The Game Heroine's Cannon Fodder Leopard Cub - Chapter 1

The sun rose, painting the cloudless sky with gentle light that filtered through the dense forest canopy to reach the ground below.

The forest teemed with life at dawn, but this vitality belonged to the creatures of the night, not yet to the humans of the day.

At the entrance of a cave, a group of rabbits gathered around a small leopard cub, chattering excitedly.

The Old Spotted Rabbit, closest to the cub, waved her paw, signaling for silence.

She hopped slowly toward the cub and tentatively poked its head. After just two gentle pokes, the cub shook its head and stood up.

The quiet rabbit group erupted into a cacophony of panicked cries, like a stone dropped into a still pond.

Yi’an shook her head, trying to shake off the incessant noise burrowing into her ears, but it was no use. Unable to suppress the urge to roar, she bristled, raised her head high, and channeled her energy—

“Meow~”

Yi’an cracked.

Isn’t she supposed to be a ferocious leopard?!

A week ago, Yi’an was a corporate slave working 9-to-9, six days a week. To escape her exploitative boss, she humbly requested two days off, secretly fantasizing about slamming her fist on the table and unleashing a furious tirade.

With her unexpected free time, Yi’an drove to a remote mountain for a hike and stream tracing.

But the cruel law of conservation held true: after finally panting her way to the summit, she realized she’d forgotten her stream tracing shoes. Staring at the crystal-clear stream, Yi’an made a disastrously reckless decision.

She kicked off her shoes and socks and waded barefoot into the stream. As the saying goes, “play with fire, get burned.” Just a few steps in, she accidentally stepped on a loose rock, lost her footing, and faceplanted hard into the water, losing consciousness.

When she opened her eyes again, everything had changed.

The sparsely wooded mountain had transformed into a lush, verdant forest.

The tinkling streams had vanished completely.

And she…

Yi’an raised her hand—no, it was a paw—she had become a leopard!

A pitiful little cub, abandoned by its parents shortly after birth due to its frail constitution.

Yi’an tentatively bit her paw, wincing at the sharp pain. It was no dream.

A catastrophic start.

Surrounded by trees and birds that loomed impossibly large, Yi’an could only cower beside a massive tree, her stomach growling with hunger.

“Owen, look! A little leopard cub! Didn’t you say you wanted to catch one for Miss Nora?”

Just as Yi’an, exhausted and starving, was drifting off to sleep, she heard familiar voices. Her heart leaped with hope, and she prepared to beg for help…

“What? Catch a leopard?”

Yi’an’s fur bristled instantly. Seeing the approaching figures showed no fear, she let out a panicked yelp and bolted.

The pursuers gave chase relentlessly. Yi’an instinctively mastered the leopard’s sprinting technique, burying her head and fleeing desperately.

After an eternity of running, Yi’an finally collapsed from exhaustion.

Thump—

She staggered a few steps before collapsing face-first onto the ground.

When Yi’an awoke again, she found herself surrounded by circles upon circles of small rabbits, chattering in a language she couldn’t understand.

She shakily rose to her feet, trying to drown out the cacophony with her own cries.

“Meow~”

Yi’an had retreated into herself.

Her stomach was staging a full-blown hunger strike, and her mood was utterly miserable.

She flopped back onto the ground, her tail swaying listlessly.

She began to suspect that this whole transmigration ordeal was her unscrupulous boss’s punishment for not working hard enough as a corporate slave—

After experiencing hunger and cold, you still won’t buckle down and work 996?

After staging this internal drama, Yi’an suddenly felt less dejected.

What’s so great about being human anyway? Every bite of food we eat just ends up fueling some greedy boss’s profits.

I took such a nasty fall, and if I ever get back, I’ll have to spend money on medical bills and still end up working overtime in a hospital bed.

Leopards are so much more majestic.

Even if I’m just a cub right now.

As these thoughts buoyed her spirits, she perked up.

Facing the Old Spotted Rabbit, she pointed to his belly, patted it, then patted her own.

The rabbit group suddenly fell silent again. Yi’an grew nervous, unsure if animals could communicate like this.

Suddenly, several young rabbits hopped back into the cave and returned moments later, carrying wild berries in their mouths. They placed the berries before her.

Yi’an’s eyes lit up, and her tail shot straight up.

“Thank you, Brother Rabbit and Sister Rabbit!”

The little rabbits tilted their heads, listening to Yi’an’s meows.

“Uh…” Yi’an felt a bit awkward.

Deciding to stop talking, she shook her head and lowered it to munch on the wild fruits with a satisfying crunch.

Though the fruits were scarce, they were more than enough to fill the belly of a young cub like Yi’an.

After finishing her meal, Yi’an lay on her back, basking in the sunlight and drifting into a drowsy state. Her tail lazily swayed from side to side as curious little rabbits chased after it, hopping around her.

Not far from the cave entrance, a tall figure stood hidden behind a tree trunk, silently observing the scene.

Nora had followed the leopard cub’s tracks since dawn, finally locating her here.

After hearing her cousin Owen’s description last night, she was certain this was the leopard from her dreams.

For the past week, Nora had been plagued by vivid dreams.

The dreams varied in content, but the leopard (or sometimes a person) remained constant.

Sometimes it was a girl clacking away at a typewriter-like device, muttering curses under her breath.

Other times it was a tiny leopard cub meowing and chasing its tail in circles.

When she consulted the chief witch, Sophia, the witch only offered vague hints that these visions were omens.

Nora told her mother, but her mother merely dispatched a few guards for a cursory search of the surrounding area.

Determined to find the truth herself, Nora decided to investigate.

Having celebrated her eighteenth birthday last year and successfully graduated from the Cisse Empire’s military academy, she possessed the skills to navigate the forest safely.

Three days had passed since Nora entered the Cloudmist Forest, yet she hadn’t seen a single living creature.

Even the white geese so common in Lancaster were nowhere to be found.

She had a strong premonition that the answers she sought lay deep within the forest.

Then, last night, Owen reported seeing a small leopard.

Nora instantly forgot her exhaustion from the journey and nearly set out that very night.

Following Owen’s markings, she finally discovered the leopard in a mountain cave.

A mewing leopard cub.

Her fur was fluffy, and her four tiny paws resembled the fleshy segments of bamboo fruit.

Nora was certain this was the leopard she had been searching for.

But this leopard was peculiar.

Surrounded by rabbits, she didn’t attack, letting the bunnies tug at her whiskers. She didn’t eat meat, yet devoured wild fruits with gusto. After eating, instead of grooming herself like a typical leopard, she wiped her mouth like a human.

And then there was her bizarre sleeping posture, lying on her back with all four paws in the air.

Watching the cub’s belly rise and fall, Nora’s mind swirled with unanswered questions.

Once the rabbits dispersed, she approached the sleeping cub.

Looking down at the motionless creature, she noticed her fur wasn’t as fluffy as it had seemed from a distance. The fur around her face was matted into tangled clumps, and two of her whiskers were broken, giving her a pitiful appearance.

Nora gently picked her up, carefully examining her body for injuries. Finding none, she felt a wave of relief.

Yi’an felt incredibly light and relaxed. Her damp, matted fur seemed to have dried and fluffed up.

She closed her eyes, opened her mouth wide, and yawned deeply. Then, she rolled over, stretched languidly, and finally blinked her eyes open groggily.

Yi’an froze mid-stretch, her hind legs still extended.

Her pupils dilated as she took in the circle of people surrounding her.

“What’s going on? Are they here to capture leopards again? How terrifying!”

Nora’s eyes hadn’t left the little leopard’s side. She watched the cub’s bewildered expression with amusement, marveling at how such a furry face could convey such a range of emotions.

She couldn’t resist reaching out to stroke the cub’s soft, fuzzy head.

Yi’an, enjoying the petting, tilted her head up to look at the hand’s owner, her gaze meeting Nora’s.

Yi’an was stunned.

A flawless, delicate face, a high, elegant nose, and a pair of slightly upturned, deeply mesmerizing eyes.

A beauty that left the leopard speechless.

Yi’an’s eyes lit up instantly, and she rubbed her head against Nora’s hand.

Nora’s lips curved into a faint smile as she gently stroked the little leopard, glancing at the vibrant middle-aged woman in a robe standing beside her.

The woman nodded, stepped forward, and placed her hand on the leopard’s body, murmuring incomprehensible words.

After a long moment, she withdrew her hand and nodded again at Nora.

With Sophia’s confirmation, Nora finally relaxed. It was indeed the little leopard she had been searching for.

Seeing Nora’s relief, Sophia shooed away the curious onlookers and headed toward the castle’s great hall, where Charlotte awaited news.

Yi’an sat up and surveyed the room. It was vast and lavishly decorated, the bed beneath her feet remarkably soft.

The clothing worn by the others clearly reflected medieval European fashion.

And their language…

“Wait, how can I understand what they’re saying?”

It wasn’t Chinese, yet she understood it as naturally as her native tongue.

Yi’an stroked her stubble and sank back onto the bed, utterly baffled. She couldn’t make sense of it, no matter how hard she tried.

So, had she transmigrated to the Middle Ages?

Or perhaps another similar, alternate world?

Nora sat nearby, watching the little leopard leap and pounce, its expressions shifting rapidly. She found it amusing—despite being just a small animal, it seemed remarkably human.

Gently stroking the leopard’s soft back, Nora wasn’t sure if it understood her.

“I brought you back from the forest, and I’ll take good care of you. But you need to be a good little leopard.”

The leopard tilted its head and meowed twice at her. Nora, as if instinctively understanding, asked, “Are you asking who I am? And where this place is?”

The leopard nodded in her palm.

Now Nora was certain: this little creature truly understood human speech. But judging by its dazed expression, it had likely only recently gained sentience.

“This is the Duchy of Lancaster. My name is Eleanor Lancaster, but people usually call me Nora.”

“Eleanor Lancaster?” Yi’an’s eyes widened.

Isn’t that the protagonist of the game we just finished developing, “Cisse Continent”?

Yi’an was the chief planner for the Cisse Continent business division. Due to her unscrupulous boss’s exploitation, she had essentially single-handedly built the game’s entire world.

The game’s female protagonist was named Eleanor Lancaster, heir to the Duchy of Lancaster, the Cisse Empire’s largest vassal state.

The game’s plot revolved around Emperor Charles II of the Cisse Empire making a pact with the Demon God Baal in pursuit of supreme power and eternal life. Grand Duchess Charlotte of Lancaster, Eleanor’s mother, discovered Baal’s existence and was executed by the emperor, who had been possessed by the demon god. To uncover the truth, Nora teamed up with players to search for clues across the land, ultimately defeating Charles II.

Though the ending was ultimately positive, Yi’an’s damned, unscrupulous boss insisted the female lead wasn’t “beautiful, strong, and tragic” enough.

To satisfy her boss’s bizarre demands, Yi’an relentlessly revised the story, resulting in a final version where nearly everyone around the protagonist died or was maimed.

The little leopard cub she had transmigrated into was destined to become a vessel for the Demon God Baal, according to a witch’s prophecy. As a result, Grand Duchess Charlotte had shot it dead at the very beginning of the story.

“Meow!!!”

Yi’an’s fur bristled.