Time in a collapsing world

"Is this where the guy ran away?"

"Have you found any clues?"

"No, we have searched this room and the surrounding area of ​​the mansion, and found nothing."

"..."

The sound of the team members' discussion could be heard, but Karin, as the captain, was absent-minded. Thinking back to how handsome she was last night, she couldn't help but smile.

"Captain Kallen...what have you been daydreaming about since just now? And you're still laughing?"

Eleanor passed by Kallen while searching for clues. She caught a glimpse of her inexplicable smile and her emerald eyes narrowed slightly.

"Ah, that..."

Kallen quickly adjusted her expression and stroked her chin, looking thoughtful. "I was just thinking that apart from this room, there were no signs of rummaging in other rooms, so I think the thief last night might have just wanted to steal money, right?"

"Really? I don't think it's that simple."

Eleanor remembered that a patrol guard had submitted a report before, "When we arrested a performer who incited the people, he was also kidnapped by a masked man. There must be a connection between the two, which means that someone is likely targeting Tianming."

"..."

Kallen really wanted to tell her not to think too much, she really just didn't like Victor... No, not just Victor, but also the so-called "Indulgence" launched by Tianming.

So Kallen tentatively asked, "Is there a possibility that this sudden appearance of the Phantom Thief wants to express his dissatisfaction with the Indulgence in this way?"

"Dissatisfied? What right do the people being protected have to be dissatisfied?"

Eleanor's reaction to this was a bit exaggerated. "Tianming researched medicine to cure diseases and helped them fight Honkai beasts. If it weren't for Tianming, these powerless people would have died long ago, without even the chance to buy their lives with indulgences!"

Kallen was also a little angry at the attitude of her team members. She took a half step closer, and the two of them were very close. "I know everything you said, but it is wrong to force the people to buy indulgences!"

"!!"

Eleanor looked into the other person's blue eyes, which were full of determination and seriousness, but she still couldn't agree with him, "You are still so naive."

After saying this, Eleanor walked past Karen without looking back.

As someone who was absolutely loyal to Otto, Eleanor would not allow anyone to interfere with destiny. She didn't understand why such a smart man like Otto would stay with so many people.

Whether it was the naive Kallen or the three strangers from Shinano, the former knew nothing, and the latter... Eleanor, who didn't know about Yaeri's feat a few years ago, had always suspected that these three people could do nothing but eat and sleep, and that they all got in through the back door thanks to Kallen and Otto.

Eleanor had no idea why Lord Otto was so protective of these people.

……

Over the next three days, everyone in Kallen's Valkyrie Squad, except the captain, tried their best to hunt down the purple-clothed thief. They were also searching for the red-haired girl who was rescued by Kallen earlier, trying to find clues about the thief through her.

However, with Kallen's cover, this team was destined to find nothing.

At the Yae family's residence, Yae Ri welcomed several long-lost guests.

The former night attack team was disbanded, and all the members withdrew from the battlefield. Even Jennyk, who still wanted to "have fun fighting!", had to withdraw because of the impact on the failure of the Shenzhou War.

Now, the night attack team gathered again at Yaeri's house. Jennyk, Mercedes, Shura, Lizana and Chani were all there. Yaezakura prepared desserts and brought them over. Yae Rin and Theophile were not there.

Several people recounted their own experiences. In order to take care of his sister, Shura refused Kaslana's recruitment and stayed at home, intending to use the army's subsidy to raise his sister until she was old enough to live independently.

Jennyk has temporarily joined the Kaslana family's team, but recently she has been itching to get started and plans to find an opportunity to practice on the front line.

Mercedes and Lizana originally opened a clothing store together, but because of the Black Death, their store went bankrupt not long after it opened. After that, they had to work in other stores to kill time.

Chani lived comfortably in the family, not only because of her status, but also because of Francis' special care. She used to be a lawless young lady, but now... it's not much different.

Yaezakura sat next to Yaeri, and her well-behaved and quiet appearance made her the focus of discussion among the group.

"It's been a while since I last saw you. Sakura, you've become more beautiful and mature, both mentally and physically."

Janek nudged Mercedes with her elbow and said, "You need to work harder. You have the flattest curves here except for this man Li."

"Captain, these two things are useless. It would be better to exchange them for the muscles in your arms."

Mercedes had no expression on her face, but the few black lines on her forehead still revealed her mood. She wanted to tear off Jennyk's mouth and put it back together backwards.

"You're already an adult, but you're still so obsessed with face... and who said these two things are useless?"

Jennyk puffed out her chest, imitating the noble ladies she had seen recently, hooked her finger at Yae Ri who was drinking tea silently across the sofa, and blew her a kiss, but was quickly slapped back by the other party.

"Tsk, how boring."

Although Mercedes beside her didn't show any expression, she couldn't hide the gloating in her eyes. But Jennyk was no longer the captain now, so there was no way she could find an opportunity to punish her physically.

"By the way, Li, do you and Ying have a partner?"

Lizana said gossipingly, and the next moment her shoulder was pinched by Chani, making a "crunching" sound. As her mortal enemy, Lizana reacted and pinched back immediately.

"We? The object?"

Yaeri and Yaezakura looked at each other, the latter immediately shook her head, but the former hesitated slightly.

"Li, do you have a partner?"

Everyone present opened their eyes wide, especially Yaezakura, whose eyes were the widest, and her pupils tended to turn vertical.

"No."

Yaeri only thought for a few seconds, then felt the atmosphere become inexplicably tense, and shook her head.

"Really? Then what were you hesitating about just now?" Lizana raised the question on behalf of everyone.

"Just in a daze."

"Oh, I don't believe it."

"Anyway, this is the fact. As for you, most of you are already quite old. You are not still single, are you? No way, no way?" Yaezaki said sarcastically, with no awareness of her 50,000-year-old age at all.