Blame the Villain – Chapter 23
by Little PandaThe Villainous Scientist (3)
Starting From Scratch: Little Marshal x Mad, Dark, Sickly Scientist
Song Xuyi didn’t understand why the gateway’s system had glitched when scanning Jiang Qianyu. However, Jiang Qianyu looked so much younger than her; there was no way she could be thirty-five. Thus, she didn’t take the matter to heart.
This transport vessel was a three-deck, medium-sized cargo ship. The bottom deck housed the crew, the middle deck contained the guest cabins, and the top deck was the captain’s quarters.
Song Xuyi and her entourage stayed on the middle deck.
By now, everyone tacitly assumed that Jiang Qianyu was Song Xuyi’s Omega. Although they didn’t understand why Song Xuyi hadn’t marked Jiang Qianyu, the two of them were still assigned to the same room.
After seeing the layout of Song Xuyi’s room, the old servants who had followed her inside all showed their dissatisfaction:
Although this room was grandly dubbed a VIP suite, its facilities were far from ideal. Aside from the essential furniture, there were only two hibernation pods, which appeared incredibly shabby to these servants who were accustomed to grander things.
When they had paid the deposit, the vessel they were shown was clearly not this battered ship…
Yet they also understood that times had changed, and they currently had no choice but to keep their heads down. Ever since Song Xuyi resigned her post as Marshal, someone had leaked the news of her severe injuries. Enemies from all sides were beginning to stir, and the well-informed transport companies, terrified of bringing trouble upon themselves, had rejected Song Xuyi’s orders one after another. It had taken Song Xuyi a massive amount of effort just to find this obscure cargo shipping company…
Throughout the entire boarding process, aside from a fleshy-faced Beta crew member who had come out to count heads, not a single person had emerged to welcome them.
Once he saw that everyone was present, the crew member pulled out a whistle and blew, letting out a long shriek, and the entire ship slowly began to move—
The alloy cabin doors slowly slid shut, the spaceship soared into the sky, and the golden Imperial Star grew smaller and more distant…
According to space protocol, those who had just boarded a spaceship had to put on special gravity suits while seated to acclimate to the environment. Only after acclimating to the space environment for an hour could they unfasten their gravity suits and move about freely.
Song Xuyi’s current body had traveled on countless spaceships of all sizes and was thoroughly adapted to the space environment. However, as a law-abiding person, she still pulled over a gravity suit and put it on.
Meanwhile, Jiang Qianyu beside her made no move.
Song Xuyi looked over. Jiang Qianyu was wearing a solid white dress today, her black hair cascading down. Her dark pupils stared unblinkingly at the magnificent starry sky outside the window, looking somewhat… happy.
Looking like this, Jiang Qianyu resembled a pretty girl traveling for the very first time, showing none of the ruthless, world-upending traits of the female villain described in the plot outline.
As if sensing Song Xuyi’s gaze, the smile on Jiang Qianyu’s lips suddenly vanished, and her eyes gradually turned cold. When she looked up at Song Xuyi, a clear trace of wariness flashed in her eyes.
Pretending not to notice the wariness in Jiang Qianyu’s eyes, Song Xuyi spread her hands toward her, gesturing for her to put on the gravity suit.
Space travel carried a much higher risk than atmospheric travel, especially with the Zerg running rampant. The safety buckles on the ship’s gravity suits were designed with a degree of complexity, requiring several locks to be fastened.
In Song Xuyi’s memory, even a child knew how to fasten the safety buckles of these gravity suits. Yet, Jiang Qianyu tried for a long time without success.
Watching Jiang Qianyu’s unfamiliar movements, a suspicion gradually arose in Song Xuyi’s heart: Was this Jiang Qianyu’s first time in a passenger cabin of a spaceship?
In this world, there were restrictions on Omegas traveling alone; an Omega wishing to go out had to be accompanied by an Alpha.
If an Omega wanted to travel without an Alpha’s accompaniment, their only option was to “smuggle” themselves through the black market—being stowed away in large cargo containers, placed in airtight, stuffy holds, and transported to their destination by dilapidated cargo spaceships.
And the star bandit gang that the original host had annihilated when first meeting Jiang Qianyu happened to run a smuggling operation.
As she connected everything in her mind, Song Xuyi’s feelings grew rather complicated. Since she could only travel stowed away in cargo containers, Jiang Qianyu naturally had never seen the cosmos outside a spaceship, nor would she know about gravity suits…
Beside her, Jiang Qianyu was still struggling with her gravity suit. Although she didn’t speak, her brow was deeply furrowed, and she had clearly lost her patience.
Knowing that Jiang Qianyu harbored an inner resistance toward her, Song Xuyi didn’t plan to help her fasten the gravity suit straps. After some thought, she intentionally knocked her water cup to the ground, unfastened her gravity suit to retrieve it, and then refastened her suit before leaning back in her seat to rest with her eyes closed…
Not long after she closed her eyes, a soft click sounded beside her. Evidently, Jiang Qianyu had observed Song Xuyi’s movements and finally fastened her own gravity suit.
Song Xuyi let out a sigh of relief.
She wasn’t sleepy at all. The reason she kept her eyes shut was also because of Jiang Qianyu. Since Jiang Qianyu clearly didn’t want to be scrutinized, Song Xuyi didn’t want to invite a rebuff; closing her eyes actually made her feel more at ease…
However, perhaps because her nerves had been stretched too tight lately, once she relaxed, she had no idea when she actually fell asleep.
Song Xuyi was awakened by Jiang Qianyu.
The smart-brain beside her was letting out a soft buzz, indicating an incoming communication.
Song Xuyi tapped to accept and received a call from the ship’s captain, Huang Fu.
Captain Huang Fu was a Beta who had lost a leg. Around fifty years of age, he looked rather unremarkable. He claimed to be an old subordinate of Song Xuyi’s father who had been forced to retire after losing his leg, subsequently joining a shipping company to become a captain. It was precisely because of this past connection that Huang Fu was willing to take on Song Xuyi’s business.
Huang Fu invited Song Xuyi to meet him in the captain’s cabin on the third deck.
After ending the call, Song Xuyi glanced at Jiang Qianyu beside her.
Jiang Qianyu naturally had no intention of accompanying Song Xuyi to see Huang Fu. She was constantly writing something on her smart-brain and didn’t even look up when Song Xuyi left.
Song Xuyi went up to the third deck and knocked on the captain’s cabin door.
Almost the very instant the door opened, several gusts of fierce wind swept toward her!
Song Xuyi dodged instinctively; combat was a fundamental reflex of this body. However, with her physical agility stripped away, her reflexes were severely compromised. Even though she resisted with all her might, she was soon grabbed by the throat by Huang Fu—
“What do you want?”
Song Xuyi furrowed her brows as she looked at Huang Fu. She had known that he might have ulterior motives in accepting her order, but she currently had no choice but to play this dangerous game. Still, she hadn’t expected this Beta to possess such formidable martial skills. Let alone her current self, even an ordinary Alpha wouldn’t fare well in his hands.
Although the hand gripping her neck was incredibly powerful, Huang Fu didn’t tighten his hold, apparently having no intention of taking her life.
While Song Xuyi observed Huang Fu, he was also scrutinizing her expression in detail. Sinking from a top-grade Alpha to someone who couldn’t even defeat a Beta, many would have succumbed to the shock and abandoned themselves to despair. Yet Song Xuyi’s eyes remained clear and bright, seemingly untroubled by the blow.
“It seems the news of the Marshal being gravely injured is indeed true. Now, you can’t even beat an old man like me.” Huang Fu leisurely released his grip on Song Xuyi, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. “Three waves of people who want to kill you have already snuck onto my ship.”
“Why don’t you guess, Marshal, with your current skills, how many rounds of assassination can you survive?”
Song Xuyi remained silent. What Huang Fu said was likely true. As a blade in the Emperor’s hand, the original host had committed many misdeeds for him and made countless enemies. The Emperor clearly had no intention of protecting her now. If she had stayed on the Imperial Star, the danger she faced would have been far greater.
“If you have an objective, you might as well state it directly,” Song Xuyi said. She didn’t know what Huang Fu wanted, but now that she was already aboard his ship and the few Alphas she had brought were clearly incapable of fending off his men, she had no choice but to bow her head. “If it’s money you want, we can negotiate…”
In fact, what Song Xuyi had the most of right now was money.
The accumulated wealth of several generations from her father’s family had all ended up in Song Xuyi’s hands. The original host had focused solely on warfare, leaving financial matters to be managed by the loyal servants who had accompanied her this time. It was only during this recent inventory that Song Xuyi realized her personal wealth exceeded even the national treasury, which had been depleted by years of militarism and constant wars.
Yet Song Xuyi had already paid Huang Fu a massive sum of money beforehand. It was no exaggeration to say that the amount was more than enough to buy this entire dilapidated cargo ship.
“Money?” Noncommittally, Huang Fu turned around, sat down by the monitoring console, and handed Song Xuyi a cup of coffee.
Following Huang Fu’s gaze, Song Xuyi looked toward the monitoring screens. Almost every movement on the entire cargo vessel was captured under surveillance…
“Don’t worry,” Huang Fu chuckled, seeing her tightly furrowed brow. “We removed the cameras in your room. After all, you’re grown up now, and as your elders, we can’t very well spy on the private lives of you and your little Omega…”
“Perhaps I should introduce myself. I come from Blue Star.” Huang Fu looked at Song Xuyi, his gaze suddenly turning distant, as if he were looking at her, yet also looking through her at someone else. “If we’re talking relations, I suppose I should be considered your mother’s cousin…”
Blue Star was the extremely remote planet that Song Xuyi was currently heading toward.
So, these were people from the original host’s maternal side?
“How much do you still remember about your mother?”
Huang Fu didn’t pay attention to Song Xuyi’s complicated feelings. He lit a cigarette, looked at the silent Song Xuyi, and laughed. “That’s right. You were only three when your mother passed away. You wouldn’t know anything…”
“Your mother was the greatest Omega in the world!”
Song Xuyi then listened to a story.
Her maternal grandfather had only one daughter. After he passed away, her mother suddenly became the Lord of Blue Star. As an Omega, she had dedicated her entire life to establishing equality between Betas and Omegas, building a sanctuary far from the clamor of the world on that remote planet. On that planet, even Omegas could go out to work, and Betas didn’t need to kneel upon meeting Alphas…
However, for various reasons, Blue Star had attracted the covetous eyes of many. At that time, Blue Star was severely lacking in military strength and possessed no power to fight back. In order to protect the planet, her mother had married her father, borrowing his influence to shield Blue Star…
“In the years before your father passed away, Blue Star was also growing stronger in secret. It was no longer the planet that could only barely survive through your mother’s sacrifice…”
By the time the story concluded, Huang Fu had finished his cigarette. He handed Song Xuyi an iris-locked passcode book and smiled at her with deep meaning. “In the past, we didn’t dare contact you…”
“But now that you want to come and seek refuge with us,” Huang Fu chuckled and patted Song Xuyi heavily on the shoulder, “we also need to assess you, to see if you’re truly suited for Blue Star…”
The author has something to say:
Since I am on a business trip, I can only write on my phone. Yesterday I fell asleep while writing, but I crawled out of bed at six in the morning to finish it. Finally, it’s done. There should be another update tonight…
X﹏X.
Looking at the comments section, many little angels are asking for my address…
Hmph! ╯^╰ Am I the kind of person who is afraid to give out their address?
Listen up, everyone!!!
— No. 110, Latiao1 Street, Latiao City, Latiao Province, Zhonghuajia2, the house with ‘Waaaah, police officer, someone is mailing me blades3!’ written on the door—that is my home!!!
Footnotes
- Latiao (spicy strip) is a popular, inexpensive Chinese snack made from wheat gluten, often referenced in internet culture as a humorous staple.
- Zhonghuajia (literally 'flower-planting family') is a popular Chinese internet homophone and slang term for China.
- Mailing blades is a common Chinese internet meme where readers jokingly threaten to send razor blades to an author over slow updates or disappointing plots.
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