There were a lot of clouds near the exit.

The clouds here are all white, as white as squeezed cream.

Unlike the outside world? In the real world, the clouds in the sky are green and purple, and no one has ever seen white clouds.

The orange sunlight coated the clouds, making them look like snowy peaks drizzled with golden syrup.

The rectangular doorway quietly opened among the clouds covered with syrup.

It was like a world from a fairy tale, if it hadn't been for the long and terrifying attack we had just experienced.

The human-headed monsters were thrown away, with only a few scattered ones falling far behind. The huge bodies of killer whales swam over from time to time, and the sound of whales brought people a sense of security.

"Can you light a cigarette for me, please?"

Nicole heard someone talking to her.

She was the first female sentry with long braids who entered the airship.

The sentry sat with her hands hanging down, her back against a wall. The white bandage wrapped around half of her body was stained red with blood. She took out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from somewhere and put one in her mouth. Her wrist, the only part that could move, was shaking so badly that she didn't even have the strength to light a match.

Shu Jingtong, who had overused his mental power, fell unconscious beside her, and was protected by her between his body and the corner of the wall.

Nicole reluctantly moved over and took the match from the sentry.

The "cigarette" that the sentinels are talking about is different from the tobacco that ordinary people smoke. It is a mental placebo made by soaking dry tobacco with diluted artificial guide hormone.

Using this can soothe the irritability caused by mental overload. Although the effect is relatively weak, it is convenient and not easy to overdose. It is very popular among the bottom-level sentinels.

Nicole drew and pulled several times and lit the match. The sentry came over and lit a cigarette with the fire in her hand.

"Thank you." The female sentry looked up at her, holding a cigarette in her mouth.

"Are there...any more cigarettes?" A weak voice came from the corner.

It was the sentry with broken legs.

He sat in the shadow of a corner, his legs missing below the knees, his body covered in countless wounds, and asked his companion for a cigarette.

The female sentry took out a cigarette, lit it with her own cigarette butt, and Toni brought it to him.

Nicole handed the cigarette to the seriously injured soldier and sat down next to him against the wall.

He was so badly injured that his face turned as pale as a dead person. He couldn't even raise his hands to receive the phone. He just sat there with his head down, holding a cigarette in his mouth.

The entire airship was filled with such critically injured people. Nicole didn't know how many people would be alive when they finally got out.

However, her mental strength was completely exhausted. She could not do anything now. Even lighting a match would cause her hands to shake. She could only sit here helplessly, accompanying her seriously injured comrade and speaking a few words here and there.

"Is this good to smoke?" Nicole asked them.

"You won't like it." The female sentry held a cigarette in her mouth, leaned against the wall, and looked at the sky above her head. "For us, it's a life-saving thing."

"When we get back, you can come to the counseling room in the Empire to find me." Nicole said, "I work there for two and a half days every week. I will provide you with mental counseling then."

These sentinels are relatively young, but most of them have very serious negative mental states.

After a battle, Nicole entered the mental images of several sentinels. Each person's mental world was filled with useless information and negative emotions that had not been thoroughly cleared for who knows how long.

The garbage formed into hard lumps like stones, corroding the spiritual world of the sentinels bit by bit.

"Thank you, my family is very poor and I have never been to a counseling room." The man with a broken leg sitting next to Nicole said softly, "This is the first time I have met a real guide. I never knew that guides are such gentle people."

Nicole sat on the ground with him, looking up at the sky outside the damaged roof, at the beautiful clouds in the sky, and at Lin Yuan who was guarding the stern.

The thin figure stood at the top of the escalator, facing the wind, against the flowing clouds, and looking at the deformed species rushing up in the distance.

She was still fighting, along with the tough sentinel. As if she never got tired.

Guides are not completely useless, Nicole thought.

She still remembers the year she became a guide, and everyone in her family's attitude towards her changed.

Afterwards, no matter how hard she tried, no matter how fiercely she bared her teeth and claws. Even though her spirit body was very beautiful and her body was even bigger than her brothers.

Her father and two brothers still treated her as if she were an insignificant kitten or puppy.

I'm just a guide. Go and learn flower arrangement. What happens at home has nothing to do with you.

Do they often say this?

"Do you have any brothers or sisters in your family?" the sentry beside her asked her.

"I have two older brothers. They are two annoying guys."

"That's good. I have five brothers and sisters, and I'm the oldest." The sentry's voice was light and floating, gradually becoming smaller and smaller. "The youngest sister is only two years old and can't even walk properly. If I'm gone, I don't know if she will starve to death."

"Don't say such sad words. Just hold on a little longer. We'll be out soon." Nicole encouraged him. "The exit is just ahead."

The sentry then said something, but Nicole didn't hear it clearly.

Because? The airship has arrived in front of the huge, rectangular door.

Under everyone's expectant gaze, the metal goddess statue on top of the airship sank into the dark doorway.

The next moment, the sky suddenly brightened.

No longer is it an orange sky or a mysterious canvas.

The world was clear and bright. The fields were green, the sky was blue, and the sun was shining brightly.

Or is it the safe and beautiful green field they left behind?

Back, back to the normal world that belongs to them.

Escape from death. Return from hell. Only then do I know how wonderful it is to be alive.

All those who were still alive on the airship and could still speak cheered loudly and cried for joy.

Everyone hugged each other and those around them who could be hugged.

"We're out, we're out!" Nicole almost jumped up and shouted happily to the sentry beside her.

However, the sentry did not say a word. He just sat there in silence with his head lowered.

Nicole's voice became hoarse.

"Hello." She called again cautiously.

The young sentry's face was shrouded in shadow, and his appearance could not be seen clearly. Only the cigarette in his mouth was still emitting a faint red glow.

He opened his hand hanging by his side, which was full of old silk, and two imperial coins rolled out from it.

There are only two, enough to buy an apple.

Under normal circumstances, a young lady like Nicole would never condescend to pick up the two imperial coins dropped on the ground.

But at this moment, she bit her lip, bent down, carefully picked up the two imperial coins that were still warm from her body temperature, and held them tightly in her palms.

I didn't let my tears fall on it.

At this moment, the sentinel's last words came to her mind. Only one step away from the escape door, the sentinel used his last strength to leave a last word.

"They may not return the remains to my family,"

"Please give this little money to my sister."

The airship lurched to the ground in the green wilderness.

After a long time, the rescue team sent by the White Tower finally arrived.

The wounded were carried away on stretchers, but there were so many dead sentinels that they could only be loaded into trucks in piles.

Several guides wrapped in blankets standing on the roadside couldn't help crying.

Guides are sentimental creatures by nature. Faced with such a tragic event, who can resist feeling sad?

Among all the guides who survived, Lin Yuan was probably the only one who had no expression. She had a calm face as usual, and was even in a mood to take the towel handed to her by the medical staff and wipe her hands carefully.

How cold and indifferent! She is still the same weird person, still indifferent at such a time. Does she have no heart? Some people couldn't help but wonder in their hearts.

Lin Yuan wiped his hands clean, walked silently to the body of a sentry, bent down and took something from him. It was a sentry with both legs broken and no vital response.

"What are you holding?" Nicole walked over and asked her.

Lin Yuan reached out and turned over the back of the identification badge to show her. There was the sentry's name and personal information written on it.

Jiang Xiaohe, blood type B, home address: No. 25, Hei Street, District 19. Emergency contact: mother Jiang Rong.

"Give it to me." Nicole choked and took the small identification stamp from Lin Yuan's hand, stacking it with the two imperial coins she had been holding in her palm, "I can handle it."

When I took it, I touched the skin of Lin Yuan's palm.

Her hands are so hot, Nicole thought.

She heard our conversation and brought it for me. It turns out that this is where the soldier's identity information is kept.

Classmates all said that Lin Yuan was a very cold and difficult person to get along with.

Actually, she is not like that, Nicole thought. She is a very nice person with a warm heart. She just doesn't like to laugh very much.

The chief of the rescue team and the captain of the airship stood talking at a distance.

When they counted the number of people, they found that only a few of the guides were killed, and most of the casualties were sentinels. They were obviously relieved. Han Shu also joined them, and the three of them exchanged cigarettes. Those were not the inferior goods in the hands of low-level sentinels, but high-quality products with expensive spices added.

The tone of several people's conversations began to become relaxed. They praised each other, saying that this was just bad luck and no one was responsible. Some people also said that it was thanks to Han Shu of the Public Security Bureau who discovered everything in time and sent sentries to rescue. At least there was no large-scale death of guides, so it was not a big loss.

All in all, it wasn't a big deal. They even chuckled a few times when the topic was mentioned.

It was as if the bloody bodies of the sentries that were being carried onto the vehicles were nothing more than worthless objects that could be consumed at will.

Ni Ji stood far away, watching everything in front of him coldly.

This scene was too familiar, he had seen it too many times. No one cared about the young lives that had died, the wishes that could not be fulfilled, the concerns that could not be let go, and the families.

He had seen such scenes too many times, over and over again, until they hurt his eyes.

He was filled with rage, and always felt that he should do something, but he could do nothing.

Until he saw her again in the crowd.

The girl who had just come off the battlefield wiped her hands and bent down to peel off the identification badge on a dead sentry.

She and her companions put their heads together to look at the information on the back of the identification tag.

Ni Ji knew the meaning behind this action. He put away the identification stamp and completed the last request of the deceased.

The actions of the two guide girls were almost the only warm spot in this cold post-war aftermath.

Ni Ji really wanted to go over there.

He kind of wanted to meet that girl face to face and have a good talk with her.

Thank her for helping me, ask her if she is injured, or ask her not to let those tentacles... well, let's not talk about this topic.

He now understood why the Sentinels longed for the Guide.

If I miss today, I don’t know when I will have the chance to see you again.

No, in fact, it would be best for the guide not to get involved with someone like himself.

He saw a girl with a big afro wiping her tears next to Lin Yuan. Lin Yuan stood there without moving, but a tentacle swam out from the ground and gently patted the shoulder of her crying companion.

She is so gentle, Ni Ji thought to himself.

He clenched his hands at his sides, turned and walked away.

From somewhere, I could vaguely hear a low sound that belonged to a killer whale.

The voice was very reluctant and complaining, and was quickly covered up by someone.

Ni Ji turned around, without looking back, and walked towards where Tan Shu was.

Walking into that stinking circle?

Tan Shu saw him, smiled, handed him a cigarette, and praised him for doing a good job. He lowered his head and took it, standing there and taking a puff.

The stimulating feeling of artificial guide hormones and the rich aroma of sesame oil mix together and spread in the mouth and rush straight to the mind. This is the taste and feeling that many people are addicted to.

It smells really bad, Ni Ji thought. He didn't want to smoke any more. A real guide is not like this at all.

A true guide.

His long fingers holding the cigarette paused.

The skin on the back of my hand still seemed to retain that strange feeling.

It was like there was something wet stuck there, and she would suddenly hit him hard, leaving half of his body numb.

So vivid and impressive.

I can't see you, but I can't forget you.

Put that feeling into the deepest part of the sea,

From now on, I will stay there forever.