latelenovela Chapter 36 The Silent Chapter: "An Emergency Mission at the Orphanage"
Chapter 36 The Silent Chapter: "An Emergency Mission at the Orphanage"
Current timeline: February 28, 1992, two months after Christmas Eve.
Time passed quietly, and it was 5:25 pm on Friday afternoon in a quiet classroom in a British high school.
"Done." Putting down his pen, Deming breathed a sigh of relief and looked at all the assignments he had just completed.
Just then, the school bell rang softly, its clear and melodious sound like a cheerful little bird singing.
Upon hearing the signal, he stood up instantly like an arrow released from a bow, his movements as swift as lightning. His hands moved with lightning speed to gather his backpack, which he then carried securely on his broad shoulders. He then left the classroom at top speed, speeding towards the SSS headquarters.
Just ten minutes earlier, his communication device had suddenly emitted an urgent beep. He looked down and saw a striking message on the screen: "Emergency mission, team members with temporary missions outside, please return immediately!" This message made his heart tighten; he knew the seriousness and urgency of the situation.
Without hesitation, he dropped everything he was doing, ran out of the school, and used his superhuman speed to jump onto the roof of a house in London. He then used this speed to traverse between buildings and urgently head to the SSS headquarters.
Six minutes later, Ming nervously and quickly stepped into the underground training room of the SSS headquarters, only to find that the once lively training room was now unusually quiet, and the team members who were training harmoniously had all disappeared, leaving only silence.
"Senior Fildo? Senior Lifara? Senior Helarim..." After looking around to make sure no one was there, she called out, but there was no response. Then she noticed that there seemed to be someone in the command room, so she went over to check.
Pushing open the door to the command center, I saw more than 30 SSS team members who had rushed back anxiously sitting at tables with solemn expressions. An emergency video communication was displayed on the large screen in front of them.
Seeing this, Ming glanced at the solemn-looking team members around him, then subconsciously found a conference table in the last row and sat down inconspicuously.
On the huge screen in front, a man dressed in a suit and tie, with a serious and solemn expression, was sitting in a spacious area.
This person was a high-ranking official directly under the SSS headquarters. He sat upright with a serious expression, seemingly discussing something very important.
"Just as Princess Anslila Doom Elijah of the United Kingdom just said, in the urgent mission she issued to us, there was a threatening letter from the notorious magic equipment criminal organization [Human Transformation] Htn in the United States, a declaration of intimidation that they would take away all the children in the Soldoffrey Orphanage under her name."
"We, the SSS, have been appointed by Her Highness the Queen to work with several powerful magicians dispatched by DEM to ensure the safety of those children," the high-ranking official continued solemnly.
When Ke Ming heard the name of the Soldofrei Orphanage, his expression turned serious. In his extraordinary mind, he quickly recalled the name of the orphanage that Fildo had taken him there last time.
"Ah! This is...that place, wait...where's Fei Erduo!" Ming, realizing what was happening, quickly scanned the room and found that Fei Erduo wasn't even sitting there.
"This mission is extremely dangerous. Htn will capture anyone with magical talent and modify their body. If you are captured by them, you will be doomed. Therefore, the team members we have selected here are all strong members who have been discussed and approved by DEM and the higher-ups. The remaining members will search around London to provide intelligence to the main force."
"Now, I will announce the list of personnel involved in this operation." The high-ranking officer looked at the crowd below, his voice cold and stern, interrupting Ming's thoughts as he was pondering.
"They are Helarim, the most versatile member of the SSS; Lifara, a powerful magician in the SSS known for her aggressive attacks; and finally, Corporal Klein, the strongest new recruit in the SSS. The five of them will go with the instructors to the Erdofrey Orphanage to meet with the members of DEM!" The high-ranking officer spoke from above.
“Klein… Corporal, do soldiers of my rank have to go?” Ming’s expression was initially puzzled, but then he recalled the discussions with the DEM high command earlier. The image of an old woman with green hair came to mind, and he felt that it was related to this person’s secret vote for him.
'Well, if this really is related to that old woman, then it's a good deed he hasn't done in a long time. Otherwise, I'd have to figure out a way to break away from the group and deal with the Htn organization under a different identity without being noticed... But human experimentation? That should be her specialty, right... Oh well, never mind, I'll find her at the coffee shop later.'
After realizing that it might be related to Möbius, Ming decided to ask her later.
After the meeting, while organizing his equipment, Ming went to see Horim and Lifara, two seniors who were usually close to Fildo.
"Heralim-senpai, Lifara-senpai." Ming slowly walked out of the men's combat training room and called out in the women's combat training room.
"Oh? It's Klein! What do you need us for?" Horim, who was prepared first, came out with a puzzled look upon hearing Ming's voice.
"Little brother Klein, did you come to see us about Fildo?" Lifara asked softly as she stepped out of the room.
Ming nodded and voiced his question.
“Feldor didn’t come today. She said she had something to take care of at home and asked for leave,” Horalim replied. “What’s wrong, little Klein? Why are you suddenly asking about her?”
Ming frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then asked the two of them:
"It's nothing... I was just curious. After all, he's a senior who usually takes good care of me. I'm sorry for taking up your time to organize your equipment."
"It's alright, it's alright. If little Klein really wants to apologize, he can just treat us to a meal after the mission is over~" Horarim said cheerfully, like an older sister. Then she turned around to continue organizing her equipment.
Seeing that the two seniors in front of her seemed unaware when they heard the attack site was the Erdofrey Orphanage, Ming felt something was amiss. Just as she was about to go back inside to organize her equipment, she asked:
"...Speaking of which, when Senior Fierdo was in the military, did she ever share any information about her family with you? After all, you all came from the same military."
“No, although we have a good relationship, we don’t pry into each other’s family matters,” Horalim replied.
After listening, Ming nodded thoughtfully.
"To be precise, Fildo joined the army as a special recruit of magicians from the civilian population a year after we started training her. They just got along well and had common topics," Lifara added.
"Maybe she has some unspeakable reason," Ming muttered unconsciously, lowering his head. Then, a strange thought crossed his mind: 'Wait, why should I care? What does her and the orphanage have to do with me? I'm not exactly a pushover anyway...'
With that thought in mind, Ming slowly left the door of the women's combat preparation room, returned to his own side, casually prepared a set of [standard flight suit], and came out.
Five minutes later, with the announcement from the base, Ming and the remaining magicians activated their optical camouflage devices and flew to the Erdoffrey Orphanage.
Ming flew to the Erdofley Orphanage with the other magicians. They landed in front of a gate that resembled a church, surrounded by members of the DEM organization, who had also recently arrived.
"Hey, it's the SSS unit. Captain, what do you think of the rest of them besides the instructors?" Before the SSS members landed, a DEM magician with long brown hair whispered to the leader next to him.
"Monica, please don't cause trouble at this time, otherwise, the board of directors will be in big trouble, and you'll be partly responsible for the deterioration of relations between the two sides~" The purple-haired woman leading the team replied with a smile, her eyes narrowed.
After landing, the purple-haired woman leading the group immediately went forward to greet the SSS instructor who was also leading the group.
“Nice to meet you, instructor. I am the team leader magician sent by DEM. Scáthach Rilff is the 16th ranked high magician in the world.”
"Nice to meet you. I'm the instructor leading the SSS unit this time. Just call me Lind Kemig." The instructor introduced himself concisely.
The two sides then shook hands briefly before leading their respective troops into the orphanage.
As soon as they entered, they saw a young girl in a long blue dress with a head of golden hair. Her beautiful, sapphire-like eyes were blinking, and she looked to be only about 12 years old. This girl was none other than Princess Anslira Doom Elijah, the second princess of England. She walked with light steps, like a blooming flower, to the leaders of the two groups.
"Nice to meet you both. I am Princess Anslila Doom Elijah, the second princess of England, seeking your assistance." She gently grasped the hem of her skirt and bowed slightly to the leaders of both sides, appearing very approachable.
“It is a great honor to meet you, Your Highness.” Scáthach and Lind simultaneously gave Anslira a noble gentleman’s bow, and gestured for the others behind them to kneel on one knee in respect.
As someone who had been instilled with gentlemanly manners by Takeichiro since childhood, Ming was the first to kneel down on one knee. Then, glancing at Princess Anslila who was smiling in front of him, he felt that there was something strange about her expression, but it seemed like nothing at all.
"Please follow me, everyone." Princess Anslila said, then turned and led everyone into the orphanage.
As soon as Anslila stepped through the orphanage gates, a group of children, their faces filled with panic and unease, rushed forward and surrounded her tightly. They chattered excitedly, their faces beaming with innocent smiles, as if they had forgotten all their troubles and worries. The children surrounded Anslila, laughing and talking, full of energy and enthusiasm.
However, when Anslila smiled and waved to them, the children immediately quieted down and stepped aside to make way. She gently told them not to be afraid, that everything would be alright. Then, she led them slowly towards the basement at the deepest part of the orphanage.
The entrance to the basement was hidden in a secluded corner. Inside, there was only a simple table with a letter on it that read "Human Transformation."
Scáthach and Lind immediately rushed forward to examine the scene upon entering, their expressions turning serious.
“This is indeed a letter from those lunatics at Htn!” The two men said, their expressions growing increasingly serious.
Upon seeing this, Ming slightly moved his blindfold and, using the fact that sheep have better eyesight than humans, saw the contents of the letter.
"My dear Princess and children: I am Dr. Salestio, the head of Htn. Tonight, I will be leading these outstanding children to become the growth fuel for the greatest [Manifestation Device] in history. Please do your part!"
The handwriting was neat and precise, but the contents of the letter were no less insane than his master's, making Ming's expression uneasy.