A Disguised Scum Alpha Marked Her Aloof Ex-Wife - Chapter 2

Bai Shuzhou’s gaze turned at the same time as those six eyes.

Against the light, the young woman’s short blade stabbed cleanly into the insect’s shell. Without the slightest hesitation, she twisted and stirred it with all her strength. In an instant, the earthy stench of soil rose into the air.

Her cloak swung around as she blocked the creature in front of her. That enormous thing dropped to the ground with a heavy thud, dead in one strike before it could even scream.

Their skin pressed close together. First came the pounding of a heart like drumbeats, and only then did Bai Shuzhou feel the trembling of the young woman’s arms.

After Bai Shuzhou spoke, Zhu Yu quickly lifted her head, like a rabbit peeking out of its burrow, and caught sight of the corpse’s miserable state.

The insect’s scarlet eyes were still bulging wide, but they had turned very cloudy, like cheap glass beads that might roll out at any moment. They stared fixedly at Zhu Yu, unrelenting even in death.

Zhu Yu froze. A strange discomfort rose in her heart.

Just now, it had still been wearing that bizarre smile. Now, it looked more like a lifeless camera, as if something somewhere was watching through its eyes.

But it was clearly already dead.

Once something died, there was nothing left.

After a few breaths, Zhu Yu turned her head and looked at the wound on Bai Shuzhou’s leg. She comforted her, “It’s all right now. I got the inhibitor. There’s a first-aid kit downstairs. Let’s go down first.”

This place had once been an abandoned sentry post, later modified by the original Zhu Yu into a secret base.

Zhu Yu carried Bai Shuzhou to the bed in the monitoring room, then ran back to the second floor alone. She locked the doors and windows and confirmed that the insect was thoroughly dead.

She pressed her palms together and tried hard to swallow down her nausea. The last time she had bowed this devoutly was when she prayed to the God of Wealth.

“Don’t blame me. You attacked first. This was self-defense. Every grievance has its source and every debt its debtor. You brought this on yourself.”

“Rest in peace.”

The blade rose and fell.

At last, the insect stopped looking at her. Its cloudy eyes drooped down, and Zhu Yu let out a long breath.

……

By the time Zhu Yu hurried back with the medical kit, the woman had already disappeared from the camp bed.

She froze for a moment, then immediately followed the scent and began searching. At last, she found a strip of skirt caught beneath the door of a cabinet around the corner.

The woman had hidden in a great hurry. A few scattered drops of blood remained on the floor.

Zhu Yu stopped.

The crisp click of her long boots against the floor stopped as well, like the malicious mockery that came just before disaster approached.

That piece of skirt was trembling.

—Found you.

Zhu Yu’s heart trembled violently.

It was over. What kind of horror movie scene was this?

She could not imagine how that proud princess had dragged her body, little by little, into the small, dark cabinet. And that thin wooden door could not block out her low sobs at all.

She did not trust her.

In the gap of silence, Zhu Yu could feel the woman watching her, just as Bai Shuzhou could sense Zhu Yu’s gaze.

That weightless gaze pressed down, collapsing into the narrow corner, becoming heavier than a mountain.

Zhu Yu spoke as though she had ice in her mouth, forcing every word to come out clearly. “Your Highness, I won’t hurt you.”

She slowly opened the cabinet door.

The light fell unevenly over the woman’s damp hair. If tears could turn into pearls, they would already have scattered all over the floor by now.

Zhu Yu softened her tone. “Look, the inhibitor and the medical kit. It won’t hurt soon.”

“I’ll carry you out first, okay? It’s too dark inside. It’ll be hard to give you the injection.”

Zhu Yu bent down and lifted the curled-up Bai Shuzhou into her arms.

Bai Shuzhou’s silver hair was already soaked with sweat, lying wetly against her collarbone.

Her skin was very pale, and the cinnabar mole on her wrist was especially striking. She lifted her cold brows and eyes. Her pale blue eyes reflected a jewel-like luster, cold and sharp.

Behind her were only a simple camp bed and a large surveillance screen, yet she looked as though she were standing in a lush garden, surrounded by deep red roses and emerald vines. Warm yellow light brushed over the side of her face, giving her the texture of an oil painting.

Zhu Yu held the ice cube in her mouth, but her body temperature was still rising. She had put on a black mask to cover her mouth and nose, trying in vain to block out the Omega’s allure, but her heart only pounded harder.

She lowered her head, not daring to look at her.

“I’ll inject the inhibitor first, then treat your wounds.”

Bai Shuzhou was still scrutinizing Zhu Yu.

Her sleeves had been rolled high, revealing a lean, powerful arm. Her coat and cloak had both been removed, leaving only the fitted white shirt beneath.

Even the special fabric could not withstand the close-range spray of venom. From the corner of her eye, Bai Shuzhou could see that the joints of Zhu Yu’s arm were also a mess of torn flesh and blood.

Zhu Yu’s aura seemed to have changed.

It was clearer than before, carrying a faint coolness like mint. Amid the dizzying, rich fragrance, it somehow made people feel at ease. Bai Shuzhou’s breathing slowed unconsciously.

The distance between them closed. The silver needle slowly approached her gland.

In Bai Shuzhou’s mind, the image of the young woman stepping forward earlier appeared again. The long wind had carried her down from above. Though she had been so frightened that she closed her eyes at the final moment, she had still stubbornly wrapped her arms around Bai Shuzhou.

She had held her so tightly that her ribs still ached faintly.

Zhu Yu was best at lying.

This time, it was also part of her act, wasn’t it?

What exactly did she want now?

Zhu Yu carefully watched the needle. The heat inside her body burned more and more fiercely. She used all her strength to grip her right wrist with her left hand, trying to stop it from trembling.

But the woman, who had only just calmed down, suddenly began struggling violently. With one hard swing, the inhibitor spun through the air and almost stabbed into Zhu Yu’s arm.

“You still dare lie to me? This isn’t an inhibitor…!” Bai Shuzhou’s eyes were red as she shrank back.

She knew it.

Zhu Yu had never had good intentions. This was nothing more than another way to carry her vile amusement to the end.

How could she still have held even the faintest hope for someone like this?

Huh?

Zhu Yu blankly picked up the dust-covered inhibitor.

This was stock the original Zhu Yu had secretly hidden in the base. There really was no safety certification label on it.

One corner was slightly lifted. Zhu Yu peeled it back, revealing the medicine’s real name: veterinary anesthetic.

So she had used a fake inhibitor to give Bai Shuzhou hope, then thrown it out the window?

Just to toy with her?

Zhu Yu’s movements paused. She was so angry her vision went black.

She had risked her life just now to snatch this thing back. If the original Zhu Yu was already dead, then she must have died from being too damn vile!

The ice cube was melting in her mouth.

Bai Shuzhou’s skin was just as cold, like jade, like porcelain. In the sweltering air, a thin layer of moisture condensed over it, rolling down together with her painful tears.

Both Alphas and Omegas in their sensitive periods needed their partner’s soothing. Otherwise, it was very easy for their mental power to fall into disorder.

At this moment, Bai Shuzhou was extremely sensitive. She could even feel every bead of sweat sliding down her skin. She clutched her skirt tightly and raised her face in humiliation, her voice hoarse.

“Give it to me…”

Zhu Yu looked around in a panic, then hurriedly handed over the only anesthetic in her hand.

Bai Shuzhou gritted her teeth. “Give me your pheromones.”

She lowered her eyes as if resigned to her fate, using a commanding tone to hide the hatred beneath it.

Although her body was forced to soften, and the blood vessel at the side of her neck trembled in pulses, there was not the slightest trace of desire in those pale blue, glassy eyes. They were so indifferent that Zhu Yu seemed to be nothing more than a tool for easing her heat.

She could not die here.

She could not lose control.

She could not, could not…!

Tears wet her lashes, and the world blurred.

A sudden coldness made Bai Shuzhou shudder all over. She opened her eyes and saw Zhu Yu take out the ice cube and press it against the burning side of her neck.

The humiliation of being fooled surged into her heart. Bai Shuzhou shouted sharply, “Zhu Yu, you…!”

Zhu Yu quickly took the ice cube away and pressed it into her own palm. “Does it feel uncomfortable? I’m sorry. I thought this might help a little.”

Vines grew wildly around them, swaying as they wound around the young woman’s waist and arms.

Beep, beep, beep.

A rapid alarm sounded.

A string of images lit up on the large surveillance screen, glaringly bright in the dim room. Several aircraft were approaching.

A flash of light appeared in Bai Shuzhou’s dim eyes.

It had to be the guard team searching for her!

She tried hard to prop herself up, but the large screen was blocked by Zhu Yu as she stood.

“This servant has arrived late to protect Your Highness—”

There was no speaker to announce it, so the newcomer simply shouted the words with impressive force, the voice echoing through the desolate wilderness.

A dense, overwhelming wave of Alpha pheromones spread out in all directions, surrounding the huge abandoned base.

Those people jumped down from the aircraft. Their sharp gazes swept over the surveillance cameras, killing intent fully exposed.

Zhu Yu was only a D-rank Alpha, while every one of the people outside had powerful pheromones. The gray wolf leading them stopped at the entrance, playing with a handgun as she raised her brows contemptuously.

“Zhu Yu, open the door. Hand over the princess. I know you’re inside.”

People of the Empire could beast-shift. Ordinary people could only switch between beast form and human form, or else could not control the transformation at all. Those who were a little more powerful could transform freely, possessing both the agility of humans and the strength of beasts.

The gray wolf was clearly the latter. It was a symbol of strength.

She casually kicked the door.

Boom!

Even the walls shook.

Her words sounded dignified, but Zhu Yu suddenly felt a sense of danger.

These people had no shoulder insignia. The formation gathering around the base did not look like regular troops either.

Zhu Yu hid Bai Shuzhou a little farther behind herself and draped her coat over her.

“Hm? How fragrant. Is that… the princess’s pheromones?”

“Wow. Is Her Highness in her sensitive period?”

That person’s tone changed instantly, from affected elegance and respect into something hoarse and greedy.

“Heh, little Zhu Yu, your pheromones aren’t even as strong as the princess’s…”

“How could a D-rank piece of trash possibly be worthy of Her Highness? You probably can’t even mark her, can you? Don’t make things difficult for yourself.”

“Why don’t you let us help?”

The crowd burst into laughter.

They were dressed in luxurious clothing, and their every move carried the confidence of people certain they would get what they wanted. They looked completely out of place on this barren borderland.

Zhu Yu finally recognized the person in the lead, and her scalp went numb.

Some nobles had always harbored treasonous thoughts. They should never have appeared here.

In the original story, they had seemed friendly with the scummy Alpha on the surface, but in truth, they had used that pretense to commit many offenses against the imperial family. Later, that debt had naturally been placed on the scummy Alpha’s head.

They addressed Bai Shuzhou with honorifics, but in their hearts, they clearly saw her only as prey worth chasing, capturing, and enjoying.

The aura outside the door was muddy and sticky.

The high-rank Alphas spread their pheromones recklessly, all competing to flaunt themselves like peacocks. They did not care at all what effect those chaotic, intensely aggressive scents would have on an Omega in her sensitive period.

Amid the soul-devouring fragrance of roses, several domineering Alphas crowded toward the door together. Under the wide-angle lens, their faces were slightly distorted. Their greedy, crazed eyes were somehow even more terrifying than the insectoids.

The person sneered. “Zhu Yu, why haven’t you opened the door yet? Planning to keep her all to yourself? That’s not very loyal of you.”

“Aren’t you always telling us what the princess is like and saying you’d share with us? What, now you can’t bear to give her up?”

“Then it’s settled. Name your price. We won’t make things hard for you.” Her tone was threatening.

Zhu Yu: Has anyone even agreed to anything? How did you decide it’s settled?!

She turned back instinctively. Hearing those words, the frail figure of the woman behind her visibly trembled.

At some point, Bai Shuzhou had tightened her grip on the anesthetic. Her pale blue eyes had darkened completely.

No wonder Zhu Yu had tried to coax her earlier.

After she lost consciousness, what would these people do…?

She was an imperial princess.

She was her wife!

Zhu Yu gritted her teeth.

Her own pheromones were very faint, almost impossible to detect. At this moment, they released a coolness like the evening breeze, gently wrapping around Bai Shuzhou and separating her from the greedy auras outside.

“No one is allowed to bully Her Highness!”

“If you dare do anything reckless, I’ll report you to the general and Her Majesty!” she threatened, borrowing borrowed authority like a fox pretending to be a tiger.

There was a moment of silence outside.

Then the gray wolf in the lead laughed coldly, her tone strange. “Ha. Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit. What are you pretending for?”

A chill ran through Zhu Yu under her stare. She tied her mask even tighter and quickly made a decision.

“We’re leaving. There’s a starship in the basement. It’ll be all right.”

Calling it a starship was generous. In truth, it was only an old military aircraft the original Zhu Yu had modified herself.

Zhu Yu’s voice sounded a little unsteady as she spoke.

In truth, she was afraid of heights and did not know how to pilot an aircraft. At most, she had a driver’s license for manual cars. The original body’s memories were incomplete and fragmented, but she could not stop.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll send you home. The garrison isn’t far south of here. We’ll go find General Izelia. The medical team will definitely have an inhibitor…”

“As long as we restore communications, all the problems can be solved!”

Without realizing it, Zhu Yu began talking more and more. She did everything she could to suppress the heat inside her and quickened her pace. Sweat had already soaked through her shirt.

The Alphas outside had grown impatient.

A piercing alarm rang throughout the base.

Under their savage assault, the thickened concrete walls became thinner than paper, trembling fragilely.

Zhu Yu carefully carried Bai Shuzhou into the old cabin and hurriedly fastened her seat belt.

The woman was surprisingly quiet and obedient now. Her damp eyes were dull and lightless. When the lights came on, Zhu Yu saw that the tear tracks on her cheeks had already dried, and her heart clenched with pain.

Zhu Yu put the only safety helmet on her and carefully gathered her silver hair.

The greatest advantage of this old machine was that it was sturdy enough—and had enough thrust.

There was no time to be afraid.

Following the original body’s memories, Zhu Yu started the engine. Amid a deafening roar, she selected the skylight. They had to accelerate and charge out from here.

This was their last chance.

A sudden sting came from her neck.

Zhu Yu lowered her head and saw that the vivid red mole was swaying slightly. Bai Shuzhou had pressed the anesthetic’s silver needle against her throat. A bead of blood seeped out beneath the sharp tip.

“I hate you,” she said in a low voice.

Her cold, clear tone had been ground into gravel.

“I’m sorry,” Zhu Yu said, swallowing with difficulty. “Then hate me.”

She restrained Bai Shuzhou’s wrist, forcibly wrapped an arm around her and held her protectively against herself.

At the same time, her other hand covered the lever.

At the exact moment the main door was blasted open, she shoved it forward with all her strength.