Transmigrated Into a Scummy Alpha Who Stole the Male Lead's Mermaid Fiancée - Chapter 35

The mob’s frenzy spread like wildfire, growing more intense by the minute. The factory gates, the streets, and the residential areas were all crowded with civilians. Some held up signs, others carried sticks and shovels, all surging in one direction.

“Boom! Boom!” The crowd slammed against the factory gates, their voices rising and falling like tidal waves.

One voice shouted: “Hand over Isabelle!!!”

A group echoed: “Hand over Isabelle!!!”

Then, even louder:

“Send Isabelle to the gallows!!!”

“Send Isabelle to the gallows!!!”

Yu Ke had only taken her eyes off Lan Xing for a moment, and already she had drifted farther into the crowd, nearly disappearing from sight.

“Lan Xing!!!” Yu Ke stood on a small pedestal, shouting toward the crowd ahead. “Wait for me, Lan Xing!”

A few people in the crowd turned back. Lan Xing, wearing protective gear, glanced over her shoulder and raised a hand, waving to indicate her position.

Yu Ke immediately broke into a run, pushing past those blocking her way. Light and agile, she demonstrated the qualities expected of a female Alpha, dashing straight to Lan Xing and grabbing her hand. Fuming, she wanted to scold her, but Lan Xing tightened her grip, turned, and pulled her like a slippery loach deeper into the crowd.

“The factory gates are about to be breached,” Lan Xing yelled. “We have to find Isabelle before they do!”

“Have you even considered how dangerous this is?!” Yu Ke screamed, straining her voice to be heard. “You’re an Omega, how can you charge into a mob like this?”

Lan Xing was frantic. She couldn’t explain clearly; the noise around them was overwhelming, making it difficult for either to hear the other.

Out of options, she stopped abruptly, accidentally stepping on Yu Ke’s foot as she moved forward. The two wobbled but steadied themselves. Lan Xing wrapped her arms around Yu Ke’s waist, lifted her face, and looked at her.

“Help me this once!” Lan Xing tilted her head up and kissed Yu Ke’s lips. “Do it for me.”

The crowd flowed past them like water, someone jostling Yu Ke in the process. Yu Ke held Lan Xing firmly, unmoved. After a moment’s thought, she simply lifted Lan Xing entirely, one arm supporting her legs, letting her “sit” in the crook of her arm, a pose somewhat reminiscent of a kangaroo.

Lan Xing hooked her legs around Yu Ke’s waist and wrapped her arms around her neck, seemingly smiling.

She was really light, and Yu Ke felt much more at ease. Carrying Lan Xing, she began running through the crowd.

Back at the palace of the Ferrari Kingdom, when she saw Lan Xing sitting in the wedding carriage in her bridal gown, Yu Ke had wanted to try lifting her with one arm.

After charging about fifty meters, they finally squeezed their way to the factory gates. Yu Ke set her down, holding her hand to prevent them from being separated in the chaos. Amid the turmoil, Lan Xing sneakily kissed her cheek.

Yu Ke was in high spirits. She realized she was easily appeased, a kiss from Lan Xing made her forget all grievances, willing to do anything for her.

Just then, the situation escalated. The factory roof began spraying large quantities of an unknown liquid. Dense “raindrops” fell, terrifying the crowd into a frantic scramble for cover. In an instant, countless people were pushed down, trampled, screaming and crying for help.

Only a few, like Yu Ke and her companions, were fully equipped in protective suits. The majority were poor, their skin exposed to the elements. When the liquid rained down, their flesh immediately began to burn. People screamed in agony and scrambled to escape, plunging the scene into chaos.

Many fell injured to the ground, but even more surged forward, braving the toxic downpour as they pressed on, determined to breach the factory gates.

And so, amid this fervent workers’ movement, the factory gates were stormed. The crowd poured in, with Yu Ke and Lan Xing among the first wave, shouting encouragement alongside their leader.

Having broken through the first line of defense, they now faced a second.

The factory manager and his handful of accomplices stood with blaster rifles aimed at those leading the charge.

At the sight of the weapons, the workers’ momentum began to wane. Their leader signaled a temporary halt and shouted toward the armed men, “Our target is Isabelle, not this factory! Hand her over and give us an explanation!”

The portly manager, hands clasped behind his back, yelled back, “No matter what your goal is, your efforts are futile! Isabelle isn’t even here!”

“You’re lying!”

“Liar! The incinerator’s chimney is smoking, isn’t that Isabelle burning the bodies?!”

“Hand over Isabelle, or we won’t return to work!”

“Send Isabelle to the gallows!”

“Gallows! Gallows!”

In this standoff, Yu Ke and Lan Xing were complete outsiders, their presence awkward and out of place. If a fight broke out, they would inevitably be caught in the crossfire.

But with the situation still unclear, taking sides was equally risky. What if they sided with management, only for the workers to overpower them?

After all, the workers had strength in numbers. They had already braved the toxic rain outside, how could they fear a few armed men?

Their only option was to seize the opportunity in the chaos. Use the confusion to find Isabelle and ensure Lan Xing’s safety!

This was the only thought in Yu Ke’s mind. She cared nothing for the workers’ movement, only wanting to resolve this trouble quickly and leave this colonial planet behind.

“Liar! Liar!”

“Hand over Isabelle!”

The workers shouted as they pushed forward, forcing the armed men to retreat step by step. Seeing his companions cower, the portly manager snatched a rifle from one of them and fired a shot into the chaotic crowd.

“BOOM!!!”

The deafening blast nearly shattered the building, tearing a gap through the masses. Countless people were struck by the projectile, their flesh and blood spraying in all directions. Terrified screams erupted as fear began to take hold.

They were all made of flesh and blood, how could they withstand such firepower?

Amid the chaos, Yu Ke pulled Lan Xing aside repeatedly, shielding her in her arms. Though she lacked the burly build of someone like Yu Jie, her strength was nothing to scoff at. Her protective suit had withstood the toxic rain, but several sections were torn by shrapnel, and in some places, the armor was pierced, grazing her skin. Still, these were minor injuries.

The most important thing was to keep Lan Xing safe.

As Lan Xing’s lover, this was her duty.

The violent blast caused the crowd’s momentum to falter, but the portly manager showed no mercy. Raising his blaster rifle, he ordered the others to open fire with him.

“I can’t shoot them!” a senior executive cried out in despair. “They’re not just clones; they’re flesh and blood people!”

With a loud “bang”, the executive was immediately executed.

The shot was fired by the portly manager, but his action failed to intimidate the workers, instead, it enraged them completely:

“Charge!”

“Destroy these demons!”

“Bang, bang!” Two more shots rang out. Yu Ke quickly pulled Lan Xing aside to dodge.

Amid the chaos, a woman in a tank top and military-green pants surged to the forefront. Wielding an iron rod, she leaped sideways like a monkey, narrowly avoiding a fatal blast from a cannon. With another lunge, she let out a fierce cry and swung the iron rod straight at the portly manager’s head!

Seeing her reckless charge, the manager stumbled backward in panic, losing his grip on his firearm, which clattered to the ground.

Her bravery galvanized the crowd. With someone leading the charge, the rest surged forward, shouting slogans and trampling over the bodies of fallen comrades. The scene was as spectacular and overwhelming as a stampede of ten thousand horses.

The armed guards were quickly overwhelmed, and the crowd surged over their corpses, storming into the factory like frenzied beasts, all the while shouting “Isabelle’s” name.

Seizing the opportunity, Yu Ke found a relatively safe spot on the flank. Amid the turmoil, she grabbed the manager by the collar, dragged him out of the throng, and pulled him into a corner.

“What on earth is going on?” Yu Ke demanded, shaking the manager by his collar. “Why is this happening? Where is Isabelle?!”

“Cough, cough,” the manager gasped, his face covered in blood, his internal organs bruised from being trampled. “What… are you doing here?”

“We’re curious about Isabelle and wanted to learn more about her,” Yu Ke replied. “Can you still stand?”

She grabbed the manager’s arm, and with Lan Xing’s help, they dragged his heavy frame into a small room.

“I’m truly sorry about the fuel,” the man coughed up blood. “The workers are on strike, and we have no solution…”

“You could have just refused us outright and told us you couldn’t produce the fuel,” Yu Ke frowned. “But you kept delaying, dragging us into this mess.”

The man gave a bitter smile. “But if it weren’t for that, no one might ever have known what’s happening here…”

“What do you mean?” Lan Xing asked worriedly. “What do you mean, ‘no one would know’?”

“A week ago, all communication from here was cut off. We can receive messages from the outside, but the outside world can’t hear from us,” the man paused, giving Yu Ke a meaningful look. “This matter… is related to an incident that occurred on the planet Labu.”

Lan Xing and Yu Ke exchanged a glance. Yu Ke asked reluctantly, “Is it related to a marriage?”

“Yes, a marriage. The princess of Panda Planet eloped with someone during her wedding. You’ve heard about that, right?”

“Of course,” Yu Ke said expressionlessly. “That incident made the Kingdom of Ferrari a laughingstock across the galaxy.”

Lan Xing pressed anxiously, “What does that have to do with what’s happening here?”

“That incident caused the Ferrari Kingdom to lose support from many allied nations. In an attempt to mitigate losses, the Ferrari Kingdom originally planned for the Ferrari Prince to settle for marrying Prince Yado, but it seems this didn’t achieve the desired effect.”

Yu Ke had seen this news before, and at the time, Lan Zhen had even joked about it with them.

Prince Ram of Yado had never gotten along with Yu Jie to begin with, it was hard to imagine any spark between them.

“Not long after, Yado betrayed Ferrari and chose to ally with Hina, Ferrari’s rival. And this place here is a colony of Hina.”

“But Hina is extremely far from here,” Yu Ke said. “How could they have affected you so quickly?”

“Not only is it far, but Hina’s colonial control over this place has weakened significantly in recent years. I was transferred here from Hina thirty years ago, and it’s been over a decade since I’ve seen any new foreign stationed officials,” the portly manager paused, catching his breath before continuing. “Recently, there have been rumors across the star systems that Hina and Ferrari are competing for imperial dominance. By the time they remember this energy planet of ours and try to tighten control, we were already under the influence of a third-party force.”

“Is it the force from the Datianxi planet?” Yu Ke asked.

“Perhaps. It’s only been about a week since things started. News of Isabelle conducting secret experiments here leaked out, and the workers began to resist. At first, it was just passive strikes, then protests, and now things have escalated to this point, far beyond my ability to manage.”

“I tried to contact Hina, but all signals here are being intercepted; nothing gets through,” the manager chuckled, his smile still appearing honest and sincere. “I deliberately kept you here so that when you leave, you could inform the outside world about what’s happening here. Let Hina know that I’ve done my duty.”

“Why not just hand over Isabelle?” Lan Xing frowned. “If you hand her over, maybe you could calm the workers down.”

The manager smiled faintly. “You’re right…”

“But Isabelle created my daughter as she is now. Out of personal sentiment, I want to protect her.” Struggling to stand with his battered body, he leaned against the wall and bowed slightly to the two, smiling. “My esteemed guests, may I make a request of you?”

“Go ahead. At a time like this, there’s no need for formalities,” Yu Ke said calmly.

The manager pulled a metal key from his pocket. “This is the key to the warehouse. The fuel stored there is enough to power your spacecraft for centuries. I’d like to exchange it…”

“Please take my daughter with you.” As he spoke, he slowly knelt and kowtowed to each of them.

“What do you mean? Where do you want us to take her?”

“Anywhere, as long as she can leave this colonial planet. Let her live in a free country, where she won’t be discriminated against for being a clone, where she can be respected like any ordinary person…” The man kowtowed several more times. “You’re the only ones who can help me with this. I beg you, my esteemed guests.”

“Please don’t do this,” Lan Xing stopped him from continuing to kowtow, saying with a heart full of compassion, “We will agree to your request.”

Yu Ke cut straight to the point: “Where is Isabelle?”

The plump manager hesitated before asking, “Why… are you looking for Isabelle?”

“I have some things I want to ask her,” Lan Xing revealed a sincere smile, “Because, like your daughter, I am not a natural-born human.”

The manager’s eyes widened in shock, “But… aren’t you the esteemed…”

“Panda Princess,” Lan Xing said, “You recognized us from the very beginning, didn’t you?”

“…” The man stared at her, stunned into silence for a long moment. After a moment of thought, he lowered his gaze and said clearly, “Isabelle is on the 19th underground floor. The elevator is at the end of the eastern corridor on the first floor. Press the star button five times consecutively, and it will automatically take you to the 19th floor. The password is… 1123, my daughter’s birthday.”

Yu Ke and Lan Xing obtained the crucial clue and prepared to head for the elevator.

As they left, the man bowed to them and declared loudly, “I wish you two esteemed princesses a pleasant journey! May you be happy and carefree from now on!”

The door closed behind them, and Yu Ke heard a “thud” of a gunshot. Her footsteps halted.

The man who had fulfilled his mission lay in a pool of blood, a smoking gun in his hand aimed at his own abdomen, his eyes unmoving.

Lan Xing seemed to sense something, but Yu Ke pulled her away directly. “Let’s go find Isabelle and his daughter.”