Who Wants to Be the Affectionate Cannon Fodder?! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 24

Even after returning to the dormitory, Yu Lin could still feel the lingering heat on the back of his neck.

Lin He’s palm was very broad; it could easily cover the entire expanse of his skin. His fingertips were lightly calloused, and that rough texture was exceptionally noticeable when it brushed against him, making him shudder instinctively.

Yu Lin couldn’t see his face clearly at that moment, but he felt that Lin He’s gaze was as sharp and deep as a lone wolf on the hunt, while he himself was the prey being targeted.

But Yu Lin never wanted to be the prey.

Perhaps because the things he couldn’t figure out before bed had piled up, Yu Lin rarely had a dream.

He actually seldom dreamed; in all his months in this world, his dreams usually involved having an endless supply of cold-pot duck blood or building a giant gingerbread house. This was the first time he had seen a truly vivid person in his sleep.

Everything in the dream was very realistic—not as if it were conjured from thin air, but rather like one of the memories he had lost.

In the dream, he was wearing dark blue tactical fatigues, concealed and lying in wait within a dense thicket of bushes. His breathing merged with the surrounding cicadas and the sound of the wind. Every muscle in his body was tensed and ready to spring, like a stalking leopard.

The night was dark. The lush trees were difficult to distinguish under the faint moonlight, looking like ghostly shadows. In the distance, a bonfire flickered, its light reflected on the ink-like surface of the water. Suddenly, a breeze stirred the waves, and the shimmering light scattered like a sky full of stars.

Three dark figures sat by the fire. One was wiping a rifle barrel, the metal glinting with a silver-white cold light in the fire’s glow.

He watched as the other two pulled three bags of individual combat rations from a pack. He lightly rolled the last remaining piece of compressed biscuit hidden in his sleeve. The watch on his left wrist showed that the next airdrop supply point was in Zone F16, five kilometers away. A silver light flashed from his fingertips as he spun a butterfly knife.

Just as he was about to move, the sound of tactical boots stepping on crushed leaves reached his ears.

The newcomer’s steps were very light; he was clearly approaching intentionally. Yu Lin couldn’t even catch his breathing.

He stiffened his back, keenly discerning the direction of the approach.

In the next second, a safety was switched off. The clicking sound of metal components was like a signal for war; the moment the trigger was pulled, Yu Lin moved in response.

Fire sparked as a bullet struck precisely where he had been lying in wait.

Yu Lin didn’t have time to look back. The cold light of a blade appeared in his hand, striking directly at the newcomer’s neck.

The person raised an arm to parry. The butterfly knife’s blade scraped against a metal wristwatch, making a piercing sound.

“Where did this wild cat come from, hiding here to steal a bite?” The man’s voice was cold, like shattered jade, but the rising tone at the end carried a different flavor.

The three people by the fire heard the commotion and grabbed their weapons, closing in urgently.

“Lu-ge!” someone shouted. “Holy shit, how was someone hiding here? We almost got robbed.”

Yu Lin and this “Lu-ge” were extremely close. Combined with Yu Lin’s wide, vicious, and lethal movements—so fast they were mere afterimages—the three didn’t dare to step forward to help.

The thrusting blade unfortunately grazed the man’s cheek. Yu Lin quickly pulled back, but the man was prepared; he seized Yu Lin’s right arm and threw him into the brush.

The immense force felt as if it would shatter Yu Lin’s internal organs. He let out several heavy, raspy gasps. A scorching gun barrel was pressed against his brow.

The person who spoke earlier called out lazily: “Friend, you have two choices now. Hand over all your supplies and exit quietly, or we send you on your way.”

Yu Lin didn’t speak.

The clouds in the sky were blown away by the wind. By the dim moonlight, Yu Lin saw the face of the man pinning him down.

He was a young man of about twenty, tall and lean, with deep, handsome features. There was no warmth in his dark, peach-blossom eyes. When he looked down, the scrutinizing gaze falling on Yu Lin’s face was as sharp as an eagle’s.

Yu Lin’s knife had just sliced through his sleeve; the exposed arm muscles were firm, and the hand holding the gun glowed like jade under the moonlight.

“Which group are you from?” The muzzle pressed against Yu Lin’s forehead pushed down. The shackled wrist struggled slightly but was pressed against the young man’s chest and gripped even tighter.

Yu Lin suddenly lowered his eyes, twitching slightly. When he lifted his eyelids again, a shimmering watery light spread through his eyes, and the corners of his eyes were marked with piteous, beautiful red streaks.

“I’m so hungry.” His voice was light and soft, the intentionally drawn-out tone as mellow as a child acting spoiled. “I got separated from my teammates. I just wanted a bite to eat.”

Because of the intense fight, his hair was soaked and clung mischievously to his cheeks. A flush, almost decadent in its redness, hung on his fair face. His moist eyes gazed longingly at the person before him, like a homeless puppy.

When he spoke again, he even carried a helpless sob: “I was wrong, Lu-ge. Let me go, okay?”

The young man’s hand holding the gun stiffened. A dark tide rolled through his calm eyes.

Suddenly, Yu Lin exerted force with his waist and abdomen, kicking both legs into the young man. Then, with a backhand push, he flipped up from the ground using only his core strength, his long legs straddling and locking around the young man’s neck.

The positions were reversed. Yu Lin sat astride the man, seizing the hand that held the gun. A casual smile curved his lips. He leaned down, speaking almost nose-to-nose: “All’s fair in war, Lu-ge.”

He called out “Ge” with a thousand twists and turns, sounding very much like a lover’s flirtatious whisper.

“Now, hand over all your food.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a bullet struck the ground in front of the other three.

Yu Lin snapped his eyes open, waking with a start in bed.

The early morning sun leaked through the gaps in the curtains. The air conditioner overhead was still humming. Yu Lin rubbed his head, which felt swollen from sleep, and stared blankly at the dust motes dancing in the beam of light until he regained his bearings.

Is that a memory of mine from before?

System 007 remained silent.

What did I used to do? Special forces? Mercenary? Hiss… I look a bit like a bandit too. How did I end up using seduction when I couldn’t win the fight?

System 007: “…There’s no need to belittle yourself.”

The other roommates were not yet awake. Yu Lin rolled out of bed to take a sip of water and countered: “I’m not. The idiot who fell for the seduction is the one who should feel belittled, right?”

System 007: “…I shouldn’t have said anything.”

There were no classes on the first morning. After some thought, Yu Lin decided to go to the hospital to see Xie Zhizhang.

Xie Zhizhang’s health was fine; the only thing worth noting was the gland on the back of his neck, which had been scratched by some Alpha. An Omega’s gland is very fragile; the slightest negligence can easily lead to infection or disordered pheromone secretion.

The hospital was part of the Lin Corporation’s network. Because the heat cycle had exhausted his energy, Xie Zhizhang had fallen into a deep sleep. Lin He had contacted a familiar doctor the previous night and arranged a private room for him to stay in for observation.

As for Xu Ze’an—because Yu Lin hadn’t known his own strength—he was lying in another ward.

When Yu Lin arrived at the room, Xie Zhizhang was already awake. He was leaning against the headboard; the back of his hand, resting on the blanket, was covered in medical tape, with a large bruise spreading beneath it.

Xie Zhizhang was staring vacantly at the tree branches and the chirping sparrows outside the window. His eyes were empty, as if he were lost in thought.

The sound of Yu Lin moving a chair interrupted his reflections. His shoulders jumped in startle, and he turned his head in surprise to look at the already seated Yu Lin. A faint smile soon appeared on his face: “You’re here?”

Yu Lin glanced at the porridge on the nightstand, which someone had brought, and said, “Not eating?”

Xie Zhizhang shook his head. “I don’t have much of an appetite… Thank you for yesterday.”

“Mm.”

“Thank you for arriving in time to save me. Otherwise, I don’t know how much longer I could have held out.” Xie Zhizhang raised a hand, tentatively touching the neck area that was now wrapped tightly in bandages. There was a hint of melancholy in his tone.

Yu Lin looked at the back of his hand with the tape, seemingly seeing the bruised veins. His lips were dry and pale, and his skin was white to the point of being nearly transparent. It seemed a single heat cycle had sucked away all of Xie Zhizhang’s energy and color.

Yu Lin remained silent for a long time before speaking flatly: “You learned well.”

Those words struck a nerve in Xie Zhizhang. He suddenly leaned forward, his thin back twitching slightly.

“I really wish… I were a Beta.”

Yu Lin looked at him steadily. His slow thoughts weren’t sure whether to offer comfort first or ask for the reason.

But Xie Zhizhang had long since grown used to this detached reaction and simply continued: “I’m so afraid. That feeling of being completely out of control, wanting only to submit to desire… it’s like being a slave, or a beast. When Xu Ze’an asked me if I needed a temporary mark, there was actually a split second where I wanted to agree. Enduring it alone was so painful. I even felt that if it were any Alpha standing before me, as long as he could save me, I would have agreed to him.”

During his long sleep, Xie Zhizhang’s thoughts had been churning, recalling many things.

He remembered middle and high school—the unprovoked pushing and mocking from his peers. Large Alphas would surround him, mockingly guessing what kind of decadent scent his pheromones would have. They had insulted him by trying to compare the physical differences between Alphas and Omegas, intentionally pulling back his long hair that covered his eyes to see his red, bullied eyes with excitement.

He also remembered his time at “White Tide”—the lewd, vulgar gazes of those self-righteous Alphas, the straying hands while serving drinks, the intentional or unintentional hints, and Manager Chen who would always laughingly help him brush them off.

He had even dreamed of a future completely different from the present. In that future, Yu Lin never appeared. He lived through years that felt like days under Xu Ze’an’s control and his friends’ pranks, only for those days to end abruptly with the news of his grandmother’s death.

He had been trembling and walking on thin ice. For the sake of a hard-won job, he couldn’t refuse the wine offered by a bloated, greasy man, and in a small, lavish private room, he was pinned down by the man’s pheromones, unable to move. He could only scream internally, hoping for a savior to descend.

And then… and then there was Xu Ze’an. After many years, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t escape his grasp. He had reluctantly surrendered during an accidental heat cycle, leaving a mark on his neck that he could never get rid of.

“Yu Lin, I’m suddenly very afraid. My destiny is fated to be someone else’s accessory…”