Feng Zhi took another couple of glances, then looked away.
As much as she appreciated a handsome face, earning money mattered more to her.
She took a box out of her Backpack and used Healing several times, filling the Ability Fluid Orb she’d only half-filled earlier.
Five hundred starcoins in the bag.
Then she took out the equipment for collecting Guide Pheromone and, after a moment’s thought, stuck it to her arm.
She probably wasn’t a Guide, so she wouldn’t have any of that so-called Guide Pheromone—but she could try. It wasn’t as if it would kill her.
Once she was done, she opened the Guide-Sentinel Center on her Chip and connected to the Star Network. A website appeared before her.
It was a site only Sentinels and Guides could access. It had information about all kinds of pollutants, as well as various missions posted by the authorities and private individuals.
For example, someone was looking to buy Guide Pheromone and wanted it to smell like lilies.
Someone else was looking for a Healing Guide to explore a Contamination Zone with.
The vast universe held countless Contamination Zones. They could appear randomly anywhere on any planet, with no discernible pattern.
Feng Zhi glanced around, then used the mission board’s search function to look for F-rank Healing Ability Fluid. She found several relevant listings almost at once.
Sure enough, people were looking to buy it.
She contacted a few of them and arranged to deliver the goods by noon tomorrow.
Then she counted up the orders. There were 106 Ability Fluids in all.
Even at two minutes per orb, making 106 would take less than four hours. She had plenty of time.
Feng Zhi did the math: four hours, 106 Ability Fluids, and more than 50,000 starcoins.
She was rich! She’d never have to drink that damn nutrient solution again.
Her eyes curved with delight as she placed an order online for more Energy Orbs. After all, the authorities had only given her 20 for free.
Feng Chi washed some fruit, cut it into pieces, and was about to bring Feng Zhi a few when he turned around and saw her radiant smile. His heart skipped a beat.
He stood there for a few seconds. Then, as if he’d remembered something, he fetched a fork, picked up the plate, and went out to her.
“Try some of this fruit. I heard it’s sweet and sour, so you should like it.”
Feng Zhi didn’t hesitate. She picked up the fork and took a bite.
Juice flooded her mouth, and the fruit’s fresh fragrance filled her nose. The taste of real fruit, after all this time, nearly brought her to tears.
Eighteen years—and she could finally eat fruit again!
She eagerly took several more bites.
Seeing how content Feng Zhi looked, Feng Chi felt his heart swell.
His gaze shifted slightly, settling on the corner of Feng Zhi’s mouth, where a little juice clung. Her lips glistened faintly with it.
She ran her tongue over the juice at the corner of her mouth.
Feng Chi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. His gaze grew more heated.
He wondered what her lips tasted like. Were they sweet and sour, like the fruit?
The next moment, a fork appeared before him, with a piece of fruit on it.
Feng Zhi blinked at him. “This fruit is so good. You have to try it.”
The young woman was bright and charming. Her wrist was dazzlingly pale, and her dark, shining eyes were fixed on him, as though he were the only person she could see.
As if under a spell, Feng Chi leaned in and took the fruit from her fork. It tasted sweet and sour—probably just like her lips.
“It’s sweet,” he said.
His gaze drifted down to the fork, and he suddenly remembered that Feng Zhi had been eating with it too. He’d just eaten from the same fork.
Did that mean they’d…
His breathing turned ragged. Feng Chi could feel his face burning; he didn’t need a mirror to know he was blushing.
He sprang to his feet. “You keep eating. I’m going to wash the vegetables.”
Watching him flee in a fluster, Feng Zhi leaned back against the sofa, feeling very pleased.
Don’t think she hadn’t noticed the way the kid had been trying to seduce her today.
They’d spent thirteen years together day and night. How could she fail to recognize that deliberate pose?
Still, there was something nice about being young. Once he grew thicker-skinned, she probably wouldn’t get to see him blush and run away like that.
Feng Zhi looked away and, while waiting for her blue energy to recover, browsed the messages on the Guide-Sentinel Center website.
During the eighteen years of her previous life, she’d learned a little about this at school, but only the basics—enough to give Ordinary People a general understanding.
To learn about it in depth, she’d have to study at a Sentinel-Guide Academy. Of course, there was plenty to learn on the website too, which had educational material on the subject.
Feng Zhi was absorbed in reading until Feng Chi had prepared everything and the aroma of hot pot reached her. Only then did she look away.
The two of them added meat to the pot. Suddenly, Feng Zhi remembered something.
“If you awaken as a Sentinel tomorrow, we probably won’t be able to eat together anymore.”
After awakening, a Sentinel’s five senses—including smell, touch, and taste—became far more sensitive, increasing by ten or even fifteen times.
The higher a Sentinel’s rank, the more sensitive his senses.
As a result, ordinary food tasted far too strong to Sentinels. They usually ate very bland food.
Feng Zhi, on the other hand, couldn’t live without spice. She could only handle a medium level of heat, but even that would be far too much for a Sentinel.
She didn’t use much vinegar either, but to a Sentinel it might feel like being immersed in a vat of it.
Feng Chi hurried to reassure her. “It’s fine. I can have a Sensory Dampening Chip implanted.”
Sensory Dampening Chips were designed specifically for Sentinels. They could reduce the sensitivity of their five senses to some extent, allowing Sentinels to eat all kinds of food like Ordinary People.
Normally, Sentinels could keep the chip with them and have it implanted when they went into a Contamination Zone. That way, their senses would return to normal.
But having it removed and implanted each time caused considerable pain, both physical and psychological.
After all, the chip had to be implanted inside the body. Each time it was inserted or removed, it meant cutting into the body and taking something out from within.
Just thinking about it made Feng Zhi wince. How painful must it be?
And once the chip was implanted, a Sentinel’s five senses would gradually dull. To a Sentinel, it was like watching helplessly as he went from being a hero to a powerless wreck. Not every Sentinel could endure that feeling of losing his strength. They were used to being powerful—how could they possibly stand losing it?
Feng Zhi added tripe to the hot pot and spoke unhurriedly. “Don’t rush it. Go and awaken tomorrow first, then we’ll see.”
Whether in the Blue Star of her previous life or in this interstellar world, countless things she’d seen online had taught her that when an Ordinary Person gained power and status, their mindset changed. It was hard for them to hold on to the way they’d thought before.
Feng Chi thought that way now because, until then, their daily lives had revolved around each other. Their world was small.
But once he awakened, his world would grow much wider. Would he still feel the same way then?