(That's right, this is a double update. I scared you again—so while I'm at it, how about some monthly votes or tips? Brothers and sisters, could you bury me in monthly votes and tips? Though isn't it kind of weird to ask for votes in the middle of the month... Are there really any votes left?)
The next day, I was awakened by a burst of noise coming from nowhere in particular.
After getting up, dressing, and tidying myself up, I stepped out into the corridor. Looking at the stone-brick walls around me and the low stone-vaulted ceiling overhead, I was mildly dazed before remembering that I had spent the night in the Church Fortress of North Fortress. The biggest feature of living away from home year-round was that every morning, you might wake up to an unfamiliar ceiling and have to spend a few minutes remembering where you had slept the night before...
I checked the time and found that nearly twenty hours should have passed since the universe was torn apart. There was no artillery fire outside, nor were there any warnings on the Information Link about pursuit by the Fallen Apostles. It seemed the most dangerous twenty hours had passed safely. If everything went normally, this world fragment would enter the Empire Zone before long, and then everything would be safe. But what was that commotion just now?
I shook my head, then heard the chaotic noise again. This time I heard it clearly: it seemed to be coming from outside the castle. I headed toward the main hall, intending to meet up with the others, when Qian Qian happened to dart out from around the corner of the corridor ahead with an egg-filled pancake in her mouth. She was rushing this way in a great hurry,