Chapter 341: Eavesdrop

Chapter 341: Eavesdropping

The boy in the dream had blurred features. Sometimes he was a top student, carrying textbooks past the library; sometimes a slacker, sleeping in the farthest corner of the classroom; sometimes an art or music student, holding a sketchboard or playing the piano. But in the end, all these images shattered, transforming into the moment at the graduation dance when Lu Liu reached out to him.

The guide’s demeanor was cool and composed, his usual cockiness and edge completely gone. He wore a reserved, shy smile as he asked, "Senior, can I have this dance?"

"..."

Qi Yi jolted awake from the dream, soaked in cold sweat, goosebumps rising on his skin. He felt nothing but strangeness and disgust.

Beside him, the surveillance feed continued running smoothly. Lu Liu lay curled in the soft blankets, his face almost entirely buried in the pillow.

"..."

The sentinel took a deep breath.

After this dream, Qi Yi couldn’t fall back asleep. Bracing himself on the edge of the cot, he paused for a long moment before suddenly rising and digging through the toolbox behind him.

—A miniature eavesdropping device.

A common tool for sentinel missions, smaller than a grain of rice, capable of long-distance transmission. Once placed, all one needed was a specialized earpiece to receive the audio.

Qi Yi reasoned this was for the ship’s safety.

He had to know what the guide and his subordinates had discussed, to determine whether their odd behavior was due to the guide’s mental suggestions. If so, he would need to find an opportunity to eliminate the threat.

Qi Yi slipped out stealthily from the control room.

It was late at night, and the ship was in low-power mode. The corridors were empty, even the motion lights off.

Qi Yi moved with deliberate silence.

His spirit was a cheetah, a master of stealth and ambush—just like Qi Yi. If anyone had been monitoring the feed in the control room at that moment, they would have witnessed the ship’s commander, the leader of the Dark Sentinels, sneaking along the walls like a burglar, skulking toward the prison block.

The guide was sound asleep.

Lu Liu had iron nerves. Sleeping in Qi Yi’s prison, dreaming of a mission accomplished, he was even happier than he would have been at home.

This cell had been specially outfitted by Ji Xiuyun, with pillows and bedding soft and comfortable. Lu Liu was oblivious to the intruder at his bedside.

Qi Yi stood in the shadows, scanning the area discreetly.

He was searching for the perfect spot to place the bug.

The prison, designed for easy surveillance, was stark—just smooth flooring and metal bars.

Then Qi Yi spotted the guide’s discarded shirt.

Without a sound, he raised his hand and unlocked the cell door with his fingerprint.

The metal latch released with a quiet snick—barely audible, but piercing in the silence.

Qi Yi tightened his grip on the door’s edge, stepping inside without a sound.

He bent down, his fingers grazed the shirt, and carefully attached the listening device to the collar.

Just then, Lu Liu made a soft smacking noise, his hand slipping out from under the blanket—inches from Qi Yi’s face.

"..."

Qi Yi stiffened instantly, holding his crouch as he stared fixedly at the hand before him.

The fingers were slender and well-proportioned, smooth and uncalloused—clearly the hands of someone accustomed to privilege.

Fortunately, Lu Liu was just dreaming and showed no signs of waking.

Qi Yi let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He took the guide’s wrist, moving it out of sight before carefully tucking it back under the blanket. But then, the guide muttered something, and the wrist slipped out again.

“……”

Qi Yi was almost tempted to suspect that the guide was faking sleep.

So he stood by the guide’s bed, waiting until he was certain it was just sleep-talking before finally turning to leave.

As he walked away, Qi Yi recalled Lu Liu’s murmured words: “Want milk chocolate…”

The Sentinel tsked, scoffing inwardly, *"Guides are such troublesome creatures. This is a Dark Sentinels’ ship—and you’re dreaming of milk chocolate?"*

Since when did the Dark Sentinels’ vessel carry such cloying treats?

*

The next day, the overseers came to round up prisoners for work duty.

As a guide, Lu Liu was assigned to scrub the ship’s deck and was queuing for tools.

Lu Liu wasn’t about to clean.

The original owner of this body had been a spoiled young master his entire life. According to the plot, he was supposed to skive off, even attempting to boss around nearby Sentinels into doing his work—only to be caught by Qi Yi during his inspection and punished with scrubbing the entire deck.

By the time he finished the chore, whining and sniveling, the original owner had been a wreck by the end.

The prisoner overseer was the ship’s gunner, whose Spirit was a grey wolf—one of the Sentinels Lu Liu had previously helped. The man quietly edged closer to Lu Liu and whispered, “Sir, you don’t have to clean. Just go rest over there—I’ll handle your work.”

Lu Liu blinked. “Huh?”

He hadn’t even started coercing anyone yet.

The grey wolf pleaded, “Actually, there’s something I’d like to ask of you. I’ve got a brother whose Spirit Sea’s… well, not quite right. I was wondering if tonight…”

He wrung his hands. “Could I bring him to the prison to see you? Do you think he can still be saved?”

Lu Liu thought to himself—in for a penny, in for a pound. Might as well help, since he’d be dead before any backlash caught up to him. “Fine, just make sure no one sees you.”

“Got it.” The grey wolf nodded obediently. “I know your requirements. Don’t worry—I’ll have a friend loop the cameras. It’ll be untraceable. And as for the mental suggestions, we all know your rules. We won’t resist.”

In the control room, Qi Yi sat frozen, headphones on, his eye twitching. *"Hacking the surveillance system? Mental suggestions? Rules?"*

He committed it to memory.

Some answers might come tonight.

There were no cameras on the deck, so Qi Yi couldn’t see Lu Liu—only hear him. Unable to focus on his work, the Sentinel silently rose and made his way to the highest point of the ship.

From here, he could just make out the deck below.

Leaning against the railing, Qi Yi zeroed in on Lu Liu, scrubbing the deck.

Although the grey wolf had taken over most of his tasks, the plot clearly stated that Lu Liu was "slacking" rather than "doing nothing at all." So, to keep the plot consistent, Lu Liu still began scrubbing the deck.

Beside him was another guide from the White Tower, an A-rank with a white rabbit as his Spirit. They had met at a tea party before. Now, the guide was also struggling to scrub the floor. Spotting Lu Liu, he leaned in and whispered, "Hey, Lu Liu, do you think the White Tower will come to ransom us?"

The White Tower had fallen but not been destroyed. Several high-ranking guides had escaped in advance and gone into hiding in the city. Qi Yi’s demand had never been to annihilate the White Tower but to revise the rules, strictly limiting guides from planting mental suggestions in Sentinels. People like Lu Liu were merely hostages in Qi Yi’s hands.

Lu Liu replied, "They will, probably."

In the plot, after prolonged negotiations, both the White Tower and the Dark Sentinels would compromise—the White Tower would amend its laws and get a complete leadership overhaul, while the Dark Sentinels would return the hostages.

But this had little to do with Lu Liu. By then, he would have already died (and happily so) and returned to the Management Bureau to report his mission.

The white rabbit guide gave a bitter chuckle. "I just started scrubbing the deck, and my back already feels like it’s breaking. I hope they come soon, or I’ll be worked to the bone."

A large area still lay uncleaned before him.

Lu Liu casually offered, "Let me help you."

His own tasks had been snatched away by the grey wolf Sentinel, leaving him with nothing to do. Guides were known to be fragile, and the one beside him was no exception—he was already panting after carrying two buckets of water. Besides, Lu Liu was a pushover for cute guys, and the white rabbit guide happened to be an adorable, delicate look. Lu Liu was more than happy to lend a hand.

The guide lit up. "Really? That’s so kind of you!"

Lu Liu waved it off. "Of course. It’s no trouble at all."

As for slacking—well, Qi Yi wasn’t around yet. He could always start slacking again once the Sentinel showed up.

So, he began diligently polishing the railing.

Qi Yi leaned forward slightly, gripping the railing.

The guide was focused, meticulously wiping away every speck of dust. He didn’t seem to mind the grime on the cloth, and beads of sweat on his forehead gleamed under the sun. His shirt was completely drenched, clinging to his lean, graceful figure.

Was this really the same haughty, pampered guide from his memories? It was nothing like the guy he remembered.

Qi Yi hesitated.

Then, for some reason, he took a step forward and suddenly headed toward the deck.

There was still plenty of paperwork to attend to, but he wasn’t in the mood for it right now.

The grey wolf was the first to notice Qi Yi’s approach. "Boss, what brings you here?"

He dropped the rag he was holding and kicked the bucket away, afraid of being caught helping the guide with manual labor.

Qi Yi didn’t even glance at him.

The moment Lu Liu sensed Qi Yi’s presence, he slowed down, half-heartedly wiping the floor.

He could feel Qi Yi standing right behind him.

Lu Liu cheered inwardly and slowed his movements even further, thinking, *Come on, yell at me. Punish me by making me wash the entire deck.*

But instead, Qi Yi coughed lightly and said, "If you’re tired, take a break. Just finish before sunset."

His gaze flickered before he added, "If the workload is unreasonable, tell the grey wolf to cut you some slack."

"..."

Lu Liu's cleaning cloth thudded onto the ground.

He stared at Qi Yi with complete and utter disbelief, his eyes full of accusation, only to see Qi Yi turn his back and walk away casually.

Lu Liu: "?!"

—Was Qi Yi going off-script again!?

How utterly infuriating! Qi Yi was the protagonist he hated the most!

Due to the plot mishap on the deck, Lu Liu was frustrated beyond words, and this frustration lingered all the way until dinner. Qi Yi secretly checked the surveillance and noticed the guide had left half his food uneaten.

Then, Lu Liu dejectedly returned to his cell and sat motionless.

A flicker of concern rose in Qi Yi's heart.

If this continued, the guide would wither away.

Was the cafeteria food really that bad?

Qi Yi's mind was torn. On one hand, he scorned the guide's picky tastes—thinking how childish it was for a grown man to crave milk chocolate and throw a tantrum over not getting it, something he himself had outgrown since elementary school. On the other hand, he wondered if he should just buy him a box, if only to prevent the guide from passing out from low sugar and wasting medical resources.

Before he could reach a decision, the surveillance feed suddenly flickered and died, plunging into complete darkness.

Qi Yi's expression darkened immediately.

Grey Wolf had hacked into the monitoring system.

Qi Yi tapped his earpiece, amplifying the audio feed.

The first thing he heard was a series of labored breaths, accompanied by the chaotic footsteps of two people—steps that sounded odd, as if one was dragging the other. Then, the cell door creaked open, and the two slipped in. One of them was in terrible condition, collapsing sideways onto the floor the moment they entered.

Lu Liu: "Move him onto the bed first."

After some shuffling, Grey Wolf's voice came through: "My brother here—his Spirit Sea is on the verge of collapse. But he doesn't trust guides, would rather die than seek one out. I had no choice but to knock him out and bring him here."

Lu Liu bent down to examine the unconscious sentinel and remarked, "You sure trust me, though."

It was baffling. The original host had an awful reputation, the kind of guide no sentinel wanted to deal with. And yet, here they were, they keep coming, all coming to him.

Grey Wolf: "Of course we trust you."

He chuckled awkwardly. "Me, Fox, Rhino, even our boss—who among us hasn’t been saved by you?"

In the control room, Qi Yi's eyebrow twitched.