Chapter 86 Guide 14

Chu Jianfeng quieted down, and for a moment only his suppressed groans and panting could be heard.

Each spore was precisely dug out, the pain of which was akin to the torture of being slowly sliced ​​to death, yet Chu Jianfeng's expression was not ferocious, but rather one of indifferent calm.

His grey-green eyes darted around before settling on the guide at the head of the table. This guide, who came from the White Tower and was seen by many as a rising star and a savior reborn, had his shoulders tense. He tried to make his profile look like a block of unmelting ice, so as to appear unyielding, but the incongruous softness about him could not be concealed.

The pink light fell precisely on his lowered eyelashes and the tip of his nose, outlining a hazy halo that made him look like an unreal dream, or a legendary angel.

She even has a dimple.

Lu Xuejin's personality, like her appearance, is unbelievably innocent, making her seem out of place in a worldview of survival of the fittest.

When Chu Jianfeng first met him at the outpost, he suggested to the commander-in-chief that they send this invaluable and incredibly gentle guide back.

"With his personality, he'll die here sooner or later. When the White Tower gets angry and holds him accountable, I don't want to be buried with him." The sentry's tone was contemptuous; despite only having a brief encounter with the guide from afar, he inexplicably harbored malice towards him.

The commander ignored him, and the subsequent developments were as Chu Jianfeng had predicted—the guide quickly integrated into the battlefield life, naively treating everyone as partners, naively overdrawing himself to save others, and even when crushing the enemy, there was always an inexplicable pity in his eyes.

Where exactly did the Virgin Mary come from?

Yes, everyone likes him—who doesn't like someone who sacrifices for them? Sentinels, these selfish and despicable creatures, would love to imprison everyone in the world just to produce offspring for themselves. But there are too many of their kind; they can't kill them all, so they're forced into a false alliance. Everyone knows the Federation is just a gimmick, but Lu Xuejin took it seriously.

He had never seen such a fool before, willing to destroy his own spirit for a vague and illusory federation, turning himself into a cold-blooded killing machine.

The smell on their bodies was also cloying.

It wasn't a guide element, but a different trait. Upon seeing Lu Xuejin, Chu Jianfeng felt an inexplicable fondness for the guide, as if his mind had been manipulated; it was sickeningly sweet.

Such a guide was incredibly fragile in body. Many times, when Chu Jianfeng looked at his back, he wondered – how could someone with such a fragile neck, which could be crushed with a single pinch, dare to walk openly in the outside world? In his youth, he had strangled countless creatures with one hand, but none of them were as weak as Lu Xuejin.

Wasting mental energy to save someone who is doomed in the contaminated zone... If he weren't an S-rank, he would probably have been torn to pieces long ago.

...Since I'm going to die sooner or later anyway, I might as well die by his hand. The understanding Commander Lu will surely grant my wish, won't he?

Lu Xuejin had no idea of ​​the Sentinel's frantic thoughts swirling in his mind. Because of the dangerous location, she only took preliminary measures, placing a mental synapse in the Sentinel's mental landscape to prevent the situation from worsening.

The spore rain came and went silently. Lu Xuejin was worried that others might also be attacked, so she quickened her pace.

Fortunately, after they reunited, there were no visible injuries. Although they were a bit mentally exhausted, there were no signs of being invaded by foreign objects.

Seeing Chu Jianfeng covered in blood, his wounds so deep that bone was visible, Wei Jing made no attempt to hide his schadenfreude, grinning broadly.

Lu Xuejin said, "The captain made a record. At approximately 3 hours and 23 minutes after entering, we were attacked by pink spore-like objects, estimated to be 0.7 x 0.3 cm to the naked eye. They penetrated 5-10 cm into the skin, ignoring the protective gear of our combat suits, causing sharp pain, spasms, and symptoms of severe berserk state. There were traces of invading mental images. Initial treatment: wound cleaning and flesh removal, mental cleansing. There are currently no other symptoms, and further observation is needed. The attack behavior was unusual, and it seems that the sentinels were the primary targets."

His gaze then swept over everyone, lingering on Wan Hong for a few seconds: "Have you all experienced anything?"

“There’s nothing there,” Roman said.

After they were separated, everything was calm until Lu Xuejin came looking for them.

Lu Xuejin scanned her surroundings, her gaze finally settling on the twisted, gnarled tree trunk covered in pink crystals: "Spatial ability..."

"Rest here for ten minutes, then we'll make further plans." Although everyone else was unharmed, Chu Jianfeng was already pale from excessive blood loss, and Lu Xuejin was afraid that he would die on the spot if he walked any further.

"No need." Chu Jianfeng suddenly pressed the guide's shoulder, his sinister pupils narrowing slightly. "Let's go first. This thing has confused our sense of direction. Let's just use our mental power to break out. Staying here..."

He paused, a forced, sinister smile playing on his lips.

"Don't worry about me, I'm not that useless."

They are connected by a traction rope. If they are separated again, Lu Xuejin will not need to use her mental power to find them. Everyone can find their teammates through the stimulating markers on the rope.

Lu Xuejin's mental power spread out instantly, occupying most of the boundary zone. He opened the field of vision to his team members, and everyone saw that in the mental world, this psychedelic forest was in a distorted and chaotic state, neither forward nor backward. Lu Xuejin could only determine whether it was the ground by measuring the energy state of each place. In this way, they slowly moved forward, and it took several hours to barely walk out of the range of a giant tree.

No one is in a hurry or getting impatient; at this time, the most important thing is patience.

Chu Jianfeng stood behind Lu Xuejin, his hand firmly encircling the guide's arm. The sentry's palm was covered in undried blood, and even through the combat uniform, one could almost feel the burning heat of that intense life.

Lu Xuejin could feel a sharp gaze constantly scanning the back of his neck. The sentry seemed to be scrutinizing his prey, and he was particularly interested in the guide's slender neck.

Smearing blood on the guide's combat suit, the red and black mingling, Chu Jianfeng narrowed his eyes, enveloped by an indescribable excitement and satisfaction. He wanted to hold the frail guide in his arms, to immerse him completely in his life, but this was a contaminated zone, and there were unknown dangers yet to be solved—what a disappointment.

Following the direction Lu Xuejin pointed, everyone noticed a significant decrease in pollution density. Wei Jing, who had been on edge, finally relaxed, thinking that the first thing he would do after leaving this awful place was to take a shower, wondering what kind of filth was hidden in the sticky, sweet grease.

The accident happened at that moment—

The psychedelic sky burst open with several cracks, like a mirror shattering with a "crack".

A thicker, more intense light enveloped them. Chu Jianfeng clenched his fists, trapping Lu Xuejin in front of him, his eyes slightly red: "Damn it!"

Large amounts of unknown pollutants poured in through the gaps in the sky!

"You—" Chu Jianfeng turned around, wanting those useless people to protect the guide, but there was no one behind him.

boom--

The pollutants, like wild beasts that have caught a whiff of blood, surged toward him relentlessly and with a clear purpose.

Those pink "things"—their shapes were twisted and indescribable: some resembled giant, translucent jellyfish, with tentacles drooping from the edges of their bells, dripping with fluorescent powder, their tips splitting open into tiny mouthparts that made sucking sounds like babies; others were clusters of sharp spines like coral reefs, each spine covered in fine, pink down that moved without wind, scattering shimmering powder; still others were fluffy things like giant dandelion seeds, drifting gently; and then there were spores that had already witnessed their power… swarming toward the fresh flesh and blood.

*Rip!* The remaining combat uniform was easily torn apart, leaving the skin ripped open. Instead of gushing blood, thick tissue fluid seeped from the wound, accompanied by intense nerve burning pain.

"Ugh!" Chu Jianfeng groaned, but showed no fear. He glared fiercely at the pollutants, his mental energy instinctively forming an invisible barrier in front of him. The vulture shrieked and flapped its wings, pulverizing the nearby pollutants. But the next second, more attacks followed. Countless tiny spikes pierced his mental energy barrier with a "plop plop plop" sound, producing a teeth-grinding corrosive noise. The fluffy powder, like living things, tried to burrow into the gaps in his mental energy, bringing waves of dizziness and needle-like stinging pain.

"Lu Xuejin!" Chu Jianfeng's voice was hoarse from the excruciating pain and the rapid depletion of his mental energy. He spun around abruptly, snapping off a sharp spike that was attempting to sneak up on Lu Xuejin from the side and behind with one hand. The spike tore through his palm, leaving a deep wound that exposed bone, and pink fluorescence shimmered in the torn flesh.

Arms, shoulders, back, thighs... the combat uniform had long since become a blood-stained rag, and the exposed skin was covered with shocking scars.

His brain felt like it was being shoved with countless red-hot steel needles, a sharp, agonizing pain accompanied by intense dizziness and tinnitus. His vision began to blur, his images flickered, and the pink monsters in his eyes sometimes swelled into colossal, sky-covering monstrosities, and sometimes twisted into bizarre, colorful blocks.

Perhaps because the blood-soaked sentinels were more attractive, these monsters rarely attacked Lu Xuejin. But Chu Jianfeng knew that if things continued like this, he would eventually be completely devoured. At that time, even though the guide had strong mental power, his fragile body would be vulnerable once invaded by the spores—just thinking about the possible scene made Chu Jianfeng's eyes bloodshot.

"Lu Xuejin!" Veins bulged on Chu Jianfeng's forehead. One of his legs had been pierced; the excruciating pain nearly made him kneel, but he gritted his teeth and stood firm, using his remaining strength to forcefully push away another wave of contaminants heading towards Lu Xuejin. Several tiny, sharp spikes pierced his right shoulder with a few soft popping sounds. "Use your mental power to crush them! Take this opportunity to break through!"

There was no response.

His breathing was steady and long, without the slightest rush. The person in his arms calmly stepped back, and the incoming pollutants did not surge up, but instead gently avoided him like seaweed in the ocean.

Chu Jianfeng blinked hard at his eyes, which were covered in blood and sweat, and his vision cleared slightly for a moment.

Lu Xuejin stood just a step away from him, composed and without any defensive gesture. He was spotless, and the violent, deadly pollutants, as if possessing consciousness, formed a strange vacuum around him.

The guide tilted his head slightly, his face showing no tension or fear, only an almost leisurely calmness, as he casually toyed with something in his hand—

It was a jellyfish-shaped pollutant, about the size of a fist, with a dreamlike, translucent pink color throughout. Inside, it flowed with a fluorescent glow like stardust. Several soft tentacles gently wrapped around and swayed on the guide's fingertips, incredibly docile.

Lu Xuejin held it in her hand, as if it were a novel toy. Her usually gentle and calm eyes were now watching Chu Jianfeng with great interest, observing his blood-soaked, swaying, and pitiful state.

"Are you a pollutant?" Chu Jianfeng chuckled softly.

“Of course not.” Lu Xuejin lowered her eyes and gently touched the jellyfish’s bell with her fingertips. The pollutant that had almost pierced Chu Jianfeng was now incredibly docile. “This child probably just likes my scent.”

Chu Jianfeng had always felt that Lu Xuejin's posture when she lowered her eyes and then raised them again had a fragile quality that tempted him to be destroyed. But at this moment, the guide's cheek still had the warm blood beads that belonged to him. His eyelashes slowly opened, and his eyes were clear and bright, gently enveloping him. An uncontrollable chill climbed up his tailbone, and the few pieces of skin that were not torn were stung by a certain aura.

He opened his mouth, a strong metallic taste rising in his throat, but he couldn't utter a single word.

The vulture was crushed by the guide's psychosynapses amidst its wailing cries, and its chaotic, foul-smelling mental landscape was no longer under its control—

When the guide's spiritual power swept over him, Chu Jianfeng realized for the first time why those enemies would weep and worship Lu Xue after seeing her, regarding her as a demon or a holy spirit.

Unable to resist.

He was stuck in place, unable to move. Jellyfish clung to his bones, sucking away at them. Spores were embedded in every pore, and the deformed two-headed bird kept pecking away at his flesh and blood.

Pain is already the gentlest and mildest sensation.

Why?

Who ordered you to execute me?

Chu Jianfeng stared intently at Lu Xuejin, while the guide seemed to greatly admire his deathly state, a slight smile playing on his lips.

ah--

He couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile that was stiff and awkward, unlike his usual sharp and cold one.

Lu Xuejin's smile turned cold. After looking at her for a while, she felt bored and turned her head to look to her right.

Wipe, wipe.

Running rapidly, panting heavily, mixed with thoughts of fear.

"Commander!" Luo Mang and Wan Hong rushed into the encirclement of pollutants and saw the commander standing there in a disheveled state, his knuckles protruding sharply, his fingertips clamping down on a jellyfish. Wei Jing and He Cang followed closely behind.

"Don't come any closer!" Lu Xuejin shouted sternly, her bloodstained face exuding a cold and eerie beauty.

"Almost there." He gritted his teeth, enduring the immense pain from the exhaustion of his mental energy, and crushed the pollutants inch by inch.

But more and more kept surging out from the gaps. Seeing this, Wan Hong rushed over and grabbed Lu Xuejin's shoulder. Without needing to talk or ask for permission, he and Luo Mang tacitly carried Lu Xuejin and broke out of the circle of pollutants.

"Wait..." the guide's voice was hoarse, "Chu..."

"Too late," Wan Hong said quietly.

His gaze swept casually over the pool of blood and flesh at the guide's feet.

A hand gently rested on the guide's back, as if offering comfort.

The sentries, running at full speed, smashed through all obstacles. This time, they were no longer controlled by space and charged forward out of the contaminated zone.