No Pampering the Vicious Cannon Fodder! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 5

Jing Yue felt as if he had just heard the biggest joke in the world.

Protecting?

He was protecting Xin Rong?

That Omega who used drugs to harm people and had a crooked mind?

Was he even worthy?

“I want to settle the score with him personally.” Jing Yue said, his face full of ruthlessness and his expression as cold as ice. “Is that not allowed?”

“Of course it’s allowed.” Kahn shrugged, his mockery unconcealed, clearly in a mood to watch a good show.

“What exactly are you trying to say?” Jing Yue’s eyes were dark, suppressing his temper, each word forced out through gritted teeth.

Kahn let out a light laugh, his tone frivolous: “I remember during the league last month, someone put laxatives in your cup. You didn’t say a word and just beat the guy up. That kid is still lying in the hospital.”

“And?” Jing Yue frowned, his expression growing more impatient. “Do you think I should beat up that Omega too? With that frail look of his, would he even survive one of my punches?”

Kahn’s smile became even wider: “Since when did you start caring about whether others live or die?”

Everyone knew Jing Yue was never a pushover. He was famous for being ruthless in the arena, never showing mercy. He had nearly caused fatalities several times. Kahn was well aware of this.

This deliberate misinterpretation pricked Jing Yue’s temper. His lips moved to retort, but he found he couldn’t find the right words. He simply turned his head away in frustration: “…I can’t be bothered to talk to you.”

Kahn smiled without saying anything, in no rush to expose him. He just took a slow sip of wine and finally spoke leisurely after a long silence: “That necklace—I’ll find a chance to ask Brother Qiang for it back. He was just venting his anger today. We still have business to do in the future, right? If he knows that thing is of extraordinary significance to you, he won’t really make things difficult for you.”

“I told you I don’t care about it.” Jing Yue snapped his head back, his face flushing red as he threw out a sentence in shamed anger, “…I’ve wanted to throw it away for a long time.”

“Look at you, why get so worked up?” Kahn laughed mischievously, clearly not taking the rebuttal seriously.

Six months ago, when Jing Yue first arrived here, Kahn’s arena was just an obscure little place that could barely afford rent.

At that time, Jing Yue had just lost his chance at the military academy. With no school to attend, he had to come out to earn a living.

The popular arenas exclusively wanted Alphas of A-rank or higher. For a disabled person like him, they wouldn’t even give him a glance.

Jing Yue begged Kahn to keep him for a year, as long as he had food to eat.

In the end, in less than half a year, this kid made a name for himself. He single-handedly brought this dying place back to life, and even now, he only took basic subsidies, never raising his price because of his rising fame.

Although this kid was unsociable, had a hot temper, and was sometimes particularly stubborn, he was indeed upright. Kahn truly regarded him as a younger brother in his heart.

Kahn’s expression became unusually serious, his tone lowering with a bit of sincerity: “Honestly, if you ever meet someone you truly like one day, I’d be genuinely happy for you.”

Jing Yue didn’t say a word for a long time, but his fingers hanging by his knees quietly curled tight.

Whether before or after his disability, there was never a lack of people showing him kindness. He wasn’t blind to those who were interested in him.

Not to mention, someone had shoved a love letter right in front of him; he couldn’t pretend not to know even if he wanted to.

That guy had delicate skin and tender flesh, clearly raised in the palm of someone’s hand. Every gesture carried a sense of daintiness. He didn’t belong to the same world as someone like himself who had crawled out of the mud.

Even if there were a tiny bit of sincerity, it was nothing more than a whim, a search for novelty.

Jing Yue wasn’t crazy or stupid. How could he take a few sweet words concocted by someone like that seriously?

“Stop overthinking. There’s nothing going on.” Jing Yue refuted impatiently.

“Fine, fine, I won’t annoy you anymore.” Kahn waved his hand with a smile, stopping while he was ahead, then straightened his expression. “I came over to talk business. I just talked to Brother Qiang about compensation. He requested an extra exhibition match this weekend. After the match, you have to stay and sign autographs for people. What do you think?”

Jing Yue never liked public exposure and held things like fan service in contempt. But this time it was a mess he caused; by all reason and logic, he wouldn’t refuse. He immediately agreed.

“However, the match time happens to clash with the Charity Auction. Weren’t you wanting to go? How about I talk to Brother Qiang again and switch the match time for you?”

“No need.” Jing Yue answered decisively. “Compensation shouldn’t be delayed too long. Let’s do it this weekend.”

He indeed wanted to go to the auction.

If he could have the chance to have dinner with Marshal Shi Yuan and let the Marshal see his ambition to fight for the galaxy, then his path back to the military academy would surely be much smoother.

But he had just caused such a large loss for the arena, he couldn’t add more trouble.

As for the auction…

There would always be another chance in the future.

“Little coal ball, are you sure the protagonist will show up?”

In the magnificent auditorium, Xin Rong took a small sip of Baileys, his fingertips stroking the bidding paddle in his hand.

050’s wings vibrated slightly, its round body leaning against Xin Rong’s shoulder. It had just sneaked a few sips of alcohol and was currently feeling woozy.

“O-Of course he’ll come!” It gave a wine-induced hiccup, patting its chest to act tough. “What did I say before? This is an un-unshakeable plot direction!”

The light from the crystal chandeliers fell onto Xin Rong’s well-tailored white suit, making his fair skin look even more lustrous like jade. With a few drinks down, a faint flush rose on his cheeks. His watery eyes looked around anxiously, and his delicate eyebrows were tightly knitted.

“But the auction is about to start, and I still haven’t found where he is.” Xin Rong bit his lip, his voice low and tinged with unease.

050 wobbled as it raised its wing: “Relax. Unless something went wrong with the previous missions, there’s no way he won’t come. I’ve guided so many hosts, and there has n-never been a problem!”

As the auction officially began, items were sold one by one. Xin Rong’s gaze scanned back and forth through the crowd, yet he still couldn’t find the protagonist’s figure.

“Little coal ball, the protagonist still hasn’t come.” His voice now carried a hint of agitation.

050 let out a wine hiccup. Xin Rong hurriedly moved the wine glass away to prevent this tipsy little coal ball from sneaking another sip.

“Don’t worry. The New Year’s dinner is the permanent finale of the auction. Maybe the protagonist wants to time it perfectly. He’s lost his job now and his future is bleak, where else could he go if not the auction?”

Time marched on quietly. The host announced loudly: “Ladies and gentlemen, next is the most anticipated item of the night—the opportunity to have New Year’s dinner with Marshal Shi Yuan! The bidding officially begins!”

“Eighty thousand!”

“One hundred thousand!”

“One hundred and ten thousand!”

Bidding voices rose one after another. Xin Rong finally couldn’t hold back: “Little coal ball.”

050 had long since slumped on his shoulder, snoring away.

“LITTLE COAL BALL!!”

Xin Rong, with a darkened face, reached out and grabbed its demon horn, giving it a hard yank and forcing it out of its dream.

050 opened its eyes dizzily. After seeing the situation clearly, its drunkenness vanished by more than half.

“Uh… I admit, there might be a tiny… minor situation.”

“A TINY ONE?!” Anger flared in Xin Rong’s beautiful eyes, his cheeks puffing out.

050 scratched its head guiltily, completely puzzled: “But we clearly finished the missions. How could this happen…”

Xin Rong took a deep breath, quickly running through the details of the previous mission in his head.

“You said before that the protagonist comes to the auction because he was fired by the arena and was at the end of his rope.”

“That’s right.”

After a moment of silence, Xin Rong clicked on the combat section of the Star Net forum. A discussion thread was live-streaming tonight’s match.

The person dominating the arena in the frame—who was it if not Jing Yue?

Everything was explained now.

The protagonist didn’t lose his job at the arena at all. Not only that, he had a match tonight, so naturally, he had no time to come to some auction.

Now 050 was completely panicked: “Th-then what do we do? This is a key plot! If it’s not completed, many subsequent plots will collapse!”

Meanwhile, the bidding was still intense.

“Two hundred and twenty thousand!”

“Two hundred and thirty thousand!”

Xin Rong gritted his teeth and decisively raised his paddle: “Two hundred and forty thousand!”

050 nearly fell off his shoulder in shock: “Host, wh-what are you doing…”

“Completing the mission.” Xin Rong’s tone was light, as if he were talking about a perfectly normal thing.

“But the protagonist isn’t here! There’s no one to bid against you. If no one else raises their paddle, this item will fall into your hands!” 050 was incoherent with anxiety.

Just then, someone in a corner raised their paddle: “Two hundred and fifty thousand!”

Xin Rong didn’t hesitate: “Two hundred and sixty thousand!”

He immediately turned to explain to 050: “Didn’t you say this is a key plot? There’s only this one chance a year to have dinner with the Marshal. If it falls into someone else’s hands, the plot will collapse. If I win the bid, I can at least find a way to transfer it to the protagonist.”

050 was speechless.

It seemed… there was no other way.

The bidding kept soaring. When it broke three hundred thousand, it clearly reached a watershed. The number of people participating in the bidding dropped significantly, with only a lady in the front row holding on stubbornly.

“Four hundred and seventy thousand!” the lady bid.

Xin Rong gritted his teeth: “Four hundred and eighty thousand!”

The lady was not to be outdone: “Four hundred and ninety thousand!”

050’s heart was near collapse: “Host… we’re g-going to be bankrupt…”

Xin Rong closed his eyes, his long lashes trembling slightly, as if he had made a life-or-death decision. He took a deep breath and raised the paddle.

“Five hundred thousand.”

Finally, that lady showed signs of backing down.

“Five hundred thousand going once!”

“Five hundred thousand going twice!”

“Five hundred thousand going three times!”

“Sold!! Congratulations to this gentleman on successfully winning the bid for the opportunity to have New Year’s dinner with the Marshal. Thank you for your selfless contribution to charity!”

The entire venue erupted in thunderous applause, champagne popped, and cheers rose one after another.

One person and one ball, however, felt incredibly desolate in their hearts.

As the noise of the auction gradually faded, Xin Rong hung his head and walked out of the auditorium, exhausted.

The night breeze was slightly cool, and the moonlight was like water, making the beautifully designed dinner invitation in his hand look exceptionally bright.

…As bright as the bottom of his little vault, which only had a two-digit balance left.

“Little coal ball,” Xin Rong spoke as if he had lost his will to live, “Can I sell you?”

050 shuddered, its wings fluttering frantically: “H-Host, calm down! If you sell me, who will help you do missions!”

“Then if I can’t afford to eat, can I eat you?” Xin Rong’s hollow gaze fell on 050, as if he were really considering the proposal. “Looking at you now, you look exactly like a sesame ball.”

“Nooo! I have fur on me, it’ll prick your mouth!!” 050 gave a dry laugh, trying to regain some dignity. “Ac-actually, I wasn’t wrong. Look, wasn’t the final dinner price fifty thousand? Didn’t the person who won it go bankrupt? I said it was unshakeable, didn’t I? See, our system is still v-very reliable!”

Xin Rong gave it a cold glare, making it shrink its face into its body.

He would remember this lesson forever.

This little coal ball was quite bad, far less trustworthy than imagined.

The matter had reached this point; complaining was useless. He could only take it one step at a time.

“Do we have enough money left to call a hover-car?” Xin Rong asked weakly.

050 hurriedly checked the account and nodded repeatedly: “That’s still enough. Host, are we going home?”

Xin Rong’s gaze fell on the live stream on the forum. Jing Yue’s match was nearing its end.

“To the underground arena.”

After getting in the car, Xin Rong leaned his head back and closed his eyes against the seat.

After a long while, he spoke as if giving up: “Little coal ball, do you have any items there that can turn someone into a master salesman?”

050 was stunned: “I don’t have items, but we have a book in our library. If you want, I can read it to you.”

Xin Rong half-opened his eyes and glanced at the title.

“Selling Combs to Bald People? Real Sales Magic—The Gold Medal Sales Rules You Must Learn.”

His mouth twitched: “…Read it.”

A dead horse as a living doctor.

Xin Rong leaned against the car window, listening to 050 reading the book with mock seriousness in his ear, silently praying in his heart—

He hoped the protagonist’s anti-fraud awareness was as poor as his disinfection awareness.