The Heartthrob Guide: Dodder of S-Class Sentinels

Chapter 237 Deep Abyss at the Bottom of the Cliff
The birth of energy stones originates from the condensation of energy within the bodies of alien species—and these alien species, in essence, are monsters mutated from normal humans.

Sentinels and guides can absorb energy stones to become powerful, but ultimately, due to the pollution brought by the energy, they repeat the mistakes of the aliens and become part of the monsters...

This seems to be an unsolvable vicious cycle. For the past five hundred years, the world has seemed to rely on this cycle to maintain its fragile survival and development.

While fearing pollutants, humans are also forced to rely on the power they generate.

Mechanical equipment is driven by it, defenses are reinforced by it, and even the mental barriers of sentries and guides rely on it to barely resist the erosion of pollution.

Fear and dependence, like two venomous snakes, have been tightly entwined with the fate of humankind for the past five hundred years.

Perhaps many people don't realize that those alien remains, which everyone despises and fears, have long been the sparks for the continuation of civilization...

……

The resources of this world are all meant to serve 'that person'.

We have become aware of everything, so we have 'awakened,' while you remain immersed in this fabricated dream...

……

For some reason, Lin Nan suddenly remembered the little alien's words again.

"呲-"

A sharp, electric shock exploded in her ear without warning. Lin Nan subconsciously tilted her head, her fingertips just about to touch her earlobe, when the sound vanished like a startled swan, as fast as if it had never existed.

Then, the scene before them suddenly distorted, and the beating giant heart, Arachne, and everyone else appeared as if an old television had lost its signal, filled with dense static.

"Om-"

It felt like a string in my brain was stretched to its limit, emitting a subtle tremor.

Lin Nan hurriedly covered her forehead with her hand, but her body still couldn't help but go limp, and she was hugged by Andrew from behind.

"What's wrong, Guide Lin?" Mr. Ryan stepped forward with concern, but out of politeness he did not get too close to her.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly felt a little dizzy." Lin Nan's eyes flickered with a green light as she tried to suppress the inexplicable palpitation. Only then did the scene before her slowly return to normal.

[I've noticed...]

[That's dangerous!]

Run!

But where can we escape to...?

The intermittent recitation, like cotton thread soaked in water, floated up and down in my consciousness.

In the picture, the enormous tree that blocks out the sky is still trembling slightly, the bands of light that entwine between its branches flicker, and countless whispers are seeping out from every inch of its flesh.

Some sounds were sharp like a child's cry, some were hoarse like an old man coughing up blood, and many more were indistinct breathy sounds, like sobs that were covered by a mouth and nose, layer upon layer enveloping the entire space.

Lin Nan suddenly felt nauseous!

“If you’re not feeling well, let me carry you to rest,” Arachne said.

"never mind."

Lin Nan stood up from Andrew's arms, her face pale, and shook her head.

Fortunately, this strange feeling only lasted for a short while and soon disappeared.

"Go on, I want to hear it."

Arachne nodded slightly, then slowly began to explain. "—So when even the alien species in the contaminated zone could not meet their needs, they turned their attention to the living."

These people are going to die sooner or later.

Why not offer one last act of service to the Queen?

Arachne had heard such horrifying things from her father.

In order to obtain more energy stones, the people at the research institute allowed the high-pollution sentinels to mutate unchecked. They even injected mutant accelerators into these people's bodies to accelerate the mutation. Once they became mutants, they would extract the 'King Jade' from their bodies to cultivate new energy stones..."

"To extract the Wang Yu, one must do so while the person is alive, especially at the moment when the Sentinels mutate into aliens, which is the instant when their spiritual power completely collapses and the old and new forces clash wildly."

"Only in such extreme chaos can Wang Yu temporarily break free from its bond with the host's spiritual core. Once the host completely becomes a mindless alien or dies, Wang Yu will sink into the spiritual ruins as the energy stabilizes, and will be difficult to obtain again."

The image of Xiu's gruesome death swept through Lin Nan's consciousness like a tidal wave.

She seemed to see that blood-stained cave again. The man lay on the ground, his body contorting at a visible speed.

His once clear pupils were swallowed by crimson, and the last glance he gave her was like a candle flame being extinguished, completely going out before her eyes.

Lin Nan gasped suddenly, feeling her hands and feet turn icy cold.

“The Zerg’s mental power is most compatible with the Queen.” Mr. Ryan’s knuckles tapped heavily on the metal tabletop, his voice still carrying the smell of gunpowder. “That’s why Sector Nine became the first area to suffer such a terrible fate. Those people thought they were being very secretive, but the truth will always come out.”

After Mr. Ryan finished speaking, he opened the last hidden door, and Lin Nan finally saw the light coming from outside.

Outside the tiny window, familiar military trucks drove by. Moss sent a clone to follow them, and Lin Nan and the others shared the moth's field of vision.

The convoy of trucks snaked through the forest like a black serpent, finally stopping at the edge of a cliff. The cliff was bottomless, its edges eroded like the fangs of a giant beast, and the wind that swept up from below carried a foul, fishy stench.

The sentries' boots slipped on the rubble at the edge of the sinkhole, and with each corpse they threw, their knuckles grew whiter.

As the last body plunged into the abyss, one of the young sentries finally broke down, his stomach churning, and he began to retch, clutching the truck tire.

His movements startled the people in the car. The leader stepped down in black boots, his crisp military uniform sharp and neat, especially the badges on his shoulder straps, which gleamed in the sunlight.

"Throw him down too!"

The man's golden eyes were devoid of warmth as he glanced at the sentry's hunched back, as if looking at a piece of useless trash.

"No—spare me! Colonel Lawn! Help—help me—ahhhhhh!!"

A piercing scream echoed through the valley, like a kite with a broken string, before finally disappearing into the bottomless abyss.

"Just a little bit more..."

Colonel Lawn gazed contentedly at the bottom of the cliff, his golden eyes reflecting the churning darkness, as if admiring a work of art nearing completion.

Something enormous seemed to lurk at the bottom of the cliff, with a faint pulse echoing through the valley. A surging spiritual mist rose from the bottom of the cliff, and tiny specks of light, wrapped in a pale purple mist, landed on the man's palm as if as a reward.

Colonel Lawn's usually upright and composed face now wore an unfamiliar smile, the curve of his lips carrying an almost devout fervor.

The moth flapped its wings and flew through the air. The man on the cliff seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up. In that one glance, the scene before Lin Nan's eyes suddenly shattered into countless fragments, like a balloon punctured by a needle.

Moss abruptly withdrew his mental energy a split second before his vision completely shattered.

The burning pain from the nerve made him shudder, and he instinctively raised his hand to cover his eyes.

Crimson blood slowly slid down between his fingers—

(End of this chapter)