Chapter 27: Guide Mǐ Qiū, You Smell So Good… part 1
Her right hand stealthily groped behind her back, searching her backpack. Inside were some self-defense weapons Sù Zé Chū had given her—perhaps they would come in handy.
Mǐ Qiū was just about to search, but before she could pull anything out, a slimy object suddenly lashed out and struck the back of her hand.
The object seemed to have a hook attached to it, sharp as a razor. In an instant, Mǐ Qiū’s hand was covered in crimson blood, a flap of skin hanging precariously.
In this situation, Mǐ Qiū thought that even someone with a strong heart would be panicking just as much as she was.
At this moment, she couldn’t even process what her next move should be.
The “hook” turned out to be a long tongue shooting out from the depths of the creature—a bright red tongue with a barb at the tip that looked more like a thick needle.
Blood was pouring uncontrollably from her hand. Mǐ Qiū didn’t dare to think about what might happen next.
She felt incredibly dizzy. The barb on the tongue wasn’t as simple as she had imagined; it likely contained some sort of natural anesthetic.
Once the prey was anesthetized, Mǐ Qiū would have no power to fight back.
She could only quietly await the arrival of death.
She didn’t know what death felt like, only that the blood in her body seemed to flow backward before coming to a sudden stop.
Despite the scorching heat of the environment, her body felt as if it had plunged into an icy cellar.
Regardless, she had to struggle until the end, even if there was only a glimmer of hope.
Mǐ Qiū had to switch hands to reach for her backpack. To alleviate the pain in her hand, she crouched down.
Fear had turned her legs to jelly; she couldn’t stand up anymore.
Mǐ Qiū’s only option was to attack his lower body.
But the “Sentinel” in front of her had clearly lost his humanity. His long tongue was still searching for her scent, and six red eyes had appeared on his head.
Fortunately, before he could reach her, Mǐ Qiū rolled her body several times across the ground. But this roll made the pain in her right hand even more excruciating.
On top of the hand pain, her back now ached… Boohoo, what do I do? She hadn’t even had time to leave a will…
Swish! Swish! Swish-swish-swish—
The sound of bullets tearing through the air came continuously from behind her.
But before Mǐ Qiū could identify the direction or whether the newcomer was friend or foe, she completely blacked out.
She didn’t know how long passed before she regained a shred of consciousness.
In that fleeting moment of awareness, she only heard a man’s voice instructing someone: “Take her away!”
Then, a boom resonated in her head, darkness fell before her eyes, and she fainted again.
.
Ahhh, it hurts, it hurts! Why did it feel like her blood was flowing backward? It felt like something was sucking her dry.
The big-tongued monster lunged at her, its tongue dripping with stringy mucus, still stained with the blood from her hand—the image repeated over and over in Mǐ Qiū’s mind, playing on an endless loop.
She was trapped in it, unable to escape.
Mǐ Qiū woke up with a start. She had had a nightmare. Fortunately, it was just a nightmare, which meant she was still alive.
She had woken up in time, but why hadn’t the pain subsided? Mǐ Qiū felt drained of blood. She mustered up her courage to look at her right hand.
A toad was lying on the back of her hand, sucking her blood. The rhythmic puffing of the toad’s body made Mǐ Qiū involuntarily scream out loud.
A Sentinel outside followed the sound and walked in.
Mǐ Qiū looked at his clothes. The main color was still dark blue, but the badge was orange-yellow—that meant he was an A-class Sentinel.
But right now, Mǐ Qiū didn’t dare trust anyone. Yet, she was also too terrified to pull the toad off her hand.
The newcomer had a long gun slung across his chest. Mǐ Qiū looked around but couldn’t find her bag.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”
“Who are you?”
Mǐ Qiū became increasingly vigilant.
“You’re wearing the summer Guide uniform. It’s a good thing I recognize that outfit, otherwise, we wouldn’t have just passed each other by—you might have died.”
At first, Mǐ Qiū didn’t understand what he meant, but then it clicked. “You’re the person who came to pick me up? You’re that A-class Sentinel?”
But Mǐ Qiū had actually forgotten his name.
“Lóu Chēng. You are Guide Mǐ Qiū?”
Oh right, Mǐ Qiū remembered now. His surname was Lóu.
She really was too careless to have forgotten to ask for his name. Mǐ Qiū said, “I’m sorry, I just…”
“You probably almost misunderstood the situation, right? That’s normal.”
Mǐ Qiū was now lying in a shelter. If he were an enemy, why would he let her stay in a place like this?
“What is this thing on my hand?”
“Your wound was invaded by the anesthetic fluid of a D411 Alien. The components inside must be extracted using an Ice Toad. In two minutes, your wound needs to be iced, otherwise, it will fester severely until worms cover your hand and arm. Your right hand would likely be useless.”
What kind of thing turns out like that? Just imagining the scene made Mǐ Qiū’s stomach churn; she felt like vomiting.
Lóu Chēng: “What you saw was a Sentinel who had been injected with hormones, but he wasn’t a true monster yet. His physiological structure had long changed. D411 Aliens survive by eating humans and drinking blood.”
So what that B-class Sentinel, Ān Yì Mò, said last time was true. These were Sentinels infected after hormone injections. And their numbers were constantly increasing; it wasn’t just one elite team. They were continuously devouring teams from the inside.
What’s more, Mǐ Qiū hadn’t realized the person beside her was a monster at all—after disguising themselves, they looked almost identical to humans.
Lóu Chēng continued, “If you don’t kill them thoroughly the first time, their empty shell bodies, like weeds, will find new hosts. Even the people close to you. In short, you have to be careful about everything.”
“But you’re new here, you don’t understand this.”
The interstellar world was truly vast and full of wonders!
When Mǐ Qiū was living comfortably on the island, she certainly never expected a day like this would come.
“Usually, we sprinkle strong alcohol on wounds, but facing this enemy is different. If we put alcohol on your wound, it would corrode faster and more rapidly, so we have to apply an Ice Edge Pack.”
As he spoke, he walked toward her. “There’s no medical officer here right now, so bear with it, Guide Mǐ.”
He was coming over. What was he going to do?
Wait!!
Ah—
Mǐ Qiū felt that because she had overused her voice these past few days, she was occasionally suffering from a lack of oxygen.
A round Ice Edge Pack was applied directly to the wound on the back of her hand. The pain was so instant and intense she couldn’t speak.
But after the freezing sensation set in, while the initial contact was agonizing, the wound gradually became numb and less painful.
Unexpectedly, the Ice Edge Pack actually moved up, down, left, and right. Mǐ Qiū felt a bit more comfortable, and then a thick, long red line appeared on the back of her hand.
Had her wound been stitched up by the Ice Edge Pack? It looked like it.
Her face was still unhealthily pale, her lips colorless. Her body was exceptionally frail, yet her beauty could not be hidden.
The man’s hand held her left wrist.
He was measuring her temperature. Watching him do this, Mǐ Qiū realized her body didn’t feel uncomfortable anymore. “Do I have a fever?”
“No,” he said. “After being attacked by a D411 Alien, your body temperature usually hits a peak. If the Ice Edge Pack works, your temperature tends to drop. Good, your life is no longer in danger.”
“Will I stay here the whole time?”
“The most important thing for you now is to rest, and then stay in the Logistics Support Department. Logistics is generally run by C-class Sentinels. You just need to work with them; this is Officer Hè’s intention.”
So everything had already been arranged for her.
“What about Commander Fù?”
“You’re looking for Commander Fù?”
“Didn’t Officer Hè tell you?”
Mǐ Qiū could only speak while lying flat because if she leaned forward even a little, she felt like her body would fall apart, unable to support itself.
Even speaking slightly louder pulled at her wounds.
Mǐ Qiū lowered her voice even more.
Lóu Chēng said to Mǐ Qiū, “Commander Fù is in the Field Zone, but this place isn’t the Field Zone you spoke of.”
“But I saw the road sign when I came! It clearly said A-Z Field Zone.”
“That’s just a sign indicating the direction of the Field Zone. The real zone is at least another 6 kilometers ahead.”
Mǐ Qiū was confused. This wasn’t the place she was looking for, but this person had indeed come to pick her up.
That part wasn’t wrong.
Mǐ Qiū had to ask clearly. She was new here and didn’t understand many things. So she asked him, “Why did you just mention Officer Hè and the Logistics Support Department? You’re the one who picked me up, but you’re not in the Field Zone?”
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