Hai Mo: Damn, You're Playing Dirty! / Hai Mo, Where Are You...

"It can be basically confirmed that Miss Xia Ling does possess a certain spatial ability, but it seems to be limited, and it is somewhat difficult to release. The maximum teleportation distance in battle is only about forty meters."

"Hmm... From this perspective, while Miss Xia Ling's abilities pose some threat to His Lord Bishop's plans, their strength is far from sufficient to interfere with them. With such power, let alone facing the Herrscher of the Void, even a small team of the Immortal Blade could capture her if properly prepared."

"It seems that our work regarding Miss Xia Ling should come to an end here."

Rita happily finished recording and closed the scroll. Instantly, the figure that had been standing not far from Xia Ling disappeared from Xia Ling's sight.

Just as Rita had predicted, Xia Ling immediately reported the matter to Theresa.

St. Freya Academy immediately went into a state of martial law, but no matter how strict the martial law was, it was impossible to trace her, the observer sent by headquarters.

After all, she neither made a move nor showed her face throughout the entire process.

"Little Xi's ability is really convenient... I should thank her properly when I get back."

With these thoughts in mind and a mutually satisfactory outcome, Rita returned to the Schicksal Headquarters to report for duty.

"So, you think her abilities are nothing to fear?"

Otto pondered as he looked at the combat logs and reports Rita submitted.

"That's right, Your Lord Bishop. Her spatial abilities are very limited in combat, and the way she came to the Intrinsic World seems to require a long preparation time. It's clear that her abilities have great potential, but at this stage they are not enough to pose a threat to your plans."

"As for combat power... her destructive power is obviously insufficient, but her speed and agility are better than the average level of A-rank Valkyrie. She is indeed troublesome, but as long as we are well prepared, it is not difficult to keep her in check."

"I see..." Otto put the report aside, "Then we don't need to deal with her. Since she poses no threat in the short term, and she is a capable person after all, we should leave her to Theresa."

"You and Durandal will have to work hard during this time to clear up the tasks. In a while, there may be a troublesome matter to deal with."

"Your Lord Bishop is right..."

"It's the one in Oceania. Whether it's stopping the Anti-Entropy's been alerted by the news or preventing Wendy from completely losing control, you and Durandal need to be on the scene together."

"In short, let's get moving, this world is about to descend into chaos."

Otto sighed softly, his gaze deep.

The storm surrounding St. Freya subsided very quickly. After all, whether the attacker was Anti-Entropy or not, Theresa only needed to contact Ain to find out. In the current environment, if it wasn't Anti-Entropy and the target was clearly Xia Ling, Theresa could easily figure out who was behind it.

"Looks like Grandfather still has his eye on you..."

Clutching HOMU plushie, Theresa was clearly a little sullen.

"So what if they're targeting me? I knew that."

"Ah?"

Now it was Theresa's turn to be shocked.

Xia Ling glanced around furtively, then whispered in Theresa's ear, "Actually... I noticed Rita lurking around when the battle started."

"So, I deliberately concealed my abilities. The information from Bishop Otto's side will probably show that I am only at around A-rank."

"Even so, being targeted by Grandfather is obviously not a good thing..." Theresa clearly knew Otto's methods very well. "If there are missions during this period, Xia Ling, you should not follow the main force. If I am here, stay by my side; if I am not, act alone. In short, I think Grandfather's tests on you will not be limited to this one time."

"Theresa becomes very cautious when it comes to Bishop Otto," Xia Ling said, pressing Theresa against her chest. "Besides, Theresa's efforts to care for me are quite adorable."

"Let me go, you bastard..." Theresa protested in a muffled voice as Xia Ling's face wash was applied.

The minor setback during the assessment did not affect the festive atmosphere after St. Freya's exam. After the martial law was lifted, the Valkyrie who had been preparing for the annual assessment relaxed, and Xia Ling also became somewhat lax.

Meanwhile, the Immortal Blade at Schicksal Headquarters, under Otto's orders, began handling various matters in advance to prepare for the future.

As it turned out, Otto's intelligence was correct, and in mid-November, a large-scale Honkai occurred in the Oceania Branch.

Strictly speaking, this scale isn't that large, but it's the Oceania Branch, which is short of combat power after integration. There aren't even many resident A-rank Valkyrie. Suppressing this level of Honkai is enough to cause serious damage.

When Xia Ling first heard the news, she thought Wendy had become Herrscher transformation of Nature ahead of schedule, since Wendy's Herrscher of Herrscher transformation in the original work was in early December.

However, this news was quickly denied by Highmore.

Because Wendy was perfectly fine right next to her when the Honkai occurred.

"But on the bright side, maybe this is why Wendy is Herrscher transformation in the original work?"

Highmore said in the channel, "This kind of Great Honkai is an excellent environment for Herrscher. Even I feel that my Honkai Energy has increased a lot."

"Indeed," Flame Willow said. "But in that case, things should calm down in Oceania for a while. Maybe Wendy will actually follow the original storyline this time?"

"If only that were the case... But I don't sense any signs that Wendy has been bewitched. She's always by my side and doesn't seem like she has any psychological problems."

The conversation in the channel continued as usual, and neither Highmore nor anyone else noticed the sudden turn of events.

However, it was the morning of the day after the Honkai.

[One of the host entities detected: Highmore has died. Consume 60 Originium Ingot or 15 Hope to revive it?]

Xia Ling, Flame Willow, and Xi: "Huh?"

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Highmore: Damn it, you're playing dirty tricks on me, aren't you!

Although it was still morning, Highmore's matter was clearly more important right now.

In less than five minutes, Xia Ling, Flame Willow, and Xi all put down what they were doing, found excuses, and gathered in the system space.

"What happened? Did Highmore crash?"

"That shouldn't be the case. Even if she was suppressing her strength, or even if she was deliberately trying to die, she should at least have given a heads-up beforehand."

"I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush."

Xia Ling remained calm. "Let's revive Highmore first. System, we should still have enough funds, right?"

Of course, reviving once is out of the question; reviving three times would be more than enough.

"Okay, let's revive Highmore first."

So, where will you respawn? Will you respawn on the spot, or in the system space?

Xia Ling pondered, "Highmore didn't send back any messages before she died, which is almost impossible. So, her death might not have been expected by herself."

"Even if she was ambushed, as long as she wasn't killed instantly and lost consciousness, she should have had a chance to call for help on the channel."

"So let's revive her in the system first," Xi suggested. "We don't know the situation right now. If we rashly revive Highmore on the spot, it will not only expose her revival ability, but it may also alert the enemy."

"Anyway, the system recorded her coordinates before she died, so if the situation allows, she can go back directly."

[Then I'll revive Highmore in the system space. However, upon returning to reality after revival, the previous coordinates will be overwritten, meaning you only have one chance to choose.]

[The resurrection will take a little time, please wait.]

"But what situation could be something Highmore hadn't considered? Given her current situation, she should be careful enough..."

"You're right, I really didn't expect that."

While Xia Ling was pondering, Highmore, dressed in her "initial attire," reappeared in the system space.

Her face was somewhat gloomy, but more so anxious.

"Let me first talk about the cause of death. I was ambushed during my daily routine testing."

"Because the testing process was basically the same as usual, I didn't even think about it that way. In my original assumption, even if they wanted to kill me, they would have given me time to communicate, but it seems that they had no intention of giving me a chance to speak."

"They must have used a specially formulated anesthetic on me, and they must have known to some extent that I have the ability to evolve, so they took precautions in advance."

"I had never been exposed to that kind of drug before, and the dosage was so high that I didn't even plan to follow safety standards, so I didn't have time to develop drug resistance."

"Anesthesia? Now that you mention it, I seem to remember you saying a long time ago that the Oceania Branch conducted anesthesia experiments specifically for you..."

"A premeditated ambush, coupled with prior precautions against your abilities... But why now?" Flame Willow glanced at the time. "This time... doesn't seem particularly special, does it?"

"The time now isn't important; what's important is that I can't go back now," Highmore sighed.

"My death occurred in the laboratory, right in the very center of the Oceania Branch, where experiments were being conducted almost 24 hours a day. If I were to choose to revive on the spot, even with the Scale Cloak, it would be impossible for me to be completely hidden, since the Scale Cloak cannot conceal my actual collision volume."

"This would directly expose my ability to resurrect, and it would be tantamount to flipping the table, which is basically meaningless."

"And if you choose to be resurrected by any one of us, then another problem arises," Xi continued. "None of us have a legitimate reason to send you to Oceania."

"That's right...so, in the short term, I can say that he is indeed dead." Highmore's voice held a hint of worry. "This will lead to another consequence..."

"I was wondering what reason Wendy would be given to Herrscher transformation in this timeline. After all, with my help, she was neither discriminated against like in the original story, nor did she completely lose the motivation to live."

"It seems... I'm most likely going to be dissected and studied. Once she sees my corpse, it'll be a miracle if she doesn't Herrscher transformation!"

"Wait, let's study..."

Xia Ling suddenly realized something. "What about the Sea Creatures cells in your corpse? You can't possibly not know how to handle them, can you?"

"No, I'm not one to do nothing." Highmore shook her head.

"I had pre-programmed Sea Creatures instructions into the cells in my body, including those of the Oceania Branch that I had implanted into the animals."

"Once I, the host, die, all the Sea Creatures cells will undergo apoptosis in a short period of time. Even if someone extracts some while they are still hot, they will also rapidly undergo apoptosis within a certain period of time."

"This... even if you're dead, can you still control these cells to commit suicide?" Flame Willow hesitated.

"Of course, all the Sea Creatures cells in this world are derived from me. Strictly speaking, I am their god."

"Therefore, I have absolute control over the Swarm... oh, we should call our group a small group."

"Hmm... I now know why you died at this time," Xi suddenly said.

"Do you remember the Honkai that happened at the Oceania Branch yesterday?"

You mean...?

"That's right. Judging from the abnormalities you noticed in Dr. Ryan, your real cause of death is obviously something else, most likely related to the Sea Creatures cells. But at least I can guess the reason on the surface."

"It's highly likely that the Valkyrie in Oceania suffered heavy casualties, and you, as Pseudo-Herrscher, became the target of their anger." At this point, Xi added, "It's somewhat similar to what happened to Rin back then."

"So, in that sense... wouldn't you say you shielded Wendy from disaster?" Xia Ling asked with a strange expression. "After all, in the original story, these people's main target was Wendy."

"Given the current situation, it's clear that you've drawn that firepower for her."

"..." Highmore fell silent. "I almost forgot about these people. What if I die like this..."

"Given the attitude towards me and Wendy in Oceania, they might use my death and Wendy's death to provoke them."

"Alright, we don't need to worry about how to get across now."

Highmore patted Xia Ling: "I estimate that in less than two days, the Far East Branch will be sent to Oceania to provide support, just like in the original story."

"That's actually perfect," Xia Ling thought. "Theresa just told me to act alone recently and not to follow the main group."

"Anyway, once Wendy Herrscher transformation, given the fighting strength of the Oceania Branch, they will most likely be wiped out on the spot."

"At that time, I can use the excuse of investigating the reasons for the destruction of the Oceania Branch to make a separate trip to the site of the Oceania Branch."

"Then we can use the Cipher Plate to reconstruct their motives for killing you."

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Highmore, where are you...?

At this time, in the Oceania Branch.

"Doctor, the fifth evolutionary factor sample is rapidly becoming inactive!"

"Doctor, sample number seven also underwent natural death!"

"Doctor..."

"Shut up, all of you!"

Ryan roared, and the laboratory fell silent for a moment.

"Since the samples cannot be preserved, let's proceed with the experiment! Everyone, stop trying to preserve the samples and focus all your efforts on analyzing the evolutionary factors in these body tissue samples! Before all the samples are deactivated, you must reconstruct the basic structure of this thing!"

"Where is the collection team? Are they able to collect any more samples?"

"Reporting to the Doctor, it's no use. We suspect these cells underwent simultaneous apoptosis. In the untreated control group, these cells were completely inactive, so now the cells in her body are probably also..."

"Then we don't need to worry about that body anymore. Quickly have the assistant dispose of it, and then gather all the personnel back!"

Dr. Ryan waved his hand and said, "Now we need to race against time. We must restore this evolving cellular structure before all the samples we extracted undergo apoptosis!"

"If I can do it, I'll double what I promised you before!"

"Doctor... post-disaster reconstruction and patrol/prevention after the Honkai outside..."

"What about those Valkyrie? Send them all out!" Ryan slammed his fist on the table. "Didn't they want better treatment? I've already given them what they wanted. They insisted it was the Highmore that caused the Honkai, and they died too. So why don't they get to work?"