Chapter 339: Splat

Chapter 339 Plop

Caesar began patrolling the ship with the guinea pig perched on its head.

It held its head high, prowling with feline grace, moving from the prison section to the living quarters, then to the work area.

Everyone on the ship recognized this leopard, knowing it was Qi Yi's Spirit. No one stopped them, and the leopard moved unimpeded, completing a full circle around the ship.

Ji Xiuyun spotted them from afar and waved, noticing the guinea pig atop the cheetah’s head.

The little creature was plump and fuzzy, with beady black eyes, sitting steadily on the cheetah’s head like a general surveying his troops, its tiny front paws extended.

Ji Xiuyun: *"?"*

He crouched in front of the cheetah and lightly tapped the guinea pig’s paw with his pinky. "What’s this?"

A fox materialized beside him, sniffing the familiar scent and yipping at its owner. Ji Xiuyun chuckled. "Lu Liu’s Spirit? How did you lure it out?"

The cheetah tilted its head proudly.

As it passed through the living quarters and entered the combat command zone, still mid-patrol, a pair of black combat boots suddenly appeared in its line of sight.

The cheetah froze and turned to leave, but before it could take two steps, it felt a sudden lightness on its head.

Qi Yi had snatched the guinea pig by the nape, lifting it up to eye level.

The guinea pig flailed its stubby legs. "Squeak!"

*So* terrifying!

The man before it had deep-set eyes and a sharp gaze, radiating menace. Now, he narrowed his eyes slightly, studying the guinea pig with an inquisitive look, as if trying to peer past its fur and examine its very core.

Caesar began clawing at its owner’s leg impatiently.

Qi Yi raised a hand and bopped the leopard’s forehead, then snorted coldly before walking off with the hapless Spirit in tow.

Caesar: "..."

Guinea pig: "..."

It let out a tiny squeak.

The terrifying man carried it into the combat command room and placed it on the cluttered console, wedging it between two control sticks.

Meanwhile, in his sleep, Lu Liu buried his face into his pillow, frowning unhappily as he plunged into a nightmare.

—Unlike Qi Yi, who had been confined and tormented by the White Tower, he could share sensations with his Spirit.

In the dream, for some reason, he had shrunk to pocket-size. A gigantic Qi Yi loomed before him, resting his chin on one hand, his eyes alight with playful malice, as if debating whether to serve him steamed or fried.

Lu Liu: "..."

The guinea pig leaned back, pressing against the cold console, its surface bristling with jagged buttons. Trapped there, it felt like a slab of meat.

Qi Yi teased, "Not scared of a gun, but *this* terrifies you?"

Guinea pig: "...Squeak."

*Of course it’s different!* In his dream, Lu Liu grumbled to himself. Being held at gunpoint by Qi Yi was part of the plot—a scoring moment! Being steamed or deep-fried definitely wasn’t!

The guide's composed demeanor earlier had humiliated Qi Yi. Now, with the guinea pig trembling in fear, he finally felt like he was regaining some dignity. Casually extending a finger, he poked the guinea pig's forehead and flicked it—

The guinea pig rolled in place and landed with a plop on the control panel.

The protruding buttons scraped against its fur—what was merely a finger's touch to a human felt like torture to the tiny creature, akin to being scraped raw. The guinea pig's shiny black bead-like eyes stared at Qi Yi, whimpering pitifully.

So... so mean! Q_Q.

A spirit is the subconscious, incapable of hiding emotions—laughing when happy, crying when sad. Thus, Qi Yi watched in stunned silence as the tiny, snot-sized spirit silently began shedding tears.

The beady eyes, soaked with tears, left wet patches on its fur before splashing onto Qi Yi's control panel.

Qi Yi: "..."

What the hell? That stone-faced guide always wore a deadpan expression—no one told him the guide's spirit was prone to crying!

The guinea pig was sitting right on the control panel, filled with intricate circuitry. Panicked, Qi Yi scooped it up, wiped away the moisture with a tissue, and placed it on a nearby soft stool.

He found himself in a standoff with the guide's spirit.

The guinea pig slowly turned around, flopped onto its belly, and presented its rear end at the sentinel.

Qi Yi: "..."

"Hey." Though Qi Yi was a Dark Sentinel, bullying a palm-sized creature went against a sentinel's principles. He stiffened awkwardly. "Want a carrot? Some celery? Want me to get you a carrot?"

The guinea pig ignored him.

Qi Yi had essentially shot himself in the foot, unsure how to handle the spirit. He considered just returning the troublesome thing to its guide when the door clicked open—someone had entered.

The newcomer moved with near-silent steps, barely making a sound. If not for the creaky old starship door, Qi Yi might not have noticed.

The sentinel turned and saw his own sneaking spirit.

Caesar was slinking along the wall, moving like the predator he was, eyes darting warily—only to freeze mid-step when he met a pair of golden-brown eyes.

Caesar and his master stared at each other in mutual confusion, the leopard's raised paw hovering in mid-air.

Man and leopard stared at each other in mutual confusion.

Qi Yi took a sip of water. "Just in time. That thing on the stool—you handle taking it... pfft—"

He had been about to say, "Take it back where it came from," when his spirit suddenly lunged, slapped him across the face, snatched the guinea pig in its jaws, and streaked out the door in a black blur.

"..."

It took Qi Yi a moment to process what had just happened.

His spirit had hit him.

He! Got! Hit! By! His! Own! Spirit!

Qi Yi slowly tightened his grip, crumpling the water bottle in his grip, knuckles cracking audibly.

Since the founding of the White Tower, there'd never been reports of a spirit attacking its own master. Had that idiot leopard gone crazy from mistreatment after months in the Tower?

He was about to chase down the disrespectful spirit and teach it a lesson when footsteps approached the door again. Qi Yi looked up to see Ji Xiuyun and the ship's doctor.

Ji Xiuyun was here to discuss official business, while the doctor had come for Qi Yi's treatment. His Spirit Sea had always been in disarray, without proper maintenance, forcing him to rely on hormone-based drugs that required regular monitoring and medication adjustments.

Ji Xiuyun pushed open the glass door, glanced back at the retreating leopard and guinea pig, and smiled warmly. "Those two Spirits bonded surprisingly fast."

"Hmph." Qi Yi pulled out a chair and sat down, rubbing his throbbing temples. "Who knows what tricks that Guide used. An SS-level Guide—no joke."

He could clearly sense that Lu Liu had left a mental suggestion in him, but he had no idea what it entailed. As a Dark Sentinel, he couldn’t exactly invite another Guide to inspect his Spirit Sea, so he had no choice but to grin and bear it.

Ji Xiuyun: "It might not be tricks. Maybe your Spirit genuinely likes him."

Qi Yi: "Zero chance."

He rolled up his sleeve and gestured to the doctor to draw blood.

The doctor was also a Sentinel. Most Sentinels didn’t choose the medical field, but this one had awakened late—already enrolled in medical school—so he simply continued his studies.

He had a somewhat youthful, baby-faced appearance, with features so mild they bordered on dull. His Spirit was an equally dull rhino. If Lu Liu were here, he’d recognize this Sentinel—he had once helped him stabilize his Spirit Sea.

Ji Xiuyun: "Why not? I think Lu Liu’s quite good. How was your meeting just now?"

"?"

The Sentinel frowned. "What do you mean, 'how was it'?"

Ji Xiuyun casually replied, "He saw you, and you touched his Spirit. What was that like?"

He sat down across from Qi Yi and spoke earnestly. "Qi, look at yourself. How many hormone injections have you taken these days? This isn’t sustainable. At most, you’ll lose control in three to five years. If there’s a reliable Guide, I really recommend you undergo a full Spirit Sea realignment."

"?"

He mentally pictured a question mark.

Ever since Lu Liu arrived, everything on the starship had gone wrong—his acting-up Spirit, and now his deranged strategist.

"A reliable Guide? You mean Lu Liu?" Qi Yi’s tone was mocking. "Him? With how vindictive that guy is, surviving an encounter with him would be a miracle—shit!"

Before he could finish, the doctor pulled out the needle, not particularly gently.

An SS-level Sentinel’s senses were sharp—pain included.

The doctor transferred the blood into a test tube and suddenly spoke up. "Captain Qi, honestly, I think the Commander's right."

"Your physical condition isn’t suited for keeping up these meds. Mr. Lu Liu is an excellent Guide, and he’s a match for your level—also SS. Just one session with him, and you wouldn’t be in so much pain."

"...?"

Qi Yi looked at his adjutant and the doctor, their familiar faces now weirdly unfamiliar.

Had these two—along with his acting-up Spirit—all been mentally compromised by Lu Liu?

Qi Yi scoffed. "Him? A reliable Guide? Back in the White Tower, I almost didn’t make it out alive."

From the moment he entered the White Tower, Qi Yi had been hung from a torture frame. If not for his SS-level Sentinel physique, the prolonged blood congestion in his limbs alone would’ve been enough to require amputation.

Ji Xiuyun spoke slowly. "Sometimes, what you see isn’t necessarily the truth."

His Spirit Sea still carried the Guide’s mental suggestion, so he couldn’t say anything more explicit—only beat around the bush.

Qi Yi found it even more laughable. "Oh? I was out of it back then, couldn’t tell day from night, and had no idea what he did to my Spirit Sea. But the pain couldn’t have been fake, could it?"

After his capture, his body had been covered in wounds—several deep enough to reach bone on his back. The White Tower had injected him with drugs to stop healing. That day, displeased with his resistance, the Guide had stood behind him and re-cut the wounds with a blade. That pain, Qi Yi still remembered it, he added bitterly.

The doctor suddenly said, "Qi, have you taken a good look at the wounds on your back?"

Qi Yi: "?"

After returning from the White Tower, he occasionally experienced aching in his shoulder blades, which was also treated by this doctor.

The doctor looked at him. "You should take a closer look."

After saying this, he slipped the test tube into his personal bag, said goodbye to Qi Yi and Ji Xiuyun, and left.

Ji Xiuyun also stood up, patted Qi Yi on the shoulder, and said meaningfully, "You should really take a closer look."

Then he left.

"?"

Leaving Qi Yi completely baffled.

After a pause, he closed the door of the control room, stood in front of the only mirror inside, shrugged off his jacket, and slightly turned to expose his back.

The severe wounds had already healed, leaving irregular scars stretched across his skin, looking pretty gnarly.

"..."

Qi Yi couldn’t spot anything weird about these scars.

He paused, then snapped a photo of the scars and hopped onto an anonymous forum for sentinels and guides. He clicked "Post" and typed:

"So my friend’s got these scars. They seem a bit odd. Any idea what’s up with them?"