Chapter 127: Best choice

The moment those words were uttered, eleven pairs of eyes locked onto Bunny simultaneously. That feeling of being pinned down, intensely watched, and surrounded by a waiting pack caused Bunny’s heart to pound frantically against her ribs.

In the dead silence of the room, you could hear a pin drop.

Astin was practically the first to turn an anxious, tense gaze toward Bunny. That awkward, conflicted tangle of intense hope and sheer dread of being rejected was displayed across his face with crystal clarity.

Apart from Tyr, who remained as tranquil and unbothered as ever, virtually every single Sentinel was waiting with breathless anticipation for Bunny’s answer.

Who would be favored by the Guide tonight?

Xander’s gaze remained impossibly gentle, yet beneath that gentleness lay a violent storm that had long been brewing.

Amidst the prolonged silence, as the seconds ticked by on the wall clock, Bunny felt deeply reluctant to accept another man so quickly.

Beyond her psychological hurdles, the main issue was that her body simply couldn’t take another grueling round.

Yet she desperately needed a living heating pad.

Gathering her courage, Bunny raised her head.

"I..."

She was hardly a high-maintenance or pretentious woman.

Perhaps back when she had first awakened, she had felt as though everything in this era was utterly alien to her.

Especially the overbearing behavior of these Sentinels—it had driven her up the wall every single day.

Yet the rules of the world had long since changed; the era she knew was gone, never to return. Aside from adapting to her reality, she had no alternative.

Besides, after spending this time alongside them, she knew these Sentinels weren’t inherently malicious at heart. Perhaps she was simply fortunate not to have run into vile, lawless Sentinels like the Scavenger gangs out in the wasteland.

She reached a practical decision swiftly.

Although Astin shared a spiritual bond with her, he still seemed caught in a loop of hesitation. Bunny had been waiting for him to take the initiative and approach her, yet he never did.

Perhaps he hadn’t fully thought things through yet.

Orion was sweet and obedient—an ideal living heating pad—yet he shared a sensory link with Illai. Illai was an intensely possessive younger brother; if she chose Orion, he would certainly be sore at his brother for a long time.

Bunny had long realized that in this squad, Illai cared about Orion more than anyone else.

Even though he constantly complained about his mute older brother every day, Illai was always the one waiting for Orion so they could eat together or head out on patrol side-by-side.

Apart from his brother, Orion didn’t have any close friends in the entire base. She couldn’t bring herself to drive a wedge between the twin brothers—and having both of them keep her company at once was completely out of the question.

Was the bed even big enough?

Even if that were an option, it was a conversation for far down the road.

Besides, her relationship with the two of them wasn’t particularly intimate yet.

Rain was strictly in the friend zone for now. As for San, that playful, overly suggestive flirt was a hard pass. Arden and Tyr were reasonably well-behaved, but she wasn’t close enough with them.

Brandon was still a minor, so he was off the table entirely.

Kai had only just been rescued, making him even more of a stranger.

When all was said and done, Xander was the absolute best fit—they had already officially confirmed their romantic relationship.

More importantly, she trusted Xander’s character implicitly; he wouldn’t take advantage of her vulnerable state.

"Xander... stay with me tonight."

A simple, quietly uttered sentence landed like a decisive gavel strike. Every Sentinel present wore a distinct expression, triggering a subtle yet explosive spark that rippled through the dining hall.

Tyr and Rain found the outcome entirely expected. Kai cast a brief glance toward Astin, offering him a look of pure, unadulterated disdain.

Unwilling to accept defeat, Brandon nudged his head closer. "Bunny, why can’t the puppy keep you company?"

Bunny looked down. Chopper—the puppy with plush blue-gray fur—was lying by her feet, tilting its wet nose and flicking its pink tongue up at her.

This puppy certainly wasn’t that "puppy."

She patted its soft, fluffy head gently. "Because we have to protect minors."

Xander had already sensed Bunny’s choice in advance, yet he couldn’t deny the rush of happiness that washed over him when those words left her lips.

An indescribable, pure joy.

***

Eastern Sector — Defense Post 44: Lost City A

Lost City A was widely regarded as the most remote and perilous territory among all defense posts. On official military maps, this entire sector—along with a hundred-kilometer border stretch touching Sector 2—was designated as an SSS-rank Contaminated Zone.

Due to the area’s year-round humidity and air temperatures remaining 4 to 5 degrees Celsius lower than the scorching wasteland surface, it provided ideal conditions for Aberration egg incubation.

Consequently, these monsters favored City A above all else for spawning their clutches. Because it lay adjacent to the final energy substation under 616’s jurisdiction, the squad was required to conduct periodic purges to clear out the nests.

City A had once suffered a massive catastrophe caused by tectonic shifts, where an extreme earthquake split the fault lines wide open, burying every scrap of abandoned human architecture that once stood above ground deep beneath the earth’s crust.

This layout made matters significantly worse; the sprawling subterranean network provided the Aberrations with a flawless sanctuary and breeding ground.

Standing at the precipice of the fault line, Cyrus stared coldly at the radar scanner as dense clusters of red blips fluctuated across the screen—far too numerous to count.

With a crisp clack, he racked a round into the chamber, plunged over the edge, and dropped straight into the deep, narrow subterranean expanse of City A.

Through the emerald wash of his night-vision visor, collapsed reinforced concrete structures and fractured asphalt roads stretched as far as the eye could see.

A rusted street sign hung crookedly from a severed pillar, its peeling paint barely legible:

"Uncle Luke’s"