SS-Class Guide - Chapter 23

Yi Feiyu is an S-class Sentinel of the Se’an Temple.

Led by three S-class Sentinels, supported by a group of A-class and B-class Sentinels, and accompanied by two A-class Guides, their mission objective was an S-class Zerg with mental attack abilities. This enemy had caused immense trouble for the entire team. The mission lasted seven days, serving as a massive drain on every Sentinel in the unit.

Two years ago, although the Zerg Queen died, countless Zerg legions remained. Now, what terrified the high-level officials of the Five Districts were the rumors that a new Queen was about to be born. Recently, they had been patrolling for relevant clues, leaving the Se’an Temple in a state of constant anxiety.

As the mission concluded, the Guides in the team were completely unable to provide mental stabilization for all the Sentinels. Some of the lower-level Sentinels were handled by Guides from the branch temples. In this regard, Yi Feiyu was at a significant disadvantage. He was an S-class Sentinel, and his compatibility with the two A-class Guides in the team was extremely low.

The persistent pain in his mental landscape made him irritable. Despite knowing it was ill-advised, he drank a significant amount of alcohol, hoping it would numb his senses. However, the more he drank, the more alert he became.

Around 1:00 AM, several Sentinels in similar situations gathered together. One of them brought up the Black Market, mentioning that there were many Guides there with grades ranging between B and C. With a bit of luck, one might even encounter an A-class Guide. One colleague suggested that since they were taking the direct high-speed rail back to Se’an Temple the next day, they should take a trip to the Black Market during the night.

Everyone agreed.

The team happened to have a B-class Sentinel with them. This Sentinel claimed he had never seen much of the world and did not know the difference between outside Guides and those from Se’an Temple; he wanted to see for himself.

One Sentinel remarked, “Forget Black Market Guides, even the Guides from the various studios under our Se’an Temple are far stronger than Black Market Guides of the same level.”

“It is a matter of education,” another added. “Even if a Black Market Guide has decent talent, they have not learned systematically how to better stabilize a Sentinel. They can almost only do it through instinct. You will be disappointed if you go.”

As an S-class Sentinel, Yi Feiyu had absolutely no interest in this. However, at the B-class Sentinel’s persistence, they all went together.

Inside the Black Market hotel, aside from stabilization services, there were many other forms of entertainment: game halls, dance halls, and even a small auction. The team members split up according to their personal preferences, leaving only Yi Feiyu and the B-class Sentinel.

Yi Feiyu’s alcohol-soaked brain was a mess. Aside from the pain, his consciousness was hazy. He heard his B-class teammate state his rank and personal details, and the hotel manager immediately arranged a Guide for him. Suddenly, the B-class Sentinel felt a sharp pain in his stomach and rushed to the restroom.

It was this departure that triggered the series of events that followed.

A hotel staff member mistook Yi Feiyu for the B-class Sentinel. Yi Feiyu was not clear-headed enough to object. As they supported him, he stumbled along until they entered a space that seemed like a very narrow and cramped isolation room.

According to the staff’s introduction, the person providing the stabilization service was a black-haired, grey-eyed woman who appeared incredibly beautiful even while wearing a mask that covered her eyes. Beside her stood a Sentinel dressed as a clown for protection.

Yi Feiyu critiqued them in his mind. Unless it was a special occasion, Se’an Temple Guides rarely wore makeup, and they certainly did not wear such flashy, gaudy clothes. Negative review. Negative review. Negative review.

He could only conclude that, aside from the beauty beneath the mask, this Guide could not compare to Se’an Temple in any respect. His chaotic brain thought further: he must be truly insane to compare a random Guide in the Black Market to a Guide from Se’an Temple. One is the sky, the other the earth, poles apart. There is no comparison.

In theory, that was the case. Then, the female Guide’s hand grasped his wrist.

Next came a sensation of incomparable comfort. It was so soothing, more comfortable than even an S-class Guide from Se’an Temple performing stabilization on him. Yi Feiyu blinked, his pupils dilated. The alcohol was potent, keeping his brain in a state of continuous chaos. Vaguely, he heard the clown Sentinel say something, but he could not make out what it was.

Afterward, the hotel staff escorted him out of the isolation room. He frowned slightly, trying to clear his head, but his brain felt heavy. Instinct told him he had to wake up. He felt something was wrong, but for a moment, he could not put his finger on it.

The staff member asked, “Sir, are you satisfied with our Guide’s service?”

Yi Feiyu instinctively replied, “Satisfied.”

Yes, it was related to that Guide. Something was wrong. He felt he had overlooked a very important point.

While he was thinking, his companion was arguing with the hotel staff. The B-class Sentinel said, “So you are saying while I was in the restroom, you mistook my companion for me and took him for stabilization?”

Yi Feiyu: “…”

The B-class companion saw Yi Feiyu, immediately strode forward, took him from the staff’s arms, and asked with concern, “Sir, are you alright?”

Yi Feiyu: “…” He felt he was both very good and not good at all. His mental landscape felt great, but he had drunk far too much.

At that moment, the other companions approached, gathered around, and asked what had happened.

The B-class Sentinel sneered. “It is like this: I requested a B-class stabilization service before going to the restroom. When I came out and asked for it, they told me I could not.”

Sentinels and Guides have excellent hearing. Even though the B-class Sentinel was not loud, he attracted the attention of many in the hall. Simultaneously, the hotel manager heard the news and hurried over to ask what was going on.

The B-class Sentinel turned to the manager. “Your staff said they mistook my companion for me and performed the service on him.” He looked at the Yi Feiyu he was supporting. “This is simply a joke.”

The other S-class Sentinel in the team said, “Yes, that is impossible. According to your staff, they took our Sentinel for stabilization, but this Sentinel is S-class.”

The B-class Sentinel added, “A B-class Guide stabilizing an S-class Sentinel? Is that even possible?”

The hotel manager smiled good-naturedly and said, “I believe there might be a misunderstanding here.”

Yi Feiyu’s mind was still a mess, but hearing them go on about B-class and S-class helped him organize his thoughts. He said, “It is S-class.”

Hearing him speak, everyone turned to look at him.

The B-class Sentinel said, “Yes, you are S-class.”

Yi Feiyu shook his head. “I am not talking about me. I am talking about the Guide who stabilized me.”

The B-class Sentinel froze, and the others looked at Yi Feiyu with confused expressions.

Yi Feiyu frowned, rubbing his head with one hand as he dropped a bombshell. “Just now, the staff here took me for stabilization. It was a beautiful female Guide. After her stabilization, which took less than half an hour, my chaotic mental landscape has completely stabilized.” He explained the core of the issue as clearly as he could.

The B-class Sentinel blinked.

The hotel manager’s pupils experienced an earthquake.

The Sentinels from Se’an Temple looked at Yi Feiyu with disbelief. Others might think he was lying, but they would not. Yi Feiyu was a genuine S-class Sentinel.

In that moment, the entire hotel fell silent.

The hotel manager recovered from the shock, thinking these customers must have a hole in their brains to say such nonsense. An S-class Guide pretending to be B-class in their establishment? For what purpose?

The manager opened his lips to speak, but one of the Sentinels in the team patted the “nonsense-talking” Sentinel and asked, “Are you serious?”

The drunken Sentinel replied, “I am serious.” He said it again, “Very serious. She, she has eyes very similar to Lord An Yuan, both are ice-grey.” As he spoke, with his mental landscape now perfectly comfortable, he could no longer resist the exhaustion and drifted off to sleep.

Previously, he could not sleep at all due to the pain. Now that the distress was gone, and instinctively knowing he had relayed the key information to his teammates, he finally fell asleep without a burden after days of insomnia.

The rest of the team immediately glared at the hotel manager like predators. The manager’s forehead broke out in sweat.

The other S-class Sentinel said, “I am an S-class Sentinel from the Se’an Temple.” He produced his Se’an Temple work ID as proof of identity.

The hotel manager’s eyes widened. At that moment, he realized the drunken Sentinel was likely telling the truth. Which meant the Guide who had just settled her payment and left was very likely the sixth S-class Guide in the current Five Districts.

The S-class Sentinel commanded, “I am now ordering you to lock down the entire hotel.”

The hotel manager nodded mechanically.

Meanwhile, news spread rapidly throughout the hotel.

“Did you hear? Deyou Hotel actually came to an S-class Guide!”

“I heard. She even stabilized me. She is a very young-looking female Guide with beautiful long black hair and a graceful figure, but she seems to have a defect, she cannot speak?”

“No, what I am focused on is that she appeared in the Nameless Zone. Does this mean she is actually a ‘wild’ S-class Guide not affiliated with any major power?”

Instantly, the news of a “wild” S-class Guide appearing at the Deyou Hotel spread across the entire Black Market. Initially, only the hotel was locked down, but soon the entire Black Market was sealed off.

Of course, Rong Xiushi and Wei Hetai, who had already left the Black Market, were unaware of this for the time being.

The two of them returned to their hotel. Rong Xiuxi was not in the guest room; he was likely at the rental apartment they had secured for him. Rong Xiushi felt uneasy and anxious about the events at the night market, but neither he nor Wei Hetai dared to discuss it directly.

After washing up, they lay silently on their respective twin beds. Rong Xiushi closed his eyes, forcing himself not to overthink, and eventually fell into a hazy sleep.

He had a dream. It was not a good dream, though not entirely a nightmare. He dreamed his status as an S-class Guide was discovered, and he was sent to Se’an Temple to work with his former colleagues again. In the dream, he kept telling himself, “I cannot be found, I absolutely cannot be found,” but he was found anyway.

They accused him: “Why did you not reveal yourself to us after being reborn? Do you have no place for us in your heart at all?”

Gu Hanqing’s face was grim. Wen Xiuyan’s eyes were full of sorrow. Mrs. Wen and Wen Xiuyu were in tears. Jing Lan looked at him with a gaze that said, “I misjudged you.”

When Rong Xiushi opened his eyes, it was already broad daylight. He felt a sense of guilt in his heart.

Wei Hetai was already awake. Just then, a knock sounded at the door. It was not room service; based on the footsteps, there were several people. Rong Xiushi grabbed a pair of non-prescription glasses and put them on, while Wei Hetai went to open the door.

Due to the angle, Rong Xiushi could not see the people on the other side. The conversation drifted in.

Wei Hetai asked, “Excuse me, how can I help you?”

The hotel manager’s voice reached Rong Xiushi: “Deeply sorry, sir. It is like this: a criminal escaped prison last night, and the City Management Bureau is intensifying its search. To avoid any unnecessary accidents, the military has been sent to inspect every location.” His voice was full of apology.

Wei Hetai said, “Fine, I hope you finish the search quickly.”

Rong Xiushi’s eyelid twitched. He personally did not know much about the Fifth District, but he had the original host’s memories. The host was born here. While similar things happened often, and criminals from the Five Districts sometimes gathered here, it had never been this rampant or involved a carpet search. Rong Xiushi frowned imperceptibly, easily linking it to his actions the previous night.

Wei Hetai stepped aside. The hotel manager and a group of officials in City Management Bureau uniforms entered and began searching. Rong Xiushi got out of bed.

The man leading the group walked up to Rong Xiushi and asked several questions.

“Have you seen a woman, about twenty years old, with grey eyes?” At this, the man narrowed his eyes and reached out to pinch Rong Xiushi’s chin. “The same eye color as yours.”

Wei Hetai stepped forward quickly, slapping the man’s hand away and releasing the aura of a B-class Sentinel. “Sir, please show some respect.”

The management in the Fifth District was corrupt and decayed. His hand having been knocked away, the man looked at Wei Hetai with a sinister gaze.

Wei Hetai immediately declared their identity. “I am a B-class Sentinel and a student at Fanse Academy. This is my friend, a student of the Guide Department at Fanse Academy. I do not think my friend and I could possibly be the people you are looking for.”

Under normal circumstances, students of the top ten Sentinel-Guide academies in the Five Districts had bright futures. Unless necessary, no one wanted to make enemies of them.

Hearing this, the man immediately put on a fake smile. “It seems this is all a misunderstanding.”

By then, the others had completed the search of the hotel room and found nothing amiss. The search was over. The man looked at Wei Hetai. “However, as far as I know, you two did not return until very late yesterday. Where did you go?”

Wei Hetai shielded Rong Xiushi behind him and answered simply without changing his expression. After a few more questions, the man left. Before the door closed, the hotel manager apologized repeatedly.

Outside, the two heard the Bureau officials talking.

One said, “Those two from Fanse Academy, could they be who we are looking for?”

“The Guide’s eyes are a similar grey, but the gender is different,” another replied. After a pause, they added, “According to reports, the clown Sentinel with that person was B-class, but I bet he was not a real B-class. To be beside someone like that, he must have been at least an S-class Sentinel, right?”

Many in the Bureau agreed.

Inside the room, the actual B-class Sentinel Wei Hetai: “…”

That was truly a beautiful misunderstanding.

With that interlude, both Rong Xiushi and Wei Hetai were in a sour mood. After eating, they left the hotel to visit Rong Xiujia at the hospital. Upon entering, they realized the hospital was under strict control as well. Every major power was tightening security across the Fifth District to find that wild S-class Guide.

Rong Xiujia had already heard from Rong Xiuxi about the apartment their brothers had rented for them. Her face was full of surprise, and she repeatedly asked what Rong Xiushi’s new job was and why the salary was so high.

Rong Xiushi was not a good liar. His siblings knew he was a D-class Guide, and theoretically, D-class Guides did not make much money. Annoyed by the constant questioning, he made up an excuse in a panic. “My new job is as a companion. I accompany the child of that household and teach him,” he paused, then added, “like a nanny?”

Rong Xiujia asked, “Is the child easy to get along with? Wow, is the salary for a nanny in the Central District really that high?”

At that moment, Rong Xiujia, unaware that Rong Xiushi wanted to raise her like a princess, developed a lifelong dream: she wanted to be a nanny too.

When thinking of the child, the first person who came to Rong Xiushi’s mind was Wen Xiuyu, the child he had watched grow up. He nodded and said, “Yes, very well-behaved and very clingy.”

After spending time with Rong Xiujia, Rong Xiushi and Wei Hetai left the hospital. They planned to go to the shopping mall to buy more daily necessities for the twins.

After thinking for a moment, Rong Xiushi said, “I want to go see the children’s school.”

Wei Hetai agreed. They had been to the school the day before to drop off Rong Xiuxi, but they had not gone inside. Today, he mainly wanted to meet the twins’ homeroom teacher.

The school they attended was one of the better ones in the Fifth District. Students had to either come from wealthy families or be ordinary students with exceptional grades to get in. The twins had gotten in on merit.

Arriving at the high school, they found that security was just as tight as it was at the hotel and hospital. Wei Hetai understood, it involved an S-class Guide, after all, but Rong Xiushi found it ridiculous. He could not understand why they thought an adult would hide in a high school.

After registering, they entered and met the homeroom teacher. The twins were in the same class, the first elite class. The teacher was a middle-aged woman who looked very gentle. She was also surprised that the twins had such a brother.

She sighed softly. “The emergency contact numbers these two children provided were each other’s names. I tried asking, but I could not get anything out of them. They probably did not want me to contact you.”

Rong Xiushi felt that was likely; they did not want him to worry.

The teacher continued, “I know your family situation might be modest. I have seen Xiujia delivering food, and Xiuxi always looks exhausted, though I do not know what he does. They are still students. Although their grades have always been excellent, I hope they can spend more time on their studies.”

After a heartfelt talk, Rong Xiushi left his phone number with the teacher, asking her to contact him if anything happened.

“Alright,” the teacher said. “I will be sure to contact you for future parent-teacher meetings.”

Rong Xiushi nodded. She then asked, “May I ask where you are currently located?”

As if worried he might misunderstand, she added, “Please do not take this the wrong way. We need to have a basic understanding of a student’s guardian. They never talk about you.”

Rong Xiushi said, “I am a student.”

“You look very young,” she remarked.

He nodded and added, “Currently studying at Fanse Academy in the Central District.”

Fanse Academy, the dream destination for most people in the Five Districts, nearly impossible for ordinary people to enter.

The teacher gasped in disbelief. The brother of those two twins, who usually wore tattered clothes, was actually studying at such a place?

Rong Xiushi said, “To allow me to study at Fanse Academy, these two children have been working to pay my tuition. I am very sorry, and very grateful.” He spoke openly about their sacrifice, which was also an indirect admission of his own perceived incompetence.

The teacher’s eyes were full of sympathy.

“I cherish them deeply,” Rong Xiushi said. “If there are any problems, please be sure to contact me.”

After further conversation, Rong Xiushi and Wei Hetai left the high school.

Information travels fast. Before they even exited the campus, Rong Xiuxi heard that his brothers had arrived and ran out of class to meet them. Other students gathered from all directions to watch the commotion.

“Look! That is him, the one with white hair. He is Rong Xiujia and Rong Xiuxi’s brother. I heard he is a Guide studying at Fanse Academy!”

“Wow!”

“Their brother is so amazing!”

“I want a brother like that too!”

In an instant, the news that the twins had a brother studying at Fanse Academy spread like wildfire, shocking everyone in the school. One teacher commented that the twins had never shown it before, and no one expected them to have such an impressive brother.

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