Chapter 6: Compatibility; Possession Under the Influence of Hormones
“Rest for today. Your state isn’t very good.”
Zhuang He tapped the screen a few times to reset the data and walked to Lu Yin’s side.
Lu Yin, however, was somewhat unwilling. He clenched his fists, his voice restless. “Can’t I try one more time?”
“You…”
Zhuang He’s brow furrowed. It was good for a student to be eager to learn, but Lu Yin’s current state…
“Wait for me a moment.”
Zhuang He pondered for a while, left a word, and walked out of the training room. He returned after a good while. By this time, Lu Yin only felt a headache and a tightness in his chest, feeling extremely restless.
“Wear this.”
Zhuang He walked up to him and opened his palm to reveal a silver necklace. The necklace was of a very simple design—no pendant, just an ordinary silver chain.
“What is this?”
Lu Yin took the necklace from his hand and asked curiously.
“I’ve infused it with my spiritual power. It might be better if you wear it while lying in the training pod.”
Zhuang He was uncharacteristically patient in explaining and helping him find a solution. Although he felt Lu Yin’s current state wasn’t suitable for continued training, Lu Yin’s own will was so strong that he might actually achieve a breakthrough.
Hearing that the necklace was infused with Zhuang He’s spiritual power, Lu Yin immediately gripped it tight. He stared down at the necklace for a long time before slowly putting it on.
“Is this useful?”
“Mhm. I’ve let other Sentinels try it before.”
Zhuang He stood back by the electronic screen, tapped it a few times, and the training pod opened again.
Other Sentinels… A secret anger rose in Lu Yin’s heart. Zhuang He had used his spiritual power for other Sentinels. Zhuang He had soothed other Sentinels. Other Sentinels had experienced Zhuang He earlier than he had…
The things he had deliberately forgotten surfaced again. He knew clearly that Zhuang He was not his exclusive Guide; he belonged to the Empire, and definitely not to him. He didn’t even have the qualification to be soothed…
These dark, secret resentments almost tore Lu Yin’s chest apart. He didn’t know why he felt this way; he only felt miserable.
Lu Yin lay in the training pod with a calm face. After he closed his eyes, the door slowly shut.
Zhuang He observed for a long time. Lu Yin’s values started to become slightly abnormal, but since they were within the controllable range, he didn’t cut the connection again. After a while, all values stabilized until the electronic screen displayed the two red words: PASS. Only then did he let out a soft sigh of relief.
The pod door slowly opened. Lu Yin opened his eyes and looked at Zhuang He. For some reason, Zhuang He felt the boy’s gaze had changed.
“You passed. Not bad.”
Zhuang He had a rare smile. As expected of an SSS-grade; there was still a huge gap between him and other Sentinels.
“I have to thank Teacher’s necklace.”
Lu Yin held up the necklace and glanced at it with his head down. His lips touched the necklace, whether intentionally or unintentionally.
“Mhm. Go back and rest. We’re done for today.”
Zhuang He turned off the electronic screen and looked at Lu Yin with a slight smile in his eyes.
“Teacher, this necklace…”
“You keep it. Cutting the connection might have caused some damage to your spiritual power; wearing it can help you recover.”
Zhuang He looked at him, with no intention of taking the necklace back. Lu Yin’s face was as calm as a gentle breeze, but his heart was suffering in ways no one could imagine.
He wanted to take the necklace, yet he kept thinking about how other Sentinels had worn it…
A flash of displeasure crossed Lu Yin’s eyes, but he carefully hid it when he looked at Zhuang He.
“Okay. Thank you, Teacher.”
Hearing this thanks, Zhuang He felt a bit of emotion. Was this what it felt like to lead a student? His heart seemed to ripple slightly with a feeling he couldn’t quite grasp.
“Mhm. Go back and rest.”
Lu Yin looked back at every other step at Zhuang He, who was organizing data. He gripped the necklace, his eyes dark.
Even if other Sentinels had used this necklace, so what? Only he was the most qualified to stand by Zhuang He’s side. Only he could take the necklace away.
Lu Yin held the thin necklace as if he were holding Zhuang He’s slender waist. His nose seemed to catch that faint, seductive fragrance again.
The necklace felt a bit prickly in his palm. Lu Yin suddenly laughed. A hint of blood-red flashed in his eyes as he carefully tucked the necklace into his chest.
Lu Yin returned to the dorm, but his face wasn’t very good. Qi He wasn’t in the dorm; only Liang Tong and Hua Huijiang were there.
Because of the special nature of Sentinels and Guides, the academy dorms weren’t traditional; they were more like a suite. Each student had an individual room, sharing only the bathroom and living room.
Actually, the academy had approached Lu Yin privately. Because his spiritual power level was very high, they could have provided him with an individual house, but Lu Yin had refused.
At this moment, Liang Tong was sitting on the floor playing games, while Hua Huijiang was slumped on the sofa watching TV. Their mental bodies were playing by themselves on the balcony.
Liang Tong’s mental body was a calico eagle, currently perched in mid-air pecking at its feathers. Hanging and swaying from its talons was a thick “rope.”
That was Hua Huijiang’s mental body: a thick, multicolored python.
“Back? How was the Chief’s training?”
Liang Tong struggled to pull his head away from his light-brain. Lu Yin walked over and slumped onto the sofa, his voice muffled: “Get me a coke.”
“Call me ‘Daddy’ and I’ll give it to you.” Hua Huijiang tossed him a can, also noticing Lu Yin seemed to be in a bad mood. “Why the long face? Did the Chief scold you?”
“No.”
Lu Yin denied it in a muffled voice, pulled the tab, and downed several gulps of soda.
He was very casual when drinking. He pulled open his collar with one hand, a few veins bulging on his neck as his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down.
Liang Tong was almost overwhelmed by the wave of masculine pheromones. He couldn’t help but think that with his roommate’s face, waist, and physique, the academy forum must be buzzing. He’d have to go up later to see the fun.
Fortunately, he didn’t have a taste for Sentinel-on-Sentinel romance.
But teasing aside, as a good brother, he still had to comfort Lu Yin. “Really okay? I feel like you’re acting weird.”
Hua Huijiang let out a yawn, and his mental body, the large python, also slithered over, trying to climb up Lu Yin’s ankle.
“Get your snake off me.” Lu Yin rolled his eyes at him.
“Alright, alright.” Hua Huijiang hooked his finger, and the python was heartlessly tossed back onto the sofa by its master. It hissed twice in grievance, coiling itself into a circle to protest.
Seeing this opportunity, the eagle that had been hanging on the balcony immediately flew over and stomped on the python several times, infuriating the snake.
Seeing that the eagle and snake were about to fight again, Hua Huijiang and Liang Tong quickly retracted their mental bodies to avoid a tragedy.
The frustration in Lu Yin’s heart dissipated quite a bit thanks to the eagle and snake. He couldn’t help but tease, “You two are certainly lively every day.”
He took a deep breath, shook his head, then lowered his head and fell silent again.
The living room suddenly fell silent, save for the sizzling sound of bubbles from the soda can in Lu Yin’s hand.
Liang Tong and Hua Huijiang looked at each other. “No, seriously, what’s wrong with you?”
Hua Huijiang stepped forward and put his arm around Lu Yin’s shoulder, nudging his chest with an elbow. “If you’re in trouble, tell your brothers. We’ll help you.”
Lu Yin looked a bit dazed. He sat for a while, put the soda can on the table, leaned back against the sofa, and looked off into space. “I’ve been feeling weird whenever I look at Teacher lately.”
“Hmm?” Hua Huijiang didn’t understand. “Weird how?”
Lu Yin was silent for a good while.
Perhaps because he was embarrassed to speak, his thumb rubbed the cold metal shell of the coke can until the condensation was almost dry. Only then did he speak hesitantly: “I… whenever I see him with other Sentinels, I feel uncomfortable.”
Hua Huijiang was greatly shocked. “Do you like the Chief?”
“…Like?” Lu Yin murmured the word. “Do I like him?”
Like. This word was somewhat foreign to Lu Yin.
When his parents were still around, they always told him they liked him very much.
The worn but warm dining table, the cold winter mornings, his father’s laughing large hands lifting him up, and his mother’s gentle voice—those scenes were so happy it made one sigh, even if they had faded a bit in memory.
Lu Yin liked them too.
But like… Do I like Zhuang He? Lu Yin frowned.
His romantic history was a blank slate. Since his parents disappeared, his fury toward the Empire had consumed him. Lu Yin’s mind was filled with thoughts of revenge. His definition of “like” was only the fleeting warmth of family he once possessed.
True liking… what did that really feel like?
He didn’t know.
“Hey, don’t overthink it.” Liang Tong waved his hand and gave a casual smile. “I thought it was something major. You’re both SSS-grade; your matching rate must be high. This isn’t called ‘liking’; it’s called ‘possession under the influence of hormones.'”
“Look at you, acting like an expert.” Hua Huijiang rolled his eyes. “Can’t it be that our Lu Yin’s ‘old tree’ is blooming—wait, no, ‘young tree’ blooming? Don’t throw that coke can at me! Lu Yin! It’s fucking open!”
“I’m throwing it precisely because it’s open.” Lu Yin laughed.
Perhaps Liang Tong’s words gave him some kind of excuse. The gloom Lu Yin felt just now was swept away. He stood up and patted Hua Huijiang, who was hopping mad. “It’s all gone; it won’t splash on your clothes. Fine, stop staring at me. You two carry on.”
“Ungrateful!” Hua Huijiang shouted with a smile as he watched Lu Yin walk away. “Using us and then running off! See who helps you solve your relationship problems next time!”
Liang Tong was laughing like an idiot when he was bitten hard by the python, which had been released at some unknown time.
Lu Yin opened his light-brain. Although he lacked basic knowledge, he knew about matching rates.
The higher the matching rate between a Guide and a Sentinel, the better their spiritual powers could merge.
And it was very difficult for a Sentinel and a Guide who had a matched connection to separate. They would be forcibly bound together. If a Sentinel changed Guides, it could lead to spiritual power collapse. Conversely, a Guide could soothe countless Sentinels.
The prerequisite was that the Guide’s spiritual power could withstand it.
This also led to Sentinels’ extreme resistance to matching.
Like an archaic arranged marriage, once the Empire detected that a Sentinel’s matching rate with a certain Guide reached the standard, the Sentinel would have to accept that Guide’s soothing for life to prevent collapse—regardless of whether the Guide was good or bad. Unless both parties voluntarily dissolved it, but even then, the Sentinel would still face the danger of collapse.
A Sentinel’s life and future were completely at the mercy of another, which made the Sentinels on the front lines extremely dissatisfied.
They started riots and resisted the Empire’s matching tests. Since the matching test couldn’t be easily abolished, both sides eventually compromised: matching tests could only be conducted if both the Guide and Sentinel were completely willing.
However, there truly is a natural attraction between Sentinels and Guides with high matching rates, Lu Yin thought.
Perhaps that was the reason for his fury when he saw that Sentinel and Zhuang He looking so intimate.
It was just the matching rate at work.
But Lu Yin never felt he was a Sentinel who would be controlled by a mere matching rate.
He didn’t think so before, and it was absolutely impossible now.
Zhuang He, Zhuang He.
The thought of that cold, indifferent man made a fire burn in Lu Yin’s heart, making it impossible to sit or stand still.
In his restlessness, he opened his light-brain. He remembered Liang Tong had mentioned an internal school forum, and the program for requesting Guides was in there too.
Translator’s Note: “Possession under the influence of hormones” (激素影响下的占有欲)—that’s quite the scientific way to describe a crush, isn’t it? In this world, the Matching Rate (匹配度) is a huge deal. It’s almost like a biological destiny. Lu Yin is trying to deny his feelings by blaming it on biology, but we all know better! Also, did you catch the mental bodies? An eagle and a python! The interactions between mental bodies usually reflect the hidden feelings of their owners – SilverPhoenix
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