Chapter 65: Troublesome

The sand had already buried up to her calves. Not paying attention for a moment, she tripped over a stone hidden in the soil and face-planted spectacularly.

The heavy marching gear made her look like a fat seal; no matter how she struggled, she could not roll herself upright.

Astin, who was walking behind her, quickly caught up. After one glance at her he began merciless mocking:

"Guide, are you cosplaying a turtle?"

She desperately wanted to jump up and slap his face, but on second thought, people like him required magical attacks.

So she proactively stretched both arms toward Astin. "Hug."

He gave a cold snort, his heart even worse than his mouth. "Wanting me to carry you? Keep dreaming."

The woman’s hands froze in mid-air. A pair of wet, deer-like eyes looked up at him with pure grievance; even the outer corners of her eyes had turned red. It was as though if you did not grant her wish, you would become the greatest villain under heaven.

Astin had a premonition that she was about to start crying in the next second.

Sure enough, a wail that counted as pure noise torture to a sentinel’s ears crashed over them like a tsunami. The teammates ahead all turned their heads. Under a barrage of sharp, interrogating stares, Astin could only grit his teeth and pick her up.

"Stop crying. Were you a water spirit in your past life? Why do you cry so much?"

The moment she was lifted, the crying stopped. Her goal had already been achieved.

She obediently looped her arms around Astin’s neck. Tear-dampened lashes still clung to her pink eyelids; she said not a single word.

Astin could not shake the feeling that this woman was acting strangely today—as though she was holding back some big move.

He continued advancing across the sand while carrying her, one hand still needing to hold his gun.

The woman’s weight was not heavy at all—she was light as cotton. Her body was also extremely soft, so soft it felt as though she had no bones.

He could not help feeling curious. Were all women’s bodies this soft?

Bunny stared fixedly at Astin. With a face this refined and good-looking, how had he ended up with such a foul mouth?

Tch. Just wait and see how she would deal with him later.

"Why do you keep staring at me?"

"I don’t know. Can’t I look?"

Astin gave a cold laugh. "I know I’m good-looking."

Bunny averted her face and rolled her eyes at his arrogance.

"Why do you hate guides so much?"

His expression instantly turned cold and fierce. He did not seem too eager to discuss this.

"I’m warning you—don’t bring this up in front of me."

His tone was vicious, like the extreme, hypersensitive counterattack of someone whose scar had been touched.

What surprised Astin was that Bunny suddenly took the initiative to nuzzle against his neck. It felt like a little cat’s paw lightly scratching the center of his palm—soft and ticklish.

"It’s okay. I don’t hate you."

He stared at the woman’s big eyes in disbelief. After a brief flash of astonishment, his expression quickly returned to its usual cold severity:

"If you keep touching me, I’ll throw you down."

That was what the harsh words said. In reality, the arms holding Bunny did not loosen even a fraction.

Astin quickly caught up with the other members. Xander hung the laser rifle across his back and gestured for Astin to hand Bunny over to him.

"Give her to me. You and Arden go ahead and scout the path."

Astin froze for a second, glanced at the woman in his arms, and said stubbornly. "Fine. I didn’t want to carry her anyway. Troublesome brat."

His palms suddenly emptied as Bunny was taken by Xander. For some unknown reason, Astin’s heart suddenly felt hollow for an instant.

Just as he turned to leave, Bunny suddenly called out to him. "No. I want Astin to carry me."

Without a doubt, he received Xander’s deep, obscure, and hostile gaze. He was both surprised and shocked.

Didn’t she always like Xander the most?

Yet his body’s reaction was faster than his brain. The second Bunny stretched her hands toward him, Astin had already taken her back into his arms.

He himself did not know why he had done that—he was deliberately offending the vice-captain.

Xander gave Astin a light glance, his eyes carrying deep meaning. "Then keep a good watch on her."

Looking down at the soft, fluffy head of the woman in his arms, Astin grew more and more irritable the more he thought about it. He felt that something was very off about himself today.

Had this woman slipped him some kind of drug?

The group arrived at a high ground near the oil refinery and set up their marching tents. By then the sun was already about to set.

Aliens at night were far more ferocious than during the day. Hilan had attempted breakthroughs three times before and was more familiar with the terrain here. The two teams gathered again and adjusted the battle plan.

They would launch the breakout at dawn the next day, employing the classic "one point, two flanks" assault tactic.

Hilan and Cyrus would lead the main force—"the tip of the spear"—straight into the heart of the nest. The remaining sentinels would split into left and right wings to circle around and encircle all the aliens inside the oil refinery, attacking them from both front and rear until they were completely wiped out.

The pregnant queen-type alien was the core. She had to be killed in order to prevent more eggs from hatching.

After settling everything, Rain and Astin went ahead first to a high vantage point to set up their sniper positions and observe the enemy situation. The two of them were the best snipers in the squad.

Brandon controlled micro-drones to reconnoiter every exit and blasting point of the oil refinery in advance, while the others placed infrared radars.

Bunny was not idle either. She pulled a few strong men over to practice constructing mental barriers with her.

Simply put, it meant using a guide’s mental threads to build a protective membrane around the outer layer of a sentinel’s spiritual sea. A guide’s mental power possessed a natural, innate resistance to contamination and erosion.

"Yes, just like that. Open your spiritual seas and relax."