Vicious Cannon Fodder? No, It's The Beautiful Wife! - Chapter 2

“I was so scared; I didn’t dare to fight back…”

There was a curfew at the base. After midnight, no one was allowed to walk on the streets. But even so, humans couldn’t quit their habit of chasing pleasure. The bar street on the edge of the base was already full of people by six o’clock.

Inside the bars, the music was deafening, the dances on stage were wild, and under the flashing lights, emotions were burning high!

A tall man with deep and cold eyes pushed through the noisy crowd, ignoring the surprised or cautious looks around him as he walked straight ahead. A few boys who had been looking for someone noticed him, their eyes lighting up, and quickly moved closer with light steps.

“Let go.” Qu Zhilan coldly pushed away the pretty boys who tried to cling to him, his face full of frost as he walked toward the back door. The boys weren’t discouraged, but before they could follow him, they froze in fear.

A few strong men were dragging a bl00d-covered, buzz-cut man like a dead pig behind Qu Zhilan and took him out the bar’s back door.

“Where is the weapons vault key?”

Qu Zhilan pressed the man’s neck with one hand and pinned him against the wall.

The skinny buzz-cut man shook his head in terror, his voice already distorted. “Brother Qu, I—I don’t have the key! You’ve got it wrong!”

“You got more than ten thousand points in your account for no reason.” Qu Zhilan spoke calmly. With a twist of his wrist, a cold knife was suddenly placed against the man’s trembling throat.

The buzz-cut man turned pale in fear and gave up within seconds. He stammered, “It—it’s with the guild leader’s wife!”

Qu Zhilan frowned in suspicion. After a moment, he coldly said, “Yuan Su?”

The buzz-cut man cried and nodded hard. “Yes, yes! I gave it to him! I just needed money, I wasn’t really trying to betray the guild… And anyway, he’s family with the guild leader, it made sense to let him keep it. Brother Qu, please spare me this time! I won’t do it again!”

This man had been one of the people who left the base with them last time to gather supplies. He had sticky fingers and planned to steal the key and sell some weapons, then secretly return them. But because of that, Qin Zhao had died unexpectedly.

Now that the truth was out, the buzz-cut man, knowing how Qu Zhilan handled interrogations, had no choice but to tell the truth…

A subordinate nearby said grimly, “Brother Qu, Yuan Su went to the central military building today. People said he went to see Chu Wenhe.”

Qu Zhilan stood up; his dark eyes lowered as he glanced sideways at the buzz-cut man. He curled his lips slightly. “Clean it up.”

With that, he walked away without looking back.

Screams and cries suddenly rang out, sharp and shrill, but were quickly drowned out by the loud music of the bar.

Yuan Su had the key to the weapons vault, and this afternoon he had even taken the initiative to contact Chu Wenhe…

Qu Zhilan’s dark eyes were brewing a storm. His brows were cold and heavy. Thinking about Qin Zhao’s sudden death, his fingers clenched with a crackling sound.

Anyone who had thoughts of betraying the guild didn’t need to be kept alive.

Especially because he suspected that Qin Zhao’s death had something to do with Yuan Su.

With doubt and killing intent in his heart, Qu Zhilan went to Yuan Su’s place expressionlessly and knocked on the door—

Bang bang bang—!

“Open the door.”

He waited a long time, but no one answered. Qu Zhilan had seen from downstairs that the lights inside were on — was it on purpose?

He knocked again, harder, and warned, “I know you’re in there, Yuan Su.”

There was a small sound inside, and after a moment, a soft “beep” — the electronic lock clicked open, and warm light spilled from the doorway.

The first thing Qu Zhilan saw was a pair of clear amber eyes like glass. They were staring at him, not threatening at all, soft like a gentle tease.

For a moment, it felt like countless soft feathers were floating in the air, brushing lightly across the skin, bringing a gentle, tingling itch.

The young man’s pale fingers held the door, his soft black hair glowing slightly. His eyes were wary as he looked at the man.

“Can you knock a bit softer?” The words were clearly complaining, but his voice trembled slightly.

His eyes were slightly red, and his long dark lashes seemed to still hold tears, as if he had just cried.

Even though he was scolding, it felt strangely close and intimate.

The scene caught Qu Zhilan completely off guard, and all the anger he brought was stuck in his chest, neither rising nor falling — it was very hard to bear.

He opened his mouth without thinking. The heavy pressure on his chest finally found a release, and what came out were two cold words, “I’m sorry.”

The moment the words fell, Qu Zhilan froze.

Yuan Su didn’t seem to notice. He accepted it happily, his tone softened, and he even stepped aside to let him in. “Is something wrong?”

Qu Zhilan glanced over the young man calmly. With his height, he could easily see the soft skin on the back of Yuan Su’s neck. The black hair made it look even paler, like creamy milk, and carried a faint, tempting scent.

Such a weak spot, completely exposed.

Yuan Su didn’t seem to notice. He went to the drink station and got a cup of hot water—for himself.

He took a sip to calm down. The loud knocking earlier had almost scared him silly, but luckily the system had warned him in time, telling him it was the protagonist, Qu Zhilan, at the door.

Yuan Su sighed in relief — but it was clearly too soon.

As soon as Qu Zhilan stepped inside, he noticed a faint smell of bl00d.

Looking slightly to the side, he saw bl00d on the man’s long fingers.

Bl00d?

Looking closely, Yuan Su also noticed faint bloodstains on his clothes. They weren’t obvious, but they were there.

Qu Zhilan was dressed in a black training outfit, the thin material clinging to his strong, well-shaped body, his lines sharp and attractive.

But his cold eyes made him seem unapproachable and hard to talk to. Even those who were attracted to his looks would be scared away by his cold presence.

Noticing Yuan Su’s gaze, Qu Zhilan raised his hand and deliberately turned it over, revealing the red stains on his pale fingers.

He asked, “Scared?”

—Trying to scare me?

Yuan Su didn’t even look up and pointed to the bathroom. “Go wash your hands. Dirty.”

His tone was so natural, like he had the right to order him. That casual, scolding tone made people’s hearts race for no reason.

Qu Zhilan’s dark, narrow eyes stared at him. He pushed down the strange feeling in his heart and suddenly moved closer. “Where’s the key?”

Yuan Su was startled and took two steps back, keeping a distance. He said quickly, “I won’t give it to you.”

His slippers made two hurried slaps on the floor, sharp and sudden.

The tense mood suddenly became a little strange.

Qu Zhilan stayed quiet for a moment, then said directly, “Why did you meet Chu Wenhe in private?”

Yuan Su froze for a few seconds, then reacted in disbelief. “You’re spying on me?”

“My original goal was to protect you,” Qu Zhilan didn’t deny it and even gave a righteous reason. “Since Qin Zhao died, as the guild’s vice leader and his brother, I have a duty to take care of his widow.”

His cold eyes stared at Yuan Su, trying to see any guilt or panic. But the beautiful face only showed shock and anger. His full red lips were bitten even redder, and his pale cheeks were flushed from emotion.

So beautiful.

—So good-looking that it distracted him.

Qu Zhilan lowered his eyes and looked away, his voice turning deeper. “Answer me.”

Yuan Su’s hand trembled, the glass shaking. His voice softened, “Don’t be so mean to me…”

His complaint, with a bit of fear in his eyes, sounded like he was trying to act cute.

Qu Zhilan was speechless. He had no need or obligation to listen to this person’s request, but the tightness in his jaw somehow eased.

He took a deep breath, suspecting there was some kind of drug in this room making him dizzy.

He clicked his tongue in annoyance and said again, “Carrying the key will only make you a target. It’s dangerous. Give it to me.”

“No.”

Yuan Su refused without hesitation.

Qu Zhilan sneered and asked coldly, “Did you already give the key to Chu Wenhe?”

Being stared at by those sharp, hawk-like eyes, Yuan Su’s scalp tingled and his legs weakened.

So scary.

Privately keeping weapons was forbidden. Any weapons found outside had to be handed in. Otherwise, they’d be kicked out of the base and blacklisted from all military shelters.

So, the guild’s weapons vault was outside the base. Moving too many weapons would attract attention. It was better to leave them outside—beasts didn’t use guns anyway.

In the apocalypse, food and weapons were the most important things.

The guild needed those weapons badly, and Yuan Su knew how serious this was. Of course, he couldn’t admit that “he” went to see Chu Wenhe to side with him.

Yuan Su denied, “I didn’t give it to him. I just told them the general location of the vault.”

Qu Zhilan said coldly, one word at a time, “You chose to betray the guild.”

The original Yuan Su had indeed planned to do that.

Yuan Su was anxious, but he knew if he couldn’t fix the problem, he had to shift it.

In the next second, Qu Zhilan saw the sharp little cat suddenly go soft. Yuan Su lowered his head, soft black hair falling.

“I didn’t betray the guild.” The young man’s thin shoulders curled. He bit his lip hard. “It was Chu Wenhe who came to me first. He forced me, forced me to be his…”

He stopped there.

His heart slowly tightened and lifted higher… but the rest of the sentence didn’t come.

Qu Zhilan clicked his tongue. “Say it.”

Yuan Su’s eyes reddened, lashes trembling, his eyes filled with mist. Like he was overwhelmed with shame, he softly said—

“Lover.”

Qu Zhilan’s arm froze, muscles tensing up. Those two words hit like a hammer — yet also like a hand strumming chaos in his chest.

—He wanted him to be a lover…

That strange feeling filled his chest again, like smoke rushing into his lungs.

“I was so scared, I didn’t dare to fight back…” When Yuan Su looked up again, his eyes were wet with tears, and his pale cheeks were soaked. His lips, red and swollen from biting, trembled with wronged sobs.

His amber eyes were bright, his tearful gaze locked on Qu Zhilan. He stepped forward and choked out an explanation.

“I didn’t want to betray the guild… or you.”

Didn’t want… to betray you…

Those five words echoed in Qu Zhilan’s mind, again and again.

Just a statement of loyalty, but it sounded so ambiguous, so suggestive.

But Yuan Su seemed unaware. His breathing was weak and pitiful, like a frightened little cat.

—Visibly fragile and innocent, someone to be protected.

As that thought rose, a vein on Qu Zhilan’s forehead twitched. He couldn’t stand it anymore and said in a hoarse voice, “Stay away from me.”

But his eyes, like a fish smelling bait, couldn’t stop looking at Yuan Su.

Yuan Su was happy to hear it. Seeing he’d succeeded, he stepped back without regret.

He sniffled; his voice stuffy. “I won’t give you the key… If I have nothing in my hands, how can I survive in the base?”

The original Yuan Su had a bad reputation. He had made many enemies in the base. He used to have his husband’s protection, but now he didn’t.

A weak young man without support was a tasty target. As soon as he was exposed, countless people would come after him.

“No one in the guild likes me, no one will help me. I know, you all hate me. You just didn’t say it because of my husband…”

Qu Zhilan stayed silent — because it was true. No one in the guild liked this useless beauty.

“I won’t give the key to anyone,” Yuan Su breathed out. His hand fell after wiping his tears. His thin eyelids were red from rubbing. His long lashes were wet, clumped together. His nose and cheeks flushed from crying — soft and pale like porcelain, beautiful and fragile, shockingly so.

His clear eyes stared stubbornly at Qu Zhilan. He said seriously, “This is my husband’s keepsake.”

…

Night had fallen, and the streetlights weren’t bright enough to light the outside of the building.

But at the edge where the light didn’t reach, a shaky black shadow climbed onto the window of a unit on the seventh floor.

In the deep night, the two inside had no idea.

A strange eye, glowing bluish-purple, stuck close to the glass, cold and burning as it stared at the beautiful and fragile young man inside.

“My…”

“Wife…”