Extra 5 : Snuggling Him
As soon as she exited the spaceship from Lala planet, Wan Tong realized that three days had passed outside.
Because the spaceship was equipped with a time dilation device, time inside moved much slower. One hour equaled a full day outside.
Over the past few days, to ease the Sentinels’ accumulated negative emotions, Su Ming even had the rear support guides brought over to provide mental counseling for them. While the Guides had yet to recover from their exhaustion, the sentinels fresh from battle were already on the brink of eruption.
Feeling somewhat guilty, Wan Tong took it upon herself to help every Sentinel with their mental state. In the end, she overworked herself and collapsed.
Su Ming picked up the unconscious girl and left amidst a sea of surprised gazes.
“Isn’t that Guide just barely an adult? Why is her guiding power so strong?”
“Shh, just pretend you didn’t see anything. She’s the General’s person.”
“What? The General has found a high-compatibility guide?”
“Not sure about the compatibility, but that guide is definitely special. The General has been more terrifying these past few days than he was five years ago, all just to take down this damn spaceship…”
…
Although Wan Tong was unconscious, her consciousness still drifted, picking up a jumble of useless information, making her frown slightly.
“Don’t think about it. Just sleep well.”
A deep, mellow voice lightly tapped against her eardrum. It felt familiar, and a sense of security wrapped around her.
When Wan Tong woke up again, she was already in a room.
Su Ming sat at a metallic desk. Without turning around, he spoke. “You’re awake.”
“Mm.” Wan Tong quickly sat up.
“General, I have something to report.” She sat across from Su Ming and relayed the intelligence she had gathered from the Lala people.
Her delicate, youthful face was serious as she concluded, “General, I don’t think the Lala people’s motives are simple. They have destructive capabilities, a strong tendency for occupation and plundering, and their spaceship’s ecosystem is well-preserved. If they were to settle on a planet and reproduce… I believe it would be a disaster. After all, they destroyed their own home planet with their own hands.”
It was the first time in five years that Wan Tong had appeared in the fleet, and it was on Su Ming’s exclusive warship. She was nervous and eager to perform well, hoping to impress him. Maybe then, she’d have a chance to follow him onto the battlefield in the future.
Her bright, expectant eyes, filled with nervous energy, were completely captured in Su Ming’s gaze.
She might not realize it, but sitting this close to him, he could even feel a sense of sincerity and a faint trace of trust and submission emanating from her.
Blair had told him. She had volunteered to test their compatibility, eagerly entering the awakening system before her guiding power had even stabilized.
Her desire to save him had been urgent.
Su Ming pushed a cup of warm water in front of her before finally speaking. “I understand. I’ll have An Xi take you back to school.”
“…” Wan Tong took a sip of water, bit her lip, then softly asked, “Can’t I stay a little longer?”
“It’s not appropriate,” Su Ming refused coldly.
Shi Ming, who was lying at his legs, tilted its head at him, then reached out a paw and gently pressed it against Bai Bai’s fluffy head.
“But—”
“No buts.”
“…”
Meeting his indifferent expression, Wan Tong lowered her head. “Okay…”
Su Ming frowned slightly but continued laying out his plan. “A meal will be delivered soon. Rest for half an hour. An Xi will come to take you away.”
With that, without giving Wan Tong a chance to argue, he got up and walked out with firm steps.
Shi Ming lazily remained on the ground, not following him.
At the doorway, Su Ming cast a look back. Only then did Shi Ming reluctantly get up and leave.
The little white creature trotted after him, letting out a soft whimper.
Shi Ming turned its head back several times, but Su Ming’s figure had already disappeared.
Wan Tong slumped onto the table, looking slightly dejected.
Just moments ago, he had held her so tightly, yet now he was in such a hurry to send her away.
She simply wanted to stay and observe the spaceship a little longer…
When she looked up again, she saw Shi Ming and Bai Bai still lingering at the doorway. Shi Ming looked as though it was comforting Bai Bai.
In that instant, Wan Tong’s frustration lessened slightly.
Wasn’t it said that quantum beasts were a reflection of their owner’s inner emotions?
Did this mean… the General actually wanted to comfort her too?
She ran over and hugged the white lion tightly, rubbing against it. “Shi Ming, Shi Ming, can you act cute with your master? Ask him not to send me away. I don’t eat much, and I won’t cause trouble…”
*Roar…* Shi Ming let out a low growl, its golden-green eyes staring at her before suddenly licking her cheek.
“Does that mean you agree?”
*Roar…*
In the corridor, Su Ming suddenly halted, pressing his palm against the wall, barely maintaining his composure.
Even so, he could feel his ears heating up.
As a Dark Sentinel, his heightened senses sometimes linked him to Shi Ming—like right now.
His sharp hearing even picked up the soft voice from behind.
How could she… snuggle him?
“General, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?”
Ahead, An Xi approached with a Sentinel in tow.
Su Ming straightened his stiff back, pressed his thin lips together, and shook his head before continuing forward.
An Xi and the Sentinel exchanged glances as they watched his retreating figure.
Could that girl have offended the general?
“Hurry and take it in. Don’t let her go hungry,” An Xi instructed the Sentinel carrying the food.
At that moment, Shi Ming also emerged from the room and lazily followed in Su Ming’s direction.
An Xi looked at Shi Ming and felt it was acting unusually sluggish, even a little intoxicated?
If the General was in a good mood, then why was his expression so dark?
Besides, Shi Ming had always been an aloof and imposing presence, warning off strangers with its mere demeanor. But now, with its current dazed and blissful look, this was a first…
An Xi found himself completely unable to understand the situation.
Wan Tong was sure that Shi Ming had not conveyed her message because, in the end, she was still sent away.
On the way back, she heard from An Xi that Chang Zhi had wanted to take over the spaceship, but Su Ming had directly thrown his people—and the three Lala star residents—back onto the Chang family’s starship.
The spaceship could only be guarded by the military and, if necessary, destroyed.
Wan Tong felt a little regretful upon hearing this, but she also found it reasonable.
Having grown up influenced by her father, she had always been fascinated by interstellar civilizations but was even more cautious about them.
When she returned to school, Principal Bai personally came to pick her up and even had a long chat with An Xi.
Afterward, Wan Tong noticed that Principal Bai’s attitude toward her had become significantly more friendly.
The Sentinel-Guide Management Academy’s forum was the Empire’s largest and most active online community. Since Wan Tong had publicly challenged Chang Qi in class a few days ago and utterly crushed her, discussions about her had only intensified.
As soon as she reappeared at school, people immediately snapped photos and uploaded them to the forum.
#Principal Bai personally picks her up, just how powerful is Wan Tong’s background?#
The title alone was provocative, and the post elaborated on Chang Qi’s humiliating defeat, clearly meant to stir controversy!
Someone provided a rundown of Chang Qi’s family background. Her father, Chang Zhi, was an SS-rank Minister of Foreign Affairs, while her mother was an A-rank Guide. After awakening, Chang Qi herself was also classified as an A-rank, which was considered exceptional among the standard rank Guides, allowing her to walk around school with an air of dominance.
Meanwhile, Wan Tong had appeared out of nowhere with an unknown background. Some speculated she was an orphan, while others believed she was the heir of a hidden aristocratic family. Judging by how she had crushed Chang Qi, her strength was likely S-rank or higher.
With an impeccable appearance and overwhelming power, a little privilege seemed justified.
Now, after disappearing for three days, she returned to school with the principal personally welcoming her. It was clear her identity wasn’t simple.
However, the post—and many others about Wan Tong—quickly vanished, all removed under the justification of ‘inappropriate wording.’
On the main battleship of the Imperial Defense Fleet, the moment An Xi returned, he reported Wan Tong’s situation to Su Ming, casually mentioning what had happened at school.
Su Ming had been reviewing the investigation report on the Lala planet residents when he heard An Xi’s words. He glanced over, his dark eyes deep with an unmistakable discontent. “You’re saying she was bullied by her classmates?”
“…Huh?” An Xi was momentarily stunned. Was that what he had said? Hadn’t he just described how Wan Tong had completely overwhelmed Chang Qi?
However, knowing Su Ming’s temperament well, An Xi quickly straightened up and nodded seriously, “Yes, precisely. Chang Zhi’s precious daughter, thinking herself the star of the first-years, led others to isolate Wan Tong and even tried to make things difficult for her in class…”
In reality, Wan Tong simply disliked socializing and rarely interacted with her classmates.
Upon hearing this, the gloom on Su Ming’s face deepened, and the ominous aura of a Dark Sentinel emanated from him, so oppressive that An Xi almost went weak in the knees.
Hurriedly, he added, “General, I’ve already spoken with Principal Bai. He will ensure her safety.”
Instinctively, he even stopped referring to Wan Tong by name.
Then, An Xi witnessed something utterly unexpected: Su Ming logged into the Sentinel-Guide Academy’s forum.
Every Sentinel and Guide who had attended the school had an account, but as far as An Xi knew, Su Ming hadn’t accessed the forum since he entered the academy at thirteen.
The school assigned forum privileges based on status, and Su Ming, as the Grand General of the Kroll Empire and one of only two existing Dark Sentinels—the other being the retired former Grand General over a century old—naturally held the highest level of access.
Back when Su Ming was in a coma, the retired General had been so busy that he had no time for anything else. The moment Su Ming woke up, all his responsibilities were dumped back on Su Ming, allowing the elder General to embark on an interstellar vacation.
Given Su Ming’s towering prestige as the Empire’s greatest hero, the academy had granted him top-tier forum privileges.
The moment An Xi received a notification that Su Ming had logged into the academy’s forum, he froze in disbelief.
By the time he attempted to check out the commotion, he found that he couldn’t get in.
To prevent crashes, the forum had a traffic limit.
Yet, in all its centuries of existence, the forum had never once reached its capacity, until now.
Although Wan Tong never logged into the forum, she received an automatic notification:
Su Ming is online!
Her hand trembled, and she accidentally entered the forum, only to see posts updating frantically.
[Damn, good thing my hand slipped! I got into the forum first!]
[Am I seeing things? General Su Ming is online! The traffic surge even caused access restrictions!]
;Everyone who accidentally clicked in, reply here! Don’t start new threads—it’ll affect General Su’s browsing!]
[Ahhh! I’m gonna cry! Is it really true that the General has woken up? Why isn’t there a livestream to show us? It’s been five years! Wuwuwu!]
[The news says the General went straight to the interstellar defense line after waking up. Recently, they even intercepted an alien ship that broke in. The General works too hard! I’m an A-rank Guide! Straight A’s in all subjects! Marry me, General!]
[No more talking! A-rank Guide here! General, look at me! I’ve posted all my details in this thread!]
[Breaking news! The General recently took a compatibility test—Chang Qi’s compatibility with the General is 68%!!]
Wan Tong’s eyes lingered on this post for a moment before she clicked in.
It contained a newly updated news screenshot, supposedly leaked by a Sentinel working at the Assessment Bureau.
In just a short time, the thread exploded in popularity.
But a few minutes later, it was deleted.
[Notice : Deleted by Su Ming.]
Immediately after, Su Ming went offline.
The forum’s traffic restriction lasted for most of the day, and everyone was speculating. Why did Su Ming suddenly visit the forum? Why delete the post about their compatibility with Chang Qi?
One thing was certain: Chang Qi was now famous.
If the news was true, with such a high compatibility score, there should be no issue with them bonding in the future.
After all, as long as a Sentinel-Guide pair had at least 30% compatibility, they could apply for bonding.
In an instant, Chang Qi became the object of envy and admiration. She had already been strutting around campus with an air of superiority, but now she was treated like royalty wherever she went.
Wan Tong stayed in her dorm for several days, allowing her Guide abilities to fully recover. She even tried touching the sealed-off area in her mental domain. Something about it felt important to her.
But for now, she only probed cautiously.
Besides, she was getting bored. First-year courses weren’t challenging enough for her, so she wanted to apply for third-year classes instead.
When Principal Bai heard about this, he sighed. In truth, even third-year courses weren’t suitable for her. The difference between high-ranking Guides was like an entire world apart. The highest-ranked Guide in the school had only advanced from A-rank to S-rank, and then hit a dead end.
Throughout history, only two SSS-ranked Guides had ever appeared, but written records about them were scarce, making further research impossible.
He could already foresee that once Wan Tong’s true rank could no longer be concealed, the uproar would be unimaginable. Fortunately, she was under Su Ming’s protection, so Principal Bai didn’t dwell on it too much. He simply decided to grant her every request.