You Picked a Fight with Me, Xia Ling-Might as Well Kick a Cotton Ball / The True Value of the Speedy Hand

As mentioned before, the system's trials had no quantified HP setting, nor was there any such thing as enemies leaking through. Instead, the settings for health and shields were reflected onto Xia Ling and her squad members.

The result was that health and shield values proportionally enhanced Xia Ling and her squad's self-healing, physical fitness, stamina recovery, and armor strength. However, whenever a member was injured, Collapse Degree would increase by an equivalent amount based on the severity of the injury.

This rule had basically forced Xia Ling to abandon the strategy of trading damage for kills.

Trading damage for kills? Trade my ass. After one run, the whole country would be spread out like a carpet.

So Xia Ling's approach had always been to play it as safely as possible. Taking things slow did not matter; they had plenty of time. On top of that, she was fast and had enough mobility to wear enemies down gradually.

"Is that so?" Bronya tilted her head. "Although Bronya does not quite understand what Sister Xia Ling means, Bronya will do as instructed."

"Mm. Then let me explain the battle plan."

Xia Ling opened the detector map and enlarged the red-marked Emergency Operation node. On the right side of the map were the number and types of enemies within the node.

"The most troublesome enemies in this node are these crossbowmen and those three Butcher Veterans carrying large axes."

"The former can easily increase our chances of getting injured with their sneak attacks, while the latter are also quite dangerous due to their enhanced bodies."

"So we need to deal with those crossbowmen first?" Bronya looked at Xia Ling.

"Right. These nodes have a mechanic that makes them prioritize whoever enters their alert range first. So I need you to go in first and draw their aggro. Then I'll quickly take out the crossbowmen before pulling the enemies away in groups and dealing with them."

"Bronya understands. Just like playing a game, right? Except this time, Bronya needs to be the main tank holding aggro." As a gaming expert, Bronya easily understood Xia Ling's plan.

"Mm. The important thing is not to get greedy for damage. Just focus on controlling Heavy Armor Rabbit for defense. Avoiding injury is the top priority."

"Bronya understands."

After rubbing Bronya's little twin-turbo-duck head, Xia Ling dashed several times and arrived at a spot she had scouted earlier. Then she made a hand signal to Bronya from afar, indicating that she could "pull the mobs."

Bronya nodded. The cannon in her hands fired the three shells it had long been charging all at once, while the exoskeleton on her legs burst forth with powerful thrust, carrying Bronya straight into the settlement.

At that moment, Heavy Armor Rabbit instantly appeared behind Bronya. Its enormous mechanical arm shielded her, while its other hand grabbed a Siracusa thug holding a small knife nearby and tossed him directly into the crowd.

This was where the true value of Emergency Operations showed itself. After suffering such a heavy blow, the thug actually slowly climbed back up a few seconds later. Though he had no combat power for the moment, his recovery was clearly only a matter of time.

On the other side, Xia Ling began moving at almost the same time after seeing Bronya charge in.

The alleyway combat environment in the settlement certainly limited Bronya's advantage in firepower suppression, but it also restricted the enemies' vision. A red blade shadow quietly swept through the blind spots of the thugs.

Relying on her experience from entering this node several times before, Xia Ling easily found the crossbowmen hidden on rooftops and around alley corners.

Just as the crossbowman fired his first bolt and began loading a second, Xia Ling's figure suddenly appeared behind him. Crescent Rose came crashing down from the back of his head.

However, the crossbowman's vitality far exceeded Xia Ling's expectations. With a massive, bone-deep gash across his back, he somehow still managed to complete the reload. Trembling, he activated Originium Arts and aimed the bolt at Xia Ling.

"Tch. That was such a cool assassination, and you had to survive it? You're making this difficult for me."

Xia Ling's figure blurred instantly. This time, the scythe blade swung upward, knocking the crossbow from the man's hand even as it slashed him.

With devastating wounds both front and back, the crossbowman finally went still.

Xia Ling flicked the liquid off her scythe blade, withdrew before several thugs could surround her, and headed for the next crossbowman's location.

Clang—

The Butcher Veteran's massive axe slammed heavily into Heavy Armor Rabbit's arm guard, sending out a harsh ring of metal against metal.

The tremendous force traveling through the arm made Bronya stagger back a step. Heavy Armor Rabbit swept its arm, barely forcing the axe away, only for the next attack to arrive immediately.

Facing the encirclement of multiple enemies, Bronya had initially remained at ease. However, once the other two Butcher Veterans joined the fight, her situation became perilous.

Fortunately, Xia Ling had finished dealing with the crossbowmen by then.

With a dull gunshot, a Butcher Veteran who had raised his axe high suddenly froze, then dropped to one knee. A bullet had blown a bloody hole through his left leg.

Bronya immediately felt the pressure ease. She steadied herself and controlled Heavy Armor Rabbit's defense until it was watertight.

After firing several shots from afar, Xia Ling did not continue harassing them at range. Instead, she leaped into the air and fired Crescent Rose several times behind her, using the recoil to accelerate repeatedly as she rushed toward Bronya.

While killing the crossbowmen just now, Xia Ling had been inspired by a certain phenomenon on their bodies and thought of another new way to materialize Honkai Energy. She intended to test it on these enemies.

Under Bronya's puzzled gaze, Xia Ling rapidly closed in. Yet instead of taking advantage of her high damage output to clear the weaker Siracusa thugs around them first, she charged straight at a perfectly healthy Butcher Veteran.

Of the three Butcher Veterans on the field, one was tangled up with Bronya, while another had been shot in the knee and temporarily lost his combat ability. Facing two Butcher Veterans at once was not yet too dangerous for Bronya.

That made Xia Ling's objective obvious. She had a way to directly eliminate one Butcher Veteran!

As the distance closed, Xia Ling activated Acceleration before the Butcher Veteran could raise his axe in defense.

Compared to Honkai Energy materialization, the Acceleration Talent did not consume much Honkai Energy. However, it placed high demands on the body. Xia Ling could not keep Acceleration active for long, so its usual application had become explosive bursts of speed to seize the initiative.

But the skill Xia Ling wanted to use here was not Acceleration.

A faint layer of red light had already enveloped Xia Ling's Crescent Rose. This was the manifestation of Honkai Energy being attached to it.

Strengthening weapons with Honkai Energy was a very common practice.

In a flash of red light, Xia Ling arrived before the Butcher Veteran before he could even raise his axe. The scythe blade hooked upward, and its sharp edge sank deep into the Butcher Veteran's body.

Such damage alone was certainly not enough to kill the enemy in one strike. But at that moment, the Honkai Energy attached to the scythe blade began transforming into matter, then spread wildly through the soft tissue around it.

Xia Ling pulled out the scythe blade. By then, all the Honkai Energy attached to it had vanished. She flicked the blood from its edge and returned it to her waist. Following her principle of never looking back at explosions, she activated her talent and vanished from the battlefield again.

Behind her, a bloody flower made of sharp, materialized Honkai Energy spikes erupted from the Butcher Veteran's chest wound. It blasted a huge hole through his front, while the scattered Honkai Energy Crystals automatically exploded, sending the surrounding thugs sprawling.

Host, when did you learn that move? Why do I have no memory of it at all?

"It's a little dark when you put it that way." Xia Ling rubbed her nose. "The inspiration actually came from seeing the Originium crystals on that crossbowman just now. It reminded me of how Originium on the bodies of patients with Originium Infection spreads outward and explodes before they die."

"Considering the visual effect also feels pretty familiar, let's call this move Heart's Delight."

A certain former prime minister of the Far East: I have no objections.

After Xia Ling cleared out a large group of enemies with one strike, the pressure on Bronya's side was completely relieved as well. After resting for a moment and recovering a little energy, Xia Ling repeated the trick and gave the other Butcher Veteran a Heart's Delight too.

At that point, Xia Ling and Bronya had completely eliminated the danger. In less than five minutes, they had finished cleaning up the battlefield and tying up loose ends.

"Whew... It's finally over." Sitting atop a broken wall, Xia Ling rubbed her aching arm while swinging her dangling legs and letting out a long breath.

"You worked hard, Sister Xia Ling. Bronya did not expect Sister Xia Ling to be this strong. Bronya is impressed." Floating beside her, Bronya handed over the collected spoils and gave Xia Ling a thumbs-up.

"I only dared to use Acceleration at that intensity because of the trial's buffs..." Xia Ling muttered quietly. "No matter how strong I am in the trial, it's still fake."

"Let's see what we got from this Emergency Operation." Xia Ling took the loot Bronya handed over and opened the system interface.

"Guard Recruitment Voucher. Fine, useless. Next."

"Collectible: Termination Agreement. Four Hope, restore two health. It's a good item, but it's no use to me either."

"Choose one of two Cipher Plates... Hm?"

The two Cipher Plates displayed on the screen were both good items.

Silence: When our side fights here, maximum health increases by 50%.

Surprise: Transform into Uncanny Merchant.

If Xia Ling had not previously obtained the Cipher Plate Shaman, she might have hesitated between the two for a while. But since she already had Shaman, the resonance between Shaman and Silence could make Shieldguards appear at the three combat nodes on the Third Floor.

For Xia Ling, who was currently desperately short on manpower, Shieldguards were simply too tempting to refuse.

She decisively chose the Cipher Plate Silence. The bad mood caused by the useless collectibles immediately vanished, and she happily jumped down from the wall, reopened the detector, and began identifying the next route.

Unable to understand why Xia Ling's mood kept swinging between good and bad, several question marks seemed to pop up over Duck Duck's head. She quickly activated her exoskeleton and followed after Xia Ling.

The next stretch of road was rather long. According to the detector map, whether they went up or down, the upcoming nodes were all Unexpected Encounters. And since they were Unexpected Encounters, events could trigger either the moment they entered a node's range or just before they left it.

The good news was that this node did not leave Xia Ling on edge for long.

The bad news was that Xia Ling felt the current situation was even worse than staying on edge.

Because as Xia Ling advanced, she suddenly heard strange crying, as though something odd were constantly sobbing right beside her ear.

Xia Ling could not help shuddering.

Even the expressionless Bronya edged slightly closer to Xia Ling.

"Sister Xia Ling... what is that sound...?"

"How would I know where this damn noise is coming from?" Xia Ling said viciously. "If I catch it, I'll make it regret it!"

If one ignored the slight tremble in Xia Ling's voice as she said that, it might have sounded rather convincing.

As Xia Ling continued forward, the sobbing not only failed to stop but seemed to grow louder and louder.

Finally, Xia Ling saw the source of the crying.

A constantly sobbing Perro.

Damn it, it was the Crying Kid. Xia Ling felt her blood pressure rising.

She really wanted to rush over and punch that guy who only knew how to cry twice.

But unfortunately, she did not dare. They had too few people and could not beat him. This was not a game, where getting stunned only meant letting a few enemies slip by and missing out on a collectible.

If they actually fought, the Crying Kid would knock her and Duck Duck out one punch at a time, locking them down forever. Then Xia Ling would not even be able to cry if she wanted to.

Damn it. Crying Kid, you really kicked cotton this time. Not only can't I beat you, I even have to come over and comfort you.

Taking a deep breath and suppressing the urge to punch him twice, Xia Ling asked with a smile, "Excuse me, are you lost?"

Of course, Xia Ling knew she would not get an answer, because this guy would only keep crying.

However, if they did not fight in this node, they only needed to speak once to pass through. So Xia Ling decisively led Duck Duck around the annoying fellow.

After passing through the node, Xia Ling hurried to the final node of the First Floor, the Uncanny Merchant, in high spirits.

"Forty-five Originium Ingots... Please give me something useful..."

Arriving at Karnot's familiar little shop, Xia Ling did not even bother greeting him before quickly looking at the items on the shelves.

Support Mine Set, Medical Recruitment Voucher, Swift Hand, Scratching Hand, Broken Crossbow - Canon, Spectrum Analyzer, Seaweed Salad, Game Room Administrator Access Card

"Hm? Swift Hand?" Xia Ling's eyes lit up.

According to the system and her previous testing in the trials, Xia Ling could directly count as any of the Guard, Sniper, or Specialist classes. Naturally, she could benefit from Swift Hand's attack speed increase.

Moreover, she and Bronya already fought separately, so Swift Hand's restriction of not taking effect around teammates was practically nonexistent for Xia Ling.

"Karnot, I'll take these two!" Xia Ling took Swift Hand and the Support Mine Set from the counter, then grandly waved her hand. "Refresh the shop."

Karnot nodded and waved his sleeve. The items on the shelves were immediately replaced by another batch.

Support Supply Station, Vanguard Recruitment Voucher, Support Recruitment Voucher, Vision Invitation, Healer - Master Hand, Broken Halberd - Canon, Broken Staff - Canon, Living Rose

"Tch. None of these collectibles are useful either."

Xia Ling sighed, but she did not choose to save her remaining Originium Ingots. After all, their goal this time was the Third Floor, and there was a decent chance they would encounter another shop along the way.

After bidding farewell to the Uncanny Merchant, Xia Ling successfully entered the range of the Second Floor.

In her backpack, the Cipher Plate - Doubt had automatically appeared, while the detector had also refreshed with a foresight prompt for the Second Floor.

After clearing this floor, you will obtain Cipher Plate: Arbor.

Compared to the First Floor, the node layout on the Second Floor was neither especially good nor especially bad. Since there were no Emergency Operations, Xia Ling ultimately chose the middle fork, which passed through two combat nodes and one non-combat node.

From the map, the first combat node appeared to be some kind of testing ground. Once they got closer, Xia Ling discovered that this node seemed like it might be easier.

Because the node was called Low Altitude Maneuver, the one where the flying units automatically threw themselves into pits.

And according to the node description, the people inside bore no hostility toward them. The battle was only because the person in charge enthusiastically invited them to participate in an exercise.

Upon entering the node, just as the game had described, the person in charge warmly received Xia Ling and Bronya and invited them to take part in an exercise.

To be precise, perhaps he was a little too enthusiastic.

Xia Ling irresponsibly guessed that it was probably because Duck Duck's hovering exoskeleton and Heavy Armor Rabbit were simply too eye-catching.

During the following exercise, Duck Duck successfully demonstrated Heavy Armor Rabbit's superior performance.

While Xia Ling was still scratching away at the big shield guy under Swift Hand's boost, Bronya had already easily dealt with every flying unit on the lower route.

Some had been blasted senseless by Bronya's heavy cannon before they could even take off, while several lucky ones that barely got airborne were directly dragged out of the sky by Heavy Armor Rabbit and thrown into the pit.

After successfully completing the exercise, Xia Ling received the rewards from the node. However, they did not come from looting corpses, but rather as proper payment.

Two Originium Ingots, one Medical Recruitment Voucher, and one point of interference resistance from the person in charge's friendly equipment maintenance.