Chapter 73: Being on top

In the combat hall, Bunny was locked in a fierce sparring session with Brandon.

At this point, she could hold her own against the combat AI dummys in a dead heat. However, Cyrus set insanely strict standards; to ensure she passed her evaluation without a hitch, she had hired a few personal tutors for one-on-one practice.

"Come at me!"

Bunny bounced side-to-side across the mat like a feisty little potato, looking for all the world like a real-life Super Mario.

She initiated with a quick straight jab toward Brandon’s chest, her strike whipping through the air. Brandon immediately ducked aside, dropping his shoulder and raising his elbow to block her incoming high kick.

The woman’s leg carried a sharp, genuine force. A wave of numbness washed through Brandon’s forearm as he parried her off, not missing the chance to tease her.

"Wow, going that hard on me?"

"Cut the talk! Focus!"

The gap between them closed instantly once more. As Brandon locked her arms, Bunny was forced to drive her knee toward his midsection—a movement executed with crisp, deadly precision. Brandon took the hit head-on, letting out a low, muffled grunt.

"You hurt me, Bunny... you’ll have to take responsibility for me now." His tone was entirely devoid of seriousness.

Bunny let out a dragon-like roar. "Take this seriously!"

The Guide’s fist came swinging in again. This time, Brandon didn’t dodge. He raised a hand, deftly capturing her wrist before executing a swift hip throw. Flipping over, he pinned her to the floor, resting his knee against the inside of her thigh to immobilize her completely.

His hot breath brushed against her neck, laced with a naughty, provocative edge. "Do you like this position, Miss Guide?"

When his broad palm hooked behind her knee, her sense of embarrassment hit absolute peak levels. She pinched the sensitive skin of his inner thigh with brutal force, taking advantage of his moment of distraction to lock her legs around him and flip the tables, reclaiming the upper hand.

Pinned beneath her, Brandon only grew more exhilarated.

Lying on his back, he cupped her waist with both hands, flexing his long legs while a spark of fire flared within his clear blue eyes. "So, you like being on top, huh."

She was officially done with these hormone-driven guys! Their heads were completely filled with trash!

"Shut up! Practice is over."

Just as Bunny made to get off him, his arm wrapped around her back, effortlessly pulling her down against his body. With a palm locking the back of her head, he grabbed her chin, intending to force a kiss.

SLAP!

During dinner, Orion stared at the five fresh finger marks on his younger brother’s right cheek, then looked over at the identical five finger marks on Brandon’s left cheek, falling once again into deep, silent contemplation.

After dinner, Cyrus and the others convened a brief meeting in the living room.

The supply ship from Central was scheduled to arrive in two weeks. Along with it, staff from the Military Command would arrive to conduct their mandatory semi-annual physical evaluations.

The reasoning was simple: to ensure all Sentinels and Guides stationed on Earth remained in peak operational condition. Any hidden illnesses or unreported deaths constituted a severe violation of military directives. Central demanded top-tier combat readiness; the old, weak, sick, or disabled were deemed defective items to be systematically cleared away.

It sounded horrifyingly cold, but such were the unyielding rules. From the moment they were dispatched to 616, they had only one ultimate destination: fighting until death.

It was no wonder the Sentinels wrestled with constant despair.

Their main concern was that Kai’s absence would finally be exposed—he had been missing for over six months now. They didn’t care about military demotions or penalties; rather, this twelve-person squad had spent years bonding into a unified unit, and they had no desire to welcome a stranger into their fold.

Besides, Astin remained utterly convinced that Kai was still alive.

"If we can’t cover it up, then so be it. There’s nothing else we can do," said Xander, who had witnessed the departure of countless comrades and possessed a far more pragmatic acceptance of reality.

Before he could finish his sentence, Astin kicked his chair back with a heavy crash and stormed out of the living room, venting his frustration.

San rolled his eyes. "Kai is his actual brother; I guess I’m just a fake."

Cyrus rested his arm lazily along the back of the sofa, his focus directed elsewhere. "Have any of you measured her mental strength levels?"

Arden blinked. "Whose?"

Xander caught on instantly. "Are you suspecting it too?"

Liam was quick to follow up. "I think something’s off, too."

It had been bizarre right from the day of the binding. How could an A-rank Guide bridge a massive four-tier gap to successfully bind with a 3S-rank Sentinel who was already in the middle of a violent mental breakdown?

On top of that, soothing high-tier Sentinels like them seemed as effortless for her as taking candy from a baby.

Arden was jumping up and down like a hyperactive child in a candy shop. "Wait, who on earth are you guys even talking about?!"

Rain sighed, "You dummy, it’s Bunny."

The name slipped out so naturally, carrying a familiar and intimate warmth. Instantly, both Xander and Cyrus shifted their gazes toward Rain, scrutinizing him with deeply intriguing looks.

Killer whales were, by nature, extraordinarily mischievous creatures. Dressed in their sleek black-and-white suits, they looked every bit like refined gentlemen—yet their behavior was anything but dignified.

They regularly bullied other marine life, flinging sea lions into the air for pure amusement, only to swim away once the fun was over without taking a single bite. What’s more, while half of killer whale chatter sounded like cute, high-pitched squeaks, it was actually just them cursing out their pod mates and hurling insults at innocent passersby.

Rain went quiet again—he had dropped the name like that intentionally.

Military evaluations were rarely wrong, but if Bunny truly possessed a rank higher than A, Central might reassess her overall value. For instance, they might decide she was far too precious to be stationed in 616.

Why didn’t her registered rank match the sheer level of power she demonstrated?

The room fell into a heavy, dead silence as none of the Sentinels spoke a word. They didn’t want Bunny to leave—not even if it was just a remote possibility.

Bunny had no soothing duties scheduled for the night, so she was taking swimming lessons with Xander.

Xander proved to be an exceptionally patient instructor, and she was already attempting the freestyle stroke. Since she didn’t own a swimsuit, she had to improvise, wearing a snug little white dress instead. With her eyes closed, she submerged herself to practice holding her breath and expanding her lung capacity.

Building lung capacity was vital for their physical conditioning, directly impacting how efficiently they managed stamina during combat.

Xander’s gentle voice floated down from above, "Try to breathe deep from your abdomen, drawing as much air into your lungs as you can."

"If you start feeling dizzy, surface immediately."

Bunny was focusing hard on holding her breath when she suddenly swallowed a mouthful of water. Panic instantly took over, making her sink. She thrashed her arms, but the frantic movement only dragged her further away from the surface.

Dread set in as her limbs flailed helplessly. Her body kept plunging toward the bottom of the pool—until she was suddenly pulled into a warm, solid embrace.

The suffocating agony of oxygen deprivation surged over her like a tidal wave. A drowning person will instinctively grab onto anything within reach, driven by pure survival.

Air... she needed air...

As if reading her desperate thoughts, the man brought his cool, soft lips gently against hers.

The moment they made contact, Bunny’s lips yielded under the pressure, and a crisp, refreshing ocean breeze engulfed her completely.