Red-Crowned Crane (Revised)

Inside was a creature that looked human, yet not quite human. It was quite large, its entire body wrapped in strips of black cloth. Through the shredded fabric, Luo Ruzhuo could just make out a uniform like those worn by the sentinels. The untorn portions still retained a human shape.

The parts that had torn through were a thick, long tail like a crocodile's and claws that looked like an eagle's.

What kind of strange animal is this? Luo Ruzhuo shook her head. There had been so few animals in the apocalypse that her scant knowledge of the animal kingdom was limited to what she had learned before it began.

The creature, which had been quiet moments ago, suddenly erupted as she passed. Its massive body slammed toward her, forcing a huge bulge into the distorted glass wall. Its roar rang in everyone's ears.

The sentinels jumped in fright. The man in the lead hurried to shield Luo Ruzhuo, while the others increased the concentration of sedatives in the glass cell, trying to calm the creature inside.

Lin Sheng turned back, intending to reassure the frightened guide.

Looking down, he saw that the black-haired girl's expression was calm, without a trace of fear. She even asked him in a leisurely manner, "I've never seen anything like that. What kind of creature is it?"

Lin Sheng gave a bitter smile. "That's our captain."

"A sentinel? How did he end up like this?"

Before Lin Sheng could answer, the other sentinels spoke up on their own.

"Sigh, who knew the captain's contamination would get this bad this time? There were never any warning signs before! With him like this, would any guide be willing to give him mental soothing...?"

"It's not a question of whether he gets mental soothing..." As if by tacit agreement, their voices trailed off there. They seemed to have something they found difficult to talk about.

Luo Ruzhuo had never been one to pry into other people's secrets. She merely nodded. "I wish your captain good luck."

The cafeteria in the interstellar world served dishes Luo Ruzhuo had never heard of.

She picked out some that looked good, carried her mountain of dishes and rice to an empty seat, and sat down to feast.

She paid no attention to the discussions around her.

"Is that the new guide?"

"She looks so thin and frail. How did she get past the guards and kill Phil Rice?"

"She was really lucky, too. She awakened as a guide the day before her trial, which is practically a get-out-of-death-free card. Hahaha, the Feier Family must be spitting blood with anger!"

"Keep your voice down! The Feier Family definitely won't let this go..."

"All right, all right, I know to stay away from her. I heard Ankang Pharmaceuticals paid a full twenty million in compensation! Tsk, tsk... Even twenty million couldn't buy back Phil Rice's life?"

"If you ask me, no matter how short of guides we are here, they shouldn't have sent us a murderer!"

"Exactly! She's a disgrace to the reputation of us guides..."

There was plenty of talk. Most people were wary of the Feier Family and mindful of the original owner's actions, so their attitudes toward her were anything but friendly.

Luo Ruzhuo didn't care about that, though, and there were always people willing to speak up for her.

"If Phil Rice had really been punished by the law, who would set out to kill him to avenge their parents?"

"But Ankang Pharmaceuticals paid a full twenty million in compensation..."

"Would you take twenty million for your parents' lives?"

Luo Ruzhuo hadn't meant to overhear their conversation, but the speakers were right beside her, with only one table between them.

The one speaking up for her was a brown-haired girl with freckles on her face.

By the time Luo Ruzhuo had nearly demolished the little mountain in front of her, the brown-haired girl had made her way over, slowly and hesitantly.

She had noticed the heaping plate of food beside her long ago, and now she was surprised to see its bottom. "You actually ate it all!"

Luo Ruzhuo turned to look at her. She wore a white guide uniform. Her brown curls were smooth and soft, and her round eyes matched her hair. Her face was small, with freckles on both cheeks, and her eyes and brows curved cheerfully.

"You're the guide with the biggest appetite I've ever met!" Anna Bolin gave her a thumbs-up and held out her other hand. "Hello, my name's Anna. I'm a C-rank guide too, and my purification room is right next to yours. It's an honor to meet you. Can we be friends?"

Luo Ruzhuo smiled. "Of course."

Luo Ruzhuo spent a pleasant lunch break with her new friend. As the time to return to work in the afternoon drew near, her feet began to feel heavy for some reason, even though it was only her first day on the job.

At the thought of spending five more years like this, even the joy she had felt yesterday upon seeing the large apartment seemed to fade.

Letting out a long breath, Luo Ruzhuo sat in her office chair and stared at the information on her optical computer.

Name: Lin Sheng

Mental Entity: red-crowned crane

Sex: male sentinel

Rank: A-rank

Contamination level: 90%

Squad: First District · Firmament Squad

The sooner I soothe him, the sooner I'll be done.

As soon as there was a knock at the door, Luo Ruzhuo said eagerly, "Come in."

When she saw who it was, Luo Ruzhuo couldn't help pausing in surprise.

The man was tall and slender. His features were not as deep-set as Heisha's, and his brows and eyes were refined. Like Fang Yingbai, he had a face that suited Eastern aesthetics.

His eyes were rounder, however, making him look softer than Fang Yingbai, with his long, narrow brows and eyes.

He was still wearing the black sentinel uniform from noon. He was the one from the group Luo Ruzhuo had run into who had shielded her.

"Oh, it's you." Luo Ruzhuo smiled politely. "Please, sit down. Thank you for looking after me at noon. Is your captain all right?"

Lin Sheng sighed. He had sighed far more over the past two days than he normally did. "Not particularly well. Thank you for your concern, miss guide."

Luo Ruzhuo had only been asking out of courtesy and didn't want to continue the subject. As usual, she brought out the same set of things she had used on Heisha Draven that morning and used them on Lin Sheng.

The second time was easier than the first. Her movements were smooth and practiced, and before Lin Sheng could react, he had already been trussed up.

"Please release your Mental Entity." Luo Ruzhuo intended to get this over with quickly. She had already arranged to go shopping with Anna after work.

Lin Sheng: ...

He sighed again and released his red-crowned crane.

The red-crowned crane was snow-white all over, except for the black flight feathers at the tips of its wings. The patch of red on its crown was as vivid as a dab of cinnabar. It stood on one slender leg, which looked like a dark green-black bamboo pole.

Before the apocalypse, Luo Ruzhuo had only ever seen one from a distance at the zoo. Now she admired it up close for quite a while.

Lin Sheng grew embarrassed under her gaze.

When she had finished admiring it, Luo Ruzhuo walked over. The crane tilted its head slightly and watched her with black, beanlike eyes. It didn't dodge when she reached out. Instead, it gently touched her fingertips with its long, pointed beak. It was cool and light, like a feather tickling her palm.

It really is an elegant creature, Luo Ruzhuo thought.

She reached out and stroked its neck. The slender curve fit perfectly against her palm, and it felt slightly warm, smooth, and quite fluffy beneath her hand. "Coo-" A low, soft, indistinct call slowly rose from its throat, and the red on the little crane's crown grew even brighter.

Luo Ruzhuo was clearly touching the crane, yet Lin Sheng's neck turned red too.

Luo Ruzhuo gave him a puzzled glance, then bent down and gently rested her forehead against the curve of the crane's lowered neck. "Good baby, don't peck me," she soothed.

As soon as the girl finished speaking, Lin Sheng felt his mental barrier might as well not have existed. A mass of unfamiliar yet warm mental energy rushed into the deepest part of his mental domain.

Unlike the slight sting that usually accompanied a guide's purification, it was as gentle as a spring breeze, sending a tingling sensation across his scalp.

Lin Sheng gently closed his eyes, a series of soft gasps escaping his throat.

Luo Ruzhuo knew nothing of these reactions. At that moment, she was curiously observing the scenery in the sentinel's mental domain.

It was a wetland, with a huge lake right in the center. The water shimmered with ripples. Luo Ruzhuo walked over the grass-green shoots beneath her feet to the shore and stirred concentric ripples in the water with her hand. The lake was shallow and clear, and she could even see the pebbles on the bottom.

A long, melodious cry rang out overhead. Luo Ruzhuo looked up to see the red-crowned crane spread its wings and fly a short distance away, its feet kicking up water into a string of silvery beads.

A range of mountains stood in the distance, with unmelted snow still covering them.

It was scenery like a landscape painting.

So where is the contamination?

Luo Ruzhuo had just begun to ponder the question when she felt a tickle on her hand. Looking up, she found that the crane had swum over to her. "Heh-loh-" Its call was rather sharp, and it pushed frantically against her palm with its beak, as though something nearby had put it on alert.

Luo Ruzhuo followed its movements and raised her head. In the tranquil, picturesque mental domain, only the sky was pitch-black. Thick black clouds hung heavily overhead, like a quilt stained by an overturned ink bottle.

So the contamination is in the sky, Luo Ruzhuo realized.

"Don't worry," Luo Ruzhuo said, stroking the feathers on the crane's neck. Worrying wouldn't help anyway.

She had no Mental Entity, so for the moment, there was nothing she could do about the black clouds.

Besides, Lin Sheng's rank was listed as A-rank on the optical computer. How could a mere C-rank guide like her purify such a high-ranking sentinel?

Being able to stay put in the mental domain was already the best Luo Ruzhuo could do in accordance with the Guide Association's training requirements.

As if sensing the guide's mood, the red-crowned crane stopped worrying too. It entered the lake as well, preening its feathers while keeping an eye on the guide.

Luo Ruzhuo stood there for a while and began to feel bored.

She couldn't deal with the contamination in the sky, so for now she could only explore the mental domain.

Does a sentinel's mental domain have boundaries?

With that thought, she set off, measuring the extent of the wetland step by step.

The crane, which had been watching the guide at every moment, saw Luo Ruzhuo walking away and could no longer stay put. It hurriedly spread its wings in the middle of the lake and flew to her side, tilting its head and looking at her with its two black bean eyes.

Luo Ruzhuo read the question in its eyes: Where are you going?

Well, this is perfect.

An idea suddenly flashed through her mind.

Isn't this a ready-made means of transportation?

"I want to go take a look over there."

She pointed toward the mountains in the distance and gave the red-crowned crane a kindly smile. "I've never seen a snow-covered mountain before... Could you take me to see it?"

The little crane, inexperienced in the ways of the world, was utterly dazzled by that smile. It hurriedly nodded and gestured for her to climb on.

Can it really carry a person?

Luo Ruzhuo was still somewhat doubtful when the creature before her proudly raised its neck and suddenly grew several times larger than before.

Mental Entities in interstellar society really are amazing.

She couldn't help marveling.

Holding on to the red-crowned crane's neck, Luo Ruzhuo circled the snow-covered mountains and finally discovered the boundary here.

Behind the mountains was a blank patchwork of mosaic-like blocks of color.

It was like an unfinished game model. Lin Sheng's mental domain ended there.