Chapter 205

What she was actually more interested in was Efnir.

Treating it as casual conversation, Lapith naturally asked, "By the way, I've been watching you the whole time during the fight. I'm very interested in your fighting style. Where did you learn that from?"

Efnir then shifted her gaze from the pile of body parts and looked at Lapith with some curiosity.

"Fighting style?"

"It's your javelin, that way of using the Order Force," Lapith chuckled, blinking as she earnestly imitated Efnir -throwing movements, mimicking her leg-pushing and arm-raising motions with great seriousness. "It's the first time I've ever seen it, and I find it very novel and curious about how you do it."

"I don't know, it just happened naturally..."

That's the truth.

Efnir's fighting style and combat skills were all self-taught, honed through countless battles and training sessions. This was a fact that all the agents of the Xijing City Orderkeepers Organization could witness. Qinglan and Flying Swallow had watched Efnir grow stronger step by step, eventually reaching the top position.

However, these words piqued Lapith's curiosity.

"Eh? I thought your master taught you this."

Efnir paused for a moment.

Efnir also has a master, Efnir naturally, their relationship isn't the traditional kind. Just like the relationship between Fengling Shiyin and Efnir and her master also interact as a combat team.

But that period was very short.

Before Efnir became the chief of Xijing City, the situation of the Xijing City agents had reached a very critical point. Efnir's master was not a very powerful senior, but a girl who was even younger Efnir. She would occasionally cry because of the battle and would drag her injured body back countless times. She did not have long experience as an agent and later died in the battle against the Erosion Entity.

Until her death, she didn't spend much time with Efnir, nor did she teach Efnir any extraordinary skills.

99. Root Cause

When Efnir was acting as the agent, the situation for the agent combatants in Xijing City was extremely dangerous.

At that time, due to certain reasons, the number and quality of agents remaining in Xijing City were lower than those in ordinary mid-level cities. As a result, the casualty rate of agents in Xijing City was particularly high, and most of the new forces were forced to participate in the war due to insufficient manpower, which directly led to the death of a large number of new agents.

In short, the predicament faced by Xijing City at that time was that the proxy fighting force was in short supply, lacking both quantity and quality. The commander had requested assistance from the Central Province. Later, Masaki Hina led a few proxies to take over and provide support, but all of those proxies were later killed in action.

This situation only improved as Efnir grew up, so Efnir's appointment as "Chief" was well-deserved in the eyes of the other agents.

Lapith was naturally unaware of this situation.

She was simply more Efnir Evenir's skill level, which seemed disproportionate to her seniority.

In Suzuda City, agents select senior instructors as "seniors" to form "Apostle" relationships with new agents. Each agent usually forms a team of three to four people. Sometimes their roles are complementary, and sometimes they are consistent, all in order to ensure that new agents receive the most efficient training.

Similarly, other large cities also have such well-established agent training systems, known as "mentor-apprentice systems" or "hierarchical systems," though the names differ. Some cities even refer to agent groups in this agent training model as "sister groups."

However, this agent training model cannot be easily implemented in Xijing City due to the scale of the agent combat system. So far, only Canary, Fengling Shiyin, and others have studied under Efnir. Most people call Efnir "senior," while Fengling Shiyin calls her "master."

"Hehe, you're really amazing."

Lapith shifted her gaze to the other people in Xijing City, then circled back.

"If I have the chance, I'd like to spar with you once, just the two of us, no audience needed."

This time it was Efnir's turn to be suspicious.

"With me? Why?"

Even though Lapith's subordinates are all very capable, the vice-captain codenamed Trilice is a powerhouse far surpassing the level of ordinary agents, which makes Suzuda City seem extraordinary.

Lapith immediately realized that Efnir had misunderstood.

"I'm sorry, I meant no harm, I'm just really interested in you..."

Lapith did not speak in the tone of a senior. In front of Efnir, although she was more senior as an agent, she was a step lower in rank. Moreover, both of them were "Chiefs", and even if the size of their cities differed, there was no difference in their status.

She smiled, then, fearing Efnir might misunderstand, quickly explained, "It's not that I have any prejudice against you; I'm just a little jealous."

"..."

Although Lapith said that, Efnir didn't see any jealousy in Lapith's eyes. Instead, she saw a deep admiration, like an aunt looking at her beautiful niece.

This gaze made Efnir feel uncomfortable.

Lapith waited with a smile for Efnir's reply, while Efnir was momentarily at a loss for how to react.

"I wonder if you realize it yourself, but as an agent, you are far too 'young',"

Lapith added.

This "young" does not refer to Efnir's age, but rather to Efnir qualifications as an agent, which makes her too young for the position of "chief".

Every agent needs a lot of battles and training to grow and be gradually shaped, and Lapith is no exception. She has been in the position of agent for nearly four years, and her strength comes from rich experience that is second to none and the strength honed in countless battles.

Among the many agents, Lapith is one of the exceptionally gifted ones. In an academy, she would be the kind of genius who constantly skips grades, completing in four years what others take six or seven years to finish, and graduating with high marks.

Compared to her, Efnir is even more outrageous; she's only been an agent for two years.

"Even those people in the Central Province at the same time were only comparable to you. I'm a little curious why such a promising talent like you wasn't discovered until two years ago."

This involves the secret of Efnir.

She could not possibly possess the "Eligible" trait before becoming Efnir.

"Xijing City's monitoring system is relatively outdated, so some discrepancies are normal."

Efnir subtly avoided the topic.

"Huh? Didn't they do any testing?"

Indeed, Efnir was male at that time, and the Eligible test skipped males, so naturally Efnir at that time was also skipped.

"No, I just missed it..."

Efnir, unwilling to discuss the topic further, coughed lightly and asked in return:

"Speaking of which, how do you conduct sparring? Do you mean that the two sides stand on the training ground and have a friendly match?"

"What kind of monster do you think our city is?" Lapith chuckled. "It's just a simple practice match, no need for any special rules, just like the agents' daily training."

"Okay, but let's wait until after the battle."

That's considered an agreement.

"Good."

Having finally gotten her wish, Lapith smiled broadly, her silver-gray gauntlets clicking as she gripped them, seemingly looking forward to her "sparring" with Efnir.

"Then let's wait until the battle is over!"

The two made an appointment, and at that moment, a call suddenly came through Efnir's earpiece.

The other party was Anilas, who was leading her team in the final search.

"My men have discovered something concerning, and I think you should come over."

"What happened?"

"A tunnel entrance."

"Anilas said."

"Our team discovered numerous Trace of 'Mutated Entity' activity down below. I suspect this is likely the source of the sudden surge of Mutated Entity in this planting area. I plan to go down and investigate."

Sure enough, this place is not as simple as it seems.

Efnir and Lapith exchanged a glance, both seeing the understanding in each other's eyes.

Previously discovered Mutated Entity were mostly scattered and acted alone, rather than suddenly gathering together. The sudden emergence of so many Mutated Entity in this area must be due to something unusual, suggesting that a "source" may have been found.

If the root cause can be cut off, then the safety of the soldiers' operations will naturally be better guaranteed, which is what Efnir had thought before.

"Okay, we'll head over now."

100. Nest

When Efnir and Lapith arrived at their target location Anilas and other members of the Muse Squad were already waiting nearby.

Anilas, had Human Federation the rest of the Muse Squad, all the while waiting for Efnir and Lapith to arrive.

Upon seeing Efnir, she immediately went to greet her. After a brief exchange, Anilas got down to business.

"The tunnel was discovered in the western part of the center of this planting area, which is right here."

Anilas said, marking the approximate area on the map and designating it as the temporary operational area for the agents. She then sent this information to Kusei Maki, and soon other soldier squads would arrive to support the operation.

She swept her blonde hair behind her ear, and the slipping sleeve revealed a slender wrist, the electronic bracelet flashing the time.

"The entrance is hidden inside the building, connected to an underground tunnel, and was discovered by Lan by chance nine minutes ago."

Lapith looked around and found the place unremarkable, just an abandoned building.

She crouched down, her gauntlets clicking as she dug a layer of soil from the ground. A faint, rotten smell wafted up from beneath the soil, but it did not escape the agent's sense of smell.

How did you manage to find such a remote place?

Seemingly anticipating a question from Lapith, Anilas raised her eyes with a serious expression.

"Come with me, and you'll see."

She led Efnir and Lapith outside the building.

The two looked up and took in the four-story building that appeared to be a research institute. They then walked through the collapsed outer wall and went inside. The sight before them moved both Efnir and Lapith slightly.

"So this is it... No wonder, it's hard not to notice it."

Lapith pursed her lips.

The building's exterior looked no different from other buildings, but once you went around the half-collapsed outer wall, the interior was astonishing—countless vines buried the interior in a dark hue, devoid of leaves and dominated by eerie, fleshy branches.

From a distance, it looks like a nest made up of countless disgusting, fleshy vines, its strong presence impossible to ignore.

"It's spectacular, it looks like a place that hasn't been inhabited for a long time, if you ignore these disgusting things."

Efnir and Lapith gazed at the strange plants, stopping at the entrance to a passageway that had been lifted from the ground—the vines seemed to have grown from there. It was pitch black and very deep below, but the inner structure revealed that it had once been a passageway leading underground.

Anilas glanced at Efnir and Lapith, seemingly unintentionally, and noticed that the two seemed closer than before.

At that moment, a communication came through.

Anilas connected to the communication; on the other end was Herul.

"What did the commander say?"

"They told us to check it out beforehand, and then gave us a map. I looked at it, and it seems this tunnel is also a hidden tunnel that wasn't recorded."

Herul said, and sent back a message.

Anilas to view.

"Another unrecorded tunnel?"

Efnir frowned slightly, Lapith glanced at her.

"What's wrong? There are probably many undocumented tunnels like these in satellite cities built on top of Dead City."

"That's true, but it gives me a very bad feeling."

"This time, the Apostle used these forgotten loopholes to hide within the Garrison District, and I also feel that there is probably some commonality in this matter."

Anella added.

Lapith nodded and then asked, "So, have you found anything around here?"

"There's something that's bothering me—did you notice the clothes worn by those Mutated Entity who attacked us before?"

"Hmm, some seem to be soldiers, and others appear to be researchers here."

"That's right, but I discovered that those soldiers don't seem to be from our Xijing City garrison, but rather from PMC (private military contractors). I found their insignia."

"Are they mercenaries?"

Efnir and Lapith took the blood-stained emblem from Anilas's hands. The bloodstains appeared to have dried, showing no signs of rust. The emblem was engraved with the simple letters Causseque in silver.

At the same time, Anilas also produced a dog tag with a number on it, but no name or other information.