He had originally planned to take Kiana out for a late-night snack, keep her occupied with a pile of food, then use the bathroom as an excuse to slip away and return after half an hour.
After all, Kiana was easy to fool. Making her wait for half an hour would not be a problem.
But the other two were far too sharp. He could not fool them at all.
Later, the plan became this: if both of them had stomach problems but there was only one bathroom, he could use that as an excuse to go outside and deal with it. Perfect.
But Bronya had recovered too. She ate relatively little and had a strong stomach, so she was fine.
Who knew whether she had developed it during those hard years in Siberia.
Bronya was playing games beside him.
Bai Yan held a bottle of makeup remover, deep in thought, glancing to the side from time to time.
He could not exactly drug her directly, could he?
She was a professional assassin. She would see through such a trick in seconds and turn it against him.
Ah!
He had it!
He could ask the waiter for two extra pillows, then use wanting to sleep while hugging a pillow as an excuse to secretly light mosquito coils beneath the blanket.
Then the two pillows could disguise themselves as him.
Bronya was not close enough to him to launch a nighttime raid, so he did not need to worry about being exposed within half an hour.
That was what he would do!
He wiped makeup remover across his face, got up, washed up, and prepared to sleep.
"Xiao Yan."
"Hmm?"
Bai Yan had only been lying down for fifteen minutes when he heard Bronya call him, so he turned his head to look.
Bronya was leaning over the edge of the bed, staring straight at him.
"Can Bronya sleep with Xiao Yan?"
No. Compared to Master Jingliu, little duckie was a no-go.
"Why do you suddenly want to sleep together?"
The girl blinked. "I just want to."
Bai Yan's thoughts shifted, and he suddenly exclaimed, "Ah! I actually forgot!"
He sprang up and dashed into the bathroom. Then he poked his head out with a grin. "If Bronya had not reminded me, I would have forgotten to take a bath. Honestly, once I stop training and do not sweat, I never think about it—wait for me in bed!"
Bronya tilted her head in confusion.
Then she sniffed the bed. It smelled nice, and there was nothing wrong with it.
After Bai Yan entered the bathroom, Bronya crept over to the window and sent out a transmission...
Inside the bathroom, Bai Yan lit the mosquito coils.
However, just as he prepared to use his mind to answer that familiar strange sensation, an abrupt change occurred.
A terrifying explosion tore through the night sky. For a moment, countless people jolted awake and cried out.
The high-rises lit up once more, and many people stuck their heads out to observe nervously.
Bai Yan reacted quickly. He got dressed in a few swift motions, then darted out and asked Bronya, "What happened?"
Bronya was staring blankly ahead, as if she could not believe the situation before her.
A burst of static came from the communicator. It had clearly been forcibly cut off by the abnormal electromagnetic environment.
Could something have happened over there?
Unable to determine the situation, she could only answer Bai Yan first.
"Xiao Yan, there are Honkai Beasts, and someone unknown has detonated bombs. If Bronya remembers correctly, that direction is the fire department district..."
Bai Yan noticed that Bronya's reaction was normal. She did not look like she knew anything.
It probably was not Cocolia's doing.
Then it was World Serpent. They had actually caused trouble on Cocolia's turf; it was hard to say what their purpose was.
Were they trying to interfere with Cocolia's experiment?
The city was in chaos. Flames lit up the night sky as countless people scattered in panic.
Honkai Beasts had already begun rampaging through the city.
"We need to go save people!" Kiana said urgently.
"This level of Honkai outbreak is not large. The few of us might be able to handle part of it." Raiden Mei somewhat agreed with Kiana's suggestion.
Bronya looked at Bai Yan and blinked, as if to say, "You decide."
Bai Yan's gaze flickered. After surveying the surroundings, he quickly said, "Let's get to the top of that building first and observe the situation. Then we'll decide on a course of action."
He touched the lighter and mosquito coils on his person.
If he could not enter the Hyperdimensional Space before dawn, today's opportunity would be wasted.
The time to enter the Hyperdimensional Space did not carry over from day to day.
But with the situation being so abnormal, there was no way for him to force his way in.
Hearing Bai Yan say that, everyone agreed.
Looking down from above, they saw that the Honkai Beasts had already spread to an area not far from them.
Since it was nighttime, places slightly farther away were too dark to see clearly.
The good news was that an outbreak of this scale was unlikely to produce a Herrscher.
"Are we going? I can't wait anymore." Kiana cracked her knuckles.
The group had already armed themselves and could enter battle at any moment.
Seeing this, Bai Yan hesitated again.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "Mei, you and Kiana deal with the Honkai Beasts here and save as many people as possible.
"Bronya and I will go ahead and check the situation."
"Wouldn't splitting up be too dangerous?" Raiden Mei asked.
She believed it would be better for everyone to hold their ground together.
Bai Yan shook his head. "Not finding out the cause would be the real danger."
"Does Xiao Yan have any guesses?"
Bai Yan glanced at her and shook his head. "Just a feeling. I don't have any concrete ideas. We're only going to take a look. We'll regroup as soon as we're done."
"Okay."
Bai Yan first reported the situation here through separate channels before working out the specific details.
"In one hour, we'll regroup at the amusement park entrance at the twelve o'clock direction. No matter what anyone is doing, everyone must be there on time. Any objections?"
Everyone agreed.
The four split into two groups. Bai Yan led Bronya forward stealthily in the direction the Honkai Beasts had come from.
Kiana charged straight into the alleyways and unleashed a barrage on the isolated Honkai Beasts. With her astonishing strength, she quickly achieved results.
Raiden Mei guarded the intersection, clearing out cannon fodder like the assault-class enemies while covering Kiana.
Very quickly, the two opened a route for ordinary people to evacuate.
However, just as the situation was gradually improving, Kiana suddenly stopped attacking and leaped back to Mei's side. She grabbed her, hugged her, and shoved her to the ground.
Boom!
A large-caliber round struck the concrete. Fragments exploded in all directions, pelting Raiden Mei's skin hard enough to make it sting.
"A sniper! World Serpent really is full of scum!" Kiana said furiously.
"Let's find cover and hide!"
"Okay!"
On the rooftop of a distant building.
Raven lay prone on the ground, tracking the two through a high-powered scope while reporting into her microphone. "The targets have left their original position—but Jackal, can this really accomplish our goal?"
Our plan is perfect—so what is the situation?
"That Kaslana girl has incredibly fast reactions."
Oh? Looks like we can make limited use of the Divine Key.
Raven's eyes twitched, and a chill rose through her. "Hey, hey, hey, didn't you say we were capturing them alive?"
There is no explaining it to someone like you. Just get ready and stop asking questions.
"Fine, fine, you have the final say."
Raven put away the anti-materiel sniper rifle, gathered her equipment, and quickly withdrew.
Meanwhile, Bai Yan had just received a communication from Mei.
"What happened, Xiao Yan?"
"World Serpent ambushed Kiana and the others. Luckily, they didn't succeed."
"Should we go back and support them?" Bronya asked.
"No, we'll continue scouting for now. Going back now might just mean walking into their sights."
Bronya nodded.
Considering the risk of the enemy having laid an ambush, they would at least need to take a detour.
Bai Yan was about to arrange a new rendezvous point with Mei when the communicator suddenly received a message from someone else.
The person he contacted directly with Rita.
Rita: World Serpent trap. Retreat immediately.
Bai Yan deleted it immediately after reading it, then became alert.
Was World Serpent setting a trap? Could their target be the Herrscher of Thunder?
Bai Yan swiftly replied, then called Raiden Mei again, telling her and Kiana to prepare their aircraft and warning them in advance.
The plan had changed. Prepare to run!
Still, Bai Yan felt relieved.
That meant Bronya would not turn against them for the time being. After being played twice, Cocolia would not take it lying down.
Just then, the communicator rang again.
Bai Yan answered it.
"Xiao Yan, don't come to regroup yet. World Serpent—"
The transmission suddenly cut off, replaced by a burst of static.
It was being jammed.
Bai Yan's gaze sharpened. He touched his earring and looked at Bronya.
"We're heading back. We'll scout as we move."
"Okay."
Bronya basically understood the situation. She quickly activated Heavy Cannon Rabbit, ready to provide fire support at any time.
The two moved covertly, and before long, they spotted numerous Titan mechs beside a broad highway.
Before you continue