A Disguised Scum Alpha Marked Her Aloof Ex-Wife - Chapter 20.3

Zhu Yu wasn’t good at lying and could only look away, trying to change the subject, “there might still be a turnaround.”

Xiao Shan shook her head, “we will be sold tonight; what will the future hold?”

No, tonight’s auction won’t go smoothly; Nan Gong will catch all these criminals in one fell swoop, including that damned umbrella!

But after that, how will the Federation handle these Imperials? This is undoubtedly a scandal; if exploited by those with intentions, it could be large enough to incite a dispute between the two countries.

More accurately, people in the Chaotic Zone have no nationality. Zhu Yu pinched her wrist, her breathing feeling heavy.

“The Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix is the grand finale; we know there is a secret passage; the guards will be scattered after the auction starts, and there will be a chance to escape; a certain administrator is a mixed-blood, and her mother was also an Imperial.”

Xiao Shan paused, lowering her head in some shame, “but the guards are very powerful… can you come with us, Xiao Yu?”

This request was undoubtedly very dangerous, yet it was also their last chance.

After the auction starts, guests will take their seats with invitation letters, and the tight security system will control the entire Paradis.

Zhu Yu ruffled her hair; she was afraid of chase sequences even when playing games, let alone a life-risking adventure.

As long as she waits for Nan Gong to act and catch that big fish, they will be safe after the net is pulled; Bai Shuzhou will definitely not leave her subjects alone!

Seeing Zhu Yu’s silence, Xiao Shan let out a low sigh, “it’s too much to ask, isn’t it? It’s okay if you refuse; I understand.”

The white bird was still quietly eating the pastries, seemingly unconcerned about the content of their conversation; she held the greaseproof paper very solemnly with both hands and spat out a small fireball; the cold pastry crust gradually curled up and turned golden under the high-temperature roasting.

She was also an ability user!

The orange-yellow firelight reflected on the white bird’s cheeks and hair; it was a sickly white; her wide sleeves slid down, and Zhu Yu noticed a very deep pink scar on her wrist, very similar to the surgical marks on Bai Shuzhou.

She couldn’t help but hold her breath, rolling up the white bird’s sleeve, then the hem; the scars were crisscrossed across the girl’s pale skin, a shocking sight.

A peacock with fire-element ability, forced to be modified into a so-called ‘Phoenix’.

The white bird shivered but didn’t dodge again; she looked down numbly at Zhu Yu’s trembling hands, seemingly unable to understand.

In their simple worldview, someone willing to share kindness and food is a good person; so even if she is afraid, even if it hurts, it’s okay. The white bird submissively closed her eyes.

Her heart contracted violently, with sourness and restlessness having nowhere to be placed. Zhu Yu took a deep breath and asked in a low voice: “What should I do?”

Paradis Level Three; oxygen flowed continuously into the hundred meters underground.

With circular mountains and waters, and gold-plated decorations, money was just a number here; by dragging the floating large screen, one could view tonight’s auction items in a 360-degree panorama.

Vips verified their invitation letters and took their seats one after another; they gathered here from all over the galaxy, witnessing the debauchery outside of order in the depths of the most wretched and chaotic planet.

Everyone wore masks, and the booths were equipped with identity blurrers, even disguising their voices.

The woman clad in Arlanka silk pulled her cloak tighter; her knuckles were as white and flawless as jade, and a red mole on her wrist flickered before vanishing back into her wide sleeve.

She walked very slowly; when a wealthy merchant passed by, his gaze couldn’t help but follow the red mole; before he could even blink, he was blocked by the tall figure at the woman’s side.

“What are you looking at?” The golden eyes looked down indifferently; even though the person intentionally lowered their voice, it was still full of murderous intent.

The merchant quickly retreated to one side, secretly wiping his sweat.

Anyone who can step into the third underground level of Paradis is either rich or powerful; even if they dominate a star system in their own territory, they still have to maintain a low profile here because they never know who they are facing.

The woman frowned slightly and whispered to the merchant: “Sorry.”

The short and concise sentence sounded light; the voice processed by the system carried a slight electronic hum, very pleasant to the ear.

The merchant was still in a daze while the woman had already entered a higher-level box, her haughty figure completely hidden by the swaying cloak.

The box indicator lights lit up one by one; tonight, the SVIP boxes, which require a net worth of over a hundred million to enter, were all occupied.

“Iselia, you should keep a low profile,” a cold voice sounded.

“As you command.” The youngest Tiger General in Imperial history looked around the circular seats with a smile and willingly knelt on one knee, lightly kissing the back of the woman’s hand, “I can’t wait… to tear them all into pieces.”

Iselia was both Zhu Yu’s former direct superior and one of Bai Shuzhou’s most powerful suitors.

For this moment, she had already waited a long time.

On the stage, the host began to introduce a piece of high-purity crystal ore with a beaming face; energy is the core drive of the interstellar era, and large starships and mechas regard crystal ore as their heart.

Ivory tablets were raised one after another, and it was soon auctioned for an astronomical price.

The SVIP area remained quiet; although crystal ore was expensive, it wasn’t rare enough; everyone knew that the more precious the treasure, the later it would appear as a finale.

Suddenly, ripples splashed in the pool in front of the stage, fish scattered in panic, firelight swirled, and an unusual bright red resonance appeared on the surface of the crystal ore.

The host’s voice paused slightly, but with her excellent response ability, she immediately used the anomaly to start introducing the purity of the crystal ore; only concentrated high-purity energy could generate magnetic resonance, enough to see the high quality of this item.

The black-clad captain covered her earpiece with one hand during the pause, turned and disappeared into the employee passage without a sound, and began to sprint from the moment she elegantly closed the door.

The alarm echoed within the channel, and hurried footsteps shattered the quiet mask; the aftereffects of the explosion were still continuing; even the thirteen-meter-thick mimetic silent layer couldn’t help but tremble.

This underground palace was as solid as a fortress, yet the only weak air circulation system had been blown with a big black hole; the fire burned fiercely, and all engineers were on their way.

The captain’s face was ashen: “How could the Phoenix escape? Even if she can still fly, her size simply cannot pass through the ducts!”

“As a human,” an administrator corrected slowly, “all the birds are helping her. In Eastern legend, the Phoenix can command a hundred birds.”

“East your head! You and I both know she’s just a failed experiment, not a real Phoenix!”

“This is the first finale live broadcast; if an accident happens, the Boss will kill us!”

They had gone to great lengths to rehearse the “Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix” program; with the auction imminent, the finale cargo had escaped?!

Thud.

Slaughterhouse Chen fell heavily from the firelight, her eyes completely blurred by blood, roaring in rage: “It’s Zhu Yu! Her again! She must be torn into a thousand pieces!!”

“I knew it, I knew it long ago; this jinx shouldn’t have been kept!”

The poisoned curved blade in her hand reflected a cold light, and dripping blood flowed from the duct, gradually gathering into a small river.

In the pitch-black passage, the gale whistled, and weak fireflies flickered as they entered her abdomen; Zhu Yu held the wound with one hand and propped herself against the uneven rock wall with the other.

Behind her was the unextinguished flame, and she couldn’t see the light when she looked up.

But the sound of birds flapping their wings was exceptionally clear in the narrow passage, and the “freedom” curve hooked by her knuckles vibrated under her palm.

Countless weak birds fought to grab Zhu Yu’s clothes and pull upward; the fabric was pulled taut, rubbing against the blood-stained wound; Zhu Yu gave a low groan.

“You guys go first; rest assured, I’m still useful; they won’t kill me.”

Just now she had witnessed the real “Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix”; when the ‘Phoenix’ spat out a fireball to melt the cage, the birds surrounded the white-haired girl and rose slowly like a moon surrounded by stars—it was exceptionally shocking.

Just like the grandest adventure, Zhu Yu was willing to guard this dream.

Unfortunately, she was not a bird; she was too heavy in the weightless dream; no matter how much the birds tried, they couldn’t lift her.

The sound of gunfire approached, and the long-tailed tit nuzzled Zhu Yu’s cheek hard, “chirp chirp!”

“Go quickly; I’m the strongest Alpha; you’ll only be a burden to me here.”

The little birds stubbornly circled her, unwilling to leave.

Stained fingertips touched the fluff, and Zhu Yu said: “The Princess will come to save me; don’t worry.”

Hearing her say this, the long-tailed tit blinked, and tears as big as soybeans fell, “chirp?”

Zhu Yu couldn’t understand bird language, but she knew Xiao Shan very well, so she nodded and said enigmatically: “Mhm, really; this is also part of the plan.”

The footsteps drew closer; Zhu Yu grabbed two birds and pushed them upward; her slender figure inevitably slid down another section, and she said in a low voice: “Go quickly.”

A weak warm light transferred from her fingertips to Xiao Shan’s wings; thump, thump, they finally spread their wings and flew upward in Zhu Yu’s accelerating heartbeat.

Zhu Yu breathed a sigh of relief, belatedly realizing her whole body was sticky, unable to distinguish between sweat and blood.

She had always been very well-behaved since childhood; let alone fighting, she hadn’t even had many arguments; but today, taking on the heavy responsibility, she realized for the first time—power.

It wasn’t a potential that only evaporated when pushed to the extreme.

She seemed to naturally know how to throw a punch, how to dodge; her blood was boiling and awakening, and even the most fierce star pirates couldn’t block her path; in a daze, she even heard a pleasant, light chuckle.

This is the power you possess, the power to destroy everything.

The ring sparkled with a crimson light; the girl exhaled a long breath and finally ran out of strength, sliding down.

The guards waiting at the entrance were already fully armed; countless dark gun muzzles aimed at Zhu Yu’s heart and head; Slaughterhouse Chen was being carried on a stretcher, still roaring: “Kill her! Kill her!”

A purple scepter stopped in front of the girl, tapping the ground with a clink; everyone respectfully stepped back half a step, holding their breath for fear of being caught in the crossfire.

“Little fellow, you’ve truly caused us heavy losses.”

The Paradis Boss leaned down and used her scepter to push aside the stray hair in front of Zhu Yu’s eyes. She had seen all kinds of people in her travels, but what was revealed was not the expected predator-like unyielding gaze.

Clear, dark and white, without a trace of savagery. This was too strange.

To climb to that position, the blood on Zhu Yu’s hands must be more than she herself had bled. No matter how grand the image the Empire initially promoted for her, her blood-stained track record couldn’t be denied.

Zhu Yu should be a hypocritical lunatic.

This wasn’t a reality show; how could she be so self-sacrificing, saving a group of cheap birds?

The woman said softly: “Moving indeed; I’m almost in tears. Your eyes remind me of a local dog I raised in my childhood; it had been protecting me since I can remember; I truly miss it.”

Sharp nails scratched her cheek; Zhu Yu’s eyes lit up; hearing this big boss’s meaning, could there still be room for turnaround?

Then she heard the woman say gloomily: “Then came the famine, and we had a full meal.”

The woman’s tone was calm, as if reminiscing, or relishing the taste.

Zhu Yu’s stomach felt a surge of acid: “…” A pervert!!!

The Paradis Boss smiled: “For the sake of the little dog, if the Empire produces enough chips, I can consider letting you live.”

Zhu Yu swallowed hard: “What do you want?”

The woman clasped her hands together and smiled brightly: “The list has been delivered; next, it depends on the Empire’s sincerity.”

“Otherwise, you can replace the ‘Phoenix’ yourself.”

“The newly developed Fractus reagent hasn’t found a suitable candidate for the test subject; it can catalyze the ‘easy-to-perceive’ period and cause spiritual disorder.”

“Although you’re just a D-grade Alpha and can’t transform, live-streaming the unsightly state of the Imperial Star’s ‘easy-to-perceive’ period should also be very interesting?” The woman laughed aloud.

An assistant stepped forward, her fingers flying; data streams floated on the light-brain, and a large, bright red countdown jumped out first, pressing before Zhu Yu’s eyes.

The time to wait for the Empire’s response was three minutes.

Zhu Yu tilted her head up, cold sweat sliding into her clothes; she glimpsed a few lines among the dense text: Imperial database pass, five hundred million virtual Hot coins…

This was no longer a lion opening its mouth; this was a black hole opening its mouth! Even if she was taken apart and sold, she wouldn’t be worth that much, let alone the security of the Imperial database.

The woman approached with a smile: “The Princess likes you so much; these should be not worth mentioning, right?”

Zhu Yu lowered her eyes, very uncooperatively avoiding the camera.

“Aren’t they already going through a divorce?” someone asked softly.

“Tsk, you don’t understand! To those royal celestial beings, what is love? The commoners who support this fellow are not few! If it weren’t for the relevant interests, do you really think the Princess would take a liking to her? A D-grade Alpha… haha!”

“How come I heard she has had many romantic affairs after marriage; if the Princess weren’t mesmerized by her, how could she endure this?”

“The Princess is frail and sickly; pairing with a pretty boy like her should be just right—”

Whistles and jeers fell together; the star pirates seemed certain the Empire would produce the money; after all, she was still the Princess’s wife in name, the big heroine promoted by the army.

The Paradis Boss’s long nails pricked Zhu Yu’s lip; she was carefully examining her teeth and oral cavity, her indifferent expression just like treating a slave, a commodity.

The large electronic screen flickered, and the bright red numbers entered a thirty-second countdown.

People stopped laughing, their voices lowered, staring intently at the result.

Every second was agonizing, yet blood and time passed very quickly; Zhu Yu was forced to tilt her head up, experiencing the detachment of pain and numbness in her gradually blurring consciousness.

These requests were too unreasonable; the Empire couldn’t possibly agree.

Besides, Bai Shuzhou didn’t have the final say; these were not things she could decide alone.

Anyway, Bai Shuzhou couldn’t possibly abandon her! The kind and compassionate Princess would never abandon anyone.

Has she… reached home safely?

Beep—

The numbers hit zero.

A piercing alert sound sliced through her eardrums; everyone looked up at the reply that popped up:

[REJECTED.]

The attachment was a wanted poster.

The girl on the wanted poster was high-spirited, looking at the camera with a reckless smile; her anti-bandit track record was introduced behind it.

The star pirates squeezed in front of the screen, looking over and over in disbelief. The Empire not only refused to negotiate but also dared to provoke them?!

They’d played themselves; how could there be no bargaining at all?

The Paradis Boss frowned, very dissatisfied with the result: “Resend; this is not the style of the Imperial Royal Family; even if Bai Shuzhou truly detests her, she has to consider the voice of the people.”

“And cc it to the media; leak the news that Zhu Yu is in our hands.”

The assistant tapped the floating keyboard, her face becoming very unsightly, and then transferred the bright red alert message, “Send failed; our IP square has been blocked…”

No room was left.

Even the star pirates who had laughed the loudest just now couldn’t help but look at Zhu Yu, their gazes carrying a bit of complex irony and pity.

Truly abandoned.

“I see,” the Paradis Boss shrugged, realizing. “The Empire will no longer recognize your identity; you are the hope of the commoners, and also the shame.”

“How heartless; we can only hope you can sell for a good price tonight.”

The Paradis Boss also had some floral fragrance on her; the moment her hair approached, Zhu Yu thought of Bai Shuzhou again.

On that night, the woman quietly closed her eyes, sleeping right before her, her breathing evenly spilled, her long lashes lingering; slowly she opened her eyes, those pale blue eyes were pristine, and her ice-cold tail gave a light, not-so-heavy flick.

Clatter.

The silver suitcase fell to the ground with a click, and the large needle still shimmered with cold.

The people joined forces to pin Zhu Yu down; even though she could no longer resist, they still tightly fastened the restraints.

Cold reagent pierced into her flesh; the girl lay on her back, painful moans overflowing from her tight throat.

Muscles became sore and swollen, the back of her neck burned faintly; the cold brought by excessive blood loss clashed with the suddenly rising body temperature, and the girl’s slender figure gradually curled up.

It hurts so much…

At this moment, Zhu Yu couldn’t help but think of that kiss when they first met.

Also mixed with tears and a metallic scent. The woman’s ice-cold knuckles passed through her hair, gripping tightly.

But why, when she recalls it now, is there only a piece of softness and the rose fragrance between her hair?

Can you kiss me again?