Part 2
“I think you’re overthinking it. Let’s not bring this up. I just want to get back to the base safely. I’m done staying here, suffering and getting exhausted.”
The two went back and forth, basically clarifying the situation.
M菒 Qi奴 didn’t know what would happen, and no one was willing to explain the cause and effect to her. After all, she was just a Guide here, not a key figure, so naturally, she was in a state of ignorance about many things.
Regardless of the facts, M菒 Qi奴 knew she couldn’t participate in this topic.
“Uh, I guess we’re splitting into two groups to leave.”
“Aren’t we all going back to the base?”
“The Commander isn’t returning to the base. He said he has important business and will leave with Guide M菒 Qi奴.”
Code 16 leaned in closer to M菒 Qi奴, his eyes full of drama, and asked, “Guide M菒 Qi奴, your relationship with the Commander really is unusual. Otherwise, why would you be going off secretly with Commander F霉 to who-knows-where?”
M菒 Qi奴 didn’t speak, only smiling continuously.
“Tell us, why aren’t you returning to the main base? You wouldn’t… you wouldn’t be going on a date with our Commander F霉, would you? I don’t approve of that.”
Code 14 retorted, “Who asked for your approval? Guide M菒, is what he said true? Are you really…”
M菒 Qi奴 felt like even ten mouths couldn’t explain this clearly. But fortunately, they reminded her that she had something to tell F霉 R贸ngq墨ng.
After that, M菒 Qi奴 buried her head in her food. Regarding this matter, she just shook her head. Whether they believed it or not was their business; she couldn’t control their minds or what they thought. Then, she returned to the tent.
F霉 R贸ngq墨ng was there.
Looking at his tall back, M菒 Qi奴 spoke up, “Commander F霉, you’re coming with me, right?”
F霉 R贸ngq墨ng: “Yes, with you. But what can I do with you?”
He asked back coldly.
“It’s like this, Commander F霉 can’t go directly to the island this time because I still have to pick up another guest. If you’re pressed for time, you can go back to the base with everyone else first.”
F霉 R贸ngq墨ng couldn’t quite figure her out.
He said, “Guide M菒, you aren’t playing me, are you? We had an agreement, and now you’re changing it. Do you think lying is fun?”
M菒 Qi奴 had to explain the whole situation to him. “Commander F霉, you’ve misunderstood me a little. From beginning to end, I haven’t lied to you, Commander. The island matter is settled. Originally, I was supposed to pick up two other guests as well.”
F霉 R贸ngq墨ng let out a soft “Oh” and said, “I didn’t realize Guide M菒 was busier than I am. In that case, I’ll go with you. I’ll arrange the time.”
Hearing her silence, F霉 R贸ngq墨ng asked if she had any objections. How could M菒 Qi奴 dare to have objections? She was merely following Officer H猫鈥檚 orders.
F霉 R贸ngq墨ng: “Since there’s no problem, we’ll set off tomorrow morning as soon as it’s fully light.”
M菒 Qi奴 showed F霉 R贸ngq墨ng the map Officer H猫 had sent her earlier and asked him, “It shouldn’t be far from that place, right?”
F霉 R贸ngq墨ng: “Not far. It only takes two days on the fiber-optic boat, then two days and two nights driving a mecha vehicle, and finally riding a Star Donkey to get there.”
Ah… that鈥檚 not short at all!
“It doesn’t matter. Even if you plan to go to a wasteland, Guide M菒, I’ll accompany you to the end.”
M菒 Qi奴 waved her hand at him. “Commander F霉, that’s too serious. If you think it’s too far, you really don’t have to go.”
“You mean you can find such a remote place by yourself? I need to remind you that the actual distance to get there makes travel difficult, and you don’t even know what the communication tools are. Besides, few people know about that place. I am taking you there.”
F霉 R贸ngq墨ng added, “Right now, it should be early autumn there. Given the autumn temperatures, if it’s convenient on the way, you should buy a few more sets of clothes.”
“Shopping on the StarNet works too, and there’s a 12% discount. It’s cheap!”
F霉 R贸ngq墨ng looked at her and said helplessly, “Starting tomorrow, we’ll be on the road constantly. Can you ensure your clothes will be delivered?”
M菒 Qi奴 hadn’t seriously considered this problem; it was indeed her oversight. M菒 Qi奴 accepted his idea. She’d listen to him; buying on the road wasn’t impossible.
Early this morning, everyone set off. M菒 Qi奴 happened to wake up early, around six o’clock. With an hour left before departure, she told F霉 R贸ngq墨ng she wanted to say hello to the Rear Support Area.
F霉 R贸ngq墨ng naturally wouldn’t stop her, but he gave her a time limit: no more than 15 minutes. He was afraid they would worry about her, and seeing them one last time was good.
Moreover, in M菒 Qi奴鈥檚 view, apart from Officer H猫 giving her orders in the past, few people truly cared about her. Squad Leader Q铆 was outside maintaining discipline among the Sentinels. Seeing M菒 Qi奴, he was quite surprised and walked towards her. “You only stayed in the Logistics Department for a few days before leaving. Fortunately, you’re safe and sound now. Do you have any plans for the future?”
“Mhm, I have to go to other places.”
“So you won’t be returning to the Guide Institute for a while?”
M菒 Qi奴 thought for a moment and replied, “Squad Leader Q铆, I can’t go back right now, and I still have a mission.”
Squad Leader Q铆 looked at her and said, “Actually, Guide M菒 has luck on her side. To be honest, this war against the D411 aliens lasted a long time. If it weren’t for Guide M菒 Qi奴鈥檚 arrival, it probably wouldn’t have ended so quickly. So, it was Guide M菒 Qi奴 who brought us good luck!”
M菒 Qi奴: “I’m not a very lucky person. Perhaps.”
Just as M菒 Qi奴 finished chatting with Squad Leader Q铆, she saw L贸u Ch膿ng walking over.
L贸u Ch膿ng froze for a moment when he saw M菒 Qi奴. He knew she was safe, of course, but her coming here was a pleasant surprise. He said, “Welcome back! Guide M菒 Qi奴.”
She walked up to L贸u Ch膿ng and said, “Long time no see. You guys should be returning to the base, right? I just wanted to come here and say goodbye to everyone! I’m very happy to have met you all!”
L贸u Ch膿ng: “Are you leaving again? Or going back to the island?”
“I have a private itinerary, inconvenient to reveal for now.”
“Since you’ll be staying on the island… in two years, when you match with a Sentinel, do you have a candidate in your heart right now?”
The sudden question stunned her. M菒 Qi奴 could only say, “It’s a bit early for me to consider that.”
“It’s not early. If you match with a designated Sentinel, Guide M菒, you’ll feel happier and more joyful.”
She didn’t quite know how to answer him. At that moment, F霉 R贸ngq墨ng came over to find her himself.
He tapped the watch on his wrist as a reminder. Time passed so quickly; had 15 minutes gone by just like that?
It seemed she really couldn’t chat with them any longer. After saying goodbye to the Sentinels in the Rear Support Area, M菒 Qi奴 ran to F霉 R贸ngq墨ng.
F霉 R贸ngq墨ng looked at her and said faintly, “Guide M菒 needs a sense of time. You’re two minutes over.”
“Fifteen minutes seems a bit fast.”
“Guide M菒, are you questioning me?”
M菒 Qi奴: “No.”
“Catching a fiber-optic boat here isn’t easy; that’s why I reminded you.”
M菒 Qi奴 finally got on the fiber-optic boat.
Seeing Captain Sh铆 again鈥攕eeing an old acquaintance was nice; she felt her heart settle.
“Captain Sh铆, it really is you.”
Captain Sh铆 saw M菒 Qi奴 and thought that the person taking his boat in this place had to be her. So he said, “Besides me, few people dare to drive to this place.”
“But the place you arrived at isn’t the Field Zone; this is the Rear Support Area. The Field Zone is further away, at least six thousand meters forward.”
Captain Sh铆 smiled bitterly at her. “It’s good enough that I can stop here. Did you really plan for me to go to the real Field Zone? I’d have to be crazy.”
Seeing them chatting enthusiastically, a relaxed smile appeared on M菒 Qi奴鈥檚 face for the first time in a long while. F霉 R贸ngq墨ng remarked, “You two are quite familiar!”
Captain Sh铆 spoke first, “Yes, Commander F霉. When we came, Guide M菒 took this very boat. How could we not be familiar?”
It was the first time F霉 R贸ngq墨ng looked at M菒 Qi奴 this closely. M菒 Qi奴 belatedly cupped her cheeks and asked, “Commander F霉, is there something on my face?”
Since she had just eaten, it would be bad if there was rice or soup stains. She hadn’t checked herself before coming out, so M菒 Qi奴 took a mirror from the small side pocket of her backpack and looked at herself.
Fortunately, there were no grains of rice or anything she needed to deal with.
The hull of the fiber-optic boat was enclosed. Although not large, the space inside was quite spacious.
It was big enough for two people to live in. The only issue was the potential for seasickness. M菒 Qi奴 was only worried she wouldn’t sleep well when the waves rocked the boat; everything else was fine.
“Guide M菒…”
Was someone calling her? M菒 Qi奴 looked around. There shouldn’t be anyone, right? Who would suddenly call her at this time?
She figured it was probably because she was a little seasick, making her head dizzy and causing auditory hallucinations, so M菒 Qi奴 didn’t pay it much mind at first. She needed to organize her backpack, put things where they belonged, and take out dinner ahead of time so it wouldn’t spoil.
“M菒 Qi奴!”
There it was again?
M菒 Qi奴 opened the door to her cabin and saw the door to F霉 R贸ngq墨ng鈥檚 cabin opposite hers was open. He was lying on the floor. M菒 Qi奴 rushed into his cabin and asked if he was okay and what was wrong. Captain Sh铆鈥檚 voice came over the intercom…
“The wind and waves are strong right now, you guys sit tight!”
As soon as these words came out, M菒 Qi奴 realized F霉 R贸ngq墨ng was likely seasick, and probably very severely so.
At this moment, F霉 R贸ngq墨ng was dizzy and dazzled, his hands trying to unbutton his shirt.
“Commander F霉?”
“Undo the buttons. Need air. I’m seasick.”
M菒 Qi奴 had thought she was the only one who got a little seasick; she didn’t expect F霉 R贸ngq墨ng to have it so bad. M菒 Qi奴 immediately asked Captain Sh铆 if he had any seasickness medicine.
Captain Sh铆: “Where would I get seasickness medicine? We just have to ride it out. It’ll be fine in a while. This area has some wind and waves; it’ll be okay once we sail out of it.”
That was true, but she couldn’t just watch F霉 R贸ngq墨ng suffer, could she? He needed air, so M菒 Qi奴 helped him undo the top two buttons.
“Do you need more undone? Commander F霉?”
He looked terribly uncomfortable and couldn’t speak. M菒 Qi奴 thought she should help him, so she undid all the buttons on his shirt to give him room to breathe.
However, F霉 R贸ngq墨ng didn’t get any better. This wasn’t a solution. If the boat ride was only half an hour or an hour, they could just tough it out. But the journey was long, and Commander F霉 was a guest. How could she let a guest suffer?
M菒 Qi奴 felt uneasy. There was one other way: make him fall asleep. It had to be deep sleep; otherwise, he would feel seasick again as soon as he woke up.
Thinking this, M菒 Qi奴 acted quickly. Soothing the spiritual body inside him and putting him into a deep sleep would keep him in the most comfortable state for now. M菒 Qi奴 took out her hypnosis equipment and, following the previous steps, began the hypnosis. This time, she successfully entered the first layer.
First, she soothed the spiritual body鈥攖hat very fierce male lion. Once M菒 Qi奴 found the method, soothing his spiritual body wasn’t as difficult as the first time. Basically, she passed through without spending much time.
Next, M菒 Qi奴 fell into F霉 R贸ngq墨ng鈥檚 deep dreamscape.
A fast-forwarded plot flashed through her mind: it was them kissing in the car. M菒 Qi奴 saw the person approaching. The person walking toward her outside the window wasn’t a stranger, but the First Guide, B脿o F煤.
What followed was M菒 Qi奴 getting severely scolded by her and punished with writing a 10,000-word self-reflection essay. M菒 Qi奴 hadn’t expected that the scene of writing the essay wouldn’t be skipped. She had to write the entire essay without missing a single word. Everyone knew how strict Guide B脿o was.
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