Transmigrated Into a Scummy Alpha Who Stole the Male Lead's Mermaid Fiancée - Chapter 37

“Then… are you still the original Professor Isabelle?” Lan Xing asked somewhat naively.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Isabelle gazed at her. “I merely discarded my original fleshly body and transferred my brain data, what’s commonly called ‘consciousness’ into a new physical form. My memory is even better now than before. I can even recall events from when I was eight years old, one particularly hot afternoon when my mother asked me to look after my five younger siblings. While I was washing diapers for the youngest, I didn’t watch her closely enough, and she bumped her head on the steps. That night, I went without dinner and cried myself to sleep from hunger… Lan Xing, do you remember things from your childhood?”

“I…” Lan Xing hesitated. “I remember some things, but they probably aren’t my memories…”

“Could you tell me about them?”

“Once, I was sleeping on seaweed, very large, tough seaweed, like a sailboat. That day I had many dreams, dreaming I was riding a whale, leaping over towering waves.” As she spoke, Lan Xing glanced covertly at Yu Ke.

Yu Ke couldn’t help but chuckle.

Her precious Lan Xing, even her dreams were this adorable?

“That might have been a dream you had in the nutrient solution,” Isabelle said.

“Really? Can you dream in nutrient solution?” Lan Xing’s eyes sparkled. “So those are memories that belong only to me?”

“Of course,” Isabelle smiled at her. “They belong solely to you, precious memories.”

Lan Xing was overjoyed. To her, this was the second happiest thing that had happened since meeting Yu Ke!

“That’s wonderful,” Lan Xing said, taking Yu Ke’s hand, her lips curving upward, dimples dancing. “This way, I have memories that are purely my own. I don’t have to be someone else’s shadow!”

“You were never someone else’s shadow to begin with,” Yu Ke raised her hand, gently stroking Lan Xing’s cheek with her thumb, speaking tenderly. “Precious Lan Xing, you are you, and that other person is someone else. To me, you are one of a kind.”

Lan Xing’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly turned her face away, saying to Isabelle, “Thank you. I feel like I understand myself much better now!”

“Little Lan Xing, don’t celebrate too soon,” Isabelle narrowed her eyes. “If I were you, I’d be worrying right now. You should first consider how to survive.”

Lan Xing’s smile vanished, stunned. “Huh?”

“What do you mean?” Yu Ke nearly bit her tongue. “Isabelle, you’d better explain yourself clearly.”

“Don’t be tense, Your Highness,” Isabelle looked at her with icy eyes, a smile still playing on her lips. “An excellent female Alpha should always maintain elegance and composure. Becoming flustered and panicked over matters concerning your beloved makes it easy for others to find your weaknesses.”

“Is this really the time for lecturing?” Yu Ke said with some exasperation. “You might not have seen the rioting workers outside or know the specific situation, but I advise you to explain quickly, because we’ll be leaving here soon.”

“Very well, Your Highness,” Isabelle’s smile carried profound meaning. “Do you know why, for so long, the workers on this planet have endured oppression yet never entertained thoughts of rebellion?”

Yu Ke pondered for a moment, and Lan Xing tentatively replied, “Maybe it’s because… they’ve been conditioned by their environment for so long that it made them timid and afraid to even try rebelling?”

“There is indeed such a culture of passive acceptance, but that’s not the root cause,” Isabelle said. “The fundamental reason is the ‘obedience’ encoded in their genes.”

“What do you mean?”

“The trait of ‘obedience’ is a result of genetic expression, just like dogs are born loyal and cats are born rebellious. Every human born in this laboratory has an ‘obedience’ sequence added to their genes, along with a set of ‘regulatory’ genes. If the ‘obedience’ trait isn’t expressed in a subject, the regulatory genes activate, causing the subject’s organs to fail and leading to death.”

“Every child born in this laboratory has had special genetic sequences added to them, to varying degrees. For example, that manager you met, he claimed to be a natural human, but in reality, a ‘loyalty’ sequence was artificially added to his genes. That’s why the government trusted him to manage this factory.”

Thinking of the portly man who had shot himself, Yu Ke felt a shadow of gloom settle over her heart.

She couldn’t afford to waste too much time here. She still needed to find the manager’s daughter and keep her promise to take her away from this planet.

“Everyone born on this planet has the ‘obedience’ sequence added to their genes.”

“What are you trying to say with all this?” Yu Ke grew restless. “Was something added to Lan Xing’s genes?”

“I don’t know. Just by looking, even a god couldn’t tell,” Isabelle replied.

Yu Ke kicked the lab cabinet in frustration and snapped, “Then why are you spouting nonsense and trying to scare us?”

“I’m not spouting nonsense,” Isabelle said coldly. “Any species that comes out of this laboratory has definitely had their genes edited.”

“What about me? You personally modified me. Did you add anything else when you were working on me?”

“If I had, your mother would have noticed immediately,” Isabelle said patiently, walking over to a rectangular instrument and gesturing for the two to approach. “This is a gene sequencer. Please give me samples of your tissue fluid. I’ll sequence your genes for you.”

Both hesitated. Lan Xing whispered, ” Isabelle, we still need to find the manager’s little daughter. Sequencing will take a long time, right? Maybe we shouldn’t do it now.”

“It won’t take long.”

They fell into silence. In that moment, Yu Ke’s mind raced with thoughts. She wasn’t particularly concerned about her own genetic sequence; she was just overly worried about Lan Xing.

Isabelle had used the phrase “first, think about how to survive” when referring to Lan Xing.

But for Yu Ke, Isabelle had said, “An outstanding female Alpha.”

Isabelle was a brilliant scientist who had lived for over a hundred years. Her words… Yu Ke found it hard not to believe her.

After weighing her options, Yu Ke gently tugged at Lan Xing’s hand and said softly, “My dear Lan Xing, why don’t you stay here and get sequenced? I’ll go look for the manager’s daughter. Is that alright?”

Lan Xing had been hesitant before, but hearing this, her frown deepened.

She wanted to have her genes sequenced, but she didn’t want to do it in front of Yu Ke.

A person’s genetic sequence contained all their information. What if it revealed diseases or a short lifespan? The thought felt embarrassing.

Yu Ke must have sensed her concern, which was why she suggested splitting up to avoid the situation.

She had always respected Lan Xing’s privacy.

Seeing that Lan Xing didn’t object, Yu Ke said, “Wait for me here. Once I find the person, I’ll come back for you immediately. Don’t go anywhere. If this place becomes unsafe, find a way to escape. We’ll meet at the hotel, or head directly to the ‘Princess’ to regroup.”

She had considered every possible scenario but still felt uneasy. Glancing at Isabel, she lowered her voice and said to Lan Xing, “Don’t trust her too much.”

Lan Xing nodded.

Isabelle pointed her to another elevator. When Yu Ke reached it, she found that the elevator only went to two floors.

The floor she was currently on was labeled “R,” while the other two floors were “F” and “C.” Yu Ke pressed “F,” but the elevator didn’t respond. She then pressed “C,” and the elevator began ascending vertically.

Ten seconds later, the doors opened to reveal a group of children. They were excitedly shouting “Isabelle’s” name, but the moment they saw Yu Ke, they froze. The cheers turned into shock and fear.

None of them recognized Yu Ke. Usually, only Isabelle used this elevator, so who was this person?

Yu Ke recognized one of the children, the little girl she and Lan Xing had encountered on their way to Floor -19. The girl was now nervously hiding behind an older child, her dark eyes fixed warily on Yu Ke.

“I’m here to find ‘Angel,’” Yu Ke said coldly, scanning the group. “Where is she?”

The children exchanged uneasy glances. Yu Ke’s gaze settled on the girl she had met before. “It’s you, isn’t it?”

“Did my father send you to pick me up? Where is he?” the girl asked loudly.

“He’s dead,” Yu Ke said, walking toward the children, her tone leaving no room for doubt. “He asked me to take you away from here. Come with me.”

Angel was startled. “You’re lying! How could my father be dead? He’s the boss here!”

Yu Ke frowned.

Truthfully, she had no patience for coaxing children. Only one thing occupied her mind.

Had Lan Xing’s genes really been edited?

What kind of gene sequence was it? Could there be a set of genes named “supervision” among them?

If it were discovered that Lan Xing was not faithfully carrying out orders, would those supervisory genes activate, causing the host’s organs to fail and leading to death?

How vicious.

The thought alone made it hard for Yu Ke to breathe.

When Lan Xing decided to run away with her, had she also considered this.

In the days to come, would she have to drift from place to place with Yu Ke, living in constant fear that she might die at any moment?

The children’s clamor snapped Yu Ke out of her thoughts. Seeing Angel’s breakdown, she strode over, grabbed the girl’s arm, and began pulling her back toward the elevator.

The other children were thrown into chaos. Some grabbed Angel from behind, shouting her name and kicking and hitting Yu Ke. Others rushed to hit her but ended up falling to the ground themselves, howling in pain. A few simply stood frozen, watching the scene unfold, too frightened and bursting into tears.

With the children pulling in all directions, Yu Ke grew increasingly irritated. She released Angel and asked, “Do you plan to stay here forever?”

Angel stared blankly, tears welling in her eyes. “What?”

“If you plan on staying here, fine, I won’t bother with you anymore. There’s chaos outside right now, workers could find this place at any moment. Hide yourself and stay safe.” Yu Ke turned around, truly leaving them behind without a second thought.

The children exchanged uneasy glances. As they calmed down, they realized Yu Ke might be their only hope.

Someone who came all the way here to find them probably wasn’t a bad person.

Seeing Yu Ke walk away without looking back, the children rushed after her. Anqi scrambled up from the floor, ran a few steps, and grabbed the hem of Yu Ke’s clothes, shouting, “You can’t abandon us!”

“Us?” Yu Ke was baffled by the word “us.”

She had only promised to take Angel away, the others weren’t her responsibility.

“Are all of you clones?” Yu Ke quickly scanned the group. There were about eleven or twelve children, the oldest around eleven or twelve, the youngest only two or three.

Several of the children nodded.

“Why aren’t you in the nutrient tanks?”

As soon as she asked the question, Yu Ke found it ridiculous.

Why should they be confined to nutrient tanks? How could humanity’s precious childhood be so easily stripped away?

Just thinking about the dreams she had as a child made Lan Xing so happy. If her own childhood had been richer, she would surely have lived a freer, happier life.

“Forget it,” Yu Ke said, her tone softening as she took Angel’s hand. “All of you, come with me.”

She figured she might as well find some companions for Lan Xing, so she wouldn’t feel so alone.

Children’s emotions shifted quickly, fear came and went in an instant. Frightened by the situation, they all followed Yu Ke into the elevator. No one dared to speak, and some were still sniffling.

Yu Ke glanced down at a chubby child who was still crying, his eyes red and puffy. When he met her gaze, he hiccupped in fright.

“Stop crying,” Yu Ke growled in a low, intimidating tone.

“You’re a bad person! I’m going to tell that sister about you, you’re a mean auntie bullying us!” Angel planted her hands on her hips and pointed angrily at Yu Ke.

Yu Ke: “…”