Her Rose – Chapter 89

In the crystal castle bathed in red light, crystal stairs spiraled upward, seemingly without end.

Cheng Ying ascended the steps unhurriedly, showing no sign of impatience.

From the moment she truly entered this world constructed by Cheng Mo, all paths of escape had been sealed.

Another meaning for having nowhere to run was having infinite time to waste.

Although, without Jiang Hanguang, such time was meaningless in itself.

As long as the god of the world allowed it, no matter where you went, you would always arrive at the place she wanted you to reach.

Cheng Ying rounded the final corner, and the cramped view instantly opened up.

In the spacious castle hall, an eerie red light seeped in through the windows that dotted the walls, spreading throughout the crystal castle like flowing, dark red blood.

A slender woman in a long, black, classical robe sat leisurely on the central throne, one hand propping up her chin. She watched the direction Cheng Ying came from with a smile.

Even though Cheng Ying hated this person to her very bones, she still couldn’t, in good conscience, say that Cheng Mo was hideous.

In fact, the other woman’s face, which bore a fifty-percent resemblance to her own and was exceptionally well-maintained, always wore a modest and polite smile, just like a propaganda poster from a textbook. As long as she didn’t speak, she looked far more likable than Cheng Ying.

“You certainly kept me waiting. I was thinking that if you didn’t show up soon, I’d just kill a few people to hurry you along.” As expected, the moment the beast in fine clothes on the throne opened her mouth, she exposed her murderous nature.

Cheng Ying also smiled, a completely nonchalant smile. “Be my guest. You think I care if they live or die?”

Cheng Mo smiled and shook her head. “If you don’t care about the lives of those ants, why go to such lengths to try and stop me?”

A cold glint flashed through the woman’s black eyes, and her tone suddenly turned frigid. “I was so close to breaking through the restrictions of Chaos itself and controlling every Cheng’s-produced machine in the world. If it weren’t for you…”

“Hahahahaha.” Cheng Ying burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that tears streamed down her face, forcing her to bend over and clutch her stomach.

Cheng Mo, whose words had been interrupted, showed no displeasure. She simply watched the woman who was doubled over with laughter.

Only when Cheng Ying’s laughter subsided did she look up at her mockingly. “You mean, I should have waited for you to take control of the world, then led a rebel army to fight you for a few decades, only to be hanged from the city walls by you?”

A faint smile touched the corners of Cheng Mo’s mouth, carrying a surprising hint of gratification. “You’ve grown quite a bit in the years I’ve been away.”

Before her voice had even faded, she abruptly raised her hand. A gentle breeze stirred. Cheng Ying’s smile didn’t falter as she casually waved her hand, and a silvery-white light enveloped her, like a giant soap bubble.

After a few crisp clinks, several invisible blades condensed from the air crashed against the shield and slowly dissipated.

Cheng Ying laughed with delight. “You, on the other hand, haven’t changed a bit. Still as disgusting as ever.”

Cheng Mo smiled and shook her head gently. “You should have let me finish.” The fact that her attack was blocked didn’t faze her in the slightest. The woman raised her hand as regally as a monarch, and four enormous swords of light rapidly materialized behind her. Each one was exquisitely crafted, their blades glinting with a chilling light, easily capable of cleaving an adult in two. “But this self-righteous flaw of yours is as disappointing as ever.”

As she finished speaking, the woman’s voice suddenly deepened, erupting with a bone-chilling killing intent.

And as if they understood their master’s thoughts, the four greatswords swept their tails and charged toward Cheng Ying with a sharp, piercing whistle.

Cheng Ying’s lips tightened. In that split second, she had already erected several barriers of varying colors, which cast mottled light and shadows on the crystal palace walls.

The sword edges struck down heavily without showing any weakness, crashing onto the circular barriers and producing the coarse noise of metal on metal.

A faint cracking sound echoed through the palace. Where the swords had struck the barriers, fine cracks were spreading at a terrifying speed.

Cheng Ying’s expression grew even grimmer. Cheng Mo remained as unhurried as ever, even having the leisure to explain, “I designed these swords to be an ever-victorious edge. Before them, even the sturdiest defense is no match.”

She had expected to see the woman opposite her show a flustered and exasperated expression, but unexpectedly, through the gradually shattering barrier, she still saw Cheng Ying’s smiling face.

That beautiful face, a harmonious blend of depth and gentleness, was smiling wantonly and ferociously, like a gambler who had placed their life and fortune on the table, waiting for one final, high-stakes bet.

For the first time in a long while, a strong sense of unease rose in Cheng Mo’s heart, yet she couldn’t pinpoint its source.

No matter how much Cheng Ying struggled on the verge of death, in this world, she was a fish on the chopping block.

Stories of deicide only ever existed in legends, because they weren’t realistic.

Despite this, the unease still urged Cheng Mo to end this quickly.

She frowned, and the speed of the four swords suddenly increased. The barrier was instantly torn to shreds, and the blades passed through the scattered fragments, hacking straight for Cheng Ying’s limbs.

The flying debris cut deep gashes on Cheng Ying’s face, but she seemed to have lost her sense of pain, still smiling that same smile. A brilliant blue light rapidly condensed around the alpha’s body and then exploded.

With her as the epicenter, a gale so strong it felt tangible howled, blowing the longswords that were cleaving toward her slightly off course.

And Cheng Ying slipped through the narrow gap created as the intersecting blades were deflected by the wind.

The blades scraped against her form-fitting armor, producing a piercing sound of friction and cutting. Sprays of blood erupted from the gaps in the torn armor, like blood-red flowers blooming in mid-air.

This was truly too unsightly.

Cheng Mo frowned impatiently. She had thought Cheng Ying could pull out some trick that would impress her, but all she saw was this kind of meaningless death struggle.

The longswords that had been blown away adjusted their angle with extreme speed and stabbed straight at the alpha, whose back was now completely exposed.

The wind was still howling violently, and even the sturdy castle began to shake and crack ominously.

But a thin, light-blue film had already covered the four longswords. That film seemed to have a wind-resistant effect. The gale only briefly intercepted them but couldn’t stop them from piercing Cheng Ying’s body before she could reach Cheng Mo.

It’s over.

Cheng Mo looked at her daughter rushing madly toward her and made this judgment in her mind.

It was easier than she thought, and faster than she thought.

The instant the tips of the longswords touched Cheng Ying’s back, the alpha suddenly let out an inhuman roar.

That must be her final roar before death, Cheng Mo thought.

An azure light suddenly burst from the alpha’s back. The intense light instantly engulfed the entire castle hall. The blue light reflected by the crystals crisscrossed and intensified, so blinding that one couldn’t open their eyes.

The gale, twisted into two currents like a pair of giant wings, slammed into Cheng Ying’s back with extreme speed. She let out a pained grunt, her entire body pushed forward, dodging the pursuing sword points. She charged toward the woman on the throne at a speed nearly invisible to the naked eye.

In order to preserve her sensory functions as a human, Cheng Mo hadn’t truly made herself as omniscient as a god.

So when that bright light stabbed at her eyes, she instinctively raised a hand to shield them.

When she felt the sharp pain in her body, she looked blankly at Cheng Ying on top of her.

The expression on the alpha’s face was like that of a cornered, dying beast, ferocious and fierce. In her hand, she tightly gripped a long, golden sword.

The blade was plunged into Cheng Mo’s heart, the long hilt buried deep, pinning her to her own throne.

“Ha, ha, hahaha…” Cheng Ying gasped violently, mouthfuls of blood pouring from her lips and dripping onto Cheng Mo’s black robe.

The heavy blow to her spine just now had severely injured her internal organs. Now, every breath felt like a knife twisting in her abdomen.

But she was still smiling. Smiling, she ground out through her teeth, “I… just copied… the data from those swords. It truly is an ever-victorious edge, able to cut even a god’s body. I also added… a little something new for you. That stuff… will destroy your data. I don’t care what you are, just go to hell.”

The Cheng Mo beneath her didn’t answer. The woman’s black pupils were slowly losing focus, indicating that her consciousness was fading.

Cheng Ying released the hilt, staggered twice, and nearly fell. Just as she was about to lean against the throne to rest, a sharp whistling sound came from behind her.

“Wha—” Before she could finish her word, her entire body fell uncontrollably.

Cheng Ying crashed heavily to the ground. In her fading blue pupils, she saw her own arm fall beside her, the gushing blood splashing onto her face, hot and briny.

Unhurried applause came from a corner of the castle. A woman in a black robe walked unharmed from the corner to the front of the throne. She helped up her daughter, whose limbs had been severed, and gently caressed her cheek.

Cheng Ying could no longer speak, only stare at her, too weak to even convey her hatred.

“You’ve really grown up,” Cheng Mo smiled in gratification. “If I hadn’t prepared a substitute in advance, you would have almost succeeded.”

She stood up gracefully, glanced at her dead self on the throne, and gently spoke a final curse to the dying Cheng Ying, “Don’t worry. As a reward for ruining my plans, I will make good use of your body. There’s a limit to what a pile of data can do. I still prefer a human body.”

She no longer looked at Cheng Ying struggling uselessly below the throne, instead describing her own blueprint to herself. “A prodigal scion who luckily escapes from a perilous virtual world, turns over a new leaf, and eventually rules the world. This script isn’t bad, is it?”

In her blurry vision, there was only Cheng Mo’s straight back.

Cheng Ying no longer had the strength to curl her lips, but in her heart, she was sneering.

There will be no future. Your ambition, your evil deeds, will all be buried here with me.

She had buried a self-destruct program in the lowest level of Chaos’s system. It would activate immediately after she died completely.

No one, and no machine, would be able to escape the data explosion that would spread at the millisecond level.

Although the outcome would have been the same if she had just admitted defeat, she still had to put up a desperate struggle to prevent her overly cunning “mother” from seeing through her plan.

Of course… she couldn’t deny there was a sliver of wishful thinking.

Her farewell with Jiang Hanguang had been just a short while ago, but at this moment, Cheng Ying missed her immensely.

She was even having hallucinations.

A golden door opened in the center of the castle, and her lover walked out.

Is it a hallucination? It must be, right?

Jiang Hanguang should have woken up in the real world by now. She should be safe.

“Cheng Ying!”

But why was her voice so clear? Why was her hand so warm?

Cheng Mo turned around in a daze, only to see the unexpected visitor already holding the blood-soaked alpha in her arms. Her beautiful eyes were filled with tears, containing an emotion she had never seen before.

“Cheng Ying…” Jiang Hanguang held the alpha, who had been hacked into a bloody mess, at a loss. She didn’t even dare to hug her tightly, afraid that a little more force would extinguish the faint flame in her lover’s eyes.

“Who are you?”

Cheng Mo’s question seemed to startle Cheng Ying. She finally realized this wasn’t a dream and began to struggle desperately.

But she could only force out a single word, “Run…”

But her lover, who always gently complied with her wishes, now just shook her head resolutely. She carefully leaned Cheng Ying back against the throne and gently kissed the alpha’s blood-stained forehead.

“Wait for me here.”

Then she turned around and looked coldly at the somewhat bewildered master of this world.

“I am her lover.”

The woman’s flawless face showed no fear. Her full, red lips were stained with Cheng Ying’s blood, adding a touch of ferocity to her otherwise gentle features.

Even so, in Cheng Mo’s eyes, she was still far too harmless—so harmless that it made her feel a little unconfident.

The woman didn’t possess the kind of power that Cheng Ying, who carried an intelligent brain, had, which could threaten her. No matter how she looked at her, she was just an ordinary person.

So ordinary that Cheng Mo could think of countless ways to torture her to death without even trying.

But why wasn’t she afraid at all?

Cheng Mo thought for a moment and decided to answer her own question first. Anyway, Cheng Ying had already lost the ability to fight; she had plenty of time. “Was it that little intelligent brain Cheng Ying created that sent you here? Then you should know who I am.”

The woman before her spoke with a tone so cold it was as if she were stating that the sun rises in the east. “I know. You’re a madwoman.”

This answer was clearly beyond Cheng Mo’s expectations. She had anticipated only two scenarios: either the woman was a fool who knew nothing, or she was a lunatic who had no sense of fear.

But now, the other party had actually called her a madwoman.

Cheng Mo shook her head. “You don’t know.”

As soon as her words fell, Jiang Hanguang’s arm bent and twisted at a grotesque angle. The horrific sound of shattering bone instantly echoed throughout the hall.

“Ah…” The sudden, intense pain made Jiang Hanguang let out an uncontrollable scream, but she managed to choke back the latter half.

Cheng Ying heard the woman’s cry of pain and saw her straight back bend.

Run! Run!

Mantou, I told you to send her out! Why did you…

Damn it! Damn it!

I’ll kill you!

Move! Hurry!

Her originally fading consciousness was re-gathered by immense fear and anger. She struggled with all her might, but only managed to fall from the armrest of the throne to the ground. The limbless alpha could only move with difficulty on the floor, inch by inch, dragging a long trail of blood as she crawled toward the woman.

Jiang Hanguang bit her lip until it bled to regain her senses from the bone-piercing pain. Hearing the faint whimpers behind her, she was about to turn and tell Cheng Ying she was fine when a hand suddenly gripped her throat tightly.

Her entire body was lifted up by Cheng Mo and thrown away as if blowing away a dandelion seed.

The woman’s soft body slammed against a hard crystal pillar with a dull thud.

Jiang Hanguang felt as if all her internal organs had been displaced at the moment of impact. She fell heavily to the ground, unable to stand up again.

From a distance came Cheng Ying’s pained grunt. In her dimming vision, Jiang Hanguang tried to find the alpha’s figure, but her view was blocked by the woman who had approached her.

She still had that superior look, a cold sneer on her lips, as she looked at the fragile woman who was like a broken rag doll. “Do you know who I am now?”

The omega weakly lifted her head, her unfocused eyes wandering over the woman’s face as she breathed out two words, “I know…”

Cheng Mo finally smiled with satisfaction. From the first moment she saw Jiang Hanguang, she had felt very uncomfortable.

Now she finally understood the problem.

Because this mediocre and powerless human showed no fear in her presence.

Even when Cheng Ying cursed her, hated her, and even wanted to kill her, Cheng Mo didn’t think there was a problem.

Because she knew Cheng Ying feared her; extreme hatred was backed by extreme fear.

But this person before her dared to look at her so calmly, as if everything about her was not worth mentioning, as if she really were just a madwoman.

Fortunately, now she should be able to find that familiar expression on this person’s face.

This was also why she hadn’t killed this person directly.

“Then you still dare to come and stop me?”

This world was never short of self-righteous heroes who thought they could save the world. Their foolishness often matched their courage.

But now, she had demonstrated her invincibility to the woman.

So, be afraid, cry, wail in regret for your foolishness.

I will take your life at your most painful moment. In your next life, remember not to offend those you shouldn’t.

Cheng Mo’s gaze was locked on the woman’s face, ready to enjoy the fruits of her victory.

But this omega actually smiled. She was actually smiling?

A contemptuous smile appeared on the woman’s pale face. Her features were so beautiful that even when obscured by dust and stained with blood, it only added to her allure.

Like a red spider lily blooming on a smoke-filled battlefield—bewitching, fragile, yet so beautiful.

Cheng Mo was momentarily lost in thought. She had to admit that even if the woman before her was mediocre in talent, this face was still commendable.

Then she received her answer.

“You’re a pitiful wretch, so you don’t even know why I dared to come.”

The woman was too weak to stand and had to look up at her, but her gaze was still one of contempt and pity.

It wasn’t a feigned sharp tongue; she truly looked down on her.

An nameless anger suddenly ignited in Cheng Mo’s heart. The look in this person’s eyes reminded her of another person.

Her nominal wife, the vessel she used to create Cheng Ying.

You’re just a tool. Your talent is so meager, you have no power to resist me at all.

So why do you still dare to look at me with such eyes?

Cheng Mo raised a hand to cover her face and laughed coldly.

It didn’t matter. What she couldn’t understand was foolish anyway, and unimportant.

She just had to destroy it all.

She raised her hand, and scorching flames shot out from her palm, lunging straight at the woman before her.

In just a few seconds, she would be burned to a pile of cinders.

“No!” Cheng Mo heard Cheng Ying’s wail from behind her, but she didn’t pause for a second.

She really didn’t know the relationship between Cheng Ying and the woman.

This woman said she was her lover. Heh, so what if she was?

Cheng Ying had long since proven to her that she was just like her, willing to abandon everything for herself.

Just slowly regret your meaningless death in hell.

The scorching flames rushed toward her, and a sharp pain of being burned spread throughout her body. Jiang Hanguang let out an uncontrollable cry of pain.

But soon she could no longer make a sound. Her vocal cords had been quickly eroded by the spreading flames. Her eyes, behind that blinding crimson, fell into eternal darkness.

So this is death?

Jiang Hanguang thought blankly. Then, an even greater power burst forth from within her.

On the woman’s face, already burned beyond recognition, a final hint of a smile appeared.

In Cheng Ying’s blurry vision, there was only that blaze of fire. She murmured, “No, no.”

While dragging her broken body toward the fire.

She no longer had the heart to hate anyone. All her remaining consciousness urged this thing that could no longer be called a body to crawl forward.

Go to her side, let that fire burn me to ashes too.

Please.

Then she saw it. Tender branches and leaves stretched out from the charred remains of the woman’s body.

So green, so tender, yet bearing sharp thorns, they painted the only bright color in this cold and silent castle.

“What?” Cheng Mo’s eyes widened, an expression of disbelief climbing onto her face for the first time.

She saw a rose grow from the ashes, spreading and extending at a terrifying speed.

Its flowers were delicate and beautiful, its leaves were a fresh green. It looked so fragile, yet the scorching flames could not harm it in the slightest.

For the first time, Cheng Mo tasted fear. She instinctively increased the intensity of the flames, wanting to destroy this fragile flower along with everything else.

But the tender branches and leaves were completely unaffected, continuing to grow on their own.

Finally, just as Cheng Mo wanted to retreat, a slender, thorny rose branch wrapped around her ankle.

And squeezed hard.

“Ah!” Cheng Mo let out a miserable cry, not because of the pain, but because she discovered that the branch had actually squeezed deep into her ankle. The sharp thorns pierced her skin, and blood quickly seeped out, dyeing the branch red.

And her seemingly omnipotent power, like a punctured balloon, was rapidly and irretrievably draining into that branch.

The rose grew even faster, extending more branches to bind her in layer after layer.

Only this time, its target was no longer her power, but her life.

The branches, as if alive, scraped rapidly across her body, leaving behind terrifying bloody marks.

Cheng Mo screamed, struggling to crawl toward the not-so-distant Cheng Ying.

At this moment, she finally understood that this opponent was an existence she could not defeat.

She had completely lost the courage to resist and only wanted to use her last bit of strength to escape into Cheng Ying’s body.

But that was not allowed.

The rose’s slender branches tightened continuously, arduously and resolutely dragging this malicious person back to her original spot again and again.

Stay away from my lover. You are not worthy of touching her.

By the time the rose’s branches and leaves had completely devoured Cheng Mo’s body, Cheng Ying had finally almost crawled to their side.

She struggled to lift her head, wanting to get a clear look at the flower that had grown from Jiang Hanguang’s body.

But blood and tears blurred her eyes, and she didn’t even have a hand to wipe them away.

The death of the world’s creator clearly had an effect on this world. The castle emitted a dull rumbling sound, as if it were about to collapse.

But no one cared anymore.

Cheng Ying felt a soft petal brush against her cheek, wiping away her tears. She saw the vibrant flower clearly.

It was the most beautiful flower she had ever seen.

The soft rose petal left her eye, then, as if reluctant to leave her, slowly caressed her cheek.

It had the sharpest thorns, and the softest flower.

The rose-scented petal finally came to rest on the alpha’s bloodless lips, brushing against them lightly.

Like a lover’s farewell kiss.

Then, the once incomparably gorgeous flower instantly scattered, its branches and leaves withering, turning into a pile of residual ash.

Before the world collapsed, Cheng Ying heard the voice of Chaos.

“Cheng Mo deceased, Jiang Hanguang deceased. Congratulations, you have cleared the world. Teleportation channel opening soon.”