The Ultra-Alpha School Hunk Has Transmigrated into a Cannon Fodder Omega! - Chapter 26

Despite the many ridiculous aspects of the situation, Ji Cenzhou was still terrified enough to bolt away. By the time he stopped running, he found himself in total darkness, completely alone.

Ji Cenzhou nearly curled into a ball like a shivering quail. “Bai Yu?” he whispered. “Wang Hao? Li Tianrui? Jiang Mosen?”

He remembered the words Jiang Mosen had said to him and felt a wave of internal tears. He felt regret, deep and genuine regret. Why had he tried to act so tough back then? If he had known better, he would have grabbed Jiang Mosen’s hand so they could run together.

Ji Cenzhou moved forward timidly. He felt as though his eyes were merely decorative, as they were useless in the pitch-black surroundings. The haunted house was shrouded in darkness, the path was narrow, and the objects on either side were nothing more than vague, ominous silhouettes. Ji Cenzhou swallowed hard, feeling as though a demon might lunge out from the shadows at any moment.

He felt frightened, yet at the same time, he experienced an intense thrill.

As he walked, a faint red glow appeared ahead. He approached and saw a row of cages of various sizes, all filled with the corpses of small animals. Even though he knew they were fake, he was still paralyzed with fear and wanted to turn back. Before he could move, a low and eerie sound echoed from a corner. It sounded like the flirtatious laughter of a woman. “Hehe, look what we have here. A cute little rabbit has wandered in. How wonderful, I have gained another item for my collection.”

A creaking sound erupted from all directions. Ji Cenzhou looked around and saw skeletons standing everywhere. “Aaaaaah!” he screamed. His scalp tingled with terror, and his legs felt as heavy as lead. Though he desperately wanted to flee, he found himself unable to move.

“What a truly adorable little rabbit,” the giggling voice returned, drawing closer. Ji Cenzhou heard the sound of something heavy dragging across the floorboards. A doctor wearing a mask emerged from the darkness. His white lab coat was covered in dried, clotted blood. Ji Cenzhou was nearly frightened out of his wits. He desperately told himself it was all fake, but his fear remained overwhelming. Every hair on his body stood on end. From the corner of his eye, he saw the bloodied animal corpses and the skeletons stripped of their flesh. He was in a state of sheer panic.

Unable to move, he could only watch as the ghost doctor drew closer. Those hands, encased in blue plastic gloves, were inches away. It felt as though they would crush his throat in the next second. Ji Cenzhou trembled violently and squeezed his eyes shut, his breath nearly stopping.

After waiting for a long time without any movement, he cautiously opened one eye a crack and was surprised to see Jiang Mosen. Jiang Mosen was out of breath from running, and beads of sweat stood on his forehead. “Hello, I would appreciate it if you did not frighten him,” Jiang Mosen said.

The ghost doctor was speechless. In all his time working at the haunted house, he had never seen someone make such a request. “Well,” the ghost doctor said hesitantly, “this is not exactly right. This is my job, after all. I cannot just slack off. What if someone complains? My salary is already low, and if I get a complaint, I will be broke.”

“It will be fine. I will not complain about you,” Jiang Mosen replied.

“But,” the ghost doctor started to speak, but he could not continue. Jiang Mosen’s tone and expression were polite, but his gaze was sharp. The ghost doctor shuddered instinctively and quickly said, “Fine, fine. I am leaving now.”

The ghost doctor turned around, tucking a skeleton under each arm and dragging another with his hands as he headed toward an inner room. He muttered to himself, “The blood on the props got rubbed off a bit. I need to go back and touch it up.” Halfway there, he felt a bit guilty. He turned back and said apologetically to Ji Cenzhou, “I am sorry. I did not mean to scare you on purpose. It is a job requirement. I am only doing this out of the necessity of making a living.”

Jiang Mosen replied, “Please, just go back already.”

The ghost doctor looked at Ji Cenzhou, who was still clutching his head and shivering, and sighed before disappearing into the back. Jiang Mosen let out a sigh of relief. After Ji Cenzhou had run off, Jiang Mosen had followed the faint scent of roses to find him. Because it was so dark, he had accidentally turned into several dead ends, which slowed him down.

Jiang Mosen turned around and asked, “Are you okay?”

Before he could finish his sentence, his vision went dark as a weight hit his body. Ji Cenzhou had leaped onto him. Jiang Mosen stumbled back a step before managing to steady himself. Ji Cenzhou wrapped his arms tightly around Jiang Mosen’s neck and locked his legs around his waist, hanging onto him while trembling. Fearing that Ji Cenzhou might fall, Jiang Mosen supported his backside as if holding a small child. He gently patted Ji Cenzhou’s back with his other hand and comforted him softly. “Do not be afraid. I have already driven the ghost away.”

Ji Cenzhou’s voice carried a hint of a sob. “Why did you arrive so late? I was scared to death!”

Jiang Mosen teased him, “Did you not say you wanted to seek thrills and told me to stay away from you?”

Ji Cenzhou puffed out his cheeks in anger. “When did I ever tell you to stay away? I said I would not be so scared that I would cling to you, but I never said you could not stay by my side!”

Jiang Mosen felt both amused and exasperated. He patted Ji Cenzhou’s shoulder and coaxed him, “Alright, it was my fault. Can you forgive me, considering how hard I ran to find you?”

Ji Cenzhou buried his head in Jiang Mosen’s neck and said in a muffled voice, “Fine, I will reluctantly forgive you.”

The smile in Jiang Mosen’s eyes deepened. He realized that when Ji Cenzhou was vulnerable, he would unconsciously act spoiled. Ji Cenzhou would softy shrink into a hug for comfort, burying his head in the crook of a neck, and sometimes his face would even be wet from crying. Jiang Mosen could not help but think how cute Ji Cenzhou was.

Once Ji Cenzhou regained his composure, he felt a bit embarrassed. He jumped down from Jiang Mosen’s body and said, trying to cover his tracks, “That ghost doctor was truly terrifying.”

Jiang Mosen played along. “He was quite scary. My whole body went numb when I saw him.” He spoke as if he were not the same calm person who had just politely asked the doctor to leave.

Ji Cenzhou nodded in agreement. “Where are we? How much longer until we get out?”

Jiang Mosen shook his head. “I do not know, but this haunted house is not large. We will find our way out if we keep moving.”

Ji Cenzhou became excited again. Now that he had Jiang Mosen by his side, he did not have to be so scared. He stayed close to Jiang Mosen, and at the slightest sound, he would huddle against him, sometimes crowding Jiang Mosen so much that he could barely stand. Jiang Mosen sighed and moved Ji Cenzhou to the front to protect him. However, Ji Cenzhou stopped huddling and started jumping onto him instead. After several jumps, Jiang Mosen was sweating from the effort.

Ji Cenzhou noticed this and said awkwardly, “How about I just hold onto the hem of your clothes?”

Jiang Mosen sighed. “Just be gentle. Do not rip my clothes apart.” As it turned out, while Ji Cenzhou did not rip the clothes, he nearly strangled Jiang Mosen. Jiang Mosen coughed while listening to Ji Cenzhou’s apologetic voice. “I am sorry. I did not do it on purpose. I was just so scared that I grabbed hold instinctively. I did not realize I would be so strong that I would pull the clothes out of shape and let the collar choke you.”

Jiang Mosen reached out his hand. “Hold this.”

Ji Cenzhou felt a bit awkward. Two grown men holding hands seemed a bit much. Jiang Mosen saw his hesitation and asked, “Or would you rather walk by yourself?”

Ji Cenzhou immediately grabbed Jiang Mosen’s hand, locking their fingers together. “No, no. My life is more important.”

Jiang Mosen froze for a moment. He looked down at their intertwined hands. Ji Cenzhou’s fingers were thinner than his own and his skin was smoother, making Jiang Mosen want to squeeze them. He coughed to suppress the impulse and turned his head away. “Let us continue forward then.”

After walking for a while, they heard a shrill scream. Ji Cenzhou shivered and nearly jumped on Jiang Mosen again. “What is that up ahead?”

Before Jiang Mosen could answer, heavy footsteps approached, and a dark figure emerged from the shadows. “Aaaaaah!” Ji Cenzhou screamed.

“Aaaaaah!” the dark figure screamed back.

Jiang Mosen rubbed his ears and pulled Ji Cenzhou behind him. Before he could act, the figure tripped and fell to its knees with a thud. The figure spoke tremulously, “Brother Jiang, save me!”

Ji Cenzhou peeked out and asked, “Jiang Mosen, do you know this person?”

Jiang Mosen frowned and said, “I do not know him.”

The figure suddenly said in a hurt tone, “Brother Jiang, it breaks my heart to hear you say that.” The figure moved forward, revealing a fierce-looking face. Ji Cenzhou paused before asking tentatively, “Black Bear?”

The figure wiped his face and smiled. “Hello. I am Gao Liang from Class 21. You can just call me Black Bear.”

Ji Cenzhou hesitated before replying, “Ji Cenzhou, Class 10.”

Before Black Bear could speak, a cold wind blew past. He shivered and nearly burst into tears. “Brother Jiang, my dear big brother, I beg you, please take me out of here! If I do not leave soon, I will die of fright!”

Jiang Mosen looked at him with great disdain and then turned away. Black Bear felt hurt. Ji Cenzhou asked, “Do you two know each other?”

Black Bear chuckled. “We know each other. We almost got into a fight once. Back in tenth grade, a girl I liked confessed to Brother Jiang. I was furious, so I went to challenge him. I got a sound beating. Later, I learned he had already rejected her. He told me to stay away from him, but I know he did not truly mean it. They say a fight can lead to a friendship. He must already consider me a good brother in his heart.”

Ji Cenzhou replied, “You are certainly good at comforting yourself.”

Black Bear said, “As a school bully, one must have this level of magnanimity.”

At the mention of being a school bully, Ji Cenzhou’s face darkened. “A school bully should protect his classmates. How could you bully the weak?”

Black Bear replied defensively, “That is a misunderstanding! I truly have never bullied weak classmates. A few days ago, I even took back living expenses from a thug for a tenth-grade student. It is just that I look so fierce, and the student was fragile. When I returned the money, he was frightened to tears. The story got twisted. I was born looking this way; it is not my fault that I look fierce!”

Ji Cenzhou asked suspiciously, “Is that true?”

Black Bear patted his chest. “Of course it is true. If you do not believe me, go back and ask my brothers.”

With the misunderstanding cleared, Ji Cenzhou found Black Bear quite agreeable. Since his new brother was in trouble, Ji Cenzhou wanted to help. “Come with us,” he said.

Black Bear was so moved he nearly cried. Ignoring Jiang Mosen’s disdainful gaze, he quickly stood by his side. As he drew closer, he saw Jiang Mosen and Ji Cenzhou holding hands. He hesitated and asked, “What is this?”

Ji Cenzhou raised their intertwined hands and said, “Holding hands makes it less scary.”

Black Bear thought about it and realized it was true. He overcame his inner shyness and reached out his hand. “Brother Jiang,” he said through gritted teeth, “please hold my hand too.”

Jiang Mosen was speechless.

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