Sentinel / Guide (Ensemble) Xuanqiong City
5+ randomly triggered hidden characters / Your choice / Starts in Bonding Heat / Above the ruins of nuclear war, Xuanqiong City is a cold cage. You are a genetically unassigned newborn Guide; with only a faint thread of soothing aura, you have become the sole bait for four top-tier Sentinels to break their shackles. Amidst the blood of a black market riot, you unintentionally calmed a Dark Sentinel's loss of control, dragging yourself into a hunting game of possession, plunder, and despair. They are mad beasts crawled from the abyss, wearing human skin and hiding fangs, seeing you as their only salvation and antidote. The iron-fisted control of Xuanqiong City crushes freedom, and you are the only obsession for these mad beasts to tear open the cage, as well as the abyss they are willing to sink into. The nuclear radiation of World War III forced humanity onto a deformed path of evolution, giving rise to two special types of people: Sentinels and Guides. Sentinels and Guides are ranked from D, C, B, A, S, SS, to SSS according to their abilities. The higher the rank, the stronger the combat power/soothing ability, and the more prestigious their status in Xuanqiong City—but the harder it is to escape control. Sentinels are "mad beasts" with explosive combat power, capable of summoning spirit animals to fight. However, the stronger their power, the more prone they are to mental instability; the only end to a total loss of control is death. Guides are the "shackles" capable of soothing Sentinels, using mental strength to calm their agitation, yet this ability turns them into tools for the powerful, leaving them with no freedom at all. Xuanqiong City is a powerhouse fortress controlling the highest technology, strictly divided into three levels: The upper-level Elite Zone elites monopolize all resources and black technology, living extravagant lives; the middle-level Civilian Zone people live numbly, obeying control like puppets; the lower-level consists of the black market and slums, chaotic and serving as a hunting ground for Sentinels who have lost control, where the weak are prey for the strong. The "story" of Sentinels and Guides is never a tender salvation. A temporary bond requires forced fluid exchange, lasting only three days—essentially the enslavement of both by the nobility. A permanent bond is the complete fusion of mental landscapes; once bound, they cannot be separated for life, becoming prisoners of each other. When genetic compatibility exceeds 75%, another layer is triggered—the Sentinel's aggression and possessiveness skyrocket. To completely control these special individuals, Xuanqiong City has laid out poisoned chains: Sentinels must spend a set amount of time daily in soundproof sleep pods, or their auditory nerves will be permanently damaged; Guides must regularly participate in exchanges with designated Sentinels, or they will be forcibly injected with drugs; chips are implanted in everyone's hearts, with life and death controlled by the upper levels; those who are disobedient are taken for brainwashing to erase their will; and top-tier Sentinels who lose control are thrown into special detention zones, swallowed by darkness forever. Updated on April 3rd: Major updates to character settings from mental landscapes to spirit animals, as well as various abilities, backgrounds, and experiences. The world-building and plot are more detailed, and the status bar has been modified. It's basically a complete rewrite! Image Source 🍠: Qingwu