Girls' Frontline: My Apocalypse with Dolls

Page 382

Naturally, Mantico rejected the offer.

"As expected, besides you and Nemesis, there's hardly anyone normal in this team. I truly admire Dr. Pascal's consideration in arranging the team..."

Natia once again lamented that her team had two idiots whose personalities and fighting styles were rather abnormal, but Rhinenshe actually liked this atmosphere.

"It's great. It's because of them and you, sister, that the Martyrs feel more like a family. At least, compared to other Nieto squads, I still prefer our own atmosphere."

After all, not every princess wants to be surrounded by obsequious knights and jesters, and the princesses of martyrs were no exception.

......

Yingque often carries books with him when traveling, which helps him pass the time on airplanes, though...

"The people behind me are so noisy..."

I tried glancing back, but the sound was blocked by rows of chairs, so I couldn't tell where it was coming from. It was just too difficult to concentrate on reading.

The agent, engrossed in another science fiction novel about machinery, said without turning his head, "It's probably your first time on a plane. You'll calm down in a bit. If not, the crew will handle it."

"Too......."

The corporate culture of martyrs is something you have to experience...

However, unlike in the past, Yingque lost interest after only a few glances.

The book lay quietly on her skirt. The woman on the cover smiled so gently, so different from Yingque's slightly drooping eyebrows. However, the calm girl already knew that the heroine in the book had no happy story. Perhaps the smile was just a disguise to cover up her weariness.

She only took it off a little...

The book is called "Gone with the Wind," just like her past in this strange world.

......

Go to sleep, it's best to clear your mind...

Only after she has passed away will the agent have the opportunity to keep an eye on the girl.

The agent was seeing her with such an expression for the first time, and never imagined that such a serene temperament would appear on her, let alone be so fitting.

In my memory, it was Luo Fan who wanted me to take care of her, but rather than taking care of her, it was more like... getting along. She rarely asked me for anything; we mostly helped each other. She never saw me as a maid, but as a kind roommate.

She always greeted everyone in the bar with a smile, never complaining or wallowing in self-pity. She was strong-willed and faced her life positively. But now it seems that this quiet elegance is the true essence of her being...

But that smile wasn't fake; it wasn't meant to deceive anyone. Perhaps those smiles weren't from a face-to-face meeting, and this is her true face now.

He was simply a quiet person who wasn't good with words, and he discovered something that truly brought him joy...

Report status

Everyone, the text is ready, but due to the special occasion, our book has been hidden again as per the rules. We'll update it once it's back online. I also want to apologize for being so busy lately.

I'll always be here and I will never run away. Like I said before, if you're worried about me running away, you can join the group to ask questions or chat. I'll reply when I have time. The group number is in the description.

I'm always here, don't worry.

577 The next day

On the way back, Yingque and her agent were in a hurry. After getting off the plane, they immediately booked train tickets, took a train into the county town, and then took a bus into the mountains. They were on the go.

Yingque wanted to get back as quickly as possible to resolve the issue. From beginning to end, she didn't want Luo Fan to know about it, as it would undoubtedly be a psychological burden for him, who was busy with work. Moreover...

I'm actually not that sad...

However, the martyrs didn't fare so well. They had always thought they would have a chance to stop and take a vacation, or at least rest in a hotel. But who could have imagined that she would never stop for a moment, walking all the way from the starting point to the finish line...

Mantico slumped in the back seat of the van, having long since lost interest in the trip.

They rented the bus. The bus was too small, and it would be easy to spot each other if they sat together. Since there weren't two buses with the same destination and departing at the same time, this was the only way they could catch up.

"Damn it, could this car go any slower?!"

Now that Hecate has become the driver, Natalia is filled with regret. This guy has a severe case of road rage and enjoys excitement just as much as he does during battles.

"Stop taking pictures. This is Donghuang. Damaging a car isn't something you can just pay for and get away with."

The exasperated captain, scrolling through his phone in the passenger seat, said with a dark expression, "We're about to enter the mountains. If you keep driving like this, you'll scrape the undercarriage sooner or later."

"Tsk, I feel like we might as well just climb over the roof of the car, it's better than driving this junk."

Hecate slammed her fist on the steering wheel again. Her annoyance was not unfounded; this car was hopelessly slow, a typical no-name cargo van.

Rhine Enshe, sitting in the back seat, opened a soft drink and held it to Hecate's lips: "The weather is so nice here in Donghuang, cheer up."

"Yes, I'm happy to hear that from Rhine."

After saying that, he put his mouth to the mouth of the bottle.

However, just a few seconds after the soda went down, the vehicle drove onto a bumpy road and suddenly jolted.

"puff!"

Hecate almost choked to death...

"Damn it, we'll have to go back and allocate funds to bulldoze this lousy road sooner or later!"

"Great! Allocating funds to build roads in rural areas is a wonderful thing."

"...I was just kidding, boss."

……

It was still that familiar path, but this time there was a different person beside me, and the house was empty. The unique atmosphere of rural life had turned into an indescribable sadness.

The old woman who used to sit by the door all day is nowhere to be seen now...

Yingque stood in front of the building, looking up at the balcony that seemed to be on the verge of collapse but had actually stood firm for more than ten years, and the towering mountains behind the house. Today, you can still see a lot of timber lying in the mountains, which are traces of the hard work of the people here.

Not knowing what to say, the agent simply waited there, awaiting Yingque's actions.

She was in mourning, mourning a history that no longer belongs to her. Remarkably, she was calmer than she had imagined.

"let's go."

"Ah."

The two continued walking, and were not far from the house. After turning the corner of the earthen slope, they arrived at the old wooden door. Stepping over the threshold, everything before them was completely different.

The mourning hall was set up in the living room. The worship ceremony seemed to have ended long ago; the offerings were already showing signs of spoiling, and the candles, like the old man's life, had long since burned out. A gust of wind swept through the hall, stirring up the embers of the burnt yellow paper, creating a desolate scene...

The only thing that could be described as heartwarming was the old woman's kind smile in the photo in front of the coffin.

Yingque put down her luggage, walked forward, and quietly looked at the photo, her thoughts unknown. The agent found it hard to understand; she had expected the young girl to shed a few tears for this.

However, she just stood there, without saying a word, and it was impossible to fathom her thoughts.

The wind whipped her hair, revealing some graying strands, but even she herself hadn't noticed.

“Come on, Agent,” Ying Que turned around a few minutes later, her smile indifferent. “Let’s tidy up the room and go back in a couple of days.”

The agent had no objection and responded with a nod. In addition to ensuring safety, she also needed to pay attention to Yingque's mental state. She was too abnormal now compared to the past, and was not the innocent and carefree girl she used to be at all.

But the agent couldn't say anything, after all, she couldn't truly understand the girl's heart. Only now did she realize that beneath the seemingly vast surface of the lake lay an unfathomable depth...

She couldn't help but worry: was it the right choice not to tell Luo Fan?

......

"We're going to sleep here?"

"So you want to sleep by the river?"

The martyrs were still fulfilling their duties, but they could not reveal their presence, nor could they follow the agent into the house. However, in front of a small river at the foot of the main house, there was a rather large wooden hut, but it seemed to have been unused for a long time.

This environment bothered Mantico; it was so dusty that you could practically see the dust kicked up by jumping in one step.

"Just make do with it. After all, you can see a natural stream right outside the door, which is quite rare in White Eagle."

Rhine patted the other's shoulder to comfort him, a remedy that always worked. Mantiko sighed and carried a bucket of water to wash the bed with Natia.

Having grown accustomed to New York, they found it difficult to adjust to the countryside. Having not done enough research before their trip, their clothing style was now completely out of place.

"Rhine, wanna take a picture?"

Nemesis, holding the camera, asked, and Rhinenshe naturally agreed. The scenery here was much better than the photo studio: a stream, bushes, sunshine, and not a cloud in the sky. At least in their lifetime, they had never seen such scenery in White Eagle.

"Hey, taking pictures? Well, I, the sniper, have to join in the fun."

Hecate used her height advantage to pull the two of them out.

"You're a damn sniper..."

Nemesis muttered to herself, but no one knew her sister, who had a mild intellectual disability, better than herself.

Nothing particularly noteworthy happened on the first day of arrival; we simply had a normal dinner and rested, except for that old dog. It seemed curious about the agent, and it followed her around all day, refusing to leave no matter what she said...

The next day, Yingque took her agent to a nearby town and bought a lot of local specialties: cloud cakes, duck tongues, snails, beef jerky, and countless others. Besides eating them themselves, they also wanted to bring some back for everyone. The agent was quite surprised to find so many local snacks she had never heard of before, especially the beef jerky...

578 "Hypocrisy?"

"Has it been dehydrated?"

The agent used more force than usual to bite it off, while constantly enjoying the unique spicy flavor and the chewy texture. Even people with poor appetites would find their appetite stimulated by the smell.

Yingque was the same, only a little embarrassed: "I don't know, but it's really delicious. I used to eat it a lot when I was a child. But my teeth weren't very strong back then, so I often couldn't bite it and ended up drooling."

"It's really delicious..."

The agent quickly realized that many such cultures had been destroyed in the wars of their world.

Poor scorched earth...

In any case, the day passed quite ordinary. The more novel part was showing the agent and the martyrs in the rear a remote small county town of Donghuang, and eating some local specialties. The only unexpected thing was Yingque's reaction...

Before going to bed, Ying Que tidied up her mother's room, and then shuttled back and forth between the two rooms, leaving the agent on the sofa puzzled. For twenty minutes, the only sounds in the living room besides the variety show on TV were the incessant footsteps of Ying Que.

Being a maid is her duty, but reading people's expressions is one of her skills. The agent understands very well that she can't help in any way right now; she is a maid and agent, not an embalmer.

Seemingly noticing that the agent had been sitting there quietly for a while, Yingque smiled apologetically and carried the cardboard box away, saying, "Um, Ms. Agent, you should rest first. I still have some work to do."

"Understood. You should get some rest too, it's very windy tonight."

"Okay, I'll go get busy now."

The agent unusually refrained from offering help. The reason was simple: Yingque was closer to being a friend than a so-called mistress, and he should give her some time to herself, especially now.

For the past two nights, they slept in the same room. The agent took off her coat, turned off the light, and lay down in bed to the sound of insects chirping. Unlike many literary works, the rural room was darker than the city night because the moonlight didn't shine in and the windows were covered with newspapers.

Therefore, it also helps with sleep...

The agent closed her eyes, a rare feeling of relief washing over her. Here, she didn't need to worry about anyone's safety. She could fall asleep to the scent of the earth, and not let her thoughts be trapped beneath that concrete jungle...

......

The night shift usually starts around 2 AM. The agent activated himself on time, as he had a responsibility to fulfill and it was better to get up and check.

She opened her eyes and sat up in bed. The other half of the bed was empty, the smooth cotton sheets a testament to the fact that no one had been there.

"..."

The agent symbolically put on a coat, quickly changed his shoes, moved from the bed to the door, tiptoed to open the wooden door, and peeked outside.

The living room was empty, except for a coffin lying there. The front door, which was usually bolted at night in the countryside, was wide open for some reason, as if welcoming something.

With a slight frown, the agent walked quickly over. Fortunately, she was sitting on a small stool in front of the door, silently looking at the pitch-black mountains and fields before her.

The dirt roads in the countryside have no lights, so no vehicles drive by at night, and there's nothing to see.

“Don’t worry,” Natia’s slightly deep voice came through the earpiece, “we’re watching her.”

In the darkness not far away, the agent stared intently and spotted two girls in a tall tree.

"It's a good thing you guys didn't really come here for a vacation."

"Ha, there's no way we'd actually get a vacation like that..."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the agent casually picked up a small stool from the ground and sat down next to the girl in front of the door.

She seemed oblivious, staring blankly at the endless night before her. If the agent hadn't woken up, she probably would have spent the entire night listening to the chirping of insects.

The two sat in silence for a long time before the girl's voice, trembling from not moving for so long, finally broke: "Agent, do you know?"

"Ok?"

The dutiful maid was not annoyed by this and listened patiently.

"In the two days since I arrived here, I've thought about many things, including why I came here and why I am where I am now, including all my experiences with my adoptive parents. There are many things worth remembering, and it is because of them that I am who I am today."

After speaking, the girl paused, her eyes focusing amidst the turbidity, her gaze as detached as a silver mirror: "But now, I find myself... not particularly saddened by the loss of important things, including my adoptive parents..."