Zane followed Rover to the Miscalculation Containment Facility. Here, the staff provided them with an important clue, "According to the records, that 'Flower Maiden' seemed to be very close to the leader of Black Shores."
"They were almost inseparable, and many past missions were carried out by the two of them together."
"Hiss!" Zane sucked in a breath. Who the "Flower Maiden" was really wasn't easy to guess.
Seeing that Rover still had no clue, the staff pointed them in a clear direction, "The Foreign Affairs Hall stores a large amount of information on Black Shores personnel."
"If the two of you go and ask, you'll definitely be able to find something left behind by the 'Flower Maiden.'"
'Seriously, why do you game designers always like sending players all the way to the ends of the earth, then kick them around like dealing with paperwork?'
'Even with teleporting, running around is still a hassle, okay?'
———
Soon, the two arrived at the Foreign Affairs Hall.
"Huh? Items related to the 'Flower Maiden'… they were just taken away by another Flower Bearer not long ago."
"What?!" Zane raised his eyebrows immediately when he heard that.
"Don't you need proof here like 'prove my dad is…' I mean, does taking the 'Flower Maiden's' belongings require having some kind of connection to her?"
Ignoring Zane's nonsense, Rover looked at the staff member in the Foreign Affairs Hall and asked, "Who took it?"
"It was me~" Before Rover even finished speaking, a familiar voice with a faint lazy tone came from nearby.
The two turned to look, only to see that Cameliya, who had just parted from them not long ago, had somehow arrived ahead of them and taken the 'Flower Maiden's' belongings.
As Cameliya walked toward them, she raised a finger and lightly swung something like a bracelet. On it, Zane could clearly see a small mechanical device, and beside it, a tiny camellia flower.
Did they even need to say who the "Flower Maiden" was?
Realizing this, Zane finally let out a long breath, the heavy stone hanging in his heart finally dropping.
He had thought his past self had gotten into cross-dressing.
Even if he starved to death, died out there, he absolutely would not cross-dress.
"What are you trying to do?"
Facing Zane's questioning, Cameliya let out a soft laugh and blinked her apricot-shaped eyes at him and Rover. "Hehe, if you want to get it, then try your best to catch me first!"
As she spoke, she looked back and gave them an ambiguous smile. Then her slender waist swayed lightly as she turned and ran off into the distance.
Don't be fooled by how thin Cameliya looked. You could even vaguely see her ribs from the side of her chest. But in terms of physical ability, she could definitely be ranked among the best in Black Shores.
"There are traces of camellia flowers she left on the ground…" Rover frowned as she thought, but her steps didn't slow at all. "She really likes playing this kind of game."
But just as Rover started moving, she realized something was wrong. She immediately turned to look behind her, only to see that Zane had no intention of chasing Cameliya at all.
She couldn't help but say anxiously, "Zane, what are you waiting for? If we don't chase now, Cameliya will get far away."
Looking at the somewhat anxious Rover, Zane gave a mysterious smile. "No wonder Cameliya likes playing this kind of game with you. Turns out you fall for it every time and play along like a fool?"
How could Rover tolerate him provoking her like that? She immediately raised her delicate fist and rushed toward Zane.
But just as that soft yet fierce punch was about to hit Zane's head, it suddenly stopped.
Because Rover saw that Zane was holding up a stack of something unknown, waving it in the air while shouting, "Cameliya, I've got Rover limited-edition photo prints here, fair price, no cheating, first come first served!"
"Wha!" When she saw clearly what Zane was waving, they were photos from that hot spring incident.
The moment she thought of that scene, Rover's ears instantly flushed red. Looking again at the photos in Zane's hand, she felt like she wanted to silence him permanently so there would be no evidence left.
But in the next second, something completely unexpected happened. Cameliya, who had already run who knows how far away, actually appeared right beside him, grabbed the photos from Zane's hand, and casually hung the 'Flower Maiden' bracelet onto Zane's wrist.
"Mmm~ as expected, the gardener understands me." As she spoke, she leaned close to Zane and started "appreciating" the photos.
Looking at the two of them acting in collusion, Rover stomped her foot angrily. Her ears were red as if dripping blood. Her clenched fists didn't know whether to rise or fall.
After struggling for a moment, she shot Zane a fierce glare, then took a few quick steps forward and grabbed his ear. With lightning speed, she snatched the stack of photos back.
"Zane! Be careful or I'll bite you to death!"
After saying that, she didn't care whether others would gather to watch. She opened her mouth, revealing her neat white teeth, and bit down hard on Zane's shoulder.
"Hiss!"
Zane sucked in a breath of cold air from Black Shores's '82 reserve. What could he say? He had brought this on himself, so he could only let his little wild cat vent her anger.
After a moment, having vented enough, Rover snorted coldly and released Zane's shoulder.
Before that, she casually glanced at the row of bite marks she had left on his shoulder. Something flickered in her eyes, but in the end, she said nothing.
When Rover looked at Cameliya again, she had already composed herself, returning to that cold little cat expression.
"You were following us just now?"
"Yeah, is that not allowed?" Cameliya blinked playfully at Rover, as if she had already forgotten about looking at the photo prints.
"When I suddenly felt like following you to the containment facility, I overheard something interesting, so I became curious about this matter."
Although it wouldn't be bad to fight her beloved destined seed, compared to fighting, she preferred watching Rover teach Zane a lesson.
Because that was more fun~
"Besides, this thing originally belonged to 'me' anyway~"
"Yours… you're the 'Flower Maiden'?" Rover didn't expect that the escaped anomalous star chart would actually be connected to Cameliya.
And the 'Flower Maiden' they had been searching for was right in front of them all along.
Cameliya's eyes curved as she smiled, as if nothing weighed on her mind. "Yes, and no. Just like you, I've forgotten everything about the past! So I can't really be considered completely the 'Flower Maiden.'"
Hearing such heavy words spoken so lightly by Cameliya, Zane frowned slightly at the side.
He had a feeling he was smelling trouble again.
"How did you confirm your identity?"
With her hands behind her back, Cameliya walked like an innocent little girl, skipping lightly to the steps and looking out at the distant aurora over Black Shores.
"Of course, it's because I investigated it before. It's just that… a little accident happened later, so I stopped."
As she spoke, Cameliya tilted her head slightly, leaving the two of them with an incomparably beautiful smile that carried a faint trace of loneliness.
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