The Cannon Fodder Alpha Who Transmigrated Into a Book Must Protect the Female Lead (GL) - Chapter 1

“Hiss—” A sharp pain assailed Jing Qingxia’s brain.

The deafening roar of countless gunfire made her nerves twitch. The smell of blood swept over, and dizziness controlled her mind.

【I’m dead.】

【I died on that battlefield.】

This thought forced her to quickly open her eyes and gasp for air.

The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes was a strange setting.

The scorching sun streamed through a gap in the poorly drawn curtains, accompanied by cheerful cicada chirps that felt completely out of sync with Jing Qingxia’s mood. But the pain in her body had completely faded, and the cool air blowing from the central air conditioning vent soothed the burning sensation on her skin.

She frowned and looked around.

It was a neatly organized bedroom, with only casually discarded clothes scattered around the large bed she was lying on.

Ring-ring-ring—

The phone by the bed suddenly rang.

Jing Qingxia instinctively grabbed the phone and answered it, vigilantly observing her surroundings.

The environment remained quiet, but it failed to dispel her unease.

A middle-aged woman’s gentle voice came through the phone: “Xiaxia, are you awake? It’s already eleven o’clock! I asked Aunt Zhang to make you lunch. She didn’t dare disturb your summer catch-up sleep plan, but Mommy is afraid you’ll starve. Why don’t you come downstairs for a meal first? Also, Mommy will be home soon! I brought you a gift.”

It wasn’t hard to detect the indulgence in the woman’s tone.

Jing Qingxia glanced at the phone screen: “My Mother Dearest.”

Jing Qingxia raised an eyebrow and cautiously probed: “Mom?”

But where did she get a mother?

“Hurry and eat lunch. Mommy will be back just after you eat, and I have something to tell you!” The voice on the other end was cheerful.

Jing Qingxia couldn’t grasp the situation yet, so she could only play along and replied: “Okay, I’ll clean up and come downstairs.”

“Good, good, good,” “My Mother Dearest” answered repeatedly.

Jing Qingxia hung up the phone.

She picked up the clothes scattered on the floor, hesitated, and then put them down, choosing a different set of easily movable clothes from the unfamiliar walk-in closet before heading to the en-suite bathroom.

Having calmed down, Jing Qingxia was inevitably shocked by the room owner’s wealth. She estimated the room alone to be about eighty square meters, complete with a fitness room, a storage room, and a walk-in closet. The large 1.8-meter bed even looked small in the room.

Not to mention the ultra-luxurious bathroom, which was wet/dry separated and included a bathtub.

Entering the bathroom, she couldn’t help but look in the mirror, wanting to see if this “Jing Qingxia” was different from the “Jing Qingxia” the voice on the phone had called.

This face was clearly her own from when she was seventeen or eighteen.

She still had sharp, heroic eyebrows and bright eyes.

More than the sweetness of a young girl, she possessed an air of heroism.

Her pair of amber eyes was crystal clear.

Compared to her twenties, she looked much younger.

She lacked the experience of carrying out missions and the cynical attitude she adopted while on vacation.

Jing Qingxia was momentarily lost in thought.

A tearing, dull pain appeared in her head.

She had grown up in a military orphanage and was selected for the army at the age of fourteen, where she was trained to be a special forces operator in an elite unit. Eighteen was the year she first won the youth division championship in the military region’s fighting competition.

But now, without the well-defined muscle mass, she looked slighter in a loose-fitting T-shirt.

While her mind was in chaos, a large number of unfamiliar memories flooded in.

These memories belonged to another girl named “Jing Qingxia,” memories of being spoiled since childhood.

Jing Qingxia used her experience to force herself to take deep breaths, finally managing to disperse the dizziness after receiving the memories.

Yet, new fragments squeezed into her mind again. This time, they were video clips and fragmented text recorded from an omniscient perspective.

This was a novel.

The overbearing girl named “Jing Qingxia,” as the cannon fodder character in the novel, dedicated herself to trying to possess the female lead in her pitifully short screen time.

The way she tried to possess her involved an unfamiliar setting—the C-rank Alpha cannon fodder attempted to mark the S-rank Omega female lead.

The little cannon fodder ultimately did not succeed.

The female lead was rescued by the male lead, and the cannon fodder brought ruin upon herself, receiving her due punishment—ending with the female lead personally pushing her off a cliff to die without a burial place.

The immersive scene sent a shiver down Jing Qingxia’s spine.

“The female lead looks like a ruthless person,” she thought.

Jing Qingxia splashed cold water on her face and pulled at the corner of her mouth in frustration while looking in the mirror.

This frustration mainly stemmed from the setting of this world.

From the two segments of memory, it was clear that the worldview of this world was vastly different from her original one.

In this world, gender is categorized not just as male and female but also secondarily as Alpha, Beta, and Omega.

Alpha and Omega are gender types with special glands, capable of secreting pheromones.

Pheromones can interfere with each other and attract each other, triggering a series of reactions that resemble atavistic bestiality. Whether it’s same-sex territorial disputes or opposite-sex mating rituals, they all reveal a primitive bestiality.

In this world, pheromones are graded into five levels from low to high concentration: D, C, B, A, and S. High-level pheromones have a certain suppressive effect on low-level pheromones.

Betas, who cannot emit pheromones, are comparatively more stable and suitable for more logistical jobs in society, such as doctors and teachers.

But pheromones also bring benefits to Alphas and Omegas.

Alphas have stronger physiques, are prone to impulsiveness yet more courageous, and more leadership-oriented.

Omegas have longer lifespans, less strength but more endurance, making them suitable for jobs that require comforting or patience.

Society is thus divided, seemingly more harmonious—if not for the periodic rut and heat cycles.

The rut and heat cycles are deadly for Alphas and Omegas.

The rut makes Alphas emotionally volatile, more susceptible to feeling helpless, and more aggressive.

The heat makes Omegas more fragile, desperately needing spiritual and physical comfort.

Whether it’s an Alpha’s rut or an Omega’s heat, it triggers primitive urges.

Therefore, it is very dangerous for Alphas and Omegas to stay in the same confined space during this period, allowing pheromones to mingle.

The little cannon fodder’s plot in the original novel was to take advantage of the female lead’s heat period to sneak in and perform a mark.

A temporarily marked Omega becomes dependent on the marker.

A permanently marked Omega belongs only to the marker.

In either case, the little cannon fodder’s intentions were clear.

“How despicable,” Jing Qingxia cursed under her breath.

She generally understood her situation.

To put it simply, she, originally a special forces soldier, had completed her mission for the country and died on the battlefield. Now, she had transmigrated into a novel to replace a minor cannon fodder character.

Thinking this, Jing Qingxia genuinely smiled.

Of course, she wasn’t happy about becoming a disposable cannon fodder.

She was happy that the heavy responsibility she carried in her previous life was finally put down.

She was happy that although the identity she transmigrated into was tragic, based on the two memory fragments, the novel’s timeline hadn’t fully begun. The crucial plot points that led to her demise had not yet happened, and everything was still salvageable.

She was happy that she seemed to… have a family now. Even if she acquired this family like a thief.

…

After washing up, Jing Qingxia walked downstairs.

The middle-aged woman bustling in the dining room seemed surprised: “Miss, you came down so quickly? This is almost ready. Please sit down and eat!”

Aunt Zhang.

A plain woman in her forties, a Beta, and the maid of this household, or rather, the housekeeper.

She had worked there for over ten years and was treated like family.

“Thank you for your hard work,” Jing Qingxia said subconsciously.

Aunt Zhang’s body froze.

Thank you for your hard work?

Was that something the spoiled little princess would say?

The usually arrogant young lady only put on an act in front of her parents. Now she was saying “thank you for your hard work” to her?

But seeing Jing Qingxia’s normal expression, Aunt Zhang felt her own thoughts were too harsh. A young girl, just reaching adulthood this year, was also at the age of differentiation. Before the summer break, she had vowed to have fun this summer and then study hard in her final year of high school.

Although no one took it seriously, who knew? Maybe she had genuinely grown up suddenly!

“It’s no trouble at all, please sit down,” Aunt Zhang said with a smile of relief, genuinely happy.

Jing Qingxia considered the little cannon fodder’s original character design.

Her personality was quite similar to her own, but her conduct and logical thinking were vastly different. She wondered if her sudden change would arouse suspicion.

But then she thought, who cares? Let them be suspicious. It was perfectly normal for a newly adult young girl to be temperamental, not to mention the AB O setting of this world.

With that thought, Jing Qingxia gave Aunt Zhang a bright smile.

Aunt Zhang couldn’t help but blush slightly.

Having worked for the Jing family for so many years, she had to once again marvel today at how excellent the Jing family’s genes for looks truly were!

The young lady hadn’t even fully grown yet, but she was already so pretty!

Look at that face; not only was her skin soft and delicate, but every feature was pleasant to look at, and together they were incredibly harmonious. Even a simple ponytail looked stunning on her.

As for her figure, she was still growing, but those long legs alone would make her stand out in a crowd!

Aunt Zhang genuinely exclaimed: “Xiaxia, you look like a movie star now, you’re so lovely! So beautiful!”

Jing Qingxia was stunned after hearing this.

It had been a long time since anyone had used the word “beautiful” to describe her.

She heard it a little when she was younger, but after joining the military, she was initially questioned because of her looks. Later, the words of praise completely changed to something like courageous, gifted, extraordinary, or even Xia Ge is awesome, but never “beautiful.”

Especially after long periods of training and getting tanned, her body was covered in calluses and scars from training and missions. Her closet didn’t even have clothes like skirts; it was all hoodies, T-shirts, or military uniforms.

She had naturally drifted further and further away from “beautiful.”

That life, constantly on edge, training, always ready for a mission, and alert to everything around her, truly was gone now.

This meal completely washed away Jing Qingxia’s initial unease about arriving in a new world.

Jing Qingxia was in a good mood and started clearing the table herself.

Aunt Zhang and the other maid helping nearby were startled and rushed to stop her, looking as nervous as if Jing Qingxia was about to fire them the next second.

Understanding what was going on, Jing Qingxia just smiled.

Before she could explain, the villa’s front door suddenly opened.

“Xiaxia!!!”

The heat from the tail end of summer was still scorching, and a hot wave rushed in from the doorway.

The sunlight was dazzling.

Backlit in the heat, two figures were outlined.

One of them kicked off her high heels and ran over, giving Jing Qingxia a big hug.

Jing Qingxia’s body stiffened.

Aunt Zhang, however, smiled: “Madam, you’re back.”

“I’m back. Xiaxia, have you had lunch? We haven’t eaten yet. Aunt Zhang, could you make two more bowls of noodles?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Jing Qingxia finally realized that this elegant and gentle middle-aged beauty was the little cannon fodder’s mother, Lin Chanjuan, a gentle A-rank Omega.

“Xiaxia!! Look who I brought back! You haven’t seen each other in a long time, right? You must get along well!”

Jing Qingxia squinted toward the doorway.

That person had already changed into slippers and slowly walked in from the main entrance.

【Her face was exquisite, possessing pheromones that could charm all living beings. Intoxicating lemon liqueur, sour and sweet yet bearing a coldness that pushed people away—it was a chilled lemon liqueur. The best drink of summer, yet no one could easily possess it.】

A description from the novel flashed through Jing Qingxia’s mind.

Jing Qingxia had not yet differentiated, so she couldn’t smell the top-tier Omega’s pheromones at this time, but she still believed the book’s description was accurate.

The girl wore a practiced, customer-service smile, wrapped in an invisible aura, with the sourness of chilled lemon liqueur mixed with vigilance.

She shone with sun-reflected light specks, and as her features blurred in the light, the tear mole near her eye corner entered the sight first.

Jing Qingxia didn’t know why the little cannon fodder was so obsessed with the female lead, but she thought that if it were her, the first reason for fascination would probably be this tear mole.

The tear mole was perfectly placed.

Even though this girl was aloof and her gaze was determined, the tear mole deceptively made her seem fragile, making people want to protect her.

Jing Qingxia couldn’t help but softly call out the girl’s name, with the same certainty she would hold for decades to come: “Zhong Mingxue.”