First Interstellar Guide Chapter 11: Surprising Match Rate

Chapter 11: Surprising Match Rate

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Mrs. Joseph couldn’t understand it at all. How could Lu Zexuan, a cold and indifferent sentinel who showed no interest in guides, suddenly develop feelings for Yu Ran? If she remembered correctly, they had only known each other for a day. A person as rational as Lu Zexuan wouldn’t fall head over heels “at first sight” with a small guide, would he?

Snapping out of her surprise, Mrs. Joseph frowned. “Yu Ran just turned 18. He’s still young, and I don’t want him to be matched so early.”

Lu Zexuan replied, “It’s okay, 18 is already considered an adult. We can get to know each other first.”

Despite her inward eye-rolling, Mrs. Joseph maintained a kindly smile on her face. “Think about it again. He’s just a C-rank guide, not much help for your mental organization.”

Ever since bringing Yu Ran back to the association, Mrs. Joseph had developed a strong protective instinct. The child was pitiful in origin, having lost his parents, and being alone and vulnerable, following her to the guide association. She had to protect Yu Ran.

Of course, Lu Zexuan was an outstanding sentinel in every aspect, be it family background, physical appearance, or personal ability. He was more than capable of being matched with Yu Ran, a C-rank guide. But she didn’t want Yu Ran, at such a young age, to be marked by a sentinel.

Sensing Mrs. Joseph’s resistance, Lu Zexuan understood that his request was somewhat unreasonable. However, the guide association was strict, and the Sanctuary was closed-off for teaching. Lu Zexuan had no reason to approach Yu Ran. He worried that if his speculation was true… Yu Ran would kill more people.

Although Yu Ran had no alibi for the times of the incidents, his absence during both occurrences was well-documented. Nevertheless, the coincidences were too many, and Lu Zexuan couldn’t shake off his suspicions. The keen intuition of an S-rank sentinel also kept reminding him – he had seen Yu Ran somewhere before.

With this in mind, Lu Zexuan decisively said, “C-rank mental energy doesn’t matter. My significant other doesn’t need strong mental energy; I won’t take him into battle. Mrs. Joseph, I’ve thought this through carefully. I will formally submit a matching application to the association. Please, have Yu Ran prepare. Rest early, Mrs. Joseph. Goodnight.”

Mrs. Joseph was speechless.

The usually gentle Mrs. Joseph was so enraged she almost crushed the communicator in her hand.

Lu Zexuan directly submitted the application to the association, which meant she couldn’t protect Yu Ran anymore!

With the scarcity of federal guides and 80% of sentinels unable to find guide partners, they could only pair with ordinary people, exacerbating the imbalance in marriages. To stabilize the emotions of single sentinels, the guide association established a rule – besides freely loving sentinels and guides, other eligible single sentinels who wished to find guide partners had to register for a scorecard with the association.

Sentinels who contributed to the federation in fields such as science, education, and military would earn points. Every year, they would be ranked by points, and sentinels with higher points would be prioritized in matching with single guides. Of course, guides could reject potential matches; for example, A-rank guide Mohr of the Eagle Legion had politely declined many highly matched sentinels as he had no interest in dating.

Lu Zexuan had completed many dangerous missions and currently ranked first on the single sentinel points board. As long as he formally submitted an application to the association, specifying that he wanted to be matched with Yu Ran, Mrs. Joseph had no reason to refuse, at least they would have to try their compatibility.

Of course, after the matching results came out, whether they wanted to date or not would depend on Yu Ran’s willingness. Fortunately, Lu Zexuan was an S-rank sentinel, and Yu Ran was only a C-rank guide; their compatibility should not exceed 60%, which would make it easy for Yu Ran to reject Lu Zexuan when the time came.

Feeling down, Mrs. Joseph went to sleep, and even her cat by her feet was restlessly swishing its tail.

At that moment, the White Tower had just issued a recall order, and Lu Zexuan was leading the Eagle Special Forces back to the capital star overnight.

The rescue mission at B73 had been carried out splendidly. The Eagle Special Forces drove away the creatures with minimal losses, saving countless human lives at the base. Next, the repair of the safety zone’s defense network and the reconstruction of damaged houses would be handled by the government’s separate team.

The Eagle starship had already set sail, and Lu Zexuan stood by the porthole, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Approaching Yu Ran in this “matching” way might not be entirely fair to him, if Yu Ran was innocent. However, there didn’t seem to be a better option at the moment. He could only ensure that he wouldn’t harm Yu Ran. If Yu Ran ever met someone he liked in the future, Lu Zexuan would come up with a dignified reason to break up with him. As long as sentinels and guides hadn’t truly bonded, cases of breaking up due to mismatched emotions were quite common and wouldn’t affect Yu Ran’s future choices. That’s how it would be. He had to keep an eye on Yu Ran to ensure that no more “accidental deaths” occurred. Otherwise, things would escalate beyond control.

***

The next morning, Yu Ran had just finished washing his face when someone brought him two large boxes. “Yu Ran, these are clothes Mrs. Joseph sent for you.”

Yu Ran blinked, puzzled. “So many?”

“The madam said that when you came to the capital star, you were in a hurry and didn’t bring much luggage, so she asked us to buy some daily necessities for you.”

Yu Ran, coming from a poor background and having lost his parents, arrived on the capital star alone, wearing clothes that looked a bit worn-out. Considering his dignity, Mrs. Joseph had bought him many new clothes before he went to the Sanctuary to study, so he could be a decent trainee and not look too shabby, avoiding being looked down upon. She was always like a mother, protecting the young guides.

Yu Ran took the luggage with a complex expression. “Please thank madam for me.”

Just as he finished speaking, the sound of high heels came from outside the door. “No need to thank me. Did you sleep well last night?”

Meeting Mrs. Joseph’s smile, Yu Ran rarely smiled back. “Pretty well, slept until dawn.”

When he smiled, a cute dimple would appear at the corner of his mouth. Mrs. Joseph looked at Yu Ran’s innocent and ignorant appearance and thought of a certain sentinel’s matching application submitted overnight, feeling even more annoyed. She took a deep breath to steady her emotions, ruffled Yu Ran’s hair, and said, “Let’s change your clothes and have breakfast. After that, I’ll take you somewhere.”

After having breakfast at the association’s restaurant, Mrs. Joseph took Yu Ran onto a hovercar.

Sitting in the car, Yu Ran looked out of the window at the buildings quickly receding by the roadside, feeling puzzled in his heart—this wasn’t the way to the Sanctuary. Where was she taking me?

Just as he was thinking, Mrs. Joseph sighed lightly and said somewhat helplessly, “Ran Ran, I have to take you to the matching center.”

Yu Ran’s back stiffened slightly, but his face remained calm. He pretended to ask curiously, “Why are we going to the matching center? Wasn’t today supposed to be my reporting day at the Sanctuary?”

Frowning, Mrs. Joseph said, “Well, it’s like this, Lu Zexuan… You remember that sentinel, right?”

Yu Ran nodded, “General Lu, of course, I remember. He saved me.”

Mrs. Joseph said, “He submitted an application to the association, wanting to try matching with you.”

Yu Ran was speechless.

His expression was about to crack.

What was going on with Lu Zexuan? Suddenly, he had gone insane and applied to match with him?

It seemed that the sentinel still hadn’t dispelled his suspicions about him, actually resorting to using matching as a way to get closer to him. He was indeed a difficult guy to deal with.

Fortunately, Lu Zexuan was unaware of Yu Ran’s dual spirit body. Even yesterday, when he registered at the guide association, he only registered the information of the little white fox, keeping the nine-tailed fox well hidden. Lu Zexuan, being an S-rank sentinel, as long as Yu Ran released a spirit body and pretended to hide his true strength, their compatibility would definitely not be too high.

Yu Ran smirked inwardly but maintained a puzzled expression on the surface. “Why does he want to match with me?”

“Who knows. He has already submitted the application, so I’ll take you there just to appease him.” Mrs. Joseph comforted Yu Ran, patting his hand back. “Don’t feel pressured. The matching center is like a matchmaker for sentinels and guides, and the compatibility score is just a reference. The decision to date him or not is up to you. And, your compatibility should be very low. If you don’t want to date him, he can’t force you.”

Yu Ran nodded innocently, “Okay, I just want to go to the Sanctuary to study well. I don’t have any plans for dating.”

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at the matching center.

Following Mrs. Joseph inside, Yu Ran saw Lu Zexuan standing in the reception room of the matching center, wearing a neat black military uniform, with a cold expression. The belt of the uniform was fastened around his waist, accentuating his lean and agile waistline, and his legs were straight and long. Being a tall man with handsome looks, wearing formal military attire made him particularly charismatic.

A reduced-size white eagle hung its wings quietly on its owner’s shoulder, staring at Yu Ran with light gray eyes. Feeling slightly uncomfortable under the pressure of an S-rank sentinel, Yu Ran was relieved when Lu Zexuan quickly withdrew his gaze and politely said, “Mrs. Joseph, let’s begin.”

Mrs. Joseph sighed helplessly. “Since you insist on matching with Yu Ran, let’s follow the procedure. Both of you, please place your spirit bodies on the matching scale.”

The matching scale was a specially made measuring instrument by the guide association, with two transparent spheres on each side containing special magnetic fields. After the spirit bodies entered the matching scale, the device would automatically read the mental energy values of the sentinel and guide. The closer the values, the higher the compatibility.

Lu Zexuan lightly moved his shoulder, and the eagle on his shoulder immediately flew onto the scale. Yu Ran also released his little white fox.

The little white fox seemed a bit afraid when it saw the large eagle beside it, curling up into a ball on the scale, trembling slightly, acting very convincingly.

The eagle, on the other hand, looked somewhat shy, glanced at the little white fox, and stood still without moving.

The moment both spirit bodies were placed on the matching scale, the scale immediately tilted wildly towards the eagle’s side.

Indeed, the mental energy of an S-rank spirit body was very high, directly overwhelming the little white fox, and the compatibility data popped up on the screen—

49%.

Yu Ran wanted to laugh inside.

But on the surface, he pretended to be embarrassed. “My mental energy is too low, and the compatibility with General is not even 50%.”

Mrs. Joseph couldn’t hold back her laughter directly—49%, that’s a failing grade!

Seeing Lu Zexuan looking back at her, she immediately restrained her laughter and said seriously, “General, it seems that Yu Ran is really not very suitable for you. The compatibility is less than 50%… Well, if you want to be together with Ran Ran, I’m afraid your parents will object.”

“Our mental energy compatibility is indeed not high.” Lu Zexuan paused and said, “But, Mrs. Joseph, don’t forget, there is another way of matching.”

He waved his hand, and a staff member wearing a white coat walked up to him with a medical kit.

Yu Ran suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

“Besides mental energy, we can also do a guide essence match. Perhaps, Yu Ran’s guide essence fits me very well?” Lu Zexuan glanced at Yu Ran, then rolled up the sleeves of his military uniform, revealing his strong and powerful arms. The medical staff quickly took out a disposable blood collection needle and drew a small tube of blood from his arm.

“Yu Ran, do you want to try a guide essence match?” Lu Zexuan neatly rolled down his sleeves and looked at Yu Ran with gentle eyes.

“…” Yu Ran felt a chill down his spine.

This sentinel was indeed extremely perceptive. Perhaps he had recognized his guide essence, which was why he was so fixated on him.

In addition to mental energy matching, there was another way of matching between sentinels and guides, which was “guide essence matching”. Because guide essence also had the effect of “soothing sentinels”, it was like a good medicine for sentinels. If a guide’s mental energy wasn’t high enough to help the sentinel, but the guide essence was useful to the sentinel, then the two could still bond.

Mrs. Joseph thought to herself, with both of your mental energy matching scores failing, the guide essence must be useless too. That’s how it normally goes. She looked at Yu Ran, smiled, and said, “Since the General is not giving up, Ran Ran, why don’t you try bringing out a bit more guide essence and try matching with him again?”

Yu Ran extended his arm with a complex mood, silently praying in his heart: Please don’t match with him.

The doctor collected Yu Ran’s blood into a transparent syringe and placed the guide essence into a specially made matching device. The familiar cool fragrance drifted to his nose, and Lu Zexuan’s deep gaze stared closely at the large screen. The device began to analyze the data, and rows of numbers quickly flashed across the screen. Then, a bright red data popped up in the middle of the screen.

Compatibility: 98%.

Mrs. Joseph’s mouth fell open in shock.

Lu Zexuan was speechless.

Yu Ran was beyond speechless.