Chapter 74 Guide 2
"Relax."
Maintaining the posture of palms intertwined, Lu Xuejin invaded Liang Mi's mental landscape.
It is said that the mental landscape is the realm through which powerful humans connect with higher dimensions, representing their most private personalities and thoughts. In the presence of a Guide, a Sentinel's mental landscape is weak. A D-rank Sentinel cannot activate their mental landscape, summon a spiritual entity, and therefore cannot receive mental guidance; they can only wait to die, often perishing in their prime due to berserk rage. At higher ranks, Sentinels begin to manipulate their mental power, conceal their landscapes, and even transform their landscapes into deadly weapons—severely injuring opponents by suppressing their spiritual entities is a common tactic. However, most Sentinels still struggle to cope with the immense and powerful mental power of a Guide.
The sentinel who had purchased the channel was fascinated by Lu Xuejin's incredibly gentle invasion, but this time his actions were brutal, almost tearing open Liang Mi's mental barrier and invading his desolate and dark world.
Sentinels are physically strong, but mentally extremely fragile; any fluctuation in their surroundings can cause them unimaginable pain. Liang Mi, however, didn't even flinch, as if she felt no pain.
The darkness was swallowed by the light.
The walls were all gray and white, gleaming with a cold, inorganic light. The air was thick with the pungent smell of disinfectant, and the ventilation system emitted a low, monotonous hum, like the incessant beating of a huge, weary lung.
It's excessively quiet here.
Under the harsh white light, several dirty streaks, unlike blood, snaked across the smooth operating table. A pitch-black, alien creature with six legs and three eyes floated by.
Lu Xuejin pushed open the door and stepped into the corridor, where cold, hard doors were half-closed on both sides. He had pushed open each door before and found that the scene behind each door was almost the same. This place seemed to have been an experimental site, but what kind of experiments were conducted was unknown.
The amount of pollutants in the corridor was visibly increasing, and they all had strange shapes and peculiar smells that were hard for ordinary people to imagine. As Lu Xuejin walked through it, the sound of his footsteps echoed in the silent space. Some pollutants were attracted and foolishly rushed towards him, approached him, and then vanished into thin air.
Other pollutants, perhaps having developed intelligence, hid far away in the corners and crevices of the room, only to be found and crushed by mental synapses.
Since she began directing the sentries, Lu Xuejin has never felt strained; each directing session is swift and effortless. Even the thickest, most impenetrable mental barrier is merely a door that hasn't been pushed open to him.
It can be said that Lu Xuejin is a natural-born guide.
Dong Yao watched coldly from the sidelines.
Lu Xuejin had heard about Liang Mi's background—after Liang Mi expressed his intention to buy out his contract, the company had sent his information to him for the guides to choose from. He was an orphan born in Asia Bridge, his parents were unknown, and he had been killing people with a mercenary group since he was a child, and then naturally became a sentinel who killed people.
Lu Xuejin thought the laboratory was where Liang Mi had lived.
But Liang Mi said, "I've never seen this thing before."
"...It's very unfamiliar."
That shouldn't be the case. A mental landscape is often the most hidden mental space of a sentinel or guide, harboring their aspirations, preferences, past, and hatreds. I've never heard of a mental landscape being completely unrelated to the sentinel himself.
But Liang Mi's blank expression didn't seem like he was lying, so Lu Xuejin could only conclude that this was a subconscious that wasn't acknowledged by the main body.
After the counseling session, Liang Mi seemed to be in better condition, with her brows relaxed.
"There are some unclean things around Yaqiao lately, don't go out." After saying that, Liang Mi stood up and grabbed the spirit body like an earthworm, sending it back to the picture.
But someone hooked her finger.
Liang Mi stopped in her tracks.
“…There’s something I’d like to ask you for a favor.” Lu Xuejin looked up, her expression pleading. “Could you tell the company not to ask me for counseling during this time? I’m a bit tired.”
Liang Mi enjoys exclusive guidance services from Lu Xuejin for a period of time, and the period can be extended indefinitely as he invests resources. However, the exclusion does not include the company. Everyone in the company is a sentinel. The lower-level sentinels are expendable resources, but the upper-ups will not compromise themselves. They occasionally ask the guides to serve them, and Lu Xuejin is the most favored.
Guides have limited energy; frequently providing guidance to others in a short period of time will deplete their mental strength, and in severe cases, it can develop into delusional disorder.
However, the company took great care of Lu Xuejin. The so-called "guidance" was just chatting with Lu Xuejin and holding her hand to comfort her with the natural guide essence. How could they dare to let this priceless treasure be shrouded in shadow?
Liang Mi narrowed her eyes: "I understand."
The sentry's tall figure disappeared into the sunlight. Sally turned back, and the red-haired nun, no longer flippant, solemnly warned, "He's gone mad."
"I know."
“He had no father or mother, no friends or family, and killed indiscriminately, living like a walking corpse. The accumulated pollution destroyed his spirit, and he had long since gone mad in his calm state.” Sally described the Sentinel’s current situation. “He has killed more people than ten Dark Zones combined. Liang Mi’s name is still on the Federation’s most wanted list.”
"This kid has never hired a guide, nor has he ever used any guide essence. He tortures himself like an ascetic, yet he's willing to throw away most of his wealth to buy you. The company's appetite is growing bigger and bigger. When resources are insufficient, will he hand you over to someone else?" Sally sneered. "Sentinels are harmful to both themselves and others. Sooner or later, they will lead you to destruction."
Lu Xuejin glanced at her: "Madam, you are a sentry too."
Sally shrugged: "Go outside and ask any Sentinel, and they'll all say that none of their kind are good, and they wish all the Sentinels in the world were dead so that they could be the only ones with the Guides and resources. Besides, I'm crippled, I've castrated myself, I'm not a 'Sentinel'."
Lu Xuejin waved her hand and ignored her.
Stepping out of the church, the temperature rose rapidly, and the sunlight stung Lu Xuejin's snow-white skin, making him close his eyes. When he opened them again, he heard a distant, intermittent voice, laced with disdain: "Your Highness..."
The mercenaries guarding the area moved closer, their leader holding an umbrella for Lu Xuejin, while the others maintained a safe distance. Over the past few months, they had developed a tacit understanding with Lu Xuejin: you don't interfere with me, I don't interfere with you.
A brand new face followed at the back, with hair more vibrant than the nun's, a lip piercing that glittered, and a rebellious sentinel whose spirit form was a muscular leopard.
The leader explained, "One of them went berserk and was killed, so we replaced him with a new one. His name is Senno."
Lu Xuejin's gaze slowly fell on the sentry, and she smiled gently, saying, "Hello."
The guide's eyes were truly beautiful, brighter than any pool of water in the barren hills. When Senno met his gaze, he instinctively looked away, keeping his mouth tightly shut and remaining silent.
The leopard, however, honestly approached the guide's legs, nuzzling its massive head against him, begging for affection.
“Senno.” The chief gave him a stern look.
In the early days of the company, there were some serious incidents where mercenary teams attempted to take the guides for themselves and were misled by the guides to escape. Therefore, the company is extremely wary of intimacy between mercenaries and guides. Every mercenary selected is the one with the highest tolerance and self-control among their peers. Despite this, it is still common for mercenaries to form alliances with guides or even kill off entire teams for the sake of their guides.
With Senno's data, he wouldn't normally be able to get to Lu Xuejin, but as the son of a high-ranking official, he now has the confidence to ignore people's expressions and has not withdrawn his spiritual body.
The leopard was no longer content to linger between its legs; it stared intently at Lu Xuejin's neck—where most of the glands were located, the source of the rich fragrance.
Lu Xuejin took a few steps and stopped, looking at the sentry with a puzzled expression.
Senno's face flushed red instantly. He awkwardly withdrew his spiritual form and stubbornly said, "Keep your guide essence safe. If someone targets you in a place like this, even if we all die, we can't save you."
The leader couldn't stand it any longer, so he grabbed Senno by the back of his collar and pulled him behind his back. Several mercenaries stepped forward and surrounded Lu Xuejin to protect him.
Yaqiao, though called the Dark Zone, looks like an ordinary town, except the bricks and tiles are a bit dilapidated, there's a lot of blood on the ground, and the people passing by have a bit more fierce and cold eyes. The shop assistants in the shops have kind faces, but Lu Xuejin has heard that one of them was once the commander of an armed conflict who was responsible for several massacres.
This place is teeming with villains; even the wildflowers that sprout from cracked bricks are flowers of sin, saturated with blood.
A short shadow brushed past her; it was a sentry. As they passed, Lu Xuejin caught a glimpse of his red eyes, as if he were about to reach the end of his berserk state.
Lu Xuejin is a celebrity in Yaqiao. Here, sentries are like weeds, cutting one crop and another quickly sprouts up. Their lives are so cheap that they are not even worth as much as paper money. Every time a guide emerges, it becomes a topic of conversation for many people on their deathbed, even if they have never had one or received guidance. But it is as if by talking about it or reciting it, they have touched the body of a guide and smelled the real, fresh scent of guide essence.
Every time Lu Xuejin went out, she was surrounded by these people's longing and pleading eyes.
Others dressed as monks, their eyes fixed on Lu Xuejin with no lust, but fervent faith, silently chanting prayers.
"Lu Xuejin." Suddenly someone called out to him.
The tall sentry had a thin face and looked disheveled; he was a former guest. Lu Xuejin remembered that he had once brought a bouquet of flowers to see him, and the face behind the bouquet was handsome and dazzling.
The mercenary squad cautiously reached for their weapons, and the sentry glared at them fiercely, his lips trembling nervously.
He was silently waiting to die, which was the norm for a Sentinel. Since his berserk state worsened, he no longer dared to appear before Lu Xuejin, only wanting that gentle and beautiful guide to remember him at his most handsome and powerful moment.
But this time, for some reason, the moment he saw the guide's back, he couldn't help but move closer. It was probably a despicable survival instinct. "This life isn't worth begging for," the sentry mocked himself, but he couldn't suppress his instinct to ask the guide for help: "Can you give me one more time, just one more time? Money, food, resources... I'll get them right away. I'm the best at killing and robbing, you can trust me."
Lu Xuejin was about to speak when she suddenly stopped and looked at the leader with some hesitation.
The sentry stepped forward to grab his hand, but Senno immediately blocked him, warning him sharply, "Get out of here."
The subtle, hook-like guide molecules lingered, almost imperceptible, too far away, closer, just a little closer...
The sentry was extremely agitated, his eyes darting around. He knew that calming him down was impossible, but talking to the guide and hearing his voice would make him feel a little better. And if Lu Xuejin were willing to give him some guide essence, it would be an unexpected and delightful surprise.
Even this is unacceptable, you company bastard!
Although he hadn't spent much time with Lu Xuejin, the sentry knew his gentle and mild nature. Lu Xuejin would never refuse him; it was these despicable fellow humans who were stopping him—they wished they were dead on the spot so no one would compete with them for the guide's attention.
What right do these self-castrated, inferior sentries have to discipline their guide?
It would be best if they all died!
The red-haired sentry at the front was saying something, his fiery red color was dazzling, and his presence was too strong. His aura made the sentry feel nauseous. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his temple, as if his mental barrier had been whipped and cracked. The nerve pain quickly manifested in his body, causing him to let out a sharp scream.
"Ughhhhh!"
"Wait, you—"
Kill them all!
It's the guide's voice! Guide, guide, Lu Xuejin!
His muscles bulged menacingly, veins throbbing like venomous snakes, and the sentry's eyes were clouded with rage, his spirit body going berserk in response. The mercenary squad immediately raised their guns, only to have them ripped away by the spirit body's thick tail.
The Sentinel attacked Senno relentlessly. The two were of similar level, but Senno was wary of the Guide behind him, a soft, weak creature that could be killed with a pinch. Senno clicked his tongue in annoyance, and was quickly injured due to his restrained state.
The others seized the opportunity to kill the spirit entity. The sentry collapsed to the ground, near death, but his limbs twitched unwillingly, his pupils dilated and contracted, and his fingers dug into the ground as he struggled to grab the guide's ankle.
“Lu Xuejin…”
The sentry read out the guide's name.
He must have been terrified, for he had actually gone mad in front of him. In truth, he only wanted to see him one last time before he died; the second bouquet of flowers wasn't even ready, and the poems they had discussed before remained unfinished…
Lu Xuejin, Lu Xuejin...
Just before he breathed his last, he finally found Lu Xuejin's eyes.
There was neither fear nor pity.
Those eyes that he had thought of countless times in the dead of night, eyes clearer than a pool of water and more delicate than flower petals, were now filled with indifference and coldness, tinged with a hint of annoyance.
He paid no attention to the battle unfolding before him, only glancing at the heavily injured Senno in pain before looking away.
Lu Xuejin asked listlessly, "Where is the male lead now?"
Dong Yaodao: [We're still in the contaminated zone. Baby, you should leave Yaqiao and go to the Federation first. The main storyline takes place there.]
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