Chapter 65: Warming Up
The sensation in her palm was incredibly soft and warm, a stark contrast to the sharp features of the Sentinel before her.
Chi Wan regained her breath, her tear-brimmed eyes sparkling as she stared fixedly at the twitching wolf ears in her palm.
Shi Ye, who was watching her expression, thought she didn’t like it.
He had zero experience in coaxing people. Having exhausted all his efforts and set aside his pride, he felt a sudden sense of helplessness.
His eyes dimmed slightly. Just as he was about to straighten up, a numbing sensation surged from his ears and traveled throughout his entire body.
She… was actively rubbing his ears.
Chi Wan’s eyes were full of wonder. “So soft.”
She clearly loved it.
Shi Ye’s heart eased, and the light returned to his eyes.
But immediately after, an even more lethal sensation swept through his body from his ears.
The girl’s soft, warm hands were kneading his most sensitive ears. At such close proximity, her pleasant scent mixed with her mental energy, stimulating his senses.
The sensation of every single ear hair was magnified dozens of times as it was transmitted through his body. Every cell in his being seemed to be shivering.
Shi Ye lowered his eyelids to hide his increasingly reddened eyes. Even his deepening breaths were being deathly suppressed.
He was terrified his loss of composure would scare her.
His ears were too sensitive.
To the point that this extremely foreign sensation was both numbing and… unbearable.
It had even unexpectedly triggered a Combined Heat.
“Does having your ears rubbed… feel good?”
Chi Wan asked softly, completely oblivious to the abnormality of the man in front of her. His mental power was restrained and introverted. Currently, his head was bowed, and the shadows from his bangs obscured most of his expression.
Seeing that he didn’t speak, Chi Wan thought she might have offended him.
Just as she quickly tried to withdraw her hand, a raspy, suppressed voice sounded:
“It. Feels. Good.”
Immediately after, he nuzzled his head back into her half-withdrawn palm, offering his ears to her hand once more.
He was practically inviting her to continue stroking them.
Chi Wan’s eyes widened, and she didn’t resist his invitation.
The fluffy ears growing out of his smooth hair were clean, glossy, and warm to the touch—carrying a faint scent of sour lemon. Every time she touched them, the ears would give a cute little twitch.
She really loved touching them.
Under such an invitation, Chi Wan grew a bit bolder.
She had never had her ears rubbed before and assumed this was probably just the pure comfort one feels during a neck and shoulder massage.
She simply reached out with both small hands and started rubbing. Her strength and range of motion increased as well.
It wasn’t until the surrounding temperature rose to a point where Chi Wan could no longer ignore it that she saw Shi Ye’s bent frame tremble slightly. His uncontrollable, heavy breathing finally left a trace.
Finally realizing something, Chi Wan let go and took two steps back.
Only then did she see that Shi Ye’s entire face was flushed red. Those crimson eyes were half-lidded and somewhat hazy.
And beneath his torn and open leather combat uniform, his taut, wheat-colored chest muscles were covered in a thin layer of sweat. They rose and fell with his breathing, stretching the damp thin fabric until it almost burst.
Looking at his obviously abnormal state, Chi Wan swallowed nervously, unable to say a word.
Shi Ye looked up at her.
The moment he saw the panic in her eyes, he still felt a bit of disappointment.
Did I still scare her…
He walked toward her step by step, his tone incredibly gentle, as if he were merely a wolf-dog who had fallen into water and was looking for a place to rest:
“Don’t be afraid.”
He leaned his head gently against the top of hers. He seemed to have lost the strength to stand on his own, leaning half his body weight slightly against her.
Only then did Chi Wan realize how scorching hot he was.
She felt his burning breath spraying over her head. His voice was weak and carried a rare, vulnerable allure:
“Help me… get the Combined Heat suppressor…”
Chapter 66: Heartbeat Means Heartache
Chi Wan could no longer remember how she had gotten into the vehicle.
After she got the Combined Heat suppressor, the man—kneeling on the ground with his Spirit Body manifested and his clothes in tatters—had been too bewitching. She couldn’t clearly remember how she had injected the medicine under the gaze of those crimson wolf eyes.
She also didn’t remember what he had said to his subordinates when he destroyed that space-time rift.
She only remembered him saying later:
“There’s a major discovery on the main force’s side. Everyone needs to gather.”
She had been helped onto the vehicle by his warm, large palm.
The night wind howled, and every vehicle moved under the protection of its onboard barrier instruments.
Those ghost-like spirits howled as they swarmed around, yet they were held back by the barriers, unable to approach the vehicles.
In that tug-of-war, there was a strange sense of beauty.
Chi Wan’s hair fluttered in the wind as she turned her head to look at Shi Ye in front.
He happened to turn back to look at her as well.
Those usually dark and calm black eyes were now filled with starlight, with a faint light rippling within them.
…
The lights drew closer. Behind the cluster of vehicles, more than half of the troops had already arrived.
Almost the moment Chi Wan stepped out of the car, Shen Yu’s gaze locked onto her.
The tall Sentinel Commander beside the girl was protecting her closely. Just standing there, the two of them looked strikingly harmonious.
The smile on Shen Yu’s lips suddenly faded by more than half.
However, the “Big Tiger” was stubborn and overbearing, forcing his way over anyway.
Li Su looked at everyone present:
“Everyone is here. Your light-brains should have synchronized the information just now.
We discovered that all the space-time rifts were merely decoys set up by Polluted Entities; they do not lead to the Sea of Lost Souls.
Only by destroying all the decoy rifts can the true space-time rift potentially appear.”
As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward the vast expanse of black haze ahead:
“And ahead is the Mother Pool where the rifts are heavily stored—the Distorted Space.”
Yun Qi approached the black haze:
“So, we just need to enter this Mother Pool and destroy all the rifts inside, right?”
“That’s more or less the idea, but everyone knows the situation of a Rift Mother Pool…
The scale of this pool is immense.
This will be a fierce battle.”
Chi Wan had naturally heard of it before. The Rift Mother Pool, or the Distorted Space Pool, was a chaotic dimension where massive amounts of rift fragments were stored. Once people entered, they would be randomly transported into various spaces containing fragments.
These spaces were constructed by Polluted Entities and were extremely dangerous. Due to their intense instability, Sentinels and Guides could easily be transported into odd team configurations. If a team lacked a powerful lead, there was even a risk of total annihilation.
Such Mother Pools were generally constructed by high-intelligence, high-level Polluted Entities using a great deal of effort and resources.
Cang Lin watched the black fog with his arms crossed. Pei Yuan stood outside the crowd, his expression unreadable in the backlight, posing with easy grace.
“Qi Ye hasn’t moved yet. We won’t wait for him. Break the pool first.”
Li Su put away his gun. With the leader-like aura cultivated from years of leading the Interstellar Corps, his gaze was stern as he scanned the crowd:
“Those afraid of death don’t have to go in.
Once inside, anyone who flees out of cowardice and causes serious injury or death to a teammate will receive the highest punishment from the Alliance.”
The Sentinels present looked at one another, but not a single person backed down.
The operation began quickly.
It would be a lie to say Chi Wan wasn’t nervous, but her nervousness stemmed only from the unknown ahead; she had no intention of retreating.
“Are you afraid?”
Shi Ye’s voice sounded from ahead.
Chi Wan looked up at him, only to find that Shen Yu was also looking at her.
Her small face was determined as she simply shook her head.
Then, she stepped into the black fog without hesitation.
The black fog possessed a massive suction force. The moment she stepped in, Chi Wan felt her body being controlled by a powerful force.
Then, it was as if she were being sucked into a giant whirlpool—time and space twisted!
Immediately following that, the sounds of gunfire, the roars of Polluted Entities, and the shouts of Sentinels became intertwined.
Chi Wan landed heavily. Ignoring the pain in her body, she quickly scrambled up and joined the battle ahead!
This area was like a scorched forest that had been burned by a great fire. Vast gray mist hung in the air, and within the foul stench of burning, charred Polluted Entities crawled toward them in distorted shapes!
Chi Wan pulled out her firearm to shoot while simultaneously releasing her Spirit Body!
The silvery-white kitten charged through the crowd of Sentinel Spirit Bodies like a fearless white combat medic, providing the strongest support and assistance to all the Sentinels.
Not only that, she even diverted some attention to link with the Sentinels who appeared to have the strongest combat power.
She aimed to maximize the use of her abilities.
Running fast, Chi Wan soon reached the front of the group and saw the black-and-gold giant dragon rooted among the swarm of Polluted Entities.
It was Cang Lin.
Sensing her energy and Spirit Body, he turned to look at her.
The excitement in his golden eyes died down into silence after seeing her lack of emotion.
As if throwing a bit of a tantrum, he strode toward her:
“Being transported into the same space as a Beyond-SSS-rank, don’t you feel even a little bit of happiness?”
He could protect her better than anyone else.
Chi Wan merely looked at the Polluted Entities with a serious expression:
“Don’t waste words. Fight.”
Cang Lin didn’t dally either. He reached his hand out to her:
“Strengthen me.”
He had seen it—under her silver energy, those Sentinels had become significantly more ferocious.
Chi Wan didn’t refuse. In the face of danger, she had no mood to care about past grudges.
She released her energy, attempting to link with him, but that silvery-white energy seemed to have a mind of its own. Even when she forcibly drove it toward him, it stubbornly refused to touch him even slightly.
[Oh my, it really rejects him.]
Chi Wan and Cang Lin obviously noticed it too.
The Golden Dragon and its master both grew instantly exasperated. Cang Lin stared at Chi Wan with his golden eyes, which contained a complex mix of anger, grievance, and irritation. Finally, it all turned into a question so heavy it could sink:
“Do you really hate me that much?”
Exhaling a heavy breath, he turned back to join the battle.
As if transforming his grief into motivation, the man and the dragon were both incredibly fierce, forcing the Polluted Entities to retreat continuously.
Chi Wan only hesitated for a second before continuing to focus entirely on the fight.
Beyond the black soil was a rocky terrain.
In the rocky ground where magma flowed, fire-like Polluted Entities crawled out from cracks in the ground. At the end of the rocky terrain, massive boulders began to tremble.
Clearly, they were all Polluted Entities!
“It’s very dangerous ahead. Sentinels below SS-rank who don’t have a high chance of winning can stay on standby.”
Cang Lin said this as he charged out first.
Chi Wan naturally followed closely behind, but the rocky terrain was covered in fire, making it difficult to find a foothold.
Noticing her predicament, the black-and-gold dragon body flew over in an instant to pick her up.
Once Chi Wan was seated firmly, she focused one hundred percent on the battle.
Although she couldn’t link with Cang Lin, her mental barrier combined with her Devouring ability and her relatively steady marksmanship made her a significant asset.
Among tens of thousands of Polluted Entities, the Golden Dragon soared. Worried about throwing Chi Wan off its back, the massive dragon body performed a low leap, delivering her to Cang Lin’s side. Cang Lin was currently in the midst of the flames. Without a word, he scooped up Chi Wan to prevent her from being accidentally injured by the fire and continued fighting.
His movements couldn’t exactly be called gentle.
Chi Wan’s face stung from the friction against his rough skin, but she didn’t show any daintiness by crying or shouting.
She continued to fight with all her might.
Fortunately, under the power of a Beyond-SSS-rank, the Golden Dragon coordinated with Cang Lin’s bone-crushing punches and sweeping blade techniques to instantly destroy a large area.
After the dragon tail finally swept away the last of the Polluted Entities, Cang Lin felt thoroughly invigorated.
He set down the little person in his arms and turned to look at her excitedly:
“How was that? Cooperating with me isn’t so bad, right?”
Quick, say you don’t hate me anymore.
But he was met with a scrunched-up little face.
Almost the moment he set her down, Chi Wan retreated several steps. The rejection in her eyes was as clear as a knife.
It cut his smile away instantly.
He had originally expected that after that performance, her attitude toward him would improve. He didn’t expect this rejection to be like a glacier on a snowy plain—impossible to melt.
The fire suddenly felt choking. The foul stench made his throat tighten.
For the first time, Cang Lin truly realized how deep her loathing for him was.
Deep enough to form a profound chasm.
One that couldn’t be crossed.
His golden eyes were turned slightly red by the reflection of the fire. His voice lost its usual strength, becoming incredibly heavy:
“So you really hate me this much.”
Chi Wan didn’t speak; her action of taking another step back explained everything.
“Your energy can link with those ordinary Sentinels, but it cannot link with me.”
The large blade in his hand was still dripping with black blood, yet his tall frame suddenly seemed a bit weak.
Cang Lin looked down at her, trying to see through all her thoughts.
Behind him, a massive high-level Polluted Entity began to rise from the ground. The giant Golden Dragon fought with it back and forth, but Cang Lin remained motionless in the fire.
He stared at her: “What kind of image do I even have in your heart?”
The Golden Dragon’s body soared and dived, battling the high-level entity.
Amidst the dragon’s roars, Chi Wan looked up at Cang Lin’s face illuminated by the fire.
This face overlapped perfectly with the cold, forceful one from the day he had coerced her into soothing him.
She blurted out: “Repulsive.”
As she uttered each of those syllables, his brow tightened further.
By the end, his brow was practically carved with furrows. The battle continued behind him, the ground trembling slightly.
Cang Lin suddenly laughed.
The laugh was bitter and self-deprecating. His gray, defeated face no longer held a trace of his former arrogance.
He murmured: “Re… pul… sive.”
His golden eyes were so dry they were painful.
He turned his head away, no longer looking at her:
“Fine. Since you find me so repulsive, then stay far away from me. I’ll handle the remaining Polluted Entities alone.”
Chi Wan looked at the Golden Dragon behind him.
It didn’t look like it was struggling.
She didn’t refuse. She turned and left, joining the battle of other Sentinels against smaller Polluted Entities in the distance.
Chi Wan had always been focused during combat and didn’t notice that the dragon’s roar from behind never sounded again.
Only after all the entities were killed did she realize the abnormality among the group of Sentinels.
Several Sentinels were whispering to each other as they walked over from the rear:
“I went to check. Commander Cang said he’s fine.”
“He seems a bit unhappy, and his injuries are exceptionally heavy.”
“High-level entities are naturally hard to deal with. It’s inevitable to get injured when fighting one alone.”
“As a Sentinel from Base A-1, I can only say his state is wrong.
Dealing with an entity of that level, our Commander usually wouldn’t get injured at all.”
Chi Wan stood up and walked through the crowd toward Cang Lin.
Passing through the jagged black rocks, she saw the giant black-and-gold dragon body lying on the ground.
The dragon was severely injured, with large and small wounds all over it, and many scales had fallen off. It lay motionless among the rocks. In front of it, the back of the man sitting on a rock was covered in numerous wounds, looking extremely desolate.
Cang Lin stood up, intending to destroy the space-time rift, but his eyes caught sight of Chi Wan’s figure nearby.
His footsteps paused slightly, yet he didn’t believe for a second that she had come for him.
In the battle just now, he had felt uncharacteristically powerless. His chaotic heart and feelings of loss were like two types of interference, causing him to make frequent mistakes.
In his ears, only those four words of hers kept echoing.
The moment his physical body was attacked, his logic and thoughts were actually at their clearest.
He had thought of many things.
He thought of his Spirit Body’s longing for her, and his own transformation toward her.
He thought of the fact that he had been deceiving himself and refusing to admit, but which was now laid bloodily before him.
He might have actually fallen in love with her.
Fallen in love with the version of her that already utterly loathed him.
“About what happened before… I’m sorry.”
He said this, his desolate, bloodless face not daring to look at Chi Wan for a second more.
He was afraid of seeing more loathing and rejection, which would stab into the dull ache in his heart.
He used all his strength to shatter the space-time rift.
The space twisted, and the scene before Chi Wan’s eyes changed.
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