HIA Vol. 4 Chapters 26-48 (Patreon)

HIA VOL 4 Chapter 26-48

Chapter 26 The Big One Is Coming

The Valkyrie with ash-gold short hair had her mouth half-open, as if suddenly unable to speak, staring blankly at Luo Lin.

Rita felt the object in her hand was as hot as a red-hot iron and as heavy as a suitcase full of gold bricks, yet at the same time, she felt like she was holding a strand of hope, making her feel light-hearted.

But Rita, being Rita, quickly regained control of her emotions after the shock. The Valkyrie carefully pinched the ring-shaped device with her fingertips, examining it up and down.

"How... how do I use it?"

"You can use it as a bracelet, or even as an anklet."

Luo Lin gestured, "Just like those experimental Valkyrie Battlsuits and Armor of Schicksal, you can just think about it, or use the Honkai energy directly—go ahead and try it out, this thing isn't that delicate."

Rita licked her lips, her fingers brushing over the surface of the Moon Ring, injecting a trace amount of Honkai energy into the device, causing it to shimmer.

The Valkyrie realized that what Luo Lin said was true; this thing was indeed similar to the Valkyrie armor she had worn before, establishing a connection with herself. With just a thought, the Moon Ring would give her instant feedback.

But this made Rita furrow her brows. She hesitated for a moment, looking at the nearby Fu Hua.

Fu Hua looked at Rita's expression and spoke, "Feel free to ask any questions; your clearance is sufficient to know these things."

"The lady over there..."

Luo Lin glanced behind her; Kiana's room door was tightly closed, but Luo Lin could feel that the little white furball was probably eavesdropping at the door.

"Don't mind her; she can be trusted."

Rita blinked and continued, "Is this thing a product of Anti-Entropy? Such an important thing being stolen... do you need me to cover your evacuation?"

Luo Lin hesitated for a moment, but she probably guessed what was on Rita's mind—

The Moon Ring indeed looked like a technological creation of Anti-Entropy. After all, this thing was ultimately created by Dr. Tesla and Dr. Einstein, with obvious Anti-Entropy style. It was strange if Rita couldn't see it.

Moreover, the place they were in now was the headquarters of the largest manufacturer of Anti-Entropy, ME Corporation...

Luo Lin happened to be a Valkyrie from the Intelligence Department, and the work of Valkyries in the Intelligence Department was not much different from that of spies. Of course, their combat power was significantly higher than that of ordinary spies...

It was hard for Rita not to associate these things and make her own guesses:

A Valkyrie from the Intelligence Department, faked her death and escaped during a battle many years ago, then infiltrated Anti-Entropy, spent several years, infiltrated the enemy's internal structure, and stole the research results from ME Corporation—which was the Moon Ring.

Just thinking about it made Rita feel the difficulties and hardships involved, and she couldn't help but feel respect.

Luo Lin scratched her head, "You seem to have misunderstood something... but we can't evacuate yet..."

"I understand."

Facing a colleague who had made such a "major breakthrough" on the intelligence front, Rita naturally wouldn't underestimate her, especially since even heavyweight "dark zone" players like Fu Hua were supporting them in Nagazora. There must be something significant happening here.

—A big one is coming!

The Valkyrie with ash-gold short hair bowed to Luo Lin again, this time her angle was even greater, and she sincerely said, "Thank you for the sacrifices and contributions you have made to Schicksal..."

"Sacrifices..."

Luo Lin's mouth twitched a bit, "I just hope Archbishop Otto won't be too 'excited' when he sees me..."

At least don't be too harsh when activating the Fenghuang Down, sending her consciousness to the void again.

Luo Lin shook her head, explaining the abilities and effects of the Moon Ring to Rita, and the Valkyrie also didn't hesitate to use them one by one.

Honkai energy conversion, aggregation, amplification, aerial deceleration, double jump, activating White Heat... no, "White Heat Mode" required binding with a person, and it could only be activated after a period of adaptation.

This Moon Ring was to be taken back for reverse engineering, and Rita didn't have time to familiarize it with her combat style.

"Such an amazing creation... Anti-Entropy's technology has developed so much..."

Rita began to worry about her colleagues in the world who were fighting against Anti-Entropy. Just from experiencing these functions, the Moon Ring could greatly change the world's dynamics...

Luo Lin gave Rita a hint, "Don't worry about where it came from; currently, only Schicksal can use this thing."

Rita blinked, speaking with a complicated tone, "Senior, you're quite ruthless..."

So you think I killed the engineer who developed this thing, destroyed the technical data, and brought this finished product out to benefit Schicksal?

Luo Lin pursed her lips, saying, "It's not that exaggerated; it's not yet time for you to know about this thing... oh, you should be good friends with Durandal, right?"

"Yes."

Rita's expression froze, adjusting her posture and whispering, "Miss Durandal has never believed you were dead. Now it seems she was right..."

Indeed, after all, she had called Bianka from another world to assist in the battle, so she naturally knew Luo Lin was fine.

"Just tell her I'm okay, just temporarily unable to come back... uh, Bianka should know, right?"

Luo Lin's tone became somewhat uncertain.

Rita thought for a moment and replied, "No problem, Miss Bianka's clearance is sufficient."

"Okay, hurry up and complete your mission with this..."

"Beep! Beep!"

Just then, the communicators on Luo Lin, Rita, and Fu Hua all rang at the same time.

Luo Lin took out her personal terminal, looking at the message sent on it, her brows furrowed tightly.

—At 3 a.m. this morning, Raiden Ryoma was arrested on suspicion of economic fraud, and the interests group of Nagazora remained silent.

Rita and Fu Hua received the same information. The two looked up, staring at Luo Lin, and the atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Fu Hua was the first to speak, "We must stabilize Raiden Mei and protect her..."

"Yes, we must protect her."

Listening to Fu Hua and Luo Lin's decision, Rita was somewhat puzzled, but thinking that this senior was a tough person who could obtain the Moon Ring, there must be a reason for doing so, so she quickly gave up related thoughts.

What deep meaning was there in Luo Lin and Fu Hua's decision?

Raiden Mei was now a Herrscher. If she were stimulated by negative emotions, she might directly defect to the embrace of Honkai, or her previously suppressed Herrscher consciousness might emerge...

Thinking about it was terrifying!

Luo Lin said solemnly, "Rita, quickly take the Moon Ring back; Nagazora is very dangerous right now!"

"Yes."

Rita solemnly put away the Moon Ring and said to Luo Lin and Fu Hua, "Wish you both good luck in your martial endeavors! Come back safely!"

"Alright."

The Valkyrie with ash-gold short hair hurriedly left, disappearing from Fu Hua and Luo Lin's sight.

"Kiana, come out."

"I seem to have heard Raiden Ryoma's name; what happened?" Kiana asked anxiously.

"It's changing..."

Luo Lin squinted her eyes, looking towards the direction of Senba Academy.

The sky there was dark, and the cold wind was howling.

Chapter 27 Betrayal Wears a Silver Smile

"This is Luo Lin, Fu Hua, can you hear me?"

"Fu Hua here, communication is clear."

Luo Lin adjusted her personal terminal while Fu Hua, with a serious expression, synchronized the time, and planned the communication channels.

Deciding to directly follow Luo Lin and Kiana into Senba Academy, Fu Hua chose to replicate the operation she had undertaken while observing Luo Lin before, finding a teaching building's rooftop to squat on, ready to provide support at any moment.

Kiana poked at her breakfast with a fork, muttering, "Mei's dad turned out to be a fraudster..."

"You actually believed that?" Luo Lin raised her head in surprise.

Seeing Luo Lin's expression, the white furball realized her guess was wrong and nervously scratched her cheek, "That's not it, it's what you told me... I thought..."

"Raiden Ryoma isn't a fraudster; he's a highly talented research-oriented individual—have you heard of Arahato?"

Kiana's eyes lit up, "Of course, isn't that a famous robot IP? Have you read its comics too?"

"No, I've just heard of it, but Raiden Ryoma and ME Corporation really managed to create it..."

Luo Lin pondered for a moment and couldn't help but comment, "Actually, robots like Alaharto have already been created, and they even saw combat over a decade ago... they even went to the moon..."

Fu Hua, who was putting on gloves nearby, blinked, "Luo Lin, you know this kind of information?"

"What?!" The white furball widened her eyes, shocked, "Then if I get along well with Mei, is it possible for me to personally operate Alaharto? Um, maybe it's a bit difficult, but I can control some small robots, right? If not, let me touch..."

Touch the Anti-Entropy Titan?

You'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with the Anti-Entropy Titans in the future, not just in the Memorial Arena device at the Valkyrie Academy but also on the front lines against these guys... not only can it satisfy Kiana's desire to touch robots, but you can even dismantle them without anyone saying anything.

"Alright, Raiden Ryoma's arrest is definitely because some people want to target ME Corporation... look at this charge of 'fraudulently obtaining about 3.4 billion dollars in the name of financing the development of ultra-high-frequency electromagnetic field constraints'..."

Luo Lin almost burst out laughing; if this thing was fake, then how would you explain the exclusive equipment [Magnetic Storm Shovel] of some ghostly armored character in the game?

No, she seemed to have subconsciously said the code name wrong; the actual name of that thing should be [Magnetic Storm Slash], and the description of the weapon was like this:

"A katana developed by ME Corporation, the power of the Honkai energy particles in the electromagnetic field explosion can almost rival a strike from the Third Herrscher."

So Raiden Ryoma actually took the money to research using electromagnetic field constraints on Honkai energy... it really was a form of constraint technology, but removing Honkai energy and applying it to civilian use would probably give that man a headache.

And then Kiana seized on this excuse to launch a raid, sending Raiden Ryoma straight to prison.

Looking at Luo Lin's expression, Kiana gradually realized the significance of Raiden Ryoma's identity—she was Raiden Ryoma's daughter, the heiress of ME Corporation. Wanting to force Raiden Ryoma to surrender control of ME Corporation, capturing Raiden Ryoma was a brilliant choice.

"So we have to protect Mei!"

"That's our plan." Luo Lin tapped on her [Moon Ring], "But I think in this situation, Raiden Ryoma probably has activated a team of bodyguards for his daughter, right? Some minor issues shouldn't require our attention..."

Shouldn't?

Luo Lin listened to Fu Hua's report with a dumbfounded expression, "There are no confirmed bodyguards around Raiden Ryoma; even the driver who usually drives Raiden Ryoma to school is just an ordinary person, with no combat ability—the car is bulletproof and Honkai-proof, seems to be the same material as the Titan armor."

Wow, how did Raiden Ryoma get attacked like this? He didn't even have time to arrange this fallback?

Luo Lin looked at the classmates discussing nearby and the somewhat unwell-looking Raiden Ryoma not far away, lost in though.

Little did the black-haired girl know, Raiden Ryoma was sitting in a room far from Nagazora, resting with his eyes closed.

Raiden Ryoma could vividly recall the moment he was arrested. He had just finished a debugging experiment and was leaving the research building of ME Corporation, a little tired, ready to get into his car and go home to rest.

At that moment, a faint blue ripple spread from not far in front of him, causing Raiden Ryoma's hair to stand on end. All the lights of the surrounding buildings went out at once, even the personal terminal in his pocket was affected, emitting a series of harsh crackling sounds.

—It was an electromagnetic pulse (EMP)!

Raiden Ryoma immediately turned around and ran, at the same time, he drew a pistol from his clothes...

"Snap!"

A fist struck the man's abdomen, causing him to fall to the ground, curled up, and the firearm he held fell somewhere unknown.

Raiden Ryoma struggled to open his eyes and saw a huge figure gradually materializing from the air, just after this thing had given him a punch—now, it appeared from invisibility, only half of its body, a mechanical construct, floating in the air, overlooking the man lying on the ground.

"...What... the hell?"

Next, there were the sounds of approaching footsteps, and a group of people emerged from the shadows, surrounding him, taking away his communication device and remaining weapons, and then binding Raiden Ryoma's wrists with plastic cable ties, pulling him up from the ground.

Raiden Ryoma had prepared some things, but the appearance of a person named Hida Ren not far away made him feel a sinking feeling; he realized that ME Corporation had been infiltrated, a shameful betrayal had occurred, and the fallbacks he had left behind were probably ineffective under the traitor's influence.

"Traitor..."

"I just found someone more suitable to serve, Mr. Ryoma."

Hida Ren smiled, tilting his head at the huge mechanical construct floating beside him, showing an obvious look of surprise.

"What a beautiful creation, Miss..." He paused, carefully choosing his words.

"You can call it [Project Bunny], Mr. Hida."

The calm voice answered.

Hida Ren's expression was a bit strange, "It's... a good name. Let's continue with the plan then. I'll enter ME Corporation, rendezvous with Ms. Cocolia's allies, and try to control the situation as much as possible..."

The girl with silver spiral curls said, "Understood, Bronya has other tasks and cannot accompany you."

"Please go ahead."

With that, the girl left with the mysterious mechanical construct, and Hida Ren looked at the disheveled Raiden Ryoma, straightened his collar, and brushed off the dust from his body.

"Let's go, Raiden Ryoma."

Chapter 28 Rumors Spread

Just a few days ago, Raiden Mei was still rejoicing at her journey into the extraordinary world, setting herself lofty goals to make a great career for her father to be proud of...

But today, everything changed.

Raiden Mei sat in her classroom seat, staring blankly at her classmates like a zombie, as they either turned their heads away or covered their mouths, as if by doing so they could prevent her from hearing their discussions.

However, Mei's enhanced senses, empowered by her Honkai energy, keenly picked up on the conversations of her classmates:

"Wow, I never expected Raiden Ryonma to be like this!"

"A fraudster, huh? He looks like a wolf in sheep's clothing, not a good person at all!"

"I bet all of his research achievements were fake!"

"Yeah, he probably spent that money on extravagant living!"

It's not true, my dad isn't a fraudster, and his research achievements are real!

Mei wanted to shout out loud, but the news of her father's arrest that morning had drained her of all her energy.

After getting up and getting ready in the morning, she received a call from an uncle from the ME Corporation whom she knew, a close friend of her father's, who told her the news in hurried and low tones.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help your father."

Mei held the phone in confusion, feeling the vibrations of the news reverberating in her chest.

She looked at the lunchbox on the table, prepared by Raiden Ryonma's personal chef, who was standing nearby with a regretful look in his eyes.

"...Is that true? My father..."

The chef silently turned on the nearby television, where the morning news was continuously reporting the arrest of Raiden Ryonma, the president of the ME Corporation, various experts exposing Raiden Ryonma's "crimes," and overnight, her father had gone from a renowned scientist to a criminal despised by everyone.

"Miss, I don't know the truth, but it seems that my job here can't continue, after all, it's the master who pays me..."

Mei opened her mouth, took out her phone, "I actually still have some money... How could this be?"

The notification showed that all of her accounts were frozen, not a single one remained.

The chef shrugged, "To be honest, your work with Mr. Ryonma has been quite pleasant and easy, at least much better than the several noble families I've worked for before... But now, with this happening, I have to find another way out..."

"Thank you..."

"Miss, consider this breakfast a gift from me... By the way, you should check if there's any cash or anything in your house, in this age where money is needed everywhere, it's hard to get by without it."

The chef bowed slightly to Raiden Mei and left.

Mei got into her family's driver's car in a daze and came to the classroom in a daze. Amidst the whispers of her classmates, time seemed to fast forward, and she quickly reached noon.

The bell for the end of class brought the blue-haired girl back to her senses. She watched as her classmates stood up, the "friends" who would usually gather around her at noon now gathered together, looking at Raiden Mei with the eyes of strangers.

"I never thought it would be like this. Isn't Raiden Ryonma the head of the ME Corporation?"

"He must have been sidelined. Even the police can ride on his head now..."

"Indeed, maybe all the influences we heard about before were just... 'fatuous.'"

Their eyes, filled with obvious malice, swept over Raiden Mei, making her hairs stand on end.

Summoning her courage, Mei took out the lunchbox from her backpack, intending to have lunch with them as usual.

"Um..."

"Sorry, Mei, we're busy."

They all said in unison, quickly moving away as if they had seen something disgusting, leaving the place.

"Why...?"

Mei held the lunchbox, feeling lost.

The story between Mei and her "friends" caught the attention of their classmates. They knew the identities of the children who usually followed Raiden Mei, mostly from wealthy families, and the "friends" showing an attitude of dispersing made them believe that Raiden Ryonma's arrest for fraud was highly credible.

After all, the children of high-ranking officials and wealthy people always looked well-informed, and they all chose to stay away from Raiden Mei, indicating that the girl's father had completely lost his power, and no one was willing to follow him anymore.

"These people are so hypocritical..."

"Maybe she's a fraudster like her father..."

"Probably using dirty money too..."

At this moment, a classmate stood up, stomping on Raiden Mei's seat as she passed by, the sudden sound startled the blue-haired girl, making her instinctively shrink back.

"Scared?"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!!"

The onlookers were stunned, then inexplicably burst into laughter.

Watching from the sidelines, Luo Lin felt something was wrong. This kind of small action revealed Raiden Mei's confusion, vulnerability, and weakness to everyone, even making classmates who had previously doubted the news now suspicious.

"I smell trouble brewing..."

The voice of Senti resonated in Luo Lin's mind: "People are restless, with a growing sense of cruelty, even without reason... Hiss, it's terrifying, no, I'm a Herrscher, is this emotion a good thing for me?"

"Not a good thing, because prolonged exposure to such things will turn one into a fool who abandons oneself in the dark corner, ready to manipulate humanity to destroy the world, and will be blasted into fireworks by those who believe in the beauty of humanity, who don't know where they came from."

That's you, a Herrscher!

Before Luo Lin could make any move, Kiana rushed out, roaring at everyone to shut up.

But the girl who frightened Raiden Mei said, "What, playing the hero now?"

"That's right."

More hecklers joined in, loudly hurling vicious words at Raiden Mei.

"Criminal!"

"I think you should go to jail with your father!"

"Go to hell!"

This really startled Luo Lin. Although she knew that bullying was prevalent in the Far East, she didn't expect that after the news in the morning, they would gang up on her like this?

"I..."

Raiden Mei stood up, lowered her head, and rushed out of the classroom.

Luo Lin could see the sparkling droplets in the air, they must be tears.

Senti reminded, "I feel the guy inside Raiden Mei is restless."

Luo Lin turned her head to see Kiana, who was arguing with the entire class, her ability to curse just like her father who had once visited European bars, outstanding in terms of speed, accuracy, and viciousness, causing the girl who had never seen the special cultural of Europe to retreat step by step.

Kiana was preparing to establish her authority through this verbal battle, seemingly intending to protect Raiden Mei...

Quite...quite the Kaslana family style choice...

The white furball even winked at her, urging her to act quickly.

"Fu Hua, where did Raiden Mei go?"

"The rooftop."

"No way? Is she planning to jump?"

Luo Lin hurriedly followed.

Chapter 29 Holding Your Hand

Raiden Mei dashed down the corridor, students around her clearing a path. Not only was she a "celebrity" in school, but an inexplicable aura now surrounded her, keeping people at a distance.

It was like a canopy of dark clouds, filling people's vision, brewing deadly lightning within its terrifying depths.

But this dangerous aura only flashed briefly before disappearing with Raiden Mei at the end of the corridor.

Sighs of relief echoed among her classmates as they, influenced by the fear caused by Mei, began to harbor disgust toward her. Along with others who didn't look pleased, they joined in derogatory remarks against the blue-haired girl, as if this could offset their previous embarrassment.

These sharp and ugly words pierced Raiden Mei's heart like knives.

She had always been a delicate flower in a greenhouse, but now, with Raiden Ryoma, her protector, gone, she was facing a fierce storm that stripped her petals and bent her spine.

"Listen, look, this is how disgusting humans can be..." Strange thoughts surfaced in her mind, filled with endless anger, causing blue sparks to burst from her fingertips.

"Materialistic, throwing stones at those who fall, even people you've never interacted with are criticizing you... No one wants to know the truth, no one." Raiden Mei, feeling dizzy, looked up at the seemingly endless staircase leading to the rooftop, feeling like she was climbing the highest peak in the world, each step heavy, and everything around her chilling.

"You're a superhuman, why not just deal with them decisively? You're destined to be superior to them..."

"..." The girl with blue hair kicked open the door to the rooftop, cracks scattering her hair, and a strong light shone from outside, causing Mei to instinctively shield her eyes.

Moving forward, she looked around, finding herself alone.

"Yes, you only have yourself now—you have to rely on yourself..."

"Enough! Who are you?!"

Raiden Mei, holding onto the railing, roared, "I won't..."

"You won't lose control because of these things? Huh? Then where does the anger and sadness welling up in your heart come from?" The blue-haired girl closed her eyes, strangely returning to calmness.

"I see, so you're the Herrscher I encountered before, that dangerous guy!"

"Oh, you seem to understand a little, but you still don't fully understand the situation..." The voice elongated, drawing Raiden Mei's attention to her words.

"...Why not admit that I'm actually another you?" This sentence exploded like a thunderbolt in the girl's mind, and Raiden Mei held her breath, staring at her own palm, the flickering blue arcs turning into purplish-red in an instant, coiling around her arm.

Raiden Mei took a few steps back in horror, frantically shaking her arms, the lightning she threw out splitting several bricks, leaving several dark marks on the rooftop.

"How... how could this..." Although she had plundered the powers of the Herrscher, why did it behave like that dangerous guy...

"Ah, I see, you've always thought that you and I are two separate entities, and you're just a lucky human who gained power." The voice laughed, exaggeratedly, almost choking on its own breath. "You don't believe that you've completed your evolution, becoming the chosen one of the gods, controlling the apostles of destruction—"

"I... I'm the Herrscher?" Raiden Mei blinked hard, staring at her hand.

The spokesperson of destruction, the disaster that inhibits the development of civilization, destined to destroy the world, standing on the opposite side of humanity...

Just then, Luo Lin finally arrived at the rooftop, with Senti providing real-time updates on her way. Raiden Mei's condition was getting worse, and the consciousness of the Herrscher seemed to be launching a fierce attack.

"Mei!" The girl with blue hair suddenly looked up, one of her eyes turning purple-red, the iconic mark of the Herrscher appearing, cold and ruthless, full of icy killing intent, while the other eye remained the original light purple, clouded with mist and confusion.

Luo Lin gasped, goodness, are you also playing HoV's tricks?

"Are you... here to mock me too? Or are you, like everyone else, announcing that you will no longer be with me?" The girl with blue hair asked in a hoarse voice.

"No, of course not, I'm here to help you..." Luo Lin quickly pondered how to bring Raiden Mei's thoughts back to normal.

Should she play the Kiana card?

No, despite the fact that the white furball and Raiden Mei had become friends, this friendship had not yet been tested by time, nor had it reached the level of understanding in life and death...

Should she play the card of the a person qho came from the 'extraordinary world' and speak to her with chuuni syndrome?

She must be out of her mind to play that card now.

Look at Raiden Mei's "darkened" appearance. It's afraid that mentioning anything about the extraordinary world will immediately trigger a rampage, leading to the immediate destruction of humanity.

Then she could only play the card of her old man, Raiden Ryoma.

"I'll help you rescue your father." Raiden Mei's eyes widened, looking very serious at Luo Lin, gently shaking her head, "No, do you want to storm the prison? Even as a superhuman, you can't resist the modern army's onslaught... And, wouldn't that just give my father a real charge..."

"Why would you think of storming the prison..."

Luo Lin was speechless, couldn't she just sneak him out? Who said saving someone always had to involve fighting?

But the consciousness of the Herrscher reacted violently: "Stop thinking about being just a superhuman! You're the Herrscher who can destroy the world! How can the mere army stop your footsteps?! Go now, eliminate those who framed you, save your father—"

The purple-red eyes of Raiden Mei glowed, a bolt of lightning appearing out of thin air, striking towards Luo Lin!

Having activated her Honkai radar long ago, the Valkyrie had already sensed the gathering energy. She easily dodged this obvious attack, but her face didn't look good either, because the appearance of this attack meant that Raiden Mei was losing control!

More lightning burst from Raiden Mei's body, dispersing wildly into the air, emitting frightening crackling sounds.

Luo Lin no longer hesitated, she used the Edge of Taixuan to shield herself, then directly rushed towards Raiden Mei, who was surrounded by lightning, and grabbed the girl's hand despite the cracking thunder around her.

"Mei, listen to me! Don't give up, Raiden Ryoma must have been framed! Let's go save your dad together..."

"You! It's you again! The one who ruins my plans! You bastard!"

The voice in Raiden Mei's mind became furious, as if she wanted to use her power to obliterate Luo Lin.

The lightning around Mei intensified, whipping like whips, striking Luo Lin several times, easily piercing through the shield formed by Taixuan Ki.

But her grip on Mei's hand was firm, and her gaze as she looked at her was gentle, as if behind those black eyes lay an ocean of love, embracing all the panic and anger Mei felt, like a mother.

"...I believe, but others don't..."

Raiden Mei, with great determination, managed to control the urge to destroy everything, breathing heavily, and forced a smile.

Chapter 30: In the Restroom

As Luo Lin watched Raiden Mei's condition stabilize, she finally relaxed a bit.

"It seems like your experiment with your special constitution was successful?" Senti asked.

"Just a sudden inspiration..." Luo Lin replied.

Just now, when Luo Lin saw Raiden Mei's emotions fluctuate too much, almost losing control, she remembered what Sirin had told her before—that Luo Lin's special emotional diffusion constitution could effectively suppress the impulses of the Herrschers.

Without much thought, Luo Lin immediately chose the previously successful case—she began to recall the emotions she felt when she transformed into "Cecilia" and faced Sirin and Kiana, that feeling that could be called "maternal love."

The Herrscher, sitting in the system space, was casually chewing popcorn, looking relaxed, but in fact, she was ready to knock Raiden Mei unconscious and achieve the achievement of "Calming Someone By Force."

Suddenly, a huge surge of positive emotions erupted from Luo Lin, almost occupying all of Senti's senses.

The selfless love and tolerance emanating from Luo Lin filled the entire rooftop, surpassing the sum of all the malicious intentions her classmates had towards Raiden Mei!

Perhaps Raiden Mei couldn't directly sense the existence of emotions, but in the eyes of the Herrschers, Luo Lin was like detonating a bomb named "maternal love" on the rooftop, as if the sweet honey-like emotional shockwave tore apart the malice entwined around Mei.

The ferocious consciousness of the Herrscher was hit hard by the shockwave, as if a vampire had encountered sunlight, instantly disintegrating most of it, screaming miserably, and being directly pushed back into Raiden Mei's body.

Senti shook her head.

"Your constitution's effect is quite something... or rather, it's a bit too effective..."

Indeed, Raiden Mei quickly calmed down, but what made Luo Lin feel uneasy was that Mei's gaze now seemed a bit strange, and there was a familiar feeling...

She wouldn't suddenly blurt out "mom," would she?

Under Luo Lin's nervous gaze, Raiden Mei ultimately didn't utter that word. Her lips moved a few times, and she looked at the burnt marks on Luo Lin's clothes, asking, "Are... are you hurt?"

Luo Lin lowered her head, looking at the charred and cracked wounds caused by the electric shock, feeling the pain that she had ignored due to the urgency of the situation.

"Oh, it's nothing serious." Luo Lin really didn't care about these injuries—it was just superficial wounds that looked grievious but actually didn't affect her combat ability at all.

After all, in Luo Lin's eyes, only injuries like having half of her bones broken by a Titan's punch, having her arms or legs cut off by a HoV's bandages, or being pierced through the abdomen by the Abyss Flower which seriously affected her combat ability, would catch her attention.

Raiden Mei, on the other hand, looked pale. She hurriedly took off her clothes, intending to tear them into strips to make some makeshift bandages to treat the wounds.

"It's okay, really..."

Luo Lin quickly stopped her actions and then summoned [Mimicry: Black Abyss White Flower], directly restoring those wounds—now, except for the torn clothes and the frizzy hair due to static electricity, Luo Lin looked no different from before.

"I'm here, I'm here! Mei, Luo Lin!"

Kiana arrived a bit late. She looked at the rooftop, which seemed to have been hit by a storm, with broken bricks and tiles, and asked hesitantly, "Um, do we need to compensate for all this?"

"I'll pay for this..." Raiden Mei instinctively patted her chest, as if she wanted to say she would bear the fine herself, but she suddenly realized that all of Raiden Mei's family assets had been frozen, and there was no funds available.

Now the girl with blue hair looked even more unpleasant.

Kiana seemed to sense Raiden Mei's disappointment and offered her solution: "I have a way to let you off the fine!"

"What?" Raiden Mei asked.

In Raiden Mei's hopeful gaze, the white furball said naturally, "Of course, it's to leave here immediately as if nothing happened!"

Luo Lin massaged her temples. "I knew you wouldn't come up with any good ideas now..."

Kiana stuck out her tongue. "But my suggestion is not wrong. Let's leave here quickly!"

The three of them left the rooftop, descended the stairs, and arrived at the edge of the playground.

Kiana quickly walked to Raiden Mei's side, grabbed the girl's other hand, and said with a smile, "Mei, I've already taught those who spoke ill of you a lesson!"

Luo Lin blinked at Kiana. "Tell me, how did you teach them?"

"Hmph, if they understood the language from Europe, I could have given them a full set of authentic foul language... I made those guys panic, and someone even came over to threaten me, saying they would hit me. There was even a girl who took action and slapped me in the face!"

Luo Lin grinned. It was unexpected that someone in school would actually want to fight Kiana. That wasn't just lowering oneself to her level.

As expected, Kiana directly grabbed the hand of that girl. She immediately felt that the white furball's hand was like an iron clamp, making her unable to move.

Seeing the girl being disadvantaged, others rushed over. Kiana effortlessly knocked them all down. Finally, she grabbed one of them by the collar, lifted him up from the ground.

Kiana's peculiar strength was displayed vividly, scaring those other people back several steps, instantly quieting them down.

Then Kiana ran out and reunited with the other two people.

"Well done, Kiana!" Luo Lin patted Kiana's shoulder and gave her a thumbs up.

Mei couldn't explain her feelings. She felt like she had been a balloon floating in the air, helpless and at the mercy of the wind...

But now, she was held by two girls as if they were "strings," she suddenly having something to rely on. As long as they were there, the days ahead would not be so dark and bleak.

"Thank you both!"

"We're friends!" Kiana emphasized.

"Gurgle~"

Raiden Mei rubbed her stomach and said awkwardly, "I rushed out without taking my lunchbox... Um, I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable, like I want to vomit."

Some people get nervous and develop such symptoms. Luo Lin and Kiana supported Raiden Mei and walked to the restroom door. Luo Lin looked at the sign that said "Women's Restroom" and waved her hand awkwardly.

"Um, Kiana, you go in with Mei. I'll wait outside for you two."

After all, someone wasn't a girl before she transmigrated over, so she still felt a bit awkward psychologically.

"Okay."

Kiana didn't think much about it and agreed, supporting Raiden Mei to enter.

"Do you want to vomit? Or are you planning to...?"

"No, I'll sit for a while... just go to the restroom first... you're not planning to watch me, are you?"

Kiana was very honest. "Actually, I really want to watch."

"You actually want to watch?"

Mei rolled her eyes, closed the cubicle door heavily, smiled helplessly, and reached out to lift the toilet seat.

Just then, a figure appeared silently on the ceiling. It raised its fist and aimed at the neck of the girl with blue hair.

"?!"

Chapter 31: Sent Away

The ambush came extremely suddenly this time. Raiden Mei didn't even have time to react before she was hit directly. Her vision went black, and she immediately lost strength.

However, with the support of Honkai energy and the Herrschers' core, Raiden Mei surprisingly didn't get knocked out on the first hit. She struggled to gather her strength, preparing to strike back fiercely with lightning!

Lightning burst from the tips of Raiden Mei's hair, and the lightning was tinged with a hint of crimson.

Even though the Herrscher were displeased with Raiden Mei, they were essentially tied together. When Raiden Mei was ambushed, the Herrschers' consciousness naturally counterattacked, and the Honkai energy they infused was much stronger than Raiden Mei's half-hearted attempt.

It could be said that this lightning strike was eighty percent contributed by the Herrschers' consciousness, with Raiden Mei only providing twenty percent.

"Crack!"

The speed of the lightning was extremely fast, and the counterattack hit the ambushers in an instant!

But the abrupt ambushers had a translucent honeycomb-shaped shield floating around them. This shield flashed and absorbed most of the lightning's power, leaving only some harmless electric currents to dissipate on its sturdy shell, disappearing without a trace.

Desperately, Raiden Mei could not help but receive a second blow from the ambush, completely passing out.

"Mei?"

Kiana, who was standing outside the compartment door, heard the commotion inside. She frowned and loudly asked about the situation.

Mei didn't respond, and the Kiana became serious. She decisively kicked forward, kicking open the door of the toilet compartment.

However, the door was blocked halfway by something, and then Kiana felt a huge force coming from the door, transmitted along her leg as she continued to kick the door.

"Crack!"

The next moment, the compartment door flew back, and Kiana had to dodge sideways. She vaguely saw a half-bodied shadow floating in the compartment, grabbing Raiden Mei in its huge hand.

"What's going on?!"

Hearing the sound, Luo Lin quickly rushed in. She looked at the mechanical figure floating there and was stunned for a moment.

"Project Bunny?! Sister Bronya?!"

Seele, who was observing the situation using the Key of Revelation, exclaimed in surprise. She widened her eyes and carefully observed the appearance of the gift she had sent out in the past.

Luo Lin immediately realized that this was Bronya's planned action, but she didn't see the figure of the silver-haired girl next to Project Bunny.

Wasn't she supposed to be bound to fight alongside Project Bunny... apparently not.

Luo Lin vaguely remembered that Bronya had an armor that could leave Project Bunny to assist in battle while she remained backstage.

So Bronya didn't actually need to come to the scene herself; she could remotely control Project Bunny to achieve her goals.

But Bronya wasn't related to Raiden Mei... Oh, she was still Cocolia's faithful daughter, and had no ties to Raiden Mei and Kiana. It was normal for her to come out and ambush her.

But she couldn't take Mei away now!

Luo Lin raised her arm, and the golden single-handed sword created by the Key of Revelation appeared in her hand. The ethereal sword energy covered it, and the black-haired girl stepped forward, her sword light even illuminating the dim space of the toilet.

A dark yellow shield floated over Project Bunny, and Luo Lin slashed at it with her sword. The clash of sword energy and shield sparked fiercely!

Damn it, it feels like facing those temple-level Honkai beasts' shields in the Abyss!

The energy stored in Luo Lin's Moon Ring on her wrist flickered slightly, releasing its energy. The shield on Project Bunny fluctuated violently, emitting a piercing creak!

Seeing this, Project Bunny turned around and fled. In Luo Lin's unpleasant expression, it crashed through the wall of the toilet, shattering it, and causing something to scatter, creating a splash of water, momentarily halting Luo Lin's pursuit.

"Ah ah ah, forget it!!"

Luo Lin raised her sword and swung it, dispersing most of the water vapor in front of her with sword energy. Then, she gritted her teeth and chased after Project Bunny through the hole it had made.

"Swoosh"

Several cylindrical objects were launched by Project Bunny. In a hurry, Luo Lin only had time to use her sword energy to deflect them off course. She adjusted her posture, preparing for the impact of the explosive shockwave.

Unexpectedly, all these projectiles were smoke bombs. The dense smoke covered everything in the next second, making it impossible for Kiana behind her and Fu Hua crouching on the rooftop to see what was happening inside.

Kiana looked at the smoke in front of her and gritted her teeth as she rushed in.

Although Luo Lin was somewhat affected, she could still pursue Project Bunny with her Honkai radar.

One person chasing, one machine fleeing; the clash of shield and sword energy reverberated around them.

But the next moment, a deep blue light appeared on Project Bunny's body, and the unfamiliar power fluctuations made Senti feel a sudden increase in danger, enveloping Raiden Mei who was also in its grasp.

"Quantum teleportation!"

Luo Lin was too familiar with this thing. In the Abyss, those damn quantum monsters would exhibit similar quantum fluctuations before blinking away. Her ears even produced a "buzzing" hallucination whenever this sound rang, the quantum monsters would disappear.

Luo Lin didn't want Project Bunny to teleport away with Raiden Mei. She immediately activated her Moon Ring again, increasing her strength and slashing at Project Bunny's arm with her sword!

But Project Bunny wasn't just a defensive entity. It launched a counterattack with its other hand, firing the mounted weapons on its body in succession, forcing Luo Lin to dodge.

The loud gunfire allowed Kiana, who was lost in the smoke, to find her position and quickly rush over.

"I'll help!"

The intention was good, but Kiana's appearance gave an opportunity to the person observing in secret.

Just then, Luo Lin's hair stood on end suddenly, and a strong sense of crisis surged up, like needles pricking her, warning her of danger from a certain direction!

"Kiana, get down!!!"

"Huh?!"

Kiana hesitated for a moment, and a golden meteor tore through the smoke, accurately flying towards her.

Luo Lin twisted her body and swung her sword towards it.

"Clang!"

She actually intercepted a sniper bullet with her sword energy!

Far away, Bronya, holding a large-caliber sniper rifle, was startled for a moment, then decisively put away her gun and withdrew.

Her goal had been achieved.

"Buzz!"

The quantum teleportation sound that Luo Lin abhorred still rang out. Project Bunny disappeared with Raiden Mei, leaving behind a mess.

Kiana opened her mouth, "Luo Lin, I..."

"Don't say anything, let's retreat!"

Luo Lin grabbed the Kiana's hand and threw a few smoke bombs into the distance, making the already dissipating smoke thicker again.

Chapter 32: The Pursuer

Luo Lin pulled Kiana, and they climbed over the wall of Senba Academy directly, finding a corner with fewer people to catch their breath.

When they turned around, they were surprised to find several black smoke pillars rising from within Senba Academy, indicating fires starting scattered elsewhere.

The piercing fire alarm echoed through the campus, causing some chaos as people evacuated.

"Is this fire deliberately caused by the attackers?"

A few minutes later, Fu Hua arrived late, with a hint of smoke clinging to her.

"Within a minute after you were attacked, several places in the academy caught fire simultaneously. When I arrived to investigate, I found obvious signs of human intervention... Luckily, all the sources of the fire were far from where people work and live, so the fire didn't spread quickly."

Fu Hua's expression was solemn. "I dealt with the fires in several locations, and the remaining places have people fighting in them. I couldn't directly intervene to put out the fires, so I could only provide some minimal assistance to those people... When I left, the situation was basically under control."

"Alright."

Truly worthy of the Immortal Phoenix!

Luo Lin nodded and gritted her teeth as she took out a personal terminal from her pocket, projecting the map of Nagazora City.

There was a blurry red dot on the map that refreshed its position periodically.

"What's this...?" Kiana asked.

Luo Lin stared at the map. "It's the tracking device I planted on Raiden Mei just now... It seems they haven't discovered our actions yet. Fu Hua, I've shared the tracking data to your terminal."

"Understood."

Kiana clenched her fists and spoke up to Luo Lin, "Luo Lin, give me some weapons and equipment. I want to fight alongside you!"

"Sure, but you must prioritize your safety."

Luo Lin readily opened the system's warehouse and handed Kiana what she needed.

The girl quickly armed herself, the weight of the pistol calming her previously restless emotions. She took a deep breath and nodded to the two Valkyries.

"I'm ready."

"Fu Hua, carry her. Let's go!"

"Huh?!"

Kiana, looking bewildered, was embraced like a princess by Fu Hua. The surroundings swiftly rose, and they soared into the sky above the city.

Gravity seemed to have no effect on Fu Hua; she ran vertically along the walls of the buildings, quickly reaching the top floor. Then, she lightly pushed off, leaping through the steel and concrete jungle.

Luo Lin, utilizing the power of the Moon Ring for grappling and double jumps, followed closely behind, racing towards the red dot on the map.

————————————————————

Bronya held one arm of the Project Bunny, looking at Raiden Mei lying in its other hand.

The unconscious Mei seemed nothing like the imposing figure Bronya had seen in photos.

Now, she appeared more like a homeless puppy, furrowed brows emitting an aura of vulnerability.

"Sorry..."

Bronya muttered.

This girl was innocent, she knew.

But Bronya didn't regret her actions. Her most important person had vanished without a trace, and the only clue in Cocolia's hands pointed to Raiden Mei. Only by studying the stigmata power on Raiden Mei's body could Bronya hope to find Seele.

After living the life of a child soldier and assassin, Bronya didn't have much sympathy left. The X-10 experiment had burned away the part of her brain controlling emotions, turning her into the legendary "emotionless" girl. The tiny bit of emotion that remained was reserved for Cocolia and Seele...

Shaking her head to dispel her drifting thoughts, Bronya controlled the Project Bunny to fly in the air, heading towards the outskirts of Nagazora City.

There, Cocolia had built a warehouse as their base for this operation.

Now, Bronya stood before the building, agilely jumping down from the Project Bunny's hand. Her feet touched the ground lightly.

She felt excitement, long forgotten, coursing through her veins. She could clearly hear her heart beating in her chest—because the "key figure" Raiden Mei was now in her hands.

Next, all she had to do was hand her over to Cocolia...

"Who?!"

Bronya turned her head, vigilantly watching another direction. Hida Ren emerged from the shadows, wearing a smile, and congratulated her, "Congratulations, Miss Bronya, our cooperation has come to a successful conclusion. How does it feel to have Raiden Mei in your hands?"

"...What do you want?" Bronya stared at the man, asking in a low voice.

"Well, I'm just here to convey my congratulations to you, nothing more?" Hida Ren looked at Bronya, scratching his nose with some embarrassment. "...You're really hard to fool. Alright, how about handing over that girl in your hands to me?"

"No."

The Silver Wolf of Ural decisively retreated, returning to the cover of Project Bunny and drawing a pistol from her clothes. She aimed it at Hida Ren and fired.

"Ding ding ding!"

A hemispherical shield appeared under the impact of the bullets, and an Anti-Entropy Titan, previously invisible, stood between Bronya and Hida Ren, blocking the bullets.

Then, more Titans emerged with mechanical hums, surrounding the girl. Bronya could see several huge rocket launchers and cannons aimed at her. After all, the shield of the Project Bunny couldn't withstand for long.

"You..."

"Well... after all, someone offered a higher price for this girl than your mother did." Hida Ren spoke candidly.

It was only now that Bronya understood: the man in front of her was a multifaceted spy who not only betrayed Raiden Ryoma but also betrayed Cocolia.

Thinking of this, Bronya prepared to use her ability to communicate with the Project Bunny secretly, to let it escape from the encirclement as it had before...

But as soon as Bronya activated her ability, her mind felt as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer.

Supporting herself on the Project Bunny's body, she felt unprecedented weakness. The pistol in her hand became unbearably heavy, and she couldn't even muster the strength to pull the trigger.

"Ugh..."

"Oh, Dr. Jackal's poison gas is indeed effective..." Hida Ren marveled, "Just inhaling a little bit can greatly disrupt the ability of the Honkai Users, making it impossible for them to concentrate, weakening their bodies, and preventing them from using their Honkai ability..."

Hida Ren stared intently at the Project Bunny, watching its outline gradually blur and flicker, like frame drops in a video game.

"It can even deal with this unknown mechanical creation... Haha."

Recalling the enthusiastic expression on Dr. Jackal's face when she introduced this poison gas, there were many sophisticated terms mixed in, such as "inhibitor", "yellow-something cane", and "disruption of the link between imaginary numbers and quantum"...

Hida Ren couldn't understand them, but a poison gas praised by Dr. Jackal must be a good thing.

And the facts proved that Hida Ren's idea was correct. The Project Bunny had disappeared, Bronya collapsed to the ground, curling up like a shrimp.

Now she had fallen to the same fate as Raiden Mei.

With cautious gestures, Hida Ren directed another Anti-Entropy mech to roughly grab Bronya and Raiden Mei, then throw them into a corner of the warehouse, alongside some other "materials" he had captured earlier.

"Very well, it's time to notify the people from the World Serpent to come and collect their goods..."

Chapter 33: Headquarters' Vigil

"This is heading towards the outskirts of Nagazora..."

A few minutes after Bronya was knocked down by Hida Ren, Luo Lin, Kiana, and Fu Hua finally arrived at the outskirts.

The tracker signal on Raiden Mei had weakened to a dangerous level, almost no longer flashing. Fu Hua concluded that Raiden Mei should have entered underground or into a building with isolated walls.

Luo Lin and Fu Hua advanced in the direction where the signal was last detected, observing any anomalies along the way.

Like the outskirts of any major city, the outskirts of Nagazora were a gathering place for many buildings that were inconvenient to place in the city's core, such as factories with short shelf life food production, sewage treatment plants, garbage treatment plants, large warehouses...

Compared to the high-rise buildings in the core area, these buildings appeared low and sprawling, all of similar style, making it easy to get lost inside.

Arriving here, Luo Lin and Fu Hua became more cautious. After all, it was much easier to arrange ambushes in such places than in the main city area of Nagazora, and even if there was a fight, it wouldn't cause a particularly large disturbance.

Luo Lin and Fu Hua almost immediately decided to explore forward from the rooftops of warehouses and factories, just like Siegfried's previous choice.

Because currently, both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy still extensively used ordinary intelligence personnel, the cameras and sensors they installed to guard against these individuals were generally placed in relatively conventional locations, such as alleys and dark corners... places like factory and warehouse rooftops were usually undefended.

After all, ordinary intelligence personnel couldn't run up walls using anti-gravity footsteps and traverse buildings like Spider-Man.

Of course, important places would also be equipped with omnidirectional detectors, because there were indeed intelligence personnel from Schicksal and Anti-Entropy who could perform such feats - Luo Lin and Fu Hua were living examples.

However, most C-rank Valkyries couldn't do such things, and even some B-rank Valkyries lacked such mobility.

Of course, Luo Lin and Fu Hua were not normal Valkyries. One was a quasi-A-rank Valkyrie wearing a B-rank label (meeting the standard in combat power but lacking in strategic command knowledge), and the other was an A-rank Valkyrie with an S-rank status as the Immortal Phoenix in secret...

And both had experience in intelligence work, so they had some expertise in tracing facilities hidden in the outskirts.

Luo Lin and Fu Hua quickly discovered clues. The closer they got to the last location where the signal lingered, the more cameras and sensors were around, similar to the quantity needed for normal suburban factories or warehouses.

Among them were some cunningly placed, extremely hidden cameras, obviously meant to guard against foreign intelligence personnel.

The bold Fu Hua even went down to observe, but didn't find any clues from the cameras.

Following these cameras and sensors for a while, the two roughly determined the direction, then carried Kiana and advanced towards the more heavily guarded areas.

"I feel Raiden Mei's thoughts, Luo Lin, go that way!"

To their joy, using her authority, Senti determined Raiden Mei's location. She guided Luo Lin, ensuring they didn't wander aimlessly.

Soon, Luo Lin and Fu Hua arrived near the secluded warehouse. The gray-haired Valkyrie observed the building from a distance and whispered, "Luo Lin, are you sure Raiden Mei is in there?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"The style of these cameras and sensors suggests they're Anti-Entropy's concealed facilities... It seems Raiden Ryoma's capture was an internal struggle within Anti-Entropy."

Fu Hua clenched her fist and said, "We don't have invisibility or interference devices on us. This is about as close as we can stealthily get. Going further, we'll definitely be exposed..."

Kiana gritted her teeth, "So what do we do?"

"Time is running out, so we'll launch a direct assault..."

Luo Lin said casually, "Why do you think we provided you with weapons and equipment? It's time for some head-on confrontation."

"...Luo Lin, news from Schicksal headquarters."

Fu Hua tapped her personal terminal and sent the message to the black-haired Valkyrie. After reading it, she saw that it marked several safe houses set up by Schicksal's Intelligence Department in Nagazora. With the arrival of this message, they were all open to Luo Lin, Kiana, and Fu Hua.

[Emergency permissions have been issued. I have contacted the nearest Far East Branch to you. The Far East Branch will dispatch a covert transport ship to rendezvous with you. After rescuing Raiden Mei, utilize the safe houses and any available means to stay concealed, and finally evacuate.

   - OTTO ]

"...Truly worthy of Bishop Otto."

Luo Lin chuckled bitterly, but felt somewhat relieved.

At least for now, Otto's attention could help them solve many problems.

Kiana looked at Luo Lin and Fu Hua's expressions, cautiously asking, "What happened?"

"It's good news, Kiana, we have a way to evacuate." Luo Lin patted Kiana's shoulder.

"Are you ready?"

The white-haired girl took a deep breath and gripped her pistol. "I'm ready."

"Good, let's go!"

---------

Theresa Apocalypse looked somewhat mournfully at the shredded pieces of paper on the table, feeling a bit speechless for a moment.

Just now, her beloved grandfather Otto Apocalypse called from Schicksal headquarters, and the sudden ringing of the phone made Theresa, who was highly alert, tear up the comic book in her hand.

Her latest issue of "Homu Adventure"!

But Theresa didn't have time to mourn. She adjusted her expression and answered the call, staring at the golden-haired man sitting in the office.

"Theresa, deploy a high-speed stealth transport ship to Nagazora's outskirts to rendezvous with our personnel for evacuation. The specific intelligence has been sent to your terminal."

Otto's expression was very serious, and this seriousness immediately put Theresa into work mode. She quickly glanced over the intelligence her grandfather sent, and her face gradually became strange.

"Grandfather, was the situation in Nagazora manipulated by you?"

After all, Theresa had just learned in the morning that Raiden Ryoma had been captured, and a few hours later, Otto called her to assist in evacuating intelligence personnel... It was hard not to think that this was the work of the Schicksal Grand Bishop, which made perfect sense logically.

"What do you think of your grandfather?"

The golden-haired man chuckled contemptuously. "Do you think I would use such a simple method to target Raiden Ryoma? Using this mild means of manipulation to imprison him for fraud?"

"Of course not... So should I dispatch personnel now?"

Theresa hesitated.

"Well... Theresa, it's best to put Hyperion on alert. I think things might not go so smoothly."

Otto glanced at Theresa with a helpless expression and shook his head imperceptibly.

It seems he have to cut back on Theresa's "funds" a bit, at least let her read fewer comics.

"No, that's the worst-case scenario... At least for now, we can say we're just passing by, offering assistance to some of our people along the way."

The golden-haired bishop stroked his chin, his eyes deep.

Chapter 34: Brilliant Blossoms, Titans' Demise

As Luo Lin, Fu Hua, and Kiana leaped over the alley ahead and landed on the rooftop of the building opposite, subtle waves of Honkai energy swept over them.

The gray-haired Valkyrie decisively threw a punch towards the corner of the rooftop, shattering the cement parapet and revealing hidden mechanical devices buried within.

Luo Lin immediately recognized what they were: "High-precision sensors manufactured by Anti-Entropy... Fu Hua, your speculation was correct."

"Yes, according to Anti-Entropy's logic, the army of robots should be appearing now."

As soon as Fu Hua's voice fell, several drones shot out from somewhere, buzzing overhead.

"Dadada!"

The Void Archive-standard assault rifle fell into the hands of the black-haired Valkyrie, who swiftly shot down the drones with precise bursts.

The sound of gunfire echoed in the suburban alley, awakening the "guards" slumbering within—

Accompanied by the mechanical noise, three close-combat type AE Mechs emerged from invisibility, their cameras emitting dangerous red lights as they locked onto the three individuals.

"R-Robots!?" Kiana looked at the small pistol in her hand and then at the mechs with their obviously metallic shells, feeling embarrassed.

"You think you can't penetrate their shells with those guns? Are you underestimating the marksmanship of the Kaslana family?"

As she spoke, Luo Lin unexpectedly switched her assault rifle to dual submachine guns and attacked the charging Titan mechs.

The metallic whips lashed against the mech's armor, and to Kiana's incredulous eyes, the Titan's armor was actually pierced by the small bullets, causing several armor fragments to crash to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Following that, with precise shooting techniques, Luo Lin dismantled the thick armor of the Titan, finally hitting the control center of the combat mech, rendering it motionless in a burst of electric explosions.

Throughout the entire battle, Luo Lin didn't fire a single bullet of Taixuan Ki, relying solely on the basic damage of the submachine gun and her experience in "dissecting" AE Mechs to perfectly deal with one mech.

The black-haired Valkyrie raised an eyebrow, feeling that the reality of these mechs wasn't as tough as she imagined, at least the mech she dismantled should only be at Level 2 of Agony.

"I believe you can do it too!" Luo Lin patted Kiana's shoulder.

Kiana blinked, then turned to look at another person.

"Let's keep moving!"

Fu Hua was already waiting ahead, with the remains of two other Anti-Entropy Titans, almost simultaneously ending the battle with Luo Lin—remember, she wasn't wearing Valkyrie Battlesuits now, and all of this was done solely with her physical strength.

Kiana could clearly see the scars left on the mechs, their limbs dismantled, the armor showing obvious signs of collapse, and exaggerated cracks spreading across their bodies.

"Woah, that's amazing!"

Fu Hua sighed, "These are just ordinary mechs, not cutting-edge models... Their only advantage is their numbers, which are very large..."

More mechs emerged from the surrounding warehouses, and close-combat mechs charged towards the group, while on the rooftop, there appeared the Storm Mechs carrying missile launchers, aiming their barrels at Luo Lin's group.

"Deal with them quickly!"

Honkai energy surged within Fu Hua's body as she lowered herself, transforming into a blurry gray shadow, her fist condensed with Edge of Taixuan striking the front of the charging Titan, piercing through it, burying her half arm in steel.

The surrounding mechs seized this opportunity, their engines revving as they emitted buzzing noises, their huge alloy fists striking towards Fu Hua.

The Phoenix pulled her arm out from the wreckage, dodging the Titan's attack in midair. With a whip kick, she sent one of the Titans attacking her flying, its mechanical structure emitting a terrifying creaking sound.

"Bang!"

Kiana displayed her outstanding combat talent, using her pistol to attack the tilted Anti-Entropy Titan hit by Fu Hua, the bullets easily piercing its armor, even creating a not-so-small indentation.

"Huh?! Is this... the power of Sirin?!"

Luo Lin felt strange fluctuations emanating from the tuna's pistol, obviously invoking the power of the Herrscher of the Void.

The black-haired Valkyrie couldn't help but feel a little amused. She originally intended for Kiana to be a technician specializing in mech dismantling, but it seems she went straight for the battle instead?

At this moment, the Storm mechs from above completed their lock-on. They raised their launchers, and a series of missiles headed towards Fu Hua, Luo Lin, and Kiana!

"Whoosh—"

"Boom boom boom!"

Luo Lin sprayed a barrage of bullets from her submachine gun, intercepting some of the missiles, while the rest of the smoking iron rods missed under Fu Hua and Kiana's agile evasion, leaving pockmarks on the previously smooth ground.

"Ugh, I originally planned to fight you with the identity of an ordinary Valkyrie, but what we lack most now is time."

Light shimmered around her as she spoke.

Halfway through Luo Lin's words, her tone suddenly changed, becoming lively and endearing: "Since Kiana has started, I won't hold back either—accept my feelings with gratitude, okay?"

A pink light rushed towards the sky, and the "Flawless Dome" unfolded over the warehouse, but this time, Luo Lin didn't let it form as brightly as in the game, visible from hundreds of miles away.

She slightly adjusted the brightness and transparency, making it look less conspicuous.

Immediately after, a huge crystal arrow smashed into the face of the Thunderlord mech, exploding into a myriad of pink meteors, reflecting off the walls and other mechs, even the fired missiles weren't spared, turned into a brilliant fireworks by these scattered stars!

Fu Hua widened her eyes, "Elysia?!"

"No, it's Luo Lin, just as cute as her!"

The Miss Pink Elf Luo Lin smiled slightly, pulling the Void Archive into a longbow, shooting out the dazzling crystal arrows. The Storm mech standing high in the sky was pierced by the light, falling to the ground motionless.

The Titans on the ground lasted a few more seconds due to their thicker armor, but were pierced by Luo Lin's arrows, and one of them even hit the reactor, spewing flames, almost giving Luo Lin a "monkey jumping to the sky" or "flying head barbarian" show...

Fortunately, Luo Lin shot another arrow in time, directly ending this possibility.

—Empowered to combat machines!

Taking advantage of the defeat of this batch of Titans, Luo Lin's group quickly advanced and arrived at the entrance of the hidden warehouse.

Senti exclaimed, "Raiden Mei is inside here!"

"Okay, let Fu Hua perform her fist-to-warehouse-door demonstration for you!"

"I'm not that extreme, okay?!"

Fu Hua couldn't help but retort to Luo Lin's words.

Chapter 35: Why Choose Titans

People often say that the combat effectiveness of Titans is somewhat "regrettable," but this is also a relative statement. These machines can become the backbone of combat sequences within Anti-Entropy, so there must be a reason for it.

Facing the surging waves of Honkai beasts, the clustered Titans can play a huge role in combat, and unlike Valkyries, they don't need rest. As long as they have sufficient energy and ammunition supply, they can continue fighting.

Furthermore, although Titans are expensive, they can indeed be created as combat units within a certain period of time with money.

Turning to look at the Valkyries of Schicksal, they are all eligible candidates with a certain resistance to Honkai. It can't be said that such people are one in a million, but rather one in a hundred thousand or even one in a million.

Look at how many branches Schicksal has established worldwide, cooperating with local governments, conducting physical examinations on eligible children, and selecting suitable candidates from among them...

And what about Anti-Entropy? Do they have the capability to establish such a global network of bases?

Indeed, they do.

But before Schicksal, they had already started cooperating with various national governments, and even went to great lengths to obstruct Anti-Entropy's expansion...

So Anti-Entropy chose the combat units that best suited them—Titans, all kinds of Titans.

With the money in place, raw materials available, and production lines running smoothly, robots are mass-produced and ready for deployment.

In contrast, Schicksal takes years to train a Valkyrie, and even then, the person trained may not necessarily be able to go into battle. They may only be relegated to logistics or intelligence work.

Furthermore, Valkyries currently engaged in frontline combat need to have artificial Stigmata implanted (natural Stigmata carriers are few in number), greatly reducing their lifespans. Every now and then, a Valkyrie has to retire from the frontline due to Honkai erosion...

Of course, many Valkyries don't even live to retirement age. They would rather die in battle against the Honkai.

This is also why Fu Hua, Rita, and even Otto attach so much importance to the Moon Rings—Moon Rings can slow down, suppress, or even assist in healing Honkai erosion. Their effect is simply enormous.

It can directly double the lifespan of Valkyries, pulling out a batch of elite veterans from the sanatorium, allowing ordinary people to work in Honkai environments with Moon Rings, and freeing up more Valkyries to join the combat sequence...

Ahem, I've digressed. Let's get back to the comparison between Titans and Valkyries.

Without anti-armor or electronic warfare equipment, C-rank Valkyries would be crushed in a one-on-one fight with Titans, while B-rank Valkyries might have some room to maneuver under the same circumstances.

Of course, even with such equipment, it's difficult for C-rank Valkyries to take on armored units like Titans on their own. After all, lower-ranking Valkyries can be considered as enhanced versions of special forces with Honkai resistance. Taking a hit from a Titan's cannon or fist would be fatal...

At such times, it's a matter of which side detects the other first and then pulls the trigger—modern warfare, "detect and destroy".

But obviously, the sensory abilities of lower-ranking Valkyries can hardly compete with the multi-spectrum radars and various sensors equipped on Titans...

By the time they reach B-rank, things start to get interesting. Honkai greatly enhances the physical fitness of Valkyries, allowing them to easily surpass human limits and engage in direct confrontation with Honkai beasts...

At this point, if B-rank Valkyries carry specialized equipment, they can relatively easily deal with Titans in one-on-one combat—though the problem lies in the fact that Titans usually operate in clusters, and situations where several B-rank Valkyries form a team are rare.

In most cases, it's B-rank Valkyries leading a group of C-rank Valkyries. They would carry equipment according to the mission requirements and, if necessary, use armored vehicles, tanks, or helicopters as well as cooperate with Schicksal's mechanical combat units—yes, Schicksal also has mechanical combat units, although not as many as Anti-Entropy.

The place where a group of B-rank Valkyries gather is called the "Valkyrie Assault Team," an elite formation aimed at dealing with particularly troublesome Honkai events on a global scale...

There are some voices within Schicksal that consider this elite formation to be a great waste of resources, but Archbishop Otto can't be bothered to entertain such opinions.

B-rank and C-rank Valkyries are the backbone of Schicksal's vast forces, while for A-rank Valkyries standing at the top of the pyramid, Titans are just... well, mediocre.

After all, these top-tier Valkyries are all masters of their craft. Even without specialized weapons, they can easily handle a small squad of Titans. With anti-armor weapons and electronic warfare equipment, coupled with Valkyrie armor, it's simply a slaughter.

As for S-rank...

Oh dear, let's just take a look at the Herrscher in the distance. Look at that Herrscher of the Void, effortlessly taking down who knows how many Titans, almost bankrupting Anti-Entropy!

And then she got hit by Fu Hua who came running, of course, and also got hit by Kiana, and previously by Cecilia, and it seems even Siegfried can hit her... If these powerhouses are treated like this, what chance do ordinary Titans have against them?

So, it's normal for Hida Ren, who is in the stronghold, to look like he's about to suffocate.

Because there's a quasi-A-rank and an S-rank Valkyrie teaming up to launch a sneak attack!

However, Hida Ren is unaware of this.

The man looked at the monitor in front of him, and the faint signals were gradually spreading. It seems that the attackers brought a lot of smoke bombs and signal jamming devices (thrown by the Key of Revelation), causing chaos on the battlefield.

Even the hidden cameras were discovered and dealt with by the attackers, hardly transmitting any useful footage.

On the map, the signals representing the combat Titans were rapidly decreasing in number, and he, with a pale face, leaned on the table, beads of sweat as big as beans rolling down his forehead.

"How... how could this happen... Raiden Ryoma actually has such a trick up his sleeve..."

He was obviously a bit confused by what was happening in front of him, and his mind was even a bit muddled.

"Chuckle..."

A disdainful laugh came from beside him, and Hida Ren suddenly woke up, turning around with a pleading look at the World Serpent Agent, who wore a black hood with a beak-shaped decoration.

"Ah, Miss Raven, you must help me... If they're attacking the warehouse where Raiden Mei is, if anything goes wrong, we won't be able to explain to Lady Jackal..."

Faced with the panicked man, Raven rubbed her palms and calmly commanded, "Bring out all the trial versions of the poisonous gas that Lady Jackal gave you.

It should be able to delay the attackers for a while..."

"D-delay...?"

Raven looked at the monitor again, and this experienced tactic made it hard for her not to think of certain old friends.

After all, as a mercenary under the World Serpent, she had seen and experienced a lot.

"This isn't Raiden Ryoma's trick, it's Schicksal's Valkyries."

"What?! Schicksal too..."

"Conservatively estimated to be B-rank, A-rank is not impossible either. Prepare yourself to abandon this place."

Although she said so, Natasha didn't think Schicksal would send A-rank Valkyries to interfere.

Who would bury such a strategic weapon as a spy in Anti-Entropy's headquarters?

Raven shook her cloak and walked out.

Hida Ren was right. If something went wrong here, Jackal would indeed go berserk, and Raven couldn't be bothered to listen to that neurotic woman's ramblings.

In any case, the mercenaries had to start working.

Chapter 36: Raven: Am I Dreaming?

The warehouse door didn't cause much trouble for Luo Lin and Fu Hua. Of course, it wasn't Fu Hua who punched through it with Inch Force - Sky Breaker, but Luo Lin pressed the hairpin transformed from the Key of Revelation onto the access control. After a flashy display of light, the door reluctantly opened.

Fu Hua: "Your hairpin... is quite something..."

Luo Lin pinned the hairpin back onto her hair and couldn't help but sigh at the formidable technology of the previous era.

She had just activated the automatic decryption mode of the Key of Revelation and managed to easily crack the access control in front of her without the assistance of the Void Archives. It felt like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.

However, if the Void Archives were still here... well, it's better they aren't. Having Otto fixate on her was already enough trouble; adding another "little Otto" would drive Luo Lin to a breakdown.

After opening the door, the signal from Raiden Mei's tracker on Raiden Mei was once again captured by the group, and the location displayed on the map showed that Mei and her were within arm's reach.

But upon seeing the things piled up in the warehouse, both Luo Lin and Fu Hua's expressions changed involuntarily.

"Honkai Energy Storage Canisters?"

Rows of huge metal canisters emitting eerie purple light were displayed in the warehouse, dozens of them filling up the entire space. Just looking at them gave a suffocating sense of oppression, which was quite intimidating.

"What is Anti-Entropy planning to do with these? If these things leak, they could trigger a Honkai outbreak in Nagazora City..."

Fu Hua furrowed her brows tightly. She quickly walked to the side of one of the storage canisters, inspected the situation, and then her expression turned grim. "The condition of these things is very bad, and they could leak at any moment... Has Anti-Entropy gone mad? Are they planning to trigger a Honkai outbreak to strip Raiden Ryoma of his Executor qualification?!"

A flash of insight struck Luo Lin's mind. As she looked at these Honkai Energy Storage Canisters, she remembered the major Honkai outbreak that occurred in Nagazora City during the main storyline of Honkai Impact 3rd. It was hard not to associate them with the canisters in front of her.

This warehouse was definitely the work of Cocolia, and leaking the contents might even be part of her plan. The purpose was probably to observe Raiden Mei's condition after awakening the Stigmata, and then send Bronya Zaychik to retrieve her afterwards.

Of course, she might also intend to use this incident to criticize Raiden Ryoma. It would be killing two birds with one stone.

Raiden Mei's life trajectory was simple. She had been well protected by Raiden Ryoma. Even if the Stigmata awakening could give her some enhancement, how much power could a girl who hadn't systematically learned combat techniques unleash?

Bronya Zaychik had received combat training since childhood and now even had the support of "Project Bunny." It wouldn't be difficult for her to capture Raiden Mei.

Cocolia's plan was ambitious, but what she didn't anticipate was that Raiden Mei had a Conquest Gem embedded in her body. Under the stimulation of high-concentration Honkai, it triggered a chain reaction, causing a massive explosion in Nagazora City...

Seeing the situation in Nagazora City, Bronya Zaychik, who was unaware of the truth, was left dumbfounded.

Driven by the instinct of survival and the task given by Cocolia, she joined the team of Kiana and Raiden Mei, intending to continue her mission. Unexpectedly, she was moved by the sincerity of the two and thus embarked on the main storyline of Honkai Impact 3rd...

Wait a minute, hasn't this thing exploded yet? How come Bronya Zaychik is already trying to capture Raiden Mei? Did Cocolia's plan change?

Luo Lin currently didn't have much relevant clues or information about this matter. She could only guess that the butterfly effect she triggered had led to this situation...

Fu Hua instructed Kiana, "Be careful in the upcoming battle. Try not to disturb these canisters..."

Kiana nodded hurriedly. She could clearly feel the Honkai energy contained in these canisters, which immediately made her feel a deadly danger. Of course, Kiana also had a strange impulse to detonate these canisters with a shot and see fireworks...

However, Kiana quickly pushed aside this idea. She followed Luo Lin and Fu Hua's footsteps and continued forward.

The group circled around the area where the Honkai Energy Canisters were placed and found that there was no other way to the depths of the warehouse. They had to pass through these dangerous canisters.

With no other choice, Fu Hua decided to take the lead, with Kiana in the middle and Luo Lin guarding the rear to ensure the safety of the back.

The three of them nervously made their way through the area where the Honkai Energy Storage Canisters were stored, but there were no sudden appearances of enemies or "surprises" like machine gun turrets along the way.

Wiping the sweat off her forehead, Kiana took a deep breath. "That was terrifying..."

The second warehouse door stood in front of everyone. Luo Lin and Fu Hua exchanged glances. The girl removed the hairpin and was about to forcefully crack the access control with a makeshift solution when the Herrscher of Sentience suddenly shouted in her mind:

"Someone is rapidly approaching, and they are hostile!"

"Huh?"

Luo Lin was taken aback for a moment, then she saw the warehouse door in front of her open by itself with a slight "whoosh" sound. The dimly lit corridor stretched deep inside, giving off an eerie vibe, like something out of a horror movie.

Peering into the dim corners inside, Kiana whispered, "Are they giving up resistance?"

"No... wait, hold your breath! Poison gas!"

Fu Hua sensed something was wrong after taking two breaths. She immediately swung her arm, and Edge of Taixuan energy surged and circulated.

With her action, the air in the warehouse was pulled towards the front of the Immortal Phoenix, forming a vortex with a dangerous red hue.

Seeing Fu Hua's move, Luo Lin's DNA was activated - this wasn't the big move of Azure Empyrea, gathering monsters and providing elemental penetration, was it? Old lady... no, Celestial, even after the destruction of the Blade Mantra, you still play with such flourish?

Obviously, Fu Hua's move couldn't unleash the same power as during the Azure Empyrea period, but gathering the toxic gas released in the warehouse and reducing its environmental impact posed no problem.

Kiana expressed her astonishment once again. Her current level only allowed her to get a rough idea. She knew Fu Hua had used an extraordinary move, but she couldn't comprehend how powerful it truly was.

But Raven was different. As a top-tier mercenary under the World Serpent, she had undergone the trials of the Elysian Realm, so she naturally could discern the terrifying technique hidden in this move.

Even from the speed at which the opponent detected the poison gas, Raven could feel the attacker's wealth of combat experience, completely on a different level from ordinary Valkyries.

"Damn, is this person an A-rank... Has Schicksal gone mad?"

She frowned, cursing inwardly. Her originally charging steps immediately slowed down significantly, and she solemnly drew her custom-made war bow, Shadow Night's Nest.

Raven had originally planned to directly engage the attacker in close combat, but now that she understood the control required for that whirlwind technique, the mercenary lady changed her strategy on the spot, preparing to kite these Valkyries from a distance...

Then she saw a certain Miss Pink Elf walking in with a longbow in hand, her pink eyes sharp and piercing through the darkness and reinforced walls of the warehouse, staring directly at her.

"...Am I dreaming?"

Raven stood still, pinching her thigh in disbelief.

She wasn't in the Elysian Realm, so how did a Flame Chaser start popping up out of nowhere?

Chapter 37: Warehouse Skirmish

Once again, the Herrscher of Sentience established a mental link with Luo Lin, providing her with the locations of the enemies lurking nearby.

"The Titans are closing in—" Several melee-type Titans rushed out from the depths of the corridor. These individuals looked different from those encountered outside. Their arms appeared thicker, and there were even two Titans resembling pile drivers mixed in. The bright, warning-yellow color sent alarm bells ringing in Luo Lin's mind.

[Mass-Produced Padrino] and [Flame Patrol]! They moved swiftly, crossing the corridor in the blink of an eye.

Their fists pounded the ground heavily, causing arcs of electricity to explode from the impact points, rushing towards the Honkai Energy Storage Canisters behind them.

"Damn it!" Rarely did Luo Lin curse. She shouted loudly, "We can't fight here! Move inside, into the corridor!"

Struggling to evade the ground-smashing attack of a Titan, Kiana yelled in frustration, "But it's even smaller inside, and we can't hide!"

"That's still better than having those canisters behind us exploding!"

Biting her lip, Fu Hua's attacks on the Titans became even more ferocious. With just a few punches, she broke one Titan's arm, shattered its armor, and even made the energy pipelines on its body flicker.

The Titan determined that it had suffered significant damage and activated its overload function without hesitation. A red polygonal shield appeared in front of the Titan, blocking Fu Hua's fists.

"Just..." The appearance of an energy shield on the Titan made Luo Lin put on a painful expression. The memories of encountering monsters that were invulnerable head-on surged in her mind—it was disgusting.

Before Luo Lin could move to shoot from behind, Fu Hua unexpectedly leaped lightly, even using one hand to support herself on the shield, and flipped directly to the back of the Titan.

With a deep breath, Fu Hua landed a punch on the back of the Titan's head (?). Her punch was full of skill, penetrating the armor and directly destroying the mech's control center.

The red shield in front of the Titan instantly dissipated, collapsing to the ground with a creaking sound.

Luo Lin felt a bit embarrassed at this point. Hindered by the densely packed Honkai Energy Storage Canisters behind her, she couldn't activate "Flawless Dome" to perform a bounce attack—her current control was not enough to use her abilities as effortlessly as Elysia herself, who could easily shoot tracking arrows around corners.

Luo Lin had only managed to enhance the damage of her crystal arrows, but she had no idea how to selectively activate part of the "Flawless Dome" or even use a bounce attack without activating her ultimate ability.

The girl's ultimate ability would create a semi-spherical crystal shield, which would definitely encompass the canisters behind her. If she shot an arrow then, she would bid farewell to the harmonious and beautiful Nagazora City.

With no other choice, Luo Lin had to resort to being just a regular archer, shooting a few arrows to severely damage another Titan. Her charged heavy blow landed on the shield activated by the Titan's overload, causing the polygonal shield to tremble violently.

"Huh? Isn't it supposed to be invincible?"

Only now did Luo Lin realize that she had fallen into a mental trap. In the game, monsters with the "Shield" attribute were indeed invincible head-on and required flanking attacks. But... this was reality.

No matter how hard the shield generated by the Titans was, it had its limits. And for a "powerful mech" like [Pink Fairy Lady], it was just a matter of shooting a few more arrows.

Moreover, she wasn't limited to using just her bow and arrows.

Luo Lin smiled as she took out electromagnetic and high-explosive grenades and threw them towards the back of the shielded Titan.

Special projectiles designed for mechs exploded, completely destroying the already weakened mech under the onslaught of electromagnetic shock and explosions, kneeling on one knee and exploding into flames.

Kiana was targeted by an [Flame Patrol], which leaped towards her, smashing its hot fist into the ground, creating a large pit. The hot wind rustled through the fluffy hair on her head.

Using the power borrowed from "Sister Sirin," Kiana disarmed one of the Titan's arms, but the [Flame Patrol] still had another arm. The iron fist resembling a pile driver emitted a dangerous light, and a "convex" light wave swept over, even dragging the gravel on the ground into its hand.

The fluffy-haired girl exclaimed in anger, unable to stabilize her body, stumbling back two steps. Seizing the opportunity, the Titan mech launched a powerful punch.

Kiana clenched her teeth, performing a difficult maneuver akin to an iron bridge. The fist narrowly missed her body, and she even smelled the scent of her hair burning.

Enraged, the fluffy-haired girl dashed forward, accompanied by Kiana's furious kicks. Surprisingly, the Titan retreated several steps, and faint golden cracks spread from the point of impact where the girl struck.

In the blink of an eye, the armor on the [Flame Patrol] seemed to be sliced by invisible blades, shattering into pieces, and even the inner frame was scarred, sparking with electricity.

Kiana was unaware of the power she had just used, but Luo Lin, beside her, realized—those smooth cuts on the armor fragments and the faint spatial fluctuations were clearly the power of the Herrscher of the Void.

"What a combat style from the Herrscher of the Void!"

Miss Pink Elf marveled as she continued shooting arrows, quickly annihilating the Titan.

"Bam bam bam!"

A second wave of Titans appeared with heavy footsteps. This time, they were all ordinary mass-produced anti-entropy Titans. After all, Hida Ren's resources were limited, and there were only a few special Titans left.

However, the main force of this wave of attacks was not the Titans but another person hidden among them.

"Swoosh—"

Luo Lin's ears twitched, and she decisively twisted her body, drawing her bow and shooting an arrow towards the depths of the corridor. Under her control, the purple crystal arrow exploded.

"Tch!"

The mercenary wearing a hood clicked her tongue as she was forced out from behind the mech by the exploding crystal arrow. She had intended to use the mech as cover to approach the enemy, but she was quickly discovered.

She decided not to hide anymore. The all-black [Obscuring Wing] aimed at Luo Lin, and arrows wrapped in black and red energy tore through the air, heading straight for the girl's vital points.

—It's Little Island Exploding Crow!

Luo Lin was somewhat surprised. She knew that Cocolia had collaborated with World Serpent, but she didn't expect to encounter a member of World Serpent, Raven, so soon.

Nagazora City truly had hidden dragons and crouching tigers!

The girl remained calm. The Honkai aura covered the bow arm of her longbow as she used the bow like a sword, employing Edge of Taixuan to intercept and deflect the incoming arrows.

While Luo Lin dealt with these arrows, Raven had already reached her side. Her crimson claws shimmered with dangerous light as she reached for the girl.

Luo Lin flipped her arm and grabbed Raven's arm with a gentle motion, deflecting her attack with a combination of strikes and par ries. Then, like a lover embracing her beloved, she actively approached the mercenary.

Raven's expression changed, unable to distance herself. She could only watch as Luo Lin slammed her shoulder into her chest.

"Bang!"

The mercenary was skilled, adjusting her posture as much as possible to distribute the force, but this blow almost made her lose her breath.

Gritting her teeth, Raven flipped her arm, forcing Luo Lin to release her grip. Then, she kicked the girl in the chest, using the recoil to create some distance.

But Raven had only created distance. She swung her arm again, and three black-red shadows flew out from her sleeve.

Luo Lin quickly conjured a short sword and slashed twice, deflecting two of the red-glowing raven feathers, which were nailed to the wall.

The pink-haired girl pulled out the other raven feather that she hadn't intercepted in time, splashing a little blood. After a slight tremor of the black feather in her hand, it turned into Honkai energy and dissipated into the air.

Across from her, Raven coughed, clearly not feeling too well. Her eyes flickered as she drew her longbow once again, fully charged.

Chapter 38: "Poison Vine Girl"

Raven initially thought that the two B-rank or C-rank ordinary Valkyries following the gray-haired A-rank Valkyrie were just average, and she planned to take out one of them directly...

However, Raven was surprised to find that this pink-haired Valkyrie was also heavyweight, with sharp movements, astonishing strength, and rich combat experience. Obviously, she was also an A-rank.

Raven even began to suspect whether Cocolia's intervention against Raiden Ryoma at this time was induced by the manipulation of the Archbishop of Destiny, Otto. Otherwise, how could Nagazora City coincidentally produce two A-rank Valkyries?

The battle between Luo Lin and Raven continued for two more rounds, with both sides evenly matched, but overall, Raven was at a disadvantage.

Miss Mercenary noticed the battlefield next to her out of the corner of her eye. Fu Hua and Kiana had almost finished off the remaining Titans, and now the corridor was filled with the smell of burning.

You ask about the poison gas? Fu Hua had already thrown it outside directly, although she might need to act again when evacuating, it wouldn't affect the current battle at all.

Miss Mercenary observed the pink-haired girl in front of her, who looked very similar to a certain character from "Elysian Realm". Raven personally felt it was a coincidence, but she would definitely report it to the headquarters of World Serpent later. She even planned to ask Eden, who she was familiar with.

The student wearing the uniform of the Senba Academy seemed a bit more normal, except that her attack power was slightly outrageous. She looked like a normal C-rank Valkyrie...

That's weird, isn't it strange to kick apart Titan armor with one kick?!

Hey, are you a pre-B-rank Valkyrie who failed the promotion exam because of specializing in attack power?!

Luo Lin was not aware of what Miss Mercenary was thinking during their battle. If she knew, she might burst into laughter, but in the end, she would probably also consider whether there was something fishy behind this series of coincidences with Otto's involvement.

Surely, it's all Otto's doing.jpg

As the last Titan fell to the ground, Fu Hua and Kiana finally had the opportunity to help Luo Lin.

Raven narrowed her eyes and immediately made the decision to withdraw.

She had delayed enough time here, and she could only lose to the two A-rank Valkyries by herself.

As for Hida Ren and Raiden Mei? It's all up to fate.

So, Miss Mercenary grabbed her cloak with one hand, and her figure turned into a dark shadow.

The next moment, a blood-red mist spread out, accompanied by sharp cries of birds. A group of raven shadows formed by Honkai energy flapped their wings and surged out, circling while shooting black-red raven feathers towards Luo Lin's group, causing a storm in the narrow corridor.

"Caw—"

Luo Lin and Fu Hua simultaneously used Edge of Taixuan, one wielding a short sword, and the other using fists as swords, creating a continuous sound of clashing metal.

The gray-haired Valkyrie protected Kiana behind her, and under her control, the Edge of Taixuan intercepted all the raven feathers. Luo Lin was a bit embarrassed, as she was hit several times on her arms and legs, but fortunately, the pink-haired Miss Fairy's health was thick enough, with only half of her health bar dropped so far.

Under Fu Hua's cover, Kiana raised her gun and shot accurately, picking off several circling raven shadows. The remaining raven shadows actually retreated into the blood-red mist and slyly shot raven feathers outward, making the fluffy white girl lose her temper.

"Don't worry, this mist will dissipate soon..."

Fu Hua, a master of martial arts and Honkai energy manipulation, quickly saw through Raven's tactics. She calmly commented, "The ideas and techniques are good, but the duration is a bit of an issue."

Sure enough, a few seconds later, the screaming raven shadows and the blood-red mist disappeared without a trace. Kiana looked at the gray-haired girl beside her, suddenly feeling a sense of admiration.

Luo Lin pulled out a raven feather from her body, looking somewhat helpless as she glanced at Fu Hua.

What was that just now, invisible showing off?

Fu Hua commanded aloud, "Stay vigilant and continue forward!"

————————————————————

Raiden Mei woke up from unconsciousness, opening her eyes and staring blankly at the ceiling. A sour pain emanated from her neck, making her feel dizzy.

Mei found herself sitting in a corner of a spacious room, the icy breath of the cement floor seeping through her thin skirt, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

In this room, there were several restless and anxious girls, most of them wearing school uniforms. There was even a silver-haired spiral-curled girl lying next to Mei, her eyes tightly closed.

She looked around and found that almost everyone had a disheveled and dirty appearance, as if they had been locked up for a long time.

The girls were all tied up with ropes on their hands and feet, sitting helplessly on the ground, unable to move.

Mei tried to move her body slightly and found that she was also restricted like the others—except that, in addition to ropes, she had two sets of handcuffs on her hands and feet, which were more tightly secured than those of the other girls.

Taking a deep breath, the girl with blue-purple long hair tried to break free from the ropes, only to find that her body was unusually weak. She felt that there was very little Honkai energy left in her body, and it was difficult to mobilize even a bit of strength.

What Raiden Mei didn't know was that after Andriana was thrown into the cell by Hida Ren, he also released a canister of poison gas into the room, intending to control Andriana for a long time, but unexpectedly, he also trapped Raiden Mei.

"What's going on..."

Raiden Mei became nervous. She began to think about what happened before she lost consciousness. She and Luo Lin, Kiana, descended from the rooftop, then took a step into the bathroom... Wait a minute, what about Luo Lin and Kiana?

[Hehehe, them? They didn't help at all, just watched as you were taken away!]

The girl with blue-purple long hair widened her eyes and whispered, "It's you! The Herrscher!"

[How many times do I have to tell you, you are me, and I am you... But now, you are like a fish on the chopping board, waiting to be slaughtered.]

Raiden Mei had never imagined that her voice could be so cold and terrifying, but the girl found a clue from the Herrscher's consciousness: "Taken away, it seems that someone kidnapped me... What about Luo Lin and Kiana?"

[Those two cunning fellows? They're dead already!]

Raiden Mei rolled her eyes, "Oh, it looks like they're doing just fine."

The Herrscher raised her voice: [Are you trying to trap me with your words?]

"Do you know where we are now?"

[… I don't know, but I have a way to get you out of here.]

"I can guess, you want control of my body, right?" Raiden Mei squinted her eyes, not waiting for the Herrscher's consciousness to respond, and said decisively, "Dream on."

[Give me control of your body! Accept the power of Honkai! Plunder and destroy everything around you! Otherwise, there is only a dead end!]

A strong dizziness surged again, Raiden Mei's consciousness gradually blurred, she could feel a dark shadow taking over her body, inch by inch being taken away, little by little being lost, her sense of smell, touch, sight...

"You can't scare me."

Raiden Mei bit her lip hard, blood seeping out, faint electric arcs burst from her bangs, and she forcibly pushed the Herrscher's consciousness back into her body.

[Regrettable, if you don't do this, someone else will... It looks like you're going to die because of your stubbornness.]

The girl suddenly raised her head and saw a purple-haired girl across the room screaming in horror, but soon, the scream turned into a joyous laughter.

Raiden Mei could feel Honkai energy gathering around her, the ropes binding her body were torn apart by something, whipping against the walls like whips.

Focusing her eyes, Mei saw that it was green vines as thick as steel pipes. They were covered with terrifying thorns and all connected to the purple-haired girl's body.

"Hehehe, hahaha!!!!"

The girls next to her screamed and struggled to get away from this monster.

One girl shouted loudly, "Yuna, what's wrong with you?! You... ugh!"

The purple-haired girl stabbed the vines into the person's chest, blood soaking her smile.

"Shut up, now I am the chosen one!"

——Nicknamed "Poison Vine Girl," a terrifying character who poisoned Theresa twice in the original plot...

Pseudo-Herrscher, Yuna, is born!

Chapter 39: A Strange Encounter

The laughter of the quasi-Herrscher gradually ceased, and the pierced girl lost her breath. The vines drained the girl's blood, leaving a layer of glamorous red inside her.

Yuna looked around irritably, running her fingers through her hair, and shouted, "Stop making noise, or I'll kill you all!"

The remaining girls fell silent, trembling, and some even couldn't help but cry softly.

Raiden Mei was not as afraid, having witnessed more exaggerated scenes in the consciousness space, like battles that almost overturned entire neighborhoods, with lightning and gunfire...

After that, Mei's mental strength increased significantly.

She calmly observed Yuna and was somewhat surprised to find that her body's condition had improved slightly.

The birth of the quasi-Herrscher rapidly increased the concentration of Honkai energy around, which, though highly toxic to ordinary people, was a wonderful tonic for the Herrscher.

The girl with blue-purple long hair instinctively absorbed the Honkai energy to restore her strength.

What Mei didn't know was that after becoming a quasi-Herrscher, Yuna immediately noticed the poison gas permeating the room, but it had no effect on her. After all, poison was the specialty of this quasi-Herrscher, who was inherently resistant to toxins.

Yuna waved her arm with interest, gathering the poison gas in the room and condensing it into red droplets in her hand, then swallowing it.

"What an interesting poison..." the quasi-Herrscher smirked dangerously. "But now, this thing is mine."

Yuna patted the vine next to her, and it rubbed against her palm like a pet, secreting red droplets—similar to the poison swallowed by the quasi-Herrscher.

The poison, capable of disrupting Honkai energy manipulation and causing people to fall into a coma, was added to the arsenal of the quasi-Herrscher.

"Next..."

Yuna turned her head, her emerald eyes falling on Mei in the corner, and she chuckled lightly, "Oh my, isn't this Mei, the star of Senba Academy?"

"Who are you?"

"Me? Before this, I was just an insignificant, unnoticed nobody... But now, our positions have reversed."

With that, Yuna walked over to the girl with blue-purple hair. The vines beside her twisted like snakes and climbed onto Mei's body, giving her a strange sensation that made her shiver.

["So disgusting, give me your body, I'm going to kill this guy!"]

The consciousness of the Herrscher stirred as Mei's mind shook.

Yuna seemed to notice some clues. She paused her steps, then used the vine to lift Mei and bring her beside her, scrutinizing the girl who clenched her teeth.

"It's strange, why do you smell so good?" Yuna's emerald eyes were filled with naked appetite, as if she wanted to devour Mei alive.

The girl had some realization; perhaps what Yuna wanted was the power of the Herrscher consciousness inside her.

Just then, the tightly closed door suddenly opened, and Hida Ren rushed in with a group of fully armed personnel.

"What's going on? Assassins?"

The man's face was grim. He pointed at Yuna and said, "Don't hurt my ticket, open fire!"

"Bang bang bang!!"

The armed personnel behind Hida Ren aimed at Yuna, and a storm of metal bullets flew towards the quasi-Herrscher!

Green vines wove a shield in front of Yuna, and the bullets hitting these flexible plants failed to harm the quasi-Herrscher.

Yuna's counterattack was swift; the vines, like whips, flung two people away, and branches mysteriously pierced through several armored personnel.

Seeing the situation, Hida Ren exclaimed in fear, "Fire! Fire! Where are the Titans? Titans, attack too!"

"Are you the mastermind who brought me here?" Amidst the increasingly intense gunfire, Yuna frowned and casually threw Mei to the ground, approaching Hida Ren with the shield made of vines.

"Boom!"

The shockwave from a grenade briefly dispersed the vine shield, and several bullets pierced through the gaps, hitting the quasi-Herrscher's body. She cried out in pain, bending over.

"It hurts... it hurts... unforgivable! Unforgivable!"

The wounds on the quasi-Herrscher's body quickly healed, and the pain scattered her rationality. Yuna roared like a wild beast and launched an assault.

More grenades fell around her, mixed with incendiary and flash grenades, but the quasi-Herrscher regarded them as nothing, charging into Hida Ren's team like a speeding train.

"Clang!"

After knocking back several people, a Blaze Sentinel blocked Yuna's attack. This mech, emitting high temperatures, crushed Yuna's vine shield, making the quasi-Herrscher realize the great danger she was in, snapping out of her frenzy.

She attempted to crush the mech with vines, but although the branches were strong enough, the intense heat emanating from the Blaze Sentinel quickly dried them out, depriving them of their flexibility. The mech easily broke free from the entwining vines.

Poison? Machines like robots were immune to toxic gases.

Yuna felt somewhat embarrassed; it seemed she had no way to deal with this mech in front of her, so she could only engage with it while eliminating the annoying armed personnel, extracting their life force with vines to replenish her energy.

Seeing the effective response, Hida Ren shouted, "Bring in another Titan, no, two!"

Two more mechs entered the battlefield, a Blaze Sentinel and another one in bright yellow paint, but equipped with a long-range Titan missile launcher.

Their arrival increased the pressure on the quasi-Herrscher significantly, even making her feel a deadly threat.

Mei coughed twice, looking at the intense battle scene not far away, feeling a hint of despair in her heart.

Just then, she sensed movement beside her. Turning her head, she saw that the girl with blue-purple hair who had been lying beside her had somehow untied herself and was struggling to crawl towards her.

Mei locked eyes with Bronya.

"Come here! I'll help you untie the ropes!" the silver-haired girl called out.

Mei clenched her teeth and rolled towards her like a caterpillar, quickly closing the distance between them.

Supporting herself, the silver-haired girl showed Mei a blade in her hand.

"Alright, let's do it!"

Then, Bronya cut the ropes binding Mei, granting her limited freedom—after all, there were still handcuffs and leg irons, which the blade couldn't help with.

But next, the silver-haired girl took out a piece of wire. In Mei's surprised gaze, she quickly removed these restraints.

"Thank you!"

"Bronya," the silver-haired girl introduced herself.

"Mei..."

Mei helped Bronya sit up straight, looking worriedly at her lower body. "Your legs..."

"It seems they stopped working after being brought here," Bronya said emotionlessly, successfully dimming Mei's expression.

"Damn bastards... It's okay, I'm strong, I'll carry you."

However, the girl with blue-purple hair quickly rallied, extending her hands and weighing Bronya's weight. After being reinforced by Honkai energy, this weight was no burden for Mei.

She then looked at the group of people who were fighting fiercely and getting further away from them, asking Bronya, "Bronya, shall we free the others and escape together?"

Bronya's eyes flickered and she responded, "Alright."

Chapter Forty: Not as Expected

"What's that noise?"

Both Luo Lin and Fu Hua heard the explosion emanating from deep within the warehouse. The vibrations caused dust to fall from the ceiling, prompting the group to quicken their pace.

"The concentration of Honkai energy is so high! Could there be storage tanks hidden in there?" Fu Hua gasped, gathering energy into her fist with Edge of Taixuan, while Luo Lin raised her newly adjusted war bow. Kiana tugged at her collar and adjusted her clothes.

As the three were about to turn the corner, a figure was flung out from around the bend, slamming heavily into the wall with a dull thud. Luo Lin squinted and saw a person wearing bulletproof armor, their face eerily pale, with multiple wounds piercing their body, yet no blood flowed.

Beyond the corner was a not-so-small open space, originally filled with many steel crates and large containers, now shattered into debris due to the battle.

Two Flame Hell Wardens and a purple figure were entangled in combat, with a red pillar in the center continuously spewing flames, causing considerable distress to the purple figure.

"This is..." Fu Hua stared at the purple-haired girl emitting extremely high Honkai energy, and the green vines writhing behind her, her lips twitching. "Pseudo-Herrscher?"

Seeing the pillar stabbed into the center of the area, Luo Lin's memory of it flooded back, making her head buzz. Most players who focused on glass panels and handles might not have a strong impression of this, as it was just a small move thrown by a remote Titan.

But for Luo Lin, who had personally experienced close combat with monsters in the abyss, this pillar seemed rather disgusting...

Firstly, it continuously spewed flames outward, termed "igniting nearby characters" in gaming terms. Secondly, its hardness was astonishing, comparable to the hardest part of the damn shield held by a Templar-class Honkai beast, even the Vermillion Knight would feel numb when hitting it with a big sword. Lastly, its explosive power far exceeded imagination. Even if Luo Lin could survive the explosion, the shockwave would blow her directly to the edge of the area.

Then, Luo Lin would need to rush back through the barrage of long-range projectiles from various monsters, otherwise, the main output, the Vermillion Knight, wouldn't be able to hit anyone...

Fortunately, Luo Lin now had a long-range main DPS like Miss Pink Elf, so at least when she put her in the team, she didn't have to fight up close!

Suddenly, Luo Lin thought of something and turned to Fu Hua, asking, "Wait, is this thing going to explode here? Won't the warehouse collapse?"

Akuan pointed to the figure in the distance, saying cautiously, "It's hard to say. There are other agents of Anti Entropy in the building. Generally, they shouldn't choose to detonate... But isn't there a pseudo-Herrscher over there?"

Following Fu Hua's direction, Luo Lin saw a man advancing around the battlefield.

It's Hida Ren!

Several armed individuals dressed similarly to the corpses Luo Lin had seen before followed him. They were trying their best to keep a low profile as they moved toward a room with an open door.

"Mei is over there!" Kiana saw their rescue target. Raiden Mei was carrying a silver-haired girl with a spiral curl, along with several other unfamiliar girls, staggering out of the open door.

"Get them!" Hida Ren shouted, and the remaining armed personnel beside him rushed out. They were much faster than the girls who had been tied up and only given the bare minimum of survival water for food.

Raiden Mei, who had just been caught, was different. She was in good condition, but because of the poison gas, her Honkai energy was greatly reduced, and her control was weakened... But at least she still had the strength to carry Bronya and run.

Soon, one of the girls was pinned to the ground by the pursuers. Her screams were drowned out by the sounds of missiles and explosions, and the rest of the people had numb expressions as they ran, but it seemed difficult for them to escape the pursuit of the armed personnel.

Looking at the pursuers behind her and the girl who was pinned down and unable to move, Raiden Mei gritted her teeth, anger and helplessness rising from the bottom of her heart.

"Darn it... how can I save them..."

If she had the strength...

The voice of the Herrscher's consciousness sounded again: [Then you should leave everything to me. As long as you do so, I guarantee that the man and the girl will disappear completely in the lightning.]

Rarely, Mei hesitated.

Bronya, who was lying on Raiden Mei's back, heard Mei's muttering. She opened her mouth and gained a deeper understanding of the girl who had been marked by Cocolia early on.

Raiden Mei could have abandoned the others, which would even attract the attention of the enemies, but... this girl seemed to be considering saving everyone.

She didn't seem as heartless as Bronya had imagined.

Bronya shouted, "Mei! There are guns on the ground over there! We can use them to delay the pursuers!"

Her voice interrupted Raiden Mei's thoughts. The girl with the silver spiral curl glanced over and saw a soldier's body lying there, with an assault rifle not far away.

"Good idea!"

Raiden Mei quickened her pace, grabbed the gun, and pulled the body behind a steel crate where were magazines on the body, and she needed this ammunition supply, and even a pistol in the holster on the body's leg.

Raiden Mei asked in a low voice, "Bronya, which one do you prefer?"

The girl with the silver spiral curl hesitated for a moment, and the image of Seele flashed through her mind, along with her warm smile.

"... I'm good with rifles."

"Here you go!"

Raiden Mei directly stuffed the rifle into Bronya's hands, pulled out the pistol, and even leaned out from behind cover, shooting at the pursuers!

"Bang bang bang!"

Unfortunately, all three shots missed.

Raiden Mei only knew how to use pistols; whether she could shoot accurately was another matter.

The sudden gunfire startled the pursuing armed personnel, and they quickly took cover. As they did so, the girls running away naturally widened the distance.

Soon, they found that Raiden Mei had picked up a pistol, and she stood there exaggeratedly, not even bothering to take cover, firing at them. The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

Because Hida Ren's demand was to capture Raiden Mei alive, they couldn't ensure that shooting would avoid vital points in the chaotic battlefield, and they naturally couldn't counterattack Raiden Mei.

However, they were well-trained people and knew that Raiden Mei's ammunition was limited. After organizing their thoughts, they threw smoke grenades and flashbangs, intending to take advantage of the opportunity to close the distance.

"Rat-a-tat!"

With the short bursts of the assault rifle, one of the armed personnel fell to the ground, and the rest of them noticed the silver-haired girl beside Raiden Mei, their faces bitter.

They knew who she was because before throwing Bronya into the prison, Hida Ren had introduced her achievements to the armed personnel.

This one was different from Raiden Mei, she... um... anyway, the actions of the armed personnel became more cautious, almost stagnant.

Hida Ren slapped the last Titan beside him angrily and punched in Raiden Mei's direction.

"Capture her!"

Chapter Forty-One: Exploded in the End

"I'll handle this pseudo-Herrscher. Luo Lin, take Kiana and go rescue Raiden Mei. Help me deal with those nuisances around the battlefield."

As expected, Fu Hua immediately focused on the pseudo-Herrscher who was "going berserk" in the distance. She patted Luo Lin on the shoulder and then exerted force under her feet, turning into a black shadow and rushing towards the pseudo-Herrscher.

With a roar, Yuna erupted with powerful Honkai energy, causing the vines to rapidly expand as her exertion increased, dancing wildly around her.

The dancing vines pushed two nearby melee Titans to sway, and it became harder for the high temperature and flames to destroy the branches that had been heavily reinforced with Honkai energy. Even the missiles fired by the remote Titans were knocked away by the enhanced vines, making the mechs temporarily unable to threaten the pseudo-Herrscher.

But that lethal feeling still lingered in Yuna's heart. She glanced around, trying to find the source of the threat.

The next moment, Tianshitada, who could wrestle with Titans, shattered the Titan, and the gray figure tore through everything in its path, heading straight for Yuna's head.

"Inch Power: Rock Breaker!"

"Boom!"

Fu Hua's fist solidly struck the pseudo-Herrscher's face!

The pseudo-Herrscher's vision darkened, and before she could even cry out in pain, the powerful impact shattered her face and skull. The shockwave even continued to spread, breaking Yuna's spine.

But Yuna didn't die in the end. As someone who could manipulate vines, she had the same tenacious vitality as plants.

In this situation, the Honkai energy within the pseudo-Herrscher's body quickly condensed and circulated, replacing her human body systems, transforming her life form into something resembling a Honkai beast.

At the same time, the scattered vines attacked Fu Hua, hindering Jingwei's further attacks.

Fu Hua took a deep breath, golden feathers appearing around her, and the radiant light of the Divine Key, "Fenghuang Down," shone brightly as she launched a mental domain attack against Yuna!

"Got her... Huh?!"

Jingwei easily trapped the pseudo-Herrscher in an illusion, but even after losing consciousness control, the opponent continued to act, and her manipulation of Honkai energy became even smoother, with a more ferocious onslaught than before!

What's going on? Animalistic instincts?

Fu Hua originally thought that "Fenghuang Down" would take care of her, but unexpectedly encountered this situation. Just as the gray-haired girl was stunned, the battered pseudo-Herrscher picked up a nearby Anti Entropy mech and threw it at Fu Hua.

"Clang!"

Fu Hua raised her hand and, like performing acrobatics, changed the Titan's flight trajectory, causing it to crash into a nearby container, raising a cloud of smoke.

The next moment, flowers bloomed on the pseudo-Herrscher's vines, and the tips of the branches aimed at Fu Hua, spraying out crimson venom!

Fu Hua dodged, solemnly watching the poisonous liquid splattering on the ground. She sensed the same nature as the poison gas in the previous room, which could interfere with a person's manipulation of Honkai energy.

In a sense, such power could almost be considered a nemesis of Valkyries.

Jingwei raised her head and saw that the pseudo-Herrscher had already run far away. Her head and shoulders were tattered, appearing to be completely stuck together by purple Honkai energy, and even reinforced with vines, she looked like some kind of monster from the well-known horror game "Silent Hill."

The pseudo-Herrscher's body craved survival and needed more energy. She could sense a large amount of Honkai energy not far from here, like a meticulously prepared feast.

More poison gas was released, blocking the passage behind her, forcing Fu Hua, who was trying to chase, to slow down and deal with it.

On the other side, Luo Lin found it incredibly easy to deal with these ordinary armed personnel, either killing them instantly or bursting them.

"The Schicksal's people have reached here!?"

The man's face twisted as he pressed the communicator, veins popping out on his face, demanding, "Miss Mercenary, why didn't you stop them!?"

"Those are two A-rank Valkyries. I can't stop them alone. You're on your own. Besides, we only have a business relationship. I'm not going to risk my life to help you."

Raven's calm voice plunged the man's spirit into a deeper hell as he watched the pink-haired Valkyrie sweep through the battlefield like a gust of wind, her bow never stopping, using crystal-like arrows to pin his subordinates to the walls and floor.

The only thing that made Luo Lin pause slightly was the Titan sent to capture Raiden Mei, which quickly disintegrated under the assault of the crystal arrows, crashing to the ground.

"Mei, we're here!"

Kiana ran over, holding a pistol, and fired with shooting accuracy far exceeding Raiden Mei's own, knocking down two armed personnel in response.

"Kiana!"

A smile tugged at Mei's lips, wanting to give the white-haired bundle a big hug, but they were still on the battlefield, not the time to relax yet.

"Quick, help me deal with their injuries!"

"Ah, well... I'm not very good at this..."

Bronya looked at the two girls wearing Senba Academy uniforms, then thought of the terrifying enemy named Yuna who had just run out, also a member of Senba Academy.

Bronya's evaluation of Senba Academy subtly changed, firmly putting it in the category of "dangerous places best avoided."

Of course, Bronya was more concerned about the two behind them, the pink-haired Valkyrie with the longbow and the gray-haired Valkyrie with astonishing martial arts skills.

Schicksal buried two high-level Valkyries next to Raiden Mei? What's going on?

Bronya's thoughts raced as she decided to continue playing the role of "extremely East student accidentally captured, unable to move his legs."

Well, it's normal for Eastern students to know how to use guns and pick locks.

"Who is that...?"

Raiden Mei looked at the pink fairy miss who was killing everyone, asking in confusion.

Kiana replied, "She's Luo Lin!"

"Huh?"

Mei's mouth widened in surprise.

"...I have to leave here."

Hida Ren took a deep breath, turned and ran, rushing towards another passage in the warehouse.

There was a small transport ship there. He had originally planned to take Raiden Mei and the experimental specimens collected by Jackal to leave together, but now he could only escape alone.

He scattered the last of the poison gas in the passage, leaving Luo Lin no choice but to stop. She couldn't deal with this thing right now.

"Sir!" the pilot greeted.

"Take off immediately! Increase speed!"

Hida Ren gasped, feeling the power of the transport ship lifting off, but his heart was still tense.

Wait, did he forget something?

Before the man could carefully consider, a terrifying explosion accompanied by intense Honkai waves spread from behind, and severe pain engulfed his senses.

The warehouse... the Honkai energy storage tanks...!

The pilot of the transport ship fell unconscious without a word, and the aircraft lost control, spiraling down towards the ground.

"Boom!"

Before losing consciousness, Hida Ren looked down at his own arm, where fine purple lines had already spread over his skin.

"H... Honkai... the Honkai has erupted..."

Chapter Forty-Two: The Epicenter of the Outburst

The pseudo-Herrscher, Yuna, awoke from her daze. Her pupils contracted as she gazed blankly at the sky, taking several seconds to come to her senses.

"Ugh... it hurts!"

A few drops of crimson "tears" squeezed out of Yuna's eyes, the venom sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the already exploded wreckage, emitting a dreadful hissing sound.

She remembered what had happened earlier: a gray-haired girl breaking through numerous obstacles to deliver a powerful punch to the pseudo-Herrscher, nearly killing her.

Then, the gray-haired girl seemed to use some kind of technique. After a dazzling golden light, she transformed into a different figure, wearing clothes reminiscent of ancient China, with flames burning between her fists and feet.

The temperature of these flames far exceeded that of the yellow mechs seen before. No matter how Yuna tried to counter them, she couldn't stop their burning, causing the pseudo-Herrscher to scream in agony.

However, Jingwei didn't care about Yuna's screams. In the illusion constructed by "Fenghuang Down," she relentlessly struck Yuna, hoping to completely erase her consciousness as she had done with "Agata, the Pseudo-Herrscher of Flames" before.

However, Agata at the time was actually a newly created consciousness manipulated by Seele using the power of the dead pseudo-Herrscher, with little experience or memory. Fu Hua easily extinguished this new consciousness with just one glance.

But Yuna was different. Before becoming a pseudo-Herrscher, she had been a human for over a dozen years, although her life had not been very comfortable—bullied by classmates, despised by family—perfectly fitting the tragic background of a chosen one of Honkai.

In comparison, she harbored more thoughts of destroying the world and a strong desire to survive.

Fu Hua failed to immediately extinguish Yuna's consciousness. And with this delay, her body had already run to the previous location of the Honkai energy storage tank.

The vines around the pseudo-Herrscher raised high, piercing straight into a Honkai energy storage tank. With a grating sound, the vibrant purple Honkai energy was extracted by the branches and absorbed into Yuna's body.

"Heh..."

The pseudo-Herrscher let out a low growl, her near-shattered body filled with energy, stabilizing. But how could a mere tank of Honkai energy satisfy her?

Thus, the vines danced, heavily striking the surrounding storage tanks!

Honkai energy gushed out from the cracks in the storage tanks, and the pseudo-Herrscher's body stood firm in the surge of energy, even opening her arms to embrace the Honkai energy.

More and more Honkai energy gathered together. Coupled with the pseudo-Herrscher's presence, quantitative changes led to qualitative changes!

The purple energy surged, coalescing and violently shaking, triggering a terrifying explosion. Not only did it blast out a terrifying hole straight to the ground, but it also briefly opened the door to the imaginary space!

Supported by the imaginary space, the density of Honkai energy increased exponentially. In an instant, Honkai energy poured out of this hole like a volcanic eruption, temporarily staining the sky of Nagazora City purple!

Immediately afterward, this Honkai energy spread out, sweeping everything around like a storm!

At the center of the Honkai eruption, the pseudo-Herrscher faced the scourge of the Honkai energy torrent. Under such intense Honkai energy influence, her consciousness broke free from the constraints of "Fenghuang Down," and she reopened her eyes.

"I... I'm still alive!"

Yuna gasped for breath, lowering her head and stroking her body.

The energy within the pseudo-Herrscher's body was particularly abundant. She waved her hand, summoning her vines, which were now covered with a layer of white shells, with faint purple patterns on them, resembling Honkai beasts.

Several white Honkai beasts were born from the air, silently guarding around the pseudo-Herrscher.

Yuna touched the transformed vines with some surprise, a smile gradually appearing on her lips.

"Damn humans, I'm coming for revenge!"

---

What does it feel like to experience a Honkai eruption?

For Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya, perhaps this was the first time they had experienced a Honkai eruption up close without being controlled by a Herrscher consciousness.

Thanks to their strong resistance to Honkai energy, the two quasi-Herrschers and one Herrscher prototype were not in mortal danger. They felt as if they had suddenly taken a breath of air, sensing a powerful scent they had never smelled before.

Bronya coughed uncomfortably a few times, pressing her temples and blinking her eyes hard.

"What are you up to again?" a weak voice sounded in Kiana's ear. Kiana covered her chest with her hands in surprise and asked, "Sister Sirin? Are you awake?"

"How could I not wake up with such a big commotion outside?" Sirin used Kiana's eyes to observe the surroundings. After a few seconds, she sighed, "Why do you always run to places with high Honkai concentration?"

"I can't control it..." Kiana replied awkwardly.

Sirin glanced at Raiden Mei beside her and said, "I'll continue to sleep and suppress the impulse to destroy the world... I hope you don't stay here too long."

Luo Lin looked around and found that even small purple Honkai energy fragments had condensed in the air, although they were small, floating like dust in the air, twinkling with tiny spots of light.

Senti suddenly spoke up: "Pay attention to Raiden Mei's condition. The Honkai concentration is extremely high now, which may provide an opportunity for the Herrscher consciousness!"

"You're right!"

Luo Lin turned her head and saw Raiden Mei frowning, swaying unsteadily, and needing to hold onto cover to stay on her feet.

In the high-density Honkai environment, her power had been enhanced, and Raiden Mei had to invest most of her energy in resisting this dangerous consciousness.

The Herrscher consciousness shouted fanatically, "Do you feel it? That call! It represents power! As long as you accept it, the authority of the world will fall into your hands!"

Raiden Mei pursed her lips. The Herrscher consciousness was not wrong. She did feel something watching her, calling out to her.

The girl even had a premonition that as long as she accepted the invitation, she could even bring all the surrounding Honkai energy under her control.

"But... I refuse."

The gaze from the depths of the void left disappointedly, disappearing without a trace.

Raiden Mei breathed a sigh of relief, watching the figure rushing towards her not far away. Luo Lin had returned to her original appearance from the pink fairy miss and hurried to Raiden Mei's side.

Kiana, who was standing beside her, supported her arm and asked with concern, "Mei, are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine, actually..." Raiden Mei patted the white furball's hand. "By the way, is this a Honkai eruption now?"

Luo Lin happened to hear her question and nodded, "Yes, Nagazora City is experiencing a Honkai outbreak, but the intensity... the intensity might not be particularly high."

"Not very high?"

Kiana looked at the flickering purple dots in the air, her mouth agape.

"Indeed, not very high."

Fu Hua walked over at some point, her expression not looking very good. "Luo Lin, I need your help— the pseudo-Herrscher ran away, and I couldn't kill her."

"Ah?! What about your 'Fenghuang Down'?"

"Just a little bit short..."

"This..."

Chapter 43: Focused Vision

The girls who were previously with Raiden Mei, Bronya, and Mei appeared uncomfortable, but at least no one died directly because of the Honkai eruption.

After all, they were all originally carefully selected high-quality experimental subjects brought by Tian Ren and prepared to be sent to Jackal. So, at least in terms of Honkai resistance, they were up to standard and could withstand the onset of the Honkai.

However, the warehouse was too close to the center of the Honkai outbreak, and the concentration of Honkai energy here was extremely exaggerated.

Many girls already showed signs of erosion by Honkai energy on their bodies.

"We need to leave here quickly..." Kiana said anxiously.

"You're right, but... the surrounding passages are filled with toxic gas..." Luo Lin shrugged awkwardly. Not far away, Fu Hua was manipulating Edge of Taixuan to gather those dangerous gases together.

Jingwei watched the vortex in front of her thoughtfully, then reached out her hand. The Honkai energy changed form, and a flame suddenly ignited out of thin air, igniting those toxic gases.

Soon, the toxic gas lost its effectiveness due to the high temperature.

"It seems that fire can solve part of the problem with the toxic gas..." Fu Hua sighed in relief at this discovery. "Fortunately, I'm quite good at playing with fire."

Jingwei clenched her fist, flames swirling around her arm, just like during the Jingwei and Azure Empyrea period of her time. The high temperature ignited those toxic gases, quickly clearing a relatively safe area.

"Use fire?"

Hearing this, Luo Lin naturally thought of Vermillion Knight Eclipse, who was a fire damage dealer and could ignite states.

So, burning toxic gas shouldn't be a problem!

"Mei, Kiana, don't be afraid, I'll change my state first!"

"Change state...?"

Raiden Mei nodded as if she understood. She had great confidence in Luo Lin after all, as she had led her into the extraordinary world. And given her current level of understanding of Honkai, she wouldn't be surprised by anything Luo Lin did.

Kiana seemed to realize something and asked excitedly, "Sister Luo Lin, besides that pink one, do you have any other looks?"

Bronya, lying on the back of the white fur ball, raised an eyebrow and turned her head to look at Luo Lin.

And the Valkyrie didn't disappoint. She transformed into a completely different person on the spot. Vermillion Knight - Eclipse appeared in the warehouse with a scorching temperature.

Jingwei heard the movement behind her and turned to look. Her expression somewhat subtle.

"You're not trying to hide it anymore?"

"Sooner or later, you'll find out."

Luo Lin lightly tapped the hairpin on her head with her index finger. The Key of Revelation faintly glowing, and a golden-red fiery greatsword fell into her hand.

"Hum—"

The Eclipse armor provided ample energy for the Mimicry Cleaver of Shamash, making the golden-red sword blade even brighter, emitting a faint buzzing sound.

Unfortunately, the Mimicry Cleaver of Shamash that Luo Lin conjured up now could only maintain this basic form. When the Vermillion Knight actually obtained the true form of Judgement of Shamash, she even activated the Judgement of Shamash's Might of An-utu mode.

She wondered where Siegfried is in Nagazora now. But after seeing the Honkai, he should come over voluntarily, right?

————————————————————

Siegfried looked at the sky dyed purple, sighing helplessly.

"Honkai eruption... it never rains but it pours."

The white-haired man patted the arm of the person next to him and asked, "Ryoma, how many Titan troops can you call now?"

Raiden Ryoma coughed and said softly, "Not many, because the situation of the ME Corp is still unclear, and those traitors may obstruct my actions. I can only mobilize some of the Titan troops I've accumulated myself to deal with the situation."

Siegfried was somewhat surprised. "Honkai has erupted, and someone still stops you from rescuing and assisting?"

"...After all, this is Anti Entropy. Its organizational structure is relatively loose and won't be as authoritarian as Schicksal..." Raiden Ryoma rubbed his forehead. "By the way, I haven't thanked you for rescuing me."

"Humph, I just tracked some suspicious characters, and after wandering around, I unexpectedly found your location... rescuing you was just a byproduct."

Siegfried looked in the direction of the Honkai eruption, clicking his tongue. "It seems that the suburbs of Nagazora have all fallen, and a small part of the urban area has also been affected. Originally, with this situation, a batch of Titans from your ME Corp could suppress it, but unfortunately, it coincided with the matter of traitors..."

"I don't think it's a coincidence." Raiden Ryoma sneered. "I'm afraid someone intends to frame me, but ends up doing such a thing..."

"Beep beep beep!"

Just then, the communicator in the white-haired man's hand rang, and Dr. Tesla's anxious face appeared in the air. "Siegfried, the radar detected a Honkai outbreak on your side... oh, Mr. Raiden Ryoma was rescued by you?"

"Yes, he's in decent condition now."

The red-haired double ponytailed doctor hesitated for a moment and said, "Mr. Ryoma, your daughter has encountered some trouble..."

"Mei..."

Raiden Ryoma clenched his fist, anger surging through his mind, almost crushing his own teeth.

"The traitors must die!"

Seeing the man's fierce expression, Tesla shivered, and she carefully said, "Well, Mr. Ryoma, I know you're now..."

"No need to say more, I'll continue to dispatch Titans to deal with the Honkai. Now I'll hand over the command authority to you."

Raiden Ryoma slammed his hand hard against the wall, making a dull sound.

Mei...

Watching the man with blue and purple short hair in this state, Siegfried patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, your daughter should be safe... after all, there should be a Valkyrie from Schicksal protecting her..."

"?"

Raiden Ryoma looked confused, and the white-haired man didn't want to explain that he had seen a Valkyrie from Schicksal in his consciousness space before... that experience was not easy to explain.

Tesla tapped on the keyboard, seemingly detecting incoming data, and she shouted to Siegfried, "Siegfried, I know what you want to do now, you want to go to the place where the Honkai erupted and take a look, right? Go ahead, after all, we only have you as an S-level combat force here... We'll take care of things on this end, and additional personnel will arrive soon."

"Okay, I'll leave right away."

Siegfried turned around and ran towards the direction of the Honkai outbreak.

————————————————————

The extreme east branch of Schicksal sounded a piercing alarm, and the Valkyries mobilized in an orderly manner, looking busy.

"Warning! A Honkai event has occurred in Nagazora!""

Data comparison is underway, the peak Honkai energy has not reached the requirement for the birth of the Herrscher, but it is much higher than the normal Honkai event, with a high possibility of a pseudo Herrscher!"

Theresa looked at the message on the screen, recalling Otto's instruction to her shortly before the Hyperion floating battleship was ready, she felt a bit uneasy.

Grandpa... don't tell me this is also your doing...

Theresa shook her head and pressed the communicator.

"Captain Ragnar, go to Nagazora for the Honkai handling mission!"

"Roger!"

On the bridge of the Hyperion, Captain Ragnar Lothbrok clapped her hands and shouted loudly.

Chapter 44: New Mechanism?

Two figures, surrounded by flames, advanced through the corridor, and the deadly toxins were burned to almost nothingness by the Honkai energy.

Luo Lin and Fu Hua finally decided to let Kiana, Raiden Mei, and the other girls stay where they were for the time being. They collected some equipment from the dead enemies and fortified their position in the advantageous terrain of the warehouse, awaiting reinforcements.

After all, the captured girls had just experienced a battlefield escape experiencr, and both their physical and mental strength had been greatly tested. They were now unable to walk any further, and forcibly moving them would take far more time than imagined.

It would be better for Luo Lin and Fu Hua to directly charge out and employ a decapitation tactic against the pseudo Herrscher, then come back after dealing with that person and take the rested girls out...

Fu Hua asked with some concern, "Is it really okay to leave Kiana alone there to defend...?"

"Don't underestimate Kiana; she has strong combat talent," Luo Lin replied. "I left her with plenty of weapons and ammunition. Even if a large number of Honkai beasts come, she should be able to hold out for a while with those things... at least it's not a problem for her to escape with the others."

Just now, Luo Lin retrieved a large number of weapons, ammunition, medicines, and even food supplies from the system space.

Then, the Valkyrie quickly treated the injuries of the girls and delivered an inspiring speech to them with a serious expression.

Listening to the speech, Fu Hua felt somewhat familiar, and then she realized that it seemed to be Bishop Otto's speech to the Valkyries, but modified by Luo Lin.

The anxious girls gradually calmed down, gazing at Luo Lin, even feeling that the Valkyrie was emitting a glimmer of hope.

In fact, Luo Lin was indeed "shining" at that moment—she actively used her special physique to spread feelings of determination and peace.

This was not only to comfort the girls but also to assist Raiden Mei and Kiana in suppressing the impulses of the Herrscher.

The result was gratifying; Raiden Mei's previously furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and Kiana also appeared to be more lively—Senti monitored the whole process and finally stated that the mental state of the two had indeed improved somewhat.

Thinking of this, Luo Lin revealed a subtle smile. "Of course, I also left a back-up plan with Kiana... but I hope I won't need to use this back-up plan."

The girls looked at their formation list, and the avatar of "Valkyrie - Accipiter" was blinking, indicating that someone was using this character card.

Of course, it was our cutest Senti!

"Huh, why am I thinking about helping Luo Lin do this kind of thing... it's just a freely usable body, I don't care about this kind of thing..."

Senti lowered her head, looking at the somewhat distinctive blue training suit, feeling a bit annoyed as she clenched her fist.

The protective gloves she received earlier while following "Valkyrie - Accipiter" had been thrown aside by Senti, and she conjured up a handy pair of gloves using her Herrscher ability.

If Luo Lin could see these gloves, she would probably be very happy to call them the "Domain of Sentience."

But Senti herself didn't care much about the names of weapons and such. She was now squatting in a corner of the warehouse, watching Kiana and Raiden Mei from a distance.

Senti's task was not only to protect Kiana and Raiden Mei but also to monitor their mental states.

With Senti's ability, she could pull people into illusions or knock them unconscious when the two small ones couldn't control their destructive impulses.

"The situation here is fine. You hurry up and take out that pseudo Herrscher, then come back and watch yourself!"

Feeling the information coming through the mental link, Luo Lin swung her sword faster.

"The pseudo Herrscher is moving, it seems to be coming towards us!" Fu Hua warned, "Be careful!"

"Perfect timing! I'm afraid she'll escape!"

A pseudo Herrscher capable of releasing terrifying toxins, if she hides and employs guerrilla tactics in a cunning manner, even the strongest Schicksal force, Durandal, would be greatly troubled.

Fortunately, this "Poison Vine Woman" didn't do that, perhaps because she had purple hair and was infected with the swelling power from pufferfish out of nowhere—After obtaining sufficient Honkai supply, Yuna brought her newly acquired Honkai beasts to trouble Fu Hua.

The pseudo Herrscher, accompanied by a large group of minions, looked quite imposing.

At the forefront was Luo Lin's old friend, the Templar Honkai Beast, Vermillion Knight, who couldn't help but be overjoyed.

The girl slightly lowered her body, skillfully transferring all her strength to the Mimicry Cleaver of Shamash.

The crimson greatsword turned into a phantom and accurately slashed at the shield, accompanied by a crisp sound, the white shield shattered into pieces, revealing the true body of the Honkai beast.

Immediately after, the Cleaver of Shamash whistled past, leaving a clear "X"-shaped trail in the air, cutting the Templar Honkai Beastinto several pieces.

In an instant, Luo Lin took out this Templar Honkai Beast.

Mainly because the girl had previously chopped countless Templar Honkai Beasts during the chaos in the Memorial Arena and the battle with the Herrscher of the Void, and this set of procedures had almost become muscle memory, making it easy to handle.

The Vermillion Knight performed so effortlessly that it naturally caught the attention of the pseudo Herrscher, who muttered in surprise, "Who are you again?! Are you that guy's companion... never mind, just die all of you!"

The pseudo Herrscher, enhanced by Honkai, launched a more ferocious attack with her vines. Her Honkai beasts also launched coordinated attacks.

More importantly, the pseudo Herrscher also specifically manipulated several vines to spray venom and toxic gas at Luo Lin and Fu Hua.

With the enhancement of Honkai, the danger of these venom and toxic gas escalated to a higher level. Even flames couldn't deal with them instantly.

The girls could even see a bright yellow bar called "Poison Accumulation" appearing in their field of vision, increasing rapidly with time.

Luo Lin: "?"

[The pseudo Herrscher's toxins are spreading all around. Switching characters and causing damage can reduce the poison accumulation value of background characters.]

[When the poison accumulation value reaches its maximum, the Valkyrie will continue to receive high damage.]

Wow, a boss with a new mechanism!?

Are you going to join the Memorial Arena too?!

Chapter 45: Introducing the New Mechanism Boss

Initially, Luo Lin had considered summoning the support Valkyrie, Himeko Murata, and letting her control the Vermillion Knight while she herself used Valkyrie - Dark Feathers to coordinate the attack.

However, with the introduction of the poison accumulation mechanism, Luo Lin abandoned this plan. Implementing it would mean both the Vermillion Knight and Dark Feathers being on the field simultaneously, causing the poison accumulation for both characters to increase without any means of reduction.

Uncertain of the consequences of a full poison gauge, aside from the continuous bleeding indicated by the prompt, Luo Lin hesitated.

It could possibly render her unable to recover health, similar to False God Otto's ability, or decrease attack power. Even worse, it might behave like the ground fire generated by an Hellmarul, which could drain the Valkyrie's SP when stood upon.

Determined to avoid experiencing the effects of poisoning firsthand, she resolved to strictly control her output and prevent the poison gauge from reaching capacity.

Nevertheless, Himeko's support remained viable, as her Flame Rekindled stigma on the Vermillion Knight offered additional attribute bonuses when she supported her during combat.

"Summon Support Valkyrie: Himeko Murata"

A Valkyrie with fiery red hair emerged from the void, her illusory figure floating mid-air.

Clutching a pen, She lowered her head. She seemed to have been grading papers before being summoned— the only anomaly being Himeko's left hand still holding a can of beer, seemingly treating it as a thirst-quenching beverage.

"Huh, what?"

Himeko raised her head, observing the unfamiliar surroundings. Confusion vanished from her face in an instant as she realized she had been summoned for assistance by Luo Lin.

The red-haired Valkyrie promptly dropped her belongings, and the pen and beer can dissipated into dots of light: "Luo Lin, what's happening?"

"I called you here to reinforce the battle!" Luo Lin replied.

"Boom!"

The strengthened pseudo Herrscher's vines lashed out, prompting Luo Lin to raise her sword and intercept, shattering the branches covering the Honkai energy canisters.

The glowing traces left by the Mimicry Judgement of Shamash gleamed brightly, melting the wings of the advancing class of collapsing beasts hidden behind the vines.

"Herrscher? No... " Himeko Murata gazed at the laughing purple-haired girl nearby, alongside the swirling, terrifying vines. Her mouth twitched slightly: "This is a pseudo Herrscher?"

"Senior is amazing!"

Himeko's appearance further bolstered the Vermillion Knight's attributes. Previously, cutting through those vines felt effortless, and now there was no hesitation even as the blade passed through. Luo Lin even felt confident enough to charge straight at the pseudo Herrscher's face and unleash a flurry of attacks, perhaps even slaying her on the spot.

However, the poison gauge was filling up rapidly.

As the poison accumulation increased, Luo Lin felt her reactions slowing down, as if she had suddenly developed high latency.

With the progress bar nearing completion, the sense of crisis intensified.

Glancing at the poison gauge floating in the center of her field of vision, she estimated it would take about twenty seconds to fill up.

Twenty seconds might not seem long, but for some support characters, it was barely enough time to accumulate enough SP to use their ultimate, and if they couldn't avoid enemy attacks on the way, they would be rolling on the ground.

On the other hand, it was also not short, as it provided enough time for the main DPS to unleash a full set of attacks. After all, most of the buffs didn't last that long, and the vulnerability provided by the ultimate only lasted for fifteen seconds.

"Fu Hua, this poison is quite tricky!"

Luo Lin decisively switched forms, and the Valkyrie Dark Feathers appeared with the Mimicry Black Abyss White Flower in hand, poised and elegant.

The faint golden Mimicry Divine Key emitted healing waves, relieving Fu Hua's tension.

This sense of relief put Immortal Phoenix on alert, as she seemed to have been unconsciously affected by the poison gas. Fu Hua waved her hand, and a layer of flame-covered feathers enveloped her, resembling the Chthonic Feathers, but without the stylish, flight-like wings.

With the support of this layer of flame, Fu Hua finally contained the influence of the poison gas, raised her vigilance, and continued to launch a fierce attack on the pseudo Herrscher.

Yuna stared fixedly at the transformed Luo Lin, her eyes full of confusion. She murmured, "What power is this... I don't care, as long as I strengthen the poison, you will all die!"

As she spoke, she spread out the vines she was manipulating, and the Honkai energy condensed four things that looked like tumors on the vines.

Their surfaces were also covered with the white exoskeleton of Honkai beasts, constantly wriggling as if breathing.

Another system prompt appeared in front of Luo Lin:

[The pseudo Herrscher is condensing buds, and each open bud will increase the rate of poison accumulation. Using techniques with accumulated abnormal values to attack the buds can significantly reduce the unit's defense.]

"Fu Hua! Burn that bud with fire!" Luo Lin held the Mimicry Black Abyss White Flower in one hand, activating the "White Heat Mode" of the Moon Ring for higher damage, while the other hand pulled out an incendiary bomb and threw it at those strange swollen objects.

Without waiting to ask why Luo Lin used this term to refer to the creations of the pseudo Herrscher, Fu Hua leaped over the vines' obstacles and delivered a punch engulfed in flames to the bud. "Boom!"

The incendiary bomb and the Immortal Phoenix's attacks arrived simultaneously, igniting what seemed like a fuse.

A violent burning reaction erupted from the tops of these tumors, directly blasting away the surface's white exoskeleton, resembling the explosion of a tank with a flying turret.

The pitiful flesh lay exposed before Fu Hua and Luo Lin's eyes, and the two of them attacked without hesitation. Their fists and the pale golden spear instantly turned them into scattered liquid.

The liquid ignited upon contact with the flames, emitting a familiar nauseating odor.

"The raw material for the poison?!"

Luo Lin now understood why the system prompt indicated that the poison gauge would accelerate after the "buds" opened. It turned out that these things were poison gas launchers created by the pseudo Herrscher.

The remaining two poison "buds" were quickly shattered, marking the failure of Yuna's attempt to increase the poison concentration. Luo Lin also used the Dark Feathers's attacks to clear the poison gauge of the Vermillion Knight on the back end, even having the ability to heal Fu Hua next to her.

Now, Jingwei's life energy was exceptionally abundant, and her condition was very good.

Fu Hua glanced at the long spear in Luo Lin's hand with a complex expression, then rushed towards the somewhat frantic pseudo Herrscher.

Supported by a veil of flames and the filled Taixuan Ki, Fu Hua traversed the high-concentration poison area, maintaining her stability.

This time, Yuna decisively wrapped herself in vines into a ball.

With the specialized vines, she could dissipate most of the impact force. With the pseudo Herrscher's formidable recovery speed, the damage caused by Fu Hua's fists and feet was probably minimal.

But Fu Hua's goal was not to inflict damage. Luo Lin realized that the Immortal Phoenix's combo looked very familiar. Amidst her movements, hints of black and white colors seemed to flicker.

"This is—"

Fu Hua lowered her body, and a light like ink suddenly appeared like thunder. The extremely unstable collapse accompanied this move as it struck into the pseudo Herrscher's body. However, this move did not cause significant damage.

Yuna still couldn't understand the purpose of Fu Hua's combo. She drove the Valkyrie, whose momentum had weakened, away with a trace of confusion.

Luo Lin already understood what Fu Hua had done—it was the signature skill of the elemental support, Azure Empyrea, called "Combo: Yin Yang Tempo"!

The enemy hit by this move would receive increased elemental damage for the next fifteen seconds!

Fifteen seconds were enough for the Vermillion Knight to unleash a full set of maximum output attacks!

Therefore, Luo Lin decisively switched to the Vermillion Knight. The "White Heat Mode" buff of the Dark Feathers's "Moon Ring" also smoothly transferred to the Vermillion Knight, providing additional bonuses for the upcoming assault.

She exerted force beneath her feet, charging forward. She even used her shoulder to knock away two floating-class Honkai beasts, rushing straight to the side of the vine-formed ball.

The auxiliary sword of the Eclipse Armor flew into Luo Lin's hand, completing a swift set of slashes in conjunction with the Mimicry Divine Key Greatsword.

The "X"-shaped flames activated the unstable collapse that Fu Hua had injected into the vines, creating an explosion-like effect.

The flames intensified, and the vines exploded into fragments, exposing the pseudo Herrscher's true form.

So, increasing elemental damage was what it was all about?

Excitement spread across Luo Lin's face as she supplied more Honkai energy into the Mimicry Cleaver of Shamsash covering it with the amplification of the Edge of Taixuan.

The heated sword blade slashed towards the pseudo Herrscher!

"You!!"

Yuna sensed the fatal crisis and desperately dodged to the side, but how could she be faster than the flames?

So, the flames ignited half of her body, the blade severed her arm, and opened a long gash on her abdomen.

The pseudo Herrscher couldn't even feel the pain. She suspected that all her internal organs had turned into gas and leaked out through the wound.

She's still not dead?!

Luo Lin gritted her teeth, the Eclipse Armor's heat sink layers opening one after another.

With a hissing sound, the armor entered overload mode. The high temperature was conducted to the Mimicry Divine Key and the auxiliary sword, once again increasing their damage.

The Vermillion Knight's SP value was already full, enough for her to use that extremely powerful ultimate move!

The auxiliary module popped out, covering the surface of the Mimicry Cleaver of Shamash, and a golden-red energy giant sword emerged.

"Flames—Incinerate!"

At that moment, the pseudo Herrscher lowered her head and found that the interior of her wound was filled with green, seemingly plant-like tissue and purple Honkai energy, stubbornly supporting itself in the high temperature, sustaining her life.

It turned out she was no longer human.

A certain string in the pseudo Herrscher's mind snapped, and she no longer cared about the human form. Thick green vines broke through her skin.

In order to survive, the pseudo Herrscher transformed her own life form.

Most of the vine ball fused completely with Yuna, and the vicious branches danced fiercely, heavily striking the Vermillion Knight!

"Swoosh—"

Cataclysmic Flame sliced through the remaining vine ball, and the high temperature around the blade even melted the ceiling and floor of the warehouse, leaving behind terrifying traces.

But the pseudo Herrscher Yuna, split in half, was still alive!

Luo Lin continued to swing the energy greatsword, and the golden-red strike split the ball again!

Four sections, eight pieces, even more pieces...

The Vermillion Knight's two ultimate moves were completed, and the overload state had disappeared. She launched another powerful strike, but it still didn't eliminate the pseudo Herrscher.

Seeing the poison gauge still increasing, Luo Lin had to retreat, with only a quarter of her health bar left, she moved away from the still wildly dancing branches!

The pseudo Herrscher is still alive!

"Roar——!!!!"

Completely devoid of human form, Yuna roared. The scattered vines were connected by purple Honkai energy, and more biomass filled the gaps, like a model haphazardly glued together with a large amount of glue, without any rationality!

Compared to plants, it now looked more like a mutated monster from the next Biohazard scene, bringing a strong shock to Luo Lin and Fu Hua's spirits!

"What the hell is this?!"

[The pseudo Herrscher has transformed its form. Please use accumulated abnormal attack to force out its core. When the pseudo Herrscher is in an ignited state, it will receive additional damage!]

Luo Lin had switched back to the Dark Feathers state, looking at the monster in front of her, feeling a bit nauseous.

The pseudo Herrscher had turned into a huge composite ball that occupied half of the room, with vines as thick as car tires, covered with spikes and stained with bloody poison.

The next moment, the deformed vines raised high and sprayed venom towards Luo Lin and Fu Hua. The two hastily dodged, and the blood-red liquid hit the ground, making a terrifying sizzling sound.

"What should we do next?!"

Fu Hua was also at a loss. She had never seen such a type of pseudo Herrscher, and even the monsters fought by the previous civilization did not look so grotesque.

"Burn, ignite it more!"

Luo Lin hung the Mimicry Black Abyss White Flower on her back, holding a submachine gun in one hand and continuously throwing incendiary bombs with the other, turning half of the warehouse into a sea of flames.

The monster flailed around like an octopus on a grill, shrieking and wildly lashing out at everything around it, spraying venom like a fountain.

Faced with this situation, Luo Lin and Fu Hua could only flee in embarrassment.

Fortunately, Luo Lin could continuously heal the Fu Hua, restoring her condition. Otherwise, the high concentration of poison gas would have completely eroded Fu Hua, causing her to lose control of Honkai energy and lie helpless on the ground, at the mercy of her enemies.

"It's not enough, we need to burn it even more fiercely!"

Luo Lin activated "White Heat Mode" again, and with the enhancement of Honkai energy, the effect of the incendiary bombs was once again strengthened. She even threw various projectiles including but not limited to paralysis grenades and concussion grenades.

Now, the Debuff on the pseudo Herrscher's status bar was flashing like a rainbow, shimmering with colorful light.

The flames gradually engulfed the pseudo Herrscher's body, even burning through the ceiling and melting some of the pipes, which fell onto the spherical monster's body!

"Ah, ah, ah——"

It could no longer hold on. The carapace on the vines shattered, the swings of the branches gradually weakened, and even the venom dried up completely due to the high temperature.

Finally, the vine ball exploded, and a human-shaped figure with a strong collapse energy reaction weakly drooped there. There was a clearly visible green core on her chest, and her body was covered with dried dark red marks.

The Vermillion Knight leaped over the flames, raised the Mimicry Divine Key Greatsword high, and fiercely smashed the core!

In Luo Lin's field of vision, the bright yellow toxin gauge finally disappeared, and she breathed a sigh of relief, planting the sword blade into the ground.

"Congratulations on achieving the achievement: Song of Venom"

"Reward: S-level Valkyrie character card 'Stygian Nymph'"

Chapter 46: Sampling, Conversation

Under the watchful eyes of Luo Lin and Fu Hua, the remaining part of the pseudo Herrscher gradually crumbled.

The force that had forcibly bonded the body disappeared without a trace, and the vines with incomplete shells slipped to the ground, resembling a net of seafood hauled up by a fishing boat, with purple-red juice spilling everywhere, carrying a sticky sensation.

The two of them nervously stepped back, avoiding the splattering liquid. Fortunately, after the pseudo Herrscher's demise, these liquids also lost their toxicity and corrosiveness, flowing like ordinary water and filling the pits created by slashing and explosions.

"...It's over."

Luo Lin took a deep breath, her nostrils filled with the scent of burnt residue.

Fu Hua squatted down and touched the liquid with her finger, sighing, "It's a pity we can't take some samples back..."

"Samples? I'll take them."

Luo Lin reached back and retrieved several test tubes, handing a few to Fu Hua, then expertly began sampling around the battlefield.

Items such as the shattered core of the pseudo Herrscher she had blown up, the shells on the vines, the purple-red liquid, and so on...

After all, Luo Lin had experience with this kind of work during her time in the logistics department, so she was very skilled at it.

However, after collecting for a while, Luo Lin realized that she didn't need to be so meticulous—didn't she have a system warehouse?

So, Luo Lin decisively used the simulated Divine Key Greatsword to cut off an intact vine, along with everything she had collected before, and threw them all into the system warehouse.

Watching the girl's decisive operation, Fu Hua half-opened her mouth, and after a long pause, sighed, "You're quite something."

Both as a person and in terms of the methods you're displaying now, you're quite something.

Himeko Murata floated down from the ceiling. After witnessing Luo Lin kill the pseudo Herrscher, she used her "Ghost" state to pass through the warehouse's ceiling, scout from a high place, and then rushed back to Luo Lin's side.

"Luo Lin, is this place Nagazora?" Himeko asked somewhat seriously.

Luo Lin blinked and replied, "Ah? Yes, it's Nagazora."

"Weird, isn't this supposed to be one of AE's main strongholds? How could such a level of Honkai Eruption happen... Oh Nagazora on my side is still fine, why did it explode here?"

The red-haired Valkyrie was somewhat puzzled, rubbing her chin, "Do you know how this Honkai Outbreak happened?"

At this point, Luo Lin gestured towards the strange wreckage in the warehouse, "Look, there are dozens of containers for storing Honkai energy, which were blown up by the pseudo Herrscher."

"Storing Honkai energy... Is this some kind of research base? It looks more like a warehouse..."

"It is a warehouse, not a research base..." Luo Lin said somewhat helplessly, "AE's people hoarded a bunch of Honkai energy containers here. After leaking out, they created a pseudo Herrscher who came here and detonated the containers, causing a major Honkai..."

"...Huh?"

Himeko Murata showed a confused expression, and Luo Lin had to patiently explain to her the subtle relationships that had occurred before the Honkai, such as the capture of Raiden Ryoma late at night, and the terrorist attack on the Senba Academy...

As a high-ranking member of the Far East Branch of Schicksal, with a doctorate and high intelligence, Himeko quickly realized the subtle relationships before these events.

The red-haired Valkyrie raised her eyebrows and murmured, "An internal power struggle within AE? They want to trigger a Honkai as an excuse? I remember Raiden Ryoma wasn't that close to the radicals... Tsk, they actually went this far?"

With that, Himeko Murata's face showed obvious disgust, apparently the radicals didn't care about the citizens of Nagazora at all, which made her impression of AE decrease significantly.

"No, I have to find a way to let my real self investigate the outskirts of Nagazora..."

Upon hearing Himeko's words, Luo Lin widened her eyes, "Have you remembered everything in reality?"

"No, I haven't remembered anything related to you in reality. I just feel like I have to do something..."

The red-haired Valkyrie smiled bitterly, "Since such things can happen in the parallel world's Nagazora, I must see if the radicals of AE in my Nagazora have such arrangements—better to believe they exist than not."

"...Well, I hope your attempt succeeds."

Luo Lin could only nod, sending her blessings to Himeko Murata.

Himeko left with a troubled expression, perhaps because she was figuring out how to make her real-world self remember these things.

Fu Hua looked at the fiery figure of the Vermillion Knight, feeling more and more familiar—not only with the Eclipse Armor, but also with another strange feeling that surged up, carrying an indissoluble sadness and pain.

Fu Hua knew that this must be related to the memories she once had.

After a short delay for sampling, the two returned to the side of Kiana and Raiden Mei.

During the time Luo Lin and Fu Hua were heading towards the pseudo Herrscher, Kiana had done an excellent job of holding the line, using the weapons and ammunition Luo Lin gave her to kill several ordinary honkai zombies who appeared out of nowhere.

Most likely, they were warehouse staff who had turned into zombies

Raiden Mei held an assault rifle, her face slightly pale, looking a bit nauseous—in the recent defensive battle, she also killed a Honkai Zombie.

Perhaps because these zombies had just completed their conversion and looked quite human, after pulling the trigger, Mei clearly saw blood bursting out with the rupture of body tissues, and she felt unwell all of a sudden.

Bronya Zaychik, who was watching from the side, remained calm as usual. She also killed two Honkai Zombies, which was nothing major for her.

As for Kiana? She also understood that she couldn't show mercy to the enemy, she knew very well that these Honkai Zombies were no longer human, so she didn't hesitate when attacking.

The remaining girls didn't use pistols or assault rifles, they just watched the three Valkyries slaughter the Honkai Zombies, feeling fearful and involuntarily distancing themselves from the three girls, hiding behind them.

The attitudes of these girls were very obvious, making Raiden Mei feel even worse.

Seeing the bluish-purple-haired girl looking like she wanted to vomit, Luo Lin quickly walked over, grabbed her hand, and secretly activated her "Emotional Diffusion" ability, speaking with a firm tone, "Well done, Raiden Mei, Kiana, and this one..."

"Bronya Zaychik." The silver-haired girl with spiral curls said.

"Yes, Miss Bronya."

Luo Lin nodded pretendingly, feeling waves of fluctuations from her "Key of Revelation" on her head, as if a quantum sea observer saw a familiar figure and was frantically making a "call".

The black-haired Valkyrie continued, "You've done very well. Don't worry, we'll take you to a safe place from here soon."

"A safe place?"

Raiden Mei still felt a bit down, murmuring, "My dad was arrested and imprisoned, I was even kidnapped and ended up in this situation... there's no safe place in Nagazora anymore."

"Then we'll leave Nagazora. Trust me, you'll be safe."

To give Mei confidence, Luo Lin squeezed her fingers firmly, showing a warm smile.

"...Okay."

Chapter 47: Farewell and Reunion

As they left the warehouse, Raiden Mei carried Bronya on her back, with Kiana assisting on the side, followed by the huddled girls behind them.

The group passed by the "corpse" of the pseudo Herrscher, where vines as thick as car tires covered the ground, with a stack of three or four-meter-high black spheres still emitting smoke in the middle.

The aftermath of the battle was evident, with cracks and craters everywhere, and even the ceiling bore fresh red marks that hadn't cooled yet. Various strange burnt smells filled their nostrils, causing one of the girls to cough involuntarily.

After considerable effort, they finally managed to navigate through the monster's wreckage.

This scene greatly shocked Mei, who couldn't help but turn her head to look at Luo Lin and Fu Hua. The two of them protected the group, occasionally lending a hand to help the weak girls over obstacles.

How did they manage to kill such a powerful monster?

Could I become as strong as them?

After leaving the warehouse, Kiana, Raiden Mei, Bronya, and the rescued girls stared blankly at their surroundings. The buildings around the warehouse, having endured the baptism of a massive Honkai, looked as if they had weathered centuries in an instant, covered in dust with a dimmed color palette. The walls were pockmarked, windows shattered, and debris littered the ground.

Several traffic accidents had occurred on the streets, with vehicles scattered and blocking the way. Fires raged in some areas, billowing black smoke into the sky, while the piercing alarm sounds, distorted and faint due to the interference of Honkai energy, echoed in everyone's ears.

Of course, there were also the inevitable Honkai Zombies and Honkai beasts roaming aimlessly, wreaking havoc.

"So... this is Honkai?" Kiana murmured.

Before this, Kiana had never seen such an exaggerated scene. The Honkai Outbreaks she had encountered before were small-scale, and the locations were relatively remote, mostly affecting villages or small towns.

But now, the bustling city had turned into a dead zone, with thousands of Honkai Zombies wandering the streets and various Honkai beasts instinctively destroying buildings and killing any surviving humans.

The group naturally attracted the attention of some Honkai Zombies, who roared and charged towards the girls. Raiden Mei instinctively raised her gun, aiming at the enemy, but she was stopped by Luo Lin, who placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't shoot. Let's try to solve this quietly."

"Are you sure...?" the girl with blue-purple hair looked at Luo Lin and Fu Hua as they moved forward, one using fists and the other wielding a variety of weapons, effortlessly dispatching the Honkai Zombies. It was like a scene from a famous grass-cutting game, Dynasty Warriors XX.

After dealing with this small wave of attracted Honkai Zombies, Luo Lin and Fu Hua led the girls away from the bustling city center towards the outskirts. Along the way, the Honkai Zombies and Honkai beasts posed little threat to them.

A dozen minutes later, the group made a brief stop at a small supermarket near the coast. The girls could replenish some water and energy and even use the restroom to freshen up a bit.

"Something's approaching," Fu Hua warned quietly at the supermarket entrance.

Luo Lin's Honkai Radar also detected something, but the familiar fluctuations made the black-haired Valkyrie blink and say, "It seems like someone we know..."

Before she could finish, a white-haired man emerged from around the corner, his gaze meeting Luo Lin's.

A few seconds later, Siegfried lowered the Judgement of Shamash pistols in his hands and greeted somewhat casually, "Hello, Miss Luo Lin and Miss Fu Hua."

"Hello," Fu Hua nodded in acknowledgment.

Luo Lin felt the stigmata on her back churn twice, seemingly expressing dissatisfaction towards someone. She coughed, "...Hello, Siegfried."

Fu Hua looked around and felt the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

"Um..."

Siegfried shivered instinctively at Luo Lin's tone, then quickly straightened up his posture, "I just took a look around, it seems like you took down a big guy, huh?"

"It was a pseudo Herrscher..." Luo Lin described the situation to Siegfried, who nodded in understanding and voluntarily shared some information he knew, "Although this Honkai seems powerful, it didn't directly destroy the entire Nagazora City. There are still many survivors in areas far from the epicenter..."

Fu Hua asked, "Siegfried, aren't you supposed to be in Anti-Entropy? What's the situation with ME now? Can they mobilize to deal with this Honkai event?"

"After Raiden Ryoma was captured, ME fell into chaos. The radicals took advantage of the situation and tried to infiltrate, vying for leadership... and it got worse after the Honkai. There aren't many Anti-Entropy members left in Nagazora City now; those who could leave already did."

Siegfried smiled wryly, "Luckily, I managed to rescue Raiden Ryoma, and he's organizing a team of mechs to take action... saving some people is better than none."

"I'll remember that," Fu Hua recorded this information on her personal terminal, while Luo Lin, looking at Siegfried's somewhat uneasy gaze at the supermarket behind her, seemed hesitant to speak.

The black-haired Valkyrie asked, "What's wrong? Don't you want to see your daughter?"

"...I haven't figured out how to face her."

"You did pretty well in the consciousness space, didn't you?" Luo Lin raised an eyebrow.

The white-haired man opened his mouth, "I..."

Seeing Siegfried's awkward appearance, not only did the stigmata on Luo Lin's back react, but the black-haired girl also became angry. She grabbed Siegfried's shoulder without saying a word and pushed him inside.

"Alright, girls, we have a guest. Put on your clothes... Kiana? Kiana! Your dad's here to see you!"

Kiana, who had been devouring a bag of bread on the ground, jumped up like a rocket and flipped over the shelves, immediately spotting Siegfried being held down by Luo Lin.

"Kiana..."

"Bang!"

Without slowing down, Kiana, like a cannonball, plunged into Siegfried's arms, causing the man to cough.

"You old man! Where have you been hiding all these years!"

"Dad has some things to take care of..."

Kiana pounded Siegfried's chest twice with her fist.

Watching from the sidelines, Luo Lin felt a chill just from the sound. After all, the Kaslana family's strength was formidable, and those who understood knew.

"Is it to fight Honkai?" Kiana asked.

"...Yes."

Siegfried stroked Kiana's head. Even though the stubborn tuft of white hair on Kiana's head still existed, even as a Herrscher of the Void, it was pressed down by Siegfried. The man tidied Kiana's bangs with his hand and looked into her blue eyes.

Really, just like Cecilia...

"Kiana, your bread... Ah..."

At this moment, Raiden Mei ran over, holding the bag of bread that had just been sent flying by Kiana. She stared blankly at the scene of father and daughter reuniting.

Her mind couldn't help but think of her own father, and she became emotional for a moment, choking up.

The movements of Raiden Mei caught Siegfried's attention. He turned his head and looked at the girl with blue-purple hair, then asked, "Raiden Mei? Is that you?"

"Yes, she's Raiden Mei, my good friend!"

Before Mei could reply, Kiana spoke up first.

"Becoming friends, huh? Not bad."

Siegfried nodded and took out a communicator from his pocket, pressing a button. "Your father, Raiden Ryoma, I've already rescued him... Want to say a few words to him?"

"What?"

Raiden Mei muttered in disbelief. She took the communicator, and a familiar voice came through.

Raiden Ryoma's voice sounded weak and tired. "Siegfried?"

"Dad!" the girl shouted loudly.

"Mei?? Mei!! Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, I'm fine, sob..."

Raiden Ryoma quickly comforted his daughter, taking some time to calm Mei down.

"Siegfried, can you tell me what's going on?"

"Simply put, your daughter has been rescued by someone I know, Schicksal person i knos, and she's very safe now..."

Siegfried glanced at Luo Lin and Fu Hua. With one A-rank and one S-rank, how could they not be safe?

Raiden Ryoma was silent for a moment before saying, "I've found some clues about the people who attacked me. They won't give up easily... Considering the current situation, it's not suitable for Mei to stay with me... Siegfried, how are your friends?"

"They're all trustworthy, but the organization Schicksal isn't."

Siegfried said calmly.

"...It seems I need to make a deal with Schicksal." Raiden Ryoma took a deep breath. "Siegfried's friends, I hope you can take care of Mei for me. Whether it's money or research technology, I can provide... But remember, ME Corporation is not easy to mess with. Schicksal may not fear losses, but the allies who cooperate with Schicksal can't withstand the attacks of mechs."

Fu Hua agreed without hesitation, "No problem."

Even if Raiden Ryoma didn't say it, she would still help Raiden Mei. After all, Mei was now a Herrscher of Thunder.

Luo Lin also agreed, "I have no problem."

"Thank you. Next, can I have a private conversation with Mei?"

Raiden Mei took the communicator and bowed slightly to everyone before turning and retreating to the corner of the supermarket.

Of course, this distance was nothing for Luo Lin and Fu Hua. They could still clearly hear the conversation between Raiden Ryoma and his daughter.

"Mei, I want to remind you, be careful when dealing with the people from Schicksal."

"Okay... I know..."

"Take care of yourself."

"Yes..."

"When I'm done with my business, I'll come find you, okay?"

"Yes. I understand."

Raiden Ryoma was not good at expressing his emotions. After struggling for a while, he managed to say, "Alright, Mei, your father is very strong."

"Dad, actually, I... I have superpowers now, the kind that can discharge electricity..."

Raiden Ryoma was stunned for a moment, then immediately asked, "Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

"No, no." Mei replied somewhat nervously, "I just, temporarily, don't really know how to control this power."

The man remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Okay, my dear, Dad has known for a long time that you're extraordinary. Practice with others more; Schicksal is quite good in this regard..."

"Dad... am I useless? If I were stronger, I wouldn't be kidnapped by others, and I could even save you..."

"No, it's different, Mei. Dad should support you and hold up the sky for you..."

Raiden Mei interrupted her father's words, "I've grown up, Dad. I want to help you."

"...Alright, Mei, then you should train hard and become an A-rank Valkyrie, okay?"

Although he didn't know what this A-rank was, Raiden Mei still firmly replied, "I can become stronger!"

Listening to his daughter's voice, Raiden Ryoma felt a mix of emotions. He chuckled softly in the end, "Okay, then I'll see what skills you can develop. Give me a big surprise."

"Yeah!"

On the other side, Kiana finally let go of her hand and wriggled out of Siegfried's arms.

She looked into her father's eyes, and Kaslana's incomparable intuition came into play again. Kiana spoke up, "Old man, you don't plan on staying long, do you?"

"...No."

"Hmph, I knew you'd be like this."

Kiana kicked Siegfried's leg, causing the white-haired man to inhale sharply.

Kiana scratched her head, letting her stubborn tuft of hair come back out. Annoyed, she shouted, "What do I have to do for you to stay with me? I can help save the world too!"

"You're still young... Alright, alright, you've grown up."

Under Kiana's terrifying gaze, Siegfried quickly changed his tone, "Your current strength is not enough. If you want to help me, you need to be at least an S-rank, right?"

"Ah ah ah ah! Then this lady will be an S-rank for you!"

Siegfried clapped his hands absentmindedly, "Hmm, impressive. I hope you can do it."

"Argh! You make me so mad, old man! Don't you believe in your own daughter?!"

Kiana raised her fist in anger, but Siegfried stopped it with one hand. No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't move the man's arm, which seemed as if it were made of steel.

"Feel the difference?" Siegfried asked.

Kiana pouted, "Hmph, old man, just you wait! Not only will I become an S-rank, but I'll also become the strongest in the S-rank!"

That's quite difficult, Luo Lin thought to herself. Just studying alone would give you a hard time.

Still, 'Kiana Kaslana' did become the Strongest S-Rank of Schicksal.

"Beep beep beep!"

At this moment, the communicators of Luo Lin and Fu Hua sounded, alerting them. They opened the projections and found that the green marker representing friendly forces was rapidly approaching on the blurry map.

"Hiss... Verification code... Hiss... Nagazora City is experiencing Honkai eruptions, and the transport ship cannot penetrate deep. Please select a safe location for evacuation..."

"Got it."

Luo Lin and Fu Hua exchanged glances, and the black-haired Valkyrie shrugged her shoulders.

"You're the intelligence officer. You call the shots for evacuation."

"Alright..."

A dozen minutes later, everyone boarded the transport ship and watched as Nagazora City grew farther and farther away.

"Commander, there's a communication request from the floating battleship, Hyperion!"

The Valkyrie driving the transport ship said.

Luo Lin waved her hand and replied, "Connect."

Soon, the transport ship and the Hyperion completed the connection, and a green cabbage head figure flashed across the holographic projection in the cabin.

Hyperion, connection established!

"This is Captain Ragnar Rodbrock of the Hyperion. I need... a report on Nagazora City......huh?"

The communication suddenly stuttered, and on the bridge, all the Valkyries turned to see their captain completely losing her usual composure, suddenly standing up from his chair, eyes wide open.

"...Luo Lin?"

"Captain Ragnar..."

Luo Lin smiled bitterly and waved her hand, "Long time no see."

Chapter 48: Some Past Events

The stealth transport ship finally docked on the deck of the Hyperion. Luo Lin leaped out of the hatch, glancing back to find no one following her.

After all, it was Captain Ragnar... Oh, no, she should now be addressed as Captain Ragnar, having been summoned to the Hyperion.

The others had their reasons for staying behind. Fu Hua was feigning weakness, Raiden Mei still bore the marks of her recent encounter with the dead soldiers, and Kiana was tending to Mei and the incapacitated Bronya.

The rest of the girls, mere civilians with high resistance to Honkai energy, were now completely drained, sleeping in awkward positions in their seats on the transport ship.

"Remember to catch up with your captain. We'll be waiting for you at the Far East Branch," Fu Hua waved to her, flashing a subtle smile. "After all, I'm just an ordinary combat Valkyrie, and you're the professional intelligence Valkyrie, right?"

"...You're right, I'll do that."

As the transport ship departed, Luo Lin erected a sword energy shield and braved the strong winds to reach the gate of the upper deck of the Hyperion. Soon, she entered the interior of the floating battleship.

"Hello, this way."

The Valkyrie leading the way glanced at Luo Lin from the corner of her eye, becoming increasingly interested. Eventually, she openly turned her head to look at Luo Lin, and even the passing Valkyries showed a keen interest, leaving Luo Lin puzzled.

She looked down at herself. Yes, she was wearing the uniform of the Schicksal Intelligence Department, right?

What Luo Lin didn't expect was that the shocking news Ragnar had shown on the bridge had already spread throughout the Hyperion. Now, most Valkyries were very interested in her identity.

What kind of identity could make the usually calm "Vhief steward of the Far East Branch" Ragnar react like that?

Under Theresa Apocalypse's leadership, the Far East Branch could be considered the most relaxed branch of Schicksal worldwide. With Otto's care (indulgence?), they never encountered any trouble with funding or supplies.

Theresa wasn't one to micromanage. If anything happened, people would usually go to Ragnar Lothbrok to sort things out.

As the captain of the Valkyrie Assault Team, Ragnar used to lead the Valkyries on missions around the world, so she personally coordinated various matters such as intelligence, supplies, and equipment...

As a result, Ragnar often dealt with the higher-ups of Schicksal headquarters and branches, and she even had a good relationship with these people.

Otto sent her to the Far East Branch, probably because he saw her experience in dealing with people and managing, hoping she could fill in the gaps for Theresa.

As a result, Theresa handed over her power to Ragnar with an exaggerated level of authority, which was jaw-dropping.

There were even rumors that Ragnar deliberately sidelined Theresa.

Of course, both parties knew that these rumors were unreliable.

Theresa didn't care about it and just did whatever she wanted.

As for Ragnar, she knew more about the dark side of Schicksal than Theresa did and understood very well what kind of person Otto, the Archbishop, was, and Theresa's position in Otto's heart.

Would she scheme against Theresa? It wouldn't be wise to do so in such a blatant way.

So Ragnar continued to work calmly, without any other thoughts.

When dealing with daily work at the Far East Branch, she was seen much more often than Theresa, so much so that people even called her the "chief steward of the Far East Branch."

And now, this chief steward was sitting in the captain's seat, eagerly awaiting Luo Lin's arrival.

"Sigh..."

Siegfried rubbed his nose and muttered, "I have a bad feeling, Ryoma, let's leave first."

"Yeah, let's go. Schicksal's people are coming..."

Raiden Ryoma looked at the map on his tablet, a bright large unit was rapidly approaching Nagazora. From the radar waveform, it should be Schicksal's floating battleship.

He looked at the remaining manufacturing line of ME inside the building with a longing gaze, sighing, "We've already taken all the critical data and instruments with us. The rest are just things that can be rebuilt with time... Do you want ME's manufacturing line? I won't leave it for you."

He pressed the self-destruct button without hesitation, turning away and boarding the transport plane amid the cold countdown sound.

A few minutes later, the ME factory turned into a sea of flames, billowing smoke rising.

In the distance, Raven looked at the towering smoke, tightened her hood, and jumped off the edge of the building.

"Mission failed... I'll have to listen to Jackal's nagging again when I go back..."

The girl grumbled, but her mind was still preoccupied with another matter. She took out her terminal, which was playing a video of a pink elf shooting arrows in Nagazora...

It seemed that she had to make another trip back to the Elysian Realm if she wanted to find out more.