Collapse, Kiana's Cross-Dressing Strategy

I had originally planned to take Kiana out for a late-night snack, use a pile of food to stall her, and then slip away to the restroom. I'd come back half an hour later.

After all, Kiana is easily fooled, so waiting half an hour for me wouldn't be a problem for her.

But the other two were too sharp; they couldn't be tricked at all.

My plan then shifted: if both of them had a problem and there was only one restroom, I could use that as an excuse to go out and resolve it. Perfect.

But Bronya was doing well again. She ate less and had a good stomach, so she was fine.

I wasn't sure if it was something she developed during her tough days in Siberia.

Beside me, Bronya was playing a game.

Bai Yan held the makeup remover, lost in thought, occasionally glancing to the side.

I couldn't just drug her, could I?

She was a professional assassin; such tricks would be seen through and countered in an instant.

Ah!

I've got it!

I could ask the waiter for two more pillows, then pretend I needed to sleep with them. I'd secretly light mosquito coils under the covers.

The two pillows would then serve as my stand-ins.

Bronya and I weren't close enough for her to sneak into my room at night, so I didn't have to worry about being found out within half an hour.

That's the plan!

I smeared the makeup remover on my face, got up, washed up, and prepared to sleep.

"Sister Xiao Yan."

"Hm?"

Bai Yan had only been lying down for fifteen minutes when he heard Bronya call him, so he turned his head.

Bronya was leaning over the edge of the bed, staring intently at him.

"Can Bronya sleep with Sister Xiao Yan?"

No.

Compared to Master Jingliu, Little Duckling wasn't as good.

"Why do you suddenly want to sleep together?"

However, the girl blinked and said, "I just want to."

Bai Yan's thoughts raced, and he suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! I completely forgot!"

He shot up and darted into the bathroom, then poked his head out, grinning. "If it weren't for Bronya, I would have forgotten to shower. Honestly, I don't think about it unless I'm sweating after training—wait for me in bed!"

Bronya tilted her head in confusion.

Then she sniffed the bed; it smelled nice and seemed perfectly fine.

After Bai Yan entered the bathroom, Bronya tiptoed to the window and sent out a communication...

Inside the bathroom, Bai Yan lit the mosquito coil.

However, just as he was about to mentally connect with that familiar strange sensation, an anomaly occurred.

A terrifying explosion ripped through the night sky, and in an instant, countless startled people cried out.

The tall buildings were illuminated once more, and many people nervously peered out their windows.

Bai Yan reacted quickly, throwing on his clothes in a flash. As he darted out, he asked Bronya, "What happened?"

Bronya was stunned, seemingly unable to believe the current situation.

The communicator emitted a busy signal, clearly interrupted by the abnormal electromagnetic environment.

Could it be that something happened over there?

She couldn't ascertain the situation and could only respond to Bai Yan's question.

"Sister Xiao Yan, it's Honkai beasts, and someone unknown detonated bombs. If Bronya remembers correctly, that area belongs to the fire department..."

Bai Yan noticed that Bronya's reaction was normal, not like someone who knew what was going on.

This probably wasn't orchestrated by Cocolia.

Then it must be World Serpent. For them to cause trouble in Cocolia's territory, it's hard to say what their motives are.

Are they hindering Cocolia's experiments?

Volume 1: Chapter 39: Four Against Twenty

The city was in chaos, flames lit up the night sky, and countless people fled in all directions.

Honkai beasts had already begun to rampage through the city.

"Let's go rescue people quickly!" Kiana urged.

"The scale of this Honkai outbreak isn't that large; the few of us might be able to handle some of it," Raiden Mei agreed somewhat with Kiana's suggestion.

Bronya looked at Bai Yan, blinking her eyes, conveying "You decide."

Bai Yan's gaze flickered as he surveyed their surroundings. He quickly said, "Let's head to the top of that building over there to observe the situation, then we'll determine our course of action."

He patted the lighter and mosquito repellent on his person.

If they couldn't enter the Hyperdimensional Space before dawn, today's opportunity would be wasted.

The entry time for the Hyperdimensional Space wasn't carried over daily.

But the current situation was abnormal, and he couldn't force his way in.

Everyone agreed with Bai Yan's suggestion.

Looking down, Honkai Beasts had already spread to a point not far from them.

Since it was night, areas a bit further away were very dark and difficult to see clearly.

The good news was that this level of Honkai was unlikely to produce a Herrscher.

"Are we going in? I can't wait," Kiana said, rubbing her hands together.

The group was already fully armed and ready to engage in combat.

Seeing this, Bai Yan hesitated again.

After a moment of thought, he said, "Mei, you and Kiana handle the Honkai Beasts here and try to rescue people.

"Bronya and I will go ahead to scout the situation."

"Won't it be too dangerous to split up?" Raiden Mei asked.

She believed it would be better for everyone to hold their ground.

Bai Yan shook his head, "Not understanding the cause is the real danger."

"Do you have any guesses, Sister Xiao Yan?"

Bai Yan glanced at her and shook his head, "It's just a hunch, no specific ideas. We're just going to take a look, and we'll come back to regroup after."

"Okay."

Bai Yan first reported the situation here before starting to formulate specific details.

"In one hour, we'll rendezvous at the amusement park entrance at twelve o'clock. Regardless of what else you have going on, everyone must be there on time. Does anyone have any objections?"

Everyone agreed.

The four split into two groups. Bai Yan, with Bronya, quietly moved towards the direction the Honkai Beasts had come from.

Kiana, on the other hand, charged directly into the alleyway, unleashing a barrage of attacks on stray Honkai Beasts. Her astonishing strength quickly yielded results.

Raiden Mei guarded the intersection, clearing out low-level grunts like Assault Class units while providing cover for Kiana.

Soon, the two of them opened a path for ordinary people to evacuate.

However, just as the situation was improving, Kiana suddenly stopped, retreated rapidly to Mei's side, grabbed her, and pushed her to the ground.

BOOM!

Large-caliber ammunition struck the concrete, sending fragments flying everywhere. The debris hitting Raiden Mei's skin caused a sharp sting.

"Sniper! World Serpent really is no good!" Kiana said hatefully.

"Let's find cover quickly!"

"Okay!"

On the rooftop of a distant building.

Raven lay on the ground, tracking the two through her high-powered scope, while reporting into the microphone, "The targets have deviated from their original positions—but Jackal, will this really achieve our objective?"

[Our plan is perfect—so what's the situation?]

"That eldest daughter of the Kaslana family is incredibly quick to react."

[Oh? It seems we can use a Divine Key]

Raven's eye twitched, and a chill ran down her spine, "Hey, hey, hey, didn't we say we were supposed to capture them alive?"

[I can't explain it to someone like you. Just be ready and don't ask too many questions]

"Alright, alright, you're the boss."

Raven put away her anti-materiel sniper rifle, packed her gear, and quickly withdrew.

Meanwhile, Bai Yan had just received a communication from Mei.

"What's wrong, Sister Xiao Yan?"

"World Serpent attacked Kiana and the others, but thankfully they weren't successful."

"Should we go back to support?" Bronya asked.

"No, we'll continue our reconnaissance for now. Going back now might just run us straight into their trap."

Bronya nodded.

Considering the risk of the opponent setting up an ambush, they would need to take a detour at the very least.

Bai Yan was about to arrange a new rendezvous point with Mei when another message suddenly came through his communicator.

It was from the person who had been in direct contact with Rita.

[Rita: World Serpent trap, retreat immediately]

Bai Yan deleted it as soon as he read it, his guard immediately going up.

World Serpent is setting a trap? Could their target be the Herrscher of Thunder?

Bai Yan quickly replied, then called Raiden Mei again, telling her and Kiana to prepare the aircraft and giving them a heads-up.

Plans have changed, prepare to run!

However, Bai Yan also felt relieved.

Bronya won't betray us for now. After all, Cocolia won't be satisfied after being outmaneuvered twice.

Just then, his communicator rang again.

Bai Yan answered.

[Xiao Yan, don't come to the rendezvous yet, World Serpent—]

The communication was suddenly cut off, replaced by static.

It was being jammed.

Bai Yan's gaze sharpened, and he touched his earring before looking at Bronya.

"We're going back. Reconnaissance advance."

"Okay."

Bronya basically understood the situation and quickly activated her heavy armor bunny, ready to provide fire support at any moment.

The two moved stealthily and soon saw numerous Titan mechs along a wide road.