Shared Sensations
"Mm~"
A soft murmur drifted out of the medical pod, its lingering note carrying the lazy nasal sound of someone who had just woken up.
Yuqing's eyelashes fluttered. She raised a hand to rub her sleepy eyes, entering a state of perfect serenity.
She hadn't slept so soundly since the day the apocalypse began. The soreness in her muscles and bones had vanished, and abundant strength surged through her veins and into every part of her body. She felt like a fully charged energy block. Never mind killing zombies-she felt that even prying the top off the zombie king's skull would be no problem.
"How amazing." She looked down at the pale blue liquid surrounding her and poked it curiously with a fingertip.
Tiny ripples spread across the surface. It felt cool and smooth to the touch, but when she withdrew her hand, her fingertips were completely dry, without a trace of water. Her clothes were perfectly neat, too, the fabric dry and soft, with no sign of having been soaked.
"So this isn't ordinary liquid?" She tilted her head and stirred it again, watching it flow between her fingers without leaving them wet. Her eyes were full of wonder.
As Yuqing amused herself studying the magical liquid, a clear little bark sounded beside her ear. "Woof, woof!"
Yuqing whipped her head around and immediately spotted a little pale-gold head peeking over the edge of the medical pod.
Round black eyes like grapes, a wet pink nose, two soft floppy ears, and a tail wagging so fast behind it that it was almost a blur. It was an adorably fluffy golden retriever puppy!
"Oh my gosh!" Yuqing's eyes lit up. "Ahhh, baby, you're so cute!"
Yuqing could never tear herself away from a cute creature. After the apocalypse, all the animals and plants had mutated, and soft, adorable, harmless puppies like this had long since disappeared from the wasteland. She hadn't expected to get to cuddle such a cutie in her lifetime. "Come here, baby, let big sis give you a kiss!"
She hurriedly reached out to the little one. The golden retriever puppy wasn't shy at all. With a "woof," it pounced forward and landed squarely in her arms.
It was a warm, furry little bundle, its soft fluff feeling as though it had been warmed in the sun. Its little head kept nuzzling her palm, tickling her until she laughed.
"Why are you so clingy, sweet baby?" Yuqing's heart melted. She stroked her fingertips down its back, from its furry head to the base of its fluffy tail. It felt so good that she couldn't bear to let go.
She wrapped her left arm around the puppy and used her right hand to rub its round, soft little belly. The moment her fingertips touched it, the puppy let out a contented whimper and flopped onto its back in her arms, all four paws in the air.
Yuqing's eyes curved with her smile. She lowered her head and planted two hearty kisses on its golden forehead, the soft fluff tickling her cheeks.
Meanwhile, outside the conference room.
Noi, who had been standing ramrod straight, suddenly froze. His back tensed, then went limp in an instant.
An indescribable warmth burst from the depths of his Spiritual Sea without warning and rushed down his spine. A tingling sensation instantly swept through every part of him.
Noi's cheeks flushed bright red, and even the tips of his ears burned. His legs trembled beyond his control. Unable to maintain his upright military posture, he bent over involuntarily and barely managed to stay on his feet by bracing a hand against the wall.
"Noi, what's wrong? Are you hurt?" His teammates standing nearby immediately caught hold of him. "You've been acting strange for a while now. If you're hurt, why hide it?"
The sentinels guarding the door had all taken part in this operation. Their captain and vice captain were inside the conference room reporting on the operation to Marshal Huosuosi, while they waited outside to be summoned.
Noi was the youngest on the team. Though his family had spoiled him and left him with a young master's temper, the kid could endure hardship and cared about his pride, so he often kept quiet even when he was injured. His stubborn streak was famous throughout the Ninth Military District.
"Come on, let's get you to the infirmary!" His teammates hooked their arms under his and tried to take him to the medical area.
"N-no need." Noi squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, desperately holding back the gasps threatening to escape his throat.
He wasn't injured at all. It was Duoduo, who had somehow gone over to the medical pod and was happily cuddling up to the young Guide!
A Spirit Entity shared its senses with its owner. The warmth of the Guide's fingertips, the feel of soft fur, and her sweet-scented breath all came through the mental link, without a single sensation lost.
The tingling had barely receded from his back when it suddenly sank deep into his lower abdomen, itchy and hot. With the potent soothing power of the Guide Pheromone, it felt so good that his toes curled, and his legs nearly gave out beneath him on the spot. Sweat dripped from his forehead, the scene before the blond youth's eyes blurred, and all he could hear was his own stifled panting. "Hah, hah..."
"And you say you don't need to go? Look at the state you're in. You really are stubborn..." His teammates assumed the young master was too proud to admit it again and tried to pull and drag him to the infirmary.
"I really don't need to! Let go of me!" Noi struggled with all his might, bitterly regretting it.
If he'd known, he should have made an excuse to go to the bathroom and hidden there to savor this rare soothing from a Guide. Then he wouldn't be going weak all over in front of everyone like this. It was mortifying!
As the group tugged at one another, the conference room's alloy doors slid apart with a hiss.
Ers stepped out, his brows drawn into a knot. His cold gaze swept over the rowdy group by the door, and his voice was as low and hard as ice. "What's going on?"
"Reporting, Captain! Noi seems to be injured." The sentinels who had been pulling at Noi immediately stopped fooling around, straightened in unison, and gave a crisp military salute.
When the hands holding him up let go, the young man was finally able to catch his breath.
A thin film of sweat still clung to his back, and the redness at the tips of his ears hadn't entirely faded. But faced with his superior's naturally imposing presence, most of that tingling tremor was suppressed.
He hurriedly straightened his back and stood at attention, forcing himself to deny it. "No, Captain, I'm really fine."
"All right." Ers looked away, his tone unreadable. "Let's go to the infirmary together. The Guide should be waking up about now, and anyone who was injured earlier can have the military doctor treat them while we're there."
Ers hadn't planned to let these brats disturb his time alone with the Guide, but the marshal had said that the young Guide had left her home and would surely have trouble adjusting to a strange environment so suddenly. So for the first few days, they should let these familiar faces stay by her side to ease the transition.
"Yes, sir!" Their resounding reply nearly lifted the roof off the corridor.
Getting to see the Guide again was an unexpected delight for these young men. In just those few seconds, no one cared about the "injured" Noi anymore. Sentinels were tough and thick-skinned anyway; "a little" external injury would heal on its own if he put up with it. How could that matter more than the Guide?