2. Theresa: Don't Get Hurt This Time, Okay? / 3. Can the Mark Rabbit Lure Little Kong?

In the Hyperion, Tesla once again found Theresa, and Xia Ling, blushing, following beside her.

Judging from the way Theresa held it loosely and the expression on Xia Ling's face... the chain of Judah should not have disappeared, but rather become invisible.

"It's nothing, Dr. Tesla. In fact, thank you very much."

Xia Ling looked at Tesla with gratitude in her eyes.

"Uh..." Tesla paused for a moment, then said casually, "I just received a message."

"The Anti-Entropy branch in Changkong City has provided us with a clue."

"Recently, the water level in Changkong City has risen abnormally. After collecting and analyzing water samples, local researchers have come to a conclusion."

"The amount of Honkai Energy in the water of Changkong City is somewhat excessive."

"Of course, this discovery alone is not enough to prove anything. The point is that while detecting the water level, they also detected the Herrscher's energy reaction."

"You should know that Herrscher can absorb Honkai Energy directly from the Imaginary Space through the Imaginary Singularity within the Herrscher Core. And this Honkai Energy generated from the Imaginary Space will be accompanied by a special energy fluctuation after passing through the Herrscher Core."

"This is the result we arrived at after conducting in-depth research on Welt and Mei."

"In other words..." Xia Ling pondered, "Excluding the possibility of a newly emerged Herrscher, the most likely scenario is that Kiana went to Changkong City after escaping from Schicksal?"

Chapter Two: Theresa: Don't get hurt again this time!

Some time later, in the clouds above Changkong City, aboard the Hyperion.

"We have now arrived above Changkong City. Below us is one of the temporary branches of Anti-Entropy."

"Because the search for Kiana needs to be kept secret, I have evacuated all members of Anti-Entropy from Changkong City."

"On the one hand, it's for the sake of secrecy, and on the other hand, it's to avoid harming innocent people."

In the conference room, several people sat around the conference table, and Tesla was having a long and enthusiastic discussion.

"So next... let's move on to the second question."

"Who should be sent on this mission?"

"First, let's rule out Bronya and Seele, as they are still in their learning phase."

Theresa crossed out two people first.

"Mei is a good candidate. On one hand, she is very familiar with the environment of Changkong City. On the other hand, if we are looking for Kiana... she might be the only one here who can bring Kiana back."

Before Theresa could finish speaking, she felt the gazes on her.

What about me? What about me?

Xia Ling's eyes sparkled with excitement. "I've already been on the Hyperion for seven days, shouldn't I...?"

"No--"

Theresa drawled out her words.

"You've just regained your sight, and your injuries haven't even healed yet, and you already want to go out again?"

"Wait a minute, Theresa, this mission... can really let Xia Ling go out and get some fresh air."

Tesla then suddenly spoke up, "On the one hand, this mission is just a search mission, and we will basically not encounter any combat."

"On the other hand, this time, Schicksal has no intention of sending personnel to Changkong City. I reasonably suspect that they have not discovered Kiana's whereabouts at all."

"This time, we seized the initiative."

"What about the World Serpent? We can keep track of Schicksal's movements, but the World Serpent is known for its elusive nature. What if they're also in Changkong City?"

Theresa was clearly very worried.

"Although Xia Ling has not yet fully recovered from her injuries, it does not mean that she cannot use her abilities. Under the same conditions, even Durandal might not be able to capture her."

"Unless it's Kevin, the Honored Master of the World Serpent, who personally takes action, or someone like you with a means to suppress such abilities, they won't even be able to capture Kiana, let alone Xia Ling."

Tesla pressed Theresa back into her seat.

"Just let Xia Ling go... You have to trust Mei, she can take good care of Xia Ling."

"Besides, even if there really is any danger, hasn't Yae Sakura already re-implanted the mark of the Stigmata Space into Xia Ling?"

"The Hyperion is right here. We can provide support anytime if anything happens. If even Yae Sakura can't delay us, then our trip would be pointless."

"... All right."

Theresa sighed, then stared intently at Xia Ling.

"You absolutely, absolutely, absolutely must not do what you did before and neglect your health again."

"If you get yourself all injured again..."

Theresa's face broke into a slightly Honkai smile, "Beneath St. Freya Academy, there's a basement..."

"I know, I know..." Xia Ling shrank her neck. "This time it's just about finding Kiana, there really won't be any problems..."

"Hmph, you better be."

Theresa snorted and gave Xia Ling a push, "Alright, since you insist on going, then hurry up and get ready. I'll inform Mei right away, and you can set off immediately."

"Xia Ling," Tesla suddenly said, "If we find Kiana, we must find a way to bring her back to the Hyperion."

"The burden on Herrscher Core is something you can see from Welt. Don't forget, Kiana currently has three cores on her."

"Although Xia Ling, you controlled her body to some extent while you were by her side, the corrosive effect is irreversible. During the time you were away, Kiana's condition has probably deteriorated significantly."

"Don't worry, I'll bring her back."

"Idiot, you're not the point this time!"

Theresa couldn't help but tap Xia Ling on the head. "Instead, you'd better stop trying to get attention."

"I know Kiana well. She must feel a lot of guilt towards you right now, and she will most likely be reluctant to come back to you. She's afraid of hurting you again."

"Moreover, according to you, you already have a precedent of 'finding Kiana and then getting hurt because of her'."

"The main purpose this time is to see if Mei can persuade Kiana to come back. If not, you can try again."

"I know, I know, Theresa, you're overthinking it. The child ran away from home, a good beating will fix it. Although I can't beat her now, Mei can do Mei. There's absolutely no way she'll come back on her own."

"What, you're quite experienced, aren't you?" Theresa chuckled, immediately thinking of Kal'tsit's letter.

I almost forgot, there's also a professional runaway here.

"Anyway, just wait for my good news. I need to go and make some preparations now."

Xia Ling waved her hand, lightly tapped the tentacle with her toe, and the black cube immediately carried her out of the conference room.

Some time later, at the temporary stronghold of the Anti-Entropy.

"Ah... the familiar humid air."

"This is not a good sign, Sister Xia Ling."

Mei looked somewhat worried. "Changkong City is a coastal city, and the place we are in is in the central part of Changkong City, which is at a relatively high altitude."

"The humidity here is so high, which means that the rise in water levels in Changkong City has probably reached a very serious level."

"So let's try to finish this quickly."

Xia Ling took out a strange instrument.

"This is..."

"This is a detector that Dr. Tesla gave me before he left, used to detect the energy of Herrscher."

"As for why it was made in this shape... it's probably Dr. Tesla's recent strange hobby."

Xia Ling put the cat-ear-like detector on her head.

"It's... kind of cute V-II cold-handed noon feed eight; strange seven # spirit fierce."

Mei's heart was instantly melted by the sight of the petite girl with cat ears. She reached out and curiously touched the cat ears on Xia Ling's head.

Can this thing move?

"Of course, if fluctuations in Herrscher energy appear around it, it will... uh..."

Looking at the cat ears that were already swaying gently on her head, Xia Ling fell silent.

"It moved? It moved?" Mei's face lit up with joy. "Kiana is nearby?"

Xia Ling stared silently at Mei.

"Sister Xia Ling? What happened?"

Feeling somewhat confused by Xia Ling's stare, Mei asked in bewilderment.

"It's nothing, I'm checking the nearest Herrscher energy source."

Can Mark II catch Little Kong in Chapter 3?

"The recent Herrscher energy..."

Mei realized what had happened and blushed slightly. "I'm sorry, I was just too excited."

Xia Ling sighed and increased the search threshold.

"Although the core is not currently inside your body, once you become Herrscher, an Imaginary Singularity will be permanently left inside your body."

"In other words, once Herrscher, always Herrscher."

"It's probably the energy that leaked out from there that triggered the detection, but it's okay, I've already increased the detection threshold."

"The bad news is that this will reduce our detection accuracy somewhat, but the good news is... we still have plenty of time."

Xia Ling patted the detector on her head and said, "Let's go, let's set off."

"Based on my deduction, we should go here first."

Xia Ling shared a location message with Mei's terminal.

"Is this... East District?"

"Well, the terrain of Changkong City is high in the east and low in the west. We are already in such a bad situation. I don't mind if we go to the West District, but I suggest you change into a swimsuit first."

"However... considering that Kiana would probably try to avoid crowds as much as possible, it's not impossible that she might appear in the West District."

"But we can go to the residential areas in East District and ask around; there should still be some people there."

"Huh? So there are still people living in Changkong City?"

Mei exclaimed in surprise, "I thought Changkong City was already a ghost town... After all, back then, Schicksal mobilized three branches for a joint search and rescue operation."

"There will always be people who miss home, and some may even undergo mutations due to radiation, requiring them to live in environments with high levels of Honkai Energy year-round..."

"No matter what, I know Kiana's personality, and she will definitely leave a lot of traces in Changkong City."

"Like the Sky Ranger in Changkong City?"

Mei applied what she learned to other situations.

"Given the average age of the residents in Changkong City... she might be rumored to be some kind of magical girl?"

"That's really not like her at all..."

Mei smiled and drew the weapon attached to the Strike Armor: Dawnbreaker Talwar.

"Sister Xia Ling, stay close to me. There should still be quite a few Honkai Beast roaming around Changkong City."

"Don't worry, my practical experience is much better than yours."

The black vehicle carrying Xia Ling followed behind Mei.

The journey from the Anti-Entropy temporary base to the East District settlement wasn't too far, but the unique terrain of Changkong City caused them a lot of trouble.

Three years have passed since the Third Honkai Outbreak calamity in Changkong City, but the concentration of Honkai Energy here shows no sign of decreasing. High concentrations of Honkai Energy will give rise to a large number of Honkai Beast.

In addition, the rising water level turned Changkong City into a water city. Even in the central area where the disaster was relatively less severe, Mei could not find a place to stand and could only keep jumping forward among the ruins of tall buildings.

"Fortunately, Dr. Tesla didn't come along."

Xia Ling floated behind Mei and said, "Otherwise, with her physical strength, it would be difficult for her to support such high-intensity exercise."

"By the way... um? Wait a minute, Mei."