Reborn as an A-Rank Guide: Trapped By The Crazy Sentinels

As the transparent protective canopy slowly lifted, the bat-shaped aircraft roared into the sky, blue flames streaming from its engines as it climbed rapidly through the thunderous vibration of the turbines.

"Ascending..."

"Current altitude: 1,000 meters..."

The mechanical voice delivered each status update in an orderly monotone.

Xander and Tyr sat in the front, while Bunny occupied the rear seat by herself.

"Tyr, activate the radar."

Xander glanced at Bunny through the rearview mirror. Once he confirmed that her seat belt was securely fastened, he pulled down the control lever and tilted the aircraft forty-five degrees as they began crossing the sandstorm zone.

The silver craft sliced through the swirling yellow-brown storm like a streak of light.

Through the cabin window, Bunny stared outside with undisguised curiosity.

Every time the aircraft climbed or dipped, the scenery below seemed to expand and contract before her eyes.

Most of the terrain consisted of cracked, desertified earth. Endless dunes rose and fell across the landscape, while wind-sculpted cliffs stood beneath the blazing sun, their desolation and loneliness almost overwhelming.

The horizon was a dull, hazy gray.

Dry riverbeds and withered lake basins could be seen everywhere.

The land had long since lost the vitality it had possessed centuries ago.

This was a genuine wasteland.

The longer Bunny looked, the tighter her chest seemed to become.

The green homeland preserved in her memories was gone.

Before long, they reached their first defensive outpost.

It was positioned inside a narrow-mouthed, wide-bellied canyon and happened to lie along one of the standard routes used by patrol drones.

The outpost was equipped with huge quantities of land mines, radio transmitters, and sonic lures designed to attract alien creatures. Once the creatures were drawn into range, combat drones would be dispatched to eliminate them.

If a defensive post was destroyed, it meant a large number of alien creatures were likely active in the area. The information would immediately be transmitted back to the sentry tower, along with the enemy’s location.

Bunny followed the two sentinels out of the aircraft.

She walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the withered lake basin in the distance.

The outline of the former lake resembled a storm’s eye, surrounded by layers of undulating mountain ridges.

Tyr released his spirit form to patrol the surrounding area for any unusual activity. His long pink hair was tied into a small braid that fluttered in the wind.

The sentinel rarely spoke. Even during meals, he always sat quietly in some corner, saying almost nothing.

Bunny couldn’t help wondering what kind of psychological trauma he had experienced.

The first part of their patrol went smoothly, with no abnormalities detected.

But when they arrived at a defensive post near an abandoned steel mill, Xander discovered a damaged patrol drone.

Something was wrong.

Whenever a drone was destroyed, it was supposed to immediately transmit its coordinates to the control center at the sentry tower.

Yet no distress signal had come from Outpost Y-47.

The situation was suspicious.

After landing near the steel mill, Xander ordered Tyr to stay with Bunny while he went ahead to investigate.

The abandoned steel mill was half buried beneath the shifting sands. Reactors and tower cranes protruded from the dunes, with much of their structures already swallowed by the desert.

Xander approached the wreckage of the drone.

Its energy core was missing. That explained why no coordinates had been transmitted. But the energy core was completely useless to alien creatures.

So who had taken it?

Xander straightened and cautiously backed away several steps.

Then disaster struck. His foot suddenly sank into a concealed trap.

The mechanism activated instantly.

A steel cable snapped upward and caught his right ankle, hoisting his entire body into the air.

"Something’s wrong! We’re under attack!"

Before Xander had even finished speaking, a rapid rustling erupted from beneath the sand behind Tyr and Bunny.

Tyr reacted immediately.

He raised his weapon and fired a particle cannon, blasting an alien creature that burst from the sand into a bloody mass.

But that was only the beginning.

Countless grotesque creatures hidden beneath the dunes erupted like weeds after a storm.

They had been lying in wait for them all along.

This was the first time Bunny had ever seen a living alien creature.

Pointed heads. Jagged teeth. Foul-smelling saliva and viscous fluids. And tails tipped with poisonous barbs.

Her mind froze for a split second. Then one of the creatures lunged toward her with a terrifying hiss.

Her adrenaline levels surged instantly. There was only one thought left in her head.

Run!

Bunny turned and sprinted up the nearest dune.

Seeing that the situation was deteriorating, Xander immediately engaged his core muscles and used the combat knife strapped to his boot to cut through the steel cable.

He dropped to the ground, drew his weapon, and began shooting down the creatures pursuing Bunny one after another.

But Tyr was trapped inside the encircling swarm and couldn’t break through.

A smaller, exceptionally agile creature clamped its jaws onto Bunny’s backpack.

"Bunny!"

She heard its shrill chittering right beside her.

Terrified, Bunny tore off the backpack.

While sliding down the dune, she twisted her ankle and lost her balance, tumbling helplessly down the slope.

The little monster refused to let her escape. It chased after her, snapping at her heels while spraying corrosive acid.

"Just die already!"

Bunny grabbed her pistol and fired blindly at its head with her eyes squeezed shut.

The disgusting creature writhed on the ground for several seconds before going still.

Its highly corrosive blood immediately ate through the rusted steel buried beneath the sand.

At that moment, another alien creature had circled around and locked onto Bunny. It opened its jaws and lunged straight for her throat.

Xander grabbed Bunny around the waist and pulled her away, bringing his combat knife down in a brutal slash that severed the creature’s head.

Tyr’s spirit form, a falcon, quickly swooped down, picked Bunny up, and carried her to safety.

The combat ability of a 3S-rank sentinel was terrifying.

In only a few minutes, every one of the dozens of creatures lying in ambush had been eliminated.

When Bunny found herself back in Xander’s arms, she remained frozen in shock for a long time.

Before this, she’d only ever seen zombies and monsters in movies and television.

But actually standing in front of a living alien creature and experiencing its brutality firsthand was an entirely different matter.

Her legs had nearly given out from fear.

"Bunny, don’t be afraid."

Xander kept his voice as gentle as possible.

None of them had expected the alien creatures to become clever enough to destroy an energy core and then establish an ambush around a heavily guarded defensive post.

It was the perfect way to make humans lower their guard.

They had actually learned how to set traps.

Tyr rarely looked directly at Bunny, but this time, he gave her a second glance.

A Guide who had never experienced the horrors of combat had actually managed to kill a juvenile alien creature.

"Let’s discuss what happened once we’re back."

Xander’s brow remained tightly furrowed.

In the past, the creatures had never deliberately approached heavily fortified defensive posts, nor had they been active this far outside their usual territory.

The entire flight back to the sentry tower passed in silence.

Bunny didn’t say another word.

Xander knew she’d been badly frightened and blamed himself for being careless.

A hundred years had passed.

Humanity was evolving.

And the alien creatures were evolving too.

The first thing Bunny did after returning home was take a long shower to scrub away every trace of the foul, sticky residue clinging to her body.

She collapsed onto her bed and looked down at her swollen right ankle.

Even the slightest touch sent pain shooting through it.

At first, she’d thought she’d merely sprained it.

Now it seemed more likely that the bone had shifted slightly out of place.

She limped out of bed and prepared to head for the medical room.

But as Bunny hopped awkwardly through the living room, the sentinels who were gathered there for a meeting all turned to look at her.

Some were sitting, others standing, forming a loose circle around the room.

They were apparently discussing the alien ambush that had occurred that day.

Bunny gave an awkward smile.

"Carry on. Don’t mind me."

Brandon was sitting closest to her. He turned his head, his brows immediately drawing together.

"Are you hurt?"

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