Vicious Cannon Fodder? No, He’s a Darling Wife! - Chapter 10

“So fragrant…”

“You… your flesh… gulp… must be so delicious…”

The inhuman voice rasped, accompanied by the nearly uncontrollable sound of swallowing saliva. The source was that thin, frail little girl.

Her body twitched with the stiff, mechanical rhythm of a puppet. In the next second, her limbs abruptly twisted in freakish directions, snapping past the point of no return!

The agonizing sound of cracking bones and the tearing of muscle tissue echoed through the space, making one’s teeth ache.

Even without seeing the final result, it was clear this was a disaster.

Yuan Su: “…” Help!

At the same moment, a piercing alarm blared throughout the sector, the long, wailing siren reaching his ears from afar—

“Warning! Warning! A variant has infiltrated the sector. All personnel are to evacuate to the safety zone immediately and await instructions!”

“Warning! Warning! A variant has infiltrated the sector…”

Skin lacked the elasticity to withstand such extreme distortion. Soon, the girl’s bones pierced through her flesh. Her dull, yellowed skin began to peel away like tree bark, dripping onto the floor in a sticky mess of blood and tissue.

The deafening alarm reverberated through the greenhouse. Yuan Su, face pale, watched as a child mutated into a hideous monster. Her mask tore open, revealing a bloody maw lined with jagged, protruding fangs!

341: [Run!]

“You’re a bit late with the advice!” Yuan Su slammed his backpack into the variant’s face and bolted in the opposite direction!

He hadn’t made it more than a few steps when he felt a sharp gust of wind whistle past his ear. With a heavy thud, an old harvesting sickle embedded itself into the wooden door right in front of him.

Terrified, Yuan Su grabbed the sickle by reflex, spun around, and hurled it back at the creature!

With a muffled squelch, the variant didn’t scream; it simply stumbled back a few paces.

Seizing the opportunity, Yuan Su slammed the door shut!

“Why didn’t you warn me sooner!” Ignoring his trembling legs, he sprinted for his life.

Ha, a high-risk profession indeed. I knew ten million wouldn’t be this easy to earn!

341: [I hinted at this during your background briefing on day one the base would experience a serious infection event. This is a post-apocalyptic world; there’s no such thing as a permanent safe haven. Even your reliable husband ended up dead, didn’t he?]

Yuan Su wanted to argue with the system, but he didn’t have the energy. Behind him, the warehouse door shattered with a thunderous boom after a series of violent strikes.

Too strong!

The variant tore through the door panels and crawled out of the opening. Its eyes were bulging out of its head, and it no longer looked remotely human.

“Big brother, you’re such a good person… gulp… let me have a bite… Big brother… gulp… where are you going?!”

Yuan Su’s spine felt like ice. He risked a glance back and saw the variant kick off the wall, lunging at him with its mouth agape, its long, blood-red tongue lolling out!

In that instant, Yuan Su could practically smell the foul stench of the variant’s flying saliva!

The variant loomed larger in his amber eyes. He wasn’t ready to have his face chewed off—and then, a gunshot rang out!

Bang!

A shockwave swept past his ear. The variant lunged, but its body was slammed to the ground mid-air, rolling several times like a discarded rag before going still.

Yuan Su stumbled back, his legs weak. His back was drenched in cold sweat.

Still shaken, he stood with his hands on his knees and looked up toward the source of the sound. He saw a familiar, tall silhouette.

A crisp, elegant navy-blue military uniform hugged a tall frame. The man was shrouded in an icy aura. Shifting his gaze from the variant, his eyes hidden in the shadow of his cap landed on Yuan Su.

Chu Wenhe watched the pale, delicate youth. The boy didn’t seem to realize he was shaking. His rosy, full lips were slightly parted and trembling as he exhaled a series of lingering, terrified breaths…

Sweat dampened his dark temples, and fine strands of hair clung to his snowy cheeks like ink. His eyes, usually full of sweet affection, were now clouded with mist. As his lashes fluttered, the corners of his vivid eyes looked as if they were holding back tears.

He looked so fragile it made one want to use some base, cruel method to force those tears out.

Chu Wenhe swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he suppressed the heat in his throat. He gave a brilliant smile. “I thought you’d have a relaxing time here.”

His cold, seemingly flirtatious eyes pinned Yuan Su. He sighed with feigned helplessness. “I didn’t expect it to be this thrilling and dangerous…”

“Much like your love life.”

Yuan Su: “.”

Hearing that final addition, he immediately retracted the “thank you” he had been about to say. A rescue worker stepped forward to support his swaying body. Yuan Su thought for two seconds and then subtly leaned his weight onto a middle-aged woman nearby.

The woman caught him quickly. “Oh dear, you’re scared half to death, aren’t you? Here, come have some sugar water. Your poor face is white as a sheet… you’re not hurt, are you?”

Yuan Su shook his head. As the group started to lead him away, the dark muzzle of a gun suddenly pointed right at him.

“You can’t leave yet.”

Chu Wenhe glanced at the frozen group. He jerked his chin toward a subordinate. “Check for infection. He’s coming with us.”

Yuan Su politely asked the system: “…Can I curse at him?”

341: [No.]

Chu Wenhe watched as the youth’s face suddenly flushed red. He was clearly angry but didn’t dare to act on it. In the end, he just bit his soft, rosy lip in frustration, his teeth grinding into the flesh until it looked even more vivid and delicious.

His skin was snowy, but his lips were red like ripe berries in the depths of winter fresh and inviting.

Is he angry?

The corner of Chu Wenhe’s lip quirked up for a fleeting second. Then, he cast a cold glance at the men beside him. “What is the City Defense doing? How did a high-level variant get into the Granary? If they don’t want the job, they can volunteer to be lab specimens.”

His thin, heartless tone made everyone present shiver.

Chu Wenhe: “The equipment at the gates needs an upgrade.”

Soldiers used detection devices to sweep the entire Granary again. Once it was confirmed that no other variants were present, the fearful patrol officers lowered their heads, repeatedly promising to do better as they moved to clear the twitching corpse of the variant.

Yuan Su’s hands were cuffed, and he followed obediently out of the Granary and into a military vehicle.

“How did a variant get inside the base?” Yuan Su was puzzled. Logically, a high-security area for food storage should be impenetrable even to infected humans, let alone variants.

As far as he knew, infection in this world was like a “genetic override.” Infected animals retained their original traits, but their hunger and urge to reproduce exploded, leading them to expand their swarm through constant “infection.”

Half an hour later, he followed Chu Wenhe to a completely unfamiliar research institute.

A group of researchers in lab coats took him into a testing room. The results were positive—Yuan Su was not infected.

As Yuan Su left the testing room, the girl’s identity was confirmed. She was the daughter of a livestock worker.

With the recent viral outbreak, employees had been sneaking their children into the Granary. Children born after the apocalypse were often frail. His daughter had caught the virus, and to look after her, he had used his position to bring her inside.

“But it was just a virus! She was so sick she didn’t even have the strength to walk! How could she have mutated?!” The middle-aged man wailed as he stared at the remains that were barely recognizable as human.

When Yuan Su saw the man’s face, he realized it was the same worker who had begged him not to get him fired after their earlier confrontation.

So his daughter really had been sick.

Following this incident, the Granary would undergo a massive overhaul and personnel reshuffling.

Yuan Su was dazing off when a low, pleasant voice pulled him back. A polite inquiry: “Why the long face?”

Yuan Su gave the Colonel a perfunctory, dry laugh. “The Colonel must be joking. I don’t think anyone would be happy after going through that.”

He doesn’t seem to like me. Realizing this didn’t annoy Chu Wenhe; instead, a restless desire for conquest stirred in his heart.

He wanted to suppress him, to see him struggle, to find out what kind of wildness lay beneath that beautiful, submissive exterior.

Yuan Su remembered he should check in with Qu Zhilan that man who couldn’t be squeezed for more than a word or two. He asked, “Can I go now?”

Because he was in a bad mood, his voice was low and muffled, sounding a bit like he had a stuffy nose which only made him sound more aggrieved.

The youth looked up. From Chu Wenhe’s perspective, he was reminded of a cat that wasn’t particularly clingy or submissive; even if it didn’t like you, it was still unfairly cute.

The man stared into those amber eyes for a moment, his mischievous side taking over. Chu Wenhe stated, “No.”

When he said this, both the testing staff and the soldiers who had been eavesdropping couldn’t help but look at him.

Yuan Su was equally confused. He frowned unhappily and stated firmly, “I wasn’t infected.”

Chu Wenhe watched his snowy cheeks and the corners of his eyes flush with a light, angry pink. He smiled softly, a playful malice hiding in his gaze.

“But this incident is full of suspicious points, and you are the only one on the scene who had contact with the variant. We can’t let you leave so easily.”

Chu Wenhe spoke as if it were perfectly reasonable, his tone and demeanor professional and fair, completely concealing his true motives.

Sitting outside the testing room, Chu Wenhe tapped the table idly with his long fingers. He spoke again in a gentle tone: “Furthermore, that girl might have been carrying more than one virus. There might be other latent variants.”

“Better to be safe than sorry. For the security of the base and its citizens, I ask Mr. Yuan to be sensible and make a small sacrifice.”

With that, he took off his glove and extended his hand, his posture and expression sincere the picture of an elegant, considerate gentleman.

Suspecting the man just wanted to feel him up, Yuan Su was silent for a long time. Eventually, he reluctantly extended his hand and gritted his teeth. “It’s only right.”

The man’s hand was large and dry, his grip powerful. And he wasn’t being polite; Yuan Su felt like his bones were being slightly displaced, his hand held like a toy inside the other man’s palm, being kneaded and squeezed…

It was a touch full of vulgar playfulness.

Dirty!

Yuan Su was fuming. He tried to pull away several times without success before finally giving a violent yank to free his hand.

Staring at the red marks on his skin, the youth unconsciously pursed his lips. They were moist and vibrant, radiating an unintentional, innocent temptation.

Chu Wenhe maintained the curve of his lips, but his fake smile now held a hint of genuine satisfaction.

The hand… so small, so soft…

Chu Wenhe: “You’ll stay by my side.”

Yuan Su’s face was completely scrunched up, his entire body radiating reluctance.

This guy’s eyes… they’re so gay…

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