Previous Chapter ◊ Table of Content ◊ Next Chapter

Chapter 124: Sentinel & Guide (I)

---

Shang Ke and Tylor stayed together for one hundred and twenty years. They watched as Pupu grew up and married the son of Kaiser and Ticia. Although the two had a ten-year age difference, they were very happy together.

This time, Tylor died first. Shang Ke waited, regretless, for him to close his eyes before returning to the system space, brimming with the love he felt for him.

After spending a happy life in two worlds, Shang Ke felt like his heart would melt in delight.

【Host, please begin learning skills and prepare for new challenges.】 The System was a killjoy, like always.

Shang Ke chose two skills at random and planned to study happily while thinking of his man.

【Host, the next world is difficult. Please don’t take it lightly. 】

“Okay.” Shang Ke waved his hand in dismissal and plunged into the Hundred Training Space.

When he emerged from training, the door to a new world opened before him once more.

Before opening his eyes, a burst of chaotic noise surrounded him, and he appeared to be lying on a cold surface. The air was clear and smooth, but it seemed to be tainted by an unpleasant smell.

When Shang Ke finally opened them, the first thing he saw was a bulging… ass. He quickly shifted his gaze away, and only then did Shang Ke roughly understand the situation. This was a splendid shopping mall full of people. They were lying prone on the ground or squatting, and every one of them wore frightened expressions on their faces. At every passageway, entrance, and first- and second-floor window, a few heavily armed strong men stood guard.

Outside the shopping mall, hundreds of soldiers gathered, and the sound of an aircraft could occasionally be heard.

Even if he hadn’t received the System’s information, Shang Ke could make an intuitive guess. A group of terrorists had hijacked the store, along with its salespeople, shoppers, and so on.

At this moment, the System transmitted the relevant information.

As Shang Ke had predicted, a group of terrorists of unknown origin had seized control of the central mall of the capital of Wayuta, Biyashi three hours ago. They claimed to have loaded fifty high explosive bombs inside and abducted over six thousand civilians, including the staff.

The government sent representatives to negotiate many times, but the terrorists did not respond. The two sides were at a deadlock, and the news media immediately reported that the public mood was out of control and the situation was not optimistic.

The outside world didn’t know that these terrorists were all from underground and were a religious anti-government union. They aimed to create panic and retaliate against the government in various cruel ways.

They would not negotiate at all. They only wanted to stall for time and let more people watch their next magnificent performance.

However, a dozen minutes later, elite sentinels of the country would rush onto the scene to encircle and suppress the terrorists. 

Sentinels and guides were two special entities within the country. Sentinels had heightened senses and awakened abilities, and were thus the most powerful fighting forces of the country. However, because their senses were too sharp and their spirits were often unstable, they needed guides to calm their emotions and protect their senses.

Sentinels and guides bond together through a spiritual or physical union. The higher their compatibility, the greater the strength of the two. Once they bond, they are bound together for life. 

Each sentinel and guide would have their own ‘spirit guide’. Spirit guides were generally animals. Their individual attributes would determine the kind of animal formed. Only sentinels and guides with a 95% compatibility could see each other’s spirit guide before their bonding.

There were few sentinels and guides, and they would typically be responsible for important tasks only. Their statuses were far greater than that of ordinary civilians. After their initial awakening, sentinels had to register and shoulder the important task of protecting the country, even whilst they enjoyed the state’s special treatment. 

As an assistant and companion of the sentinel, a guide had a relatively weaker position in the country. This is because the government would not allow them to get together with ordinary people. When necessary, the guide might even be forced to bond with a sentinel according to the level of compatibility.

In this hijacking incident, the state sent over thirty elite sentinels.

The sentinels lived up to expectations and subdued the terrorists before they detonated the bombs. However, they didn’t know that this was just a prelude to tragedy. Just as they were relaxing and preparing to evacuate the crowd, the mall suddenly exploded.

A mushroom cloud rose high into the sky, and flames interlaced with lightning swept across a range of thousands of meters, causing the largest economic losses and human casualties within the last hundred years of the country. The disaster killed nearly twenty thousand people, including forty-five elite sentinels, seven guides, and several military officers.

After an investigation, people realized they had missed a key figure. It was a mentally ill person with a high IQ and antisocial tendencies, disguised as an ordinary civilian. He was the mastermind of the operation.

There were two sets of detonators. One was in the hand of the terrorists, and the other was with the mastermind. If the sentinels captured all the terrorists, the mastermind would have to carry out the task of detonation.

At that time, everyone thought the crisis was over. The guards, soldiers, and medical personnel disarmed the advanced defense and quickly moved closer to the shopping mall. Who would have known that the real danger would be ruthlessly unleashed the moment they relaxed their vigilance?

【Main Mission: Survive Three Assassination Attempts by the Anti-Government Union.】

【There is high energy ahead. May Host die a pleasant death.】

Fuck you!

Shang Ke gave a middle finger in his mind. He knew why the system released this task. It was because the ‘high IQ, antisocial’ mental retard that would detonate the bomb was the body he was currently occupying.

If he chose not to detonate the bomb, he would betray the anti-government union. If he detonated, he would surely die. Therefore, he could only betray the union in order to save these innocent civilians and himself.

As expected of a difficult world. The setting was so twisted. 

Shang Ke looked at the time and figured that the elite sentinels sent by the state should have arrived by now.

No matter how reluctant he was, he was the mastermind of the incident. Even if he didn’t detonate the bomb, the subsequent investigation might reveal his identity. Therefore, he couldn’t do nothing. Before the sentinels resolved the crisis, he needed to fight for the chance to wash away his criminal record.

Shang Ke tried to mobilize his spirit power, and he unexpectedly discovered that the original owner was a guide. Although he didn’t know why such a weirdo would manifest as a guide, it was undoubtedly a useful thing for him. Shang Ke didn’t realize that the original owner was just an ordinary person, and the spirit guide originated from Shang Ke himself.

Shang Ke looked up at his ‘associates’ who were on guard around the mall, drew a cross silently in his heart, and then quietly condensed his spirit guide.

After the spirit guide condensed and formed, Shang Ke couldn’t believe it. Why was his spirit guide a… dolphin? The translucent body glowed with a pale blue light, and it sported a lovely smile on its face as it swam happily around Shang Ke.

If it’s a dolphin, then so be it. It looked a bit like Waves, so Shang Ke decided to call it ‘Waves’.

The spirit guide, Waves, flipped and jumped in the air, seemingly satisfied with its name.

Shang Ke released his spirit guide and let it fly out of the mall. Only a sentinel who shared a compatibility level greater than 95% with a guide could see the latter’s spirit guide. Sentinels and guides who were already bonded couldn’t see it.

Shang Ke intended to find a sentinel who could see Waves and transmit terrorist information through it, so they could control the situation quickly and efficiently.

It was very difficult to find a sentinel with 95% compatibility. The spirit guides of both sides had to be strong enough, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to exchange information accurately. Shang Ke could only take a chance. This was the only solution he could think of to clear his name.

Five hundred meters away from the mall, a cold-faced man clothed in black sat in a mecha car, looking at a three-dimensional image of the mall. Beside him, a few stern looking sentinels sat quietly.

Suddenly, he raised his head and trained his sharp gaze outside the window, but the sight that greeted him left him momentarily stunned. Outside, a strange spirit guide lay prone. It looked like a fish. (There were no dolphins in this world.)

Yonis had never seen a fish spirit guide before. They knew fish to be a fragile species with a low IQ, which was incompatible with the human spirit. However, before him lay a spirit guide with a vivid expression, a simple, honest and lovely visage, and a remarkably different bearing from other ordinary fish.

More importantly, he could see it.

Yonis subconsciously released his spirit guide, a golden lion.

Waves saw the lion and wasn’t afraid. Instead, he got into the car and swam in front of the lion. He greeted the lion in a friendly manner.

Yonis also felt very comfortable, as if clear spring water was flowing through his heart, instantly soothing all his pent-up irritability.

Yonis stared at the little fish intensely with a gleam in his eyes.

【 Yonis, its owner is in the mall.】 The lion suddenly sent him a message.

【What’s the situation?】 Yonis’ expression grew stern.

【Its owner knows the situation in the mall and wants to inform the rescue team. 】

Yonis quickly ordered a sentinel beside him, “Genna, prepare to take notes.”

“There are twenty-five terrorists. Fifteen on the second floor, and ten on the first floor, each equipped with two guns and several grenades…”

It would be nice to know who had the detonators. As soon as Yonis thought this, the lion sent a message, “The detonating device is in the hands of a terrorist on the southeast side of the first floor. He has a tattoo of a bow and arrow on his arm…”

Yonis’s eyes flashed slightly and relayed the information to the sentinel, but he remained skeptical of its accuracy.

A sentinel asked, “Sir, is this information reliable?”

Yonis looked at Waves, and the dolphin immediately cocked his tail and swung his pelvic fins, indicating absolute reliability!

“We can just check it ourselves to see how reliable it is!” Yonis replied, “Time is short. Prepare for action.”

Sentinels had superhuman senses. They could perceive the environment within a certain range, regardless of any obstacles in their path. According to the information Shang Ke provided, Yonis zoned out to lock onto the terrorist carrying the detonator.^[1]

Moments later, he opened his eyes, “Yes, the detonator is on him.”

At the same time, he was also very puzzled. How did the guide find the detonator through the terrorist’s clothes? Guides didn’t possess superior senses like sentinels.

But it didn’t matter right now. When this crisis was over, he would find this guide who had reached over 95% compatibility with him, possessed a strong spirit, and condensed a strange spirit guide… 

---

Footnotes:

[1]Zone out is a sentinel trope term, meaning they hyperfocus on one sense.

---

Previous Chapter ◊ Table of Content ◊ Next Chapter