SDIWD - Chapter 135
Chapter 135
The coastline, stretching for several kilometers, was covered in a thick layer of ice. If not for the island's lush jungle, no one would have guessed this was the scene on a tropical island.
Bai Zhen sat beside the still-unassembled submersible, staring blankly at her recent masterpiece. Hati stood far off on the ice-covered coast, letting out a long howl to the sky. Without a doubt, the power within her was becoming increasingly unreasonable.
Along with the spirit animal's ever-expanding power came a craving for Guide-hormone. Simple mental grooming could no longer satisfy Hati's needs. After letting it vent to its heart's content, Bai Zhen recalled it to her mental landscape, then got up and started repairing the submersible.
Worried about Hua Mu, she couldn't be away for too long each day, so the repair progress was somewhat slow. But she had finally found a suitable transformer to connect the small nuclear reactor to the submersible's systems. The next step was to test the system's stability and the hull's seal.
Just as she was about to reinstall the back cover, a black figure suddenly appeared in the sky.
Although the thought had crossed Hua Mu's mind, she still hadn't made a decision. Her desire to leave was strong, but fear often had a greater influence on her choices.
With less time spent being intimate, there was naturally less need for rest. And since she didn't need to sleep during the day, Hua Mu suddenly realized just how long Bai Zhen was gone.
Going to the seaside for most of the day, every day… that was a bit strange, wasn't it? While it was nice to have fresh fish every day, she could have taken her along! She was bored, after all.
The moment Hua Mu thought this, she felt something was off.
What was so attractive about the seaside? Was it more important than spending time with her? Could it be… Helena!?
She shot up from the wooden plank bed, deciding to go "catch the cheater" right now!
Hua Mu had a fear of heights and lacked Bai Zhen's skills. Without a Sentinel, she couldn't take the shortcut directly down the cliff. However, she was no longer the delicate young lady she once was. She put on her hat, grabbed her cane, and prepared to take the long way around with Luna and Emergency Rations.
With Luna around, she wasn't afraid of not finding Bai Zhen; the only thing to consider was the route. After all, Luna could fly, and simply following her wouldn't be a wise move.
"Is she to the east?"
The southern shore was closer and had more abundant resources, so Bai Zhen usually went there to forage. They had set up salt pans on the northern side, which they visited when they needed to replenish their sea salt. But today, Bai Zhen was neither to the south nor the north, but to the east—where they had docked the submersible.
"What is she doing, so far away."
Going east definitely required taking the long way. At Hua Mu's pace, it might take her an entire afternoon to get there. The only option now was to ride Luna.
As a noble lady, horseback riding was practically a required course. Hua Mu's equestrian skills were decent, so simply riding Luna wouldn't have been a problem. However, Luna had little experience being ridden and wouldn't think to dodge obstacles on the ground for the person on her back. She had nearly made Hua Mu crash into a tree trunk several times before, leaving her with a lingering fear.
"Can't you be a little more useful?"
Hua Mu looked at her unicorn, which was now fully grown and looked incredibly majestic, and couldn't help but feel discouraged.
"Look at Hati. Bai Zhen can ride him with her eyes closed."
Luna seemed to dislike her master's disdain. She raised her head, snorted, and let out a displeased "Yee."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Luna shook her mane and looked down at her.
"I-I'm not afraid of flying! If you hadn't made me fall and break my leg last time, I could… Anyway, it's you who's useless."
Luna, extremely displeased, struck a pose, flapped her wings, and shot into the sky with a swoosh.
"Meow~" Emergency Rations seemed to notice her action, leaping up and down on the spot and meowing at the sky.
Hua Mu felt certain that Luna was mocking her. "What's so great about that? Get down here and take me to Bai Zhen right now!"
The unicorn circled gracefully in the sky before slowly landing on the ground.
"Yee-ya!"
Hua Mu's idea wasn't purely out of spite for Luna—how childish would it be to compete with her own spirit animal? It was just that she realized she had quite a few post-traumatic stress disorders, and thinking about her own indecisiveness, she decided to take this opportunity to try and overcome her fear of heights.
Luna was obedient enough, bending her front legs and lowering her body to let Hua Mu climb on. Still a little worried, Hua Mu packed a pair of underwear into the basket. Emergency Rations, without waiting to be picked up, jumped in on its own, seeming to greatly anticipate the trip through the sky.
Hua Mu looked at the rusty-spotted cat's bright eyes, gritted her teeth, and shouldered the basket. Even a cat wasn't afraid of flying, so what did she have to fear! Isn't flying through the sky humanity's dream?
"Yee?"
Seeing her dawdling, Luna let out a light call.
"What are you rushing me for? I'm not backing down."
The lack of a saddle didn't trouble Hua Mu. She hugged Luna's neck and swung herself onto her back in one fluid motion.
The unicorn gave her no time to mentally prepare. The moment she was seated, it kicked off with its legs and flew into the sky.
"Waaahhhhh!"
Feeling the acceleration as they took off, Hua Mu screamed, squeezed her eyes shut, and clung tightly to Luna's neck.
"Slower, slower!"
The unicorn flew at a leisurely pace, letting out a joyful "baa."
Hua Mu gripped its belly tightly with her legs, trying to imagine Luna was walking on flat ground. But the feeling of flying was too different from riding a horse; she couldn't fool herself.
"Ahhh…"
Hua Mu unconsciously let out a low whimper of fear, as if she would faint otherwise.
"Meow meow meow~"
And the rusty-spotted cat on her back seemed to be echoing her, letting out its own cries.
It's not because I'm happy, Emergency Rations! I'm not screaming because I'm happy!
"Yee-woo-woo-yee~"
Luna performed a light, spinning maneuver, a crisp sound coming from her throat. Although Hua Mu couldn't understand it, for some reason she just knew she was being mocked.
"Don't you underestimate me!"
Her stubborn streak flaring up, Hua Mu forced her eyes open and, holding back tears, looked down.
Surprisingly, the view below wasn't as terrifying as she had imagined. The rainforest vegetation was dense and the trees were tall. Although Luna wasn't flying particularly low, she was skimming just above the canopy, so at first glance, it didn't feel like they were that high up.
"Yee-woo-woo~"
Luna let out a laugh that sounded like a successful prank, making Hua Mu so angry she forgot to be scared and freed a hand to smack its back.
"You little rascal, how dare you tease me!"
Luna flew a little lower, and Hua Mu's feet could even occasionally touch the branches. Her heart was still pounding, but the dizziness and nausea weren't as strong as she'd expected. The unicorn's larger, more robust form gave her a sense of security, and the trust built over their long time together also helped lessen her fear.
Hua Mu let out a soft breath and sat up a little straighter.
From high up, one could naturally see far. From her current position, she could easily see the scenery of the eastern shore. Although finding a person was difficult without a Sentinel's keen senses, an unusual sight stretching along a section of the coast quickly caught her attention.
Is that ice?
But how could tropical seawater freeze?
These two questions didn't last long; she quickly realized who was responsible. A person was standing by the submersible. They had clearly spotted her and were now running toward her.
Without waiting for her master's command, Luna sped up on her own, startling another series of shrieks out of Hua Mu.
"Miss!"
"Bai Zhen, ahhhh!"
As Luna landed lightly, Hua Mu's tense nerves finally relaxed. The Sentinel pounced almost the instant the unicorn touched the ground, pulling her into an embrace and frantically checking her condition.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Why did you come out riding Luna? Did something happen?"
"I-I'm fine!" Except for needing a change of underwear.
Hua Mu pushed away from Bai Zhen's embrace, pursing her lips as she looked at her, her expression somewhat displeased.
Seeing that although her face was a little pale, her voice was strong, Bai Zhen relaxed and pulled her back into a hug.
"Miss, you're afraid of heights, why would you do something so dangerous!"
This time, Hua Mu let her hold her, only saying stubbornly, "I am afraid of heights, but I don't want to be afraid forever. And nothing happened, did it?"
"But what if something had happened, what if…"
Hua Mu huffed softly and pointed at the beach. "Then what are you doing? You were gone for so long I was worried sick, and it turns out you were just here making ice? Shouldn't you explain this to me?"
A scene like this couldn't be created by simply making ice. Hua Mu had been learning about Sentinels and Guides for some time now and knew this was clearly not normal.
The Sentinel was hiding something from her, and it didn't seem like a small matter.
"This… I-I was testing…"
"Hiding things from me is one thing, but if you lie to me… hmph."
Faced with Hua Mu's threat, Bai Zhen immediately changed her tune.
"I-I was releasing Hati's power."
"Releasing Hati's power?" Hua Mu had never heard of such a thing and asked curiously, "Why would you do that?"
Bai Zhen sighed. She released Hati to go play with Luna and pulled Hua Mu to sit down beside her.
"Because if I don't, I'll lose control of him more and more."
Hua Mu was surprised. "But Hati is so obedient!"
"That was before… Miss, you know about spirit animals going berserk during an awakening, right?"
Of course Hua Mu knew; she had experienced it herself.
"You mean?"
"A spirit animal goes berserk when a newly awakened host's mental strength doesn't yet match the spirit animal's power, resulting in weak control. After a long period of adjustment, this situation gradually improves and usually won't happen again for the rest of their life… but that's not absolute."
Hua Mu was sharp, after all, and quickly grasped the key point.
"Are you saying Hati's power has grown too quickly in a short period of time?"
"Yes…"
"Did it start after we came back from the base?"
"Yes."
Hua Mu glared at the Sentinel, annoyed. "If I hadn't found out this time, were you planning to hide it from me forever?"
Bai Zhen knew this wasn't a long-term solution, but she just couldn't find the right opportunity to bring it up—there were many things she didn't know how to talk about.
"It wasn't so serious before…"
"Did it get like this after we couldn't…?"
Bai Zhen didn't answer, but Hua Mu could tell from her expression that it was true.
That explained why she couldn't bring it up. After all, there was no way to have the best of both worlds in this situation.
Hua Mu looked at her silent face and felt a headache coming on. The corner of her eye caught sight of the submersible on the shore, and she suddenly asked, "Have you been fixing this thing recently?"
"I was just…"
Hua Mu cut her off. "Let's go back!"
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