After the Cannon Fodder Awakens, They Marry the Heroine! - Chapter 1

Tap—tap-tap. Rhythmic footsteps echoed from a distance, drawing closer.

A man and a woman, dressed in tattered disciple robes, walked cautiously through a bottomless passage. Their only source of light was a fire starter in the male disciple’s hand, emitting a faint, weak glow.

“Junior Sister, I’ve implicated you this time,” the male disciple said with a face full of suppressed indignation. “Rest assured, the humiliation we suffered today—I will surely repay it a hundredfold in the future!”

“Senior Brother, you were innocent to begin with. I only said what I ought to have said. There is no talk of ‘implication’ or otherwise,” Wen Runan replied with a firm tone, though she hid her indifferent expression within the darkness.

One hundred times. This was already the hundredth time she had walked this path. Once the Male Lead picked up his “massive experience pack” for leveling up, her mission would finally be complete.

After continuing forward for about half an hour, a rusted bronze gate appeared before their eyes.

The Male Lead, acting purely out of curiosity, reached out to touch it. Immediately, a deep wound—deep enough to see the bone—appeared in his palm.

“This gate is incredibly strange!” Seeing his dripping blood being absorbed by the door, the Male Lead retreated several steps in a defensive stance.

“Senior Brother, your hand is bleeding!” Wen Runan cried out with a face full of worry. She quickly tore a strip from her sleeve. “Senior Brother, don’t move. Let me bandage it for you.”

At the same time, the bronze gate, having absorbed the blood, seemed to trigger a mechanism. It slowly swung inward, and the chandeliers hanging in the air flickered to life.

The stale scent of old blood drifted out. Dozens of pitch-black chains were interlaced and crisscrossed, all converging upon a red-robed woman with long, disheveled hair.

“Senior Brother, rumors say a Great Demon is sealed within the Forbidden Grounds…” Wen Runan spoke at the opportune moment, providing a reminder. “Could she be…?”

The Male Lead was initially startled into taking a step back. However, remembering that he had recently learned a cultivation technique that allowed him to absorb cultivation across different levels, a flash of wild joy crossed his eyes.

“Don’t worry, Junior Sister. Even if the rumors are true, this demon has been sealed for thousands of years. She’s long since been broken,” the Male Lead said, feigning composure.

Seeing that the Male Lead had taken the bait, Wen Runan resumed her role as a dutiful “tool” character and slowed her pace as she walked inside.

Hearing the familiar conversation and footsteps, Li Mo, whose spiritual apertures were all sealed by chains, slowly opened her eyes. Wen Runan’s face was reflected in her dark red pupils.

Oh, she’s here again.

Will she treat me like she did the first time?

Or will she be like the subsequent ninety-eight times—standing aside as a cold bystander, watching my cultivation be entirely devoured before I die in misery?

Li Mo’s gaze fell upon Wen Runan’s slender neck, which was so white it seemed to glow. If one looked closely, the faint blue veins beneath the skin were visible.

I really want to pounce and take a bite. I wonder what her blood tastes like?

At the thought of warm blood spraying onto her face, Li Mo couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. Her body began to tremble.

Wen Runan felt a bit creeped out by the stare. The reaction of this “experience pack” seems a bit different than before? Is it just my imagination?

“Junior Sister, hide behind me. Let me eliminate this demon!” The Male Lead stepped forward, suppressing his excitement. Once he confirmed that the spiritual apertures on Li Mo’s body were indeed pierced through by chains, his courage swelled.

Wen Runan obediently took two steps back. Thinking that she would be able to leave this small world in a moment, a slight curve touched the corners of her mouth.

It was precisely because of this momentary joy that Wen Runan got distracted. By the time she snapped back to reality, a sharp, hurried scream erupted from the Male Lead’s throat.

The “massive experience pack” in her eyes had somehow broken free from the chains. A flamboyant and cruel smile hung on her face, and her dark red pupils held a madness that could not be concealed.

Li Mo’s scar-covered right hand gripped the Male Lead’s neck. She lifted him up with one hand like one would a small chick.

Crack. The sound of snapping bone rang out. Before he could even successfully complete his Foundation Establishment, the Male Lead lost his life just like that.

“Crap!” An alarm blared in Wen Runan’s mind. She didn’t waste a single movement; she turned around and bolted.

To hell with this “experience pack”! Of all the times for something to go wrong, it had to be during my final guidance mission! What a nightmare!

Li Mo did not move to stop the fleeing Wen Runan. Instead, she pressed her hand onto the Male Lead’s head, tearing his skull and his soul into complete shreds.

Wen Runan sprinted all the way. With the help of her system, she reached the vicinity of the exit in less than ten minutes.

“Host, are you sure you want to leave? This will count as a mission failure!” System 033 reminded her.

“If I don’t leave, I’ll still fail! Didn’t you see that she crushed the Male Lead to death?” Wen Runan couldn’t help but complain.

Completing ninety-nine times shouldn’t be much different from a hundred. At worst, she would just temporarily give up her right to choose the next three mission worlds.

Just as Wen Runan stepped toward the exit, a gust of wind carrying the scent of blood blew past.

Oh no, the experience pack caught up!

A shadow appeared before Wen Runan. She tried to pivot and dodge, but due to her momentum, she couldn’t stop and crashed straight into it.

“Hiss—” The massive counterforce sent Wen Runan falling onto her backside. She clutched her badly bumped nose, and tears immediately welled up.

“It hurts?” Because she hadn’t spoken in a long time, Li Mo’s voice was incredibly hoarse. However, this did not stop her from happily admiring her little prey.

“It hurts,” Wen Runan said, her face changing instantly to an honest and submissive expression. “Senior, I entered this place by mistake. I absolutely have no ill intentions toward you. Could Senior be magnanimous and spare my life?”

Li Mo let out a light chuckle, the tip of her tongue curling to lick her dry, cracked lips. “What do you think?”

“Senior, this is a Forbidden Ground. If you spare me, I can lead you out,” Wen Runan felt she could still be salvaged. “What does Senior think of this proposal?”

Li Mo tilted her head, looking at her little prey. Her gaze fell on the girl’s fair neck; perhaps because she had run too fast, a faint flush had appeared on it.

“Senior?” The silence of the “experience pack” made Wen Runan feel uncertain. If this weren’t a “Novice World,” she would have exchanged points for a getaway tool long ago.

“What flavor are you?” Li Mo murmured. Her hoarse accent made this simple question sound strange and eerie.

Wen Runan’s eyelids twitched wildly. This is bad. If things keep going like this, I’m definitely doomed.

“Thank you for the compliment,” Li Mo said, followed by a loud laugh. She then reached out, grabbed Wen Runan’s collar, and bit directly into her neck.

Warm blood flooded her mouth. Upon discovering that Wen Runan’s blood carried the same metallic scent as everyone else’s, dissatisfaction flickered in Li Mo’s eyes.

“Your blood tastes the same after all.” Li Mo released Wen Runan’s collar. She gently laid her flat on the ground and then squatted to the side, watching her intently.

Wen Runan’s features were contorted in pain. Her survival instinct made her cover her neck with her hands, trying to slow the blood loss.

But it was all in vain. The wound inflicted by Li Mo would not heal; the only purpose of her struggle was to amuse Li Mo.

“Senior, you and I have no grievances… why must you take my life?” Wen Runan asked with great difficulty.

Li Mo did not answer. Instead, she stared into Wen Runan’s eyes. “You said my eyes were beautiful. Do you want me to gouge them out and give them to you?”

What?? A string of question marks popped up in Wen Runan’s head. After staring into those dark red pupils for a long time, Wen Runan suddenly remembered something.

During her very first guidance mission, she had done something entirely unnecessary.

After the “experience pack” had finished delivering the experience points, Wen Runan—unable to bear the sight—had personally removed all the chains from the woman and manually closed her eyes.

At that time, she seemed to have whispered a sentence.

“Your eyes are truly beautiful.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

“You…” Wen Runan suddenly connected the dots. The memory of this “experience pack” hadn’t been reset?

“Do you want them?” Li Mo tilted her head and asked. The gaze she fixed on Wen Runan was incredibly focused and intense, as if she were the only thing in this world worth noticing.

“I want a ham—” Before Wen Runan could finish her sentence, her blood flow accelerated due to her agitation, and her soul returned to the void.

Li Mo looked at Wen Runan’s corpse in confusion, repeating her last words. “Want a ham?”

What does that mean? Does she want them or not?

Li Mo hesitated for a moment. Then, with an expressionless face, she used her hand to gouge out one of her own eyeballs and carefully placed it into Wen Runan’s hand.

“Your eyes are also very beautiful,” Li Mo said. She licked the blood trickling from the corner of her mouth and placed her hand over Wen Runan’s face, helping her close her eyes.

“Crap, 033! What is going on! Why does this ‘experience pack’ have previous memories!” Wen Runan was currently in a soul state, but she didn’t dare leave her body at will.

After all, in the setting of this small world, this “experience pack” was a Great Demon! A demon who had nearly destroyed the world thousands of years ago!

“Host, please do not worry. I have already submitt…” The System’s voice cut off abruptly, followed by a burst of static and electrical interference.

Wen Runan closed her eyes in pain. She could clearly feel that something on her person was being forcibly stripped away.

Wait, I don’t have a body anymore. Who is stripping away the thing attached to my soul?

Wen Runan endured the pain and opened her eyes. She froze instantly, her soul turning rigid.

Li Mo was clutching a small, glowing sphere in her hand. Sensing the immense energy within the struggling sphere, she swallowed it whole.

“Holy crap!” Wen Runan let out a scream from the depths of her soul.

The moment System 033 was devoured, Wen Runan was also forcibly teleported out.

“Burp—” Li Mo let out a dazed burp, and her eyes began to go hollow.

The information that originally belonged to the System surged into Li Mo’s mind rapidly, and was absorbed and digested by her at an even faster rate.

Ah, so that’s how it is.