A Crude Kidnapping

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After settling the bill, Liu Bai directly gave them an address and had the library pack and deliver everything.

The owner readily agreed. This amount was practically a wholesale purchase, so delivery was no problem at all.

When he stepped outside, Guinaifen was already waiting for him.

Next... it was time to farm monsters.

Chapter 48: A Crude Kidnapping

Abandoned Building

"You fought pretty well, Little Gui."

"Of course!"

Guinaifen flashed a bright smile and spun the rebar like a spear.

"These guys were much weaker than I expected."

"Because these are the true cannon fodder. The ones we encountered before could all be called special variants."

Liu Bai's luck was fairly ordinary today. They had only encountered regular scythe girls, so he could not be bothered to feed them medicine and simply let Guinaifen handle them.

Well, Liu Bai actually just wanted to see the firecrackers Guinaifen had bought.

In the end, she snapped off a piece of scrap rebar and used it as a spear...

"Mm, I think it looks quite nice too."

A languid female voice suddenly came from upstairs.

A woman in a loose gray coat and sunglasses leaned over the railing, lightly applauding as she watched Liu Bai and Guinaifen below.

"Handsome boy, you're Liu Bai, right?"

"...Yes. Do you need something?"

This person... seemed to be Himeko?

"Mm... how should I put this? Could you come with me?" Himeko adjusted her sunglasses, straightened up, and said lazily, "This counts as kidnapping, I suppose. If you surrender now, you can still receive gentle treatment."

"Sorry, but that came completely out of nowhere."

Completely baffled, Liu Bai directly refused.

Most of Liu Bai's passive actions had been forced by circumstance. Someone suddenly jumped out and said she wanted to kidnap him. Not only was it baffling, it was a little insulting.

Besides, Himeko was not particularly strong. Her stats as a normal Valkyrie were only Strength 5, Constitution 6, and Agility 4. She was only slightly better than a weakling.

"If you want to negotiate, I'm happy to. But kidnapping is out."

"Fine. I knew this wouldn't go so smoothly. Mm, I understand why you find it so sudden."

Himeko snapped her fingers.

"My apologies, but then I'll have to get a little forceful."

Rumble—!

"Anti-Entropy mech signals have appeared in the outskirts? Liu Bai's signal is at the same location too... Is the target Liu Bai?"

Gray Serpent stared at the electronic map of Sky Dome District, cold light flickering in his eyes.

"...My lord, what should we do?"

"What nerve... It seems my little white mouse is rather popular."

The electronic map vanished, replaced by Mobius's half-smiling face.

Gray Serpent knew that his master was very angry right now.

The kind of angry that made her want to kill.

"Deploy Deadwalkers into that area... Then notify Raven and have her rescue him!"

Liu Bai possessed potential and mysteries that even Mobius found astonishing.

World Serpent's goal was humanity's evolution. Although their research on Liu Bai could not yet be applied anywhere,

science was about breakthroughs from nothing to something. Yet someone actually dared lay a hand on Liu Bai?

No need for words! Deal with them!

"Lady Rita! Anti-Entropy mech activity has been detected in the outskirts!"

At the hotel, Alvitr, an Immortal Blades technician, rushed frantically into Rita's room.

"What?"

Rita, who had been resting, narrowed her eyes and abruptly stood up.

"Anti-Entropy? Why would Anti-Entropy appear in the outskirts?"

Rita's brows furrowed tightly.

"They're fighting?"

"...Most likely, but there's no Honkai source nearby."

They were not fighting the Honkai?

Rita sensed that something was wrong.

If they had been fighting the Honkai, Rita would not have minded turning a blind eye, but... they were not?

"Gather the team. Let's take a look."

There was definitely something suspicious going on here.

"Professor Himeko! The mech squad's camouflage system has malfunctioned!"

A girl's cry rang out from the mech squad advancing toward Liu Bai and Guinaifen.

"Ah... I know. I should never have believed Dr. Tesla's claims about it being the newest and best."

Himeko scratched her head irritably.

"Forget it. I'll settle the score with Dr. Tesla afterward. Let's finish this quickly, Seele. If we drag it out, things will get troublesome—oh, right. Take them alive."

"Hey, hey... There are so many golden automatons. Boss, how about we surrender? A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him."

Guinaifen's scalp tingled as she looked at the mechs.

After all, every mech Guinaifen had seen had been strong, especially the Xianzhou's golden automatons.

They were pure war machines.

"These things aren't that strong. You can tear them apart by hand."

Liu Bai glanced at the Titan mechs surrounding them and raised a hand, summoning two pairs of Spirit Wraiths and Nether Wraiths.

"Deadwalkers?" When Himeko saw the two special Deadwalkers suddenly protecting Liu Bai, she cried out softly. "Is this... control over Deadwalkers?"

The four Spirit Deadwalkers and Nether Deadwalkers raised their hands at once. Several threads spread outward, forming a genuine slowing zone around Liu Bai and Guinaifen. The instant the mechs stepped into it, golden threads wrapped around them, turning them into snails.

This was troublesome.

Did the alien have the ability to control the Honkai?

Damn it!

The ones they had brought this time were all melee Titans, since ranged Titans made too much noise.

Well, against a slowing zone like this, shells would not mean much either.

Fortunately, she was positioned above them...

Bang—!

"No choice. The tranquilizer dart might hurt a little... Hey, you've got to be kidding."

Himeko, gun in hand, stared at the scene before her in astonishment.

"The bullets back home were much faster than this thing."

Guinaifen steadily pinched the tranquilizer dart between two fingers.

Catching bullets barehanded was one of her signature tricks.

"Mm, this is bad. Getting taken down on my first day as a villain would be way too stupid."

Himeko sighed, then her voice suddenly rose.

"Leave the mechs to the AI! Seele! Come help!"

"G-Got it!"

A petite figure leaped from the mech behind them.

"I'm very sorry!"

Before the golden threads of the slowing zone could spread onto the purple-haired girl, she had already broken through them.

Clang—!

The back of a scythe struck the rebar with a ringing clash.

"Um... I'm really very sorry!"

"Who taught you to apologize while hitting people?!"

Guinaifen could not help complaining as she looked at the timid girl before her.

Fortunately, her strength was not that great. If she had Shangshang's strength, Guinaifen would have been sent flying.

"Anyway, excuse me!"

Flames ignited at both ends of the rebar. The three-foot rod instantly became a three-foot flaming staff.

"Eek—!?"

The blast of heat suddenly hitting her face startled Seele.

"An opening!"

Guinaifen kicked the frail girl squarely in the chest, sending her flying, then turned back toward Liu Bai.

"Boss! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine."

Liu Bai summoned another pair of Deadwalkers and sent them toward Himeko.

—This Himeko was not a Valkyrie.

If she was not a Valkyrie, she should be easy to handle... right?

After seeing the Deadwalkers closing in on her, Himeko drew a revolver as well.

"Summer Rose! Blue Mountain!"

Two bullets burst from the muzzle.

Instant kill.

The terrifying damage made Liu Bai's eyes narrow.

But... a revolver?

This time, Liu Bai directly released three pairs—six Deadwalkers.

"This is too damn ridiculous! You're just summoning Deadwalkers like they cost nothing!" Himeko finally could not hold it together. "What was the next one again... Oh, right. Guatemala! Brazil! Damn it! What kind of mental state was Dr. Tesla in when she made this gun—?!"