First Interstellar Guide Chapter 2: Heterochromatic Eyes

Chapter 2: Heterochromatic Eyes

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Lu Zexuan looked around. Not far from the trash can, there lay a human arm. The rest of the body was nowhere to be found; at the street corner to the right lay the body of a child. The child died in extreme terror, with eyes bulging out and almost popping from their sockets; nearby, several human bodies were trampled into a pulp by the beasts, their flesh and blood scattered all over the ground. Everywhere were mutilated limbs. The humans here had just experienced a massacre by the galactic beasts. Even the sentinels of the Eagle Special Forces, accustomed to various horrific scenes, couldn’t help but shiver at the sight.

Several sentinels couldn’t help but curse, “Damn, how many people did these galactic beasts eat?”

“Being stepped on by them, your organs would turn into mush!”

“Why did they suddenly attack humans?”

Lu Zexuan had never seen such strange beasts before, and there was no information about them in the federal database. However, large creatures like these usually moved clumsily, not posing much threat to sentinels with top-notch speed evolution. Lu Zexuan picked up his wireless headset and calmly ordered, “Hummingbird, search among the beast pack and see if they have a leader.”

“Understood!” came the crisp voice of a female sentinel through the earpiece.

Hummingbird was the codename of a 24-year-old female sentinel. She was the Eagle Special Forces reconnaissance officer, possessing top-tier human vision and speed. Her spirit body was that of an agile hummingbird, and she was skilled at hiding herself.

After receiving the order, the female sentinel clad in black combat gear promptly turned around and plunged into the beast pack. Like a bird flying into the forest, she maneuvered agilely among the pack, unnoticed by the beasts. Her speed was so fast that she seemed to be a gust of wind passing by.

Voices from the search and rescue team came through the earpiece, “Captain, we’ve found an underground shelter. Many students are hiding here!”

Lu Zexuan ordered, “Leave two people to protect them. The rest continue the search. Team 1, intercept the galactic beasts, and don’t let them rush past!” 

The Eagle Special Forces were well-trained and had cooperated many times before. Dealing with these “low-intelligence” galactic beasts was not difficult. However, there were too many galactic beasts, and killing them one by one was too slow. Moreover, many humans were still waiting for their rescue at the base.

After pondering momentarily, Lu Zexuan simply summoned his “spirit body.” The spirit body was like a companion pet, always accompanying its master. The spirit bodies of sentinels and guides could manifest their owner’s abilities and personalities. Lu Zexuan’s spirit body was a giant white eagle with wings spanning hundreds of meters when spread, almost obscuring the sky. It stared silently at the ground with its light gray eyes, like a lofty bird of prey.

When it appeared, a beautiful pair of white wings unfolded with a “whoosh” at Lu Zexuan’s shoulder, then the man leaped into the air with lightning speed, flying above the beast pack. 

——The ability to share spirit body abilities was an ability that was evolved only by S-rank sentinels.

Flying rapidly above the beast pack, Lu Zexuan quickly spotted his comrade Hummingbird mingling among the beasts below. Her speed was fast, and she hadn’t alerted the pack. However, she was only an A-rank sentinel and hadn’t evolved the ability to fly, making it difficult for her to observe the movements of the entire beast pack from the ground.

Lu Zexuan observed keenly, his sharp vision allowing him to see the beast pack on the ground. Hundreds of galactic beasts were rushing toward the human base. These creatures were huge and clumsy in movement but well-organized as if following some kind of command.

Suddenly, his gaze locked onto one of the galactic beasts noticeably smaller and with fur noticeably more beautiful than the others. Upon closer observation, Lu Zexuan noticed that this star beast was being guarded closely by others of its kind on both sides.

“Hummingbird, 11 o’clock direction, about three hundred meters ahead.”

Hummingbird, mingling among the beast pack, swiftly approached the designated direction according to the captain’s instructions. Soon, her crisp voice came through the earpiece, “Captain, found it!”

“Take action.”

As soon as Lu Zexuan finished speaking, the female sentinel on the ground took out her electromagnetic knife and decisively chopped off the front leg of the leader of the star beast! Almost simultaneously, Lu Zexuan, diving from a high altitude, landed firmly on the head of the leader. With a fierce stab of the long knife in his hand, there was a “splurt” sound as the sharp blade instantly pierced into the giant beast’s head. Then, he forcefully rotated his wrist, swinging the electromagnetic knife, and quickly turned the creature’s brain into a mush! 

“Roar—” The beast pack let out piercing howls, and all the galactic beasts suddenly stopped as if frozen. Then, these leaderless galactic beasts began to scatter and flee, their thunderous footsteps shaking the ground violently.

“Let them go, do not pursue,” Lu Zexuan commanded through the headset.

“Roger!”

After a while, the chaotic human base quieted down, and the beast pack’s frenzied footsteps gradually faded into the distance. Lu Zexuan sheathed his long knife and approached his comrades.

After experiencing a fierce battle, many sentinels had blood smeared on their faces. Lu Zexuan looked at them with concern, asking, “Is anyone injured?”

“Captain, a few of the brothers are lightly wounded, but it’s nothing serious!”

Lu Zexuan nodded. “Alright, divide into three teams and continue the search.”

These galactic beasts, after their leader was killed, actually retreated immediately? It seemed like the crisis had been successfully resolved, but Lu Zexuan couldn’t help but feel that things weren’t that simple — the sudden appearance of unfamiliar galactic beasts was peculiar. However, he didn’t have the time to ponder over this now.

Lu Zexuan turned and headed towards the human base.

Suddenly, he stopped in front of a bakery — there seemed to be the scent of a guide here. Although very faint, the keen sense of smell of an S-rank sentinel like Lu Zexuan quickly detected that elusive hint of the guide’s essence.

A guide’s body emitted a special “guide essence,” with different scents for each, only detectable by evolved individuals. What Lu Zexuan smelled now was a refreshing cold fragrance, like the scent of snow falling on plum blossoms, refreshing and invigorating.

As the number of guides among the evolved was less than a tenth of the sentinels, the federal government paid special attention to guides. It even enacted the “Guide Protection Act,” with every guide registered and managed by the “Guide Association” of the Capital Star.

Besides guides like Mohr, who graduated from military academies and followed the troops into battle, most guides remained on the capital star. Some were responsible for the mental grooming and treatment of sentinels, while others went to various research institutions to undertake precise and intellectually demanding research tasks.

How could there be an unfamiliar guide on a desolate and harsh resource planet like Planet B73? With doubts in his mind, Lu Zexuan briskly walked into the bakery.

The beasts had already smashed the bakery, and the interior was chaotic. His gaze swept over the dim room, and he quickly noticed a large hole trampled by the beasts in the corner.

Lu Zexuan walked towards the hole and jumped down. It was a basement filled with clutter, pitch black inside. But for Lu Zexuan, seeing things in the dark was no different from during the day, and he quickly spotted a teenager sitting in the corner of the basement.

The teenager was thin, with a sickly pale complexion; his right eye was black, but his left eye was red, a rare “heterochromia”. The teenager’s breathing was weak, indicating that he was injured, and a palm-sized white furball was barely breathing at his feet.

— The spirit body belonging to the guide.

Lu Zexuan carefully distinguished and realized it was a fluffy little fox. With such a weak spirit body, it seemed that the owner’s mental energy wasn’t high, perhaps a weakest C-rank guide.

Lu Zexuan’s white eagle sensed the presence of the little fox and seemed somewhat excited. It flapped its wings to shrink its body, wanting to come down and play with the other party, but Lu Zexuan coldly commanded in his mind, “Stay back so as not to frighten him. His spirit body is too weak.”

Snow Eagle, “…Alright.”

Sentinels and guides instinctively attracted each other. When a sentinel’s spirit body saw a guide’s spirit body, it would also eagerly want to get closer. However, Lu Zexuan and the teenager in front of him had a vast difference in strength, and this poor little fox might not be able to withstand the approach of Lu Zexuan’s S-rank spirit body, the Snow Eagle. If the little fox was frightened, its owner might also suffer damage to their mental energy.

After hiding Snow Eagle, Lu Zexuan tried to temper his sharpness and approached the youth, speaking gently, “Don’t be afraid. I am a sentinel of the rescue team. I will get you out.” 

With that, he extended his arms and carefully lifted the youth leaning against the wall.

He was… so light.

With the guide, who was “light as a feather” to him, in his arms, Lu Zexuan’s movements were somewhat clumsy for a moment, fearing any mishap that might endanger the barely breathing person. The youth in his arms remained still, only his eyes shining brightly in the darkness. He gazed at Lu Zexuan briefly, then lowered his head thoughtfully.

Lu Zexuan held the youth firmly in his arms and jumped out of the basement’s opening.

The sound of wings unfolding echoed in his ears. Lu Zexuan leaped into the air, carrying the youth. The biting cold wind, mixed with rain, slapped against the youth’s face. With furrowed brows from the rain, the youth asked softly, “Where are you taking me?”

Lu Zexuan lowered his head. Seeing the discomfort on the youth’s face, he hurriedly used his coat to shield him from the rain while explaining softly, “According to the Federal Guide Protection Act, injured guides must be treated as a priority. I’m taking you to the Eagle Starship, where doctors and treatment pods help you recover quickly.”

The youth nodded quietly, saying, “Thank you.”

His forehead was injured, still bleeding. The blood flowed into his red eye at that moment, emitting a strange and eerie aura.

Lu Zexuan felt a sense of mystery about this youth, and the guide’s scent on him seemed familiar as if he had smelled it somewhere before. But now was not the time to inquire about the youth’s origins; saving him was the priority. With that in mind, Lu Zexuan hastened his pace and flew directly towards the hovering Eagle Starship in the sky.

Inside the starship, Mohr, the logistics team leader, had already received the land team’s message and was waiting at the landing bay entrance. Seeing Lu Zexuan rushing in with a bloodied youth in his arms, Mohr couldn’t help but stare, “Major Lu, who’s this?”

Lu Zexuan replied, “Found an injured guide.”

“A guide?” Mohr quickly took the youth from Lu Zexuan’s hands.

Looking at the youth covered in blood, Mohr asked softly, “Hello, are you still conscious? Can you hear me?”

The youth nodded, “Yes.”

“I’m a guide doctor.” Mohr held his cold hand and said, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll take you for an examination first.”

Mohr carefully examined the youth in the treatment room. He had cuts on his forehead from gravel, bleeding profusely but only superficial wounds; in addition, he had several abrasions on his body. Mohr carefully bandaged his wounds and stopped the bleeding quickly.

Lu Zexuan waited at the door for a while. Then Mohr came out with the youth. A white bandage was wrapped around the youth’s forehead, his pale face looked very weak, and his spirit body, a little fox, was drooping on his shoulder, looking half-dead.

Mohr explained, “The injuries aren’t serious, just a lot of blood loss and a bit of shock, so he’s a bit weak. I’ve given him a nutritional supplement, and he’ll be fine after a night’s rest.”

Lu Zexuan felt relieved. He looked at the youth and asked softly, “What’s your name? How old are you?”

The youth softly replied, “My name is Yu Ran, and I’m 18.”

“You didn’t register with the Guide Association? Why are you staying here alone?”

“I just awakened last month and haven’t had a chance to register yet…”

Lu Zexuan wanted to ask more, but Mohr interrupted, “Alright, alright, he’s very weak right now. Don’t rush to interrogate him like a criminal.”

The youth seemed slightly afraid of Lu Zexuan, lowering his head and hiding behind Mohr. Seeing this, Lu Zexuan tactfully said, “Alright. Mohr, take him to rest first. We can talk about it tomorrow if there’s anything.”

As Lu Zexuan turned to leave, he gave Mohr a meaningful look: Keep an eye on this person.

Mohr nodded in understanding. A strange guide appearing on a deserted planet couldn’t be taken lightly.

Mohr turned back to look at the youth, meeting his innocent and pitiful eyes. The youth seemed like a frightened little animal, his face full of nervousness and fear. That sense of anxiety and fear was even transmitted vividly to Mohr.

Yu Ran? It’s a very unfamiliar name. His mental energy seemed weak, and his spirit body was frail. Was he a recently awakened C-rank guide? Mohr felt a hint of doubt arise in his mind. It would be best to find an opportunity to test him.