The hospital room.
A young boy in a hospital gown sat on the bed, a book spread open before him, his eyes lowered as he read intently.
Sunlight streamed in from outside, playfully landing on the boy’s slender, clean fingertips as he turned the pages.
With a creak, the door to the room was pushed open. The boy turned his head to look, and the next moment, his clear, doe-like eyes curved into a bright smile. “Cousin, you’re here.”
A young girl, about eighteen or nineteen, walked in and sat down on the chair beside the bed. She gently ruffled the boy’s soft black hair. “Mumu, how are you feeling today? Any better?”
“Much better.” Song Mufang’s eyes crinkled with his smile.
Due to frequent illnesses, Song Mufang’s complexion was a bit pale. Even so, his eyes remained clear and bright, showing no trace of gloom.
“That’s good.” The girl, whom Song Mufang called cousin, smiled, but when she lowered her head, worry was evident beneath her smile.
“Are you reading?” she asked casually, noticing the book by Song Mufang’s side.
Song Mufang nodded, turning the book slightly to show her the cover, his expression lively. “Dad brought it for me yesterday. It’s really good.”
“Then keep reading. I’ll sit here and read too.”
Song Mufang murmured in agreement, diving back into the world created by the book in his hands.
He hadn’t turned many pages when he heard the dull thud of something heavy falling into the trash can.
Instinctively, he turned his head to look, only to see that the book his cousin had been holding was now lying quietly in the trash.
Song Mufang’s gaze moved from the book in the trash to his cousin’s face. “Cousin, what’s wrong? Why did you throw that book away?”
“That book made me so angry,” his cousin replied, looking quite upset.
Song Mufang was puzzled. “What about it made you so angry?”
“There’s a character with your name in it, and his ending wasn’t good. It upset me.”
Song Mufang pressed his lips together, unable to hold back a smile. “Cousin, you’re so superstitious. It’s just a coincidence that we have the same name. Nothing’s going to happen. By the way, what happened to the character with my name?”
His cousin hadn’t wanted to say, thinking it was unlucky, but faced with Song Mufang’s curious, innocent gaze, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
So she explained, “He kept bullying the male lead, Jing Zhao, and later, Jing Zhao set him up in a car accident that left him crippled. Afterward, he was in a daze all the time, and two months later, he died in a fire. I can’t stand thinking about that ending.”
Song Mufang was momentarily startled by the ending, but he quickly recovered, smiling as he patted his cousin’s shoulder to comfort her. “It’s just a name. I haven’t even attended school much, and there’s no Jing Zhao in my class. Nothing’s going to happen, cousin. Don’t be superstitious.”
His cousin nodded, saying no more.
That night, as Song Mufang was falling asleep, he vaguely heard a voice: “Ding, the malicious cannon fodder transmigration system has been successfully bound.”
*
When he opened his eyes again, Song Mufang found everything around him unfamiliar.
All around were people in school uniforms, sitting at their desks, studying diligently. The classroom was filled with the sound of reading aloud.
Song Mufang propped himself up on the desk, sitting up straight, and let out a puzzled “Huh” as he took in the unfamiliar classroom.
Due to his frequent illnesses and hospital visits, he hadn’t finished elementary school and had switched to home tutoring.
The image of sitting in a classroom with other students felt as distant as a past life to Song Mufang.
Did his parents want to surprise him by secretly bringing him to school while he slept?
Just as a hint of joy flashed through his heart, a mechanical voice sounded in his mind: [Ding, malicious cannon fodder transmigration system initializing…]
[Initialization complete…]
What was going on?
Song Mufang furrowed his brow in confusion.
The mechanical voice spoke again.
[Hello, host. I am the malicious cannon fodder transmigration system 1111. You can call me 1111!]
What on earth was happening?
For a moment, Song Mufang even worried he was hallucinating.
[Rest assured, host, you are not hallucinating. You have simply died.]
Song Mufang: “…”
Can you still hear voices after dying?
Song Mufang finally understood why he was here. He was dreaming.
He closed his eyes and lay back down on the desk.
[Host, do not doubt. Your body in reality lost its vital signs at 22:37. Because you share the same name as a malicious cannon fodder character in a book, you were fortunate enough to bind with the transmigration system and be brought to this world.]
Song Mufang’s body stiffened. He remained lying down, trying to establish a connection with the mechanical voice in his mind: [Are you saying I’ve transmigrated into a book?]
The System answered seriously: [Yes!]
After communicating with the voice in his mind, Song Mufang finally understood his current situation.
He had transmigrated into the unfinished novel his cousin had been reading, and he was the cannon fodder character.
Because he was bound to the malicious cannon fodder system, he had to play the role of a malicious cannon fodder, frequently bullying the male lead. Otherwise, he would be electrocuted, and in severe cases, he might even die.
Song Mufang recalled the ending his cousin had told him about: the cannon fodder “Song Mufang” was set up in a car accident, crippled, and eventually died in a fire!
The thought of such an ending possibly happening to him made Song Mufang’s face turn pale. He instinctively refused in his mind: “No, I won’t do it.”
[Refusal will result in electrocution. Are you sure, host?]
Playing the malicious cannon fodder would still lead to death, and such a miserable death at that. He would rather die quickly and cleanly.
[Sure…]
Before Song Mufang could finish his response, an electric shock coursed through his body.
It hurt, it really hurt.
The intense pain spread from his brain to every part of his body in an instant, leaving Song Mufang too weak to even keep his eyes open.
The System sounded a bit embarrassed: [Sorry, I forgot to mention one more thing. While following the novel’s plot, you can block physical sensations, so even if you’re burned, you won’t feel any pain. Also, after completing the tasks, you can gain a free identity unrelated to the novel’s plot in this world.]
[Choose between being a malicious cannon fodder and waiting to die.]
Such important information, and it wasn’t mentioned earlier.
Song Mufang lay on the desk, taking several minutes to recover from the pain, his voice weak: [I’ll choose to be the malicious cannon fodder.]
Song Mufang quickly received the original character’s memories from the System.
The original character was a transfer student, and this was only his second week in this class.
He wasn’t particularly familiar with the other students, so there was no need to worry about them noticing any sudden changes in his personality.
But Song Mufang didn’t dare to relax.
According to the System’s supplement, each time he showed up to provoke Jing Zhao, he would earn a life point, which would allow him to survive for 24 hours.
Once the life points hit zero, he would be electrocuted, with a one-hour buffer period after the shock.
If he didn’t act against the male lead within that hour…
Sorry, but that would be the end of him.
And now he had only four hours left before his life points hit zero.
Finally, as the self-study session ended, Song Mufang took a deep breath, silently repeated “I’m sorry” three times in his heart, and walked toward the corner of the classroom where Jing Zhao was.
During the self-study session, he had observed that Jing Zhao had been sleeping through the class and was still asleep now that it was over.
For someone who was asleep, anyone disturbing their rest was definitely an enemy.
Stopping a couple of steps away from Jing Zhao, Song Mufang called out, “Jing Zhao, wake up.”
“Jing Zhao, wake up.”
After calling out two or three times, Jing Zhao finally woke up. He lifted his head, his voice slightly hoarse. “What is it?”
Perhaps because he had just been sleeping on the desk, Jing Zhao’s hair was a bit tousled.
His deep, dark eyes locked onto Song Mufang, and he looked quite aggressive.
Song Mufang had prepared his lines beforehand, but now, facing Jing Zhao, he felt a bit guilty.
His gaze flickered, and he tried to make his fair face look fierce. “Where’s your Chinese homework? Everyone else turned it in, but you’re the only one who hasn’t.”
“Why are you collecting homework?” Jing Zhao asked expressionlessly.
“My deskmate is the Chinese class representative. I’m helping him collect it. Hurry up and hand it over.” Song Mufang tried to stay calm.
“Didn’t do it.”
Song Mufang’s cat-like eyes widened in surprise, his voice carrying a hint of reproach. “That was the teacher’s assignment. How can you not do it?”
Jing Zhao stared at Song Mufang, his gaze so intense that Song Mufang’s face grew hot and red. Finally, Jing Zhao said, “Didn’t feel like it.”
Knowing that Jing Zhao would later set him up in a car accident, Song Mufang felt a bit guilty facing him.
After being stared at so intensely, Song Mufang didn’t dare to be harsh with Jing Zhao, his voice softening. “You can’t keep skipping your homework on purpose.”
Thinking his words were too weak and not befitting a malicious cannon fodder, Song Mufang quickly added, “Be careful, or I’ll tell the teacher you’re deliberately not doing your homework!”
After saying this, Song Mufang quickly fled from Jing Zhao’s desk.
Once he was out of the classroom, Song Mufang asked the System in his mind: [1111, how did I do? How many life points did I get?]
The System was silent for a while.
[Something seems off.]
Having witnessed the whole exchange, 1111 felt that Song Mufang’s so-called bullying was strangely nuanced.
[What’s off?] Song Mufang’s voice was low. [I specifically woke up the sleeping male lead. Isn’t that bad enough? Wasn’t I fierce enough when I spoke to him? And in the end, I even threatened to tell the teacher… I’m so bad…]