A Disguised Scum Alpha Marked Her Aloof Ex-Wife - Chapter 18

The defeated had only one fate: death.

The black-hatted woman leaned crookedly on the ground. Her lungs burned, her nose bridge might have been broken, and the blood smeared across her face made even breathing difficult.

She stared heavily as Zhu Yu removed the exoskeleton’s left arm. The only tool she used was an electric screwdriver. The oppressive scent of roses began to fade, and Zhu Yu tied their hands and feet tightly with synthetic rope.

The black-hatted woman closed her eyes.

In official reports, this star of the common people—humble in birth and ordinary in talent—always wore a bright, sunny smile. Confident, flamboyant, ambitious.

When she received her medal, she had stood on the highest podium and told the whole world, “All things are possible. Never give up hope.”

She had said the same thing before killing those Federation scientists who had already surrendered, who were helpless and unarmed.

Zhu Yu’s medal carried the blood of her comrades, while the top scientists she had killed might have been only one step away from conquering a problem that had plagued humanity’s great progress.

With such a dangerous, intense rose scent, how could she possibly be only a D-rank Alpha?

The cunning Empire people had clearly concealed information to mislead the enemy!

The black-hatted woman never once considered that such oppressive, aggressive pheromones might actually come from an Omega.

Behind the white gauze, the little yellow oriole transformed into human form and hid in the woman’s arms, crying as she complained. Zhu Yu anxiously circled twice and also tried to comfort her, but the moment Zhu Yu came closer, the little oriole’s sobs immediately grew quieter, and she trembled in fear.

Zhu Yu let out a low sigh and turned toward the black-hatted woman.

The woman lifted her head and blinked hard, trying to clear her vision so she could properly remember this demon’s face.

But the young woman’s expression was faint, like a sigh. She poured out colorful pills from a sealed bag and forcefully fed them to her.

What was this?!

The black-hatted woman struggled violently. Her wrists were already rubbed bloody and raw. She glared hard at Zhu Yu and watched as Zhu Yu dragged her subordinates out of the courtyard, violently tying them together.

Halfway through, Zhu Yu frowned slightly, supported her waist, adjusted her posture, and straightened her back even more.

The woman on the bed’s eyes flickered. She lightly patted the little yellow oriole and whispered a few words. A moment later, the girl wiped her tears and walked out.

Zhu Yu rubbed her hair and curved her lips into a smile. “No need to thank me!”

She only assumed the girl had come out to thank her. However, the girl shyly pressed her lips together, bowed, and began helping her move the people.

The black-hatted woman held her breath and focused. She felt her stomach beginning to heat up. It had to be the poison Zhu Yu gave her starting to take effect…

How would Zhu Yu torture them?

She kept waiting.

Waiting for death to descend.

Yet after Zhu Yu tied all of them in the courtyard, she called the little girl to wash her hands, deliberately brought out soap and washed them several times, then turned back to continue cooking.

It was Zhu Yu’s first time beating someone. Now that she had relaxed, her hands were still trembling. She hid the panic inside the routine orderliness of daily life, trying hard to act normal, holding up a reliable sense of peace.

But her voice still unconsciously lowered, magnetic as she asked:

“Do you have any dietary restrictions? Do you eat scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili?”

“Oh. Then serve the rice first. We don’t have guests, so three bowls will be enough. After scooping it, cover the rice cooker first.”

Bai Shuzhou could not hold back a soft laugh.

Zhu Yu caught that tiny smile and smiled along with her. She gently breathed out. From fidgeting uneasily to lowering her head and eating earnestly, swallowing in large mouthfuls, her floating heart slowly settled.

The smell of everyday cooking drifted out the window, as though all the world’s chaos had nothing to do with this place. Filling the stomach was the most important thing in the entire world.

The aroma drifted into the courtyard. The viciously starving smugglers began salivating madly, and soon their lips were so dry they looked terrible.

After the meal, the little yellow oriole timidly looked at Bai Shuzhou. After receiving permission, she carried water outside and fed it to the one-eyed woman. The woman glared at her and drank urgently.

“Ahhhh… So spicy, so spicy…! You damned… What did you put in the water…!!!”

“Give me water! Water! Please, please, ahhhh…!!”

The little yellow oriole had originally wanted to retreat several times. Now, looking at these once-aggressive star pirates crying and begging for mercy, she blinked very slowly.

There was no joy of vengeance fulfilled.

But she still took out the remaining chili oil and fairly sprinkled some on everyone’s face. This time, her movements were much cleaner.

The caterpillars on the ground began writhing wildly.

Zhu Yu widened her eyes in surprise, while Bai Shuzhou’s expression remained faint. She was not surprised at all and lowered her eyes to continue reading.

The little yellow oriole was named Mo Jingchun, a very pleasant name. On the way home from work, she had received a talent scout’s business card. They said that as long as she passed a singing audition, she could settle in the Federation and become a star.

All kinds of scams ultimately had the same goal: capturing Empire people, training them, and selling them as exotic pets.

The more Zhu Yu listened, the more alarmed she became. She suddenly thought of the training class Cat had signed up for. The process and routine were exactly the same.

They were full of longing, only to fall into an abyss from which there was no return.

By the time Bai Shuzhou finished bandaging the little bird, the sky outside had gone completely dark. The little girl insisted on going home. Someone at home was waiting for her. Zhu Yu had no choice but to send her away first.

“Are you Zhu Yu?” the girl asked softly on the way, finally daring to speak to her.

Zhu Yu nodded.

Her heart was a little chaotic right now, but she could not show it. Her waist was still aching faintly. The bastard who had launched that sneak attack really had not held back at all.

“I’ve heard your name before,” the girl said, her voice very soft and full of hope, as if she were looking up at a lofty savior. “You’re so powerful. You’ll definitely save the others too, right? Tomorrow night, there will be an auction. If they’re sold, they’ll never be able to go home again! Please…”

I’m sorry. I’m not the Zhu Yu you’re expecting. The other side has a huge industrial chain, maybe even an army, and all I have is a chainsaw.

But facing those bright, shining eyes, these words turned over and over like chewing gum stuck in her throat.

Zhu Yu was worst at refusing others.

She could only silently nod.

The girl’s family cried together. Her two mothers insisted on stuffing a gold necklace into Zhu Yu’s hands. Naturally, Zhu Yu refused to accept it. Poor Zhu Yu, whose current physique was so strong she could beat a cow to death, was nearly squeezed out of shape by the enthusiastic family members. In the end, she was forced to leave with a bag of small pastries.

Bai Shuzhou liked eating them.

Zhu Yu hesitantly detoured to Helan’s little restaurant. Seeing the lights were dark, she finally remembered that Helan had taken He Ming to her grandmother’s house to play. She did not know when they would be back.

Besides, Helan had already helped them a lot.

Zhu Yu should not drag them into such a dangerous matter.

The evening breeze blew, cooling her overheated mind. Zhu Yu took a deep breath, and a certain woman appeared in her mind again.

She had transmigrated into a villainous cannon fodder, become a wanted criminal, beaten up smugglers. In just a few days, more had happened than in the entire first half of her life.

Zhu Yu laughed once.

When she returned home, the courtyard was quiet. A pair of sharp eyes was especially obvious.

This time, Zhu Yu was not startled. Seeing the black-hatted woman wriggle as if about to make trouble and disturb the dragon’s peaceful dreams, Zhu Yu tore the cloth from her mouth and snapped, “What?”

The blood on the black-hatted woman’s face had already stopped. The medicine from that small workshop really was effective. At this moment, she stared at Zhu Yu with a complicated gaze.

“You won’t kill me?”

Zhu Yu asked, “If I kill you, will those kidnapped children be released?”

The black-hatted woman said, “No.”

Zhu Yu sighed. “Then isn’t that it? Killing you would be useless except for venting anger.”

She also wanted to be like a great heroine, raising her arm and shouting, tying up the black-hatted woman to lead the way, destroying the enemy’s lair overnight, saving innocent youths, and bringing criminals to justice.

That was how movies acted it out.

But she could not do it.

There was another path in movies too.

The path that belonged to cannon fodder.

No one liked watching that kind of plot. She was neither a spirited tiger general nor a clever fox politician. She was only villainous cannon fodder, part of the beginning, development, turn, and resolution of Bai Shuzhou’s story. She could not even compare to Nangong.

Protect Bai Shuzhou, send her safely home, pray that her merits could offset her crimes, then leave.

That was already very good.

She had clearly made this plan very early on.

Sensibly give up her place, possess a skill that allowed her to survive, build a small home of her own, and have four dishes and one soup every day.

Zhu Yu pushed open the door and carried out the savings jar to count it. In truth, she knew very clearly what this amount was.

Not enough to buy starship tickets.

But there were still gemstones.

Bai Shuzhou’s gemstones.

Fortunately…

There were still gemstones.

Perhaps after sending Bai Shuzhou away, she could take the money and run. She could flee to the Federation, to a planet even farther away. This money would be enough for her to spend the rest of her life, and she would no longer have to live in fear every day.

The young woman had her back to the light, holding that ridiculously broken savings jar.

“Zhu Yu.”

The woman’s cool voice called softly. Vines climbed onto Zhu Yu’s shoulder, somewhat hesitant.

“Are you crying?”

“No.”

Zhu Yu turned her head and smiled at her. “You’re still awake.”

A vine hooked up the hem of Zhu Yu’s clothes, revealing the bruises on her waist. The lamplight was soft, and the woman’s gaze softened as well. Under those pale blue eyes, Zhu Yu suddenly felt the wound hurt terribly, even her breathing turning dull.

The floor bedding had been dirtied by being stepped on. She sat at the edge of the bed and used her ability to treat herself.

The hook of the white gauze was very loose and kept drooping. Shadows from the lamp swayed. Fair knuckles pressed against the back of the young woman’s hand, guiding her a few inches lower.

Warm.

Gentle.

Like the texture of jade.

Zhu Yu’s gaze involuntarily followed the small red mole on the woman’s wrist before she hurriedly withdrew it, lowering her head to watch the warm light fade little by little at her waist.

The black-hatted woman’s team had gone missing. The star pirates would definitely send people to search.

Zhu Yu said dully, “This place is dangerous. I want to send you away first. Then you can send people to investigate the smuggling here. Only you can save them.”

“All right.”

The cool voice descended. In the night, it seemed especially gentle, freezing all of Zhu Yu’s wild thoughts about danger. Her heart could not help quieting.

Thump. Thump.

In the silent room, heartbeats echoed.

Those pale blue eyes watched her, then asked, “We’re… not going together?”

“Oh, right. We.”

Zhu Yu pinched her wrist.

That word, “we,” gave her a very subtle feeling. Her heart began to ache, and her voice tightened as she asked tentatively, “Then we leave together first, save them, and then…”

The turn in her words was very small.

“Then, can you not kill me?”

Asking this kind of question at a time like this made even Zhu Yu feel embarrassed. But the woman froze for a moment, then slowly smiled, as if she found the request very interesting.

Not Zhu Yu at all.

No.

Simply too Zhu Yu.

After Bai Shuzhou fell asleep, Zhu Yu quietly lifted the tail wrapped around her, carefully covered it with the quilt, and pushed open the door.

Without her noticing at all, the smugglers in the courtyard had already vanished without a trace. Zhu Yu was frightened. Then, she glimpsed a tall figure on the high wall.

Under the moonlight, red hair was flamboyant. Nangong smiled. “No wonder you called me over in the middle of the night. This really is a very big business.”

“That isn’t what I meant!”

Nangong spread her hands. “Doesn’t matter. It’s all the same.”

“Who exactly are you? Federation military, or smuggler?”

Nangong lightly leapt down from the high wall. “Please. Don’t compare me to that trash.”

Zhu Yu did not want to waste words with her anymore. Time was urgent. If they left quickly enough, Bai Shuzhou’s people might be able to stop tomorrow night’s auction.

“I want two tickets back to the Empire. Preferably ones that can transfer to the imperial capital.”

“Your bargaining chips aren’t worth that much.”

“I have money, and a bag of gemstones. Top-grade quality. More than enough to buy several energy planets.”

Nangong opened the bag to check and casually shook it. Her gaze swept over the young woman and the tightly shut door behind her. She smiled with a mouthful of white teeth.

“Not enough. I want something more valuable.”

Zhu Yu clenched her fist. “Don’t go too far!”

Nangong smiled. “You’re the one asking me for help right now, darling.”

Her gaze drifted to the ring on Zhu Yu’s hand, expression ambiguous.

This was something Bai Shuzhou gave her!

Zhu Yu immediately covered it warily, not allowing Nangong to continue coveting it.

Nangong softly clicked her tongue and spread her hands. “Are you exchanging or not? My time is very valuable.”

Zhu Yu gritted her teeth. After hesitating for a moment, she took out the military merit medal from the pocket close to her body and handed it over.

This was not the first time she had pawned it, but right now, she inexplicably felt a powerful sense of humiliation. Her heartbeat could not help quickening, even her breathing slowing down.

Nangong glanced lightly at the medal and laughed softly. “This will do. One direct ticket.”

“I asked for two tickets. And there are no direct routes from here?!”

“Are you still pretending to be stupid, Comrade Zhu Yu?” Nangong lifted the medal. “Didn’t you already hand yourself over?”

No warrior would abandon an honor medal they regarded as life itself.

She had no choice.

The young woman fell silent for a moment.

This legendary, unyielding star of the common people lowered her head. Her shoulders began to tremble, and tears fell drop by drop onto the ground.

“Hey, hey, it’s not that serious!” Nangong was startled by her sudden tears and hurriedly leaned over to look. “You’re really crying?”

What answered her was an icy touch pressing against her heart.

Zhu Yu lifted her face. The mechanical exoskeleton made a faint clicking sound. The gun barrel folded out, and the last tear slid down her cheek.

Her heart was pounding wildly, but on the surface, she only laughed very calmly. Her voice was a little dry.

“Swear by your family that you’ll send her away safely. Otherwise, let’s die together.”

“To me, this world is only a game. Death might also be an exit route. I don’t care. What about you?”

The hand she pressed down was very steady, and her emotions did not fluctuate much. She carried a calm madness, like a spider spitting out a line of narration.

“You really are insane!” Nangong stared at those clear black-and-white eyes and did not doubt for a second that Zhu Yu would truly do it.

Damn it.

She had actually underestimated Zhu Yu.

This person could actually disguise herself to this extent…?!

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll go back on my word?”

“You won’t, Nangong Xun. You care about face.” Zhu Yu smiled despicably. “If you go back on your word, every major forum will have videos of you wearing electric rabbit ears and acting cute.”

“…”

The air was suspiciously quiet for several seconds.

The smile on Nangong’s face disappeared completely. Her bright eyes darkened, and her temperament suddenly turned cold, forming a subtle dissonance with her frivolous exterior.

“How do you know that? Did Baima tell you?”

Zhu Yu said nothing. She only smiled at her.

In truth, she had discovered Nangong’s real name very early on. It was just that searching this name on the star network did not reveal much special information. Nangong was a major surname in the Federation, so major that quite a few politicians came from that family.

Oh, by the way, when she investigated her, she had only casually asked a few people and casually tapped a few search keys. It absolutely was not due to any personal negative emotions that made her repeatedly dig for every trace of the other party.

Just now, she had been thinking: what kind of person would casually give away a wheelchair worth several hundred thousand, look down on the Federation military and smugglers, yet aggrievedly hide in this chaotic district as a server?

The exoskeleton’s gun barrel began heating up, pressing coldly against her chest.

Nangong sneered. “Fine. You win. I swear by my family that I will definitely send the princess back to the imperial capital.”

Her gaze darkened as she noticed a flash of white light inside the house.

Someone was watching from the shadows…

She narrowed her eyes and, with the hard exoskeleton still pressed against her, opened her arms and hugged Zhu Yu, murmuring beside her ear:

“But remember this debt. I hate being threatened most.”

Under the moonlight, the two of them embraced tightly, like two wild beasts locked in a fight to the death.

All of it was taken in by a pair of icy eyes.

Author’s Note:

Suppression, technique, desperation, breakthrough, selfhood, proof, peak, shackles, dependence, end point, interpretation, calm, talent, strength, calm, violence, control, desire, composure…

Zhu Yu: I’m about to be strangled to death!!