When she returned home, it was already noon.

"You, I learned a few new dishes online, want to try them?" Tang Xin asked, poking her head out of the kitchen.

"Sure." Xu Xiaoyou nodded.

After taking off her heavy military coat and hanging it on the rack, Xu Xiaoyou brewed herself a cup of hot tea.

The warm, sweet tea moistened her mouth, driving away the chill from her body. Xu Xiaoyou felt much warmer and sat on the sofa, browsing the curtain and searching for news related to the Belvedere Station from this morning.

To her surprise, the station's lockdown was lifted shortly after they left Belvedere Square, lasting barely two hours.

Looking at the news depicting photos of the so-called Tuners involved in the exercise alongside enthusiastic citizens, Xu Xiaoyou lightly blew into her cup. The brown tea leaves slowly floated up, and the girl's thoughts also unfurled like the pale green tea.

She lightly tapped her fingers on the curtain, and more information popped out. After filtering out the news from official media, she turned to smaller self-media outlets, refreshed several times, and finally saw a video that piqued her interest, published just a minute ago by a blogger under the Note Community name 'Autumn of Falling Leaves'.

This blogger did not evacuate the station during the lockdown as per broadcast instructions, and after eluding multiple searches by station personnel, he recorded everything he saw with a camera.

The footage shook violently, revealing the blogger's nervousness, seemingly hiding in a platform corner. Slight discussions could be heard from above, very faint, involving four distinct voices, with the relatively heroic-sounding female voice standing out more clearly.

Xu Xiaoyou cranked up the video's volume to its maximum, listening intently, faintly catching several keywords.

'Corrupt Nest City', 'World-Level', 'Fifth Tier Battle Banner Master'.

Her heart skipped, swiftly pulling the video's progress bar back, revealing continuous flashes of steel clashing amid the visuals, occasionally accompanied by explosive booms. Upon seeing a white figure flicker across the screen, Xu Xiaoyou's pupils contracted fiercely.

Just as she intended to zoom in and clearly view the white figure, the screen altered, presenting a luxury goods advertisement instead.

The video was deleted; from its publication to deletion, less than a minute had passed.

Xu Xiaoyou quickly assessed internally, searching 'Autumn of Falling Leaves', a pop-up frame appeared on Note Community.

[The blogger has violated the 'Note Community Environmental Charter', publishing inappropriate content. The platform has banned this account.]

Xu Xiaoyou's body leaned back slowly, and a fully purple-black character card with Other Shore Flower patterns emerged in her hands; gazing at Angelina's character card, she rubbed her nose, striving to calm her inner turmoil somewhat.

No mistake about it, that white figure was Anya, even if the footage was very blurry, leaving only an outline, she could not possibly mistake it; that lance was very striking.

The opponent seemed severely injured, someone was chasing them from behind, launching incessant assaults against them,

Why did Anya arrive at the Star of Art, and how did she get there?

Are those people Cleaners from the Association, and why would they besiege Anya?

The speed at which the video was deleted reveals that the Eye Association was monitoring this event intensely, striving to hide something.

World-Level folklore...

A horrifying thought surfaced in Xu Xiaoyou's mind.

Anya was evaluated by the Association as a World-Level folklore. Looks like her assumption was correct, the Heart of Desire wasn't completely killed by Bai Youyou, upon revival it grew even stronger, and during the nightmarish blood-soaked nocturnal hours spanning centuries, everything within Corruption Nest faced annihilation and decay.

And Anya was likely the sole survivor of that disaster.

The person defeated and consumed the Heart of Desire, ultimately losing control under the twisted will of that heart.

If Anya was really deemed a World-Level folklore by the Association, the Cleaners besieging her couldn't be below Fourth Tier, representing some of the most elite combat prowess within the Association.

Not sure whether it's good or bad news, the character card in her hand emitted a faint glow, radiating residual warmth, as if the girl was helplessly, fearfully calling out to her, craving comfort like before.

Though she couldn't check Anya's character panel or physiological status, the character card hadn't dissipated, demonstrating Anya had escaped the ambush, shaking off those Cleaners.

The opponent must be in extreme weakness now, having possibly found a safe place and fallen asleep.

What should she do, set out now to find Anya, locate the girl before the Association's high-tier Cleaners?

But the Star of Art is so vast, finding the sleeping girl would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack, moreover, would she be safe staying by her side?

The answer to this question is evidently negative, Xu Xiaoyou pressed her temple, her thoughts gradually cooling, becoming meticulous.

The opponent would be even more dangerous by her side, their enemies were Fourth or even Fifth Tier Cleaners, in the face of such enemies, assistance she could provide was extremely limited.

Additionally, she might invite trouble upon herself, pulling her into a dangerous vortex, plus Anya's current state was out of control and extremely unstable, she couldn't guarantee she could control the opponent.

Rather than keeping a ticking time bomb nearby, she prefers to stay observant, watching the upcoming winds, awaiting the right moment to reconsider.

Xu Xiaoyou's eyes flashed understanding.

First, at least, she needs a solid grasp of the enemies Anya faces before strategizing her entrance.

[S-level personnel Xu Xiaoyou, due to your outstanding performance, we sincerely invite you to participate in the company's internal S-level personnel mutual aid exchange meeting, scheduled for today at three o'clock in the afternoon. If interested, please reply YY. — Strategic Talent Resources Department.]

A message popped up on the curtain, the pestering persistence of Cosmic Heavy Industries left Xu Xiaoyou speechless, she had blacklisted them numerous times, changed IP addresses again and again, but they could always precisely locate her, continually sending harassing messages.

Xu Xiaoyou tutted before intending to blacklist them again, but something occurred to her. After a moment of silence, she silently moved the message into the inbox.

Over the next hour or so, Xu Xiaoyou continued searching the curtain for information regarding Anya, striving to deduce the opponent's current position through scant clues, but to no avail.

A girl's gentle call interrupted her chaotic thoughts.

"You, lunch is ready."

Tang Xin waved her hand in front of her eyes: "Did something happen? You don't look too good."

"It's nothing, nothing happened." Xu Xiaoyou suppressed her thoughts.

...

The two sat together at the dining table, outside the snow lightly tapped against the window pane, while the steaming aroma of food rose.

Corn stew ribs, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, sweet and sour pork, stir-fried lettuce, all homestyle dishes, looking at this table full of familiar food, Xu Xiaoyou felt a sense of time capsules.

Tang Xin's culinary skills were quite decent, yet Xu Xiaoyou seemed somewhat distracted, her mind continuously revolving around matters pertaining to Anya.

The girl picked up several pieces of sweet and sour pork and placed them in her bowl, bright-eyed: "You, give it a try."

Xu Xiaoyou nodded, picking up the meat with rice and placing it into her mouth, chewing slowly.

Tang Xin looked at her expectantly: "How is it, how is it?"

"Hmm, about seven out of ten." Xu Xiaoyou said casually.

"Really..." Tang Xin visibly became disappointed.

"Just kidding, the taste is really good." Seeing the girl like this, Xu Xiaoyou chuckled lightly. "Seven out of seven is perfect."