Chapter 6: Settlement

Nyx and the others withdrew the pheromones they had been unconsciously releasing.

Seeing that they had regained control, Huo Lin put away his blade, though he still shielded Yu Xia behind him, unwilling to let his guard down.

"Boom!" Another shell landed nearby. The thunderous roar made Yu Xia instinctively cover her ears, and the little dolphin mimicked her action.

Huo Lin immediately pulled her into his arms and activated a mental barrier to dampen the sound of the explosions.

Outside, the artillery fire was relentless, causing the ground to tremble. The abandoned sentry post they occupied swayed precariously under the bombardment.

"This is too close to the rear!" Nyx shouted. "Those bastards will turn us into scrap metal along with the targets. Let's find a safer place to settle her first."

With the shells raining down, there was no time for hesitation. Huo Lin scooped Yu Xia up with one arm and sprinted outside.

She was lifted as easily as a child, his sturdy arm supporting her firmly. Pressed so closely against him, she could feel his solid chest muscles through his combat suit. Her face grew warm, and she subconsciously shifted to pull away.

But her effort was so slight that Huo Lin did not even perceive it as a struggle; thinking she was uncomfortable, he gave her a slight lift to adjust his hold.

Seeing the shells spraying shrapnel outside, Yu Xia obediently clung to Pei Lin’s shoulder and stopped moving.

No sooner had they left the sentry post than a massive blast erupted behind them, reducing the building to ashes amidst the flames of the artillery.

"Those dogs! Are they trying to wipe us out along with the xenomorphs?!"

The sentries cursed and swore, surrounding Yu Xia to protect her as they headed deeper into the contamination zone, well away from the range of the rear-line fire.

It was the middle of the night, yet the surroundings were illuminated by the constant shelling. Yu Xia could see the silhouettes of ruined buildings looming through the hazy smoke. Though mostly collapsed and weathered by time, the intricate architecture still hinted at a past prosperity.

Huo Lin and his team wove through the ruins, moving with an almost preternatural awareness, nimbly avoiding the impact sites of the shells.

Terrified by the bombardment, Yu Xia’s body stiffened, and at some point, her arms had tightened around Huo Lin’s neck.

The little dolphin had hidden itself within her mental landscape, and her ears had transformed into translucent, pink fins—a manifestation of her spirit creature.

The materialization of a spirit creature usually occurs when a sentinel or guide is mentally sensitive or weakened. Yu Xia was clearly suffering from a stress response.

In her world, war had long since ceased to exist. Although humanity had undergone an apocalypse that set civilization back a century, there were no terrifying mutant creatures or zombies. As people rebuilt, they focused on basic survival, scavenging for food and relics left behind by the previous civilization. Her greatest concerns had been food distribution and a lack of medicine, both of which were gradually improving.

She had never in her life seen such powerful weapons of mass destruction; the most she had encountered were standard firearms used to fend off large wild beasts.

Sensing her fear, Huo Lin tightened his hold, enveloping her in his mental barrier as he picked up the pace to find shelter.

They could not return to any other sentry posts; it was currently the sentries' rest period, and running into them would be ill-advised.

However, there was no shortage of buildings to hide in, even if most had been reduced to rubble or leveled by artillery.

Deman Planet, where they were currently located, had once been an S-class planet. Due to contamination by xenomorphs years ago, the living environment had gradually degraded to D-class.

The xenomorphs in these contamination zones varied in form. They were not native to their galaxy but were "alien species" from a distant star system, incapable of coexisting with any life form from their own.

Once a contamination zone formed, the xenomorphs would consume all indigenous life and terraform the environment to suit their own survival.

Over half of Deman Planet's residential areas were now contaminated, requiring regular cleanup missions by sentries. Yet, only a small fraction of the xenomorphs could be eradicated; in most cases, they could only struggle to contain the spread.

Huo Lin and his team led Yu Xia into a dense urban area and found a house that remained relatively intact.

The sentries conducted a disciplined sweep of the building to eliminate any threats, then divided tasks to search for useful items.

Huo Lin placed Yu Xia on a table the sentries had cleared, smoothed her messy hair, and soothed her gently: "Don't be afraid, you're safe now."

Seeing her clutching her arms and shivering from the cold, he reached for his belt, intending to take off his combat suit for her. They had moved too quickly, and the shawl he had found for her earlier had been lost somewhere.

Before Huo Lin could remove his suit, Nyx walked over with a blanket. After shaking off the dust, he draped it over Yu Xia.

Seeing her dressed only in a white tank top and shorts, he wondered how she had endured the contamination zone, where the temperature consistently hovered between 3°C and 6°C. How had she survived?

Yu Xia wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, finally feeling a hint of warmth.

"Thank you," she said to Nyx with gratitude.

Nyx grinned at her. "Don't mention it."

His spirit creature subconsciously tried to approach Yu Xia, but Huo Lin’s black panther bared its teeth to block it, shielding her completely.

Nyx clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned to Huo Lin. "Is she really not someone you've been hiding?"

Huo Lin replied, "I know the 136 regulations for the protection of guides by heart."

Seeing Yu Xia’s lips were dry and pale, Huo Lin took out the last half-bottle of water and handed it to her. "Drink some."

Yu Xia was incredibly thirsty—she had never felt such a parched sensation. She took the bottle and finished most of it in one breath. She licked her lips, suppressed her lingering thirst, and handed the bottle back to Huo Lin.

Huo Lin pushed it back to her lips. "Don't save any. Drink as much as you want; there’s more."

As he spoke, Nyx produced another bottle of water and placed it by her hand. The other sentries followed suit, bringing out their own supplies for her.

They had already seen her spirit creature and knew she needed water more than anyone.

The abilities and physiques of sentries and guides are influenced by the attributes of their spirit creatures. Yu Xia was the only water-type spirit creature present, and few of the sentries dispatched to this contamination zone possessed water-type creatures themselves. Sentries with water-type creatures were typically sent to zones with oceans or lakes.

Now that they were safe, the sentries—aside from the two keeping watch at the door—gathered around Yu Xia.

She was surrounded by the tall, imposing sentries. As she looked up at them, she saw the same look in their eyes that Huo Lin had held—a sticky, intense, puppy-dog gaze.

She had the distinct illusion of being surrounded by a pack of giant dogs.

Seeing Huo Lin shielding her tightly with a vigilant expression, Nyx said, "Don't worry, we can control ourselves. If anyone can't, I'll deal with them myself."

The sentries, who had been salivating as they caught the scent of Yu Xia’s pheromones, silently took two steps back.

Nyx also took a deep breath, trying to suppress the restlessness in his body, and pulled up a chair to sit in front of Yu Xia. He flashed a standard smile, suppressing his own pheromones to appear as gentle and friendly as possible.

However, the sharp canines visible at his lips, his rugged, outlaw demeanor, and the volatile mental energy he unconsciously radiated made it hard for Yu Xia to find him very friendly.

Instead, it felt like a villain trying to coax a hostage.

Nyx’s spirit creature, a snow wolf, let out a soft howl and sat by his side, grinning and panting like a docile, oversized dog.