Every Sentinel I Dreamed of Came Looking for Me

The tent area of the temporary camp was far more rudimentary than before.

There were no neatly arranged military tents, only a few dozen simple, gray-green ones. Each tent had to accommodate ten to fifteen people, their bunks crammed so tightly together there was hardly any room to turn.

The trainees gathered in twos and threes before their assigned tents. Some quietly discussed the perilous journey, others checked to see if their gear was all accounted for, and still others stared blankly, their faces pale, clearly not yet recovered from the bloody ordeal.

Yun Sheng, Li Wen, and Cheng Nian were assigned to the same tent, but when they got there, they saw quite a few people already standing in front of it, among them several familiar faces.

"Well, what a coincidence." A corner of Zhao Qian’s mouth twitched as her gaze swept over Yun Sheng. "We’ve been assigned together again."

Zhou Ying stood to the side without a word, merely flicking a cool glance at them before her gaze drifted away.

She was a C-level Guide and the sister of Major General Zhou Lin. Her status was the highest among this batch of Preparatory Guides, and no one dared to cross her.

Her silence was a tacit endorsement of Zhao Qian’s attitude.

Zhao Qian clearly understood this as well, which only made her bolder.

She pointed to the three bunks closest to the tent flap. "You three can sleep there."

Cheng Nian’s expression soured. "Why should we? It’s drafty by the entrance, and it’s dangerous at night..."

"Dangerous?" Zhao Qian cut her off with a humorless smile. "Isn’t that perfect? You love the spotlight, don’t you? You’ll be the first to charge in if there’s danger. How glorious."

Cheng Nian’s face flushed with anger. She was about to retort when Yun Sheng put a hand on her arm, stopping her.

Yun Sheng glanced at the three bunks, then at the ones deeper inside the tent—those nestled securely in the center—her expression serene.

"Fine."

Li Wen and Cheng Nian both froze, staring at her in disbelief.

Zhao Qian was taken aback as well, clearly not expecting Yun Sheng to agree so readily.

The comeback she had prepared died in her throat, leaving her momentarily speechless.

"However," Yun Sheng said suddenly, her gaze landing on the standard-issue Energy Gun at Zhao Qian’s waist, "we have no problem with the three of us taking the three bunks by the entrance. But my sidearm jammed during the previous battle. I need a replacement."

She pointed to the backup weapon at Zhao Qian’s waist—a laser energy gun, far more stable than the basic model issued to the trainees. Her family must have prepared it for her before the mission.

"I see you have two. Let me borrow one."

Zhao Qian’s expression changed. "What gives you the right...?"

"On the grounds that we’re sleeping by the entrance," Yun Sheng said, her tone nonchalant. "If we’re first to face any danger, our gear should be up to snuff, shouldn’t it? You can’t expect us to fend off a Split Ridge Lizard with a fire poker, can you? Or if you’d rather not, we could always go back to the original assignments from the system lottery."

’She’d taken a quick look earlier—according to the lottery, the outermost spot was Zhao Qian’s!’

Zhao Qian’s face went from pale to livid. She subconsciously glanced at Zhou Ying.

Zhou Ying remained silent, her gaze lingering on Yun Sheng for a brief moment before she looked away, as if none of this concerned her.

But this attitude was a silent admission that Yun Sheng’s proposal was reasonable.

Zhao Qian gritted her teeth, yanked the Energy Gun from her waist, and shoved it into Yun Sheng’s hands.

"Take it!"

Yun Sheng took the gun and casually inspected the clip and energy cell. Then she looked up at Zhao Qian, the corners of her lips curling into a slight smile.

"Thanks."

Zhao Qian’s chest heaved with anger, but she was utterly speechless.

Yun Sheng paid her no more mind and walked straight toward the three bunks by the entrance.

Li Wen and Cheng Nian hurried to follow. Cheng Nian leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Yun Sheng, why did you agree? It’s so dangerous by the entrance!"

Yun Sheng crouched down to sort out her bunk, keeping her voice very low.

"It’s dangerous by the entrance, but we’ll also be the first to know if anything happens."

As she spoke, she hefted the Energy Gun in her hand, a slight arc forming on her lips.

"As for getting the better of us... she won’t."

Cheng Nian and Li Wen exchanged a glance and couldn’t help but stifle a laugh.

Cheng Nian leaned in, her voice low. "Damn, Yun Sheng. Brave and brilliant. I’m impressed."

The three of them quickly made their beds and lay down side by side.

The tent gradually grew quiet, the only sounds the occasional rustle of someone turning over and the faint, intermittent shrieks of contaminants in the distance.

Yun Sheng lay on her side, looking at her terminal.

The screen lit up, then went dark.

In the chat box, the messages she’d sent still lay there, unanswered.

She stared at the grayed-out profile picture, her fingertip gently tracing the edge of the screen.

’Still no reply.’

Yun Sheng took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

The battle, the frantic escape, the heart-pounding moments—it all came rushing back like a tide, slowly submerging her consciousness.

Exhausted.

So, so tired.

Her eyelids grew heavy, and her consciousness began to fade...

And there it was again—that familiar, empty space.

Yun Sheng stood amidst the gray-white mist, pausing for a moment as a wave of complex emotions washed over her.

’I’m dreaming again.’

She instinctively started walking forward, passing through layers of thin mist, when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Not far ahead stood a familiar figure.

It was Bai Ye.

But his condition was different from any other time she had seen him.

He stood there, his shoulders still squared and straight, but the aura around him was in terrifying disarray.

His spiritual power churned uncontrollably, surging violently one moment and contracting the next, like a cornered beast struggling for its life.

His head was bowed, obscuring his expression, but Yun Sheng could see the hand hanging at his side, its knuckles white and trembling faintly.

Perhaps hearing her footsteps, Bai Ye suddenly looked up.

The moment their eyes met, Yun Sheng’s breath caught in her throat.

Bai Ye’s eyes.

Those eyes, normally as placid as a frozen pool, were now glowing a horrifying crimson.

It wasn’t the pure, uncontrolled crimson of Si Jin, but a madness desperately suppressed yet about to break free—a frenzy that churned, struggled, and tore at the depths of his gaze.

He looked at her, his gaze filled with an emotion she had never seen before.

There was pain, restraint, and... a desire that was on the verge of snapping its leash.

Yun Sheng’s heart clenched painfully.

’What happened to him?!’

Before she could speak, Bai Ye suddenly started toward her.

One step, then two. He moved quickly, as if he could no longer hold back!

Yun Sheng instinctively took a step back, but before she could take a second, he seized her wrist.

His palm was scorching, terrifyingly so, as if it held a ball of fire.

"Help me." His voice was impossibly hoarse, the crimson in his eyes flickering. "I need you."

Yun Sheng froze.

’He needs me?’

Before she could react, a warm, dense current of spiritual power coiled up her arm from their clasped hands.

Immediately after, Bai Ye opened his spiritual landscape to her completely.

Yun Sheng’s breath hitched. Her spiritual power, drawn in by his, instinctively twined with it.

Then, she saw the current state of Bai Ye’s spiritual landscape.

It was a mess of crisscrossing fissures. Every crack was widening, every wisp of his spiritual power was in revolt. The entire landscape was teetering on the verge of collapse.

’It wasn’t this bad before!’

’Bai Ye, what in the world happened to you?’

"I’m injured." Bai Ye’s voice was a low, hoarse whisper beside her ear, laced with a vulnerability she had never heard from him before. "My spiritual power is running rampant. I’m about to lose control."

He looked at her, his crimson eyes churning with pain and restraint, and a hint of something that was almost a plea.

"I need you to help me soothe it. Right now... I can’t lose control!"