"Dai, now I need you to return to the workspace......"

Shortly after I recently repelled a wave of R&D attacks in Section D, I received an order from Marx - but I couldn't help but feel a sense of unusualness between the lines.

"Good work, Dai, because you stabilized the situation in the rear. In order to enable the colleagues of the containment team to focus on the battle, all the incoming anomalies have been suppressed. "Just as I was bidding farewell to the civilians of the Ministry of Armed Forces, who were grateful to me, and galloping towards the work area at full speed, Marx suddenly said to me.

"Hmm...... That's good news. I said, my eyes widening.

"After the anomaly was processed, the R&D department organized the containment team to launch several more tentative attacks, and at first there was a tendency to occupy the entire upper level."

"But now repulsed?"

"That's right." Marx said, but there was not the slightest joy of victory in his tone: "The colleagues of the headquarters immediately returned from the intelligence department, and surrounded and annihilated the containment team of the recording department that came to attack from both sides. Finally, control over the upper echelons was restored. ”

"I'm afraid it's going to be called 'the lower level' now." I quipped, trying to lighten up the conversation.

"Hmmm......"

But Marx didn't seem to be in the mood, so I stopped talking.

"Anything else to add?" I asked, a little apprehensively.

"Let's meet." Marx sighed and fell uncharacteristically silent, leaving only a terrible silence all around......

This short conversation has pulled my already extremely nervous emotions into an even more out-of-control abyss. "It's going to be fine, it's all right......" I comforted myself, whistling through the long corridors, eager and resistant, eager for the truth that was about to be faced.

"Hoo ——!" With a violent sound of sound barriers, I finally arrived at the door of the preparation room on time—the appearance of this place had changed dramatically due to the bloody battle: the EGO lockers of each department had been violently destroyed, and the doors were wide open, as if cursing the unjust fate and crying about the resentful women whose families were dying; The stacked chairs that were once neatly stacked are now staggering to the ground; Documents and archives were scattered like snowflakes, and black footprints appeared on them, soaked in scarlet blood. No matter how long they have gone through, after this change of stars, it seems that they have become obsolete and old, and they will never return to the same again.

But at least, the fighting here is not fierce, and the buildings still retain their former appearance.

"The clothes are not as good as new, and the people are not as good as the old." Looking at the miserable situation in front of me, I couldn't help but sigh.

Passing through the connected hallway, I made it to the entrance to the work area, which had been completely flipped down, but the entrance and exit were still in use. At this moment, there are still two people in charge of the headquarters containment team here, and after a brief confirmation of identity, they immediately let me in.

"Welcome...... Predecessor. "They greeted me.

"Well, thank you, Paulins, Yuri." I replied, "Take care of yourselves, too." ”

Soon, I was nervous and ready to step into the workspace. The facility was more dilapidated and chaotic than the memories I had when I left—there was no working equipment in the corridors, only a few lone lamps still dying, providing limited light to the surroundings; Floors shattered, shelves toppled over, doors deformed, and the shattered flesh and motionless corpses of the Illusion smeared everywhere; The air was filled with a pungent smell of air fresheners, rancid rotten meat, and volatile motor oil.

The colleagues on the other side of the containment team seemed to be completely unaware of how disgusting and retching the scene around them was, exhausted from the day's fighting. Even though the regeneration reactor repaired the wounds on their bodies all the time, it was still difficult to get rid of the strong sleepiness. They fell asleep crookedly, leaning against the wall, or on the shoulders of their companions, or lying directly on the ground, and the slightly tattered ego on top of their bodies was their only cover, which was sad and desolate.

The colleagues who stood guard were in high spirits, knowing that their lives were at stake, and they did everything they could to keep themselves awake. But they were mortal beings in the flesh, and they could not contain their thirst and sleep, and they could not stop yawning.

"Senior...... "They saw me and were ready to say hello to me.

"Shhhhh......hhh I crept through the hallway, each foot had to be as quiet as a cat's paw on cotton, my colleagues had given too much to deserve a restful night's sleep.

At the same time, I also began to unconsciously silently name names in my heart. Stopped, looked at it, wrote down every sleeping shadow that passed by, and every time he saw a familiar face, his heart was soothed - "At least he is still alive." "Even if I believe ...... Even if I believe, the expected result will not be a beautiful reality......

Climbing the makeshift ladder and carefully passing through the dilapidated elevator shaft, I finally arrived at the front line of the Intelligence Department, where Camille and Parker were stationed in the confrontation with the forces of the R&D Department, their broadswords clenched and solemn, watching the outside of the heavily fortified position. Loki was also here, although they were not injured, but the shocking scars on the EGO seemed to be silently telling the tragedy of the battle......

"Daphna-senpai!" At the sight of me, Camille and Parker suddenly raised their heads and turned to salute me.

I looked at them—they were just as bad spirits than my colleagues standing guard in the hallway, but they were also in good spirits, showing me how active and enthusiastic they were, and how fit they were.

"You ......," I said sadly, "it's all hard work......"

Camille pursed her lips a little nervously and said, "That'...... Senior ......"

"Dai." Before the words fell, Loki on the side interrupted the simple reunion: "Come here." He said to me, "It's not convenient here. As he spoke, every word was filled with uncontrollable emotion.

"yes, okay." I nodded earnestly, patted Parker on the shoulder, and turned to walk in Loki's direction.

Parker seemed to want to say something, but looking at Camille beside him, he chose to remain silent, watching my figure fade away.

Not long after, after a few twists and turns, we entered the first layer of shielding area - "Okay...... It's safe now. Loki finally spoke: "Angela's surveillance is pervasive, and now resources are scarce, so we can only achieve a basic degree of secrecy. ”

"It's been a lot of work." I couldn't help but sigh, "I can maintain the front until now, and the conditions are so critical......," I said, looking around - compared to the chaos outside, the situation here is slightly improved, at least there are no more fragments of the fantasy, but it is still full of leaks and dilapidation, and it seems that it has also been devastated by the war soon.

Walking through the hallway and over the doorframe, it suddenly became clear that it was the main rest room of the Ministry of Intelligence, but now the floor above it had been connected to the outer space, leaving more room for equipment and personnel.

In the center is a simple saddle table, surrounded by groups of brave civilians who are working intensively on intelligence, Yesod, Hod, TipherethA, and Minister Marcus are also sitting around to help with intelligence or research strategy; On the east side is a makeshift deplaning table, on which is an unrecognizable corpse, but no one seems to be ready to dispose of it anymore, covered with a simple colloidal membrane to block out the scents that may waft out; At the edge of the room, I finally met the containment team, who looked more tired and sleepy than the outside world, and Ida worked tirelessly to take care of them, even if she smiled at the patients around her, she could see the haggard look on the woman's face in the slightest carefully hidden detail - she was really tired.

"Since Marx has asked you to come here...... Finally, Loki turned around and prepared to get down to business: "The situation is not optimistic. ”

The ministers also quickly noticed my presence, but they did not return to their usual enthusiasm, they looked at each other in unison, and were silent for a while, not immediately returning to the work at hand, but still ...... Nothing was said.

"Not optimistic?" I couldn't help frowning: "Could it be that Maxi ...... them?"

"Alive." Minister Yesod suddenly interjected: "The Ministry of Welfare has been in communication so far, but the access is blocked by Binah, and the staff cannot break through and evacuate for the time being. ”

"We've tried to break through many times...... But they all failed. Loki said, his body shuddering, and his complexion turned terribly bad—frozen and pale like plaster. A few cruel lines were squeezed out of my frozen lips in a moment, completely extinguishing my rising hope:

"On the second attempt to break through...... We were ambushed and suffered heavy losses. At last...... Hana sacrificed her ...... in order to cover the evacuation"

A bolt from the blue.

Just two words, through the deep ear canal, vibrating the eardrum, echoing in the inner arm of the cochlea, finally came to my brain, which is made up of hundreds of billions of neurons, and turned it upside down like a depth charge......

"Buzz ————"

I froze in place, in a trance in my head, and I was a little overwhelmed for a moment.

"Hah...... Hana? I couldn't help but open my mouth and ask, "Yes...... Is it Hana? ”

Loki was similarly drowning in great sadness, but he just nodded.

"Hana...... Hana ...... ......I kept scratching my hair and pacing from side to side: "How come?" How can it? Hana She ...... It shouldn't be......"

"Daphna employee ......" Minister Hod tried to comfort me, but was immediately stopped by his colleagues: "She needs to calm down. They whispered.

Soon, this foggy and vague mind gradually escaped. As consciousness returned, the pain that was like a knife and a gun was wrangling—I gasped for breath, even though I wasn't disabled; I kept stamping my feet, even though there was no dirt under them; I held my breath, hoping in vain to stand still for the moment, only to be defeated by my body's unstoppable instinct to thirst for oxygen.

Eventually, I gave up and I decided to face reality – accept Hanna's departure.

“…… Right now...... What should I do now? What should I do for Hana? What else can I do for her? I asked questions in the distance like a cannonball, my face was as pure as iron, and my voice was as light as hoarfrost.

"Daphna staff...... You calm down first. At this time, Minister Marcus did not stop stepping forward and said, "Don't ......"

"No...... Madam Minister. I twitched the corners of my mouth: "I'm calm." It's just that I was ordered to come here, and I know that there must be a reason for such a tragedy - I just want to know now, what that reason is. ”

"Dai...... Don't do that. Loki put his hands on my shoulders, "I understand you...... I understand you very well. As he spoke, his hands growing more and more hateful: "Ann...... Angelica and Velasquith also died, and I didn't have to break my liver and intestines. ”

"Ade......" Ada, who saw the situation, also hurriedly suspended the work in hand, and came forward to reassure him: "Please trust us...... Everything will come to fruition, okay? ”

"Devna employees, deliberately hiding emotions will only corrode our souls." Minister Yesod also stepped forward and said.

"Poof......" I looked at the pair of concerned eyes cast at me, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "No...... No...... I didn't. I said, shaking my head constantly, "It's just...... It's just that we have a lot of other things, don't we? There is no point in dwelling on grief, something must be done now...... Do something. ”

"This ......" Everyone was speechless for a while, and they were a little at a loss.

"Okay...... Dai, since you insist on ......" Loki stared into my eyes and said with great seriousness, "We need your help to break through the blockade of the Ministry of Welfare and save Maxi ...... There are other colleagues. ”

I was silent for a moment, even though my tired brain didn't want to think about it anymore, but it still needed to rest and reconcile.

"Let's go now." After a while, I looked up and replied without hesitation, "If necessary...... Preferably as soon as possible. ”

"Employee Daphna ...... "Minister Hod still seemed deeply upset about my situation, but feared that it would be useless to talk more, so he gave up.

"Dai." At this point, Marx finally resumed his correspondence with me, "I will send you the information I have gathered so far, and the details will be arranged by Rocky." He spoke quickly, as if every word was the last word, and immediately after the conversation ended, the communication stopped, as if there was still a lot of work waiting for him to decide.

"Hmm......" I took a deep breath, "Good work." I said silently.

"Dai." In the middle of the conversation, Loki immediately assembled the participants and completed the training - most of them came from the Central Headquarters, in addition to my familiar colleagues and comrades-in-arms, including many civilians who were improvised in the battle and showed considerable talent, they wore the EGO of sacrificing their colleagues, and their eyes were full of firm will that was not inferior to that of their predecessors. Under its infection, I couldn't help but feel a long-lost fervent fighting spirit rise in my heart.