Chapter 65: Nightingale of the Red Cross, A Blood-Soaked Gift p2
Lu Manqing lowered her head, glancing towards Luo Ling and Elsa’s room. “I keep feeling like Miss Luo Ling will walk out of the room any minute now, with little Elsa following behind…”
Past scenes replayed in their minds, like a dream, but they were just illusions of their memories, fragile as bubbles.
“What we had… will never return,” Cen Xiangyun said, tears streaming down her face again. “I miss them, even if… it’s just to have another meal cooked by Miss Luo Ling…”
Grief and sorrow filled the apartment. Luo Ling could only place her hand on her teammates’ shoulders, offering a small comfort.
The vortex of Victoria was far beyond what this small team could withstand. All Luo Ling could do was prevent a repeat of the Hunt team’s tragedy. She could do nothing else.
“Knock… knock… knock…”
Just then, a knock came from the apartment door. They subconsciously looked up.
Just as they wondered who would come at this time, a familiar, elderly voice sounded from the door, “It’s me, Manqing, Xiangyun.”
It was Lu Manqing’s mother, Lu Fangling.
Lu Manqing opened the door. Seeing “Eve,” Lu Fangling paused, seemingly surprised by her quick recovery. She nodded and said,
“Eve, I’m glad to see you’re alright. How are you feeling?”
“Thank you for your concern. I’m fine now,” Luo Ling replied, nodding slightly. Her gaze was quickly drawn to the letter in Lu Fangling’s hand.
“Mom, what’s going on?” Lu Manqing asked hurriedly.
Cen Xiangyun and Lu Manqing had already told “Eve” about the aftermath. They had reported the entire incident to Lu Fangling, leaving it to her to handle.
But hearing her daughter’s anxious question, Lu Fangling’s expression was unusually awkward. She clutched the letter tightly, and under their expectant gazes, sighed and said,
“This incident… was the work of the Harbingers of Calamity.”
“Huh?”
Not only Cen Xiangyun and Lu Manqing, but even Luo Ling couldn’t help but show a surprised expression. This wasn’t an act, but genuine shock.
How… could they shift the blame to the Harbingers?
“Impossible! It was clearly Cheng Jianming of the Torchbearers who did it! I saw it with my own eyes!”
Cen Xiangyun stood up excitedly, saying loudly, “I’ll never forget his face! If the Company doubts me, they can search my soul!”
“That’s right, we saw it with our own eyes. There’s no mistake,” Lu Manqing said gravely. “Mom, what’s going on… Just tell us.”
“……”
Lu Fangling was silent for a moment, then said softly, “This is the conclusion reached by the Company directors. As for the Cheng Jianming you mentioned, his death was confirmed yesterday. The Torchbearers are currently searching for his body.”
How could Lu Fangling not guess the truth?
The Harbingers were clearly scapegoats. Lu Fangling was certain that it was Cheng Jianming who attacked. The lingering Time aura at the scene was unique.
Moreover, Cheng Jianming’s actions were likely under the direct orders of the Company’s highest echelons.
Cheng Jianming, the sword, was well-known among the high-ranking members of the Order-side organizations. He was a sharp sword wielded by the Torchbearers, and the Company could also use this sword at an appropriate price.
As for the reason behind Cheng Jianming’s actions this time, Lu Fangling had a good guess. It was most likely related to Luo Ling. But why he failed and even died… there was no conclusion yet, but it was highly likely the Harbingers were responsible.
Therefore, the directors used this connection to shift the blame for the Twintails team’s misfortune onto the Harbingers. After all, the Harbingers couldn’t exactly come forward and claim their innocence.
They were convenient scapegoats.
The reason Lu Fangling didn’t want to tell Cen Xiangyun and the others the truth, like Ms. Nightingale, was to avoid further involving this team in the vortex of Victoria.
In this storm, even she, a branch director, might not be able to protect herself, let alone… the Twintails team, a weak, low-level team that could be easily torn apart by the slightest ripple.
“But we clearly saw Cheng Jianming’s face…”
Cen Xiangyun still refused to give up.
“It was all a ploy by the Harbingers to sow discord,” Lu Fangling interrupted Cen Xiangyun, saying indifferently, “They intended to frame the Torchbearers and cause internal strife within the Order side.
“For the sake of humanity, for the sake of Victoria, we should recognize the true enemy, not point fingers at our own people.”
Our own people…
Luo Ling sneered inwardly.
To the Company, who were the true “own people”?
And who were the true enemies?
Luo Ling didn’t blame Lu Fangling. She could guess the old woman’s intentions. These words clearly came from Company headquarters.
To protect the team, Lu Fangling could only say these words against her better judgment.
Even if Cen Xiangyun and Lu Manqing knew the truth, they were powerless to change anything. It might even bring more disaster upon them.
Cen Xiangyun slumped listlessly into a chair, saying blankly, ‘So… we’re just… letting this go?’
They couldn’t even avenge Miss Luo Ling and little Elsa?
Did they die for nothing?
“For now,” Lu Fangling sighed again. Even in her position, there were many things she couldn’t change. In the current situation, the conflict between the Order-side forces and the Harbingers… was the top priority.
If they lost, forget about Victoria, all of humanity might be plunged into an abyss by the Harbingers. That would be the true disaster.
A deathly silence fell upon the apartment. After a while, Lu Fangling, after a long hesitation, took out the letter and said, “And… there’s one more thing.”
“What is it?”
They looked at the letter in Lu Fangling’s hand, puzzled.
“The Twintails… team is understaffed. The Company has ordered its disbandment and reassignment to other combat teams. This is an invitation from the Star team.”
Single-character teams were established long ago. For example, Linna’s Hunt team. Its original captain was actually Fiona, and Linna inherited the position from her mother.
These teams had a long history, many retired veterans, and even the three Company directors were once part of the same single-character team. The resources they could access were unimaginable.
Joining a single-character team was the dream of most low-level Awakened Ones, but the requirements were high, even ordinary High-Order Awakened Ones weren’t qualified.
Clearly, Cen Xiangyun and the others didn’t meet the requirements, yet they still received an invitation. Even Elsa could understand the implications behind this.
“Is this an invitation bought with Miss Luo Ling and little Elsa’s lives?” Cen Xiangyun asked, her voice trembling as she fought back her emotions.
Lu Fangling didn’t say a word, only lowering her gaze.
“Sometimes sacrifices are unavoidable. We need to endure our grief and move forward.”
She wanted to say these words, but they felt too cruel.
This wasn’t a sacrifice…
Just a price to be paid.
“Let’s accept it.”
A voice broke the silence.
Unexpectedly, it was “Eve” who spoke.
Cen Xiangyun and Lu Manqing looked at “Eve” in shock. They hadn’t expected her to be so cold-blooded, accepting this blood-soaked gift.
“We have to move on, don’t we?” Luo Ling said softly.
She understood Cen Xiangyun and Lu Manqing’s grief, but the problem was…
Don’t actually refuse it!
If they refused such a precious opportunity, how could she infiltrate the Company’s ranks, especially a highly valued single-character team…
Sensing the atmosphere turning tense, as if Cen Xiangyun was about to tear up the invitation, Luo Ling finally spoke up and accepted it.
“You!”
Cen Xiangyun trembled with anger, pointing at “Eve.”
“Eve, I never thought you were this kind of person! You’re benefiting from Luo Ling and little Elsa’s deaths! How can you face their spirits in the afterlife!”
Although Lu Manqing wasn’t as agitated as Cen Xiangyun, her eyes clearly expressed her agreement.
Having teammates with such deep feelings for you was also troublesome…
Luo Ling felt a twinge of pain. She was naturally taciturn and not good at socializing, especially in such a complicated situation. It was difficult to appease her two teammates with words.
Fortunately, Lu Fangling intervened, placing a hand on each of them and saying softly, “But you have to know that Miss Luo Ling and little Elsa, in heaven, wouldn’t want you to remain stagnant because of their deaths, would they?
“They… would also want you to live your lives well.”
Listening from the side, Luo Ling felt uncomfortable. What Lu Fangling said was correct, but she was still alive.
Sigh, she knew impersonating her teammates would be troublesome… Now she could only continue the act.
Lu Fangling’s words finally calmed her teammates down. They realized that accepting the invitation from the Star team was indeed the best option, but their expressions remained resentful, and their attitude towards “Eve” had become distant.
Clearly, this incident had created a rift within the team. Even though Cen Xiangyun and Lu Manqing didn’t say it aloud, they felt that for Eve, joining the Star team was more important than their teammates’ deaths.
Luo Ling could only silently apologize again in her heart…
I’m so sorry, Miss Eve.
“Report to the Star team this afternoon. Next… we have more important matters to handle,” Lu Fangling said seriously, her expression turning grave. “The Harbingers have made a deal with the White Witch. What we’re about to face is a terrifying existence that massacred 400,000 civilians in Jiangcheng County, a truly terrifying High-Risk Grotesquery.”
Hearing this, Luo Ling was completely dumbfounded.
What?
What deal?
With whom?
Why didn’t she know anything about this?
Leave a Reply