I’ve Got this Cannon Fodder’s Back

150: 149 150: 149 A blinding white light flashed, illuminating every corner.

“No wonder we couldn’t find you anywhere.

Turns out you two were hiding here.” The doctor raised an eyebrow, sneered at the two figures huddled in the corner, and strode straight toward them.

These test subjects, worn down by prolonged physical and mental torture, usually lacked any fighting spirit.

Even if they’d somehow managed to escape, it was more of a concern that the lab’s secrets might be exposed but they themselves were not a real threat.

The doctor sauntered over, casually grabbing a laser gun.

“Alright, No.

9 and No.

50, be smart and come back with me obediently…” But before he could finish, a wave of excruciating pain flooded his body.

He couldn’t even scream before a figure sprang forward, shoving his head down under the lab table.

“Go!” Hearing his code name called, Gu Yuan didn’t dare relax.

Holding the doctor down firmly, he sensed the man struggling to rise and rammed his elbow into his spine, releasing a strong electric current.

The doctor, with his mouth covered, was too weak to cry out for help.

With electric current coursing through him, his body convulsed briefly, a low grunt escaping as he went limp.

Yet Lu Zhiguang remained rooted to the spot.

Gu Yuan grew anxious but hesitated to call his name aloud here.

He quickly grabbed an electronic handcuff, securing the doctor tightly, then pulled Lu Zhiguang into a hug, opened a window in the farthest corner as planned, and leaped into the darkness.

Lu Zhiguang’s body had relaxed slightly, but he was still shockingly cold, chilling Gu Yuan’s chest painfully.

Not wanting to rush him, Gu Yuan carefully climbed down the wall, avoiding the searchlights sweeping the area, and found cover in a grove outside the building.

Gu Yuan’s foot slipped as a glaring beam of light swept toward them, and he nearly fell.

Feeling a sudden chill, he prepared to push Lu Zhiguang to safe area, but resilient vines had already wrapped securely around him.

“Zhiguang?” Held steady by the vines, Gu Yuan wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or worried.

He whispered softly, shielding him with one arm.

“Are you alright?” Lu Zhiguang lifted his head from Gu Yuan’s chest, a faint spark of responsiveness in his gaze.

Though no longer pale and dazed like in the lab, he offered a gentle smile.

Gu Yuan lowered his head to kiss him.

Using the vines, he climbed down until they touched the ground.

He was about to head into the forest when Lu Zhiguang slipped from his arms, took his hand, and led him into a bramble-filled forest.

“Watch out…” Gu Yuan called out, ready to shield him with his coat, but Lu Zhiguang was already pulling him forward.

The sharp brambles softened instantly upon his touch, creating a path.

Firefly grass bounced ahead, lighting the way as they ran, strange plants springing up behind them, sealing off their path.

After running for an unknown distance, Lu Deng finally slowed.

They were both still in their malnourished adolescent forms, and the sprint left them panting, placing their hands on their knees for support.

Despite the cold, sweat trickled down their faces.

Drained from controlling the plants, Lu Deng struggled to catch his breath when a familiar, warm chest pressed against his back.

“I’m fine…” Sensing his lover’s intention to offer his coat, Lu Deng looked up to protest, but Gu Yuan had already wrapped him snugly in it, holding him close while leaning against a tree.

Warm hands rubbed his back gently, soothing away the remnants of anxiety and fear in his chest.

Lu Deng gradually relaxed and took two stamina potions from the pitcher plant, uncapping one and handing it to Gu Yuan.

“I couldn’t find the pass card…” “What you’ve taken is already useful.

We can look somewhere else, okay?,” Gu Yuan said, pressing a kiss to his cold, sweaty forehead and wiping away the dampness.

After a pause, he continued in a low voice, “Let’s not go back there again, alright?” Lu Deng’s body tensed, and he looked up at him suddenly.

Gu Yuan didn’t elaborate further, only stroking his back and softly reassuring him.

“Never again…” The thin adolescent frame in his arms felt weightless, a far cry from the stronger Lu Zhiguang he’d known in other worlds.

Gu Yuan helped him put on the coat tightly.

Even though he showed no visible scars, the pain from old wounds hung before Gu Yuan’s eyes, as fresh as the day they were made.

He could still remember the first time they met.

He was a shy boy who rarely spoke, he’d just look down with a soft smile, yet was familiar with confinement and punishment.

His quiet, black eyes wouldn’t waver even after nearly fatal injuries, though he’d sob soundlessly in Gu Yuan’s arms if they’d come close to being separated.

He suddenly wondered what Lu Zhiguang had been thinking back then.

Feeling the body in his arms shift slightly, Gu Yuan looked down, about to ask what he needed, but Lu Zhiguang wrapped him in a firm embrace and raised his head for a deep kiss.

Startled, Gu Yuan quickly steadied him, returning the kiss.

Lu Zhiguang didn’t deepen it, merely holding him and pressing his lips against his, letting the warmth dispel the chill brought by the night breeze.

Satisfied, he relaxed and rested his head against him.

“I’m definitely fine.” With his lover beside him, even reliving all those nightmares could become a safe haven of comfort.

No matter what happened, he would always have someone to hold him.

This feeling was so good he almost wanted to go through it all again and again.

“We truly don’t need to go back.” Lu Deng smiled at him, blinking away the moisture in his eyes.

His fingers intertwined with Gu Yuan’s, and the warmth in his touch surpassed even that of his gaze.

Back in the lab, the doctor’s voice had shaken him deeply.

After all, he’d spent over a decade there since birth, subjected to endless torment and abuse that had left indelible scars.

Those memories weren’t easy to erase.

At that moment, if the doctor had ordered him to lie on the dissection table and break his own arm to assess his healing ability, he might have obeyed out of instinct.

The ingrained responses from years of orders and harsh punishments had remained dormant in his nerves, and realizing this filled him with a brief terror.

But that was no longer the case.

The once all-powerful doctor in his memory had been quickly subdued by his young lover.

Realizing this had finally sparked a sense of defiance within him.

Only now did he understand that he and Gu Yuan were no longer the weak test subjects they once were.

Together, they’d overcome numerous challenges, and no single base could hold them back.

As he buried his head against Gu Yuan’s chest, the knot in his heart loosened utterly, leaving only an exhausted relief.

Gu Yuan, a bit worried, lifted his hand to check on him, but Lu Deng held him tightly, passing a comforting strength through his palm.

“We don’t need the pass anymore… Let’s get a good night’s sleep and break out tomorrow.” It was a wild idea, but once it emerged, it became hard to suppress.

Lu Deng’s heart raced as he looked up.

“Can we?” Surprised, Gu Yuan straightened, smiling as he confirmed, “We’ll break out, then.” His usually calm and steady young lover was showing a rare spark of youthful rebellion.

It seems that the arrogant and domineering character of the little imperial uncle finally stirred up some youthful vitality in Lu Zhiguang, who had always been calm and composed.

Gu Yuan could hardly contain his amusement and waited for Lu Deng’s answer.

Lu Deng blushed, squeezing his hand tighter.

“Yes, we’ll break out.” A bright glint appeared in his eyes.

Gu Yuan chuckled and kissed his forehead.

“Why wait for tomorrow?

Let’s do it tonight.” He said it so earnestly that it didn’t sound like a joke.

Lu Deng, wide-eyed, blinked at him in surprise before Gu Yuan scooped him up, setting a little firefly grass on top of his head.

“Let’s go now!” Before he could react, Lu Deng found himself held tightly as Gu Yuan set off.

Surprisingly, leaving the research lab wasn’t difficult.

Although the security was tight, the two of them had honed their skills across multiple worlds.

Moreover, Lu Deng knew the layout well, skillfully leading Gu Yuan through the labyrinthine base and skillfully avoiding patrols.

The guards were nothing but virtual projections; although their fighting skills were not bad, they were more predictable.

Gu Yuan and Lu Deng worked together and made it past the main stronghold, and walked out toward the base’s perimeter.

“This base is heavily fortified.

The general here must be formidable.

We should be cautious.” The base was vast, and with the help of supplements, it had taken them nearly three days to reach this point.

Their strength was not in the optimum condition, and they were still in teenage form, so they decided to rest briefly.

Gu Yuan returned with two wild chickens, swiftly plucking them and roasting them over the fire.

He jokingly remarked, “It feels strange not to have anyone fighting us for food.” Lu Deng, smiling slightly, speared an orange on a stick, roasting it over the flames and edging closer to him.

“He has the protagonist system, probably a real person from the outside world.

They’ve recently updated the rule: the people who wanted to bring out the system from the system world must pay with a skill point deposit to sign the purchase contract…” While he often sent some of his experience points as compensation, his system said they were mostly spent on snacks, so the protagonist probably hadn’t saved much yet.

As for why someone would want a system that doesn’t allow you to eat, insists on strict daily training, and uses electric shocks to force daily running, perhaps only the protagonist himself knew.

The orange became scalding hot, and Lu Deng blew it before carefully peeling its thin skin.

He then split it in half and shared it with Gu Yuan.

“But we have enough experience points, so we just need to pass this assessment.” His system was thrilled, holding a “contract” and boasting it would design a more advanced robotic body.

Lu Deng didn’t fully understand the system’s aesthetic but sent it a generous ten thousand experience points and left it to choose its own happily.

Reality and the virtual world differed, and systems seemed to have a stronger longing for the outside world.

Though Lu Deng grew up in the real world, he’d never brought a system friend home.

Thinking of introducing Gu Yuan to his family, his eyes sparkled, and his lips curved into a smile.

Gu Yuan, who had never seen the outside world, smiled and rubbed his head.

“Then I’ll need to find a job soon.

Anything your family likes?

I might need to start preparing now.” Lu Deng, blinking with excitement, looked up as the fire cast a warm glow, brightening his eyes.

“Let me think…” As he pondered, a cracking sound came from the forest.

Gu Yuan’s heart leaped, and he quickly extinguished the fire.

Lu Deng sprang up, listening closely, his brows furrowing.

Vines wrapped around them, lifting them into the treetops.

It was an odd situation.

Gu Yuan set electric barriers around them while Lu Deng wrapped them with young, bloodthirsty vines; they should have been safe.

Both were attentive, yet this was their second time caught off guard.

As he pondered, a figure in a general’s uniform entered the clearing, looking at the half-roasted chickens with a pleased gleam in his eyes.

“They’re close!

Search here!” Holding their breaths, the two hid in the trees, their hearts racing.

In the shadows below, Lu Deng tried to peer down, nearly slipping.

Gu Yuan quickly held him close and tapped a code into his palm, signaling, “Stay still.

Let’s see if we get lucky.” At that moment, Gu Yuan briefly considered drawing the general’s attention to give Lu Zhiguang a chance to escape, but he stopped.

As the two of them rushed out, he’d watched the glint of confidence grow in Lu Zhiguang’s eyes, his smile growing bolder.

If this was a projection of Lu Zhiguang’s memories… Even if the thought terrified him, it reminded him that this was a chance to free him from the darkness.

He cannot make hasty decisions and sow new shadows for Lu Zhiguang in this memory just because of his impulsive thoughts.

Lu Deng looked at him and noticed his hesitation, nodded, his gaze filled with resolve.

As Gu Yuan protected him, he extended his mental energy to locate an escape route.

Suddenly, a sharp glint flashed through his mind.

Instinctively, he pulled Lu Zhiguang back as a laser shot through their hiding spot.

“Look out!” Sensing Lu Zhiguang’s movement, Gu Yuan held him firmly and leaped to the ground.

Both still in teenage forms, the tall general loomed over them with a stark contrast.

Gu Yuan barely had time to think before dodging another laser and unleashing a bolt of lightning, igniting the tree.

As the flames flared, forcing him to shield his eyes, the general calmly discarded his gun and charged forward.

In the post-apocalypse, nearly everyone possessed powers, and most generals had formidable combat abilities.

Gu Yuan didn’t relax, stepping between Lu Zhiguang and the general, raising his hands to block the general’s attack, preparing to fight a fierce battle.

The general’s skill was exceptional.

The electricity vanished upon contact with him, and though Gu Yuan sensed something unusual, he didn’t have time to consider it, putting his all into defense.

Though quickly overpowered, he still managed to grab the general’s hat.

The general, until now seemingly unbothered, raised an eyebrow, looking ready to get serious.

But just then, Lu Deng rushed over.

“Zhiguang!” Gu Yuan started to call him back, but before he could stop him, Lu Zhiguang had reached the general, hesitated briefly, and then threw himself at the other’s arm.

“Uncle…!” Gu Yuan: … Gu Yuan: ?!

Stunned, Gu Yuan looked up, meeting the general’s dark, anxious gaze.

After a long pause, he shakily took the military hat and placed it back on the middle-aged man’s head, now revealed to be quite balding.