My Guide Brother Always Tries to Reform Me - Chapter 1

Beads of blood rolled thick and viscous, sliding across his skin, passing over pores and fine hairs. They moved slowly, yet without a single pause.

That massive boulder, swept down by heavy silt and sand, ruthlessly crushed everything in its path. The torrent of earth and stone brought by the boulder treated everything it encountered with equal indifference, be it a tree so thick it took several men to encircle it, or the resort at the foot of the mountain.

This resort should never have been built here; its low price was perhaps exactly because the risk was so high. However, after this natural disaster, it would no longer exist. Neither would he, who lived there.

The man woke up just before death descended. Everything before his eyes seemed to slow down several-fold. His eyes saw the mudslide tumbling down outside the window and the walls shattering under the heavy pressure. He sat where he was, watching the concrete blocks smash toward his skull.

The youth opened his eyes and sat up at the very first second the alarm clock sounded. He slapped the alarm off and sat in a daze for a few seconds, waiting for the sticky cold sweat on his back to be evaporated by his body heat. He did not continue his morning routine, which included folding the quilt, getting out of bed, and washing up, until he heard movement from the bed below.

This dream had appeared for the fifth time, right? Or maybe the sixth?

Actually, he did not quite understand why this specific fragment remained.

Based on that man’s mental state before death in the dream, he should have been indifferent toward the event. If these strange yet realistic dreams over the years were truly the deep memories of a past life as described in that odd book, this segment should not have been among them.

So, he really must have drunk a diluted version of the Lady Meng’s Soup of Oblivion before reincarnating, right? Could he get a refill of the pure stuff?

“Huaiyun?” A finger reached out and poked his forehead. Shen Huaiyun shuddered violently as his scattered gaze focused on the mirror in front of him. Only then did he realize he was holding the wrong items: he was about to apply his face towel to his toothbrush as if he were squeezing toothpaste.

Shen Tangmo handed him the toothpaste that had been ignored. Seeing that he was still in a daze, a mental tentacle sprouted from Tangmo’s wrist and gave him a flick on the forehead. “Wake up. You have your advancement test today; do not be dazed during the exam.”

The youth began brushing his teeth at high speed immediately after taking the toothpaste. He did not stop even after being flicked, letting out a muffled hum through a mouthful of toothpaste foam. He would not be careless about this matter; he had his own small ambition, which was to try skipping a grade.

But was that Shen Tangmo’s mental power just now? It felt less painful than a finger flick; it was cool and quite comfortable.

After he finished brushing, that mental tentacle helped pass him the facial cleanser. Shen Huaiyun pinched and stroked it; the cool sensation seemed to travel deep into his body, causing a certain tense entity within him to relax for a moment. He wanted to use this feeling to investigate what that entity was, but the tentacle in his hand suddenly retracted.

The older boy’s voice carried a hint of apology: “Huaiyun, it is still not very stable. Once I finish my differentiation, you can pinch it as much as you want.”

Shen Tangmo had been detected to have the potential to differentiate into an S-rank Guide when he was Shen Huaiyun’s age. Years had passed, and he had already entered the differentiation period. However, when the younger brother, Shen Huaiyun, finally reached the age for testing, no differentiation potential was detected.

Everyone was astonished. The doctor said there were weak mental power fluctuations in his body, but they indeed could not detect the mental landscape that should exist alongside it.

“Perhaps it is a special type of individual, possessing mental power but no mental landscape. There was a case like this a dozen years ago,” said the Guide doctor in charge of testing differentiation potential.

“But I remember your eldest son has very high potential. It is fine if the younger brother has no aptitude; just focus on cultivating the eldest.”

From then on, Shen Tangmo always felt a subtle sense of guilt toward his younger brother regarding such matters.

Shen Huaiyun did not quite understand this emotion. The lack of differentiation potential and having only mental power were his own physical issues; it had nothing to do with Shen Tangmo, so there was no need for him to feel that way.

“It is okay, I was just curious. It feels quite nice to touch.”

“Clean yourself up and let’s go eat breakfast. The advancement test starts at eight.”

“Got it.”

Walking from the dining hall into the training room lobby, they heard the broadcast.

[The advancement test is about to begin. Please remember the training room number assigned to you during registration.]

Shen Tangmo tilted his head toward his brother. “Do you remember your number?”

“Of course!”

The minimum entry age for the Wenzhou Military Academy is twelve. Children who enter at this age are commonly known as first-year students, with the highest being seventh-year students. Generally, students who reach the seventh year are already eighteen years old and can enter the Sentry Tower for work after a few more years of training.

It was currently the start of a new school year. Shen Huaiyun was about to promote from a first-year to a second-year, while his brother Shen Tangmo was moving from a fourth-year to a fifth-year.

The youth’s ambition really was not that large; Shen Huaiyun only wanted to skip one grade and become a third-year student. There were always a dozen or so people in the academy who succeeded every year, and he could certainly be one of them in this batch; he had that confidence.

The Shen brothers were in different grades, so they would enter training rooms of different levels for their tests.

Advancement tests usually assessed two aspects: physical fitness and adaptability. If taking a grade-skipping test, the difficulty level would be increased, and a command capability test would be added.

Shen Huaiyun was unusually enthusiastic about seeing his brother to his exam room today. One did not need to guess to know he had his own little schemes, but Shen Tangmo did not pry, assuming the kid was preparing some surprise or shock for him.

Only after watching his brother close the door to the training room did the youth turn toward the Level 3 training room. He swiped his ID card on the scanner and entered his exam hall. There was no one in line; he was the first.

[Identification successful. Welcome, Shen Huaiyun.] [The first test will begin in one minute. Please prepare for combat.]

Shen Huaiyun straightened his sleeves, and his bracer transformed into a dagger. “Ready.”

[Three, two, one]

The system automatically controlled the cages to open, and an Abomination imprisoned in the training room instantly lunged out. It had not consumed anything for over ten days; the thing that served as its eyeball was bloodshot. It locked onto the scent of fresh prey and lashed its sticky, soft tentacles toward Shen Huaiyun. A large hole split open on the side of its body, emitting an indescribable stench.

[Low-intelligence, non-mental power Abomination deployment complete. I wish you a pleasant test.]

“Tsk, the guy who set up that phrase has a twisted sense of humor,” the youth muttered under his breath. He dodged the projectile-like dark green tentacle, seized an opening, and sliced through the disgusting, slime-covered thing with one stroke. He stepped on its residual limb, which had stiffened for a moment in pain, and leapt upward. Avoiding the three claws extending from the side opening of the Abomination, he flipped and landed atop its head, plunging his blade through that massive, blood-red orb.

A blue, unidentified liquid sprayed all over him. A smell wafted up, resembling a trash bag full of overnight food and various refuse that had fermented for three whole days in the sweltering heat of midsummer, then been tossed into a pile of similar trash and mixed with biogas rising from a septic tank.

Shen Huaiyun’s stomach churned. The only reason he did not vomit was not due to his discipline, but simply because he did not want to add another scent to the mix.

A heart-wrenching roar erupted from the large hole on the right side of the Abomination’s body, but its claws had already fallen powerless. Its bizarrely shaped body crashed down, twitching and squirming, leaving deep green, slimy trails on the smooth floor of the training room.

The system had not yet declared the end. The youth focused his gaze on that large hole, shook the foul liquid off his dagger, and crouched down to thrust the blade inside, stirring it ruthlessly. Immediately after, a screech echoed from nowhere, followed by the mechanical voice of the assessment system.

[First test passed. Score: 89, Excellent. Congratulations.] [The second test will begin in three minutes. Please put on the helmet and connect to the sandbox.]

Several mechanical arms crawled out from the corners, grabbing the Abomination’s corpse and dragging it out of the training room.

Shen Huaiyun struggled to find a clean spot on his clothes to wipe the blue liquid from his hands. Just as he was about to pick up the helmet, a static crackle came from the training room’s broadcast as a microphone was connected: “Hello? Hello? Oh, should be good. Shen Huaiyun, clean yourself up before you touch that helmet. I am giving you an extra four minutes of rest time. Change into the clothes the robot is bringing in.”

It was the voice of his mentor, Professor Ning Yanfeng, the developer of the sandbox command system.

As for what Professor Ning said, the translation was: “Brat, do not you dare get your disgusting gunk on my precious neural connection helmet!”

It must be said that this was very timely. Shen Huaiyun was indeed considering how to leave this training room with some dignity. After all, walking out covered in this biochemical weapon was hardly dignified.

He quickly changed his clothes, handed the old ones to the mechanical arm, put on the helmet, and connected to the sandbox command system.

[Connection subject detected. Generating data avatar. Welcome, Shen Huaiyun.] [Test Item: Scenario A Sandbox Command] [Generation complete. The test will begin in ten seconds. Please be prepared.]

The cool metal pressed against his temples. His consciousness seemed to sink into a deep sea, yet “before his eyes,” the sandbox scene rapidly unfolded. His perspective descended, and the control user interface appeared clearly on the map.

A massive phantom composed of data streams hovered over the sandbox. In the center, a giant eye opened. After surveying the surroundings, its gaze turned toward the edge of the map, looking down at the approaching tide of Abominations.

Countless beams of light flew from its pupil and fell onto the earth, transforming into numerous armies. Amidst heaven-shaking war cries, they charged toward the enemy’s bizarre and grotesque horde.

The eye in the high heavens guided the various armies to break through the siege. A path paved with the corpses of Abominations led toward the final mental core.

The data-constructed General swept his long blade, shattering the crystal that emitted an ominous, blood-red and sickly green light. Wiping the foul blood from his face, the General looked up at the high sky, seeing the giant phantom close its eyes in satisfaction.

[Maximum simultaneous controlled units: 71. Personal record broken.] [Casualty rate below 10 percent. Completion time: 5 minutes 26 seconds. Final score: 91.] [Congratulations, Shen Huaiyun, for passing the grade-skipping test. Rating: Excellent.]

Hearing the system announcement as he took off the helmet, Shen Huaiyun’s face remained expressionless. After confirming the training room had been cleaned by the domestic robots, he pressed the door release. He planned to wait for Shen Tangmo outside his brother’s exam room, but to his surprise, as the metal door slid open, there stood his tall brother.

Seeing the kid freeze instantly, Shen Tangmo sighed helplessly. A mental tentacle emerged once again and gave Shen Huaiyun a flick on the forehead. “Why did you not tell me about this? I could have helped give you some extra tutoring.”

The youth, clutching his forehead: “Ow.”

“Let’s go.” The older boy slung an arm around his shoulder. “Let’s go get a good meal to celebrate for you.”

“Awesome!”