Chapter 202

They simply wandered aimlessly in the darkness, dragging their stiff bodies.

The city's inhabitants were all reduced to Dregs, resulting in a vast amount of Dregs that permeated every residential building, commercial plaza, underground warehouse, and pipework.

These corpses were desperately trying to escape and hide in their last moments before death. They could be found almost anywhere that people could enter, which made the soldiers' cleanup work more difficult.

Therefore, they had to carefully establish a perimeter and take turns on guard duty to prevent the base from being attacked by wandering Dregs in the dark.

At this time, within the temporary encampment, the former Boundary Stele Administration Office's rear service warehouse...

Thanks to the soldiers' efforts, the service warehouse was the first to be cleared out. Some of the original supplies inside were requisitioned by the troops, and the rooms were used as a temporary medical department within the garrison.

Although there were still many dried bloodstains on the wall, which looked particularly eerie under the light, at least the Dregs had been completely eliminated, and safety could be guaranteed.

Several squads of soldiers were patrolling outside the warehouse.

After informing the soldiers on duty, Anilas arrived at the makeshift medical ward and stopped a nurse.

"Excuse me, is Major General Efnir here?"

"Ah... she, she's here," the nurse glanced up, "Taking care of Miss Fifina."

Taking care of Shiomi- san...

Anilas was not at all surprised by this.

Efnir and her sister are a rather unique pair, even among the agents currently active in Xijing City.

They were always inseparable, whether training, working, fighting, traveling, sleeping, or even changing clothes. They were so close that they seemed more like a couple than sisters.

In fact, Canary had said things like "There's definitely something wrong with these two" and "Efnir and Yukina haven't had any close relationships with any men yet" in front of Anilas. However, as an outsider, it was still a bit rude to say such things to her very close sister. So even though Anilas agreed with Canary's statement in her heart, she didn't say it out loud.

To be honest, it's not uncommon for agents to develop relationships that go beyond friendship, so Anilas wasn't particularly surprised by Canary's statement.

Because agents are special, their only comrade is another agent. The feelings that arise in the midst of life-or-death battles can become uncontrollable once they touch a soft spot. In Anilas's view, Canary and Ayse, Feng and Jasmine are all such relationships.

Anilas was somewhat puzzled as to what role Efnir was always serious and even a bit stern at work, would play in a romantic relationship, so she was also a little concerned about it.

But now is not the time to think about those things.

She shook her head, banishing the inappropriate thoughts from her mind, and looked at the nurse.

"Would it be convenient for you to take me there?"

"Okay, okay... please follow me."

Anilas followed the nurse as they walked. Wounded soldiers were everywhere in this makeshift medical facility, and the air was thick with the stench of blood and medicine. Several rooms, covered by curtains, lined both sides of the road. Anilas saw wounded soldiers who had undergone surgery being wheeled out of them.

Most of those still undergoing surgery are patients with relatively minor injuries. This person seems to be in relatively good condition; as he passed Anilas even saluted her while lying on a stretcher.

Anilas returned his greeting.

Following the nurse to the third floor, Anilas stopped in front of a room.

"Thank you, please continue with your work."

The nurse left.

Anilas watched the nurse disappear around the corner before straightening up, fixing her hair and clothes, pausing, and then raising her hand to knock on the door.

"Miss Efnir, I am Anilas, may I come in?"

Thump--

"Ah--"

The next second after the sound faded, a muffled thud came from the room, like the sound of someone kicking a wall, followed by a girl's soft cry.

"Efnir!?"

Anilas gripped the doorknob, only to find it was locked.

"Shiomi- san!"

Then another crisp thud came from the room, like a chair being thrown to the ground.

"Wait a moment!"

Efnir's off-key voice.

Anilas her resolve, without a second thought, immediately took a step back, bent her knees, and lunged forward, kicking the door open with a bang. At the same time, she pulled out her gun and rushed inside, shouting:

"Efnir! Are you alright!?"

However, when Anilas was stunned.

This is a small room with a window on the side. It's one of the cleaner rooms in the warehouse. It looks like it used to be a place to store unused tables and chairs, so there are still a few tables and a wooden cabinet piled up in the corner of the room.

A bed was placed in the middle of the room.

It looks like a bed that can be folded into a sofa, but it appears rather narrow.

Shiomi Yukina lay quietly on it, while Efnir sat beside her, with a lunchbox on the chair next to them, indicating that they had been eating until now.

But... these two people look really strange.

A white hooded long coat fell from the corner of the bed to the floor; Anilas recognized it as Efnir's coat.

At this moment, Efnir sat upright, looking out the window with her eyes turned away. Her body was taut and straight. Her collar was crooked and twisted as if she had been late for work. Her cheeks, earlobes, and neck were all red as if they had been burned. Her shoulders were rising and falling slightly, and her cheeks were covered with a light sheen of sweat. She looked as if she had just been in a fierce battle.

Her younger sister, meanwhile, was clutching the blanket with both hands, only half of her rosy face showing. A few strands of slightly messy hair clung to her forehead, and beads of sweat were faintly visible. She looked very hot, but she was tightly wrapped in the blanket.

And, ever since Anilas entered, an eerily silent atmosphere had filled the two of them, and they deliberately avoided each other's gaze.

There were no Trace of a struggle, nor were there any overturned tables or chairs.

Anilas paused for a moment, then a very strange expression appeared on her face.

Between these two people...

"Anilas... it's you. What's up?"

Efnir's voice remained calm and even, but it was slightly off-key, and her gaze was still fixed on the view outside the window.

"That..."

Anilas forced a dry smile.

The atmosphere was somewhat awkward. Anilas suddenly remembered something Canary had once said to her in a meaningful way.

The two of them were always inseparable, Anilas had almost gotten used to it, but now she realized she might still be too naive.

"Hmm... nothing special..."

Anilas forced a smile and mechanically took a step back.

"I'll come back later!!"

After saying this Anilas lifted the door that had been kicked over and used it to block the empty doorway, then turned around and dismissed the nurses and soldiers who had rushed over after hearing the noise.

The two people inside the room finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Didn't I tell you someone would come?"

Yukina remained huddled under the covers, giving Efnir a reproachful look, but a smile lingered in her eyes.

Efnir rubbed her lower back bitterly.

"Even so, you can't just kick me off like that..."

"That was punishment, sister, you're so mean."

"Why..."

Efnir let out a sigh.

I was attacked in the same way a month ago...

"Alright, alright, Naoko, you should go check on Miss Anilas. She probably wants to see you about something."

"Okay, I'll go."

Efnir lazily slumped her shoulders, reached under the covers and pinched Yukina's soft flesh, eliciting a soft cry from Yukina.

93. Meeting in the morning

That night, Efnir and Yukina shared a bed in a makeshift hospital room.

Nothing happened; they just fell asleep in each other's arms.

Yukina's injuries were neither serious nor minor for the agent, but proper recuperation was certainly necessary.

The next morning, Efnir fed Yukina breakfast and changed her medication. She spoke briefly with nurse Yukina Kururina before receiving a call from Kusei Maki and arriving early at the temporary command center.

When Efnir arrived at the command room, she discovered that Anilas had been waiting there for some time.

The two inevitably met.

Good morning, Anilas.

"Hmm... Good morning..."

Compared to Efnir, who greeted her as always, Anilas awkwardly looked away, avoiding direct eye contact with Efnir.

Whenever Anilas saw Efnir, the scene she witnessed in the makeshift ward the previous night would inevitably flash before her eyes.

Of course, Anilas didn't actually see anything particularly inappropriate for children, but the strange atmosphere in the ward made it difficult to misunderstand, which ironically made it easier for Anilas to let her imagination run wild.

Anilas didn't know much about how girls could interact in a more than platonic way, but she wasn't a complete novice when it came to love.

So much so that when she met Efnir, she would spontaneously offer interpretations of what happened next that night that went beyond Efnir wildest imagination.

Efnir was also embarrassed, but she was able to hide her expression well—although she hadn't had any official activities for a long time, Efnir was still a genuine active idol, Efnir could do that perfectly.

"The commander seems to have informed you as well? Then let's go in, don't keep the commander waiting too long."

"Um..."

Efnir acted as if nothing was wrong and took the lead into the temporary command post. Anilas quickly followed behind Efnir, while stealing a glance at Efnir.

Through Anilas's filter, Efnir today showed no trace of the fatigue from yesterday's battle. She was a radiant young woman, exuding femininity.

--Anilas was certain in her heart.

"Major General Efnir, Anilas, you've arrived."

Kusei Maki changed into a new uniform. Yesterday's battle left scars on her face, and a bandage was pasted on her cold, hard cheeks, which only added a layer of ruthlessness to her already tough aura.

Currently, besides Kusei Maki herself, only Efnir and Anilas, her two deputies, are in the command room; she doesn't seem to have summoned anyone else.

As always, Kusei Maki skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"The main reason I called you here today is to make temporary adjustments to the organization of the proxy combat teams. From last night to today, we have achieved considerable results, but in reality, we still have limited time. Today, your proxy teams are tasked with assisting the main force in the cleanup operations after the arrival of the main support troops in the central city. Compared to yesterday, today's work will be much less difficult, but we are facing the task of clearing all the buildings in the entire Garrison District and the Dregs in the experimental area. The workload is large and quite tedious. We need to completely recapture the Garrison District as quickly as possible and use it as a base to prepare for the next step of the operation."

"Are we already preparing for the next step...?"

Efnir's expression turned stern.

She thought of Yukina, who was still lying in the hospital bed... Before the operation began, Efnir silently vowed in her heart to protect Yukina's safety.

"I have something to say before that."

"Please speak."

Kusei Maki looked at Efnir, her gaze remaining unchanged.

"After yesterday's events, I've been thinking about something—whether we need to reassess this operation Beyond the Boundary and the upcoming reconnaissance operations Garrison District Shimokitazawa and its central city, Liujin City. I think we should perhaps report the situation here to the Central Province; the upcoming battles may be very difficult."

Even if it costs me my life, I must not let Yukina be in any danger.

But she didn't manage to do it.

The initial draft plan was devised by Masaki Hina. The transformation of Qinglan into Angel was the most direct reason why Efnir agreed to the operation, because Efnir wanted to save Qinglan, and this idea never changed.

But now, Efnir's resolve has begun to waver.

The intelligence gathering on the Angel yielded no results, and Yukina nearly died in the Apostle's attack. Efnir valued Qinglan and Flying Swallow, but she valued Yukina even more.

That evening, Efnir began to consider this matter.

She finds it difficult to find a balance between Yukina and people she values deeply, such as Qinglan and Flying Swallow.