Chapter 4: A Piece of Meat Among Beasts

"The grass-scented guide pheromone, it's all used up."

Huo Lin pulled an empty guide pheromone vial from his pocket and tossed it to Nyx, subtly releasing more of his own pheromones to suppress the scent of Yu Xia’s.

He was an S-rank Sentinel; the more powerful the sentinel, the more potent their pheromones. Yet Nyx was also an S-rank Sentinel, his spirit beast a snow wolf, famous for having a nose as sharp as a hound's.

Nyx sniffed the empty vial Huo Lin had thrown him. It was indeed grass-scented, with an 'A' marked on the exterior. Huo Lin’s own pheromones were grass-scented, and sentinels with any means usually preferred using guide pheromones that mimicked their own scent. Unless a sentinel already had a bonded guide, most of the pheromones they used on missions were replicas of their own guide's scent.

Nyx glanced at Huo Lin. This vial did not smell like the scent he had caught just moments ago—a fragrance as sweet and clear as a mountain spring, cool and refreshing enough to invigorate his spirit. He sniffed the air again, but the scent was now so faint it was nearly gone. Instead, Huo Lin’s pheromones were so aggressive they felt like a challenge to a fight. If they weren't current teammates on the same front line, Nyx had no doubt Huo Lin would have attacked him.

Seeing Huo Lin’s calm and open expression, Nyx said nothing more. He injected his last dose of guide pheromone and leaned against the doorframe, catching his breath. Having spent days clearing out xenomorphs in the forward war zone, his physical and mental strength were exhausted to the limit; he had no energy left to dwell on anything else.

Seeing that Nyx had stopped investigating the source of the scent, Huo Lin’s expression relaxed. Based on his assessment of Yu Xia’s mental power, he estimated she was around B-rank—not weak, but certainly something that could be masked by his own pheromones. The scent Nyx had caught must have been lingering from when he had just been in contact with her.

Huo Lin’s gaze swept across the squad of sentinels. They were all suffering from mental exhaustion, teetering on the edge of a breakdown, each of them incredibly agitated. He asked Nyx, "Are you the only ones left?"

"We were scattered," Nyx replied, turning to look at him. "We blocked a wave of xenomorphs, but their main force has only temporarily retreated beyond the safety line. If supplies don't arrive before they launch their next attack, we’re going to be buried here."

Huo Lin’s brows furrowed. "Supplies have only come twice this month. What are the higher-ups saying?"

"What higher-ups? We can't even see a shadow of them," a team member spat on the ground. "Those brain-dead idiots at the rear just tell us to fight, fight, fight. They said if we dare to retreat, they’ll bomb us along with the xenomorphs."

"They get to hide in the back, living comfortably. Damn them!"

Huo Lin asked, "How many mechs are left?"

Another team member nearby sighed. "I don't know about the other squads, but in ours, yours is the last one. After that, we’ll have to use our own lives to hold the line."

As they spoke, they filed into the room, each finding a comfortable spot to sit or lie down, closing their eyes to rest. Compared to hunger or physical injury, mental damage was the most excruciating for sentinels. Their five senses were already several times sharper than an ordinary person's; mental trauma was akin to having their souls torn apart, preventing them from effectively maintaining the mental barriers needed to block out external interference.

Mental damage also magnified the pain of their physical wounds. In more severe cases, their chaotic mental consciousness would drag memories of fear and injury from the depths of their minds, forcing them to relive them with terrifying realism until they died in agony.

Sentinels were indeed stronger than ordinary people. When they first awakened their sentinel and guide abilities, people viewed them as gifts from the gods. But everything had a price. The gods exacted a toll for everything they gave. Sentinels possessed bodies and senses far superior to ordinary humans, but they endured pain many times greater. Their hypersensitive senses made them prone to external interference, turning them irritable and combative—more dangerous than wild beasts.

In this room full of mentally damaged sentinels, the lowest rank was B. To Yu Xia, hiding in the large vat, she was undoubtedly a piece of meat dropped into a den of starving beasts.

Huo Lin’s gaze flicked quickly toward the large vat in the corner. He turned to Nyx and asked, "Is your clearance enough to take someone out of here?"

Nyx opened his eyes. "Why? You want to leave?"

"Everyone wants to leave," Huo Lin said. "Name your price. Anything."

Nyx pulled out a chair and sat down, lighting a cigarette laced with guide pheromones and blowing a smoke ring at Huo Lin. "I have so many brothers here. My clearance can only take one person out. How much do you think your life is worth? Is it worth more than my brothers'?"

Clearly, Nyx did not consider this rogue sentinel to be his brother or teammate. Huo Lin did not care about that; he only cared about getting Yu Xia out safely.

"Whatever you think it’s worth, that’s the price," Huo Lin stared at him, saying each word clearly. "Name it."

Nyx paused, surprised by Huo Lin’s resolve. "You’re that desperate to leave?" He chuckled carelessly. "Huo Lin, you’ve been to contamination zones far more dangerous than this and faced worse situations, yet you’ve never retreated once. What’s got you scared out of your mind?"

Huo Lin remained expressionless. "I just want your clearance. The rest has nothing to do with you."

"Forget it. We can't get out until the surface xenomorphs are cleared, no matter what clearance you have," a team member advised, fearing that Huo Lin might resort to desperate measures and start a fight with Nyx.

Huo Lin had the best mental state among them, and as a mercenary, he wasn't bound by military regulations.

Another member couldn't help but complain, "This place has long been a nest for these xenomorphs. Unless we kill every last one, they’ll keep reproducing infinitely. The higher-ups keep dragging their feet on supplies, not treating us like humans—they just want to use us as filler."

This was exactly what worried Huo Lin. This contamination zone wasn't the worst he had encountered, but it was the most draining. If they kept being bled dry here, every sentinel sent by the Seventh Legion would end up buried in this place.

Huo Lin said in a low voice, "I must get out."

There was a precious, fragile guide hidden here. Even setting aside the abysmal supply conditions, the harsh environment, constantly saturated with various toxins, was no place for her to stay for long. A guide's physical constitution couldn't compare to a sentinel who could withstand cannon fire; any minor change could be fatal to her.

Nyx had sensed that something was wrong with this mission days ago, but they could only communicate with the rear. And the rear not only failed to provide supplies but forbade anyone from leaving the contamination zone, demanding they fight and fight alone.

The once-prosperous human settlements were now almost leveled by their battles. The rear defense line possessed high-lethality weapons; once used against xenomorphs, they were now used to block the sentinels themselves.

Nyx was helpless. He was just a squad leader now; after his rank of Major was stripped, many of his clearances had been revoked. Otherwise, those bastards in the rear wouldn't be able to stop him from getting his sentinels out.