After all, a needle would not actively hide, while Seele, under Black Seele's protection, would actively avoid potential danger.
Because of the Sea of Quantum's inherently unstable nature, Xia Ling could only ensure that each time she entered, she would arrive in roughly the same area. She could not guarantee that she would be able to find the route from the previous trip again.
That was why Xia Ling was currently making this thing: a guide on how to find people in the Sea of Quantum—a Sea of Quantum exploration guide that even a grasshopper could understand.
After confirming that finding Seele herself was not particularly realistic, Xia Ling informed Duck Duck of the situation and planned to offer her another form of help: the guide Xia Ling was currently compiling and illustrating.
When Duck Duck entered the Sea of Quantum herself to find someone someday, this guide would probably come in handy.
Of course, Xia Ling, who knew the plot, knew that Duck Duck would most likely never need anything this complicated. Still, that did not stop Xia Ling from making one now to improve Duck Duck's favorability.
The results proved extremely successful. Duck Duck was probably so grateful to Xia Ling now that she had completely begun treating Xia Ling as family.
If Ling does not abandon me, Bu is willing to acknowledge her as my godmother.jpg
While improving Duck Duck's favorability over here, Xia Ling also organized the material and sent a condensed version to Welt.
After all, this was better proof of Xia Ling's identity than any other evidence.
Judging by the current exploration and development of the Sea of Quantum by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, it was not entirely impossible to enter the Sea of Quantum, but doing so required the right time, place, and people, as well as enormous funding.
Even Schicksal could not collect information at Xia Ling's frequency.
That was, they could not burn a huge amount of money every month just to scout locations and mark maps.
In short, with Xia Ling's assistance, Anti-Entropy's Abyssal Eye construction project advanced steadily. Because of the conservatives' outstanding contributions, unlike in the original plot, this Abyssal Eye was almost entirely under the conservatives' control.
In return, Welt helped Xia Ling publish several papers in his spare time, at Xia Ling's request.
Of course, Xia Ling was not trying to break into Schicksal's academic world. Among those papers were several with hidden agendas, mixed in and published in Schicksal's academic database.
Sunshine, Beach, Girls, and... Collapse Paradigm?
As New Year's Day approached, the Oceania Branch finally welcomed a long-overdue holiday.
Unlike ordinary people, in order to ensure that enough personnel always remained on duty at the branch, the Oceania Branch's staff were divided into two groups. One group took their holiday before New Year's Day, while the other took theirs afterward.
Holidays were naturally better the earlier they came. For that reason, researchers and Valkyries with relatively higher status in Oceania had basically all secured slots for leave before New Year's Day.
And when the researchers went on holiday, the test subjects naturally did as well. Wendy was one of them.
At this point, Wendy had been at the Oceania Branch for nearly a year. Although the researchers were no longer as enthusiastic as they had been when she first arrived, they had not yet become as disdainful and abusive as they would be at the start of the main storyline.
The same was true among the Valkyries. Though they excluded her to a certain degree, it had not yet reached the point of being blatant. Therefore, Wendy was also one of the companions invited to this pre-New Year's beach team-building event.
Although a wheelchair was inconvenient, for Valkyries with absurd physical capabilities, let alone pushing one, even carrying the wheelchair the entire way would not have been a problem.
Wendy sat in her wheelchair, looking at the surging sea in the distance and the Valkyries gathered in small groups around her, then silently sighed.
Even with grand ideals in her heart and the will to fight for all that was beautiful in the world, Wendy was ultimately just a girl not yet fifteen. It was only natural that such indifference left her feeling hurt and lonely.
If I hadn't agreed to take part in this project back then, would I still be training and receiving praise at Schicksal Headquarters right now? Or shopping with my teammates, enjoying sweets and happiness...?
Thoughts like that had surfaced in Wendy's heart countless times, but whenever they appeared, she quickly crushed them.
No... Wendy, you can't think like that... You're Schicksal's most promising rising star, the only candidate who might succeed in this project... You can't always think only about yourself. And maybe if the experiment succeeds, your situation will improve somewhat...
She did not know when the words she used to comfort herself had begun to sound increasingly hesitant. Even Wendy herself did not know how much longer she could keep believing them.
The team-building atmosphere did little to improve Wendy's mood. She sighed and continued gazing at the distant sky.
How wonderful... The ocean is always like this, boundless and azure, with waves rolling endlessly... Wait, aren't those waves a little too big?
Looking at the four- or five-meter-high waves before her, Wendy was somewhat surprised. Even though she had been in Oceania for a year, she had spent most of that time in the laboratory. This was the first time she had seen such a sight.
The local members must be used to this already... right?
In the time it took her to turn her head, the waves had already risen to seven or eight meters. Wendy did not know whether the locals were used to such a scene, but she knew the Honkai Energy detectors definitely were not.
"Beep—warning, warning. Attention, all units. High-energy Honkai reaction detected. High-energy Honkai Energy reaction detected—"
"Measuring Honkai Energy level—this Honkai event is expected to produce a Pseudo-Herrscher. All units, immediately prepare for..."
Before the announcement could finish, the Honkai Energy detectors the Valkyries carried out of habit began emitting harsh, incomprehensible static and garbled characters one after another, then fell completely silent.
Behind the towering waves, Honkai Beasts began surfacing one after another.
"What... is happening?"
Wendy stared blankly at the chaos before her, momentarily at a loss.
Well, only her hands were at a loss. Her feet could not move anyway.
One hour earlier, on the seabed beneath the waters where Wendy and the others were gathered.
"Stop swimming around, stop swimming around. Were you always this energetic in the sea? Anyone who didn't know better would think you were some kind of mermaid."
Flame Willow stood on the seabed, surrounded by a nearly transparent "membrane" that formed a spherical space around her.
"But it feels really comfortable underwater. It gives me the feeling of coming home."
Highmore stopped in front of Flame Willow, the fin-like decorations beside her ears swaying slightly. "And if you want to see it, as long as you provide some energy, it's not like I can't evolve into a mermaid form."
Flame Willow fell silent as she looked at Highmore's slender, jade-like legs wrapped in white stockings.
"So? Sea Creature cells are amazing, aren't they?"
Highmore leisurely spun in a circle and was about to continue exploring when her body suddenly stiffened.
"What is it?"
"It's Wendy. It seems like they've already reached the beach." Highmore closed her eyes uncertainly, extending her senses through the cells she had previously left inside marine life.
"Mm, that's right. It's Wendy. Green-and-black hair, sitting in a wheelchair."
After a moment, Highmore opened her eyes.
"Then should we start preparing too?" Flame Willow asked impatiently.
"Don't rush. I still need a little preparation time. What, is staying inside my 'body' that uncomfortable?"
Yes, the biological membrane currently filtering oxygen for Flame Willow was also Highmore's creation. She had made it from some Sea Creature tissue shed from her own body.
"What kind of wild thing is that to say... And I'm uncomfortable because I'm in the sea, okay?"
"Don't worry. We'll be able to get out soon."
As Highmore observed the situation on the beach, she took out something Xia Ling had given her: a key carrying an ominous black aura.
"According to Xia Ling, since we come from the same source, Ya should be able to use this key too, though the effect will be weaker."
Highmore inserted the key into the seawater before her and gave it a gentle twist.
It was as if a door had opened out of thin air beneath the sea. The water instantly warped, and Honkai Beasts of every kind began continuously drilling out of the ocean, advancing toward the nearest human presence—the Valkyries on the beach.
"I need to save more Honkai Energy since I'll have to appear personally later. So Flame Willow, pay attention to the timing for releasing Collapse Paradigm. Remember to tell me when the time comes."
"Okay, go in peace." Flame Willow wore an expression of deep grief. "We won't forget your contribution."
"?"
"You're already mourning me, huh?"
As she spoke, Highmore brought Flame Willow with her and followed the tide of Honkai Beasts toward the surface.
As the enormous waves neared the shore and Highmore's figure vanished from sight, Flame Willow closed her eyes and began calling for the system.
"System, use Collapse Paradigm—Dequantification."
Collapse Paradigm—Dequantification activated. Current target: the entire coastal region.
Along with the system's voice, from the Valkyries' perspective, the numbers on the screens of their communication and detection devices turned into obscure garbled characters, while the electronic alarm tones became hoarse and distorted.
The Newly Born Pseudo-Herrscher
Collapse Paradigm, Dequantification: It blurred the boundaries between numbers within an area, causing humans inside the area to lose the ability to recognize natural numbers.
If its intensity deepened, Flame Willow could choose to use the more powerful Quantitative Deepening. Quantitative Deepening would blur the very concept of numbers, causing humans within the area to completely lose the ability to use numbers.
However, that would shorten Collapse Paradigm's duration, and Quantitative Deepening alone might cause the deaths of some Valkyries.
At this stage, if Valkyries really died because of this minor Honkai event, it might have a certain negative effect on Xia Ling's plan.
After releasing Collapse Paradigm, Flame Willow immediately turned around and quietly left the area, taking advantage of the interference it caused to electronic devices.
Strictly speaking, Flame Willow's task was basically complete at this point. However, considering the possibility that the plan might fail—for example, if Oceania had no intention of capturing Highmore and instead decided to kill her on the spot—Flame Willow still needed to remain here for a few more days.
That way, if the plan failed, she could still help Highmore escape.
Although Highmore, having reached Elite 2 in theory, possessed strength on the level of an S-rank Valkyrie, she naturally could not display such formidable power. Otherwise, the Oceania Branch would probably not dare conduct any experiments on her. They would immediately ask Headquarters for reinforcements and unleash Durandal.
On the other side, in the beach area where Wendy was, the Valkyries had already gathered together and changed into their Valkyrie armor while covering one another.
Yes, for a profession like Valkyries, who could be deployed at any time, even on vacation, as long as there were enough people present, they would carry a certain amount of weapons and armor for immediate deployment. There would also definitely be mobile supply points within a certain distance for resupply.
Due to the effects of Collapse Paradigm, every electronic device in the area had been disrupted. The numbers on the detectors had become meaningless garbled characters in the Valkyries' eyes.
"Everyone, pull back the line! Logistics Valkyries and Valkyries who were just promoted to B-rank, move into the inner circle and provide ranged support!"
A Valkyrie who appeared somewhat older shouted from the battle line.
Though she looked older, she was actually only in her early twenties. She was likely an A-rank Valkyrie.
This Valkyrie clearly held considerable prestige in the Oceania Branch. Under her command, the Valkyries immediately began shifting their formation in an orderly fashion, while Wendy was protected at the very center alongside the logistics Valkyries.
For a time, faced with the endlessly emerging Honkai Beasts from the sea, the Valkyries' formation actually began pushing back.
"Something's wrong..." Wendy silently watched the Valkyries fighting ahead of her. Yet at that moment, there was no bitterness in her heart, only deep confusion.
After the Desire Gem had been implanted in her, Wendy had lost the ability to walk due to Honkai Energy corrosion, but her sensitivity to Honkai Energy had risen sharply. At this moment, she could clearly sense that the concentration of Honkai Energy here was dropping rapidly.
Though a Honkai outbreak had occurred, this level of Honkai Energy concentration was nowhere near enough to support a tide of Honkai Beasts like this, let alone cause the kind of Honkai Energy interference that made instruments malfunction.
After thinking for a while, Wendy, who felt that something was wrong no matter how she looked at it, quietly tugged on the clothes of a logistics Valkyrie beside her.
When the other woman turned back in confusion, Wendy hesitated for a moment before slowly voicing her guess.
Although Wendy was not well liked among the Valkyries in Oceania, even setting aside her current circumstances, the fact that she had once been an A-rank Valkyrie alone meant they did not dare disregard her opinion.
As the information was relayed forward, the leading A-rank Valkyrie quickly received Wendy's speculation.
"So... something else may have been born behind these Honkai Beasts, something that absorbed a massive amount of Honkai Energy..."
This battle-hardened Valkyrie was clearly experienced as well. With Wendy's reminder, she immediately thought of a phenomenon: a Pseudo-Herrscher.
Although the last time this phenomenon had appeared frequently was during the Second Honkai Outbreak, it seemed that after the Third Honkai Outbreak began, Pseudo-Herrschers had become active once more. The Far East Branch alone seemed to have recently published several papers on Pseudo-Herrschers.
But if a Pseudo-Herrscher has really appeared here, why hasn't she attacked us along with the tide of Honkai Beasts...? Could it be that she hasn't fully awakened yet?
As her thoughts raced, the experienced Valkyrie immediately came up with an idea.
"Mia, take over command for me. In a moment, unleash a round of concentrated fire, then pull back the formation. Just hold the line. The other three, come with me!"
"Captain Olivia, where are we going at a time like this?"
The three Valkyries who had been called out clearly had worked with Olivia for a long time. Without any hesitation, they instinctively broke away from the formation.
"We're going to take out their leader." Olivia said in a low voice, "A Pseudo-Herrscher may have already been born behind the beast tide. While this Pseudo-Herrscher has inexplicably remained inactive, we'll see if we can kill her directly!"
Thus, under the cover of a sudden eruption of suppressive firepower, Olivia and her three team members quietly bypassed the battle line, breaking through the Honkai Beasts' encirclement and heading toward the sea behind them.
Activating the shallow-water combat modules of their Valkyrie armor, Olivia led her three teammates across the water at high speed while saying, "There really is a problem... Our raid went far too smoothly. These Honkai Beasts have no one directing them. They're acting purely on instinct."
"In other words, if a Pseudo-Herrscher was truly born, then she must be unconscious right now!"
"Wait, Captain, look over there!"
One of Olivia's team members cried out behind her.
She did not need to say it. By then, Olivia had already gotten close enough to see it herself. Upon the boundless azure sea, a pale blue cocoon of light was rapidly absorbing the surrounding Honkai Energy. Something inside the cocoon pulsed continuously, as though it possessed life.
"This is it..."
"Captain, do we attack directly?"
"Mm, we'll directly... Wait, the situation has changed. Prioritize defensive preparations!"
Just as Olivia was about to give the order to attack, she noticed that the situation before her seemed to have changed.
The pale blue cocoon's pulsations suddenly intensified. In an instant, the cocoon erupted with powerful Honkai Energy fluctuations.
With a tremor, the cocoon's outer shell quietly melted away, revealing within it an exquisite girl with long gray-blue hair.
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