9. This Is Way Beyond a Simple Coup-Time to Bring Out the Big Guns!

"To hell with this, which little cutie did this modification, completely replacing this child's brain?"

Before he could even speak, Tesla beside him sent out a series of telegrams.

Having grown accustomed to her old friend's speaking style, Ain didn't mind. She looked at Theresa and asked:

"So, you didn't see Gray Serpent himself at all?"

"Yes, from beginning to end, it was Rita who was competing with us for information. Gray Serpent seems to have been out of the game from the start."

"Out of the game? Gray Serpent is one of the few executives in the World Serpent with his own codename. How could he be eliminated so easily..."

Ain lowered her head in thought, and at this moment, Tesla spoke first.

"This humanoid machine... is interesting."

"If we want to restore the data, it would be difficult with the equipment on the Hyperion."

"The main thing is that we not only need to restore the data, but also disinfect the entire humanoid robot to prevent any backdoors or similar things from being found."

"If Yae Sakura Kishinuma... it still won't work?"

"The number of times Kishinuma can be used is limited, so let's save it for defense against Otto... Moreover, the main problem is that we may need to personally sift through Kiana's information from the massive amount of data in Changkong City."

"It's a bit of a luxury to have Kishinuma do this."

"You mean..."

"To get this sort of out, we'll probably have to go back to North America and use the equipment at Anti-Entropy Headquarters to analyze the data."

Tesla pushed up his glasses and pondered for a moment.

"Moreover, I estimate it will take at least half a month... By the time we finish restoring the data, it will probably be May."

"Is that so...?"

Theresa for a moment. If she hadn't known about Xia Ling, she would probably be extremely anxious right now. But Xia Ling's bullet casing completely put her mind at ease.

Xia Ling didn't stop Rita from getting the data from the humanoid machine... and since she appeared in Changkong City, she would most likely be with Kiana... does that mean she doesn't care about her location being exposed?

Is she already planning to run away? Or is she simply unafraid of Schicksal coming her way...?

After a moment's thought, Theresa raised her head.

I think...

Theresa hadn't even finished a sentence when a communication ringtone abruptly interrupted her train of thought.

Ain connected the call, and a figure with long, bright yellow hair appeared on the screen.

"Cocolia?" ×3

"Then, I scared Rita away and prevented her from taking Theresa away, but because the energy expenditure was too great, and Bronya and Mei were both conscious afterward, I did not continue to attack."

"In the end, Mei returned to the Hyperion with the humanoid machines, while Rita returned to Schicksal with the original data encrypted by Gray Serpent."

"In the short term, neither side should be able to know our specific situation."

Wrapped only in a white bath towel, with a few water droplets still clinging to her hair, Xia Ling leaned lazily against the sofa, slowly recounting the morning's events to Kiana beside her.

Sister Xia Ling smells so good...

Kiana was already dizzy from the game between Rita and Theresa, and her thoughts drifted elsewhere.

For example, some Abyss Flower... bath towels! Yes, definitely bath towels!

Xia Ling didn't notice that Kiana was somewhat distracted and continued describing the situation.

"I just don't know if the equipment on the Hyperion will be able to allow Tesla to hack into the humanoid machine..."

"Xia Ling, something's up."

Fu Hua's voice suddenly rang out.

Xia Ling was startled by her sudden remark, and the bath towel wrapped around her chest swayed, almost falling off.

"What's going on? Has someone come looking for us?"

"No." Fu Hua's expression was serious. "It was my other feathers that were triggered."

"The Gray Serpent launched an attack on the Hyperion in the data space using a humanoid machine as a medium. The feathers I attached to Bronya helped her block it."

"Invading the Hyperion? Who? The Gray Serpent?"

Xia Ling looked puzzled, as if several question marks had appeared above her head.

"How dare he? Yae Sakura is on the Hyperion, isn't she?"

"Give me back my data space? He's got a death wish!"

"I don't know about that... but I did hear some news."

"Hyperion will indeed have to leave Changkong City soon."

Chapter Nine: This is no ordinary case of a subordinate overthrowing a superior; a decisive blow must be dealt!

"Leaving? Are Mei and the others leaving?"

Kiana asked curiously.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure of the specifics, but they'll be leaving for about a month."

Fu Hua nodded and said in a deep voice.

"So, in other words, we're the only ones left in Changkong City now?"

Kiana realized this belatedly.

"You ate the World Serpent, didn't you?"

Xia Ling's voice drifted from behind Kiana.

"However, with Schicksal gone and Hyperion gone, this is indeed a good time."

"A good time?"

"Idiot, Kamisato Pharmaceuticals, have you forgotten?"

Xia Ling was too lazy to stand up, so she kicked Kiana with her toe in dissatisfaction. However, Kiana twisted her body and grabbed Xia Ling's foot instead.

Xia Ling ignored her, put her other leg over Kiana's leg, leaned back on the sofa, and slowly said:

"I was wondering before whether this Kamisato Pharmaceuticals was something from Schicksal or something from the World Serpent."

"Looking at it now, it seems that the one who is truly controlling this city in the dark is probably World Serpent."

"Does Sister Xia Ling mean that those unusual Honkai Energy events were caused by World Serpent?"

"It's pretty close... but even if only the World Serpent is left in this city, it's still not something we can defeat head-on."

"On the way back, I stopped by Kamisato Pharmaceuticals for a quick visit, and almost had a car accident."

"The other side has at least one person with the same S-level skill near Kamisato Pharmaceuticals, and pessimistically speaking, there may even be more than one."

Xia Ling casually made up a story, saying that she certainly hadn't gone to Kamisato Pharmaceuticals, but that didn't stop her from knowing the World Serpent's fighting strength in Changkong City.

"So, if we really want to solve this big problem, we still have to wait for Schicksal and Anti-Entropy to return. Until then, all we can do is probably preliminary reconnaissance."

"That's why I'm risking being discovered to stay here."

"Only by muddying the waters can we have a chance to deal with Kamisato Pharmaceuticals."

As she spoke, Xia Ling looked at Kiana.

"Of course, that's true, but this is still your life as a homeless person, and I've been here to take care of you from beginning to end."

"So, this is a decision you have to make. If you don't want to get involved, I do have a way to get you out of Changkong City without the World Serpent finding out."

"So, Kiana, what are you planning to do... Eek! What are you doing, you idiot?"

"Hmph, Sister Xia Ling is malicious. She clearly knows what my answer is, but she still insists on asking."

Kiana blushed slightly, her fingers, through the bath towel, playfully touching Xia Ling's knees and toes.

"No, don't touch there! You... you're not getting revenge for what I did to you before, are you?!"

Xia Ling quickly pulled her foot back from Kiana's hand, shrank into the bath towel, and pretended to be angry.

"You dare to tickle me today, I don't even want to think about what you might do tomorrow!"

"This is no longer a simple case of a subordinate overthrowing a superior; we must strike hard!"

"You wretched Kiana Cat, today I'll show you who's in charge. You can't escape my grasp, so just surrender obediently!"

Xia Ling, disregarding the fact that she was only wearing a bath towel, pounced directly on Kiana.

The warm, moist body, separated by a thin bath towel, faithfully conveyed the tactile sensation of physical contact to Kiana.

Kiana was momentarily stunned by Xia Ling's sudden attack, was pinned down on the sofa.

With a wicked smile on her face, Xia Ling headed towards Kiana's sensitive spot, which she had tested last time.

Don't ask where she learned such precise tickling skills; a certain incomparably beautiful Miss Fairy declares herself responsible.

"So... we'll split up?"

After clearing out the World Serpent's invading mech forces from the Hyperion, Theresa sat leisurely on the arm of a Titan, asking Ain was inside the Titan, questions.

"That's right. Both the unusual activity in Abyssal City and the data processing of the humanoid machines are extremely important."

"Tesla is an expert in computers, and Mei is still quite powerful even without the Herrscher Core."

"Send them to Anti-Entropy Headquarters to decipher the humanoid machines, while we take the Hyperion to Abyssal City to provide support."

Ain slowly explained her plans.

"This trip to Abyssal City... Although Cocolia is only temporarily in charge, and the radical faction of Anti-Entropy has shrunk considerably, we still need a stable fighting force as a backup."

"After all, the main mission this time is to rescue the Alliance Leader. If we succeed, our strength will be greatly enhanced."

"Yes, I understand that, but... I'm still a little worried about Kiana..."

"That's why I insisted on having our team fly the Hyperion... Normally, if it's just to support Abyssal City, there's absolutely no need for an airship like the Hyperion that can't even enter Abyssal City to fight."

"If Kiana stays in Changkong City and doesn't leave, Changkong City will inevitably be engulfed in an even bigger conflict in the future... We're with the Hyperion here, so if something happens to Changkong City, we can return here as quickly as possible."

"Hopefully... nothing bad will happen."

Theresa clutched her chest. The bullet casing Xia Ling had given her was strung together with a rope and hung around her neck.

Whenever Theresa touched the bullet casing through her clothes, she felt an indescribable sense of security.

I hope Xia Ling is alright... But now that I know Xia Ling is still alive, can I remove that black and white photo from my room...?

Moreover, that bottle of bitter melon juice in front of the photo... I'm sure Xia Ling wouldn't like to drink it either.

Having silently made the decision to go back and flaunt Xia Ling's tribute, Theresa's fighting spirit was instantly ignited.

Meanwhile, Xia Ling, unaware that Theresa was planning to steal her offerings, had already decided the outcome of her battle with Kiana.

With Elysia's excellent guidance and the boost from Kiana's personality that was practically zero during the Sky Dome period, Xia Ling once again successfully suppressed Kiana, which is commendable.

However, what surprised Xia Ling was that Xia Ling was starting to find it difficult to control Kiana's half-baked spatial control.

That's strange... Even with the training boost from the rogue class, the core's output capacity during this time period is fixed. No matter how good the technique is, it shouldn't affect the output...

Could it be that Sirin has relaxed her efforts to compete for Kiana...?

While petting the helpless Kiana Cat, Xia Ling pondered.

Putting aside Sirin's matter for now, my own combat strength is also starting to fall behind.

How can I improve this...? Otherwise, if I can't even beat the Kiana in a couple of days, that would be really embarrassing...