Chapter 81
"Um..."
Following Efnir's advice, Yukina dispelled the Synchronization state.
Are you feeling unwell?
"No..."
Yukina shook her head.
Her mind was still preoccupied with whether she "liked" or "disliked" something, and she seemed somewhat distracted.
"Want some food? To replenish your energy."
Efnir handed Yukina a piece of Whale, which she seemed to have taken from somewhere.
"Although the taste is just so-so, it'll fill you up. You haven't eaten much before, have you?"
Dinner was only halfway through when Efnir received her mission, and unsurprisingly, Yukina barely ate anything.
Yukina took the Whale from Efnir and took a small bite.
"Elder sister..."
Finally unable to hold back any longer, Yukina asked in a low voice.
"What exactly did you mean by the question you just asked me?"
"Hmm? Which sentence are you referring to?"
"It's just... if you weren't Efnir, would I still like you...?"
"That one..."
Efnir swallowed her Whale gently, looked at the nervous Yukina, paused, and said, "Maybe she just wants to hear you say 'I like you'."
"Why?"
She had imagined a whole host of answers, but Yukina was stunned by Efnir's casual remark.
"It's... it's that simple?"
"Yes!"
Efnir smiled.
Her question was probably just a whim, or perhaps she was simply looking forward to the day when she would say goodbye to the identity of Efnir, or maybe she just wanted to hear Yukina say "I like you." What was it really? Efnir herself wasn't quite sure either.
However, Efnir really liked the expression on Yukina when she was troubled by her own problems.
"But... Sister, are you an idiot!?...?"
"As a younger sister, you shouldn't talk to your older sister like that."
"Hmm!?"
Yukina seemed to have something more to say, but Efnir stopped her with a small Whale.
Yukina was not to be outdone. She took Efnir's fingers and put them in her mouth in one go, along with the Whale. She pounced on her with her claws outstretched and tore off a piece of Whale that she had bitten and stuffed it into Efnir's mouth in one go.
Efnir and Yukina started playing a game of stuffing Whale pieces into each other's mouths, while the soldiers escorting them in the front line looked at each other in bewilderment.
These two girls... if you hadn't seen them with your own eyes, you would never have guessed that they were the agents who had just helped them repel the Erosion Disaster.
"This is Efnir."
Having borrowed a vehicle to leave the Erosion Disaster area, Efnir sent a communication request to Elincia.
Outside the area ravaged by the Corruption, the interference with communication signals decreased significantly, so soon, intermittent, chaotic sounds came through the headset, and then the sound gradually became clearer.
Efnir contacted Fushihara Ayaka through Elincia, requesting a helicopter while also reporting the mission and the suspicious man.
"You mean, all of this was man-made? Is that really the case...?"
On the other end of the headset, Fushihara Ayaka fell into a brief silence.
She was both expecting and surprised by what happened to Efnir.
"This matter is not so simple. It seems that the same people have appeared on Linghua's, Canary's, and Ayse's side as well. In my opinion, these people are probably just tools used to buy time. We have no way of guessing what will happen in the end."
"Efnir, keep a close eye on that guy. I'll send someone over soon."
"Um."
After saying that, he cut off the communication and switched the connection back to Elincia.
"Senior."
Elincia's voice remained as flat as ever.
Efnir paused for a moment, then asked, "Elincia, have Canary and Ayse contacted you?"
Not yet.
"I see..."
Efnir believed in Canary and Ayse's abilities, but this mission was different from the past, and Efnir couldn't predict what the outcome would be.
"Wait for me to come."
With a sigh, Efnir looked out the car window and saw a tiny black dot in the distance—that was the helicopter heading this way.
Not long after, Efnir and Yukina returned to the rendezvous point, bringing with them the man who had been tightly bound. The man had woken up by this time, but remained silent as before.
When Efnir arrived, Fushihara Ayaka was also there.
Why did you come here in person?
"I need to handle this matter with caution."
Fushihara Ayaka quickly glanced around and spotted the man behind Efnir.
"Is it him?"
"That's right."
"Bring him here."
Fushihara Ayaka ordered her men to drag the man aside.
Seeing this, Efnir asked, "Are you going to interrogate them here?"
"That's why I came here."
At that moment, a burst of noise suddenly came through the headset.
"This is Ayse... Can you hear me?"
"This is Efnir, Ayse, are you alright?"
"We... senior, we can talk about those things later. I have something very important to report right now!"
"You say."
"We've learned of the 'Apostle' plan! We urgently need support!"
112. Angel
On the other side...
Masaki Hina, Shinomiyami Nami, and several special forces soldiers are on a helicopter heading to the "Boundary Stele Management Station".
The Garrison District is a node of the "Defense Line," the location of the Boundary Stele, and the starting and ending point of the city's Boundary Stele Network. Each Garrison District is responsible for nearly a thousand soldiers and maintenance personnel, making it arguably the most important joint in a city.
However, based on the information that Masaki Hina extracted from the man, the ultimate goal of this Apostle is the "Boundary Stele," and Lily is the key executor.
Before setting off, Masaki Hina had already contacted the Garrison District and requested that everyone entering and leaving the Garrison District be strictly monitored.
Even so, Masaki Hina still felt uneasy. She frowned tightly, maintaining contact with the ground mobile squad and Ayse through her earpiece.
"What did Efnir say?"
This question was posed by Masaki Hina to Ayse is now Masaki Hina's only agent accompanying her on her missions.
Efnir, Ayse, Canary, Elincia are among the few agents who can be mobilized at present. The combat strength of each of them is very important. Canary was injured in the previous battle. Although the temporary treatment was timely and Canary was not in mortal danger, her injury was not light and she was unable to participate in the next mission.
Therefore, Masaki Hina sent someone to escort Canary back to Fushihara Ayaka's temporary residence in Fushihara.
Ayse, separated from Canary, is temporarily placed under the command of Masaki Hina and accompanies Masaki Hina to the "Garrison District" to carry out a search mission.
"Efnir has already departed from the assembly point, along with Fifina."
Ayse answered.
"Fifina, huh..."
Masaki Hina pursed her lips and said nothing.
"Commander, why do you think... those Apostle would do this?"
Shinomiyami Nami paused for a moment, then asked the question that had been bothering her.
What do you mean?
"No... it's just a little... a little idea..."
Shinomiyami Nami rarely saw such an expression on Masaki Hina's face; she was speaking somewhat hesitantly.
Perhaps because of her physique and height, Masaki Hina always gives people the feeling of a cute girl next door. She only becomes scary and serious when she is on a mission, but even so, she never gives people the strong sense of oppression she has now.
"I'm just curious... We humans have been White Hole Erosion, yet even now, there are still factional struggles within the alliance, and the Apostle are still invading from outside... We clearly have such advanced technology, why not contribute it to the fight against the Corruption? We're all human, after all..."
Masaki Hina sighed.
"As long as the interests exist, there will always be people vying for them. This has never changed from the Old Era to the present... I don't think some people's statements are correct. There are indeed some things we cannot control, but that's definitely not because we did anything wrong..."
After a pause, Masaki Hina seemed about to say something but then stopped herself.
"In this regard, you should learn more from Efnir; I am not in a position to say such nice things."
Shinomiyami Nami raised her eyes and saw Masaki Hina's ambiguous gaze.
"Um... Commander, should I have said these things...?"
"No, it doesn't matter in front of me. If we don't chat like this occasionally, we'll develop a prejudice against life. Of course, we shouldn't say these things in front of those people in the Central Province."
"Commander, the men you sent are ready to go."
Just then, someone came to report, Masaki Hina nodded, looking at Shinomiyami Nami.
"We can talk about this another time. Now, go contact Fushihara Ayaka and request that she send people to support Efnir, to be in charge of the search for Lily and Shiina Rin. Note that if you find them, prioritize intercepting Lily."
Masaki Hina gave the order.
This time, the situation they faced was far more complex than simply fighting the Erosion Entity; it concerned the very survival of Xijing City. If the Boundary Stele were destroyed, Xijing City would immediately lose nearly 10% of its urban "barrier," meaning that this area would be completely exposed to the effects of the White Hole Erosion, with countless Erosion Entity wreaking havoc there—undoubtedly hell.
Therefore, Masaki Hina is determined to prevent this from happening no matter what.
Although the man didn't know the complete battle plan, he could determine the approximate location of Lily's waiting position based on the information obtained from Masaki Hina.
It was in the middle of an abandoned old town complex, and it would be difficult for Efnir to find Lily on her own, so she needed the help of Fushihara Ayaka.
"Send this location to them and tell them to focus their search in the area. They must stop Lily before she can take action."
"Yes!"
Shinomiyami Nami immediately dialed the number of Fushihara Ayaka.
"Also, have headquarters send soldiers over, and order the people here to temporarily evacuate to the surrounding urban areas."
Masaki Hina issued orders quickly.
"Also, Ayse, you'll come with me. We have to find those three guys inside the base, even if..."
"Commander!"
Shinomiyami Nami suddenly interrupted Masaki Hina in a panic.
"A message came from the Garrison District: their defense system suddenly collapsed, and an unknown enemy appeared outside the Defense Line and launched an attack!"