The Heartthrob Guide: Dodder of S-Class Sentinels

Chapter 187 The Fallen Guide

Lin Nan had heard from Ellie that Director Huo had a particularly bad reputation among the guides. His extremely autocratic and harsh behavior towards the guides in the military had caused many people to harbor resentment.

As a result, one complaint letter after another was sent to the central authorities, who had no choice but to remove him from his position as the first commander of the Marine Corps.

"Do you know why the Great Demon King Huo was forced to suspend his duties and retire?" A guide's voice suddenly lowered from the next room.

"Why? Isn't it because of a collective complaint from the guides?"

"How could that be? He was the only Marine Corps member with near-Double S-level combat power. If it were just a simple complaint, the former president would never have let him retire. The main thing is that something happened."

"You're not trying to talk about that, are you?"

"you know?"

“I had a sentry from the Marine Corps who was with Huo Mowang back then. He told me that because Huo Mowang often forced guides to go into contaminated areas against regulations, a guide with absolute talent perished during one operation…”

"Good heavens, which guide? I've never heard of him before."

"You won't find that guide's file; it's been erased by the White Tower. If the public finds out, it will definitely cause a riot! Absolute talent! Do you know how difficult it is for a guide to emerge like that? The highest-ranking guide right now is the Queen, and even she only has—"

The conversation next door suddenly stopped, as if they were wary of something, and they opened their mental barrier.

Lin Nan sat up in bed, got dressed, and walked out of the lounge.

Unexpectedly, at the end of the corridor, they saw Hosen's figure.

The man stood alone by the window, the setting sun shining through the window and casting an amber glow on his silhouette.

Hearing footsteps, the man turned around. His usually calm green eyes were now churning with a burning emotion, like ignited gunpowder smoke spreading quietly in the twilight.

How long has he been here? He must have heard what those people were saying.

is that true?

Lin Nan's fingernails dug unconsciously into her palms, and countless questions fermented in her chest, forming a sour, hard lump.

In this world, the sentinels' almost instinctive obedience to the guides had numbed her vigilance. She had naively believed that those following gazes and docile gestures stemmed from a pure attraction born of spiritual resonance, but how could she forget that these sentinels, besides being human, were essentially beasts?

Lin Nan's steps toward him slowly came to a stop.

Hosen was also looking at her. After they marked each other, they could sense each other's emotions. He swallowed hard and then walked towards Lin Nan.

"Are you awake?" The man carefully took her hand. "Is there anything else that feels uncomfortable?"

"Nothing."

"That's good. I'll take you back to your dorm first."

"it is good."

Hosen's palms were warm enough, and the calluses on his fingertips brushed against her skin almost imperceptibly, guiding her forward slowly.

The white tower's glass windows shattered the setting sun into golden foil, spreading it diagonally across their overlapping shadows. The wind whistled through the openwork columns, carrying the distant sound of evening prayer bells.

The world has never been this quiet in a long time, so quiet that you can hear each other's overlapping breaths and the echoing of heartbeats vibrating in your chest.

Lin Nan's gaze fell on the hands clasped with Huo Sen's, and in a daze, she seemed to have returned to the world of ancient Blue Star.

There were no sentries or guides there, no smoke of war, only the gentle evening breeze in the twilight, and the endless road home from school.

At the end of the road stood that person's silent figure— "I'll explain this to you later." Suddenly, Hosen's voice interrupted Lin Nan's thoughts.

Lin Nan looked up at him and then nodded silently.

He is now her sentinel, and she will not let a few words from outsiders affect her judgment.

But last night—during the mental connection, she inadvertently saw a blurry figure deep within his memory…

【Commander Huo——】

That's what he often called him...
-
Lin Nan's application for her third-year internship has been approved.

Southwest, District 9.

This result surprised everyone, because Area Nine is known as the nightmare of all guides, and almost no guide would want to go there.

The humid southwest monsoon, carrying miasma, shrouds that region year-round. It is full of hot and humid rainforests, which are also a breeding ground for species such as scorpions, snakes, and spiders. The harsh living conditions make life extremely difficult.

However, what is most worrying is that a large number of insect-snake type sentinels are stationed in Sector Nine all year round. They are not only lewd and eccentric, but also keen on wantonly trampling on and destroying the mental world of others.

They possess exceptional talent in mental manipulation, second only to guides in ability.

Nowadays, the overall mental strength level of guides is far behind that of sentinels. Therefore, when dealing with these people, many guides not only cannot control them, but are also likely to be mentally controlled by them.

It is an extremely troublesome entity.

"Nannan, you really did choose that place."

Ellie found it a bit unbelievable. Although the rainforest environment of District Nine was quite compatible with Lin Nan's mental attributes, most people would still choose a place where they could live more comfortably, since they would be staying there for a full year. District Nine was far away and remote, and living deep in the mountains every day was not only damp but also had many terrible insects. Some places didn't even have internet access. Anyone would go crazy if they stayed there for too long.

"Aren't you going to reconsider? Do you want to come to the North with me? The Sentinel who was in my group during the league said they're short of Guides. If you want to go, I'll talk to the teacher about it."

"No need, I'll go to Zone Nine." Lin Nan smiled and shook her head.

"Why?" Ellie asked, puzzled. She looked around and whispered in Lin Nan's ear, "Did that director force you to go there?"

"Oh, what does Director Guan have to do with this?"

"Don't tell me you don't know, the last battle the director commanded before his retirement was in Sector Nine, where there's a 'Centipede Forbidden Zone.' The monsters inside are incredibly difficult to deal with. Back then, the director led ten thousand people in to eliminate their queen, but only a few came out alive... I heard—a very talented guide was also sacrificed..."

"..."

It's him again.

This was the third time she had heard others talk about this person.

Lin Nan looked at Ellie, a glint of green light flashing in his eyes, and he became wary.

But Ellie didn't seem to notice and continued to ramble on about how terrible District Nine was.

Just then, in the air filled with floating dust, a very thin thread on the round-faced girl's shoulder was suddenly severed by something, so fast that even the vines didn't have time to react.

Lin Nan seemed to be deep in thought.

She felt as if someone was deliberately guiding her...

I'll be busy preparing for Mother's Day these next couple of days, so updates will be sporadic. I get home really late every day and have to get up very early the next day. If I don't update by 1 or 2 AM, then I probably won't be able to update at all.

This story is about to move to a new map. Next up is a special feature on insects and snakes, haha, can you guess which characters are in it?