In the midst of everyone's attention, Alisa seemed oblivious to it all. Her exquisitely charming face remained devoid of any emotions and it was as if she had no interest in her surroundings and was already accustomed to everything.
With determined steps, she walked towards the conference room from the opposite corridor, coincidentally heading toward Fang Li and his group.
"Is that New-Type God Eater also participating in this operation?" Tachibana Sakuya expressed surprise as she spoke. "Didn't she just join the Russian Branch not long ago?"
This operation involved not only tens of thousands of Aragami but also the Aphrodite, classified as a Deusphage Species. The danger of this operation could be easily imagined.
Alisa was not only a God Eater who had recently joined the Russian Branch but also an extremely rare New-Type. Logically speaking, such a valuable talent should have been protected by the Russian Branch and not sent to such a dangerous battlefield.
"While that may be the case, she is, after all, the rising star of the Russian Branch. Our Far East Branch may protect rookies, but they might have a different strategy here. In any case, it's not something we can control." Amamiya Rindou spoke and headed towards the conference room.
Tachibana Sakuya and Soma immediately followed suit.
Seeing this, Fang Li had no choice but to do the same. And so, Fang Li gradually approached Alisa as they walked.
When they reached the door of the conference room, the two of them coincidentally met and brushed past each other and in that instant, the indifferent Alisa couldn't help but glance at Fang Li.
Fang Li's face and posture caused Alisa's gaze to suddenly freeze. Alisa had seen that face and posture before. She had seen that side of his face.
Although her opponent had always concealed his face under a military cap during their confrontation, Alisa had indeed seen his profile.
Without any hesitation, Alisa swiftly reached out and grabbed Fang Li's hand.
"Pa—!" With a crisp sound, Alisa's hand firmly grasped Fang Li's hand as he passed by.
At that moment, Fang Li's heart tightened.
"Eh?" Amamiya Rindou, Tachibana Sakuya, and Soma turned around and were stunned to witness this scene. As for the people around them, they were all equally astonished.
"What happened?"
"What's going on?"
"Did that soldier offend our New-Type God Eater?"
The commotion spread through the corridor in an instant. However, these voices had no effect on the two individuals involved.
Alisa tightly held onto Fang Li's hand, her azure eyes fixed on his face while Fang Li met Alisa's gaze, and their eyes instantly locked onto each other.
In that second, it felt as if the entire world had narrowed down to just the two of them and both sides stared at each other, but neither spoke a word.
It wasn't until Amamiya Rindou, Tachibana Sakuya, and Soma finally reacted that Fang Li made a move.
Glancing at Alisa's sharp gaze and the firm grip on his wrist, Fang Li asked somewhat uncertainly, "Excuse me, do you have something to say to me?"
Alisa didn't answer, her gaze still fixed on Fang Li's face and after a moment, Alisa finally spoke in a low voice.
"Is it you?"
This statement left the people around them bewildered and calmed Fang Li's heart at the same time. He had initially thought he had been exposed, but now it seemed that Alisa wasn't certain if he was the intruder from last night. She only had some doubts for certain reasons.
It was understandable.
After all, Alisa had never seen Fang Li's face in its entirety. She had only seen a rough outline. Even if she felt a familiarity with his side profile, it could only be considered a level of suspicion and it was better to forget about it.
Realizing this, Fang Li was certain in his heart, so he scratched his head, and his expression became increasingly perplexed as he spoke, "Do you know me?"
Upon hearing this, Alisa furrowed her beautiful eyebrows, her gaze on Fang Li becoming sharper and seemingly wanting to see something. She also tightened her grip on Fang Li's hand.
In this situation, Fang Li furrowed his brows, mirroring Alisa's expression, and even the whispers around them grew louder.
"Rindou," Tachibana Sakuya couldn't help but lower her voice and said to Rindou Amamiya, "Could that New-Type be the rookie God Eater that Fang Li subdued yesterday?"
Amamiya Rindou didn't answer, clearly having guessed the same thing.
"This could be troublesome…"
Indeed, this was a bit troublesome.
Fang Li admitted to himself that although he was still new, the infiltrating operation last night went smoothly without any mistakes. There was nothing that could be picked out or criticized— it could be called perfect.
But despite that, trouble still arose. It wasn't that Fang Li had done something wrong. It was just his bad luck to encounter someone as troublesome as Alisa, who happened to be keen enough to notice him.
However, Fang Li hadn't revealed any flaws. Therefore, it was only a bit troublesome.
As Amamiya Rindou was about to step forward to resolve the situation, Fang Li spoke to Alisa, who was still holding his hand.
"Although I don't know what's going on, Miss Beautiful, but if you have something to talk to me about, I'm willing to accompany you."
"But before that, could you please release my hand? Your strength as a God Eater is a bit too much for an ordinary person like me."
Upon hearing this, Alisa finally seemed to regain some awareness and instinctively let go of Fang Li's hand.
"Thank you." Fang Li then turned his wrist, showing a genuine look of pain on his face, and seeing Fang Li like this, Alisa's eyebrows furrowed deeper, and her gaze at Fang Li became colder.
Finally, Alisa turned around without saying another word and walked straight into the nearby meeting room while the whispers around them became even more chaotic.
Amamiya Rindou, Tachibana Sakuya, and Soma finally approached him.
"How are you?" Amamiya Rindou asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Fang Li shook his head, his expression still calm. "That girl hasn't confirmed my identity yet, so it's fine."
"But she already suspects you, right?" Amamiya Rindou continued, "Are you sure there's no problem?"
"No problem." Fang Li smiled faintly, his gaze shifting towards the door of the meeting room, muttering to himself, "But, it seems like luck isn't on my side."
Rather, it was more fitting for a side quest of A-rank difficulty.
"We'll have to think about our next steps."
...