Xingtie: Can’t you just let me focus on completing the commissions?

"This lance is etched with our time. Destruction or rebirth, Cocolia Rand, it is all up to you to decide!"

As Cocolia listened to Alisa Rand's response, her past life flashed through her mind. As a child, she was adopted by the former High Warden Rosalia Rand. As a teenager, she joined the Silvermane Guard with Hilva. At that time, she and her fellow guards were still passionate and pure idealists who were dedicated to the revival of Beloborg.

However, after the sudden death of the previous High Protector, she took over the position of High Protector at a young age and began to be seduced by the Star Core. She could not confide in anyone about this situation, and she often felt powerless in the face of the seemingly stable but internally turbulent situation in Beloberg.

Gradually, she began to believe in the possibilities promised by the Star Core, and perhaps it was at this moment that the Protection could no longer be her power.

The shortage of "Earth Essence" resources is becoming increasingly large. She closed the passage between the lower city and the upper city, partly to reduce population pressure, and partly because the shortage of Earth Essence can no longer be made up for at the current rate of collection.

She was like a repairman, constantly patching up the decaying situation, but she also knew that the situation couldn't last long. The future of this city, this civilization... could already see the end point.

After that, she completely abandoned other possibilities and began to focus all her efforts on how to use the power of the star core to achieve the best result.

only……

In her plans, she was always too concerned about her only daughter and too concerned about that child's opinion.

Therefore, she delayed launching the plan.

Until this moment, until now, we have lost the star core and everything we had planned before.

"Destruction and rebirth?"

"The star's core is gone; it's time... to 'face destruction.'"

[P.S.: Someone gave it a low score again. The current rating system on FL is really annoying; just one or two votes can drastically reduce the score. Please cast your votes.]

Chapter 042: Fame and Fortune Begins Today! (2/4)

"As expected of the newcomer favored by Master Aha, he really has some skills."

Seeing that Emiya had seemingly rekindled Cocolia's fighting spirit with just a weapon that was already outdated, Lady Hanabi couldn't help but smile happily.

"However, mending a broken mirror is not that simple, young master."

"It's true that she's rekindled her fighting spirit, but her loyal Beloberg may not be so loyal now."

.......

Belloberg,

Inside the Goethe Hotel,

Having stayed here for two days, March 7th and Ah Xing have gradually become familiar with the intelligence officer, Ms. Pella.

Ah Xing and March 7th had also witnessed the situation in the Upper City, and it was indeed vastly different from that in the Lower City.

Inequality, education levels, food rationing standards...

To put it bluntly, they are practically two separate countries.

In the Upper City, there was a group of quite wealthy and extravagant nobles who lived a life of luxury that was unimaginable to the people of the Lower City. They even knew a young nobleman who, out of boredom, would talk loudly every day, claiming that he wanted to make close friends. But once he learned about the other person's situation, he would immediately turn his back on them, a skill he was quite adept at.

All I can say is, same person, different fate.

The wealth gap draws a clear dividing line across the entire city of Belleburg.

The rich disdain associating with the poor, the nobles look down on the common people, and the poor have no interest in others, barely surviving and barely clinging to life. How could they have the mind to mingle with the rich and nobles?

While the rich wine and meat smell, the road with frozen bone.

Belloberg's remains simply buried underground.

This extreme wealth disparity left Xiao Sanyue and A Xing, who had entered the lower city area first, somewhat speechless.

Even the most heartless person would find it impossible to remain indifferent to this situation.

They had witnessed Seele shed tears over rice, seen homeless people fight over a few pieces of dried insect meat, seen the children of Rockrock cheer and run to their parents to exchange rusty gears for snacks, and seen skinny children carrying small pickaxes as they entered the mining area with their parents.

All of this happened before their eyes. They were just young, innocent, and pure, not fools, idiots, or stupid, much less emotionally detached monsters like beasts.

"Ah Xing, I...we...shouldn't we have come here?"

In front of the large bay window of the Goethe Hotel, on March 7th, one can overlook the beautiful northern scenery. On the street, elegantly dressed gentlemen and ladies are chatting and laughing, but in an inconspicuous corner, poor people dressed in simple linen clothes are working numbly. These contrasting scenes made the little girl's heart clench.

"Should we go back? Shirou won't say anything now."

"No."

March 7 shook her head, not because of pride, but because she understood that even if she returned to the lower city, she wouldn't be able to help much.

"Speaking of which, Pera hasn't come today? Did she have some urgent work to do?"

"She just sent a message saying that a friend hasn't come back yet, and her sister has also recently disappeared."

"A missing person case?!"

"There should be more."

Ah Xing shook his head, then spoke again, "This matter is probably not that simple. The two sisters who disappeared have very special identities. I heard they are Jepard's biological sisters."

“Jepard, I remember his last name was Landau, right? He was one of the great nobles of Beloborg, wasn’t he?!”

"Ah."

"Wait, Ah Xing, isn't this a great opportunity for us to make a name for ourselves?"

Miss March 7th suddenly became excited, then her eyes darted around before she moved closer to Ah Xing again.

"Look, if we find these two missing sisters as sea patrol rangers, everyone will definitely accept us as sea patrol rangers, right?"

"Is it possible that we'll be framed as the perpetrators of the kidnapping? We're outsiders, after all."

"That seems to be true. How about we go find Pera and ask to join her on this mission?"

"What are you waiting for!"

……

"My sister's disappearance is probably related to a banquet two days ago."

In the mechanical house of Hiluva, Jepard recounted the intelligence he had gathered to Pera, his expression filled with barely concealed anger.

"That was an aristocratic banquet hosted by the Goethe family. Although my sister didn't like those kinds of social banquets, as the eldest daughter of the Langdao family, she sometimes had no choice but to participate."

"Because my sister lived in the machine house all year round, I didn't notice her disappearance immediately. Moreover, my sister was one of the top combat experts and mechanics in Belloberg. I never thought that any of those nobles would dare to lay a hand on her."

"...So, could it be that these nobles were the ones who attacked Ling Ke?"

Pera adjusted her round-framed glasses. Although she was extremely anxious, she couldn't show her panic in front of Jeppard, a family member. Instead, she tried to remain calm and analyze the situation.

"The Langdao family is a core faction among the nobility, and it's obvious that Ms. Shiluwa's disappearance is related to them. They don't seem afraid of being held accountable by the Langdao family?"

"...Yesterday, Lady Bronya secretly left Belloberg."

Jepard's expression gradually turned serious. Although he was extremely angry, as a guard officer of the Silvermane Iron Guard, if he were to be completely dominated by anger at this moment, it would be very likely to cause the current situation to spiral out of control.

"Today, Lady Cocolia also seems to be absent from the meeting."

“Your Excellency Pera, the current Beloborg is only composed of the noble faction led by the Minister of the Interior and the Silvermane Iron Guard under my command.”

"You mean?"

"Although I'm reluctant to talk about that possibility, we must prepare ourselves mentally now. The Spenter Marcuse case serves as a cautionary tale, and we must be on guard."

With the High Guardian missing and the Minister of the Interior in control, the current Minister of the Jackal does indeed pose a potential threat, given the current situation.

"Then what do you want to do?"

Pera's expression also became extremely serious. The situation in Belleburg was already unstable, and now this major event, which seemed to be a coup, had suddenly occurred. She couldn't imagine what kind of chaos the entire Belleburg would become if the Minister of the Interior really raised the banner of rebellion.

"The strongest armed force besides the Silvermane Iron Guards is the automatons themselves, which are the key to seizing control of the automatons. The key should have been in Bronya's hands, but now that Bronya has disappeared... we have to be on guard against this possibility in advance."

"what do I need to do?"

"While I'm sealing off the Technology Department to prevent the Automaton from being taken away, you need to find the High Guardian or Lady Bronya as soon as possible. Their disappearance is likely related to the disappearance of my sister and Lina, so... I hope you can find them before things get to the worst."

"Also, you might try to win over those three extraterrestrial visitors. They are all travelers on the path of destiny, and they should be able to lend you a hand in the upcoming investigation."

Chapter 043: We will support you as the new Great Guardian. (3/4)

"In conclusion, I hope that you two can lend me a hand."

After finishing her discussion with Jepard at the Mechanical House, Pera 'coincidentally' told Ah Xing and March 7 some of the details.

During the two days they spent together, Pera grasped the two men's personality traits: to put it nicely, they were naive; to put it bluntly, they were carefree.

Of course, this isn't meant in a derogatory way, but rather that these kinds of people seem unable to hide their emotions, and their intentions are too readily apparent.

It is precisely because of this,

After Jepard brought it up, Pera approached the two men, and after a friendly discussion, they almost immediately reached an agreement.

"The edifice is about to crumble, internal strife is brewing, and then we return in triumph with the Great Guardian... How delightful that sounds!"

Miss March 7th was probably experiencing such a tense and exciting script for the first time, and she seemed particularly excited, while Miss Star Core Essence seemed a little silent.

In general, Miss Xing is not the kind of optimist who is typical of her friends.

Perhaps because she inherited the genes of the Star Core Hunters, she couldn't be entirely optimistic about the current situation. Moreover... don't forget, the Upper City is starting to fall into chaos, and there's an ambitious person in the Lower City who's obsessed with marching troops to Luoyang and seizing power.

If Emiya were to lead the people of the lower city in a rebellion amidst the chaos, she couldn't imagine how chaotic the situation would become.

"Xing? What's wrong?"

Seeing that Miss Xing was hesitant, March 7 asked her a question. She smiled slightly and didn't say anything more. At this moment, she didn't want to put any more pressure on Pera.

As for what comes next, we'll deal with it as it comes.

……

"This is going a bit too far, sister."

In a secluded pub in the upper town of Belleburg, Sambo watched the girl running rampant on his set and said with a headache,

"If you keep causing trouble like this, Belloberg is really finished."

"Why take it so seriously, Sambo? You know me well. I don't get any pleasure from destroying anything physical."

The girl giggled as she stirred the non-alcoholic beverage in her glass, and said softly...

"I simply washed everything that was lurking underwater onto the shore in one go."

"Whether it's the nameless guest, the Minister of the Interior, the builder's inferior stone, or some uninteresting ambitious people... they all have their own ulterior motives, scheming against each other in this small city, weighing the gains and losses, unwilling to let go, yet not wanting others to live in peace."

"I gave those hyenas a little help, and they couldn't wait to give me the pair of sisters as a gift. However, the little dog was quite ferocious and lured the Great Guardian away the moment Little Grey left Beloborg."

"No one cared about the little gray-haired boy more than that awkward mother, so the awkward mother fell for it... Just like dominoes, I only gently pushed one block, and the subsequent chain reaction was just a long-brewing explosion."

"That hyena wants to lure the High Guardian out and seize the opportunity to complete the coup. The blockade of the Lower City has caused the nobles to lose too much of their labor force, so... the nobles need a new leader to win back the labor force from the Lower City and then send more labor force from the Upper City to the mining areas below to secure more resources for them."

As Sangbo listened to Hanabi recount the events, he couldn't help but sigh.

"You went way too far, sister."

"Hehehe... Lady Hanabi doesn't like watching boring mystery dramas. On the contrary, she gets very excited by those works that are disguised as mystery but are just bombarding viewers with jokes."

"Alright, old Sambo will have to clean up this mess now, sister. Let's not add any more trouble for him, okay?"

"This grand show hasn't reached its climax yet, but if you're willing to join in, Lady Hanabi won't refuse, Sambo."

With the sweet yet twisted laughter of a certain mad girl still echoing in his ears, Sangbo remained silent for a moment, then laughed as well.

"Then please come and enjoy my performance, everyone in the tavern."

“I, Old Sambo, have no intention of giving you the lead role, sister.”

"Belloburg, this is my old Sambo's film set!"

……

The Belloberg Technology Development Department is located in a closed building on the west side of Cripperburg.

Aside from its primary function of technology development, many military technologies are updated, repaired, maintained, and disposed of here. Although nominally a technical department, it is, in reality, a multi-functional behemoth, much like the Silver Mane Iron Guard.

"Dr. Changguang, if possible, I would rather not fight you."

Before the technical department's iron fence, through the high-voltage energized barrier, a woman with long brown hair gazed at the mature, purple-haired beauty behind it, whose expression was utterly indifferent, and slowly spoke.

“I have always respected your knowledge. If you had been chosen by Lady Rosalia, Berlberg would not have ended up like this today.”