Invasion [Sentinel/Guide] — Section 10

The Guide forcefully invaded the criminal’s mental landscape.
He accessed the man’s memories and, using himself as a conduit and under the operation of the Brain Tank system, played them back live for everyone present.

But could a Guide really do something like this?

The audience was uncertain.

Most here were low-ranking sentinels born into commoner families.
Guides, so few in number and kept captive within the White Tower, were to them like creatures that existed only in newspapers and on television.
They had always believed those elegantly dressed Guides were merely flowers adorning the empire’s splendor—delicate, docile ornaments kept in an ivory tower and carefully maintained.

At this moment, the Guide before them left them dumbfounded.
A chill ran across their foreheads.
They looked at the prisoner on the platform, his face pale, his brow pressed down.
They saw that delicate, fair-skinned hand.
Imagining that same hand pressing down on themselves sent shivers through them all.

“Can the Guide really do something like this?” muttered the officer standing by the window in disbelief.

She was beginning to feel quite vexed.
Had she known Lin Yuan was so formidable—capable of directly invading a sentinel’s mental landscape and playing back memories—she would never have let her do this in public.
After all, some things, if broadcast, might not look so good.

But then again, as long as they could find the insect jade and complete the task assigned by the higher-ups, minor imperfections didn’t matter.
That was a whole, living piece of insect jade—not dead, nor just a worthless fragment. Who knew how such a treasure could exist in the contaminated zone?

Thinking of this, the officer brightened up and reached out to nudge Roy sitting beside her.
“You have such powerful Guides in Special Research—why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Roy rolled his signature eyes, as if mocking the military administration for being so naive and easily impressed.

But in his heart, Roy was biting his handkerchief.

The young girl truly concealed her strength; he had completely misjudged her.

---

The burly sentinel shown on the screen approached and sat down next to Ni Ji.
He handed over a steaming cup of drink.

“Captain,” the towering sentinel said with a slightly embarrassed smile, “after this mission, can I take some time off?”

Ni Ji turned to look at him.

“My wife’s due next month,” the big man smiled, rubbing his head. “This is our second child. Leaving her at home alone is really tough.”

He looked rugged, with three scars crossing half his face diagonally, making his smile seem somewhat twisted.
Yet he loved to laugh, baring a mouthful of white teeth.

Ni Ji took a sip of the hot drink, her gaze lingering on his smiling face for a moment.

“Alright, this mission went smoothly. There will be a bonus, just in time to take home,” her voice came from the screen.
Her voice was pleasant, like a slowly flowing mountain spring—calm and steady.
Hearing only this voice, one would never guess she was the ruthless criminal who could blow a man’s head off with a single shot.

Shift change arrived. A female sentinel, camouflaged in the tall trees, slipped down like a shadow.
Her hair tied in a high ponytail, with powerful long legs.
Upon landing, she crushed a human-faced spider the size of a basin that had crawled out from the shadows with a single kick.

Another short-haired female sentinel from the group happily greeted her, handing over a cup of hot food.
The two girls sat down by the campfire, holding hands.

“Sis, the captain said there will be quite a bonus this trip,” the short-haired girl said cheerfully. “I want to buy some candy for the boys and girls at the orphanage.”

“No,” the elder sister said firmly, one hand steadying her gun while sipping soup, not looking up.

“Why not? I really want to see those kids run up cheering,” the short-haired girl snuggled up, rubbing her slightly rough little cheek against her sister’s shoulder, shaking her soup cup until the liquid jingled.

“This winter will be very cold. Ma Mama said the yard is short on coal and food,” the long-haired girl put down her cup, counting on her fingers. “And we need cotton. If there’s money left, I want to buy some medicine for frostbite. Ma Mama’s fingers swell every winter.”

---

The short-haired girl whimpered unhappily, lowering her head in dejection.

The elder sister glanced at her, gently tucked a lock of her short hair behind her ear, then made a gesture, “We can only buy a little.”

The rough-skinned, dirt-covered short-haired girl clapped happily like a true young girl.

Noticing Ni Ji’s gaze, the two girls stuck out their tongues, making an apologetic military hand gesture.
The elder sister shot her sister a reproachful look.

By the campfire, two or three young sentinels stirred up a little commotion.
One of them, flushed red, was choked playfully by a comrade’s arm around his neck.

“That guy says he’s going to propose to a girl when he gets home,” said the brother holding him.

“Really? You’re already settling your personal affairs so early?”
“What kind of girl?”
Laughter broke out, with many voices asking questions.

“That guy can’t know anyone decent. It’s a girl from the flower street, older than him,” someone said.

The young sentinel, red-faced under the grip, mustered courage to explain, “She’s a good girl.”

“A good girl would never look at us. You silly boy—don’t tell me you’ve been tricked?”

The atmosphere grew livelier.

Ni Ji stood up and walked over.

“Captain.”
“Captain Ni.”

As the perspective advanced, the screen showed one lively face after another.
Their gazes were full of either reverence or trust.