7. Theresa: "She Has Me in Her Heart" / 8. Yae Sakura: "Where Are You Going to Invade From?"

Xia Ling took a step back and stood up.

But seeing Theresa lying on the ground, I felt a strange pang of heartache.

"If she just lies there on the ground, what if a passing patrol mech steps on her? Let's just put her aside."

Xia Ling picked up Theresa and felt the familiar weight in her arms. Just as she was about to move Theresa to another spot, she noticed that Theresa suddenly rubbed against her.

Seemingly because she had found a familiar feeling, Theresa's expression, which had been somewhat pained, softened considerably. She tilted her head slightly and revealed a satisfied smile amidst Xia Ling's ample bosom.

"..."

"Really... I knew it would turn out like this."

"How can I bear to keep it from you any longer, with that kind of unfair expression on your face..."

Xia Ling sighed and leaned against a shadowy corner of the wall.

Then, after carefully frowning and thinking for a while, Xia Ling took out a bullet casing with a rose pattern that she usually used from the system space and clipped it to the leg ring under Theresa's skirt.

"Yes, this position is one where Mei and the others won't see us, but it will also allow Theresa to sense us immediately."

Looking at her masterpiece, Xia Ling nodded in satisfaction.

"I never intended to keep it a secret from me forever... Anyway, Kal'tsit was going to tell her in the story in the Abyssal City, so it shouldn't be a problem for me to reveal a little bit to her beforehand."

"Well... let's leave it at that."

Goodbye, Theresa.

Xia Ling turned around and quickly walked back into the teleportation portal.

Chapter Seven Theresa: She Has Me in Her Heart

"Your Lord Bishop, this is the situation. I have confirmed that all of Gray Serpent's intelligence is stored in the humanoid machine, and I have also obtained the bio-component that Gray Serpent can use for authentication."

"However, during the battle with Theresa, I was ambushed by unidentified snipers. The number of them and their purpose were unknown, but they probably didn't intend to hurt me; they just forced me back and prevented me from taking Theresa away."

"Hmm... to be able to destroy Carbon-based Hunter in one strike, this Lin Er^Er Shui Si] ba Ba (IV) {Ling->Meng Xiang's power is indeed somewhat troublesome..."

"However, I think there's something wrong with your speculation, Rita."

"You shouldn't be facing multiple elite snipers; the other side should be Xia Ling."

"But that teleportation distance and speed... could it be that Xia Ling absorbed the Herrscher of the Void Core herself?"

Rita couldn't help but ask in confusion.

"I don't know exactly how she did it, but I can analyze it for you using the process of elimination."

"As we all know, as strength increases, few people choose firearms as their primary weapon."

"Miss Raven of the World Serpent is one, but that's because her weapon is the Third Divine Key."

"In the Schicksal alone, there should only be one person who can achieve the accuracy and distance you described, and shoot down Carbon-based Hunter with a single shot."

"You know this person too? He's a member of the Snow Wolf Squad from over a decade ago, Aerial Flare Shigure Kira."

"She was already a renowned A-rank Valkyrie before she disappeared, and her current strength is comparable to yours."

Otto paused, seemingly giving Rita time to think.

"I think you understand what I mean by this comparison."

"After Shigure Kira disappeared, you and Durandal should have both seen her and should have some understanding of her strength."

"Assuming that, according to your description, the other side is a sniper squad composed of three elite snipers of the caliber of Shigure Kira."

"Then do you think any organization in the world right now could field a squad of three S-class combatants specializing in a particular area?"

"So I'm certain that the mysterious sniper must be Xia Ling."

"As for her strength... for some reason, I think she might actually have that kind of strength."

Otto felt a sense of unease as he thought of his alter ego, whose cause of death he still didn't know.

"Your Lord Bishop, should I continue...?"

"Continue with your mission. At this point, there's probably no time to send more people to you. Next time, I'll have Xi join you on your mission."

"This time... Xia Ling is a good person. She shouldn't be too hostile towards you and Durandal, so you should give it a try."

"I always felt that her attitude wasn't entirely about stopping you. If she was really in Changkong City all along, she should have had many ways to intercept this intelligence before you did."

"In fact, if it weren't for you trying to take Theresa away, she probably wouldn't have even made a move..."

"Yes, Your Lord Bishop."

Rita bowed and accepted the order, "In that case, I will proceed according to the previous plan."

Where... is this place?

Theresa opened her eyes groggily.

"Headmaster? You're finally awake!"

When she opened her eyes, she didn't see an unfamiliar ceiling, but rather Bronya's signature twin-turbo ponytail.

"Bronya... were you the one who came to help earlier?"

Theresa's mind was still a little foggy. Although she was in a coma due to poisoning, she felt that she had slept unusually well and had a strange sense of satisfaction.

"Support...?"

Bronya's tone was full of doubt.

"Headmaster, it's been over an hour since you went to intercept Rita."

"What?"

Bronya's words jolted Theresa awake. At that moment, she felt like a college student who had just handed in an assignment and realized the deadline was yesterday—her mind was buzzing.

"What about the humanoid machine? What about the data for Dad Sanling cage 79_(5) shrimp deer?"

"After the headmaster went missing, we encountered a large number of mechs blocking our way. In the midst of the chaos, Rita suddenly appeared and used Gray Serpent's prosthetic eye to seize the highest authority of the humanoid mech."

"Then Rita immediately uploaded the data and commanded the humanoid machine to format it."

"Formatting? Doesn't that mean that little sister..."

"No, Rita didn't make her commit suicide. The formatting she mentioned only erased the encrypted information about Kiana compiled by Gray Serpent from the humanoid machine."

"However, the humanoid machine is currently in a shutdown state. We are preparing to take her back to Hyperion to let the Doctor see if the data can be recovered."

"As for the headmaster... we just arrived recently."

"Then Bronya saw you leaning against the corner of the wall, looking like you were sleeping soundly."

"Ahem... that's because, because of Rita..."

Theresa blushed and stammered her explanation.

"But since she defeated me, why didn't Rita just take me away...?"

"Regarding this, Headmaster, I just found this nearby."

Mei pulled a dark green metal fragment from her pocket.

"Is this... a fragment from Carbon-based Hunter?"

Theresa touched it and immediately came to a conclusion.

After battling Rita for half a day, she was extremely familiar with this material.

"Yes, we also found two deep shell craters nearby, but there weren't many signs of combat."

As Bronya led the way, she added, "According to Bronya's speculation, someone must have stopped Rita after the headmistress fell into a coma."

"A sniper rifle, to help the headmaster..."

Mei muttered these words, her expression somewhat strange.

"Could it be...?"

"No, Bronya saw the crater; its power was far beyond what Sister Xia Ling's Crescent Rose could achieve..."

Mei and Bronya were still whispering and discussing who the mysterious person was, neither of them noticing Theresa silently keeping her head down behind them.

Just as she stood up, she clearly felt a foreign object on her leg ring.

From the moment she woke up, Theresa felt somewhat distracted during her conversation with Bronya.

The reason for this was the gunshot she heard while she was unconscious; to be precise, it was the sound of a bullet exploding.

She was extremely familiar with that sound because she had heard it countless times in her training room.

A bold, yet somewhat unbelievable, thought had been lingering in her mind ever since she woke up.

While neither of them was paying attention, she subtly slipped her hand under her skirt.

In her palm, there was a bullet casing that she recognized all too well.

Theresa suddenly lowered her head and, under the guise of tidying her clothes, fiercely wiped her eyes.

Then he put the spent cartridge back in its original position.

Since Xia Ling didn't show up directly, she must have her reasons. It seems she doesn't want others to know about her situation.

However, even in this situation, she still used her own method to leave a message specifically for herself.

Doesn't this prove that I am a special person to her?

Although her eyes were a little red, Theresa's lips couldn't help but curl upwards slightly.

"That idiot..."

Chapter Yae Sakura: From where are you going to invade?

"Sister Xia Ling, you're back!"

Hearing the door open, Fu Hua didn't give her any warning. Kiana, who was sitting restlessly in the room, immediately jumped up and rushed to greet her.

After all, this trouble was caused by her mistake, and Xia Ling, for her safety, didn't let her get involved and resolved it on her own.

Heaven knows how worried she was at home, but Fu Hua was watching her and wouldn't let her go out. Kiana could only pray anxiously for Xia Ling, hoping that she wouldn't receive news of Xia Ling's arrest after a while.

"Sister Xia Ling, is everything resolved? Are you alright? Have you seen Mei and the others?"

Looking at Kiana, who was asking her all sorts of questions, Xia Ling smiled helplessly and picked up the impatient white cat and moved it aside.

"Okay, okay, stop rubbing against me. I've been lying outside all day, and I'm really dirty."

"The matter is resolved, but not completely. Let me take a shower first, and then I'll tell you slowly..."

Leaving those words behind, Xia Ling grabbed a bath towel and rushed into the bathroom.

She had used a lot of camouflage to stay hidden, which caused her to sweat a lot, and now she desperately needed to take a shower to cool off.

Hearing the sound of water coming from the bathroom, Kiana breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down on the sofa.

"Since Sister Xia Ling is still in the mood to take a shower, it seems things aren't too bad..."

"Now that Kiana is relieved, when are you planning to make up for the training you missed this morning?"

Before she could even sit down properly, the voice in her head startled Kiana.

"Waaah... I understand, Class President, I'll make it up this afternoon..."

Meanwhile, aboard the Hyperion.

"In summary, that concludes the general situation of our trip to Changkong City."

"And, Ain, this is the humanoid machine we brought back from Changkong City."

Theresa opened Judah and, to Ain's somewhat shocked gaze, pulled a child out of the golden cross.