Chapter 238

After Saori lost contact, the wave signal Codename J also disappeared. The Boundary Stele System was unable to track the two's location, and surveillance was the only means at present.

But since Codename J wants to hide, the effectiveness of surveillance is greatly reduced.

"Has the commander sent any new information?"

"She sent someone to deliver a sample of the body; it's on its way."

"Um..."

"Naoko!" Yukina stepped onto the rooftop railing, jumped down, and landed behind Efnir. "I've searched everyone here, but I couldn't find her. I'm sorry..."

"It's nothing, as expected."

Efnir sighed softly, "If that girl really wants to hide, we won't find her so easily."

If Yukina's eyesight is so poor that she hasn't found anything, then it's highly likely that the other party has already left.

Codename J.

This code name, along with the reappearance of Codename H, appeared before Efnir and Fushihara Ayaka, bringing with it Saori's disappearance and another round of pursuit and speculation regarding Codename H.

Why can Codename J operate simultaneously in Maesakagawa and the Xijing City? What exactly is the special power that Codename J mentioned by Lapith possesses? Is it some kind of new Ruins? Or simply different people who look very similar? Or perhaps some kind of cloning technology?

Codename J is not on the same side as the Apostle, yet she is searching for Codename H. What is her purpose? What is their relationship?

Just then, a burst of static came through Efnir's headset.

"Hello, hello," the static gradually cleared, and then a girl's voice appeared, "Can you hear me? Hello, hello?"

"Um?"

Efnir looked up at Yukina, Yukina also looked at her with surprise, clearly having heard the same sound through Yukina earpiece.

Fushihara Ayaka's voice also came through the earpiece, her tone filled with surprise and uncertainty, "Saori?"

Efnir paused, then exchanged a glance with Yukina.

Fushihara Ayaka can see the information of the team members who have accessed the communication in the background. Obviously, this communication signal comes from Saori's terminal.

But... neither Efnir nor Fushihara Ayaka felt the voice in the headset was familiar.

"Saori? So that's her name..." The unease turned into reality. It wasn't Saori on the other end, but someone using Saori's terminal to talk to them. The girl's voice laughed, "Sounds like you care about her a lot? Are you two close?"

Efnir frowned. "'Codename J'... what did you do to her?"

"'J'? Is that your new way of addressing me? Call me whatever you want, it's just what you think. But don't worry, she's not dead yet, she just doesn't look too well. Oh dear, what a pity, I haven't studied medical care, so I'll just have to leave her like this."

I advise you... it's best not to do anything to her.

Fushihara Ayaka's voice turned cold, "I've tracked you down, and I can kill you now!"

"Wait a minute," the girl on the other end of the earpiece chuckled lightly, "I contacted you specifically, not to argue with you, nor do I want to fight. How about this, we can make a deal, this way you can get her back intact, otherwise, I won't kill her, at most I'll cut off her hands and feet and return her to you."

Efnir lowered her eyes and listened silently without saying a word.

"So?" Fushihara Ayaka a calm voice.

"My goal has always been the same: to find the 'Codename H' you mentioned. But the trail went cold with you. I heard she disappeared right before your eyes, is that right?"

What are you trying to say?

"Heh... you wouldn't understand even if I explained. Anyway, lend me your 'Boundary Stele' for a bit, and I'll return it to you after I find that guy."

"Impossible," Fushihara Ayaka rejected without hesitation. "The 'Boundary Stele' is not a place you can touch. Don't even think about it."

Allowing an enemy to use the 'Boundary Stele' is like leading a wolf into a sheepfold; the consequences are predictable. Especially for a dangerous individual like Codename J, if she launches an attack inside the Boundary Stele without regard for consequences and destroys the Boundary Stele System, then the entire Xijing City, along with its satellite cities, will lose the protection of the "force field" and be placed under the direct influence of the White Hole Erosion.

Once the Boundary Stele System collapses, the city's doom will not be far off.

"I just need some data to calculate the 'anchor point'."

"Don't make a fool of yourself. I don't care what you're trying to do; there's no room for discussion on this."

Even Fushihara Ayaka couldn't be sure if Codename J was her true form, or if she was still just a disposable shell, like she was back in the Maesakagawa Garrison District, where Codename J could act without any worries.

No, no, you've misunderstood.

Codename J chuckled, "I won't be there myself. You'll have to fetch it yourselves and send it to me. We'll keep in touch via video. I'll watch you operate the system and send you the data. I'll bring your friend back to you, but she'll have something stuffed in her belly—the kind that will 'boom' and send her flying, even if she's an agent!"

Codename J drawled, "So for her own good, you'd better not try to interfere or do anything underhanded. Don't gamble that I won't find out. And don't try to deal with me either. You know I can walk away from you whenever I want, and you can't do anything about it."

Although I hate to admit it, it's the truth.

"Alright, that's all for now. Let's keep in touch again at this time tomorrow. Bye~~"

"You bastard..."

Fushihara Ayaka gritted her teeth in suppressed anger, while Codename J had already cut off communication.

She took a deep breath and connected to Efnir's communication channel alone.

"Efnir, I've tracked her signal."

165. Severe pain

"Shiomi- san! Are you alright?"

On the phone, Kanade Kotone asked with obvious concern.

"I just got back to headquarters when I heard the news from your side, it gave me quite a shock... Your injuries haven't fully healed yet, please be very careful."

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern... but, Senior 'Shadow'..."

Yukina leaned against the wall alone, gazing at the familiar street scene before her.

The once bustling commercial street is now deserted. Due to the sudden battle, ordinary people have been temporarily evacuated, but for this reason, Codename J also disappeared along with the crowd.

Efnir was still communicating with Fushihara Ayaka, discussing something.

"But Saori is still in her hands..."

Fushihara Ayaka is at a loss regarding the current situation.

If Saori's terminal hadn't logged back into the communication network, Fushihara Ayaka wouldn't have been able to locate Codename J for the time being.

Even if they knew the location of Codename J, there was nothing they could do now.

"We can only keep an eye on her for now; this time, we absolutely cannot let her disappear from our sight."

"Don't worry... I won't let anything happen to Saori, absolutely."

Efnir's face was covered in frost.

Yukina gazed at Efnir's cool and handsome profile, feeling the solid killing intent and anger emanating from Efnir. She sighed inwardly, "I rarely see Naoko with that expression... 'Shadow' -senpai, and everyone else, they're probably all equally important to Naoko, aren't they? But I neither stopped her from being kidnapped nor helped Naoko... I'm still so useless..."

During the encounter between Saori and Codename J, Yukina received a call from Efnir and immediately assisted the special forces in their blockade as an agent, guiding the crowds on the street to evacuate the area.

Although she did what she could, knowing that Saori was fighting a very dangerous enemy, she could only retreat to a safe area with the others to protect herself.

When Saori Maesakagawa Garrison District, she helped Yukina, but when Saori fell into danger, Yukina was powerless to help her.

All of this made Yukina feel especially bad.

Because she was injured, and because her strength was insufficient to deal with such an enemy, Yukina had no choice but to compromise and remain "calm" under these circumstances.

However, the so-called "calmness and rationality" were merely excuses for a lack of strength. Yukina couldn't help but wonder, if Naoko had been Naoko instead of her, how would the final outcome have been different?

After Saori, the next person to directly confront the Codename J will probably be Naoko, right?

"Don't be too sad..." Kanade Kotone could hear the self-blame and dejection in Yukina's voice, and she comforted her, "It's not your fault, there was no way you could do anything about it at the time..."

If Yukina were to rescue Saori, the likely outcome would be that both she and Saori would fall at the hands of Codename J. Given the absolute difference in their strength, the combined power of the two would not produce a 1+1=2 effect.

"I know..."

Yukina sighed softly, smiled, as if she had composed herself, or perhaps given up on the choice, "Kanade, I suddenly want to temporarily withdraw that 'Gift Plan'..."

"What's wrong?"

"That's right, I've had that thought... Perhaps, instead of 'conveying my feelings to her as soon as possible,' I need to 'catch up with her as soon as possible'... Besides, my sister probably isn't in the mood to think about these things right now, is she? Even though it's what I consider blessings and affection, if I put it in her hands, it might just become a burden."

I want to be someone who can help Naoko, I want to gain enough strength to stand by Naoko's side—I think about this and encourage myself every moment, but it's hard to do it.

Efnir's power as an agent is rare even within the entire Agent System, and it took her two years to reach this point. So how long will it take Yukina, who was just an ordinary person until a month ago, to catch up with her?

"No, no matter what..." Kanade Kotone began, "Shiomi- san, you must pull yourself together."

"Thanks..."

"Don't worry, 'Shadow' will be alright," Kanade Kotone reassured her. "There's always a way. You have to trust your sister."

Awakened by excruciating pain, Saori found herself lying in an unfamiliar room. The room was dimly lit, the walls were dirty and covered in graffiti, and the air was filled with a foul smell of mildew and a pungent stench of blood.

Her body was shivering with cold, and there were traces of tears or blood hanging from the corners of her eyes. The sharp pain in her abdomen awakened Saori's memories of the time before she lost consciousness.

She was captured by a mysterious girl connected to Codename H, taken to a suspected outpost of a black organization, and then, unable to resist, pinned to the bed, and then...

Saori raised her trembling hand and gently touched her abdomen. She felt nothing; all she could see was the dark red blood reflected in her eyes and the deep cramping pain in her abdomen—a resistance from her body, a resistance to the foreign object.

--After Saori was captured here, the girl brutally cut open Saori's abdomen, ripped open her stomach, and put "something" into Saori's body in this bloody manner.

This is everything Saori knows that happened before she fainted from the pain.

Despite the excruciating pain, Saori struggled to sit up on the blood-soaked bed. Looking down, she saw the sticky wound that had been cut open from below her ribs, and the crooked Trace on the wound—the girl had no sense of pity; she had simply cut it open with a knife, stuffed the "thing" inside, and then closed it up with needle and thread.

If Saori weren't an agent, she would surely be dead by now.

Even now, Saori only felt weakness all over her body. She had not absorbed any energy or rested. The severe injuries from the battle, coupled with the wounds on her abdomen and stomach, caused her to wail incessantly.

At this moment, excruciating pain surged through her spine once more. Saori gagged, then convulsively knelt on the edge of the bed, vomiting only blood.

Saori, fighting off the dizziness that nearly made her lose consciousness again, reached for her wrist—her Beacon bracelet was gone.

"You're awake?"

The door was suddenly pushed open, and the girl entered the room with a surprised yet seemingly amused smile. She casually twirled a silver bracelet on her fingertip—it was Saori's Beacon. "I advise you not to move around too much. I haven't studied surgery, and I don't know if I've properly closed your stomach. If you move around, that thing will fall out, which would be troublesome."

The girl stopped beside Saori's bed, frowned, and took a step back.

"Oh, and remember to tell your friend tomorrow not to even think about defusing the bomb or jamming the signal, or you'll be the one who dies."

Saori stared at her with half-closed eyes, her lips twitching, but no sound came out.

"..."

She had absolutely no strength left. She lay curled up in a pool of blood, outlined by cotton wool and sheets, her breath barely a whisper.

166. Dialogue

It wasn't until midnight that Saori's condition improved slightly.

But it was only a tiny bit—for an ordinary person, having that kind of thing stuck in their stomach would undoubtedly tear their stomach and intestines, rupture their organs, and cause them to bleed and get infected, leading to death.

Saori couldn't eat or drink. She would fall into a coma and wake up repeatedly on the blood-stained bed.

Agents possess regenerative abilities and immunity to most diseases far exceeding those of ordinary people. Even agents like Trilice have miraculously survived heart injuries, demonstrating the tenacious vitality that the Order Force bestows upon them.

However, this does not mean that agents can recover from any injury, no matter how severe, through self-healing.

Without medication or medical staff to clean or suture the wound, the abdominal injury was simply treated by threading stitches together, ultimately binding the tissue together.

The bleeding stopped, but that's all.

The girl was standing against the wall by the door, her eyes closed for quite some time.

She looks as if she's asleep.

Saori observed for a moment, took a deep breath, and got out of bed.

This simple movement almost exhausted all her strength, and the pain in her abdomen made it hard for her to breathe.

Saori propped herself up; her bed faced a window—a very narrow window, as simple as a vent in an attic, without even glass. Walking to the window, she could feel the cool breeze rushing into the room, Saori shivered involuntarily, her blood draining her body heat.

Saori strained to look out the window.