Transmigrated Into a Scummy Alpha Who Stole the Male Lead's Mermaid Fiancée - Chapter 34

Li Jian’an’s interruption was merely a small interlude in this tranquil morning.

Yu Ke returned to bed, holding Lan Xing, kissing her awake, and then tussling until they fell back asleep.

Yu Ke never imagined that her first experience would happen on such a backward colonial planet. For her, it was bittersweet, but if given the choice again, she should have done these things with Lan Xing on the very day she took her away.

Lan Xing’s heat cycle had stopped for over a month, which was an immensely anxious matter for an Omega. Coupled with Yu Ke’s ambiguous attitude, she had been under tremendous pressure. Finally, on the first night they arrived on this planet, she could no longer conceal her inner turmoil and broke down in front of her.

“I want to remember today clearly,” Yu Ke whispered, kissing every inch of Lan Xing’s skin. “I must constantly remind myself how foolish I was to let you suffer so much and betray your feelings for me.”

Lan Xing was lost in her gentle caresses. The continuous stimulation made it impossible for her to focus on conversing with Yu Ke. Under Yu Ke’s repeated soothing, Lan Xing had long forgotten all those sorrowful matters.

The two spent an undisturbed day together in the room.

The fuel factory kept delaying, so Li Jian’an decided to go and negotiate with the portly manager again. Walking alone through the spacious factory workshop, he felt his heart race with fear at the occasional “thump, thump” sounds echoing around.

Although he was a Beta, he was still a man and the only man on the “Princess.” A man should take on more responsibility, at least doing something to share the burdens of others.

He couldn’t let that female Alpha outshine him, nor could he tolerate her growing closer to Xiao Nan, even to the point of… becoming intimate.

No, that’s impossible.

Xiao Nan hadn’t yet recovered from the incident at the seaside restaurant. How could she possibly develop feelings for Lan Zhen?

Pumping himself up with courage, Li Jian’an ventured deeper into the workshop.

“Thump, thump…” The sound of mechanical collisions grew closer. Li Jian’an felt certain he would find the portly manager here.

He must be hiding something from them.

If it were just about refueling, why would it take so long?

Inside the workshop, massive pipes crisscrossed overhead, and high-speed rotating machinery occasionally emitted a roaring “rumble.”

Li Jian’an followed one direction until he hit a dead end, then turned back and took a different path. Before long, he was completely lost.

He began to panic. Just then, the sound of rolling wheels came from behind, accompanied by a woman singing, abrupt and eerie, startling Li Jian’an into hiding immediately.

The wheel sounds drew nearer and finally stopped in the middle of the path. A woman in a white shirt and black skirt, pushing a cart, stiffly tilted her head in Li Jian’an’s direction and said in a clear voice, “Are you lost?”

Li Jian’an crouched beneath a machine, holding his breath.

The woman had East Asian features, with long black hair parted in the middle and tied high on her head. She appeared to be in her forties, with a kindly expression, though the collar of her white shirt was stained with speckles of blood.

In stark contrast to her demeanor was what she had on her cart. When Li Jian’an saw it, he couldn’t help but gasp in shock.

It was a cart full of corpses. Some had their arms and legs torn off, while others had half their necks broken, dangling in the air. None of them were wearing clothes, and their expressions were horrifying.

He had no idea how the woman had spotted him, but his body trembled uncontrollably.

“Where are you headed?” the woman grinned, walking straight toward him. “Let me take you there!”

Watching the woman pushing a cart of dead bodies toward him, Li Jian’an screamed hysterically. He leaped to his feet almost instantly, frantically dodging her, and mustered all his strength to run in the opposite direction.

He ran for a long, long time, charging forward recklessly, turning at every intersection until he could no longer see the woman when he looked back. Only then did he stop to catch his breath.

The hollow expressions of those corpses were still etched in Li Jian’an’s mind. He crouched down and broke down in tears.

Damn it, if only he hadn’t come to this place alone.

He took out his phone to contact Yu Ke, but the signal was too poor. After a few failed attempts, he gave up.

Time passed slowly, and he had no idea how long it had been when footsteps echoed through the workshop. A man’s voice called out, “Is someone there?”

It was the voice of the portly manager! But Li Jian’an didn’t dare respond. He huddled in the corner, waiting until the manager asked two more times before whispering, “…Someone’s here.”

The portly manager approached with a flashlight, took one look at Li Jian’an’s disheveled state, and let out a sigh. “So, you’re here, esteemed guest. Please get up quickly. I’ll escort you back to the hotel.”

Li Jian’an had originally come to find the portly manager, but he never expected to encounter the woman with the cart. Still shaken from the fright, he snapped angrily, “What kind of place is this? I just saw someone pushing a cart full of dead bodies…”

“That’s Isabelle, esteemed guest,” the portly manager said kindly. “She was probably taking those experimental rejects to the incinerator.”

“The incinerator?” Li Jian’an swallowed hard. “Those people… the rejects… you just burn them like that?”

The portly manager revealed a mysterious and dangerous smile. Li Jian’an found it unsettling and decided not to press further.

Those dead bodies were probably clones, Li Jian’an reassured himself.

Since they were clones, what did they have to do with him?

Li Jian’an repeatedly hypnotized himself with this thought as he followed the portly manager out of the workshop and into the factory grounds.

“We’d like to get the fuel as soon as possible so we can head to Datianxi early. We have important matters to attend to there,” Li Jian’an said nervously. “Can we get the fuel by tomorrow morning?”

“I can’t guarantee that, esteemed guest,” the portly manager bowed. “The only thing I can do is deliver the fuel to your captain as soon as it’s packaged.”

Li Jian’an didn’t dare ask any more questions. He swallowed again and stammered, “Alright then… please hurry. Don’t delay us.”

The portly manager clasped his hands behind his back and bowed respectfully once more.

“Don’t go out again tonight,” the manager said, pursing his lips. “When you return, please remind your friends to stay indoors as much as possible.”

Hearing this, Li Jian’an was terrified. He hurried away, half-walking, half-running.

Once back, he immediately recounted his experience to Yu Ke.

When he mentioned the woman in white, Lan Xing crawled out from under the covers and stared at Li Jian’an from behind the curtain.

“Isabelle?” Lan Xing’s expression shifted. “That person is quite famous.”

“Do you know her?” Yu Ke asked.

“You can look it up. She’s known as the Mother of Clones, involved in the clone army research project, and was once a distinguished scientist in the interstellar community,” Lan Xing said calmly. “But there hasn’t been much news about her in the past two years. I never expected her to show up here.”

So, Yu Ke and Li Jian’an both took out their phones and began searching for information related to “Isabelle.”

“That’s her, no doubt!” Li Jian’an exclaimed excitedly, holding up a photo. “It’s this woman, her gaze is terrifying!”

“Get a grip, my first mate. Don’t let a woman scare you out of your wits,” Yu Ke scrolled through the information, frowning. “This Isabelle was expelled from the Star Alliance two years ago, apparently due to some illegal research. Her presence here is definitely not a good thing.”

“So, she was expelled…” Lan Xing lowered her eyelids, lost in thought.

“Mother of Clones? More like a cruel, bloodthirsty, and inhuman woman!” Li Jian’an said agitatedly. “Those bodies… they were wheeled right past me. I can’t sleep at night just thinking about that scene.”

“Then stop thinking about it. Take the manager’s advice and go back to your room. Don’t wander around anymore,” Yu Ke said. “We’re leaving this place tomorrow, whether we get the fuel or not.”

“That’s a wise decision. Leaving sooner rather than later is for the best,” Li Jian’an said cheerfully. “I’ll go inform Xiao Nan and the others right away!”

After Li Jian’an left, Lan Xing suddenly said, “I want to meet her.”

“Isabelle?” Yu Ke turned to look at her, a slight frown on her face.

“Yes, I want to see her before we leave,” Lan Xing crawled out from under the bedsheets, wrapping the sheet around herself. Her bright eyes fixed on Yu Ke. “Is that okay, sister?”

“Alright,” Yu Ke couldn’t refuse Lan Xing’s request. “Put on your clothes first, and I’ll take you to find her.”

Lan Xing nodded, turning her back to let the sheet slide down her smooth skin. She began putting on her clothes, one piece at a time, right in front of Yu Ke.

Watching her silhouette, Yu Ke couldn’t help but step forward and embrace her from behind, resting her chin on Lan Xing’s shoulder and whispering, “Lan Xing, I really like you.””

Lan Xing, halfway through dressing, paused and let Yu Ke hold her quietly.

After a long moment, Lan Xing’s sweet voice broke the silence. “If it gets too late, we might not find Isabelle. Let’s go, sister.”

“Okay.”

The two shouldered their bags, put on their protective suits, and left the hotel.

At that moment, the factory in the distance was still lit up, its machinery operating ceaselessly, much like the people on this colonial planet, who never truly rested.

When they reached the factory entrance, the square was crowded with people. Men and women in tattered work uniforms were holding up signs and shouting slogans.

The situation didn’t look good. These workers seemed restless, and a riot could break out at any moment.

Yu Ke grabbed Lan Xing’s hand and urged, “Don’t go any closer. We don’t know what’s happening over there.”

Lan Xing was walking hurriedly. When she turned to look at Yu Ke, her brows were tightly furrowed, her expression full of concern.

“Hand over Isabelle!!!”

“Stop the clone project!!!”

“Hand over Isabelle!!!”

“Stop the clone project!!!”

The locals, shouting slogans, surged from all directions like a flood toward the factory gates.

Behind Yu Ke and Lan Xing, a crowd had also gathered, pushing and shoving forward, nearly bumping into Lan Xing several times.

Yu Ke shielded Lan Xing in her arms, trying to pull her away from the chaos.

“No,” Lan Xing refused to turn back, her voice filled with urgency. “They’re going to put Isabelle on trial. If I don’t make it in time, I’ll lose my chance to see her!”

“Why are you so desperate to see her?” Yu Ke asked the question that puzzled her the most. “If Isabelle is put on trial, her research project will be halted. That’s a good thing, it means there won’t be more people like you. Why not just let it be?”

“That’s not how it is…” Lan Xing shook her head and, breaking free from Yu Ke’s grasp, ran into the crowd.

Seeing this, Yu Ke had no choice but to follow her immediately.