Half the guidance session had already gone by. If the Sentinel didn’t show up soon, he’d hold up the others.
Su Yingli opened the terminal system again and sent him a message.
– Hello. Your guidance session has begun. Please come to the Guidance Room on the top floor. If you miss your appointment, please book another one.
The system showed him online, but he never replied.
The session ended, and the Sentinel still hadn’t come.
Seated at her desk, Su Yingli propped her chin on one hand and flipped through the next Sentinel’s file with the other.
If he didn’t come, so be it. She could guess why.
At least she’d done her job properly. The Sentinel had missed his appointment; that wasn’t her fault. And she wasn’t the one suffering from sensory disruption.
With that in mind, Su Yingli marked his file and sent it to General Affairs, asking them to keep an eye on his condition.
She didn’t dwell on it. Skipping over his file, she moved on to the next Sentinel.
Over the course of the afternoon, Su Yingli guided twenty-five Sentinels.
In the Safe Zone, that many sessions would have earned her a flood of complaints. In the Danger Zone, though, it was business as usual.
Especially on days when the Sentinels returned from missions.
Every Sentinel Su Yingli guided was an A-rank Sentinel with a berserk level above 80 percent. Her mental power was barely affected, but keeping up that pace had still worn her down.
And she was an S-rank Guide.
If they dumped all those sessions on the A-rank Guides, they’d either exhaust their mental power or have to take breaks between sessions and work overtime until midnight.
Meanwhile, the Sentinels waiting for guidance would have to keep enduring sensory overload.
No wonder everyone in District One hated her.
Su Yingli cleared her mind and said to the Sentinel in front of her, “All right. Your berserk level is down to 14 percent. You can request your next session in advance, and I’ll approve it when I see it.”
It was rare to find a Sentinel who wasn’t hostile toward her and was willing to cooperate. She might as well win him over; then she’d have someone who could request her specifically for future guidance sessions.
The Sentinel stood up and nodded, looking a little overwhelmed by her kindness.
“Th-thank you, Guide Su!”
It was his first time experiencing what a berserk level of 14 percent felt like. His whole body felt loose and clear, and even his senses were sharper than before!
And she wasn’t frightening at all, unlike the rumors. So much so that he found himself thinking that even if she really did do that kind of thing to him, it might not be so bad…
Su Yingli glanced at the terminal. There was only one Sentinel left.
She smiled at him. “If you see Sentinel Su Ci outside, could you tell him to hurry over for me?”
Once she’d finished guiding him, she could clock out for the day~
Su Yingli was thrilled at the thought, but the Sentinel in front of her looked terrified.
“S-sorry. Colonel Su is always hard to track down. You’d better contact him through the terminal, Guide Su.”
Then he hurried out as if someone were chasing him.
Su Yingli: ?
Puzzled, she opened Su Ci’s profile.
In the photo was a young man with a wolf cut and tousled black hair. His eyes were clear and sweet, and a bright, translucent smile played on his lips.
His skin was so pale it looked almost unhealthy, seemingly transparent in the sunlight. He was as exquisite as a piece of fine porcelain, delicate enough to break at the slightest touch.
At first glance, he inspired nothing but protectiveness and affection.
How could he be a Sentinel people were terrified of?
Still, in terms of looks, he was every bit as striking as Charon, Shen Qingyan, or Laizesi Wosi.
That made Su Yingli reasonably suspect that he was one of the main characters, too.
But in the original host’s memories, she had no connection to him at all. Su Yingli had no idea what to make of it.
Perhaps the changes she’d made had moved some events up, altering the story. But she couldn’t tell whether that was a good thing or a bad one.
Su Yingli took a deep breath.
Amid her suspicions and unease, she clicked the button to approve his request.
She waited a while. Long enough to get sleepy. Limp and boneless, she sprawled over the desk, and her unease faded away—but he still hadn’t come.
Su Yingli hadn’t had a break all day.
The moment she woke that morning, she’d been thrown into a tense, high-stakes plot. Then she’d spent the afternoon guiding Sentinels one after another. Her mind had been working at full tilt, and she was exhausted.
Su Ci still hadn’t shown up.
Her thoughts growing hazy, she waited. Before long, sleep began to overtake her. Her curled lashes fluttered softly, and she fell asleep right there with her head on the desk.
She didn’t know how much time passed.
Su Yingli felt something cool around her ankle. Something had wrapped itself around her.
A fine, prickling itch accompanied the slick sensation as it slid upward, from her ankle to her calf, then her thigh, and on to her slender waist, lingering as it went.
At last, it slowly crept up to her neck.
Round and round it coiled, gradually tightening its grip.
A hissing sound came from beside Su Yingli’s ear. Her neck tingled and stung…
Was she having a nightmare?
Why did this damp, suffocating feeling seem so real?
Su Yingli’s long lashes trembled, her brows drawing together. A faint, broken sound escaped her throat.
She struggled for a while before finally opening her eyes.
“Hiss—”
The sound from her dream was beside her ear again.
She caught a faint, delicate fragrance, like water irises swaying beside a lakeshore wetland in the dewy mist of early morning—fresh and damp.
Su Yingli turned her head, dazed.
Her eyes had yet to focus when a particularly beautiful snake, its scales a muted grayish lake-green, eagerly drew close to her face.
It swayed its head, flicking out its tongue.
The clean, elusive scent of irises grew stronger.
Su Yingli’s breath caught. With a sudden clack, she fainted.
She must have woken up in the wrong position. She’d just go back to sleep for five cents’ worth.
She didn’t know how long she was out before Su Yingli smelled that fresh fragrance again.
Someone gently poked her cheek.
“Miss Guide, it’s time to get back to work.”
An unfamiliar, clear young man’s voice sounded in her ear, tinged with laziness and nonchalance.
Her wage-slave instincts kicked in at once.
Su Yingli’s lashes fluttered as she cautiously opened her eyes.
The snake from before was gone. There was no strange sensation on her body, and the fragrance had faded.
Relieved, she patted her chest.
“Looking for Yuanxiao, Sis?”
Su Yingli had barely come to her senses when a face as exquisite and pale as white porcelain leaned close to hers. A faint smile curved his blood-red lips as he gazed at her.
He was so close that she could smell both the fresh fragrance and the scent of blood on him.
Su Yingli instinctively shrank back, putting some distance between them.
“You’re Su Ci, right? And who’s Yuanxiao?”
Su Ci sat down across from her. Seeming displeased by her movement, he pursed his lips. Resting his chin on one hand, he tilted his head and stared straight at her.
His voice was clear and cool, with a trace of languor. “Yuanxiao is my spirit. It scared you just now, didn’t it?”
So that little green snake was his spirit!
Su Yingli composed herself and told him, very seriously, “When I guide you in a moment, please don’t let your spirit out. Thank you for cooperating.”
“Why?”
The corners of Su Ci’s eyes drooped, making him look a little aggrieved. “Yuanxiao won’t hurt you, Sis.”