After The Mission Failed, The Scumbag Alpha Ran Away - Chapter 51

51: Chi Ruo – Warm Greetings

The old emperor interrogated Jiang Youbai for four or five extra days. He locked Jiang Youbai alone in the interrogation room with him, forbidding anyone from eavesdropping or monitoring.

The old emperor was elderly and mentally unstable, often unable to distinguish between hallucinations and reality. He paced anxiously around the room, muttering incessantly: “You think just because you’re an Alpha, the Crown Princess, the throne is yours?”

His withered fingers trembled as he pointed at Jiang Youbai, laughing intermittently: “What’s the use? Didn’t I still drag you down? You’ll never win against me in this lifetime!”

Jiang Youbai watched the agitated, deranged old emperor coldly.

He kept rambling: “Alpha, ha! What’s so great about being an Alpha? I’ve done so much better than you—why shouldn’t the throne be mine?”

“Alpha, Alpha! Useless Crown Princess!”

After a while, the old emperor seemed to suddenly regain clarity. He leaned in close to Jiang Youbai, pinching her cheeks neurotically as he demanded: “How did you die and come back to life? Speak!”

A cold smile curled at Jiang Youbai’s lips: “Your Majesty, I am not Jiang Youbai.”

“You have to be her!” The old emperor flew into a rage. He took a few steps back, his voice hoarse and icy, pacing back and forth in the room. Shadows of the former Crown Princess and Jiang Youbai seemed to flicker everywhere. He swung his fists at the air: “You are her, you are her!”

“You’re all her, you’re all here to steal my throne—Alpha, Alpha! I won’t lose to you, I won’t lose to you!”

Jiang Youbai sat in the interrogation chair, her hands and feet shackled with laser restraints. The slightest movement sent a searing pain through her limbs.

Zzzzt, zzzzt.

The sound of the laser restraints mixed with the old emperor’s frantic footsteps as he muttered to himself: “I know, I know.”

His gaunt face suddenly turned toward Jiang Youbai: “You want to live alone, don’t you? Want to steal my throne? I’ll kill you—”

The old emperor lunged at Jiang Youbai. She raised her hands, extending the laser restraints to block him.

The old emperor crashed into the restraints, the stench of burning flesh filling the air. Jiang Youbai lowered her eyes slightly, unwilling to watch his frenzied state.

Before being imprisoned, she had a personal terminal and communicator from the Federation implanted in her hand, connected to her nerve endings. It could transmit information directly to her brain, forming images.

Jiang Youbai had once wondered if this technology could also transmit brainwaves to the terminal, creating mechanical intelligence.

Lou Huaiche had explained: “Translating human thoughts into accurate information via brainwaves is still difficult. There were attempts to convert brainwaves into text, but they failed. Only simple words can be translated by identifying patterns, and even then, the accuracy is low.”

To activate the terminal, one had to press the corresponding muscle or use voice commands. Because it was connected to nerve endings, those skilled could manipulate their nervous system to activate it directly.

But Lou Chuxue said this ability was evolved and inherited. People like Jiang Youbai and Lou Huaiche from the Empire might never learn it.

The old emperor’s skin was burned by the laser restraints, and a few drops of bl00d fell onto Jiang Youbai’s wrist.

Enraged, the old emperor began cursing. Jiang Youbai stared at the bl00d on her wrist and suddenly thought of something. Ignoring the searing pain, she pressed lightly on the skin where the terminal was implanted.

A panel popped up, hovering before her eyes.

Unable to control it directly via nerve endings, she had to focus her gaze, letting the terminal interpret her intent to open specific functions.

After a few minutes of fumbling, she finally accessed the DNA identification feature.

A few seconds later, the terminal displayed the result:

[Confirmed biological relationship between Subject 01 and Subject 01-2.]

Jiang Youbai looked up at the old emperor, who was now clutching his head in pain one moment and stomping in fury the next. A sense of absurd hilarity rose in her.

She even felt a bit of schadenfreude.

The old emperor had spent his life in the shadow of his Alpha sister and his own Beta identity. Yet, in his old age, he went to great lengths to produce an Alpha heir—both to placate the Alpha nobility and to cultivate a successor.

And that Alpha heir turned out to be Jiang Youbai, the very person he had hated for decades.

Jiang Youbai couldn’t help but curl her lips into a smile. Her laughter grew louder, tinged with manic delight and malice.

As she laughed, she glanced at the old emperor, who was frozen in shock at her outburst, and sneered: “Pathetic.”

The old emperor slipped back into hallucinations and memories. This time, he quieted down, as if deaf to Jiang Youbai’s voice, murmuring to himself: “Sister, you were the one who treated me best. But why was it you? Why did you take everything from me?”

“I cherished our bond and didn’t destroy you completely. But you—why did you have to leave behind a bastard when you were about to die?”

“Why? Why steal my throne? It’s mine! You told me the throne belongs to the capable and virtuous—so why can’t it be mine? Why? Why—”

Jiang Youbai, the “bastard” in his words, spared a glance at the rare moment of vulnerability in the old emperor. She closed her eyes to rest, no longer interested in his pitiful, disheveled state.

Occasionally, the old emperor would reminisce about his past with the former Crown Princess in a nostalgic tone, subtly implying that Jiang Youbai owed her life to that lingering affection.

Jiang Youbai had always dismissed it as nonsense.

But now, it seemed there was truth to his words.

Yet, no matter how close they had been, the natural divide between Alpha and Beta—and the temptation of imperial power—had torn them apart.

Jiang Youbai was growing impatient. The old emperor hadn’t tortured her, but after days of confinement, she was eager to get to prison to find Chi Ruo.

If this dragged on, she’d go mad before the old emperor did.

After two more days of fruitless interrogation, the old emperor, in a rare moment of lucidity, grew deeply fearful of the resurrected and ordered Jiang Youbai imprisoned in the maximum-security facility.

Jiang Youbai let out a sigh of relief.

A week of waiting—long enough to make her consider fighting the old emperor—and she was finally being tossed into prison.

Both Chi Ruo and Jiang Youbai were death-row inmates, with execution dates close enough for the prison to house them together, separated only by iron bars.

Laser restraints weren’t needed in prison. The guards replaced them with electronic tracking locks and shoved Jiang Youbai roughly into her cell.

As soon as she entered, she saw Chi Ruo lounging on the single bed in the opposite cell, legs crossed.

Over a month since their last meeting, all of Chi Ruo’s wounds had healed.

Convicted of violent homicide, the guards had strapped her into a restraint suit.

It was useless against Chi Ruo, who couldn’t care less about obedience. She’d tossed the white restraint suit on the floor and now sat on the bed in a tank top and shorts, wrapped in a blanket.

Chi Ruo’s short, permed curls had grown out, framing her shoulders. Jiang Youbai noted her rosy complexion and energetic demeanor—clearly, she hadn’t suffered much recently.

Spotting Jiang Youbai, Chi Ruo propped her chin on her hand and whistled, her tone adopting a strange, unplaceable accent: “Well, well, fancy meeting you here. Guess it’s fate, huh?”

She swung her legs, radiating vitality.

Jiang Youbai: “…”

She asked Chi Ruo: “How’s your health?”

Chi Ruo pondered: “I’ll be honest—don’t get mad. Without mountains of work or unpaid labor for you, my routine here’s been healthy. My shoulder pain’s even gone.”

Jiang Youbai: “…”

“I meant your Omega hormonal imbalance and whether your injuries were treated.”

Chi Ruo clapped her hands: “That orphan Jiang Qingxian—she’s ruthless, I tell you. But for all her ruthlessness, she gave me meds and didn’t make trouble for me. I’ve been eating and sleeping well here.”

She paused: “Can’t call her an orphan—forgot I’m one too. Whatever, you get the idea.”

In just a few sentences, Chi Ruo cycled through three different accents, none of them accurate, sounding utterly bizarre.

Jiang Youbai hesitated, feeling like this lifelong friend of hers had suddenly become a stranger.

Just then, a patrol guard passed by—a tall, handsome male Alpha.

Chi Ruo immediately kicked off her blanket, barefoot, and pressed against the transparent wall, letting out a long whistle.

The patrol route was short, circling their cells. Chi Ruo crooked a finger at the Alpha, her tone downright lewd: “Hey, sweetheart, here to see me again? Damn, your ass looks even perkier today—nice.”

The patrol team consisted of several guards, all of whom turned to scrutinize the Alpha’s backside.

The Alpha’s face twisted, but prison rules forbade guards from speaking to death-row inmates. He could only fume silently and continue his rounds.

Undeterred, Chi Ruo blew him a loud, exaggerated kiss: “Don’t be shy! You’ve got the best ass in this prison—own it!”

Jiang Youbai had always known Chi Ruo was adaptable and resilient, thriving like a weed in any environment. She’d always been good at entertaining herself, but this spectacle gave Jiang Youbai pause.

She asked Chi Ruo: “Do you just chat up anyone when you’re bored?”

Chi Ruo turned, swaying smugly: “What else? I’m teaching these Alphas a lesson. They think they’re hot stuff, but when an Omega like me sizes them up, they can’t do a thing. So satisfying.”

“Besides, my comments are nothing compared to the filth Alphas spew. This is just harmless fun.”

Jiang Youbai wanted to discuss serious matters: “Come here, we need to talk.”

Chi Ruo ignored her, hands on hips, critiquing every guard who passed—sometimes even rallying distant inmates to join in.

“Ladies, am I right or am I right?”

Other prisoners chimed in, casting subtle glances at the guards, who grew increasingly uncomfortable.

“So right. Queen Chi’s got taste!”

The maximum-security prison housed formidable inmates, many privy to state secrets. The guards could only shout for order, not risk provoking them.

Chi Ruo, egged on by the guards’ reprimands, turned up the volume:

“Hey, Sister Lan, not into today’s Alphas? Picky, huh?”

The inmate dubbed “Sister Lan” yelled back: “Meh, not my type!”

Jiang Youbai covered her face.

She wanted to laugh but knew she shouldn’t. Chi Ruo shot her a look and beckoned: “Come on, join in! You’re so good at sweet-talking noble Omegas—say something spicy!”