After The Mission Failed, The Scumbag Alpha Ran Away - Chapter 58

58: Execution Day (End)

For a moment, Lou Huaiche looked at Jiang Youbai, who was unrestrained and uninhibited, and felt a surge of unfamiliarity.

The Jiang Youbai she had seen was not the entirety of Jiang Youbai.

Jiang Youbai seemed to have completely shattered some kind of restraint, stepping out of the shadows, shedding the skin of her gentle smile, and casting out the most malicious parts of herself.

No need for pretense, no need for restraint.

She was radiant on the battlefield, fighting with abandon on this bloody night.

This was the real Jiang Youbai—youthful, reckless, and brimming with vigor.

At this moment, Lou Huaiche should have felt a sense of loss, or at least some hesitation.

After all, Jiang Youbai had always been full of lies, her words a mix of truth and falsehood, with barely a shred of honesty in ten sentences. She appeared to reveal everything openly, yet she always kept a few cards close to her chest, making it impossible for anyone to truly see her.

But Lou Huaiche didn’t feel that way. Instinctively, she believed that when Jiang Youbai had agreed to die with her that night, when she had said “okay” with her own mouth, it must have been the one truthful word in Jiang Youbai’s ten sentences.

Besides, Jiang Youbai had already rushed to the battlefield.

Rushed to the battlefield, rushed to death, rushed to Lou Huaiche’s side.

Lou Huaiche clenched her teeth, forcing back her tears. She steeled herself and fought her way to Jiang Youbai’s side, covering the openings left by Jiang Youbai’s wide, sweeping attacks.

As she kicked away an Imperial guard and fired a shot, Lou Huaiche raised her voice over the chaotic din of battle: “Your Highness! You came here—don’t you have anything else to say to me or ask me?”

This was a life-or-death moment, likely the end for both of them.

Over a month ago, they had both agreed to leave their relationship as it was, to deal with the future when it came.

Now, there was no future.

So now was the time to talk about the future.

Lou Huaiche bared her teeth in a ferocious grin. “If you say no, I’ll stab you to death right now!”

The two were close. Jiang Youbai swung her laser sword, stepping closer to Lou Huaiche. She took a deep breath and roared, “Miss Lou, I do have something to ask you.”

The elegant and graceful Alpha effortlessly dealt with the encircling guards, raising her sword and decapitating two with a single stroke.

Jiang Youbai swallowed imperceptibly, narrowed her eyes, and asked softly, “That night—the night of the fireworks—what did you say to me?”

The scene was chaotic and noisy. Lou Huaiche couldn’t quite hear her: “Huh? What did you say? Speak up!”

Jiang Youbai’s voice grew even quieter: “The night of the fireworks, what did you say to me?”

Lou Huaiche knocked out a guard with the butt of her gun and turned to look at Jiang Youbai.

Then, she noticed a faint blush spreading across Jiang Youbai’s face. When Jiang Youbai realized Lou Huaiche was looking, she awkwardly averted her gaze, pretending to focus on the fight.

Lou Huaiche quickly understood.

Damn it, Jiang Youbai was *blushing*.

Lou Huaiche was momentarily speechless. In the midst of this unpredictable, perilous battlefield, she kicked away another guard and wiped her face, trying to convince herself not to actually stab Jiang Youbai to death.

“Damn it.”

Lou Huaiche grabbed Jiang Youbai, pulling her aside to dodge a joint attack from two guards. Furious, she shouted, “Are you seriously *blushing*? What the hell are you blushing for? Speak up! We’re about to die! Can you stop dawdling?!”

A guard lunged at Jiang Youbai from behind. Jiang Youbai drove her elbow back hard, then ducked half her body to avoid another frontal attack.

Jiang Qingxian didn’t care about the guards dying in the wheel of battle tactics. They fell like harvested wheat, one wave after another, endlessly surrounding them. Jiang Qingxian’s goal was clear: Jiang Youbai’s life.

At this rate, death in battle was only a matter of time.

Realizing this, Jiang Youbai hardened her heart and raised her voice to ask Lou Huaiche, “The night of the fireworks—what were you trying to say to me? Can you say it again tonight?”

Lou Huaiche wielded her laser sword in one hand, executing a beautiful flourish that carved a circle in the air, blocking the guards surrounding them.

With her other hand, she roughly grabbed Jiang Youbai, cupped the back of her neck, and kissed her lips—brief but firm.

Their lips met, then parted as they were immediately dragged back into the fray. As she fought the Imperial guards, Lou Huaiche raised her voice to speak to Jiang Youbai.

“Jiang Youbai! I’ve long forgotten what I wanted to say that night, but today I’ll say this—”

“Tonight’s moonlight is beautiful, and so are you. I love you.”

The moment Lou Huaiche’s words fell, the golden energy shield covering the palace suddenly vanished, releasing a flurry of cold, drifting raindrops.

The faint golden glow disappeared abruptly, leaving only the distant, unextinguished flames and the light from the Federation’s laser weapons to pierce the thick night.

Jiang Youbai looked up at the pitch-black sky but saw no moonlight.

She raised her hand, slashing her sword to kill another guard. Raindrops soaked her face and the strands of hair peeking out from under her helmet.

Jiang Youbai let out a low laugh. The fight had left her with a wound on her abdomen, and laughing tugged at it painfully. Yet she couldn’t help but smile.

Lou Huaiche always said *she* was the stubborn one, but right now, Lou Huaiche was the one being stubborn.

There was no moonlight tonight, and Jiang Youbai couldn’t possibly look beautiful.

These were the words Lou Huaiche had wanted to say that night of the fireworks.

In the rain, Jiang Qingxian frantically spoke to her subordinates: “What’s going on? Where’s the energy shield?”

“All units, hold your positions! Continue suppressing the fugitive Jiang Youbai!”

*Whoosh—*

A spotlight suddenly flared to life atop the hospital building.

Beside the spotlight stood a slender figure. The wind on the rooftop was fierce, tugging at his clothes and making him seem as though he might topple at any moment.

He lifted his chin with an air of arrogance, holding a megaphone in one hand. His voice carried a tone of domineering pride: “Hey! Everyone below—can you hear me?”

Jiang Qingxian looked up and couldn’t help but exclaim: “Ning Yunze—”

At the same time, Lou Huaiche jerked her head up: “Xiao Ning!”

Ning Yunze stood at the edge of the rooftop, surveying the scene below. He laughed loudly. “Jiang Qingxian, I turned off the energy shield. Do you know what the Empire’s people did to me?”

He stood at the very edge, as if he might fall at any moment. Jiang Qingxian ignored the ongoing battle at the hospital’s entrance and courtyard, rushing down the steps to shout at Ning Yunze from afar: “Ning Yunze, come down! It’s too high up there!”

Lou Huaiche stared at Ning Yunze.

Her goggles had a telescopic function, allowing her to see Ning Yunze clearly—and he was completely different from before.

His beautiful face was now twisted with malice and a startling, vivid fury.

Though his body was frail, an aura of psychic energy radiated from him, as if boundless power was stored within.

Ning Yunze looked at Jiang Qingxian and sneered. “Jiang Qingxian, do you know who would’ve been raped by those two subordinates of yours if Chi Ruo hadn’t been the one?”

Lou Huaiche’s heart lurched violently.

In every past life, she had died early. After her death, Ning Yunze might not have died immediately—something like this could very well have happened.

Or perhaps, in some lifetimes, she and Ning Yunze had been separated in the later stages, leaving her unable to protect him. Such things were entirely possible.

Jiang Qingxian’s breathing grew ragged. She had briefly been bound to the System and immediately understood what Ning Yunze was implying.

Her bl00d ran cold, freezing in her veins.

As the Crown Princess of the Empire, she had witnessed everything that had happened to Chi Ruo—even participated in it. She knew exactly what kind of humiliation and despair Ning Yunze had suffered.

Jiang Qingxian opened her mouth, her throat tight, but no words came out.

Rain fell. The Federation forces and Imperial guards continued their chaotic struggle. Ning Yunze grinned, his smile bordering on manic. “Then do you know what they did to me in the laboratory?”

His voice grew louder with each word: “Do you really not know? Jiang Qingxian—or are you just afraid to know? You’ve truly disappointed me! The Crown Princess I loved would *never* side with the Empire’s pigs, even if the whole world turned against her and she suffered endlessly!”

Amid the fighting crowd, Jiang Qingxian struggled to keep her footing, shoving aside several Imperial guards. The Crown Princess’s usual lofty demeanor was nowhere to be seen. “Ning Yunze, Ning Yunze—just come down first.”

Ning Yunze clung to the rooftop’s edge, megaphone in hand. “Let Jiang Youbai and the others go. Otherwise, I’ll jump right now.”

Jiang Qingxian fell silent.

Her silence was refusal. After a long standoff, Ning Yunze extended one foot over the edge, half his body now dangling in midair.

At the sight, Jiang Qingxian panicked. She ordered the guards: “Retreat! All units, retreat!”

Outside, rain poured. The old Emperor was dead. The capital was in turmoil, with unknown forces lurking everywhere. The most likely scenario was that they’d be wiped out by Federation forces stationed outside.

The royal hospital and laboratory were protected by energy shields. Jiang Qingxian ordered the guards to fall back inside.

The guards flooded into the hospital like a tidal wave.

At the same time, Lou Huaiche also commanded the Federation squad: “Retreat. Head outside.”

She tugged at Jiang Youbai and whispered, “I’ll leave the rest to you.”

Jiang Youbai looked up, puzzled, but given the circumstances, this was almost certainly about Ning Yunze. She nodded. “Don’t worry.”

She said to Lou Huaiche, “You and the others board the patrol aircraft first, then contact Lou Chuxue. The aircraft’s fuel should be enough to get us to the satellite. If there’s someone to meet us, even better.”

The guards retreated into the hospital. Jiang Qingxian stood in the courtyard, looking up at Ning Yunze with fragile sorrow in her eyes. She pleaded with him in a near-desperate voice: “Ning Yunze, come down. Please, just come down.”

Jiang Youbai stood outside the courtyard, sensing something amiss.

After both sides withdrew, the scent of bl00d was mostly washed away by the rain. Jiang Youbai faintly caught a strange odor.

It smelled like the pungent gas fuel commonly found throughout the Empire—a highly unstable substance prone to explosions and fires.

The smell wasn’t strong, meaning the gas wasn’t concentrated, but it was enough to blow a hole in the hospital and start a massive, uncontrollable fire.

Jiang Youbai’s brow twitched.

Ning Yunze, standing atop the building, suddenly burst into laughter. In his other hand, he held a remote control. He waved it, then pressed a button lightly.

With a deafening explosion, the corner of the building behind him collapsed, erupting into raging flames that quickly spread.

“You want me to come down?” he said arrogantly. “Fine. I’ll come down right now.”

Ning Yunze turned his back to Jiang Qingxian and jumped from the hospital’s rooftop.

As he fell, he looked up at the flames illuminating half the sky and smiled—a genuinely happy smile.

He had once envied Lou Huaiche deeply.

Lou Huaiche was a dagger, a blazing fire, capable of burning the entire corrupt Empire to ashes all on her own.

He had thought he could never become such a fire. Ning Yunze was a villain—in the original world’s storyline, he was the antagonist who, despite being oppressed, still upheld the Empire, all for the sake of becoming the Crown Princess’s consort.

But the real Ning Yunze had never accepted his identity as an Omega. He lacked Lou Huaiche’s courage to fight to the death and her strategic prowess.

Ning Yunze was an utterly ordinary person. Under his parents’ upbringing, he had only learned to read the room, instinctively pleasing everyone and following the path they laid out for him, never daring to rebel.

So Ning Yunze had made himself Lou Huaiche’s shadow. As long as the protagonist, the child of destiny, reached the pinnacle, his own mundane life would seem brilliant by association.

Now, Ning Yunze himself was a raging fire.

He could turn the tide, resist and devour the System at a critical moment, deactivate the energy shield, blow a hole in the palace, and set a great fire.

The utterly ordinary Ning Yunze now shone with a brilliance no less than the protagonist’s—without borrowing anyone else’s light.