Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

2: Chapter 2: The First Cry Startles the NightThe escape of that wisp of Chaos aura was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, stirring up towering waves in Lin Mo’s heart.

”Careless!” He cursed himself inwardly. Blinded by rage, he had actually let a trace of the deeply hidden seed’s aura leak out. The pause of the old man outside and that instant, icy gaze that swept over him made him feel a chill even through his mother’s womb. This Liu Family was truly a dragon’s pool and tiger’s den.

He forced himself into a state of absolute ”stillness.” His consciousness turned inward, as if sinking into a bottomless abyss, completely enveloping and isolating the seed of the Chaos Dao Body. The foundation from practicing some crude meditation techniques in his past life now proved useful. He strove to mimic the genuine, muddled, chaotic, purely instinctive life state of a real fetus. His heartbeat, the flow of his Bloodline, he adjusted with utmost effort to the most natural, most ordinary frequency, not daring to make the slightest unusual movement.

Outside, Liu Qingxuan’s sobs finally ceased, leaving only stifled silence and heavy breathing. That gentle hand still rested on her abdomen, transmitting silent support and warmth. Lin Mo could ”feel” his mother’s bone-deep exhaustion and fear, and the rock-solid determination born for his sake. This perception hurt his heart more than any words could and further solidified his resolve to hide himself and protect his mother.

Time flowed in the darkness and silence, becoming exceptionally long. Lin Mo no longer dared to casually attempt sensing the outside world. Most of his time was spent on internal observation, cautiously watching the ”Chaos Dao Body” seed within him. It hung quietly at the core of his life’s Origin, emitting an extremely faint, nearly imperceptible Chaos halo, slowly yet greedily absorbing the Innate Qi and life essence passed from his mother’s body. Each subtle absorption made Lin Mo feel his ”existence” solidify a bit more, and the sense of estrangement from this world melt away a fraction. This slow nourishment became his only solace and hope in the darkness.

[Ding! Detected host is in a special environment (Innate Maternal Womb). Sign in for today?] The cold, mechanical voice sounded again at the core of his consciousness.

Lin Mo’s heart tightened, instantly weighing the pros and cons. Sign in! He must sign in! This was his only path to grow stronger and obtain resources to confront the unknown. But would the commotion from the reward attract prying eyes again?

”System, will the sign-in reward generate energy fluctuations or unusual phenomena?” He silently asked in his mind. [System sign-in operates on the rule level. Rewards act directly on the host’s Origin or are stored in the System space. No external energy fluctuations or unusual phenomena.] The cold reply let Lin Mo breathe a sigh of relief.

”Sign in!” He ordered without hesitation. [Ding! Sign-in successful! Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Innate Maternal Womb Nourishment Essence*1 (Can strengthen fetal body Origin, accelerate Dao Body seed absorption efficiency).] A stream of warmth far more refined, gentle, and brimming with vitality than his mother’s supply suddenly infused into his Origin, instantly absorbed by the Chaos Dao Body seed. The halo on the seed’s surface seemed to brighten an extremely faint trace, and the speed of absorbing Innate Qi noticeably increased a tiny bit. Like parched land receiving sweet rain, an indescribable comfort spread throughout Lin Mo’s ”entire body.”

”Good stuff!” Lin Mo’s spirits lifted. This sign-in reward came at the perfect time, both accelerating his growth and being safe and concealed.

In the following days, Lin Mo fully entered ”playing dead” mode. Apart from the daily mandatory sign-ins (rewards were mostly gentle items that strengthened the fetal body or nourished the Divine Soul), he devoted all his energy to operating that minuscule meditative consciousness, retracting all auras, while guiding the Chaos seed to more efficiently absorb nourishment from his mother and the sign-in gains. Like a stubborn rock, he hid deep within the warm ocean of his mother’s womb, quietly awaiting the day of breaking the shell.

Outside sounds became blurry and intermittent. Liu Qingxuan’s days were clearly difficult. The food delivered grew increasingly poor, sometimes even cold and spoiled. The sharp-tongued ridicule from the clan’s womenfolk, the evasive and disdainful looks from the servants, lashed at her like invisible whips. Lin Mo could ”hear” his mother silently swallowing coarse food, could ”feel” the slight tremor in her fingertips when she stroked her abdomen. But every time her hand rested there, that gentleness and firmness never changed.

”Mother... just endure a little longer...” Lin Mo’s heart screamed silently. Rage was compressed into the hardest ice, buried deep within. He absorbed all energy even more frantically. The growth of the Chaos seed, though still slow, became much more stable than before.

Finally, on a stormy, thunderous late night. An intense, unprecedented squeezing force pressed in from all sides! A vast, irresistible force pushed him downward, outward! It’s here! The moment of birth had arrived! Intense pain surged like a tidal wave against Liu Qingxuan’s consciousness, also clearly transmitted to Lin Mo, whose life was connected to hers. He could ”hear” his mother’s pain suppressed to the extreme, the faint sound of sweat soaking her clothes, and the Midwife’s tense, somewhat impatient urging. ”Push! Madam, push harder!” ”The head... the head is almost out!”

The feeling of dark confinement reached its peak, then suddenly, openness! Cold, damp, blood-scented air rushed into Lin Mo’s newborn lungs. ”Wah—!!!” A clear, loud cry tore through the oppressive, tense atmosphere of the delivery room, piercing the rumbling thunder and rain outside, echoing over the remote courtyard of the Liu Family.

Lin Mo opened his eyes.

Before him were blurry, swaying light and shadow, candle flames flickering. He instinctively waved his tiny hands and feet, emitting loud cries—this was both a newborn’s physiological instinct and his carefully designed disguise. He tried his utmost to keep his gaze holding the blankness and confusion befitting an infant, not a trace of depth. The Chaos Dao Body seed was suppressed with his greatest willpower, leaving only the faintest, most natural aura of a newborn.

”It’s born! It’s a Young Master!” The Midwife’s voice, carrying a note of relief, rang out as she deftly began handling matters.

Lin Mo was lifted by a pair of rough but fairly gentle hands, wiped, and swaddled. He struggled to control his perception, not letting it exceed the range an infant should have. Only using the corner of his eye, he greedily, cautiously glanced toward the woman lying on the birthing bed, her face pale as paper, sweat soaking her temples, struggling to prop herself up to look at him.

Liu Qingxuan.

Her face was a mixture of extreme exhaustion, lingering pain, and an indescribable, almost sacred glow of tenderness. When her blurred vision finally caught the wrapped swaddling clothes, caught that tiny person, tears instantly overflowed, mingling with sweat as they rolled down.

”My... child...” She reached out a hand, her voice weak and hoarse, yet carrying immense joy of recovery and boundless love and pity.

At that very moment, the delivery room door was roughly shoved open! Icy night wind, carrying the dampness of rain, instantly flooded in, causing the candle flames to flicker violently. A gaunt, stern-faced old man with a sinister air, flanked by several Guards holding lanterns with indifferent expressions, blocked the doorway. The dim yellow light illuminated the deep wrinkles on his face and those sharp, emotionless eyes like a vulture’s. It was precisely the Liu Family’s Old Clan Leader! His gaze, like two icy probes, instantly bypassed the Midwife and the weak Liu Qingxuan, firmly locking onto Lin Mo in the swaddling clothes.

Following closely, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe, with a goatee and shifty eyes revealing shrewdness and obsequiousness, squeezed in. It was the Liu Family’s Third Elder. In his hands, he held an ancient-looking jade tray. On the tray lay a fist-sized, semi-transparent milky-white crystal—the spirit testing stone!

”Clan Leader! You... why are you here?” The Midwife was so startled her hand shook, nearly dropping Lin Mo. She quickly tightened her grip, her voice trembling. The moment Liu Qingxuan saw the Old Clan Leader and the spirit testing stone in the Third Elder’s hand behind him, the last trace of color drained from her already pale face. Her eyes erupted with immense fear and despair. She struggled up from the birthing bed, ignoring the tearing pain below, almost pouncing toward the Midwife, wanting to snatch Lin Mo back into her arms to protect him.

”No! Don’t! Clan Leader! I beg you! He’s just a newborn baby! Spirit testing... spirit testing will hurt him! Please show mercy!” Liu Qingxuan’s voice was shrill and broken, filled with the despair of a mother beast protecting her cub.

The Old Clan Leader paid no heed to her pleas, not even lifting an eyelid. He coldly spat out two words, like ice beads hitting the ground: ”Test him.” The Third Elder immediately stepped forward, his face plastered with false deference, but his eyes held gloating cruelty: ”Niece Qingxuan, don’t be unreasonable. Family rules dictate that all newborns must have their Innate talent and bone structure tested. It’s for the child’s future prospects, after all.” As he spoke, he gestured for two burly Guards behind him to step forward.

The Guards, expressionless, separated the Midwife and the nearly collapsing Liu Qingxuan. One of them roughly snatched the swaddling clothes from the Midwife’s hands. Liu Qingxuan let out a heart-rending wail: ”Give me back my child!” But was pinned firmly by the shoulder by the other Guard, unable to move, forced to watch helplessly as her child was taken away.

Lin Mo’s heart instantly sank to the abyss! The spirit testing stone! That old thing was indeed impatient! And he chose the moment when his mother was weakest and he, just born, had no ability to resist! Utterly vicious!

He was roughly carried to the Third Elder. The Third Elder wore a nauseating expression, as if inspecting goods. He pinched Lin Mo’s delicate wrist with one hand, while with the other, he picked up the cold spirit testing stone and pressed it without hesitation against Lin Mo’s tiny palm!

An icy sensation instantly transmitted! A faint but clearly probing energy attempted to flow into his body through his palm!

Every nerve in Lin Mo’s body tensed to the extreme! The Chaos Dao Body seed roared silently in the depths of his consciousness, instinctively wanting to counterattack, to devour this intrusive probing force! No! Absolutely must not be exposed! Lin Mo erupted with unprecedented willpower! He used all his Mental Energy to suppress the Dao Body seed’s instinctive reaction, while frantically operating the meager meditation techniques from his past life. He simulated his consciousness fluctuations, life aura, as much as possible to resemble the most ordinary, even possibly mediocre infant!

He no longer deliberately cried. Instead, as if frightened by the cold and discomfort, his little face scrunched up, emitting weak, pitiful whimpers. His tiny body trembled slightly in the swaddling clothes, his eyes filled with the fear and helplessness an infant should have.

The spirit testing stone pressed against his palm. One second... two seconds... three seconds... The milky-white crystal surface showed no reaction! Not a glimmer of light! Not a ripple of fluctuation! Dead silent, like the most ordinary rock!

The fake smile on the Third Elder’s face froze. He frowned, a flash of disbelief and suspicion in his eyes. Subconsciously, he pressed the spirit testing stone harder. Still no reaction! The Guard holding Liu Qingxuan also had a barely perceptible flicker of astonishment in his eyes.

The Old Clan Leader’s icy eyes, like frozen pools, stared fixedly at the motionless spirit testing stone, then slowly shifted to Lin Mo’s little face, streaked with tears, appearing exceptionally ”frail” and ”ordinary.” His wrinkled face showed no expression, only an unfathomable gloom.

Deathly silence filled the delivery room, leaving only the now more mournful sound of wind and rain outside the window, and Liu Qingxuan’s suppressed, broken sobs.

Lin Mo closed his eyes, his small body still trembling slightly from instinct, weak whimpers intermittent. No one could see that deep within his consciousness, the Chaos seed was tightly bound by invisible shackles, emanating a silent, icy-cold killing intent to the extreme. This killing intent was not directed at any specific person, but at this entire cold, malicious world.