Chapter 105 This Person Is So Greasy

Chapter 105: This Guy Is So Cringey

The patrol team began directing staff and deploying robots to clean up the scene.

Due to injuries and partial damage to the safety barrier, the training ground needed to be temporarily closed.

The captain stood with his arms crossed, waiting patiently amid the dispersing crowd.

He’d been patient up to now.

According to procedure, he needed to question the two individuals involved, Fu Zhangzhou and Lu Wenchuan. As exchange officers from District 4, they had provided significant help this time. If the rogue Sentinel had continued causing greater harm, the responsibility they would have had to bear would have been immeasurable.

That said, were they ever going to finish up?

He had been standing in a corner of the spectator stands, listening for quite a while.

These two kept fawning over their Guides, being all lovey-dovey and eager to please, as if afraid others wouldn’t notice. Despite being the strongest Sentinels in the Federation, they kept saying things like "I was so scared" and "it hurt so bad," with zero shame.

If he hadn’t seen how fiercely these two fought, he might have almost believed them.

Are Sentinels these days so forward when pursuing their Guides?

The captain shook his head, trying hard to ignore the goosebumps rising on his skin.

Still, he had been young once himself and knew many Sentinels acted completely differently before and after finding their Guides. But he couldn’t just stand around waiting forever. He had to work up the nerve to step forward and interrupt.

"Everyone, could we have a moment to talk?"

Fu Zhangzhou finally heard him this time, slowly turning to look. He clearly recognized the other as the captain of District 5’s patrol team.

Shedding the act he had just shown Fang Ran, he replied expressionlessly,

"What is it?"

The Sentinel had just released a huge burst of energy, and the aura radiating from him was still fierce and sharp, giving off an unmistakable "stay away" vibe.

Truth be told, the captain was a near-S-class Sentinel himself, but even he felt a bit intimidated facing such a Sentinel. He instinctively glanced at the Guide beside Fu Zhangzhou, wondering who was unfortunate enough to have caught this guy’s attention.

But when he saw the two of them, he did a double take—weren’t these the two Guides from the restaurant yesterday?

Fang Ran also looked over, meeting his gaze.

"Hello, we meet again."

He gave a friendly smile and gestured to Fu Zhangzhou and Lu Wenchuan beside him.

"These two Sentinels stepped up today."

"Yeah," Zhong Wan chimed in from the side. "Remember to apply for medals for them."

"......"

Why did something strange happen every time he ran into these two?

Besides, when it came to medals, these two top-tier Sentinels, already widely known, probably had more medals than they could wear even if they had necks to spare. Why would they care about some small bravery medal?

Though he thought this, he still pasted on a smile.

"I just wanted to ask you two about what happened earlier."

"That Fire Sentinel’s condition was abnormal," Fu Zhangzhou said. "Did he just advance recently?"

"Yes," the captain replied, checking the information on his terminal. "He advanced just three days ago. He’s only been in District 5 for two months."

Fu Zhangzhou raised an eyebrow. "His energy state is highly erratic, almost to the point of a berserk state."

"Not only did he brutally attack the Sentinels during training, he even tried to attack others. What you need to do now is quarantine him immediately."

"Also, District 5’s detection procedures are flawed," Lu Wenchuan added, stepping forward to address the captain. "Advanced Sentinels need to update their records and undergo various tests. Under normal circumstances, you should have detected abnormalities in his Spiritual Sea."

"Why was he still allowed to train lower-level Sentinels here?"

The captain was taken aback by the question. "Actually... although he’s affiliated with District 5, he was recruited by the Research Institute and has been working for them."

"They have a complete set of testing procedures there, and we have no say in the matter. This Sentinel’s status in the system also showed as normal."

The Research Institute again?

Hearing this, Fang Ran suddenly remembered that Zhong Wan had once asked around in District 5 for information about Zhao Hengming and mentioned that he had been working for the Research Institute after arriving in District 5.

There’d been rumors swirling that the Central Research Institute was experimenting on Sentinels and Guides, though there was no solid evidence.

Back when they were on a mission in DT332, District 5 had experienced a baffling Sentinel rampage incident. Combined with Zhao Hengming’s condition and today’s Fire Sentinel, it was hard not to be suspicious.

"I’d like to ask... was the Sentinel who attacked me yesterday also recruited by the Research Institute?"

The captain seemed hesitant at the sudden question but still answered,

"That’s right. The person from yesterday was also a Sentinel belonging to the Research Institute."

"But they were only running missions for the Research Institute, and their previous behavior was completely normal. Including today, this is only the second abnormal incident."

"It must be more than that," Fang Ran said to him. "The rampage incident that happened in District 5 a few months ago—I’m guessing it was also a Research Institute Sentinel, wasn’t it?"

The captain’s face went through several changes at this, but he didn’t answer.

Fang Ran had already gotten the answer from the man’s reaction.

All these abnormal incidents revolved around the Research Institute. Even the previous explosion was likely caused by an experimental error.

Yesterday, while in a frenzied state, Zhao Hengming had let slip that he had drunk something that caused his condition.

This indicated that Zhao Hengming, as well as today’s Fire Sentinel, were both test subjects of the Research Institute.

They were probably lured from other districts with the promise of advancement. Those who succeeded in the experiment would advance naturally, while those who failed... making people disappear without a trace in the post-apocalyptic world wasn’t exactly difficult, was it?

Thinking of this, a light sweat formed on Fang Ran’s forehead.

Back when he had fainted and was hospitalized, his report was leaked, and the Research Institute had tried to abduct him—most likely for this kind of experiment...

He instinctively glanced at the Sentinel beside him.

Fang Liyu had mentioned that, to protect him, this guy had bartered with his own blood to the Research Institute. The blood of a 3S Sentinel... was naturally extremely valuable. The Research Institute had likely had their eyes on it for ages, which was why they had eventually backed off.

But this matter... had started because of him in the first place, so really, he was the one who drew the short straw.

The more Fang Ran thought about it, the more complicated his feelings became. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the Sentinel’s rippling muscles and bulging veins on his arms, and he felt an urge to bite down hard, just to vent his frustration.

"What’s wrong?"

Fu Zhangzhou noticed his gaze, looked down, and saw him staring at Fu Zhangzhou's arm. He asked gently:

"Still worried about me?"

[Fang Ran remained silent.]

He reached out to brush aside the damp hair on Fang Ran's forehead, then leaned close to his ear and whispered:

"If you kiss me again tonight, the pain will go away."

[Fang Ran remained silent.]

This guy is so corny.