After Becoming a Cannon-Fodder Lackey, I Swore to Protect the Young Lady to the Death - Chapter 23

To Li Gangjiao’s utter surprise, Lu Jiaoyue didn’t head toward the school. Instead, she drove straight toward the outskirts of the city.

“Aren’t we going to class today?” Li Gangjiao checked the date on her phone. Confirming it was indeed Wednesday, she looked at Lu Jiaoyue in confusion.

“We’re going to save Su Momo,” Lu Jiaoyue replied, her eyes fixed on the moving red dot of the GPS navigation.

“Wait, do you even have a driver’s license?” Before she could process the weight of Lu Jiaoyue’s mission, an even more urgent concern hit her. Driving without a license was a big no-no in her book.

“I don’t. And I don’t need one. This car is fully autonomous. If we get caught… we’ll just pay the fine.” Unlike Li Gangjiao, who looked slightly terrified, Lu Jiaoyue appeared perfectly composed—almost indifferent.

Li Gangjiao: The ugly face of capitalism! I’m so jealous!

“Is it just the two of us?” Li Gangjiao asked, a beat late to the realization of the danger.

“Mhm. Too many people would be easy to spot,” Lu Jiaoyue nodded.

Watching the scenery shift from semi-populated streets to the vast, desolate mountains, Li Gangjiao silently offered a prayer for her own safety. She remembered the original novel: to keep the female lead imprisoned, the male lead had tucked her away in the most remote mountain range imaginable.

Soon, Li Gangjiao understood the true meaning of “remote.” The mountain road was a series of treacherous hairpin turns; if a second car appeared on the path, a rear-end collision was practically a guarantee.

If the original impoverished female lead was a “child of the mountains,” then the author’s idea of “sweet romance” was apparently sending that child back into even deeper mountains to be locked up. Li Gangjiao couldn’t help but think the author was unhinged. What kind of person thinks taking away someone’s basic human right to freedom is “romantic”? Even the Penal Code would shake its head at this plot.

As the red dot on the tracker drew closer, Lu Jiaoyue’s eyes lit up with a strange, fervent excitement. I can change things, right? Even if the universe wouldn’t answer, her actions provided her with a resounding “yes.”

Lush greenery carpeted the base of the mountains, with occasional slivers of broken sunlight piercing through the canopy. Wild grass and flowers grew unchecked in the muddy earth, a testament to the raw vitality of the wilderness.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out.

A bullet tore through the air, shattering the car window just as the first rays of morning sun hit the glass. The shards webbed outward like an invisible net.

In the distance, a girl in a white dress stumbled out from the undergrowth. Dirt and blood stained the hem of her once-pristine garment. Her silky hair was a mess, tangled with a few withered leaves, and her sneakers were completely caked in thick mud. She looked so battered it was hard to recognize her. She was still a short distance from the car, but her injured leg seemed unable to carry her any further.

“Grab the ballistic shield and the handgun from the trunk!” Lu Jiaoyue glanced at the now-stationary red dot, tore off her seatbelt, and bolted out of the car.

“Tsk. This is getting complicated.” Li Gangjiao spotted a group of men chasing after them from the mountainside and quickly rounded the back of the car.

“My leg…” Su Momo whispered, shaking her head. Her eyes were hollowed by despair; she couldn’t walk another step.

Lu Jiaoyue hauled her up, supporting her weight. In this situation, they could only “shuffle” forward.

Bang—!

Another shot rang out. Su Momo trembled violently as the bullet slammed into Li Gangjiao’s ballistic shield with a heavy thud.

“One for each of you,” Li Gangjiao said, handing out the weapons while keeping the shield firmly anchored between them and the threat.

“How many bullets?” Su Momo took the gun, using a blood-stained hand to wipe the tears from her eyes. Her voice was shaking.

“Seven. I’ve already chambered a round,” Lu Jiaoyue said, slipping her own handgun into her school uniform pocket.

“That’s enough.” Su Momo’s pale lips were now stained a vivid, macabre red from the blood on her fingers. She gripped the gun with white-knuckled intensity. “They won’t dare kill me. Hold the shield and stay still. I’ll take the shots.”

Su Momo struggled to steady her center of gravity before spinning around and raising the weapon. The pursuers hesitated for a split second, but seeing they were outnumbered, they charged again.

Bang—!

Bang—!

Two shots. She precisely blew the lead pursuer’s head open. Blood sprayed from the entry wound, his eyes wide with disbelief before his body crumpled and fell.

Just like that, no one dared to move forward.

“Her aim is better than mine…” Li Gangjiao, her jaw nearly hitting the floor, gave Su Momo a literal thumbs-up.

The wind whipped through Su Momo’s skirt. Her hand was still trembling, yet a smile she couldn’t hide spread across her small, innocent face. A single tear rolled down her cheek. In her past life, she had turned the gun on herself countless times out of sheer agony, forgetting that a gun was never meant to be pointed inward.

“You made me suffer. You’re just like him. Since that’s the case, none of you deserve to live.” Her murmur wasn’t directed at them; it was a quiet, chilling encouragement to herself.

When she sensed someone else trying to creep forward, she fired twice more without hesitation. This time, the pursuers broke. They scattered in a panic, fleeing back up the mountain.

It turned out that even these “loyal lapdogs” were afraid of death.

“Hahaha!” Her laughter echoed through the silent valley. The wind carried the sound toward the fleeing men, wrapping around their necks like a ghostly shroud.

Li Gangjiao: Oh man. The pure white lily of a female lead has officially bloomed into a demonic rafflesia.

Lu Jiaoyue: Her aim is incredible. I need to learn that.

As her messy hair danced in the wind, Su Momo’s hand finally steadied, though her grip on the gun only tightened.

“We need to go,” Lu Jiaoyue said, supporting the laughing, crying Su Momo as they began the grueling shuffle back to the car. Li Gangjiao didn’t drop her guard for a second, keeping the shield raised and her eyes locked on the path behind them.

Perhaps Su Momo’s “two shots, one kill” display had been sufficiently terrifying, because not a single person looked back until they reached the car.

“Bunch of paper tigers,” Li Gangjiao grumbled, finally letting out a breath of relief.

The car started up smoothly. Su Momo sat in the back, taking a disposable towel from Lu Jiaoyue. Once the blood was wiped away, she looked like the same fragile, delicate girl she had always been.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“No problem!” Li Gangjiao grinned, pointing at Lu Jiaoyue who was busy with the navigation.

Lu Jiaoyue made a “shush” gesture and handed over her phone. On the screen, she had typed: Check yourself for any trackers or listening devices.

Su Momo paused, then shook her head. “Don’t worry. I threw them all away while I was running.”

“Just to be safe, find a clothing store, change your outfit, and dump the old ones in a nearby trash can,” Lu Jiaoyue said, only speaking after turning on a voice changer.

“I will,” Su Momo agreed. She knew better than anyone after so many failed escapes in her past life that those strange trackers were a runaway’s worst nightmare. She wasn’t going back to that man. Not this time.

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