Chapter 44

Like a dream.

The person in his arms vanished, turning into transparent bubbles that rose; Lan'an snapped his eyes open with a swish, his blue eyes appearing calm, yet deep down he felt an unknown panic.

He reached out in vain to scoop up the slowly rising fragile bubbles; as his sharp nails just touched them, the bubbles popped with a soft pop.

Water flowed around him as usual, his embrace empty, containing nothing, not the person from his dream.

The seawater shed its unknown deep blackness, becoming clear and clean.

He clenched his palm, his heart as cold as the water, empty and icy.

No, this shouldn't be like this.

His eyes trembled, his blue tail flicked, and he shot forward at extreme speed; a sharp, uncontrolled howl rang out, causing seabed stones to shake loose and shatter in the sound waves.

The calm sea surged, instantly rolling up towering waves.

Like a dream, in his mental landscape there was only him, no one else.

Was that really a dream?

He sensed a soft, warm hand lightly stroking his fish tail; her gentle gaze had once rested on him, and his mental pollution had faded considerably.

The water's ripples blurred her face, making it impossible to recall her features, rendering her seem unreal.

Did she truly not exist?

Like a beast that lost its mate, he could not find her, only able to let the sea overwhelm to fill his hollow heart.

His sharp nails dug in, threads of blood staining the seawater red.

The pain could not awaken his reason; it only made him more clearly aware that she was not by his side.

Was she merely his own fantasy—beautiful, gentle, compassionate, a maiden come to save him, or just a fleeting dream like Southern Bough?

His blue eyes were like a storm rising on the sea; Lan'an did not believe that was his own illusion.

He firmly believed she truly existed, his beloved whom he had never yet met.

He would surely find her, no matter how vast the starry sea or how far the ends of the earth.

"Leader Fu Guang." The medical room had few people; one glance saw the beautiful girl walking over.

The assistant excitedly greeted her, only after her graceful figure walked far away did he reluctantly withdraw his gaze.

He opened his light-brain, tapped out a line of text.

"Leader Fu Guang is on duty today; who are you assigned to? Come quickly, no latecomers."

She ignored the huge waves stirred in the group, put away her light-brain, and hurriedly delivered the item in her hand to the testing room.

Leader Fu Guang is a rare good leader; generally, regardless of what she does, she works two days and rests five, and even when she comes for two days she hardly stays half a day.

Although Leader Fu Guang comes infrequently, the medicines she produces are so effective that she hardly needs to be on duty.

For capable people, rules are, in her view, just nonsense.

The assistant sighed, wondering when he himself would be free from work.

Opening the specially assigned room door granted by the academy, Fu Guang swiped in, took the case sheet for the next sentinel needing treatment from the robot's hand.

Number one on the list was a female B-rank Sentinel, attacked by bloodthirsty vines; since returning she has remained in a state of mental depression.

"Little A, help me print this semester's recent training status sheet for this sentinel." Fu Guang leaned back in her chair, flipping to the next case.

B-rank Sentinel, just emerged from a B-rank contaminated zone; recently experiencing dizziness and double vision.

"Leader Fu Guang, the data are all here." The round-headed robot slid over on its track, handing the paper to Fu Guang.

"Thank you." Fu Guang took it, saying, "Little A, fetch the alleviant from the second shelf in the storage room; give it to the second sentinel when he arrives, then check again after half an hour."

"Understood, Leader Fu Guang." The wheels whirred away; perhaps due to human ethical concerns, all the robots Fu Guang has seen lack humanoid form.

Making it obvious at first glance that they are mechanical, not human.

Not long after Little A left, a knocking sounded at the door.

"Please come in." Fu Guang did not look up, stacking some easy-to-handle cases to her right.

"Leader Fu Guang." A voice extremely weak and feeble, speaking with breath, each word stuttered out on the air.

Fu Guang looked at the sentinel; her scalp suddenly felt as if it exploded, the sentinel before her no longer looked human—skin uneven, as if tendons and bones protruded.

Her eyes were stained red, the pupils oddly moving with Fu Guang's motions; the whole person resembled a long‑unhealed weakling, her hands like dry chicken claws hanging limp at her sides.

Her clothes hung on her like on a rack, swaying emptily with her slow steps.

Fu Guang coughed lightly, relieved that a guide's protective barrier lay between them.

The fingers at her side twitched slightly.

On the message interface, Shang Ze's name appeared, the content only two words: "Save me."

This person, is human yet not human.

Her interior is no longer human, yet she is unaware that something parasites inside her body; her remaining mental power still supports her daily actions.

She must not realize she is already dead, otherwise the monster within her will emerge and this treatment room will be destroyed in an instant.

The treatment room is in a remote corner of Alliance University; normally, strong‑bodied sentinels with superb recovery have no need for it, and by the time they arrive here their injuries are mostly healed.

Unless the wounds are so severe they cannot get up, requiring long‑term recuperation.

Only when a guide arrives does the treatment room gain some liveliness.

But those who come are all contaminated, with poor mental condition and abnormal power output.

This also means the people here are not strong; if the medical staff had ability, who would stay as medics in the university? They would have long transferred to the military.

A bunch of weak, sick, and disabled facing something that silently occupies a B‑rank sentinel's body—there is no chance of winning.

Whatever can use a B‑rank sentinel as a host must be at least A+ or even S‑rank; Alliance University currently has fewer than five S‑rank sentinel trainees.

Besides Shang Ze, the others have all gone on missions; apparently an S‑rank contaminated zone appeared in the Hanchuan Abyss star system, and to prevent its expansion Alliance University has withdrawn nearly half its sentinels.

Of course not all are sent to support the S‑rank contaminated zone; to stop the pollution from spreading to nearby Hanchuan Abyss star systems, constant screening is needed.

Inside Alliance University there is emptiness; if an S‑rank alien beast or alien plant runs in, will the returning sentinels find their old nest occupied?

Then it'll be fun.

Fu Guang's expression remained normal, as if she couldn't see the Sentinel's flesh undulating on its face, "I looked at your training records; your strength has recently declined somewhat, but it's not serious."

Since the Sentinel is unaware that her body has been occupied, it means she does not consider her weakness fatal enough; she thinks she is healthy, and the weakness is only temporary.

To prevent any mishap, Fu Guang also cannot let her recall the "Bloodthirsty Vine."

Otherwise, if she suddenly has a flash of inspiration and suddenly recalls how she survived the attack of an S-rank alien species.

Then everything would be over; upon realizing this fact, she would die, and the parasite inside her would erupt due to the host's death.

Fu Guang dared not make any other move; that alien species kept watching her.

Perhaps because it's fun, it is now immersed in the warm human flesh-and-blood body, constantly surging inside the body, experiencing the sensation of being human.

Her rose is charging up; if it truly is the Bloodthirsty Vine, the rose would also have little effect.

The Bloodthirsty Vine is one of the most troublesome types among alien plants; as long as the Sentinel sees a sapling of the Bloodthirsty Vine, it will be completely destroyed.

Because it has tenacious vitality and high attack power, its blood-sucking trait causes its attack power and health to thicken, turning it into an unstoppable perpetual motion machine.

It can also feign death, but a single drop of blood is enough to revive the feigning-death Bloodthirsty Vine, turning it into a hunter.

Unless it is an overwhelming attack, otherwise it will only grow stronger with each battle, eventually taking over everything, and the defeated will become the Bloodthirsty Vine's blood slaves.

It must not be startled.

"Lady Fu Guang..." At the same time, a clear knocking sound and the words rang out together.

Fu Guang's eyelid twitched heavily.