Phil stood rooted to the spot, momentarily speechless.

The sight before her was no longer the bustling Orphanage from yesterday.

Large sections of the outer wall had been blown open, and shattered glass littered the ground. The potted plants that once sat on the windowsills had fallen into the rubble, the soil mingling with the broken shards. One side of the hall had completely collapsed, and the blackened walls still bore traces of some kind of scorching.

The air was thick with the smell of dust and scorched ruin. The surroundings were filled with the footsteps of investigators bustling about, alongside the chattering murmurs of bystanders.

Phil looked down and spotted a damaged, mud-stained box of colored pens. A few pens lay scattered on the ground, having rolled next to a puddle, it was the gift Monica had given Xiao Nan yesterday.

The Director was absent.

Monica said the Director had been rushed to emergency resuscitation, and the other children were injured as well.

As she spoke, her voice had gradually steadied, seemingly reassured by Phil’s presence.

But Phil could see that her hands were trembling non-stop.

“Last night, someone came.”

Monica kept her head down, her voice as faint as a thread, nearly drowned out by the noisy background chatter.

“They said they were from a medical rescue organization, that Xiao Rou’s condition had suddenly worsened, and that she needed to be transferred immediately.”

“Director Grandma thought it was strange, so she didn’t let them take Xiao Rou right away and wanted them to show their IDs.”

“Then… then there was an explosion outside.”

Her voice stopped, and after a few seconds, she continued:

“Mutants rushed in. Everyone panicked… When the chaos ended, Xiao Rou was gone… These are the conclusions the investigators came to after pulling up the surveillance footage.”

Monica looked up at Phil. Her eyes were red, and the smile that usually hung on her face was completely gone.

She bit her lower lip, tightly clutching the thing in her hands.

It was the shawl she had bought for the Director yesterday, but now it was completely torn to shreds, stained with conspicuous blood.

“I clearly told Xiao Rou yesterday to not give up.”

“But I didn’t do anything… Now I don’t even know if Xiao Rou is still alive…”

Phil opened her mouth.

She had originally wanted to say, “It’s not your fault.”

But those words were too hollow, as hollow as someone standing safely on the shore telling a drowning person, “Don’t be afraid.” It carried no weight at all.

So, she could only say, “I’ll go take a look first,” leaving Monica some time to process her emotions as she floated alone toward the ruins of the Orphanage.

Fortunately, in her soul state, the SAVE personnel investigating the scene couldn’t notice her. They remained completely oblivious as she crossed the police tape and entered the Orphanage.

The situation inside was even worse than it appeared from the outside. Shocking bloodstains, deep black claw marks, and shattered furniture were everywhere.

Suddenly sensing something, Phil turned toward a corner and narrowed her eyes.

She leaned in to inspect it carefully, discovering a tiny, almost imperceptible fleck of black crystal hidden in the corner.

It was wedged inside a crack; had Phil’s perception not been far sharper than an ordinary person’s, it would have been nearly impossible to spot.

The sensation this crystal gave Phil was strikingly similar to the feeling she got from the Metamorphosis Society’s Mutants earlier.

Phil’s eyes grew cold.

The Metamorphosis Society.

It was the Metamorphosis Society again.

Even after the crushing defeat at Qingchuan Public, are they still lingering around like ghosts… or is it precisely because they lost that they are plotting something big again?

The next second, the System’s light screen popped up.

Phil was taken aback; it was her first time seeing the System issue such a long quest.

However, this series of quests inadvertently revealed some information to Phil, at the very least, Xiao Rou was very important to the Metamorphosis Society’s current operation.

Pondering what exactly the Metamorphosis Society wanted to do, Phil looked around once more, found that there were truly no other clues left in the ruins, and returned to Monica’s side.

Looking at Phil’s thoughtful expression, Monica seemed to grasp at a final shred of hope.

“Miss Phil, did you find anything?”

Phil looked up at the ruins of the Orphanage.

“They were after Xiao Rou right from the start.”

Monica’s face turned pale.

“…Why?”

“I don’t know yet, but at least one thing is certain: they don’t intend to kill Xiao Rou.”

Monica wasn’t stupid either. With Phil pointing it out, she quickly figured out the logic, the other party wouldn’t go to such great lengths to kidnap a child just to kill her.

“In other words, Xiao Rou is still alive?”

“Highly likely.”

Phil’s tone was very calm.

“So, now is not the time for you to crouch here blaming yourself.”

Monica lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly.

“But…”

“But what?”

Phil interrupted her.

“Do you think it’s because you were too happy yesterday that you didn’t notice anything unusual? Do you think if you had stayed, things wouldn’t have turned out like this? Do you think you’ve failed to protect anything once again?”

Phil’s string of questions made Monica’s eyes tremble; clearly, she had hit the nail on the head.

Large drops of tears welled up in Monica’s eyes, so Phil’s tone softened a bit:

“Besides blaming yourself, there is someone you should be far more angry at—the guys who took Xiao Rou and destroyed the orphanage.”

“Do you know about the Metamorphosis Society?”

Watching the bewildered Monica, Phil slowly recounted what she knew about the Metamorphosis Society.

“…In short, they are a bunch of lunatics. We have to save Xiao Rou before it’s too late.”

Monica’s chest heaved violently, as if she had been dragged back to reality by those words, or perhaps because she had finally escaped her state of total ignorance and found her true enemy.

After a long time, she forcefully wiped her eyes.

“I have to save her.”

Her voice was hoarse.

“Miss Phil, I want to save Xiao Rou.”

“Mhm.”

“So, can you… help me?”

A hint of apprehension crept into Monica’s previously firm expression. Her tone grew uneasy, and her voice trailed off as she spoke.

“I know I already owe Miss Phil a lot, and I also know I have nothing good to give Miss Phil… So, so… whether it’s my soul, or my life…”

Phil interrupted Monica and said seemingly casually:

“Keep it on your tab for now, it doesn’t matter this one time anyway. Wait until you bring Xiao Rou back, and I’ll slowly collect the debt. You’d better be mentally prepared to be my servant for the rest of your life.”

Receiving Phil’s promise, Monica finally felt relieved. She forced a smile at Phil and muttered, “Miss Phil is really still like this…”

Phil pretended not to hear Monica’s words, looking towards the depths of the Orphanage ruins, her expression gradually turning cold.

Although she appeared very calm in front of Monica, it was only because Monica was emotionally breaking down right now and needed her to step up as a support.

In reality, her current mood was extremely terrible, and her thoughts were far from peaceful.

It was her first time seeing Monica “begging” for her help so humbly.

Judging from their interactions over the past few days, Monica was not this kind of person originally. The blow from this incident must have been truly massive for her.

Compared to a crying face, Phil still preferred Monica’s carefree smile a bit more.

So this time, she was truly a little angry…