Chapter 33 Chapter 33 Sentinel’s Glass Heart/Bravery and Recklessness…
"Hello."
Karl sat down again, his fingertips slid, and he watched his hands swaying slightly. The corners of his mouth turned up, but he hesitated for the next sentence.
He had mixed feelings, but was undoubtedly pleasantly surprised.
The woman's voice resonates with the skull through the vibrator in the temporal bone, and the sound waves reach the cochlea directly, a polite and slightly formal greeting.
"I'm Xu Shanshan, the guide for White Tower Group A. My spirit is a fungus from the mushroom family. Not long ago, I accidentally marked you."
“…”
There was only murmur, no response. She couldn't quite grasp the other person's attitude, and felt a little nervous. They'd seen each other often, but weren't familiar with each other. "Can you hear me?"
Nancy tapped the bottom of a bottle on the table, signaling him to keep quiet. He wasn't distracted; he just didn't know how to respond. Too much enthusiasm would seem excessive, while too much restraint might send the wrong signal.
Carl: “I can hear it.”
"Did you link the bank account to my name?"
It turned out that he was asking about this matter. The stone in his heart fell, and he admitted it frankly.
The other party expressed his opinion first, so it was okay for her to speak up first, but she couldn't help feeling ashamed because he could have lived freely.
"That was an accident. I'm sorry for putting you through it. I won't force you again. Actually, you don't have to link my account."
Luck can come unexpectedly, but it can also be taken away when you are caught off guard. She regrets the wrong things she has done and is eager to distance herself from them.
Perhaps she wanted to say: Stop pestering her, his existence is too unnecessary. Her emotions suddenly turned cold, her nose felt sour, her eyes slightly red, and she tried to keep her tone steady.
Karl: "It's okay, I don't mind. You came to me this time to say..."
His vision was blurred, he turned sideways and lowered his head towards the flower bed. A row of ants were carrying food along the edge of his shoes, and some of them climbed onto the uppers.
What she meant was that he didn't have to abide by the White Tower's requirements for Sentinels.
"Uh, if you don't mind—"
She swallowed the rest of the words, and was momentarily unable to speak, and fell silent.
I felt dizzy, my ears swollen, and I was surrounded by heat. My finger bones seemed to be broken, and the most uncomfortable part was my chest, which felt like it was being clenched by a fist. I couldn't breathe, and my face was flushed red.
Seeing him like this, Nancy was also a little shocked. She hadn't expected such an outcome. She booed and waited, taking out a pack of tissues. Poor brother, it seemed the plan had to be canceled.
The man took a deep breath and unilaterally severed ties. Many guides would not even say it in person, but would just ignore it and let people back off.
Carl: "Well, I understand. I won't cause you any trouble."
This sounded strange. What did he know? The other party's tone was tense, but it couldn't hide the trembling voice. Something was wrong.
She instinctively comforted him: "Wait, don't let your imagination run wild."
He didn't expect the other party to refute him, and the expected "goodbye" did not appear. He spoke faster and became a little anxious, which aroused a glimmer of hope as he waited for the other party's verdict.
"What do you mean?"
The words were thrown back. Such words that sounded like a marriage proposal were still embarrassing. She could only be more tactful and said, "You are not tied to anyone else yet, are you?" The words became distorted as they came out of her mouth.
"Um."
Climb from hell to heaven in an instant and respond quickly.
The ants returned to their nest one after another. One ant got lost on the shoe and climbed towards the tongue instead. Leaves grew from its fingertips and stuck to the shoe. After climbing up, it returned to the ground and rejoined the main group.
The traces of tears were still there, but there was a peaceful smile on his face. Nancy thought that her cousin might be a little crazy. There were also sentries who went crazy when the guide dumped them.
Although her expression remained unchanged, she was actually gathering strength and preparing to attack. She had to subdue him immediately.
"...From now on, every month, no, every week, if you need anything, you can come to me. I will give you permission."
"good."
Next, she only heard a series of "OK", as if there was no other word besides this one. The voice became softer and softer, as if mixed with honey, and the body gradually relaxed.
The situation has changed, it’s okay, just think it over and it will be fine.
After the call ended, Nancy handed over the tissue and said, "Just wipe it off. It's no big deal."
"Don't keep anything to yourself."
Carl shook his head and smiled as he recalled the conversation just now, his satisfaction evident in his words. "It was Guide Shanshan. She responded to me."
Nancy: “Yo!”
His right shoulder sank as he was patted hard. He couldn't help but laugh twice, his humour muscles bulging. He stood up and said goodbye: "Captain, I'm going to sort out the warehouse."
Nancy checked her watch. There was still over an hour left. So urgent? She called out, but no one answered. He even turned around. Never mind. Just let him be.
On the other end of the phone, Xu Shanshan also breathed a sigh of relief, patted her chest, turned around and saw her roommate's enlarged face.
"What are you doing? Why don't you respond when I call you?"
"Make a phone call." She took off her laptop and walked to the door to hand it to the instructor.
It was finally done. Because of the relaxed social atmosphere and comprehensive protection policies, she was not worried about the dangers of hastily establishing a relationship. After all, the two worlds were different.
There was some heavy rain tonight. When I was moving indoors, I accidentally stepped into the mud and almost fell. I was helped up by the puppet. When I stood up, the rain had already flowed through the upper of my shoes and into my instep.
After saying thank you, I followed the main group into the venue, sat on the steps, took off my shoes, poured out the water, wrung out the uppers and soles, and the water squeezed out and made a squeaking sound every time I walked.
I returned to the dormitory at night, washed up and went to bed. The temperature dropped suddenly, and I suddenly felt a little cold even though I was covered with a thin blanket.
When she woke up the next day, she felt a knife-like pain when swallowing her saliva, which radiated to the left half of her ear. She then realized that her throat was inflamed, probably due to mouth breathing while running and catching a cold.
I finished the training as usual and came to the White Tower in the afternoon. I went back to the dormitory first and ran into Carl moving goods. Cardboard boxes were lined up against the wall with room numbers painted on the surface. Most of them had been taken away.
This requires her to lead it in person. Seeing her coming out of the elevator, the patrolman walked up and asked for her number, but was interrupted by Karl and the two met.
Thinking of what happened yesterday, she felt a little shy. As she swallowed, she raised her left eyebrow to suppress the discomfort. He didn't seem to dare to look at her either.
Carl: "Your things are here, I'll take them in for you."
She nodded, and the man grabbed hold of both sides of the cardboard box, squeezing his arms tightly, his muscles tense and prominent. The goods were placed on the trailer, two full boxes with small boxes clamped on the sides, and the two of them went in together.
The tall figure blocked the light. She unlocked the door, looked up, and bumped into the man looking over. She looked away, lowered her head, and went into the house first.
There was a utility knife hanging on the wall panel next to the door, which was specially used to open express packages. She took it down, and the man took it, opened it in a few seconds, and picked up the package.
"Put it on the table, I'll clean it up later."
There was an extra-wide and extra-long dining table, which she had never used. She didn't know why such a large table and several chairs were placed in the dormitory.
While the man was moving the things, she was not idle either. She picked up the gray plastic bag, but she didn't expect it to be very heavy. She tried her best to move it one meter, but she could only put it on the ground and drag it to the table with great effort.
I couldn't move it, so I decided not to make any more trouble. I ran to the refrigerator, intending to get a bottle of drink for both of them. But it was empty, so I let my hands drop dejectedly.
Carl: "Now we have switched to drinking water. You can drink it by turning on the tap."
"Okay." She poured a glass of warm water and another glass of cold water and left them for the other person.
The warm water flowed through my tonsils, making me feel much more comfortable. Seeing the man walking back and forth in my own residence, I felt an inexplicable feeling.
The two of them were very close, even if she later joined another team. When they were together, they were just like guests, without the passion of a couple.
After finishing the transportation, Master Karl finally stopped to rest. She handed the cup of water to him. He held it in his hand, but did not drink it. He looked at her with a slight breath.
She was a little shy, but he didn't shy away from her and let her look at him. He seemed to become more straightforward, "Karl."
"Hmm?" The man picked out the syllables from his throat and leaned over without saying a word. She was a little nervous. She saw him take out the box from behind and took it.
Lifting the lid, it was a handicraft sealed inside a pencil case. A ginkgo tree was on the left edge, its branches and leaves stretching out to cover one-third of the upper edge. A mushroom sat on the stone steps, and further ahead was a pond.
Gold flakes fall from the top, a swing hangs from a branch with a figure sitting on it, and a small house is on the lower right. It is very well made and has a lot of details.
"It's beautiful. Is it for me?"
"right."
He saw her collection of models, of other animals, and bat wings that she had made herself and that bore her scent, and he couldn't help but want to have a place in her collection.
"Thank you for doing this for me, but unfortunately I don't have much to give you."
Carl: "A hug, okay?"
She didn't expect the other party to actually make a request and was stunned for a moment.
"I'm sorry, I overstepped my bounds."
Seeing the other person's face full of shame, she scratched her head and said, "It's okay."
After the last counseling session, the two hadn't had much contact. She deliberately kept her distance; a warm embrace could easily lead to falling in love, especially for someone lacking love, who was afraid of puncturing the beautiful surface.
Xu Shanshan opened her hands and said, "Okay, come here."
It was not as tense as imagined. The two of them were close, their movements were very light, their fingers resting on the fabric, like a dragonfly skimming the water, no force could be felt, and apart from the slow and strong heartbeat, there was no real feeling of a hug.
Time slowed down, and she gradually smelled the sweat emanating from her body. She lowered her arms and wanted to step back, but her back was pressed against her palms, and she couldn't move back. She looked up.
Her blonde hair was thick and shiny, her eyebrows were light, her brow bones were high, her eye sockets were deep, her cheekbones formed the widest point on the front, her cheeks were smooth and inward-drawn, her eyes blinked slowly, and the light spots in her emerald eyes were like a pool of lake water.
"Let me kiss you, lower your head."
Almost the next second after she spoke, she was hugged, the two of them pressed tightly together, the man bent his waist and lowered his head, his slightly cool lips suddenly pressed against hers, licking her mouth wet, his passion was so strong that it was hard to resist.
Vaguely sensing that something was wrong, she patted her back with her palm, then retracted her hand and pinched her throat to stop him, "I'm not feeling well. That's enough."
"Where do you feel uncomfortable?" The man opened his mouth slightly, holding her face with one hand, and seemed very nervous.
"I have a cold and my throat hurts." After the man let go, she had some free time and poured herself a cup of hot water, moistening her throat with each sip.
"Go to the infirmary?"
She shook her head and said, "It's not serious, just buy some throat lozenges." Apart from the sore throat, everything was fine.
"I'll buy it later."
"Okay, don't delay your work."
After a short time together, the two separated.
She didn't report to the office. Since the dormitory was vacant, she didn't want to disturb her superiors and couldn't eat, so she just lay back on the bed and took a nap.
She dreamed that she was poor and picking cheap expiring fruits in a fruit store, and ran into her ex-boyfriend with his wife and children who were all dressed in gold and silver.
The horror story woke her up so suddenly that she couldn't fall asleep again even after just ten minutes.
I washed, changed clothes, and went out. The little robot outside the door spit out a few boxes of cold medicine and put them in my bag.
It was still early, so she took the elevator to the silent room, music playing in her headphones, and twisted her waist and waved her arms to the rhythm in the empty elevator.
The song was coming to an end, and she arrived at the floor, but it was very noisy outside, which was a bit strange. She looked at the floor suspiciously. Sure enough, there shouldn't be many people at this time.
The elevator door opened, and the roar rushed straight into my ears, making my head buzz. "Why don't you take him down quickly?!"
What's the matter?
She wanted to watch the fun, so she stepped out of the elevator lobby. The scene in front of her made her heart stop. The bag chain slipped from her arm to her wrist without her noticing. She stopped and stood there, stunned.
"Anaconda".
There were two circles of tall sentries surrounding the room. The guides who arrived early hid at the door of the silent room and stuck their heads out to look. Those who had not yet entered were blocked at the door and were far away.
But she could still catch a glimpse of the giant python through the gap in her clothes. It had diamond-shaped black-brown and light gray markings, white scales on its belly, and as its body twisted, its extremely strong and sturdy muscles were exposed.
It has a thick waist and is several meters long. When curled up and placed in a glass water tank, it is larger than a tricycle.
She licked her lips, thinking she had arrived at the wrong time. She was about to turn around and retreat back to the elevator to avoid the spotlight when the man holding the snake's head tightly in his hand spotted her with his sharp eyes. His pupils shrank into vertical lines. "Guide Shanshan, is that you?"
Everyone looked up, and she paused in her forward steps, unable to believe how this had anything to do with her. But running away was out of the question, so she pretended to be calm and turned around: "What's the matter?"
"Miss Guide, please save him."
"Bang, bang, bang..."
It was still shocking to see more than a dozen people kneeling in front of her at once. Only after the human wall collapsed did she see the giant creature in the water tank clearly. Its head was swollen, its eyes were bronze, and there were fine black lines under its eyes extending to the back. From time to time, it would spit out its snake tongue, which was forked left and right, black on top and white on the bottom.
The man and the snake looked at each other. The snake seemed to be stimulated. It opened its mouth, revealing its fangs, and wrapped its body around the man's arm, tighter and tighter. The person next to him reached out to help hold it.
She stretched out her finger and pointed at herself, in disbelief: "Me?"
Do I rescue a reticulated python?
Seeing her apprehensive expression, the guard understood and felt compelled to fulfill his duty. A hissing sound rang out over the intercom, "He's already been alienated. He shouldn't have been brought here. Take him back immediately."
"If we don't leave now, it will hurt the guide, and no one can afford it."
The man holding the snake's neck tightly looked down at his teammates, trying to make a final effort, "Guide Shanshan, he's the sentry of the snake team. He's scheduled to guide this afternoon. He just came back from the wild and isn't in good shape. He couldn't control himself while waiting."
"He was still able to maintain his human form just a few minutes ago. We heard you were willing to help cleanse the pollution. Please help him. We will contain him and will never harm you. Whether we succeed or fail, the Serpent Team will repay you with all our might."
The argument continued. This reason was not convincing. Ordinary guides would not receive these severely alienated sentinels, let alone those whose whole bodies were alienated.
It was against the rules for them to do this, backup was on the way, the elevator was rising, she still had time to decide, but they would make the judgment once everyone arrived.
It's not that she wasn't afraid. No one could see a giant python that was seven or eight meters long and remain calm. Suppressing her fear, she walked slowly forward, and clearly saw the snake's tail fall into the water from the edge of the tank and slide and coil around its body.
A pair of round eyes, but as big as fingernails, it is hard to imagine that they were transformed from a human.
His condition was serious, and her spirit body was indeed specialized in contamination, and unlike other guides, there was no risk of infection, so logically, she could perform this treatment.
In other words, now in the White Tower, she is the only one who is suitable for this task, no one else can do it. Detoxification and spreading the toxicity are two different things.
With great power comes great responsibility. She finally made up her mind, stepped through the crowd, and was the first to enter. "Okay, you have to control it."
She walked towards the silent room, opened the door, and the lights turned on. She stood by the door and looked at the sentries, "Come in."
The guard tried to stop him, "Guide Xu Shanshan, would you like to wait a little longer? The other guides will be here soon." Some leaders were also on the way.
"Hold him." The captain of the Snake Team looked over apologetically. "We forced our way in. It has nothing to do with you."
"It's okay." She swallowed hard. Her throat was really sore. It would be too late to delay any longer. "Come in."
The rollers turned and the water tank moved slowly, but the water surface still splashed. The sentry in front entered the door first and pushed away the tables and chairs blocking the way, leaving a wide path.
She sat back at the table and adjusted the system parameters, adjusting the silent room to the appropriate scene, humidity, and temperature for the giant python's activities.
She looked up and saw a group of people staring at her while she worked?
The captain signaled everyone to leave, leaving behind six people. The mutated and out-of-control team members transformed into giant pythons, their muscles exerted force horizontally, and their arms bore the heavy pressure, which was not comfortable. There was a "cracking" sound, which made her tremble with fear.
"Miss Guide, let's begin."
"Okay." She took a breath, released the little mushroom, and held it in her palm. She was not as big as the other person, and coaxed him softly: "After you finish this, I will give you whatever reward you want."
All covers of the water tank are opened and placed hanging on the side wall.
The little mushroom was braver than her. She didn't dare to get close to it. It jumped directly from her palm very quickly. She followed it for a few steps worriedly.
The box was very deep and it couldn't jump out, so Xu Shanshan lifted it up and held it to the wall. It tried to crawl all the way to the head, but was almost hit by the snake's twisting body. She wanted to catch it and twisted it into her palm, but it pounced on her instead and fell into the water, emitting bubbles.
The snake's body twisted violently, with its back and abdomen appearing alternately. The water splashed higher and higher, and the box shook. Everyone held on to the glass walls, but it was still shaking on the cart.
At the same time, the pager rang. Because of the soundproof wall, no one outside could hear the sound inside, and the pager was directly connected to the desktop.
Xue Rou: "Shanshan, are you okay?"
Shan Hao: "Xu Shanshan, open the door."
Seeing the hard-working sentinels, she still refused: "Commander, Sister Xue Rou, I'm fine. I'll open the door after I'm done. Hang up."
The mutated Sentinel met a tragic end, and she hung up the phone.
The wheels slipped, and the inertia and force caused the water tank to completely tilt, spilling the full tank of water and soaking her clothes. She couldn't see where it was and wanted to get closer anxiously. If something happened to Little Mushroom, she would be half disabled.
The ground was slippery. She lay on the ground, trying to find the white among the green and black snake bodies. "Where are you?"
A pointed head emerged from the curled snake's belly. It was squeezed under its body, and the mycelium could not be pulled out. She couldn't help but want to go over to help it, but the man beside her stopped her. She extended her index finger and said, "My spirit body."
"Don't come near, I'll help you get it out."
The two sentries stood on either side, squatted down, and held the snake's body. The slime was slippery, the scales were dense, and it kept twisting. They could suppress it but it was difficult to lift it. It took some effort to make room for her spirit body to escape.
"Little Mushroom, are you okay?" The handle of its umbrella had turned dark green, and it was only a moment ago. It was obvious how bad its mental state was.
Just after rescuing this guy, it pounced on him again without hesitation, but this time it learned its lesson and ran directly to the snake tip, where there were people guarding it. She was both angry and amused by the sight.
The entire python gradually calmed down. As time went on, she gradually lowered her guard. She even touched its scales secretly when she got close to it. The joints were a little rough, and it opened and closed under her hand as if it could breathe.
Its eyes are covered with transparent scales, and its tongue is rarely extended, indicating that it is in a relaxed state. Its abdomen is thicker than its head, its body is covered with rainbow patterns, and it has no fishy smell.
Although she didn't do anything, Xu Shanshan was sweating all over and felt that she had sweated more than them.
She walked towards the snake head. Judging from the badge and armband, the man should be the captain of the team. He was squatting on the ground and was still able to smile when she approached, but in fact his bones were broken.
This was still not a serious wound for the sentry.
"team leader."
She wasn't close enough, so another man approached and placed his hand behind the captain's neck, trying to hold his head down so he could rest and prevent the injury from worsening. As the two exchanged blows, something unexpected happened.
She only felt something thrown at her, and then the world was spinning, and then her torso and limbs were squeezed. When she landed, there was a piece of meat to cushion her, but she almost peed her pants out of fright.
Fortunately, she didn't eat lunch and didn't vomit it out. The snake's tongue pounced on her neck, slippery.
"Goodbye, Mom. I'm going to sail away tonight." These words popped into her mind. It seemed that her life was in danger.
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Author's words: "Anaconda" giant python eating man movie
"Goodbye, Mom, I'm sailing away tonight" from the song "Moon Boat"
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