Transmigrated Into a Scummy Alpha Who Stole the Male Lead's Mermaid Fiancée - Chapter 17

A desert spring, silver-white poplar trees, a mermaid princess awaiting rescue, a young deer darting frantically under the moonlight, the drone’s engine stirred a gust of wind as it landed beside the shrubs.

Scenes that seemed to exist only in dreams suddenly materialized before her eyes.

Yu Ke knew that from this moment on, this would be an image that would haunt her thoughts, intoxicating her with longing.

She leaped from the back of the aircraft and hurried toward the figure beside the poplar trees.

“Lan Xing!” Yu Ke half-knelt, first checking for any injuries on her body.

The moment she touched Lan Xing, the other woman leaned in, collapsing into Yu Ke’s embrace as if boneless.

Yu Ke froze. The sweet scent in the air nearly overwhelmed her senses. She brushed aside Lan Xing’s soft, fluffy golden hair, revealing the skin of her neck, where a vivid, rose-like gland stood out starkly.

Yu Ke: “…”

“How did this happen?” Yu Ke was at a loss. “Can you hold on?”

“Yu Ke,” Lan Xing murmured, nestled against her, eyelids trembling slightly, “I hate you.”

Yu Ke touched her burning forehead and cleared her throat. “This has nothing to do with me. You’re blaming me unfairly.”

“No.” Lan Xing seemed to want to push her away forcefully, but the more she tried, the more she lost control, collapsing further into Yu Ke’s arms.

“Don’t struggle,” Yu Ke gripped her arm. “I don’t have any inhibitors with me. I can’t help you. You need to conserve your energy and wait for reinforcements.”

“You don’t understand,” Lan Xing gasped, her face buried in Yu Ke’s chest. Her emotions were turbulent, her voice trembling. “Yu Ke, help me…”

“I’m taking you back!” Yu Ke raised her voice, attempting to lift Lan Xing, but she stumbled over the vines at her feet and lost her balance.

“What’s going on?” Bai Qiuchi’s voice crackled through the earpiece, intermittent and broken. “Have you found Princess Lan Xing? Where are you?”

“I found her. I need inhibitors!” Yu Ke said to Bai Qiuchi.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Your Highness?”

“Hello? Your Highness, can you hear me?”

The communication signal deteriorated noticeably. Yu Ke could hear Bai Qiuchi repeatedly asking, but after several attempts to respond, she lost patience and turned off the communicator.

With the noise gone, only Yu Ke and Lan Xing remained in the silence.

For a moment, Yu Ke was tempted to do something reckless with Lan Xing right there. She could mark her, claim her body as her own, she could even make Lan Xing carry her child…

This was the privilege of Alphas born into this world. Regardless of gender, as long as an Alpha and Omega mated, they could produce healthy, exceptional children.

Yu Ke was acutely aware of her own desires. Lately, she had been consumed by thoughts of Lan Xing, dreaming of completing what had been left unfinished that day.

But she was equally aware of Lan Xing’s feelings.

Lan Xing did not love her, nor did she love Yu Jie. She had never even tasted love.

She had come to the Kingdom of Ferrari solely to fulfill her duty as the Princess of Panda Planet, contributing to interstellar peace.

It didn’t matter whom she married, as long as that person was the future king.

“Why did you say you hate me?” Yu Ke helped Lan Xing to her feet, trying to engage her in conversation to keep her conscious and rational.

Lan Xing couldn’t stand at all. She tried to move a few times, but the pain was as if she were stepping on shards of glass, making her cry out.

“Is there only you here?” Yu Ke asked, “Do you remember how you got here?”

Lan Xing remained silent, tightening her grip on Yu Ke’s hand slightly and nuzzling against her like a small animal.

“You may take Princess Lan Xing away from here,” the drone’s voice transmitted, “Princess Yu Ke, but you must now leave forty billion gold.”

Yu Ke turned to look. The drone had already changed direction, aiming its missile at her and Lan Xing.

“There is a POS machine behind the tree. Show me the black card being swiped on it,” the drone commanded.

Yu Ke had no choice but to comply. She brought the machine in front of the drone’s camera, inserted the black card, and the displayed amount read “20,000,000,000.”

“The current situation is that neither Princess Panda nor I have escaped danger. This place doesn’t even have a signal, and we may not be able to leave,” Yu Ke said. “So, I can only give you half the money now.”

The drone remained silent, directly pointing its missile at Lan Xing.

Yu Ke had no other options. She stepped forward and placed the black card into the drone’s storage compartment.

“I only brought half the money. The other half will come later,” Yu Ke said to the camera. “I do have an older brother, right? He has the other half with him.”

The drone’s engine hummed, but the person controlling it remained silent. After a long pause, the electronic voice spoke again, “If you dare trick me, I will kill both of you!”

“If you kill us, you will die too!” Yu Ke retorted. “My suggestion is to take these twenty billion and leave immediately. Once my reinforcements arrive, the situation could change unpredictably.”

The drone remained silent. Yu Ke calmly continued, “If you kill us now, our reinforcements will come immediately. You must be controlling the drone from somewhere nearby, right? How many people did you bring? Three? Five? I doubt it’s many, otherwise, why haven’t you shown yourself until now? You were just waiting for us to let our guard down, for our reinforcements to withdraw before making your move!”

“If you still want the remaining twenty billion, it’s not impossible,” Yu Ke smiled. “But you’ll have to take the risk and stay here, waiting for my reinforcements to arrive. You’ll have a chance to negotiate with them. However, before you can shoot me and Princess Lan Xing, your outdated drone will be taken out first. By then, you won’t even get the twenty billion you have now.”

“For you, the best choice right now is to take these twenty billion and disappear! Then pray you never get caught by our people in this lifetime.”

“…”

After speaking, Yu Ke straightened her back, standing firmly in front of the drone, taking a quiet, steadying breath.

She was betting her life. If she won the bet, she might just save Lan Xing from the kidnappers with these twenty billion.

If she lost, she might die here.

“Sss… Sss…”

“Princess? Are you there? Please respond if you can hear me.”

The intermittent voice came through the earpiece again. It seemed Bai Qiuchi was trying hard to locate her.

“I’m here. I’m negotiating with them,” Yu Ke adjusted her earpiece, putting on a show regardless of whether Bai Qiuchi could hear clearly. “We’re relatively safe for now. The only threat is this drone. Their people haven’t shown themselves. When will your reinforcements arrive?”

“Princess Yu Ke,” the drone’s engine roared to life, swiftly lifting off the ground and whipping up a cloud of dust. Before departing, it issued a final warning: “You got lucky this time. I’ll let you off for now, but don’t count on it happening again.”

Yu Jie’s lips twitched. “Until we meet again. Watch your back, we’ll catch you eventually.”

As the aircraft vanished, Yu Ke felt her entire body go weak.

In the past, she had only negotiated business contracts. An elder once taught her a method: lay out all possible scenarios for the other party, create confusion, and bluff with confidence.

While this approach might seem insincere in contract negotiations, it proved quite effective when dealing with kidnappers.

Her only hope now rested on Bai Qiuchi. She prayed he would find them soon and rescue both her and Lan Xing from this dire situation.

She also hoped the kidnappers wouldn’t change their minds, that they’d take the money and disappear for good.

“Yu Ke,” Lan Xing’s voice trembled, barely holding on, “Help me…”

Yu Ke’s heart felt as if a piece had been torn out. She didn’t dare approach Lan Xing, frowning as she said, “Hold on a little longer. Our people will be here soon.”

“This was your plan… You wanted this,” Lan Xing leaned against a tree, hugging her knees, her face buried in her arms, clearly in agony. “I need your pheromones…”

Yu Ke struggled to maintain control. Taking even one step forward could lead to another uncontrollable disaster, just like last time.

Lan Xing didn’t want this either. Just the night before, she had deliberately come to remind Yu Ke not to reveal the secret between them.

“I can’t do this,” Yu Ke murmured. “Lan Xing, I’m sorry.”

“A’Ke,” Lan Xing lifted her face, strands of messy hair clinging to her damp cheeks. She trembled as she spoke, “I can’t take it anymore. I’m in so much pain…”

“I’m in pain too,” Yu Ke swallowed hard. “You think I planned this, like last time, but that’s not true, Lan Xing. I don’t want you to hate me. If I help you now, you’ll only hate me more.”

“Lan Xing?”

“Let me tell you a story.”

“No,” Lan Xing gritted her teeth. “Stop talking!”

Yu Ke turned away, her fingers unconsciously brushing against the pistol in her pocket, her thumb resting lightly on the trigger.

Lan Xing’s ragged breaths echoed in her ears. If this continued, Yu Ke feared she would lose control.

Her glands swelled with pain, her blood boiling like scalding water, her mind growing hazy.

“Yu Ke…” Lan Xing gasped softly, her eyes fixed on Yu Ke with a sweet, despairing smile. “Mark me, then kill me.”

The first time had been an unconscious attraction, a desire to ease her suffering. But this time, she could never do it again.

Because Lan Xing hated her.

“I could never hurt you,” Yu Ke said, yet her feet carried her involuntarily toward Lan Xing.

Bathed in moonlight, Lan Xing looked as beautiful as a goddess.

How could such a breathtaking existence exist in this world?

If she just held her gently, surely nothing would happen, right?

By the time Yu Ke regained her senses, her fingers were already touching the nape of Lan Xing’s neck, enveloped in the sweet scent of champagne and fruit.

In that instant, clarity returned, fueled by the fear of Lan Xing’s hatred.

She couldn’t… do anything to harm Lan Xing.

“I’m sorry,” Yu Ke gazed at that beautiful face, furrowing her brows as she said, “I can’t help but be captivated by you. I have no choice but to do this…”

With a soft thud, Yu Ke pulled the trigger, feeling the bullet tear through the flesh of her thigh.

Lan Xing was too stunned to speak. Her eyes widened as she watched Yu Ke collapse weakly, the mermaid’s pearly tears streaming down.