Chapter 7: Not a Pollutant, but a Distortion!

The golden lion was covered in dark green sap; Carl decapitated the polluted creature, successfully protecting the iron box.

The number of polluted creatures ahead was dwindling, leaving only a few infected ordinary people. Carl suddenly realized that the polluted creatures were merely stalling for time; while they appeared to be trying to destroy the glass dome, they dared not use their full strength.

They were afraid of the person inside the glass dome.

Carl instantly understood and shouted, "Madi, go protect Wen Li!"

The lion obeyed its master’s command and rushed to the rear. Unfortunately, the rear of the battlefield was already in total chaos, the scent of the pollution core agitating the lion. The lion’s eyes filled with fury, and it let out a heaven-shaking roar.

As more and more polluted creatures closed in, Wen Li realized they were targeting her. No matter how strong and powerful the iron-eating beast was, it could not tear through wave after wave of vine attacks. Its once pristine fur was sliced by thorns, its limbs were bound by vines, and the iron-eating beast fell heavily to the ground, clumsy and trapped.

Yue Li was only an SS-rank medical sentinel, not yet strong enough to withstand polluted creatures that had developed independent thought. The stench of rotting vegetation was suffocating; the three sentinels and their spiritual beasts were in terrible condition, yet they fought on with stubborn resilience. They gritted their teeth, pushing themselves to the brink, draining their mental energy dry. They could not fall; as long as they held out until the 13th Military District reinforcements arrived, the guide would be safe.

The sentinels' spiritual beasts lay on the ground, severely wounded, too weak even to return to their mental seas. Yue Li tried to break through the encirclement to find Carl, but a massive web of vines quickly ensnared the three sentinels.

The red-eyed polluted creature’s goal was not to hunt these people, but to toy with them, forcing Wen Li into a desperate situation. The vines coiled flexibly around Wen Li’s arms, clinging to her skin with a sticky, glue-like grip. The force was so great it felt as if they were trying to drain the sweet blood from within her veins. Wen Li clutched her dagger, hacking fiercely at the vines, but her feeble efforts only made the red-eyed creature burst into raucous laughter. Its clones joined in the laughter as well.

The air was filled with piercing, shrill cackles. Wen Li looked at the unconscious Yue Li, her eyes welling with tears. She had never hated her own weakness so much. She had thought that by crossing over to this world, she would enjoy future technology and live a life of comfort and ease. In reality, every second of every minute, people were fighting these damned monsters—death was the only constant in this world.

Refusing to die like this, she frantically recalled the text from the Guide’s Handbook in her mind:
"Your mental sea is the cradle that nourishes the sentinels and the source of your mental power."
"Attempt to reshape yourself, accept yourself; the wider and more radiant your sea, the more powerful your mental strength will be."
"Respected and great guides, you are the masters of the world."

The sea of violets was stirred by a mental storm. A powerful surge of mental energy, far exceeding her current rank, erupted in Wen Li’s mind. A blue butterfly with only one wing slowly peeled away from Wen Li’s consciousness. Even broken, even with only one wing, the blue butterfly flew up tremulously to confront the pollution.

Wen Li reached out and caught her. The golden-haired girl looked at him with a cold, stern expression. Her white eyes gradually stained with a deep, profound purple, staring at his ugly form with arrogance and disdain.

The red-eyed polluted creature could not suppress its excitement, its body twisting uncontrollably.
"Gu... ide..."
The word came out intermittently, filled with deep obsession. It was not a polluted creature at all, but a sentinel who had long since mutated—a warped entity carrying a pollution core, reeking of decay.

Warm, purifying energy spread continuously, quickly cleansing the three from their mental pollution and even replenishing their depleted mental reserves. A massive iron-eating beast appeared, tearing the vine web to shreds. A fruit bat flapped its oversized wings, kicking up dust to obscure the mutated entity's vision.

Yue Li took the opportunity to rescue Wen Li, his heart aching as he looked at the pale girl. "Little Butterfly, stop purifying; you’ll exhaust your mental energy."

Wen Li licked her dry lips and shook her head. "No, this is a mutated entity. You go find Carl."

Another sentinel’s spiritual beast, a bison, charged at the mutated entity but was struck by a flexible vine. Wen Li hurriedly channeled her mental energy to heal him, taking the opportunity to place the butterfly on the fruit bat’s back. She said to the shield-bearing sentinel, "Have your spiritual beast get close to him; Little Flash will know what to do."

The sentinel nodded and commanded his spiritual beast. The fruit bat shrank its body, and within its soft fur flickered a tiny, brilliant blue morpho butterfly. The bison also cooperated, charging recklessly at the mutant to draw its attention. The mutant thought the sentinel had lost his mind, allowing his spiritual beast to get so close.

He really... wasn't afraid of death.

Just as it was about to collide with the mutant, the bison swerved, avoiding a direct hit from the attack. Meanwhile, behind the mutant, Little Flash used the momentum of the fruit bat’s flight to dive directly into the mutant’s brain.

The red-eyed mutant clutched its head, falling to its knees in agony. Its clones knelt along with it, and the intensity of the vine attacks diminished. Little Flash passed through, its blurred, transparent body gradually returning to a beautiful, dreamlike blue. The fruit bat perfectly caught Little Flash, returning safely to its master’s side.

Wen Li was overjoyed; she knew that the method she had used against the mutant last time was effective. She gently stroked Little Flash’s head, and the blue butterfly happily nudged her fingers with its antennae.

The mutant braced itself on the ground, staring sinisterly at Wen Li. Seeing Wen Li treat those sentinels with such tenderness, its long-silent heart felt a sharp, stabbing pain. Why? Why?

It raised its hand to see its skin replaced by disgusting dark green vines; its former glory and honor felt like a joke. This was the ultimate fate of a sentinel—he was right!

The red-eyed mutant reached out and pierced its own skull, pulling out a black crystal and clutching it in its palm. Wen Li did not know what it was, but the other sentinels did.

An SS-rank pollution core!

It was the high-level pollution core that Jiali had detected. Once activated, every living thing in the entire region would be infected and become a polluted creature. The mutation index of every sentinel present would skyrocket, and without a guide’s purification, they would turn into mutated entities within half an hour.

There were over a dozen sentinels; even if Wen Li were not a disabled guide, she couldn't possibly purify them all! And here, so close to the 13th District—if the military zone fell, the residents of nearby cities wouldn't even have time to evacuate before being devoured by these monsters.

A thunderous lion’s roar echoed; Wen Li saw Carl’s spiritual beast pouncing on the surrounding clones, biting through their necks. Seeing the mutant about to crush the pollution core with all its might, Yue Li pushed Wen Li into the arms of the bison sentinel, gave her one last deep look, grabbed a laser sword from the ground, and sprinted toward the mutant.

"No, Yue Li!"

The bison sentinel held back the desperate Wen Li. They watched helplessly as the young man lunged at the mutant, using his own mental sea to absorb the pollution core.