Transmigrated Into a Scummy Alpha Who Stole the Male Lead's Mermaid Fiancée - Chapter 36

When the riot erupted, Li Jian’an huddled inside the hotel, watching the crowd in the square through the glass from a distance, not daring to make a move.

He was deeply worried about Xiao Nan, especially when he couldn’t find her anywhere.

Li Jian’an turned to look for Yu Ke, but even after dialing her number relentlessly, no one answered.

Chaos reigned outside. According to the hotel staff, many people had died.

He tried to convince himself not to worry, in such a critical moment, taking care of himself and not causing trouble for others was already an achievement.

But Xiao Nan was still Xiao Nan. Unlike Princess Lan Xing, who had a doting Alpha lover and a noble princess sister, Xiao Nan was as helpless as he was. They could only rely on themselves for protection.

He climbed to the highest floor of the hotel and peered out the window at the factory, his heart pounding.

The workers chanted slogans, their voices roaring like thunder. Braving the toxic rain and risking their lives, they stormed into the factory. Soon after, explosions echoed, and one of the buildings behind the factory was instantly reduced to dust, thick smoke billowing into the sky. The square became shrouded in haze, obscuring everything from view, leaving only the sound of people’s screams.

No one knew what was happening inside.

Where had Xiao Nan, Yu Ke, Lan Xing, and Lan Zhen gone?

Could they be trapped in danger?

If something happened to them, what could he do?

He could do nothing but wait for news.

After weighing his options, Li Jian’an tried to reason with himself rationally.

He rushed downstairs and questioned the hotel staff one by one, asking if anyone knew the whereabouts of his companions.

A man hesitated before saying, “I think I saw your Omega friend in the crowd…”

“What?!” Li Jian’an exclaimed. “Are you sure it was an Omega? The one with brown hair, or the one with golden hair?”

“It was the introverted Omega girl with short brown hair,” the man said, pointing in a direction with concern. “I saw someone dragging her that way…”

Hearing this, Li Jian’an’s heart raced with anxiety, and he immediately dashed out of the hotel.

He had always been steady and cautious. The most reckless thing he’d ever done in his life was boarding Yu Ke’s spaceship and becoming a member of the “Princess.” If asked to play the hero rescuing a damsel in distress, he would have firmly refused.

But at that moment, he didn’t want to think.

His fate was like a pebble falling off a cliff, once it started, it was nearly impossible to stop.

He charged into the crowd, heading to the spot the hotel staff had mentioned. In a corner, a group of people were assaulting a woman. Li Jian’an’s heart leaped into his throat as he shouted Xiao Nan’s name, rushing over and pulling away a tall man.

His sudden intrusion immediately drew the group’s attention. Only then did Li Jian’an realize the woman being assaulted was not Xiao Nan.

“…” After a moment of stunned silence, Li Jian’an quickly tried to flee, but he was soon caught and surrounded. Beaten and battered, he cried out in pain before losing consciousness.

He thought bitterly, at least he had stepped up and hadn’t acted like a coward.

…

Yu Ke, carrying Lan Xing, boarded the elevator the fat manager had mentioned.

It took some time to descend from the first floor to the nineteenth. Holding Lan Xing from behind, Yu Ke wrapped his arms around her.

He caressed her belly and lowered his head to kiss her cheek.

Lan Xing didn’t resist, murmuring a few words with a hint of laughter in her voice.

With a soft click, the elevator stopped more abruptly than expected, startling both Yu Ke and Lan Xing. Instinctively, Yu Ke shielded Lan Xing behind her, ready to dash out the moment the doors opened.

The elevator doors slid open slowly, revealing a little girl standing before them. She tilted her head up, wide-eyed, staring at the two inside the elevator. With a frightened cry, she immediately turned and ran away.

Lan Xing wanted to chase after her, but Yu Ke grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into the elevator.

“A child?” Lan Xing turned to look at Yu Ke, her voice tinged with confusion. “I thought there were no children here?”

“Let’s find Isabelle first,” Yu Ke said, appearing remarkably calm. “If we follow her recklessly, we could easily get lost.”

Lan Xing nodded, twisting her wrist to take Yu Ke’s hand instead.

Standing shoulder to shoulder, Yu Ke could sense Lan Xing’s nervousness and tightened her grip slightly.

Lan Xing looked up at Yu Ke and smiled.

The elevator descended for about half a minute before the floor indicator lit up with an “R.” As the doors opened, a long corridor stretched out before them, with rooms on both sides. A few were lit, but no sounds could be heard, and the air felt chilly.

Light illuminated the glass windows of the laboratories on either side. Peering inside, they couldn’t help but gasp.

Massive green glass tanks were almost entirely filled with people, densely packed in nutrient fluid, appearing as if they were asleep and completely unconscious.

At first glance, the sight was deeply unsettling.

In different laboratories, the gender, age, and physical features of the humans in the tanks varied. Further down the corridor were younger individuals and even developing embryos.

At the end of the hallway, in a spacious laboratory, a woman in a white lab coat was carefully adding chemical reagents to a test tube. She was so absorbed in her task that she hadn’t noticed the visitors.

“Isabelle,” Yu Ke called out her name. “You have nowhere left to run.”

The woman paused slightly but paid no attention to Yu Ke’s words, continuing to add reagents. She shook the now-blue test tube with one hand and smiled. “I didn’t expect you to find this place, my dear little princesses.”

Lan Xing studied her curiously, stepping forward cautiously like a cat. In a clear voice, she asked, “You know who we are?”

“A little attention to the news is all it takes,” Isabelle replied, turning to face them with a gentle smile. “Meeting you here like this, perhaps this is what they call ‘fate.’”

“What do you mean?” Yu Ke asked warily.

“Twelve years ago, your mother, Queen Ferrari, came to me and asked me to edit your genes so you would develop into an exceptional Alpha,” Isabelle said, studying Yu Ke closely. “It seems my experiment was a success. You truly have become a high-quality Alpha.”

Her tone was neither warm nor cold, and she maintained her smile throughout, yet her expression and gaze made Yu Ke deeply uncomfortable.

“Your words strike me as laughable,” Yu Ke retorted. “Individual differentiation isn’t solely determined by genes, it’s influenced by external stimuli and growth environment. Before differentiation occurs, no one can predict its direction. How can you claim credit for my becoming an Alpha through your genetic editing?”

“But when your mother sought me out, you were already showing signs of developing into an Omega,” Isabelle replied. “I believe my genetic editing played a role in your subsequent transformation.”

“Following that logic, what should I call you?” Yu Ke sneered. “Mother? Father? Or perhaps… a god?”

Isabelle lowered her head, sounding dejected. “I’m no god, despite what the rumors say. Though I edited your genes, whether a cell accepts foreign genes, self-corrects, and evolves ultimately depends on the cell itself. I can neither dictate the direction of genetic modification nor create new species. All I did was repeatedly experiment and select the survivors. You… were chosen by nature.”

Lan Xing, unaware of Yu Ke’s past “treatment,” was utterly astonished by Isabelle’s revelation.

She turned to Yu Ke, her eyes softening with a gentle smile, and said with childlike innocence, “Sister, it seems we share many similarities.”

Yu Ke stroked her hair, fingers tracing the waves of her curls, and chuckled, “Who says we don’t?”

The rage that had filled her dissipated upon hearing Lan Xing’s comforting words.

She resented her own modifications and the Mad Queen’s extreme actions, but as someone who had crossed into this world, what right did she have to pass judgment?

She ought to accept her altered past calmly, be grateful to Isabelle for transforming her into an Alpha capable of protecting Lan Xing.

Bah.

Gratitude was out of the question. Right now, Yu Ke wanted to drag Isabelle before the interstellar court, expose her crimes, and ensure she faced due punishment.

“Everyone out there is hunting for you, demanding you be sent to the gallows,” Yu Ke stated. “How long do you think you can hide here?”

“This is the nineteenth underground level,” Isabelle replied calmly. “They won’t find me.”

“And how long do you plan to stay hidden? What about the test subjects here? After the factory is breached, will they survive?”

This time, Isabelle fell silent.

Lan Xing gazed at her, her fair face scrunched in confusion, her voice soft and delicate. “You’re a great scientist, so why have you ended up like this?”

Isabelle smiled faintly. “That everyone wants me dead is a kind of honor.”

Yu Ke interjected, “You created so many lives, yet you destroyed them with your own hands. Now, you’re cornered by the very clones you created. Don’t you find that absurd? Don’t you regret it?”

“The reality isn’t as promoted. I didn’t create them, nor are they clones,” Isabelle gestured toward the laboratories lining the corridor. “Cloning is arduous work, far more complex than you imagine. In truth, they are all embryos of natural humans, gestated and matured outside the womb.”

Natural humans?!

Lan Xing and Yu Ke exchanged glances. While Yu Ke’s surprise was tinged with dawning comprehension, Lan Xing’s emotions grew increasingly complicated.

Yu Ke found herself at a loss for words, yet upon reflection, it made sense. If clones could be nurtured externally, why not embryos from artificially inseminated natural humans? They were all natural humans, merely skipping the stage of growing in a womb, their childhoods spent entirely in nutrient solutions.

“What a convenient method of human manufacturing,” Yu Ke remarked with unmistakable sarcasm. “Such technology must be highly sought after in regions suffering from population shortages.”

Isabelle smiled without responding.

“I don’t quite understand,” Lan Xing murmured softly, running a hand through her hair. “Why establish such a secret laboratory? And why publicly claim it’s for cloning research?”

“Because the name Isabelle naturally evokes associations with cloning. I’ve never made any declarations myself, some symbols are like brands, inseparable from my identity,” Isabelle explained, her gaze fixed on Lan Xing as she beckoned. “Come closer. Let me take a proper look at you. You must have many questions for me.”

Lan Xing pressed her lips together, stepping forward hesitantly, her words caught in her throat. “You… were involved in the research on Panda Planet, weren’t you?”

“I was indeed invited to participate,” Isabelle replied with a faint smile. “And it was during that time I met you, little Lan Xing.”

Lan Xing’s expression shifted subtly. Yu Ke interjected, “Should I step out?”

“No,” Lan Xing quickly grasped Yu Ke’s hand, her voice tense. “I need you here, sister. I need you to stay with me.”

Yu Ke had been somewhat afraid Lan Xing would ask her to leave. She let out a relieved sigh. “Of course, I’ll stay with you.”

After steeling herself, Lan Xing posed her first question: “How did you recognize me? Aren’t I… identical to the other one?”

“Your temperaments are entirely different,” Isabelle observed, studying her intently. “Your gaze is gentle, embracing all things like the ocean. I’ve never seen any human or any other species with eyes like yours.”

Being praised by Isabelle in front of Yu Ke made Lan Xing flush with embarrassment. She lowered her eyelids and whispered, “But isn’t personality determined by genetics?”

“Environment shapes it more. That little princess was willful and unreasonable, so when I heard the news of Panda’s princess fleeing her marriage, I wasn’t surprised at all. But when you stood before me, I was utterly astonished, I can’t even describe how I feel.”

If it had been the other princess who fled, it would indeed have been unsurprising. But for it to be the one standing here that was truly shocking. She didn’t seem the type to run from a wedding.

“However,” Isabelle’s smile faded, “are you aware of the consequences of your actions, little Lan Xing?”

“I… know. What I’ve done has caused significant instability across the star systems,” Lan Xing admitted with remorse. “The events unfolding here… are because of me.”

“You’re mistaken. It has nothing to do with you. Everything here was orchestrated by me.” Isabelle once again uttered words that left Lan Xing and Yu Ke utterly stunned.

Yu Ke and Lan Xing exchanged bewildered glances.

“But… the manager said it was due to interference from the Datianxi faction that led to this situation…” Lan Xing said, confused. “Isn’t that the case?”

“Was he referring to the signal jamming here and the leak of my experiments?”

“Yes, exactly!”

“As long as I don’t actively reveal my whereabouts, no one would know I’m here,” Isabelle explained. “There is no third-party involvement. I planned all of this with the intention of destroying the laboratory.”

“I don’t understand. Why would you do such a thing?”

“By destroying this lab, no one will be able to continue exploiting me for illegal experiments,” Isabelle said with resignation. “Currently, many countries are preparing for war, and Hina is also planning to send people to take over this place. Once they do, more individuals will be created and sent to the battlefield. I do not agree with their decisions.”

Yu Ke: “…Weren’t you the pioneer of the clone army project?”

“That’s a charge certain government have pinned on me,” Isabelle replied. “Many people know me because of cloning technology, but my initial purpose in biological research was simply to help my country alleviate the burden of reproduction. In my country, every female Beta has a reproductive quota of 5+2, while Omegas have 12+. Most of those capable of bearing children live in misery. So, I began researching external gestation technology to help the government address population issues.”

“External gestation technology… wasn’t it already perfected a hundred years ago?” Lan Xing asked.

Isabelle handed them an identification plate with a younger photo of herself. The text below read: “Researcher of Planet 356: Isabelle Shamoo, Stellar Year 125.”

Stellar Year 125 was 120 years ago. Yet Isabelle looked remarkably young, with barely noticeable wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, appearing no older than forty.

“How old are you?” Lan Xing asked, holding the plate curiously.

“I was born in Stellar Year 112 and began my research here at the age of 14,” Isabelle said with a profound gaze. “The me you see now is already my third-generation clone.”