NOVEL NEXT c4 - The Empress
Silence quietly fermented.
The roaring firelight effectively concealed the blush on Gu Junwan’s face.
If not for the earlier events, she might have mistaken the alpha before her for deliberately teasing her.
She took out clean gauze from her backpack, sat down beside Shen Han, and said concisely: “Hand.”
Shen Han, like an obedient student, sat up straight and extended her blood-stained arm to the other.
Staring at the arm half-caked with dried blood, Gu Junwan was momentarily at a loss on how to proceed.
She thought it truly puzzling that the other hadn’t gotten angry at her, given the circumstances.
“Is there too much dirt making it difficult? Wait a moment.”
With that, the ‘enigmatic’ alpha turned and ran to the cave entrance.
Using the falling night rain, she thoroughly washed both arms clean.
This was something she had become adept at long before crossing over.
Under the worst conditions, she had once swum across an icy winter river while wounded and armed.
The bandaging proceeded methodically.
Gu Junwan wasn’t particularly skilled, but she was extremely careful.
She tilted her head slightly, her smooth black hair cascading over her shoulders, the thin shirt collar slightly disheveled, vaguely revealing a glimpse of dazzling whiteness.
The empress’s voice was gentle yet cool as she educated the alpha before her on what should have been common knowledge to everyone.
This included the differences between alpha, beta, and omega attributes, as well as some points each should be aware of.
Of course, Gu Junwan didn’t say much about marking-related knowledge.
The omega’s heat period and the alpha’s sensitive period were also briefly mentioned, without going into detail.
In a different setting, she could have calmly discussed these matters scientifically with others.
But not now!
Especially since she had just relieved her own desires by being close to this alpha.
No matter how composed Gu Junwan appeared on the surface, she couldn’t pretend nothing had happened.
…
Long after Gu Junwan had finished bandaging and speaking, Shen Han was still in a dazed state.
She understood each ‘knowledge point’ the other had mentioned, but it would take some time to fully digest it all.
Taking advantage of the alpha’s daze, Gu Junwan gently pressed a suppressant patch on the back of the other’s neck.
The girl’s hair was very fine and soft, and her neck seemed to still retain traces of her own cold plum scent.
Gu Junwan’s ears reddened slightly, and she quickly withdrew her slender hand, inconspicuously moving a bit farther from the person beside her.
Shen Han didn’t notice the change in the other’s mood.
She moved the reheated roast chicken away from the fire, took off the most succulent chicken leg, and handed it to the person beside her.
Having been on the run for days, Gu Junwan had been sustaining herself with only small amounts of biscuits and was truly hungry.
She didn’t stand on ceremony, accepting the crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside roast chicken leg and began to eat in small bites.
The good upbringing the omega empress had received since childhood allowed her to maintain elegance even in this situation.
It was something that had merged into her blood, natural and without any affectation.
Shen Han’s eating manner was also quite refined, but her eating speed was extremely fast.
While dealing with her food, she used her peripheral vision to steal glances at Gu Junwan, finding it quite pleasing to watch the other eat.
The omega’s appetite wasn’t large.
The vast majority of the two mountain chickens ended up in Shen Han’s stomach.
After toiling until the early hours, the two finally leaned against opposite sides of the cave and fell into a light sleep.
…
The early morning mountain forest temperature was low.
Gu Junwan had just stepped out of the cave when she sneezed twice in succession.
During her previous escape, she had changed clothes several times to confuse her pursuers.
Now, she wore only a thin plain shirt on top, and her casual trousers seemed a bit short, revealing a pair of slender ankles.
When Shen Han crossed over, she was wearing combat gear.
But upon waking, for some reason, her clothes had changed to a set of sportswear.
She took off her sports jacket and directly stuffed it into Gu Junwan’s hands.
She herself wore only a gray short-sleeved T-shirt, looking particularly youthful and energetic.
Gu Junwan held the incredibly warm jacket in her hands, feeling as if she was hugging a heater.
The crisp snow cedar scent wafted up, simultaneously soothing her palms and her heart.
“I don’t need it.”
The omega empress issued a cool defiance.
Shen Han had already begun squinting up at the clouds in the sky.
While observing the slant of the sunlight, she spoke: “Then help me hold it, or put it in your backpack.”
Gu Junwan was silent for a moment, but ultimately chose to put on the jacket.
Right now, she desperately needed this thing in her hands.
The snow cedar scent unique to the alpha girl and the lingering body warmth enveloped her together.
Like the sun, it brought Gu Junwan endless warmth.
“From here, continue walking northeast for 150 li, and you’ll reach New Li Country, which borders the Free Federation.”
TN: 1 li = 500 meters; 0.5 kilometers; 0.3 miles.
Gu Junwan said this as she slowly walked to Shen Han’s side.
Shen Han turned her head to look at this omega wearing her jacket, her mood inexplicably becoming very pleasant.
The two walked side by side towards the northeast.
With the help of Shen Han, this top-tier alpha, Gu Junwan’s travel efficiency was much higher than when she was alone.
Physical exhaustion became secondary; the other’s presence brought her great psychological comfort.
Gu Junwan’s slender hands tightly gripped the sleeve cuffs of the jacket imbued with the snow cedar scent.
It was as if a gentle breeze had swept across the lake of her heart, creating layers of subtle ripples.
At the same moment.
In the cave where the two had stayed the night before.
A team of pursuers dressed in camouflage combat gear was scanning the traces left in the cave with instruments.
These were six male alphas of C-rank, one of the teams pursuing Gu Junwan.
On this planet, the rarest and top-tier alphas were S-rank, like Shen Han.
In descending order were A-rank, B-rank, C-rank, and finally D-rank.
Although the individual ranks of this pursuit team weren’t high, they made up for it with excellent equipment.
Combined with their team combat, their overall strength was not to be underestimated.
“Report to the commander, the site has been confirmed. The empress indeed rested here, leaving no more than four hours ago.”
“In addition, traces of another person were detected at the scene, an S-rank alpha!”
“…”
Listening to the information reported by his subordinates, the middle-aged commander stared at a small patch of congealed blood at his feet and said in a deep voice: “That alpha was injured. Pursue at full speed. We can’t let the empress escape this dense forest.”
…
Shen Han and Gu Junwan were replenishing their water supply by a stream.
Suddenly, the girl wearing the gray short-sleeved T-shirt and a high ponytail stood up.
She looked back towards the direction from which she and Gu Junwan had come, her eyes flickering slightly.
Like a lone wolf catching the scent of prey, without any central nervous system commands, her entire body tensed, ready for battle.
Gu Junwan’s gaze also fell on the latter’s body following the girl’s movement.
She felt that at this moment, Shen Han was full of wild tension.
Very dangerous, yet very attractive.
“What’s wrong?”
“The pursuers you mentioned earlier have arrived. They’ll be here in about five minutes.”
During their journey earlier, Gu Junwan had told the others about her current dire situation.
Except for not mentioning her identity as empress, she didn’t conceal anything about the formidable opposing forces she faced.
In her view, everyone had the right to choose their own life path.
It would be best if the other was willing to stay and help her.
If the other wanted to leave, she could understand that too.
After all, who, no matter how good-natured, wouldn’t take their own life and safety seriously?
Shen Han’s choice somewhat surprised her.
Yet, deep down, it seemed to be within her expectations.
At the time, the girl had said with a grinning face, full of confidence: “Don’t worry, I’m very capable!”
Now, the girl unceremoniously lifted her onto her back.
While wading across the stream, she said: “You need to stay on the other bank, buy me as much time as possible.”
Gu Junwan lay on the girl’s not-so-broad back, her body somewhat stiff.
“Are you planning to use the sound of the stream to mask your footsteps? But even with a surprise attack, you can’t possibly take them all out at once.”
“Moreover, it’s very risky.”
The cold plum fragrance followed her breath, blowing into Shen Han’s ear, quickly dyeing that fair earlobe a shade of crimson.
Shen Han shrank her neck and quickly said: “If once isn’t enough, we’ll deal with them in batches. The pursuers plan to capture you alive, that’s their biggest weakness. You don’t need to worry, I guarantee you won’t be harmed.”
As she finished speaking, she had already gently set down the woman on her back on the opposite bank.
Then, she turned and jumped across the rocks from a distance, crossing the stream again without leaving a trace, and darted into the forest.
Shen Han’s movements were very swift.
So much so that Gu Junwan didn’t have time to explain that the risk she referred to wasn’t about herself, but concern for the other.
The pursuit team arrived quickly.
Almost immediately after Gu Junwan withdrew her gaze, six men in camouflage combat gear arrived with guns.
The two sides faced each other across a rapid long stream.
The middle-aged commander raised his arm to stop his subordinates from charging immediately.
Faced with this empress of such important status, he had to exercise sufficient caution.
He looked at the slender yet straight figure on the opposite bank, his eagle-like gaze sweeping back and forth over the sports jacket that obviously didn’t belong to her.
“Your Majesty, where is your S-rank alpha guard? Let her come out.”
The middle-aged man’s words directly revealing Shen Han’s existence didn’t disturb Gu Junwan’s composure.
She stood quietly by the stream, her golden irises filled with endless authority.
At that moment, the middle-aged commander felt as if he had instantly returned to three years ago, when he first saw her in the Peace Palace’s great hall.
At that time, he and over a hundred military officers had saluted their empress together, solemn and devout.
“Captain White Wing of the 36th Division of the Fifth Army Group, may I know on what grounds you chose to become a rebel?”
The empress’s cool voice crossed the stream bank, falling on the ears of the six combat personnel.
It caused this well-trained alpha team to feel a hint of trepidation in their hearts.
And it was at this moment.
The soldier standing on the far right felt a chill on his neck, and before he could react, blood was already gushing from the major artery on the side of his neck.
Shen Han pulled out the handgun from his waist, cocked it, and then fired two shots at the nearest person.
The bullets spun into the second soldier’s temple, exploding into a dazzling flower of blood under the scorching sun.