Collapse, Kiana's Cross-Dressing Strategy, Chapter 30

"Indeed," Bai Yan nodded.

"Xiao Yan is willing to protect someone..."

Raiden Mei turned her head, gazing at Bai Yan without looking away.

In her opinion, since the other party knew many things, he should also know what Changkong City had become because of her, the Herrscher.

But at that time, Bai Yan stepped up, facing that terrifying opponent directly.

At this moment, Bai Yan knew the problem.

He had seen Durandal's state at the time and knew she could cooperate with him at any moment.

And the former had just discovered his action of secretly picking up the greatsword, immediately knowing what to do.

But Raiden Mei didn't know; she thought Bai Yan was just reacting on instinct.

There was a misunderstanding, but Bai Yan didn't intend to correct it.

"Becoming a Herrscher wasn't Mei's wish, and from the time we've spent together, I feel Mei is completely fine, just a gentle beautiful girl!"

Speaking of which, Bai Yan leaned in mysteriously.

"I heard from Kiana that Mei was called 'Queen' at Senba Academy before? Was what I saw that day actually Mei's true side?"

Raiden Mei recalled her actions out of jealousy that day and couldn't help but blush a little.

"It, it's not like that..."

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Bai Yan quietly hugged Raiden Mei's waist, feeling very pleased.

"Oh? Really?"

Raiden Mei didn't refuse, letting Bai Yan do as he pleased.

"Thank you for what happened today, and in the future... hmm."

Bai Yan understood this; from now on, they were all sisters.

"So, does Mei want to stay tonight?"

"Th-that's fine," Raiden Mei suddenly stood up like a startled cat, her face redder than before. "I'll leave first. You rest well, goodnight."

After speaking, she scurried away as if fleeing.

"Still too easily embarrassed, and just like me, straight." Bai Yan shook his head and lit a mosquito repellent incense.

Hyperdimensional Space.

Jingliu still sat serenely on the giant rock, quietly watching Bai Yan practice, offering guidance from time to time.

"Your progress is significant. 20 minutes have passed today, yet Hyperdimensional Space hasn't ended. It seems your power has grown considerably."

Bai Yan sheathed his sword, stood with his fingers forming a seal with ease, and looked up at Jingliu.

"It's now extended to half an hour, all thanks to Master's teachings."

"You really know how to flatter." Jingliu smiled.

She continued, "Is there something special going on on your end? You seem a bit tired lately."

"It's not a big deal. The branch of the organization I'm in was recently ambushed by a group of people, and the losses were quite significant, so the branch leader wants to retaliate."

"It seems there will be a formal battle."

"We just went through one. The opponent was very strong, probably at the same power level as my mission target."

He was referring to Sirin; Kiana didn't have this strength.

"Oh? How did you handle it?" Jingliu raised an eyebrow.

"I prepared the Luoshen Transformation in advance and used One Sword Startling Swan to buy time for our strongest person to make a move."

Jingliu felt relieved and nodded, "Your response was good, and your companion also has great chemistry with you—an old friend?"

"From an orphanage when I was a child."

Upon hearing this, she smiled meaningfully.

She basically understood what kind of person this disciple was, and based on their previous conversations, she knew that the combat personnel in Bai Yan's organization were mainly Valkyries.

The situation with his "companion" was not hard to guess.

"Do you have any thoughts on weapons?" Jingliu changed the subject.

She was now very concerned about Bai Yan's combat power, which was related to the special medicine for her "illness."

Currently, all she could provide Bai Yan was swordsmanship and experience; she couldn't directly find someone to forge weapons for him, otherwise, she would have already found a way to send him a divine artifact.

"No, those incredible weapons don't have much to do with me."

Jingliu's spirits lifted upon hearing this.

"Oh? What kind of weapons?"

"Divine Keys, they possess various abilities and are very powerful."

"Where are they?"

"The enemy has it. I'll try to fish in troubled waters during this battle."

"...Be careful."

Bai Yan could hear the lack of confidence in her tone.

There was nothing he could do about it; in Jingliu's evaluation system, he was indeed too weak.

As for the God Keys, the first one he thought of was the Seven Thunders of Retribution. The weapon had power, but it was prone to mood swings, its spirit quite sensitive.

In terms of form, Bai Yan was more suited to the Phoenix Incineration, but he couldn't handle that thing himself. Only bloodlines like the Kaslana's, with their Saint Body, could withstand the backlash.

The Xuanyuan Sword was also good, but he couldn't get his hands on one.

However, Raven, a frequent user of the Seven Thunders of Retribution, was a relatively soft target...

"Xiao Yan, do you have any leads on advancing your Hyperdimensional Space permissions?"

"My current guess is that the size of my power determines the size of my permissions, but lately, I've felt that my power growth has been a bit off."

"Is that so? Then let's try it out."

After the test, Jingliu stated that the Luoshen Transformation's amplification hadn't changed at all, and Bai Yan's own power hadn't increased either.

The good news was that Bai Yan's swordsmanship had improved significantly.

At Jingliu's level, her explanations were in terms Bai Yan couldn't understand.

But fortunately, Bai Yan liked to ask for details. After a round of questioning, he came to a conclusion.

In terms of swordsmanship realm, he could now be considered "Late Stage Sharp Sword," approaching Grand Perfection and about to enter the "Ziwei Soft Sword" stage.

After ending their meeting for the night, Bai Yan received another message from Anna.

She had lost to Fu Hua during the day and started feeling down at night. Because she was the only one in the team who had lost a match, she sought Bai Yan for comfort that evening.

Bai Yan stepped in and managed to cheer her up within five minutes.

He told her that losing to Fu Hua, the ace of aces in the Far East, was nothing to be ashamed of, and that she would always be his dearest little sweetie.

He needed to encourage Anna more, lest she have a mental breakdown during the Fifth Collapse.

This was all for the sake of the world's beauty, nothing personal.

Volume 1: Chapter 38: Fifth Squad Deployment?

Several days later.

Ever since Theresa got a temporary secretary, her days had become increasingly comfortable.

She had almost forgotten about revenge.

It wasn't until a new batch of equipment was delivered to the Far East Branch ahead of schedule that she remembered the painful experience of that day.

"Ah, so soon? It's only been two days!"

Schicksal Express Delivery, Global Guaranteed. (Limited to the Bishop's granddaughter; others subject to actual conditions.)

Theresa jumped up from the sofa and sprinted to the warehouse.

Rita followed calmly.

Technicians were moving equipment, while Himeko had already started registering the first batch of replacements.

"Principal, you're here? It seems the Bishop is very attentive to us. This equipment is exactly the same as what we lost, and they even included the propulsion modules I've been wanting to replace."

Theresa fell into thought.

Did Grandpa approve of our branch's performance?

"Lady Theresa," Rita said softly from behind her, "Lady Durandal has a very high evaluation of the Fifth Squad. She also said that the outcome of the match shouldn't be the sole reference, as the assessment team's strength was top-tier within Schicksal, and the Bishop also values actual performance more."

Theresa suddenly understood and accepted this explanation.

In the afternoon, Bai Yan received orders for the Fifth Squad to assemble.

Upon arriving at the scene, Kiana, Mei, and Bronya were already present.

He subtly glanced at the superior behind Theresa and roughly understood what was happening.

"Ahem," Theresa cleared her throat. "Bai Yan will lead this operation. The mission objective is in Singapore..."

After the previous incident, Anti-Entropy's Cocolia had taken the opportunity to steal the Desire Jewel, and she had now decided to conduct experiments in a certain location in Southeast Asia.

She truly had a death wish.

Perhaps Cocolia also believed that Herrschers needed a core.

The Fifth Squad's mission this time was to gather intelligence, and if conditions permitted, they could attempt to retrieve the jewel.

Rita recommended the team leader. As for Fu Hua, it wasn't that she didn't have a mission; rather, she had accepted an assignment from Otto.

For a mere reconnaissance mission, the four of them were more than enough.

Frontline defense, close-quarters assassination, firepower support, and a strategist—their roles were perfectly covered.

Kiana was itching for action. This was the first mission for the three of them at the Far East Branch, and she was a little excited.

Mei simply hoped that nothing would go wrong, while Bai Yan couldn't tell what Bronya was thinking.

Himeko wasn't entirely at ease with the group, repeatedly going over precautions on the day of their departure. Kiana quickly grew impatient.

Fortunately, Bai Yan promised they would stay in contact, which finally put Himeko's mind at ease as she let them set off.

The four disguised themselves as tourists—though it was rather useless in reality—and flew to their destination via commercial flight.

Their equipment arrived at the same time they did, delivered through a special channel.

The hot sea breeze on the equator was very unfamiliar to Bronya, and she soon began to feel slightly unwell due to the change in environment.

Bai Yan decided to switch to tourist mode, suggesting they check into a hotel and rest first.

The rooms were shared, with Bai Yan and Bronya in one, and Kiana and Mei in another.

This allowed them to look out for each other.

The problem then became: how would they meet Jingliu tonight?

Disrupting her medication for a day...

No, that's not a good idea. I need to think of something else.

However, as night fell, Bai Yan still hadn't found an opportunity to be alone.

So, he came up with a desperate, half-baked plan.

He decided to take Kiana out for something spicy to eat.

Mei, worried, followed along, and Bronya couldn't be left behind either, so all four of them went out for spicy food together.

Bai Yan exercised some restraint, not eating too much himself, stopping at just the right amount.

This way, he could use an excuse of having an upset stomach to slip away to the restroom that night.

Kiana ate the most.

When she claimed the restroom first, Bai Yan felt his rooming arrangement might have been a mistake.