Chapter 58: The Forced Extraction

There’s no greater pain in life than watching someone you love suffer, knowing full well there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

The scalpel cut through Shao Ye's abdomen with brutal precision, tearing his flesh apart to rip the life from inside him.

Shao Ye’s screams grew louder, each one more piercing than the last. Fear, agony, and then, sheer hopelessness.

He felt it—his baby, the one that had been tethered to him by blood, slowly losing its will to live. The heartbeat that had kept him going, the heartbeat that urged him to fight, it grew weaker and weaker. Finally, it stopped. The sound of life was gone, replaced by a chilling silence. No more rhythm, no more pulse—just a dead, stagnant void.

On the other side of the screen, Lu Zhanxing watched helplessly, his heart breaking at the scene. His lover, his man, being butchered alive, and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. It felt like a thousand needles stabbing through him. Bloodied, shredded, and drowning in regret.

Shao Lan, her eyes already a mess of tears, was on the verge of losing herself. Her face, white as a ghost, her body trembling with rage, she wiped at her face, but the blood and tears blurred her vision. Her fury wasn’t just anger—it was pure, unrelenting devastation.

She couldn’t take it anymore. With a cry of despair, she slammed her hand to shut off the call, and spun away, staring out into the endless dark sky beyond the window, as if she could escape the nightmare she’d just witnessed.

Boss Bai hadn’t witnessed the horror firsthand, but he’d heard Shao Ye’s screams. They tore through him like a dagger, his soul shattered under the weight of guilt.

He’d never meant for Shao Ye to suffer—not once. He’d planned everything with meticulous care, every move calculated down to the last detail. But in the end, his own selfishness had led to this hell. Shao Ye’s pain was his fault, and it was a burden he could never shake off.

He could apologize, beg for forgiveness, but none of it mattered now. His crime was unforgivable. All he could do was wallow in regret, drowning in his own remorse.

The silence in the room was suffocating, unbearable. Finally, Shao Lan broke it, her voice hoarse, her words like shards of glass.

“Lu Zhanxing,” she rasped, not bothering to look at him as she turned to face the window. “Get out. My brother... he was kidnapped because of you. I’d kill you right now if I could.”

Lu Zhanxing stood silent, feeling the weight of her words, his own guilt gnawing at him. He wanted to die, wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear—but Shao Ye was still in Lu Xinglan’s hands. How could he just give up?

He had to keep going. He had to save him. No matter how much it hurt, he couldn’t fall now.

Shao Lan turned back to face him, her voice steady, but the venom was clear. “I’ll find Lu Xinglan. I’ll rescue my brother. Once I do, I’ll make sure he’s never near you again. You can’t protect him. You’re not fit to be his Alpha. If you have any conscience left, stay the hell away from him. You’ve done nothing but bring him pain. You’ll never give him peace, never give him freedom.”

Lu Zhanxing clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, but he didn’t speak.

The room grew still, and after what felt like an eternity, Shao Lan felt the pressure lift. She turned slowly, only to find that Lu Zhanxing was gone.

Gone?

She froze for a moment, surprise flickering in her chest. He’d slipped away without a sound, as though he’d never been there.

The bastard had slipped through the cracks in her defenses. Despite the guards, the watchful eyes—he’d managed to disappear without a trace.

But it didn’t matter. Shao Lan was certain of one thing—he’d never find her brother.

A twisted smile spread across her face as she turned to the pale-faced Boss Bai. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of cold, ruthless malice. “Well done, Boss Bai. You’ve done your part. I should really thank you.”

Boss Bai’s eyes widened in terror, his face paling further, before a spray of blood erupted from his mouth, splattering like a flower of death.

Without a second glance, Shao Lan turned and walked out, her orders cold and final. “Watch him. Keep him alive for 24 hours. Don’t let him die—let him suffer. Dying too easily is far too kind. Anyone who betrays me will beg for death. I’ll make sure of it.”

The bodyguards and assistants flinched, fear gripping them as they nodded, their voices shaking, “Yes, Commander.”

Shao Lan’s steps didn’t falter as she made her way to the biochemical lab.

“Is everything ready?” she asked, her tone detached as she addressed the researchers frantically working inside.

The researchers scrambled, nervous under her gaze. They rolled out a large incubation pod, one resembling the one that had once held Shao Lan captive in Boss Bai’s lab.

She was ready. The next phase was about to begin.

The incubation tank was filled with a slimy, viscous fluid. Dozens of finger-thick tubes, like venomous snakes, were embedded in the body of the girl inside.

It was Lin Na, who was already dead.

A researcher stammered, "Commander, I'm so sorry, we've tried parasites, primitive viruses, and new space species, and while we can make her body move, it's just a mindless corpse, we can't awaken her consciousness."

Shao Lan sneered, her tone filled with disdain and mockery, "A dead person, if they could regain consciousness, that would be truly supernatural. Life and death are eternal truths of the universe. With your human ignorance and weakness, you dare to try to resurrect a dead person? It's a delusional fantasy, an arrogant overreach."

The researchers frowned slightly, their eyes filled with doubt.

Wasn't reviving Lin Na the task Shao Lan had given them?

She had been so confident and assertive before, but now she was saying it was impossible.

So all those righteous and confident words were just said for Lu Xinglan?

She had known all along that the dead couldn't be revived, but she had used this trick to deceive Lu Xinglan, just to make him work wholeheartedly for her.

Thinking of this, everyone present broke out in a cold sweat, and their fear of Shao Lan increased.

This woman, worthy of being a ruler even the Alphas couldn't control, was truly terrifying.

Her rise to power relied not only on her extraordinary pheromone suppression and her incredibly intelligent brain, but also on her ability to disguise herself and manipulate people.

Such a person was even more terrifying and dangerous than the demons of legend.

Shao Lan leaned closer to the glass cover of the incubation tank, staring at the corpse inside as if it were alive, its chest rising and falling rhythmically, its eyelashes fluttering slightly, and she smiled contentedly.

"Load her onto the spaceship," Shao Lan ordered her bodyguards.

Then, as if she had suddenly thought of something, she pulled a piece of paper from her pocket. It was covered in complex chemical formulas that looked like ancient hieroglyphics. She handed it to the researchers, saying,

"Prepare a new drug according to this formula. You have a month. If you don't finish, you know the consequences. If I use your friends, family, or loved ones for human experiments, I don't think you'll feel good about it either."

Hearing this, the researchers' faces turned pale as death. They trembled as they said, "Yes, ma'am, we'll definitely complete the task."

Shao Lan led a small team directly, carrying the incubation tank containing Lin Na's body, onto a spaceship and headed towards the headquarters of the interstellar pirates.

Unknown to them, a new generation of mech troops from the Alliance army was following them closely.

"Boss, Commander Shao went straight to the headquarters of the interstellar pirates after she came out. Should we follow?" Lai Xue'luan asked through the communicator.

Lu Zhanxing was in stealth mode in his mech, quietly watching Shao Lan's every move. His voice was steady and firm:

"This fish has finally taken the bait. Keep a distance and follow, and don't let their radar detect us."

"Yes!"

Lù Zhànxīng’s grip tightened around the ring in his hand, the cold metal biting into his skin. He muttered under his breath, voice barely audible, “Āh Yě, I’m coming to bring you home, just hold on.”

Following their trail to the heart of the interstellar pirates’ stronghold, Shao Lan and her team cruised through the skies without a hitch. The ship smoothly breached the pirate-controlled zone.

Lài Xuělián’s voice came through the comms: “Boss, they’ve entered the pirates’ heavily fortified area. Our mechs aren’t armed yet; pushing further in could get us all killed.”

Lù Zhànxīng’s mind churned. He took a long breath, weighing his options, then barked out the order, “Special Forces, you’re with me. Everyone else, stay put.”

They cranked up their mech’s radar jammer to max, then synced their space jump tech to slip past enemy lines undetected, sliding into the heart of the pirate base like ghosts.

“I can’t believe Commander Shao is in bed with these pirates,” Yù Mò muttered, his tone dark, a tactical scope pressed to his eye as he watched the landing zone from a distance. “If they get involved in this war, we’re fucked.”

Yù Hàn, ever the optimist, shot back with a grin, “Don’t forget, we’ve got Shao Yě’s fourth-generation mechs. Once the weapons are up and running, we’ll turn every rebel and pirate into dust. Nothing can stand against us.”

But Lù Zhànxīng—his head down, eyes cold—muttered under his breath, words that only he could hear, “This isn’t what Āh Yě wanted. I just wish the fourth-gen mechs’ ammo was filled with fireworks instead of death.”

Life, though, has a way of crushing even the best of intentions. People are bound by the inevitable, caught in the quicksand of circumstance, unable to escape, unable to control their fate.

Then, the doors of the ship opened, and Shao Lan stepped out, flanked by her people.

The welcoming committee wasn’t what they expected. Everyone froze, their breath held tight, watching the unfolding scene with wide eyes.

Lù Zhànxīng’s narrowed gaze locked onto Lù Xīnglán, who was bowing respectfully to Shao Lan. His heart pounded in his chest, each beat a drum of rage as vivid memories of Lù Xīnglán torturing Shao Yě flashed before his eyes. The fury boiled in him, making his body tremble, his eyes burning red. He growled, “Yù Mò, give me the sniper rifle.”

Lài Xuělián was on him in a second, grabbing his arm and trying to calm him down. “Boss, stay calm. If we blow our cover, none of us are getting out of here alive.”

But Lù Zhànxīng wasn’t thinking about survival. His mind was a warzone, filled only with one thought: killing the bastard who dared hurt Āh Yě.

Lài Xuělián, realizing there was no stopping him, tried a different approach. “Boss, think of Shao Yě. He’s still waiting for you. Don’t throw your life away for nothing.”