(Quick Transmigration) Small Cannon Fodder Has Great Power

Gu Yunyun's eyes widened, speechless.

Suddenly, a system notification distracted her: "A month has passed, and the mission target has fully recovered from the Winter's Poison. You can now choose what to do and where to go."

She blinked. "...So fast?" She instinctively looked at Vincent in the front passenger seat.

After Vincent finished explaining the meaning of the necklace, he was secretly watching Gu Yunyun's reaction in the rearview mirror. When he saw Gu Yunyun looking at him, he quickly and guiltily looked away, even though she wasn't paying attention to the rearview mirror at all.

Eileen glanced at Vincent and casually remarked, "Vincent, you were too impulsive this time. How could you rush up to the Viscount and try to snatch someone without any preparation? No matter how skilled you are, that's the Viscount's territory, and besides, we're still on the run."

Wallis tried to smooth things over, "That's because I was worried about Yunyun, a young girl facing something like that..."

"Don't forget, she's not some defenseless little girl; she's capable of protecting herself."

There was a moment of silence in the carriage. They had become so used to treating Gu Yunyun as a cute and gentle little girl that they only remembered her after hearing Eileen's words that she was actually a fierce sea monster capable of tearing sharks apart and easily bewitching a ship's crew of sailors to jump into the sea.

The fierce Gu Yunyun stared innocently at them.

“But there’s no guarantee that nothing will go wrong,” Vincent said. “What if the Viscount uses underhanded and insidious methods? What if she’s not immune to human drugs? Don’t forget that when we first met her, she was very weak because of the moonflower juice.”

“Yes,” Kom agreed, “we can’t just stand by and do nothing when we know our companions are in danger.”

Eileen's tone was somewhat impatient, "I'm not saying we shouldn't get involved, but rather that we should be more rational and not act impulsively without considering the consequences..."

“I understand, Eileen.”

Com scratched his head, looked at this and then that, and changed the subject, "Where do we go next?"

“I’m afraid I’m going to implicate you again this time. My warrant will be issued soon, and then our movements throughout the country will be restricted. Why don’t we smuggle ourselves out of the country?” Vincent said. “Let’s go to Ode Harbor first, and then board a ship to leave the country.”

“Great.” Eileen leaned back, patting the steering wheel with a sigh of relief. “Perfect timing to get Yunyun back to the sea.” She glanced at Vincent as she spoke. “Your promise still stands, doesn’t it?”

Vincent remained silent, but Wallis couldn't hold back any longer. "Eileen, what's wrong with you...?"

Eileen glanced at Vincent from the driver's seat, and said meaningfully, "If we have to part ways sooner or later, it's better to end it now than to suffer for a long time."

Eileen knew Vincent liked Gu Yunyun, but she didn't expect her influence on him to be so great, enough to make him lose his mind and disregard his own safety. The future of a relationship between a human and a siren is uncertain; if Vincent's feelings are allowed to deepen further, it may cause him even greater pain later.

Seeing the disagreement within their team, Gu Yunyun thought for a moment and made a decision. "I will be leaving then. Thank you for taking care of me during this time."

"Yunyun, if you don't want to leave..."

"Vincent!"

Gu Yunyun interrupted them, "Wasn't this something we agreed on from the beginning?"

I decided from the beginning that once I had ensured the mission objective safely passed through the month-long period of weakness, I would leave them and enjoy a life of my own, free from the system's planning and restrictions.

···

During the rest of the journey, Vincent acted normally, as if Gu Yunyun's decision to leave had little impact on him.

However, Gu Yunyun, as the person involved, felt that Vincent didn't seem to enjoy teasing her as much as before, and was subtly avoiding her.

Finally, they arrived at the town where the harbor was located.

Vincent came to escort Gu Yunyun back to the sea, while the other three members of the team discreetly avoided her, leaving them with space for a final private moment and farewell.

This is a low, sloping cliff, only two or three meters above the sea.

The two of them clung to each other on the cliff, gazing at the boundless sea. For some reason, neither of them spoke for a moment, only the roar of the waves could be heard.

Scattered islands dot the distant sea, appearing like a few lonely reefs from afar.

For some reason, even though freedom was right in front of her, Gu Yunyun suddenly felt a sense of cowardice and an indescribable bitterness.

After a long pause, Vincent spoke up, "Can you find your companions in the sea?"

Gu Yunyun briefly reviewed the siren's memories: "Sirens are solitary, and each siren has its own territory. Unless it is... mating season, they all act alone."

"...Anyway, you'll be fine, right?"

"……Um."

"That's good." Vincent's face was expressionless. "Let's say goodbye here."

Gu Yunyun was taken aback, feeling a strange sense of loss at his quick farewell. "...Oh."

She took a few slow steps forward, turned around to look at him, and said, "Then I'm leaving?"

"Um... goodbye, Yunyun."

Gu Yunyun saw him smile with the same gentlemanly charm as when they first met, and lowered her eyes slightly, "Goodbye..."

This time, she reached the edge of the cliff and looked down at the waves crashing against the steep cliff face. Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, she leaped into the water.

The salty sea breeze whistled past her ears, bringing a thrilling and exhilarating sensation. The instant she plunged into the water, her legs beneath her long dress transformed into a fishtail, and ear fins of the same color as her scales sprouted from her ears.

After swimming freely underwater for a while, she looked up at the sky. Looking up at the sky from underwater was truly beautiful. She couldn't help but gaze again at the cliff where she had said goodbye to Vincent. He must have left after she jumped, right?

Gu Yunyun floated in the water for a while, feeling a sense of emptiness in her heart.

The system hesitated before speaking, "It has detected an increase in the host's 'pain hormones,' affecting the respiratory and circulatory centers, and causing mild myocardial hypoxia. Based on the above symptoms... are you feeling sad, host?"

Gu Yunyun didn't answer. With a gentle sway, she flicked her tail and swam away into the distance.

···

On the cliff, Vincent sat on a large rock at the edge of the cliff, the poignant sunset casting a long shadow over him.

His hands rested casually on his lap, and there were several crescent-shaped wounds in his outstretched palms.

"If I don't keep my distance... I won't be able to control myself and keep you here." Although he was trying to push her away, every cell in his body was screaming to hold her and keep her here.

But how could he bear to let her give up the freedom of the sea and stay with him in hiding, unable to see the light of day?

Vincent murmured to himself as he looked at the sea, "For a moment, I had the thought that you, like the other sirens, would treat me like prey, draining my blood. Would that mean I would go to the sea with you?"

He lay back on the rock, covering his eyes with one hand.

But Yunyun never showed any desire for human blood. Besides, she was so pure; how could she be allowed to become such a bloodthirsty beast for him?

Although Vincent's blood was still intact in his body, as he watched Gu Yunyun's departing figure, he felt as if all the blood in his body had been drawn away with her.

"Yunyun, what do you think about me changing careers?" he said, as if he had thought of something interesting and heartwarming, a dreamy and longing look appearing on his face. "How about I stop being a conman and become a lighthouse keeper?"

That way, at least we can protect the sea where she is;

In that case, perhaps we will meet again someday.

He didn't know how long he had been lying there when he suddenly heard a noise, and slowly sat up and raised his head.

A group of people had silently surrounded the small cliff without anyone noticing.

The men holding guns in the middle stepped aside, revealing a ruthless middle-aged man who strolled forward, along with the duchess beside him.

For a moment, Vincent couldn't muster the urge to resist; he even thought it would be better to die like this. But he still quietly reached for the hidden pistol.

"If you reveal the whereabouts of the siren, I might spare your life," the middle-aged man sneered. He could then hand him over to the duchess as promised, which wouldn't be considered breaking his word.

···

Gu Yunyun was swimming aimlessly when suddenly the long-lost beeping alarm sounded in her mind, almost making her choke on water, despite being a sea monster.

"what are you doing!"

"The target's life force is rapidly decreasing within one nautical mile! How could this happen?!" the system exclaimed. "An additional mission is added: rescuing the target will grant additional points in this dimension!"

Gu Yunyun had no time to listen to what was going on. As soon as she heard that Vincent was in trouble, she immediately turned around, flicked her tail, and rushed out at high speed.

Back at the cliff edge, Gu Yunyun gathered her strength underwater and leaped up, rapidly swinging her fishtail. Like a cannonball, she sprang into the air, hooked her hand onto the edge of the cliff, and her fishtail under her long skirt transformed back into legs as she climbed up the cliff.

Vincent had his back to her, his body covered in wounds, his white shirt stained red, yet he still forced himself to stand firm.

Gu Yunyun's heart clenched tightly, filled with shock and anger, and she immediately uttered the unique sound of a siren. The mesmerizing song instantly echoed across the cliff.

Vincent blinked his already blurry eyes and turned around with difficulty, "...Yunyun?"

Driven by rage, Gu Yunyun used an illusion this time that would conjure up the most terrifying things in her enemies' minds. In an instant, the group opposite them lost their armor and weapons, collapsed to the ground, their faces filled with terror and rage. They tried to cry out, but it was as if their throats were being choked, and no sound came out.

Vincent had been holding on, but he was already at his limit. When he heard Gu Yunyun's voice, he realized that the crisis had passed, and he relaxed and collapsed to the ground.

She rushed over to check on him. "How are you? We need to hurry... Ah!" Gu Yunyun suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back. At the same time, a familiar numbness and burning pain spread from the wound.

She gritted her teeth, grabbed the thing with her other hand, and pulled it out—a syringe, about half of the liquid inside was gone.

The drug's effects spread quickly, and Gu Yunyun stiffly collapsed beside Vincent.

"Yunyun...!"

“‘Eliminate all the impossible, and what remains, however improbable, is the truth.’ That’s a brilliant saying.” The duchess rose from the ground, still holding a small crossbow in one hand, the one she had used to wound Gu Yunyun. “It seems that the specially made earplugs I prepared were indeed useful, but I probably don’t need them anymore.”

The duchess pulled out her earplugs. "Concentrated moongrass extract, can you still use illusion magic? Even if you can still hold on, it doesn't matter. Just sing one more line, and I'll let a bullet go through your mouth. Let's see who's faster."

"What do you want?" Vincent struggled to sit up, but failed.

“Vincent, you’re really gentle with women, even with this monster.” The duchess stood up. “You kidnapped a priceless siren, and then treated her like a human girl, only to release her back into the sea? Ha, only you could do that.”

"You're the monster! Ugly freak!" Gu Yunyun curled up slightly in pain, but still glared at her defiantly.

"You bitch!" The duchess stepped forward, squatted down, grabbed Gu Yunyun's hair, and forced her to raise her face.

When she saw Gu Yunyun's incomparably beautiful face up close, her jealousy and hatred towards her deepened.

"You're very confident in your face?" The duchess released her hair, pulled out a dagger, and pressed it against Gu Yunyun's face. "Then I'll slash your face and see who you can seduce next."