Before the sun is up, Lin Ye awakes to ACE dragging him out of bed.

"Wake up.", Ace goes to the mirror and checks his clothes while glancing at Lin Ye, "We're leaving soon."

"Lea-leave? Where?" Lin Ye sways left and right groggily, "Where are we going?"

"Fifty kilometers out, there's an abandoned factory in the countryside. Silence's colleagues already shipped the instruments there.", ACE says, "We'll pick them up and then return to Rhodes Island immediately."

"Oh."

Lin Ye rubs his head, finally remembering the goal of this trip. Now that he thought about it, he hasn't even been in Lungmen for that long, not even a week in fact, but because of that terrorist attack in the theater, he can't help but feel as if he's been in the city for a long time.

Although Lungmen was more advanced than Rhodes Island, Lin Ye would rather stay in the latter. After all, he's almost died in Lungmen, not once, but twice. Coincidentally, he's only been to Lungmen twice. It's almost like he's guaranteed to be attacked if he's in Lungmen.

He puts on his clothes and goes to the restroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, the usual stuff.

Is Nightingale back yet? I hope everything went well for her.


{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}


Lin Ye walks out of the restroom and puts his pistol in his pocket.

Suddenly, he remembers that he had asked Swire to help him buy a gun. Unlike Exusiai, Swire might have the connections to actually find a gun for him. After all, her family wasn't just rich.

And so, he sends her a text message before going to the cafeteria.


{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}


Again, he's the last one to show up.

Ifrit is already in the cafeteria, holding a sausage with one hand and a sandwich with another. Yet, she looks really sleepy.

Suddenly, someone pats on Lin Ye's shoulder from behind.

Lin Ye turns around and sees a young man, El. He's part of the team E3.

"Dr. Lin, when we leave, we'll be riding in the same car."

"Do we only have one car?"

"No, there's be more than one." El says, "Our sedan can't transport those large machineries, so Rhine Lab prepared the vehicle for us, but I'm responsible for driving our car back. That's why we'll be going together."

"Oh, I see." Lin Ye nods, "Thanks for letting me know."

E3 was one of the best reserve teams, and its captain was ACE. The other six members are seasoned warriors, and El is one of them. He's a vanguard that can fight Yato to a standstill. However, Yato was the captain of A4, while El was just a team member of E3.

ACE walks to the center of the cafeteria. He's carrying a shield with his left hand while holding a black warhammer with the other. He knocks his shield with the hammer to get everyone else's attention.

"Make it quick. It'll be harder to leave the city if we don't hurry up."

Lin Ye didn't understand what Ace meant, but he'd soon find out why Ace wanted the team to leave quickly.


{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}


Lin Ye looks out the car window and sees the LGD checking every car going in and out of the border.

"That's why the captain wanted us to leave early." El taps the steering wheel while waiting for the LGD to come over, "Lungmen is on high alert. See those guard stations? If we were to come any later, we would have to wait much longer."

Lin Ye shakes his head incredulously. He asks, "How many Infected does Lungmen have?"

"Not sure, but there are probably a lot of them." El shrugs, "That Mr. Wei must be really troubled by the recent attacks. Otherwise, the LGD wouldn't be deployed here. Tsk. They probably haven't slept at all."

Lin Ye looks at the guards dressed in riot gears going about, checking the cars and verifying the identities of the passengers and drivers. Out of boredom, he takes his phone out. Then, he sees a message from Swire.

Ha? Do you want a gun? Why do you want that?

Before Lin Ye can type in his response, his phone starts to ring. It's Swire.

When he answers the call, he hears her voice with that unique accent, "What's wrong with you?! Why didn't you reply to my message?!"

"Uh, I didn't think you'd be up this early. Aren't you in the hospital?"

"That damn dragon ruined my room. Why would I still be there? I'm already back at work.", Swire says, "I'm busy right now. Anyway, is the gun you want the kind used by Sanktas?"

Lin Ye can't help but sigh inwardly at the speed of her recovery. Didn't she get stabbed a few times? How is she up and running already? Once again, he's forced to face the discrepancies of different races.

He only pauses for a moment before answering her question.

"Tsk. Why don't you ask for something else, something simpler? How about a piano instead?"

"... I don't know how to play it."

"So you only want a gun? Fine. Fine. I'll get back to you later. By the way, how long will you be staying in Lungmen?"

"Uh, I'm on my way back to Rhodes Island."

"Ha? What's the matter with you? We just-why are you leaving already? You… Nevermind. You're going back to Rhodes Island, right? I'll have someone send it to you then." Suddenly, there's a lot of noise on her side. Swire says, "Ah. Ah. So troublesome! I'm going back to work. If you come again, remember to call me."

"Thanks. We-"

Lin Ye pauses. He looks at his phone and realizes that she hung up on him.

El looks at Lin Ye through the rearview mirror, "Why do you need a gun?"

"For self-defense," Lin Ye blurts out without thinking.

"Uh, don't you already have a sword?" El glances at the black steel sword next to Lin Ye, "I heard you beat Yato. That's pretty impressive."

"That's because she held back. Actually, I really suck at fighting close-quarters."

"Are you being humble?"

Lin Ye sighs without explaining further.

El says, "Guns are pretty hard to find. Even Adnachiel doesn't have one."

"Who's that?"

"A member of the reserve team A4. He's a Sankta, and, uh, he has a halo on his head." El says, "He's a sniper, but he only has a crossbow. If I remember correctly, he said that not every angel has their own gun."

Lin Ye raises his eyebrows in surprise, "Really?"

El nods, "Sanktas' guns are excellent for mid-range combat, but personally, I prefer using my sword. It gives me more comfort than those things."


{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}


On their way to the mission object, Lin Ye and El talk about all sorts of things, compared to ACE, it was easier for Lin Ye to chat with El, who's around his age.

And so, the entire morning goes by quickly.

When they finally arrive, it's afternoon already.

El parks the car in front of the factory, where the Rhine Lab researchers led by Cardo have been assembled waiting for their arrival.

"Dr. Lin."

Lin Ye opens the door and sees Silence and Ifrit.

Silence thanks Lin Ye for his help and walks away with ACE's team to greet Rhine Lab's group.

Lin Ye sits back down in the car, "Sure. I'm too tired to walk anyway."

Before Silence walks away, Ifrit grabs her hand, refusing to let her go.

"What's wrong, Ifrit?" Silence asks.

"Don't leave me here."

"What are you talking about?" Silence pinches Ifrit's cheek, "I'm working right now."

"But those people are evil."

"How are they evil?" Silence says, "They were my colleagues, and they watched you grow up. They won't hurt you."

Ifrit lowers her head and lets go of Silence's hand quietly.

Lin Ye rest his hand on Ifrit." Don't worry, okay. If anything happens, just call out for me. I may not be strong, but I'll try the best I can for you."

She didn't shout at him like he thought she would. She stays silent.

Silence thanks Lin Ye for the help and walks away with ACE's team to greet Rhine Lab's group.

"Good morning, Silence." Cardo smiles.

"Good morning, director." Silence asks, "Are those machines here?"

"Relax. They're ready for pick up.", he steps to the side and points at the truck behind him, "Please check the shipment inside. If everything is in order, you can drive the truck back."

Silence bows slightly, "Thank you very much."

Cardo smiles more brightly, "Likewise, Silence."

Suddenly, Lin Ye's phone rings. When he checks the caller, rather than Swire, it's Skadi calling him, but before he can answer the call…

Boom*

The truck exploded.

Lin Ye looks at the factory in a hurry and sees a sea of flames, engulfing everyone around.

While he's distracted by the scene, Ifrit hops out of the car and runs toward the truck. "Silence!"

"Ifrit! Wait!"

Lin Ye curses inwardly and reaches for the door, but the moment he opens it, long blade chops the door in halves. He follows the sword and sees a masked man.

Now Lin Ye finally understood what was happening. He's being fucking attacked again.


{Rhodes Island's Psychologist}


Draft by Demosama

Proofread by Demosama PanzerComrade56

Edit by Mihjaqtio