The Marshal Has a Guide?

Meanwhile, on Alpha-714, an abandoned mining planet.

The air carried the scent of rust and a faint trace of blood. Inside a temporary stronghold deep in the mine, two sentinels in black military uniforms held a muscular, scar-faced man firmly against the cold alloy floor. His knees ached against the hard surface, but he couldn't struggle at all.

He looked up at the man standing in the shadows and gritted his teeth, forcing out a threat. "Marshal! If you kill me, aren't you afraid of completely falling out with the Iron Curtain Group?!"

"Heh." A low chuckle came from the shadows.

Huosuosi stood a few steps away, his deep black marshal's uniform crisp and severe, the stars on his epaulets gleaming coldly in the dim light of the mine lamps. He idly twirled a military dagger between his fingers and glanced down at the man on the floor. "Fall out? Do you think I'm one of those parasites in Central, too afraid to make a move against the Iron Curtain Group?"

The Iron Curtain Group was so brazen only because it had dirt on too many high-ranking Federation and Empire officials.

But he was different.

He was the uncrowned 'tyrant' of the Ninth Military District. The Iron Curtain Group had nothing on him, but even if it did... the Federation couldn't sanction him. After all, he had a gang of reckless madmen under his command. If he wanted, he could march north and raze Federation Central at any time.

If he turned his sights on the Iron Curtain Group... The scar-faced man's heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat broke out across his back.

He hurriedly softened his tone, trying to salvage what little room he had left:

"Marshal, we're only doing a job for money. Besides, we didn't know about the Empire's scheme before, and we never clashed with your subordinates. We just wandered into the depths of the Dark Forest by accident, and we lost quite a few sentinels ourselves..."

"What's more, the group has supplied the Ninth Military District with plenty of top-of-the-line mechs and custom weapons over the years. You and our family head are old acquaintances, too, so we're practically business partners. Why make things so ugly?"

Huosuosi spun the dagger around his fingers, then slid the blade smoothly into its sheath with a soft click. "True. If this were before, I wouldn't have come looking for trouble with you."

Huosuosi was a busy man and generally wouldn't concern himself with such trivial matters.

He took two steps forward, his military boots splashing through the pooled water. Looking down at the man on the floor, his eyes unfathomable, he said, "But this time, you nearly dragged my guide into it. Tell me, should I settle that score with you?"

"A guide?!" The scar-faced man was stunned.

How could a guide show up in a place like the Dark Forest?

Wait, what did he mean, his guide?

Since when did Huosuosi, that lifelong bachelor, have a guide?!

"You've misunderstood! I didn't know anything about that!" His mind was in chaos, but his instinct for survival immediately took over. As if he'd seized his last lifeline, he hurriedly said, "But... it was indeed our fault for frightening your wife! How about this? Give me two days. Headquarters recently went to great lengths to acquire a collection of antique jewelry, all styles that young guide ladies like. I'll apply to headquarters immediately and have every piece sent over as an apology to your wife!"

The violent mental pressure abruptly eased for a moment, and the scar-faced man felt the choking sensation in his throat vanish. He gasped for air, unable to suppress his relief. He'd guessed right.

Just then, the adjutant seemed to have spotted some important news and suddenly hurried over, his face betraying a hint of anxiety. "Marshal."

"Speak."

"Something seems to have... happened to the guide." The adjutant hesitated as he handed the marshal his optical computer. After all, it was speculation on a forum, and he shouldn't have reported it to the marshal before verifying it, but... it concerned a precious guide, so there was no room for anything to go wrong.

"Pass down the order. Everyone is to board the ship immediately and prepare to return." Huosuosi scanned the densely packed speculation posts on the screen, a vein at his temple throbbing. Suppressing his anger, he said, "Contact Ers. Tell him to report the guide's condition to me in detail immediately!"

"Yes, sir."

In just a few minutes, the menacing sentinels in black military uniforms withdrew from the mine like a receding tide, leaving behind a mess and a group of badly shaken people.

The underling was scared out of his wits. "Boss, that scared me to death! I thought we were all going to die here today."

"We nearly did." The scar-faced man braced himself against the floor and slowly stood up. "Pass down the order. From now on, we won't interfere in anything involving the Empire's northern frontier or the Federation's Ninth Military District. Let those madmen fight among themselves."

"One more thing." The scar-faced man suddenly lowered his voice and beckoned the underling closer, whispering so only the two of them could hear, "Send a secret letter to the family head. Tell him... Marshal Huosuosi has a guide."

"What?!" The underling jerked his head up, his face full of alarm and his voice cracking. "Boss, are you sure? If this turns out to be false, neither of us will get off lightly!"

If news that sounded so obviously fake reached the family head, would they really escape being disposed of?

"Once he's set his sights on someone, can they get away?" The scar-faced man lit a cigarette, a trace of sympathy in his voice. "I wonder which guide was unlucky enough."

Yuqing opened her eyes in a daze. When she saw the white-and-blue hospital bed, she nearly thought she was back in the base's infirmary.

[Host, are you feeling better?]

"It doesn't hurt at all anymore." Yuqing raised a hand and rubbed her lower abdomen. The recurring cramps from last night had vanished completely. She pushed herself upright on the mattress and looked around curiously. The room was more spacious than any infirmary she'd ever seen, and rows of precision instruments she couldn't name were set into the cold white metal walls, giving it an ultramodern look. "It's so big in here."

[This is the Ninth Military District's infirmary. I just had a look around, and the equipment here is very advanced.]

[Hehe, there's also a mermaid in the pool over there.]

"A mermaid?!!" Yuqing's eyes lit up. She hadn't expected mermaids to actually exist in this world; she'd always thought such creatures existed only in fairy tales. "A beautiful mermaid?!!"

[To be precise, a handsome merman.]

"Ooh, where is he?" Yuqing immediately threw off the covers and got out of bed, paying no mind to the slightly cool nonslip floor beneath her bare feet.

[Just ahead. Go straight and turn right. There's a pool filled with mental power restoration solution.]

Yuqing followed the system's directions, walking over as quietly as she could. The farther she went, the fainter the smell of disinfectant became, replaced by the scent of a soothing solution mixed with artificially synthesized guide pheromones. After passing a row of precision instruments glowing with a cold light, she soon saw the pool ahead...

Calling it a pool wasn't quite accurate. The reinforced glass rose two stories high and was crystal clear, filled with a liquid that glimmered pale blue, as though an entire stretch of tranquil deep sea had been brought into the cold, austere infirmary.

[Host, he's over there!]

The man floated half-submerged in the pale blue solution, his long silver-white hair spreading through the water in gentle curves like shattered moonlight, its ends carrying a faint pearlescent sheen. A few small, round blue scales were tucked behind his ears. His upper body had the graceful, attractive lines of a human's and was adorned with ornaments woven from jewels. From the waist down, he had a fish tail with a gradient of sky blue, a sight that made her mouth go dry.

His eyes were closed as he rested quietly against the edge, seemingly asleep. His long, thick silver lashes drooped, casting a small, faint shadow beneath his pale eyelids.