Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Around 1 a.m., Ruo Manni and Lin Kexin arrived in the Northwest. Thanks to satellite positioning, they easily located the survivor base in the Northwest, despite the heavy rain and strong winds outside.

Lin Kexin had assumed Ruo Manni would need to use psychic power to scan the area one by one, but to her surprise, Ruo Manni had already entered Li Ziyan’s data into her AI system en route. After four hours of satellite scanning, all individuals matching the criteria had been identified, and their locations marked.

This was impressive considering the data they had on Li Ziyan was incomplete—just a few unclear photos and Lin Kexin’s verbal description of her height and weight. As a result, the matches included a broader pool of candidates.

Even so, this was far better than aimlessly searching base by base. Now, they could head straight to the bases with potential matches, stop at marked locations, and use targeted psychic scans.

Ruo Manni selected the base with the highest probability match and set course directly.

—

In the largest military base in the Northwest, Li Ziyan lay in a feverish daze. Her body was burning, yet she felt an icy chill penetrating to her very bones. She knew she was on the brink of death.

In her semi-conscious state, Li Ziyan’s thoughts drifted to her parents and her husband. She and Lin Ruihai had been married for only a month before they were separated. She never imagined that separation would become their final goodbye.

That afternoon, an unexpected downpour caught Li Ziyan off guard, soaking her to the skin. Delayed for over half an hour by various tasks, she only managed to return to change clothes after being drenched for too long.

Even though Li Ziyan had always been in good health, standing in wet clothes in freezing temperatures of minus one or two degrees for over half an hour was too much for anyone. By nightfall, she had developed a fever.

Under normal circumstances, a cold or fever would have been a minor issue. But this was the apocalypse—there were no doctors to treat her, and nowhere to buy medicine in the middle of the night.

Su Luoxue, an intern journalist who had come to the Northwest with Li Ziyan for the interview, gave her the only fever-reducing pill she had.

However, less than two hours after Li Ziyan’s fever broke, it returned with a vengeance, leaving her unconscious and burning up.

Su Luoxue stayed by her side, desperately trying to cool her down with cold water, but it was useless. Li Ziyan’s fever only worsened, her body now convulsing slightly as she lay in a daze. It was a terrifying sight.

Two other women who shared the dorm room sighed as they whispered to each other, saying there was no hope for Li Ziyan. Hearing this, Su Luoxue’s sharp ears caught their words, and the two women, unwilling to stay and deal with the situation, left in the middle of the night to sleep in another room.

Listening to Li Ziyan mumble her husband’s name and call for her parents in her feverish state, Su Luoxue sat by her bedside, helplessly crying.

Li Ziyan’s illness had started because of her.

Su Luoxue was an intern journalist for the military newspaper, working as Li Ziyan’s assistant when they came to the Northwest camp.

The sudden onset of the apocalypse had trapped them in the camp. They couldn’t contact their families or find a way to return home.

Both Li Ziyan and Su Luoxue were beautiful women, and in the post-apocalyptic world, beauty often brought trouble—especially since neither of them were ability users nor skilled in combat.

Although the saying “a fallen phoenix is worse than a chicken” might hold some truth, Li Ziyan’s situation was slightly better. Her father was a military leader, her husband was a soldier, and she herself was considered part of the military. Despite the chaos of the times, the uncertain situation and the fact that this was a military base had kept people from daring to harm or force her into anything.

But Su Luoxue’s circumstances were entirely different. She was just a college student. While her family had some military connections, it wasn’t her parents who held influence. That lack of direct protection, coupled with her unmarried status, made her a target. If it weren’t for Li Ziyan’s compassion and protection, Su Luoxue couldn’t imagine what would have happened to her by now.

As the apocalypse dragged on and society’s structures crumbled further, the lack of morality, law, and order increasingly allowed the worst aspects of human nature to flourish unchecked.

Even Li Ziyan, who had once been untouchable, had to be cautious around those with ulterior motives. For someone like Su Luoxue, a young, beautiful girl, the situation was even more precarious.

This time, Li Ziyan’s delay in returning to change out of her wet clothes was because she had been protecting Su Luoxue and was deliberately hindered by someone with malicious intent.

Li Ziyan’s severe illness left Su Luoxue deeply distressed.

When Ruo Manni arrived, she “saw” Su Luoxue silently crying by Li Ziyan’s bedside. Moments later, Su seemed to make a resolute decision. With a look of desperate sadness, she walked out of the room with a determined expression, as if prepared to make a great sacrifice.

Ruo Manni, curious, focused her attention on the girl. She saw Su Luoxue leave the building, walk into the heavy rain, and knock on the door of a high-ranking military officer. Trembling, Su said, “If you can save Sister Yan, I’ll give myself to you.”

Ruo Manni “observed” as the tall, middle-aged man, likely in his 40s or 50s, smirked triumphantly. His eyes glistened with lust, leaving no doubt about his intentions.

Moved by Su Luoxue’s willingness to sacrifice herself to save Li Ziyan, Ruo Manni decided she couldn’t let this happen. She immediately took action, knocking both Su and the man unconscious. Then, after incapacitating the officer for good, she carried both Li Ziyan and Su Luoxue, flying silently back to her mech hovering above the base. Her shoes, designed for short-distance flight, made it effortless.

“Why did you bring an extra person?” Lin Kexin asked in surprise. The other girl looked much younger—surely her sister hadn’t mistaken her identity?

“This girl was willing to sacrifice herself to save our sister-in-law. I decided to save her as well,” Ruo Manni replied calmly.

“How is Sister-in-law? Her face is so red! Oh no, she’s seriously ill!” Lin Kexin exclaimed in alarm.

“Why panic? Feed her this vial of medicine,” Ruo Manni said, her tone steady.

To someone from the interstellar age, a fever or cold was an easily treated ailment. Ruo Manni couldn’t help but think her sister must have spent too much time as a ghost and grown foolish from lack of brain exercise.

Luckily, Lin Kexin didn’t know Ruo Manni’s inner critique. Otherwise, she’d have been mad.

—

Lin Ruihai and Song Changlong had been on duty all night, ensuring there was no risk of flash floods on Lishan Mountain. They returned home at dawn, finally able to rest.

However, as soon as they arrived, their mother informed them that neither of the sisters had come for breakfast, and their calls went unanswered. Alarmed, Lin Ruihai sent a message to both sisters and activated their location trackers. To his shock, he found they were over 200 kilometers away from the base.

Panicking, Lin Ruihai quickly dialed them, but no one picked up. Shortly after, he received a message from Lin Kexin: “We’ll be back at the base in ten minutes. Let’s talk then.”

Realizing the sisters had snuck out of the base in the middle of the night, Lin Ruihai chose not to alarm their parents. He casually reassured them, saying the girls would be back soon. However, he was seething inside, preparing to give both of them a stern lecture when they returned.

Unexpectedly, the two sisters returned, bringing back two women, which made Lin Ruihai freeze in shock.

“Isn’t that Ziyan?” Mother Lin exclaimed in surprise, unable to comprehend why her daughters were carrying her daughter-in-law.

Her startled cry snapped Lin Ruihai out of his daze. Realizing this wasn’t a dream, he rushed over to Ruo Manni, his eyes fixated on the woman in her arms.

The unconscious Li Ziyan looked frail and haggard. Lin Ruihai’s vision blurred with tears as he asked, “What happened to her?”