Taking advantage of the fact that no one was home, Jun'an went to retrieve Qizi's computer and sent her a message, letting her know he would borrow it for a bit. He then began to search online for some necessary information.
Although only a year had passed, the experience of overcoming the cataclysm was a significant event, and the world should have undergone considerable changes.
Jun'an first searched for keywords related to the "Finality" and "Collapse."
When Otto abdicated, he had already announced the existence of the Great Collapse to the world. Coupled with the Stigmata Project, which led humanity into a state of slumber and caused spatial chaos, the term "Collapse" was used by Destiny to gloss over these situations, so its popularity remained quite high.
However, the information on the internet was a mixed bag, filled with numerous false reports. For example, occasional strange noises at home, ghostly apparitions in the city, and claims that one could see someone eating potato chips on the moon through a telescope were all considered by many to be shadows of the Collapse.
Some online bloggers had begun to investigate the Collapse, but regrettably, they either found nothing or received warnings from Destiny, resulting in a spike in their popularity.
In summary, as the Collapse energy was gradually attracted by Kiana from the moon, the amount of Collapse energy on Earth was diminishing. There hadn't been a single incident of an emperor-level Collapse beast emerging.
Compared to the global panic caused by Otto awakening Sirin, which led to frequent cataclysms and the need to confront several Herrschers within a year, life now could indeed be described as unusually peaceful. Even in Europe, a relatively tranquil region, the Collapse was treated as nothing more than urban legends, mere fodder for conversation.
It seemed that Destiny had also made some information about the Collapse public, even starting to include it in textbooks, though it had yet to be released.
Of course, writing about it in detail was quite difficult; the content was inherently complex, not only involving the primary battlegrounds against the Herrschers but also featuring many Valkyries who bled in battle against one Collapse after another.
It was indirect but notable that Jun'an's presence was mentioned in almost every major Collapse, which necessitated some embellishment in the descriptions of the battles against the Collapse.
Using Qizi's permissions, Jun'an accessed a draft version of the unpublished textbook from Saint Freya Academy, where it noted that during his confrontation with the Thousand Herrscher, he found the Herrscher's ability to enter the Control Theater at any moment too troublesome, resulting in heavy losses for the Entropy forces in North America.
As a result, the captain of the Huberian employed a clever strategy, using the powers of the Herrscher of Void to inject the essence of all things from Earth into the Control Theater, successfully forcing most of the Control Herrschers out.
This segment was indeed documented in the historical records of the battle against the Collapse. However, textbooks are meant for teaching, so naturally, only the better parts were chosen for writing. After revision, this part was summarized and glossed over.
By the time of the third revision, it seemed that Jun'an's frequent appearances, as one of the main forces and commanders against the Collapse, necessitated further embellishments to his character.
However, Jun'an noticed that descriptions of other Valkyries were often filled with grandiose praise of their might and fearlessness in the face of strong enemies, while his own portrayal repeatedly emphasized how he struck fear into his foes. Overall, he was depicted as a ruthless general akin to Bai Qi.
To be honest, Jun'an really wanted to complain about how the textbook authors treated a major contributor to the battle against the Collapse, portraying him so brutally. After all, he had shielded the world from a devastating blow. Unfortunately, the textbook didn't seem to cover that part.
Jun'an spent the entire morning studying the historical textbooks, and just then, Qizi and Theresa returned with new clothes and daily necessities.
Jun'an closed the computer and asked,
"You came back at the right time; I have something I want to ask you."
"What is it, Captain?"
Theresa and Qizi set down the clothes they had bought for Jun'an.
"You didn't find anything inappropriate on Qizi's computer, did you?"
"This one is for work; I haven't found anything interesting yet," Jun'an said, getting straight to the point. "I want to ask if you have any clues about the person who tried to kill me."
The current mission given by the system was to find out who had killed him back then and figure out a way to eliminate that person.
This aligned perfectly with Jun'an's thoughts, considering that this individual was an enemy of explosive-level threat, clearly the kind of antagonist that emerged after defeating the first ultimate villain, potentially on the same level as the Finality.
Unfortunately, during the year he had been away, the production team hadn't finished the storyline for him. All he knew was that after the Collapse ended, in the second year, Herrscher of Reason, Seele, sped through to the Quantum Sea, while Fu Hua and a few other Valkyries confronted Otto. In the end, it all culminated in a classic cliffhanger, marking the end of Jun'an's vacation.
Currently, Jun'an had some intel, but it was minimal.
Theresa pondered for a moment, her expression turning serious. "After all, it was an attack aimed directly at Earth, so we've been investigating this matter for quite a while. However, even with the use of the Second God Key, we can only ascertain that the attack originated from deep within the Quantum Sea. It seems that the original target was to force Kiana, who hadn't fully become the Finality, to act and kill her, but the captain intercepted it in advance."
Qizi sat down next to Jun'an and added, "We have not ceased our investigation into the mastermind behind this, but unfortunately, it seems to have vanished without a trace afterward, much like a natural phenomenon, leaving us with no leads."
"Captain, as the only victim of that attack, didn't you discover anything?" Jun'an shook his head. Currently, the only enemy that fit the criteria was a certain entity: SA.
However, given the vastness of the Mi family universe, and since Jun'an's own timeline diverged significantly from the original world's timeline, he wasn't too sure if it really was SA.
After all, that person was so terrified of the Finality that she had fled from the fourth planet directly to the Quantum Sea. Would she dare to attack Earth?
In any case, Jun'an's experience as a traveler told him that it was best not to speculate based on the plot, especially since the system had indicated that even bizarre invasions of Collapse could happen in this world, making the appearance of new enemies unsurprising.
Even the various bosses in this world were often stronger than their original counterparts by a factor of two.
"It looks like we have to start from the Quantum Sea," Jun'an thought of the Eye of Abyss, the most direct connection between Earth and the Quantum Sea. "Who is currently in charge of the Eye of Abyss?"
"Cocolia," Qizi replied. "Unfortunately, because I had her handle some accumulated work from the Eastern Branch yesterday, she left in the middle of the night. Otherwise, you could have gone to find her directly."
"Then I'll wait a while," Jun'an wasn't in a hurry to find someone. After all, the enemy was at least of explosive-level threat. Although he had basic attributes from the system that could reach A-rank, he was still far from being explosive-level. It would be prudent to focus on leveling up first.
"By the way, here's your phone and wallet. Qizi and I picked these out for you." Qizi handed Jun'an a phone and a leather wallet. "Your ID and bank card are all in there. I also deposited the salary you earned and your share of the inheritance."
It was impressive that, as the current manager of the Eastern Branch, she could sort out matters related to his identity so quickly.
"Thanks! I'll change into some proper clothes." Jun'an stood up, preparing to take off Qizi's clothes and put on something more suitable for meeting people.
"By the way, which room is mine? It's been so long since I returned to the Eastern Branch that I can't quite remember." Ever since he defected from Destiny, Jun'an hadn't returned to his room in the Eastern Branch, and it was becoming hazy in his memory.
"Captain, why do you need to go to another room to change?" Theresa suddenly grabbed Jun'an's hand.
"Huh?" Jun'an responded in surprise, noticing the glint of amusement in her eyes. He admired the *desire* of a legally questionable loli in her forties. Lowering his gaze, he whispered, "But Qizi is still here."
However, his words were overheard by Qizi, who immediately leaned over, observing him up close. Her chest was only slightly smaller than Jun'an's head in its current form, and it was incredibly soft.
Qizi leaned in close to Jun'an's ear and seductively said, "With me here, isn't it better?"
And so, Jun'an began to engage in some intimate activities right there in the room.
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End of chapter