First Interstellar Guide Chapter 35: Heartbeat

Chapter 35: Heartbeat

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Mohr brought Yu Ran to the adjacent cell. The symptoms of this sentinel were relatively mild, and the cause of frenzy was unknown. There were scattered black mists formed by a few negative emotions in his mental world, which Mohr quickly cleared.

Yu Ran followed Mohr, learning while assisting in organizing the sentinel’s mental landscape. Mohr took the lead in treatment while Yu Ran assisted, purifying one sentinel after another with their combined efforts. As time passed, it was already half past four in the afternoon when Mohr led Yu Ran to the last cell at the east end of the corridor.

Inside was a very young sentinel who was banging his head against the wall. Bright blood flowed from his forehead to his neck, indicating he was enduring terrible mental torture and had an intense desire for death.

Mohr quickly pressed a button outside the door. A “sizzle” of electricity surged along the chains to the sentinel’s head, knocking him unconscious instantly. Mohr then turned off the switch and said to Yu Ran, “Dealing with out-of-control sentinels, we can only use this method to force them into unconsciousness.”

Yu Ran nodded in understanding. Frenzied sentinels wouldn’t cooperate willingly; sometimes, forceful control was necessary.

Mohr opened the door and entered the room. He squatted in front of the sentinel, examining the injuries on his head and applying simple bandaging with military gauze. Then, he extended his clean mental tendrils towards Yu Ran and said, “Come with me and enter his mental world.”

Yu Ran approached, emulating Mohr, and placed his mental tendrils on the sentinel’s forehead. He saw large swathes of black mist in the sentinel’s mental world—a segment of extremely painful memory.

The sentinel was only 24 years old, a captain of an exploration team. During a mission, his comrades suddenly frenzied one after another. His most trusted brother, in front of him, was killing their comrades. When he arrived, all he saw were his teammates’ bloody bodies, some of whom were his childhood friends.

Such a cruel scene instantly shattered the mental world of the sentinel captain. It’s no wonder his desire for death was so strong. Witnessing so many brothers die before him made life too unbearable for him.

In the mental world, Mohr said, “Yu Ran, I will dispel this part of his memory, and you will assist in repairing the wounds.”

Yu Ran hesitated, “Me? He’s a B-grade sentinel. Can I do it?”

Mohr replied, “Give it a try; I’ll slow down.”

Yu Ran quickly strategized in his mind. Only four people knew about his status as a “growth-type guide” at the moment: Dean Xie, Mrs. Joseph, homeroom teacher Mr. Ai Qi, and Lu Zexuan. However, until graduation, his therapeutic abilities displayed to these individuals were only at the “B-grade” level.

Basic healing methods were taught to all guide students. It wasn’t uncommon for S-grade attack guides to have B-grade healing abilities. Therefore, even if there were spies among them, he wasn’t worried about exposure. After all, in the eyes of the high-level members of the Dark Night organization, he was an S-grade attack guide, and his spirit body, the Nine-tailed Fox, could transform into a White Fox. He could explain that the healing tendrils of the White Fox were merely a disguise of the Nine-tailed Fox and at most were B-grade. This explanation made sense. As long as the two foxes didn’t appear simultaneously, they wouldn’t suspect that Yu Ran had two spirit bodies.

However, Yu Ran didn’t want to reveal his strength too early. While cooperating with Mohr, he deliberately held back, showing only slightly better skills than when he treated Little Qi last time.

The condition of this sentinel was more complicated; the trauma in his mental world was too severe. Mohr dispelled the psychological shadows upfront while Yu Ran followed, reconstructing the mental landscape. They were exhausted by the time Mohr finished his work, with Yu Ran only completing half of the reconstruction. Sweat drenched Mohr’s military uniform.

Watching Yu Ran’s pale face, Lu Zexuan anxiously said through the earpiece, “Mohr, quickly let him stop; there’s no need to force it. If his mental energy is depleted, he’ll also be injured.”

“Understood.” Mohr shouted in the mental world, “Yu Ran, stop for now. The reconstruction work doesn’t have to be completed in one go. I’ve cleared the root cause of his frenzy, and his consciousness has returned to normal. You can come back another day to assist in the reconstruction.”

“…Alright.” Yu Ran stopped, looking visibly exhausted, and the little White Fox also drooped on his shoulder.

Lu Zexuan looked at him with concern. “Are you okay?”

Yu Ran shook his head weakly. “I’m fine; it’s just that my mental energy isn’t sufficient.” He apologized to Mohr, “I couldn’t finish it in one go. My mental energy is still too low, isn’t it?”

Mohr smiled and said, “You’re already very talented. Go rest.”

Without a word, Lu Zexuan picked up the exhausted Yu Ran. Yu Ran was taken aback but felt a subtle emotion—what’s with this sentinel? Last time I pretended to faint, you didn’t carry me, but this time, I didn’t faint, so you carry me? But at that moment of being picked up, he still blushed cooperatively; acting skills had to be on point.

Lu Zexuan carried him back to his own room and gently laid him on the bed, saying softly, “When treating others, remember to take care of your own mental energy. If a guide’s mental energy is depleted, their mental landscape will also be damaged. Don’t be so stubborn next time; if you can’t finish it in one go, stop in time, okay?”

Yu Ran nodded obediently. “Got it.”

Lu Zexuan looked at Yu Ran’s exhausted appearance, feeling a slight softness in his heart. He gently said, “Do you still have the energy? You’ve sweated a lot. Take a hot bath first and have a good sleep.”

Yu Ran smiled and said, “I’m just a little tired; I still have the strength to take a shower.”

With that, he turned around to find pajamas and went to the bathroom to take a hot shower. Halfway through, he suddenly remembered that he forgot to bring shampoo and body wash… Well, he could just use General Lu’s. Lu Zexuan wouldn’t be so petty as to make an issue out of it.

When Yu Ran finished showering and came out, Lu Zexuan had just changed into casual clothes.

Seeing Yu Ran, Lu Zexuan couldn’t help but pause—Yu Ran, who had just finished showering, looked especially gentle and cute. His soft black hair hung wetly by his ears, and water droplets slid down his beautiful neck into his collar. His black and red heterochromatic eyes seemed to shimmer with the water, clear and bright. His white robe was slightly oversized, revealing half of his fair and slender thighs. He stood in front of Lu Zexuan defenselessly, toweling his hair while asking, “Do you have a hairdryer?”

Lu Zexuan was speechless. Meeting those beautiful eyes, Lu Zexuan’s heart skipped a beat inexplicably. Sentinels’ senses were always keen, and Lu Zexuan noticed the inexplicable acceleration of his heartbeat, freezing in place and feeling somewhat bewildered. Yu Ran looked at him with confusion, repeating, “I didn’t find a hairdryer in the bathroom. Where do you keep yours?”

Lu Zexuan snapped back to reality, his ears turning slightly red. “I never use that.”

Yu Ran looked at him surprisingly. “You don’t blow dry your hair after showering?”

Lu Zexuan touched his nose. “My hair is short; it dries naturally.”

Yu Ran was speechless. Different habits could be tolerated for the time being. However, his hair was slightly longer, and it would be uncomfortable to sleep with it wet on the pillow. If not blow-dried, his hair would be messy when he woke up.

Yu Ran was about to say it was fine when Lu Zexuan suddenly spoke up, “Wait here; I’ll buy one for you.”

And then he disappeared like lightning in front of Yu Ran.

—The speed of sentinels, aren’t they really teleporting?

Watching the disappearing figure at the door, Yu Ran couldn’t help but smile. “I understand why White Eagle is a bit silly. General Lu seems to have a bit of that too?”

The little fox quipped, “He is a bit naive, so he was easily fooled by you.”

Yu Ran sighed, “I have no choice. As a Federal soldier, I believe he can understand my circumstances.”

In less than 3 minutes, Lu Zexuan returned, holding a new hairdryer in his hand. He handed it to Yu Ran and coughed lightly, feeling embarrassed. “If you need any other daily necessities, you can tell me, and I’ll buy them for you.”

Yu Ran took it and said, “No need; I’ve brought everything else. If you don’t mind, I’ll use your shampoo and body wash.”

Lu Zexuan whispered, “I don’t mind; use whatever you need.”

At this moment, Lu Zexuan suddenly realized that Yu Ran smelled like his usual body wash. The familiar scent enveloping the guide in front of him inexplicably pleased Lu Zexuan. Living together with Yu Ran, showering in his bathroom, using his body wash, asking for his hairdryer… These mundane conversations and scenes made it seem like they were a simple couple just starting to cohabit. Having his own guide, was this the feeling?

No wonder so many sentinels rushed to the Guide Association to find a match. Thinking about it, Lu Zexuan realized that he had indeed been “clueless” for refusing the guides Mrs. Joseph had matched him with before. However, Lu Zexuan was also grateful for his decision—not accepting other guides over the years allowed him to encounter the best guide, Yu Ran.

It seemed almost destined. He saved Yu Ran in the basement of Planet B73, and Yu Ran became his guide.

Lu Zexuan’s gaze towards Yu Ran became increasingly gentle. Yu Ran didn’t notice the change in the sentinel; guides weren’t particularly perceptive in reading emotions, but they were sensitive to feelings. Yu Ran sensed that Lu Zexuan was quite happy.

So, Yu Ran raised his head and asked, “Are you feeling good?”

“Um, okay,” the sentinel paused, making up an excuse, “Just enjoying the rare break recently.”

“Oh,” Yu Ran put away the hairdryer and said, “I’ll put this hairdryer in the drawer from now on.”

“Alright. You can use anything in this room,” Lu Zexuan replied.

“Then I’ll go rest for a while. I used up quite a bit of mental energy earlier,” Yu Ran said.

Lu Zexuan nodded, “Go ahead. If you can’t wake up for dinner, I’ll prepare it for you. You can reheat it when you wake up.”

“Okay, thank you.” Yu Ran didn’t sense anything unusual in their conversation and turned to head to the bedroom to sleep. He was indeed a bit tired, not so much from mental energy depletion—treating a B-level sentinel consumed less than a tenth of his mental energy. He was just tired from acting and constantly thinking about the next rescue plan.

***

Yu Ran slept until ten o’clock at night. When he woke up, he found the gym door closed, and Lu Zexuan was working out in the adjacent gym.

Curious, Yu Ran asked, “As an S-level sentinel, with physical qualities evolved to the limit, do you still need to work out?”

Lu Zexuan explained, “Exerting some physical effort helps me fall asleep on time.”

Understanding, Yu Ran nodded.

Indeed, sentinels had vigorous physical fitness that guides couldn’t match. When Yu Ran moved into Lu Zexuan’s dormitory, he discovered Lu Zexuan had a separate gym. He thought it was just for show, but he didn’t expect Lu Zexuan to actually use it. 

Lu Zexuan was considerate; he prepared dishes that Yu Ran liked for dinner. After reheating the meal, Yu Ran asked, “Has Mohr returned? How are those rampaging sentinels?”

Lu Zexuan replied, “There are quite a few of them; it may take a few more days to handle them all.”

That’s good. When the time came, he could sneak away to rescue people on the tenth floor without it seeming too abrupt. Quickly finishing dinner, Yu Ran wiped his mouth and said, “I slept for a while, and my mental energy has recovered. I want to go check on that sentinel again. I wonder how he’s doing.”

Lu Zexuan frowned, “It’s already late. Why not go see him tomorrow?”

Yu Ran smiled, “It’s okay. I only repaired half of his mental landscape today. If I wait until tomorrow, he’ll be very uncomfortable tonight. I’ll just work a little overtime tonight and finish treating this patient. Then he can sleep well.”

Seeing Yu Ran’s smile, Lu Zexuan’s mood became complicated. If all guides were like Yu Ran, the sentinels wouldn’t be in so much pain. For those rampaging sentinels, Yu Ran’s treatment was like a ray of sunshine warming the cold winter of their mental world. For Lu Zexuan, it was the same.

Yu Ran’s arrival seemed to fill his monotonous and lonely dormitory with warmth. Every time he saw Yu Ran, his mood would inexplicably improve. He didn’t know if this feeling was love, but he was certain of one thing—he greatly admired Yu Ran. When he was with Yu Ran, his mental state would relax, something he hadn’t experienced since becoming the Captain of the Eagle Special Forces.