Villainous Scientist (3)
Song Xuyi didn’t understand why the system at the door malfunctioned when scanning Jiang Qianyu, but since Jiang Qianyu appeared so much younger than herself, it was hard to believe she could be 35 years old. Song Xuyi didn’t dwell too much on this incident.
The transport spacecraft they were on was a three-story, mid-sized cargo vessel. The crew members resided on the bottom layer, the middle layer served as the passenger hold, and the captain’s quarters were situated on the top layer.
Song Xuyi and her party were housed on the middle deck.
By now, everyone tacitly accepted Jiang Qianyu as Song Xuyi’s Omega. Although it was unclear why Song Xuyi hadn’t marked Jiang Qianyu, the two were still arranged to share a room together.
Observing the setup in Song Xuyi’s room, the old servants who had entered with her soon revealed their dissatisfaction.
Although the room was grandiosely referred to as a “VIP chamber,” the amenities within were not impressive. Beyond the essential furniture, there were only two hibernation pods, which to the servants accustomed to grandeur, seemed incredibly shabby.
At the time of paying the deposit, they certainly didn’t witness this decrepit ship…
But they also understood that times had changed, and now they could only live humbly. Ever since Song Xuyi relinquished her role as Marshal, the news of her severe injuries had been leaked by someone, stirring up enemies eager to move against her. Sensing trouble, the savvy transport ship companies were too afraid to get involved, one after another rejecting Song Xuyi’s requests. It took a great deal of effort for Song Xuyi to find this obscure cargo shipping company…
Throughout the boarding process of their group, the ship’s staff was nowhere to be seen. Only a Beta crew member with a face covered in meaty wrinkle-lines came out to count the passengers.
After ensuring everyone was present, the crew member took out a whistle and blew a sharp, long note, signaling that the entire ship slowly began to stir to life—
Sensing Song Xuyi’s gaze, Jiang Qianyu’s lips quickly lost their smile, her eyes growing icy. When she lifted her head to look at Song Xuyi, a clear wave of caution flashed through them.
Pretending not to notice the wariness in Jiang Qianyu’s eyes, Song Xuyi spread her hands in a nonchalant gesture, signaling for her to put on the gravity suit.
Space travel is far riskier than the normal kind, especially with the scourge of the Insect Race. The safety mechanisms of the ship’s gravity suits are somewhat intricate, requiring several buttons to be securely fastened.
(Originally translated on littlepandatranslations.com, let's go!)
In Song Xuyi’s experience, the method to secure these gravity suit buttons was common knowledge, even among children. However, Jiang Qianyu at her side had tried for a long time without success.
Watching Jiang Qianyu’s clumsy attempts, a suspicion slowly took shape in Song Xuyi’s mind: could this be Jiang Qianyu’s first time in the passenger cabin of a spaceship?
In this world, Omegas are restricted from traveling alone: an Omega who wishes to go out must be accompanied by an Alpha.
And an Omega without an Alpha to accompany them can only resort to the black market “smuggling” — being placed in a large cargo container stowed with goods, tucked into the airtight, oxygen-deprived cabin, and transported to their desired destination on dilapidated cargo spaceships.
The space pirate gang that the original body had encountered when they first met Jiang Qianyu was incidentally also involved in the smuggling business.
Connecting all the dots, Song Xuyi felt a tinge of complexity in her heart: confined to travel within a container, Jiang Qianyu naturally couldn’t see the space outside the spacecraft, nor was aware of the gravity suit…
Meanwhile, Jiang Qianyu was still struggling to put on the gravity suit beside her. Even though she didn’t speak, her eyebrows were deeply furrowed, clearly running out of patience.
Aware of Jiang Qianyu’s inner resistance to her, Song Xuyi didn’t bother helping Jiang Qianyu with her gravity suit straps. After some thought, she purposefully knocked a water cup onto the floor. Song Xuyi then undid her own gravity suit to pick up the cup and, after retrieving it, she reclined in her chair, suit re-secured, and closed her eyes to rest her mind…
Not long after closing her eyes, a soft ‘click’ sounded from beside her; clearly, the neighboring Jiang Qianyu had observed Song Xuyi’s actions and finally managed to put on her own gravity suit.
Song Xuyi internally breathed a sigh of relief.
She wasn’t actually sleepy at that moment. The reason she shut her eyes was because of Jiang Qianyu’s obvious desire not to be observed, and Song Xuyi wasn’t interested in annoying her. Closing her eyes, she found, was surprisingly more comfortable…
However, perhaps because she had been under such tight strain recently, as she relaxed, Song Xuyi didn’t notice when she truly fell asleep.
Song Xuyi was awakened by Jiang Qianyu.
Beside her, the light brain ‘buzzed’ into action, displaying a notification for an incoming communication.
Song Xuyi clicked to accept and received a call from the spaceship captain Huang Fu.
Captain Huang Fu is a Beta who lost one of his legs, approximately in his fifties, with a somewhat unimpressive appearance. He claimed to be an old subordinate of Song Xuyi’s father and had to retire after losing his leg, later joining a spaceship company as a captain. It was because of this connection that Huang Fu was willing to take on the business Song Xuyi offered.
Huang Fu arranged to meet Song Xuyi in the captain’s quarters on the third level.
After the communication ended, Song Xuyi glanced at Jiang Qianyu beside her.
It was evident that Jiang Qianyu had no intention of accompanying Song Xuyi to meet Huang Fu. She continued to write something on the light brain, not even lifting her head when Song Xuyi left.
Song Xuyi ascended to the third floor and knocked on the captain’s office door.
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Almost the moment the door opened, several gusts of wind, as though with tangible force, struck towards Song Xuyi!
Song Xuyi hastily dodged. Combat was an instinct of this body, but the agility of her body had diminished greatly, reducing her responsiveness. Even though Song Xuyi resisted with all her might, she was quickly subdued by Huang Fu—it didn’t take long for him to have a firm grip on her neck.
“What do you want?”
Song Xuyi frowned at Huang Fu: She knew Huang Fu might have had ulterior motives when he took on her case, but at this point, she was left with no choice but to walk a path fraught with hazards, as though seeking a tiger’s skin. However, she hadn’t anticipated that this Beta would be so skilled; even a regular Alpha would fare poorly in his clutches, let alone her current self.
The strength in Huang Fu’s hand gripping her neck was immense, yet it did not tighten further, suggesting he wasn’t intent on taking her life.
As Song Xuyi observed Huang Fu, he, too, scrutinized her expression carefully. Many would not withstand the demoralization of going from a top-tier Alpha to being unable to overpower a Beta. They would give in to despair and become self-destructive. But Song Xuyi’s gaze was clear and steady; she seemed undisturbed by the setback.
“It seems the news of the Marshal’s severe injury is true; today, even an old wretch like me can best you.” Huang Fu slowly released his grip on Song Xuyi, a shrewd light flickering in his eyes: “My cargo hold has already been breached by three groups of people who aim to kill you.”
“Why doesn’t the Marshal make a prediction? Based on your current skills, how many rounds of assassination do you think you can survive?”
Song Xuyi remained silent. Huang Fu’s estimate was probably true. As the Emperor’s sharp blade, the original body had done many dirty deeds for the Emperor and had made numerous enemies. Now, it was clear that the Emperor had no intention of protecting her. If she stayed on the Imperial Star, Song Xuyi would face even greater dangers.
“Just state your purpose directly,” Song Xuyi, not knowing Huang Fu’s intent, realized she was at a disadvantage – already on the ship and her accompanying Alphas obviously couldn’t fend off Huang Fu’s group. When under someone else’s roof, one has no choice but to bow one’s head: “If it’s money you’re after, we can negotiate…”
Indeed, what Song Xuyi had most of now was money.
The wealth accumulated over generations in Song Xuyi’s father’s family had all trickled down to her. The original body had been solely focused on war, leaving the handling of finances to a few loyal servants who had come with her. It was only upon accounting recently that Song Xuyi realized she possessed more wealth than the perpetually war-exhausted national treasury.
Song Xuyi had already paid Huang Fu a large sum, an amount so grand that it could easily buy this decrepit cargo ship without a strain on her finances.
“Money?” Without explicitly agreeing or disagreeing, Huang Fu turned away and took a seat beside the monitoring console, offering Song Xuyi a cup of coffee.
Following Huang Fu’s gaze, Song Xuyi also looked toward the monitoring screens, which displayed nearly the entire dynamics of the cargo ship…
“Don’t worry,” Huang Fu noted with a chuckle upon seeing Song Xuyi’s furrowed brow. “We disabled the surveillance in your quarters. After all, you’ve grown up, and we, as your elders, shouldn’t be prying into your life with the little Omega…”
“Perhaps I should introduce myself. I come from Blue Star.” Huang Fu’s gaze upon Song Xuyi seemed suddenly distant, as if he were looking not only at Song Xuyi but also through her at someone else: “If we’re to calculate our relation, I should be considered your mother’s cousin…”
Blue Star, that was the extremely remote planet Song Xuyi was about to arrive at.
So, this person was related to her mother’s side?
“How much do you remember about your mother?”
Huang Fu did not seem concerned with Song Xuyi’s complex emotions. Lighting a cigarette and observing Song Xuyi, who remained silent, he chuckled to himself and said, “Right, you were only three years old when your mother passed away; you wouldn’t know anything…”
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“Your mother was the greatest Omega in the world!”
Song Xuyi heard a story.
Her grandfather had only one daughter, and after he passed away, her mother suddenly became the lord of Blue Star. As an Omega, she dedicated her life to the equality of Betas and Omegas, establishing an idyllic sanctuary on the remote planet. There, even Omegas could go out to work, and Betas did not need to kneel in greeting to Alphas…
But for some reason, Blue Star attracted the covetous gaze of many. At that time, the planet’s military strength was scant, defenseless. To protect her world, her mother married her father, leveraging his power to shield Blue Star…
“In the years before your father’s death, Blue Star was secretly growing stronger, no longer the planet that could only cling to life through your mother’s sacrifice…”
As the story ended, Huang Fu also finished his cigarette. He passed Song Xuyi a password book that opened with an iris scan, looking at her with a smile full of meaning: “We would not have dared to contact you before…”
“But now that you wish to seek refuge with us,” Huang Fu chuckled with a snort, slapping Song Xuyi’s shoulder heavily: “We must also assess you, to see whether you truly fit into Blue Star…”
The author has something to say:
I’m on a business trip and can only type on my phone. I fell asleep while writing yesterday, got up at six in the morning to finish, and should be able to update again tonight…
X﹏X.
Looking at the comments section, I see many little angels asking for my address…
Humph╯^╰, do I look like someone who’s afraid to give out my address?
Listen up!!!!
——At No. 110 Hot Strip Province, Hot Strip City, Hot Strip Street, the house with “Wu wu wu, Officer, someone sent me knives” written at the entrance, that’s my place!!!
LP: Re-translated on February 02, 2024