41. A Lifetime of Reputation Ruined by a Collar / 42. Xia Ling Walks Right into the Trap

Rita walked out of the safe house, restored the door to its previous state, and quietly left.

"I didn't expect that Dr. Kal'tsit was right. Someone really will come to investigate the cause of the Jackal's death."

Himeko observed the situation outside the safe house from a distance and couldn't help but feel a little admiring.

"After all, all the intelligence you and we have gathered emphasizes the cunning of that Bishop Otto, so Kal'tsit must consider all possibilities..."

While connected to a computer and tracking Rita's location in real time, Theresia answered Himeko's questions.

"Little Xia Ling is caught up in the situation and may not notice many small details. That's when we reliable parents need to handle the aftermath for her."

"Then... should we conceal our previous movements?"

Himeko looked slightly embarrassed. "I remember, I seem to have left quite a few traces in Changkong City..."

"You mean you secretly bought all sorts of beer and barbecue during your recovery period, and bribed me not to tell Kal'tsit?"

Theresia chuckled, "Let me tell you a little secret, actually, Kal'tsit did it too."

"Oh, this..."

"Ahem, back to the main topic, should we stop Rita...? Of course not."

"Imagine you, if you were Bishop Otto, and you were assigning Rita to do this job."

"As a result, a week later, your top intelligence Valkyrie, who is practically the best in the world, came back to tell you that she hadn't found anything."

"What do you think?"

"I'm... a little uneasy. After all, this is a very obscure clue. The fact that I've been so careful and still haven't found anything only proves that the other party is more terrifying than I imagined."

Theresia snapped her fingers, "You guessed it. While we'd like to keep our identities as secret as possible, compared to being targeted by the leader of the world's largest organization, let's just forget about it..."

"So, that's why Kal'tsit didn't act with us."

"She will be discovered by Rita on her own initiative and become the 'result' that Otto wants."

"The other party will absolutely not doubt the answer they arrived at after exhaustive thinking and careful investigation, but in return..."

"He wouldn't have realized that this was actually a multiple-choice question."

"And that allows us to continue to hide and maintain our mystery."

Theresia tapped a few times on the computer, erasing all traces of her and Himeko, leaving only Kal'tsit's.

Chapter 41 A Lifetime of Honor Ruined by a Collar

Two days have passed since Xia Ling was taken back to the Hyperion by Theresa.

And on the Hyperion, some changes finally came.

The members of Hyperion were no strangers to Xia Ling. During their time at the academy, she often helped Theresa and Himeko deal with all sorts of messes.

Because Xia Ling is gentle and efficient, anything that comes through her hands, as long as it doesn't involve too much expertise, can generally be handled quickly and well.

Not only the bridge crew, but even the deck cleaners of the Hyperion, all give Xia Ling high praise when they talk about Xia Ling, regardless of age or gender.

The atmosphere on the Hyperion was somber for quite some time after Xia Ling's funeral. Although separation and death are quite common due to the special nature of the Valkyrie profession, this did not prevent them from mourning Xia Ling's passing.

However, just yesterday.

The crew of the Hyperion noticed that there seemed to be a familiar person on board.

Although she was in a wheelchair, her left hand was wrapped in thick gauze, and her eyes were covered with a black veil, there was no doubt that this person was Xia Ling.

Subsequently, with confirmation from Theresa and several high-ranking officials, Xia Ling's identity was quickly confirmed.

Xia Ling's return brought joy to the entire Hyperion.

However, amidst the joy, the crew members also encountered two problems.

One issue is... what should be done with Xia Ling's portrait in their room?

Keep it. Xia Ling is always hanging around in front of them, so it's not really appropriate for me to have this thing in my possession.

Throw them away... There are so many people on this Hyperion. The circulation rate of Xia Ling's portrait is at least 60% to 70%, if not 100%. With so many portraits, dealing with them is quite troublesome.

However, these are minor issues. They are more curious about something else.

They knew that Miss Xia Ling was seriously injured.

As Xia Ling's... well, those who know, know, it's quite reasonable for Principal Theresa to keep Xia Ling by her side and take care of her personally.

So...

Why is Miss Xia Ling wearing a collar around her neck?

Is this some new hobby that Theresa has awakened?

For a time, fanfiction and articles about Xia Ling and Theresa's strange hobbies became the most popular things on the Hyperion intranet.

"Theresa ~ my dear Theresa ~"

"How about we make a deal?"

In the Hyperion's captain's office, Xia Ling restlessly rocked her wheelchair while holding Theresa's hand, pressing her tender heart against Theresa's arm.

"Could you please remove this collar from my neck...?"

Xia Ling's voice was sickeningly sweet; she used both her body and voice to persuade Theresa to remove the collar from her.

As for the risk of being pushed back by Theresa if she goes too far, Xia Ling said that she is currently a patient, and if anything happens, it will happen to her after she recovers. What does it have to do with her now?

I have already severed ties with my future self.

Now all she wants to do is get rid of this damn collar. Yesterday afternoon, Theresa took her out for some fresh air, and even though she couldn't see, she could feel waves of gazes scrutinizing her.

Wearing a collar out in public is a bit too stimulating for Xia Ling, who hasn't undergone much "training." The stares from others always make her face inexplicably flush.

But then another problem arises: blushing itself isn't a problem, but...

Imagine someone wearing a collar around their neck, blindfolded, sitting in a wheelchair, and their face developing a suspicious flush as they move...

If any one of these elements were removed, it wouldn't seem so strange, but when combined, it instantly transforms into a scene of some bizarre play.

Xia Ling couldn't even imagine what her reputation would become.

Today, she didn't even want to go out with Theresa, but Theresa said that taking her out was Tesla's request, and she had to follow the doctor's orders.

Damn Tesla, what kind of medical advice are you giving me? Once I recover, I'll tear your mech apart!

Xia Ling wore a sweet smile, but at the same time, all sorts of dark thoughts kept popping into her mind.

"Want to remove your collar? Sure, you can!"

Theresa's voice made Xia Ling feel a surge of joy.

"But we can only do it when you're fully healed."

Xia Ling's joy was immediately extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

"This is a monitoring ring for your health... For your health, I certainly can't take it off."

Even though she couldn't see it, Xia Ling could guess that Theresa's face must be filled with righteous indignation.

"I'd accept it if you put a monitoring ring on me..."

Xia Ling pointed to her smooth neck and asked, "Can you explain why this thing is shaped like a collar?"

"Ahem, well, there's nothing I can do about it, although its appearance might indeed be a little controversial..."

"But it is indeed a monitoring ring."

Theresa's voice was full of self-righteousness.

"Theresa... if something looks like a collar, feels like a collar, and looks like a collar when worn..."

Xia Ling said speechlessly, "Then I think it's just a collar."

"As for that monitoring function you mentioned, I've had this thing with me for two days and I haven't seen you use it."

"Your monitoring function is like the bassist in a band; it's hard for me not to suspect that you're doing it on purpose."

"Hmph, it was intentional, so what?"

Theresa decided to stop acting altogether, hooked her arm around Xia Ling's collar, pulled her close, and breathed softly on her.

"Anyway, I don't care."

Theresa gave a loud snort and retaliated by giving Xia Ling a hard kiss on her soft cheek.

"You are not allowed to take this off until your injury heals!"

"If you dare to sneak out and hurt yourself again, I'll add a chain to your body and keep you permanently by my side!"

Theresa said fiercely, "The equipment is like a neighboring master's sweat shirt."

Why are you still angry with me...?

Xia Ling felt she was about to be overwhelmed after being ambushed by Theresa out of the blue.

It's not that she can't control Theresa, it's just that Theresa is currently suffering from a frail health condition.

Moreover, from Theresa's perspective, Changkong City's previous actions were indeed a bit excessive.

Feeling guilty, Xia Ling could only let Theresa do whatever she wanted to her.

However, this can't go on forever. I've always been so wise, but if I really mess things up in a couple of days and get pushed over by Theresa, I'll lose face big time.

Looks like... I need to ask Elysia for advice on how to calm Theresa down...

Chapter 42 Xia Ling Walks into the Trap

"Elysia... help, Elysia..."

At noon, taking advantage of the lunch break, Xia Ling hurriedly entered the system space and called out to Elysia.

The system space was very quiet at noon, since most people only had time to enter the system space to train in the evening.

However, Xia Ling will not be inconvenienced by this, since she entered the system space using her consciousness and will not be affected by the loss of her three senses.

On her first day back in the Hyperion, she was unconscious for the entire day, and on the second day she was entangled in a series of troubles.

She had originally planned to come see Elysia again tonight, but unexpectedly, Theresa had already put the collar on her yesterday afternoon.

She dared to take the collar yesterday afternoon; there's no way Theresa can imagine what she's going to do tonight!

Therefore, in order to avoid being subjected to various strange plays by Theresa, Xia Ling couldn't wait until evening and took advantage of her lunch break to ask Elysia for help.

However, it seems that Elysia hasn't been very free these past two days. After calling out to Elysia in the channel for a while, Elysia finally teleported over from the Elysian Realm.

And before she could even speak, he pinched her cheek.

"Mmm..."

"Elysia, stop rubbing me... mmm..."

"Hmph, naughty children who don't cherish themselves will be punished, you know?"

Only after Xia Ling's face was flushed and her eyes were brimming with tears did Elysia finally release her grip.

"What, is it that Theresa is angry?"

"Or the kind that can't be coaxed?"

"No, Elysia, it's even scarier than that!"

Xia Ling suddenly hugged Elysia's slender waist. "Theresa doesn't seem angry at all on the surface, but I feel like she's turned evil!"

"Yesterday she put a collar on me in a very serious manner, and then dragged me out for a walk every hour, saying it was for fresh air. What kind of patient goes out for fresh air every hour...?"

"Put on the collar...?"

Elysia's gaze lingered on Xia Ling's delicate face, then slowly moved down, scrutinizing her from head to toe.

A moment later, Elysia smiled sweetly, "It seems pretty good, it would be even better if you could add a chain?"

"Elysia???"

Xia Ling let out an indescribable scream, "You think so too?!"

"Since Little Xia Ling usually seems so easy to bully, putting a collar on you would definitely better bring out that gentle and alluring charm of yours, wouldn't it?"