Collapse, Kiana's Cross-Dressing Strategy

While Raiden Mei struggled with how to deal with the challenge, Bai Yan also faced a small one.

Bronya was staring at him, her expression blank.

Bai Yan wasn't sure what she was thinking, so he decided to greet her first and try to get closer to chat.

"Sister Bai Yan, do you have any older or younger brothers close to your age at home?"

"Uh... yes, I do. Why do you suddenly ask, Bronya?"

"It's nothing, just asking casually."

Bronya hugged her doll and silently returned to her room.

In fact, she had never met Bai Yan. By the time Bai Yan escaped the orphanage, Bronya had not yet been adopted by Cocolia.

She had only heard from Seele that there was a child like that in the orphanage, but they had disappeared later.

Thus, Bronya curiously asked Cocolia about it.

At that time, Cocolia's expression wasn't very good. After a long silence, she took out a childhood photo of Bai Yan that she had treasured.

Since these two still remembered him after so long, Bronya was very curious.

After a long time, the girl in front of her triggered Bronya's memories, and she also happened to have the surname Bai, which led to her asking the question just now.

"How long has it been since Bronya was adopted by Cocolia? It's been several years since I ran away, why do they still remember me?"

Bai Yan frowned, sensing a bad premonition.

"I'll need to pay more attention to the timing of Anti-Entropy's incursions from now on."

He didn't think he would be seen through, after all, this disguise was personally reviewed by Rita.

No one understood perfection better than Sister Ta!

He locked his room door, opened his computer, and began his daily report.

[Successfully made contact with the target today, current relationship is good. Met with the Far East Branch Leader in the evening, see attached for specific situation on site...]

Attached were various packaged photos, taken by the miniature camera in Bai Yan's genuine leather bag.

If Rita opened the attachments, she would see photos of various high resolutions.

These photos were taken against the backdrop of offices, campuses, and student dormitories, some were group photos, others were individual shots, and so on.

A majestic snapshot of Principal Theresa, a close-up of Bronya being petted on the head by a hand...

This was all intelligence.

As a frontline intelligence operative, Bai Yan wasn't very skilled at diversified analysis, so he needed to report everything in detail.

As for selecting, organizing, and analyzing, that would be left to other colleagues.

This was all part of the job.

[Rita: Excellent work.]

Receiving the reply, Bai Yan smiled faintly.

He recalled how nervous he was when he was first recruited by Sister Ta, as he was just a small employee.

It wasn't because of the gap in status or strength, but because he had made some mistakes when he was young.

At that time, he had many, many photos of a young Durandal.

They were originally casual group photos or souvenirs from outings, he never thought his childhood friend would become such an important figure.

Yes, he never expected it.

Were childhood photos of important figures allowed to be collected casually? Weren't they afraid of leaking military secrets?

He hadn't dared to hoard a single one to sell!

So, he handed all the photos over to his rigorous and reliable superior, Madam Rita Rossweisse, for her to handle entirely.

Later, "Madam Rita" became "Sister Rita."

[Rita: Lord Durandal is asking about "Bai Yan" again. What are your thoughts, Xiao Yan?]

Bai Yan frowned, thinking that this type of Dumb Goose was indeed difficult to deal with.

Her intuition was sharp and she was very serious; it was impossible to easily fool her.

Unlike her sister, who would selectively forget memories she didn't want to face, often turning a blind eye.

Didn't Dumb Goose understand what a precious quality willful ignorance was?

If your Rita didn't pretend to be ignorant, would Bai Yan be able to show her all sorts of crucial photos?

Annoying!

Bai Yan pondered for a moment before carefully crafting his reply.

[Bai Yan: Tell her that no one truly understands Bai Yan, except me.]

Rita quickly replied with an "I understand" emoji.

Considering it was his first day on the mission, Bai Yan's gains were considerable.

Successfully contacting the target and establishing an initial connection, while also clearly capturing the head of the Far East Branch.

In Rita's opinion, the progress was incredibly fast.

Bai Yan got up from his seat and stretched, then turned to take two bottles of exquisite red wine from the cabinet.

These were bought when he went out with Kiana before, mixed in with a large pile of snacks and other ingredients, so no one noticed.

The Kaslana family's monstrous strength was particularly useful at times like these. Without Kiana, so much stuff would have required a vehicle to transport.

He had casually helped Kiana out, and feeling indebted, she volunteered to carry the bags herself as a small token of repayment.

Although it sounded a bit strange, there were no issues with the outcome.

As for the expenses for these items... after receiving this mission, Bai Yan felt his salary could be described with a rarely used adjective.

—No regrets, even unto death.

The Bishop said nothing, but the truth was often in the details.

Bai Yan thought for a moment, then found two cups and some cold dishes to go with the wine, placing them all into a briefcase.

Afterward, he found a spiral mosquito repellent coil, lit it carefully, and sought to recapture the feeling from that time.

The next moment, his vision began to spin again, the surroundings blurring.

In his senses, Jingliu also seemed to have been summoned.

He was about to meet the former Sword Master of the Luofu Xianzhou again.

Volume 1: Chapter 14: Luo Shen

Feeling his feet step into the cool, clear water, Bai Yan saw Jingliu sitting cross-legged on a large rock about 1.2 meters high.

Bai Yan felt his hands go empty; the red wine he had brought was gone.

He patted the small pocket of his shirt; the chewing gum inside was also gone.

"You can't bring items, but things that fit the definition of clothing are allowed... I feel the rules for descending into this space are somewhat difficult to understand."

Putting these doubts aside for the moment, Bai Yan looked forward.

Jingliu had just sat down and was sitting motionless with her eyes closed, cross-legged on the water-covered ground. She didn't seem to mind her wet clothes, her face carrying an inexplicable sense of ease.

Bai Yan wasn't in a hurry to approach, maintaining his distance and waiting quietly.

After a while, Jingliu opened her eyes, a look of relief seeming to wash over them.

"Master Jingliu, we meet again."

"You're finally here."

Bai Yan detected a "saved" tone in Jingliu's voice.

After their last meeting, Jingliu felt her Mara-struck condition had completely fallen silent, so she tried removing her eye patch for a while.

Soon, she experienced physical ease for the first time in nearly a thousand years, even developing the thought of finding Bai Yan in the universe and binding him to her side forever.

Unfortunately, she couldn't find him.

However, about six system hours later, the Mara-struck condition surprisingly revived, so quickly that it caught her off guard. If not for her strong will and sufficient experience in dealing with the Mara-struck condition, she might have failed.

But thankfully, that young—that youth seemed to need her as well, which meant she still had a chance to stay here.

How many years had it been since she'd felt the need to rely on someone?

"Master Jingliu, you look unwell. Is something wrong?"

"An old ailment has flared up. It's nothing serious. But enough about that. I didn't have time to ask last time, why are you still dressed as a woman this time?"

Bai Yan was speechless.

After a moment of deliberation, he concisely explained the cause and effect.

Jingliu didn't laugh, and Bai Yan guessed she might have held back to spare his feelings.

"So, you believe your target possesses a considerable degree of danger?"

"...Why do you say that?"

"Although you didn't answer directly last time, I believe you have some understanding of my identity."

"..."

"Therefore, confirming the current situation and setting an initial goal are things that should be thoroughly considered before teaching."

Bai Yan scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly, "As expected of a Sword Master from Xianzhou, you can't hide anything from me."

"After all, I'm relying on your abilities to alleviate my Mara-struck condition. If I'm not proactive, who knows how long this master-disciple relationship will last."

"Heh heh, it's not that bad. Just being around Master Jingliu makes me feel like I can move forward bathed in light."

If it were anyone else, Bai Yan wouldn't have flattered them like this, but the person before him was a millennium-old immortal. He had to assume that her insight could see through any disguise he might have.

Bai Yan needed Jingliu at this moment, he needed a trump card that no one else knew about.

He wanted to cultivate in secret and then amaze everyone!

Being a disciple of Master Jingliu was the greatest honor!

Jingliu: "Alright, let me get a good look at your situation."

This calls for teaching according to aptitude.

For her, the last time she taught a disciple was in the distant past.

However, ever since she became Mara-struck and rebelled against Xianzhou, she had been living in the past.

Wandering was like this, killing was like this, and seeking a way to take revenge was also like this.

Even the temporary peace she could find now was but a fleeting moment compared to the long years.

An extended life was not a continuation of life, but fuel to rush towards the end…

Jingliu leaned closer to Bai Yan, patting him in various places and feeling some of his bones and joints before stopping.

"How much time do we have?"

"Hmm… about ten minutes," Bai Yan replied after sensing.

"That should be enough—to put it simply, fortunately, your aptitude isn't bad, so you don't have to worry about limited growth potential.

"But it seems you need to get stronger quickly?"

"It's not that urgent. I'll just go as far as I can within three years."

The actual need wasn't clear; whether to escape or to fight alongside companions against the Herrscher of the Void were uncertain variables.

Forcing a certain KPI would distort a person's true nature, hindering cultivation efficiency instead.

Therefore, there was no need to rush.

"Alright then, I'll teach you a set of basic movements first. After I demonstrate, you'll imitate me. This way, I can find a suitable basic direction for you."

This was the advantage of a master giving personalized instruction; no need to blindly fill out applications, even the development direction could be personally matched for you.

Jingliu cupped her right hand as if holding an invisible longsword in her hand at that moment.