Chapter 152
The slanting rays of the setting sun cast a long shadow on Yukina's profile. She held her schoolbag with both hands, still wearing her uniform from the Youcheng Girls' Academy, and stood there quietly, a silver butterfly hair clip dangling from the end of her hair.
It seems that Yukina has been waiting for a long time.
This scene was reminiscent of a wife waiting for her lover to finish work, and a momentary reverie made Efnir's lips unconsciously curl into a faint smile.
But Efnir did not step forward.
She is currently in Exile Form, known as "Ephnel," and it's clearly inconvenient for Yukina to be with Yukina at this time. The students haven't gone far yet, Efnir getting close to Yukina would only bring her trouble and gossip.
Agents must be mindful of maintaining appropriate distance from others when operating in public.
So Efnir had no choice but to pretend to look away from Yukina and act as if she hadn't seen anything.
She took a sip of water and sent a message to Yukina on her phone.
("What? Since you're here, just tell me...")
It was followed by a cute, grinning emoji.
She seemed to be complaining, but she was actually being affectionate—even though she's the older sister, it's fun to change her style sometimes.
Of course, Efnir only plays a completely different role when chatting with Yukina on her phone or engaging in certain activities. In the eyes of others, Efnir is still the older sister who lives up to the title of "Chief," always meticulous, strict, and composed.
Ding-dong--
Efnir's phone quickly vibrated and beeped; it was a message from Yukina.
("I wanted to surprise Naoko, so I came to wait for you, but I saw other girls calling you 'sister, sister' instead~~")
Upon seeing this message, Efnir nearly choked on her water.
Yukina! Are you jealous? Me too... I was just called "Sister Efnir" when I was saying goodbye to those students...
The smell of vinegar wafted in from the phone screen.
While I don't dislike her, in fact, I find Yukina quite adorable, Efnir likes her very much.
It was precisely because Yukina was always jealous of Efnir's interactions with other girls that Efnir was able to clearly feel Yukina's care and devotion towards her.
But a girlfriend's jealousy is a very serious matter and cannot be taken lightly.
Efnir coughed lightly, put down her water bottle, and cautiously looked up at Yukina, only to see Yukina's serene gaze and a sly smile on her lips.
Rather than saying that Yukina was jealous, it would be more accurate to say that she was simply trying to tease Efnir.
Like a naughty child, their intention is simply to attract attention and assert their presence.
Efnir couldn't help but chuckle.
Shinomiyami Nami looked at Efnir with a puzzled expression. "Why are you laughing so happily?" She was about to ask this when she noticed Yukina standing not far away, "observing".
It turns out that Efnir's number one fan has arrived.
Understanding dawned on her, Shinomiyami Nami shook her head, pretending not to have seen anything, and silently looked away.
Efnir and Yukina, these sisters have such a close relationship that everyone envies them. If they weren't sisters, Shinomiyami Nami would even suspect that they are dating.
"You little jealous person..."
After silently grumbling to herself for a while, Efnir tapped her phone screen lightly.
("It's all because someone never calls me 'sister'.")
("If you call me 'sister' now, what will 'sister' call you later?")
What does that mean?
Before she could process the meaning behind Yukina's words, Efnir paused for a moment before belatedly realizing what she meant.
His face flushed red instantly.
"Oh, so you dare to flirt with your sister!"
Under the Shinomiyami Nami, Efnir smiled and looked in Yukina's direction, her expression extremely amiable.
She picked up her phone and dialed.
"Later... on the training ground... let's see who shouts the loudest!"
It's late at night.
West Line Boundary Stele Garrison District, Helipad--
The helicopter's signal lights streaked across the cold night. When the helicopter landed, people were already waiting on the helipad.
Kusei Maki glanced briefly at the soldiers before her, then looked past the Boundary Stele to the vast ruins surrounding the Garrison District, her brows furrowing slightly.
"Is this where the battle took place...?"
It has to be said, this is something that people are very concerned about.
The devastation before us is the remains left behind by the "Angel" after they destroyed the Garrison District.
The power of the "Angel" is especially terrifying; the firearms left over from the Old Era cannot harm her in the slightest. Only agents who use the Order Force can fight against her.
The difference in output level is likely obvious.
It's hard to imagine what kind of being Efnir, who could fight against Angel all by herself, must be.
He doesn't seem like an agent at all.
"Yanase Naoto, also known as Yanase Naoko, 19 years old, an agent of the Orderkeepers Organization, with the rank of Brigadier General, codenamed Ephnel, and the same spokesperson 'Magical Girl Efnir'..."
Kusei Maki clutched the documents in her hand, muttering to herself.
Her voice was low.
"Can one rise to the position of acting brigadier general simply by achieving merit in combating Erosion Disaster...?"
She took a deep breath and looked solemnly Beyond the Boundary.
Under the cover of night, the areas outside the city are pitch black without any lights.
There are 10 hours left before the first exercise for combat Beyond the Boundary officially begins.
The area outside the city is called the "Beyond the Boundary" region, also known as the "Fallen Zone." It is a region almost devoid of humans, filled with a light mist, where a large number of Erosion Entity operate.
This is a strange area. The fog here does not block out the sunlight. There are trees, and in the Beyond the Boundary Area, there are wild animals that have never been seen in the city, as well as very rare and strange trees. If you look at it up close, the Beyond the Boundary Area is more wild and somewhat similar to the landscape forest in the city, but if you look at it from a distance, your vision will be obscured by the hazy white fog.
And you will see the Erosion Entity slowly moving towards you.
The Erosion Entity tracks humans, but the underlying mechanism is unclear.
However, unlike their ability to detect humans, the Erosion Entity seem to be less sensitive to animals. They do not deliberately attack any creature other than humans unless it gets close to them. This is similar to the situation of some electrical equipment left behind by humans in the Beyond the Boundary region in the Old Era. The Erosion Entity can sense certain energy fluctuations, and the activities of animals are naturally within this sensing range.
However, animals consciously avoid Erosion Entity, while Old Era equipment does not.
Therefore, there are not many Trace of human activity left in the Beyond the Boundary Region now.
[Regarding the extra chapter]
Initial data: 17,400 in tips, 903 in monthly tickets.
End-of-month data (I forgot to take a screenshot last night, so I can only use the reward record for calculation): Rewards 125,000 (+107,600) [equivalent to 10.76 chapters, total 11 chapters], Monthly tickets 1,373 (+470) [equivalent to 4.7 chapters, total 5 chapters], Total 2+11+5=18 chapters.
3. Temporary changes
7:30 AM, Kita Ward, Xijing City, Boundary Stele Garrison District (Northern Section)
"Everyone assemble!!"
A sharp whistle rang out in the morning mist. Beneath the heavy twin-barreled turret, fully armed soldiers stood in neat rows, their boots striking the ground and their rifles clattering against their locks. Their solemn presence pushed aside the rising sun.
The roar of the engines was like a tiger lurking in ambush. Several armored vehicles were assembled here, their dark cannons pointing straight ahead, heavy machine guns trailing heavy bronze-yellow ammunition belts, and the operators and commanders standing like pine trees beside the vehicles.
The roar of steel machinery pierced the chilly air. A container truck, as tall as a building, stood ready at the rear. It was the crucial core of every Beyond the Boundary combat mission, the carrier of the "mobile shielding device," the "Heavy Modular Armored Train." Each set of wheels consisted of at least four tires, each five meters high, protected by armor, making it difficult for even heavy machine guns to damage.
What is particularly striking is its massive, mountain-like carriages, which are assembled from several modular units and covered by layers of thick armor to protect the inner "movable shielding device" and corresponding power supply equipment.
The cost of each deployment of this Heavy Modular Armored Train is an astonishing figure.
At this moment, the rear of the "train" was connected to the Boundary Stele System via countless cables. Service soldiers and testers were working tirelessly to conduct final adjustments and checks on the "Shielding Device" and power supply equipment inside the carriages to ensure that no unknown risks would arise during combat.
The area Beyond the Boundary is teeming with terrifying Erosion Entity, and the risk of the action force being exposed once the "Shielding Device" fails is unimaginable.
This is the force that will carry out the operation to retake the Maesakagawa area. The majority of the force consists of military personnel, and there is also an engineering team of several hundred people. However, since the objective of today's operation is only to conduct exercises and gather intelligence, not all of them have joined the convoy.
Even so, the combination of military and engineering vehicles still occupied this space, bringing immense pressure.
At that moment, at the very front of the dark mass of soldiers and convoy, appeared a dozen or so young girls.
The girls wore tight-fitting combat uniforms that seemed out of place with the iron-willed soldiers. They had no visible weapons, only tactical goggles, simple identification badges, and other necessary equipment.
Their arrival brought a touch of warm morning light to the solemn atmosphere here.
They are the city's greatest reliance in resisting Erosion Disaster —its agents.
The agents who participated in this battle numbered fifteen and were roughly divided into two teams based on their attire and rank. The two leaders of the two teams were Efnir and Gotō Chizuru, respectively.
The first team, besides Efnir, also includes "Fifina" Shiomi Yukina, "Canary Swallow" Kiri Mahiru, "Ayse" Oguri Aya, and "Furan" Shiina Rin.
Unlike the soldiers standing guard behind them, they wore only combat uniforms and other necessary combat equipment, such as communication and lighting equipment, signal pistols, and handguns. They stood neatly behind Efnir, each with a different expression on their face.
Only Yukina seemed particularly nervous.
Among them, only Yukina is a new agent who has never participated in any Beyond the Boundary Expedition.
On the other side, the original support Agent Squad, led by Anilas, has now been disbanded and officially joined the Xijing City Orderkeepers Organization as city agents.
Although the organizational structure has been abolished, the few days of training were not enough for them to be in sync with Efnir and the others. Therefore, they still retain their own style of operation, which is why they are divided into two teams with Efnir and the others.
Incidentally, among them, only Anilas has actually experienced combat Beyond the Boundary. Although the other squad members have undergone long-term rigorous training, their combat experience is somewhat lacking.
"A combined force of over four hundred soldiers, engineers, and agents—this is the execution force for this Beyond the Boundary reconnaissance operation."
With her hands clasped behind her back and looking straight ahead, Efnir gave a brief explanation to Yukina.
Yukina nodded and smiled at Efnir, trying to hide her nervousness, but in the end, she didn't know if she had actually managed a proper smile.
Are you nervous?
"There's a little... but no problem!"
"Well, that's inevitable. Even for me, this is my first time participating in such a large-scale operation Beyond the Boundary..."
Efnir smiled and ruffled Yukina's hair.
"There must be a lot of Erosion Entity in the Beyond the Boundary region, right?"
"Of course, but no problem."
Efnir gestured for Yukina to look at the "train".
"Look at that, that's a 'train,' equipped with a Corruption 'Shielding Device.' Within the ' Shielding Device ''s' range, we're like transparent air to the Erosion Entity. We just need to deal with any Erosion Entity 'accidentally' intrude into the shield's range."
"It doesn't sound like it's that difficult to do..."
"You've trained hard. This operation is just a drill; there won't be any problems. Take this opportunity to use the results of your training these past few days as fuel for your own power. With your abilities, you'll be fine."
"Um!"
At this moment, the figures of Kusei Maki and Fushihara Ayaka appeared at the front of the formation.
"Salute!!"
The soldiers saluted in unison towards Kusei Maki and Fushihara Ayaka.
Immediately afterwards, a piercing noise suddenly blared from the loudspeaker, the buzzing sound tearing through the entire sky.
"I am the current commander of the Orderkeepers, Kusei Maki."
Kusei Maki's voice echoed throughout the entire assembly plaza.
"The fog hasn't lifted yet, so to be on the safe side, the departure time for the Beyond the Boundary combat mission will be delayed by half an hour. In the meantime, I have two announcements. First, operational instructions—the purpose of this reconnaissance operation is twofold: one, to conduct exercises and refine teamwork. Your task is to apply 100% of your training results to actual combat. In this mission..."