Chapter 128: Sentinel & Guide (V)

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Chapter 128: Sentinel & Guide (V)

Watching Shang Ke nearly collapse beneath the weight of those painful memories left everyone monitoring from outside feeling distressed and sympathetic. At that moment, they finally let go of their doubts and truly accepted this Guide who had endured so much hardship.

Yonis carried Shang Ke back to the ward, held his hand tightly, and quietly remained beside him.

Shang Ke was completely drained. The torment of the mind was a hundred times worse than physical pain. Zeder’s lingering memories had been like a dormant volcano; stimulated by the hypnosis, they had suddenly erupted and swept Shang Ke’s consciousness into them, forcing him to relive that miserable childhood alongside Zeder.

Shang Ke could not understand how anyone could be so cruel. How could a man feel not the slightest pity for his own child and vent all his anger, resentment, and grievances toward reality through violence against him? What he inflicted on Zeder had not merely been physical injury, but years of psychological oppression.

Had Shang Ke not possessed such immense psychic power, Zeder’s memories might have affected him as well, warping his mind or even driving him completely insane.

After an unknown amount of time, Shang Ke slowly awakened from his stupor. Although his body still felt uncomfortable, his mind was remarkably clear, as though years of accumulated dust had suddenly been swept away. Perhaps after finally releasing everything he had suppressed, Zeder had truly found peace.

“Shang Ke.” A low voice reached his ears and interrupted his thoughts.

Shang Ke turned his head and saw a handsome man sitting beside the bed, gazing intently at him.

Shang Ke’s gaze slowly moved downward and settled on their clasped hands.

Yonis introduced himself. “My name is Yonis.”

Catching sight of the lion beside him chasing Wave around, Shang Ke immediately guessed that Yonis was the Sentinel who had communicated with him through their spirit animals on the day of the terrorist attack.

“I’m very sorry. We hypnotized you in order to verify your identity, and it nearly caused you to suffer a mental breakdown.” Yonis blamed himself deeply and wished he could have endured all of that pain in Shang Ke’s place.

Shang Ke looked at him silently.

“But all suspicion against you has now been completely cleared. From now on, you are a legal citizen of Ta. You’ll receive a high-level identity card and enjoy every benefit a Guide is entitled to.” Yonis placed Shang Ke’s hand against his chest and declared in a tone that brooked no argument, “And I, Yonis, will be the Sentinel responsible for protecting you from now on.”

The System had given Shang Ke no information about Yonis, nor did he know who the “protagonist” of this world was. But he did know that this man was one of only three Dark Sentinels in Ta to have reached Rank A. Dark Sentinels were the most powerful type of Sentinel, possessing extraordinary self-control and formidable physiques. In theory, they did not require a Guide’s assistance and had always stood at the pinnacle of every era.

A Rank-A Dark Sentinel was even more powerful than an ordinary Rank-S Sentinel. However, Rank A was also the bottleneck for Dark Sentinels. Throughout Ta’s history, quite a few had shown signs of advancing beyond it, only to either be permanently crippled when the advancement failed or destroy themselves during a psychic overload. Once a Dark Sentinel reached Rank A, even their extraordinary self-control stood dangerously close to its limit.

Later, some theorized that for a Rank-A Dark Sentinel to successfully break through this bottleneck, they needed to find a Guide whose psychic compatibility with them exceeded ninety percent—and that Guide also had to be capable of withstanding the Sentinel’s intense physical desire and psychic shock.

Yonis had been fortunate enough to meet exactly such a Guide. But advancement was the furthest thing from his mind right now. He was simply attracted to this person.

Shang Ke pulled Yonis’s hand toward himself and gently spread his fingers. Unsurprisingly, there was a mole in the center of his palm. Although Shang Ke no longer needed the palm mole to confirm his identity, searching for it had apparently become a habit. As far as he was concerned, that mole was one of his man’s essential charm accessories. Without it, his man’s attractiveness would drop by at least thirty points…

“Yonis, I’m hungry.” Shang Ke looked earnestly at him with his watery blue eyes.

“What do you want? I’ll have someone bring it over immediately.” Yonis’s heart itched beneath that gaze, and it took considerable effort to suppress the urge to reach out and touch him.

“Something light will be fine.” Shang Ke sat up and seemed about to get out of bed, only for Yonis to wrap an arm around his waist. “Why are you getting up?”

“I’m covered in sweat. I want to take a bath.”

Without another word, Yonis scooped him into his arms and headed toward the bathroom.

“I can walk by myself.” Shang Ke rested comfortably in his arms, protesting with his mouth while making absolutely no attempt to struggle.

“I’m faster.” Sure enough, almost as soon as the words left his mouth, they were already inside the bathroom.

Yonis gently set Shang Ke down and adjusted the water temperature for him.

Only when Shang Ke saw the small crescent-shaped bathing pool did he realize that he was no longer in the hospital.

“Where are we?” Shang Ke asked a question that hardly needed asking.

“My home,” Yonis replied.

“I’ll be living here from now on?” Shang Ke asked again.

“Yes.” Yonis straightened, looking down at Shang Ke from his imposing height.

Shang Ke’s slender body was almost entirely swallowed by his shadow. They stood so close that they could practically feel the heat radiating from each other.

Wave circled around Shang Ke while Moro followed closely behind, occasionally teasing the dolphin’s tail with his nose and paws. The moment Wave let his guard down, Moro pounced on him and began rolling him around and pawing at him.

The intimate entanglement of their spirit animals sent a jolt of electricity racing up both Yonis’s and Shang Ke’s spines before spreading throughout their bodies.

Shang Ke had to brace a hand against the vanity to keep his suddenly weak legs from giving out beneath him.

Two flames suddenly ignited in Yonis’s dark eyes. He stepped forward, surrounding Shang Ke with his presence as the powerful muscles across his body gradually tightened, radiating an overwhelming force like a predator poised to strike.

Dark Sentinels rarely found Guides truly suited to them, yet their sexual desires were exceptionally powerful. Most could only rely on their immense self-control to forcibly suppress those urges and might even go their entire lives without ever reaching orgasm.

A Guide whose compatibility with him exceeded ninety-five percent was standing within arm’s reach. If Yonis wanted, he could bond with him immediately. In terms of physical strength, a Sentinel possessed an overwhelming advantage.

The desire raging through Yonis’s body reached an unprecedented intensity, nearly swallowing his reason. Even Shang Ke found the explosive pressure difficult to withstand.

Shang Ke released his psychic power, sending layer after layer of ripples like waves across water slowly flowing toward Yonis.

Enveloped by those ripples, Yonis’s agitated psychic power gradually calmed. Clarity quickly returned to his eyes, though his desire did not completely subside.

This was the first time Yonis had ever been grounded by a Guide. The sensation was like sinking into a hot spring, leaving his entire body relaxed and comfortable.

As a Dark Sentinel, Yonis possessed extraordinary natural advantages, but he had also missed out on many pleasures. The perfect merging of their psychic powers already felt this wonderful. What would it feel like if he truly bonded with Shang Ke?

Yonis could hardly wait, yet he had no choice but to suppress the impulse for now. Shang Ke’s body was still too weak to withstand his demands.

Reluctantly, Yonis released Shang Ke from his confinement and said with a solemn expression, “Go ahead and bathe. Call me if you need anything.”

With that, he turned and walked out of the bathroom, his retreating back somehow radiating an indescribable loneliness.

Shang Ke: “…”

He felt that he really needed to start exercising. Compared with the previous few worlds, the difference between their physiques this time seemed a little too extreme…

For the sake of achieving the perfect realm of universal harmony, Shang Ke began implementing his exercise plan the very next day.

Yonis’s villa was located in Sky Ring Estate, the most exclusive residential district in the country. The surroundings were peaceful, its security level was second only to the capital itself, and most of its residents were Sentinels and Guides. The Anti-Government Alliance might be formidable, but they probably did not possess the ability to cross the security perimeter and launch an attack on Sky Ring Estate, where so many Sentinels lived.

Shang Ke changed into a comfortable set of casual clothes and walked energetically out of the villa, ready to begin his morning run.

Yonis noticed the moment he left his room. Seeing Shang Ke head straight out the front door, he nearly rushed over and carried him back inside. Only after realizing that Shang Ke was merely going for a run in the villa’s garden did he abandon the idea.

The morning air was fresh as Shang Ke ran through the garden at an even pace. His hair fluttered with his movements, occasionally scattering crystalline beads of sweat, while exercise brought a faint flush to his normally pale cheeks. His clear eyes shone with boundless vitality.

Yonis stood at the window, gazing deeply at Shang Ke as he bathed in the morning light, a trace of tenderness appearing in his eyes.

In Shang Ke’s slender body, Yonis saw two beautiful qualities: strength and optimism. A false performance could never fool a Sentinel’s keen senses. The radiance Shang Ke gave off was beautiful from the inside out, just like his psychic power—pure and delicious.

This was his Guide, the person destined to accompany him for the rest of his life. That realization filled Yonis with unprecedented joy.

Half an hour later, Shang Ke returned to the villa. By the time he had quickly cleaned himself up, the butler had already prepared breakfast.

Most food in Ta was artificially synthesized, with both seasoning ratios and nutritional content precisely calculated. It tasted decent enough at first, but after eating it several times, everything began to taste the same and became unbearably monotonous.

Shang Ke had cooked ingredients from countless worlds in the Hundred Training Space, honing superb culinary skills and learning the distinctive flavor profiles of different worlds. As a result, the food he prepared rarely suffered from mistakes caused by blindly applying the habits of one world to another.

To build his body back up as quickly as possible, Shang Ke decided to cook for himself from then on. He drew up an extensive menu divided into categories such as meat dishes, vegetarian dishes, soups, congee, desserts, braised and sauced dishes, beverages, and more, listing over a hundred dishes altogether.

Looking at the extensive menu, Yonis immediately felt the blissful anticipation of knowing he would be eating well from now on. After actually tasting Shang Ke’s cooking, he became convinced that Shang Ke could probably calm any Sentinel’s psychic overload with his culinary skills alone.

Shang Ke had originally intended to put some muscle on himself, but after a week, the person who had truly bulked up was Yonis. The man’s muscles had become fuller, his energy even more abundant, and he seemed to radiate scorching heat and overwhelming desire every moment of the day…

Half a month later, Shang Ke’s high-level identity card was finally issued. The Guide Association also assigned him a villa only three streets away from Yonis’s residence. Even so, Yonis thought the Association had gone to unnecessary trouble. He had already submitted an exclusive application to both the Bond Registration Office and the Guide Association, registering Shang Ke within his designated spouse category. Although they had not yet held a formal bonding ceremony, they were now legally recognized as spouses in an adaptation period.

A provisional partnership was not yet a formal marriage. It was a legally recognized relationship in which both parties dated with the intention of eventually bonding, and either party could apply to dissolve it at any time. Naturally, Yonis had no intention of allowing that to happen. Given his status, he had every legal right to invoke compulsory pairing, but he believed that he and Shang Ke should be able to bond without resorting to that.

If Shang Ke ultimately rejected him, however, Yonis might have no choice but to resort to “compulsory pairing.”

When it came to Shang Ke, Yonis was determined to have him. He absolutely would not allow him to choose anyone else!

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