Chapter 140: Anticipating the Next Reunion
Early in the morning, Anna saw a freshly released "Volunteer Recruitment Notice" on her communicator. Its wording, phrasing, layout, and the restriction on "A-Rank Valkyries" were completely identical to the one she had seen before, only the posting time had been changed.
This familiar notice made Anna feel deeply uneasy. Without even bothering to wash up, she rushed out of her room, banging Captain Jell's door open with a force that conveyed her urgency, as if "if she's late, it'll be too late," while shouting loudly.
"No, you're not allowed to go!"
Her voice was quite urgent, not at all like her usual gentle tone, as if terrified that if she were a second late, they'd be separated by life and death.
Captain Jell got up early, and was standing by the window, facing the morning light, single-mindedly trimming flowers. Anna's sudden shock made her jump.
"...What's not allowed?"
Jell looked at the flower bud she'd accidentally clipped off with a shake of her hand, half-amused and half-helpless.
She put down the tools in her hand, gently pushed the remaining flower arrangement into the sunlight, then turned around, looking at Anna's urgent face with a helpless expression.
"Where do you think I'm going?"
"Uh…"
Anna looked at her captain in casual shorts and a t-shirt, and that helpless expression of being disturbed from her leisurely and elegant pursuits, and immediately calmed down, realizing she'd been too impulsive. She greeted her a little awkwardly.
"Haha… um… Captain, good morning…"
"Mm, good morning, Vice-Captain Anna."
Jell replied in an aloof tone.
Recently, because of Durandal's active role, the other Valkyrie squads had become much more idle. Captain Jell was also happy to spend such leisurely days, enjoying the ordinary beauty of life. Unfortunately, her peaceful mood was ruined early in the morning by some reckless person.
"What a busybody…"
Jell sighed inwardly, while waving to signal Anna to come in from the doorway.
"Who greets someone with such a grand entrance? Speak, what's the matter that makes you so flustered? …Close the door."
Anna closed the door a little sheepishly and walked in. Seeing her captain looking normal, she wished she could slap herself twice. Why were you so impulsive?
But what was done was done, and regret was useless. Anna had no choice but to bite the bullet and state her purpose.
"Captain, that notice… you haven't seen it, have you?"
She thought to herself, it would be best if the captain hadn't seen it, so she could persuade her to dismiss the idea before it was too late.
But Captain Jell's reaction made Anna's heart sink.
"Mm, I saw it."
After going to the orphanage with the captain last time, Anna had, on the one hand, resolved her inner conflicts.
But on the other hand, she was also a bit frightened by the captain's dangerous mentality, which could even be described as "yearning for death," afraid she would do something dangerous.
Seeing the captain's calm and composed smile, Anna couldn't help but feel anxious.
"Captain, you… haven't done anything… right?"
Captain, please be normal, I'm scared!
Captain Jell looked at Anna's hesitant and anxious appearance, and couldn't help but laugh, comforting her.
"Alright, I know what you're worried about. Don't worry, I'm not going."
Anna's eyes lit up, but still worried she might be deceiving herself, she asked hesitantly again,
"…Really?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
Captain Jell was both amused and exasperated, and also a little touched by Anna's reckless but sincere worry and care. But she said in a stern tone,
"There are only you and me, two A-Rank Valkyries in the squad. Even if I wanted to just walk away… with Vice-Captain Anna in such a clumsy state right now… Hmph, I'm still worried the Snow Lotus Squad's reputation will be ruined in your hands!"
Anna smiled awkwardly and nodded repeatedly, humbly accepting the captain's criticism.
Although her criticism was harsh, Anna actually breathed a sigh of relief. After all, if possible, who would want to lose someone close to them?
"You…"
Jell smiled helplessly.
Although the actual age difference between the two wasn't that big, both being A-Rank Valkyries, Anna always had a spirit of enthusiasm and persistence mixed with naivety.
And of course, also some naivety and recklessness. Maybe it was because her life experience was too shallow.
"Practice more and it'll be fine," Jell thought.
The spirit in Anna, her deeply rooted kindness, and her unwillingness to admit defeat were all things she liked and valued very much.
"Captain, I heard noises from your room just now. Is something wrong? …Ah, Vice-Captain is also here!"
The door was pushed open again, and a Valkyrie teammate, still a bit sleepy-eyed, poked her head in, asking inquisitively. Seeing Anna was also there, she couldn't help but jolt awake.
Are these two fighting again?
She couldn't help but mutter to herself in her heart, hesitating whether she should go in to persuade them, or whether it would be best to make a hasty retreat.
"One after another so early in the morning…"
Jell shook her head and smiled helplessly, casually making up a reason.
"It's okay, I'm fine… Just accidentally bumped something while arranging flowers just now."
"Ah? Oh…"
The Valkyrie teammate looked suspiciously at the intact vase on the windowsill, feeling that things shouldn't be like this. Then she saw the lonely flower bud placed beside the vase, and felt like it really was like that.
Looking at the two captains in the room, the atmosphere in the room was indeed not the kind of tense feeling of conflict. She stopped thinking too much and obediently closed the door and left.
"Then… if there's nothing else, I'll leave too…"
Anna also tiptoed towards the door, wanting to slip away now that things were resolved.
"Wait a minute!"
Captain Jell didn't intend to let her go just like that, pointing to the windowsill.
"What's the rush? You're already here, help me trim the flowers."
After speaking, without waiting for Anna's reply, she walked straight into the bathroom to start washing up, only the sound of rushing water was heard.
Anna obediently walked to the windowsill, picked up the scissors, and began to carefully trim this vibrant flower arrangement.
Even though its buds hadn't yet bloomed, she still easily recognized it was a bouquet of daffodil lilies, with lush green leaves, delicate and vibrant.
But the stem of one of the flowers was bare. Its bud had been cut off, and was now lying pitifully beside the vase.
Anna, as the culprit, blushed slightly, then carefully trimmed off the damaged part, and then tidied it up slightly, making it beautiful and harmonious again.
"Mm, well done."
After a moment, Captain Jell, who had returned to her side, looked at Anna's work with satisfaction, and then said with a smile.
"Alright, I'll give it to you."
Anna was slightly stunned when she heard this. This gift was a bit sudden.
"Don't look so surprised, Anna."
Jell smiled slightly, pointing a finger at the vibrant leaves, and asked softly.
"If I remember correctly, the Schariac family crest is a lily, right?"
"Mm, yes."
Anna nodded, then hesitated, a look of embarrassment on her face, unsure of how to phrase it.
"But… these are daffodil lilies…"
She was worried that the captain had confused the two kinds of lilies, but even more reluctant to spoil the captain's good intentions, making her feel awkward.
"I know, Anna. Here, you're Vice-Captain Anna of the Snow Lotus Squad, not a member of the Schariac family. This bouquet, it's just a blessing from me, your captain, to my teammate."
Jell smiled, dispelling her concerns.
"'Yearning for the future,' 'anticipating reunion,' this flower language suits you very well, doesn't it?"
Anna was stunned for a moment, then her face flushed red, getting a little anxious.
"I'm not… I didn't… don't talk nonsense!"
Seeing her flustered appearance, Jell couldn't help but laugh heartily, her laughter crisp and cheerful, as clear and sharp as her sky-blue short hair.
Anna became even more embarrassed.
Jell laughed for a good while, only stopping after she'd laughed enough, and said,
"Alright, accept it. Just a blessing, no other meaning."
Some things, it wasn't that she didn't notice. But if the other party was unwilling to speak, then she wouldn't ask.
"Family, friends, comrades… it can all be included, can't it?"
"…Thank you, Captain."
Although Anna's face was still a bit red, she still had to accept this kindness, picking up the bouquet to leave.
When she reached the door, she suddenly thought of something, turned back, and asked seriously,
"Captain, can I invite a friend to come here as a guest?"
Some people, it really was time for a reunion.
… … … … … …
In some unknown corner of the world, Jackal, dressed in priestly robes, stood behind thick protective glass, looking down from a high vantage point at a deep pit that resembled a coliseum.
Inside, there were countless animals, cats, dogs, weasels, rats…
Hundreds and thousands, tens of thousands, densely packed, countless.
Densely thrown into the same area, yet relatively safe and sound.
The reason was that each of them had a red light flashing on their body, controlling their actions.
Unable to move, the animals could only endure their rumbling hunger, roaring at the prey beside them or the world that hunted them.
"Experiment start…"
Jackal folded her arms, her golden pupils watching the distant grand scene with interest, issuing an expectant command.
"First, let's eliminate the trash that has no cultivation value."
As the order was issued, the lights in the entire laboratory suddenly dimmed.
In contrast, at the top of that coliseum, bright flashes suddenly lit up on the edge of that circle of high walls. Violent currents surged down the steel walls, instantly sweeping across the poor animals below.
Screams suddenly rose sharply, then stopped abruptly.
Electric arcs flickered and jumped, most of the animals were electrocuted on the spot, some even had their fur burned, emitting a pungent burnt smell.
Of course, Ms. Jackal, who was strictly protected, couldn't smell this odor. She just admired this miserable scene, corners of her lips upturned, while lightly tapping her fingers, counting time. 3, 2, 1…
"Stop!"
As a new command was issued, the lights in the laboratory returned to bright.
Those animals would no longer make any sound. The "screening" just now had killed at least 80% of them. The remaining survivors were also stiff all over, barely emitting painful whimpers to show they were still alive.
The lights on their bodies had long since been damaged by the electric current and lost the ability to control their actions, but they themselves were already motionless now.
The dark door of the coliseum opened, and hundreds of small cleaning robots entered, collecting all the animal corpses that had died. As they left, the once densely packed arena suddenly became empty, and the surviving cats and dogs sparsely collapsed in various corners.
"Heh, looks like the pet food problem for the next period is solved."
Seeing everything going smoothly, Jackal was in a great mood, and then issued a new command—
"Next, let's screen out the little darlings with cultivation value."
In another area of the base, several Titans, upon receiving instructions, put pre-prepared Honkai beasts into the ready-to-use Honkai Furnace.
The Honkai beasts disintegrated instantly, extracting pure Honkai energy, which, following energy pipelines, was released into that coliseum.
Another large portion of the surviving animals instantly turned to ashes.
Among the small portion that didn't turn to ash, yet another large portion began to faintly turn purple-red, but were sniped and killed one by one by the prepared mechs just before mutation.
The surviving animals watched numbly as another wave of cleaning robots entered and left.
And then, the arena now appeared incomparably empty.
"Oh? Still so many left? But that's also a good thing."
Jackal turned her head, looking at the remaining number displayed on the instrument. She was a little surprised by the number of survivors.
"Alright, it's time to give these cute little guys some rewards."
As the experiment progressed, Jackal's address for the test subjects became more and more affectionate.
"Bang!"
Several drones flew over, throwing some medicines and food into the coliseum like trash. The scent wafting in the air stirred the surviving creatures' desire for life.
"Alright, the last step…"
The amount of food and medicine was relatively scarce, not even enough for half of the animals to eat.
"Let's screen out the strongest, most determined little guys~"
Jackal's voice was extremely cheerful. She greatly enjoyed this feeling of controlling other's lives in her hands.
Even if they were just animals.
"Woof woof woof… Awoo!"
Those originally quite cute cats and dogs now struggled to exert their last bit of strength, getting up from the ground.
Those close to food and medicine were both lucky and unlucky.
Lucky, because they soon swallowed them into their bellies.
Unlucky, because they were soon torn apart by even more of their kind, and then, along with what they had swallowed, became food and medicine for the others, replenishing their life energy.
Among them, a light gray cat was quite clever. It didn't compete with them, just darting into the feast of torn flesh and blood, snatching a bite and running away.
If other animals attacked it, it would also fight back fiercely.
In the end, the brutal revelry came to an end, leaving only a dozen or so victors on the field.
"Very good, send them to my laboratory."
Jackal was satisfied. She believed that among these little darlings, she would definitely cultivate the weapon she wanted.
… … … … … …
Nagazora City, ME Corp.
This was Cocolia's private territory, but at this moment, she was standing alone on the roof of the hundred-story building, enduring the whistling cold wind at high altitude.
After a long while, she seemed to hear some movement, turned around, and said impatiently,
"Jackal, you're late…"
"Contacting me so suddenly. If you can't give me a satisfactory answer, I can't guarantee you'll walk out of here alive."
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
49 Power
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