"…Given how unusually complicated this situation is, we'll need M3 or Warfarin to personally verify it. In the meantime, you two should get along."
Perlica's tone stayed measured, but the underlying fatigue still slipped through.
"We're genuinely short on manpower. If possible, I'd also like to ask this… 'Miss Eyjafjalla' to lend a hand."
"Warfarin-senpai…" Eyjafjalla blurted out, eyes bright. "Is she still alive?"
"Yes," Perlica answered. "She's still alive."
"Warfarin-senpai is still alive!"
Eyjafjalla's voice turned almost buoyant—pure, unguarded delight at the confirmation that someone she knew was still out there.
Seeing that expression, some of the worry on Perlica's face eased into a faint smile.
Illustration: Perlica (whose true form is a pelican).
And with that, the conversation came to a close. As one of Endfield's key coordinators, Perlica had far too much on her plate; being able to sit here and talk for this long already counted as an unusually luxurious "break."
"…Perlica," Bai Ling said, seizing the smallest opening to shift the topic and give her a clean exit, "from how you're moving—are you headed to the medical wing?"
"Yeah…" Perlica nodded. "The Administrator's consciousness seems to be fluctuating. I want to go check personally."
"I see. Then I'll keep being the guide for these two adorable ladies?"
"Thanks. You've done plenty already."
Perlica dipped her head and stood at once, leaving behind an Eyjafjalla who was still grinning to herself.
The Administrator.
If Bai Ling's understanding was right, then that was Endfield's "main character," wasn't it?
He'd heard the Administrator was a Re-Traveler version of the Doctor—though who really knew.
Still… the "little penguin stewardess" vibe? Bai Ling genuinely liked it.
The problem was, he hadn't actually played Endfield. Everything he knew came from previews and spoilers.
And whatever the true distance in time between Terra and Tàwèi II, it had to be a long stretch—long enough to reshape everything.
Thinking that way…
Bai Ling suddenly understood why Warfarin's gaze toward him had always been so complicated.
Warfarin was a Sarkaz "blood demon," a true long-lived species. She really could have survived all the way to the present.
But Perlica had just mentioned "M3," hadn't she?
…Did the old lynx actually die?
If the old lynx were still around, there was no way M3 would be treated as on the same level as Warfarin.
Those two would absolutely be sitting together—at the kids' table, sharing snacks.
While Bai Ling drifted into that spiral of thought, Eyjafjalla and Eldera stood close on either side of him, watching the handsome young man with matching curiosity.
"…Senior Bai Ling," Eyjafjalla asked, "are you going to check on the Administrator too?"
"The Administrator… is she someone like the 'Doctor'?" Eldera asked, her tone more cautious, more analytic.
Their reactions couldn't have been more different.
Bai Ling blinked, came back to himself, and answered them one by one.
"I'd like to, sure. But we'll probably see her in person soon enough."
"And—speaking in a certain sense…"
He smiled faintly.
"I'm also a 'Doctor.'"
Not exactly a lie. He was a veteran Doctor who'd spent plenty of time with Amiya's lunchbox—just not here on Tàwèi II, where his lunchbox didn't exist.
After hearing that, Eyjafjalla nodded slowly, thoughtful, her expression soft.
Then Eldera's wrist lit up.
A holographic projection unfolded, and a calm voice came through:
"…Is this Miss Eldera? Area Four Valley needs your assistance. I've sent the coordinates to you."
"Looks like work," Eldera said with a small exhale.
"…If I'm not mistaken," Eyjafjalla added, naturally slipping into the rhythm of someone used to field assignments, "it's still Originium-related geological surveying, right?"
The two little goats began exchanging work notes like colleagues.
Bai Ling couldn't help thinking: This is exactly the moment where a cigarette would feel right.
And just then, in the Dijiang's main hall, Perlica emerged—holding the hand of a small girl who looked cute enough to disarm anyone, wearing a black mask.
It took Bai Ling less than a tenth of a second to identify her.
The Administrator.
Illustration: the "little penguin" Administrator.
He didn't know what her true "species" was, but given Terra's near-total absence of pure humans, the fact she had no obvious animal traits was telling.
She was human.
And if she was human, she was special—by definition.
"Administrator, this way," Perlica said.
The Administrator followed with a dazed, obedient shuffle—like a baby penguin trailing a bigger penguin—yet her gaze slid toward Bai Ling's side.
More precisely, toward the two little goats beside him.
Even with many memories missing, her "common sense" screamed that something about this scene was deeply off.
But she quickly turned her head away again, refusing to look longer.
A few warning beeps sounded.
Bai Ling moved first, leading the two goats toward the Clue Room.
Their situation was still too special. He couldn't exactly bring both girls back to his quarters, so this was the most practical place to park them for the moment.
Besides, this was where he liked to slack off anyway.
Ever since gaining the ability to see energy flows, Bai Ling had become increasingly addicted to connecting dots—linking systems, tracing causes, mapping patterns.
"…Eyjafjalla," he called.
"Hm?" The girl tilted her head. With her hearing aid, she could make out his voice only vaguely—but she could clearly feel the "binding," as if she were tethered to him.
"Before you arrived here… what state were you in?"
As the question landed, Eldera's posture also sharpened with attention.
The person in front of her wasn't just anyone.
It was… herself.
If you borrowed the language of novels, she thought—
My previous life?
Everything about her mattered.
"Oh, nothing special," Eyjafjalla said lightly. "I'd just finished a research task. I was heading back to Rhodes Island when… a door suddenly opened in front of me. My intuition told me to open it."
And then she'd seen everything that followed.
To be honest, it was strange.
But also… not that strange.
If Re-Travelers could exist, and Originium technology could stack on top of a transmigrator's 'buff'…
Then "unscientific" was practically the default.
"…In that case…" Bai Ling murmured.
He fell silent for a moment, then turned to Eldera, who had been listening attentively the entire time.
"Eldera—Perlica mentioned earlier that near the power-supply highlands in Area Four Valley, there's a plot of land they want to develop into a sub-base."
He lifted his chin, eyes steady.
"How about we go do a preliminary survey?"
"Eh? Senior Bai Ling, you're coming too?" Eldera asked, surprised.
"We've got two professional Originium geology experts right here." Bai Ling's tone carried a faint, teasing confidence. "I don't think there's much in this world that can stump us."
And besides…
He wanted to see it with his own eyes—the concrete ways Tàwèi II differed from Terra.
"Mm…" Eldera nodded, still sounding slightly unsure, but obedient. "Yes, Senior Bai Ling."
The phrasing felt a little odd—even to her—but she accepted it anyway.
Off to the side, Eyjafjalla smiled.
She looked at Eldera with a gaze full of quiet warmth, as if seeing something precious—something she couldn't help but cherish.
-------
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