The Seventh Imperial Princess was publicly humiliated by the Fifth Imperial Prince, yet she did not dare show any dissatisfaction, afraid that her fifth brother—whose mental state was gradually becoming unstable—would directly turn his gun toward her. If that happened, there would be no way to clean it up. She could only pretend nothing was wrong, smile, and barely maintain her composure.
The Fifth Imperial Prince’s arrival had also caught her completely off guard. Although it was true that she had sent him some information about Yan Qiongyu to stir things up, the intelligence she had received said that the Fifth Imperial Prince was still in the T’lan Star System and had clashed with a group of star pirates there. By all accounts, the battle situation was still deadlocked, and he should not have been able to return to the Imperial Capital Star Circle so quickly.
Yet he had returned just like that, and had also suddenly appeared with pinpoint accuracy aboard the Sky Garden. This made it impossible for the Seventh Imperial Princess not to overthink.
So while pondering what schemes and purposes the Fifth Imperial Prince might have, what impact this would have on herself, and how His Majesty would react to the Fifth Imperial Prince’s return, she also secretly anticipated in her heart, waiting to see how Wang Luan would anger the Fifth Imperial Prince and be dealt with by him.
Unlike brothers and sisters like them who were bound hand and foot, the Fifth Imperial Prince did not care about any so-called noble decorum. As for anyone who took something that belonged to him, the Fifth Imperial Prince would never let them off.
The last time he had been exiled by His Majesty to another star system to deal with rebel forces was precisely because he had killed, without any reason, an adopted son whom the Li family head valued highly.
His Majesty had to give the Li family an explanation and thus exiled him, but that was all. He could still lead a legion and roam freely outside.
Just as the Seventh Imperial Princess had guessed, the Fifth Imperial Prince had come this time for Wang Luan.
The Seventh Imperial Princess did not dare speak and hid to one side. The other nobles also kept silent. The Fifth Imperial Prince paid them no attention and instead placed his focus on Wang Luan.
This person, Wang Luan, had left no impression at all in the Fifth Imperial Prince’s memory. He did not even know that the noble Wang family had such an alpha. And yet it was precisely such a weak alpha who dared to snatch something from him.
The Fifth Imperial Prince split his lips into a grin, revealing snow-white teeth. Those teeth were somewhat different from ordinary people’s—slightly pointed, like a wild beast’s fangs—so his smile appeared especially ferocious.
He walked toward Wang Luan step by step, like a large wild predator preparing to hunt. The Wang family’s bodyguards and attendants were oppressed by the aura of his high-level alpha presence and could only retreat while shielding Wang Luan.
The Fifth Imperial Prince did not put these people in his eyes at all. He stared at Wang Luan and asked, “Do you know that I’ve already made it clear that the highest-level omega belongs to me?”
As he spoke, the pheromones on his body spread uncontrollably, like a bared-fangs wild beast. The other nobles present trembled and quietly retreated so as not to be affected.
The scent of his pheromones was similar to the smell of rust, somewhat bloody, extremely pungent.
But Wang Luan could not feel any pressure from the pheromones at all. Compared with the pheromones that made other low-level alphas’ legs go weak, what made her uncomfortable was the Fifth Imperial Prince’s tall, robust body and his ferocious expression.
He looked like the kind of violent criminal serial killer who made one want to call the police at first glance.
“I’ve said it before, the 3S omega is mine. No one else dares to fight me for it. So how is it that your Wang family dared to make a move? Are you provoking me?”
Behind her was the building; there was nowhere left to retreat. Wang Luan pushed away the close attendant who was gripping her and stood in place, lifting her head to ask in return, “Why don’t you go ask the Wang family head that question? He’s the one who arranged the marriage.”
The Fifth Imperial Prince gave a savage grin. “Of course I’ll go ask him properly—bringing your corpse with me!”
The Fifth Imperial Prince’s strength was as famous as his lawless behavior. Relying solely on the Wang family’s servants present would probably be impossible to protect Wang Luan from him, not to mention that there were also over a hundred guards he had brought with him.
The close attendant standing beside Wang Luan was drenched in cold sweat and tried to contact the escort fleet outside the Sky Garden. Yet once the connection went through, it made her scalp go numb.
Several escort ships had been taken over by the fleet brought by the Fifth Imperial Prince. They had already sailed to the edge of the Imperial Capital Star Circle and were flying toward another star system under the control of the Fifth Imperial Prince’s legion.
At this point, notifying the Wang family to dispatch a fleet would probably not be faster than the Fifth Imperial Prince’s speed in killing someone. Moreover, could the fleet that the Wang family’s main house could mobilize within the Imperial Capital Star Circle really defeat this regular legion that had just returned from suppressing pirates?
She had thought that within the Imperial Capital Star Circle, relying on the Wang family’s influence, no one would dare be so blind as to crash into them. Who knew they would run into the most troublesome one.
For a moment, the close attendant felt utterly despairing. If Miss Wang Luan died, those of them who had failed in their protection would probably not meet a good end either.
Even with the situation so dire, the close attendant was still thinking about whether the guards could risk their lives to find a chance to send Miss Wang Luan away. But who would have thought that the usually taciturn Miss Wang Luan would suddenly provoke the Fifth Imperial Prince.
“There’s not much point in asking that. Ask it and the answer is that it’s already been taken. You might as well take your people and storm the Wang family right now and deal with the Wang family head directly.”
As soon as Wang Luan said this, not to mention the Fifth Imperial Prince—even their own steward and servants fell silent for a moment.
The Fifth Imperial Prince flew into a rage. “You think I don’t dare?!”
Wang Luan said, “Just looking at your face, it’s obvious there’s nothing you wouldn’t dare do.”
“So sharp-tongued. Let me see whether your bones are just as hard.” The Fifth Imperial Prince strode forward.
“Fifth Imperial Prince, you mustn’t!”
“Fifth Imperial Prince, stop—do you really have no regard at all for the Wang family!”
The Fifth Imperial Prince sneered, and at a speed no one could react to, he reached out and seized Wang Luan by the throat.
The nobles were so frightened they screamed. The Wang family’s attendants and guards surged forward at once, trying to pull Wang Luan free.
Wang Luan only felt a black shadow flash before her eyes as she was grabbed. The hand clamped around her neck was scorching hot and broad; she even felt that her neck bones might be crushed in the next second.
In that suffocating moment, her hand moved. A silver-gray rod-like object popped out and stabbed straight into the Fifth Imperial Prince’s chest.
The crackle of electric arcs and sparks exploded in the center of the crowd.
Amid a muffled groan and a scream, Wang Luan was released, and she and the Fifth Imperial Prince collapsed into a heap.
Even with an isolation device on her, she was still badly stimulated by the current. She lay there for quite a while, unable to get up, before the close attendant who rushed over in alarm dragged her to the side, away from the Fifth Imperial Prince.
“Tsk… not bad, you’re really not bad.” The Fifth Imperial Prince, who had taken the electric shock head-on, ground his teeth in a ferocious grin as he staggered up from the ground.
Wang Luan finally witnessed just how terrifying the physical resilience of a double-S-level alpha truly was.
She had modified the stun baton herself, using the best energy stone. Even wearing an isolation device, she had been shocked numb—yet the Fifth Imperial Prince could still speak and move.
She glanced at the creation in her hand. She had named this portable stun baton Ten Thousand Volts. Of course, it wasn’t actually ten thousand volts. It seemed the power was still too low; it needed to be strengthened.
No one dared approach the Fifth Imperial Prince. He staggered again, gritted his teeth, and waved his hand. “Arrest all of them!”
The guards who had been standing to the side without advancing heard the order and surged forward like starving wolves pouncing on sheep. Not only did they pin down Wang Luan and the others, they also surrounded the other nobles who had been cowering nearby, including the Seventh Imperial Princess.
The Seventh Imperial Princess hid behind two close attendants, her expression dark. “What are you doing, Fifth Brother!”
The Fifth Imperial Prince ignored her. He walked up to Wang Luan and grabbed her by the head. Wang Luan felt a sharp pain in her scalp. The Fifth Imperial Prince squatted down close to her, snatched the stun baton from her clenched hand, and said, “You managed to ambush me successfully… that feeling was really unpleasant. You can have a taste of it too.”
He pressed the stun baton hard against Wang Luan’s head. Wang Luan hurriedly reached up and grabbed her own hair. Watching his irritable manner as he clearly didn’t know how to use it, she twitched the corner of her mouth and said, “Too bad, the energy’s used up.”
Poking her scalp again wouldn’t do anything.
“But I still have other little toys. Want to try them?”
Wang Luan wasn’t lying. She had tinkered with quite a few things in her workshop; she still had two items for self-defense, though their power was nowhere near that of the stun baton and they probably couldn’t take down an alpha built like a dinosaur.
The Fifth Imperial Prince slammed her head down, a vicious expression appearing on his face as he lifted his foot to kick.
Judging by his movement and force, if that kick landed, her head would be like a watermelon struck by an impact—bursting apart with a bang.
Acting on trained reflex, Wang Luan dodged, but she couldn’t completely avoid it. She raised her arm to block and take the blow.
A wave of intense pain shot through her arm; she didn’t know if it had fractured.
The Fifth Imperial Prince seemed driven mad by her repeated resistance. His expression showed undisguised frenzy as he lifted his foot again and stomped heavily toward her chest.
This stomp looked like it would go straight into her chest, as if stepping into a mud pit.
Just as it seemed impossible to avoid, suddenly the ground tilted. Wang Luan rolled into the flowerbed beside her, and the Fifth Imperial Prince also lost his footing and fell to the ground, cursing angrily.
The flat ground split apart, like a jigsaw puzzle being dismantled and scattered. Wang Luan, the Fifth Imperial Prince, and the others were all separated and moved in different directions.
Wang Luan lay on her back amid flowers and plants and realized that someone was operating things from the control room.
The Sky Garden was extremely expensive. Not only could its interior terrain and environment be altered, many areas could be dismantled and reassembled—it was just very troublesome to control.
She hadn’t expected the control room staff to be quite clever, knowing to separate them at a critical moment.
She stood up from the ground, touched her scalp, and looked toward the Fifth Imperial Prince on another section of ground.
He had wanted to chase after her just now, but unfortunately his body, having been electrocuted, was still going numb in waves. Even attacking her had been forced through sheer will. He had no way to cross the widened distance and could only glare at her viciously. Wang Luan kindly returned the gesture with a middle finger.
The section carrying Wang Luan bordered another area. She discovered that going down from here led directly to the control room, and she immediately decided to head there.
Attacking the Fifth Imperial Prince had implicated herself as well. Now, when she walked, she felt her whole body tingling with numbness. She stopped and started, making her way to the control room. At a glance, Wang Luan saw, among the panicked control room staff, Yan Qiongyu—who should have been waiting in his room.
He stood at the largest console, operating it. Under his hands, the interior of the Sky Garden was rapidly reconfiguring.
Seeing Wang Luan, he spared a moment to glance at her.
The moment Wang Luan saw him here, she relaxed considerably. Not caring about anything else, she found a chair and collapsed into it, testing the throbbing pain in her arm as she moved it slightly.
It hurt terribly. Wang Luan cursed expressionlessly, “Fuck.”
Yan Qiongyu looked at her again. There was no smile on his face; the way he looked at the screen carried a hint of gravity. The Fifth Imperial Prince’s sudden appearance was something he had not anticipated, and his complete disregard for consequences was also beyond his expectations.
After all, no matter how clever he was, he had only learned parts of the Fifth Imperial Prince’s deeds through others’ words and did not understand him deeply. Today was the first time he had witnessed that madness in person.
If he couldn’t stall him now, the situation would likely become very bad, and all of his plans would be disrupted.
He isolated the Fifth Imperial Prince alone, wanting to trap him. Unfortunately, the Fifth Imperial Prince was even more insane than the various rumors suggested—he actually took out his mecha on the spot.
Only high-level alphas could pilot mecha, capable of independent combat in space, spatial jumps, and more.
The dozens-of-meters-tall mecha used by the Fifth Imperial Prince had a construction cost exceeding that of the entire Sky Garden. The weapons mounted on it were enough to tear apart the hull of a space warship, making it utterly unstoppable inside the Sky Garden.
The mecha he carried with him using spatial folding technology was released and immediately began attacking.
The Fifth Imperial Prince was clearly prepared to tear a path straight through the interior of the ship and drag the person out.
As the Fifth Imperial Prince deployed his mecha, the scene grew even more chaotic. A group of noble youths who had grown up in greenhouses fled under the cover of their respective guards. The imperial princes and princesses who had appeared—and those who hadn’t—also scattered and fled on their own.
Yan Qiongyu frowned slightly as he watched the mecha in the footage rampage all the way toward the control room.
The Wang family’s guards couldn’t stop the Fifth Imperial Prince. The Sky Garden’s internal mechanical guards also couldn’t withstand the mecha’s strafing fire. If this continued, being caught by him would only be a matter of time.
