Vicious Cannon Fodder? No, He’s a Darling Wife! - Chapter 11

As the person who got Yuan Su the job at the “Granary,” Gao He rushed to the military detection department the moment he heard Yuan Su had been taken away.

Not only was Yuan Su someone Qu Zhilan had specifically asked him to look after, but on a personal level, Gao He didn’t want anything to happen to him either. A beauty like that… it would be a true pity if he died.

When Gao He arrived in a frantic hurry, he saw Yuan Su in shackles, following behind a tall man with his head drooping listlessly.

Without doing a thing, the image alone radiated a sense of boundless grievance.

The youth’s skin was delicate. Though the military hadn’t mistreated him, even a slightly firm grip left red marks on his slender wrists. The metal of the shackles had rubbed against his snowy skin, leaving a raw, angry-looking welt that stood out in stark, cruel contrast.

Gao He wiped the sweat from his brow, his voice urgent. “What on earth happened? Are you hurt? What were you doing in the Granary?”

Realizing his tone might sound too harsh, Gao He took a breath and softened his voice. “You need to be honest. Colonel Chu will handle this fairly. Don’t be afraid.”

Yuan Su stole a glance at the anxious Gao He. He felt like a lazy employee caught by a kind-hearted boss. He guiltily averted his gaze, his voice barely a whisper. “Slacking off.”

Gao He: “…?”

Even someone as quick-witted as Gao He froze for a moment. Finally, he asked, “I heard you had contact with a variant?”

He had been briefed on the situation on his way there. Logically, Yuan Su should have been released after his exam; the infection check only takes half an hour. Yet, the sky was already bleeding with the red of the sunset, and Yuan Su was still here.

Given the underlying friction between the Military and the Wild Hunt Guild, Gao He worried Yuan Su might be used as leverage or subjected to unfair treatment.

Chu Wenhe watched the exchange, a subtle arch to his eyebrow as his cool gaze swept over Gao He.

While Yuan Su was still touched by Gao He’s concern, the man beside him leaned in. A low, raspy voice and warm breath brushed against his ear.

“You’re quite popular, Mrs. President.”

The tone sounded like a genuine compliment, but the content was mocking, laced with a flicker of an unidentifiable emotion.

Yuan Su shuddered. He tilted his head away uncomfortably, shrugging his shoulder up to his ear to rub the spot—like a disgruntled cat. The curve of his tensed neck was fine and soft, exceptionally beautiful.

Yuan Su ignored him and moved a few steps away to maintain his distance.

To his annoyance, his rejection only elicited a soft chuckle from the man.

What’s so funny? Is this guy asking for a slap?

A soldier standing by Chu Wenhe spoke up, explaining to Yuan Su, “Mr. Yuan had direct contact with an infected subject. The test results are in, and he is not infected. Please don’t worry.”

“Then when can Yuan Su return to work?” Gao He didn’t ask for a release outright, but he wanted to take him away immediately.

Chu Wenhe: “He’s just had a scare and survived a variant attack. Logically, shouldn’t he have a few days off?”

The man narrowed his eyes, a ghost of a smile on his lips. His tone was gentle, as if he were a caring superior. “Since when did the Granary treat its employees so harshly?”

At first, it sounded like he was helping Yuan Su get a vacation, but before Yuan Su could feel relieved, the next sentence dropped.

“He may be carrying a virus in its incubation period. For his own safety, he will spend those few days under observation here at the military headquarters.”

Chu Wenhe’s words were high-sounding, but anything involving variants was serious business. Gao He was about to argue when a researcher, having finished the autopsy of the variant, knocked urgently on the office door.

“Colonel, the report is out.” The researcher looked panicked, leaning against the doorframe as if his legs were giving way.

Seeing this, the atmosphere in the room shifted. Everyone sensed the gravity of the situation.

Chu Wenhe: “One moment.”

The man turned back to Gao He with an apologetic smile. “As you can see, Manager Gao, we have urgent matters to attend to. This is of the utmost importance. I ask for your understanding and cooperation.”

“As for Yuan Su, as the witness to this spontaneous mutation, the military will ensure he is well-protected and suffers no harm or grievance.”

As he said the latter half, his eyes settled on Yuan Su. His eyes crinkled—playful, amused, and radiating a wicked sort of intimacy.

“Help yourself out.”

With that, the man hooked his finger into the chain of Yuan Su’s shackles, leading him away like a tethered pet as they headed toward the lab, leaving a stunned Gao He behind.

Inside the spacious, brightly lit lab, the heavy doors hissed shut. Gao He, barred from entry, muttered a string of curses and paced anxiously before finally reaching for his communicator to contact Qu Zhilan.

[Yuan Su has been taken by the military.]

Messages usually lagged outside the base, so Gao He didn’t expect much, but this time, the reply was instant.

[Wait for me. Back in three days.]

The variant’s corpse lay on a central platform under the harsh glare of shadowless lamps. Nearby, robotic arms whirred softly. The blood and grime had been cleaned away, making the twisted, genetically abandoned creature look even more grotesque.

Chu Wenhe: “What did you find?”

Several staff members standing before the projections turned around, their faces pale and expressions haunted.

A thin woman in a white uniform cleared her throat and spoke first. “We suspect there are two ‘viruses’ inside this variant.”

Chu Wenhe frowned. “Two?”

Mo Lian nodded solemnly. “One is the high-frequency virus currently hitting the base. The other… is very strange.”

She knitted her brows, her voice trembling. “Its symptoms are identical to the infected animals and humans outside, but the infection speed is staggering! The mutation is nearly instantaneous. It turns a human into a monster driven only by the urge to feed in the blink of an eye.”

It was a virus that could achieve in seconds what took other variants a month. Its power was terrifying it could instantly override original cells, infecting and consuming them.

There was already no cure for the current infection; now, a more powerful, horrifying version had appeared.

Yuan Su’s gaze drifted to the large screen showing a video of cells being frantically devoured. Normal cells were being completely submerged by a virus of a haunting purple-blue hue…

A soldier added, “The engineers just checked the Granary’s detection equipment. There was nothing wrong with the sensors.”

Yuan Su suddenly realized: the moment the girl mutated in front of him, the sensors picked up the variant and immediately sounded the alarm. She hadn’t been hiding in the Granary as an infected host; she had been infected and turned into a monster instantly.

Silence fell over the room. Everyone was reeling.

This meant you could be living your life in the base talking, eating, working and suddenly become one of those monsters from outside the walls. Before anyone could even react, you would tear apart and devour your colleagues, your friends, or even your family.

The air felt frozen.

With no warning, they couldn’t determine the source of the virus or identify who was infected before the mutation. There was no hope of a vaccine. Without prevention or rescue, they could only watch as disaster descended.

Worse, many people in the base might already be infected, just waiting for the trigger…

This was a disaster capable of wiping out humanity entirely. And it was happening on a quiet, warm afternoon.

Calamity had arrived, silent and invisible.

What did the years of resistance and survival matter then? If the world was destined for destruction, then humanity’s fate was already sealed. The new systems and cities they had built were just a flare before the volcano erupted no matter how bright, they would soon be nothing but lifeless ash.

Some of the staff began to lose their strength, their faces turning ashen as they muttered and wept softly.

Chu Wenhe’s face was like stone. He slammed his hand on the table, and the noise ceased instantly.

His voice was terrifyingly low. “No final conclusion has been reached. This is still a hypothesis with potential flaws. We cannot lose our heads.”

“I will report this to high command. Countermeasures will be issued soon. To prevent a leak, I will request that every base send their top researchers to Base 04 so we can solve this together.”

Even an ant struggles when burned; how could humans, at the top of the food chain for ten thousand years, give up?

Chu Wenhe let out a sudden, sharp laugh. He glanced coldly at the monster on the platform, his voice softening slightly.

“It’s too early for despair. The sky hasn’t fallen yet. Focus on what you’re having for dinner tonight. In a few days, you might not have time for the cafeteria and will be living on nutritional fluids.”

His words managed to steady the room. It wasn’t the absolute end not yet.

Mo Lian took a deep breath. She managed a small smile. “Everyone, go rest.”

Chu Wenhe ordered: “Lock down all information. Not a word of this leaves this room.”

Yuan Su had a bad feeling. He peeked at the man beside him and, naturally, their eyes met again.

Yuan Su: “.”

Chu Wenhe looked down at him. The usual playful teasing was gone from his handsome face. He said coldly, “I’m sorry to inform you, but you are temporarily losing your personal freedom.”

Because he was a suspected carrier, Yuan Su was locked in a “suicide-watch” room—one with padded walls.

He paced around the soft room a few times before sitting against the wall.

The youth bit his lip, holding it in for a long time before huffing in annoyance. “I thought I was just here to toy with men.”

He hadn’t expected to end up in a dungeon!

Yuan Su sat cross-legged in his “cell,” his beautiful face slumped in a pout. He was angry, but he looked like a wilted little white flower—not threatening at all, but rather pitiful.

341 said with complex emotions: [Qu Zhilan is on his way back. He can get you out.]

“How long?”

341: [Three days.]

Too slow. He didn’t want to wait.

“Heh.”

Yuan Su thought for a moment and suddenly remembered another “person” who could help him escape.

Shortly after, the security monitors showed the youth tilting over, curling up in a corner, and closing his eyes. As time passed, he drifted into a deep sleep.

The necklace around his neck slid down, the blue glow illuminating his snowy collarbone, making it look exquisitely beautiful.

Seeing that he wasn’t resisting, the guards relaxed.

Tonight, his wife was even more delicious. His skin was pale with a hint of pink, and he radiated an indescribable scent—a fragrance that made “him” feel numb all over.

Even in a dream, he was a feast for the senses.

The desire to consume surged to wrap around him, infect him, and become one.

The pitch-black tentacles danced with excitement, whistling through the air.

Sweet. There was a hint of a metallic scent that only animals could catch the kind that triggered an instinctive frenzy. It reminded “him” of a delicate flower that needed to be fertilized with flesh and blood.

The stem was thin and soft, the leaves vibrant, the petals dripping with dew, and the fragrance was intoxicating… A flower bred this way would be even more vivid and seductive.

And now, this flower was dripping with tears. Every sobbing shiver was like a hand plucking a lute string, sending ripples of fragrance through the air.

It was strange; it was enough to interfere with “his” very frequency.

Warm tears wetted that small, white face. His wife curled on the bed, sobbing so hard he seemed unable to catch his breath. His slender fingers gripped his collar helplessly, accidentally tugging it down. Looking down, “he” could see the jade-like skin beneath…

The tentacles followed their own will, greedily coiling around the youth’s thin body.

Soft, high heat, trembling, moist, and… sweet.

This time, the youth didn’t dodge. He gave a violent shiver as if sensing something, then actually reached out with a hand that was pink at the fingertips. He tentatively grasped a hand that was caressing his cheek.

Wet lashes fluttered open, revealing amber eyes shimmering with tears. His rosy, trembling lips were slightly parted. The youth propped himself up and, summoning all his courage, lunged straight toward the massive, indescribable entity in the dark dream..

“He” froze instantly, confused, yet his very limbs were bubbling with joy.

But soon, the soft, slender wife pressing against “him” the one radiating that alluring, sweet scent, began to weep into his chest. He couldn’t hold it back anymore, pouring out all his grievances.

“Husband… you weren’t here… everyone… everyone bullied me…”

[I thought you were a good boy…]

341 was speechless.

It still remembered the first time it saw Yuan Su how he looked like a helpless little rabbit, ready to cry at a harsh word.

At first, it thought Yuan Su was a poor little thing who had been kidnapped by mistake. It had even felt sorry for him. But now…

His rosy lips curved into a sly, cat-like smile. Yuan Su mimicked the system’s tone, replying softly, “Aren’t ‘bad kids’ the only ones you people select for binding?”

His tone was half-mocking, half-playful, but his expression was pure. His light amber eyes were bright and clear, devoid of any negative emotion. Innocent.

A bad kid.

Ha.

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