Colonia Storm Tour

You Huazhi said excitedly, while trying to break free from Lin Haiyuan's hand that was holding her right shoulder.

“If she had even the slightest intention to kill you, you wouldn’t even have had the chance to be captured by me alive. Look at her, she’s just quietly watching you without making a move. Rowan, greet her.”

Lin Haiyuan gave the order.

"Ah."

Luo Wen nodded and introduced himself to Youhua Zhizi: "Nice to meet you. My name is Luo Wen, and my Japanese name is Yulin Otonashi. I am a second-year student majoring in linguistics at Kagoshima International University. Please take care of me."

After introducing himself, Rowan gave a standard 30-degree bow—a gesture of sincerity and apology.

"Huh!?"

Gardenia met an elf who politely bowed to her and introduced himself. She had always been told that elves were irrational, wanton, and heinous beings who killed and destroyed the world at will.

At this moment, she was struck by an impact no less than that of Mars colliding with Earth. In that instant, Hua Zhizi felt that it would be far more plausible for the aliens to stop their war because of Lin Mingmei's song "Do You Remember Love?"

However, the horse-breeches screw is ultimately an animation, while the elf's polite self-introduction is reality. This extraordinary scene completely stunned Youhua Zhizi.

An elf introducing itself to humans in a friendly manner?! It even knows how to bow 30 degrees?! It has both Chinese and Japanese names?! And it seems quite docile and obedient?!

"Crazy, everyone's gone mad... This is insane! Am I the one who's gone mad, or is the spirit mad?! Is this definitely a substitute attack?! These are the questions that have been swirling in Gardenia's mind, questions she hasn't been able to answer."

Lin Haiyuan watched with great interest as Youhua Zhizi appeared to be having a mental breakdown. He knew exactly what Youhua Zhizi was thinking.

Oh, so you even know to think this is a substitute attack? Lin Haiyuan's smile grew even brighter.

"Uh, Chief Lin... you'd better hurry up and say something, she looks like she's about to collapse."

Rowan realized that it was not good for Gardenia to continue in this state, and that it looked very pitiful.

"It's only when things completely collapse that we can rebuild our worldview... Never mind, I know you're soft-hearted and feel sorry for her."

Lin Haiyuan stretched out his left hand and waved it in front of Youhua Zhizi's dazed eyes. The mental power that seeped in with the movement immediately helped Youhua Zhizi get out of that mental breakdown state.

"Why...why?!"

After the breakdown, Hua Zhizi became excited and took the initiative, grabbing Lin Haiyuan's shoulders with both hands and questioning him sharply.

It looks like a girlfriend confronting a boyfriend who's dumping her for another woman.

"Why do you make me sound like a jerk who dumped you as his girlfriend? Why ask others questions first?"

Lin Haiyuan used his left hand to push away the hands that Hua Zhizi had grabbed on his shoulders.

"Oh, I was just about to say the first part of that sentence," Luo Wen thought to himself.

Lin Haiyuan's words immediately dampened Hua Zhizi's excitement, and she calmed down. However, she still became excited when it came to the question she wanted to ask.

"Why...why can the elves talk and communicate properly with people and introduce themselves, and they even seem so docile and obedient?! This is completely different from the ferocious and brutal elves I've faced and the education I received...Why has it become like this? It's clearly..."

As Hua Zhizi asked questions, the conversation strangely veered towards the direction of Bai Xue (a Chinese idiom referring to a scholar who studies the classic novel *The Legend of the White Snake*).

"Stop, stop, stop. I have no interest in seeing you suddenly learn nothing."

Lin Haiyuan withdrew his right hand in a stop gesture. "I can tell you this: before becoming elves, they were also born of mothers, so of course they know how to talk to people and know etiquette."

"!?"

Gardenia was shocked to hear Lin Haiyuan's crude way of speaking.

"Does this seem like something to be surprised about? Your intelligence agencies should have told you that the elf that appeared after the normal spacequake alarm was sounded was suspected to be a female college sophomore, right?"

Lin Haiyuan then pointed his right thumb at Rowan beside him, saying, "To be precise, it's not just suspected, it's definitely an elf. Rowan, take back your spirit armor and show it to her."

"Ah."

Upon hearing Lin Haiyuan's words, Luo Wen's spiritual attire transformed into numerous light particles, reverting to her original clothing.

Rowan's appearance in her spirit form and her retraction of it give completely different impressions. The former clearly tells others that she is an elf or an angel, while the latter presents her as a gentle, obedient, and adorable girl.

If Hua Zhizi hadn't witnessed the entire process of Luo Wen retrieving the spirit armor, she would never have believed that the girl in front of her was the same elf from before.

"Just as you see, the facts are right before your eyes. With Miss Gardenia here, can you still hold onto your old beliefs?"

Lin Haiyuan also put away his amiable smile and became serious.

“……………………”

The gardenia immediately lowered its head and fell silent.

"You have to think about it. No matter how xenophobic you are, before she became an elf, she did walk on the same land as you, breathe the same air, look up at the same sky, and like you, she could feel joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness. She had things she liked and things she didn't like, and she had the hobbies of a normal girl, such as reading, playing and communicating with friends, going to school, and having parents."

With his hands behind his back, Lin Haiyuan questioned in a voice as clear as a bell, "After knowing all this, can you still regard this girl who has turned into an elf as a cold-blooded monster who enjoys killing?!"

Under the control of mental power, Lin Haiyuan's voice kept echoing in Youhua Zhizi's mind, subjecting her to a double mental bombardment of questions from both her own heart and Lin Haiyuan's.

Elves, like humans, walk on the same land, breathe the same air, and gaze at the same sky. Like humans, they experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, have things they like and things they don't. They also have the interests of normal girls, such as reading, playing and chatting with friends, going to school, and having parents, just like humans...

The elf, who resembled a noble and holy angel, did not harm anyone except for the spatial tremors that damaged some buildings. When I saw her in the sky, she was just wandering aimlessly, seemingly doing nothing. When faced with their attacks, she merely launched a light counterattack without harming any of them, and then fled.

The undeniable reality, coupled with the common sense instilled in her from the moment she joined the team, created a serious conflict. In addition, Lin Haiyuan's questions kept echoing in her mind. Under this torment, Hua Zhizi covered her ears with her hands, looked at the black ceiling above her head, and screamed in pain.

"Waaaaaaahh ...

Holy crap, that scream was even more ear-piercing than the sound waves produced by the Shadley sonic tank... Maybe when we have sonic scientists, we could consider using this scream from his breakdown as a redeemer's brainwave device? Hmm, it seems like we won't need brainwaves if we have bewildering technology, so let's not do repetitive research.

Lin Haiyuan crossed his arms and leaned slightly towards Luo Wen, saying, "Do the same thing as me to comfort her."

"Yes?...Okay."

Luo Wen nodded, half understanding, and then, imitating Lin Haiyuan, placed his right hand on You Huazhizi's shoulder, looking at her with pity.

"Let your pent-up emotions out freely, child."

Lin Haiyuan also used his spiritual power to act as a catalyst for the sadness, pain, and confusion in Youhua Zhizi's heart, accelerating the process of venting her emotions.

"Mom! Dad!"

With the catalyst of spiritual power, Youhua Zhizi finally cried out and called out to her parents.

The elves she faced were also people with parents and families, which made it impossible for Hua Zhizi, who had lost her family, to launch a killing attack without any psychological burden, just like she used to.

But if we don't attack and kill the spirits, the disasters they cause will harm even more people. It's a real dilemma.

"The unfortunate parents of this poor child died protecting her during the secondary damage caused by the spacequake."

Lin Haiyuan kept wiping away the tears of the gardenia with his fingers.

"Yes, is that so..."

Luo Wen immediately understood why You Hua Zhi Zi's emotions were fluctuating so intensely. She looked at You Hua Zhi Zi's face and eyes, which were full of guilt and apology.

"Her parents didn't die because of the spatial quake you caused, so there's no need for her to feel too guilty. Let's just let her cry quietly."

After Lin Haiyuan finished speaking, he didn't say anything more, and Luo Wen also obediently remained silent, only shedding tears of love as he passed away alongside Lin Haiyuan.

This scene lasted for 15 minutes before Gardenia, having released all her pent-up emotions, finally calmed down.

"Haa!"

A terrifying drone carrying a cup of warm water on its head ran over. This agile little guy maintained high-speed movement and jumping without spilling the water in the cup thanks to its built-in balance and stabilization program.

"Your voice must be hoarse from crying. Drink some water to soothe your throat."

With a beaming smile, Lin Haiyuan took the water cup from the terrifying drone that had a water cup on its head and handed it to Youhua Zhizi.

"Ah, uh, thank you..."

You Hua Zhizi blankly thanked Lin Haiyuan and took the water cup from his hand. On the way, she glanced at the terrifying drone that was rushing towards her with the water cup on its head. In her impression, based on news videos, this spider-like robot could only cause horrific killings. She never thought it could do such a delicate thing as transporting a water cup.

"Surprised? That's the power of technology, hehehehe."

Lin Haiyuan said with a smile.

"When I first saw her, I was just as stunned as Miss Yuhua."

Luo Wen laughed along with Lin Haiyuan. She had the same reaction when she was assigned to the dormitory and saw the terrifying drones busily tidying up the room for them.

Gardenia held the water glass with both hands, took a small sip of the warm water, and finding it wasn't too hot, immediately gulped it down. For her parched throat, this warm water was like a life-giving spring.

"Oh…………"

After drinking the gardenia tea, I felt a cool sensation in my throat, and I genuinely felt the pleasant comfort of a moist throat.

"Miss Gardenia, there is a question you must answer here, and you must make a choice."

Lin Haiyuan put his hands behind his back again.

"Ah, yes!"

When Hua Zhizi heard Lin Haiyuan's mature and serious voice, which sounded like a superior officer giving orders to subordinates, her AST-like habits immediately made her straighten up and answer the command in a standard manner.

Lin Haiyuan cut to the chase and asked, "What do you plan to do after this?"

"What are your plans after that? Of course, I want to go back to Japan..."

After saying that, Yu Hua Zhi Zi immediately realized that returning to Japan might not be a realistic idea.

"Yes, one of the two options I've prepared for you is to erase your memories of this place and send you back to Kashima Prefecture, Japan. However, I must tell you the consequences of doing so."

Lin Haiyuan's words immediately stirred up the heart of Hua Zhizi.

"as a result of?"

She looked at Lin Haiyuan with a puzzled expression.

"The Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, has already deleted your household registration and invalidated your resident certificate. If you return to Japan now, the first thing you will be doing is as an unregistered foreign resident."

Before Lin Haiyuan could say anything, a terrifying drone delivered a laptop that was already open.

"Look here, this is the result of our investigation into the cyber intrusion of your Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare."

Lin Haiyuan placed the laptop on Youhua Zhizi's lap so that Youhua Zhizi could easily see the changes in her household registration and resident certificate.

在2014年1月26日7点45分之前还保留的户籍信息和住民票后，在10点15分后就被删除报废了。

Upon seeing the records of changes in household registration and resident registration displayed on her laptop, Yu Huazhi's eyes widened immediately. As a Japanese person, she knew how important household registration and resident registration were to a Japanese person.

"Because you are the last living person in your household registration, once you no longer consider yourself dead, your household registration will definitely be deleted and not retained. The same applies to resident certificates."

Lin Haiyuan wasn't finished speaking. "And the condition for me to let you go back is that you leave behind the CR-UNIT you used in the AST team, erase your memories of our side, and return to Japan empty-handed. You say that when you, as an AST member, survive and appear before the Ministry of Defense and the AST members, but don't bring back the CR-UNIT, and can't even explain how you lost the CR-UNIT and survived, clearly having your memories erased, then in the eyes of the Ministry of Defense, even if you're not a traitor, you're at least, possibly, a double agent. Even if they don't do anything to you, they'll definitely ignore you. And do you remember what kind of life the homeless people in your neighborhood lead? Would you rather scaveng for garbage with them, or make a living by eating leftovers from the kitchen and wearing tattered clothes? Or would you choose to live like the women in the sex trade in Shinjuku's Kabukicho? Or would you go and do compensated dating like those female students?"

As Lin Haiyuan finished speaking, Luo Wen was surprised to find that Lin Haiyuan seemed so familiar with these phenomena in Japan, even knowing them inside and out.

While Yuuka was equally surprised by Lin Haiyuan's understanding of Japan, after being led to think by Lin Haiyuan, she combined her own understanding with her own and imagined the miserable things she might face after returning to Japan... Living like the women in the sex trade in Shinjuku's Kabukicho district, or engaging in compensated dating like those female students. This was Yuuka's thought about the miserable life she would face after the Ministry of Defense ignored her, did not imprison her, or tried her. She believed that she would rather die than live a miserable life like those homeless people, scavenging garbage cans and begging for leftovers from restaurants, dressed in rags.

The thought that she might be heading towards such a tragic future immediately darkened the eyes of Yuuka Yuuko, who had still held onto the hope of returning to Japan. Dark despair filled her heart.