Who Wants to Be the Affectionate Cannon Fodder?! [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 28

“That actually seems to make a lot of sense.”

The man sat cross-legged on the sofa with a conflicted expression. He frowned, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Lin Qi and Lu Hechuan.

He appeared to be around the same age as Lu Hechuan, but when he wore such a complicated and troubled expression, he unexpectedly exuded a childish temperament. In the next second, even the words he spoke were incredibly immature: “How about you two just play rock-paper-scissors?”

Lin Qi, however, tapped her light-brain a few times. A light screen the size of a vanity mirror popped up from the device, displaying several video clips.

Lu Hechuan looked over without changing his expression.

The first clip showed Yu Lin when he was first tossed into the system. He wore a look of disgust and impatience toward the eerie, dark bridal chamber of the ghost marriage. After a brief transmission of the world line, he heartlessly snapped the neck of the Ghost Groom, who was the protagonist gong of that world. Then, a wind-and-snow-covered Lu Hechuan arrived in a hurry, telling 007 to open the system permissions and demanding to accompany Yu Lin into the next world.

The second clip showed Yu Lin kicking Xu Ze’an over in the next world and filling Xie Zhirang’s head with all sorts of messy fighting techniques.

The third clip showed the sudden appearance of Lin He, who originally did not exist on the world line, followed by the scene where he spoke up to help Xie Zhirang through his medical expense crisis.

Lu Hechuan pursed his lips and remained silent. Like an outsider, he simply stared fixedly at Yu Lin on the screen, his thoughts unknown.

Lin Qi clearly did not expect a response from him. She turned to the man on the sofa and said, “Our time is running out. We cannot finish the task if things continue like this. Have you thought about how we are going to report back?”

“This world line is indeed quite irritating, so his actions are understandable. This might even be a viable method. Besides, I see that he has collected the target’s affection points.”

As the man spoke, he saw a document Lin Qi had pulled up from her light-brain, and his voice died down sheepishly.

Lin Qi said coldly, “The world lines are chosen by algorithms. Even if the original plot is subpar, it is the world line that best stimulates his emotions. If you let him finish the remaining worlds leisurely like this, putting aside whether his mental network recovers, what happens when the other side demands the person? Are we supposed to send back a semi-finished product?”

The two men present clearly felt a flicker of displeasure on Lu Hechuan’s face the moment Lin Qi mentioned “semi-finished product.”

Lin Qi explained, “Brother Lu, you know I did not mean anything by it. But if Yu Lin’s treatment is not successful, not only him, but you and Gu Yunshen will also be held accountable.”

The man also lowered his head, tracing an old knife scar on the back of his hand, lost in thought.

After a long silence, he spoke slowly: “The testing for the Character Restoration function is not over yet. For someone like Yu Lin, forcing him to follow a persona and do things against his will will inevitably trigger resistance. If he kills another core NPC, it is not just a matter of whether Lin Qi can maintain control; it would also be a major blow to Yu Lin’s mental network.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Lu Hechuan’s face. Seeing no opposition or impatience, and noting that Lin Qi shared the same concern, he continued: “Let’s enable the Character Restoration halfway. Don’t be too strict; as long as he doesn’t stray too far, it is fine. In exchange, for the next world, Hechuan, you will also have your memories wiped when you enter the system.”

Lu Hechuan’s expression turned stern. He was about to say something when the man added: “After all, as soon as you have your memories, you are always thinking about opening back doors for him! Don’t indulge him too much! If this project fails, I will have to go back to the old man and inherit the family business!”

As soon as he finished, the man was met with a lethal employee glare from Lin Qi. He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away, pretending not to notice.

“I understand,” Lu Hechuan replied. He then turned to leave.

The man sighed, watching his retreating back. Just as Lu Hechuan reached the door, the man suddenly thought of something and shouted: “I will let the system randomly choose your body for the next world! Don’t go blindly creating a person who doesn’t exist again!”

Lu Hechuan’s fingers paused on the doorknob. He turned back and said, “It was a matter of emergency at the time. Besides, ordinary characters cannot quickly gain Yu Lin’s trust.”

The man said, “Don’t worry, it will be chosen from characters who have a lot of interaction with him.”

Lu Hechuan lowered his gaze: “Whatever you want.”

Time did not seem to pass in the transit station. No matter how long went by, the sky outside the courtyard remained as bright as day.

Yu Lin had eaten his fill, drunk his fill, and even swam in the pool for a while, yet 007 still had not returned. Bored, he went ashore and lay on a rattan chair, quietly watching the flowing stream and the vast stretches of lush green mountains rising from the earth.

The mountain breeze blew gently, making him drowsy. However, as soon as Yu Lin closed his eyes, he felt as if he had stepped into thin air, falling downward in a state of weightlessness.

A mechanical electronic prompt sounded in his ear: 【World line loading.】

Yu Lin complained: 【007, I hope you can give me a heads-up before the next transmission.】

007 replied without emotion: 【It was a matter of emergency, apologies.】

Yu Lin: 【?】

Just like when he first arrived in the first world, Yu Lin woke up in a state of chaos, but he did not feel that needle-like stinging pain in his brain this time. Yu Lin struggled to open his eyes, but the condition of this body seemed poor. No matter how hard he tried, his eyelids felt extraordinarily heavy.

What was even more uncomfortable was the tearing and burning sensation spreading from his lungs. There was a lingering damp feeling in his ear canals, and his head felt heavy and swollen, as if it were about to explode.

Yu Lin determined the condition of this body almost instantly: he had just been rescued from drowning.

Before 007 could transmit the world line to him, Yu Lin vaguely heard voices talking outside the door.

“We were pushing ahead on the river just now and did not pay attention to what was happening behind us. Who would have thought that as soon as we turned around, we would hear that Ning Jinghe’s boat capsized.”

“Our group was right next to him and saw it clearly. Shen Xingzhu got seasick and kept moving and shouting. How could such a small boat withstand his thrashing? Plus, he got scared by a water gun on the river and fell straight in. Then he happened to grab onto the side of the boat, and Ning Jinghe fell in with him.”

“The cameraman following them was so scared he didn’t know whether to keep filming or go down to save them. Fortunately, Ning Jinghe knows how to swim, but Shen Xingzhu kept struggling. They almost both drowned.”

“So what happens now? Are we still continuing the recording?”

“The doctor said Ning Jinghe is fine. Shen Xingzhu is still unconscious, but looking at him, he should be fine too. With his personality, he will probably demand to quit the filming.”

Yu Lin moved his fingers, feeling as if his entire body were being pressed down by a giant boulder, refusing to obey him. However, according to their conversation, the person named Shen Xingzhu should be himself in this world.

Yu Lin did not waste time. Since he could not move, he used the opportunity to receive the world line.

【007, give me the world line directly.】

007 had the same idea. Before the words finished, all the world lines flooded into Yu Lin’s head.

This was a perfectly ordinary modern society. Yu Lin’s body in this world was named Shen Xingzhu, a “vase” actor.

Shen Xingzhu was the illegitimate son of the Shen Group in Lu City. From a young age, he was not loved by his father or his mother. After being taken back to the Shen family at the age of ten, although he was not treated inhumanely by his siblings and the legitimate wife like other illegitimate children, his actual situation was no different from that of an invisible person.

His brothers ignored him, and Mrs. Shen would not stoop so low as to vent an adult’s mistakes on him or strike a child. Even so, Shen Xingzhu, having grown up in such an environment, could not be called normal.

Starved for affection, Shen Xingzhu became obsessively infatuated with a singer during high school. This singer was the protagonist gong of this world, Jiang Shiyan. After graduation, he gave up his chance to study and resolutely entered the entertainment industry to make a name for himself. Relying on some family resources and his beautiful face, he soon became popular.

However, Shen Xingzhu, who had entered the field midway, had zero acting skills and a terrible temper. Before long, negative press about him acting like a big shot, being unprofessional, and being a “resource-puller” flew everywhere. He himself received mixed reviews online.

But Shen Xingzhu did not care about any of this because he finally got close to his idol, Jiang Shiyan, who could now be called a superstar. He thought he had gained the other man’s “favor” and got his wish to become his lover.

Jiang Shiyan had a cold personality. Usually, he was unwilling to have much contact with Shen Xingzhu beyond the simplest hugs. His own explanation was that it was due to a trauma from his childhood. However, he always liked to stare at Shen Xingzhu’s face in a daze, the nostalgia and tenderness in his eyes making it seem as if he loved him deeply.

Shen Xingzhu remained immersed in the illusion of love, unaware that he was actually just a supporting character in another story. Jiang Shiyan’s true beloved, the protagonist of this world, was someone else. Shen Xingzhu was merely a cannon-fodder substitute with a somewhat similar face.

After a year of dating, Jiang Shiyan’s “White Moonlight,” Ning Jinghe, returned from abroad. This genius, who had won Best Actor at the age of seventeen, chose to go abroad for further studies after completing three films. He returned with great fanfare with a film selected for the Berlin Film Festival.

Jiang Shiyan heartlessly broke up with Shen Xingzhu. The subsequent plot developed like most novels: Jiang Shiyan and Ning Jinghe reunited as old friends, and after various emotional escalations, they finally ended up together.

Shen Xingzhu, after learning the whole truth, became jealous. He secretly and openly tripped up Ning Jinghe, spreading rumors and framing him. But in the end, everything backfired. He was mired in scandals and boycotted by the whole internet. After one last attempt to induce a sasaeng fan to follow Ning Jinghe’s car, which nearly caused Ning Jinghe to fall off a bridge on the highway, the Shen family found him an embarrassment and sent him abroad with a one-way ticket to be “frozen.”

At the end of the story, Ning Jinghe became the youngest grand slam Best Actor. Jiang Shiyan composed music for their love and made a public confession at a concert. Amidst the blessings of the entire internet, the two smiled at each other. Meanwhile, far away in a foreign country, Shen Xingzhu could only watch the loving couple on the broadcast through gritted teeth, spending his days drowning his sorrows in alcohol and misery.

Yu Lin calmly finished receiving this massive bucket of “dog blood” and then asked indifferently: 【Why do you always like to find scumbags to be the protagonists?】

Just as he finished speaking, there was a creak. It seemed someone had pushed open the wooden door and was walking toward him as he lay on the bed.