The air in the courtyard is fresh after the rain.

The sky brightened quickly.

The sentry who quietly climbed in through the window stayed only for a short time and left quietly before being discovered by others.

Lin Yuan leaned against the window, watching his back pass by the old man who delivered milk every day.

I watched Xiaosuo rubbing her eyes, walking through the wet courtyard, opening the door, taking the milk and walking back.

Xunhua, wearing a silver mask, sat among the branches. The wind blew through the forest, and the leaves sang a melodious song for him.

The morning light broke through the clouds and shone on the string of glass beads of different sizes in front of the window, reflecting rich and colorful colors.

Lin Yuan reached out and took down the gem with colorful patterns.

Without much hesitation, it was inserted into the groove on the Box of Truth.

The threads are stitched together and the light shines.

The colorful lines seem to have life and begin to move along the texture of the wooden box.

This scene was somewhat similar to the murals that Lin Yuan had seen in the temple.

At that time, walking in the long dark corridor, the murals on the wall light up one by one with the flow of light, depicting the fate of mankind in the long river of history.

At this moment, the groove under the small wooden box in Lin Yuan's hand was filled with flowing light, and it lit up with a bright glow.

In the dim light, a mysterious creature appeared.

It has a thick abdomen and a slender waist. Its filmy wings spread out behind its body. Its forelimbs have a pair of sharp, saw-like teeth that look ferocious, and its thin neck is topped by a pair of huge, bulging eyes.

In the beam of light, his body was light and his movements were powerful, like a terrifying demon king.

Lin Yuan looked at it carefully for a while and found that after removing the lighting effect, it was actually just a very common insect in life - the praying mantis.

Before doing this, Lin Yuan spent some time collecting data on most of the contaminated areas.

At this time, take out the notebook and point at the names on it with your fingers and look at them one by one.

The fingertips moved along the long list and finally stopped at a name.

City of Gorgons

Praying mantis, the ancient name for mantis.

A country named after the ?

…

In the wilderness near Kyoto lies a strange head that is larger than a house.

It was a giant mutant that wandered into this place. It had just been beheaded by a sentinel team sent by the White Tower.

The monster, with only its head left, was not dead yet. Its bulging eyeballs were rolling around and it was speaking in human language, muttering some illogical and fragmentary sentences over and over again.

"This confession must be successful."

"Have you finished writing the love letter? Remember to put it in her schoolbag."

"I want to drink the milk tea from the shop around the corner."

“Never-ending homework.”

"When will the school be destroyed?"

…

Amidst the strange voices, not far from the head, several sentries were repairing their weapons among the broken walls and weeds.

They had just experienced a fierce battle, and were all injured and exhausted. They gathered together to draw guidance elements.

A wounded soldier was lying on the ground, his entire leg was broken, and he had been simply bandaged. He looked pale and raised his head, asking his companion for a guide.

The dark green clouds in the sky covered a hazy moon.

Ni Ji held the gun and sat on a higher broken wall.

There was a bruise at the corner of his mouth, soaked with blood, but he didn't take it to heart. He lowered his head and looked at the screen of the personal terminal on his wrist.

There is a special dialogue box with a pink little octopus head on the screen.

After that rainy night, the dialogue box of this exclusive avatar never lit up again.

But Ni Ji always has the habit of opening it to take a look from time to time.

No? Whether it is on the battlefield after the smoke of gunpowder has subsided, or in Kyoto where undercurrents are surging.

Whenever he had a little free time, staring at the pink dancing heart for a while had almost become a habit for him.

It seemed as if the heart constructed from numbers on the virtual screen could soothe all his fatigue.

The last chat record in the dialog box on the screen was from a long time ago.

Under that flashing pink heart, I only replied with a "hmm".

Thinking about it now, I kind of regret that I was so cold.

We missed the dinner we had agreed to have and haven't had the chance to meet again since.

A sentry came over and handed him a compass. Ni Ji shook his head and declined.

"Such a giant mutant species actually appeared near Kyoto." One of the sentinels frowned and complained.

"This has been a common occurrence lately. There are more mutants wandering the wilderness. Many contaminated areas are also more difficult to deal with. Even keys are not as easy to get as before."

"I don't know what those people in the upper echelons were thinking, sending just a few of us to deal with such a perverted guy."

"Bad luck! Lao Yao's legs are broken."

"Be content. It's good enough that no one died." A female sentry lit the guide element, took a puff, and stuffed it into the mouth of Lao Yao, who had a broken leg beside him.

"We have to thank Captain Ni for saving all of our lives."

In order to kill the giant mutant that appeared in the wilderness near Kyoto, almost everyone of them was injured.

If it wasn't a critical moment, Captain Ni Ji would have tried his best to chop off the monster's head, which would have cost several lives.

Ni Ji has been in the Royal Guard for not very long. He is a taciturn and quiet sentinel.

In the team, apart from being a little close to his adjutant Ji Xuan, he seldom pays attention to other people.

But almost all members of the Special Operations Team now obey him.

As long as Ni Ji leads the team on a mission, the casualty rate is extremely low.

He has extraordinary personal combat ability, is sharp-minded, and has a careful mind. More importantly, he will never give up his companions easily.

In the battle just now, if it wasn’t for Ni Ji who risked his own injury to drag Lao Yao out of the monster’s mouth.

Now lying on the ground is already a bloody corpse.

He just looks cold and hard to get close to, but his heart is warm. Everyone understands.

The sentries who have worked with him on a team all like this cold-blooded captain.

"Captain Ni seems to rarely draw guidance elements?"

"He hardly smoked, didn't use marijuana, was very self-disciplined."

Several sentries gathered together, quietly using sign language and gossiping about their captain.

As long as there are sentries present, no matter how quietly you speak, you will inevitably be heard. Therefore, communicating with sign language on the battlefield has become a habit among soldiers.

"Captain Ni is a good sentinel, but he's a little too cold. Does he have no partner? I don't think I've ever seen him fooling around outside."

"I saw the Earl's daughter offer him a handkerchief, but he refused it coldly."

"Wow. The captain is so handsome, but he doesn't have anyone he likes. Isn't it a pity?"

"He has made so many contributions. If he doesn't have a partner, I wonder if the Empire will match him with a guide in the future."

The female sentry holding the guide substance in her mouth leaned over and said, "You guys are all wrong. Captain Ni must have someone he likes."

"What? How do you know?"

"He looks like he's madly in love. You're all fools for not seeing that."

The sentries were shocked and turned around to look at the captain sitting on the high wall.

Is this true or false?

Their captain is beautiful, dignified, reserved, and cold, a flower in the snowy ridges.

Can you actually be in love?

I really want to know who is so strong that he can defeat the tall and cool male god in their team.

…

In the living room of Lin Yuan's house.

Nicole and Lin Yuan were sitting by the flower window, drinking the fruit tea that Xiao Suo had freshly brewed for them.

"You are now a well-known figure. Many noble families are interested in you."

Nicole, like always, started talking non-stop as soon as she sat down.

"Even my cousin, that arrogant guy, came to my house and asked me if I was interested in testing my compatibility with him."

Nicole doesn't like all her brothers.

Although that cousin has the potential to inherit the title of prince in the future, she feels that the arrogant guy with his high standards is not worthy of her friend.

She had seen Lin Yuan standing alone, facing countless mutants with a fearless look.

So, I don't want to see Lin Yuan just staying in someone's backyard from now on, keeping his head down and doing nothing.

No matter who that person is, what his status and position is, or how beautiful his appearance is, it is impossible for Lin Yuan to give up her original shining appearance for him.

In fact, Nicole herself doesn't want such a life.

Even though everyone around her told her since she was a child that this was the right thing to do and the norm.

"Nicole, do you want to do combat training with me?" At this time, Lin Yuan, holding a teacup, looked up and asked her.

"Fight?" Nicole's eyes suddenly widened. "You mean? The same kind of fight as you do?"

“Well, I’d be happy if you’re willing,” Lin Yuan said. “I think I need more different types of simulation training.”

She was going to a place, the City of Praying Mantises, a country named after praying mantises.

It is a very special contaminated area, and the situation there cannot be described as dangerous.

Lin Yuan wants to resolve the doubts in his heart and get the final answer.

She still wants to live in this world as long as possible.

If possible, I would like to spend more time with my friends and family.

She will make adequate preparations before going to the Ghoul City.

It would be best if we could have more like-minded partners to go together.

"Of course?!" Nicole loved it.

On weekdays, she often heard people talking about Lin Yuan's activities in the polluted area at those boring banquets.

The story of Lin Yuan fighting side by side with the sentinels in the contaminated area once became a hot topic at tea parties.

After all, those people are bored all day long and confined to their small world, so there is nothing really worth discussing.

Nicole heard many of her classmates at the guidance academy give an excited and exaggerated description, then shake their heads and say that they don't like guides like Lin Yuan.

But Nicole knew that every guide thought the same way.

For example, she envied Lin Yuan's freedom from the bottom of her heart.

"Really? Do you think I can? That legendary collaborative operation with the Sentinels?" Nicole's face flushed with excitement.

She had heard that a trained Guide could become very powerful, even as powerful as a Sentinel.

You can join the battle and go wherever you want.

You will no longer be bullied and can control your own destiny. From then on, you will be an independent person and no longer just an appendage of others.

Just thinking about it quietly makes me excited.

"Oh, yes. We also need to invite a few sentinels." Lin Yuan didn't expect Nicole to not only not refuse, but also be so excited. "What type of spirit do you like to cooperate with?"

"The spirit of the Sentinel?"

Lin Yuan stretched out his fingers to count on the number of sentries he was familiar with. If he wanted to practice multi-person coordinated combat, he would have to invite more friends he was familiar with.

"Do you like pandas? Last time, a panda sentry sent me a message saying she was willing to cooperate."

"Miss Panda!" Nicole jumped up and held Lin Yuan's hand tightly. "I want a panda. I want a panda. I know who it is. It's Miss Du Yuanyuan, who is so handsome that it makes people's legs weak!"

"The other one is a unicorn, black. His arms..."

"Yes! Yes! Invite him!" Nicole screamed, "Don't you know Yun Luo? He is the first choice for many girls in the Guidance Academy."

Nicole didn't forget to add: "After he broke his arm, the sense of brokenness was even more fascinating."

"I have another friend who has just been transferred to the imperial capital. He will definitely want to participate. His spirit body is a golden lion."

"Ah, big cat! Big cat is my destiny. Furuikong can't refuse it at all."

"Maybe more girls will join. The place I want to go will be easier with more girls."

"Sure? Ladies? Come on, more of them?!"

"Don't you like the sentinels?" Lin Yuan asked curiously. "When you mention the sentinels, you look as uninterested as a frost-bitten eggplant."

"Who doesn't like the Sentinel?" Nicole bit her lip and glanced at Lin Yuan, "I just don't want to get married. It's not that I don't like those handsome and strong boys and girls."

"Besides, who can resist a chubby panda? And a pure black unicorn? A big cat with hair you can braid into a braid?"

She reached out and pinched Lin Yuan's waist. "Can you refuse? Can you?"

Lin Yuan felt a little itchy and dodged for a moment. Then she was pinched on the waist again and started laughing.

"Ah, Yuanyuan, you smiled." Nicole was stunned at that moment, "This is the first time I see you smile."

She reached out and held Lin Yuan's arm, resting her afro-haired head on Lin Yuan's shoulder.

"Actually, I like your spirit form the most, Yuanyuan. The slippery underwater creature is so cute."

Lin Yuan subconsciously agreed: "Yes, I like underwater creatures too."

A figure always wearing a black uniform flashed through my mind.

The skin on the back of my hand felt strangely itchy, as if a pair of cool fingers were gently rubbing it. It was also like a big black fish was rubbing its head gently there.