Almost the instant she left the small courtyard, Black Herta's figure appeared on that street, near the bench where Huo Huo had vanished.
The scene here was already different from what she had seen through Cipher's memory.
Centered around that bench, an area with a radius of about ten meters had been cordoned off with bright yellow caution tape flowing with runes.
Several Spirit-Warden Officers, dressed in the standard black robes of the Ten-Lords Commission and exuding a cold aura, stood outside the cordon, expressionlessly blocking any curious passersby who tried to get close or watch.
Inside the cordon, Hanya and Xueyi were standing by the bench, talking in low voices, while the red-haired street performer Guinaifen stood beside them, answering questions with a nervous face.
Like a non-existent ghost, Black Herta ignored the conspicuous cordon and guards, walking straight through.
Her pace was leisurely and unhurried, making no sound at all.
When her figure brushed past a Spirit-Warden Officer standing stiffly, the other person didn't even move their eyes, as if she were just a puff of harmless air.
Just like that, under everyone's watchful eyes, she crossed the cordon and reached the core area of the incident.
Hanya was listening with furrowed brows to Guinaifen's somewhat incoherent retelling, while Xueyi knelt on the ground, scanning the pavement around the bench with some kind of instrument.
The two of them were likewise completely unaware of Black Herta standing right next to them.
Black Herta's gaze swept over everyone at the scene, finally landing on that empty bench.
She wasn't in a hurry to go over; instead, she paced slowly around the perimeter, her purple-black eyes scrutinizing every inch of the ground, and even space itself.
Walking up to the bench, ignoring Xueyi who was working nearby, she reached out, her fingertips hovering over the spot where Huo Huo had likely been sitting when she vanished.
(The threads of causality... were skillfully plucked, and then blurred. A very sophisticated technique.)
She closed her eyes, spreading her damaged but still vast perception out from the bench like the finest spiderweb into the more subtle layers, capturing any traces that might have been overlooked.
(Spatial structure is stable... time flow is normal... no changes on the material plane...)
(...Hmm?)
Just as her perception touched a certain dimension, a scent so familiar it made her want to facepalm flickered past like a cunning fish.
That was... Elation.
Although it was diluted almost to the point of being unrecognizable, Black Herta would never mistake that unique aura.
Aha.
This guy again.
Black Herta opened her eyes, a look of realization that said 'as I thought' flashing through her purple-black pupils.
If Aha had a hand in this, then Huo Huo's bizarre disappearance made sense.
At that moment, the system's steady, waveless electronic voice sounded in her ear, transmitting directly into her consciousness:
[Madam, the cross-universe wide-area scanning protocol has completed its targeting. Detected target individual 'Huo Huo'. Target's current coordinates locked: Plane Convergence Zone — 'Type-Moon World'. Signal strength: Stable. Existential status: Confirmed alive.]
Almost as the system's voice fell, a virtual panel that only Black Herta could see popped up in front of her eyes with a "ding-dong," accompanied by exaggerated colorful borders and flashing effects:
[Special Elation Mission: Saving Private Huo Huo!]
[Mission Description: Hey! It seems our lost little fox has been 'invited' to a party by some interesting friends! But the party location seems a bit far? As her 'guardian,' shouldn't you go bring her back? It wouldn't hurt to check out the 'fun' in that world while you're at it!]
[Mission Objective: Travel to the 'Type-Moon World,' find and ensure Huo Huo's safety, and bring her back.]
[Mission Tip: This world has complex rules, multiple special power systems, and 'counter forces.' Please pay attention to adaptive adjustments. The Aeon of Elation, Aha, may have set up'surprises' in advance.]
[Mission Reward: Maintenance Level +2%]
[Issuer: Guess who? (Wink)]
Black Herta looked at this flippant mission panel, especially the title "Saving Private Huo Huo," and her lip twitched.
(What... is the meaning of this?)
She felt no inner turmoil, just a slight urge to sigh.
(Aha, you joker, you even have to do this for mission briefings? And this reward... a 2% maintenance increase is actually quite generous.)
Type-Moon World... Black Herta had some impression of this name; it seemed to be a plane cluster known for its complex magecraft systems, Heroic Spirit summoning, and numerous parallel timelines.
The rules were indeed troublesome, and the counter force was an existence that needed to be handled carefully.
However, since the location was locked and Huo Huo was confirmed alive, she had to go no matter what.
She took one last look at Hanya and Xueyi, who were investigating seriously but were destined to find nothing, and then at the empty bench.
(Elation's joke... but I'm the one paying the price. Isn't the cost of this fun a bit high?)
With a silent sigh, Black Herta's figure became ethereal again, like a shadow merging into the sunlight, and she vanished noiselessly from the spot, leaving no evidence she had ever been there.
Inside the cordon, Hanya seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up, her sharp gaze sweeping around the bench, only to see empty air.
She frowned slightly; for a moment just now, had there been a heart-palpitating sense of being watched?
Was it an illusion?
A cold night wind blew through the streets of the Siberian wasteland. Raven walked mechanically, feeling her nerves were so numb they were about to freeze.
It wasn't because of the severe cold, but because the amount of information she had received today was simply too outrageous.
Cecilia, Kallen, Yae Sakura, Mama Duck... Long Night Moon and that Stelle weren't just on a mission; it was as if they were doing a bottom-up sweep of this world's "List of the Deceased"!
What on earth were those two trying to do?
Collecting figurines of deceased Valkyries?
Her mind was a tangled mess, and she could only follow the backs of the two in front of her like a marionette.
Long Night Moon, walking ahead, suddenly stopped and turned her crimson eyes toward Stelle.
Stelle also stopped almost at the same time. The two of them stared at each other in silence for a second, as if wordlessly exchanging some information.
"What's wrong?"
Raven asked weakly, no longer bothered to guess the tricks of these riddlers.
Long Night Moon turned her head, that mysterious smile on her face looking exceptionally clear in the night: "It seems we have a new mission, Miss Raven."
"Huh?"
Raven was stunned. Before she could digest those words or ask if the current mission wasn't finished yet, a sudden change occurred!
In the empty street air beside them, light suddenly flared, and a door with chaotic colors swirling around its edges "grew" right out of nowhere!
Inside the door was a continuously rotating stream of light.
"Whoa!"
Raven jumped back in fright, nearly losing her footing.
Couldn't they give a heads-up before an entrance like that?!
Even more unexpected to her was that when Stelle saw this gate of light, there wasn't even a hint of surprise on her almost expressionless face. As if seeing her own front door, she stepped inside, her figure instantly swallowed by the light.
Long Night Moon stepped aside and waved elegantly to the dumbfounded Raven, a mischievous glint in her crimson eyes: "Well then, I'll leave things here to you. Farewell, Miss Traveler~♪"
With those words, she also stepped lightly into the door. The gate of light then abruptly contracted and vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, as if it had never existed.
On the cold street, only Raven remained, staring blankly at the empty air where the gate of light had been.
The night wind swirled a few snowflakes against her face.
After a few seconds of absolute silence.
"Heh... hehehe..."
Raven lowered her head, her shoulders beginning to shake as she let out a series of low, ambiguous chuckles.
"They're... really not even pretending anymore."
She raised a hand to her forehead, laughing even harder. "'Miss Traveler'... Fine, fine. Great. You guys go be busy, you guys are amazing. Me? I'm just a local native, I'm not worthy, not worthy to play with you lot."
She exhaled a deep cloud of white mist, as if trying to vent all the frustration in her chest.
Then, she turned and walked away without hesitation in the opposite direction of where the gate had appeared, her back practically screaming the resolution of 'Whatever, I'm going back to check how much money is left in my island account.'
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