Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 94 - 90: Chaos

Chapter 94: Chapter 90: Chaos

The two chatted for quite some time, until Daier was called away, allowing Luo’er to finally catch his breath.

His conversation with Daier allowed Luo’er to roughly understand the state of rebellion in Masya. It was simply a civilian uprising. However, due to the Earthlings stirring things in the background, the war was protracted. The rebels had even managed to push the royal army of Masya into continuous retreat, forcing them to ask for Odelanqi’s assistance.

Now that they had a clear understanding of the troop distribution in Odelanqi, they had to rush to Masya to investigate the situation of Odelanqi’s armies. Ultimately, they confirmed that Odelanqi did indeed allocate their only troops to Masya to suppress the rebellion.

The rare encounter with someone who didn’t discriminate against half-elves made Luo’er feel as if he had met a fellow countryman. However, the task at hand was of paramount importance. He had to remember his identity as a member of the advance team lest he became too accustomed to playing the role of a slave and mistook the staged scenario for reality.

During lunchtime, Luo’er found time to visit Tangmo. He arrived at her door and knocked persistently. Soon, the sound of a bolt being pulled back came from inside. When Tangmo opened the door, her first words were: "I already locked the door!"

"I noticed." Luo’er said, somewhat amused, before entering her room.

"Did you perform well in class?" Luo’er asked directly as he sat down at the table.

"I was assigned to the top class. They all seem to be magic geniuses there, but they seem to look down on me." Tangmo pouted as she spoke.

"Did you feel wronged?" asked Luo’er.

"No," Tangmo shook her head, "compared to Luo’er, I don’t feel wronged one bit."

"Why do you always compare yourself to me? I’m just acting," Luo’er said with a wry smile.

"But the hardships you encounter are real!" Tangmo responded.

"Let’s not talk about that," Luo’er sighed, then continued, "While I was working today, I met a girl from Masya called Daier..."

Before he even finished, Tangmo interrupted him. With furrowed brows and a hard stare, she demanded, "How old is she? Is she pretty? Why did she approach you?"

"Here we go again..." Luo’er thought helplessly before responding, "It’s not what you think. We just had a bit of a chat, I didn’t say I liked her."

Tangmo remained silent, her lips pursed tightly, clearly still sulking.

Luo’er sighed, gently pinched her cheek and said, "You really need to change this jealous habit of yours."

After a long silence, Luo’er finally remembered what he originally wanted to say, "I almost got distracted by you. That girl called Daier told me about the situation in Masya. Masya is currently in turmoil due to a civilian rebellion. It is clear that some nations on Earth are aiding the civilians of Masya, causing the war to be prolonged indefinitely. It is highly probable that the missing Odelanqi arms have been secretly transported to Masya to support the rebels."

"Are you saying that those weapons were sent by Odelanqi to Masya to assist the rebels? And then King Gudelv sent his troops to Masya for what?" Tangmo returned to the main topic without any further detours.

"I’m not sure. Perhaps King Gudelv was unaware of the sale of weapons to the Masya rebels. Or perhaps these weapons never made it to Masya and their whereabouts remain unknown. We can’t be sure of any of this. All we know is that someone clearly wishes to see Masya in chaos," Luo’er analyzed.

"What does keeping Masya in chaos do for those people?" Tangmo inevitably asked.

"Keeping Masya in chaos provides the United Nations with a justifiable pretext to intervene in Otherworld affairs under the guise of peacekeeping, thereby expanding the UN Security Council’s influence in the Otherworld. But if all of this is Gudelv’s doing, then what exact scheme is he plotting? After all, the intervention of Earth forces in the Otherworld can’t exactly be considered beneficial for him," Luo’er pondered.

"I don’t understand?" Tangmo propped her chin up, speaking helplessly.

"It’s normal not to understand. We’ll handle the analysis of all these things. Anyway, did you guys learn anything useful today?"

"No, it was just some entry-level magic theory. I dared not let on that I already knew that stuff, so I could only sit bored in class," Tangmo said.

"Once you are further into your studies, you should be able to learn some useful knowledge. After all, it’s the Sacred Heart Magic Academy. Their level should be much higher than that of Haiya Academy," Luo’er comforted.

"I hope so. But if we keep dragging this on, you, Luo’er, won’t be able to hold on much longer," Tangmo worriedly said.

"I’m fine, it’s just some servant work which is pretty easy. Don’t worry about me," Luo’er waved and said.

"Having you work and investigate at the same time, you seem so exhausted. Now that I think it through, I really feel useless. I can’t do anything and only seem to cause you trouble," Tangmo bowed her head, guilt evident on her face.

"Don’t keep thinking about that. I’m really alright," Luo’er said. He went over and patted her little head, gently saying, "If you are unhappy every day, I’ll feel bad for you."

Upon hearing Luo’er’s gentle tone, Tangmo felt her heart melt. Suppressing her urge to passionately kiss Luo’er, she instead wrapped her arms tightly around him.

"Moumou, you are holding on a bit too tight," Luo’er awkwardly stated.

"Daisuki!" Tangmo couldn’t help but blurt out a phrase in Japanese.

"Who taught you that?" Luo’er said with a wry smile.

Luo’er finally managed to escape from Tangmo and found an opportunity to slip out of her room. He somewhat regretted seeking her out each time. Each time, she would cling to him and berate him. If he didn’t seek her out, however, he was afraid she would be wronged within the Academy with no way to vent her frustrations.

Luo’er rubbed his shoulder, contemplating his itinerary for tonight. It was absolutely impossible to go to Tangmo’s place or he’d probably be coerced into spending the night again. Taking advantage of the early morning fatigue that all humans dealt with, he planned to head out on a reconnaissance mission. He had to figure out where the mage legions were stationed in the Academy.

It had been five days, and one night, Luo’er was preparing to go out when he spotted a mysterious figure flash past in the distance. He glanced around before hailing over his hand, taking him into a cluttered room.

The figure followed him in, only removing his hood once inside, revealing his light-colored hair.

"How are things out there?" Luo’er asked.

"During your infiltration into the academy, we had been keeping track of the city’s military movements. We have determined the troop movements in Holy Heart City, but we found some interesting things," said Cheng Ziang.

"How so?" asked Luo’er.

"The troops within Holy Heart City have been moving frequently recently. Both the Western District and Uptown District have imposed curfews. I’m not sure what they’re up to, but I get the feeling something big is about to happen," said Cheng Ziang darkly.

"Could that be due to the previous weapon disappearance case?" Luo’er asked.

"I’m not sure, but the weapon disappearance case has been over for a month. If they wanted to cause trouble, they should have done it then. Now, the movements are majorly from the Kingdom’s military rather than the Church Court’s order of knights," Cheng Ziang analyzed.

"By the way, during our reconnaissance, Yue’er seemed to have spotted something interesting," said Cheng Ziang as he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Luo’er. It was a hastily drawn sketch.

The sketch depicted a man standing still and looking around. In his hand, he was holding a weapon wrapped in cloth.

"What is this?" Luo’er asked, puzzled.

"Turn it over!" Cheng Ziang said.

Luo’er flipped the paper over. On the other side was a sketch of the weapon shape based on the outline of the weapon in the man’s hand.

"An AR series rifle!" Luo’er’s eyes widened in surprise, "How could this weapon possibly appear in the Otherworld? This is a violation of weapons export principles!"

The weapon drawn in front of Luo’er had a distinctive flat-topped upper receiver, which clearly indicated it was an AR series rifle, a design that was standardized only in the early 21st century. Although the first AR series rifle, the M16, was put into service in 1964, the subsequent improved models had crossed the 1980s red line and were therefore not allowed to be exported to the Otherworld.

"Could it be that those adventurers have privately purchased these weapons from Earth?" asked Luo’er, who knew that American arms companies would stop at nothing to sell weapons.

"Otherworlders don’t purchase small caliber weapons, haven’t you noticed?" Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

Otherworlders disliked small caliber firearms because they believed that although this type of weapon had little recoil and light weight for soldiers, its bullets struggled to penetrate armor with defense runes. Therefore, small caliber rifles were not popular in the Otherworld.

On the other hand, medium-caliber 7.62 rifles were widely praised in the Otherworld. Though the bolt-action rifles were old-fashioned and lacking in firepower, they excelled in caliber and were thus enthusiastically embraced by many Otherworlders.

"Are you implying CIA agents have arrived in the Holy Heart City?" Luo’er asked.

"It’s uncertain at the moment. Yue’er only spotted this man but did not track him, so we have no way of knowing," Cheng Ziang explained.

"The Kingdom’s military, Holy Knights, and Americans. Why is Holy Heart City in such chaos?" Luo’er couldn’t help but exclaim.

Just as Cheng Ziang was about to speak, he suddenly heard a noise from outside the door. Reacting swiftly, he hid in the corner.

Daier was the one who opened the door, holding an oil lamp as she walked in. Seeing Luo’er, she exclaimed with joy, "You’re here."

"Do you need anything from me?" Luo’er asked, bending over slightly out of habit.

"I came to tell you that the welcoming party for the new students is in a few days. We might be quite busy, so I came over to remind you," said Daier.

"Thank you for the reminder!" Luo’er bowed in thanks.

"You’re too formal, you should get some rest soon. I’ll take my leave now," said Daier before turning around and leaving the room.

"Quite impressive!" Cheng Ziang came out of the shadow once Daier had left, his tone filled with teasing.

"Why do you always like to overthink things?" Luo’er sighed deeply.