Collapse, the Ordinary Daily Life of the Valkyries

Well, it's true. The current situation doesn't allow me to resist at all.

But even so, my conclusion cannot be changed.

"Even if I pretend to be Shino, but if I pretend to be you and meet that child, wouldn't that be deceiving her? I can't do that."

As a result, here is the reason.

The reason why I couldn't agree to Shino's request.

No matter what, that child wanted to see Shino, not anyone else.

So, I can't go and meet her.

That is obviously unreasonable.

"……Well"

After hearing what I said, Shino showed a thoughtful expression, but then,

"It's true that from an outsider's perspective, I deceived that child. However, as long as the result is that she can stay, she will be satisfied, right? At least I think it is much better than the ending. What do you think?"

Miscellaneous: sikao

But one must be quite observant to notice that this family is trying hard to pretend to be an extremely ordinary family and to avoid conspicuous low-key life.

In reality, they were extremely careful not to draw attention to their actions. Their daughter would never leave the house during school hours, and the front door, unbeknownst to the caretaker, had been fitted with several extra, secure locks. They chose this room because it was deserted at night and close to the emergency exit. There were restaurants on the first floor, and the area outside was bustling with people late at night. If someone attempted to break in, the chances of it going unnoticed were slim.

Weekends were a chance to go out openly. Even if the three of them walked together, no one would be suspicious. Important topics were often discussed during seemingly ordinary morning walks, as conversations in the apartment could be eavesdropped at any time.

"So, what do you say, Sono-sama? Have you decided on Luka's hiding place?"

Sister Takahashi asked Kanzaki.

"Director Yuan said they're selecting a specific target. This matter still needs preparation. We should be patient and wait and see how far those guys have investigated."

Kanzaki muttered, cigarette in hand. He was responsible for gathering information and making connections.

Yao walked, his mind focused on the earth beneath his feet. Spring was approaching. Perhaps it was an illusion, but the earth felt soft and moist. The crisp morning sun cast a clear shadow on his small figure, following behind him.

Smelling the scent of spring from afar.

Despite her self-restraint and efforts to actively block out most of the smells, the chemicals emitted from factories, the dust raised by community demolition projects, the flowing river water, and the smell emanating from the grass on the embankment all irritated her nose vividly and strongly.

Although she has long been accustomed to her superior sense of smell, when she walks outdoors, the multitude of chaotic and complex smells sometimes still makes her feel confused and at a loss.

The world seemed to come at her like a huge wave, overwhelming her and suddenly pouring into her heart. The moment she realized this, she fell into a slight panic as if she was swallowed by the wave.

She always felt that she could vaguely smell her own blood and felt a feeling close to despair.

The petite Haruka recently began her period. This fact has left her feeling melancholic—she feels she's in a state of flux. Before, she was simply a clever, frightening, and lively child. At one point in her life, she was imbued with qualities close to both God and Satan, and she was content with that. However, now she feels like she's transforming into something else—a "woman."

She had learned from various books and papers that children with unusual abilities could be prone to unexpected accidents once they reached puberty.

Haruka was terrified at the thought of what would happen to her as her body began to change and her secondary sexual characteristics began to develop. What would become of her abilities? What would she become?

Haruka stared at the small dandelions swaying at her feet.

The small stone bounced up and hit the skirt.

Ok?

Yao suddenly stopped.

The small stones fell to the ground with a "click".

What happened just now?

"Did you successfully annihilate the Japanese branch of 'ZOO'?"

Sister Takahashi's voice brought Haruka back to reality.

Haruka always felt that Mieko's figure, shaking violently due to the impact of the bullet, reappeared vividly in front of her eyes.

Her mind seemed to turn bright red, and Haruka blinked hard.

The night after the thrilling gunfight, the nuns were selling cookies with a smile on their faces as if nothing had happened. Haruka was puzzled by their appearance.

Sacred Heart Garden greeted the morning as usual, welcoming customers who had come from far and wide to buy Christmas cookies. The nuns explained the damage from the shooting as the result of a midnight storm, and a large number of businesses rushed to repair it. The damage was repaired before New Year's Eve, and no one mentioned the obvious traces of gunfire. She was well aware of the enormous scale and terrifying nature of the "ZOO" organization, but this unknown organization, which stood in opposition to it, seemed to have an equally powerful influence. As for its organizational structure, how and when it was founded, Haruka was not particularly interested. She now existed in this way, and so did Alexander. Now targeted by "ZOO," her father entrusted the organization with his protection. In short, she had to survive. For her, this simple fact meant everything.

"I don't know. But it certainly caused immense damage to the Zoo."

Kanzaki shook his head in displeasure.

Haruka turned around and looked alternately at Kanzaki and Sister Takahashi's faces.

"I wonder if we can ask Alexander to go find the dog?"

Haruka's suggestion made Kanzaki and Sister Takahashi look surprised.

After finally integrating into this chaotic town as an ordinary family, the rumor of a "man-eating dog" suddenly appearing in the ruined community is enough to make the three of them nervous.

The dog's abilities resembled Alexander's potential, and the rumor spread in the town they had chosen as their hideout. For those of them, who often lived in constant fear, it was natural to suspect the ZOO was behind this. While there were indeed many strange aspects, the fact that a human had died at the end was hard to ignore.

"It's too dangerous."

Kanzaki immediately objected, and Haruka looked dissatisfied.

"Why? You can't just ignore it like this."

"That might be their purpose. Maybe they're waiting for us to take action."

"You mean, this is the work of 'ZOO'?"

"That's right. They might have lost patience with their previous tactics and changed their tactics to actively lure the enemy out of their hole."

"Why would they do that? If the goal is to lure us out, that means Zoo already knows where we are, right? There's no need to send out the Man-Eating Dogs; why not just attack our apartment directly? Giving them that kind of warning would only make us wary. Taking them by surprise without warning is more effective."

Haruka's reasonable rebuttal caused Kanzaki to fall silent.

"Then, could it be that..."

Sister Takahashi spoke calmly.

"They might not know where we are. The Japanese branch was wiped out, and the 'BUG''s' information sources are likely in disarray, making it impossible to obtain information. They might only have a rough idea that we seem to be living in this area, but without the exact location, they can't accurately determine our location. Could it be that they sent the 'Man-Eating Dogs' out to confirm this?"

"That is to say..."

Haruka said in a cold tone.

"In fact, 'man-eating dogs' really exist. The cats and the young man's corpse were not man-made."

The three of them, seemingly a family, walked slowly and silently along the embankment. They looked like they were discussing some serious topic, perhaps the daily necessities or trivial worries that plague young families.

"You remember the doctor..."

Kanzaki chose the entry carefully and asked cautiously.

"How many dogs have been prepared for clinical trials?"

Haruka licked her lips as she searched her memory.

"Dad said that Alexander was the only one who truly completed the clinical trial. We originally planned to include Alexander's brothers in the trial, but Alexander was the only one who reported a successful result; the others all failed. During Dad's experiment, the success rate was only about 17%—but then, several years later, it wouldn't be surprising if other researchers developed feedback methods based on what Dad had left. At least they were jointly studying half of the process."

However, Haruka stubbornly refused to acknowledge this fact. There couldn't be another dog like Alexander, and that dog had clearly been used as a murder weapon, something that was unacceptable.

On the other hand, Haruka also realized the contradiction of that emotion.

Didn't you use Alexander as a murderous weapon? Didn't you use Alexander as your own pawn, leaving him covered in innocent blood? Do you think you have the right to be angry after doing this?

Yao felt a headache.

Haruka had been feeling this strange pain quite often lately. At times like this, she was terrified of her own instability, as if her consciousness had shifted without her knowing, and she felt herself gradually becoming someone else.

This feeling of uncertainty was a source of distress for her. To protect her own life, she had killed countless people without hesitation. A moment's hesitation would have meant her own death, dissection, and use as experimental material. This fear became the driving force behind her unwavering relentless fight. The loss of her parents and the long years of living on the run had sharpened her survival instincts.

However, Haruka gradually began to feel doubtful, lost, and unbalanced. She felt disgusted with herself in this state and could no longer allow herself to continue like this.

"Alexander can find it."

“That’s true…”

Haruka brought up the same old thing again, and Kanzaki's tone became impatient.

Alexander is not an ordinary dog. His sense of smell alone far exceeds that of trained police dogs. With his tracking ability, it is not impossible to find the whereabouts of the "man-eating dog".

"The police are also taking action. We should now pay attention to the direction of the police investigation. Ideally, the police will find the culprit."

Sister Takahashi had been deep in thought until then, and finally she nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we can't be targeted by the police. We have to keep a low profile and gather information. I'll also try to ask Director Yuan if there's any way I can get information on the case."

Yao's proposal was interrupted by these words.

"Come on, let's go back."

Kanzaki stretched out his body and spoke leisurely to no one in particular.

Yao stared intently at the gray-brown smoke curling up from the factory chimneys and merging into the spring sky.

*

It was a particularly hot Tuesday evening.

Although it was chilly the day before, that day it was so warm that it made me sweat from the morning and the windows were kept open.

Every day that Yao spends here is always the same, doing the same thing over and over again.

After getting up in the morning and eating breakfast, Haruka would do strength training and calisthenics at home. Kanzaki and Sister Takahashi would sometimes join her. At first glance, they seemed to lack physical strength, but they were actually quite strong, which surprised Haruka. Now, Haruka understood more clearly that the reason these two people protected her closely was not just because their looks and age were perfect for pretending to be family, but there was another more important reason.

Kanzaki was always busy communicating with others via text messages and phone calls, and then went out without saying a word. During that period, while the two of them were working, Haruka would concentrate on studying.

Her father had been her private tutor. She had completed her university general education, spending time reading and browsing online papers. Sister Takahashi would teach Haruka the economic and financial structures of the company. She would be responsible for managing Sacred Heart Court's assets, earning high profits single-handedly to maintain its operations. She believed that the knowledge and experience gained online would be useful to Haruka when she was on her own, so she let her actually conduct the transactions.

Sister Takahashi was an incredible person. In Haruka's eyes, she had nothing to do with the money game. Haruka observed this seemingly kind woman, so graceful and easygoing, yet she, without hesitation, cocked a machine gun and shot Mieko dead. Thinking of this, Haruka felt like a lifetime ago. Thinking about it now, she no longer felt any emotion, but she often felt a sense of disbelief. The woman who fired the gun then was the same woman who analyzed the market so quickly and gave orders so decisively, and she was a steady, measured person.

Morning, evening, and every mealtime, Haruka would carefully observe Sister Takahashi praying to God, and she would smile.

"Is it strange that I, who kills without blinking an eye, pray to God?"

Sister Takahashi saw through her thoughts, leaving Haruka flustered and speechless.

"It is precisely because I have killed countless people and committed grave sins that I need God's salvation."

The sincerity of these words startled Haruka. She had no idea what Sister Takahashi's past was, but she knew it well. Like her, she must be harboring the same hellish memories that prompted her to pray. From then on, though she didn't pray with her, Haruka would watch her pray and empathize with them.

It was rare for Kanzaki and Sister Takahashi to be away together. They usually adjusted their schedules to avoid being away from Haruka at the same time, but on this day, both of them had to go out for something, leaving Haruka alone in the stuffy evening heat.

Without a breeze, the three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment was as dim as a faded dusk. Sister Takahashi and Haruka slept in the inner Japanese-style room. In another room, a little over two square meters in size, there was a wooden floor with a computer and a sofa bed, where Kanzaki slept. When someone entered through the entrance, that area was in a blind spot.

That day, Haruka was tired of reading and was gazing absentmindedly at the outlines of the power lines floating in the orange sky outside the window. The hustle and bustle of the shopping street in front of the station came in like ripples through the window that was about 20 centimeters open.

How long will this kind of life last?

Haruka pondered this wearily. Every day was not only monotonous, but also life-threatening. Who knew when this seemingly peaceful life would be upended? Would she one day miss these days? When she did, would she think of them as her last peaceful days? Haruka simply wanted to know.

Yao felt thirsty and got up to open the refrigerator.

Just as I was about to take out the carton of milk, I was suddenly hit by a headache.

While feeling the pain, there was also a strange feeling of something splitting apart.

The surprise was worse than the pain. As the name suggests, I felt like I was seeing colorful sparks exploding in my head like fireworks.

Thinking back, she was mentally exhausted at the time, and perhaps she had subconsciously let her guard down. Perhaps her mind, distracted by chronic tension, had unconsciously loosened the reins that held her five senses in check.

The next moment, Ling Wu felt a dull impact all over his body.

Huh?

Haruka saw the milk swaying, and through the milk carton. No, did she really "see" this? Should she say she saw it, or perhaps it was an image reflected in her mind?

However, she did see the milk in the milk carton, which was only about 70% full, swaying from side to side. In other words, the impact she had just felt was a physical shock she had personally felt.

"Clang, clang", something fell at my feet.

Upon closer inspection, I found that several vegetable-shaped magnets that were originally attached to the refrigerator door had fallen to the ground.

It seems familiar.

It seemed like I had seen a similar scene somewhere.

Halfway through her thought, Yao made a "wu" sound and involuntarily shrank her body.

At that moment, she felt the whole world exerting pressure on her head at an astonishing speed.

It was an impact force that was like a brain explosion.