Cannon Fodder O Pretending to be A Will Lose Their Vest Chapter 72

Chapter 72: Have You Played Enough? The Plot / Mu Sian and Xie Huaijin Have Already…

Without a doubt, Jiang Chenyan trusted Shen Shiyue deeply.

Xie Huaijin wanted to say more, but the robotic broadcast voice suddenly rang out:

[Countdown to stage entry beginning. All teams, please be prepared.]

[10, 9, 8, 7…]

The cold numbers decreased second by second. Xie Huaijin’s eyes flickered in the dim light. Finally, he gave Jiang Chenyan a deep look and said softly, “Good luck to you.”

As his voice fell, Xie Huaijin walked toward his own team.

He had to find a way to deal with Shen Shiyue.

…

The world before Jiang Chenyan’s eyes was gradually shrouded in a thick darkness.

In the haze, he caught a glimpse of Mu Sian not far away. The latter happened to look back. Those eyes were bottomless, like a hidden vortex with a strange pulling force, as if trying to drag a person deep inside.

Just as he was about to look a few more times, a warm hand gently covered Jiang Chenyan’s eyes, cutting off that highly oppressive gaze.

Shen Shiyue’s calm, ripple-less voice slowly rang in his ear. “Are you ready?”

His heart beat violently and uncontrollably, as if trying to shatter his ribcage.

Jiang Chenyan took a deep breath and heard his own response, which carried an imperceptible tremor: “Mm.”

Why was his heart beating so fast?

In the next second, the warmth of the palm receded, and the view before him opened up.

What came into view was a scene completely different from before. Open, flat grasslands stretched into the distance, with small hills scattered among them. The sky was a clear, pure azure without a single impurity. When the wind blew, one could even smell the faint fragrance of grass and wood.

Who would have thought the competition venue would look like this? If one didn’t know better, they would think it was a tourist attraction.

Ling Yi looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and finally couldn’t help but voice the doubt in his heart: “So, are we really going to cooperate with Xie Huaijin’s team this time?”

Hearing this, Jiang Chenyan turned his head to look at him and smiled. “What, do you think Xie Huaijin will change his mind halfway and turn his hand against us?”

“I think the possibility is very high,” Ling Yi stated his viewpoint. “After all, with his strength, completing the stage alone is more than enough. There’s no necessity for him to cooperate with us.”

Jiang Chenyan nodded slowly, the smile on his face fading slightly as he agreed, “Indeed.”

However, since the cooperation had already been settled, they had no path of retreat. The priority was to team up with Xie Huaijin and pull Mu Sian down first.

Without much hesitation, the group activated and summoned their mechas. Silver-white mechas condensed into form from light particles.

After boarding their respective mechas, Xie Huaijin’s voice came through the communication port.

“A direct ambush?”

Jiang Chenyan tapped his fingers on the control panel, arching an eyebrow as he countered, “Are you that confident you can take him down?”

“What does he count as?” Xie Huaijin’s voice was steeped in ice, a cold sneer cutting through the communication channel.

The world of high-grade Alphas had always been a place where the strong preyed on the weak. Both he and Mu Sian were SS-grade Alphas standing at the peak of the pyramid. They were each other’s strongest opponents. On the surface, they were polite, but the competition and rivalry in their bones had never stopped.

Jiang Chenyan fell silent.

The surrounding air grew quiet along with him, with only the low hum of the mecha before startup echoing in his ears.

Jiang Chenyan leaned against the pilot seat and closed his eyes. The key plot points from the original novel gradually became clear in his mind.

In the same final exam plot in the original novel, Xie Huaijin and Mu Sian would pretend to drop their rivalry in order to jointly control Shen Shiyue. They would deliberately form a team with Shen Shiyue. Because of their cooperation, the team took first place without any effort.

Shen Shiyue won, but behind that preferential treatment were the two’s unspeakable motives. Under the guise of cooperation, they would restrict Shen Shiyue’s freedom step by step, subjecting him to indescribable humiliation and control, completely turning him into their possession.

As for the original host… Jiang Chenyan couldn’t bring himself to smile.

The original host didn’t even get to participate in the competition. He had long been treated as an abandoned piece by his family and sent to a remote planet for an arranged marriage.

The Alpha husband had an extreme desire for control and serious violent tendencies. The original host lived a life worse than death there, and in the end, no one even knew how he disappeared.

Mainly, the author had forgotten about the cannon fodder, only writing that he fell off a cliff during an escape attempt, with no clarity on whether he lived or died.

But now, the plot had already undergone a massive reversal, completely deviating from the established track of the original novel.

Everything was different. The cannon fodder, who should have been expelled from the military academy long ago and become the target of public criticism, had temporarily not had his identity exposed, and the protagonist gongs had not begun their coercion and control over the protagonist shou.

“Alright then.”

Jiang Chenyan slowly opened his eyes, his gaze deep. If Xie Huaijin wanted to be the leader, he would follow the other’s intention.

Xie Huaijin shared Mu Sian’s specific location in the joint communication. “Move according to the coordinates. We’ll surround him from three directions.”

It seemed Xie Huaijin had already figured out Mu Sian’s exact position through some channel.

Jiang Chenyan stared at the blinking red dot on the screen, his fingertips lightly tapping the control panel.

The distance between the two locations wasn’t short; it would take more than half an hour to arrive even at full speed.

…

Within the simulator, teams were already engaging in combat. Everything seemed normal, but outside the simulator, things had already exploded.

“Jiang Chenyan actually cooperated with Xie Huaijin? What’s going on?”

“Who could have thought they’d suddenly team up.”

“The battle situation is completely chaotic now. With the two of them teaming up, who will win in the end?”

…

Kai Lan silently pulled his hat lower, covering half his face. Listening to the buzzing discussions around him, his fingertips tightened slightly.

He kind of wanted to go to the bathroom…

He truly couldn’t guess Xie Huaijin’s motive for suddenly cooperating with Jiang Chenyan, but there were clearly more pressing matters to handle right now, leaving him no room for much thought.

Kai Lan took a deep breath, stood up quietly, avoided the crowd’s gaze, and walked toward the staff.

A staff member pointed him in the right direction.

Arriving at the entrance of the restroom, Kai Lan paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the signs, and finally pushed open the door to the Alpha-only restroom.

After all, most people coming and going in the inner venue were Alphas. Omegas weren’t on the invitation list at all. To avoid unnecessary trouble, choosing the Alpha restroom was indeed safer.

Just as Kai Lan took a step into the room, he crashed head-on into someone.

His nose almost touched the other’s chest. He instinctively took half a step back and apologized, “Sorry.”

Not daring to linger, Kai Lan wanted to lower his head and circle around the person to get inside quickly. Just as he took a step, his wrist was grabbed by a warm, powerful hand. The strength was impossible to break.

“Have you played enough?”

The low voice carried a hint of coldness. It was all too familiar.

Kai Lan looked up abruptly, his pupils shrinking.

How could it be such a coincidence?

The Alpha wore a pair of thin-framed gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. The eyes behind the lenses were bottomless, without a single ripple.

Kai Lan felt as if his throat were blocked by something, leaving it incredibly dry. He opened his mouth and barely squeezed out the other’s name, his voice trembling slightly: “Ariel.”

Ariel was so angry the veins on his temples were throbbing. If the setting hadn’t been wrong, he really wanted to pin Kai Lan against the wall and give him a beating right then and there.

“This is the Alpha restroom.”

Kai Lan was stunned for a moment and instinctively replied, “Uh, I know.”

“You know and still came? How did you sneak into the inner venue?”

Ariel’s grip on his wrist tightened further.

Kai Lan’s heart sank. He suddenly raised his hand and pushed him away. “I know you’re in a hurry, but I’m in a hurry too.”

“I’ll use the bathroom first, okay? I’ll explain to you later. You wait for me outside first.”

Ariel was laughed from anger at his self-righteous appearance. The eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses grew cold. “Do you really want to use the bathroom, or are you up to no good under the guise of using it?”

Kai Lan frowned and countered, “What kind of question is that? I’ve already walked into the stall; could I be here for sightseeing?”

“Sightseeing?” Ariel’s finger lightly tapped on the door frame, producing a crisp sound. “Fine, I’ll believe you once.”

He took two steps back and leaned against the opposite wall, crossing his arms. His gaze was fixed deathly on the stall door. “I’ll wait for you outside. I’ll give you five minutes; come out quickly. Don’t think about playing any tricks; there’s no place for you to hide here.”

Kai Lan: “…”

Inside the stall, Kai Lan let out a sigh of relief but didn’t dare to delay.

He quickly fished out that tube of collected high-grade Alpha pheromones from his pocket. This was something he had gone to great lengths to obtain, spending half the day in the inner venue like a thief to collect it. He absolutely couldn’t let Ariel discover it.

Kai Lan stood on his toes to reach the ventilation grille above, using his fingertips to pry open a gap. While the sound of Ariel’s footsteps outside didn’t approach, he quickly stuffed the container inside, pressed the grille back into place, and patted the dust off his hands, ensuring no trace could be seen.

After finishing, he pressed the flush button. The sound of rushing water covered Kai Lan’s hurried breathing.

Everything should have gone smoothly today, but meeting Ariel was very troublesome.

After pushing open the door and coming out, Ariel stared at him deathly, as if afraid he would run. “Your courage is getting bigger and bigger.”

Kai Lan frowned, putting on a full act. “I was just worried about my good friend. What’s wrong with coming to the scene to take a look?”

Ariel was silent for a moment before speaking coldly, “Come with me now.”

Kai Lan didn’t know whether to argue or compromise for a moment. Compromise first?

Then he would compromise first.

On the other side, Jiang Chenyan and the others were driving their mechas toward the location Xie Huaijin had mentioned.

It was a bit boring on the road, so Ji Xuan was the first to break the silence. “After this competition is over, shall we find a place to have a meal? Let’s relax properly.”

Ling Yi tapped his fingers on the control panel and echoed, “Sure. I know a few places that taste pretty good.”

The group chatted casually, with topics ranging from food to subsequent stages. As they were talking, the cold announcement voice of the broadcast suddenly rang out:

[Team No. 5 eliminated. Team No. 7 eliminated…]

Jiang Chenyan’s brow furrowed slightly. He was somewhat surprised. “Eliminated this fast?”

Just as he was about to say more, the broadcast announcement followed:

[Team No. 15 eliminated…]

“…”

In the next few minutes, announcements came one after another. Many more teams were eliminated in succession. The pace of the battle was much faster than expected.

Ji Xuan stared at the continuously updating elimination notices on the screen. “What’s the situation? How long has it been, and so many teams are eliminated at once? All out?”

Jiang Chenyan: “If I didn’t know better, I’d think several teams were bunched together in a chaotic fight…”

As soon as these words were out, everyone fell silent. It really was a possibility.

They might not be spared either; the road ahead wouldn’t be peaceful.

“Careful! There’s an energy fluctuation ten kilometers ahead!” Ling Yi warned. Several red light dots popped up on the screen, rapidly approaching their direction.

These teams weren’t stupid either. Encountering Jiang Chenyan’s group, they simply formed a temporary alliance, intending to join forces to eliminate them first and then divide the subsequent battle advantages.

Several energy shells cut through the sky, booming over with piercing sounds of breaking air. Jiang Chenyan reacted quickly, maneuvering the mecha to the side to dodge. The shells exploded against the mecha’s metal shell, kicking up clouds of smoke.

“They’re here indeed.” Ji Xuan quickly activated the weapon system. “At least three teams. They’re determined to keep us here.”

Jiang Chenyan: “Ling Yi and Duer, handle the left wing to keep them occupied. Ji Xuan, handle the frontal output. Shen Shiyue, follow me to flank them from behind. Resolve this quickly; don’t give them a chance to surround us.”

“Understood.”

The mecha swarm engaged in combat. Jiang Chenyan drove his silver-white mecha, dodging the incoming frontal attacks while firing tracking energy shells, precisely hitting the joint of one of the enemy mechas.

With a loud Boom, that mecha lost balance and crashed heavily to the ground, emitting black smoke.

Relying on their agile positioning, Ling Yi and Duer constantly interfered with the enemy’s vision, taking opportunities to launch sneak attacks and destroy mecha energy cores.

The two coordinated tacitly. Just as they were about to flank the final enemy mecha, another mecha, which was originally thought to have lost combat capability, suddenly launched a sneak attack from the rear flank. An energy cannon fired toward Ling Yi’s mecha.

“Careful!” Duer didn’t hesitate for a second, maneuvering his mecha to lung forward and block Ling Yi.

BOOM—!

The violent explosion was deafening. Duer’s mecha was hit head-on by the energy cannon. A large hole was instantly blasted into the thick metal shell, and sparks flew from the internal circuitry. The mecha staggered back a few steps and fell heavily to the ground, unable to move.

“Duer!” Ling Yi’s voice carried a tremor that had never been there before.

After Shen Shiyue and Jiang Chenyan finished off the remaining people, the battlefield fell into silence. Only Duer’s mecha lay on the spot, emitting black smoke.

Jiang Chenyan quickly jumped off his mecha and rushed to the damaged unit, trying to open the cockpit, only to find that the hatch was severely deformed and couldn’t be pried open at all.

Through the communication, Duer’s weak voice came through, accompanied by static: “Jiang Chenyan… don’t worry about me… you guys… keep going forward…”

Before his voice finished, the communication was completely cut off.

The vital signs monitor inside the cockpit also turned into a flat line.

A cold notification rang out:

[Member Duer judged unfit for combat, forced withdrawal from match]

Shen Shiyue was silent for a moment, then raised his hand to dismiss the notification window. “We must keep moving forward. We can’t let Duer’s sacrifice be in vain.”

Ling Yi’s fingers gripping the control lever turned white. “It’s my fault… for giving that mecha the chance to launch a sneak attack.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jiang Chenyan comforted him. “The enemy was too cunning; the sneak attack came too unexpectedly. Anyone else might not have been able to react.”

“What we can do now is complete the remaining tasks. Don’t let our teammate’s sacrifice be for nothing.”

Ling Yi took a deep breath and nodded slowly.

Jiang Chenyan swiped across the screen, pulling up the latest elimination list.

The names of many teams were crossed out in red. In the once-bustling arena, very few teams now remained.

His gaze swept across quickly and suddenly paused. Behind the entry for Xie Huaijin’s team, the words “4 members eliminated” were clearly marked.

Jiang Chenyan’s pupils contracted, and his heart skipped a beat.

Teams were configured with five members. Four members eliminated meant that now… only Xie Huaijin was left in their team.

Seeing this news, everyone was stunned.

Xie Huaijin was so aggressive and an SS-grade Alpha; how could his team suffer losses so quickly?

Unless he was already fighting Mu Sian.

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