She is not an investigator.

"Special...abnormal? We're sorry, we're not aware of that, but this matter should be handled by the local police. Perhaps you could seek their assistance."

Unaware?

If those guys weren't really so stupid they were mentally unstable, then there must have been some special circumstance that prevented the army from even realizing that the city had long since become a ghost town.

Oh no, not an empty city, but a ghost town, because it is most likely inhabited by all kinds of life forms other than humans.

"That's exactly what I wanted to say. I don't know if you've noticed how long ago we last received information about this city, but at least what's in front of me is that there isn't a single living person to be seen in this city, including the police officers who should have been handling this incident."

As she spoke, Felina tapped the table in front of her with her fingers, displaying an unprecedented seriousness.

At least for now, she has indeed transformed from a young lady into a sergeant.

It seems that her time studying at the military academy was not wasted.

"I'm sorry... but we're severely understaffed at the front lines, and it's difficult for us to attend to more than that..."

"Stop making excuses for me. Even before I got through to you, you told me everything was fine at the front. If you were short-handed and needed support, you should have submitted your request to headquarters well in advance and waited for reinforcements, instead of complaining to me and shirking your responsibilities!"

As Felina spoke, her emotions became extremely excited. Not only did her voice become louder, but she even slammed her hand on the table in front of her in exasperation.

"So tell me now, what are your frontline commanders doing? Are they just sitting around doing nothing? What have you been protecting? The cities behind us are almost completely destroyed and barren, and you're still just guarding your own gates? If your commanders can't give me a reasonable explanation for this serious situation, then I have to take action."

Felina rarely gets this angry. Although she was indeed overly emotional, this mistake should never have happened.

To put it bluntly, why do they station troops on the border? It's to prevent cities in the rear from encountering dangers outside the border, while the cities in the rear can use their own resources to help stabilize the front line.

But what about now? Such a huge thing has happened back home, and they don't know anything about it. This is no longer just a matter of making a mistake.

It wasn't until Felina took a deep breath and completely calmed herself down that the voice came through again.

"I'm sorry, but our superiors... never allow us to leave here. We haven't been in touch with the rear for a long time, but we must obey orders, so..."

"Where is your superior?"

Felina tapped the table in front of her again, her beautiful brows furrowing deeply, almost forming a knot.

If this incident was indeed due to the poor command of their superior, and if it is indeed classified as a medium-sized loss or above, then he would undoubtedly be executed on the spot.

But after the question was asked, the person on the other end clearly became evasive and unwilling to give a direct answer.

“Our commander… he… uh, we will send as many people as possible to assist you as soon as possible, please don’t worry… as for—me—he—”

His voice disappeared amidst the increasingly noisy background noise, and the radio station's frequency connection also vanished at that moment.

The Gods' Fools - Beyond the World: Chapter Eleven, Return

"The interference has been restored."

Felina sighed, silently got up from her seat, and looked at the two people who had both fallen silent.

After a long while, Constantine finally spoke hesitantly.

"At least, the goal has been achieved... but I didn't expect you to be so... forceful?"

After all, the scenario Constantine envisioned was that after she connected to the radio, she would seek rescue and assistance from the army, just as she had with Igris.

Instead of directly berating the other party.

"They deserve it; they deserve a lot of credit for what happened."

Felina pursed her lips and sighed, still somewhat annoyed.

Even if she could give the other party a good scolding on the radio for being irresponsible, all her blaming would be meaningless after everything had already happened, since there was no way to undo it now.

"The chaos on the streets has stopped."

Anfer's voice drew their attention back to the street outside.

The sky returned to its original state, and the noisy and chaotic sounds seemed to have never existed, disappearing without a trace.

Even though everything was over, no one really knew what it was.

None of the strange cases Constantine reviewed had encountered anything similar.

The good news is that there is probably no more danger on the streets now, and Igris and the others will likely be able to return soon, allowing everyone to evacuate as soon as possible.

Even though the radio conversations suggested that the people on the other end didn't seem to be in any particular situation, no one could be absolutely certain that there was no danger whatsoever.

Rather than waiting for potential dangers to come knocking on your door, it's better to find somewhere else to hide for a while and observe the situation before making any decisions.

"However, aren't they a little too slow?"

Constantine looked up at the sky above, which was beginning to turn slightly red, and nervously touched his chin.

It was getting late; it would probably get dark in about an hour or two. If they hadn't returned by then, they would have to consider going out to look for them.

Even though the streets might be more dangerous at night, they simply couldn't stay at the police station until the next day to take action.

Putting aside the possibility that their bodies would be cold by then if they hadn't returned, the army would only have about half a day to get here from the border, so they didn't really have much time.

Therefore, Constantine had to start considering the worst-case scenario.

"Ah! They're back!"

However, while Constantine was still deep in thought, Philina's excited voice suddenly lifted his spirits.

Sure enough, on the street not far from the police station, two figures were rushing towards the station.

It was Igris and Simia. Simia was carrying a large package on her back, which was probably the supplies they had found.

"Fortunately... nothing unexpected happened, everything went relatively smoothly."

Constantine breathed a sigh of relief and walked to the closed door, waving to the two people who ran towards him.

"How is it? Is everything going smoothly?"

"It went fairly smoothly... There was a slight accident on the way that slowed us down a bit, but there was no danger."

Igris took a slight breath; her body still couldn't support her running a long distance.

In contrast, Simia, who was following behind her, seemed much more at ease.

"We brought back some food and water from a nearby shop... This city is indeed deserted, but there are plenty of non-human creatures..."

As Igris spoke, she knocked on the door in front of her.

"It's quite cold outside, let's go inside and talk."

"You're right, but we also have some news to share with you."

Igris reached the door and touched the lock hanging on it.

But suddenly, at that moment, he seemed to think of something, and frowned as he looked at Igris in front of him.

Then, he released the door lock and asked hesitantly.

"It's not nice to say it like this, but you really are Igris, right?"

"I knew you'd ask that. Of course it's me, no doubt about it."

Igris smiled slightly, took out her pistol, and waved it in her hand.

This pistol was indeed conspicuous enough, and it was certainly convincing enough to verify Igris's identity.

But when Constantine reached for the lock again, he unconsciously withdrew his hand once more, becoming even more conflicted.

"What's wrong…?"

"No...it's nothing, it's just that I always feel..."

Something feels off.

He couldn't explain why, since the two people in front of him were almost the same as when they left, except that the two had brought back more supplies.

Their conversation was normal, and nothing unusual happened, but a voice kept lingering in Constantine's mind, warning him not to open the door.

This is why he is confused. He doesn't know what to do or who to believe—the vague voice in his mind or Igris in front of him.

"...I'm sorry, I still cannot confirm your identity."

Constantine took a deep breath, took a small step back, and looked at Igris with a serious expression.

“You need some…more profound proof to prove that you are indeed Igris.”

"Constantine?"

Felina approached Constantine with some confusion, her brows furrowing in displeasure.

“She has proven her identity. I don’t believe anything can really imitate her to this extent, not even Simia.”

Simia shrugged and scoffed dismissively.

"It's alright. Excessive caution does help you survive, although it does show that you're cowardly."

"..."

Igris rolled her eyes at Simia, who was making sarcastic remarks beside her. Seeing the latter turn her head away and pretend not to say anything, she looked at Constantine in front of her with some trouble.

"Of course I'd love to prove my authenticity... but I don't know how to gain your trust."

“…Igris possesses some special abilities that ordinary people don’t have. Could you try demonstrating them?”

Igris blinked, smiled, and nodded.

"of course can."

The next moment, her face was completely wrapped in layers of bandages.

"Is it okay now?"

"It really is you... I'm sorry, I was being too suspicious."

Constantine finally breathed a sigh of relief, took the initiative to pull the lock, and opened the tightly closed door.

"Thank you... I'm freezing to death."

Finally, Igris and Simia successfully entered the police station, enjoying the warm temperature inside and letting out a sigh of relief.

After all, it is indeed quite cold outside.

The Gods' Fools - Beyond the World: Chapter Twelve, What I Like...

"Although you've only just returned, I still have something to inform you."

Constantine locked the door again, gathered everyone together, and spoke earnestly.

"We need to evacuate temporarily. While you were away, Felina successfully contacted the army radio and requested assistance. She's expected to arrive in about half a day, but we can't be sure of their stance..."