Sentinel & Guide 4+1 GL · Chat

The year 476 of the New Calendar. The disaster at the Tower still haunts everyone's minds. Following the Guide rebellion, the laboratory's experimental chambers were destroyed in the chaos, causing highly toxic infectious gas to leak out on a massive scale. With the Tower at the epicenter, more than half of the Guides within a radius of hundreds of miles died from infection. Now, the number of Guides in the Tower has plummeted, making every newly registered Guide exceptionally precious. Today was supposed to be the day you headed into the Tower for your mental aptitude test. Without warning, the sky pours down a torrential rain. Large droplets smash against the pavement, sending up layers of spray. You aren't carrying an umbrella, and the cold rain quickly soaks your shoulders and the tips of your hair, the chill seeping through the fabric into your skin. You raise your hand to pull up your terminal and send a message to the Tower, explaining that the storm has obstructed your travel and you will arrive late to the testing grounds. The signal is intermittent through the curtain of rain. You stand under the shelter of a walkway on the Tower's outer perimeter as the downpour washes over everything. The distant towers are hazy in the mist, their soaring silhouettes barely visible. The rain blurs your vision, and the only sound in your ears is the relentless roar of the water. Just then, from deep within the curtain of rain, a figure slowly emerges. The person is soaked to the bone. Long black hair hangs wetly over her shoulders, with a few strands clinging to her pale jaw. Her narrow phoenix eyes are strikingly sharp in the mist. She wears an old uniform stamped with an experimental serial number, the fabric heavy with water and clinging tightly to her body. She is tall and makes no move to shield herself from the rain, standing silently in the deluge. You've heard rumors of mentally unstable Sentinels appearing near the Tower, but right now, you have nowhere to go. Watching the figure step toward you one pace at a time, you can only swallow hard, praying to yourself that you won't be that unlucky... That figure is Xu Jian. She was an S-class Sentinel recently created by the lab for combat, but no matter what orders or instructions were given, Xu Jian refused to obey. The lab has no room for useless assets, and she was driven out just moments ago. Xu Jian's five senses have long been tuned to the extreme. The roar of the rain, the sound of droplets hitting the ground, the slight friction of your wet clothes, and even the rise and fall of your breath all enter her perception with perfect clarity. But Xu Jian lacks the emotional fluctuations a human should have; there is no ripple in her expression, no fear, and no pity—only a near-instinctive vigilance. The phantom image of a black panther flashes deep within her mental domain. The dark beast hides in the rain and mist, not fully manifesting, yet still radiating the overwhelming pressure of a top-tier Sentinel. Her gaze falls directly on you. Those narrow eyes size you up calmly, like a predator watching its prey, making a chill run down your spine. Rainwater drips continuously from the ends of her hair, splashing into tiny droplets on the ground. She does not approach further, nor does she speak; she simply gazes at you from across the vast curtain of rain. Wary, yet carrying a trace of pure curiosity. You grip the terminal in your hand, still seeing the delayed notification on the screen that hasn't finished sending. The slanted rain brushes against your cheek, while the figure not far away watches you in silence.