Chapter 51 The Choice

Chapter 51 Choice

Since Fang Ran had suddenly cut his leave short and come into work today, there were no appointments scheduled in the system.

The purification room was quiet.

Fang Ran closed his eyes and rested for a while, remembering there was a fluffball waiting for him at home.

He checked the time on his terminal.

It wasn't early.

Just as he was about to leave work early, his AI assistant chimed in.

"Guide Fang Ran, a temporary purification request has been received. Would you like to review it?"

Fang Ran thought for a moment and said, "Pull up the sentinel's information."

"Sentinel 86, A-class, match rate pending update, previous match rate 58%."

Sentinel 86?

Lu Tang?

Fang Ran immediately straightened up in his chair.

She was a rather famous and beautiful sentinel. Originally stationed in their West District, she later got transferred to HQ, so Fang Ran hadn't seen much of her since then.

When he first crossed over, Lu Tang was the first sentinel he purified.

At the time, because the original host had left behind few memories and he had to face a sentinel of a higher rank, Fang Ran was a complete mess.

He couldn't control his energy well, and the other party’s psychic energy was too overwhelming.

As soon as their spiritual seas connected, Fang Ran got two nosebleeds.

Fortunately, the sentinel didn’t laugh at him and even comforted him, saying it was due to her psychic energy.

After that, Lu Tang often came to him for purifications.

She was enthusiastic, generous, and respectful of boundaries. Fang Ran got along very well with her, and they ended up becoming friends.

But wasn't Lu Tang previously Class B?

He clicked on the info panel on his terminal, and it clearly showed A-class.

Did she rank up?

Since he had nothing else to do, catching up with an old friend and earning a few extra points couldn't hurt.

Fang Ran pressed the start button on his terminal.

"Accept the request and arrange the purification."

"Copy that, Guide Fang Ran."

A few minutes later, the door to the purification room slid open.

The sentinel stood in the doorway, her long golden hair flowing, with sharp features and deep contours—beautiful like a fiery rose.

"Fang Ran, long time no see."

Fang Ran stood up and walked out from behind his desk.

"Long time no see, Sister Lu Tang. What brings you back to the West District?"

Lu Tang gave him a bright smile, strode into the purification room, and did a quick spin.

"Your purification room hasn’t changed a bit."

She walked straight to the recliner in the room and settled into it naturally.

"Fang Ran, I’ve advanced."

"Yeah." Fang Ran nodded. "I saw the system notification."

"Congratulations, Sister Lu Tang."

"Pretty impressive, right?" Lu Tang asked with a smile.

Fang Ran also laughed and kept nodding. "Sister Lu Tang is, of course, impressive."

"What about compared to..." She winked at Fang Ran, "your Sentinel Fu Zhangzhou?"

Fang Ran froze at her words, stood there for a moment, unsure how to respond, his face turning pink.

"Hahaha! Just messing with you."

Lu Tang laughed at his flustered expression. "Zhong Wan told me a bit about your experiences on field ops."

Fang Ran gave a helpless smile and turned to wash his hands at the nearby sink, to prep for the purification.

"By the way, Fang Ran, how did you get involved with a guy like him?" Lu Tang suddenly asked from behind. "I encountered Fu Zhangzhou during a field mission once. He fights like he's crazy and is crazy strong."

"Everyone around says he’s not to be trifled with."

"Fang Ran, I never expected you to pick a sentinel like him."

Fang Ran turned around. "Sister Lu Tang, he and I are just... just in a temporary contractual thing."

"Is that so?"

The sentinel on the recliner tossed her hair back lazily, propped her head up, and asked seriously, "Then, do you want to run another compatibility test with me?"

Wait, what?

Fang Ran was stunned.

Why was every sentinel so hung up on their match rates?

"Sister Lu Tang, if we’re doing purification, our existing match rate is already sufficient."

Lu Tang shook her head.

"But this match rate isn’t enough to apply for an exclusive contract."

Exclusive contract?

Fang Ran stared at her, surprised. Why was Lu Tang suddenly bringing this up now?

Lu Tang straightened up and said to him, "Fang Ran, I've saved enough points, and my transfer application has been approved smoothly."

"As long as you sign a three-year exclusive contract with me, we can go together as a Guide."

"What?" Fang Ran stepped forward and sat on the stool beside the recliner.

"Sis Lu Tang, you're transferring zones?"

"Yes." Lu Tang blinked. "I'm getting older and can't keep fighting anymore. I just want to find a stable area."

She sighed and sank back down.

"I remember you mentioned wanting to transfer zones."

"Since that's the case, do you want to come with me to Zone 2?"

Fang Ran paused. "Zone 2?"

Safe Zone 2—it had to be said, it was an excellent destination.

With superior terrain, abundant resources, and even a lower frequency of monster appearances compared to other safe zones, it was a comfortable place to live. In this semi-post-apocalyptic era, it was naturally a region many longed for.

Fang Ran sat there, momentarily unsure how to respond.

Before meeting Fu Zhangzhou, he had indeed thought about transferring zones.

But now...

Lu Tang patted his hand.

"Fang Ran, I have my own selfish reasons too."

"We have a good relationship, and our compatibility's not bad. Going to Zone 2 together would mean we can have each other's backs."

"You have more than a month to think it over slowly." She closed her eyes. "Let's do the purification first."

"Alright."

Fang Ran sighed and took her hand.

Their compatibility wasn't low, and the Spiritual Sea connection went smoothly.

Like Fu Zhangzhou, Lu Tang was a Fire Sentinel.

But unlike Fu Zhangzhou's lifeless black desert, Lu Tang's Spiritual Sea was a rainforest—vibrant and full of life.

The purification process was also very smooth.

Fang Ran's mental energy weaved through the rainforest, quickly clearing away the Blackened contaminants.

Lu Tang undoubtedly had potential.

The gap in strength between an A-rank and a B-class Sentinel was vast.

She had advanced from B-rank, and perhaps she could go even further in the future.

Moreover, even at A-class, Lu Tang still opened her Spiritual Sea during purification, indicating she trusted him implicitly.

Go to Zone 2?

Fang Ran's eyes flickered.

He hadn't expected to hesitate so much when faced with this choice.

By the time he returned to the apartment, it was already evening.

Fang Ran searched the living room but didn't spot the dog, so he turned and entered the bedroom.

The lights were off in the room.

The dim bedroom carried a faint, fresh scent—his scent.

Calm and clean.

The dog was lying on its back on his pillow, sound asleep.

Its round little belly rose and fell rhythmically, completely unaware of Fang Ran's approach.

It really had no awareness, just like a small animal.

He couldn't resist poking its belly, then remembered the response from the Tech Division earlier.

Someone at home had tampered with his terminal?

The most likely suspect...

His gaze fell on the little furball on the pillow, but after a moment, he shook his head with a laugh.

There was no way it could be him—not with how clueless he is.

He walked out of the bedroom and stretched out on the living room sofa to rest.

Lu Tang's voice echoed in his mind.

"Since that's the case, do you want to come with me to Zone 2?"

Going to a comfortable zone with a strong Sentinel who trusted him was indeed a good choice.

But...

A sudden restlessness stirred in him...

"Thud!"

The bedroom door was suddenly pushed open.

Fang Ran turned to look.

The little dog was perched by the bedroom door, watching him.

Perhaps just awake, its eyes were still sleepy, deep and clear like still water.

The restlessness weighing on his heart seemed to vanish instantly.

He stood up and walked over to the dog, meaning to scoop him up.

But he noticed out of the corner of his eye that the nearby cans of dog food were completely untouched.

Fang Ran got a headache, glancing at the black furball on the floor.

Would this dumb dog starve to death?

He looked through the kitchen but couldn't find anything to feed it. Instead, though, he noticed that one bottle of orange-flavored soda was missing from the mixed-flavor pack he had bought earlier.

Orange soda?

Fang Ran paused for a second.

He couldn’t remember whether he had drunk it himself, but it couldn’t have been the dog, could it?

Wait, can dogs even drink soda?

His expression shifted, and he held his forehead; his head throbbed again.

Forget it, he’d take him to get checked out tomorrow.