Chapter 58: Human recliner

The man’s technique was heavy-handed. Even without using his full strength, the stretches still forced continuous pig-like squeals from Bunny.

Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought a pig was being slaughtered here.

Cyrus gripped the muscle of her calf and gave it a light squeeze. Piercing cries rang out without pause.

She immediately begged for mercy. "Stop stretching—stop! It hurts so much..."

He paid no attention and even increased the pressure.

"Can’t even handle this little bit of pain..."

Suddenly he leaned down close to her ear and delivered a teasing line:

"How are you going to take it when I stretch you properly later..."

Her face instantly flushed crimson. With a sharp smack she slapped a full-force open palm across his face.

This time he did not dodge.

"Still have the energy to hit people. Not bad."

Immediately afterward, even more wretched screams echoed through the combat room.

Once the stretching was finished, Bunny lay sprawled on the floor like a dead fish, without even the strength to twitch. Only the faint rise and fall of her breathing proved she was still alive.

Cyrus calmly put his clothes back on and delivered her training target in an icy tone, "Within three days, pass the primary tactical combat assessment. Otherwise, you are not suited to remain in 616."

Watching the man’s back disappear through the doorway, she angrily pounded the floor.

What a giant piece of ass!

***

In the days that followed, Bunny not only had to grind combat training every day but also review tactical communication, marksmanship, emergency medical care, military reconnaissance...

On top of that, she still had to squeeze in mental guidance work at night.

She was as busy as a spinning top and so exhausted that she could fall asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

After passing every course assessment, she would still face one final evaluation—field training—to comprehensively determine whether her individual combat ability had reached the level required to leave the tower.

Cyrus’s standards were extremely high. In fact, every single one of these sentinels held equally strict requirements. She did not dare slack off.

At 19:00 in the afternoon, after being thoroughly beaten into a mess by the intelligent training dummy, Bunny lay spread-eagled on the training floor, staring blankly at the ceiling with empty eyes.

In order to train extra, she had skipped dinner entirely.

Bang-bang!

A clear knock sounded at the door. She lifted her neck. Orion was walking over with a refined meal tray in his hands.

Because she had not gone to dinner, the little snake had worried she would go hungry.

He formed signs with his hands. "I stewed soup for you."

The savory aroma of cod drifted over, mingled with the fresh fragrance of mushrooms. Orion had never cooked much before; he had always been accustomed to the sentinel meals prepared by the housekeeper robots.

Only after Bunny arrived had he begun to study cooking seriously. The results proved that his talent in this area was genuinely high.

The scent awakened her appetite. She accepted the tray and said a quiet thank-you.

The soup was delicious, and the fried pumpkin cakes were excellent as well. She ate them one after another, unable to stop.

Orion sat cross-legged beside her. Seeing the blue and purple bruises covering her body, a pang of heartache rose in him.

Yet he could not intervene, because this was the necessary path she had to walk in order to grow.

He had rescued teammates from beneath alien claws twice before—both times by the narrowest of margins. No one understood the cruelty and ruthlessness of the aliens better than he did.

After finishing the meal and resting briefly, she prepared to resume extra training.

Orion suddenly stood up and began communicating with her:

"Tactical combat is different from simple sparring. Every technique we use in real combat is designed for a one-hit kill."

He seemed to form a heart shape with his thumb and index finger—unfortunately, she did not understand what it meant.

"You have to learn to use muscle memory to sense the opponent’s intentions."

He stepped forward and personally demonstrated how to suppress the dummy’s attack before it could fully launch its move.

"An alien’s weak points are the abdomen and the brain. Everywhere else is as hard as armor. Of course, learning more is never a mistake, because our enemies are not limited to aliens alone."

Curious, she asked, "Who else is there?"

"Wild people and scavengers."

It was the first time Bunny had ever heard of scavengers, but Orion only gave a brief introduction.

They were a different category from ordinary wild people—more violent and organized into independent armed forces.

Not every sentinel who had been assigned to Earth remained permanently inside a tower.

Some had been expelled from Central for military crimes, some had been abandoned by their teammates, and some had simply grown tired of the monotonous life. They would then join the ranks of the wanderers, seeking pleasure in killing.

Scavengers were extremely brutal. Their ranks included both wild people and sentinels, and there had even been multiple cases of them attacking sentinel towers.

Orion’s teaching was extremely patient. In order to make sure she understood his meaning, his movements were slow and meticulous. Almost every small detail was repeated over and over without the slightest impatience.

"Your power-generation posture is already very standard, but your speed is still insufficient. This is something that cannot be improved quickly—only through day-after-day training."

His hands were nearly smoking from the continuous sparring.

She nodded and, under his guidance, continuously absorbed her mistakes and openings, starting over again and again. From being completely dominated at the beginning, she gradually progressed until she could hold her own against the intelligent dummy at roughly a 30-70 ratio.

She was still taking hits, but progress was progress.

The system evaluation gave her 75 points. Ninety was the passing score, yet she was already very satisfied.

Happily, she threw herself into Orion’s arms. "Orion is the most thoughtful person in the whole world!"

Without the slightest reservation, she buried herself against his broad chest. A soft, ticklish sensation brushed her cheek—like a dragonfly skimming the water—and then vanished.

Orion’s eyes widened. Confusion mixed with a stunned, almost flattered astonishment on his face.

Just now... had the guide kissed him?

Fine currents of electricity exploded from the tiniest fine hairs, then crackled and raced along the sensory nerve endings, setting off a fresh storm of neurotransmitters across the cerebral cortex.

It was more thrilling and more pleasurable than even the most addictive alkaloid of the poppy.

It was the first time the mute little snake had ever been kissed by a girl. His entire body froze solid like a wooden stake.

"I’m going to close my eyes for a bit. Wake me up in half an hour so I can continue."

She yawned. She was truly exhausted; her eyelids felt as heavy as if they had been filled with lead.

She fell asleep in almost a single second.

Listening to the even breathing against his chest, Orion maintained the bear-hug posture and did not dare move a single muscle.

He became the quietest, most restrained vessel, dutifully playing the role of a human recliner.