Chapter 13

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Chapter 13: Born Advantageous

Luo Yu curled up in a closed microgravity therapeutic pod, surrounded by soft music. A gentle wrap supported her abdomen, continuously providing warm flows of comfort.

She felt as if she were lying down and floating simultaneously, as though she had returned to a fetal form, sleeping in a womb, trying to absorb the surrounding nutrients and energy.

Initially troubled with chaotic thoughts, she gradually relaxed in this environment, deciding to cease her thinking and allow herself to empty her mind freely.

Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao sat outside the therapy room, drinking water. Turning around, they saw Mo Chuan walking in with a smile, saying that the therapy inside would take a while longer, and she could take them out for a stroll.

Upon hearing this, the two stood up eagerly. They had been pondering about the place, having noticed the various passageways and detailed sign divisions on their way there. People came and went, and they had never seen menstruation treated with such importance.

The diverse terms they encountered had sparked even more questions as they had just been discussing the meanings of the Initial Menstruation, Peak Menstruation, and Late Menstruation offices.

As Mo Chuan led them outside, she explained, “Initial Menstruation refers to the phase from the first period until the age of twenty-five, Peak Menstruation spans from twenty-five to sixty, and Late Menstruation continues from sixty until menopause.”

She further elaborated that the subdivisions were as follows: the pre-menstrual period is the first day, the menstrual period covers the second and third days, and the post-menstrual period includes the fourth and fifth days.

Mo Chuan added that the five days leading up to menstruation are when the brain’s energy is most abundant. People typically choose to engage in challenging studies or exercises during this time to stimulate neuronal regeneration during their menstrual period.

Most disease treatments generally occur during the post-menstrual phase because human self-healing peaks during those two days.

"But the general understanding in our world is that resistance weakens during the menstrual period,” Zhu Huai remarked.

Mo Chuan glanced at them. "That’s because you are generally smaller and malnourished."

Ying Zhao and Zhu Huai looked at the tall pedestrians around them and fell silent, finding it hard to refute her point.

After a few more exchanges, they discovered from Mo Chuan’s introductions that people here mature quite late. Twenty-five is considered adulthood, while childbirth spans from thirty-five to fifty, then the mature phase continues, with eighty marking the entry into old age. They realized the average lifespan here must also be significantly longer.

"Our average lifespan is around one hundred twenty years," Mo Chuan answered their questions and then casually asked about the world thirty thousand years later.

Ying Zhao exchanged a glance with Zhu Huai. Due to global environmental degradation and frequent local wars, the latest average lifespan had dropped to fifty-eight. Although the Alliance they belonged to was relatively stable, their average life expectancy only hovered around seventy.

Zhu Huai shook her head, "Let’s not even talk about that…"

As they continued to converse, Mo Chuan led them into a shop-like place filled with various menstrual products. As soon as they entered, they saw an entire wall dedicated to menstrual pants and bodysuits.

Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao stood in awe, gazing at the classifications. The larger categories were divided by seasonal temperatures, and beneath those were further classifications based on use cases, including casual wear, sports wear, underwater wear, and flight wear. Each was further subdivided; for example, casual wear had versions for outings and home use, essentially covering all life scenarios.

Around this wall were an array of other menstrual-related supplies, from soothing essentials to sleep aids, brain teasers, and other odd gadgets they couldn’t immediately decipher the purposes of.

"I have a meeting soon, so I brought you here to have a look. The supplies in your cave villa’s bathroom are quite basic, so feel free to pick out some items to take back," Mo Chuan said, glancing at her wristband for the time. “I have to go now; you can explore on your own. I’ll send Lei Ming to the hangar to find you later this afternoon.”

After Mo Chuan left, Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao continued to wander, eventually spotting a display stand featuring a row of electronic calendars for tracking menstrual cycles.

Upon taking a closer look, they discovered that this world employed a human calendar based on the standard menstrual cycle, designating each month as twenty-eight days, with a total of thirteen months and three hundred sixty-four days each year.

Intrigued, they observed for a while until a guiding robot arrived to invite them, prompting them to leave the supply store to reunite with Luo Yu.

Luo Yu had been asleep in the therapeutic pod for half an hour, and when she came out, a nursing robot served her breakfast. After she finished eating, she went to the old doctor’s office to take two nutritional supplements, feeling rejuvenated and full of energy.

Seated behind a large desk, the old doctor glanced at her test data and asked, "Have you been regularly giving blood over the past six months?"

Luo Yu was momentarily taken aback but then nodded, "Yes, once a month."

“Hmm, normally this level of damage wouldn’t be a problem, but you’re too thin. Over time, this will deplete your body, causing your menstrual cycles to become irregular."

Including the times she had already been told she was "thin" since arriving, this marked the third occasion, while she had previously received descriptors like "strong."

The old doctor didn’t wait for her to respond and continued to ask, “From the preliminary physical tests, it appears you are not genetically predisposed to low body fat. Why have you engaged in fat reduction training? Is someone mistreating you?”

This question was a bit difficult to answer. Luo Yu thought for a moment and simply said, “It’s part of my job.”

The old doctor frowned, “What kind of job would wreck your health?”

Luo Yu sat in the old doctor’s office for a while longer, chatting a bit more. Before she left, the old doctor had a nursing robot bring her seven days’ worth of nutritional supplements and encouraged her to pick some menstrual products to take home.

As she was escorted out by the nursing robot, she happened to see Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao just walking into the outer room.

Seeing Luo Yu looking radiant, Ying Zhao smiled and asked, “Sister Yu, are you feeling better now?”

Luo Yu grinned, “Yes! I can even run five kilometers now.”

“That therapeutic pod works wonders,” Zhu Huai said excitedly. “I calculated the days, and it won’t be long before my turn comes. If we’re still here by then, I’ll come and try it out.”

The three of them chatted as they followed the guiding robot outside, arriving at the same shop where Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao had browsed before. Luo Yu was amazed to see the wall filled with menstrual pants and bodysuits, examining everything from start to finish.

The self-cleaning, temperature-regulating suit she wore now also had the function of absorbing menstrual flow, and the inner layer conformed to her skin automatically. It had become the most comfortable piece of clothing she had ever worn. She hadn’t felt any discomfort from clotted blood or residue even after wearing it for several hours.

She reached for two pairs of everyday wear to use as replacements, then approached the flying version to check the description, curious about the differences. She picked up one flying version and held it in her arms. Meanwhile, Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao also selected a few soothing items for pre-menstrual relief.

They placed their items in a basket and went to the shop’s checkout. With just a palm vein scan for identification to record their items, they could pack their purchases and leave without needing to pay.

They hadn’t quite adjusted to this self-service system without payment yet; as they walked out, Ying Zhao frequently glanced back, worried someone might stop them, claiming they were stealing. It wasn’t until they saw others doing the same—leaving after identification without paying—that they felt reassured and exited through the large door.

The butler of the ninth cliff dwelling waited for them outside the cave with the aircraft. The three first returned to the cave villa, dropped off their things in the lounge, and then walked to the hangar operation room to continue preparing the repair plan for the Shan Hai Jing.

They were busy for three hours in the operation room, and by around two in the afternoon, Lei Ming arrived right on time.

That afternoon, they primarily introduced Lei Ming to the internal and external structures of the Shan Hai Jing and the preliminary repair plan.

Since Lei Ming was also an engineer specializing in space materials, she offered practical advice regarding the repair design of the Shan Hai Jing.

As for calculating the time coordinates, that wasn’t Lei Ming’s area of expertise, so she didn’t say much about Ying Zhao’s current estimates, simply stating she could help consult experts in the relevant fields.

With Lei Ming’s help, they worked efficiently throughout the afternoon. By the time dusk fell, they had basically finalized the overall repair plan and estimated the timeline for the Shan Hai Jing, with only one uncertain factor remaining: the power compartment. This would require confirming the return trajectory to evaluate whether modifications to the engine and fuel storage were necessary.

As the hangar robot prompted them to take a break, the four stepped out of the hangar into the twilight. After they watched Lei Ming board the aircraft and depart, the three turned back and took the elevator down the mountain.

Since it was the first day of her period, Luo Yu felt a bit fatigued. After eating dinner in the lounge at the villa, she greeted Zhu Huai and Ying Zhao and headed to her room early.

She enjoyed a relaxing hot shower in the bath made from natural stone walls. When she stepped out and passed the full-length mirror by the door, the moonlight streamed in just right. Instead of hastily walking past as she had the previous two days, she paused in front of the mirror and studied herself intently.

Her hair was cropped very short, and droplets from her wet hair dripped down, landing on her shoulders and rolling across her chest before splashing onto her well-defined abdominal muscles.

As she looked at her reflection, she saw her limbs were strong and fit. Because of her thin layer of fat, the muscle definition across her body was particularly pronounced. This body, shaped through countless hours of hard work, had once been a source of pride for her. Yet, after her conversation with the old doctor today, she found herself questioning her perspective on her own body.

“The balanced layer of subcutaneous fat and the fat around your heart gives you strong endurance and resilience, allowing you to better resist hunger, cold, and illness, and gives you a higher survival chance in extreme environments. By removing your natural advantages, isn’t that self-inflicted harm?”

She recalled the old doctor’s words, and images of training with her comrades flashed in her mind. The commander had set standards based on the muscle mass and body fat of male soldiers, as the prevalent belief was that the “strong” standard belonged to their thicker muscles and thinner fat.

Their natural fat, like menstruation, was often undervalued or dismissed, and they didn’t desire women to possess what they lacked.

So, she had spent many years and much sweat weakening her inherent advantages just to place herself on the same level as men. How absurd.

At that moment, another droplet of water slid down her chest. Watching it fall to the ground, she irritably ran her hand through her hair and stepped out of the bathroom with a serious expression.