Chapter 92 Guide 20
Lu Xuejin stepped back slightly: "No need to shake hands, please sit down."
Jiang Gu didn't insist and sat down as instructed, placing his hands obediently on his knees, his bright smile revealing no trace of gloom. Judging from his current behavior, he didn't seem like someone who should be in the counseling room.
Lu Xuejin, however, saw through the neuroticism in Jiang Gu's smile at a glance. Most of the Sentinels had mental problems, and those without mental illness were the most abnormal. Although Jiang Gu's type was rare, Lu Xuejin had encountered it before.
After all, as the old saying goes, a dog that bites doesn't bark.
As usual, ask some basic questions to put the sentry at ease.
"You served on the northern border before?"
"Yes, Chief."
"How does it feel to be back in Zone 1? Is there anything you're finding difficult to adjust to?"
"I really like it here because I can only meet the Chief when I come back. I don't feel out of place at all. Life in Zone 1 is much better than I imagined."
Have you received any psychological counseling before?
Jiang Gu smiled and stared into Lu Xuejin's eyes, emphasizing each word clearly: "This is my first time."
Lu Xuejin glanced at him, closed the documents, and was preparing to finish quickly when Jiang Gu suddenly looked up and touched his fingers.
"Chief, have you ever played with dolls?" Before Lu Xuejin could answer, Jiang Gu continued, "Or rag dolls? Hehe, they're very cute little toys, but nowadays few people mention them. Sentinels look down on these exquisite little things, and as for ordinary people—they're just happy to be alive, they can't ask for more."
“There are no shops selling them, and books only mention them briefly. The only place you can see them is in a polluted area. But they are really beautiful, and when taken apart and combined with other objects, they are even more beautiful…” Jiang Gu reached out and made various gestures nimbly, her cheeks flushed, already immersed in her own world, talking to herself.
His speech was like sleepwalking.
His mental state is worse than estimated in the file.
This kind of crazy state usually only occurs when a Sentinel is about to go berserk or has already gone berserk, so Lu Xuejin is not surprised.
"Alright, I understand. Let's begin the guidance now." The guide softened his tone, as if it were just a gentle reminder, yet it carried an undeniable authority.
Jiang Gu's eyes flickered, and he hid his hand under the desk. Just as he was about to speak, a powerful mental force invaded him. Without even asking, Lu Xuejin directly knocked on his mental barrier.
"..."
Jiang Gu appeared relaxed, leaning back in the lounge chair. However, a closer look revealed that his shoulders, neck, and even waist remained tense. His right hand, which was being held down, was twitching and spasming. But soon, this unusual movement subsided after the mental clutter was cleared away.
Lu Xuejin's actions were swift and efficient, leaving no room for hesitation. Jiang Gu stared down at his fingers, which had returned to normal, for a while before realizing that the mental counseling had already ended, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.
Lu Xuejin lowered her head to take notes, the pen tip making a rustling sound on the paper.
Jiang Gu's smile vanished, and his manic state seemed to have cleared up a bit. He clenched his fingers lightly, a cold glint in his eyes.
After Lu Xuejin finished writing and signing the record, she showed him the process sheet and said, "All done."
Seeing that the guide didn't intend to keep him any longer, Jiang Gu lowered his eyebrows in a wronged manner and pretended to be pitiful, saying, "Chief, my head still feels a little uncomfortable. Could you take another look at it for me, please?"
"After this, I don't know how long it will be before I can get another turn."
Lu Xuejin raised his eyebrows, his face bearing his usual reassuringly gentle smile, and got up to pour a cup of hot water, pushing it towards Jiang Gu. He sighed, seemingly genuinely worried for Jiang Gu: "This is because you've been enduring pain. It's true that having me, an outsider, enter the scene for the first time can cause some phantom pain-like aftereffects. Don't worry, it's just an illusion, and it will disappear soon."
Seeing the sentry opposite tilt his head back and swallow hot water, oblivious to its scalding heat, Lu Xuejin smiled faintly and said, "Now feel it carefully again, is it gone?"
“...Yes.” Jiang Gu’s tongue was already numb.
"Go back and get some rest. If any problems arise in the future, you can contact me directly."
Jiang Gu slowly got up, and slowly pushed open the door to go out. Under the watchful eyes of others, she lowered her head and brushed past Wan Hong. Only after leaving the towering white tower was a sharp pain brought her back to her senses.
He suddenly squatted down, pressing his right hand firmly against his temple. Some substance quietly passed through his skull, penetrated deep into his brain, and entered an even more void space.
He's so hard-hearted. He gets impatient with dealing with me and controls his five senses, blurring his mind. If it weren't for the contaminants in his hand, he wouldn't have been able to perceive what happened in those few seconds.
There seems to be something in my head...
Jiang kept stirring; the more intense the pain, the bigger the smile.
And what about the subtle, intertwined spiritual connection between him and that sentinel?
He had never heard that the CEO had a boyfriend.
...
After all the crowd control work was completed, Lu Xuejin leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes to rest.
Wan Hong quietly cleaned the office, his mind still replaying the every move of the sentry surnamed Jiang, and the inexplicably repulsive aura emanating from him. His thick eyebrows furrowed tightly.
Lu Xuejin opened her eyes: "Thinking about Jiang Gu?"
Wan Hong paused, nodded, and said honestly, "If that kind of person were still on the border or in District 7, I would kill him."
His expression was calm, but his eyes were filled with a chilling malice, and his tone was as casual as if he were discussing what to eat tonight.
That guy surnamed Jiang actually dared to try to put Sentinel Su on Lu Xuejin; he's asking for death.
But the guide didn't seem to mind. Instead, he gently shook his head, and in the moment his eyelashes drooped, he showed a compassionate expression in the light that flooded the room.
"His image is severely damaged, and many of his actions are not actually his intentions."
"Everyone says these sentinels are crazy and useless waste... I just hope that everything I'm doing now will make them feel a little better."
The guide's blue eyes looked over, shimmering like the surface of a misty lake, sparkling with a light that seemed to shimmer like tears, but for a few moments it was veiled by a faint gray shadow.
Wan Hong couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth into a smile.
[Dedication Points +5]
The result was the following afternoon.
"Chief, we meet again." The Sentinel greeted him with a smile, raising his hand cheerfully. "I didn't expect to be so lucky, I drew it again on the second try."
Like a persistent evil spirit, Jiang Gu reappeared before Lu Xuejin.
Then came the third time, and the fourth time.
This sentry always finds a way to get the right to queue, and every time he appears, there are indeed a lot of problems with his mental landscape, so there's no way to stop him from queuing.
He even severely injured another sentry, and then replaced him in the evacuation room, still smelling of blood as he pushed open the door.
"Good afternoon." Jiang Gu seemed oblivious to the bloodstains on his clothes, calmly sitting down in the lounge chair, his eyes fixed on Lu Xuejin.
Before the sentry could speak, Lu Xuejin released her mental power and roughly pried open the mental barrier. This violent method was nothing short of torture for the sentry. Many sentries could endure the pain of physical disability or serious injury, but they could not withstand even a small mental beating.
However, Jiang Gu was clearly more resilient to pressure. Even under such great pressure, he only had beads of sweat on his forehead and clenched his fists without saying a word.
Afterwards, his tense body suddenly relaxed, he breathed silently, looking disheveled but still trying to tease the guide: "Chief, are you angry?"
She innocently and pitifully complained, "It hurts so much."
Lu Xuejin asked coldly, "You clearly don't have any missions, so how come you always manage to damage the scenery?"
Jiang Gu's smile deepened. He rested his elbows on the table, leaned over, and almost touched Lu Xuejin. He said tenderly, "Because I want to see you."
After Lu Xuejin finished taking notes, she calmly told Jiang Gu to leave: "You can go now."
"What a heartless guide." Jiang Gu left with a smile. As he turned around, he noticed that the sentry behind him had a flushed face. His hair and clothes showed signs of grooming. He was nervously waiting with his lips pursed. When he heard Lu Xuejin call him, his taut lips involuntarily parted, revealing a happy smile, as if just seeing the guide was enough to make him happy.
Jiang Gu knew him; he was the deputy commander of the Sixth Army Corps and one of Lu Xuejin's ardent suitors. Lu Xuejin had accepted a bouquet of flowers from him.
How enviable!
Jiang Gu staggered out of the White Pagoda, rubbing his head and muttering to himself.
He wandered aimlessly around the area until the guide finished his work and watched him get into the car before casually leaving. It was nearly night when he returned to the vicinity of the apartment. This area housed many high-risk sentries, and unlike other areas, it was less bustling at night, with frequent violent incidents.
As Jiang Gu listened to the unhurried footsteps behind him, his smile grew wider, and a strange spark of excitement surged in his heart.
He abruptly stopped, his shadow elongated by the moonlight. Another shadow approached, a pair of eyes calmly scrutinizing him. Upon closer inspection, a fierce, cruel, beast-like light flickered within those eyes.
Jiang Gu twisted his restless right hand, his eyes wide with excitement: "He's finally going to make a move on me."
The deputy commander, whom they had just met in the afternoon, remained expressionless and silent before directly attacking Jiang Gu.
"Haha, are you still conscious? How could he bear to kill me? I'm so heartbroken."
The deputy commander calmly said, "It has nothing to do with him. I just think you don't need to live."
When it comes to things they don't like, the sentinel has only one attitude—annihilation.
Jiang Gu laughed silently, then suddenly stopped, tapping his head meaningfully with a provocative expression. The deputy commander thought he was just having a fit of madness.
A chaotic struggle, heavy breathing, and the dull thud of bones colliding.
Jiang Gu pressed down hard on the deputy commander's elbow, looking somewhat strained, but the next second, he said listlessly, "I don't want to waste time."
laugh--
The deputy commander's pupils suddenly contracted as he looked incredulously at his abdomen, where Jiang Gu's finger—a dark, twisted contaminant—had pierced through.
Thick blood coated my fingers, the abnormal tissue felt slippery to the touch, but even more intense was a strange sensation.
Buzz!
His chaotic mind felt as if it had been struck by an invisible electric current. It wasn't a sense of touch or smell, but a different kind of cold aura. The imprint instantly traveled to the depths of Jiang Gu's spirit. The shadow that had been lurking in the shadows looked at him with a half-smile.
Fingers pierced through the mangled organs, splitting them into several strands, and then wrapped them around the corpse. After a series of chilling chewing sounds, nothing remained of the scene except for some signs of a struggle.
"Hehe..." The fresh blood made Jiang Gu's blood surge, his mind went wild uncontrollably, his fanatical smile grew wider and wider, and his eyes burned with obsession.
The contaminants that had been residing on Jiang Gu's hands instantly engulfed most of his body. The red lights of nearby cameras flickered rapidly a few times, like the gasps of someone on the verge of death. Then, the street scene that should have been clear on the monitor screen was instantly covered by wildly jumping, irregular colored noise.
With all his attention focused on one direction, Jiang Gu quickly moved towards that location, his face a mixture of ecstasy, the afterglow of the killing, and boundless anticipation of seeing Lu Xuejin. Under the not-yet-polluted streetlights, he looked particularly terrifying.
So happy, so excited!
Jiang Gu's face, mostly covered in pollutants, was filled with undisguised excitement and joy. He was in high spirits, his limbs swaying and tumbling as he rolled across the clean street like a pile of out-of-place garbage. The bright white lights couldn't illuminate his shape; he was sliced into pieces by the boiling, invisible substance.
No cameras could capture his figure. Jiang Gu leaped between shadows and arrived silently at the residence that Bai Ta had carefully selected for his chief.
The tight guards and patrols were useless. Jiang Gu suppressed his excitement and slowly and calmly stepped onto the land where Lu Xuejin lived. The tender grass at his feet withered in the blink of an eye. His ferocious eyes moved up, down, left and right, taking in the surrounding scenery.
I can't get enough of it!
I can never get enough of looking at it!
This is the most expensive piece of land besides the tower, and the complex built here is said to be not much different from the old-fashioned residential area. Large areas of vegetation and lawns, a well-placed artificial lake, and cobblestone paths surround one villa after another with milky white exterior walls and crystal-clear glass windows.
Jiang Gu had heard people say that those who had a place here were all those who had carved out a share of power on the Federation, a fruit with a moldy exterior but a plump, lustrous interior, its color almost blood-red. But no one objected to Lu Xuejin's stay; they only felt that the White Tower should treat the guides more carefully, ideally by building a secret chamber at the towering spire to properly protect them.
But the others had a lot of complaints about the young sentry who always followed Lu Xuejin.
The Chief Guide has always been synonymous with dedication and fairness, possessing a passion and loyalty to the Federation that is unimaginable and unparalleled by others. He treats every citizen equally, even the most incurable, mad-dog Sentinel; he will only lower his eyes and conceal the glistening tears after doing his best to treat him.
Lu Xuejin throws himself into his work every day, paying little attention to his personal life. It's common knowledge that his food rations for guides have been piling up and he rarely uses them. He has never used any special privileges, nor has he ever tried to refuse or shirk his duties like other guides. He is just like the Holy Spirit that everyone hopes for—pure and without desire.
Until Wan Hong appeared—Lu Xuejin actually made an exception for this guy!
To many, this is akin to a speck of dust suddenly appearing on an angel statue that they have been peeking at and admiring through a glass window all day.
They didn't view Lu Xuejin with the same scrutiny and fantasies that sentinels have for guides. Instead, they saw her as the sun high above them, guiding them—pure, radiant, and bright. Often, just a glance from afar was enough to feel as if they were bathed in sunlight, and all their dark, powerless, jealous, angry, and cruel thoughts would dissipate. They could then pretend to be normal people and live peacefully.
As the sun, it should shine on the earth equally, so why would it suddenly stop for an ordinary sentry of unknown origin?
Jiang Gu didn't have such complicated feelings; he simply thought Wan Hong was a bit of an eyesore.
He's going to use methods even more cruel than killing the deputy commander to torture that damned trash to death!
"We're almost there..."
The night was deep, and the light streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows was like a beacon, guiding the homeless closer. Jiang Gu could barely suppress a smile as he raved in his shattered mental landscape, talking incoherently to a shadowy figure.
"You wanted me to come, didn't you? I'm so obedient, Chief, I came as soon as you called me."
Jiang Gu slowed his pace and muttered to himself, as if speaking to the pollutants residing in his hands: "Take Lu Xuejin back, dress him in a pretty dress, braid his hair into a pretty ponytail, hold him in my arms, and feed him little by little... I should have brought back the dolls I saw in the contaminated area to keep him company."
He chuckled softly, looking at the shadow in the picture: "You'll like it."
The shadow chuckled softly.
He had silky hair, a smooth forehead, delicate skin, and a pair of sparkling, azure eyes.
...
inside the house.
Lu Xuejin found herself in Wan Hongchen's dark eyes, like a small figure embedded in a black stone.
He smiled at the little man, and the little man smiled back at him.
At an age when a smile at the neighbor could earn him candy, Lu Xuejin understood the power of appearance. No one could dislike golden, sun-like, bright and dazzling blond hair, nor could anyone dislike a pair of captivating blue eyes. Often, he didn't even need to smile; those who arbitrarily added filters to his image would come over to offer help.
For example, there's the grumbling auntie who wipes Lu Xuejin's face, and the strict, serious old man who secretly punishes the bad students who tease Lu Xuejin.
Even when sleeping in a cold and cramped rented room, people would constantly bring him steaming hot food. Lu Xuejin never suffered a day of grievance. Wherever he went, he was the center of attention, and people vied to flatter and fawn over him. This fostered in him an air of confidence and the ability to boss people around.
Finding Wan Hong's body comfortable to hold, he naturally wrapped his arms around him, resting his perfectly curved head on the sentry's shoulder. Feeling the warm skin beneath his hands begin to tighten and harden, he gently patted it, speaking softly yet firmly:
"Relax."
[Dedication Points +5]
Lu Xuejin treated Wan Hong like a giant doll, her fingertips close to his chest, his heart pounding powerfully through the skin. Her fingers slid up his prominent Adam's apple, then she cupped his face, caressing and scrutinizing him with a gesture devoid of any lust or ambiguity.
Any young and strong sentry would be driven to madness by this kind of touching, and would try his best to endure it until it backfired, resulting in an accident that would lead to him being shot dead on the spot by the White Tower. But Wan Hong seemed oblivious, as if he had no worldly desires, and really acted like an obedient child, actively bringing his face close to let Lu Xuejin play with him.
The two exchanged pheromones and their mental synapses intertwined. The living room lights were a perfect warm yellow, making everything feel cozy and comfortable.
This night should have been like any other night before. After the embrace, Lu Xuejin would wash up and go to bed, while Wan Hong would randomly choose a spot on the sofa, in the guest room, or on a chair to spend the night—he hadn't been back to the next room in a long time.
“We have a guest visiting tonight.” Lu Xuejin pulled her fingers away from the sentry’s eyelashes, a faint smile playing on her lips. “He’ll be here soon.”
Wan Hong smelled a foul, fishy odor. His mental synapses, which had been lazily enjoying being close to the guide, instantly sprang to life as he surveyed the territory and detected an unusual substance in the yard.
The Sentinel's mental detection ability is far weaker than the Guide's; often, it's no different from being blind. Since he can see it, Lu Xuejin must have seen it long ago, but the Guide moved away from the lap, simply sitting on the sofa, head down, smiling, as if the polished floor tiles held some mysterious treasure.
Wan Hong understood what he should do.
Wan Hong had been prepared for this even when he was close to Lu Xuejin. He stood up and rolled up his sleeves.
"What are we going to do?" Lu Xuejin looked up in confusion, as if she knew nothing.
Wan Hong grabbed a small blanket and covered Lu Xuejin's legs, smiling lazily: "Your guest doesn't smell very clean. I just mopped the floor this afternoon. I can't let him come in and dirty the house."
Like any husband who hates guests but has to go out and socialize, he pried open the door, then quickly closed it again, keeping his wife safely at home and preventing her from contacting outsiders.
Lu Xuejin's upright posture tilted slightly, his cheek gently resting on the armrest of the sofa. The smile in his eyes was brighter than ever. He seemed to be observing the bouquet of fresh leaves on the low table, his slow gaze seemingly falling on another space.
Sentinels are the most efficient killing machines; they can condense all conflict into a small, silent place, without even a gust of wind.
Lu Xuejin heard almost no sound, but he could already smell the decay of life.
Her beautiful eyebrows lifted up happily.
When the mood struck, she would again toy with the increasingly weak guest in the mental landscape—Jiang Gu's deformed shadow was manipulated like a toy by Lu Xuejin's mental synapses, sometimes shrieking, sometimes emitting maniacal laughter.
It tasted spicy and bitter. Whether it was due to the influence of pollutants or was just his nature, even though his life was in the hands of others and he was being manipulated by Lu Xuejin to die, he just smiled foolishly, his eyes were cloudy and dim, trying to reflect Lu Xuejin in them.
"Come out and see me, your men are going to beat me to death."
"He was like a mad dog, trying to strangle me."
"Lu Xuejin, please have mercy and come out to see me. You've been toying with me, don't you want to see me when I'm dying? Blood, oh, I forgot, I don't have any blood now..." Jiang Gu pursed her lips shyly, then revealed an even more frenzied smile, "I smell like garbage, haha. I feel like my stomach is about to be eaten up, it hurts, it feels so good... Come and see me."
Jiang Gu's projection, due to the rapid loss of life force, became as transparent as a sheet of paper, with only his left face, which still retained human features, contorted in agony. Lu Xuejin scrutinized him, appreciating the sight of a human on the verge of death.
He liked this kind of storyline.
Dinner should be delayed a bit tonight, or Wan Hong should make a few more desserts.
Watching a good show without food makes it feel a bit lacking.
After sitting quietly for a while, until Jiang Gu's voice grew weaker and weaker, Lu Xuejin finally pushed open the door, leaving the peaceful living room behind. Silence rushed in, but the next second, the rustling of branches and leaves created a cacophony, drawing out the restless night, the wind smelling more bloody than any other night.
The meticulously manicured flowerbeds of the White Pagoda were dying after being watered with toxic liquid, and the messy ground contrasted sharply with the bright crescent moon.
Lu Xuejin felt a strong urge to pick up a paintbrush.
"Ha ha……"
At this moment, Jiang Gu's laughter was no longer at a frequency that a human could produce. His neck had become a constantly churning dark object, twisting to the left under Wan Hong's taut, veiny hand, appearing to have detached from his torso and become a hanging sphere.
The eyes on the sphere rolled around, looking at Lu Xuejin while enveloped in boiling venom.
The chief was more gentle and beautiful than ever before, standing there gracefully, even the moon seemed to hide behind him. Hanging in the sky, he was something every sentinel who saw him would yearn for, be fascinated by, feel guilty and sinful about, yet excitedly profane.
Even the gleaming blade in his hand was dazzlingly beautiful.
Jiang Gu began to feel that he was born for this moment. On this dry and withered night in late autumn, all memories were useless, boring and pale. The pleasure of crushing or destroying things was so dull in comparison, not even as good as a casual glance from Lu Xuejin.
“It will get you dirty.” Wan Hong squatted down, tightening his grip on Jiang Gu’s neck with one hand, while the other hand was digging into the heart of his former kin, which was now completely inhuman, making a sickening “gurgling” sound.
Pollutants are difficult to eliminate, especially those transformed from powerful humans. Over the years, the Federation has been developing munitions and weapons specifically designed to combat pollution, but Wan Hong has none, yet he calmly and methodically eradicates them, completely unafraid of the pollutants causing trouble.
Judging by this, you're very experienced.
He finds cooking ginger no more difficult than cooking a fresh fish.
"Hey, don't bother us." The black, foul-smelling liquid on the ground began to coalesce, forming strong yet bizarre limbs. Jiang Gu tried to stand, but the Sentinel's strength was too much to bear, leaving him only in a disheveled state. He defiantly and smugly said, "This is my date with the Chief. A date—even an illiterate person understands that, right? He wanted to see me, kept calling for me in the image, so noisy and cute, so I had to travel all night. And then I found out—"
"Commander, why is there someone else in your house?"
Jiang sobbed pitifully.
Wan Hong: "..."
The hand that was stabbing into his heart squeezed even harder.
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