After a hard day's work, the second day of rest always feels refreshing.
As usual, at 5:00 AM, Durandal stood punctually at Theresa's door and knocked.
After a familiar series of clangs and bangs, a disheveled Theresa with messy hair and a resentful expression appeared at the door.
"Good morning, Senior Theresa! Let's go for a morning run together!" Durandal invited energetically.
Theresa stared at Durandal for several seconds, trying to discern any hint of mischief on her face.
But unfortunately, she couldn't. Durandal was clearly serious.
Switching targets, Theresa turned her gaze to Rita, who was standing behind Durandal. Rita still had her usual gentle smile, as if she were a perfect maid no matter the time of day.
But Theresa still saw through it. She caught a whiff of the dazed feeling that came from a lack of sleep on Rita.
In short, even though Rita was standing here, she had actually been asleep for a while. It was just that Rita usually had a smile on her face with her eyes slightly closed, so Durandal hadn't noticed.
I'm so jealous... I wish I could sleep standing up.
Theresa was genuinely envious.
"Not today. Kallen is coming back soon, and I have to go talk to Grandpa about some things." But today, Theresa had a legitimate excuse to avoid Durandal's morning run invitation.
She hadn't finished her report with Otto yesterday, and a lot of the information was only known to Kallen.
"I see..." Durandal nodded understandingly. Since Senior Theresa was busy, she shouldn't bother her.
She turned around and waved to Rita. Theresa noticed Rita's body tremble slightly, a sign that she had woken up from her slumber.
Seamlessly switching back to her usual self, Rita nodded and jogged off with Durandal to start their morning run.
Watching them leave, Theresa suddenly glanced around, then slammed the door shut, zipped back to her bed, and kicked off her slippers, not caring where they landed. She buried her head in her quilt and went back to sleep.
She wasn't lying. She really was busy today, but she hadn't said when she would be busy!
Kallen would be back in about two hours. She had to make good use of these two hours!
---||---
On the other hand, Rita felt that Durandal was getting back at her for the jacket she had given her yesterday, but she had no proof.
Her eyes opened a crack, and Rita glanced at the jacket Durandal was still wearing.
If she doesn't like it, why is she still wearing it? Rita remembered clearly how much Durandal had resisted the jacket on the train yesterday.
Surely one night couldn't change a person's tastes so drastically?
About an hour later, the two finally finished their morning run. It was 6:00 AM. They returned to their rooms, freshened up, changed into clean clothes, and then prepared to go to the fourth basement level for breakfast.
At this time, not many people were taking the elevator up from the tenth basement level. The two had an elevator to themselves. When they reached the fourth basement level, they both put on masks and sunglasses.
Stepping out of the elevator, the fourth basement level was empty. There was no strict wake-up time here; most people woke up between 7:00 and 9:00 AM.
And now it was 6:00 AM, a time when not many people were up, and the cafeteria staff were still a little sleepy.
The two walked one after another, taking no special precautions, and went straight to the counter.
"Hello, sixteen steamed buns, half meat, half vegetable, three bowls of soy milk, and ten steamed buns, thank you," Durandal quickly listed her order and then waited quietly.
The large quantity made the staff a little surprised, but they didn't think much of it. They turned around and packed the food in several large bags for Durandal. Then, their slightly confused mind finally cleared.
Something's wrong! How can two people eat so much?!
Even the members of the city exploration teams who bought a lot at once wouldn't be up this early!
The cafeteria staff member's head shot up. The bags of food had just left their hands, and it was too late to grab them back. They glared at the payment machine. The card had already been tapped.
Oh no! It's a trap!
[Payment successful. Total collected: 36 contribution points.]
The mechanical voice faithfully announced the transaction. Seeing that she had succeeded, Durandal turned and walked away with practiced ease, her pace so fast she was almost running.
Rita gave a slight bow to the stunned staff member and then quickly followed Durandal.
Unlike Durandal's slightly flustered figure, Rita looked much more elegant.
The staff member could only watch as the two entered the elevator, then fell into a state of懊恼 [àonǎo - annoyance; vexation].
"Phew... I haven't been back in a few days, so I was a little nervous..." In the elevator, Durandal took off her mask, leaving only her sunglasses on, and let out a sigh of relief.
If she had been caught, she would have been force-fed and the meal would have been free... The thought of such a thing was terrifying.
"But Lady Durandal's movements are still very skilled," Rita said, not taking off her mask and sunglasses at all. Compared to Durandal, who had seamlessly accepted it, she really wasn't at the point where she could accept such a thing.
After all... wasn't it too outrageous?
"By the way, what are we doing today?" Durandal took a meat bun from the bag, took a bite, and then asked Rita. "Are we going to train with Senior Kallen?"
Are we going to start training on the first day back? Rita could understand, but that didn't stop her from being greatly shocked.
"We just had a battle, so maybe some lighter training would be better," Rita said, trying to save herself. Who knew what kind of training would injure someone like Durandal.
But Rita knew she definitely couldn't handle it.
"Really?" Durandal was stunned for a moment, then began to seriously consider Rita's words. "A balance of work and rest... that's probably what this is about..."
"Then what should we do?" When it came to cultivation and training, Durandal was an expert. But when the topic turned to rest, Durandal was a little lost.
Rita smiled slightly. "Has Lady Durandal considered joining, or creating, a city exploration team?"
Durandal's motion of stuffing a bun into her mouth paused. She looked at Rita in surprise.
"Can we, as members of a special squad, also be part of a city exploration team?"
"Of course," Rita nodded seriously. "Being a special squad means we need to carry out the necessary missions assigned by the Overseer. That is our responsibility."
"But missions aren't always available. We don't need to be stationed at the frontlines all the time now. This period is specially planned for the soldiers to rest. This free time belongs to us."
"Which means we can find some things to do on our own," Rita said with a smile.
She had studied the regulations published by the MOTH last night and found that there were no rules against holding two positions. In fact, she had even seen a precedent.
In the MOTH's records, a member of a city exploration team had once become a member of a special squad and had held both positions ever since.
Rita had forgotten who was mentioned in the records, but she had studied those records for a long time, so she couldn't be wrong.
And having or joining an exploration team seemed very beneficial right now. Even just having the status would bring many conveniences.
Rita had roughly figured out the situation in the MOTH during this time. Rather than being an organization with a long history, it was more like a new organization established by a few true MOTH members after the Great Honkai.
Everything was in a state of百废待兴 [bǎifèidàixīng - all neglected tasks are being undertaken; full-scale reconstruction is under way]. The grassroots of the entire MOTH, apart from the official forces, had no other unified powers.
By region, people were divided into those from Sapphire City and other regions; by interests, people could be divided into various exploration teams; by faith, people were divided into believers and non-believers.
Even by preference, people were divided into various fan clubs...
In short, there was no unity, and Lord Overseer Otto seemed to have tacitly approved of this situation. He hadn't let the officials intervene, and only the fan clubs showed signs of official involvement.
As the number of people joining the MOTH increased, various forces and factions were bound to emerge. Even Lord Overseer Otto couldn't suppress the budding of these factions.
Taking this opportunity to let these potential troubles take shape before they exploded was indeed a good choice, but what Rita didn't understand was why Lord Overseer Otto showed no signs of making a choice?
There would definitely be a winner in the end. This winner would have the most say under the officials. Logically, Lord Overseer Otto would also want to control such an organization, but there were currently no signs of the Overseer's involvement...
Except for Senior Kallen's fan club.
Rita suddenly fell silent. Could it be that Lord Overseer Otto wanted to support Senior Kallen's fan club to become the top power?
Probably not. Such a team had no real power, so it shouldn't be the one to become the top power.
In any case, there were already signs of turmoil within the MOTH. Even they needed another kind of real power besides the official one...
Real power that could ensure they weren't swept away by this wave.
The founder of this exploration team should preferably be one of the captains like Theresa, but Rita wasn't sure if they would participate in this, because every captain seemed to be an original member of the MOTH, which meant they were completely under the official internal control.
And she wasn't familiar with Senior Natasha...
Finally, after thinking for a whole night, Rita set her sights on Durandal.
Powerful, unquestionably powerful, and the unexpected level of nurturing and attention she received even benefited her, as a teammate... In the future, Durandal would at least become a captain, and she might even become the role model that the MOTH desperately needed.
At that time, Durandal would have the most say and completely suppress all turmoil...
Wait... the MOTH... was lacking a role model?
Rita suddenly felt a little dazed. When she came to, Durandal was already asking about the details of the city exploration team.
"Rita, how do we register for that city exploration team?" Durandal patted Rita, bringing her back to her senses.
"You can register at the office on the second basement level," Rita immediately regained her composure and answered Durandal.
"Oh..." Durandal withdrew her hand and nodded seriously. "I saw you were spacing out just now... Are you tired and hungry?"
Rita: "...Let's go, Lady Durandal." She didn't want to answer that question.
Durandal didn't say anything else. She just gave Rita two of the buns she was holding to tide her over, and she would go buy another portion for her later...
The cafeteria staff would never have thought I'd go back again! Hehe, mission accomplished!
The two quickly arrived at the second basement level. Compared to the other floors, which were still quiet at this time, this place was much livelier.
Rita soon led Durandal to the city exploration team registration desk.
Two minutes later...
"What? You need at least five people to register for a city exploration team?!" Durandal's mouth fell open, and she even stopped eating her bun.
She raised her hand as if to gesture something, but then lowered it and turned to Rita. "Uh... Rita, what do we do?"
Rita: "..." Miscalculated, but must maintain a smile.
"It's like this, a city exploration team needs to have at least a basic squad, which is five people..." The staff member looked troubled. She could tell at a glance that these two were not simple, but there was nothing she could do. Lord Overseer Otto had said that no one was an exception...
The two had no choice but to temporarily withdraw from the counter and discuss it on the side.
"We're still one person short..." Durandal took a big gulp of soy milk, looking troubled. "Rita, who should we ask?"
Rita just kept smiling. To her shame, Theresa and Durandal were her entire social circle in the MOTH...
Durandal frowned in thought for a long time. Suddenly, she had a brilliant idea.
"Rita, I know who we should invite!" Durandal's eyes showed a determined look. A bad feeling arose in Rita's heart.
A few minutes later...
The resentment from Theresa, who had just been woken up after only an hour of sleep, was almost palpable.
"You mean to say... you want to form a city exploration team, but you're short on people, so you want to invite me to join?" Theresa repeated what Durandal had just said, word for word.
Durandal nodded seriously. Theresa couldn't help but look at Rita, who was exactly the same as she had been an hour ago.
Hmm, this time I can see the sweat...
"Whatever..." In order to get a good night's sleep, Theresa could only wave her hand and casually agree.
"Thank you, Senior Theresa." Watching the door close, Durandal thanked her sincerely in her heart.
As expected, Senior Theresa is a very gentle person...
"Then, Lady Durandal, have you thought about the next team member?" Rita felt that things were already getting out of her control... Theresa, herself, and Durandal... this was almost like the officials themselves getting involved, wasn't it?
"Hmm... let's go find Senior Kallen!" But soon, Durandal said a name that was even more unexpected.
Heh, I'm tired. I won't be surprised anymore... As long as we don't end up inviting Lord Overseer Otto to join...