Chapter 62

"You still have video recordings?"

"Only a part of it."

Efnir nodded.

What happened in Xijing City was no secret, but generally speaking, people in this era have completely shut themselves off from the world. She didn't expect that her parents were even paying attention to this, and it seemed that they knew a lot about it.

In this fragmented era, people are more willing to care about what's happening around them, while events in other cities, even major events like the "annihilation of a city," are rarely discussed.

On the one hand, it is because people are consciously or unconsciously avoiding such negative information, and relevant departments also have a certain degree of control over this aspect.

On the other hand, it is related to the distorted development model of human society today.

Because of the lack of a road transport system, cities cannot cluster together; otherwise, arable land would be greatly reduced. The most efficient way to ensure the food and shelter of such a large population is to separate the construction of cities and allow each region to choose a decentralized development model.

However, this model has a fatal flaw: it hinders technological production, industry, and agricultural trade between cities.

The safest, fastest, and most efficient mode of transportation is air transport aircraft. However, due to the "Stealth Device" of the air transport system, the operating and maintenance costs are too high for the average person to bear. It is also impossible to carry large equipment, large quantities of raw materials, and sufficient food and products between cities. In other words, because of the "Stealth Device," using airplanes is a very uneconomical business in most cases. Apart from fulfilling tasks assigned by the Human Alliance, air routes are generally idle.

Intercity communication then relies solely on road infrastructure, but the dangers of ground activities Beyond the Boundary cannot be ignored.

The Stealth Device has extremely high energy consumption and occupies an unusually large volume along with the power supply equipment. Even if a vehicle can carry it, it will run out of energy to maintain operation before reaching its destination due to insufficient speed. Then, it will face the danger of being overwhelmed by the Erosion Entity.

Some have proposed using Old Era railways and installing power supply equipment in several carriages, but this has proven impossible because the density of Erosion Entity the ground is not on the same order of magnitude as that in the air. Moreover, unlike air routes, ground-based facilities such as railway tracks require regular maintenance, otherwise they are simply unusable.

If aircraft are not used, then the only option is to send agents to accompany and protect the city, which would indirectly lead to a weakening of the city's internal defenses.

Ultimately, there was very little interaction between the cities.

Some cities have even severed Human Alliance because they were unable to afford the maintenance of the road network in the area, effectively isolating the city into a closed region.

In conclusion, due to various reasons, connections between cities have been compressed to a very low level, which is far from the original intention of establishing a global Human Alliance. Even though city administrators know the importance of "united forces," most people choose the former over "taking a chance" and "the immediate danger."

Those who are "lucky" can still survive. The city may disappear completely in the next few decades, but at least for now, they can choose a moment of peace.

Conversely, one will constantly face enormous risks.

In this era, many people have lost the courage to move forward.

It must be said that Xijing City is fortunate, because Masaki Hina is a commander dispatched by the Human Alliance. She graduated from the Military Academy and has always strongly advocated the importance of external communication. This is one of the reasons why Xijing City's network communication is more developed than that of other cities.

But this is not always the case in some other regions.

It is an undeniable fact that a city's high degree of autonomy can sometimes bring enormous drawbacks. In such cases, agents become the expendable products of such decadent decisions, and the life of a city ends when all its agents have perished.

"Of course, this matter is still just speculation between your mother and me. Because it involves many things, it has not been reported or filed. It was an unauthorized action on our part."

At this point, Takuma Yanase continued.

"We didn't originally intend to involve you in this matter, but since you're now our agent, we don't plan to hide anything from you."

"So, this is what we were talking about this morning?"

"Yes."

"By the way," her mother Kaoru Yanase, added, "Naoto, are you feeling alright? If it's not convenient for you, you don't have to come with us."

She was referring, of course, to what happened that morning.

Efnir's cheeks flushed as she recalled the scene from that morning when she was pinned against the door by Yukina while talking to her mother outside.

She quickly shook her head.

"I... I'm fine..."

"Don't push yourself. Your dad and I... went through all the stories about you in Xijing City last night. You really haven't changed."

"Why??"

"The strongest agent in Xijing City, the face of the city, the most beautiful girl, the magical girl idol..." Kaoru Yanase chuckled as she rattled off a whole bunch of titles that Efnir had been given, "And the latest ones, 'sister complex idol,' 'older sister-sama,' and so on..."

"Huh!???"

The Aiven were stunned.

"Wait a minute, why are you...?"

"There are tons of discussions about Efnir with a simple search. I was bored last night, so your dad and I browsed through them online."

Kaoru Yanase ruffled Efnir's hair.

"Well done, Naoto, I'm really proud of you."

80. The Apostle's Technique

After Yanase's parents had a simple breakfast, Efnir drove them to the vicinity of the Orderkeeper Headquarters plaza.

Some time has passed since the disaster, and the headquarters is still undergoing intensive repairs and reconstruction. As far as the eye can see, many places are still desolate ruins.

"The Maesakagawa area has now fallen, and I can't take you there, so I'll bring you here first." Efnir stopped the car and looked at the construction site in the distance. "This is the second of three major Corruption incidents, which occurred a week ago."

"This is perfect. The Maesakagawa region has too much chaotic White Hole Corruption Energy that would interfere with my results, but this place won't. Naoto, I want to know, where did the Erosion Entity first appear here?"

"I asked Takuma Yanase."

"Just ahead, within a few hundred meters of the Orderkeeper Headquarters, subsequent investigations and calculations indicate that the area that first experienced Corruption is believed to be the area on the east side of the building."

Efnir pointed ahead, and through the car window, the Yanase couple saw a small flowerbed that looked like it had been run over by a road roller. Now, only shallow, messy grass remained. Because it wasn't a building with any important function, it had been left unattended, and no construction workers had come to repair it.

"I understand. We plan to get off the bus and take a look."

"I'll go with you."

Takuma Yanase and Kaoru Yanase out of the car. Considering that this was outside the Orderkeeper Headquarters and that they had come here to investigate on their own, they did not choose to take their suitcases with them immediately in order to avoid attracting too much attention. Instead, they only took a detection device that looked like a walkie-talkie.

Efnir led them to the area in front of Asakusa.

"This is the area considered to have been the first to be damaged, but it is not the area that suffered the most damage. After the Erosion Entity appeared, it attacked the Orderkeeper Headquarters building, and at the same time, some individuals spread to the nearby residential areas. It is estimated that there were more than forty seconds between the appearance of the Erosion Entity and the headquarters issuing an alarm. Because of this, the agents were dispatched later than expected."

Efnir revealed the information she knew.

"In addition to the wounded and killed soldiers and civilians, three agents were killed, two are missing, and two are seriously wounded in the battle."

Qinglan and Flying Swallow have been missing ever since. Although they have been officially declared "missing," everyone knows in their hearts that there is no chance that they have survived.

"The Erosion Entity that appeared in this battle were mainly 'whales,' which are massive flying Erosion Entity. No special attack methods were observed. They have high defense and move by flying and hovering. Occasionally, they would emit an indistinct hissing sound. Their offensive capabilities are very limited. No other special form changes were observed, and they never revealed any clear attack methods."

"So, it's just a type that's large and difficult to defeat, but doesn't pose much of a threat...?"

Kaoru Yanase nodded slightly.

"Not only that, coincidentally, this type of Erosion Entity also appeared in the Erosion Disaster that occurred the day before. Strangely, in this subsequent Erosion Disaster, it exhibited a noteworthy 'guiding' role, with the 'crow'-type Erosion Entity protecting it from harm."

"Hmm... is this a very rare type of non-destructive attack?"

"Mom, do you know about this Erosion Entity?"

"No, I don't know. Your father and I aren't experts in this area. As you know, the appearance of Erosion Entity isn't static. I can't determine its classification based on this description alone. Besides, what we're doing has nothing to do with this."

As they were talking, the father, Takuma Yanase, had already squatted down by a damaged curb, rummaged through the rolled-up turf, and then carefully scanned the area around him with the instrument in his hand.

"Mom, what is the connection between the Ruins you and Dad are looking for and these three Corruption events? Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"It's nothing. We don't have conclusive evidence yet; it's still just speculation."

While measuring the data, Takuma Yanase said, "By the way, Naoto, you captured an 'Apostle', didn't you?"

"Dad knows about 'Apostle' too?"

"Yes, of course I know, but... I know very little."

Takuma Yanase deep breath, stood up, and looked for the next location.

"You did a great job capturing an Apostle. That's a huge achievement. You know, there have been several incidents involving 'Apostle' in the last two weeks. It started with an investigation team on a mission Beyond the Boundary being attacked by 'Apostle.' Then a city issued a warrant for the arrest of Apostle. Now the Alliance has also taken notice of this suspicious organization and is sending special investigators to handle these matters."

"Send investigators?"

Efnir frowned slightly, suddenly remembering what Masaki Hina had told her.

Masaki Hina was deemed to have neglected her duties and was transferred by the Joint Command to a new commander. Several proxies were also assigned to support her and will arrive in Xijing City within two weeks.

If what his father said is true, then this matter is probably not something that can be simply explained by a literal transfer.

Yanase's mother chimed in, "We still haven't figured out the origins of those Apostle. What we can foresee is that, with the Union growing stronger, the open and covert struggles between factional nations are beginning to surface."

She sighed as she spoke.

"The conflict of interests persists even at this critical juncture. I even suspect that those so-called 'Apostle' might be one of them. It is said that several cities have dispatched forces to encircle and suppress the Apostle, but almost all of them have returned empty-handed, as if the other side knew about their actions and even set up ambushes on the routes that those forces were bound to take. Half of those forces composed of agents and soldiers were killed, and most of the remaining half were wounded, while the damage they inflicted on the other side was very limited."

"Are they that good?"

"No, they can evade the attention of the Erosion Entity through some means. The Erosion Entity won't attack them proactively, and their attack methods can draw energy for long-range bombardment. Without a large number of thermal weapons, it's difficult to defeat them. It's precisely because of these two bizarre technologies that the term 'Apostle' has spread so quickly among the Human Alliance. Naoto, you know why, right?"

"Clear."

These two technologies, especially the secret to evading attacks from Erosion Entity, are precisely what humanity has been searching for without success.

Human society now exists entirely on the shell constructed by the Boundary Stele. Cities are hidden inside the shell, preventing the Erosion Entity from detecting their existence. However, due to the fluctuations of the White Hole Erosion, Erosion Entity occasionally "accidentally" intrude into the shell, at which point agents are needed to eliminate them.

However, resources are becoming increasingly scarce, and the threat posed by the Erosion Entity persists. If a permanent solution cannot be found, the collapse of human society is only a matter of time.

At this point, technology that can protect against attacks from the Erosion Entity becomes especially valuable.

81. Clues

Her mother's words were somewhat intriguing, and the matters involved were far beyond what Efnir was aware of.

"Soon, our commander will be transferred back to the Central Province, and the joint forces will send someone else to replace her, as well as a proxy to support us."

Efnir carefully considered her words, looking at her mother.

"Mom, do you think this is normal?"

"I'm not quite sure," Kaoru Yanase sighed. "But there's one thing you need to be clear about, and that is 'factions.' These things really exist. Your commander is named Masaki Hina, right? I haven't met her, but looking at how Xijing City is developing now, I believe she's a good girl... But some things can't be changed by one person's power. The faction is sending a new commander here at this time, either because they really are here just to investigate the 'Apostle,' or because they intend to interfere in Xijing City's affairs and prepare to bring Xijing City into the faction's global strategy. At this point, you need to discern the truth."

Efnir nodded, lost in thought.

In fact, Masaki Hina herself was a commander who was transferred here. At that time, Efnir had only recently taken office as the acting commander. The previous commander had died in battle, and the agreement made with Efnir was sealed in the archives.

At that time, what was Masaki Hina's stance when she arrived here?

Why didn't she reveal her secret? What is Yukina's true identity?

Are they just observing and waiting?

Or something else?

The memory was too long ago, and many details had been buried deep in the past and could no longer be known. Efnir thought for a moment and then wiped away her thoughts.

"However, this may not be a bad thing. Sometimes, it's good to have a big tree to shelter under."

"I'll say it again," said Kaoru Yanase.

"The new commander might bring opportunities for development, and the newly arrived agents will become your comrades-in-arms, which will greatly increase the safety of your missions. Regardless of what the higher-ups think, as officers in charge of a region and agents fighting on the front lines, their initial intentions are always positive."

"Hopefully everything goes well..."

"Yes... Actually, your father and I came here to investigate these things to escape the constraints of factional struggles, and at the same time, we also wanted to do something..."

Kaoru Yanase looked intently at Efnir.

"Don't tell anyone what I'm about to say."

Efnir paused for a moment, then nodded seriously.

"I won't tell."

"Yes, I believe you..."

There was no one else around. Kaoru Yanase glanced around and took a deep breath.

"What we're pursuing is the technology used by the Apostle. Through extensive research, we speculate that the source of Apostle technology is most likely Ruins, specifically an unconfirmed and unexplored Ruins that Human Alliance verified... Naoto, you should know what a Ruins represents. The 'Beacon System' used by your agents is a product of Ruins Technology. We humans can only decipher one percent of Ruins Technology, yet we've already created the 'Boundary Stele' and the 'Beacon System,' two technologies that have completely revolutionized the scientific world. Who can imagine what kind of world humanity will enter if we fully understand Ruins Technology? White Hole Erosion, Erosion Entity —they're utterly insignificant before the true power of the Ruins. But..."

Kaoru Yanase a deep breath, her gaze drifting off somewhere.

"However, the Ruins don't only bring hope for a new era... Stones, some carve upward steps from them, others turn them into weapons. Your father and I once conducted a study, attempting to restore those who had turned to Dregs back to their original forms, but obviously, we failed. The results of our research uncontrollably veered in an uncontrollable direction, and the final product was something that humanity could not control. We planned to destroy the experimental results, but those guys, for their own purposes, used us, took our flawed experimental results, and then restarted their research on the wrong foundation. They discovered the hidden possibilities and then began human experimentation."