Chapter 3: Please Let Me Be Your Guardian

“Guardian?” Yu Xia wondered if that meant her parents or some elder relatives. She shook her head. “My guardian is gone.”

Huo Lin asked gently, “Gone? Dead?”

Yu Xia nodded silently.

His voice softened, “What about other guardians?”

A guide usually has at least five guardians. It couldn’t be that they were all gone.

Yu Xia replied, “There aren’t any other guardians.”

Huo Lin was taken aback, then a thought formed in his mind.

Could it be... she was a guide secretly kept by some sentinel?

Only that could explain why she appeared on the battlefield.

If she had been secretly concealed and had only one guardian, she couldn’t have been left anywhere alone; she had to be kept close at hand.

Secretly keeping a guide was much more serious than sneaking one out.

Huo Lin thought to himself, no wonder he hadn’t seen any sentinel markings on her.

After mentally berating the sentinel responsible, Huo Lin realized a crucial fact.

A guide without a guardian...

That’s why she could so easily form a mental link with him, build a nest in his mental landscape, and desire him.

Perhaps their genes were highly compatible.

“What’s your name? Where did you live before?” Huo Lin propped his hand by her head, leaning in slowly.

“I’m Yu Xia. I used to live...” Yu Xia hesitated, unsure how to answer.

Should she say the Ninth Base on the Southern Continent, or Earth?

This place didn’t feel like Earth anymore. She barely knew the man before her and dared not reveal too much.

Seeing her hesitation, Huo Lin understood she was reluctant to speak—being secretly kept by a sentinel must have been a terrible experience.

He stopped pressing and introduced himself, “I’m Huo Lin, an S-rank sentinel, twenty-five years old, currently employed by the Federation’s Seventh Corps, no official rank.”

He felt a pang of shame. Born on a D-rank planet, he was a common sentinel with no background.

Despite his strength, he had offended a powerful superior and was stripped of the hard-earned seven-star solo soldier title, blacklisted in the sentinel system.

Now he could only take mercenary tasks, mostly in the most dangerous contaminated zones.

Facing this gentle, adorable guide, he wanted to show his best side, but his background was hardly impressive.

“I have about five million star coins saved, not much, but I’ll find ways to earn more,” Huo Lin admitted, feeling poorer than ever; that sum was hardly enough to support a precious guide.

Why hadn’t he taken more jobs before? Earned more money?

“I have a house on the planet Lufa. If you don’t like it, we’ll find a better one.”

“I’ll retake the sentinel certification exam and try to reclaim my seven-star solo soldier title within a year,” he said earnestly, afraid Yu Xia would reject him, wishing he could lay all his assets before her.

Yu Xia was confused. Why share all that during an introduction?

Besides, some terms were unfamiliar.

What were star coins, Lufa, sentinels, and solo soldiers?

She felt Huo Lin’s gaze burning on her, as if glued to her, filled with an indescribable attachment. A strange feeling stirred within her.

The way he looked at her... was like a big golden retriever she raised at the base.

For the first time, his fierce eyes softened into puppy eyes, making her want to pat his head.

Before she knew it, Huo Lin was so close she could feel his warm breath on her face.

She turned her face slightly to avoid his breath. “Thank you for helping me, Huo... Lin...”

Before she finished, she saw him sincerely cup her hand and lick it with his tongue.

“No need to thank me. This is what I’m supposed to do.”

His tongue, armed with cat-like barbs, made the sensation intense.

Yu Xia withdrew her hand sharply as if shocked.

The next moment, the man pressed into her arms, black furry animal ears sprouting atop his head, a smooth, flexible tail curling around her wrist.

Yu Xia stared in astonishment at the tall, cold man, who now behaved like a kitten wanting to be pampered, nuzzling in her arms.

It was a posture of complete submission, showing no defense and full trust.

Nearby, Huo Lin’s hidden spiritual form flipped onto its back, waving a paw at the small dolphin floating beside it.

The little dolphin, looking a bit sulky, spun in place, then floated over to rest on the soft belly of the black panther.

Yu Xia was so stunned by the man’s behavior that she couldn’t react immediately.

Her lack of resistance emboldened Huo Lin further; he lifted his head and rubbed his neck against her, then licked the pale skin of her neck.

The touch was rough and warm, like a cat’s lick.

Yu Xia finally snapped back to reality and stepped back in surprise. “Y-you...”

“Don’t be afraid. I won’t hurt you,” Huo Lin said carefully, exuding his pheromones to soothe her unease. “Please let me be your guardian, to protect and care for you.”

He had to temporarily mark her with his pheromones. Without a guardian, a guide in such a place was far too vulnerable.

Pressed against the wall with nowhere to retreat, Yu Xia curled into a ball.

Hearing Huo Lin’s words, she was shocked. “You want to be my father?”

Huo Lin was speechless.

Before he could reply, footsteps sounded outside.

“Damn it! Why fight? They’re just using us as cannon fodder, and we’ve been out of supplies for three days!”

“What else can we do? They’ve sealed the border. Anyone who retreats will die.”

“They treat us like disposable pawns!”

“How many times have I told you not to curse dogs? Now the captain’s getting blamed.”

“Ha ha ha!”

“Ouch! Asking for a beating.”

The voices of several men grew closer.

Huo Lin recognized them and quickly scooped up Yu Xia, hiding her inside a large barrel filled with miscellaneous items.

“Don’t make a sound.” He watched her clutch the barrel’s edge, her clear blue eyes blinking adorably, making him unable to resist ruffling her hair.

Then he handed the little dolphin, lying on his spiritual form, over to Yu Xia and covered the barrel with a thick cloth, leaving a corner open for air.

Yu Xia and the dolphin looked at each other. The little dolphin softly chirped and snuggled comfortably in her arms.

Yu Xia thought, this wasn’t a dream at all—there really was a pink little dolphin!

After activating a mental shield around Yu Xia, Huo Lin headed toward the door, only to bump into the group outside.

“Huo Lin?” The leader was stunned. “I thought you were dead. I saw your mech suit—it was wrecked beyond recognition.”

Huo Lin nodded slightly. “Captain Nyx.”

Nyx scanned him, noting he was as dirty as them but mentally sharp, capable of fighting for three more days straight.

“You’ve been holding out here for a month, and you still look this good?”

Nyx sniffed the air, detecting a faint sweet scent beneath Huo Lin’s pheromones.

“What kind of guide pheromone are you using? Smells quite upscale.”