Every Sentinel I Dreamed of Came Looking for Me

The next day, outside the testing hall of the Tower’s First Research Institute.

A hovercar came to a smooth stop, its doors sliding open. Yun Sheng, Lin Yueyao, and Lin Hao stepped out one by one.

The moment Yun Sheng steadied herself, Lin Yueyao reached out, her movements natural and intimate as she tried to take her arm.

"Yun Sheng, don’t be nervous. It’s just a formality. It’ll be over quickly."

The intimate gesture made it seem as if they were sisters with an incredibly deep bond.

But the instant before Lin Yueyao’s fingertips could touch her, Yun Sheng sidestepped with practiced ease, avoiding the contact and replying coolly with a single word, "Mm."

Lin Yueyao’s hand froze in midair. Though the perfect smile on her face remained, her eyes darkened slightly.

Lin Hao, who had seen it all from the side, immediately scoffed. "Sis, she’s not appreciating it. Stop trying to be nice to someone who’s just giving you the cold shoulder!"

"Xiao Hao, watch your tone," Lin Yueyao gently chided her brother before turning back to Yun Sheng, her voice growing even softer. "Yun Sheng, I know you might feel a little resistant, thinking that we don’t believe you. But this is for your own good. What if the last test result was a mistake? What if you didn’t actually fail your awakening?"

Yun Sheng raised her eyes and glanced at Lin Yueyao.

Her gaze was perfectly calm, yet it sent an inexplicable tremor through Lin Yueyao’s heart.

"You’re overthinking it. Since I agreed to come, I have no intention of being resistant."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Lin Yueyao’s flawless face.

"You’re so concerned with my test results. Are you hoping they’re the same as last time, or... that they turn out differently from what you expect?"

The question was so direct, so sharp, that the smile on Lin Yueyao’s face finally wavered.

"What are you talking about? Of course I hope the results are good, that they prove your potential..."

"Alright, Sis, why are you explaining so much to her? Let her think whatever she wants!"

Lin Hao cut her off impatiently. In his eyes, his sister was just too kind and good-hearted, which was why she was wasting her breath on the ungrateful Yun Sheng.

He shot Yun Sheng a vicious glare, his tone nasty. "Get in there! I’d like to see if you can still talk so tough once you’re under those precision instruments!"

The moment the words left his mouth, a black hovercar bearing the insignia of the Star Alliance high command glided over and stopped in the berth next to them.

The door opened, and a tall, imposing figure stepped out.

He wore the dark blue service uniform of a Star Alliance officer, his epaulets gleaming. It was Bai Ye.

"Brother Bai," Lin Yueyao spoke first, her smile gentle and her tone warm and familiar.

Bai Ye nodded to her, but his gaze immediately passed over her to land on Yun Sheng, who stood slightly behind.

Yun Sheng’s heart tightened, and she instinctively averted her gaze.

She could clearly feel his gaze resting on her for far longer than it had on Lin Yueyao.

’It seems Bai Ye still suspects me!’

Last night, she had expected to enter a dream again to obtain more power or clues, but the night had been dreamless.

Still, it was a relief she hadn’t dreamed of Bai Ye. Otherwise, running into him now, she feared she might accidentally give herself away.

"Brother Bai Ye! What are you doing here?" Lin Hao rushed over enthusiastically, his eyes filled with worship for the man.

The Star Alliance’s youngest War God was an idol to all young Sentinels.

"A routine check-up," Bai Ye replied flatly.

He had just returned from the Eighth Star Zone the day before. Having been exposed to contaminants during a mission, Star Alliance regulations required him to come to the institute for testing and evaluation.

"What are you all here for?"

"We brought her here to be retested!"

Lin Hao jerked a thumb in Yun Sheng’s direction, his expression filled with disdain.

"Sister Yue Yao has a good heart, thinks the equipment on that trash planet might have malfunctioned, leading to a misdiagnosis... Heh. If you ask me, how could it be wrong? No matter how outdated the equipment, it should still be able to detect whether or not someone has a spiritual body!"

"Xiao Hao!" Lin Yueyao frowned, her soft rebuke lacking any real severity.

Bai Ye’s gaze shifted slightly.

"Let’s go. I’ll head in with you."

Lin Yueyao was taken aback by his words.

’She knew his personality—he was meticulous, reserved, and strictly separated his professional and private life.’

’In the past, even when they met at the Tower or at social gatherings, he would usually just offer a polite nod and a few words about official matters. He had never offered to walk with her.’

’What was different today? Could it be because of Yun Sheng?’

The thought flashed through Lin Yueyao’s mind, and her brow furrowed involuntarily before quickly smoothing out. She smiled and nodded.

"That would be wonderful. With Brother Bai here, I’m sure everything will go much more smoothly."

Lin Hao was thrilled to be walking with his idol and immediately trotted after him.

Yun Sheng fell behind, her eyes fixed on the tall, rigid back before her. The knot of tension in her chest pulled even tighter.

’Why is Bai Ye coming along? Is it a coincidence, or... is it because he cares about these test results too?’

’I hope no complications arise. Otherwise, I’ll really be on his radar.’

The testing process was far simpler and more efficient than Yun Sheng had imagined.

In a room specifically for testing guides, she sat in a comfortable sensor chair as instructed.

The technician attached two cool, round metal probes, one to the nape of her neck and the other to the center of her forehead.

"Relax. Don’t resist. It will only take three seconds."

VMM...

A slight vibration started, and as a gentle probe wave washed over her, Yun Sheng instinctively held her breath.

Three seconds later, the probes retracted.

The test data appeared on a nearby light screen.

Subject: Yun Sheng

Test Results: Weak guide hormone activity, no spiritual body, Level: F-level

"F-level..." The technician looked at the screen, a clear trace of regret on their face as they muttered to themself, "What a pity... The guide hormone response is still present, so how can she be unable to form a spiritual body?"

In this world, guides were already rare, making every single one incredibly precious.

Even an F-level guide, the lowest of all, could at least provide basic comfort to Low-level Sentinels or High-level Sentinels with less severe conditions, alleviating their spiritual pollution—so long as they had a spiritual body.

But without a spiritual body, they were considered a crippled guide, almost completely unable to soothe Sentinels.

"Ha! See that?" Lin Hao immediately pointed at the screen, jeering triumphantly. "F-level, no spiritual body—the exact same result as on the trash planet. I told you! Even if the equipment was outdated, there was no way it could make that kind of mistake!"

Looking at the result, Lin Yueyao secretly breathed a sigh of relief before tugging on Lin Hao’s sleeve.

"Xiao Hao, that’s enough. Yun Sheng is already upset enough about not having a spiritual body. Stop talking to her like that."

Lin Hao pouted but said no more.

Yun Sheng paid no mind to their words. Her gaze was fixed on the three words "no spiritual body," and the heart that had been lodged in her throat the entire time finally settled back into her chest.

’Thank goodness...’

’They didn’t detect anything.’

’This at least proves that my current "abnormality" is hidden and can’t be discovered by conventional means.’

However, just as she was silently celebrating, a low voice suddenly cut in.

"Wait."

Bai Ye took a step forward, his gaze locking onto Yun Sheng, his eyes alarmingly dark.

On the way back from the Eighth Star Zone, his spiritual body had shown an unusual affinity and acceptance toward her.

The vague yet tangible comfort he’d felt in his dream that night, and the subsequent mending of the cracks in his spiritual landscape upon waking, had only made him direct his suspicions more firmly toward Yun Sheng.

But her test results were the complete opposite of what he suspected!

Unless... her "abnormality" was hidden deeper—so deep that conventional tests couldn’t touch it.

He needed to know if there was something in the depths of her spiritual landscape that made her different from an ordinary guide!

"Perform a deep evaluation of her spiritual landscape."

At these words, the testing room fell instantly silent.

Lin Hao was stunned, looking at Bai Ye in confusion. "Brother Bai Ye? Is... is that really necessary?"

’What’s the point of a deep evaluation on an F-level waste of space with no spiritual body?’

’It’s a total waste of resources!’

Lin Yueyao’s eyes widened as well, her gaze on Bai Ye filled with confusion and a subtle sense of crisis.

’Why would he make such an unusual request?’

’So his offer to accompany us... it really was for Yun Sheng!’

As for Yun Sheng, the heart that had just settled was violently yanked back into her throat.

"Do as I say."

When the technician hesitated, Bai Ye spoke again, his voice so cold and hard that it was impossible to refuse.

Not daring to defy the Star Alliance War God, the technician immediately began preparing more precise instruments.

Yun Sheng felt her blood run cold.

’Just how deep would this spiritual landscape evaluation go?’

’What if... what if the equipment detected the residual traces of the two forces inside my spiritual landscape that didn’t belong to me? What then?’