—The third air route of the Milky Way branch.—
Qin Yun was still a little groggy when he was awakened by the strong airflow. He had slight seasickness and had dozed off not long after boarding the spacecraft. However, it was obvious that his destination was approaching, and it was time for him to wake up.
“There’s a report from up ahead that Planet G has been occupied?” The guide leader this time was a less experienced battlefield commander. After all, the front-line situation was not too intense, and the sentinels’ mania1Mania is a condition in which you have a period of abnormally elevated, extreme changes in your mood or emotions, energy level or activity level was relatively calm.
The captain of the warship was an ordinary human being. He was clearly aware of the current situation and said in a relaxed tone, “The resources on G Star are not suitable for the reproduction of extraterrestrial life. They are mostly low-level intelligent beings. However, its location is strategic, equivalent to a fortress gateway. If the defence is well organized, it will become a perfect defensive line.”
The leader of the guide echoed, “Yes, after so much foresight and preparation, the Empire can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”
The war captain smiled and stopped talking.
Qin Yun squinted his eyes. There were more than 100 low-level guides like him on this warship. Since the earth was invaded by alien creatures in 2434 AD, humanity had suffered a nearly devastating blow, but it was only nearly.
Billions of years of history couldn’t be wiped out easily. The reason for humanity’s strength lay in its tenacious vitality and adaptability, which was considered a miracle. However, the evolution that followed was inevitable.
With evolution, a hierarchical system was naturally formed accordingly. Guides like him, who didn’t even have a spiritual link, could only go to the front lines to help appease the lowest-ranking sentinels.
However, Qin Yun had always been optimistic. Both sentinels and guides were divided into hierarchical systems; the higher their level, the lower their number, and they also had relatively lower freedom. Moreover, the number of guides was only about half that of sentinels. If they were not marked, low-level guides had to assist at least five sentinels simultaneously. Although it was a bit tiring, still, they wouldn’t be forcefully marked or bound for life. To some extent, Qin Yun was very satisfied with this arrangement.
Joking aside, when the world became peaceful again, a guide without a spiritual link like him would be almost the same as an ordinary person. He could earn a military salary and fall in love freely. He could marry an ordinary wife, and he didn’t have to be tied to a manic psychopath every day… He couldn’t be happier!
As soon as Qin Yun thought of this, he was full of energy every time he went to the front line to work. Forget about assisting five; even if he was asked to soothe the neurons of 100 psychopaths’ brains at the same time, he could endure it!
“Aren’t you tired of trying to use your mind to guide me every time?” Senna’s spiritual link was the lowest-ranking one-celled organism, Paramecium2yes, you saw it right, no I hope I’m also seeing it wrong, and he had to look after it for almost half of a day each time, “Wouldn’t it be more convenient to let the other person lick your face?”
Qin Yun imagined the scene for a moment and then shook his head, “…Do you think people fighting on the front lines brush their teeth every day?”
“…”
Sennas: “Do you have to state such a cruel fact?”
Qin Yun curled his lips. He had to say it because he once guided a sentinel who had been lying in wait in a mud trench for several days, and he almost fainted from the smell of the man’s body as soon as the man got closer than one meter.
Sennas: “But your guiding is so fast. You don’t have a spiritual link? That simply doesn’t sound right…”
Qin Yun rolled his eyes, “Practice makes perfect.” He hardly had any serious physiological reactions when his guide gene awakened. If the school hadn’t discovered an obvious abnormality during the brain wave measurement, he would have gone to study art in the capital.
Sennas actually sympathizes with him on this point, “Although my spiritual link is a bit weak, but at least I still have it.”
“It’s almost the same as having none.” Qin Yun couldn’t help but complain, “It’s like comparing sanitary pads!”
The term ‘sanitary pad’ has been around for a long time. It could be said to be an exclusive title for low-level guides. It was synonymous with being the worst, disposable, and thrown away after one use. They had no fixed sentinels because no one wanted to mark them. Even the lowest-level sentinel possesses a spiritual link related to offensive mammalian animals. It was natural they were extremely disdainful of single-celled organisms such as paramecium. Their spiritual link couldn’t resonate with each other, so it was even less possible for them to interact. However, mid-level and high-level guides were too rare and strictly protected by law. In comparison, low-level guides could be considered a massive group. They had a physique that leaned towards ordinary humans, but stronger because they were guides, but their spiritual link was not as powerful as that of mid-level and high-level guides. However, calming the manic ones was not difficult for them. So, for most sentinels during the most embarrassing few days each month, the low-level guides were like sanitary pads… It could prevent side leakage, front leakage and back leakage and could be discarded without taking on any responsibility. There was also no talk of lifetime marking.
“It is precisely because our pheromones are weak enough that us sentinels can be guided without being affected.” Sennas righteously righted themself, “We are great, and we won’t force each other to go into heat against a person’s will!”
Qin Yun said helplessly, “That’s called bonding heat… It sounds so vulgar when you say it.” He paused and sighed, “Even though it’s the guide who initiates this kind of thing, it also depends on whether the sentinel falls for it. Just like a flower, if you make it more fragrant, some people will like it…”
Sennas interrupted mercilessly, “Come on, people won’t like us even if we are lavender-scented sanitary pads, so stop dreaming.”
Qin Yun: “…”
The one receiving this batch of guides, including Qin Yun, was the head of the 36th Galactic Army Group, Major General Elberna. Qin Yun had encountered him several times before; almost seven or eight times a year, he would be assigned to Elberna’s military formation.
Different from the cautious attitude towards mid-level and senior guides, the military had basically regarded low-level guides as comrades in arms, and they got along more united and harmoniously.
“Qin Yun!” Elberna ran over with a smile. He gave Qin Yun a warrior hug, “I’m so happy to see you again.”
“Yeah.” Qin Yun bumped fists with him. The guide leader only glanced in their direction and didn’t pay much attention afterwards. After all, the sentinels would not be affected by low-level guides.
Elberna’s spiritual link was an arctic fox. Although its attack power was not high, it had a very fast speed.
“Hi, little beauty.” Qin Yun knelt down to greet the arctic fox. The little guy lowered his upper body, and the top of his head gently brushed against his palm.
Qin Yun laughed, “You are in good condition, El.” He retracted his guiding tendrils, stood up and said, “It seems that the battle is really easy.”
Elberna smiled and said nothing. The arctic fox gently circled Qin Yun’s ankles, swept its big tail a few times, and then lay down quietly at his feet.
The state of the spirit connection most intuitively reflected the state of their master. Qin Yun, who had been out on many missions, finally breathed a sigh of relief this time.
“It’s not easy.” Sennas, tearful with emotion, exclaimed, “Finally, I don’t have to be licked by so many people!”
Qin Yun: “…”
When Qin Yun and the others arrived, the battle situation on G Star was already basically in a state of wrapping up, and there were still a few hundred sentinels left to do the finishing work on the battlefield.
“Will bringing 10 be enough?” the guide leader was a little worried.
Elberna gave a standard military salute, “Report to the commander! It is enough that Guide Qin is here!”
The leader was shocked by Elberna’s vigour and said calmly, “Uh, well, take care then, be safe.”
Qin Yun checked his equipment and weapons. He also had to carry a medical bag of nearly 20 kilograms, so he only brought two more daggers to facilitate movement.
Elberna watched him jump in place twice and said eloquently, “You are really like the soldiers I lead. If I randomly put you out there, probably no one would think you’re a guide.”
Qin Yun glared at him helplessly. He checked his field uniform one last time and raised two fingers to his forehead in a crisp salute, “I’m ready, sir.”
G Star’s environment was similar to that of the early Earth, except that it was characterised by year-round fog and frequent rain. The shortest grass could cover the top of Qin Yun’s head, and it looked like a ‘forest’ from any angle…
“What are the native people here like?” Sennas asked while cutting the grass around him. His paramecium obviously liked the environment here, and it was rare that it was willing to lie on his shoulder obediently without searching around.
Elberna couldn’t help but poke the paramecium’s belly with his finger. The single-celled organism didn’t respond at all and didn’t even bother to move.
Qin Yun observed the surroundings and guessed, “It should be an amphibious animal similar to the early Earth. It is basically devoid of intelligence, and…” He sighed, “It must be not small in size.”
Sennas was stunned when he heard the word ‘not small in size’. He was so frightened that he almost peed, “W-will there be a dragon?!”
Elberna said regretfully, “It would be nice to have a legendary species. Those are the sentinel genetic fragments that scientists pursuing god-level spiritual link have been searching for.”
Qin Yun and Sennas both fell silent. The god-level spiritual link, the earliest sentinel and guide genes, had only been inherited by the Issa royal family so far. Due to gene replication, the power of spiritual link has become increasingly diluted. His Majesty Moschery, who only ascended the throne last year, finally underwent a rare genetic mutation and became the strongest sentinel in the god-level spiritual link in the past hundred years, but he was only a sentinel.
The only god-level guide with a spiritual link was killed in action on the planet Olympus while protecting his sentinel during the ‘Black Rose’ rebel incident a hundred years ago, leaving no one else behind.
It was ironic that the salvation and gifts given by the gods to mankind were destroyed by their own hands.
“The emperor will surely end up alone, and the aftermath of gene replication will become increasingly severe. No matter how wise His Majesty Moschery is, the balance of power in the Empire is still in jeopardy.” Elberna’s expression was solemn, and his arctic fox followed at his feet. It seemed to be influenced by its master, baring its teeth. Qin Yun extended his guiding tendrils and gently touched the arctic fox’s head.
“Human beings are not omnipotent after all.” Qin Yun could only comfort him in the end, “But as for His Majesty Moschery…”
Sennas continued, “He is actually a tyrant, right?”
Less than a year after taking the throne, he had successively conquered ABCDEF—well, G was the seventh star. However, judging by his ambitions, the emperor clearly had the goal of conquering all 26 planets and then summoning a divine dragon…
“He’ll die young for sure…” Sennas said with lingering fear, “His mania must be very serious.”
Qin Yun understood it very well, “The military power is currently not unified, and there are too many conservatives in the cabinet. Olympus has now declared its independence… Every emperor has been unusually obsessed with that place, haven’t they? The late Emperor Helu restrained himself from attacking due to the weak god-level spiritual link, but if it was Moschery…”
He looked at Elberna, “I heard that His Majesty had been wearing a mask because the burden of his spiritual link is too heavy. Is it…because of facial disfigurement?”
Elberna finally couldn’t help but slap him on the head.
Notes:
Soo, I just found out this series have manhua and donghua(apparently it’s PV) ( ；∀；)
I’ll work hard to translate this nicely and beautifully
Please leave some comments if you see something might be tl-ed wrongly and I’ll gladly fix it as soon as possible!!
What are the odds of me finding that the English title is Cherish instead of Head Over Heels like what I intended to tl?
I’m ashamed… (つ д⊂)
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I tried googling but I can’t find the manhua or pv 😭 Well, I did see a few pics but that’s all. Can you share the link if it’s not too much trouble? And thank you for the translation! Been wanting to read this
Oh wait I realised you linked the manhua in Chapter 6!