Chapter 188: No Matter What Happens, I Will Protect You

Chapter 188: Chapter 188: No Matter What Happens, I Will Protect You

If only she could contact Si Jin, she could ask him what was really going on.

Unfortunately, she had turned in her optical computer long ago, and the terminal she had now couldn’t reach him.

The situation was critical. Zhao Heng and Guo Kai were on high alert, so there was no way she could sneak off to see Si Jin.

Yun Sheng’s head throbbed with worry, but all she could do was stand her ground and wait.

Just then, a sustained, shrill screech echoed from the outskirts of the mining pit.

The nerves of everyone present instantly tightened. They all gripped their blades.

The screeching grew closer, interspersed with beastly growls, as countless things swarmed them from all directions.

Soon, black shadows began darting out from the crevices in the rocks.

It was the same black snakes from before. They hissed, flicking their forked tongues, their scarlet eyes locked onto the group.

Then, more pollutants—low-level and Mid-tier—slowly closed in on them.

Zhao Heng’s brow furrowed. He exchanged a quick glance with Guo Kai and made an immediate decision.

"We can’t stay here! We have to break out now! If we get surrounded and pinned down, we’ll be forced back into the mine. Even Major General Qi couldn’t handle the pollutants in there. Going back in would be suicide!"

The group immediately fell into formation, fighting to break through the encirclement.

Yun Sheng formed her spiritual power into thin needles, her senses on high alert.

She didn’t dare reveal too much, but she couldn’t afford to hold back either. In a situation like this, concealing her strength was a death sentence.

Two thin needles shot out, embedding themselves in the eyes of a lunging pollutant. The creature shrieked and collapsed.

She sidestepped another creature’s sharp claws and, with a flick of her wrist, sent a needle plunging precisely into the side of its neck.

Cheng Nian was nearly caught by a lunging pollutant, but Yun Sheng yanked her back by the arm while simultaneously firing a thin needle straight into the creature’s throat.

Cheng Nian’s face was pale. "Thanks," she gasped. Yun Sheng had no time to reply before another creature was upon her.

"Head for the outskirts! Regroup with Major General Qi!"

Zhao Heng cleared a path at the front, his blade a silver blur. Pollutant after pollutant fell at his feet.

Guo Kai guarded the flank, while Ma Yu and two other A-level Sentinels brought up the rear.

The group fought their way out, pushing toward the edge of the mining pit.

But there were too many pollutants. Their individual Levels weren’t high, but their numbers were overwhelming. For every one they killed, two more took its place. They were endless.

They were slowly pushed back to the edge of a dense forest. Yun Sheng found herself at the fringe of the group, her position concealed from the others by a few thick tree trunks.

A C-level pollutant lunged from the side. Yun Sheng sidestepped and gathered her spiritual power to counterattack.

The creature was fast. She didn’t have time to form a second needle and was forced to retreat, putting a few steps of distance between herself and the main group as she dodged.

Just as the creature lunged again, a sharp Spiritual Blade shot out from the shadows of the trees, striking it squarely in the head. Foul blood splattered, and the creature collapsed without so much as a cry.

Yun Sheng froze. Before she could turn, a hand reached out from the shadows, wrapped around her wrist, and gently pulled her into their cover.

"Don’t make a sound."

The voice was low, tinged with a smile.

Yun Sheng’s heart skipped a beat. She looked up into a pair of familiar blue eyes.

Si Jin was leaning against the tree trunk, one hand still holding her wrist, the other resting lazily on his knee. He looked as casual as if he were sunbathing in his own backyard.

The sounds of battle raged on outside, but within the pocket of shadow, it was as quiet as another world.

Seeing him, Yun Sheng felt a wave of relief, which was quickly replaced by tension. "Si Jin," she asked hurriedly, "do you know what’s happening with Qi Yao? His injuries shouldn’t have been that severe. Why did his spiritual power suddenly go haywire?"

Si Jin raised an eyebrow, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk. "Aren’t you worried I just hit him too hard?"

Yun Sheng studied his expression, then shook her head. "You have the power to, but you’re not that reckless."

The smile in Si Jin’s eyes deepened.

He leaned in, placed a light kiss on the corner of her mouth, and then pulled back. His thumb brushed against her cheek before he finally spoke in a leisurely tone.

"His spiritual power must have already been unstable. Remember in the mine, when the Abyssal Giant Wolf attacked him? He coughed up blood, didn’t he? I caught a strange scent then. After you all left, I went back to check. I found traces of some kind of forbidden drug in his blood."

Yun Sheng froze. "A forbidden drug?"

"Mmhm." Si Jin’s expression grew a little more somber. "He likely took it to break through to SS Level. The drug has extreme side effects, which is why it’s expressly forbidden by the Star Alliance. It requires a solid month of continuous use to take effect, so he was probably planning to use this field training to achieve his breakthrough on the sly. A drug like that leaves vulnerabilities in the user’s spiritual landscape. Once subjected to a shock or tremor, a backlash is almost inevitable."

The color drained slightly from Yun Sheng’s face.

Breaking through to SS Level...

She remembered that in the original story, Qi Yao had advanced to SS Level after a mission where he unexpectedly ran into a Sandstorm Worm. He had been gravely injured and sucked into quicksand, where he discovered an Energy Baryte and absorbed its power.

’Could it be that he resorted to this desperate measure because he didn’t get the energy crystal this time?’

But an S-Class Sentinel is already considered incredibly powerful in the Star Alliance. He’s so young, why the rush?!

"Why would he use a forbidden drug? With his abilities, he could have reached SS Level in due time. There was no need to go down this road, right?"

Si Jin shrugged. "That’s anyone’s guess. However..."

He paused, his gaze turning cold. "That forbidden drug isn’t something just anyone can get their hands on. The time I lost control... it was because someone used an induction agent on me. I’ve done some digging into the black market before. The induction agent they used on me and the forbidden drug Qi Yao took... I suspect they came from the same source."

Yun Sheng’s heart sank. "You suspect that the person who gave Qi Yao the drug is part of the same group that ambushed you and used the induction agent?"

Si Jin didn’t answer directly, just looked at her.

But his expression said it all.

Yun Sheng’s mind raced.

’If it really is the same group, what’s their objective?’

’Targeting Si Jin, and now dragging Qi Yao down with them...’

’Could it be a conspiracy targeting the highest-ranking Sentinels?!’

Perhaps her expression was too grim, because Si Jin suddenly reached out. His fingertips gently traced her brow, smoothing the knot between her eyebrows.

"Don’t overthink it." His voice was low, laced with a careless smile. "Let the tall guys worry about the sky falling. Aren’t you tired from worrying so much?"

Yun Sheng opened her mouth to say something, but he gently pressed his fingertips to her lips.

"Don’t worry." He leaned in, resting his forehead against hers, his warm breath ghosting across her face. "No matter what happens, I will protect you."

Yun Sheng’s heart suddenly began to race.

She looked up into Si Jin’s beautiful blue eyes. The laughter in them had faded, replaced by an absolute, unwavering seriousness.

She was just about to speak...

"BOOM!"

A tremendous roar erupted from deep within the forest, shaking the entire grove to its roots.

Leaves rained down, and the ground beneath their feet visibly trembled.

A blinding light flared on the distant horizon before vanishing, followed by a low, dull roar, like the cry of some colossal beast, echoing from far away.

Si Jin’s expression changed in an instant.

He narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed in that direction. The lazy aura that always clung to him vanished in a flash, replaced by a razor-sharp focus Yun Sheng had never seen before.

"I’m going to take a look." His voice was low and heavy. "Yun Sheng, protect yourself. The little wolf is somewhere around you. You should be able to sense him. Don’t get too far away."