About ten minutes had passed since the operation meeting ended.
During those ten minutes, all the Master candidates had logged into their respective "coffins" and were waiting nearby for orders, ready to enter them at any time and undergo Spiritron Transfer.
Luo Zhen was also waiting beside his own dedicated "coffin."
However...
"What a pain..."
Beside the "coffin," Luo Zhen grumbled with an unhappy expression.
Beside him, Mashu, who was likewise waiting by her own "coffin," spoke as though she had accepted the situation.
"I didn't expect it either, Senior. You were actually excluded from Team A's roster."
That was right.
Luo Zhen was not on Team A's roster.
There had been nine Master candidates at Chaldea one month ago.
Team A, however, would consist of the eight candidates who ranked highest in the Simulated Battle.
Naturally, that left one person behind.
And unfortunately, that person was Luo Zhen.
"Who can blame them? You never took the Simulated Battles seriously before, Senior."
Mashu explained the reason with a somewhat helpless expression.
That was the fundamental reason.
Although Luo Zhen had been more active than ever during this past month, scoring full marks in nearly every Simulated Battle, before that he had never taken the battles seriously. He had either barely passed or failed outright, and sometimes had even been absent or late. All of that had been recorded as his actual results in Chaldea's computers.
As a result, Luo Zhen ranked last and was successfully left out.
Actually, whether he was left out or not did not matter much.
With the members of Team A paving the way ahead of him, Luo Zhen was more than happy to have things easy.
But Mashu was one of Team A's members.
How could Luo Zhen possibly feel at ease letting this girl, who was afraid of fighting, go on point alone and head to the Singularities ahead of him?
"It's all right, Senior."
Apparently seeing the concern in Luo Zhen's heart, Mashu said this with utmost seriousness.
"I'll definitely pave the way for you, Senior, and hold out until you arrive."
This was not bravado, but strength.
Even though she feared fighting, Mashu had no intention of running from it, much less hiding behind Luo Zhen.
Faced with the girl's resolve, Luo Zhen could not bring himself to say anything in opposition.
"I suppose it can't be helped..." Luo Zhen could only say to Mashu, "Then you have to be careful."
"Yes, I understand." Mashu nodded firmly.
Only then did Luo Zhen reluctantly stop complaining, turn around, and look toward the Command Room.
There, Chaldea's technicians were conducting the final adjustments for the Spiritron Transfer in full swing, operating all kinds of equipment without pause.
Olga Marie was also moving among the technicians, constantly issuing instructions.
Luo Zhen only glanced at the scene before frowning.
"Senior?"
Noticing that Luo Zhen had once again started acting strangely, Mashu could not help speaking up.
But this time, Luo Zhen had no energy left to respond to her.
He merely stared toward the Command Room with an extremely solemn expression.
That was because someone Luo Zhen could not help but care about was missing from the room.
"Where's Leff...?"
It was Leff.
Luo Zhen carefully searched the Command Room, but still could not find Leff anywhere.
This reminded Luo Zhen of the strange feeling he had sensed when he had just encountered Leff.
That strange feeling grew stronger in his heart as Leff's disappearance became a fact.
In the end, it grew strong enough to make Luo Zhen restless.
"How could that man suddenly disappear at such an important moment?"
The more Luo Zhen thought about it, the more concerned he became.
And so...
"Se... Senior? Where are you going?"
Mashu's astonished voice rang out.
At the same time, the other Master candidates all turned bewildered and surprised gazes toward Luo Zhen.
Luo Zhen paid them no attention. As he ran toward the door of the Control Room, he shouted to Mashu without looking back.
"I'll be back soon!"
After shouting that, Luo Zhen dashed out of the Control Room amid Mashu's calls and everyone's whispered conversation.
Faintly, Olga Marie's furious roar seemed to be mixed in as well.
"Rorerei? Anegina...!"
Hearing his own name being shouted furiously, Luo Zhen ran out of the Control Room without turning back.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
Not long after leaving the Control Room, Luo Zhen felt as though he was about to run out of stamina.
Under normal circumstances, he would have already started complaining and collapsed on the spot.
But this time, Luo Zhen continued exhausting himself as he ran through Chaldea's corridors. He even used the Bird Summoning sorcery, summoning dozens of flying birds and spreading them throughout Chaldea.
He ran around searching while dividing his consciousness into dozens of parts, sharing his senses with the Familiars and searching for Leff's whereabouts.
Being able to divide his senses into dozens of parts while continuing to handle his own affairs showed just how exceptional Luo Zhen's abilities were.
But...
"Nothing...?"
Luo Zhen braced one hand against the wall and panted continuously, unable to keep himself from finding it unbelievable.
"How can there be nothing?"
He had already divided his senses into dozens of parts and searched all of Chaldea alongside the flock of Familiar birds, yet he had not found even a trace of Leff.
"Could he have hidden himself in some important facility or workshop? Or has he already left Chaldea?"
In the former case, important locations were generally equipped with defensive systems and barriers, preventing Familiars from entering.
As for the latter, there was no need to mention it. Once Leff had truly left Chaldea, it would be impossible to find him.
No, that was not even the real problem.
"Why has Leff not only left the Control Room at such an important moment, but also vanished without a trace?"
A bad premonition had continued to grow in Luo Zhen's heart.
Unfortunately, Luo Zhen's premonitions had always been incredibly accurate—but only when it came to bad things.
And so, that incident happened.
An incident that, for Luo Zhen and those closest to him, would be enough to decide their fate.
"Boom..."
A muffled impact suddenly rang out without warning, making it seem as though all of Chaldea had begun to shake as a rumbling roar spread through the facility.
"Wh... what happened!?"
Luo Zhen was shocked.
The next second, an alarm rang throughout all of Chaldea.
"Emergency situation. Emergency situation."
"A fire has broken out in the Central Power Station and the Central Control Room."
"The isolation walls in the central area will be sealed in 240 seconds. All personnel, evacuate quickly through the second gate."
"Repeating."
"A fire has broken out in the Central Power Station and the Central—"
As the cold, emotionless alarm continued to sound, all of Chaldea began systematic emergency procedures beneath flashing red lights.
Luo Zhen's mind, meanwhile, went completely blank.
"Fire? The Control Room?"
The moment those two words flashed through his mind, Luo Zhen sprinted toward the Control Room before he had even fully processed what was happening.
Because someone extremely important to him was still there.
"Mashu...!"
A roar tore from his throat as Luo Zhen charged toward the Control Room.
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