Chapter 231

"It's her."

"That must be very, very expensive, right?"

Originally, Kanade Kotone and Yukina thought that Huachao Cai would just find an ordinary designer, but they didn't expect her to invite such a big shot.

If it's designed by a renowned designer, then the price goes without saying.

"It must be very expensive..."

"Should we go...?"

"Go ahead..." Yukina thought for a moment, then nodded gently. "If you can buy something you like, it doesn't matter if it's a little expensive."

Suddenly, Yukina stopped and looked towards the other side of the street.

"That's not..."

Yukina spotted a familiar face – Uzuki Saori. Saori was walking through the crowd wearing a hood, and Yukina would never have noticed her if she hadn't had exceptional eyesight and a keen sense of smell.

Yukina remembered that she was going to invite Saori to Naoko's birthday party.

"I'm sorry... Kanade, you should go back now!"

Yukina pushed the things she was holding into Kanade Kotone's hands, "I saw Uzuki-senpai, I need to talk to her about something."

151. Misunderstanding

"Then I'll head back now."

Kanade Kotone and Yukina bids farewell.

"I'll keep these things for you for now. You can find me in the lab tonight. Also, Ms. Nishiki will be doing your check-up today, so remember to come."

Evenings are her working hours. As Nishizaki Yuki's assistant, her work hours always follow Nishizaki Yuki's schedule.

"Okay, I'll definitely come. Thank you so much for today."

Don't worry about it, see you tonight!

Kanade Kotone still had work to do, so she couldn't stay with Yukina any longer and went back first.

Yukina, on the other hand, acted alone.

She turned around and saw that Uzuki Saori had already reached the end of the street across the street. Yukina thought for a moment and quickly followed her.

Yukina and Saori haven't actually spent much time together and aren't very familiar with each other. Yukina's understanding of Saori is limited to what she's heard from others and what she knows from television and the internet. For example, she knows that Saori's former codename was Lily, her partner was Furan (Shiina Rin), and her Order Weapon is a chain with blades at the end, etc.

Furthermore, Yukina also knew that Saori and Rin were once students at the Youcheng Girls' Academy, but they were not particularly noticeable at the school. At that time, Yukina did not know their true identities and therefore did not have any direct impression of them.

As for Saori's past actions—standing on the side of the Apostle and turning her blade against the agents—all of this was just "hearsay" to Yukina, and she didn't have much of a sense of reality about it.

Yukina first came into contact with Saori when Maesakagawa appeared as Saori and intercepted the Apostle chasing Yukina. If it weren't for Saori's arrival, Yukina would undoubtedly have been in a more troublesome crisis. Therefore, in Yukina's eyes, Saori was more than a former traitor; she was the one who saved her and Naoko.

Moreover, Saori was one of the few people Naoko called "friends." For the past month, Saori had been regretting what she had done, and it was clear from the attitudes of the other agents and Nishizaki Yuki that Saori had already been forgiven by everyone else.

That's why Yukina wanted to invite Saori, but Saori's situation was special, and Yukina didn't have her contact information, so she never had the chance to talk to her about it.

"Uzuki-senpai!"

It was the liveliest time of evening, and Yukina's voice was drowned out by the crowd. Saori and Yukina were some distance apart, so they obviously didn't hear it.

Yukina weaved through the crowd and chased after Saori.

At that moment, Saori suddenly changed direction and walked into a small alleyway to the side.

"Huh? What's that over there...?"

This is the commercial street near the school. When she was still in school, Yukina would often come here with Kanade Kotone after school. Although she couldn't say she knew every corner of this area like the back of her hand, Yukina was at least very familiar with this main street. The street that Saori was walking on didn't have any shops, nor was it a shortcut. It was just an old back street.

Why did Saori go there?

Without much thought, Yukina followed, but when she arrived at the alley entrance, she didn't see Yukina 'Saori figure. Only the increasingly dim road stretched into the quiet and deserted depths of the alley.

They're walking so fast!

Yukina quickly chased after him, stepping into the deep Yukina see what was coming, she instinctively took a step back. However, a flash of light suddenly fell from behind her, aiming straight for Yukina's neck.

A sense of crisis surged through her spine like an electric current. Yukina felt a cold black wind brush past her back, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw the silver blade flashing towards her.

The silver light came so fast that Yukina was startled and barely had time to react.

Unable to Synchronization, Yukina turned her head to the side with the fastest reaction speed she could muster—her hair brushed against the blade, which just happened to stop in mid-air without falling.

"Yukina?... It's you?"

A crisp sound rang out, and the hooded girl's figure slowly emerged from the shadows. Only then did Yukina realize that the person who had been lying in ambush for her was actually Saori.

Saori looked surprised, glancing left and right at Yukina, then back at her with a serious expression. "Were you alone just now?"

"Y-yes..." Yukina suddenly felt a chill of fear and was also a little confused about the situation. Her gaze fell on the short sword in Saori's hand, and she asked in a low voice, "Senpai? You..."

"I'm sorry, I thought you were sent by the target, and I almost attacked you..." Saori sheathed her dagger, let out a soft breath, and her tense expression finally relaxed. It was unclear whether she was relieved because "Yukina wasn't sent by the target to follow me" or because "I didn't manage to hurt Yukina." "I only attacked because I was on a mission and noticed someone was following me. I didn't expect it to be you."

"Oh... I see..."

Yukina gave a dry laugh.

So it turns out I was being treated like a stalker; no wonder they attacked me.

Since it wasn't a battle, Yukina naturally relaxed her guard. If Saori hadn't stopped in time, Yukina wouldn't have been confident she could have dodged that attack. Even though Yukina possesses excellent senses and strong physical strength in her normal state, she was immediately at a disadvantage against a sneak attack from Saori, a seasoned agent.

Yukina had absolutely no experience in dealing with this kind of emergency, and without being able to Synchronization with Saori, she had almost no chance of winning.

If Canary is the strongest in direct combat among the younger generation of agents, then Saori is the most promising among them besides Yukina. This assessment from Efnir is not without reason.

"Speaking of which," Saori carefully examined Yukina's face, making sure she hadn't scratched it, and then looked around before asking curiously, "Yukina, why are you here?"

Although in Yukina's eyes Saori was someone she had only met once or twice, Yukina was much more familiar to Saori.

Back in school, Saori had been asked by Efnir more than once to "protect Yukina if necessary," so even though the two didn't know each other, they weren't completely unaware of each other's situation.

However, due to her current status, Saori intentionally or unintentionally keeps her distance from Yukina.

"Um... I came to tell you about my sister's birthday. Actually..."

Yukina then remembered her purpose, briefly explained the matter of Naoko's birthday party to Saori, and then formally extended an invitation.

Saori was taken aback.

She had only heard about this from Fushihara Ayaka today, and had hesitated for a long time. On the one hand, she thought that Yukina and she were not familiar with each other, so even if she was invited, it was only out of politeness.

But now, faced with Yukina's sincere and heartfelt invitation, Saori felt she couldn't even find a reason to refuse.

"If I happen to be free that day... I'll go..."

"That's wonderful! My sister will be so happy."

Saori felt a little uncomfortable facing Yukina's smile and unconsciously looked away.

"Ah! Right! Senior is still on a mission... I'm so sorry to have taken up so much of your time..."

"It's nothing, just going to look for clues somewhere," Saori said, then looked at Yukina, "There have been a lot of serious incidents in the city lately, Yukina, you need to be careful when you're out alone. You're an agent, you can't let your guard down like you did just now."

"Hmm... Senior is right, I'll be careful."

Yukina also felt that she should be more vigilant.

However, when Yukina spoke to Uzuki Saori face-to-face for the first time, she felt that Uzuki Saori did not give off a cold feeling, but rather a kind of friendliness.

Perhaps it's because Saori is surprisingly talkative?

Completely contrary to that cold exterior.

152. Discovery

Meanwhile, at the training grounds of the Orderkeeper Headquarters in Xijing City, Efnir had finished her training.

Outside the training field Shinomiyami Nami had been waiting for a while. Today, she was dressed as usual in her work attire: a white fitted uniform paired with a black pencil skirt that accentuated her curves perfectly. The ends of her short, jet-black hair were tinged with cherry red, giving her a capable yet cool look.

Despite having the same face, figure, and hairstyle, Shinomiyami Nami can make herself look charming and cute through makeup and outfit changes. No matter which version of her she is, she is the kind of person who attracts a lot of attention on the street, which is completely different from the quiet and serene initial impression of Yanase Naoko.

Shinomiyami Nami exchanged a few words with the soldiers waiting nearby, then walked towards Efnir.

Remember to hydrate after training.

Shinomiyami Nami handed her a bottle of water, which Efnir took, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

Efnir and Shinomiyami Nami found a place to sit down.

"Thanks."

How are you feeling today?

"It's alright, the injuries have healed, and I don't feel any discomfort."

"It's back?"

Shinomiyami Nami looked somewhat surprised. "It's only been three days."

"Yeah, I don't know why, but my injuries are healing much faster than before..." Or rather, it wasn't just the speed of injury recovery; after a day of training, Efnir also found that her stamina and strength were better than before. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing..." Shinomiyami Nami hesitated for a moment, "Did Nishizaki Yuki say anything?"

Generally speaking, agents' bodies are far more resilient than ordinary people's, and they can heal themselves at a much faster speed than ordinary people. The speed of injury recovery varies slightly from agent to agent, but it shouldn't be as exaggerated as Efnir's.

However, humanity's understanding of this unknown energy, the Order Force, is far too limited. The Beacon System has been used for over a decade, from the initial prototypes to the First Generation and now the Second Generation. Humanity's exploration of the power of agents has never ceased, so there's no need to be alarmed if anything unusual happens.

The fact that something is illogical is itself a kind of common sense.

Shinomiyami Nami just felt a little worried.

She said to continue monitoring, and in short, there is absolutely no problem with my health right now.

Efnir thought for a moment, "It's probably not something many people would believe, but when Maesakagawa was ambushed, I vaguely saw some strange things. I don't know if what happened to my body has anything to do with what I saw at that time."

Do you mean that 'dream'?

"Perhaps... if 'dreams' themselves are something that exists between reality and illusion." Efnir sighed softly, thought for a moment, and then skipped over this difficult-to-conclude topic. "Oh, by the way, Nami, is there any news about my parents' current situation?"

"Yes, I went to the archives and found their files," Shinomiyami Nami handed a stack of documents and a USB drive to Efnir. "I found some things and copied them all here. I hope they're useful to you."

Shinomiyami Nami came specifically for this reason.

Although Efnir is currently forced to remain at headquarters to observe the effects of the "radiation," her investigation into the clues discovered in the Maesakagawa Garrison District has never stopped. Yesterday, she contacted Shinomiyami Nami to ask Siyejian to help find some information.

The most important of these is the file left by Efnir's parents, the Yanase couple, when they lived in Xijing City.

Efnir grew up in Xijing City, and her memories are all of this city. Before she could remember, the Yanase couple had already moved to this city from another place, and Yukina was the daughter of their old friend from the same research institute.

Therefore, the Yanase couple lived in Xijing City for at least 14 years, and as very important researchers, they naturally left their own backup files.

This is the file that Efnir wants.

Nothing is achieved overnight, especially a successful study or a promising research topic. Judging from the clues Anilas mentioned, the Yanase couple, who initiated the relevant laboratory project, must have already stepped into the field they are now focusing on and researching while living in Xijing City.

That way, we might be able to find some clues in their files.

Thank you.

Efnir didn't stand on ceremony, took the documents, and stared at them for a while. "Make a copy of these for Anilas as well."

"Should we give it to her now?"

"Let's wait a few days," Efnir paused, "By the way, has anything noteworthy happened in the city lately?"

"No, the abnormal fluctuations in the Erosion Disaster have also decreased, and the concentration of Corruption Energy has returned to normal levels. I think this is because the Corruption Energy left behind by the 'whale' has been diluted to almost nothing."

"That's good. It seems the Apostle has indeed left."

The Apostle Power requires the support of two completely different forces: the Order Force and the energy of the dormitory. Simply put, in urban areas where the concentration of dormitory energy is extremely low, the Apostle can only exert one-tenth of their strength.

Therefore, the attacks a month ago included a large Erosion Entity named "Whale"—"Whale" is called "Whale" by the Apostle Organization. After "Whale" is defeated, its huge body will release a large amount of Corruption Energy. This energy cannot have much effect on ordinary people under the suppression of the Boundary Stele System, but it is the best food for the Apostle.

The Apostle dropped Whale into the Xijing City three times, and the concentration of Corruption Energy once rose to a level almost equal to that of the Beyond the Boundary region. This was all in preparation for Saori to obtain enough power to destroy the Boundary Stele, but in the end, it did not succeed.

The current drop in the concentration of Corruption Energy can, to some extent, be seen as the Apostle abandoning Xijing City.