Chapter 233

155. Investigation into Maesakagawa

Yukina and Kanade Kotone are always picked up and dropped off by someone.

Although Yukina and Kanade Kotone were not used to this kind of attention, it was partly to ensure that their identities would not be questioned—two girls who looked like middle school students appearing near the Orderkeeper Headquarters every day was bound to arouse suspicion.

Those with ulterior motives would naturally speculate about their identities—agents? Or people connected to members of the Orderkeepers Organization?

Either identity could potentially lead to trouble.

Therefore, at Efnir's request, Yukina and Kanade Kotone had no choice but to accept this "secrecy measure".

Yukina waited for her driver in the private car parking area near the shopping street, scrolling through her phone.

Curious, Yukina searched for information about the Huachao Consortium online. Looking at the exaggerated statistics, she couldn't help but feel a sense of awe.

"So the Huachao Consortium is this huge..."

However, Huachao Cai, a genuine heiress, did not display the demeanor one might expect from someone in a position of power. Although she was overly enthusiastic to the point of being somewhat difficult to get along with, it was clear that she was a very easygoing yet elegant person.

I received help from Huachao Cai this time, so maybe we'll become friends next time... But isn't it a bit strange to become friends with someone like Huachao Cai given my current status?

Speaking of which, the maids around Huachao Cai don't seem to be simple at all. Or is it really true that a young lady of high birth can't be without any protection?

I don't know if I'll be able to find a gift that suits my taste...

What is Naoko doing now?

Should I bring some dessert back for Naoko? But wouldn't that make it seem like I didn't just come back from school?

Yukina's thoughts drifted aimlessly with the evening breeze, then were interrupted by a cell phone ringing.

"Naoko?"

Yukina's heartstrings fluttered slightly as she answered the phone, her joy barely concealed.

But Efnir's tone was serious. "Yukina, you're in the shopping street near the school, right?"

"Huh? I..."

Yukina felt a chill run down her spine. Before she could even think about why Efnir knew her location or find an excuse, she heard Efnir say again, "Leave there now, and quickly."

Maesakagawa Garrison District--

Helicopters hovered in the air, two 100-person units were stationed near the giant water tower, teams of researchers and Engineering Corps were busy adjusting instruments, and heavy cables extended from the temporary Relay Station mounted on a huge truck.

Armored vehicles carrying soldiers kept passing by in the distance, and gunshots rang out from the distant horizon.

Fully armed soldiers marched past in perfect unison.

"This water tower appears to have been built during the wars of the Old Era... According to records, it was originally used as a water storage facility for the town, and later as a source of irrigation water, until Corruption took hold..."

Inside the makeshift command post, the adjutant was reporting the investigation results to Kusei Maki.

The Maesakagawa Garrison District was originally a very inconspicuous town, and this water tower was built in the middle of the town.

"Do you have any information about the town?"

"Sorry, that's all I could find..."

The Erosion Disaster directly led to a significant loss of data; it's perfectly normal that detailed information about a small town is unavailable.

However, some records remain regarding the water tower.

"Was it lost, or simply not found?"

This water tower clearly holds a secret, but there are no detailed records, which is unusual, as if someone deliberately concealed information about the town that was the predecessor of the Maesakagawa Garrison District.

"Not found."

Rather, even the Apostle knew nothing about it—and the few who were willing to speak up seemed completely clueless about everything concerning the tower and the Underground Research Institute.

Whether it was because she didn't know or because she was unwilling to say, Kusei Maki leaned towards the former.

"Hmm," Kusei Maki looked up at the enormous water tower, pondering, "Was it during wartime... even so, this is a bit too much. The water tower is just a pretext... there must be other reasons for building such a facility."

"Commander, you mean...?"

After a moment of contemplation, Kusei Maki, "At least several thousand years have passed since the Corruption appeared in this world. Human history has existed alongside the Erosion Entity and the 'Orderkeepers,' but in fact, all of these records have been erased from our history."

The most authentic records exist only in the records of the Orderkeepers Organization, while rulers and historians throughout history have omitted all records about the Erosion Entity and the Orderkeepers.

Orderkeepers Organization and Erosion Entity —these things occasionally circulate as folklore, and were once considered "legends" in Old Era.

"Since the records of the Orderkeepers and the Corruption are erased, could the erased records of the towns also be related to this?"

"We can't rule out that possibility... My people are investigating."

"Forget it, the Old Era is too far removed from us... I can hardly remember that time anymore."

Since the first White Hole Erosion occurred twenty years ago, human technology and history have been ravaged. This world that once belonged to humanity is now riddled with holes. What humanity has lost is not just the memory of that world.

Twenty years have passed, and almost all of the older generation of warriors have perished in the battle against the Erosion Entity, while Kusei Maki can hardly remember the peaceful and tranquil scenes she witnessed as a child.

The home I lived in as a child, my close playmates, and my family members, whose memories are hazy, have all faded from my mind.

Only the thick, pungent smoke and the vast, pale sky I witnessed that day remain vivid in my mind.

Kusei Maki shook her head, sweeping away the vexation rising in her heart, but her face remained expressionless. "In that case, go and retrieve the headquarters records. Get all the backup records from the period when Xijing City was established. Focus on finding all the records and reports related to the Maesakagawa Garrison District, especially who initially proposed incorporating the Maesakagawa Garrison District into Western Capital. Find all the relevant information for me."

"Yes."

"Also, did the Funeral Bird find anything?"

The water tower was investigated by soldiers and researchers, while the Funeral Bird Squad was sent by Kusei Maki to find the "safe house" that she had learned about from the Apostle.

Despite being called a "safe house," it was actually just a temporary shelter located inside a particularly suspicious abandoned underground tunnel.

The reason it's considered "suspicious" is because, during their search for the tunnel, the soldiers discovered a complete underground train track in the vicinity, and that track was clearly in normal working order just a month ago.

--Why is this located in the Maesakagawa Garrison District?

Subway trains—even Xijing City doesn't have that.

Just thinking about it this way makes it hard not to connect the various strange places in the Maesakagawa Garrison District.

156. Death

At the same time--

The Maesakagawa Garrison District, Boundary Stele Administration Office, 8th basement floor, contains rooms where girls are imprisoned. These are the Apostle Girls captured in this battle, and this is the temporary room used to hold them. It used to be a place to store miscellaneous items and serve as a warehouse.

Two soldiers guarded the door of each room, and a squad of soldiers guarded the entrances and exits.

Even for the few Apostle girls who have lost their Sacred Relic, it is still necessary to keep a close watch on them. No one knows what unexpected technology the Apostle Organization might have that could allow them to escape from here. Even if the possibility is slim, we must still take precautions.

The truth is, they really didn't have any way to escape from here.

Hatsukawa Fuka peered through the slightly twisted and deformed crack in the door. Soldiers in black uniforms, carrying guns, slowly walked past the door, dragging the unsteady Fujisaki Ryoka along Hatsukawa Fuka stared intently at the blood-covered girl, biting her lip.

Soon, the creaking sound of a door opening came from outside, followed by a soft gasp as the girl was pushed inside and a muffled groan as she fell to the ground.

The door slammed shut, and the soldier left.

Is this round of interrogation of Fujisaki Ryoka over?

Hatsukawa Fuka thought for a moment, then turned around and went to her bedding. She quickly folded up all the quilts and used them as a base. Then, she grabbed a few planks, stood on tiptoe against the wall, and went to the narrow ventilation opening. She reached out and gently tapped on it.

Thump--

The crisp metallic sound became muffled inside the narrow pipe.

"Liang Xiang, are you there?"

Hatsukawa Fuka brought her face close to the ventilation vent and whispered, "Are you alright?"

Hatsukawa Fuka and Fujisaki Ryoka were imprisoned in adjacent rooms, and she could barely speak to Fujisaki Ryoka through the ventilation duct.

"He won't die."

After waiting for a long time, she was answered by Fujisaki Ryoka, hard voice.

Unlike Hatsukawa Fuka, who was relatively cooperative, Fujisaki Ryoka refused to say anything from beginning to end, so the punishment she endured was naturally many times more severe. Each time, she was dragged out for interrogation and returned barely alive, her already tattered clothes now stained with blood.

Meanwhile, Hatsukawa Fuka could only silently lean against the door, watching Fujisaki Ryoka be dragged away and then dragged back, covered in blood.

Are you still angry with me...?

"Ah, yes, I'm very angry."

Although she said that, Hatsukawa Fuka knew how difficult it was for Fujisaki Ryoka to put her ear to the air vent in her current state. If she were really angry, why would Fujisaki Ryoka, with her injured body, deliberately stand on tiptoe by the air vent to listen to her nagging?

"Sorry..."

"Don't say things like that, I don't want to hear them."

"Then I won't say anything more."

Hatsukawa Fuka really didn't say anything more, and the air returned to silence.

The silence lasted for a moment, then two crisp knocks came from the pipes. Fujisaki Ryoka broke the silence. "Hey."

Fujisaki Ryoka's tone was curt, "What did you say to that guy?"

"He said a lot."

Hatsukawa Fuka lowered her head, "But I kept our promise..."

"Is that so... that's good."

An agreement, in essence, is simply a way to create a "comparison" between two people.

They were both people in the team who had more intelligence; one was the captain, and the other was the vice-captain.

If the two women remain silent, the interrogators will only resort to increasingly cruel torture to try and force them and the rest of the team to submit.

However, if both of them were to reveal the information, the value of the information would be greatly reduced, and the final result would not be much different.

So, during their escape and capture, they had already agreed that Fujisaki Ryoka would play the "stubborn" role, while Hatsukawa Fuka would "betray" information, using the value of this information to buy time and make the interrogators focus more on the two of them, thus saving the other team members from suffering.

In this way, only Fujisaki Ryoka ultimately suffered the torment, while the others were spared.

Even if things don't go well, as long as Fujisaki Ryoka also acts assertively, the plan shouldn't have too many problems—after all, the other team members aren't really worth interrogating.

Even as prisoners, living is better than dying; as long as you're alive, there's hope.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help at all... If I could take your place..."

"Don't say that," Fujisaki Ryoka interrupted Fuuka. "You are the strongest among us, while I have no strengths... Only by protecting you can we have a better chance of surviving and escaping this place."

Such a statement is more of an excuse than a form of comfort.

These "half-finished products," without Enhancement Agent, cannot Synchronization even if they obtain Beacon or Sacred Relic. How could they possibly escape from the heavily guarded Maesakagawa Garrison District?

If...

Hatsukawa Fuka was still immersed in grief when a sharp shout from outside the door interrupted her thoughts.

Who is it!?

That sounded like a soldier's voice.

The next second, a piercing scream shattered the tranquility of the detention center, followed by two sharp, deafening gunshots.

"What happened?"

The wind, flowers, and Liang Xiang immediately became alert.

"Fūhana! Hide!"

Fujisaki Ryoka shouted loudly from the other end, while Hatsukawa Fuka crouched down, quickly darted to the door, and peered out through the gap in the deformed door frame.

A dark figure sped past in her field of vision, Hatsukawa Fuka opened her eyes wide, trying to see it more clearly.

Those are soldiers.