The Frail Guide Who Devoured an Entire Pollution Zone

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Rewards for Increasing Favorability

Xu Qingsui was carried by a swarm of blue-ringed octopuses, drifting toward a pitch-black region of the sea as a thick fog gathered before her eyes.

She wanted to break free, but her body was beyond her control.

After an unknown amount of time, the swarm of octopuses brought her to a dilapidated palace.

The giant blue-ringed octopus appeared before her. Its tentacles landed on her face, greedily caressing the pure aura emanating from Xu Qingsui. It then lowered its beak to her chest, intending to drain her power.

A sharp pain shot through her, and Xu Qingsui’s brow furrowed unconsciously.

’This is really bad...’

She knew nothing about these abnormal creatures, let alone how to fight underwater. If this continued, she was probably done for.

But just then, the Golden Octopus in her mind spoke up.

[Don’t be afraid, Host. Enter its Sea of Consciousness, and you’ll be able to deal with it.]

Xu Qingsui snapped back to her senses.

Just as the beak was about to sink completely into her chest, she bit her tongue hard. Using that brief moment of clarity, she reached out, grabbed the blue-ringed octopus’s tentacle, and pressed her hand onto the top of its head!

The fog before her eyes abruptly scattered, and her consciousness was suddenly pulled into a vast, blue sea.

And in the center of this sea, a giant heart was beating, covered in bluish-purple veins.

A panicked roar echoed from all directions. Without hesitation, Xu Qingsui drifted in front of the heart and threw a vicious punch.

Blue light seeped out from the crack. Xu Qingsui felt a wave of comfort wash over her; even her previously weary and muddled mind felt replenished, and her spiritual power had grown much stronger.

Driven by instinct, she sat cross-legged before the heart, greedily absorbing the immense power.

At the same time.

Lu Jingyu had followed the trail of the blue-ringed octopuses and arrived just in time to see a slender figure latched onto the giant octopus.

Seeing Xu Qingsui’s eyes shut tight, his own eyes nearly burst from their sockets in fury, and the veins on the hand gripping his gun bulged menacingly.

’She’s... dead?’

Before they set out, his words to her had been cold and hard. But seeing her like this now, an unbearable, sharp pain flared in his heart, as if something precious had been violently carved out from within him.

Looking at the blue-ringed octopuses warily circling Xu Qingsui, Lu Jingyu’s icy eyes were instantly veiled with a blood-red killing intent.

Only a single thought remained in his mind—

’Make them die!’

The octopuses sensed his fury and instinctively swarmed toward him, letting out continuous, low warning growls.

But the two hunting knives hidden in Lu Jingyu’s sleeves had already slid into his palms.

His figure shot out like a phantom. A cold light flashed, and the few octopuses blocking his path were instantly crushed to pieces.

The piercing screeches of the blue-ringed octopuses filled the air. Before long, Lu Jingyu’s eardrums ruptured, and dark red blood began to trickle out.

But he was completely oblivious, his twin blades acting like a merciless meat grinder, pulverizing every obstacle in his path until he, covered in blue blood, stood before Xu Qingsui.

The thick tentacles were still twitching, but Xu Qingsui appeared lifeless.

Lu Jingyu’s eyes grew even redder, and the thread of his sanity wore thinner.

The next second, his twin blades, radiating a bitter chill, slashed toward the giant octopus monster.

But just then, Xu Qingsui let out a comfortable sigh, stretched lazily, and slowly opened her eyes.

Lu Jingyu’s pupils shrank. He abruptly stopped the blades just as they were about to strike her arm, his momentum forcing him to drop to one knee on the ground.

Only then did Xu Qingsui notice him. She sat up, her brow furrowed. ”What are you doing here?”

Lu Jingyu then realized that the giant blue-ringed octopus was now just a shriveled corpse.

’She... drained the monster dry?’

”Are you all right?”

Xu Qingsui waved a hand in front of his face. When she saw his blood-red eyes, her expression immediately turned grave. ”What happened? Why does it look like you’re about to go berserk again?”

Lu Jingyu opened his mouth, but it was a long moment before his thin lips parted. His voice was frighteningly hoarse. ”I’m fine. Let’s go.”

”How is this ’fine’?”

Seeing him stand up unsteadily, Xu Qingsui grabbed his wrist without a second thought. ”Sit down. I’ll soothe you.”

Lu Jingyu’s lips tightened, but in the end, he lowered his eyes and obediently did as he was told.

A warm hand rested on his forehead, and a pure power flowed into his body, allowing his tense mind to gradually relax.

Beside him, her scent was exceptionally reassuring. Though they were in the middle of a dangerous instance, Lu Jingyu felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him.

The next second, he closed his eyes and collapsed into Xu Qingsui’s arms.

Xu Qingsui froze for a moment, then subconsciously caught him and gently laid his head on her lap.

Looking at the dark circles under Lu Jingyu’s eyes, a trace of pity flashed in hers. She placed her palm on his brow again, gradually smoothing away his agitation.

’What happened? He was fine a moment ago, and now he’s on the verge of going berserk again.’

In her confusion, the system’s notification sounded again.

[Congratulations, Host, for earning 20% Trust and 20% Dependence from SSS level sentinel Lu Jingyu. Reward: Spiritual Power +10.]

’Huh?!’

’So I can get rewards for raising affection levels?’

Xu Qingsui had no romantic thoughts in her mind; she was completely focused on getting stronger as quickly as possible.

But just then, the communicator on Lu Jingyu’s hip suddenly flashed with a red light and began to vibrate violently.

The man startled awake. When he realized he was lying on her lap, his expression was clearly a bit stiff.

But he quickly regained his composure, murmured an apology, and answered the call.

A broken, panicked voice came from the communicator, trembling. ”Captain... east sea sector...”

Lu Jingyu’s brow furrowed. ”What?”

There was no response from the other end, only the harsh sound of static and the roar of surging seawater.

The next second, the connection died.

Lu Jingyu put away the communicator, his lips tight as he looked at Xu Qingsui. ”I’m afraid something’s happened. We need to hurry over there.”

He paused, then added, ”I’ll give you an explanation for what just happened, but...”

”I know. No matter what, we’re a team right now. I’m not that unreasonable.”

Xu Qingsui understood what he meant and took the initiative to pull him by the hand. ”Let’s go.”

Lu Jingyu hesitated for a second before taking her small hand. The soft touch of her palm sent a flutter through his heart.

Snapping back to his senses, Lu Jingyu calmly let go and led Xu Qingsui toward the east sea sector.

The surrounding undercurrents were strong. When the two of them hurried over, they saw a Sentinel slumped on the ground, his eyes shut tight.

His exposed skin was covered in dark blue spots, a horrifying sight.

Xu Qingsui instantly recalled one of the rules. ”The words at the entrance reminded us that we have to find the whale’s song now.”

Nearby, a few other Sentinels looked grim. ”But we have no idea where the whale is. How are we supposed to find its song?”

Lu Jingyu’s brow was also deeply furrowed.

But Xu Qingsui suddenly remembered something. ”Before, when the blue-ringed octopuses were taking me away, I saw some huge, grayish-white droppings on the surface of some rocks. They had a distinct fishy smell. It must have been whale feces!”

Lu Jingyu subconsciously thought back. He seemed to recall smelly droppings on their path.

He spoke decisively, ”Bring him. We’re going over there now.”

But the other Sentinels’ expressions were conflicted.

After a long moment, the female Sentinel stammered, ”Captain, if we touch an infected person, we’ll get the blue spots too.”

”The first person to be infected was actually Arthur. He’s already... Meng Donghua ended up like this because he carried him.”

”Why don’t we just abandon him? There are still three people left on our team, anyway. We might have a chance to get through.”

As she spoke, she glanced at Xu Qingsui and muttered, ”Besides, she only said she saw some droppings. Who knows if there’s actually a whale over there...”

Only then did Xu Qingsui realize that the original seven-person team was already short one member.

’That’s going too far!’

Her face turned cold and she was about to speak, but Lu Jingyu had already flicked his wrist, aiming his gun directly at the female Sentinel’s forehead.

”Li Yaru, I still haven’t settled the score with you over the matter with the guide.”

His voice was so cold it was chilling. ”You deliberately plot against your own companions and refuse to save a teammate you’ve spent day and night with. By my rules, you’re the one who most deserves to die.”