Time in a collapsing world

Chapter 1298 Another Kind Person

While Kiana and her friends were reeling from the story of the "girl," Bronya and Seele were also navigating the gray areas of information in their own way.

Using her exceptional hacking skills, Bronya quietly accessed some of the non-core monitoring networks of Destiny and Entropy, deep logs of public databases, and even some private information trading nodes that operated on the edge of legality, sifting through any abnormal data fragments that might be related to global anomalies and high-level energy fluctuations.

Their investigation took place in a relatively quiet café outside the academy, where the network signal was treacherous. Data streams scrolled rapidly on Bronya's portable terminal screen, while Seele looked around to prevent anyone from intruding and disturbing them.

Just as Bronya captured a fragment of data from a violent spatial oscillation in the depths of the ocean that had not been publicly recorded, a light, almost excessively cheerful voice rang out beside their table:

"Hey, ladies, you've been busy for ages. Are you looking for something extraordinary? Do you need any help?"

Bronya immediately looked up alertly, and Seele also looked over in surprise. A tall man with dark blue hair was standing by the table. His flamboyant attire, a mix of exaggerated badges and chains, made him look like a hapless rock musician or street performer. He wore an infectious smile, as if ready to tell a joke at any moment, but his eyes were excessively restless, darting between Bronya's terminal and Seele's.

Bronya instantly went on high alert, her Heavy Bunny silently locking onto the other party, her gray eyes calmly scrutinizing this uninvited man: "Who are you?"

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous~" The man waved his hand with a grin, pulled up a chair next to him as if they were old friends, and sat down. He lowered his voice, "Let me introduce myself, Sambo Koski, a peace-loving, interesting-story-enjoying wandering intelligence broker. As for my purpose..."

He rubbed his hands together, his gaze sweeping over Bronya's wary face and Seele's fearful retreat behind her. His smile turned meaningful: "Considering how hard you've worked, and that your target seems to be related to some 'special person,' I happen to have some 'scratched' information here that I can... share with you as a friend?"

“We don’t need intelligence from unknown sources.” Bronya refused decisively, while secretly analyzing the other party. This man did not have any obvious Honkai energy or powerful energy reaction, but his presence had a strange “incongruity”, as if he could easily blend into any environment and then leave at any time.

“Hey, don’t be so cold.” Sangbo wasn’t discouraged. He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice even further. “In a way, we’re on the same side, you know? You don’t want anything to happen to that ‘special person,’ right? Coincidentally, so do I.”

He blinked, his tone taking on a serious tone beneath a hint of cynicism: "I much prefer a dramatic, suspenseful story with unexpected twists and turns to a predictable, one-sided victory rather than a predictable, one-sided one. The play that gentleman is putting on now, while risky, has great potential and is worth looking forward to. I don't want it to fizzle out prematurely due to some off-screen factors."

Bronya remained silent, neither responding nor immediately dismissing him. The man seemed to know something, and his stance… at least outwardly, was not hostile.

Sambo didn't care about Bronya's silence. He touched his chin and then looked at Seele, who was hiding behind Bronya and only showing half of her face, looking at him curiously. A very quick and sincere smile flashed in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Bronya keenly noticed the change in his gaze.

"Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing." Sambo withdrew his gaze, his smile returning to normal, but there was a hint of emotion in his tone, "It's just that seeing this lovely lady reminded me of an old friend from my hometown."

He paused, then muttered to himself, "But their personalities are worlds apart... I simply can't imagine that the boss would hide behind someone like this."

Seele blinked, looking completely bewildered.

“Let’s get back to the point.” Sambo clapped his hands, steer the conversation back on track. “I know what you’re investigating. Those ‘troubles’ that fell from the sky, and that gentleman’s ‘difficult path’. I can’t go into too much detail, after all, knowing too much wouldn’t be good for you right now. But I can point you in the right direction—”

He held up one finger, pointed upwards, then pointed to his head: “Focus on the sources of those ‘abnormalities,’ not just the phenomena themselves. Also, pay attention to ‘changes,’ especially the ‘changes’ of those around that man, or those closely connected to him. Sometimes, the key to solving a problem isn’t necessarily in the eye of the storm, but rather on the seemingly calm edge.”

Having said that, he stood up and casually dusted off his clothes as if he had just completed a transaction: "Alright, free information time is over. Good luck, ladies. Hopefully, the script will still be rewritten for the better when we meet next time."

Before Bronya could ask anything more, Sambo, like a slippery fish, turned and disappeared into the crowd outside the café in the blink of an eye.

“Bronya, what…what did he mean by that?” Seele asked softly.

“The information is vague, but the direction is clear,” Bronya analyzed. “He confirmed two basic facts: ‘there is a threat in the sky’ and ‘Teacher Zijing has chosen the difficult path.’ The ‘direction’ he provided… although general, fits the logic of the intelligence puzzle.”

She looked out the window in the direction where Sambo had disappeared: "This person... is suspicious, but hasn't shown any malice yet. The intelligence is currently considered credible."

Just as Bronya and Seele were gathering their thoughts and preparing to leave the café, Seele suddenly tugged at Bronya's hand and pointed to the entrance of a small alley diagonally opposite.

"Bronya, look... are those Kiana and the others? And... Alicia too?"

Bronya looked in the direction Seele pointed and saw Kiana, Mei, and Sirin sneaking around in the shadows of the alley, their eyes fixed on Alicia, who was walking alone, humming a song, towards a small private aircraft docking point not far away.

(Are they following Alicia-senpai?) Bronya instantly understood. It seemed another group had targeted Alicia, who might know the truth.

After a moment's thought, Bronya gestured for Seele to "follow." Since they shared the same goal, instead of splitting up, they might as well secretly observe Kiana's group's movements; perhaps they could make an unexpected discovery. The two quietly left the café, using the buildings as cover, and followed Kiana's group at a distance.

Thus, an interesting scene unfolded on the streets outside St. Freya Academy: Alicia seemed completely unaware as she walked toward the aircraft; Kiana, Mei, and Sirin cautiously followed behind; further away, Bronya and Seele followed behind them.

Alicia boarded a streamlined aircraft painted in her signature pink and white colors. The engines started, and the aircraft gracefully ascended, heading towards the outskirts of the city.

"Oh no! She's leaving!" Kiana stamped her foot in panic; they didn't have any transportation to catch up with her immediately.

"We can't catch up." Mei sighed as well.

Celine clicked her tongue in annoyance: "Tch, lost them!"

Just then, a flat, monotone voice came from behind them:

"With your tracking technology, it's highly likely that you'll be discovered and shaken off."

The three were startled and turned around abruptly, only to find Bronya and Seele standing behind them at some point.

"Bronya?! Seele?! What are you doing here?" Kiana exclaimed in surprise.

Celine immediately narrowed her eyes, her tone unfriendly: "You've been following us?"

Bronya calmly met Sirin's gaze: "Based on the analysis of your movement patterns, you are also tracking Senior Alicia. In public areas, there is no exclusive right to track someone."

“You…!” Xilin was speechless for a moment.

"Alright, alright, this isn't the time for this," Mei quickly smoothed things over. "Bronya, Seele, you're here too...?"

“Gathering information,” Bronya said succinctly, “through different channels. You’re following Senior Alicia because you believe she can provide information about Teacher Amethyst?”

“That’s right!” Kiana nodded, then looked dejected. “But we lost them…”

“Not necessarily.” Bronya suddenly turned in another direction and pointed to another, more secluded aircraft docking point not far away.

There, next to a more understated, even somewhat outdated, but clearly specially modified aircraft, a man who had just boarded the gangway flashed in. Despite the distance, the group immediately spotted his distinctive mask.