Cannon Fodder – Chapter 83 – Salute to the Pressure-Resistant Queen Tao-Tao

Orange juice… Orange juice. Orange juice!

After pouring herself another glass, Su Tao closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and practically pinched her nose shut to force herself to drink it.

The orange juice was slightly cool and incredibly sweet. Unlike cola or Sprite, where some people can’t handle the fizzy, tangy sensation when it first hits the mouth, orange juice is a drink loved by all ages.

Su Tao could hardly believe she had developed a stress reaction to something so sweet. Perhaps her stomach was empty, or perhaps those days in the dark room had conditioned her body to adapt to the nausea born from psychological distress.

Leaning over the sink, Su Tao dry-heaved for a long time without bringing anything up. She just gasped for air in big, ragged breaths.

Forget finishing a whole glass, just two sips were nearly unbearable.

Even though the color was bright orange and the taste was sweet, nothing like the deep red of before, the moment she remembered this orange juice had flowed from Chi Xiaocheng’s body, Su Tao found it impossible to swallow.

‘Accept what I dislike? Can I really do this?’

After rinsing her mouth, Su Tao put the remaining half-bottle of orange juice back in the fridge and checked the time on her phone.

22:48.

“Would Xiaocheng be asleep by now?” Su Tao thought for a moment, then sent Chi Xiaocheng a message: “Xiaocheng, are you asleep?”

Chi Xiaocheng replied instantly: “Not yet~ What’s up, Tao-Tao?”

Su Tao: “How’s your recovery going? Sorry, I had some school stuff to deal with today and was busy all day. Do you need me to come to the hospital?”

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‘Liar. You slept at home all day.’

In the hospital, Chi Xiaocheng leaned back against the bed, smiling wryly. Of course, she desperately wanted to see Su Tao. But girls who were too straightforward weren’t cute.

So Chi Xiaocheng replied: “It’s okay, Tao-Tao! I’ll manage on my own. You must be tired after a busy day, so don’t worry about me! Though it is a little lonely and boring by myself, I wouldn’t want to interfere with your responsibilities.”

Reading this, Su Tao felt much more at ease. Without a doubt, Xiaocheng had snapped out of her yandere state and returned to normal.

A little clingy, but sensible, caring, and not overly burdensome. Compared to that extreme love, Su Tao definitely preferred this normal version of Xiaocheng.

“I should still go to the hospital. If nothing else, to keep her company and stabilize her mood.”

After sending the message, Su Tao got up, went to her room, and threw on a down jacket. Back in the living room, she picked up her ladies’ wristwatch from the table.

Then she noticed the sachet beside it and froze.

“Wasn’t the sachet supposed to be on me?”

When she slept in Chi Xiaocheng’s room, she had distinctly smelled the faint fragrance of the sachet both before falling asleep and upon waking, so familiar and comforting.

“I must be under so much stress I’m hallucinating.”

Shaking her head, Su Tao tied the sachet to her waist and left.

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Meanwhile, in the hospital, Chi Xiaocheng leaned back against the bed, waiting quietly. She couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

“I have to give Su Tao some credit. After enduring so much pressure, she actually tried to accept the orange juice she’s been resisting.”

The body might not react strongly to the taste itself, but once you realize drinking orange juice is essentially drinking “blood,” the psychological disgust is anything but mild.

‘It’s like humans eating human flesh. Just the thought is enough to make you sick.’

[Host, should we stop pressuring Su Tao for now?]

“She’s exhausted, so of course she needs a break. I wonder how Dongfang Yang and my brother are doing. If Ye Liang doesn’t cause trouble, we won’t need to apply so much pressure for a while.”

[Just not as much pressure?]

Chi Xiaocheng: “A little is still necessary. Otherwise, how will she keep thinking about me? If she doesn’t actively seek stress relief, my next plan won’t work.”

The system fell silent for a moment.

[Salute to the legendary Pressure-Resistant Queen, Tao-Tao.]

Thankfully, the original author had written Su Tao’s character as unshakably resilient. Anyone else subjected to this kind of relentless pressure would’ve cracked long ago.

Even as a villain system, it couldn’t help but pity Su Tao.

“Speaking of which, how many emotional points do I have now?”

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[After deducting the 1,000 points spent on purchasing the original novel, you currently have 2,435 points remaining.] [Of these, male lead Ye Liang contributed the most, followed by female lead Su Tao, then supporting characters Chi Song and Dongfang Yang.]

‘No wonder. Ye Liang probably wants me dead.’

As one of the male leads, even without plot armor, his background and influence made it impossible for Chi Xiaocheng to truly eliminate him.

The young master of the Ye family in the capital, CEO of one of Jiuzhou’s leading corporations… if someone like him fell, the retaliation from his faction would be far worse than anything he could personally dish out.

In this romance novel’s world, the connections of these family conglomerates spanned the entire Great Zhou nation. Even the law might not be able to restrain them.

If things escalated to mutual destruction before her war hero father returned, both she and Su Tao would be nothing but lambs for slaughter.

A faint unease still lingered in Chi Xiaocheng’s heart.

“System, do a 10x gacha roll.”

She needed a skill stronger than Blackening, something she could actively control. If only she could pull a Protagonist’s Aura for herself….

[10x Gacha in progress. Congratulations, Host, on obtaining the following items!]

Nine whites, one gold. This roll wasn’t as lucky as usual, having to hit the pity system.

[Obtained Skinny Nerd’s Happy Drink x3 (Lose 10 lbs of useless fat instantly! The ultimate weight-loss choice!)]

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[Obtained Snow White’s Poisoned Apple x1 (A cursed apple tainted by the Evil Queen’s malice. Eating it will bring a lifetime of misfortune.)]

[Obtained Su Tao & Xiaocheng Dual Figurine x1 (A highly detailed anime-style figurine of the two. Staring at it for too long may induce trance-like states and increase chances of lucid dreaming.)]

[Obtained Orange Brand Hygiene Set x4 (A complete set of feminine hygiene products. Ideal for that time of the month.)]

[Congratulations! Obtained Skill: Disguise (Intermediate)] [Disguise (Intermediate): Host can disguise herself as another person. Appearance, height, bone structure, etc., can be freely altered, but must remain within biologically female limits. Usable once per week. Duration: 3 hours.]

Naturally, Chi Xiaocheng focused first on the skill. It wasn’t the offensive ability she’d hoped for, but its potential for manipulation was immense!

Too bad it was female-only. Otherwise, her Dr. Cheng persona could’ve stepped into the open to “treat” Su Tao further.

As for the poisoned apple and figurine….

Chi Xiaocheng wanted to examine them, but the doctor would be coming soon. If the doctor saw the apple and helpfully peeled it for her, that’d be an awkward disaster.

Suppressing her curiosity, Chi Xiaocheng waited quietly for Su Tao’s arrival.

23:20.

The half-open door was finally tapped lightly.

Seeing the lovely girl step in wearing short boots, Chi Xiaocheng put on her cutest smile. “Good evening, Tao-Tao~”