Chapter 240
Saori didn't know what the "Thing in the Box" was, but she knew that since it was a key, one way to disable it was to destroy the lock.
"Of course. But... that's the second question. I can only tell you about the 'Thing in the Box,' but I can also reveal a little: you've seen that so-called lock."
"I've seen him before?"
The girl clearly didn't intend to continue. She smiled and said, "Or, if you want to know, I can tell you, but in exchange, you have to answer one of my questions. How about that? It's a very fair deal, isn't it?"
"Heh... You want to get the information you want from me, isn't that your real purpose?"
Saori thought to herself: Just as I expected.
The girl was merely sending a signal to elicit her true purpose—intelligence trading, or rather, intelligence gathering and comparison.
Either Saori might possess the information the girl wants, or the girl is using Saori to filter information in order to find real and valuable clues.
However...
From the moment the "Thing in the Box" appeared, Saori was already under the girl's guidance—the girl clearly knew that Saori would not let this information go to waste.
"That's right, but don't you humans love to emphasize fair trade? I think that's a reasonable request."
The girl said it without a care in the world.
"How about we make a deal? You might like it."
Saori pondered to herself—she had already extracted some useful information from the conversation.
But it's clear that the girl won't keep giving her information for free, or rather, the girl's information is limited, and she should use it where it's most valuable, rather than giving it away for free.
Saori remained silent for a moment.
"Why make a deal with me?" Saori looked up, staring at the girl. "I'm just a mediocre agent; I don't know even half as much as the Intelligence Department. You can continue using me as a hostage to demand any information you want."
"I don't think so," the girl didn't answer directly. "The Human Federation needs secrets, and you're more suitable than them."
Saori shook her head. "You can't prove what you're saying."
"Then why don't you contact your friends now and ask them about the 'Restrainer' and the 'Clockwork Organization'?" The girl's lips curled into a smile, her eyes deep. "Trust me, it won't be long before you understand me."
Meanwhile, outside the Maesakagawa Garrison District --
The motorcycle engine roared through the deserted, dilapidated streets, the dark night stretched into a long crack under the headlights.
Tires swept up the grass and crushed the muddy puddles as Efnir rode her motorcycle at breakneck speed, passing through the transition zone between Xijing City and Maesakagawa. Before she was far away, the soldiers in the passageway removed the roadblocks, and the motorcycle passed through the temporary checkpoints in the Garrison District, heading straight for a military camp.
Underground Research Institute--
"Major General Efnir, you've arrived."
"Commander."
Kusei Maki still had that poker face. She had been waiting here for a while, while in front of her, Efnir looked up at the huge tower in the center of the underground space, her eyes slightly narrowed.
Compared to a few days ago, the Underground Research Institute area is now filled with bright lights.
Large numbers of researchers and Engineering Corps soldiers in white uniforms were busy at their respective tasks, their figures moving between buildings.
It appears that the Underground Research Institute has undergone basic repairs. Although various research equipment is not yet fully in place, the researchers Garrison District have already begun investigating the Central Tower.
If it weren't for the emergence of Codename J, the work here would undoubtedly be the top priority for Xijing City at this stage.
However, the Codename J disrupted the process.
So Efnir appeared here. Besides Efnir, Lapith and her team also came underground, but considering that they might be affected by "radiation," they stayed in the tunnel to wait for orders.
"You've made up your mind, haven't you?"
"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't be here—this is one of the feasible solutions to deal with Codename J."
After Codename J kidnapped Saori, Efnir and Fushihara Ayaka discussed it for a long time.
Finally, they divided the final punitive operation into three directions—three plans that could potentially eliminate the threat Codename J.
169. Shard of the Tower
--After rescuing Saori, a confrontation between Xijing City and Codename J is inevitable.
Therefore, battle preparation is necessary.
In fact, the solution discussed by Efnir and Fushihara Ayaka was quite simple: either find a way to subdue Codename J, or kill her.
Codename H and Codename J, these people are absolutely dangerous. It would be better if we could capture them and interrogate them for information, but if that's not possible, then killing them outright is also an option—provided, of course, that we can actually kill them.
We should still give it a try.
One reason was revenge, to give the city and its victims an explanation; the other was a choice of stance.
In summary, Efnir and Fushihara Ayaka have proposed three provisional solutions.
First, Efnir will fight and subdue the opponent Codename J. The key is Efnir's ability to temporarily seal the Apostle Synchronization ability. Since the battle with Maesakagawa, this mysterious ability of unknown origin has been tested by Efnir many times and verified to be effective against both agents and Apostle. It was originally a trump card reserved for the Angel.
However, whether this ability can be applied to the mysterious Codename J remains unknown, so its feasibility is uncertain.
Furthermore, the working principle of Codename J's ability is unknown, so even if Efnir's ability is effective, how to deal with it is a question worth discussing.
The second option is for someone like Efnir or anyone else who is not affected by "Fragment Radiation" to contact Codename J. This involves using the power of "Fragment Radiation" that can affect agents to interfere with Codename J and then subdue him.
However, the mechanism of "Fragment Radiation" has not yet been determined. It is only known that it can affect some agents. Even agents with the strength of Anilas can be stripped of almost all their energy in a short period of time. But ultimately, this thing is still in the exploratory stage, and it is unknown whether it can affect Codename J.
In short, as long as Saori, as a hostage, remains in a state of Synchronization, she will not be affected. If the first option is not feasible, the second option will be a backup plan.
Third, the Funeral Bird Squad will be temporarily dispatched to Xijing City to lay an ambush. If the first and second operations fail, Efnir will immediately take the Shard and Saori away, and Lapith and others will take over the mission, fighting with the objective of "killing" her. They will strive to kill her before Codename J can use her strange escape ability.
Undoubtedly, all three plans have huge flaws—due to a severe lack of intelligence regarding Codename J, this is the best that can be done for now.
But Efnir was determined to give it a try.
"Very good, then the investigation of the Central Tower can proceed ahead of schedule."
"Kusei Maki said."
For several days, Efnir had shown no unusual reaction, so Kusei Maki approved Efnir and Fushihara Ayaka's plan. Efnir came here to retrieve the "Shard," which was also to prepare for tomorrow's battle.
"We have cleared away the 'Mutated Entity' and 'plants' from the first level. According to our intelligence, the 'Shard' should be stored on the fourth level—the very top, which is also the bottom of the ground water tower."
Efnir followed Kusei Maki's gaze and looked toward the Central Tower.
"My men will assist you in advancing to the top floor as quickly as possible. My adjutant will accompany you throughout the entire process; he will serve as both an operations officer and the on-site deputy commander. If you feel any discomfort during the mission, please stop immediately and hand over the Beacon to him for safekeeping—this is the engineering blueprint."
"Um."
Efnir nodded and took a blueprint from Kusei Maki's hand.
"These mark two passages leading to the top floor. While you carry out your mission, my men will slowly advance from the other end. The tower is experiencing severe electromagnetic interference, rendering our equipment unusable. Proceed according to the original plan."
"I'll leave the rest to you," said Kusei Maki, then looked at Efnir.
A tall tower is a vertical structure.
From the ground to the top of the Underground Research Institute, the very top is said to be connected to an external water tower, with a complete isolation and stabilization structure in between.
--It seems as if these two buildings were constructed at the same time from the very beginning.
This makes one wonder, was that water tower a cover-up or...?
"A war of the Old Era...?"
Efnir stared at the engineering drawings, then shook her head meaningfully. "If we delve deeper, we'd be going back in time."
This world is always full of secrets, even in the era when the Old Era of humans held absolute dominance over the world, the unknown still accompanied us.
Intuition and guesswork alone cannot provide the answers, and the clues have long since vanished with the fall of the Old Era. Even at the later ICS Research Institute of the Maesakagawa, the researchers either died or disappeared, leaving nothing behind for Xijing City.
Perhaps the only answer can be found by slowly searching through the records they left behind.
Efnir turned and handed the engineering drawings to her adjutant. "This is the first time we've worked together, isn't it? I'll leave my rear to you from now on."
"Yes," the adjutant replied, already dressed in combat gear and carrying an assault rifle. "It's my honor."
Efnir rubbed the Apostle Beacon on her finger, her chest heaving as she filled her lungs with the less-than-clear air from the underground. She raised her hand, reached behind her neck, untied the light blue ribbon, and tied it around her wrist.
She placed her wrist between her eyebrows.
Her loose black hair gradually turned silver-white, like moonlight, and her combat uniform replaced her bodysuit. A silver spear appeared in Efnir's hand.
"Let's go... we need to finish the mission before dawn."
"Yes!"
Kusei Maki watched Efnir and her adjutant leave, then looked up at the tower, her lips pressed tightly together, lost in thought.
The Central Tower is like a straight nail, drilling into the ground from the outside, with the water tower on the outside.
At the very center of this vast underground space, the tower is wider at the base and top, and narrower in the middle, resembling a funnel shape that is wider at the sides and narrower in the middle.
Efnir arrived at one of the entrances—when Efnir first came here to investigate, one of the entrances in the tower seemed to have been opened by someone, and this time Efnir chose to enter through that entrance.
Thanks to the efforts of the soldiers during the past few days of searching and investigation, a passage had been cleared on the first floor, so Efnir, along with her adjutant and the accompanying soldiers, went directly to the second floor.
"Major General, we are currently on the second level. The roads ahead are completely blocked by these plants... and dangerous 'Mutated Entity' inhabit them as well. Be careful."
"That's what the adjutant said."
170. Central Well
The spear is not suitable for fighting in confined spaces, but even so, Efnir's speed was by no means slow.
On the contrary, the soldiers behind could hardly keep up with the speed of Efnir was clearing the way—there was no light inside the tower's passageway, and they had to lay temporary communication cables along the way, while also being wary of possible attacks from Mutated Entity. In the dim environment, beams of tactical lights swept across the blood-stained corridor, and every step they took was on vines that were as soft as some kind of biological tissue, making them walk with trepidation.
Efnir walked alone at the front, sweeping her gun horizontally, the blade cleanly severing the vines that covered the ground. Behind the vines, half of a headless corpse was revealed, gray blood splattering the walls— Efnir, thanks to her ability to detect "dust," was completely unafraid of the Mutated Entity hiding beneath the vines, each shot killing the awakened Mutated Entity with exceptional accuracy.
The vines wrapped around Efnir's ankles, but she didn't even look. She lifted her foot back, then raised it almost in a straight line, stomped down, and ripped the vines covering the wall and ceiling off. She then fired a shot and continued walking forward.
To the other team members, this scene seemed strangely reassuring.
"All this troublesome stuff," Efnir said, shooting the Mutated Entity through the air. Reaching the pass, she suddenly frowned and glanced to the side. "Wait, where is this?"
"The passageway between the second and third floors."
The adjutant quickly replied.
He had memorized the engineering drawings here, which made him an outstanding combatant.
"Entering from here leads to the main control room and laboratories on this floor. The central area is a separate central transmission tower, which also serves as the rectifier transformer hub and the Work Shaft for the ion beam collector."
"Strange... I remember all the equipment should have stopped working, right?"
"Yes, after the fall of Maesakagawa, all the equipment here completely stopped working."
Although the adjutant said so, Efnir clearly felt the strong fluctuations emanating from the Work Shaft —the restless dust was like the foam inside a soda bottle, and in this place, there was no "bottle cap".
Efnir thought for a moment, then raised her hand in greeting.
"Wait here for me a moment."
After saying that, Efnir walked alone toward the Work Shaft, stepping onto the metal perforated bridge plate, the sound of steel clanging under her feet—halfway there, Efnir stood on the bridge plate and looked down.
The bridging plate is actually just a few layers of simple perforated metal plates, about four or five meters long from one end to the other. It is the only connection point between the tunnel and the central Work Shaft. There are manual placement and retraction structures on both sides. It seems that these bridging plates are usually retracted, which means that the central Work Shaft and the tunnel are not actually in contact under normal circumstances.
Efnir stood on the bridge deck, her hands gripping the railings on either side, peering down—she had deactivated her Synchronization and saw only darkness, but at the very bottom shimmered with a faint purple glow.
However, from Synchronization perspective, Efnir could only see some cables and complex equipment casings. The deeper structures were invisible to her due to the limited view. Efnir looked up again, took a step back, and looked upwards—and saw the same view again. In the "blank" area in the middle, not even that annoying plant was there.
Efnir stomped her foot slightly, and a crisp metallic clang echoed in the deep darkness before fading away.
"Strangeness..."
Efnir frowned slightly—the structure of this enormous tower was quite... unusual.
Looking down from here, the tower's main structure appears to be divided into two parts: an inner Work Shaft, which is the central structure, and an outer laboratory and external structure including elevators and stairwells. This in itself isn't particularly puzzling, as Efnir didn't understand these architectural and engineering design principles.