Chapter 252
For Yukina, the world has always been like this.
She wasn't even born when the White Hole Erosion the area nineteen years ago, and her aunt had just become pregnant with Naoko.
It is said that humans instinctively discard memories from before the age of three or four, and even when they grow up to be five or six, most people can only remember a handful of childhood fragments.
Yukina's childhood was divided into two parts. One part was the memory of her biological parents, which she had forgotten when she was two or three years old. Those memories had long since faded away as she grew up, with only occasional fleeting glimpses of magnificent buildings, snow-white walls, and glowing rooms.
The rest are memories of growing up and living with Naoko at the Yanase family home.
She didn't know when the memory came from, but she and Naoko were standing by the window watching the heavy rain outside, pointing to a spot on the horizon and excitedly shouting "Rainbow!"
She stared blankly at her reflection in the glass window, the silver hair clip in her hair shimmering faintly.
Just then, my phone rang.
"Naoko?"
Yukina eagerly answered the phone, and the voice of the girl she had been longing for came from the other end.
"Yukina, where are you?"
"In the dining area, let's eat something with Kotone... Naoko, have you eaten yet?"
"Okay, I'll be there."
Efnir's tone sounded somewhat urgent, "I have something to tell you."
193. Everything that is still unclear
Efnir arrived at the dining area, greeted Kanade Kotone, and then pulled Yukina to a secluded corner.
"You look much better. Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
"I'm much better now. Miss Nishiki and Qinyin were very concerned about me, and the stitches were removed a long time ago."
"Is that so..."
Efnir didn't say anything immediately, but carefully and meticulously examined Yukina, gently tucking a strand of hair that had fallen from Yukina's eyebrow behind her ear, revealing Yukina's clean profile.
She's been very busy these past two days and hasn't had time to spend with Yukina at all. However, Yukina seems to be recovering very well; the visible scars have mostly disappeared, and what remains are probably only the unseen internal injuries, which should be fully healed in a few more days.
Yukina grasped Efnir's hand and cupped it tightly against her cheek. "Naoko seems to be in a bad mood. Did something happen?"
"Is it that obvious?"
"You're my lover, and your feelings are written all over your face."
Yukina raised her eyes and gazed at Efnir with deep affection. Efnir felt uneasy under her clear gaze. She opened her mouth slightly, but swallowed the words she wanted to say.
For a moment, she didn't know how to begin.
Just ten minutes ago, Efnir successfully made contact with the Central Province through the Boundary Stele System and transferred the information to Masaki Hina.
Using a code known only to Efnir and Masaki Hina, Efnir inquired of Masaki Hina about the information she had obtained from Saori— "the Thing in the Box" and "the Clockwork Organization."
A long silence followed Efnir, after which Masaki Hina Efnir inquired about the source of the information.
Masaki Hina had never heard of "The Thing in the Box," but she stated that the "Clockwork Organization" truly existed. However, even Masaki Hina, who was a lieutenant general, did not know much about it. This meant that the existence of the Clockwork Organization must involve the highest-level secrets of the Human Federation, which would be accessible to almost only the highest-level authority— the Central Council.
Even lower-ranking officers or heads of agencies in outlying cities were unaware of the existence of the Clockwork Organization.
For example, Efnir, despite being a major general, had never heard of such a thing.
According to Masaki Hina, that was very unusual.
Judging from these two points alone, what Saori said is not unfounded. Since the "Clockwork Organization" does exist and seems to be a very important secret, how did the Codename J know about it?
Masaki Hina promised to keep an eye out for relevant information and try to investigate, while also solemnly warning Efnir not to tell anyone about it, not even Yukina.
Because this would be dangerous.
Of course, the possibility that Codename J deliberately used unfounded rumors to sow discord cannot be denied, but Efnir cannot simply ignore this.
She shared with Masaki Hina everything that had happened in the past two weeks in detail, and also inquired about the Telesius Faction. After learning that Codename J had appeared in Xijing City, Masaki Hina suddenly provided information that particularly concerned Efnir —at the same time that Xijing City was attacked by Codename J, sightings of a mysterious girl who was remarkably similar to Efnir's description appeared in seven different cities.
Every time Codename J appeared in a new location, she caused massive casualties, killing over a dozen agents and countless civilians and soldiers. However, she also engaged in battle with lurking Apostle in a city and wiped them all out.
Clearly, Codename J and Codename H do not belong to the Apostle Organization.
Amidst all this conflict, the Codename J signifies the emergence of a third force between the Human Federation and the Apostle Organization.
All this information made Efnir uneasy, and an inexplicable sense of restlessness and urgency piled up in her chest.
She made a decision.
A decision made solely by her.
Yukina quietly watched as Efnir's expression gradually grew heavy. She moved closer to Efnir, her hands sliding down Efnir's waist to gently embrace her slender, soft waist.
She leaned on Efnir's shoulder and asked, "Is the investigation not going well?"
"Not really..."
Efnir looked away and gazed out the window, where the sky at the edge of her vision was beginning to glow with the first rays of dawn.
In the quiet corner, only Yukina and Efnir were present. The dim light obscured the lamplight, and their heartbeats and breathing could be clearly heard.
After a moment of silence, Efnir spoke softly.
"Although the investigation into Codename J has not made any decisive progress, I have obtained some other information through Saori... however, that information cannot be confirmed immediately."
Is it good news?
"I have no idea..."
Efnir frowned slightly, recalling Saori's weak voice, and sighed heavily.
The investigation, which had been stalled for so long, has finally yielded a breakthrough, which should be good news. However, these clues may very well involve top-secret information. Who can say for sure whether it's good or bad?
Efnir preferred to believe that it was all just a smokescreen deliberately released by Codename J.
Conversely, the Human Federation is probably already corrupt and decadent, which is something no one wants.
"Yukina, I'm here to talk to you about something. I'm planning to leave Xijing City for a while—I got some interesting clues from Masaki Hina. Codename J is likely to reappear, and this time I can't let her go. This is also a good opportunity to get clues from her."
"Codename J?"
Yukina's expression turned serious. She looked up and stared at Efnir's profile.
"We cracked the code from the Boundary Stele; it was a set of coordinates pointing to Hamikawa City."
Hamikawa City is a small city located 60 kilometers southeast of Xijing City. A wide old highway, a remnant of the past, runs between the two Hamikawa City, and the round trip takes only a few hours.
Efnir, Saori, and the others had interacted with the agents from Hamikawa City during their mission Beyond the Boundary, so they were acquainted.
Yukina looked worried. "But... can we catch her?"
Codename J is terrifying in itself. Her power is enough to crush most agents. Even Saori, who ranks among the top three active agents in Xijing City, was easily defeated by her. In addition, what is most troublesome is her bizarre ability.
J and H have one thing in common: their methods of escaping are extremely bizarre.
This time, Efnir used the energy of the "Shard" to prevent Codename J from escaping easily and severely injured her, but no one knows whether she is dead or not - intelligence indicates that Codename J has more than one body, and eliminating one of them may not be enough to completely kill her.
Eliminating one clone wouldn't do anything to Codename J, and it would be even less likely to get the information she wanted from her.
"No matter what, I want to go, while Lapith and the others are still here."
When Efnir is not in Xijing City, Anilas and the others alone are not enough to deal with the potential threat from the Apostle Organization, so Efnir wants to borrow Lapith's power to protect Xijing City in her place.
"Furthermore, Codename J was following Codename H, so there must be something there."
Yukina looked at the determination in Efnir's eyes and pursed her lips.
"Alright, when are you leaving? I'll go prepare..."
"No."
Efnir interrupted Yukina and gently pushed her Yukina.
This time, it's just me.
"Why?"
Yukina froze, and Efnir stared intently into her eyes.
"I've made up my mind. I'll set off with the Shard. I came here... to say goodbye to you."
194. Setting Off Alone (End of Volume)
The warm morning sun finally peeked into the corners of the city. In front of the helipad of the Orderkeeper Headquarters building, Yukina, Shinomiyami Nami, Shiina Rin and other agents, as well as Nishizaki Yuki, Kanade Kotone, gathered here. Anilas and Tobi, as well as Lapith and others from the Funeral Bird Squad, were also there.
They came here to say goodbye to Efnir.
At this moment, Efnir had changed into her usual tight-fitting combat uniform and white hooded coat. She was equipped with basic equipment such as a dagger and a pistol, but the pistol was a silenced model, which was to avoid attracting more Dregs and Erosion Entity when using weapons in the Beyond the Boundary region.
Have you really thought this through?
Several gunshots rang out on the other end of the phone, Kusei Maki's tone remained completely flat, a stark contrast to her voice just hours before.
"The cleanup around Maesakagawa is mostly done, but the investigation into the Underground Research Institute hasn't made any progress. I'm not comfortable letting other agents handle it, and I was planning to have you continue the investigation... Never mind, I'll bring someone back tomorrow. You can do it your way."
"Sorry, it seems I've disrupted your plans."
Efnir glanced at the horizon; the dispatched helicopter had not yet arrived.
"My only plan is to eliminate the Apostle and the Corruption. You did the right thing, no need to apologize to me."
"Kusei Maki said seriously."
"You have great courage, Major General, but courage alone is not enough once you leave the city."
"I won't do anything I'm not sure I can handle. The Beyond the Boundary is dangerous, but if I'm careful, it's not a big deal."
The most dangerous thing in the Beyond the Boundary region is not the powerful Erosion Entity and Dregs, but the ubiquitous Corruption Energy —that energy can easily invade the human body, Mutation human cells, and when a person notices Gray Matterization on their body surface, they are not far from Mutation Dregs.
During the massive evacuation twenty years ago, more than 60 percent of the people died in this way.
"Come back safely. It's not me, but Xijing City that needs you. As for here, I'll negotiate with Suzuda City, and Lapith will be willing to stay."
Thank you.
He hung up the phone after saying that.
Shinomiyami Nami stepped forward and handed a heavy metal briefcase to Efnir's hand.
"Efnir, this is yours."
She took the suitcase from Shinomiyami Nami, inside which was the core of the operation—radiation Shard. The Research Department called this mysterious substance, discovered at the Maesakagawa Underground Research Institute, "Collapse Shard." Any Order Field other than Efnir would experience a strange collapse under its influence and be quickly devoured and disappeared by radiation. Moreover, this radiation would remain in the agent's body, negatively affecting their thinking, making them irritable, easily angered, and unable to make judgments. For these reasons, "Collapse Shard" were the most suitable auxiliary item to deal with Codename J so far.
"This box was used by the Underground Research Institute to transport the Shard. Although it provides some protection against radiation, it's best to keep it away from other agents, otherwise it might cause something like what happened to Anilas last time."
However, this won't work on agents who haven't entered into Synchronization, as the experiments of the past few days have amply demonstrated.
Efnir took the suitcase.
"Thanks for giving me something so important."
"The commander agreed, and this kind of thing is of no value staying in the research lab, so it's better to give it to you to use—and only you can use it."
If the battle with Codename J can be considered as experience, the existence of the "Shard" is undoubtedly a great help to Efnir in dealing with Codename J and Codename H.
However, the existence of the Shard means that other agents cannot intervene in Efnir's battle.
"By the way, the equipment you requested is ready."
Shinomiyami Nami waved her hand again, and a soldier carried forward a long, narrow white box, more than a meter long, with the sound of his leather boots clicking. He saluted Efnir and then handed the box to Efnir.
The backpack is made of lightweight yet sturdy engineering plastic. When Efnir lifted the backpack with one hand, it felt heavy in my palm, and I could feel the weight of the items inside.
With a crisp click, Efnir popped the latch open and examined the items inside.
The black flocked groove has two layers. The upper layer contains a high-weight composite crossbow set, while the lower layer contains ammunition, knives, communication devices, and other tools, as well as equipment such as a small laptop and combat recorder.
"That's all we can prepare for you. Also, the motorcycle has already been transported to the Southern Line Garrison District; you'll see it when you get there."
Thank you.