The Cannon Fodder Became the Empire's Beloved Omega - Chapter 12

Marshal Lin??

Marshal??!!!

Upon hearing these words, all the students present instantly showed a flicker of shock in their eyes.

They exchanged glances, instinctively covered their mouths, and felt their hearts pounding uncontrollably.

It was well-known that while the Gaia Empire had several marshals, only one bore the surname Lin.

In the past, the empire had nearly lost a military colonial planet to the enemy Nader Duchy due to underestimating them. At that time, Marshal Lin, then just a lieutenant, had repelled the enemy’s interstellar forces with a handful of remaining soldiers, single-handedly defending the empire’s territory.

It could be said that he was unequivocally the strongest Alpha in the entire empire.

Even though Kenan Star was backward and outdated, countless people had heard of the legends surrounding Marshal Lin, idolizing him as an imperial icon.

But now, this stranger was telling them that the teacher they had silently blocked for so long, Lin Han, was actually the empire’s most legendary figure, Lin Fenghan???!

Oh my god!!

Instantly, everyone’s emotions became a tangled mess.

Known throughout the empire for his strict impartiality, Lin Fenghan was clearly not one to show favoritism. This indirectly meant that Yu Ruan was indeed innocent.

He had never harmed Ji Huai. Instead, Ji Huai had deliberately faked a fall and twisted the entire incident into an act of malice driven by Yu Ruan’s jealousy!

Disbelieving gazes converged on Ji Huai, causing his face to pale instantly. With reddened eyes, he tried to explain, “I didn’t. I didn’t mean to! I…”

Realizing that even the last traces of sympathy in the crowd had vanished after his attempt to defend himself, he choked back a sob, tears instantly welling in the corners of his eyes. Frustrated and anxious, he cried out, “What makes me inferior to Yu Ruan?? Why would I frame him?? What could I possibly gain from this??”

Yu Ruan knew the answer to that.

He figured the other person did these things simply for the thrill of it. After all, how satisfying it must be to trample someone on par with oneself underfoot.

Although, as someone who was laid-back and unambitious, he couldn’t quite relate to that kind of satisfaction.

Watching the last person who supported him turn away completely, Ji Huai was seized with panic. Trembling, he grabbed Li Hong’s sleeve: “Li Hong! Li Hong, say something for me. I’m really innocent. I didn’t frame him!”

Li Hong, whose sleeve was being tugged, was also conflicted.

Though he often acted recklessly due to his family background, he wasn’t foolish. The unfamiliar man in the dark military uniform before him, though a Beta, was someone even his uncle bowed and scraped to clearly a person of extremely high status.

Li Hong had initially thought that if he could tarnish Yu Ruan’s reputation in front of such an esteemed figure, Yu Ruan would surely be barred from attending Nebula University. But who could have guessed that their combat instructor would turn out to be Marshal Lin Fenghan???

Lin Fenghan!

And he had just arrogantly mocked him?!

Li Hong was filled with regret. Glancing fearfully at his uncle’s grim expression, he steeled himself under Ji Huai’s hopeful gaze and moved Ji Huai’s hand from his arm: “Don’t panic. If you’re truly innocent, I believe no one here will wrong you.”

Hearing this, Ji Huai’s face turned deathly pale.

Beside them, Lin Fenghan remained expressionless and only asked, “Have you brought the edict?”

The visitor chuckled softly and gave a slight nod. “Of course.” He glanced around before adding with a light laugh, “It seems the situation here is quite serious. As expected, you’re still not good at handling these kinds of things, just like before.”

Lin Fenghan shot him a glance but didn’t respond.

The visitor turned his gaze to Yu Ruan, smiling warmly. “Your Highness Yu Ruan, my name is Xie Zhi. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I know you don’t recognize me and must be feeling confused, but I assure you, we’ll soon become familiar and even friends.” ???

Watching the smile on Xie Zhi’s face, Yu Ruan felt like he could no longer follow the plot.

Wasn’t he supposed to be a pitiful, helpless, yet gluttonous cannon-fodder villain? Why did it suddenly seem like he had some incredibly impressive background?

Had the protagonist’s halo been mistakenly credited to his account??

Yu Ruan was utterly bewildered, staring blankly at him and Lin Fenghan, his mind overflowing with confusion.

“The higher you climb, the harder you fall.” Yu Ruan firmly believed that everything happening before him was nothing but a sugar-coated trap, a spy sent by the plot gods to deceive and ultimately crush him!

At this thought, his eyes lit up as if a sudden realization had dawned on him.

So that’s how it is!

Truly a classic case of “humble beginnings leading to a glorious rise” in a satisfying story! He had almost been fooled! Feeling proud of himself for deciphering the plot’s direction, Yu Ruan cooperatively nodded and gave Xie Zhi a friendly smile. “Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I like you too, and if we can become friends, that would be wonderful.”

Xie Zhi raised an eyebrow in surprise but quickly returned the smile.

He scanned the surroundings and asked, “Would anyone like to tell me what exactly happened here just now?”

Everyone exchanged glances. Finally, unable to hold back his anger, someone stepped forward.

Yu Ruan looked over and was surprised to see that it was Yu Fei, whom he had always considered a “fake” teammate. His feelings grew complicated.

Even when he was on the verge of being expelled from the academy by the protagonist couple, Yu Fei still hadn’t abandoned him, a mere cannon-fodder character. What a loyal and steadfast friend!

Yu Ruan was genuinely touched.

Yu Fei quickly recounted the entire incident to Xie Zhi. At the end, he glared fiercely at the pitiful-looking Ji Huai and let out a relieved sigh. “Finally, I got to say it! Feels great!”

“I didn’t.” Ji Huai still attempted to defend himself.

“Ji Huai, stop pretending, I’m begging you?” Yu Fei snapped, unable to tolerate it any longer. “If I had brought recording equipment, believe me, I’d replay the whole scene right here in public!”

Ji Huai’s eyes reddened, and he bit his lip in grievance.

“I see.”

Xie Zhi took in their reactions and turned to Yu Ruan. “I’m sorry that you had to experience such a thing. As your future Chief Secretary, I have been terribly negligent in my duties.”

Yu Ruan blinked in confusion.

Chief Secretary? What was that??

Yu Ruan knew that in this interstellar era, every emperor of the empire was assigned a Chief Secretary, a position similar to a royal steward, responsible for handling all sorts of trivial matters.

But aside from that, he had never heard of this specific term being used elsewhere.

Yu Ruan was well aware that he had been cast in the role of a cannon-fodder antagonist, the kind stamped with a golden seal of approval by the system itself. Waking up one day to discover he was the long-lost descendant of some powerful figure? Such a stroke of luck would never fall upon him.

Either the protagonist halo had been misallocated, or they had mistaken him for someone else.

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke gravely to Xie Zhi, “Thank you for your kindness. However, this matter has nothing to do with you, and you really don’t need to blame yourself. Also, I think you might have mistaken me for someone else.”

Yu Ruan shifted his gaze toward Ji Huai and said to Xie Zhi with hopeful anticipation, “You must be here to look for a missing child, right? I have parents though they passed away very early. I heard that Ji Huai once went missing as a child and now lives with his adoptive parents. So the person you’re looking for definitely isn’t me; it should be Ji Huai.”

Xie Zhi’s smile stiffened slightly, as though he was taken aback. He looked blankly in the direction Yu Ruan was staring, toward Ji Huai. Then, he instinctively glanced at Lin Fenghan, who had remained silent for the past few minutes.

Lin Fenghan’s expression was indifferent, his eyes clearly conveying, “No comment.”

Xie Zhi: “…”

So that’s how it was.

He understood now.

Meanwhile, Ji Huai, who had overheard Yu Ruan’s words, looked at Xie Zhi with a mix of shock and curiosity, his reddened eyes filled with inquiry.

It was true just as Yu Ruan had said, he had gone missing as a child and was eventually adopted by his foster parents after a series of twists and turns. However, that was a long time ago, and he had no memories of his early childhood.

Could Yu Ruan’s speculation be true?

A glimmer of hope rose in his heart, and he couldn’t help but look at Xie Zhi expectantly.

Xie Zhi cleared his throat lightly and avoided Ji Huai’s gaze.

“You’ve misunderstood,” Xie Zhi said, kneeling on one knee and taking Yu Ruan’s hand sincerely. “Please believe me, I would never mistake my lord. You are the current first heir of the Gaia Empire, the future monarch who will lead us to prosperity.”

“Please rest assured. From now on, nothing like this will ever happen under my watch. I swear I will do everything in my power, even at the cost of my life, to protect your safety.”

He gently pressed a kiss to the tip of Yu Ruan’s finger. “I hope you can continue to trust me.”

The warmth lingered on his fingertip for a fleeting moment. Yu Ruan stared in shock at Xie Zhi’s profile as he knelt before him, feeling dizzy and utterly stunned by the earth-shattering revelation. ??? ????

What had he just said???

First in line to the throne??? Of the Gaia Empire???

This explosive piece of news crashed into Yu Ruan’s mind, leaving him frozen in place. It was as if an outdated computer had been forced to process a task far beyond its capabilities.

He looked around blankly, hoping someone would step forward and tell him this was all just a prank. Unfortunately, Yu Ruan noticed that the classmates surrounding him also wore expressions of utter disbelief, as if their jaws were about to hit the floor.

The worst off was Ji Huai, whose face had turned as pale as a sheet of paper. It looked as though he might collapse at any moment, out of sheer fright.

Yu Ruan: “…”

Help!

He had no idea how to handle this! What should he do?? QAQ

Yu Ruan was so frantic he could almost cry. He desperately and repeatedly called out to the dormant system in his mind, hoping it would wake up on its own and rescue him from this fiery predicament.

After all, he still wanted to retire early and become the owner of a small grocery store in some remote town!

Unfortunately, the system remained as still as a rock, completely unresponsive, continuing to sleep soundly in his mind.

“…” Yu Ruan felt utterly numb.

Just then, someone else suddenly entered the training ground.

Everyone, still stunned by the earlier thunderbolt of revelations, turned to look and realized that this time, it was Ye Yizhou who had arrived.

Noticing the collective gaze fixed on him, he showed no discomfort. Instead, he smiled and nodded at everyone as if it were a familiar routine. Then, he turned to the panicked Yu Ruan and asked, “Are you okay?”

Yu Ruan nodded hastily.

With a light chuckle, Ye Yizhou remarked, “Seems like you’re not doing too well.” He then glanced teasingly at Xie Zhi and added, “It seems you’re not exactly excelling as the Chief Secretary.”

Xie Zhi coughed lightly, slightly embarrassed.

Hearing this, the crowd was once again shocked.

If Xie Zhi had already revealed himself as the Empire’s Chief Secretary, and Lin Han was Lin Fenghan, then did that mean their homeroom teacher, Ye Yizhou, was the legendary, ruthless, and merciless Imperial Regent, Ye Yizhou?!?!

Help!!!

What kind of hellish class had they ended up in?!?!

Everyone collectively broke down, feeling as though their entire worldview had just collapsed. Immediately after, they turned sympathetic gazes toward Ji Huai and Li Hong.

One of them had falsely accused and framed the future ruler of the Empire, the current first-in-line successor. The other had nearly grabbed the collar of the legendary Empire’s Marshal, Lin Fenghan, and even tried to make things difficult for the Regent in school.

Tragic, absolutely tragic!

Meanwhile, ever since hearing those words, Li Hong had been in a daze, utterly unable to believe what he had just heard.

The Empire’s Marshal, the Empire’s Chief Secretary, and the Empire’s Regent.

Any one of them could easily crush his family and send him into eternal damnation.

If he had only felt mild regret earlier, now he wished he could violently beat up his past self from a few dozen minutes ago and squeeze all the foolishness out of his brain.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Just then, a voice sounded from afar.

A cold and detached voice spoke as the person looked down at his light brain, the screen casting a faint glow on his face. Raising his wrist without looking up, he said, “Ye Yizhou, I have a question.”

“Hm?” Ye Yizhou raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.

Gu Yu tossed a chip that slid in front of everyone, his tone icy. “Malicious slander and defamation, what crime does that warrant in the Empire?”

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