Chapter 243: Hidden Dangers and Trade-offs

The person on the other end of the phone was speaking rapidly, and Bai Liqing's expression appeared exceptionally grave; Yu Sheng, standing nearby, found it inappropriate to interject or disturb, so he simply leaned in to listen intently, catching a few keywords like "settlement," "disappearance," "traces," and "surrounding energy reactions," and the moment he heard the words "Angel Remains," he instantly perked up.

After waiting a while longer, Bai Liqing began instructing the person on the other end of the phone on certain matters, including the emergency lockdown of specific "traffic nodes," retrieving surveillance footage, and scanning walls and boundary markers; only after she finished the call did Yu Sheng step back half a pace and ask curiously, "It sounds like... something happened?"

"It's the wreckage after the Angel fell," Bai Liqing took a long breath; although this matter was confidential, Yu Sheng was originally a party to the Angel Fall incident and would have to cooperate in the future, so she had no reason to conceal anything, "You should have already seen the video records of the fall process—I'll just say it plainly: the main structure of Ankaira disintegrated and vanished during the 'Fallen Ascension' process, but a small amount of solid fragments turned and fell toward the surface as they crossed over the Sky above the Boundary City; the Special Bureau dispatched several recovery teams, and just now one of those teams reported that a portion of the remains... may be missing."

Yu Sheng felt his back molars begin to ache faintly.

"There was only an impact crater at the scene, and the pit was empty," Bai Liqing's face was gloomy, "The Special Bureau personnel are still searching the surrounding area, but the situation is not optimistic."

"... Uh, let's look on the bright side, maybe it just 'evaporated' into thin air," Yu Sheng didn't even believe his own words as he spoke, "After all, it's the Dark Angel, right? Its nature was already very strange when it fell into our world, so it's normal for some fragments to vanish after hitting the ground."

"I really wish I could think that way," Bai Liqing sighed, "But I got used to ruling out all optimistic options immediately a long time ago."

"Alright," Yu Sheng scratched his head, "So were any suspicious traces found at the scene? Did someone get there first or something..."

"That's exactly what we're most worried about right now; the fragments of the Dark Angel must not fall into the hands of madmen like the Angel Cultists or the Holy Hidden Order, but according to the reports from the scene, the recovery team did not find any signs of others around the impact point," Bai Liqing spoke in a deep voice, "This simply doesn't rule out the possibility that someone secretly took the fragments away—this world is vast, and there are always some tricky guys who can leave no traces."

Yu Sheng's eyes widened slightly as he listened: "That impressive? Stealing right under the Special Bureau's nose and coming and going without a trace?"

Bai Liqing said nothing, just silently stared at him.

After being stared at for two seconds, Yu Sheng realized what was happening and immediately shrank his neck awkwardly: "Hey, don't look at me, I didn't take it..."

"I certainly know it wasn't you," Bai Liqing's tone carried exhaustion; only after a few seconds of silence did she continue, "The incident happened in the 'Suburbs'; the wilderness outside the Boundary City is not as stable as the urban area, and occasionally lawless people slip in through gaps near the boundary markers to do shady business, like black market deals or petty theft, and among them are those with some 'skills'... but this is still a borderland; those rats dare not make any big moves right under the Special Bureau's nose, let alone take away dangerous items like Angel fragments that would require a single room even in the core containment zone."

"Well, the premise is that they have to know what it is," Yu Sheng spread his hands, "It's not impossible for someone to see a shiny thing in a roadside pit while passing by and just shove it in their pocket; this world is just a huge random collection..."

Bai Liqing said nothing, just pressed her lips together; a moment later, she took out her phone again to contact a certain subordinate and quickly instructed them on some matters.

Yu Sheng watched the other person busily from the side with caution; only after a few minutes did he tentatively speak again, "How serious can this get at worst?"

"To be honest, nothing can be confirmed right now," Bai Liqing glanced at Yu Sheng, "The severity of the matter depends on who took the Angel fragments and what the Angel fragments themselves actually 'are'. The first batch of recovered wreckage is already on its way back to the city; once they return to headquarters, they will first undergo isolation observation, and the fragments will be sent to a high-risk laboratory for further analysis after a preliminary danger assessment; we must first understand what properties that thing has; as you said, if we're optimistic, perhaps it's just some stones with special significance, but if we're not optimistic..."

She didn't continue, and Yu Sheng understood.

"Fine, let's wait," he sighed, slowly returned to sit by the sofa, gazed blankly at the sky, and after two seconds began to mutter, "Ankaira, you say you're gone but left such a huge mess..."

"Some things will always exceed the plan," Bai Liqing also sat down opposite him; this Director Lady's reaction was much calmer, "Just get used to it."

"Looking at it this way, you're even more open-minded than me," Yu Sheng reached out and took the remaining half-cup of his drink from the coffee table, drank it in one gulp, then waved his hand, "It seems this matter won't be resolved anytime soon, so I'll head back first; there's still a bunch of things at home."

"Okay," Bai Liqing stood up, "Then I won't see you off."

Yu Sheng nodded, but just as he was about to pull the door open and leave, he suddenly remembered something, turned his head to look at Bai Liqing: "By the way, there's one more thing."

"Go ahead."

"The children of 'Fairy Tale' are holding a celebration tonight," Yu Sheng looked serious, "The location is in the valley; I know the Special Bureau has always taken good care of that orphanage... so do you want to come?"

As he spoke, he paused and added, "Uh, of course I know you're quite busy, especially with this trouble happening right now; if you don't have time..."

Before he could finish, Bai Liqing interrupted him: "Is that 'Hunter' there?" Yu Sheng was stunned for a moment, then nodded gently after realizing: "Yes, 'They' are there too, and the Squirrel."

"I have time," a slight smile seemed to appear on Bai Liqing's lips, "Please pick me up then."

"Alright, it's settled then; the tentative start time is six o'clock; I'll call you in advance," Yu Sheng smiled and waved at Bai Liqing, "See you tonight."

"See you tonight."

The illusory door closed silently and then vanished quietly.

Bai Liqing stood there, watched Yu Sheng leave, thought silently for a while, and then let out a faint sigh before turning back to the bar counter.

She poured herself half a glass of strong liquor and sat on the bar stool, drinking slowly.

A pair of huge, colorless eyes slowly materialized in the air behind her, watching in silence.

"If you want to go, just say so; why pretend you're only going because of those Deep Divers?"

"Just asking casually," hearing the voice in her mind, Bai Liqing did not turn around, "What about you? What did you talk about with him?"

No mistake, one sentence, one chapter, one content, one read!

"Asked about some matters regarding the Dark Angel; the rest was just small talk," that pair of eyes spoke slowly and leisurely, then casually mentioned as if by accident, "Also, I told him my name."

"Name?" Bai Liqing's action of lifting the wine glass suddenly stopped, her tone carrying some astonishment.

"Need to be so surprised?" That pair of eyes came to in front of Bai Liqing, floating several meters away opposite her, "It was just telling my name; I still remember basic manners."

Bai Liqing said nothing, just looked at that pair of eyes opposite her; only after a long while did she speak: "I mean... what was your full name again?"

"..."

"Just joking," Bai Liqing tugged at the corners of her mouth, "Always being so tense; you need to relax a bit."

"I forgot you used to be able to joke," no emotional fluctuation could be heard in that pair of eyes' tone, but the gaze seemed slightly gentler, "Let's not talk about that—regarding this 'Angel Fall', when do you plan to make it public?"

"I'll make it public after the batch of 'fragments' currently found has been safely returned to headquarters," Bai Liqing said, "As for the specific situation of Ankaira, I'll only communicate with the high levels of Terra Academy, the Algrede Astrological Society, and the Bamosa Hermit Order for now; the information that 'the Dark Angel can communicate' is not suitable for full public disclosure at present."

"Oh?" That pair of eyes looked somewhat puzzled, "Why? Isn't this a very inspiring new discovery? For so many years, our understanding of the Dark Angel has finally made a breakthrough..."

"And then many inexplicable 'rational and objective' and 'universal love and progress' groups will emerge from the corners, waving little flags to call on various forces to establish communication and understanding mechanisms for the Dark Angel, and discuss the possible tragic fates behind every Dark Angel and the possibility of 'saving' them; within a few months, they will be shouting slogans like 'Love and Understanding', 'Reflection', 'Inclusiveness', and turn their spears against the troops who have always been fighting the Angel invasion on the front lines."

Bai Liqing paused here, let out a sigh: "Having a group of Angel Cultists is already headache enough; can you imagine what it would look like if Dark Angel protectionism appeared in this world?"

That pair of eyes floating in the air visibly trembled.

"... If I still had skin, my goosebumps would be standing up right now," she said.

"Yes, that's exactly the kind of absurd situation that will appear; both collective wisdom and collective stupidity are the most incredible things in this world," Bai Liqing swirled the wine glass in her hand, "I hate this situation very much, so at the very least I must delay its occurrence; even if one day in the future we truly master more secrets of the Dark Angel and even confirm that they are indeed individuals capable of communication like Ankaira, this process must still be carried out under reasonable, controllable, and gradual premises; most importantly, we must ensure that the interests of this world take priority—in the final analysis, I don't like stupid things; it has always been like this."

(End of Chapter)