After The Mission Failed, The Scumbag Alpha Ran Away - Chapter 54

54: Execution Day (2)

The wind howled in their ears, and the two moons overhead loomed infinitely large.

The sky was clear as a mirror, the moonlight stretching for miles.

Their figures were silhouetted under the moonlight. Chi Ruo had the illusion that she could reach out and pluck the stars from the sky.

Chi Ruo hooked her arm around Lou Chuxue’s shoulder and glanced down at her feet.

They were flying very high. All Chi Ruo could see below were the chaotic crowds and bl00d-stained mud amidst the brilliantly lit execution grounds.

It was different from what Chi Ruo had imagined. She had thought breaking free from this prison would be an arduous, near-impossible task—that the cage would be unyielding, unbreakable.

Yet here she was, escaping with such ease.

Her emotions, too, were not what she had expected.

Instead of the overwhelming joy or relief of finally breaking free, what she felt most was an unprecedented sense of liberation.

As if she were a weightless breeze, drifting freely through the world.

Lou Chuxue giggled brightly, her voice scattering into the wind: “Chi Ruo! Isn’t this fun?”

Chi Ruo laughed too, shouting back: “So much fun! I want to do this again someday!”

With most of the prison guards mobilized outside, the interior was left nearly unguarded. Almost no one noticed them as Lou Chuxue gracefully landed with Chi Ruo on the prison rooftop.

Lou Chuxue crouched down and beckoned mysteriously: “Chi Ruo, come look.”

Chi Ruo leaned in, their heads pressed close together.

The mech on Lou Huaiche’s wrist emitted a faint mechanical sound, rapidly transforming as a laser shot out.

Lou Chuxue traced a rough circle, and the rooftop obediently split open, a chunk of it crashing onto the floor below.

Chi Ruo clapped. “That’s amazing.”

Lou Chuxue grinned. “There’s also a thermal melting beam! I’ll show you later.”

Holding Chi Ruo, Lou Chuxue jumped through the hole in the roof and asked, “Which floor is Jiang Youbai on?”

Chi Ruo thought for a moment. “Should be just one floor below.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

Chi Ruo couldn’t take her eyes off Lou Chuxue’s mech. The suit was sleek and lightweight, its dark, matte-black surface gleaming with elegant lines.

When assembling, it emitted smooth, muted mechanical sounds, its mobility seemingly flawless—everything one could imagine from sci-fi fantasies.

Lou Chuxue demonstrated the thermal melting beam. A red-hot ray shot out, and the ceiling instantly melted into a gaping hole.

Lou Chuxue preened. “So much fun!”

Chi Ruo’s eyes sparkled. “A mech! Who could resist a mech?!”

The top floor of the prison was empty. The next floor down was the cellblock. Under the stunned gazes of prisoners and patrolling guards, the ceiling suddenly burned open, charred debris raining down as a petite Omega holding Chi Ruo dropped into their midst.

Chi Ruo landed and straightened up, only to find the guard standing before her was the very one who had threatened to take compromising photos of her. She walked over and patted the Alpha’s cheek. “Oh, you’re on duty tonight? What a coincidence.”

As Chi Ruo brushed past him, the guard’s pupils dilated, his body trembling violently with fear. Lou Chuxue’s mech morphed into a blade. Skipping alongside Chi Ruo, she raised her hand and slit the guard’s throat, then stabbed his heart and other vital spots for good measure.

Chi Ruo reached the end of the cellblock, where Jiang Youbai was already waiting for them.

Lou Chuxue retracted her mech and waved. “Jiang Youbai, step back.”

Jiang Youbai moved aside as Lou Chuxue’s mech extended a thin barrel, firing a laser that cleanly cut through the wall.

At the same time, she tapped her earpiece: “C-003, come to my current coordinates for extraction.”

Jiang Youbai stared intently at Lou Chuxue’s mech.

Lou Chuxue raised her hand, easily reaching the ceiling. She twirled in a circle, showing off: “So? Isn’t it cool?”

Jiang Youbai marveled. “It’s beautiful! I want one too.”

Lou Chuxue shook her head. “The entire Federation only made two of these. They require extensive training to use, and the energy consumption is insane. They’re only authorized for special ops! You’ll have to wait.”

Jiang Youbai’s eyes gleamed. “That’s fine. I can wait.”

Jiang Qingxian reacted swiftly. Realizing the Federation’s diversion was meant to rescue Jiang Youbai next, she immediately dispatched all remaining guards to the prison.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed from below.

Lou Chuxue grinned. “Alright, enough talk. The shuttle’s here—let’s go!”

She blasted another hole in the prison roof. A black shuttle hovered above, its hatch open, a spotlight shining down.

Lou Chuxue grabbed Jiang Youbai with one hand and Chi Ruo with the other, leaping up and tossing them both inside before scrambling in herself. “Close the hatch! Now!”

The Federation’s combat shuttle was nearly spherical, its interior brightly lit. As Jiang Youbai stood up, her vision filled with a massive, ever-shifting holographic display.

She froze for a moment.

From the outside, the shuttle’s hull blended into the environment with a muted black hue. But from within, it was entirely transparent, offering a 360° view of the outside world.

Jiang Youbai looked down. Jiang Qingxian and her guards were firing at the shuttle, their bullets harmlessly bouncing off.

The scenery below shrank rapidly as the shuttle ascended at incredible speed.

Jiang Youbai exhaled in awe. “Incredible.”

The shuttle’s crew wore full-body armor and goggles. Among them were several Betas Jiang Youbai recognized from the Lower Districts.

One passed by and overheard her, muttering in complaint: “Impressive, right? We had to dismantle a few of the Empire’s patrol shuttles just to keep this thing running. Otherwise, we couldn’t even afford the energy costs.”

Jiang Youbai: “That broke?”

The Beta shrugged. “Hey, you know what? The energy sources Miss Chi provided could power our entire military for five years.”

Jiang Youbai: “…”

Chi Ruo: “…”

They spoke in unison: “Yeah, that’s pretty broke.”

Jiang Youbai added, “I even consolidated mine and Chi Ruo’s assets—70% went to buying all kinds of energy modules from the Empire, 30% to other resources. We drove up the prices flipping them back and forth, even got caught by Jiang Qingxian and lost some of it.”

The Beta whistled. “Damn. Rich enough to rival a nation.”

From inside the shuttle, the transparency of the hull created the illusion of standing on a floating platform, soaring forward.

Jiang Qingxian had already given chase, her patrol shuttles hot on their tail.

An Omega officer sat before the holographic display, monitoring and issuing commands in a calm, steady voice: “Insufficient energy. Starting at 08:46, decelerate at 200 km/h. Expected to match speed with the Empire’s first patrol shuttle by 08:48.”

“At 08:48, estimated 30 seconds to dismantle the patrol shuttle for energy replenishment. After 08:48:30, accelerate at 500 km/h toward coordinates (43°51′39.02, 0°).”

She methodically relayed orders, and the operators responded in turn: “Copy that!”

The crew was a balanced mix of genders and secondary genders. Chi Ruo’s eyes widened as she took them in, tears welling up.

The scene was breathtaking. The transparent hull framed the sky, the Empire’s nightscape, the pursuing patrol shuttles—it felt like standing atop the river of time, racing toward the dawn.

Chi Ruo’s breath hitched, tears streaming down her face.

She hadn’t cried since childhood.

Tears were useless. She had long since dried them all up, left with nothing but hollow numbness and rage, like countless other Omegas and Betas in the Empire.

But now, Chi Ruo couldn’t hold back.

Jiang Youbai stood beside her, whispering, “Chi Ruo, this is the result of your efforts.”

The shuttle slowed, completing the energy replenishment from the dismantled patrol shuttle in under two minutes before accelerating again.

Chi Ruo let out a sob.

Lou Chuxue, who had been gleefully fiddling with her mech, finally noticed Chi Ruo’s tears. She tilted her head curiously. “Chi Ruo, why are you crying?”

Chi Ruo bit her lip, slowly crouching down to bury her face in her arms as her quiet sobs grew louder.

The years of pent-up fury and despair, mingled with this radiant hope, spilled out as scalding tears and broken whimpers.

Jiang Youbai crouched beside her, patting her back.

Lou Chuxue, after a moment’s thought, wrapped her arms around Chi Ruo from behind: “Chi Ruo, don’t cry! We’ve got weapons to hand out later! We still have to fight. Don’t cry, don’t cry—”

Chi Ruo, crushed and nearly strangled, gasped for air.

“Cough! Lou Chuxue, let go!”

Jiang Youbai hastily pulled Lou Chuxue away. “Little General, go contact Lou Huaiche. I’ll stay with Chi Ruo. Don’t choke her to death.”

Lou Chuxue pouted, stepping back with her hands behind her back, not daring to interfere further.

Jiang Youbai sat cross-legged on the floor, propping her chin on her hand. “Chi Ruo, cry all you need.”

“It’s okay to grieve. We haven’t had a proper talk in so long—today’s a good chance.” She patted Chi Ruo’s head. “It took me a long time to learn this: to truly live, we must grieve and cry, laugh and rejoice. Only then are we alive.”

Chi Ruo sniffled, resting her head on Jiang Youbai’s shoulder as she wept.

Jiang Youbai stroked her hair. “Chi Ruo, we weren’t alive before. We were machines, tools, puppets—anything but living people.”

“But not anymore. No matter how long it takes.”

The combat shuttle soared over the Empire, racing toward the bright moon, piercing through the light.

Jiang Youbai suddenly remembered Lou Huaiche’s words. She said to Chi Ruo, “No matter the outcome, it will be a happy ending.”

Chi Ruo clutched her clothes, crying openly now. Between sobs, she choked out, “Jiang Youbai… it was so hard. So, so hard. But we finally escaped.”

Jiang Youbai gazed calmly at the radiant sky ahead. “Yeah, it was hard. But we made it out.”

For twenty years, they had clung to each other like this, surviving in the shadows of darkness, schemes, and life-and-death struggles. Twisting together, pulling each other up, drowning in the suffocating gloom only to claw their way out again.

At last, they had escaped.

Together.

No more barriers between them.