Chapter 30 Sentinel's Path | Gazing into the Abyss 7 I Like You

Late at night, Yuezhi woke up from a chaotic dream.

The heavy weight around her waist came from Pei Heng's arm, which held her tightly in a possessive manner. His warm body pressed closely against her back, and his steady breathing brushed against the back of her neck.

Yuezhi blinked her sore eyes. In the darkness, a warm tear slid down from the corner of her eye and soaked into the pillow.

My thoughts are a tangled mess, I can't make sense of them.

She felt powerless and lost, and drifted off to sleep.

In the early morning, I smelled the faint aroma of warm milk in the air, opened my eyes, and saw the rising sun outside the window.

The bedroom door was gently pushed open a crack, and Pei Heng walked in carrying a sandwich and hot milk.

He was wearing loose loungewear, his silver hair hanging casually, looking less sharp and more gentle at home.

He walked to the bedside, put down the breakfast, and naturally leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her still sleepy cheek. His voice was gentle, "Awake? Have some milk."

Yuezhi looked at him blankly, a wave of emptiness and bitterness rising in her heart.

She lowered her eyelashes, staring at the fine patterns on the quilt, her voice a little dry: "We are no longer related. I only contributed 20% to this house, and I will move out as soon as possible... If you need me for work in the future, you can call me and I will come over."

Pei Heng's smile faded slightly.

He sat down by the bed, the morning sunlight outlining the contours of his profile, his usually gloomy eyes now revealing a gentle sense of relief.

"Sister," he looked at her and suddenly asked, "aren't you curious about how I fooled the gene bank's test?"

Yuezhi's heart tightened, and her brows furrowed tightly.

With just a casual remark, he shattered the calm she was barely maintaining.

Is he really her biological brother? Or even... did she ever have a real, blood-related brother? A huge sense of confusion washed over her again, almost threatening to engulf her.

"I don't want to know anymore." She turned her face away wearily, her voice pleading. "What's done is done. Let bygones be bygones. From now on, can't we just be compatible work partners?"

Pei Heng didn't answer, but simply reached out and gently cupped her face, turning her gaze back to him.

Then, he lowered his head and kissed her lips.

Slow and lingering, with a faint sweetness of milk, it is a silent comfort and a stubborn declaration.

Yuezhi was caught in a huge dilemma and reluctance to part, and for a moment she forgot to resist.

“Your contamination…” She stared at him in astonishment, instinctively raising her hand to wipe her damp lips, “It’s already zeroed out? Then what you just…”

There is absolutely no need for mucosal drainage.

Pei Heng gently stroked her slightly flushed cheeks with his fingertips, a triumphant, slightly roguish smile flashing in his eyes. Gazing into her eyes, he frankly admitted, "Yes, it's not about comforting, I just want to kiss you."

Just like last night, the so-called "deep guidance" was nothing more than using a legitimate pretext to do what he had always wanted to do.

Yuezhi's face instantly turned bright red, filled with embarrassment and anger. She quickly moved back to create distance, saying, "I'm still moving away!"

“I don’t want you to move out.” Pei Heng’s tone was calm, as if he were a superior patiently guiding her. “Sister, my feelings for you have never changed. Whether as your brother or as your sentinel, all I want to do is be with you, nothing more.”

He looked into her eyes, and behind the gentleness lay an unfathomable desire for control.

“If you insist on leaving, I won’t stop you, but I will find another way to bring you back to me later. I don’t want to complicate simple things.”

He reached out and took her slightly cool fingers in his hand.

“I like you,” he said clearly, each word like a brand, etched into her eardrums. “I’ve liked you since I was eighteen.”

Yuezhi's mind went blank.

*

Under the tower's formal arrangements and Pei Heng's silent yet ever-present pressure, Yue Zhi ultimately failed to move out.

Life went on as usual. During the day, Pei Heng would sometimes go on missions, and sometimes stay in the tower to handle affairs. When he came home, he would even heat up a cup of milk for her and bring her some of her favorite desserts, just like he used to.

Occasionally, when Yuezhi looks at his quiet profile in the morning light, she feels a moment of disorientation, as if he is still the younger brother who depends on her.

But such illusions are always shattered mercilessly at night.

In the darkness, his embrace was urgent and fierce, as if he wanted to confirm her belonging through the most intimate contact.

He whispered in her ear again and again, determined to hear her say the word "love." His burning breath and irresistible force were like invisible ropes, wrapping around Yuezhi's heart, making it hard for her to breathe.

She felt increasingly stressed and her mental state deteriorated. She even secretly went to the medical center inside the tower and applied for a comprehensive mental health evaluation.

The results came back normal.

The doctor smiled and congratulated her: "Guide Yuezhi, your mental strength is very stable, with no signs of overload. It seems that your collaboration with No. 001 has been very successful. His condition has been exceptionally good lately, with his pollution level consistently within the safe threshold. You know, he used to be notorious for rejecting guidance, and only you were allowed to approach him. You two are truly a match made in heaven!"

Other medical staff around also cast envious and approving glances.

Hearing these compliments, Yuezhi managed a weak smile, but her heart felt heavy, devoid of any joy.

She went to see a psychologist again, subtly mentioning her troubles.

The doctor gently advised her, "Perhaps you're overthinking it. The bond between a Sentinel and a Guide is stronger than that between ordinary people, especially in higher-ranking pairs. I suggest you communicate more with your Sentinel and express your thoughts. Perhaps talking it out will relieve some of the pressure."

Yuezhi outwardly agrees, but inwardly she feels icy cold.

Should she open up to Pei Heng? How many words of truth could he possibly utter? He could even subtly influence and alter her memories! Just like when they were children, covering the real past with his meticulously crafted illusions.

If he knew about her intense unease and struggle, who knows if he would use his powers again to forcibly erase her pain, turning her back into a puppet "willingly" immersed in his woven dream?

The thought sent chills down her spine.

For several days in a row, she was immersed in a heavy, unspoken contemplation.

Looking at the image of the pitch-black, seemingly all-consuming cave entrance on the mission briefing, Yuezhi suddenly felt an almost desperate urge.

She loathed the current state of powerlessness, confusion, and uncertainty about truth from falsehood.

A devastating thought surfaced in my mind: rather than enduring this torment day and night, why not... enter that dangerous place? If I die inside, would I no longer have to endure this suffocating pain and make this choice?

Almost without hesitation, she opened the mission application interface, checked the "Reserve Team Support Guide" option in the list of participants, and clicked submit.

The moment she uploaded the information, she felt as if she had thrown her own heavy self into that unknown and dangerous abyss.

My mind was briefly at ease.

*

The wind howls on the rooftop of the unfinished building.

Yuezhi and the rest of the reserve team members waited there, their eyes fixed on the enormous entrance to the earth below that seemed capable of swallowing up light.

The first batch of combat personnel began their rapid descent. Among those figures in uniform combat gear, Yuezhi spotted Pei Heng at a glance.

He was still wearing his signature black combat uniform, and his silver-white wolf tail hair stood out strikingly in the dim light.

Seemingly sensing her gaze, Pei Heng paused slightly before leaping into the dungeon entrance, but ultimately, he did not look back, his figure resolutely disappearing into the thick darkness.

As his figure disappeared, Yuezhi's heart sank.

The miniature communicator embedded in the ear transmitted intermittent real-time messages from the advance team within the instance.

"Landed safely, environmental scanning in progress..."

"Low-level aberrations detected, quantity...zzzz...quite large, already cleaned up."

"Abnormal energy reaction ahead... Requesting further instructions..."

"Encountering an elite-level enemy... Battle! Maintain formation!"

Reports, gunshots, and strange howls mingled together as time passed in tense anticipation. Two hours later, the sounds of battle seemed to gradually subside.

When the command center attempted to contact the squad to confirm the situation:

A piercingly sharp noise, seemingly capable of shattering eardrums, suddenly exploded from the communication channel! Everyone painfully covered their ears.

Immediately afterwards, the data on the command center's monitoring screen started fluctuating wildly, and a glaring red alert instantly covered the entire interface!

"Oh no! The energy intensity of the instance has surged dramatically! It has broken through from advanced to... critical level! Communication has been completely cut off!" The technician's voice was filled with disbelief and panic.

The commander inside the tower's expression changed drastically, and he immediately issued orders: "Second echelon, enter immediately! Prioritize searching the first squad, attempt to establish contact, and if necessary, execute emergency containment procedures!"

Yuezhi took a deep breath and gripped the cold submachine gun in her hand. This was not her first time participating in a mission. In the past, she had mostly provided remote mental support from the rear or dealt with low-intensity dungeon overflow events.

This is the first time I've directly entered an unknown instance that has just been upgraded to "critically dangerous".

Beside her were several guides and combat personnel with equally grave expressions. One of them murmured, "How could it suddenly be upgraded? We haven't seen this level of intensity in years..."

Another person chimed in, their tone complicated: "Yes, it's all thanks to 001... Ever since he came of age, he's cleared out almost all the high-risk areas around City A in advance, which is why we've been able to live so peacefully."

"001 is trapped in this instance, I don't know if we'll be able to come back alive..."

Yuezhi listened quietly, her heart breaking.

She had always known that Pei Heng was powerful and that he carried out the most dangerous missions, but only now, standing in front of this cave entrance that could devour everything, listening to her teammates talk about his achievements, did she vaguely realize what the "missions" that Pei Heng usually mentioned so casually really meant.

There wasn't much time for her to think; the second group descended rapidly, entering that desolate and unknown place.

When Yuezhi stepped onto the soft, sticky ground inside the dungeon, she was stunned by the sight before her.

It was dark and oppressive, with a heavy stench of blood and a cloyingly sweet smell of rotting organic matter filling the air.

Twisted, bizarre plants emitted a faint phosphorescent glow, and the ground was littered with the remains of unidentified creatures and broken weapons. In the distance, the faint sounds of chewing and hissing could be heard.

Is this the world Pei Heng faces every day? Bloodshed and eeriness fill his eyes, death is a constant shadow, always by his side.

Her entanglements and confusions about family, love, reality, and illusion suddenly became incredibly insignificant and... ridiculous in the face of a stark survival crisis.

"Watch out!" Her teammate shoved her away abruptly!

Yuezhi staggered and turned around to see a monster that looked like a giant mantis grabbing her teammate who had just pushed her away with its scythe-like forelimbs!

She immediately turned and fired, blowing the monster's head off before it could bite her teammate's head. Blood splattered on their faces, warm and sticky.

Her teammate fell to the ground, scrambled to her feet, gave her a reassuring look, and continued forward.

Communication within the instance was disrupted, command was in disarray, and monsters surged in from all directions. Gunshots, explosions, screams of the dying, and the howls of monsters mingled together, creating a hellish scene.

Yuezhi raised her gun and fired, but her mind went blank due to the excessive impact.

In the distance, the already dim space seemed to be stained with an even deeper ink color, and a "tidal wave" burning with silent black flames surged toward their direction with overwhelming force!

Wherever the tide passes, whether it's a menacing monster or a collapsing bizarre building, it's instantly swallowed up.

Yuezhi saw the monster enveloped by the tide emitting a silent wail, its body rapidly dissolving and disappearing as if injected with strong acid. The few human combatants trapped in the slime lost focus upon contact and fell into a deep sleep.

The tide was moving extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye it surged in front of Yuezhi. She subconsciously held her breath, only to see that the "seawater" was actually a translucent black viscous liquid.

It was exactly the same as the viscous fluid she had seen in Pei Heng's wound in her dream, as if it were alive, seeping into her mouth, nose, and ears, carrying a familiar and unsettling scent.

In the last moment before her consciousness was forcibly stripped away, she struggled to open her eyes wide, looking in the direction from which the black tide was surging.

At the end of that burning darkness stood a figure she knew all too well.

His half-naked, muscular upper body was stained with dark marks, and his silver-white, shoulder-length wolf tail hair swayed slightly in the invisible air currents. He stood there quietly, as if he were the source of all darkness and silence.

It's Pei Heng.

This realization flashed through her mind, and then, boundless darkness completely swallowed her consciousness.