Chapter 356: Promotion

Chapter 356 Advancement

Lu Liu lay still, compliant.

His upper body slid into the machine, his head shrouded in darkness, while the sound of the doctor adjusting the machine echoed beside his ears. Then, footsteps sounded—Qi Yi seemed to be leaving.

"......" Lu Liu's cheeks puffed in irritation.

Furious!

He didn’t know why, but he was just furious!

Lu Liu recalled that when Ye Wang and Jiang Qi used the Treatment Pod before, every time Jiang Qi lay inside, Ye Wang would stay by his side.

Why wasn’t Qi Yi staying with him?!

He’d only recently become human and hadn’t yet learned human restraint or subtlety. Since he wanted Qi Yi to stay, he patted the bed beneath him: "Qi Yi!"

Qi Yi turned his head: "Hmm?"

Lu Liu: "Where’s your hand? I want to hold it."

His tone was so natural, as if Qi Yi should automatically give him his hand for him to grasp.

The room fell silent for three seconds.

The nurse lowered her head to adjust the machine, the doctor clutched his pen to check the data—everyone suddenly became extremely busy, as if they had something critically important to do.

—After all, the two people in this room were one, the White Tower’s Head, and the other, the Dark Sentinels’ commander. If gossip about them got out, it would undoubtedly be explosive.

Except for Qi Yi.

He had been standing relaxed by the door, but when he heard Lu Liu call him, he straightened up. After processing what the guide had said, he stood frozen for three seconds—then the tips of his ears instantly turned red.

With no response for a long time and unable to see, Lu Liu waved his hand outside the machine: "Where are you? Did you leave?......Can’t I hold your hand?"

His voice lowered slightly, tinged with a hint of disappointment.

Qi Yi coughed lightly, ignoring the medical staff on either side. He marched stiffly to the machine and lightly touched the guide with his fingers.

His hand was grasped.

With warmth now at his fingertips, the pitch-black Treatment Pod didn’t feel so unbearable anymore. Lu Liu obediently lay flat, waiting for the test while fidgeting with the sentinel’s fingers.

Beside them, the doctor all but glued his nose to the controls, keeping his gaze strictly forward: "Lord Lu Liu, the test is starting. Please focus."

Lu Liu: "Mm, okay."

Having gone several days without his beloved cakes, Lu Liu was hellbent on proving he’d recovered to Qi Yi. He cooperated fully, releasing his psychic energy for the machine to capture and analyze.

On the doctor’s console, countless psychic wavelengths intertwined into a complex visual graph. As he observed, his stern expression gradually softened into a smile: "Lord Lu Liu has recovered remarkably well. The readings blow past SS-level benchmarks, and there don’t appear to be any residual damage or side effects."

Qi Yi exhaled softly in relief.

The doctor then released the equipment, allowing Lu Liu to step down, and said with a smile, "The preliminary examination is complete. A detailed report will require further evaluation, but regardless—congratulations. You’re free to go."

Thus, after a chaotic month, Lu Liu was back at the White Tower.

Before his coma, there had still been several sentinels with Spirit Sea impairments awaiting treatment. Lu Liu had intended to tackle them head-on, but Qi Yi insisted he wait and monitor for a few days first.

Qi Yi: "Let's wait for the final test results first."

At this point, he wasn’t willing to take even the slightest risk.

Lu Liu could only say, "Alright."

When the hospital’s test report arrived, Qi Yi was the first to receive it.

He was wearing an apron and cooking in the guide’s room when he heard a knock. Putting down the spatula, he went to open the door. The two thin sheets of paper in his hand made him raise an eyebrow.

Lu Liu stuck his head out: "What’s wrong?"

Qi Yi: "You..."

He stopped after saying that, then untied his apron. "We need to go back to the hospital."

Lu Liu: "What?"

Qi Yi: "Your level report needs to be retested."

Lu Liu was completely baffled: "What level report? Is there still something wrong with my Spirit Sea? That can’t be right. Does this mean I won’t get my little cakes for the past few days? Wait, wait, wait—"

Before he could finish, Qi Yi dragged him away.

The Dark Sentinel was tall and long-limbed, striding ahead purposefully. Lu Liu followed, full of suspicion.

Was there really still an issue with his Spirit Sea? That shouldn’t be possible. The Mainframe was always thorough—if he had sent Lu Liu back, he wouldn’t have allowed any lingering problems.

But regardless, half an hour later, he was lying in the hospital’s examination pod again.

This time, there wasn’t just one doctor.

A dozen or so senior professors crowded around, some with graying hair, others already balding. They blocked the machine completely, examining the test waveforms with fascination, tsking in amazement.

Lu Liu: "?"

…Had the Mainframe really left him with side effects?

By the time he was released from the machine, the doctors had already quickly scribbled out a report.

Lu Liu flipped through it, focusing on the side effects section, only to find it completely blank. Baffled, he took the report: "So, what’s the issue? Why did I have to come back?"

Qi Yi took a deep breath: "Look at the first page."

Lu Liu turned to the first page: "Isn’t this just the identification information? My name, Lu Liu, designation, guide..."

He read line by line until he stopped at the level section.

SSS?

While SS-level guides were rare, the White Tower still had one or two per generation. But SSS? That was a once-in-a-generation rarity.

If there had still been people in the White Tower who missed Bai Wen and doubted Lu Liu’s position, this report would settle all debates.

This wasn’t a small matter. Once word got out, it would cause an uproar. The professors at the workstation were already gathering in groups, debating the reason for Lu Liu’s sudden advancement, considering rushing to publish papers. Qi Yi immediately whipped out his communicator to contact the sentinels while putting pressure on the White Tower to address potential issues. The entire room was abuzz with activity—except for Lu Liu, the center of the storm, who stood quietly, ignored by everyone.

Unseen by others, Lu Liu pressed his palms together and whispered, "Thank you, Mainframe."

Ever since Lu Liu's creation, the first system he had ever seen was the Mainframe—the central authority of the entire Management Bureau, revered and adored by all systems. A large part of the reason Lu Liu threw himself into missions was because of the Mainframe.

Now stripped of his system identity, he could no longer return to the Central Administration to express his gratitude in person. All he could do was whisper his gratitude in the chaos of his thoughts, hoping his thoughts would reach the Mainframe.

It might have been an illusion, but as his silent prayer ended, a faint smile seemed to appear in the darkness before his eyes—as if the Mainframe had received the thanks from the child it favored.

*"Wishing you joy in the human world~"*

*

With the latent dangers in his Spirit Sea completely resolved, Qi Yi no longer restricted Lu Liu, allowing him to continue treating the Sentinels on the verge of collapse.

As the Winter Festival approached, Lu Liu, relying on his newly elevated SSS rank, scheduled over fifty Sentinels in a single day. He had the guards lined them up in a row and, under their stunned gazes, swiftly tapped each of their foreheads like stamping paperwork—completing the treatments before bundling them out.

Qi Yi frowned disapprovingly. "Even if you've ranked up, you should still observe the limits. Don’t recklessly use your abilities. What if there are hidden risks?"

Lu Liu ignored him, covering his ears. "Qi Yi, you're such a nag!" Then, under the Sentinel's helpless gaze, he latched onto Qi Yi’s hand. "Forget about all that—are we going out tomorrow? Can we? I really want to go out!"

He had been looking forward to skiing for so long.

Qi Yi sighed deeply, resigned. "Fine, fine. We’ll go."

With Dark Sentinels assisting, all dissent within the White Tower was swiftly suppressed. Lu Liu remained blissfully unaware of the changes his new rank had brought, eagerly anticipating his upcoming vacation—only to notice something subtly off about Qi Yi.

A few days earlier, after finishing his routine tasks, Lu Liu had scrolled online as usual and stumbled upon a private post from Qi Yi.

*"Bought a new rowing machine at home. Haven’t done rowing in a while—time to work out."*

Accompanied by a photo.

In the picture, the Sentinel wore a fitted tank top, the frame perfectly capturing his chest and abdomen. The fabric outlined clear, well-defined curves, his honey-toned skin glistening with droplets of sweat, the texture reminiscent of melted milk chocolate.

Lu Liu stared at it for a while before a question mark popped up in his mind: *"?"*

Qi Yi was a cool, dark-skinned guy who rarely posted personal updates. His account was barren, emptier than his pitch-black Spirit Sea.

Moreover, they shared many mutual friends—like Ji Xiuyun and a few other Sentinels—yet no one else had liked the post.

Lu Liu saved the image, thinking, *"Huh, weird."*

But Lu Liu was never one to overthink. He happily busied himself with preparations for the next day’s outing. Once everything was packed, he messaged Qi Yi: *"All set! See you tomorrow. Goodnight!"*

Qi Yi replied quickly: *"Goodnight."*

Yet, the Sentinel set down his communicator and stepped onto the treadmill with a blank expression, planning to run for another two hours.

His last few messages were from his adjutant, Gunner, and doctor.

Gunner: *"Heard Lu Liu’s been promoted to SSS? Boss, I’ve got a high school classmate who’s an SS-ranked Sentinel. He just reached out asking if I know Lu Liu’s preferences."*

Doctor: *"Boss, I’ve got two friends from med school..."*

...

Mixed in was Ji Xiuyun’s exasperated: *"Qi Yi, how long has it been? Still no progress? Can you even do this?"*

Qi Yi: *"."*

Ji Xiuyun: *"Skiing trip—get romantic, understand? Where’s the gift? The sweet talk? Where are those pecs and abs? Show them off!"*

Qi Yi: *"."*

Glancing at the carefully prepared gift beside him, he hesitated. *"Will this... be enough?"*