Chapter 61: Adorable

San kicked his chair aside without hesitation, looking every bit the rogue soldier. "Then what else is there to talk about? Just throw all five of them out."

Brandon quickly piled on. "No—beat them first until they learn their place, then throw them out."

What kind of trash dared come here asking for their guide?

Even Rain, who normally avoided joining the fray, spoke up for once, "Killing requires striking at the heart. Better to break their legs first and then throw them out—make them suffer for causing us trouble."

Hilan and his four companions stared in shock at this circle of vicious, bandit-like sentinels. They had long heard that 616 sentinels had terrible temperaments. Seeing them today confirmed it—every single one was a complete madman!

"You people..."

Hilan forced himself to remain calm. He knew that with their strength they stood no chance against the other side, and he had only come to request cooperation.

Since that was the case, he had no choice but to yield. "I’m sorry. We only hoped the two squads could cooperate and minimize casualties and losses as much as possible. As for rescuing the guide, I will not trouble you."

If they had to die, they would go die on their own.

Those were the words Cyrus had wanted to hear. Having someone help them clear the nest was a win-win situation—each side simply taking what they needed.

Three seconds later, the corner of Cyrus’s mouth curved upward. Only then did he extend his right hand toward Hilan. "Pleasure doing business with you."

After finishing her eavesdropping, Bunny carried Chopper away from the conference room.

Once the preliminary battle plan had been jointly drafted, everyone decided to rest and depart the following morning.

As usual, Xander was in the kitchen preparing Bunny’s breakfast for the next day. Out of concern, he still asked, "You won’t let Bunny go, right?"

On the terrace, Cyrus leaned back against the railing, both arms draped lazily behind him, a cigarette between his lips. He tilted his neck slightly, feeling the cool temperature of the night wind.

"Let her go? As a mascot?"

With that little potato’s height, she would be stepped on like a speed bump and crushed to death before she even reached an alien’s face.

They had not yet fallen so low that they needed a guide’s protection.

"Cyrus, who exactly are you calling a potato?"

Bunny stood at the living-room doorway with Chopper in her arms. "I heard everything you said in the conference room just now. Without a mental barrier, you won’t last more than three hours."

Cyrus spoke around the cigarette butt. "Then we’ll finish it within three hours."

Illai also nodded in agreement. "Bunny, a heavily contaminated zone is extremely dangerous. You’d better not go. We can handle it."

What concerned Bunny was more than just that, though.

"I’m not only worried about your safety. This is also my duty as a guide."

If every guide stayed forever cowering inside the tower out of fear of death, accepting the sentinels’ protection, then did the existence of guides amount to nothing more than tools for "soothing" sentinels?

The very first sentence on the first page of The Guide Handbook read: Guides and sentinels are twin soldiers that fight side by side.

Of course, Bunny had self-awareness. She knew she was still very weak right now, and they were probably afraid she would drag them down.

"I promise to obey orders, follow commands, never run around randomly, and stay completely low-key the entire time!"

Survive until the final blow!

She had looked at the map. That enormous nest was definitely not something that could be finished in three hours.

Moreover, as a fellow guide, she also hoped that if she herself were ever dragged off to become alien feed, someone of her own kind would choose to come save her.

Human nature was certainly cruel in the end times, but once a sentinel’s spiritual sea suffered erosion, it could lead to lifelong paralysis. Bunny only wanted them to start treating her as a true member of the team as soon as possible.

She was not a useless piece of trash.

Knowing that Cyrus held the final say here, she walked right up to his face and stood straighter than a brand-new recruit. "Just say whether you’ll take me or not."

Illai, Orion and the others all hoped he would refuse so she would not take the risk.

Cyrus lowered his lids. "I don’t take crybabies onto the battlefield."

Bunny fumed. "If you don’t take me, then I’ll..."

"You’ll what?"

"I’ll cry right in front of you!"

Xander set down the kitchen knife in his hand. "Bunny, stop making a fuss. There will be other opportunities for field trials."

She switched to pure provocation. "You don’t dare agree because you have no confidence in protecting the guide, right? You cowardly turtle."

Cyrus frowned. "I don’t fall for that."

Left with no options, she asked, "Is it wrong for me to want to protect you as well?"

The moment the words left her mouth, every sentinel’s gaze landed on her in unison.

Not suspicion—pure astonishment.

Hearing that sentence come from a guide’s mouth surprised them greatly.

After all, the word "protect" seemed to have long been tacitly accepted as something only sentinels performed as the active party, while guides remained the protected objects.

She had only been here for half a month, while these sentinels had already fought side by side for years. Bunny was still like an outsider in this small team.

With relationships that were not yet deep, saying something like that felt extremely unreal.

Her starting point was good. She was a well-behaved girl from a peaceful era with a complete set of healthy values—yet she had forgotten that this was the end times.

The goodwill the sentinels had shown her had temporarily made her overlook the fact that she had not yet truly entered their hearts. Before establishing a solid relationship with the soldiers, it was best not to cross certain boundaries.

This was taboo.

In the dense night, the man’s downward gaze felt like a silent, sharp interrogation, as though carefully weighing whether her words were true or false. Whether she was truly a teammate worth trusting.

"If we are going to die, will you die together with us?"

The wind blurred the end of his sentence until Cyrus repeated it a second time.

Her eyes widened. Ah? Did officially joining the squad require an oath of loyalty?

She bit her lower lip and nodded. "Then try your best not to die."

She was only twenty-two! She still had plenty of youth left to live, and she hadn’t even slept with a single eight-pack, big-chested man yet. She couldn’t just die like this.

The little guide’s sincere answer was so endearing that the sentinels burst into a wave of laughter. Their little guide was truly too adorable.

Suddenly she was lifted off the ground by Cyrus. The contours of the man’s face were unclear in the darkness; only a faintly doting scolding brushed past her ear:

"Little fool. Being this pure will get you completely played by men."

So it was best if only he was the one playing her.

And even if that day truly came and they all had to die, they would still fight with everything they had to keep her alive.

She didn’t understand why they were laughing at her. She simply snatched the cigarette from Cyrus’s mouth. She hated the smell of smoke.

"I don’t like second-hand smoke. Stop smoking from now on."

Cyrus didn’t actually enjoy smoking. He only used the anesthetic substances inside to numb his constantly tense nerves—just like the energy drinks the sentinels abused and became addicted to.

She had thrown away his cigarette, so he threw away the dog in her arms.

He didn’t understand what was so good about hugging that dog every single day. Looking at it was an eyesore.

"That dog is dirty. What if it has parasites? Stop holding it."

The ruthlessly discarded Chopper let out a series of aggrieved "awoo"s at Bunny. It was a spirit form! A spirit form! Where would parasites even come from?!

This was pure slander and mud-slinging!

Cyrus, you #%&@#