Chapter 2: You Are Not Allowed to Touch My Giant Panda!

Wen Li scrambled to her feet and saw her iron-eater fiercely biting the cloaked man behind her. The nearby golden retriever also leapt at the man dressed in black, blocking his advance.

“Everyone, on alert! It’s an Aberrant!” Karl shouted.

When a Sentinel’s mental pollution reaches one hundred, they become an Aberrant—nothing more than a beast driven solely by the urge to kill.

They are soulless, and a powerful Sentinel turned Aberrant is even more dangerous to handle.

Guides, however, are born with the power to purify, able to lower aberrant indices and soothe mental rampages—like a leash that restrains Sentinels and grants them the right to live.

Wen Li couldn’t understand why everyone was so tense; all she felt was burning rage. The man in black had actually kicked her iron-eater away! He’d punched right through the golden retriever’s abdomen as well.

Both spirit animals lay on the ground, struggling to breathe.

Her blood boiled within her veins. Wen Li clenched her fists tightly.

A guttural snarl came from the man in black’s throat, his wild gaze fixed on Wen Li’s furious face—taking pleasure in her anger.

A rasping, glass-scraping voice cackled, “Delicious Guide!”

With that, he vanished and lunged toward Wen Li.

But Karl, anticipating his move, intercepted the attack.

It took only a single exchange for both sides to sense each other’s strength.

An SSS-class Aberrant!

How could such a monster appear on the Southern Front?

An unchecked Aberrant’s instincts still drove it to possess a Guide.

But other Sentinels could not; the more they used their spiritual power to attack, the faster their pollution indices would rise. If they too became Aberrants, this young Guide before them would truly be devoured alive!

The true horror of Aberrants was their ability to act as living pollution cores, subtly amplifying the mental corruption of all Sentinels nearby as the battle dragged on.

Wen Li felt a region in her mind begin to burn.

In reality, her spiritual sea was stirring up a wild, surging storm.

The man in black seemed to tire of toying with Karl and summoned his own spirit animal.

A gaunt, skeletal tiger—its fur mottled with black stains of corruption, drool dripping to the ground from its jaws, eyes glinting viciously at Wen Li.

The tiger leapt into the fray, savagely attacking the other spirit animals.

The rest of the Sentinels were suppressed by the SSS-level psychic force.

Only Karl was able to fight back, but even he had to carefully restrain his aberrant index, unable to unleash his full power.

Karl’s lion spirit was bitten in a sneak attack by the tiger, black venom spreading from the wound.

The counterattack succeeded—Karl dropped to one knee, coughing up black blood.

Even the squad’s strongest fighter, Captain Karl, was injured.

Yue Li, cradling the shrunken iron-eater, urgently pleaded for help.

“Miss Guide, please—purify us, just once. We’ll explain everything to the Guild afterward.”

Wen Li wanted to help, but she truly had no idea what to do.

“How can I help?” she asked anxiously.

For a moment, the Sentinels were stunned.

She didn’t know how to purify?

Karl quickly realized: she was a disabled Guide!

“Yue Li, get her out of here!” Karl ordered.

But Yue Li couldn’t agree—if she left, the whole squad would die.

The young man pleaded, “All you need to do is link your mind with the Captain!”

Wen Li was flustered, watching as the man in black battered the spirit animals until they were covered in blood.

Yet still, those spirit animals crawled up, enduring the pain to defend their masters.

Everyone was gravely injured. The battlefield had become a slaughterhouse for the man in black.

Suddenly, a spectral blue thread emerged from Wen Li’s mind. Yue Li noticed, overjoyed, and gently guided it over to Karl.

The squad formed a defensive line to protect them.

Karl knew there was no time to lose. He opened his spiritual sea and initiated the link.

Warmth enveloped him, and Karl couldn’t help but sigh softly.

Never had Karl experienced such gentle purification—layer upon layer of warmth wrapping around his battered spirit.

Wen Li’s presence drew him in like a field of poppies, and he lost control, purifying her in reverse.

Yue Li’s face blanched—he hadn’t anticipated that the Captain would initiate a reverse purification.

That could kill a Guide!

The desire to possess her echoed in Karl’s mind—he instinctively wanted to mark her.

Wen Li felt an overwhelming, domineering force invading her consciousness.

By some twist of fate, that energy instead nourished her own damaged spirit.

Suddenly, vast fields of unopened violets bloomed throughout her spiritual sea—a boundless purple ocean radiating an enchanting fragrance.

Karl’s spiritual power became nourishment for this sea of flowers.

Amidst the mysterious blooms, a large blue butterfly shimmered with azure light.

With each slow beat of its wings, it painted graceful blue arcs in the air.

At last, in Wen Li’s spiritual sea, clusters of violets burst into bloom in unison, and the blue butterfly soared upward, unfurling its wings.

Simultaneously, from Wen Li’s spine, a blue butterfly emerged.

Its scales reflected a deep, mysterious blue.

It stretched its wings, a dreamlike blue aura enveloping Wen Li.

The blue butterfly fluttered before her, affectionately tapping her nose.

Wen Li’s pale eyes gradually turned the color of violets.

Everyone was awestruck by this miracle.

Many Sentinels wept with excitement.

They had witnessed the summoning of a Guide’s spirit animal—a sight worth dying for.

Karl too recovered from his psychic rampage.

Looking at the ethereal girl before him, her violet eyes pierced straight to his soul.

In that instant, Karl knew he had found his Guide.

Wen Li felt a surge of strength fill her entire being. Now, she would avenge her iron-eater!

The golden-haired, violet-eyed girl rose, the dazzling blue butterfly hovering at her side.

Wen Li cried out in anger, “You will not harm my iron-eater!”

The blue butterfly shot toward the man in black, dove into his corrupted tiger, and then emerged.

The black tiger clutched its head in agony, writhing on the ground.

The Aberrant, too, grabbed his head, his movements faltering.

Karl, still linked to Wen Li, maintained the purification, so he had no need to fear a rising aberrant index. He commanded his golden lion to attack.

The man in black’s cloak was torn away, revealing his face.

His features were long since unrecognizable—only a pair of bloodthirsty red eyes remained. His skin was charred and blackened, crawling with writhing parasites of corruption.

The Aberrant began to laugh maniacally, spreading his arms wide as if to display himself: “You Sentinels will all end up like this sooner or later! Ha ha ha!”

He glared viciously at Wen Li. “And you, sanctimonious Guide, will only ever be devoured by us.”

With that, he vanished.

Wen Li felt her energy draining, braced her hands on her knees, and panted for breath.

Exhaustion flooded in. Just before she fainted, she caught a glimpse of the squad’s shocked faces, and then felt herself fall into a warm embrace as her eyes closed.

Wen Li awoke to a chorus of noise.

Dazed, she heard two men arguing.

“My sister is a disabled Guide. We do not accept the White Tower’s decision.”

The doctor tried in vain to calm the fiery man.

“Major, please calm down.”

“Miss Wen is an A-class Guide and should rightfully serve at the White Tower.”

Wen Li propped herself up and looked at them.

The arguing man immediately hurried over and took her icy hand in his own.

“Li, are you feeling better?”

Wen Li, still foggy-headed, looked at the handsome man beside her, unable to make sense of the situation.