Alicia is the Real Golden Finger in Honkai!

"Heh... what a grand display..."

Squinting into the distance, Gwen, who could already vaguely see a cluster of black dots, spoke under Rita's slightly astonished gaze:

"It seems the enemy was planning this for a long time..."

From their recent travel, Rita had conducted a simple assessment of Gwen's physical condition. While he was indeed well-trained, his raw physical attributes were slightly inferior to her own.

However, Gwen clearly excelled at manipulating Honkai energy, which allowed him to easily keep pace with her. This also aligned with Gwen's sudden appearance in the tent earlier.

But Gwen's current eyesight, which allowed him to see missiles that Rita couldn't even see yet, made Rita re-evaluate her assessment of his physical condition – it seemed he had a particular talent in areas like vision.

However, despite the momentary surprise that revealed a hint of astonishment, Rita had skillfully concealed it before Gwen could look at her. She said with a touch of sternness in her voice:

"After all, enemies who dare to attack Schicksal are never simple characters."

This was the first time she was officially leading a team for this kind of work, and they were immediately attacked. Although it wasn't her fault, and Grand Bishop Otto wasn't the type to arbitrarily punish his subordinates, Rita couldn't help but develop an irrepressible aversion and killing intent towards the attackers.

"So, Miss Rita, are you planning to see the enemy's true face after the missiles are blocked?"

As someone from the previous civilization, Gwen didn't comment on Rita's words. He merely looked at the equipment revealed in the toolbox Rita had opened, which resembled the motorboats he remembered, and asked with some curiosity.

"Of course,"

Rita smiled, her smile carrying a hint of chilling intent, yet it did nothing to diminish her beautiful appearance:

"Just taking a beating without fighting back is not Rita's way of doing things."

As the two spoke, the overwhelming swarm of missiles had already become clearly visible to them. In the next moment, they would impact the shield generated by the shield generator.

"Bronya!"

Just then, with a call from Cocolia in the yacht, Bronya calmly pressed the enter key.

Almost instantly, the virus program installed in the shield generator began to run, causing the shield to flash red. The shield, which enveloped the entire archaeological site like an eggshell, vanished instantly, and the piercing alarm sounded again.

"This is bad!"

In an instant, Rita's pupils constricted, and the thought flashed through her mind. She could no longer care about the vehicle in her hands. The overwhelming sense of crisis made her body instinctively move, rushing towards the place that could offer the greatest protection for her life at a speed far exceeding her previous pace—

Originally, as a highly valued A-rank Valkyrie, Rita's armor, combined with her strength, was sufficient to ensure her safety under the cover of the massive shield generator.

However, before this mission, Rita's third-generation Valkyrie armor had already been sent back to the laboratory for maintenance and upgrades. What Rita was wearing now was a simplified first-generation armor, which was also one of the reasons Rita returned to carry out this mission.

Under these circumstances, even facing a missile swarm composed mainly of old-fashioned missiles, Rita's life was in grave danger. The instinct for survival made her instinctively choose to save herself.

"Be careful!"

Of course, after reacting, Rita also remembered that Gwen was beside her and shouted a warning.

However, Rita was already powerless to rescue Gwen at this point and could only offer a verbal warning.

Yet, as Rita looked in the direction where Gwen had been standing, her heart filled with regret, wanting to see his reaction, she found that Gwen was still standing in the same spot, looking up at the missiles that had already begun their dive.

"Could it be..."

While doing her best to curl up her body, minimizing her exposed area to maximize the protective function of this simple armor, Rita stared intently in Gwen's direction, wanting to see how this warrior from the previous civilization would respond—

At this moment, in Rita's view, Gwen, who was calmly observing the missile swarm, was actually covered in a cold sweat. If Rita hadn't moved away, even from a few steps away, she would have heard the heavy and rapid beating of his heart.

And in the direction Rita couldn't see, Gwen's eyes were already blank...

The next moment, Rita's vision was filled with light, causing her to instinctively close her eyes.

Rita, who didn't feel the shock and smell of gunpowder from the missile explosion, squinted and continued to try to look in Gwen's direction, but she couldn't see anything clearly. She only felt as if she vaguely saw a swirling nebula, and her brain felt a slight sense of dizziness.

Instinctively, Rita closed her eyes, concentrated, and opened her eyes again, peeking in Gwen's direction. She found that the dazzling light had disappeared, and along with it, Gwen had also vanished?

Where did he go?

Frowning, Rita opened her eyes completely and finally saw what had happened, freezing there—

Gwen had indeed disappeared, but between the two shield generators, a silver giant had appeared. One hand was slowly sliding in front of him, and a barrier shaped like a spiral galaxy blocked all the incoming missiles.

Chapter 8: Replenishing Magic... Cough, Replenishing Energy

Rita herself didn't know what her first thought was when she saw the giant bathed in light. She only knew that by the time she reacted, only the most primal awe and longing for life remained.

Anna, who had just rushed out of the tent, was also shocked, just like Rita—

After Rita and Gwen left, Anna, who had taken over command, was directing everyone to take shelter according to regulations—

Although she trusted Schicksal's shield generator, the necessary precautions still had to be taken.

And after everyone had successfully taken shelter, Anna, as the second strongest person in the archaeological team, prepared to go out and take a look.

After all, Gwen, who was still a suspicious individual, was still with Rita...

However, the moment Anna stepped out of the tent, the piercing alarm sounded again. Anna, who was farther away, clearly saw the disappearance of the barrier and... the giant that appeared from the galaxy.

"What is that..."

With her small mouth slightly agape, Anna, who had witnessed the nebula-like light appear, had her eyes completely occupied by the giant standing on the ground, leaving no room for anything else...

Then, under the gaze of two pairs of eyes, the giant, holding up a barrier like a spiral galaxy, had blocked all of the first wave of incoming missiles.

Within the barrier shaped like a spiral galaxy in the giant's palm, a few insignificant bright spots had appeared.

The next moment, the barrier was fiercely thrown out by the giant, rushing into the distance at a speed almost imperceptible to Rita and Anna.

After deploying that barrier, the silver giant stood in place, as if gazing into the distance. After waiting for a moment, it turned and gave a slight nod to Rita, who had already gotten to her feet.

Immediately, as Rita was about to respond, there was a flash of light, and the giant vanished. A stream of light landed on the ground, transforming into Gwen's figure as he collapsed.

"Mr. Gwen?"

Seeing Gwen fall to the ground, Rita couldn't bother with anything else. She quickly rushed forward to help him up. After a brief examination, Rita's expression turned grim. She picked up Gwen and immediately dashed towards the tent serving as the infirmary.

Seeing Anna standing outside the tent, Rita called out directly:

"Anna, hurry and get the doctor. Mr. Gwen's condition isn't good.

Also, tell the programmer and mechanic to check the shield generator and restore its functionality as soon as possible."

"Yes!"

Anna, having snapped back to reality, immediately took the order. Suppressing her unease, she turned to find the people—

For an archaeological team, a doctor was essential.

The Schicksal archaeological team, which faced potential life-threatening dangers during excavations, carried a considerable amount of medical equipment to ensure the safety of its personnel to the greatest extent.

Meanwhile, Cocolia, having received news that several of her pre-set positions, along with the missile and Titan units deployed there, had all been wiped out, was now radiating frost.

Besides Bronya standing beside her, no one dared to look directly at Cocolia, who could erupt at any moment—

As a warlord, even though Cocolia had been trying to whitewash herself, some of the bad habits she had cultivated over the years were difficult to change, such as... venting her emotions on people...

However, Cocolia ultimately did not erupt this time. She merely said in a chilling voice:

"Everyone, pack up all equipment, cover your tracks, and prepare to evacuate."

"Yes!"

Even though everyone could hear the anger in Cocolia's voice, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and respond in unison—

At least their lives were safe for now.

As for Cocolia's orders, everyone actively complied—

This wasn't simply due to fear of the enraged executive's deterrence—

If they had succeeded in attacking Schicksal, they could have easily escaped while Schicksal was busy with rescue efforts.

But now, with their own heavy losses, the operation had clearly failed, and what they had to face was the full-blown hunt by an enraged Schicksal.

For the sake of their own lives, at least until they disembarked from this ship, everyone had to cooperate.

After issuing the order, Cocolia left the area directly with Bronya.

"Bronya, did you pay attention to communication masking?"

Walking through the ship's corridors, Cocolia, who had taken great effort to control her emotions, asked in the calmest voice possible.

"Bronya concealed her identity well. Schicksal won't be able to find this ship for a while,"

Bronya's small face showed no emotional fluctuations as usual:

"As long as we evacuate promptly, there will be no problem.

However, it's unrealistic to expect Schicksal to discover no trace at all. We need to be wary of Schicksal's counterattack later."

"Mm, good work."

Cocolia forced a smile and gently patted Bronya's head.

And while Cocolia's group on the yacht was preparing to flee, in the infirmary of the Schicksal archaeological team—

"..."

Having already learned from the accompanying doctor that Gwen was not seriously injured and that most of his problems had been resolved by his own body, with the only thing they could do being to provide energy, Rita did not hesitate. She used all the safe energy potions the team carried on Gwen.

However, even after exhausting the team's entire stock, Gwen's trembling body showed no signs of improvement or calming down.

Although Rita had already instructed Anna to contact the nearest branch to send a airship for rescue, it would still take another fifteen minutes.

And with Gwen in this state, no one could say for sure if he could hold on until then—

Even though the examination results indicated that Gwen seemed fine.

What Rita was hesitating about now was whether to replenish Gwen with Honkai energy—

With the energy potions already used up, the only thing Rita could think of to quickly replenish Gwen's energy was the omnipresent Honkai energy.

However, the danger of Honkai energy was something everyone present knew.

Even though Gwen was a Fusion Warrior from the previous era, and even though there were no signs of Honkai energy corrosion on his body at the moment, directly replenishing him with Honkai energy without knowing his current physical condition could still cause irreversible damage.

"Prepare..."

Knowing she didn't have much time to hesitate, Rita quickly made a decision and prepared to directly replenish Gwen's Honkai energy.

However, just as Rita was about to speak, a somewhat unfamiliar voice suddenly rang out—

"There's no need to worry about Honkai energy corrosion. Gwen's adaptability to Honkai energy is very good."

"...Miss Prometheus?"

Rita, who quickly recalled the owner of this voice from her memory, asked softly.

Chapter 9 Otto - The Serious Limited

"It's me."

Prometheus's voice was calm as she explained to Rita:

"Gwen's Hyper-Evolution Factor has been activated. As a Fusion Warrior, Honkai energy concentrations below the Herrscher level are insufficient to affect his body."

"Okay."

Nodding, her heart greatly reassured, Rita directly instructed the medical personnel beside her:

"Immediately begin replenishing Gwen's Honkai energy."

"Yes."

The medical personnel, who were already prepared, immediately stepped forward to operate—

It might seem somewhat absurd, but the vast majority of Schicksal's Valkyries suffer from Honkai energy erosion and deeply detest it.

However, in many instances, to save the lives of injured Valkyries, doctors have no choice but to sustain them with Honkai energy to buy time for rescue.

Therefore, Gwen could now smoothly receive sufficient Honkai energy replenishment.

Soon, as the Honkai energy was infused, the trembling in Gwen's body gradually lessened, eventually calming down as if he had merely fallen asleep.

"It seems Mr. Gwen's condition has temporarily stabilized. I'll trouble you all to take good care of him from now on. If support personnel arrive in ten minutes and I haven't returned, send Mr. Gwen back to headquarters immediately."

Seeing this, Rita breathed a sigh of relief. After instructing the medical personnel in the infirmary, she also said to Anna via communication:

"Anna, I need to go inspect the enemy positions that attacked us. I'll leave the camp in your temporary care. Pay close attention to Mr. Gwen's condition. If I'm not back in ten minutes, send him back to headquarters as I just mentioned, understand?"

"Understood!"

Anna's reply was swift and to the point.