Chapter 195: How Did I Fall for His Trick Again?!

"Where did Mobius and Vil-V go?"

It was just past noon at Manhattan Airport.

Ryan, carrying a pile of luggage, looked around, but the two people who had promised to see him off during dinner the previous evening were nowhere to be found.

He had officially started his vacation, flying on a commercial airline with proper approval, leaving New York without any issue.

"I don't know. I had a feeling they were acting strange when we broke up last night." Kevin scratched his face, not thinking much of it, and then smiled. "Don't worry, I'll hold down the fort here at headquarters."

What does "don't worry" mean?

Ryan felt a bad omen and casually waved his hand to dispel the bad mood.

Kevin, Mobius, Sakura, Elysia—those few could cause enough chaos to blow up a fire moth. He certainly wasn't worried.

"Listen to Mei, don't act impulsively."

"What's there to be impulsive about? By the way, aren't you being a bit heartless by not letting Elysia see you off?"

"She would have stuck with me and come along. This isn't a vacation." Ryan shrugged, and as he looked up, he saw a few people across the waiting area.

Sakura gave a slight bow, making a reassuring hand gesture, while Vil-V stared at him with a strange look, a mix of awe and disdain. Mobius covered her mouth and whispered something into her ear.

Ryan had no idea what the two were talking about, but he felt inexplicably irritated.

If it had been a few days ago, he would have tried to probe them, but everything was ready now. He didn't have time to waste on these two.

[Attention passengers, the flight to Neon Tokyo is about to depart. Please board the plane quickly.]

The announcement sounded, and Ryan glared at the two across the room, then patted Kevin's shoulder. "This vacation might be a bit long. At least one of you must stay at headquarters, no exceptions."

His words were meaningful, and Kevin became more serious.

"I understand. Elysia's fusion surgery has been approved, so she can stay for a long time."

"Elysia is too soft-hearted. She can only intimidate people, and she acts on impulse. Mobius can't control her, so you'll need to step in."

"What about Sakura?"

"I'll have her handle something later."

Ryan didn't say much more. Kevin had already outgrown his naivety. He glanced at the people across the waiting area, then quickly disappeared into the crowd.

"He's gone, aren't you going to greet him?"

"He'll be back soon enough, no rush."

"Then why did you stop me? This is a perfect opportunity to vent my frustration."

"Have a little patience. The longer we delay, the worse it'll be for him." Mobius controlled her facial expression, sighing. "Besides, this time, he's not going on an easy trip. The plan is very complicated, so it's better to let him focus."

"True. I gave him a gift, so he won't hold it against me."

"You're not going to stay out of this, are you?!"

What are these two talking about?

Sakura turned her head with a skeptical look. She suddenly realized that since last night, Mobius and Vil-V had become much closer, as if they shared a secret.

If they hadn't been bothering her, her suggestion would have been carried out.

Sakura felt regretful. She had originally wanted to take Ryan to Lion City to meet Rin, which would have achieved a similar result.

"I remember there's Hua at the Far East Branch. I really want to see her again."

As soon as she spoke, the mumbling ceased, and she saw Mobius's expression stiffen slightly.

"Is something wrong?"

"No." Mobius covered her face and quietly hissed, "I think I've fallen for that guy's trap again!"

Finally leaving the Mu continent. This time, it had been such a long stay.

Ryan was now tens of thousands of feet in the air, glancing at the sea of clouds outside the window, then at the sparsely populated cabin.

At least the Herrscher Beasts were fewer in the air. Air transport hadn't been as affected as sea transport, and it had become humanity's only long-distance means of travel.

From his observations, there weren't many people leaving the Mu continent now. After all, the headquarters of the fire moth was there, with heavy defenses set up.

They all gathered and were taken down by the Ninth Herrscher in one fell swoop?

Ryan rubbed his chin, thinking he was overthinking. With him around, there was no way the base would be destroyed.

First, he'd go to Neon and investigate the situation in Tokyo. It made sense both publicly and privately, and it was of investigative value, enough to hide his tracks. After all, logically, he had no reason to ignore the events in front of him and secretly run to Dusk Street on the other side of the Earth.

"This thing is really interesting. The two emperor-level Herrscher Beasts bypassed the outer defenses and directly blew up the central area, causing nearly a million casualties. I don't believe it didn't have inside help guiding them."

He browsed the materials. Normally, this would be under the jurisdiction of the Monitoring Department, but since Ryan liked to meddle in things, it could also be linked to the investigation of "Paradise."

So he didn't bring any assistants, traveling alone as usual. In fact, the Far East Branch knew him best.

"By the way, I also need to settle a certain someone's tantrum."

Ryan pulled out his phone, opened X message, and found Hua contact. A few days ago, she finally sent a sticker, a 'crying' emoji, and then stopped responding.

No doubt, she was mad after seeing herself being left behind, and with Elysia around, keeping it a secret was nearly impossible.

Well, better put out the fire first.

The plane crossed the entire Mu continent and then crossed the International Date Line to the north, before heading south along the coastline. About ten hours later, it slowly descended in altitude.

It was the middle of the night, and a huge city outline appeared in the distance. The city lights were dazzling, but the southwestern part of the city had a large area of complete darkness, as if a chunk of flesh had been scraped off.

It had changed so much after a few years.

Ryan saw the brightest lights near the harbor, with some ships slowly departing. He had been to this largest city in Neon before, and now it was clearly visible from the sky as desolate.

At least it was better than Changkong City. That place had already been classified as a fallen zone.

He pulled out the materials and glanced at them. The Far East Branch had worked hard, but the more they worked, the more territory they lost. Now, their defensive line had been pulled back to the Kanto area.

Boom—

The landing gear touched the ground with a slight bump. The flight didn't head to the terminal since it was already full with departing planes. It landed on the tarmac, and soon the stair truck came over.

So cold.

The cabin door opened, and the late summer wind rushed in, making Ryan pull his collar tighter. The weather was clearly abnormal. He used to wear a short-sleeved shirt at this time of year.

Snow in August? Unbelievable.

Ryan followed the line and left the plane, walking down the stairs. He saw snowflakes drifting into his hands, and then he saw military transport planes parked on either side of the runway, with giant robots rumbling down. Soldiers were all dressed in winter clothes.

Clearly, this was the result of the Herrscher's influence. The weather on the Mu continent was still normal.

Could this be proportional to the Herrscher's invasion?

Ryan inhaled the cold air. Neon was clearly beyond recovery, leaving behind vast amounts of fallen and abandoned areas. He soon saw Hua.

The girl was wearing an outdated gray trench coat, the hem revealing black tights. Her blue hair was tied in a neat ponytail, and standing beside her was a girl with dark skin.

"Carol?"

"Hey, we meet again, senior brother." Carol greeted him warmly and then subtly pushed Hua from behind, causing her to stumble forward.

"Senior brother, you're here."

Still in that formal tone, Ryan handed over the luggage. He didn't need to play any tricks with her, so he directly asked, "Are you mad at me?"

"No, I just feel like I didn't help much. If I could fully control my power, I could apply for vacation to headquarters..."

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. There's plenty of time," Ryan said as usual, patting her head, then looking up at the brightly lit terminal. "Looks like a lot of people are leaving."

"Neon is no longer safe, but leaving isn't that easy. The sea transport is dangerous, the airlines can't take too many people, and the administrative bureau has controlled the flow. The ticket prices have skyrocketed."

"Why?"

"Maybe there are fewer places willing to accept refugees, maybe they're afraid of panic."

Both explanations were correct, but when combined with the Herrscher invasion event, it wasn't that simple.

Ryan didn't think much about it. He was here to drop the bait, not to slowly investigate the truth.

Seeing him in a thoughtful expression, Hua pursed her lips. "Senior brother, are you here in Tokyo specifically to investigate the truth? How can the Far East Branch assist?"

"It's nothing. I'm just here on vacation, and to visit some old friends. I didn't bring any authorization documents. How could I have the Far East Branch cooperate?" Ryan smiled, took Hua hand, and pulled her out.

"Let's go, first find me a place to stay."

Hua didn't believe he was on vacation, but silently glanced at his hand and didn't think too much about it.

Who cares what he's up to, as long as he's here.

The three of them left the airport and got into the assigned jeep, heading into the city. As one of the world's top cities, Tokyo had a population of millions, and its facilities were well developed. The skyscrapers were packed, almost like before the war, though the streets were dirtier, with many homeless people in tattered clothes.

Occasionally, gunshots could be heard, followed by the sound of police sirens. There weren't many normal people out at night, just a few suspicious figures.

Under the dense snowfall, no one knew how long they could hold out.

"Is Tokyo's security really that bad?"

"Yeah. A large population influx happened all of a sudden, the unemployment rate exploded, and the administration is planning to clean up, sending the young and strong people out to the countryside to farm." Carol yawned. She had joined the Fire Moth this year and had fused with a lower-level Herrscher Beast's factor.

Ryan glanced at Hua, who was driving seriously, and for a moment, he felt as if he were back in the past year's sea of time. Back then, he had been the one driving, with two innocent high school girls in the car, and the streets were full of the hustle and bustle of city life.

Now, looking at the 'scenery' outside the window, Ryan slouched into his seat and sighed.

It's only been such a short time, and it feels like everything's changed beyond recognition.