Chapter 116

Masaki Hina asked Efnir and Yukina to sit on the sofa, then hung her coat on the coat rack, went to her desk to get some documents, and brought two glasses of water to Efnir and Yukina.

"There's not much to drink here, I hope you don't mind."

"Th-thank you..."

Yukina took the water glass with a flustered expression and glanced at Masaki Hina.

This commander is much more approachable than I imagined, but even so, she is still the head of the Orderkeepers Organization, and from today onwards, she is also my direct superior.

Masaki Hina is the Commander-in-Chief and Commander-in-Chief of the Orderkeepers Organization, and also the true "Plenipotentiary" whose actual power surpasses that of the two major organizations and the garrison troops in Xijing City.

According to military rank classification, Fushihara Ayaka is one rank lower than her.

For Efnir, Masaki Hina was always someone she couldn't understand, but she was also one of Efnir's few friends.

Few people are allowed to come to her office, partly due to confidentiality considerations, but Efnir is always an exception—just as Efnir has always chosen to trust Masaki Hina has never avoided Efnir. In this respect, their relationship is more like that of close friends than that of a boss and subordinate.

"Here, take this."

Masaki Hina handed the documents in her hand to Efnir.

"What's this?"

"Report on the current stage of the investigation."

Masaki Hina crossed her arms in front of her chest and sat down with her back against the sofa.

"Let me make this brief. Actually, I had three very important things to tell you in person the day before yesterday, and I wanted to ask for your opinion. The first is information about Karina, the adjutant of the Apostle Squad."

"Are you not catching her so you can use her as bait?"

Efnir asked directly.

"That's right."

Masaki Hina nodded.

"This time, including the Apostle Squad, we captured a total of seventeen people. These were all undercover agents infiltrating our organization, but we couldn't get anything out of them—only three people truly possessed crucial information: their captain, Apostle Sakurai Sachi, and his adjutant Karina. However... no matter how we interrogated Sakurai Sachi, she remained tight-lipped, while the captain committed suicide."

165. New Plan

"Suicide?"

"Yes, you can understand it as him being unable to withstand those tortures and committing suicide in front of me and the Bushiyuan... Of course, there are other reasons as well, which our people are investigating, but the result is that we are now unable to pry anything out of him, and our investigation into him has been cut off once again."

"Other reasons?"

"It's just some petty trick by 'those people' behind him. If I were him, I'd probably choose to end my own life if I fell into enemy hands... I don't think you want to delve into this kind of topic."

"Those people behind me...?"

Efnir murmured softly, her brows slightly furrowed.

Although Efnir had never liked the Apostle, even she had to admit that they were indeed some troublesome people, from the Apostle Sakurai Sachi encountered at the beginning to the soldiers of these Apostle Squad later on.

But Efnir would never acknowledge them as "warriors" under any circumstances.

Those who wield weapons and point them at unarmed civilians are no longer worthy of being called "warriors."

"That guy is far more ruthless than we imagined, but that makes things more difficult for us. So I didn't immediately issue the order to arrest Karina. Instead, I ordered people to secretly monitor her while sending others to 'search' her. She's still completely unaware, hiding in this city, thinking she's playing hide-and-seek with us..."

Masaki Hina observed Efnir's expression, then looked at Yukina and continued.

"I'm waiting for her to slip up and Human Federation the Apostle. Besides, these Apostle are all very stubborn. Rather than resorting to torture and interrogation to extract information from them, I prefer to obtain further clues through 'surveillance' and 'guidance'."

"Hmm... this is indeed the most feasible method so far... but speaking of which, can you really tell me that this has nothing to do with Yukina? After all, this is top secret."

"I'm just reporting my work progress."

Please don't say things like that.

Efnir looked helpless.

"You are the commander, and I am merely your subordinate. This hierarchical relationship must be clearly defined, and no one can overstep their bounds arbitrarily. Saying things like that can easily lead to misunderstandings."

"What does it matter? I'll be leaving soon anyway. If I'm gone and no one takes over, the command will naturally fall to you, the highest-ranking officer in the military, right?"

"The commander's position won't be vacant so easily... Hey, Chufei, you're not plotting something bad, are you?"

"I was just joking."

Masaki Hina smiled, pursing her lips. Ignoring Efnir's scrutinizing gaze, she continued:

"Well... there's a second thing, and that's a decision you need to make."

"Why is it me?"

"Since the target has been selected, you are the only one who hasn't given a response yet."

"Don't push all the messy stuff onto me."

"Oh, no way, just let me finish."

Masaki Hina giggled, showing no displeasure at Efnir's suspicious gaze. Instead, she acted like a shameless child who would say, "Even if you don't listen, I'll still tell you," which made Yukina, who was standing to the side, feel a little awkward once again.

In short, although Yukina and Masaki Hina have only known each other for a short time, Masaki Hina's authority as a commander has completely vanished from Yukina's mind.

Or rather, the Masaki Hina at this moment was a completely different person compared to when she was last seen during the disaster.

"Oh, by the way," just as Yukina was lost in thought, Masaki Hina glanced at her and added, "Yukina, you're officially an agent starting today, and you're also Efnir's sister, so you can consider this as well."

"Huh? Me too?" Yukina asked in surprise, lowering her voice. "But I don't know much about this... I'm worried I won't be able to meet your expectations..."

"This has nothing to do with your experience as an agent, and I believe you'll soon become a capable agent on your own. Why not give it a try?"

"Alright, just say what you need to say."

Efnir sighed softly.

"Yukina is still the new agent, and I will make decisions for her..."

"Okay, then I won't waste any more time and will get to the point."

Masaki Hina paused, seemingly hesitating, yet also seemingly making up her mind.

Taking a deep breath, she composed herself, looked intently at Efnir, and slowly began to speak.

"Efnir, I think you also know that the reason why the 'Apostle' were able to take advantage of the three previous major disasters was due to our internal oversights, right? In order to deal with this situation and prevent such things from happening again, I have established an independent action department that exists independently of the Orderkeepers, the Special Disaster Division, and the military—a comprehensive functional agency that is not subject to any direct constraints and is capable of both intelligence and combat. It is staffed by personnel from the Orderkeepers Organization, the Special Disaster Division, and the city garrison, and is given the highest priority for advance action and independent decision-making authority."

Simply put, it is an independent executive body that is not constrained by the existing traditional operating system.

Efnir frowned slightly, pondering the other layer of meaning in Masaki Hina's words.

"Are you... trying to strip away some of the authority of the Orderkeepers Organization and the Special Disaster Division?"

"You could say that. Otherwise, we wouldn't be able to achieve our goal, would we?"

Masaki Hina did not deny it, but stared into Efnir's eyes and continued speaking.

"Similarly, for certain reasons, this matter is still a top secret that has not been made public. Fewer than ten people know about it, all of whom are people that I and Bushiyuan trust very much."

Can I assume that I am someone you can trust?

"Isn't that obvious?"

"This carries certain risks; weakening the commander's power under the current system is not a good thing."

"That's true, but the advantages are also obvious. As you've seen, the Orderkeepers Organization riddled with holes, with over a dozen spies hidden among us— Efnir. You must have wondered why there are so many Apostle within the organization, right? Their files and identities haven't raised any questions. In other words, the suspicion must lie with the auditing and record management department, or rather... the Human Federation."

Human Alliance.

This wasn't the first time Efnir had uttered this word from Masaki Hina.

The last time they were in the hospital, when Masaki Hina handed her the Apostle's "Sacred Relic"—the Beacon used by the Apostle — Masaki Hina also mentioned the Human Federation.

166. Third Group

The Human Alliance is the only bond that unites the few remaining national powers from "that generation" and represents the hope for a new century for humanity. It is the only cultural, military, and political core that possesses absolute power to rule all of humanity.

The descriptions of the Human Federation in the books are all roughly the same. For ordinary people, the existence of the Human Alliance is something that cannot be overstepped and is also unattainable.

But Efnir doesn't envision the Human Alliance as something rosy; at least, Efnir doesn't harbor such naive thoughts. To Efnir, the Human Federation is merely a distant entity that won't interfere with the "city," nor will it offer shelter without reason.

"What does this have to do with the Human Federation?"

"Efnir asked."

Why do you think they suddenly transferred me away from Xijing City?

Masaki Hina suddenly smiled, her tone becoming elusive.

But instead of explaining, she continued:

"Speaking of which, there's something else I need to tell you. The new commander who took my place—she and her so-called 'reinforcement force' decided to set off ahead of schedule after receiving news of the 'Angel's' appearance, and they're expected to arrive here within the next two days. This is the latest news I received just two days ago, and it's the third thing I wanted to tell you."

"A week earlier?"

Masaki Hina chuckled.

"Yes, you can't wait, can you?... This means I'll have to step down from my position as commander very soon. You'll have to get along well with the new commander when she arrives."

"You're leaving after she arrives?"

"Um."

"Is it not okay not to go back?"

"Of course not. Even if my position is stripped, I still retain my rank. Staying in other cities would definitely get me into trouble, wouldn't it?"

Masaki Hina raised her eyelashes.

"... all good things must come to an end."

Efnir pursed her lips, feeling slightly surprised and subtly disappointed by the fact that Masaki Hina was leaving early, while also pondering the other layer of meaning in Masaki Hina's words.

Masaki Hina and Qinglan are the two people who have spent the most time together since Efnir took over as her agent. In a sense, Qinglan is Efnir's senior, while Masaki Hina is Efnir's "contemporary colleague." The three of them have been friends who have supported each other since then.

Everyone else is dead.

Now, Qinglan has become Angel, her condition is unknown, Flying Swallow, who disappeared with her, is in doubt, and Masaki Hina is also leaving Xijing City, leaving only Efnir behind.

"So, the new commander and his agent, they came for Qinglan?"

"Of course I can't say for sure, but the facts are obvious now."

"Qinglan...?"

Efnir lowered her gaze, and the image of her old friend reappeared before her eyes.

"If we came here because of Angel..."

If those people really came for "Angel Qinglan," then they would definitely try every means to deal with Qinglan, right?

Efnir did have ulterior motives towards Qinglan.

Qinglan's current situation is still unclear. At that time, Qinglan gave Efnir a very strange feeling. It was hard to imagine that it was an action made out of Qinglan's own will. Instead, it was like a puppet that had lost Qinglan's original soul.

Efnir couldn't help but wonder: What exactly happened to Qinglan? Why was she controlled by the Apostle? Was she kidnapped? Or was she forcibly given some kind of psychotropic drug? Can she still be saved?

The difficulty of trying to have a conversation with Qinglan is self-evident; Efnir had tried before, but all attempts ended in failure.

In conclusion, given the current situation in Xijing City, the possibility of getting another opportunity to meet Qinglan face-to-face alone is extremely slim.

Rationally speaking, abandoning the naive idea of "rescuing Qinglan" is the "correct" thing to do right now.

Efnir clenched her fists.

"Putting Qinglan's problem aside, their arrival is not a bad thing for the situation we are facing now."

This is a fair assessment. For the people of this city, who takes over the Orderkeepers Organization and what they will do after taking over are things that no one cares about, nor do they consider the matter of the former agent, Qinglan.

The people of this city need a stable life.

Masaki Hina kept bringing up the matter of the "Human Alliance" intentionally or unintentionally, and Efnir wasn't completely indifferent to it.

But whatever happens on the Human Federation's side, and no matter how foolishly the factions within the Human Federation against each other in this era, it has nothing to do with Efnir or the people here.