Transmigrated as the Cannon Fodder Boss of the Disabled Heroine - Chapter 23.1

In the courtyard ahead, water gushed across the grass, seeping deep into the soil before being absorbed. Even amidst the torrential downpour, the sound of water rushing into the drains was audible. This was a once-in-a-century storm, so intense that even the flood control office hadn’t anticipated its prolonged duration. After all, storms in Wing City usually came and went swiftly.

With soft warmth in her arms, Pei Yujiang felt her ability to think clearly slipping away. The dampness of the rain and the warmth of the woman’s body pressed against her sent a flustered rhythm through her heart.

Thump, thump one beat after another, the sensation was so overwhelming it nearly stole her breath. Her mind grew feverish, and she dared not stay so close to Yu Zhiwan, yet she found herself at a loss under the Omega’s pleading.

If it were anyone else throwing themselves into her arms like this, Pei Yujiang wouldn’t hesitate to push them away unless it were a special circumstance.

Like that time with the actress who had tried to jump off a building. But that actress had also been an Omega. Pei Yujiang wasn’t an Alpha now, though perhaps some residual instincts lingered. Her reaction to Yu Zhiwan made her wonder if she still harbored some sensitivity toward Omegas as a whole.

Yet when that actress had sobbed hysterically in her arms, Pei Yujiang had only felt awkward, her scalp prickling with discomfort.

Maybe it was because the situation had been urgent, she had just pulled the woman from the rooftop, terrified she might try to jump again. Or perhaps it was because, though the actress had been beautiful, she hadn’t been as breathtaking as Yu Zhiwan.

Pei Yujiang wasn’t an extreme stickler for looks, but everyone had an appreciation for beauty. Right now, those almond-shaped eyes, brimming with tears, looked pitifully fragile. The way the Omega trembled in her embrace instinctively stirred a protective urge in anyone who saw her.

She wanted to set Yu Zhiwan down this kind of intimate contact wasn’t appropriate. But the moment she tried to pull away, a startled whimper escaped the Omega’s throat, and Yu Zhiwan only clung to her tighter.

“Pei Yujiang,” Yu Zhiwan called her name seriously, tears trembling on her lashes, her voice already thick with sobs like dying embers, carrying despair. “Why save me, only to push me back into the wolves’ den?”

Pei Yujiang lifted her gaze, spotting a figure chasing toward them through the pouring rain. Then she looked back at Yu Zhiwan her red-rimmed eyes, her frail frame as if weighing her options.

Just as the system’s alert sounded in her mind, Yu Zhiwan suddenly yanked down the collar of her own shirt with startling ferocity.

Pei Yujiang had no time to stop her. The next second, propriety forgotten, her eyes burned at the sight of scattered red marks and scars stark against snow-white skin.

Yu Zhiwan’s shoulder was mostly bare now, the strap of her sports bra exposed. But since it was designed to be worn alone, it didn’t look too out of place.

Right now, however, Pei Yujiang’s attention was entirely fixed on the marks marring that delicate skin.

The Omega’s complexion was fair, smooth and even, making every blemish stand out starkly on her arm. The faint red marks looked like they’d been left by rough grips, and the scars those were unmistakable, remnants of wounds from who knew how long ago.

Under the dim light, Yu Zhiwan’s water-soaked hands revealed distinct knuckles as they slowly trailed down her skin. The moisture lingered on her fingertips before being left on her arms, with scattered droplets swaying with the movement of her limbs. Narrow rivulets of water traced their way down, clinging to her skin before dripping to the ground.

When Yu Zhiwan couldn’t support herself while pulling on her clothes, Pei Yujiang placed her in the wheelchair. As the warmth of the woman’s skin was forcibly separated from her, the panic on the Omega’s face gradually faded. Her body seemed to collapse like a puppet with its strings cut, all strength drained away as she half-lay in the wheelchair, murmuring:

“She tried to forcibly mark me.”

Forced marking.

Forced marking was an “entitlement” Alphas exercised over Omegas relying on their ability to suppress Omegas with pheromones, leveraging their stronger physiques to overpower them, and then using the Omega’s involuntary physiological response to forcibly inject their pheromones into the other’s scent gland.

An Alpha forcibly marking an Omega against their will was akin to a Beta man giving in to bestial urges and raping a Beta woman.

What made it worse was that unless the Alpha underwent gland ligation surgery or both parties took contraceptives in advance, the Omega had a high chance of pregnancy after a deep marking.

Even if they wanted to remove the mark, a temporary marking was relatively manageable, but erasing a deep or even permanent marking required enduring immense pain.

From the tension in Yu Zhiwan’s voice, Pei Yujiang could roughly guess that she wanted to move out in this weather, cutting off her roommate relationship with Liu Huanran. Unable to persuade her to stay, Liu Huanran had resorted to violence to keep her.

Yu Zhiwan resisted desperately, seizing the chance to escape, rushing through the torrential rain late at night straight to Pei Yujiang.

“She wanted to mark me, to make me stay, so she hid all my suppressants. The vents were blocked too…”

Anger surged in Pei Yujiang’s chest, her right hand involuntarily clenching into a fist. Just then, Liu Huanran’s tall figure finally emerged through the pouring rain, panting heavily just as Yu Zhiwan had described clearly having chased after her for a long time.

A set of shared rental car keys dangled from Liu Huanran’s waist, jingling crisply with each stride.

The residential complex’s drainage system was efficient, leaving little standing water on the ground despite the downpour. Liu Huanran, still wearing knee-high boots, was thoroughly drenched but not overly disheveled. She had pushed her bangs back, revealing a smooth forehead as she strode forward, calling out loudly as if afraid no one would hear:

“Wanwan!”

A bolt of lightning split the ink-black sky, illuminating the night as bright as day and clearly revealing the restrained expression on Yu Zhiwan’s face. At the sound of that voice calling her home, an invisible noose seemed to tighten around her neck, her fingertips trembling uncontrollably.

Liu Huanran searched for a while before spotting them under the light, immediately seeing Yu Zhiwan at Pei Yujiang’s doorstep. There was no time to question why Pei Yujiang lived in this complex; a sudden sense of crisis set off alarm bells in her mind.

If she had been even a step later, Pei Yujiang might have taken Yu Zhiwan away.

Liu Huanran didn’t know what punishment awaited her for failing the mission. After transmigrating into this novel world, the system hadn’t forced any requirements, merely suggesting she try to fulfill the original host’s wishes.

But after witnessing the blissful married life with a wife and daughter in the plot, how could Liu Huanran simply let Yu Zhiwan slip away? She knew some Omegas developed dependency on their Alphas after being marked. Though she hadn’t marked Yu Zhiwan yet, she at least couldn’t let her be deceived by Pei Yujiang.

With this in mind, Liu Huanran steeled herself, jogging over while shouting loudly:

“Darling, you’ve already been marked by me. Why throw a tantrum in this wind and rain?”

“Let’s go home now, okay? We can talk things through later. Dar—”

Before she could finish the word “darling,” just as she stepped onto the doorstep and reached out to grab Yu Zhiwan’s wheelchair, Pei Yujiang had had enough, she swung a fist straight at Liu Huanran’s face!

Liu Huanran’s voice was abruptly cut off as stars exploded before her eyes, her nose throbbing with pain but that was only the first blow.

Pei Yujiang swiftly followed with a second punch, then a third.

Though Pei Yujiang was a female Beta, her punches were absurdly fast, far beyond what a hollow Alpha like Liu Huanran could handle.

The first punch felt like it shattered her nose, the cartilage screaming in agony, leaving her utterly defenseless. Blood burst in Liu Huanran’s nasal cavity as she staggered backward under the relentless assault. Then, with a sharp kick, the woman before her sent her sprawling onto the rain-soaked ground.

Liu Huanran landed back-first, her entire skeleton feeling like it had been disassembled, her bones turned to jelly. Tears mingled with the rain streaming down her face.

After all, she had only ever been an ordinary office worker in her past life at most, she’d argued with people, never fought. The original host might have known some flashy moves, but in front of Pei Yujiang, it was like showing off incompetence before a master. She was subdued without even a chance to resist.

The knee-high leather boots hugging Pei Yujiang’s calves accentuated her long, straight legs. Rainwater trickled down the boots, the scent of leather blending with the rain and blood, the mixed odors flooding Liu Huanran’s nostrils.

Threads of bloody phlegm slid down her throat, making her choke on coughs, her eyes reddened beyond recognition. Any semblance of her usual image was gone as Pei Yujiang pinned her down in the torrential downpour.

Both were drenched, but Pei Yujiang was clearly in far better shape. Liu Huanran tried to move, but the tearing pain in her muscles forced a sharp inhale, only for the stench of rainwater to trigger even worse coughing.

“Cough, cough!”

Liu Huanran obviously didn’t want to lose face in front of the Omega she fancied, but despite her efforts to suppress it, her throat still let out wheezing, broken coughs like a damaged bellows.

Pinned to the ground, her hair disheveled, her soaked overcoat clinging heavily to her body, Liu Huanran was crushed under Pei Yujiang’s restraining leg, her spine buckling. Not a trace remained of the dignified aura befitting the story’s true lead.

In the original story, Liu Huanran was an Alpha whose every smile and glance exuded allure, naturally carrying a roguish charm. After being conquered by the gentle and domestic Yu Zhiwan, she subjected Yu to repeated emotional and physical torment, even including forced love scenarios. After numerous misunderstandings and a “runaway pregnancy” trope, the playgirl Liu had a change of heart, embarking on a desperate pursuit to win back her wife, eventually achieving a blissful life with both wife and daughter.

This shouldn’t have concerned Pei Yujiang. As a cannon fodder character in the plot, her role was simply to provoke the protagonist into turning over a new leaf for love, serving the storyline until her eventual exit.

But fate seemed to veer toward unknown variables the moment she rescued Yu Zhiwan.

Yet Pei Yujiang had always acted without regret, what was done was done. This held true in the past, and certainly now as well.

The system had been frantically screaming “Stop!” in her mind when she attacked the protagonist. But when Pei’s first punch landed on Liu Huanran, the system’s voice abruptly fell silent.

What followed was Liu being utterly overpowered by Pei, not even putting up a fight just a one-sided beating. With her military background, Pei struck swiftly and precisely, controlling her strength perfectly. After just a few punches, Liu couldn’t hold on, collapsing to her knees in the rain.

While Liu struggled to catch her breath with hands braced against the ground, Pei barely spared her a glance. Composing herself, she addressed the system first:

“Sorry, but I couldn’t hold back any longer,” she said calmly. “If this counts as defying the plot, I’ll accept the punishment.”

She could play along with minor bullying required by the storyline, but she couldn’t stand by and watch Liu drag Yu Zhiwan back to her den right before her eyes.

When Liu saw Yu with Pei, Pei’s cannon fodder value had spiked by 20 points. Yet it didn’t budge when she started the attack. Initially too furious to notice, Pei now calmly asked:

“By the way, 711, why hasn’t my cannon fodder value increased?”

If 711 had a physical form, it would be awkwardly scratching its nose right now.

It was just an inexperienced little system. A more capable one would have already punished its host with electric shocks or forced plot adjustments when they refused to follow the script. Unfortunately, unless Pei really overstepped, it couldn’t actually punish her.

General Pei, who once dominated the apocalyptic world, might be a bit dense in some aspects, but she wasn’t stupid. 711 strongly suspected Pei had figured out its limitations hence her audacity though it had no proof.

As for the cannon fodder value…

711 cursed inwardly.

It knew Pei was strong, but it never expected the protagonist to be this weak, so weak she couldn’t even defeat a cannon fodder character. The whole point of cannon fodder was to be minor obstacles on the protagonist’s path! With Pei beating the protagonist like a drowning dog, she was practically holding a villain’s script now!

Naturally, it couldn’t tell Pei this.

Wisely, 711 chose to play dead when silence was the best option.

“Keep your mouth and hands clean around Omegas. If I catch you touching inappropriately again, I won’t hold back next time,” Pei Yujiang warned, giving Liu Huanran a light kick when she received no response from her system. “Understood?”

Though sometimes slow-witted, Liu Huanran knew when to yield. She nodded painfully, concealing the intense hatred in her eyes.

Pei Yujiang turned to leave but nearly collided with Yu Zhiwan’s wheelchair. Focused on Liu Huanran, she hadn’t noticed the disabled Omega behind her, struggling to hold an umbrella overhead while seated. The imbalance made Yu Zhiwan tilt precariously, lips pressed tight in rare determination.

Fearing she might fall, Pei Yujiang steadied her and took the umbrella. Their hands brushed, Yu Zhiwan’s skin cool and damp against hers.

The downpour made sending Yu Zhiwan away impossible, so Pei Yujiang brought her home. Rushing for a towel, she missed Yu Zhiwan reaching to close the door. Drenched, the Omega glowed with ethereal beauty her lips glossy like tinted glass, inviting temptation.

Suddenly, Yu Zhiwan’s almond eyes crinkled with amusement. “Goodbye, wife,” she mouthed at Liu Huanran through the closing door, weaponizing the unattainable title.

Rain hammered Liu Huanran’s stinging wounds as realization struck. “Fuck!” she roared, crawling forward heedless of bloodied palms. “Yu Zhiwan! You fucking faked blindness all along, didn’t you?!”

Knock knock knock!

She didn’t dare knock on Pei Yujiang’s door, so she could only vent her anger by repeatedly striking the edge of the flowerbed with a stone, screaming the Omega’s name like a madwoman in the pouring rain:

“Yu Zhiwan!”

“Get the hell out here, Yu Zhiwan!”

The house Pei Yujiang had chosen indeed had excellent soundproofing. Combined with the torrential rain, the commotion outside was completely inaudible.

The very Yu Zhiwan that Liu Huanran couldn’t stop thinking about was now sitting in the warmth of the house, holding a cup of hot water poured for her by Pei Yujiang, shyly thanking her a stark contrast to the way she had behaved in front of Liu Huanran earlier.

Pei Yujiang turned to the kitchen to check if the ginger cola soup was ready. Seeing steam rising from the pot and the water bubbling vigorously, she quickly turned on the exhaust fan.

She wasn’t much of a cook, only capable of simple tasks like heating food. Since arriving here, most meals had been prepared by the housekeeper. Today, she had decided to make ginger soup, but the Omega found it too spicy. Pei Yujiang rummaged through the pantry and found a large bottle of cola, pouring it in to make enough for two, serving it as a late-night snack.

Snapping back to reality, Pei Yujiang glanced out the window at the storm. She walked to the living room window to confirm that Liu Huanran had left before ladling out the ginger soup to cool. Then, she headed to the study to send off that email.

She didn’t know if the meteorological bureau or flood control office would take her warning seriously. Earlier, when she called the service hotline, the automated message informed her that the office was closed, leaving her no choice but to write an email.

If that didn’t work, she’d have to go there in person to ease her conscience.

This world was constructed from a novel, yet it overlapped almost entirely with Yicheng from two hundred years ago. Whether it matched her expectations or not, Pei Yujiang couldn’t simply stand by and watch this disaster unfold.

Before crossing over, Pei Yujiang had loved reading all kinds of books to imagine life in the past. One history book had recorded a catastrophic storm that once struck Yicheng.

Yicheng was a coastal city though not directly facing the sea, it lay within a typhoon belt. Even in winter, typhoons were common, and the residents had grown accustomed to them. As a result, they hadn’t taken this particular typhoon seriously at first.

But due to inadequate measures by the meteorological observatory and flood control office, the city was caught completely off guard when the super typhoon hit, resulting in devastating losses.

Days and nights of unrelenting rain caused multiple breaches in the levees, the worst of which led to a flood that inundated nearby residential areas. The floodwaters came in the dead of night, with only two people stationed at the frontlines of that levee, both of whom had fallen asleep in their quarters.

The government was caught unprepared, unable to mount immediate rescue efforts, leaving most areas to fend for themselves.

To make matters worse, Yicheng’s officials, fearing the scandal would cost them their positions, chose to cover up the disaster, underreporting the damage to higher authorities. This led to insufficient relief supplies, exacerbating the suffering in Yicheng.

Countless people lost their homes and loved ones. Only when the situation escalated and reached higher authorities did the furious federal government finally remove the local officials from power. But the damage was irreversible especially the lives lost. No amount of punishment could bring them back.

While anxiously waiting for a reply, Pei Yujiang didn’t forget to call Yu Zhiwan out to drink ginger soup. However, she tasted it first herself the flavor was decent, not as bad as she’d imagined.

The fizzy sweetness of cola collided with the warmth of the ginger soup, perfectly neutralizing the spiciness and making the taste much less harsh.

Yu Zhiwan drank the ginger soup with elegant grace. The cheap two-yuan spoon in her hand might as well have been fine imperial porcelain, complementing her snow-white skin and inexplicably adding a touch of nobility.

Pei Yujiang gulped down the cola-ginger soup in a few mouthfuls, set the bowl aside, wiped her mouth with a tissue, and asked Yu Zhiwan if she wanted to take a bath.

“I have unworn clothes they’re clean, only washed once.”

Pei Yujiang was larger in build than Yu Zhiwan. She didn’t know exactly how tall Yu Zhiwan was, but she herself stood over 1.7 meters, an impressive height for a woman, most Omegas weren’t that tall.

To avoid awkwardness, Pei Yujiang handed her a soft cotton maxi dress. She had tried it on before on her, it reached mid-calf, so it definitely wouldn’t be too short on Yu Zhiwan.

Pei Yujiang hadn’t forgotten how poor Yu Zhiwan’s impression was of this identity of hers. Moreover, the female lead possessed exceptional memory and sense of direction. When Pei Yujiang was still “Xiao Yu,” she had mentioned moving to a certain area and unit. Yu Zhiwan had only visited once before, yet managed to find the place again.

Even if she had asked the security guard, for a blind person, this would require an incredibly strong sense of direction and comprehension.

“Then after you take a shower, would it be alright if I go out for a bit?”

The female lead’s darkening value had risen to 89 tonight just one point away from breaking the dangerous threshold of 90. Pei Yujiang didn’t dare test her limits in the slightest.

If Yu Zhiwan was worried she had ulterior motives, that was easy to handle. She had things to do anyway, so she could just grab her bag and leave now, even handing over the house keys to Yu Zhiwan.

The outside hadn’t been flooded yet, but according to the history books, this area wouldn’t hold out much longer.

If she was going to leave, she had to do it quickly while the car could still drive, avoiding a lot of trouble. Besides, only if she left could Yu Zhiwan shower in peace, and only after showering would she avoid catching a cold. Otherwise, Pei Yujiang would have to stay and care for a sick Omega these next few days.

Thinking this, Pei Yujiang went straight to grab the keys:

“These are my house keys. You can deadbolt the door from the inside. I’ve tested it, the door is sturdy. I ordered a security door, but it won’t arrive for a few days, probably not until after the flood recedes. There’s no delivery service right now, and the property fees are paid. In any case, don’t open the door for anyone.”

“Don’t worry about Liu Huanran. If she shows up, just call the police hotline. I’ve put the edible bread on the table, and the fruit is washed, cut, and arranged on a plate. There’s a bedroom, study, and guest room. The study has a small bed, the living room has a sofa, and the guest room has pillows and blankets. You can sleep wherever you want even switch spots three times a day if you like.”

Please, with your magnanimity, keep that darkening value steady and don’t let it rise any further.

Pei Yujiang silently prayed.

“Then I’ll head out now. Bye!”

Without waiting for Yu Zhiwan’s response, Pei Yujiang dashed into the kitchen to finish up.

She had genuinely planned to stay here, so she had prepared some food. The fruit was cut and covered with cling wrap in case she couldn’t return the next day.

As for frozen goods, she worried Yu Zhiwan wouldn’t be able to handle them, so she left plenty of yogurt and bread on the table. After confirming everything was in order, she grabbed her car keys and left.

Yu Zhiwan sat in her wheelchair, silent.

Pei Yujiang was gone for a full day and night.

That history book hadn’t exaggerated this downpour was something even Pei Yujiang, who had lived through the post-apocalyptic ruins, had never experienced before.

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