Chapter 182: Her Own Sentinel Helps Settle the Score

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Her Own Sentinel Helps Settle the Score

Yun Sheng followed Qi Yao’s gaze, and her heart skipped a beat.

That was the exact direction where she had just sensed the aura of Si Jin’s spiritual power.

But now, she couldn’t sense anything there at all.

’Si Jin... he must have left already.’

’But what did that look from Qi Yao just now mean?’

’Could he have also sensed Si Jin’s spiritual power?’

Her mind raced. She refused to continue being led by the nose like this.

’I have to take the initiative!’

"Major General Qi."

Yun Sheng took two steps forward. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough for everyone to hear.

Qi Yao subconsciously retracted his gaze and turned to look at her.

Yun Sheng met his eyes, her expression composed. "There was something off about those dark shadows from before."

Hearing this, everyone else’s attention immediately fell upon Yun Sheng.

"It was as if they were deliberately lured by something, and they were coming for me."

Qi Yao’s eyes flickered. "How do you know they were coming for you?"

Yun Sheng thought for a moment before saying seriously, "They bypassed everyone else and only lunged at me every time. If I’m not mistaken, then someone tampered with them."

She paused, her gaze fixed on Qi Yao.

"Major General Qi, I suspect that my gear, or my clothes, or my shoes have been tampered with."

As soon as she said this, everyone was stunned.

Cheng Nian’s eyes went wide. "What? Who would do something like that to you?"

Li Wen also frowned, subconsciously looking toward Zhao Qian.

Zhao Qian’s face changed, and she immediately shrieked, "What are you looking at me for? It wasn’t me!"

Yun Sheng didn’t look at her, only saying to Qi Yao, "I request an inspection."

Qi Yao’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he said, "Request granted."

Yun Sheng crouched down and began to go through her boots, backpack, and outer jacket one by one, carefully searching for any clues.

Cheng Nian and Li Wen came over to help, while Zhou Ying stood to the side, her gaze sweeping over them impassively.

"Here."

Yun Sheng’s finger stopped on a hidden seam on the inside of her boot’s upper.

There was a small, slightly darker mark, completely unnoticeable without a close look.

She leaned in and sniffed it, her brow furrowing slightly.

"There’s a smell," she said. "It’s very faint, but it seems to be some kind of incense."

Guo Kai walked over, picked up her boot, examined it closely, and then sniffed it. His expression suddenly darkened.

"This is Beast-attracting Incense." His voice turned cold. "It’s specifically used to attract contaminants."

The moment he finished speaking, the gazes of Cheng Nian, Li Wen, and even He Yi and Zhou Ying all fell on Zhao Qian in unison.

Zhao Qian’s face instantly turned pale.

"It wasn’t me!" she shrieked. "I didn’t do it! How could I possibly have something like that!"

Yun Sheng stood up, dusted off her hands, and didn’t look at her.

She just said to Qi Yao, "Major General Qi, the source of this stuff can be traced, right?"

Qi Yao looked at her, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes.

"It can," he said.

Zhao Qian’s face grew even paler, her lips trembling.

Yun Sheng said no more.

She stood there, waiting for Qi Yao’s reaction.

Qi Yao glanced at the mark on the boot’s upper, then looked at Zhao Qian. He said in a low voice, "Give me the boot. I’ll have someone verify this immediately. When the mission is over and we’re back at camp, you will get an explanation."

After speaking, he turned to the accompanying assistant instructor.

"Bring a replacement pair of boots."

The assistant instructor nodded, pulled a pair of combat boots from his pack, and handed them to Yun Sheng.

Yun Sheng accepted them, said her thanks, and bent down to put them on.

The new boots were a little big, but they were still better than the tampered pair.

She shouldered her pack again and didn’t look at Zhao Qian, appearing as if she didn’t intend to do anything further and would simply wait for Qi Yao to give her an explanation.

Cheng Nian leaned in at that moment and asked in a low voice, "Yun Sheng, do you think it was Zhao Qian?"

Yun Sheng neither nodded nor shook her head, only saying impassively, "We’ll know once it’s investigated."

’No matter who it was, now that I’ve brought it out into the open, they shouldn’t be stupid enough to try any more tricks.’

’Besides, this might also distract Qi Yao a bit.’

She glanced at Qi Yao’s back out of the corner of her eye.

He was standing at the front of the group, seemingly observing the terrain ahead, showing no signs of anything unusual.

Yun Sheng withdrew her gaze, sighing in relief inwardly.

Soon, the group set off again.

The fog gradually dispersed and the light in the forest brightened, but the path underfoot became increasingly difficult to traverse.

The ground was littered with shattered rocks and pits of varying depths. Withered vines clung to collapsed support beams, and rust-spotted train tracks, half-buried in rubble, stretched crookedly into the distance.

As they walked further, an indescribable smell began to fill the air, like rust mixed with the acrid scent of some disturbed mineral.

After walking for some time, Qi Yao stopped and raised a hand, signaling for everyone to halt.

"We’re here."

His voice was low as he looked toward the mine entrance ahead, mostly blocked by rubble from a cave-in.

Standing in the middle of the group, Yun Sheng gazed at the entrance and lightly bit her lip.

’Is this the burial ground Si Jin chose for himself back when he felt he was about to lose control completely?’

She pictured the scene: him, all alone, dragging his rampaging, out-of-control body through these desolate ruins and into that dark, deep mine.

He planned to trap himself here before he completely degenerated into a mindless Dark Sentinel, afraid that after turning into a monster, he would harm an innocent person.

Yun Sheng’s eyes suddenly stung, and a heavy feeling settled in her chest, as if something was blocking her throat, making it hard to breathe.

’Si Jin had shouldered so much, all on his own.’

’And only now was I truly standing here, looking at the place where he had once prepared to bury himself.’

Her nails dug deep into her palms, the piercing pain going completely unnoticed.

Cheng Nian noticed something was wrong and asked quietly, "Yun Sheng, what’s the matter? You look terrible."

Yun Sheng snapped out of it and shook her head.

"I’m fine." Her voice was a little hoarse. "It’s just... this place feels unsettling."

Cheng Nian nodded and didn’t press further, just moved a little closer to her.

Qi Yao stood at the head of the group, his gaze sweeping over the mine entrance. He said to the accompanying Sentinels at his side, "Clear the rocks blocking the path."

The Sentinels acknowledged the order and moved forward toward the entrance.

Just as they neared the collapsed rubble, a faint rustling sound suddenly came from the rock face above the mine.

The sound was rapid and dense, as if something was darting through the crevices of the rubble, hugging the rock wall as it surged toward them from all directions.

Qi Yao’s brow furrowed, and he raised a hand to signal the Sentinels to stop.

"On guard!"

The words had barely left his mouth when several black shapes shot out from the crevices above the mine. Their speed was astounding as they twisted and flipped in midair, charging straight for them!

They were snakes.

But they weren’t ordinary snakes.

Their bodies were pitch-black, their scales shimmering with a cold, metallic luster. They held their triangular heads high, flicking their tongues with a HISS, transparent slime dripping from their fangs.

They didn’t attack the Sentinels closest to the mine. Instead, they lunged in unison toward Qi Yao.

Qi Yao’s eyes sharpened. His spiritual power erupted around him, and the lead black snake was sliced in two by a blade of condensed spiritual power, its severed halves still writhing on the ground.

But the ones behind it were even faster, assailing him from different angles with sharp, ear-piercing hisses.

Yun Sheng watched this scene, her pupils contracting slightly.

The instant the snakes lunged at Qi Yao, she faintly detected the fluctuating aura of Si Jin’s spiritual power.

’Was this his doing?’

’Making these snakes attack Qi Yao?’

’Why attack Qi Yao? Is he trying to stop Qi Yao from entering the mine, or... does he have another purpose?!’