The sudden approach of the blonde girl put Surtr on instant alert.
Even though she was trying to integrate into this society, she was still in the learning phase. One second she was discussing the etiquette of interacting with people with Lucas Reeve, and the next, she was like a startled beast. The moment the blonde girl stepped into the underpass, Surtr rolled to her feet and grabbed the flaming greatsword beside her.
She hated being disturbed by strangers.
The reason she liked living under bridges was that no one would bother her. She never expected someone to show up just as she had lain down.
However.
Lucas Reeve, hiding in the flaming greatsword, was also taken aback.
On the other person...
There was a very familiar feeling.
The moment his gaze met the blonde girl's.
Lucas Reeve finally realized why he felt this strange sensation from this girl.
Because...
He could feel that sealed soul fragment!!
It was on this girl!!
Due to the seal.
Lucas Reeve couldn't sense the soul fragment's location. Only when they were face to face did the affinity between their souls create a very strange feeling in Lucas Reeve's own soul.
Huff...
To be able to seal my soul fragment...
This girl is no simple matter..
Or rather, the elders around her! Are no simple matter...
Moreover, Lucas Reeve could also sense a powerful energy from this girl, far surpassing that of an ordinary Elite Operator. Her raw strength should be in the T1 tier just below the top tier, much stronger than a mid-level Elite Operator like Franka, but not as strong as Patriot. She was probably on the same level as the current FrostNova or Talulah, slightly weaker than an Emperor's Blade, but capable of putting up a fight. At full power, she could even clash with an Emperor's Blade.
And, due to her bloodline talent, this girl's potential might be no weaker than Talulah's at all.
Damn it!!
Why is there such an absurdly strong person in Lungmen?
And what's even more ridiculous.
Wouldn't a normal person just destroy the soul fragment?
But...
She actually just sealed it, and even sealed it on her own bracelet..
What is this, some kind of Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Although Lucas Reeve wasn't afraid of her.
With Surtr, combined with Laevatain, killing her would be quite easy.
But, this was inside Lungmen..
This was someone else's home turf.
Who knew if killing her would draw out the old ones behind her. Even if he could kill the old ones, what about the even older ones? Or what if a whole bunch of old ones showed up, staging some grand monster-hunting drama? So, Lucas Reeve didn't dare to act rashly. If the other party didn't notice, that was fine. If she did, he would probably run for it immediately. He was just a soul fragment; if he died, he died. But Surtr was here.
"Hello, may I help you with something?"
The blonde girl walked forward.
However, when her sharp eyes saw the red-haired girl's nimble movements and the fiery greatsword in her hand, her gaze instantly became as sharp as a falcon's. Based on her experience handling cases at the Dali Temple, this sword was definitely no ordinary weapon, perhaps even sharper and more precious than any weapon she had ever seen among her elders.
Not a homeless person!!
A guess formed in the blonde girl's mind.
Just as she thought.
Just as her teacher said.
Even with her strength, she had to be careful in Lungmen.
The Lungmen of today, as one of the world's centers, appeared calm on the surface, relying on the small Lungmen Guard Department (L.G.D.) to maintain stability. In reality, who knew how many monsters were wandering the mortal world in the shadows. Any one of these monsters, if they wished, could turn Lungmen upside down. But they didn't dare. There was no one in Lungmen who could suppress them, but Yan could. Before Yan, even if it were a divine beast, it would have to lie down and act as a mount.
The blonde girl's attention was completely focused on the sword in Surtr's hand.
This greatsword contained a terrifying power.
She was certain.
If this power were to erupt, it would be a question of whether she could even escape.
She never thought that on her first day of a covert investigation in Lungmen, she would run into an old monster under a bridge. Do these old monsters have something wrong with their brains? Do they like sleeping under bridges? Even if they're just wandering the mortal world, this is... a bit too... simplistic.
However.
Even so, the blonde girl's professional instincts made her ask reflexively.
"Hello, my name is Lin Qingyan, just an ordinary person passing by. May I ask why you're living here? Do you have no place to sleep in Lungmen?"
Lin Qingyan began her inquiry.
This tone...
This attitude.
It made Lucas Reeve feel like he was being interrogated.
And...
Could you at least try to act the part?
You call this an ordinary passerby?
Surtr didn't speak. She thought the other person was trying to drive her away. Without a word, she turned to leave.
As Surtr was leaving.
Lin Qingyan was about to follow up with another question, but the moment she took a step.
Her heart pounded violently.
For an instant, her heart seemed to stop, as if... something had just given it a huge slap.
She quickly looked down at her bracelet.
A connection....
Her bracelet was reacting to the other's sword.
Could it be!!!
Suddenly!
Lin Qingyan thought of something. She didn't dare to pursue any further. A terrifying thought occurred to her, and she quickly left. She had to report this to her master as soon as possible.
Lucas Reeve didn't know what had happened, but seeing the other person leave in such a hurry, perhaps she had discovered him or Laevatain.
"Let's go, Surtr... We need to leave this place quickly and rest on the outskirts of the upper district. If we spot any movement, we can leave at any time."
Surtr nodded.
And not long after Surtr left.
Not far away, a white-haired girl with dragon horns appeared, swaying slightly. Her tone was flippant.
"Another divine fragment has come to Lungmen? And someone from Yan's Dali Temple is here too. Who knows if those folks from the Sui Regulator Commission will show up. This Lungmen is getting more and more lively. It's a shame that girl Dusk just holes herself up and paints all day. Wouldn't it be more interesting to eat hot pot and watch the drama unfold in Lungmen every day?"
·······
Lin Qingyan, as the person in charge sent by the Dali Temple to conduct a covert investigation (i.e., find fault) in Lungmen, had taken a random tourist vehicle from out of town without any fanfare to avoid attracting the attention of Lungmen's officials. She was even dressed like an ordinary young woman, and the apartment she rented was just a common single-person unit in Lungmen's upper district. The price wasn't expensive; after all, funds were limited.
After returning to her rented apartment.
Lin Qingyan didn't change her clothes right away. She simply took off her coat, revealing her fair, lotus-root-like arms.
She didn't use a phone.
Instead, she activated a special long-distance communication tool to connect with her master.
Thick smoke billowed out of the device, then condensed into a cloud. After a while, a figure appeared in the smoke.
"Apprentice? What is it? Is your trip to Lungmen going smoothly?"
"Master!"
Lin Qingyan knelt on one knee and hurriedly recounted what she had just seen and heard.
Afterward.
Lin Qingyan's master also fell silent and didn't speak for a long time. After a good while, he finally said.
"Don't act rashly and alert the target! The gods are far more powerful than you can imagine. We cannot underestimate the power of any god, even if it's just a fragment. For the next few days, put away that necklace on your wrist. I will immediately inform your Grandmaster and let him decide on this matter."
"Remember! Apprentice!! You must! You must! You must! Not act rashly on your own! You are my only apprentice!!"
Lin Qingyan's master repeated the important words several times. He was afraid that his proudest apprentice would act impulsively and anger the divine fragment.
After all, no matter how weak a divine fragment was, the word 'divine' was not an empty title. A starved camel is still bigger than a rabbit—it could even crush the rabbit. He knew his precious apprentice's personality all too well. Although exceptionally talented and destined for a high place in Yan when she grew older.
Her only flaw was being too upright and inflexible.
He was afraid his apprentice would cause trouble and get slapped to death for no reason. This was his only apprentice, his sole heir, and someone who would surely surpass him in the future. How could he let anything happen to her in Lungmen?
"Yes!!"
Lin Qingyan replied resignedly.
"Master, do you think I'm that kind of impulsive person?"
"Yes!"
Lin Qingyan's master answered without a second thought.
"I've changed! Master!! If I were really that impulsive, do you think I would have come back to report to you first thing?"
Suddenly.
Lin Qingyan's master thought of something.
"Did you attack the divine fragment?"
"..."
"I'm not talking to you anymore."
With that.
Lin Qingyan speechlessly turned off the device.
She looked out of the apartment's few windows, and after making sure no one was outside, she immediately drew the curtains. She unfastened the bracelet she had been wearing on her wrist for over half a year. This bracelet was a gift her master had requested from his Grandmaster. It was said to contain a very weak divine fragment. Although it didn't have much power, it still possessed a faint divinity.
Divinity was an extremely important treasure for ordinary people.
If an ordinary person possessed divinity, even just a trace, they would become countless times stronger than others. Divinity couldn't make someone strong instantly, but it could subtly change a person's natural talent, constitution, and comprehension.
Therefore, after his master requested the Grandmaster to seal the soul fragment, he gave this bracelet to her.
It had to be said.
The radiance of divinity had indeed helped Lin Qingyan a great deal. In the six months she had worn the bracelet, Lin Qingyan felt that her comprehension and cultivation speed of thunder magic had improved significantly.
She never expected to run into the original owner in Lungmen!!
The divine power in her bracelet had no consciousness, so there was no resistance or struggle when sealing it, but....
Lin Qingyan drew all the curtains, sighed, and placed the bracelet in her hand into a special box made by her master. This box could block detection and soul connections.
Then, Lin Qingyan unzipped her long black dress from the back. When she let go, the dress slid to the floor, revealing Lin Qingyan's curvaceous body, clad only in plain white underwear. Though not exceptionally buxom, her figure was more than adequate.
She peeled off the fluffy white stockings from her slender legs, revealing fair, jade-like limbs, and changed into a regular long dress for home wear that was on the sofa. She let down her two long, tied-up braids. Just as Lin Qingyan was about to take a shower.
Suddenly.
The doorbell rang.
Lin Qingyan frowned, a little surprised. Why would someone come over at this hour? She cautiously approached the edge of the door and looked through the peephole. It was a cute girl with yellow hair.
Lin Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief.
This girl was her neighbor, warm-hearted and a social butterfly. When she had just moved in yesterday, the girl had taken the initiative to help her, and had even brought her homemade snacks in the evening.
"Miss Qingyan~~"
The door opened.
Sora, standing outside, said happily.
"Miss Qingyan, you're finally back from work! Here's some ice cream. If you don't mind, you can try it. Some of it I bought, but some I made myself. Tonight, some friends and I were having an ice cream hot pot at my place. I wanted to invite you, but you didn't seem to be home. This was all specially prepared for you. I heard some noise next door just now and came right over."
"Thank you."
The usually serious Lin Qingyan rarely showed such a friendly smile.
After all, no one dislikes a warm-hearted and cute little sister.
"Oh, right."
Just as Sora was about to turn and leave, Lin Qingyan called out to her.
Lin Qingyan had a very good impression of her cute neighbor. She had even investigated her; she seemed to be a well-known idol in Lungmen. Although, based on her investigation schedule, she would be in Lungmen for at most half a month to a month, she still felt she should remind the young girl that Lungmen wasn't very safe recently.
"Hmm? What is it, Miss Qingyan?"
Sora paused and turned her head back.
"When I was getting off work just now, I heard from a friend at the Lungmen Guard Department that Lungmen hasn't been very peaceful lately. Miss Sora, if you ever run into a Sarkaz girl with red hair, wearing a black dress in the middle of winter, bare-legged without even stockings, and carrying a huge greatsword, you need to stay away from her immediately, okay? And don't tell anyone else, okay?"
By rights.
It was against the rules to tell ordinary people these things.
But Lin Qingyan still felt she could make a small exception to warn Sora. After all, she had a good impression of Sora and genuinely didn't want anything to happen to her.
Sora was stunned and didn't react at first.
"Okay! Thank you for the warning, Miss Qingyan. I'll be careful."
Sora nodded at Lin Qingyan, then turned and walked back to her own apartment. At first, she didn't think much of it. After all, she was an Operator for Penguin Logistics, not an ordinary person. The kind of person the L.G.D. would warn about was probably a wanted criminal.
As Sora was cleaning up the dishes from today's meal in the kitchen, she suddenly recalled Lin Qingyan's warning.
Red hair... girl... black dress... bare-legged... and most importantly, a huge greatsword always at hand...
"!!!"
"Isn't that... Miss Surtr??"
"No way. Miss Surtr might be a bit cold, but she doesn't seem like a bad person at all. And she's good friends with Jessica. She can't be a bad person. Miss Qingyan must have gotten it wrong."
To Sora, Miss Qingyan was also a stranger, after all, they had only known each other for a day.
Between the two.
Sora still trusted Miss Surtr and her own judgment more.
··············
The next day.
Surtr yawned as she slowly woke from her sleep. The sky was already bright. Not having slept in her favorite bridge underpass, Surtr had made do for a night on a secluded lawn in the park. The only good thing about this lawn was the grass, which was quite comfortable to sleep on. And, thanks to Laevatain, the insects on the lawn didn't dare to come near.
As per their agreement.
After waking up, Surtr, reminded by Lucas Reeve, immediately headed downstairs to Miss Sora's apartment.
Running into a powerhouse from Yan yesterday had made Lucas Reeve a little worried. He was afraid that the monster who had sealed him was in Lungmen. Although he wasn't afraid—at worst, he'd just throw out some Prayer Power and say, "bring it on!"—but...
Lucas Reeve didn't like that kind of spendthrift fighting style.
Moreover, such a person often represented a country, and Lucas Reeve didn't want to make an enemy of them. Another reason was that Lucas Reeve naturally had a certain degree of goodwill towards Yan, unlike with Ursus. If necessary, Lucas Reeve didn't want to be an enemy of Yan.
Since she had no money.
Surtr didn't eat breakfast either.
At ten o'clock, she arrived early downstairs at Sora's apartment to wait for the Penguin Logistics girls.
Hurried footsteps came from upstairs.
At first, Lucas Reeve thought it was Sora coming down.
However...
As a head of golden hair flashed past her, Surtr, encouraged by Lucas Reeve, took the initiative to greet the person. However, the next second.
Lucas Reeve and the other person both froze in place.
Lucas Reeve: "!!!"
Lin Qingyan: "!!!"