24. Infiltration Under the Spotlight

"Very good."

Rita stood up.

"Little Xi, get ready to go."

"Gather the team and proceed to the target location immediately. Note that upon entering the disaster site, all units must take cover immediately. Unless blocked by Honkai Beast or Honkai zombie, do not engage in any combat."

"Yes, Vice Captain!"

As an elite squad of Schicksal, the Immortal Blade naturally possesses top-notch basic combat skills.

Following Rita's instructions, they silently blended into the disaster site without even being detected by the Sky Guards, and the area suddenly became "crowded".

The Honkai occurred near an overpass, an area with a complex network of roads that makes visibility extremely limited.

Judging from the map, this could not possibly be a trap deliberately set by the enemy. After all, Xia Ling would not abandon her expertise and choose such an area that is completely disadvantageous to her for her to set up a trap.

Moreover, the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; they are unaware that we have already set our sights on them.

The only variable is that Kiana might not be able to join in the fun due to distance or time constraints.

However, she soon realized that her worries were unnecessary.

Under the night sky, a white figure appeared at the disaster site.

The girl drifted like a shadow in the darkness cast by Honkai Beast and Honkai zombie, amidst the fierce gunfire and bursts of fire.

Soon, with the last flash of gunfire, they landed steadily.

The girl tilted her head slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly spoke.

"Should we continue to hide?"

"It's been a long time since I last greeted you, Miss Kiana."

Rita slowly emerged from the darkness, accompanied by several members of the Immortal Blade.

"Rita Losweiser... It seems you've had your eyes on me all along."

"It's a pleasure to see you still so energetic, Miss Kiana." Rita nodded slightly. "You must have had a hard time wandering around for so long. I'm here on the orders of His Lord Bishop to invite you back to Schicksal Headquarters."

"Ha, Rita, I won't fall for the same trick twice."

Kiana suddenly sneered, raised her left hand instantly, and fired.

However, her aim was not at any individual, but rather at the sky at that moment.

The bullet flew into the air, but it didn't keep rising; instead, it hit something at a not-too-high altitude.

With a sound like tearing cloth, a canvas shattered in the middle and vanished.

"Come out, little sister with horns."

"You used the same methods last time in St. Freya, but I am the real Herrscher of the Void, and my perception of space far surpasses that of Sister Xia Ling."

"Your painting could not have unfolded without my knowledge."

"Sister Rita," Xi's voice sounded from behind Rita, "This sister is amazing, I..."

"Well, it seems that your long years of wandering have indeed helped you grow a lot."

Despite the failed sneak attack, Rita showed no embarrassment and simply continued speaking.

"However, you should also understand that your condition is very unstable, and this innocent city is proof of that."

"Because of your existence, this city is frequently attacked by Honkai Energy. You should be well aware of this, otherwise you wouldn't be showing up at disaster sites so often out of guilt."

"The only thing that can help you is Schicksal. Go back to the lab for treatment, and no one else will get hurt. That will be better for everyone."

"Heh... I really hope that Miss Rita can truly believe what she says."

Kiana suddenly raised her twin pistols, and the gunfire and scythe blades clashed several times in the air. At a speed that was completely invisible to onlookers, the two had already exchanged blows several times.

"Miss Kiana's strength is indeed amazing. However, if you were to fight me, you probably wouldn't have time to destroy Little Xi's painting."

Rita revealed a confident smile, and at the same time, Xi also took out a blank scroll.

However...

The next second, Xi's body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

"Little Xi?!"

Rita's eyes were instantly filled with panic, but she forced herself to regain her composure after a moment.

As the vice-captain, Valkyrie armor containing health monitoring reports for each team member. However, as Xi fell, she did not receive any notifications that her teammates had been killed or injured.

"Vice-captain, it's just a tranquilizer dart, but it seems to have a certain Honkai Energy interference effect."

The team member closest to Xi quickly reported the situation.

Seeing Kiana watching leisurely from the sidelines, Rita's expression grew increasingly serious.

"Is it Xia Ling?"

"Didn't you already know the answer in your heart?"

Kiana's confirmation threw Rita into a state of confusion once again.

Neither her combat skills as S-rank Valkyrie nor the ballistic analysis from the Valkyrie armor could pinpoint the sniper's location.

In the team's communication just now, the dedicated sniper of the Immortal Blade gave an answer that made even herself laugh.

To put it another way, at this moment, the sniper with the Immortal Blade was like someone who calculated in physics class that an old lady's walking speed exceeded the speed of sound, and was so angry at his own answer that he laughed.

However, Rita still believed this answer because her own estimate was about the same.

"Completely beyond visual range, coupled with an incredibly bizarre trajectory..."

Rita felt like cursing. If this were a game, she would probably be 100% certain that the other person was cheating.

"Well, now you can't keep me here anymore. In that case, can we have a proper talk?"

Kiana shrugged, radiating confidence.

That's the benefit of having reliable teammates.

"Rita, which do you think is more important, stopping the disaster in this city or capturing me?"

"Capturing you is preventing a disaster in this city."

Rita answered without hesitation.

"Unfortunately, it won't be easy to catch me now." Kiana's figure suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Rita.

"Believe it or not, I am not the reason why the Honkai Beast attacked this city."

"The disaster in Changkong City is far more dangerous than you can imagine."

Kiana held a memory card and a box of reagents, which then instantly appeared in Rita's hand.

"With this evidence, you can see what Kamisato Pharmaceuticals is really doing."

"Also, I will not leave this city."

"Because for me, preventing disaster is more important than running away."

"But the right to choose is always in your hands."

After leaving those words behind, Kiana vanished completely.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Infiltration Under the Spotlight

A few minutes later, Kiana appeared about 10,000 meters away from the northern part of Changkong City.

"Hehe, Sister Xia Ling, didn't I look handsome just now?"

Kiana ignored Xia Ling lying on the ground for a long time and happily hugged Xia Ling's curvaceous body.

"I've been wanting to try out those cool lines for a long time. Thank you so much, Sister Xia Ling. If it weren't for you, I might have really been caught again."

"Okay, okay, why are you getting more and more fond of acting cute?"

Somewhat annoyed, Xia Ling pushed the clingy big cat away, dusted herself off, and put away the camouflage cloth and sniper rifle on the ground. At the same time, her wings and halo disappeared.

"By the way, I was just about to ask, Sister Xia Ling, what form is this angelic outfit of yours? I've never seen it before."

Kiana curiously placed her hand on Xia Ling's head, but the place where the halo had just appeared was empty, as if there was nothing there.

"Idiot." Xia Ling tapped Kiana on the head. "The halo and wings appear because I'm already dead, of course!"

"Ah?"

Kiana's expression flashed with confusion, surprise, sadness, and barely concealed guilt, and she instantly slumped down.

One sentence kept Kiana awake all night.

Seeing that her joke seemed to have had a bit too good an effect, Xia Ling quickly comforted her:

"Okay, okay, I was just kidding. If I were really dead, how could I be talking to you here?"

Xia Ling placed a hand on Kiana's face. "Look, it's warm."

"Sister Xia Ling..."

"You should also try to get used to my strange new abilities. Just pretend that I was going all out just now."

"Full power...?"

Kiana's guilt deepened. In an instant, she remembered Xia Ling in the Imaginary Space, covered in blood, with a gaping hole in her body, yet she still managed to seal her Herrscher Core.

Of course, she wouldn't ask Xia Ling what was going on with her condition; everyone has their own secrets. However, she had made up her mind not to let Xia Ling become like that again because of her.

A few hours later, on the Eos, at the other end of Changkong City.

"Vice Captain, these things..."

Looking at the photos and information provided by Kiana, the members of Immortal Blade fell silent for a moment.

"Don't rush, wait for the verification results from Alvit."

Rita said in a deep voice, "Although the possibility is slim, it is a matter of great importance, and we must rule out every possibility."

"Team leader!"

Alvit's communication was suddenly connected.

"The results are in! These photos show no signs of being forged."

"Besides these, the main event is this reagent."

Alvit projected a series of analytical data onto the screen.

"Although the reagents are still packaged in our Schicksal, the medicine inside has been completely replaced by Kamisato Pharmaceuticals."

"No, the word 'replace' might not be quite right. To be precise, it's 'improvement'."

"After injection, this reagent will greatly increase the activity of Honkai Energy in the patient's body. This effect may be considered an amplification for us Valkyrie, but for ordinary people who do not have Honkai Energy resistance, it will accelerate their process of Honkai zombie."

"In other words, these inhibitors have actually been modified into catalysts?"

"Vice-captain, there might be more to it than that."

"When we were setting up an ambush for Kiana, many of the team members encountered a strange type of Honkai zombie."

"We discovered that these Honkai zombie have some strange red markings on their bodies. These markings feel very strange to us, somewhat like... Stigmata."

"Sigh..." Rita sighed and stood up.

"Vice Captain?"

"It seems that I have to make a trip to Kamisato Pharmaceuticals's industrial park no matter what."

"The appearance of Stigmata on the body of the Honkai zombie can only mean two things."

"Firstly, this Honkai zombie was once Valkyrie."

"Secondly, someone is implanting Stigmata into ordinary people."

"Whichever it is, I have to verify my conjecture."

At this point, Rita paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.

"Alvit, is Little Xi with you?"