Chapter 24: Sunset

Ying Li knew how to teach others, but what he was even clearer on was how to make himself stronger.

He shed sweat on the training field, practicing the Combat Techniques he had researched in his previous life over and over again.

In his previous life, he had repeated these techniques countless times, and they had long since become muscle memory. But he was different now.

He had Mental Power, allowing him to execute those movements with precision. However, his body hadn’t fully adapted yet. During the process, there was a sense of stagnation that required more practice.

Ying Li felt his movements weren’t fluid enough, but no one else shared that opinion.

Xiang Ye watched him with sparkling eyes, and Luo Qiming and the others looked on with outright admiration.

Before encountering Ying Li, they thought Teacher Yan had taught Ying Li all his skills. But after spending time with him, they knew that was far from the truth.

If Teacher Yan really knew so much, why would he be just an ordinary teacher at an Upper City District Sentinel Academy?

They had all joined Hunting Teams before, and none of the Sentinels in those teams could compare to Ying Li.

The group had arrived at the training field early in the morning. After practicing for over three hours, it was lunchtime.

Seeing this, Hu Xiangyang said, “Captain Ying, we’re going to buy food. What would you like to eat?”

What Ying Li had taught them today was something they couldn’t learn anywhere else, even if they spent a fortune.

So, they discussed it via their Communication Terminals and decided to pool their money to buy Ying Li and Xiang Ye a feast.

They had been quite poor before, but on their last return to the city, Ying Li had given each of them a D-Rank Crystal Core, so they could afford to spend some money.

“Go buy your own food. We brought our own,” Ying Li said, pointing to the large food container he had brought.

Inside were dishes Xiang Ye had made that morning plus enough Nutrient Paste for the two of them.

“Then I won’t buy you a full meal. Let me get you some common snacks sold on the surface,” Hu Xiangyang said with a smile.

Even if Ying Li had brought food, they couldn’t really buy him nothing.

If they didn’t spend a single penny, he’d be too embarrassed to keep learning from Ying Li.

Among the four, Hu Xiangyang was the best at interacting with people. He quickly left the training field to buy lunch.

At that moment, Ying Li checked Xiang Ye’s physical condition again.

Xiang Ye’s previous body had been in truly terrible shape. Even though Ying Li had fed him Red Ginger and ensured he had excellent food for over a month, his body still had internal deficiencies.

This needed slow replenishment and gradual exercise.

Ying Li believed Xiang Ye could nurse his body back to health; after all, Xiang Ye was hardworking and wasn’t a picky eater.

That whole morning, when Xiang Ye tired from physical training, he would exercise his Mental Power. Once his Mental Power was exhausted, he would resume physical training. He alternated between the two kinds of training without stopping for a single moment.

Right now, Xiang Ye’s muscles were particularly tense.

Ying Li said, “You’ve overtrained. If we don’t handle this, your muscles will ache tomorrow. Lie down, I’ll give you a massage.”

Xiang Ye’s eyes lit up.

Ying Li was going to massage him? Such a benefit existed?

He swiftly lay down.

But Ying Li didn’t use his hands to massage him. Instead, he used his Mental Power to stimulate his muscles, promoting blood flow within them.

This was a delicate task. Ying Li concentrated fully while doing it and didn’t say a word.

At first, Xiang Ye was a bit disappointed when he saw Ying Li using Mental Power instead of his hands.

But soon, the disappointment vanished.

That was Mental Power! Mental Power!

For a Sentinel, Mental Power was absolutely sharper than hands.

Ying Li using his Mental Power to touch him could definitely “see” all of him.

This was a bit stimulating for him too. He felt pain and numbness coursing through his body, like an electric shock.

From now on, he would overtrain every single day!

Just as he was thinking this, Xiang Ye noticed Ying Li had already withdrawn his Mental Power.

Mental Power didn’t have “muscle memory.” For Ying Li, his current Mental Power, which was only at B-Rank and particularly docile, was far easier to control than in his previous life.

So, it only took him five minutes to stimulate all the muscles in Xiang Ye’s body.

Finished, he looked at Xiang Ye. “Sit up. I’ll teach you how to use Mental Power to stimulate muscles and accelerate muscle recovery.”

Hearing this, Xiang Ye felt immense disappointment.

He was still hoping Ying Li would help stimulate his muscles every day!

Seeing Xiang Ye’s expression continuously shifting, Ying Li was baffled.

But he could sense Xiang Ye didn’t reject him, nor did he reject the training. So he continued, “You’re a Guide. Your Mental Power is gentler, making you actually more suited to learn this than a Sentinel.”

Xiang Ye perked up at this. “Big Brother Ying, I’ll definitely study hard. Once I learn, I’ll help you relax your muscles!” Just the thought of using his Mental Power to massage Ying Li made him shiver with excitement.

Ying Li was about to say that wouldn’t be necessary, but seeing Xiang Ye looking like he genuinely wanted to do something for him, he said, “Alright. Once you’ve learned it, you can help me relax my muscles in the future.”

Xiang Ye immediately mobilized his full attention and started memorizing Ying Li’s words.

Using Mental Power to relax muscles wasn’t simple. To learn it, one needed to understand muscle structure and possess strong control over Mental Power.

The vast majority of Sentinels couldn’t do this. Their Mental Seas were Berserk, and their Mental Power was too. They could only use such Mental Power for attacks, nothing else.

The vast majority of Guides also couldn’t do it. Their Mental Power was too weak, and they didn’t even like using it.

Xiang Ye didn’t know this. He thought it was simple. After Ying Li explained the key points, he immediately started using his own Mental Power to observe his own muscles.

Meanwhile, Ying Li opened the food container and took out the dishes Xiang Ye had prepared.

Stir-fried mushrooms with meat, mushroom soup, cold mushroom salad, and boiled Water Chestnuts.

Since it had been prepared in the morning, the food’s color had slightly dulled by now and didn’t look quite as appetizing.

But it was still incredibly fragrant!

Luo Qiming and the other two had trained fiercely and were now sitting on the ground resting, massaging each other’s legs.

The tempting aroma suddenly spread through the training field, rousing all the gluttons in their stomachs.

The three looked toward Ying Li and saw the food laid out in front of him and Xiang Ye.

Per capita living space in the Upper City District was extremely small. Ninety percent of people didn’t have the means to cook at home.

Such home-cooked food was a luxury in the Upper City District, not to mention it smelled exceptionally delicious.

No wonder Captain Ying brought his own food. The meals he ate were far more delicious than the food sold on the surface!

Although they were peers, Ying Li’s life compared to theirs was truly on a completely different level.

The three watched enviously as Ying Li and Xiang Ye ate, confirming from their conversation that Xiang Ye had made these dishes.

The kid was incredible!

He could actually cook such delicious food!

If they could win him over, if they had a Guide companion like him…

The three instantly felt energized and wanted to go over to show their admiration.

But they were too exhausted to stand. They were dirty from rolling around on the ground, and most importantly, they had no money and wore shabby clothes.

Approaching him like this wouldn’t make him look at them differently. They would just be overshadowed completely by Captain Ying beside him.

They sighed and suddenly realized something was off.

Wasn’t Xiang Ye eating way too much?

It was normal for Captain Ying to eat three boxes of Nutrient Paste at one sitting. The amount of food Sentinels ate in one meal could feed an ordinary person for a day.

But why was Xiang Ye also eating three boxes of Nutrient Paste?

You had to understand, each box of Nutrient Paste contained 800 calories. Three boxes was 2400 calories!

Xiang Ye had also eaten Water Chestnuts and other things, downing a total of three thousand calories in one meal.

The three were dumbstruck.

Just then, Hu Xiangyang returned carrying a pile of things.

“It smells amazing! Captain Ying, the food you brought looks delicious!” Hu Xiangyang said cheerfully. Then he placed the snacks he’d bought for Ying Li and Xiang Ye in front of Ying Li. “Captain Ying, Little Xiang Ye, these are famous local snacks. Try some.”

As he spoke, he saw the six empty Nutrient Paste containers beside Ying Li and secretly clicked his tongue.

He could only eat two boxes of Nutrient Paste per meal. Judging by the scene, did Captain Ying eat five boxes a meal?

No wonder Captain Ying’s strength was so formidable!

Hu Xiangyang carried the Nutrient Paste he’d bought for lunch over to his teammates and suddenly noticed their odd expressions. “What’s wrong with you guys?”

Luo Qiming and the others shook their heads repeatedly. “Nothing, nothing.”

They had just suddenly realized they couldn’t afford to support a Guide, leaving them feeling a bit miserable.

So Guides could eat so much! And they’d heard Guides didn’t even like eating Nutrient Paste…

Unsupportable, they truly couldn’t support one.

These young Sentinels, who had never interacted with Guides, mistakenly thought all Guides ate as much as Xiang Ye.

But in reality, Xiang Ye was a special case.

Other Guides couldn’t even finish his single meal’s worth in an entire day.

Ying Li and Xiang Ye had already finished the food they’d brought and unwrapped the boxes of snacks Hu Xiangyang had brought back.

Seeing the contents, Ying Li was a little surprised.

Two portions each of grilled chicken, grilled pork, fried potatoes, and fried eggs, plus a vegetable salad.

The portions weren’t large, but everything was made from flora and fauna produced in the Ecological Zone, making it extremely expensive. It probably cost nearly ten thousand Credit Points.

These few people were sincere. They were worth him putting in the effort to train them properly.

Ying Li split these snacks with Xiang Ye.

Xiang Ye looked at the food, almost reluctant to eat it—this was “legendary” food!

Back when he lived in the Orphanage, one thing the orphanage director often boasted about was that she had once eaten an egg.

At that time, he had thought that if he could just taste an egg once in this lifetime, it would be enough. And now, an egg was right in front of him.

Xiang Ye ate the food in small bites, glancing at Ying Li after each one.

He could tell Ying Li liked this food too.

He absolutely had to make more money in the future and buy meat for Ying Li!

But the money earned from merely calming Mental Seas was too little. His external rank was only D-Rank, meaning he could only calm the Mental Seas of D-Rank or C-Rank Sentinels. Even if he went to the Calming Center every day, the money he earned wouldn’t buy much meat.

To earn money, he needed to hunt.

If only he could go hunting to make money!

After the meal, Ying Li led Luo Qiming and the others in continued training.

Xiang Ye watched them train while doing exercises like squats himself, building his muscles.

During the practice, he also used his Mental Power to observe his own muscles.

Luo Qiming and the others followed Ying Li’s training and were harshly humbled, starting to doubt if they were just too weak. Then they turned their heads and saw Xiang Ye doing squats with no weights, gradually becoming winded.

Their confidence immediately returned.

Training stopped a little after four in the afternoon.

Ying Li planned to take Xiang Ye out sightseeing.

This was Xiang Ye’s first time outside the city, and he couldn’t let him spend the entire day cooped up in the training field.

“Xiang Ye, would you like to see the sunset?” Ying Li asked.

“Yes!” Xiang Ye answered without hesitation.

Ying Li smiled. “I’ll take you to the Observation Deck to watch.”

During the construction of the Underground City, humans had leveled the nearby surface ground.

Now, the Safe Zone near the Underground City had no mountains. Looking out, it was all plains, covered with weeds of every color.

The Starlight City government had built some Observation Decks on this plain, staffed with Sentinels on duty and equipped with sophisticated, high-precision Firearms.

If a herd of Mutant Beasts or Flying Mutant Beasts appeared, the Sentinels on the Observation Decks had to immediately send a message into the city and use weapons to drive the beasts away.

These Observation Decks were large structures with viewing platforms accessible for a fee. Watching the sunrise or sunset from them was one of the surface tourism activities. Many Sentinels and Guides would go up there to take photos on their first trip out.

In his previous life, Ying Li had wanted to take Wu Nian, but Wu Nian was terrified of the surface and refused to go.

He could watch sunrises and sunsets from other places himself, so he had never spent money to visit an Observation Deck.

There was one right next to the training field. Ying Li used his Mental Power to stimulate Xiang Ye’s muscles briefly, allowing them to recover faster, then led Xiang Ye towards the Observation Deck at a run.

Already exhausted from the day, Xiang Ye initially struggled to run, feeling like every breath hurt and his heart was pounding wildly.

But as he ran, he suddenly found it easier and even felt happy.

Ying Li noticed and knew he was starting to secrete endorphins.

People in Starlight City assumed Guides were very weak by default, even weaker than ordinary people. But the truth was otherwise.

Guides were Awakened beings after all!

Their bodies lacked a certain type of energy, so they didn’t become as exceptionally strong as Sentinels. But if they persisted in physical training, their physical fitness would far surpass that of ordinary people.

The Creator was truly marvelous. The cattle in the Ecological Zone could grow bodies full of muscle just by eating grass, and now Sentinels were like that too.

A Sentinel’s muscle density was also very high. When tensed, those muscles were incredibly hard.

But for Guides and ordinary people, gaining muscle was extremely difficult.

He wondered what Xiang Ye would become if he persisted in training.

By the time the two ran to the base of the Observation Deck, Xiang Ye was completely exhausted.

He collapsed directly onto the grass and looked up at the sky.

With humanity having retreated underground, this world’s sky had become exceptionally clean. Looking up, the azure expanse was crystal clear, clouds rolling and unfurling at leisure.

Xiang Ye was utterly entranced.

Ying Li handed Xiang Ye a bottle of energy drink. Once Xiang Ye finished it, Ying Li pulled him up from the ground. “It’s winter now, so the sun sets early. We can go up now.”

Going up now would let them secure a good spot on the viewing platform.

Although the flora and fauna of this world had mutated, the sun was still the same sun.

The setting sun slanted westward, its light sprinkling over the Mutant Plants, as if gilding them with a layer of gold.

The evening clouds at the horizon were dyed red, contrasting beautifully with the multicolored Mutated Flora, resembling an oil painting rendered with every hue imaginable—a beauty unearthly and beyond the mortal realm.

Xiang Ye, leaving the Underground City for the first time, was stunned by the sight.

He almost didn’t want to go back to the Underground City.

It wasn’t until the sun disappeared that Xiang Ye was pulled back to reality by Ying Li’s voice.

Ying Li asked, “Xiang Ye, do you want to browse the Surface Exchange?”

Xiang Ye shook his head. “No need. Let’s go back and eat.”

He was very interested in the Surface Exchange, but after being awed by the sunset, it seemed quite ordinary now.

Besides, it was getting a bit late, and he was worried Ying Li would get hungry.

By the time the two returned home, it was indeed somewhat late.

Xiang Ye had thought he’d be too tired to want to cook after such a long day. But in reality, he felt exceptionally energetic and full of motivation to cook.

Thus, Ying Li once again received a sumptuous dinner.

Ying Li felt this day had been perfect.

He hadn’t overtrained, but he had exercised a bit, eaten delicious food, and felt very comfortable physically.

Luo Qiming and the others admired him deeply. Xiang Ye kept complimenting him. He had also enjoyed a sunset, so his mood was wonderful too.

What kind of life had he been living in his previous life?!

After dinner, Ying Li opened the refrigerator, took out the Mutated Plant storage box, and retrieved the Tree Gum inside for Xiang Ye. “Xiang Ye, eat this.”

Minors who consumed Tree Gum could enhance their potential and rank.

Of course, it wasn’t an instant boost. It required corresponding physical training to take effect.

In any case, this stuff was perfectly suited for Xiang Ye.

“What is this?” Xiang Ye asked Ying Li.

“Something that can improve your strength,” Ying Li said. “Hurry up and eat it.”

Xiang Ye picked up the Tree Gum and slowly began to eat.

Tree Gum didn’t taste great; it was sticky and unpleasant. But Xiang Ye knew this was a good thing.

If it weren’t a good thing, Ying Li wouldn’t have preserved it so carefully.

He had to train hard, get stronger quickly, and then do more things to help Ying Li.