Chapter 1: The Guide's Fatal Attraction

Wen Li woke up in a pile of mecha wreckage.

She curled herself up tightly, terrified that the hideous monsters outside would discover her.

Where was this? Wasn't she just at work? How did she end up here the moment she opened her eyes?

A boundless wasteland stretched out before her. Outside, a humanoid monster wandered, dragging mutated, blood-red arms, its blurred facial features scanning the surroundings.

A raspy, heavy wheezing sound came from its throat.

Pausing for a couple of seconds, the monster turned its head and looked toward Wen Li behind the wreckage.

Dread seized Wen Li's heart.

The monster had spotted her!

It split open its crimson maw, revealing jagged, bone-white teeth.

Excitedly, the monster climbed onto the wreckage in front of her, leaning down to face her directly.

A long, scarlet tongue slithered out, seemingly wanting to lick her face.

Wen Li gripped a sharp piece of wreckage in her hand and shoved it hard into the monster's eye just before it lunged.

The monster let out a piercing shriek, tore the shard out, and tried to find her.

But by then, Wen Li was already running away with every ounce of strength she had.

Dropping onto all fours, the monster gave chase.

Before long, the metallic taste of blood rose in her throat, and her pace began to falter.

Turning around to see the monster's sharp claws reaching for her, she closed her eyes in terror.

The expected pain never came.

A flash of yellow darted across her vision, leaping to tackle the monster and tearing into it savagely.

The monster's neck was snapped; after twitching for a moment, it lay still.

The yellow figure turned and tilted its head at Wen Li.

It was a massive Golden Retriever, sporting sharp claws and a coat of silky, pale-gold fur.

Its dark eyes stared at her.

Wen Li stared in awe at the giant dog, and thinking back to the attacking monster, she realized one thing.

She was definitely not on Earth anymore!

Panting, the Golden Retriever barked toward the space behind her.

Footsteps approached from behind, followed by a clear, pleasant voice.

"Are you alright, miss?"

Wen Li turned to see a warrior with long golden hair tied back with a forest-green ribbon.

He wore a sleek combat suit and tall black boots. Though his face was smeared with blood, his brown eyes shone exceptionally bright.

Before Wen Li could speak, Noah's expression changed dramatically.

"Are you a Guide?"

Wen Li looked thoroughly confused. *A Guide? Me?*

Noah had no doubt in his own mental perception. The young lady before him was indeed a Guide. And a high-level one at that.

Why would such a precious Guide be on such a dangerous battlefield?

The little Guide before him was covered in dust, her hand bleeding.

Noah approached cautiously, reaching out to protect her.

Perhaps the blood of a Guide was too alluring, for a swarm of monsters had already been drawn to their location.

Noah scooped Wen Li up, shielding her in his embrace to keep her from any harm while fighting the monsters single-handedly with a laser sword.

Beside them, the Golden Retriever fought like possessed, tearing and biting at the beasts.

Noah spoke into his earpiece, "Captain, we need backup!" as he decapitated a monster with a single sweep of his sword.

"There is an injured Guide here!" Noah added.

Not far away, a squad in black combat gear engaged in a fierce battle with the corrupted froze for a second.

What? An injured Guide here? Had kid Noah's mutation index spiked again, causing him to hallucinate?

But Captain Karl trusted the steady and reliable Noah, choosing to redirect his team immediately to reinforce him.

When the squad arrived, the ground was littered with the severed limbs of monsters, the soil soaked in black blood.

Everyone saw the petite figure Noah was shielding in his arms.

Slightly wavy golden hair fell loose down her back, and her exposed arms were as white as fresh snow.

She was curled up small in the man's embrace, her white eyes looking at them timidly.

Karl stepped forward to take Wen Li from him.

The wound on her hand was still bleeding. Clearly, it attracted not just the monsters, but also stimulated the Sentinels.

A strange, intoxicating fragrance spread through the air. The Sentinels grew restive, tugging at their collars to catch their breath.

Karl, being the closest to her, had his animal ears triggered by the stimulation. A pair of soft, golden lion ears popped out, resting flat on his head.

With a slight flush on his face, Karl said, "My apologies, Miss Guide." How could he lose control like this?

Wen Li, however, stared at his ears with sheer curiosity.

The lion ears nestled in his golden hair twitched constantly, creating an unexpectedly cute contrast with Karl's noble, aristocratic demeanor.

*They look so soft and bouncy. I want to squish them!*

A medic from the squad bandaged Wen Li's wound.

A youthful Sentinel with streak-dyed black and white hair slipped a piece of candy into Wen Li's hand.

Yue Li looked at the little Guide before him. After a brief hesitation, he summoned his spirit beast to accompany her.

It had distinct black and white fur, a round, chubby body, and large dark patches around its eyes!

Upon being summoned, the iron-eating beast yawned. Spotting Wen Li, it rolled over lazily and tumbled right into her lap, whimpering softly to act cute.

Wen Li was so overwhelmed by its cuteness that she felt her heart melt.

It was an iron-eating beast! Such soft fur. Back on the Blue Planet, she could only watch them from afar, but now she was going to cuddle it to her heart's content!

Wen Li began petting it all over, losing herself in play with the iron-eating beast, completely forgetting that they were on a battlefield.

Although the other Sentinels looked down on Yue Li's shameless tactic, it had successfully calmed the little Guide, allowing them to focus on the cleanup without distraction.

The ground trembled as several massive corrupted beasts burst forth from the soil.

Their skin resembled grayish-brown rock with faint cracks running across the surface, and their dark eyes were concealed within their stony shells.

Their limbs were thick and powerful, kicking up clouds of dust with the slightest movement.

S-class corrupted beasts, boasting rock-like shells and extremely high defense.

This was the squad's primary extermination target.

Normally, an S-class corrupted beast would be an easy fix for Karl, an SSS-rank Sentinel.

But now that a little Guide had appeared on the battlefield, the mission priority shifted entirely to protecting her.

The Guide could not suffer even the slightest harm under their watch. This was not just their duty as soldiers, but an instinct etched into the very genes of every Sentinel.

Mental energy manifested, and a majestic, giant golden lion roared at the corrupted beasts.

Spirit beasts materialized around the Sentinels, working in tandem to tear into the corrupted beasts.

Dust swirled before Wen Li's eyes. The monsters' shells were too thick; while spirit beasts with strong bite forces could inflict damage, the speed-focused ones struggled to make an impact.

The lion tackled a stone beast to the ground, and Karl stepped forward, thrusting his laser sword deep into the creature's core.

Sensing her gaze, Karl looked back to find the little Guide staring at him in a daze.

He felt a sudden urge to smile. *Why is this little Guide so dorky?*

Wen Li was indeed transfixed. The three-meter-tall lion, its golden mane swaying in the breeze and its body stained with black blood, stood triumphantly over the dead beast, roaring toward the sky.

*So cool!*

The roar ignited the wild bloodlust of the other Sentinels, and the battle drew to a close.

Yet, unbeknownst to them, a greater danger lurked right behind Wen Li.

An aberration materialized silently, slipping past the Sentinels' defensive perimeter without a sound and creeping up behind her.

Before Wen Li knew what was happening, the iron-eating beast in her arms suddenly grew massive and leaped backward.

This sudden movement allowed Wen Li to narrowly escape the aberration's clutches.