Chapter 77: Group picture

District 616, Sentinel Tower

Xander bathed Bunny and gently tucked her into his bed. The woman’s frame was petite, forming a soft, small bundle under his expansive duvet.

Xander rested his knees against the side of the bed, resting his chin on his folded hands like a giant loyal hound, quietly admiring Bunny’s peaceful sleeping face.

The more he looked, the more enamored he became, unable to resist leaning down to plant a few soft kisses on her cheek.

Just as he had promised: Holding hands, embracing, kissing... he had checked off every single one.

Which meant the next step was no longer far away.

At the same time, Liam was bounding down the hallway toward Bunny’s room, cheerfully carrying a freshly peeled pomelo fruit platter. He was eager to show off his devotion before his "wife".

However, when he arrived at Bunny’s quarters, he found the room completely deserted. He searched the entire base, but there wasn’t a single sign of Bunny anywhere!

Liam scratched the back of his head in utter confusion.

Where in the world was she?

Bunny had a wonderfully comforting sleep, completely devoid of any nightmares. The natural aura radiating from Xander seemed to carry a strange, almost magical solace.

Because her mental energy had been so heavily drained, she ended up lounging in bed well past noon. Xander had already headed out on patrol duty with Tyr, but before leaving, he had dressed her in one of his own clean, oversized T-shirts.

As for why he chose his own clothes, men—especially when eager to mark their territory—proved to be remarkably calculating creatures.

Bunny pulled herself up out of bed. The Sentinel quarters were furnished with functional simplicity, housing only the absolute essentials: a bed, a sofa, a wardrobe, a desk, a weapon rack, and little else.

Slipping out from under the duvet saturated with Xander’s scent, her bare feet sank into the plush rug. She stood staring absentmindedly for a good while at a glass display cabinet tucked in the corner, packed end-to-end with metallic action figures.

Sitting on his desk was a metallic blue globe, and right beside it stood a framed picture resting against the edge.

She picked up the photo frame to reveal an unfamiliar man holding a younger version of Xander. Dressed in a dark, understated wool coat, the man bore the official HBL Police Department crest on his shoulder epaulets, gazing tenderly down at the young boy in his arms. Little Xander was munching on a lollipop, his bright, gorgeous eyes staring straight ahead.

It was the very same Sentinel police officer she had seen in the memory vision the night before—Xander’s adoptive father.

As Bunny placed the frame back in its original spot, another photograph slipped out from a hidden seam behind it.

She retrieved the photo from the floor. It was a group picture of a Sentinel squad—twelve men posing together across a vast desert wasteland. They had clearly just wrapped up a brutal battle, as their combat uniforms were splattered with dark alien blood.

Some sat while others stood, throwing arms around shoulders or making peace signs. She recognized a few of the faces, while others were complete strangers.

Xander stood right at center stage with his arms crossed over his chest, while a blond, blue-eyed Sentinel beside him threw an arm around his shoulder, recklessly firing a sidearm toward the sky with a wild, triumphant grin. The two looked exceptionally close.

Tyr stood in his usual spot—tucked away in the far back corner, keeping a low profile.

Aside from the familiar faces of Orion, Illai, Rain, and Arden, the rest were unfamiliar.

The date stamped in the bottom right corner was four years ago.

Which meant that Cyrus, San, Astin, Liam, and Brandon were all newer additions who had joined the 616 squad later on.

As for the other Sentinels in the picture... they were most likely dead.

Bunny’s sharp eyes caught a dark-haired, purple-eyed Sentinel standing right next to Tyr. Sporting heroic, sword-like eyebrows and deep, starry eyes, his features possessed a natural, breathtaking elegance—looking even more distinctly Asian than Cyrus himself. Had his hair been longer, he would have looked like an ancient martial hero stepping straight out of an ink painting.

What drew her attention to him was the small black dragon resting on his right shoulder. The mini dragon was unfurling its tiny wings, discontentedly nibbling on its master’s hair.

It looked remarkably familiar.

She suddenly remembered: back in Kai’s quarters, there was a crystal dragon figurine sitting on the nightstand that looked identical to this spirit form!

Could he be the missing Kai?

Yet after being unaccounted for for so long, his fate was almost certainly grim—just like the other fallen Sentinels.

Bunny quietly put the photo away and prepared to return to her room to change.

The moment she stepped into the hallway, she ran straight into Cyrus. Even though her room was right next to his, bumping into each other like clockwork every single day was getting absurd. She seriously began to wonder if Cyrus carried a magnetic pole opposite to hers, causing them to collide like two opposing charges.

Cyrus wore a tailored black shirt, broad shoulders tapering into a dangerously narrow waist before tucking neatly into his trousers. His long legs stretched beneath the tailored fabric, while his solid chest muscles pushed out the fabric into an intensely firm shape.

He truly suited this kind of sleek, refined look—a textbook wolf in sheep’s clothing.

The moment they met, his gaze locked onto the obviously oversized T-shirt clinging to Bunny, dripping with the distinct scent of a certain blue-haired fish.

The shirt barely reached her thighs, leaving her smooth, fair legs completely exposed to the air. Her unbuttoned collar slid askew, revealing a curve of her delicate shoulder. Her unbrushed hair was a messy nest with a stray lock sticking straight up, and her sleepy, confused face gave her a pure, natural allure.

Bunny hesitated over whether she should greet him first—after all, he had saved her life back at the refinery.

Before she could even utter a word, the man offered a mocking, ice-cold sneer:

"First Liam a couple of days ago, and now Xander last night... It seems your demands are quite high, Guide Bunny."