First Interstellar Guide Chapter 5: Unexpected Death

Chapter 5: Unexpected Death

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

After Lu Zexuan returned to his room, the communication device lit up. It was a message from his friend, Meredith, “Here’s the personnel information for the 494th graduation ball that you wanted. Remember to treat me to dinner when you get back.”

Lu Zexuan replied, “Thanks.”

Meredith, who had grown up with Lu Zexuan since childhood and was two years older, currently worked as the head of the Intelligence Department at the Federal Intelligence Center.

Lu Zexuan opened the list and carefully went through it. All the guides’ names, ages, heights, weights, family backgrounds, academic records, and post-graduation plans were listed clearly. This included who they married, how many children they had, and where they worked. The information provided by the head of the Intelligence Department was indeed comprehensive.

A total of 186 guides attended the graduation dance that year. Among them, 124 found their sentinel partners at the ball. Those guides who married sentinels usually didn’t stray far from their partners, so they could be temporarily excluded. The remaining 62 people had neither died unexpectedly nor gone missing. Currently, they were all working in various departments in the capital star, leaving traces, and showing no signs of suspicion.

Strange, could it be that he had been overthinking?

Furrowing his brow, Lu Zexuan searched his memory again. There were too many people at that dance, and many sentinels and guides were dancing in the ballroom. The aroma of food wafted from the buffet area, mingling with various guide essence scents and food fragrances, making it difficult to distinguish the scent of a particular person’s guide essence clearly. Lu Zexuan had no recollection of which specific guide emitted that crisp, cool fragrance he once smelled.

The information provided by the Intelligence Department was unlikely to be wrong.

Perhaps it was just a coincidence?

Rubbing his throbbing temples, Lu Zexuan quickly took a shower and changed into clean clothes.

At that moment, Mohr, who had just returned from his busy schedule, coincidentally encountered Yu Ran pacing back and forth at the starship’s entrance. The young man seemed anxious, and upon seeing Mohr, his eyes lit up, and he quickly approached, asking, “Dr. Mohr, I heard that people from the guide association are coming to pick me up this afternoon. Can I go home for a while? I want to retrieve something; it’s a memento left by my parents.”

The spirit body white fox, seeing Mohr, also appeared very happy and ran over, rubbing its head against Mohr’s leg, expressing trust and affection.

Mohr smiled, bending down to pat the little fox’s furry head, and said, “Of course. Do you need someone to accompany you?”

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Zexuan’s voice came from behind, “I’ll accompany him and ensure his safety.”

Yu Ran was speechless.

Named as protection, but actually surveillance, right?

It seemed that Lu Zexuan still didn’t trust him; this sentinel was indeed troublesome. Yu Ran felt somewhat displeased in his heart, and the little fox also unhappily hid behind Yu Ran.

Lu Zexuan walked up to Yu Ran and explained, “That cake shop of yours has collapsed. It’s dangerous to go searching there. If you get hurt, I’ll have a hard time explaining to the association.”

Yu Ran looked up at him. The sentinel’s gaze was deep, and his expression was cold, but his words carried a force that brooked no refusal. This youngest S-class sentinel in federal history seemed even smarter and more cautious than Yu Ran had imagined. Since he insisted on following, Yu Ran could only nod and say, “Then, I’ll trouble General.”

Lu Zexuan and Yu Ran left together.

Most sentinels possessed robust physiques. Lu Zexuan stood at a height of one meter ninety-five, with a tall and well-proportioned figure, giving off a strong aura. Compared to him, the guide beside him was only one meter seventy-five tall, appearing innocent and harmless. The little fox on his shoulder was trembling, looking frightened.

The torrential rain hadn’t stopped yet. Lu Zexuan opened a black umbrella, tilting it slightly towards Yu Ran to shield him from the rain. Yu Ran obediently walked beside the man, and the two walked silently, quickly arriving near the collapsed cake shop.

Yu Ran looked at the collapsed building in front of him, furrowing his brow. “The house has collapsed. I wonder if I can still find what I’m looking for.”

The young man walked over and began searching amidst the debris. Lu Zexuan asked, “What are you looking for?”

“A necklace, it was a birthday gift from my mom.” When mentioning his mom, Yu Ran’s voice sounded somewhat melancholic.

Lu Zexuan squatted down to help him search. With his keen eyes, he quickly scanned the collapsed house. After a moment, he found a chain buried in a corner under rubble. Lu Zexuan moved the stones aside and retrieved the buried chain, holding it out to Yu Ran. “Is this it?”

“Great, it’s this one. Thank you!” Yu Ran’s eyes lit up, carefully taking the necklace and wiping off the dust with his sleeve. The necklace had a square delicate pendant. The pendant could be opened, and inside was a small photo—a picture of a middle-aged couple and Yu Ran, all smiling happily.

Looking at the photo, Yu Ran’s eyes couldn’t help but turn slightly red. “This is a family photo of us. My mom made it into a necklace as a birthday gift for me, hoping that our family could live together peacefully. But, on my birthday…”

According to Mohr, on Yu Ran’s birthday, there happened to be a mining accident, and both of his parents passed away. In a mentally traumatized state, Yu Ran awakened as a guide.

Seeing the almost tearful expression on the young man’s face, Lu Zexuan didn’t know how to comfort him for a moment. After a brief silence, he awkwardly reached out and stiffly patted Yu Ran’s shoulder, “Don’t cry. The dead cannot be brought back to life. In the future, the guide association will protect you.” He paused for a moment before adding, “If you need any help, you can also find me.”

Yu Ran sniffled, trying to control his emotions, and carefully wore the necklace around his neck. He looked up at Lu Zexuan, “By the way, I do need General’s help with something.”

Lu Zexuan paused, “What do you need?”

Yu Ran said, “I want to go to the hospital to find someone. Last night, I saw her being chased by a group of beasts, but I didn’t have time to save her. I don’t know how she’s doing now.”

Since Yu Ran grew up here and had friends and relatives, it wasn’t surprising. Lu Zexuan didn’t doubt him and led him to the hospital.

To Lu Zexuan’s surprise, there were several journalists gathered at the hospital entrance, and Officer Leonard from B73 Base was being interviewed by them.

“Last night, the base was attacked by mutant creatures. I’m very grateful for the timely rescue by the Eagle Special Forces! For the federal citizens who lost their lives in this disaster, I express my deepest condolences. I promise here that the families of the deceased will be properly taken care of.”

“Officer Leonard, it is said that the severely injured people from last night were all sent to the treatment pods. Will you also help cover their medical expenses?”

“Yes. Everyone knows that opening a treatment pod costs millions. But… compared to the expensive treatment costs, life is priceless! I have arranged for the financial department to allocate funds to assist the injured civilians. The federal government will not abandon any citizen, even if they are not evolved. Their lives are equally precious!”

“Applause” erupted around.

Yu Ran lowered his head, trying to minimize his presence, but a slight smile crept up on his lips—his guess was right. This guy indeed came to the hospital to visit the patients and even arranged for media interviews in advance. The hypocritical display was nauseating.

Lu Zexuan walked past the journalists without expression and entered through a side door. He changed into casual clothes and went unrecognized. Yu Ran followed Lu Zexuan through the side door. However, as they passed by Leonard, he suddenly turned his head to look at him.

There were many journalists around, and Leonard didn’t notice the gaze from behind.

Unnoticed by anyone, under the eaves’ shadow, a slender red tendril extended forward silently, like a thread, moving in an S-shape and skillfully avoiding the feet of the surrounding humans, swiftly wrapping around Leonard’s heel.

Leonard was wearing a suit today, and at this moment, the red tendril crawled into his pants cuff and climbed rapidly, reaching Leonard’s nape in the blink of an eye. Then, like a needle, it instantly pierced into his mind!

Leonard felt a buzzing sensation in his brain, as if he had been electrocuted, momentarily losing his ability to think.

But soon, he regained consciousness.

Puzzled, Leonard shook his head and continued his fake grief-stricken speech, “Why the mutant creatures attacked the human base is still under investigation. However, everyone please rest assured that we will rebuild the base defense grid at the fastest speed to protect everyone’s safety…”

The man’s voice gradually faded away, and Yu Ran followed Lu Zexuan into the ward.

Lu Zexuan asked, “What’s the name of the friend you’re looking for?”

Yu Ran replied, “Her name is Rong Yingying, a girl with long black hair. General, have you seen her before?”

Lu Zexuan replied, “Come with me.”

She turned out to be the girl who had her legs bitten off by the herd last night and almost lost her life. Thanks to Lu Zexuan’s timely activation of the treatment pod, the parts below her knees where she was bitten had already grown new limbs, but the functions of nerves and muscles had not fully recovered yet. It’s believed that within a month, she would be able to walk on the ground normally.

Lu Zexuan brought Yu Ran to Ward 1. The girl lying on the hospital bed, although pale, seemed mentally fine. Upon seeing Yu Ran, she struggled to sit up immediately, “Ranran, you’re alive! That’s great!”

Yu Ran walked over and asked, “Sister, are you alright?”

Rong Yingying choked up, “I’m fine, they sent me to the treatment pod, and my legs are saved. What about you?”

Yu Ran glanced at Lu Zexuan and said, “It was this general who saved me.”

Rong Yingying hurriedly said, “Thank you, General, for saving my brother. Thank you so much!”

“Don’t mention it,” Lu Zexuan looked at them, “Are you… siblings?”

Yu Ran said, “She’s my cousin. By the way, where’s Auntie?”

Rong Yingying said, “She went to buy food for me.”

Yu Ran nodded and said softly, “Sis, this afternoon, people from the guide association will come to pick me up. I’ll have to go to the capital star to live in the future… It may be difficult for us to meet again.”

Rong Yingying hesitated for a moment, looking at Yu Ran with reluctance, “Are you okay going to the capital star alone?”

Yu Ran said, “The guide association will arrange everything. I don’t want to leave here either, but I awakened as a guide, you know, I have to obey the association’s arrangements…”

The siblings bid farewell reluctantly in the hospital.

Lu Zexuan watched this scene, and his suspicion of Yu Ran lessened slightly.

He had parents, relatives, and an impeccable background. The cost of fabricating all this would be too high. Even if advanced guides could create mental illusions and alter their memories, he couldn’t change the memories of everyone around him.

After a moment, Rong Yingying’s mother came back, also reluctant to hear that Yu Ran was leaving. Yu Ran bid farewell to his relatives earnestly, and about half an hour later, he stood up and said softly to Lu Zexuan, “Okay, let’s go back.”

As they left, Leonard and the reporters he had brought were gone. The officer was now at the hospital entrance giving interviews, evidently just for show.

Lu Zexuan frowned and took Yu Ran back to the starship.

Shortly after boarding the starship, a sentinel rushed over urgently, reporting, “Major Lu, something happened!”

Lu Zexuan turned back, “What happened?”

The sentinel said, “That Officer Leonard, he took reporters to the government building just now for filming, but he accidentally fell off the building and died.”

Lu Zexuan was speechless.

He instinctively turned to look at Yu Ran, meeting the boy’s bewildered and innocent eyes.

A strange feeling arose in Lu Zexuan’s heart. Based on the timing, when Leonard died, he and Yu Ran should have been saying goodbye to their relatives in the hospital.

Was this… really an accident?