After Being Transmigrated into a Cannon Fodder Scum Alpha - Chapter 22

The campsite was bustling. After finishing their meal, the students began chasing each other and playing, while the parents gathered to chat.

Seemingly finding it too noisy, Lin Chen moved uncomfortably deeper into Yun Qi’s embrace. Yun Qi withdrew her hand from rubbing the mosquito bite on the Omega’s arm and wrapped one arm around her waist. She used her other hand to shield Lin Chen’s face, blocking out the camp’s clamor and the midday sun.

Despite the nightmare the previous night, Yun Qi wasn’t very sleepy.

She listened to the shallow breathing of the Omega in her arms—breathing that seemed to be tinged with the scent of lilies—and watched Lin Xi showing off the snow-white rabbit she had caught yesterday to her playmates.

Only Huang Yu’s family was near Yun Qi; the other parents weren’t familiar with her and didn’t come over to talk.

“The years are quiet, and the world is stable.” For some reason, this phrase suddenly surfaced in Yun Qi’s mind.

Lin Xi was very lively on this trip, even more active than during her birthday celebration. The little rabbit didn’t seem afraid of people; perhaps it mistook them for its own kind, proudly displaying its fluffiness to the onlookers.

The children formed a circle, and Lin Xi and Huang Siting placed their rabbits on the ground to race them. Amidst a burst of cheers, the sharp-eyed Yun Qi saw that her own little rabbit had won. She smiled with satisfaction, deciding to have the butler give the champion rabbit an extra carrot once they returned.

An Alpha’s competitive streak always comes from mysterious places—like Yun Qi secretly cheering for her rabbit, or Huang Yu, her “primary source of wool.”

While Yun Qi was staring at Lin Xi and the rabbit, Wu Yuanyuan and Huang Yu were observing her, though their focuses were slightly different.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Huang Yu asked the Beta beside her, who was busy eating.

“?” Wu Yuanyuan stopped her movements and stared at her partner.

Perhaps due to constitution, a Beta’s appetite is usually larger than an Omega’s, and Wu Yuanyuan was a prime example. Her mother used to tell her as a child that anyone could tell she wasn’t an Omega just by how much she ate, regardless of pheromones. At the time, she didn’t care, but when she first married Huang Yu, she assumed her partner’s coldness was because she preferred Omegas.

Compared to Betas, most Alphas indeed prefer Omegas. So back then, she lived cautiously, hoping that even if she wasn’t an Omega, she could act like one. She deliberately reduced her food intake, even sneaking food when Huang Yu wasn’t home and destroying the evidence and smells before her return.

In her mind, wasn’t the Alpha’s question just a way of saying she was embarrassing herself by eating so much? She was the only one still eating in the camp now; even the Alphas with the biggest appetites had finished.

“If you have a problem with me, just say it,” Wu Yuanyuan said, then continued eating, though her movements were more aggressive than before.

Huang Yu had no idea how her words had offended her partner again. She had just seen Mu Qi holding Yun Chen while they slept and felt a bit competitive; she wanted to ask Wu Yuanyuan if she needed to be held while sleeping.

Huang Yu felt wronged—no, very wronged. She leaned toward Wu Yuanyuan, trying to “stick” to her partner so she wouldn’t be angry anymore. This was what she always did when Wu Yuanyuan was upset.

She even diligently grilled meat for her Beta and handed it to her.

Wu Yuanyuan also realized she had misunderstood.

“Why can’t you learn from other people’s Alphas?” she said, pointing meaningfully toward Yun Qi.

After Huang Yu told her what Mu Qi had said, Wu Yuanyuan had been observing Yun Qi from time to time. She discovered that Mu Qi wasn’t actually the same type as her own Alpha.

Mu Qi hardly communicated with the other parents. Her eyes always held a sense of distance when looking at others, as if there were a transparent barrier around her. Only when Yun Chen approached did her outward coldness melt, turning her “tsundere.” Her mouth would say “you’re so annoying,” but her actions would be clingy. If she had a tail, her hands would be making an “X” to forbid entry, while her tail would be wrapped around the other person for fear she’d actually leave. Mu Qi’s gaze throughout the journey revolved around Yun Chen and Mu Xi. Like now, while Yun Chen slept, her gaze was fixed solely on Mu Xi, moving as the child moved.

Her own Alpha was just a block of wood inside and out!

As for the things Mu Qi had said, Wu Yuanyuan suspected that Mu Qi had seen through Huang Yu’s personality and said those things so Huang Yu would dislike her, allowing her to be left alone in peace.

Huang Yu felt even more wronged. She was clearly trying to learn from Mu Qi; why were the results so different?

She looked at Yun Qi with some resentment.

[Caused resentment in others, Scum Value +20.]

‘?’ I didn’t even do anything!

Sitting at home while Scum Value falls from the sky. This happiness came a bit fast; Yun Qi did a “confused cat” expression in her mind.

‘Whose is it?’ she asked the system.

[The one you’ve been constantly plucking wool from.] The system also found it somewhat inexplicable.

‘Can we kidnap her before we leave?’ Yun Qi asked the system with a “sob.” She felt she had seen an angel; this feeling of getting Scum Value without having to lift a finger was too wonderful. She was worried she’d be spoiled into a “rice worm” (slacker).

[I support you with both hands and feet.]

…

The nap time passed quickly. Yun Qi nudged Lin Chen in her arms. Once she saw Lin Chen open her eyes, she released her hold.

The warmth that had been enveloping her suddenly departed, making the Omega shiver from the cold, which cleared her muddled state.

“Awake? I assume you didn’t want me to keep holding you.” The Alpha glanced at her partner with some disdain, as if thinking the person before her was becoming “spoiled by favor” and having delusions she shouldn’t have.

Although she had slept for a whole noon, Lin Chen felt she hadn’t had enough sleep and had no energy, so she didn’t feel like teasing the stubborn Alpha.

At this moment, Lin Chen radiated a sense of laziness, like a precious Persian cat.

Lin Xi also ran back, leaning near her Mama.

Ross Forest was in a semi-open state. People mainly came in to help cultivate and harvest rare plants like Mica and observe rare animals. Specialized bases were built to monitor these creatures, and occasionally schools or research institutes were permitted to visit for learning. Other than that, the original ecosystem was left undisturbed.

The professor shouted through a megaphone for parents to clean up the trash they left behind, as products of the human world could pollute and destroy the ecosystem here.

The tools Lin Chen had used for lunch hadn’t been put away yet, and there was some trash.

The other Omegas or Betas in the camp had already started taking action. Only a very few Alphas were helping their partners; most were just sitting by and watching. However, Lin Chen didn’t move with the others. She looked at Yun Qi without saying a word.

“You don’t expect me to do it, do you?” The disguised Grand Duke pointed at herself in disbelief. She didn’t want the commoners in the camp to stare at her like a monkey, so she kept her voice low.

The Omega didn’t answer, continuing to stare at the Alpha.

Come to think of it, Lin Chen’s face was indeed paler than when they first arrived. And although she was always quiet, her eyes were usually lively and dewy; today since the nap, she looked a bit weak, like a fragile doll with no energy. Yun Qi wondered if the Omega was suffering from being unaccustomed to the local climate.

‘Little Scum, look. In every other family, it’s the Omega or Beta organizing things, but Lin Chen is the only one being temperamental and refusing to move. So lazy and delicate. If I organize it while she just sits there watching, it will definitely create a bad image of her to others.’

Then, Yun Qi began cleaning up the trash they left behind and packing up the cooking tools.

Lin Chen sat lazily to the side.

This attracted the attention of others in the camp. Some Omegas showed signs of dissatisfaction; they felt that letting an Alpha do such things was a sign of being useless. Moreover, Lin Chen already felt somewhat out of place with them, which made her even more disliked.

‘This couple is truly strange,’ was the thought shared by most of them.

Seeing this, the “assistant” Huang Yu also wanted Wu Yuanyuan to rest while she finished the cleaning, but Wu Yuanyuan refused.

The Alpha had helped organize things at home before; something Wu Yuanyuan could finish in ten minutes took Huang Yu half an hour. She didn’t know how long it would take if she left it to her.

…

The next activity arranged by the school was hands-on rather than observational.

The little Alphas would be taken to see some aggressive small animals, while the little Omegas or Betas would be taken to learn about harvesting and basic medicine making.

In the course of human development in this world, there was a time when Alphas possessed martial prowess beyond normal humans, comparable to superhero characters in movies. But over generations, they gradually returned to their initial state of evolution—their great power faded, returning them to the human realm.

Similarly, the powerful mutant beasts of history gradually disappeared, returning to an animal state.

The little Alphas would be taken to fight some wild small animals this time. This was their first time in life approaching aggressive wild animals. Teachers and parents would be there to teach them fighting techniques and how to skillfully use their own strength—something every Alpha child must experience.

Omegas and Betas were different. They would be taken to identify and harvest rare plants. Professional teachers would teach them the rough steps of making medicine and impart basic knowledge.

Whether it was what the little Alphas learned or what the little Omegas and Betas learned, they might never have a chance to use it in their future urban lives, but it wasn’t a waste of effort; it was a way of honing their potential.

Several professors mentioned in books once predicted that the ABO differentiation might disappear in the future, with people regressing to their initial stage. To prevent such things or slow down the process, children are taken by schools to stimulate their bodily instincts and familiarize themselves with their own physical structure.

Author’s Note:

Feeling isolated… I ate chocolate on the way to see my teacher yesterday, and there was a dark ring under my lips. π_π The first thing the teacher said when they saw me was: “XX is still just as dazed as back in high school.” (;︵;`)