Chapter 347: No Wonder He Is So Hostile Towards Me

Chapter 347: Chapter 347: No Wonder He Is So Hostile Towards Me

The group moved to a booth by the window. Bai Ye sat next to Mo Chen, leaving the opposite side for Yun Sheng and Si Jin.

After they took their seats, Bai Ye casually pushed the menu on the table over to Yun Sheng. "Take a look at what you want to eat. You order first."

Yun Sheng glanced at him and didn’t stand on ceremony. She picked up the menu and flipped through it, turning her head from time to time to discuss her choices in a low voice with Si Jin beside her. The two leaned in close, murmuring about the dishes in a naturally intimate atmosphere.

Bai Ye kept his gaze fixed on Yun Sheng most of the time, his eyes practically glued to her face as he remained completely silent. Beside him, Mo Chen looked as indifferent as ever. He picked up the coffee on the table and took small sips, maintaining his composure throughout.

A moment later, Yun Sheng pushed the menu back to the center of the table. "We’ve made our choices. You guys can order the rest."

Bai Ye raised his hand and checked off two heavy entrees, while Mo Chen added two light side dishes. They then called the waiter over to take the menu away.

While waiting for the food to arrive, the silence grew a little awkward. No one took the initiative to speak. Having nothing else to do, Yun Sheng tapped the terminal on her wrist and brought up the post about the trending beverage, slowly scrolling down through the comments. She wanted to see if anyone had recorded the Sentinel’s sudden rampage at the store entrance earlier and posted it on the Star Network.

After scrolling past a few lines, she saw that a lot of new comments had already popped up, all posted by passersby who had just left the scene. Some complained that they were just waiting in line when someone suddenly lost control, nearly injuring them with a furious burst of spiritual power. Others griped about having waited in line for so long, only for their guide partners to insist on going back because of the sudden riot, which was a huge disappointment.

Most of the commenters were just joining in the fuss for the fun of it. No one connected the Sentinel’s loss of control to the drinks. For now, it wouldn’t have any impact on the beverage shop.

Yun Sheng extended her wrist, showing the screen to Si Jin next to her. He glanced at it a couple of times, tapped his fingertips lightly against her wrist, and spoke in a very low voice. "These comments won’t affect anything. No matter what their purpose is, they probably won’t be exposed that quickly."

Bai Ye took in every detail of their intimate, whispered exchange. His fingertips unconsciously rubbed against the side of his glass, his gaze darkening slightly. After a long moment, he took the initiative to break the silence and looked at Yun Sheng. "You were just assigned to a field squad today. Are you adapting well?"

At those words, the cold, irritable face of the Ninth Squad’s captain, Lu Chen, immediately flashed through Yun Sheng’s mind, along with the way he had deliberately released his oppressive aura to make things difficult for her the moment she walked in. The corners of her lips curled uncontrollably into a slightly mocking smile. Her tone was flat, and without uttering a single word of complaint, she simply replied, "It’s fine."

Bai Ye caught her change in expression at a glance and frowned slightly. "Most of the Sentinels in the field squads have unstable mental states, and the captains, in particular, are tortured by spiritual rampages all year round. Their tempers are all bad. If you’re wronged in the squad, you don’t have to keep it to yourself. Just tell me."

Mo Chen, who had been quietly drinking his coffee the whole time, lifted his eyelids and gently pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose. He asked seemingly casually, "Which squad was Miss Yun assigned to? Who is the captain?"

He himself was responsible for the spiritual research on the Tower’s Sentinels. When the majority of the field Sentinels suffered from mental collapses and guidance proved ineffective, they would come to his laboratory for special testing and to receive soothing potions. Because of this, he was crystal clear about the true mental conditions of all the squads in the entire Tower, including every High-level Sentinel.

"The Ninth Squad," Yun Sheng replied offhandedly, then looked at him and asked, "Has Professor Mo interacted with them?"

Hearing this, Mo Chen’s eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke in a neutral tone. "The Ninth Squad, of course I know it. The captain is Lu Chen.

"That man is irritable by nature, arbitrary and domineering in his actions, and extremely repulsed by guides. He has already driven away three guides assigned to him. Moreover, his current mental state is extremely poor. He has been hovering at the critical point of losing control, and his spiritual power could completely spiral out of hand at any moment."

Yun Sheng was a bit surprised. She hadn’t expected Mo Chen to understand Lu Chen so well. She pursed her lips, her heart full of doubts. "I can’t quite figure it out. He’s obviously suffering from spiritual rampages himself, and without a guide’s channeling, it will only get worse. Why does he insist on driving away his guides time and time again? Isn’t that just a disguised form of destroying himself?"

Mo Chen gently shook his head. "I’m not clear on that point either. I only know that his spiritual landscape once suffered very severe trauma, and psychologically, he strongly rejects any guidance from guides."

Right then, Si Jin, who had been listening in silence all this time, suddenly spoke up. "The reason he’s like this is that he was betrayed by his own guide in the past."

This short sentence instantly grabbed everyone’s attention. Yun Sheng immediately turned her head to look at Si Jin, her eyes bluntly filled with curiosity, looking like she was ready for some gossip and eager to hear the details. Si Jin’s gaze remained calm as he slowly revealed the inside story.

"Lu Chen never used to have this irritable and paranoid personality. On the contrary, he was very gentle, thoughtful, and patient with others. He had an excellent reputation at the Tower.

"He used to have a childhood sweetheart who was a guide. The two of them had long been bound and matched, and in private, they were even a couple. At that time, Lu Chen was highly talented—no one in his cohort could compare to him. Everyone believed that sooner or later he would break through the B-level and advance to an A-level High-level Sentinel. His future was incredibly bright.

"The turning point occurred during a High Order promotion assessment. Before the test, his guide partner secretly tampered with his spiritual landscape.

"During the assessment, the hidden dangers directly erupted. Without any warning, Lu Chen suffered a severe spiritual rampage. Not only did he fail the promotion, but he also lost control and accidentally injured the examiners on site, leaving him with a serious criminal record. According to the regulations, he was banned from participating in any High Order promotion assessments for five years.

"Afterwards, Lu Chen went to a doctor to investigate the cause of the problem, only to discover that the root of the issue lay in his spiritual landscape. He went to confront his own guide, only to catch them cheating on him on the spot.

"Even more ironically, his guide partner teamed up with their lover to heavily damage his spiritual landscape.

"It was also from then on that his spiritual landscape suffered permanent damage, definitively locking his potential. For the rest of his life, he is essentially stuck at Peak B-level, with no possibility of ever advancing again.

"His personality changed drastically overnight, transforming from gentle and introverted into the irritable, paranoid, and extremely hostile state toward all guides that he is now."

After hearing the complete cause and effect, the booth instantly fell into silence. Yun Sheng was slightly stunned. The curiosity in her eyes gradually faded, replaced by complex emotions. She finally understood. She understood why Lu Chen was filled with maximum hostility toward her right from the start, and why he was so paranoid and mean, preferring to endure spiritual rampages rather than accept guidance from any guide.

To others, guides were salvation and stabilizers, but to Lu Chen, guides were a shadow carved into his bones—the culprits who ruined his life! Previously, she had felt that Lu Chen was unreasonable and deliberately making things difficult for her. Now, the slight awkwardness and dissatisfaction in her heart dissipated significantly for some inexplicable reason, leaving only an indescribable sense of pity.

Yun Sheng sighed softly. "No wonder he’s so hostile toward me. To think there was such a history. If it were me, I’m afraid it would be very difficult for me to ever trust guides again either."