Chapter 36: First Mission

"You’re going out again?"

Lumi looked at Evan, who was already dressed in his usual black clothes with a jacket draped over his shoulders. He had barely returned home a few hours ago, yet he was already preparing to leave again.

"Mm..." Evan nodded as he reached for the door. "I’m just taking some time out to bring food to you. I figured you might get hungry waiting here alone."

He slipped his shoes on and glanced back at her. "Don’t wait up. I have a mission tonight."

"Mission?" Lumi blinked. "Like fighting Anomalies?"

Evan paused, "Mm. Something like that."

He opened the door, but before he could step outside, he added, "I don’t know why, but these past few weeks, Anomaly attacks have been happening more often than usual."

Lumi’s expression became slightly more serious. "Then why didn’t you ask me to follow you?"

Evan stopped. He slowly turned his head toward her.

Lumi immediately realized how her question might sound and lowered her gaze. "I mean... if I can help you Guide when you’re in Rampage, wouldn’t it be safer if I stayed nearby?"

Evan stared at her for a moment before closing the door again.

He walked back toward her, "You want to come with me?"

Lumi nodded hesitantly. "I think... it might be useful."

Evan was quiet for a few moments.

It wasn’t that Evan didn’t want her there. In fact, the thought of having Lumi nearby during a mission was far more reassuring than he cared to admit. The problem was that Anomaly zones were dangerous, and Lumi had absolutely no combat ability.

"You’ve never been inside an active Anomaly zone before."

"No." She shook her head quickly.

"What about a combat rank?" Evan asked.

Lumi blinked in confusion. "What is that?"

Evan stared at her for a moment. "Then how are you supposed to protect yourself?"

Lumi pressed her lips together, thinking seriously about the question before looking straight into his eyes. "I am tough..."

Evan sighed, "You make it very difficult to say no when you look at me like that."

Lumi immediately looked up at him in confusion. "I wasn’t trying to..."

"I know." A faint smile appeared on his lips. "But promise me this. If you’re coming, you stay beside me the entire time. Don’t wander off, don’t touch anything without permission, and if I tell you to run, you run."

Lumi nodded seriously. "Promise!"

"Good." Evan looked at her for another moment before reaching for the door and pulling it closed again. "Then get ready."

Lumi blinked. "Now?"

"Yes." He glanced at the clock. "We leave in twenty minutes."

For the first time since moving into Evan’s house, Lumi felt a little excitement replace her boredom.

Lumi hurried back to her room to change.

She had no idea what people normally wore when accompanying a Sentinel on a mission, so she opened the wardrobe and stared at the rows of clothes inside.

The wardrobe had already been filled with clothes in her size. There were casual outfits, comfortable clothes for staying at home, several sets suitable for going outside, and even shoes that fit her perfectly.

Evan had apparently prepared everything for her after bringing her here.

Lumi still wasn’t used to it.

Back at the Pei residence, no one had ever bothered to prepare anything specifically for her. Here, she could simply open a wardrobe and find clothes that had already been chosen according to her size.

After a moment of hesitation, she picked a pair of dark trousers, a simple long-sleeved shirt, and comfortable shoes.

She had just finished changing when there was a knock on the door.

"Ready?" Evan’s voice could be heard behind the door.

"Almost!" Lumi quickly fixed her hair before opening the door.

Evan’s gaze swept over her clothes before settling on her shoes. "Those aren’t suitable."

Lumi looked down. "They’re comfortable."

"They’re comfortable for walking around the city, not an Anomaly zone."

"Oh..." She looked slightly embarrassed.

Evan sighed softly and motioned for her to follow him.

"Come with me." He led her downstairs, but instead of heading toward the entrance, he stopped beside a cabinet near the storage room and opened it.

Inside were several small containers arranged neatly on the shelves.

Lumi leaned closer. "What are those?"

"Protection cream." Evan answered right away.

"Cream?"

Evan picked up one of the containers.

"Anomaly zones have more than just monsters. Some insects and small creatures carry contaminated particles or toxins. A bite from certain species can cause Anomaly-induced viral fever."

Lumi’s eyes widened.

"Viral fever?"

"It usually starts with a high fever, dizziness, and weakness. If the contamination spreads into the bloodstream, it can become much worse."

Lumi immediately became serious. "That didn’t sound good."

Evan opened the container and took a small amount of the cream.

"This repels most of them." He held out his hand. "Give me your wrist."

Lumi hesitated for a moment before placing her hand in his.

Evan applied a thin layer of the cream around her wrist, spreading it carefully over her skin.

The cream had a faint herbal smell, slightly cool against her skin.

Lumi looked down curiously. "Does it really work?"

"Yes." He continued.

"What if something still bites me?"

"Then tell me immediately." He moved to her other wrist. "And don’t scratch the bite."

"Okay."

Once he finished, Evan looked at her arms. "Your ankles too."

Lumi blinked. "Why?"

"Some of them crawl."

"Oh..." She obediently lifted one foot.

Evan crouched down and applied the cream around the exposed area above her boot.

Lumi became increasingly aware of how strange the situation was.

She had expected an Anomaly mission to involve weapons, monsters, and dangerous creatures.

She hadn’t expected Evan Caesar to be crouching in front of her, carefully putting insect-repellent cream on her ankles.

’Is this really how Sentinels prepare for missions?’

"Done..." Evan stood up and looked straight at Lumi. "Are you sure?"

For some reason, he suddenly didn’t feel good about bringing her along. Anomaly zones were dangerous enough for trained Sentinels, let alone someone like Lumi who had no combat experience. Yet leaving her alone at home didn’t feel any better.

Lumi smiled sincerely, "Don’t worry... I’m quite tough and brave."

Evan stared at her for a moment. His gaze slowly moved over her small frame before returning to her face. "Tough?"

Lumi nodded confidently. "Mm. I’m quite tough."

Evan didn’t answer immediately. He suddenly wondered what exactly she meant by tough.

Perhaps, to Lumi, being tough simply meant that even after being beaten again and again, she could still stand back up.

He had seen the bruises on her neck from his own hands. He had seen the wound on her forehead from the vase her family had thrown at her. He had seen the red mark left on her cheek after being slapped, yet she had still followed Felix to the hospital as though she had no other choice.

And somehow, after all of that, she was standing in front of him now, smiling sincerely and telling him not to worry.

Evan’s expression darkened slightly.

’So that’s what she calls being tough?’

Surviving everything people threw at her?

He didn’t know whether he should admire her resilience or be angry that she had ever needed so much of it.

"You’re definitely tougher than you look," he finally said.

Lumi’s eyes brightened.

"But being tough doesn’t mean you should underestimate an Anomaly zone."

Her smile immediately became more serious.

Evan reached out and adjusted the collar of her jacket, making sure it covered her neck properly before pulling the zipper slightly higher. "If anything happens, you stay behind me."

She nodded.

"If I tell you to run, don’t argue."

"Okay."

"If you see an unfamiliar plant, insect, or creature, don’t touch it."

Lumi nodded again. "Okay."

"And if you get scared..."

"I’ll tell you."

Evan paused.

Lumi looked up at him. "I promise."

For a moment, Evan simply looked at her.

Then he nodded.

"Good." He opened the door and stepped aside for her. "Let’s go, then."