Chapter 111: The Empire’s Curtain Call / “Let’s Go Home.”Â
“Everyone… belongs to you…”
The Queenâs breathing was rapid, veins bulging on her forehead and neck.
She pulled the control button from her chest pocket and pushed it to the maximum with all her might.
Yet, amidst her hideous expression, she saw only Du Xun standing there as if nothing had happened.
No matter how she pushed the button, it was futile.
âThat injection had been swapped long ago.
Perhaps from the moment Jie Zhen injected it into Du Xunâs neck.
That agent was just a common therapeutic drug that caused no harm to human glands…
The Queen looked deranged. She laughed maniacally and smashed the controller onto the ground.
She had lost.
Completely and utterly.
“You outsmarted yourself,” Du Xun said indifferently. “We just beat you at your own game.”
The pride and confidence on the Queenâs face withered like a dead tree. She closed her eyes briefly, knowing that everything she had was void.
But her disappointment did not last long; she sneered.
“As expected, people cannot be trusted.”
The Queen said softly, “Tiya.”
Instantly, a figure flipped over from behind, blocking the light above everyone’s heads.
The Insect Motherâs face was mechanically cold. As she stared at the group, she uttered a few unintelligible syllables.
Suddenly, everyone heard a massive noise coming from the second floor.
“The second floor has hatched!” Fu Qi Shang screamed.
Shen Zhuo activated [Mind Control] almost without pause.
[Stop!]
But perhaps because Queen Minyaâs rank was originally too high, the mind control did not take effect immediately.
Tiya spun around, her long black hair creating a beautiful arc, her posture as graceful as a dance.
Amidst the fluttering of her skirt, she seized a sword from a guard.
The slender, straight cruciform sword in her hand looked just like a king’s scepterâ
On Tiyaâs face, that originally stiff, corpse-like expression cracked slightly when her gaze touched Du Xun and Feng Mu Ya.
Immediately after, she looked at Shen Zhuo, who was using his ability.
Shen Zhuo clearly saw a trace of expression on the woman’s face.
It was a very faint smile.
It was relief, or perhaps hatred mixed with adoration.
In the next second, Shen Zhuo heard an inner voice.
It belonged to a gentle tone from a time so distant he could barely remember it.
[My child.]
[My… children.]
[My pride.]
[I’m sorry…]
[I’m sorry.]
[…Do not be afraid.]
[Everything started with meâand it shall end with me.]
In Tiyaâs eyes, a clear, soft light appeared.
âIt was an emotion belonging to a human.
In the final second before her body was fully taken over by [Mind Control].
Tiya took the cruciform sword representing royal dignity and glory.
And drove it into the Queenâs heart.
Pfftâ
The sound of the sharp blade piercing flesh was ear-piercing and shocking.
The fluttering skirt slowly settled into stillness. Tiya held the cruciform sword with both hands.
Her hanging long hair obscured her expression.
It also obscured the incredulous look the Queen gave her.
“Ti… ya…”
The mind control finally took effect.
Tiyaâs entire body froze.
She slowly released the hilt. That last bit of clear light in her eyes looked down through layers of long hair at the falling Queen.
“…Ling.”
Unlike her sharp and aggressive appearance, the Queen had a very beautiful name.
Feng Ling.
The Insect Mother opened her mouth and spat out this word with difficulty.
The Queenâs eyes widened abruptly.
In front of everyone.
For the first time, she revealed an expression of panic.
“Tiya? You’re still… alive?”
The Insect Mother slowly sank to one knee.
She raised a pale, cyan-tinged hand and stroked the Queen’s cheek.
“I… have always… been… watching you…”
The Insect Motherâs body had been modified long ago. The shell that hadn’t spoken a word in years allowed her to speak only very slowly.
Tiya went from kneeling on one knee to sitting on her heels on the ground.
Then she bent down.
Slowly approaching the Queen, who was gasping rapidly due to excessive blood loss.
The Queenâs eyes were wide open. The blood loss caused her body temperature to drop too quickly; she currently felt only coldness in her hands and feet.
“No… impossible…”
She could use her wifeâs body for experiments, even disregarding everything to modify her into the Insect Mother, because she knew.
She knew Tiya was dead.
Human death meant the soul leaving the body.
The person she loved had perished, so the body was just a shell, common and available everywhere.
It was something that could be utilized.
That was why she used it with such peace of mind and composure.
But now she was being told that Tiya had never leftâ
Everything she had done, essentially, had been borne entirely by her wife.
The high wall in her heart breached at its thickest and hardest point, opening a hole the size of a window.
Dense cracks covered it in an instant.
Then, it all collapsed.
“…No.”
She suddenly felt that this ending, where everything failed, was what she deserved.
When Tiya first learned that she wanted to merge humans with the Insect Mother, Tiya had told her that if she did this, she would not meet a good end.
But at this moment, the Queen couldn’t say a single word.
She struggled to move her lips, wanting to touch the Queen Consort’s face again.
But her arm was slapped away by Feng Mu Ya.
“You are not worthy to touch her.”
The Queen’s hand finally fell to the ground, but she continued to stare stubbornly at Tiya, wanting to see blame or resentment on her face.
But there was nothing.
Tiya looked at her, and aside from the slight movement in her eyes, it was as if she were facing any cold corpse.
The cruciform sword in her heart, topped with a pattern of thorns and roses, was the symbol of her and Tiya.
And at this moment, it was also the choice Tiya had made.
To not meet a good end.
Just as predicted.
But regarding the things she did to Tiya, and the things she did to others, she had never thought them wrong from the start.
Nor had she ever thought of gaining anyone’s support or forgiveness.
For the evolution of humanity, someone had to take this step.
Otherwise, humanity would march in place forever.
But now, at a time like this, she suddenly wanted to say something to Tiya, at least needed to say something.
What a pity.
What a pity…
She couldn’t speak anymore.
In the Queenâs vision, Tiyaâs face gradually began to blur and dim.
Suddenly, memories from many years ago began to appear.
In the white rose garden, her wife’s smile.
……
Tiya closed her eyes, looked at Feng Mu Ya, then at Du Xun, and smiled with gratification.
Feng Mu Ya was the last child she gave birth to after her consciousness was wiped but before she became the Insect Mother.
She had grown so big…
She had no regrets.
The moment the Queen closed her eyes and her breathing stopped.
That tiny bit of human warmth in Tiyaâs eyes vanished completely.
She left no last words for anyone else.
Nor did she leave a chance for goodbyes.
Just like twenty years ago, in the palace’s white rose garden.
The final moment of his mother that Du Xun saw.
Smiling, tranquil as if sleeping.
But he knew, the young Du Xun knew.
A soul belonging to the white roses was saying goodbye.
…
After humanity was extinguished, the survival instinct of the Zerg surged forth.
The current Insect Mother no longer possessed human emotions.
She was completely and utterly a bug.
Just as Shen Zhuo prepared to continue using [Mind Control].
His hand was held down by Du Xun.
The man cast him a look that said, “I’ll do it.”
He exchanged a glance with Feng Mu Ya, and they charged directly at the Insect Mother.
The Insect Motherâs face was hideous, her eyes splitting with rage, the roar from her mouth deafening.
Chu Bai Xian looked at everyone: “Those things on the first and second basement levels are coming out! We must resolve this quickly!”
Jie Zhen threw several spherical objects from not far away, one for each person.
“Incendiary grenades.”
The group immediately dispersed to the first and second floors.
Du Xun and Feng Mu Ya engaged the Insect Mother in battle.
…
Time passed, unknown how long, as Du Xun held Shen Zhuoâs hand, watching the raging fire burning in the palace.
At the same time, the elite personnel Du Xun had brought from various military departments during his “escape” were spread across every corner of the empire.
They arrested all personnel related to the Queen and the Zerg, as well as all those on the Queen’s side within the palace.
Overnight, the entire empire was reshuffled.
The riots of the Zerg entering the city and mixing into the crowds were curbed before they could explode.
Ai Li and Fu Qi Shang had been sent back to their respective homes by An.
Because Jie Zhen acted as a third-party assistant, he had actually only reached an agreement with Du Xun.
To work undercover beside the Queen, cooperating with Du Xun at any time to overthrow the Royal Family.
The young boys and girls captured by the underground gland trafficking organization were merely locked up somewhere and then secretly returned, to deceive the Queen’s eyes and ears.
The glands transplanted into others came from death row inmates.
Jie Zhen had secretly developed a drug that could evade detector scans, disguising the glands of death row inmates as high-level glands for sale.
Moreover, most of the underground gland trafficking organization consisted of mercenaries; after disbanding, the organization would cease to exist.
At this moment, Jie Zhen nodded from a distance and left first.
The only ones remaining, aside from the military personnel and palace guards dealing with the fire.
Were Shen Zhuo, Du Xun, Feng Mu Ya, and Chu Bai Xian.
“It’s over,” the Alpha said softly.
With everything settled, it felt surreal.
Chu Bai Xian turned around and smiled at them:
“Your military can finally be returned to you. I don’t want to be Commander-in-Chief, nor Deputy Commander. Let me retire.”
As Chu Bai Xian prepared to leave, Shen Zhuo called out: “Brother Bai Xian.”
“Thank you.”
Chu Bai Xianâs eyes widened in surprise:
“Thank me for what! You saying that makes my heart feel weird. Don’t tell me you want me to stay on the job? Impossible!”
Feng Mu Ya coughed, unable to suppress a laugh.
In the hospital room, Chu Bai Xian had once choked Shen Zhuo.
It was to inject him with the antidote for the total body weakness and gland blockade.
Shen Zhuo said, “That is why I could recover some stamina and gland energy to confront Feng Ming.”
Even including Meng Xi He, that was likely part of the plan.
That Meng Xi He could know the number of people and routes underground was because Chu Bai Xian specifically told Meng Xi He.
Just so that one day there would be a chance to convey it to Shen Zhuo.
Therefore, on the night he left Meng Xi Heâs room.
Shen Zhuo had basically guessed the plan Du Xun had laid out for many years.
He also understood that Chu Bai Xian, and even Jie Zhen, were actually people planted by Du Xun.
So, at the moment he saw Chu Bai Xian open fire in the palace basement, his reaction hadn’t actually been that intenseâ
Fortunately, no one noticed he was acting.
Chu Bai Xian subconsciously went to twirl his hair, only to realize his long hair had been cut short.
“What thanks, you’re treating me like a stranger. just let me retire.”
Chu Bai Xian reverted to his old manner, “I’m going to keep Xi He company, won’t chat with you guys anymore.”
Shen Zhuo watched Chu Bai Xian wave goodbye with his back to them, watching him walk further and further away.
Until Chu Bai Xian disappeared from sight, Shen Zhuo softly asked Du Xun beside him:
“The potion to turn back into an Alpha… doesn’t exist, right?”
Du Xun withdrew his gaze from Chu Bai Xian.
After a while, his voice heavy:
“Mn.”
It was all used to deceive the Queen.
To trick the Queen into thinking she had the power to hold Chu Bai Xian’s weakness, so she could truly trust him.
Du Xun was a tall tree that caught the wind; every move he made was in the Queen’s eyes.
Only by having Chu Bai Xian betray him could Du Xun smoothly step down from the Commander position and hide in the shadows.
While erasing the Queen’s surveillance, he secretly gathered the strength of various sectors and allowed everything done by the Queen and her cronies to surface, completely exposing them to the public eye.
Perhaps there were better ways.
But this was the only way to thoroughly eliminate the Insect Mother, the Queen, and all colluders.
It was also the best way to reshuffle the empire.
Destruction before construction.
Chu Bai Xian actually knew long ago that he couldn’t go back.
The process of becoming an Omega was irreversible.
But he still agreed.
And although Meng Xi He didn’t know what was happening, after Chu Bai Xian said they were going to save the entire empire, he willingly entered the game himself.
What the two of them did was no different from walking on a knife’s edge.
But during that time, everyone had only four words in their heartsâ
For humanity.
Everything they did for these words meant that a mistake at any stage would result in total failure.
But fortunately, after so many years of planning and layout.
They succeeded.
“Brother.”
Hearing the voice, Du Xun turned his head.
Feng Mu Ya pulled her clothes tighter, gazing at the starry sky in the distance. Her expression finally held some of the brilliance belonging to her age:
“Finally, I don’t have to pretend to like you anymore.”
The girl stuck out her tongue at Shen Zhuo and said with disgust, “It really sickened me to death.”
Du Xun raised his hand and flicked Feng Mu Yaâs forehead.
“Hiss!” Feng Mu Ya pulled Shen Zhuo’s sleeve and hid behind the boy. “Sister-in-law, look at him!”
This address made Shen Zhuo dazed for a moment.
“Thank you too.”
“What?” This time it was Feng Mu Yaâs turn to be stunned.
“From the moment you brought the S4 therapeutic agent, I had a guess. The Queen didn’t ask you to send it; it was your own, right?”
The Queen always wanted Du Xun dead. Even if she needed to keep Du Xun alive to threaten Shen Zhuo, she wouldn’t send an S4 therapeutic agent, which was scarce in the entire empire.
The one Feng Mu Ya had was probably for saving her own life.
Yet she used it on her brother.
Shen Zhuo said softly, “Thank you for helping in secret all this time in the palace.”
How could Feng Mu Ya stand such words:
“Ew… I don’t want to hear this. There are still many things to do in the palace, I’ll go first, won’t disturb you two.”
The relief in Feng Mu Yaâs eyes was very obvious.
More than ten years of endurance and disguise had finally earned her a chance to be herself.
Shen Zhuo felt his palm being squeezed.
He raised his head and crashed into a pool of gray-blue deep water.
Du Xun smiled, leaned down, and kissed his forehead:
“Madam.”
The fire in the night sky was bright and dazzling, heralding the fall of a generation of royal power and the annihilation of countless conspiracies.
The boy’s face was illuminated by the firelight. He looked up and responded to the kiss.
Just like always.
“Let’s go,” he looked at his lover.
“Okay, let’s go home,” his lover answered him.
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