Chapter 88: High Command

The chaotic spat ground to an immediate halt. The Sentinels quickly regrouped and headed straight for the briefing room, where Cyrus and Xander were already seated and waiting for them.

The agenda was straightforward: the Tower had just received strategic combat orders sent directly from Martian Military Command.

"In five days, an unusually massive surge of aberrations will flood across the Eastern Sector. Command is deploying naval battleships to execute a head-on encirclement on the main battlefield."

Xander paused briefly before continuing, "As for all the local Towers in the Eastern Sector, our mission is to head to the key choke points along the defensive perimeter to assist in cutting off the swarm’s secondary branch lines."

"The specific intercept vector assigned to us is Corrosion Pass."

Corrosion Pass lay thousands of kilometers away from their Tower. However, with hypersonic aircraft at their disposal, that distance was practically negligible—they could touch down in under twelve hours.

Arden raised a concern right away. "Does everyone need to deploy?"

Cyrus remained quiet, looking exceptionally grim.

Xander answered in his place: "Everyone. Including our Guide."

This was a direct directive handed down by High Command. None of them could wrap their heads around why a Guide was required to be on the front lines.

Rain immediately voiced his objection. "Given Bunny’s current solo combat capabilities, she can barely protect herself—how is she supposed to handle a live battlefield?"

Xander was equally reluctant to bring her along. Leaving Bunny safely behind at the Tower was objectively the best choice, but defying military orders was a capital offense.

A suffocating silence settled over the room until Cyrus lifted his head, his eyes sweeping over to Illai.

"Where’s Orion?"

Illai looked around the room in confusion. How was he supposed to know where that rigid brother of his had wandered off to?

"No idea. Probably feeding his turtle again."

Cyrus’s patience was clearly wearing thin. "Get him in here. Now."

Meanwhile, blissfully unaware of the brewing storm, Orion was currently sitting inside the home theater, quietly accompanying Bunny as they watched a movie together.

Unable to find Liam anywhere, she dragged the quiet serpent over instead—Bunny hated watching scary movies alone.

She started out sprawled across a giant beanbag, but after adjusting a few times without feeling completely comfortable, she instructed Orion to serve as her personal cushion.

And so, the two of them settled down together on the plush carpet.

Sunny rolled into the room pushing a tub loaded with popcorn, potato chips, and Bunny’s absolute favorite peach soda. The little robot was undeniably thoughtful—if only it weren’t so endlessly chatty.

Bunny settled in to enjoy the film. The massive holographic display provided a completely immersive visual experience, especially with special neural chips enabling a full-sensory connection.

Technology really did make life better.

Crossing her legs comfortably, she sipped her drink while letting Orion hand-feed her snacks and sliced fruit.

"Ah..."

Every time her lips parted, Orion would gently guide a bite right to her mouth.

As a seasoned horror enthusiast, a film of this tier was child’s play for Bunny.

Orion, on the other hand, was terrified of ghosts.

The serpent didn’t dare utter a single complaint, though. Terrified as he was of supernatural spirits, he cherished this rare, precious opportunity to spend one-on-one time with Bunny far more—especially with her resting so naturally in his embrace.

On screen, the scene shifted dramatically. The foolish protagonist descended into the pitch-black basement, only for their flashlight to abruptly flick off. And naturally, despite having light switches available, the character refused to turn them on—classic horizontal horror logic.

Oh, light switches exist? Nah, I’d rather wander in the dark for the thrill.

Right as the unsettling soundtrack reached a terrifying crescendo, a gruesome, blood-soaked face leaped directly toward the camera without warning.

"Ahhh...!"

The protagonist shrieked, and Orion instinctively squeezed his eyes shut, too frightened to look.

Only after a long silence did he venture to crack his eyes open just a sliver.

"Boo!"

Bunny suddenly pulled a spooky face right in front of him. The poor snake jumped so hard he nearly burst into tears from sheer distress.

With the outer corners of his eyes flushed pink, he didn’t dare lose his temper with her. That completely submissive, gentle demeanor only made her want to tease him all the more.

A wicked little plan instantly sparked in Bunny’s mind.

She leaned in close with a playful grin. Orion couldn’t fathom what the Guide had planned for him, staring back at her with a thoroughly bewildered expression.

That was until Bunny threw her arms around him, burying her face into his solid chest muscles and rubbing against him like a spoiled cat.

She had set her eyes on this guy’s physique for a while now; even wrapped tightly inside his daily combat uniform, those impressive contours were impossible to hide.

Orion froze. To be precise, the sudden wave of affection had left his mind a total blank.

Moments later, the crimson flush began spreading uncontrollably from his ears down to his neck, glowing so bright it looked almost ready to bleed.

Bunny knew Orion was far too soft-spoken to ever push back, no matter how much she teased him.

Then, her fingers reached down and began slowly lowering the zipper of his combat uniform.

Orion panicked, frantically signing with his hands: Bunny, I...

Bunny caught his wrists mid-motion, tilting her head with a mischievous smirk. "What? Don’t you like it?"

Orion’s heart skipped a beat, his breath suddenly turning raspy and shallow.

"I... I like it..."

How could he not like it? Every single day, watching Bunny snuggle effortlessly in Xander’s arms filled him with an agonizing, consuming envy.

Ever since receiving her deep soothing, his longing for her touch had grown stronger with each passing day. Yet he could only linger at the outer edges of the group, watching her affectionate interactions with the other Sentinels from afar.

He didn’t dare fight for her affection or compete with the others—his rank was simply the weakest among them.

He lived like a serpent trapped in the shadows, coiled up in silence, relying solely on his flickering tongue to steal tiny traces of her lingering Guide pheromones.

All he wanted was a small fraction of the closeness she shared with the rest. What wrong had a harmless little snake ever done?