I’ve Got this Cannon Fodder’s Back

Chapter 17 - I’ve got this Tyrant’s back (17)

Chapter 17: I’ve got this Tyrant’s back

Only two short days; not enough to recover from the injury on his shoulder but there was already a fierce blasting sound above their heads.

The patrol ship had crashed thousands of miles away. But there was no trace of Gu Yuan inside and the sniper who’d covered his escape, leaving only a pool of blood, was also missing.

The culprit who caused the failure of the entire battle had escaped so easily from the most heavily guarded prison on the mainland. Planet Galileo has been firmly insistent on Gu Yuan’s return. The Guar government was eager for peace talks and was constantly urging them to find him. The military was close to blowing their top from shame.

When Gu Yuan had made his escape, the situation had been urgent and pressing. Moreover, he had to take care of Lu Deng. It would have been impossible for him to execute his escape perfectly. Delaying the Guars for a couple of days was already the limit of what his ploys to deceive them could do.

Under their frantic yet thorough search, the well-trained Guar military narrowed the search area using subtle clues and determined that they were hiding in the vein of ore located in no man’s land.

The roar was deafening and the stone chamber was shaken so badly some gravel dust fell.

Gu Yuan’s eyes tightened. He immediately dropped the things he was packing up, leaned back towards the bed and firmly protected Lu Deng.

He protected the wound on Lu Deng’s shoulder with one hand and supported the edge of the bed with the other. Their two bodies did not really overlap but Lu Deng could still hear his slightly rapid heartbeat.

“I’m fine.”

He raised his head and was met with the anxious concern in his dark pupils. Lu Deng spoke softly and held his arm.

Gu Yuan nodded and supported him to sit up. An instant later, he felt uneasy and so he simply put his arm around him and quickly packed the salvageable items from the duty room with his other hand.

“We’ll go into the mine tunnel and go deep. Inside, the mines are accessible from all sides. It won’t be easy for them to find us.”

Although his movements were fast, he was not flustered. Obviously, he had already anticipated this turn of events.

Explosions sounded both near and far. It seemed that the Guars haven’t realized that they had gone underground. Probably they had searched in the uninhabited area to no avail and have started indiscriminately bombing the area.

Lu Deng nodded, trying to stand firm by himself. However, he was suddenly swept into the other’s arms.

“Your body’s unwell. Don’t move around too much. Try to save your energy.”

Holding the super particle gun in his hand, Gu Yuan still had a faint smile in his eyes. Seeing as both his hands were occupied, he simply bowed his head and kissed the other’s brows. “I’m not old yet. I can still carry you.”

This independent man was tall, long-legged and well-built. His brows showed dashing and determination. No matter how you looked, the word “old” simple couldn’t be applied.

Lu Deng blinked his eyes, the corners of his lips curled slightly. He did indeed stop struggling, only quietly lying in his arms.

Lu Deng was suffering from the after effects of the explosive potion, from the wound on his shoulder and the resulting blood loss. Although Gu Yuan had tried his best to help him recover during the past few days, the conditions were subpar and the time was limited. Just sitting for a long time will inevitably cause him to become dizzy. If he had insisted on walking by yourself, it would only slow down both of their progress.

Putting Lu Deng’s schoolbag on his own back to avoid hitting the other’s wound, Gu Yuan suddenly remembered that he had never asked the young man how he had done in the exam.

He raised his eyebrows slightly and Gu Yuan lowered his gaze before he opened his mouth to ask. Suddenly, a new round of bombing rang intensively.

The duty room was often faced with mine blasting, so they were assured of its sturdiness. But this mine pit has been abandoned for so long, after all. Many of the supports have deteriorated over time, and the room was located close to the surface. Under such intense bombing, it was not safe for them to stay here any longer.

Finally, after checking that there was nothing left, Gu Yuan held the other person steady and quickly walked out of the stone room and deeper into the mine tunnel.

Before they had gone very far, the young man in his arms suddenly raised his hand and grabbed his shoulder, his strength was very resolute and this sensation was very familiar.

Gu Yuan’s heart sank slightly and he reacted even before he was aware of it. Protecting the person in his arms, he fell to the ground sideways. Using his arm as a cushion, he turned halfway around and placed the other person firmly under him.

The stone room had caved in under the shocks. Fortunately, they had walked away far enough and although bits of rubble smashed painfully against their bodies, it was not enough to cause any injuries.

Lu Deng was held tightly under Gu Yuan. The wound on his shoulder was well protected. Only that he was choked by the dust and coughed a few times.

That stone room where that had just, moments before, been recuperating in, had instantly turned to ruins. They sat up and couldn’t help but be a bit shaken.

Those bombing had been capable of causing a cave in. If they had been above ground at this moment, they would have already fallen into the hands of the military. Although they are lucky enough to escape this time, it didn’t mean that they were now safe.

Mines followed a certain fixed pattern, it was very easy for outsiders to get lost inside. However, Gu Yuan grew up shuttling back and forth through tunnels like these. Even if they were in a different planet, Gu Yuan wasn’t scared. While holding the person firmly in his arms, he walked forward and described the route in detail to him.

It was cold underground, but the warmth in his chest was steady and firm.

Lu Deng raised his arm and brought it around his shoulders and neck, trying his best to relieve some of the weight from him. His eyes swept across the tunnel, and then he cast his gaze towards the dim light of the searchlight reflected in the depths of Gu Yuan’s inky pupils.

He knew what Gu Yuan was doing.

“&#k2026;This kind that carries breathing masks is an air vent. It’s usually installed near the vicinity of an entrance or exit. This is the maximum limit for humans to go down. This kind of mask is very simple to use&#k2014;”

Gu Yuan was still talking to him patiently when he suddenly noticed the silent stare coming from between his arms. His heart stirred slightly and his arms faintly tightened.

The darkness underground seemed as though it came when this planet was formed. Even though it had been disturbed by mining, it still didn’t affect the palpitating silence here. His voice echoed in the hollow tunnels. From time to time, there would be the sound of water droplets falling. The stillness within the tunnels was awe-inspiring.

The stillness here had accumulated over millions and millions of years.

Naturally, Gu Yuan, wanted to live at all costs. But the road ahead was fraught with dangers. If they met with a mishap, he wanted, given his limited time, to provide the other with a way out.

The Guars were still bombing. Even if they would be lucky enough not to get buried under the collapsed rocks, sooner or later the military will realize that they were in the mine and take measures.

There were certain things that he had deliberately avoided talking about but now, it seemed that there was no avoiding the topic.

“Zhiguang, listen to me.”

He stopped with his lecture of the mine. Gu Yuan brought his arms closer, brought the warmth in his arms as close to his chest as possible. He lowered his voice.

“From here on out, things can get very dangerous. I will always be with you, but you have to remember these yourself. I don’t know if I still have a lifetime to give you–”

“I have.”

The young man’s voice was pure. In this thick, seemingly undissolvable darkness, it seemed particularly firm and gentle.

Gu Yuan was slightly startled, and stopped talking.

The light from the searchlight couldn’t travel more than a few steps before it was swallowed by the darkness. Under the limited glow, his black eyes were clear and warm, quietly settling deep within his dark pupils.

“I have a lifetime and I’ll give it to you.”

Lu Deng spoke softly, raised his hand to embrace his shoulders. He pressed his chest against his shoulders and leaned against the side of his neck where his vein pulsated slightly.

His chest suddenly surged with a searing pain, and his throat was choked. Gu Yuan suddenly tightened his arms abruptly, binding him firmly against his chest.

“I was wrong. Let’s live together.”

The duty room has been blasted to ruins. Although the military won’t be able to use it to trace their steps, they also couldn’t go back. Gu Yuan held the particle gun he was carrying with him in his hand. He wrapped the young man tightly in his arms, and continued to walk forward. His eyes were dark with determination. “We’re going to go a bit faster. Tell me if it hurts.”

His raven-black pupils bent into gentle crescents. Lu Deng looked at him and shook his head slightly.

The rims of his eyes were red, but the corners of the lips were raised up instead. Gu Yuan lowered his head and kissed him. He raised the searchlight in his hand, and sped up his pace into the rugged mining tunnel.

The Guar military was not familiar with the terrain and they didn’t dare come down hastily. This was the only thing they could count on. The Gu Group’s business was mining. No matter which planet or land, as long as it had anything to do with mining, he had never lost a bet.

Although the possibility of surviving was slim, it wasn’t completely lost.

The mine tunnel extended in all directions. The deeper they went, the more subdued the sounds of the bombing, blocked as they are by the thick soil. It seemed to be gradually quieting down.

It takes a lot of energy to travel long distances in the mine. Gu Yuan gradually fell silent. His breathing turned faint and rushed, but he never stopped.

In the cold underground darkness, human fear and loneliness would be infinitely magnified, enough to even to swallow a person’s reason.

Gu Yuan was familiar with this feeling, but this time he didn’t even have the slightest thought of loneliness. He temporarily stopped at a turning point to catch his breath. He lowered his head and was met with the young man’s clear gaze and he revealed a faint yet gentle smile.

The warmth on his chest reminded him all the time that he was never alone.

Lu Deng looked up at him and noticed that Gu Yuan was breathing more and more quickly. Worry appeared in his eyes but disappeared again. He simply took the water bag from his schoolbag and held it to Gu Yuan’s lips.

A soft smile appeared at the corner of Gu Yuan’s eyes. The young man carefully fed water into his mouth. After taking a few sips, he gently shook his head and motioned for him to drink a little too.

Lu Deng shook his head, trying to put the water bag away. Gu Yuan suddenly placed him on the ground and hung the searchlight on the rock wall. He held the person to lean against his arm, took the water bag and fed it to his lips. “Drink, be obedient.”

Trekking underground was particularly taxing on a person’s body. He could still carry him now but in case something happens, Lu Zhiguang must have enough strength to stand up on his own.

Under the glow of the searchlight, the young man looked up at him for a long while. Under his gentle gaze that nevertheless brooked no argument, he opened his mouth and took a sip.

Only then did Gu Yuan put away the water bag. He lowered his head and put a kiss on his lips. He took the other person in his arms, and rubbed his short hair. “No need to save it. We’ll be fine.”

He knew that Lu Zhiguang wanted to save food and fresh water for him. There was nothing but rocks and sand under the mine and so the supplies they brought with them became very precious.

But this road was not long.

Either they make it out and survive together, or they stay here and get buried. Either way, their supplies were enough.

Looking at those quiet and soft eyes, Gu Yuan’s heart trembled. He slowly rubbed the boy’s short hair, before leaning over and kissing him again.

Lu Deng closed his eyes and raised his head slightly.

A few hundred meters deep underground, the thick walls emitted ancient coldness. The hot kiss silently whistled in their veins.

They live walking the same path.

And die in the same pit.

After a short rest, Gu Yuan picked him up again. He took down the searchlight and continued to fumble his way into the depth.

This was a mine tunnel. There had to be entrances and exits. It was impossible to just keep going deeper and deeper into the center of the planet. A mineral vein could continue through the mountains and hills. He was betting that their current path was leading to another exit; one that was already outside the encirclement of the Guars.

“At the time of design, we were all into robot mining. We didn’t consider the burden trekking through these would have on humans. We must improve next time…”

Noticing the youth’s bad habit of staying too quiet, Gu Yuan began to talk to him.

Although this would be more physically demanding, it was the best way to maintain one’s mind in this dark environment.

Lu Deng also understood his intentions. Holding his shoulders to ease his burden, he looked up at the already narrow mine tunnel, “Will you install lighting lamps?”

Seeing him talking, Gu Yuan raised his eyebrows in surprise. A smile in his eyes, he shook his head with a deadpan expression.

“There are too many tunnels and it would require too much energy. So, I probably won’t for our mines.— but if Planet Guar would be willing to let me consult, next time I’ll remind them to install the lights.”

President Gu was always occupied with a myriad of state affairs and charged with heavy responsibilities. He rarely ever takes the initiative to make jokes. Lu Deng blinked, and the corners of his lips couldn’t help but raise slightly. “When asked for a reason, you can tell them it’s so that it will provide a convenient escape for you next time they decide to trap you in an encirclement.”

There was no one under the ground, only emptiness and silence. Gu Yuan laughed out loud. He bowed his head and kissed fiercely the person in his arms. Unexpectedly, the slight low-spiritedness he felt all along from trekking in this place, all disappeared.

And not just from when they began this trek.

There had always been a depression in his heart. It stayed with him, accumulating, never dispersing. The depression he felt from the inescapable constraint from his compatriots and the arduous hesitation. Between death and life, only the calmness and gentleness in his arms was left.

He had already made his way home early on.

*

It was cold and gloomy underground. After walking for who knows how long, Lu Deng leaned on his shoulder and suddenly let out a faint cough.

“Bear with it a little longer, we’re almost there.”

Gu Yuan took out some spare clothes and wrapped it around him. He then wrapped the person in his arms once again and sped up his pace.

The terrain was changing and walking was getting more and more arduous. This meant that they were now going upwards. It won’t be long before they would reach their target exit.

Lu Deng didn’t want him to worry and so tried to suppress his cough. But suddenly, an anxious reminder from the system sounded in his mind. “The life level of the host and the mission target has fallen. Please respond immediately!”

Lu Deng had an ominous premonition. He closed his eyes and with the help of his over sensitive senses brought about as an after-effect of the explosive drug, he carefully discerned the almost undetectable smell in the air. His heart suddenly jumped.

Biochemical gas.

When the duty room collapsed, the Guars probably already guessed that they were underground. The underground tunnels extend in all directions, and sending people down to search was too costly. It was better to use poison gas to send down from the entrance. In this way, when he explained to the Galileans, they could say that Gu Yuan hid underground and died in an accident.

They were far away from the entrance, so until now, they only had a vague reaction.

Noticing that the young man was acting strange, Gu Yuan frowned slightly. He was about to speak, when Lu Deng raised his hand and used it to firmly cover his mouth and nose.

“It’s poison gas. Go quickly. The troops have been held up. There will be someone waiting outside…”

Although the layout of this mine was complicated, using the system’s probe, Lu Deng had already acquired a complete map.

Lu Deng had already confirmed their exit according to the direction Gu Yuan was heading and asked the system to secretly send a message to the Galilean special envoy. As long as the two made it out, the Galilean special envoy guarding outside would immediately respond.

Galileo’s special envoy had applied for a galaxy protection order. Before official contact, Planet Guar could do anything to Gu Yuan without them knowing. But once the Galilean envoy and Gu Yuan met, they could only watch as the Galileans take him away.

If they can make it out, they can live.

Lu Deng finally couldn’t attend to keeping his secrets. He spoke quickly, but was forced to stop by the poisonous gas that was growing ever denser. He was overcome by a coughing fit that forced him to double into himself.

Gu Yuan’s eyes fell sharply. He buried the other deeper within his arms. He unbuttoned the water bag and poured it over his clothes, trying his best to cover the boy’s nose and mouth. He held his breath and ran madly towards the exit.

Run.

Behind him was the shadow of death and in front of him was a chance for life that was so close within reach.

He was not afraid of death. He even faintly expected that he would die here with Lu Zhiguang. But with hope already so close at hand, how could he possibly give up willingly?

His teenager hasn’t really grown up yet. He hasn’t experienced living a safe, peaceful life. He hasn’t been spoiled with whatever he wants.

They still have so many things they want to do but haven’t done. He hasn’t accompanied him to check his grades yet, hasn’t been able to personally send him off to his new school yet, hasn’t had the chance to picked him up from and send him off to school every day, hasn’t held him properly yet, hasn’t seen him show a clear and vivid smile under the most dazzling light.

They’ve gotten this far. It couldn’t just end here.

He didn’t dare to breathe, his lungs were burning like fire because of his desperate running. Gu Yuan’s sight began to darken, his heartbeat beating as fierce as a drum. He suddenly caught sight of a glimmer that could make men weep.

An air vent.

His knees went soft. The ground underneath his feet seemed to sway violently. Gu Yuan’s figure went slightly sideways and he unexpectedly fell to his knees.

The vent was so close at hand but his chest was exploding with intense pain, like it has exhausted the last trace of air stored in his lungs.

At the very least, he must send Lu Zhiguang over there.

Gu Yuan tightened his hold and made a lightning-quick decision. He was just about to breathe in and accumulate energy when the young man who’d been lying quietly in his arms all this time, suddenly raised his hand to embrace him.

The slightly cool lips latched on to his and pure and mellow air flowed into his mouth, rushing through his throat and pushing into his lungs, alleviating the suffocation he was feeling from lack of oxygen.

An intense look of pain appeared in Gu Yuan’s eyes. He tried to shield the other once again, but Lu Zhiguang’s arm showed a firm strength that he had never displayed before. He met his gaze, took in a breath, and continued to pour in air.

Gu Yuan suddenly understood what Lu Zhiguang said at that time.

He has a lifetime to give him.

Exceedingly exasperated anguish exploded in his heart. And his exhausted body exploded with incredible power.

Gu Yuan tightened his hold and rushed to the vent. He took off a breathing mask and put it on him only to realize that his hands were shaking. He had already tied his own mask several times, but he couldn’t even buckle it properly.

A hand stretched over and closed the buckle for him.

Lu Deng lay between his arms. His brows, as before, were still smoothened out. His cold fingers leaned sideways and lightly rubbed against his face, carefully and softly.

The boy’s young and clumsy gesture of goodwill failed to suppress that momentary panic and pain. Gu Yuan panted heavily under the mask. Trembling slightly, he took hold of that hand. He wanted to see if Lu Deng had been affected by the poisonous gas but the ground suddenly shook violently again.

It wasn’t an illusion.

Lu Deng squinted his eyes through his befuddlement. He once again tried to summon some energy. He held his arms tightly and concentrated for a while. The system warning sounded in his mind.

The earthquake simulator could simulate earthquakes below magnitude five, enough to cave in the underground facilities, the mine pits and the passage ways.

Use poison gas first, then earthquake.

The Guars were going to completely block Gu Yuan here.

The author has something to say: Lu Deng: You swear, you swear that you won’t make me do homework in the future and I’ll live. Q^Q

Translator’s note:

Just in case it bothers you as it bothered me, though the part about putting on the masks was vague, I’m pretty sure Gu Yuan put a mask on Lu Deng since in the next chapter their take their mask off.