Chapter 239

"Looks like it's in the West District... I knew it... It's most likely the hideout of those guys who got taken down."

By the light of the bright moon, Saori could easily make out the night view.

The outskirts of the West District were once a gray area. Even after being cleaned up by Masaki Hina and Fushihara Ayaka, some deep-seated problems remained. It was the worst-behaved area in the city, and the entire city's gray population concentrated here, making it the city's darkest spot.

Simply put, most of the people living here are unregistered.

After the abolition of the "Numbered Subjects" system, a group of former Numbered Subjects, Exiles, or refugees who were rescued from Beyond the Boundary gathered here. Among them were many heinous criminals. They did not have household registration in Xijing City, and Xijing City could not verify their previous records. Such people could only have their identity files rebuilt from the moment they entered Xijing City and were managed as "potential elements who may affect public order".

The areas where these people live are rejected by most other people in Xijing City. The increased cost of security is unsettling, so land prices here naturally become cheaper than in other places. As a result, some low-income groups or special groups also stay here. Over time, the economy of this area continues to stagnate and is gradually abandoned by most businesses, which breeds even more severe poverty and depression.

All of this scarcity of living resources and regional imbalances has led to anxiety and unease. The rotten roots that had been eradicated have grown back, ultimately giving rise to the expansion and growth of gray forces.

In short, this is a vicious cycle from beginning to end.

This is not a problem that can be easily solved by eliminating those local bullies. Masaki Hina allocates a large amount of funds here every quarter, but the final results are not very satisfactory.

After joining the Third Group, Saori Fushihara Ayaka came here to carry out several missions, so she is relatively familiar with the situation here and can roughly determine her current location.

"I roughly know where I am... I don't know if it will be helpful, but I'll write it down for now..."

Presumably, the girl chose to stay here because this area offered the best chance of avoiding the Special Disaster Division's surveillance.

She turned to look at the girl, who was still standing against the wall with her eyes closed.

Is he pretending to be asleep? Or...?

Saori pursed her lips and shook her head; she had finally managed to move to the edge of the bed.

She bit the blood-stained corner of her clothes, her head bowed, and carefully examined the wound on her abdomen with both hands.

"Damn it..." Saori frowned, looking at the haphazardly twisted wound on her abdomen, resembling a three-year-old trying to sew clothes like a mother sewing, and cursed under her breath, "This technique is awful..."

"I'm already being kind by sewing it for you."

A girl's voice came from behind her. Saori looked up and met the girl's gaze. While Saori was examining the wound, the girl had opened her eyes at some point, wearing an expression of great interest. "I advise you to lie down properly. If the wound reopens, I don't want to stitch you up a second time."

"Heh," Saori narrowed her eyes and scoffed, "If I die, do you think you'll still be able to get what you want?"

Saori retorted defiantly—she might not be able to win a fight, but she could still put on a brave face.

There was no way around it; Saori just couldn't stand the girl's smug face. Even if she couldn't do it, she had to make her feel disgusted with her words.

"If you die, I'll go find the next one."

"If I die, you'll be next." Saori met the girl's gaze relentlessly, a sinister smile spreading across her face. "I'm not afraid of death, are you?"

The girl did not answer.

Saori stopped trying to provoke her and struggled to reach the water bottle on the low table beside the bed. There was still some drinking water in the bottle. Saori bit the cap and unscrewed it, then poured the water into the wound on her abdomen.

"Hiss..."

A sudden surge of pain and the chill of the night rushed into her chest, Saori gritted her teeth, stopping what she was doing.

She carefully cleaned the wound.

The girl glanced at Saori and said casually, "You have a lot of confidence in your friends? But unfortunately, they pose no threat to me whatsoever."

The girl remained noncommittal regarding what Saori earlier.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Saori, tugging at the hem of her dress, glanced at the girl and sneered, "If you were even half as powerful as you claim, why don't you just kill us all and slaughter the entire city? That way you could easily get anything you want, wouldn't that be so simple?"

It was precisely because of these concerns that they chose to "exchange hostages," wasn't it? It's a very simple logic of action.

"Snort..."

The girl didn't deny it, but just snorted, "You're half right, but even so, your friends can't do anything to me."

"So what can you do about Codename H?"

Saori tossed the empty water bottle to the ground, then lay back down, breathing deeply. Cold sweat covered her forehead. After a while, she continued, "As far as I know, she's much more difficult than you."

"Giggle..."

The girl suddenly chuckled softly. She raised her hand, her fingertips tracing Saori's Beacon, her eyes turning playful. "I know you're just trying to trick me into saying all this. What? Do you think I look like the kind of idiot who likes to talk nonsense?"

"Tch." Saori her tongue and turned her head away unhappily.

But the girl smiled and suddenly said, "However, I'm in a good mood and would like to answer one of your questions."

167. The Flagbreakers

"However, I can only answer one question for you. Do you need to take some time to think about what you want to ask?"

Saori gazed at the girl whose face still held a faint smile.

"A question? To you?"

"Ask whatever you want. Your ignorance always makes me laugh. I'll be looking forward to hearing your questions."

Saori narrowed her eyes slightly, a flurry of thoughts flashing through her mind.

What are you trying to say?

She spoke slowly, her tone sarcastic.

"Are you saying these things to me, your enemy, because time is dragging on and you're looking for some amusement? Or do you find pleasure in this condescending attitude? Or have you lost your mind?"

Saori chuckled lightly, "You don't actually think I'd be grateful to you, do you?"

The girl maintained that flippant smile throughout, seemingly carefree and nonchalant—an attitude that infuriated Saori.

Does this mean the girl doesn't take Saori and the others in Xijing City seriously at all? Conversely, does it mean the girl has absolute confidence in herself, built on a winning power that can prevent any unexpected events?

However, this does not mean that Saori was simply provoked.

Currently, besides being able to speak, she can't do much. Since she has this opportunity to get close to the enemy without being killed, the only thing Saori can do is to extract information. From the beginning, Saori was talking to the girl with this purpose in mind.

What Xijing City lacks most is intelligence; even the smallest piece of information could be of great value.

This knife wound to the stomach can't be wasted—"Never give up, no matter what." It's a bit nostalgic, but when Saori was still a newcomer, Efnir always said this. For a long time, Saori would often think of this ordinary sentence, but before she knew it, she had already given up once, and that time she stood on the opposite side of her former comrades.

That kind of experience is enough once.

Who knows? Maybe it's all true, or maybe it was just a whim?

The girl still wore a nonchalant smile. "However, I must correct one thing—the time was neither long nor boring... every second was precious, don't you think?"

"Yes," Saori sneered, "But I don't want to spend my precious time with you."

"Whatever you want," the girl shrugged. "So, have you thought it through? One question."

"Ha, quite the big talker..." Saori scoffed. "Then tell me, where is the Apostle Organization's headquarters?"

The girl paused for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't know."

"Have no idea?"

Saori burst into laughter, but a sharp pain in her abdomen abruptly cut off her laughter.

"What are you pretending for... You seem very confident, I thought you really were 'omniscient'," Saori said, panting, mocking the girl.

The girl feigned helplessness—of course, it was all an act—"Our conversation is naturally based on the premise that I know the answer—you can ask another question."

"That sounds nice," Saori scoffed. "Then you should at least know about 'Apostle', right?"

"I know. 'The Flagbreakers,' that's what they used to be called. Of course, I don't have much contact with this organization, so all I can tell you is what I know... And the Codename H you mentioned is their true creator, this organization..."

"Stop," Saori suddenly said, interrupting the girl, "I wasn't planning on asking you that."

"What's wrong? Don't you want to waste a chance to 'ask a question'?"

"Ha, you're the one condescending benefactor; it's not your place to judge such matters?"

Saori remained defiant in words, but a ripple of emotion stirred within her.

Flagbreakers?

The appearance of this term was somewhat unexpected for Saori.

Saori didn't know anything about the "Apostle," but she had heard of the "Flagbreakers," or rather, most people living in this era had heard of their existence, and many even had memories of that time—a resistance organization formed by the expelled Numbered Subjects and their supporters, a tragedy that ignited like a raging fire and then silently extinguished.

That was nineteen years ago, before Saori was even born. Even a senior like Efnir had no memory of what happened back then.

Saori did not personally experience that history, but she knew that several major events occurred during that period that determined the current situation of humanity. One of them was the biggest black mark left by the surviving humans at the end of the Old Era before the formation of the Human Federation: "The Flagbreakers". It was a lament for those Numbered Subjects who were driven away and thrown into the Fallen Zone to wait for death.

Because resources and food supplies had almost completely dried up, and all of humanity was facing extinction, the "Numbered Subjects" were abandoned. It was at that time that the "Flagbreakers" emerged.

It can be said that the existence of the "Flagbreakers" was the most shameful tragedy of the end of the Old Era.

However, it was precisely because of that cruel past that humanity was given a final breath of fresh air. Since then, the application of Ruins Technology, the establishment of the Human Federation, and then the establishment of the "city system" have been achieved.

Since Saori could remember, the "Flagbreakers" had long since vanished into thin air—most of them were Numbered Subjects Corruption rate was already critical; they might be human one minute and Dregs the next. Such an organization could not possibly exist for long.

If... the Apostle Organization are the Flagbreakers," then everything Apostle Organization 've done so far can be explained. But Saori still feels something's missing—the emergence of the Apostle Organization, the Angel, Codename H, and the girl before her—what's the relationship between them? Is it really possible for the " Flagbreakers," who should have ceased to exist long ago, to reappear? Even if they do, do they still have a reason to be hostile to the Human Federation?

"Then pretend I didn't say anything. Your one chance is still valid."

The girl still wore a faint smile, her gaze fixed on the window. Saori found the girl's ambiguous attitude strange—compared to the girl during the day, she seemed like a completely different person.

Saori didn't think much of it, secretly memorizing the previous conversation, and continued, "You know about 'Angel,' right?"

The girl paused for a moment as she played with the Beacon in her hand.

"Of course I know."

"Then tell me how to save those who have become Angel."

The girl shook her head again. "I can't help it, but the guy who created the 'Angel' knows."

"Codename H?"

"Well, or you could call her... never mind, you don't need to know her name."

"Tsk, why do you always spout nonsense?" Saori laughed in exasperation. "Why would I need to know her name? Is that what I'm asking? Do I know her that well?"

Although Saori had no expectations for the two questions she had raised, she still had to put on a good show.

--Without a doubt, these two issues are the two most pressing problems currently troubling Xijing City and even the Human Federation. If such a problem could be solved so easily from the mouth of an enemy of unknown origin, it would be as naive and laughable as finding a remote control for "the complete extinction of the Erosion Entity" while taking a walk in the street.

168. Thing in the Box

"It seems our understanding is flawed," the girl shook her head. "In that case, our conversation is pointless. I'm curious, aren't you curious about the purpose of Codename H's appearance in your city? I thought you all cared a lot about your homes."

"Of course I'm curious, but I'm more concerned about why the Apostle would target us," Saori said with a half-smile. "Codename H, she's long gone, so she has nothing to do with this city anymore. Besides, how would I know if your answer is true or false?"

"I believe we can trust each other, at least for now."

Saori followed up by asking, "So what is her purpose?"

"'The Thing in the Box'."

The girl answered.

"Thing in the Box??"

Something I've never heard of before.

But clearly, this is just a euphemism; the truly valuable clues should be hidden in the so-called "box."

"You seem quite confused?" The girl looked enlightened, then adopted a slightly more serious tone and explained, "You can think of it as a kind of 'token' or 'key' or something like that."

What are you talking about?

"You could think of it as...something similar to this," the girl paused, fiddling with the bracelet in her hand, "A magnificent fake. From the moment it was created, things went out of control, so she began searching for it. I believe Xijing City is the city where the 'Thing in the Box' once stayed, so there must have been some clues left behind. She must have found something, so she left, and the place where she finally stayed will definitely open the 'door' again—what you call the 'White Hole'."

"'White Hole'!?"

Saori didn't quite understand. She quickly recalled the information she knew, but it was clear that her understanding of the mysterious and unknown White Hole was extremely limited.

--White Hole are considered the source of Corruption Energy. Any place where White Hole exists is filled with a large number of strange and mysterious phenomena, and has a great impact on the human body. Therefore, no city will be built in an area near White Hole. The investigation and research of White Hole has always been a top secret of the Human Federation.

If the purpose of Codename H is to open a new White Hole, then Saori must tell others about this; Codename H must be organized.

She lowered her voice and said, "If there's a key, then there must be a corresponding lock, right?"