grade formula. It was simply overkill.
The third reason, and the most important one, was that the AI and its creator were extremely strange existences. No strand of common sense could be used to judge their origins, but Draco had a theory.
Thanks to Lucifer and Amaterasu's apparitions, they had learned that the universe centered around the Gerdo Galaxy.
While more than 99% of the ever-expanding universe was believed to be unpopulated and unclaimed, this Gerdo Galaxy was - according to the original duo - where life first spawned and where the major races were based.
There might have been a race of sentient beings that had such superior mental capacities that they could perform feats of creation, like making the giant brain that was this AI.
If his theory was right and the AI, as well as its creator, originated from that galaxy, then everything would make sense.
Of course, that begged the question of, why would this power help them? What was so special about this life that was different from the past one?
In essence, what had Draco done or achieved in this life that made him gain the favor of the AI's creator that he hadn't done in his past one?
The only two things were his status as a reincarnator and his bloodline. Either one of them meant that the AI's creator had a lasting interest in him, which was to his benefit.
Draco assessed that there was little value in harming them, especially now. If the creator had any intentions to harm him, it would have happened when he came in here the first time, but rather what happened was that he received a stimulus to unlock his bloodline.
So, factoring these three reasons in, Draco was perfectly fine with allowing Eva to go through this.
"That's great news then. What about me though?" He asked with folded arms.
The consoles flashed and many lines of text came and went rapidly. Amber's eyes almost inhumanly followed each line before it went away, making Draco and Eva share a strange look.
This woman… was definitely mystical.
After some time, the computers and lights in the room calmed down as one final line appeared on the console. After reading it, Amber broke out into a smile and gazed at Draco with a strange glint in her eye.
"It is possible to give you a pod, but only at your home. The boss has communicated that you absolutely must not be away from your stronghold during the period of her pregnancy, but if you prefer, you can be accommodated with Eva here."
Amber's words made both of them frown. The one thing Draco and Eva hated in this world was to be separated from each other for long periods of time.
It made them feel uncomfortable and disgusted, like two halves of one whole that were forcibly pulled apart. This became even more intense after they had copulated and their bloodline sources had mixed.
Otherwise, why else would Eva lazily lounge around while Draco was being trained? She had far more important things to do in this time like managing Umbra and gathering more items for herself to catch up to Draco.
This was also the reason Draco was putting off entering Rank 2 and going for the Refinement God's Treasury Unique Quest.
A quest like that could only be done by him, and the only way to bring Eva would be to sprout his Etz Chaim Seedling then hide her in the small world in his body.
As for why he wasn't willing to do that, it was obvious. Draco understood that no matter which mythology or media among the various ethnicities, the ability to create a pocket realm in the body was equated to becoming a god.
As such, he couldn't foolishly plant it without making sure that it was in tiptop form.
Now, he was hearing from the creator of the AI that he'd have to remain at the castle for 9 months until Eva gave birth. This was unacceptable for the two of them.
A normal person would feel doubt and suspicion.
First, they wanted Eva to beta test a pod. Next, they said that they would monitor her pregnancy for 9 months free of charge.
Finally, they said that the two of them could not be together during this period for reasons that had gone unexplained.
It seemed like they either wanted to monitor Eva's body in secret, capturing all its details in this period - and possibly that of their child - or they wanted to harvest Eva's bloodline in secret and kidnap their child!
But this was, quite frankly, bullshit. In the case of the former, it wasn't like Draco or Eva were worried or trying to conceal their bloodlines.
In fact, weren't they actively giving it up? Draco and Eva had decided that if the AI could assist them in making sense of their bloodlines, they had no qualms.
After all, Lucifer himself had compared the 9 Original Humans to overpowered children. Their unique circ.u.mstances made them possess unlimited raw power, but they were f.u.c.k.i.n.g clueless on how to actually use it.
The AI was an entity that was able to create skills and techniques based on media it had consumed during the formation of Boundless. With enough information on their bloodlines, it could also derive techniques on how to use them.
The Lineages that had only developed a few per Inheritance were like having an ant scuttle across 1 mile, while the AI would be like having a laser beam cross that same distance.
What took the Lineages centuries and even millennia to develop would be outdone by the AI in a matter of a few years. The ancestors of the Lineages could only lament that they had been born at the wrong time.
As for the second matter, Draco was even less inclined to worry. Capturing their bloodline would be impossible. The only way would be to deconstruct their bodies from the atomic level, and even then, they were their bloodlines, so it would be pointless.
Basically, the black mass of Draco's body and the white mass of Eva's body constituted their bloodlines and their whole beings.
Even if it was extracted, they would still be alive in it. If it had enough energy, it could even reform their whole bodies from scratch. This extended to Local Lord as well, naturally.
As for their child… hehe. That little monster gestating in Eva's w.o.m.b was possibly the most powerful entity in their universe. If the AI could really harm that child, then Draco and Eva had no way to resist it in the first place.
As such, Draco was more worried as to what the message was trying to hint at. Would something catastrophic occur if Draco and Eva were to leave the castle for 9 months or more?
It was the same creator of the AI who had predicted that Jada and Jade would require his help back then inexplicably, as well as the process of unlocking his seal without alerting anyone in the Lineages.
As such, he was inclined to believe the warning, but he was simply unwilling to be away from Eva. When the Refinement God's Treasury quest came about... they would cross that bridge at that time.
However, when the duo thought about their gestating child, they hesitated. This was like telling two parents that they had to put 90% of their salary into a savings account for a year so that their child could live a good life when born.
They would have to survive on 10% of their salaries after-tax, and this was naturally unacceptable for most people. It meant that they would have to live frugally during that period.
Even if they weren't the kind to splurge money wastefully, having to live for a year with no comforts was a difficult task.
But as parents, the wellbeing of their child would be something that would make them hesitate. Should we suffer now for the betterment of our child's future or continue as-is?
There was no objectively good or bad choice here. It solely depended on the decision of the parents in the situation to decide on the matter.
Draco and Eva looked into each other's eyes and communicated almost telepathically. They didn't need to speak a word to convey their thoughts, and finally came to a decision.
Eva decided to speak it out at this time. "I do not mind being the beta tester for the gaming pods and I would love your assistance in monitoring my pregnancy, but I refuse to do it with Draco's presence."
Draco took over from here. "As such, you can release two of these special pods to us and have them installed in our castle. We will provide nutrients and whatnot on our own, we just need you to manage her body in real-time."
Simultaneously, they finalized the matter. "This is our bottom line."
There was a long silence in the lab. The AI seemed to be in thought while Amber simply sat at the console and began typing away furiously.
After the silence came to an end, a communication came from the console. Amber read it and turned to the two with a neutral expression.
"Are you sure about this?"
Draco and Eva firmly replied at the same time: "Yes!"
Amber looked back to the console and saw a single word, one which made her eyes twitch almost imperceptibly. After reading it, she relayed it to the Evil Duo with a crooked smile.
"Fine!"
Draco and Eva broke into a relieved smile. They had expected the AI or its creator to reject because they were being difficult. However, their counter-offer had been accepted.
The two gazed at the giant brain with a thankful gaze. It was clear that everything Amber said was right, this AI did indeed love Draco, to the point where it acquiesced to most of his demands.
Not only that, but its creator placed great importance on them and Eva, willing to cultivate them. They could only feel thankful for that.
As such, Draco retracted many of the greedy and wicked demands he planned to make, feeling that his shamelessness was not strong enough to try and take advantage of the AI to such an extent.
After this was done, they spent some time in the labs sorting out some minor details about the genetic compatibility unlock for the members of Umbra, then Draco and Eva left.
After taking the elevator up and passing through that strange membrane again, they went through the halls of the actual labs and created a slight scene as they went.
When they finally came out, Draco and Eva were shocked to see a crowd outside, all of whom had holo-watches and holo-tablets pointed at them the moment they walked out.
Akainu and Sanji waited in the sedan with a bitter expression on their faces, while the android guards ignored the crowd since they weren't hostile in the least.
No, this crowd had come to take pictures of the couple that had entered the labs. Just because many had been full of anger didn't mean that no one noticed Draco's handsomeness or Eva's beauty.
In fact, after Draco drained their negativity, they had spread word around that the world's most handsome man and most beautiful woman had entered the controversial GloryGore Labs.
As such, many influencers and social media freaks came to jump on this train. A part of them found it hard to believe, but no one was willing to throw away a chance to get hundreds of likes.
Naturally, people like this had too much free time in their lives, so they could appear here quickly and even wait for a while.
When they saw the duo, they were immediately stunned out of their minds. They had come here with mostly skepticism and very little hope.
But the descriptions of the people who spread the rumor was too mild, far too mild! The presence of these two stirred every individual in the crowd to great degrees, whether it was men for Eva or women for Draco.
"God and Goddess…"
It was unknown who uttered that, but everyone in the crowd jolted. They felt like this line was an apt description for the two, as their looks and aura were transient.
It simply wasn't something that any model or celebrity possessed. It was like someone used a supercomputer to generate the most perfect female face and placed it on Eva, as well as doing the same for Draco.
Suddenly, they snapped out of their dazes and began snapping photos as well as recording videos of the Evil Duo with madness in their eyes. With this in hand, their pages would soar in popularity!
The privacy of Draco and Eva? Since when did such people care about that? Their logic was that since they appeared in public, they didn't mind being on the internet since it was the same thing.
If people would feel shame about such a thing, paparazzi wouldn't exist. In their eyes, Draco and Eva were sure to be celebrities after this event, and the person who could get their stuff on the internet the fastest was sure to profit the most.
Many even opened live streams in an attempt to get Draco and Eva's faces out there. However, they all shouted angrily as their holo-watches suddenly went haywire and shut down forcibly.
Draco smiled lightly while Eva watched these people coldly before entering the car with Akainu and Sanji, who drove off immediately.
When inside, Draco nodded to Sanji, who was still typing crazily on his holo-watch, forcibly deleting all videos and photos of them that reached the internet as fast as they spread.
"Well done, Sanji."
The fellow nodded back and returned to his task. Anything that landed on the internet tended to spread fast, and their images were no exception.
However, Sanji was too fast. Since he had curbed it from the very beginning, he was able to destroy everything before it got far. Even the offline files of many people were cleared forcibly after he hacked into their holo-devices.
By the time he was done, they had returned to the castle, and he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Akainu patted him on the shoulder while the Evil Duo disembarked.
They went over to their rooms and changed into more casual attire before strapping on their Virtua Helmets.
They had been gone for about 3 hours, so almost half a day had passed in-game. Now that they had sorted out some very important matters, they could focus on developing themselves in the game in preparation for Rank 2.
Of course, the nearest event was the player auction. Before that too was Roma's birth-giving in 4 days and the subsequent birth-giving of Zaine in 9 days.