Chapter 02: Land of Sighs (2)

"What happened, teacher?"

The voice, a compromise between youth and maturity, has lost some of its vigor and vitality, and has become unfamiliar over time, more silent than the clarity in memory.

He stared at the note in his hand, as if in a trance, his fingertips involuntarily stroking the beautiful handwriting, and his concern was evident. There was a hint of sadness at the corners of his eyes, he raised his hand to cover them slightly, and looked into the distance, as if he was looking at something through the interlaced buildings.

[Take her back to the "origin."]

It was the teacher's handwriting.

Normally, teachers would use crows with spiritual seeds as a medium to convey messages to avoid leaving traces. Was it because of a change of habit or some difficulty that they chose paper this time?

Makisuke retracted his gaze to the girl who just stared back at him in silence, his brows furrowed, and he pursed his lips. Although he was anxious and wanted to ask more, he finally stopped talking.

After leaving the 15th District, the teacher had not contacted him for nearly four years.

He thought that the teacher hated him.

Teacher... does he still trust him?

The pain submerged his nerves, and he turned his head away in a hurry, not wanting to show his vulnerability in front of outsiders.

Dorota, who had been observing her students, witnessed his series of changes from uneasiness to sadness, and tilted her head slightly.

He seemed to be thinking about something again.

"That lord is doing well, you can rest assured."

Dorota took off the ring on her index finger and motioned him to take it. The winding design resembled the flowing water waves, small and exquisite. "Recently, the organization's communication has been based on this to confirm the identity. There have been many changes in the past two years of your tracing of the origins at Slane College, but no matter what, you are still the successor of the tracing organization."

"This is the promise made by the leader of 'White Crane' himself."

"The organization still has a long way to go if it wants to truly compete with the Imperial Capital, and you also need to hone yourself and become a sixth-level or even a plunderer as soon as possible, so that you can protect yourself. Not only that, we have to recruit more talents."

Makisuke listened quietly to what Dorota said. He lowered his eyelids and responded, very obediently, "But now I'm only a fourth-level, and the middle and high-level watersheds are difficult to cross. I don't think this is something that can be done in just a few days."

"It's okay, I'll help you." Dorota obviously didn't take it to heart. She tilted her head and looked at the boy, "But compared to this... I care more about another thing."

"Have you had breakfast?"

Makisuke:...?

Is he hallucinating?

"Little sir, your teacher is not just asking you to take me back to the organization." The girl blinked her clear eyes. She took a sip from the warm glass to relieve the discomfort in her stomach. The mist was steaming, blurring most of her vision. "Of course, it also includes daily food."

"Sandwiches are good. It would be even better if there is a cup of hot milk."

Makisuke:

He didn't know why, but he always felt that there would be a lot of trouble in his future life.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Makisuke walked into the kitchen, took out the sandwich, thawed it, warmed the milk, and then came out with the dinner plate. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at the girl who was looking forward to it. Perhaps because of the smile in her eyes, which seemed to coincide with the person in his memory, he couldn't help but pause when pouring out the sugar packets.

Like a bright star seen after parting the mist.

He tried to remain calm and composed, suppressing the choking in his throat, but his fingertips couldn't help trembling.

"You and the teacher... look a lot alike. This may be a bit presumptuous, but can I ask what your relationship is?" They

were not similar in stature or voice, except for their eyebrows and eyes, but they couldn't be linked together because of their completely different temperaments.

But the incongruous familiarity always lingered in his heart, making it difficult for him to ignore and forget.

He just couldn't catch it.

"Ah... this."

The girl tilted her head. She looked at the person in front of her and was so nervous that she straightened her back. She sat upright, smiled with a bit of interest, and said nonsense without blinking, "Don't tell anyone, I'm the teacher's illegitimate daughter."

The poor student who was deceived:?

Dorota who discredited her image: OVO

"Impossible! The teacher would never be such a person!" Makisuke felt that his three views were exploded. He denied her words as soon as he reacted, and Dorota just smiled and said "I'll start" and didn't respond to him.

Anyway, she didn't intend to hide it from him. Sooner or later, he would find out who she was. She was curious about when he would find out.

"Tomorrow is the first day of school for Slane Academy. You have to leave the Wasteland in advance. Of course, I will go with you. But before that, you have to explain to the branch agent in the Wasteland first."

Mujie didn't know what he was thinking about. He was stunned for a moment. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Do you want to write a suicide note?"

Dorota:.

What is this kid thinking about?

"You will come back safely, don't worry." She looked up through the glass window and looked into the distance. The rising sun was hot, and the sunlight filling the room could not warm her cold eyes. "Whether it succeeds or not."

The words were so light that they sounded like a sigh.

But he didn't notice the strangeness hidden in her words. After leading Mujie away, Dorota slowly finished her breakfast. She got up and walked to the window and opened the window. The black crows on the branches of the tall trees were tilting their heads and waiting obediently.

She reached out and touched the crow's beak, letting it rub her palm affectionately, and said with a smile, "Go tell Yu Bufeng that I'm back."

"I'll take Mujie to Bloom tomorrow. I need him to help me pretend to be an exchange student."

The crow spread its wings and flew into the sky. Its feathers fell, like traces of ink stains, floating in the girl's eyes.

"The prelude to a drama is always interesting, isn't it?"

While waiting for someone, Dorota leaned against the window and read a book. She didn't put it away until Mujie came back. She was still flipping through the book carefully when Mujie ran around to pack his luggage.

Mujie looked puzzled. She didn't seem to have anything in her hands when she came. Where did this book come from?

Reading a book was of course just a cover. Dorota was actually reading the comics that the observer projected onto the book. A story that revolves around the growth of a boy and further unfolds the secrets of the world.

Starting from the first time that Makisuke tried to contact a high-level alien on his own, the story of the boy's transformation from a young man is told in just a few chapters, interspersed with flashbacks. He seems to always be so cheerful, kind, and loves this world.

But he is also changing, learning to restrain his temper and become more stable, and to help those who have suffered injustice in a more mature way.

The comic is not long, with only a few lines, and the daily life does not account for a large proportion. It mainly tells the setbacks and trials that Makisuke has experienced. The timeline is exactly four years old. Dorota reads it seriously and waits for the observer to ask her if she wants to open the bullet screen before she comes back to her senses.

"Bullet screen? What is this?"

Although there are often subordinates around her who slack off and read comics, she is not very interested in comics and naturally does not understand the related functions. The observer had to explain it. Dorota joked: "I feel you know a lot about it?"

The observer: "...I can't go out normally and can only browse the Internet, so I know more about these."

"Let's turn on the bullet screen next time we update."

Dorota said, and asked the observer to show her a few popular forums. Except for a few fan posts with someone's selfish motives, the other forums that analyze the plot are really useful.

She didn't even know the information revealed in many details. The forum's guesses were almost the same as the reality. Dorota didn't continue reading it and planned to find time to read it all in a few days.

Slane Academy provides daily necessities for students, but it still took Makisuke most of the time to pack his luggage. Dorota closed the book and pointed to a bedroom at the back, saying, "The leader said I can stay in her room. I'm a little sleepy, so don't worry about me for dinner. I'm going to rest first. Good night."

"Wait a minute... I'll get you some toiletries!" Makisuke took out the supplies prepared in the closet and handed them to her. Dorota thanked him in a low voice and walked into the room.

Makisuke wanted to say something, but he didn't have time to say it before the door closed, so it was more like a whisper.

"Why don't you like to eat well like the teacher..." After all

, the sensitivity of the awakened senses is different from that of ordinary people, not to mention Dorota, who is a predator. She actually heard it, but didn't say anything. She just looked at the bedroom in front of her silently.

Although it was uninhabited, it was still clean and tidy. I guess someone took good care of it and kept it regularly. The warm decoration and setting had nothing in common with her private residence in Yongyuan. It was familiar yet strange.

The double chandelier cast a halo of warm light, spreading out, as bright as day. Dorota put the book on the bedside. She reached out and touched the teddy bear doll with a strange shape and a lot of stitching marks, and frowned.

"Good night."

-

The agent of Tracing Source in the Wilderness arrived quickly. The next morning, Dorota ran into the agent as soon as she walked down the stairs. With his silver-gloved hand tightly grasping the lever, he put away Makisuke's luggage and turned around to nod slightly at Dorota. The chain wrapped around the end of the gold-rimmed glasses swayed slightly, covering up the coldness between his brows.

"I am the acting director of the Wilderness Region Origin Tracing Branch, Yan Xieyuan."

"Nice to meet you, welcome to 'Wilderness'."

Yan Xieyuan was wearing a pure white uniform, with deep and handsome features, and light golden medium-length hair scattered on his shoulders, which complemented the brooch of the same color below his collar. Dorota looked up and saw the sword and shield connected in the chest emblem, with a sense of advance and retreat, and a strategy of attack and defense. Rationality is the most powerful weapon.

It is the mark of the head of the Origin Tracing Supervision Department.

"Brother Yen looks a little cold, but he's actually a very nice person." Mu Jie approached Dorota and smiled when talking about his acquaintance. His wet eyes were like a deep forest dotted with fluorescent lights after the rain. "He takes good care of me, like a brother."

"Not long after the teacher left, the organization carried out a round of purges. He became the head of the Supervisory Department in the second year and was promoted by Mr. Power."

The new head?

Before getting in the car, Dorota turned sideways to look at Yen Xianyuan and felt that his gray eyes were very similar to the assistant officer in the Imperial Capital's regular district.

"Although Yenge is very busy, he often comes to see me when he is free." After a day of reserved estrangement, Makisuke completely abandoned the strangeness and kept chattering until Dorota felt dizzy. She smiled and patted the shoulder of the person next to her, saying dangerously, "Be good, shut up."

Makisuke: "..."

I always feel that I will be stabbed if I don't obey.

The noise subsided. Dorota pretended not to see Makisuke's aggrieved expression and turned her head away. The scenery outside the window passed by quickly. The low and dilapidated buildings gradually became tall and towering. The difference between the two districts was huge.

The Fuxiao District should be considered the most advanced central area of ​​the 15th District. Suspension vehicles and other means of transportation are common. There are tall buildings everywhere, and overhead roads and corridors intersect. Occasionally, a suspension train passes by, overlooking the city.

Compared with the backwardness of the wasteland, it has a metallic and cold feel.

"Why do you want to go to Slane College?"

The observer took the initiative to communicate with her mentally. "Slane College is the only school in the 15th District that has direct contact with the imperial capital. Even though it is hard to imagine that an ordinary exchange student would have an intersection with the executive officer of "Eternal Day", there is still a chance that it will attract the attention of the top management."

"Then please wait and see."

Dorota lowered her eyes, and the pure black inverted cross earrings were hidden in her hair, seeming to sway slightly, reflecting the faint crimson in her eyes, like a raging fire and crimson blood.

"After all, I was discovered first."

The suspension car was moving very fast, and the mechanical sound of the artificial intelligence sounded in time to remind her. The doors on both sides of the seat opened automatically, and the magnificent and bright exterior of Slane College immediately jumped into the eyes. Dorota got out of the car with the help of the gentleman who had sent her a letter of disgust, and the smile on her lips remained unchanged.

"It's still those annoying guys in the capital who disappeared first."