Chapter 83: Rats

She might be his woman now, but it was only a matter of time before she became his mate too.

Rain leaned his hips back against the edge of the counter, crossing his arms with the nonchalant, swaggering posture of a street delinquent.

"Your woman?" Rain let out a quiet chuckle. "What kind of Sentinel can’t even manage to convince his woman to sleep with him?"

"Bunny spent last night resting in the Vice Commander’s room, you know."

The black-and-white killer whale was finally exposing its dark-hearted, treacherous nature. Sowing discord and throwing cutting sarcasm happened to be his absolute specialties.

Liam was confused.

So the reason he couldn’t find Bunny anywhere in the entire base last night was that his wife had gone to sleep in another man’s bed?!

Liam stood rooted to the spot, completely paralyzed in disbelief.

Rain unclipped the tactical dagger at his waist, flipped it casually in his hand, and slammed it deep into the tabletop with force—as if driving a blade straight into Liam’s heart.

"Instead of making empty threats to everyone every single day, you’d be better off thinking about how to actually win a Guide’s favor."

Rain knew full well he couldn’t beat Liam in a physical fight. If physical damage wasn’t an option, he would go straight for psychological warfare. Targeting the heart was always the most devastating strike.

Meanwhile, Bunny was anxiously waiting outside, worried that Liam was going to irrationally pick another fight with Rain. Yet when Liam finally stepped out, the air around him felt noticeably heavier, suffocatingly dark.

Noticing how off his mood seemed, Bunny asked softly, "What’s wrong?"

Liam dropped to his knees in front of her, gently taking her fingers in his hand.

Perhaps to seek confirmation, or perhaps holding onto one last sliver of naive hope, he blinked his brilliant, golden eyes up at her and asked, "Bunny... who did you sleep with last night?"

A fatal interrogation. A beautiful mated woman staying out all night—in reality, dallying with a broad-chested male model without giving her spouse a single head-up beforehand—was something no man on earth could tolerate.

Ever since Liam had bound with her, not only had he failed to make it into his wife’s bed, but even basic affection like kisses or bathing together were privileges that never fell to him.

He was like a neglected concubine in a cold palace who possessed a title in name only, sitting alone every day counting the bricks on the courtyard walls.

Tragic—utterly tragic.

Bunny’s heart sank. Though she knew Liam would be upset, lying and deceit were far worse offenses to a Sentinel.

Besides, nothing had actually happened between her and Xander.

"I slept in Xander’s room because I was completely drained after the mental cleansing."

The light in Liam’s eyes died instantly. Without a single word, he turned and quietly walked away.

"Liam, where are you going?!"

Bunny called out after him, but he didn’t stop. His slumping shoulders were shrouded in a thick, suffocating gloom.

He really was a fool. A complete, utter fool.

&&&

Sector East 3, Energy Substation No. 1

After bringing their aircraft to a stop on the high dune, Xander and Tyr grabbed their toolkits and slid down the sand. The system had flagged a broken circuit breaker at Substation No. 1, and they were deployed to inspect and repair the damage.

Yet before stepping foot inside, both Sentinels caught the lingering scent of Wilders floating in the thin air.

Wilders spent their entire lives in the harsh wilderness, leaving them with an unmistakable, pungent scent that any Sentinel’s sharp senses could pick up from a mile away.

Cyrus was right—rats never quit once they got a taste for stealing.

Exchanging a quick look, Xander and Tyr spotted a jagged tear cut through the outer electric fence where the intruders had broken in.

Inside the station, amidst the labyrinth of crisscrossing pipelines, Vander stood guard atop a metal ladder well.

He couldn’t stop urging his companion, "Hey, hurry it up! Don’t take so much, or they’ll catch us!"

The atmosphere here contained almost no oxygen, so the station housed massive elemental reactors that compressed and distilled raw hydrogen and oxygen into clean water. These reserves of water, power, and crude oil were regularly shipped to Central.

Only after filling every single water flask to the brim did Zade step back, satisfied.

The two tiptoed back toward their entry route, their worn, hole-riddled boots echoing softly against the alloy flooring. Just as they were about to slip out the side hatch, a crisp metallic click echoed behind them.

Click—

Zade and Vander froze instantly, the color draining from their faces.

Behind them, Xander was casually raising a laser rifle, his gaze as cold as ice.

When they whipped around, the exit ahead was already blocked by Tyr, who had materialized out of thin air without making a sound.

"The power cell from last time—was that your doing too?"

Terrified, Vander immediately raised his hands above his head in complete surrender. "No... it wasn’t us... I’m sorry..."

He jabbed Zade hard with his elbow, frantically signaling for him to hand back everything they had stolen.

Yet Zade stood frozen in place, refusing to budge or return a single flask.

"Yes. It was us."

Xander wasn’t one for wasted breath either. He leveled the barrel straight at Zade’s forehead, determined to eliminate future headaches once and for all. Sentinels had zero patience for cleaning up other people’s messes.

Vander’s face turned deathly pale. Yet Zade suddenly pulled off his heavy isolation mask, revealing a clean-cut, dust-smeared face.

He stared quietly at Xander. "If you kill me, will you let him go back?"

Xander rejected him without a trace of pity. "I’m not in the business of letting you play the hero."

Zade’s knuckles turned white. Before these towering, formidable Sentinels, their modest average stature looked like undernourished dwarfs with zero chance of survival.

"I’m begging you."

Zade abruptly dropped to his knees before him. "My little sister is gravely ill. She needs water."

Zade wasn’t lying. The wasteland’s water reserves were completely depleted, and a century-long drought had left the barren surface cracked and desolate. His sister was suffering from a severe high fever, but the Wilder leadership deemed her beyond saving—there was no point wasting precious water on someone waiting to die.

Xander stared icily down at Zade without lowering the dark, ominous barrel. The commanding glare felt like a silent act of oppression from a higher predator.

He was carefully weighing whether Zade was telling the truth—Wilders were notorious liars.

Just as Xander was about to squeeze the trigger, Tyr reached out and stopped him.

"Don’t let him fool you."