After The Mission Failed, The Scumbag Alpha Ran Away - Chapter 18

18: Ms. Jiang, Please Contact Miss Lou Yourself

Chi Ruo’s legs were weak, and she half-kneeled beside Jiang Youbai’s stretcher bed, her voice trembling as she reached out to touch Jiang Youbai’s hair. “What… what happened?”

Jiang Youbai’s voice was faint, barely audible. “It’s nothing, Chi Ruo. Just take me back for now.”

The palace attendants and imperial physicians helped push Jiang Youbai onto the aircraft.

Chi Ruo said, “I can handle it alone. Thank you all for your hard work. You may return now.”

Once everyone had left, Chi Ruo closed the aircraft door and lowered her voice. “What the hell happened?”

Jiang Youbai replied, “My uncle hit me with a flowerpot. It struck my collarbone—bone fracture. It’s not serious. I’ve already had an injection. With medical technology these days, a fracture will heal in about ten days.”

Chi Ruo’s face twisted with suppressed fury. She raised her voice to curse—

Then she remembered they were still at the palace gates and forced herself to lower her voice, grinding out each word through clenched teeth. “What kind of bullshit is this! Your uncle is trying to kill you?”

Jiang Youbai coughed weakly. “He suspects I killed the imperial grandson. He probably wanted to test my reaction in a sudden situation. You know how my uncle is—he doesn’t care about evidence anymore.”

Chi Ruo was seething. Without thinking, she kicked Jiang Youbai’s stretcher bed. “He just won’t tolerate you anymore. Why does he suspect you? He has four children—aren’t the other two suspicious at all?”

The bed slid forward from the kick, startling Jiang Youbai, who paled on the spot. “My uncle didn’t kill me, but you’re about to.”

Chi Ruo pulled the bed back and snapped, “Stop whining! You know I kick things when I’m pissed. Don’t act like it’s a big deal—you’ve had painkillers. It didn’t even hit the injury, so quit exaggerating.”

“Just take me back to rest. My uncle will keep investigating this. He won’t let it go until he finds the killer.”

Chi Ruo fell silent for a few seconds before saying darkly, “Then we’ll just have to find him a killer.”

Jiang Youbai was finally free.

Since turning twenty and reaching adulthood, Jiang Youbai had been constantly busy. Before her secondary gender manifested, she was preparing for life as an Alpha. After manifesting and being bound to the system, a series of unexpected events followed. Other than the few days of house arrest after the imperial grandson’s death, she hadn’t had more than two days off in total.

Unexpectedly, getting hit by the emperor turned out to be a blessing in disguise—she now had at least a month of leave.

But she couldn’t afford to relax during this month. After resting for two days, she was back to work.

The old emperor wanted to find the killer while also ordering her to pursue a romantic relationship with a suitable Omega. On top of that, the long-absent system had returned, immediately urging her:

“Host, the progress of the villain’s corruption has stalled. Please take action as soon as possible, or I will impose penalties accordingly.”

“That might not be possible right now,” Jiang Youbai said coolly. “My uncle suspects I killed the imperial grandson, and the succession struggle—”

The system interrupted impatiently, “Host, recognize your mission. Your sole purpose is to catalyze the villain’s corruption. Everything else is irrelevant. Do not divert your attention to trivial matters.”

Trivial matters.

Jiang Youbai turned the phrase over in her mind.

Everything she had lived for since birth, the efforts and even lives sacrificed by many—in the system’s words, it was all insignificant, unworthy of attention.

Moreover, its tone was impatient. For an AI, its reactions were far too human-like.

“But with this hanging over me, I can’t focus on corrupting the villain. If I’m convicted, the emperor will execute me outright.”

The system scoffed. “What’s the big deal? I can handle this for you.”

Jiang Youbai’s heart skipped a beat. The system’s existence was enigmatic, more harmful than helpful. But if it could assist her in this—or other matters—its presence might be an invaluable opportunity.

Recalling how the system hadn’t responded when she called for it days ago, Jiang Youbai smiled warmly. “If you can resolve this, that would be perfect. I tried contacting you a few days ago, but you didn’t respond.”

The system said, “I was with another host at the time. In the future, you can request emergency contact through the panel below. For this matter, I’ll need two days to resolve it.”

Another host.

Jiang Youbai mentally noted this detail and said gratefully, “That’s wonderful.”

The system delivered on its promise. Two days later, the emperor’s special task force found key evidence in the imperial grandson’s murder.

At the border between the lower and upper districts, a livestreamer with fewer than ten followers had captured footage of the incident. The video showed the imperial grandson harassing an Omega whose face and figure were unclear. The Omega seized the opportunity to knock him unconscious.

The footage was dark and blurry, shot from a distance, and magnified several times to make out the imperial grandson’s actions. The livestreamer had almost no viewers, and the task force stumbled upon the video by chance.

The livestreamer was quickly located and questioned. They hadn’t noticed the incident that night, and the imperial family’s privacy was heavily protected—they didn’t even recognize the victim as a royal.

The task force then tried to identify the Omega in the video.

However, surveillance in the lower districts was sparse compared to the upper districts. The imperial grandson had disabled his terminal’s GPS, and the Omega’s features weren’t clearly visible. The case stalled there.

The old emperor relaxed.

Once he confirmed the incident wasn’t a targeted attack on the royal family, he lost interest in pursuing the killer.

Who the killer was didn’t matter. Losing a grandson didn’t matter. What mattered was whether his own safety was threatened.

Chi Ruo asked Jiang Youbai, “What’s going on? Did you do this? I was still looking for a scapegoat—how is it already resolved?”

Jiang Youbai replied, “I’m not sure. Maybe someone else handled it.”

Jiang Youbai was stunned by the system’s efficiency and capability.

The livestreamer’s broadcast was real, but that particular clip was fabricated. Despite the era’s advanced technology, the system had seamlessly inserted a flawless fake video—nothing short of miraculous.

If the system was so powerful, why couldn’t it engineer an accident to trigger Lou Huaichen’s corruption directly?

Why did it have to be her corrupting Lou Huaichen?

Suspicions swirled in Jiang Youbai’s mind. She decided to visit Lou Huaichen, fulfilling her promise to the system in the process.

Lou Huaiche had recently joined a film shoot. If Jiang Youbai wanted to see her, she’d have to visit the set.

It was early summer, and the capital’s weather was pleasant, the air fresh with spring’s lingering touch. Jiang Youbai ordered a bouquet and had the prince’s residence driver take her to the set.

Before leaving, she messaged Lou Huaiche but received no reply.

When she arrived at the filming location and stated her purpose, she was stopped at the entrance.

A staff member even gave her a disdainful look. “Ms. Lou is filming right now. She didn’t mention any young Alpha coming to see her. You’ll have to contact her yourself.”

Jiang Youbai: “…”

From the staff’s gaze, she oddly sensed contempt and scorn—as if she were some gold-digging gigolo.

Jiang Youbai sent Lou Huaiche a message: “Ms. Lou, come out and get me.”