Early the next morning, Jiang Lijin was woken up by the notification sound of her light brain.
[You have a new email. Please check your inbox.]
She squinted and groped for the light brain, the screen's brightness stinging her eyelids.
She opened her inbox.
[Sender: Interstellar Marriage Administration
Recipient: Jiang Lijin (Citizen ID: SQL-1030332-J)
Subject: Notice Regarding Post-Divorce Psychological Counseling and Rematching Arrangements]
"What the hell!"
She sat up in bed, her hair as messy as a bird's nest, and stared at the email, reading it over again.
"Psychological counseling? Rematching?" She pointed at the screen, her tone full of disbelief. "I just got divorced, and they're already setting me up with my next partners?"
[Host, this is the law of this world.] Xiao Yi's voice chimed in at the right moment. [Females are a scarce resource. To ensure the reproduction of the species and social stability, divorced females are arranged for rematching as soon as possible.]
"As soon as possible?" Jiang Lijin laughed out of anger. "Even so, they shouldn't arrange it in just a month!"
[Well... according to the data I checked, thirty days is already the maximum buffer period a female can apply for. Some females complete their rematching just seven days after a divorce.]
Jiang Lijin opened her mouth but found herself entirely speechless.
Seven days?
Shoved to the next one seven days after a divorce? No, the next few...
She remembered the original owner's fate in the original novel: dying on a spaceship on the seventh day after her divorce. Following this logic, that spaceship was probably the one she took to rush to a fringe planet to meet her new matched partners.
"Xiao Yi," she began, her voice a bit faint. "Is this how this world treats females?"
[Yes, Host. The core setting of this world is: females are rare, so they are protected; but precisely because they are protected, they also lose part of their right to choose. You enjoy the rights and benefits brought by the Female Protection Act, but at the same time, you must accept the arrangements of the matching mechanism. This is the operating rule of this world.]
Jiang Lijin fell silent.
She thought of the original owner's life over those three years—matched with three S-rank males, then left aside to fend for herself. What kind of protection was that? That was clearly throwing her into a place she didn't belong and expecting her to survive on her own.
"What if I don't want to be matched?" she asked.
[Theoretically, you can apply for a suspension,] Xiao Yi answered. [But you need a valid reason, such as unstable mental power requiring long-term treatment, or a major illness requiring bed rest. Moreover, during the suspension period, your female subsidy will be drastically reduced, and life might become quite difficult.]
Jiang Lijin twitched the corners of her mouth.
To put it bluntly: either obey, or suffer.
She took a deep breath. Just as she was about to speak, her light brain chimed again.
A second email.
[Sender: Mental Power Department, Capital Star Central Hospital
Recipient: Jiang Lijin (Citizen ID: SQL-1030332-J)
Subject: Notice of Follow-up Examination Regarding Abnormal Mental Power Fluctuations]
The last sentence of the email read: "The results of this follow-up examination will be synchronized with the Interstellar Marriage Administration, the Citizen Information Center, and the Matching System Database. Those who fail to appear by the deadline will have their female subsidies suspended until the examination is completed.
Please report to the reception desk of the Mental Power Department in Building 3 of the hospital between 8:00 and 18:00 on weekdays."
Jiang Lijin froze.
"Xiao Yi." She rolled over and lay on her stomach on the bed. "How did the Main Brain detect the change in my mental power? I just awakened it last night, and it already knows?"
Xiao Yi answered earnestly: [Host, this is because every beastman in this world has a terminal inside their body.]
"A terminal?"
[Yes, the terminal is a micro-biochip implanted in the brain when a beastman is born. It monitors the host's mental power fluctuations, genetic stability, and other data in real-time, and regularly synchronizes it to the Main Brain system.]
Jiang Lijin was stunned and subconsciously touched the back of her head.
"Wait," she frowned. "Are you saying there's a chip in my brain that's constantly monitoring me?"
[To be precise, it monitors this body. The original owner had it implanted at birth; this is the setting of the original book.]
"Isn't that just surveillance?" Jiang Lijin sat up, her tone carrying obvious displeasure. "Real-time monitoring, data synchronization, the Main Brain knowing everything—how is this any different from having a dog leash tied around my neck?"
[Pfft.] Xiao Yi let out a snicker in her mind.
Jiang Lijin was a little surprised. This little thing could actually laugh?
But Xiao Yi quickly returned to its usual tone: [Host, although your analogy is vivid, I must point out that the existence of the terminal does have its necessity.]
"Necessity?" Jiang Lijin raised an eyebrow. "What necessity?"
[The beastmen of this world are different from the ordinary humans you've seen before. Beastmen possess bestial genes in their bodies. When subjected to extreme emotional stimulation, mental pollution, or external erosion, they may experience feralization and lose control—that is, lose their reason and turn into beasts that act solely on instinct. In this state, they pose a massive threat to society.]
Jiang Lijin didn't speak, listening intently.
[One of the functions of the terminal is to monitor the beastmen's mental stability in real-time. Once it detects that pollution levels have exceeded the limit or a tendency toward feralization has begun, the Main Brain will immediately notify the nearest security team or medical team to intervene. This is also to maintain social stability.]
"So," Jiang Lijin said slowly, "this thing is actually an alarm?"
[You could understand it that way. The terminal continuously scans the host's brain domain and mental power sea. Once it discovers abnormal fluctuations, such as your S-rank mental power awakening last night, the Main Brain immediately receives a signal and automatically triggers the corresponding procedures. The follow-up examination email you received is part of that process.]
"Heh." Jiang Lijin sneered. "Hearing you say that, it sounds quite useful. Then why did it match the original owner with such beast husbands and let her live such a miserable life?"
Xiao Yi fell silent for a moment before saying: [Host, have you forgotten? This is a book. All the settings exist to serve the male and female leads...]
Jiang Lijin went silent.
Detecting her slightly downcast mood, Xiao Yi immediately added: [Host, don't worry. Although we can't change the settings of this world, we can at least change our own lives. Xiao Yi will stay with you and make sure you live happily here!]
Jiang Lijin smiled and spoke again. "Xiao Yi, do you think this thing can detect your existence?"
[No.] Xiao Yi answered quickly. [I am bound to your soul and exist on the level of consciousness, which falls outside the scope of what a biochip can monitor. The terminal can only detect this body's physiological data; it cannot perceive my existence!]
"That's fine then." Jiang Lijin breathed a sigh of relief. "Otherwise, I was worried you'd be treated as a virus and purged."
[Don't worry, Host. I'm hiding very well!]
