"What did Bai Chen think?"
They had to ask the person involved. If Bai Chen disagreed, Theresa would not allow him to take part in the mission.
"I have no objections."
If soldiers came, he would block them with generals; if water came, he would dam it with earth. Rita was clearly coming for him, and he could not avoid her. At worst, he would just fight her when the time came!
There were also some things about the Shenzhou coast that Bai Chen cared about.
In Bai Chen's memories, Lian Shan's soul seemed to appear inside Chi You, move Ji Xuanyuan, and bid farewell to the amnesiac Fu Hua alongside her. Yet it also seemed like none of that had happened.
Had he remembered wrong? Bai Chen cared deeply about these somewhat muddled memories.
If their souls really appeared, he could save them as well.
"Then please take care of me over the next few days, little Bai Chen."
While Bai Chen was lost in thought, Rita and Theresa finished their discussion.
"Ah, yes. I truly hadn't expected you to come inspect an S-rank Valkyrie. Sorry for my offense just now. I'll need Lady Rita to look after me from now on."
Coming back to his senses, Bai Chen hurriedly put on the act of meeting Rita for the first time and apologized.
In return, Bai Chen received Rita's mysterious hand-over-mouth smile. He could not understand what she was thinking.
"Then, see you later."
After saying that, Rita left the office without lingering. She had other missions to complete.
"You... are you sure you'll be fine?"
After Rita had completely left, Theresa asked Bai Chen again for confirmation.
"No problem... With an S-rank Valkyrie leading the team, what could possibly go wrong?"
Bai Chen did not care much. Under Fu Hua and Yae Sakura's guidance, his martial skills had improved considerably. Even without transforming, he could now fight ordinary Honkai Beasts.
Not to mention that he could summon some absurdly overpowered weapons. Everyone in Schicksal knew that he could summon weapons.
"Didn't you say that last time too?"
Theresa's face darkened at Bai Chen's answer. Last time, he had talked himself up to the heavens, only to immediately wipe out and get carried back.
Theresa was now a little traumatized by Bai Chen's assurances phrased that way, though Rita should be fine, right?
It was only an investigation mission. An S-rank Valkyrie like Rita could not possibly mess it up, could she?
"That time was an accident. There are some things I want to check out."
Theresa shot Bai Chen a look and sighed helplessly.
"You saw them in their memories again, didn't you? Honestly, you never tell us whenever you see something."
"This time, it'll really be fine."
Bai Chen smiled confidently. How could something that had not gone wrong even in the original story possibly have an accident?
"Go, go. You're annoying me just looking at you."
Seeing that Bai Chen was unwilling to say more, Theresa irritably chased him out.
After leaving the room, Bai Chen could not help letting out a bitter laugh. It was not that he did not want to tell them, but if they knew, they would definitely stop him.
With the experience from last time, he hoped he could reduce the losses this time.
Attack!!
"Huh? Little Bai gets to go out again! Auntie, I want to go too!"
During dinner, Kiana strongly protested Bai Chen's irresponsible habit of sneaking off. She wanted to skip class and go on missions too.
"Don't make trouble. Do you think you're going out to play?"
Theresa stopped her.
"Isn't it? An S-rank Valkyrie is leading the team."
Honestly, Theresa was a little angered by Kiana's naïve words. It seemed they really needed some missions to temper them.
"I want to go with Bai Chen too!"
Yuno hurriedly raised her hand as well.
Seeing the eager expressions on Mei and Bronya's faces, Theresa knew that although they had not said anything, they also wanted to join the mission.
Sigh, kids were hard to handle these days.
With a headache, Theresa continued, "Bai Chen and the others are only the advance investigation team. Once the situation is confirmed, we'll send people for the follow-up mission. When that time comes, I'll have Himeko lead you all."
They had actually prepared for this operation long ago. They had originally planned to investigate privately without reporting it, but she had not expected Grandpa to act so quickly.
Now, she could only hope their guess about that area was correct. Himeko's condition was truly worsening by the day. At this rate, no one knew how many more years she could hold on.
Bai Chen did not join the conversation at all. He simply watched them chat quietly while thinking about his own concerns.
He remembered that something very strange had happened the first time he met Yae Sakura. A box of cookies had suddenly appeared in his originally empty hand.
The cookies had seemed freshly baked. When he asked Mei afterward, she had indeed inexplicably lost a box of cookies after leaving.
Bai Chen now had a guess. He had originally thought this power resembled that of a certain Rider under some Eastern auntie's company.
Could it have a similar ability too? Something like a Dimensional Wall?
Over the past few days, Bai Chen had been secretly testing this power, but it was extremely unstable. Things often vanished for no reason, then reappeared hours or days later.
That confirmed he really had this ability, but he did not know when he would be able to control it...
Back in his room, Bai Chen looked at the repaired door and thought for a moment.
He decisively reached out and locked the door from the inside. He had never had that habit before, but now he absolutely needed it.
He even tugged the handle. Only after confirming that the door was locked did Bai Chen feel at ease enough to lie back down and fall asleep.
Late at night, everything outside had become incomparably quiet. Only the chirping insects proved that life still existed.
"Rustle."
A green vine slipped through the crack beneath Bai Chen's door, wrapped around the lock he had fastened, and lightly flicked it open.
Wearing pajamas, Yuno gently pushed the door open and crept into the room. After confirming that no one had noticed her, she closed the door behind her.
Then, like a cat, Yuno slipped into Bai Chen's blanket with a whoosh and tightly hugged him as she took a deep breath!
Ah, that soft body, that sweet scent like milk candy, that reassuring feeling from Bai Chen... like hell!
The instant she inhaled, Yuno realized something was wrong. The person in her arms was actually Kiana!
"Click!"
Kiana took out a flashlight and held it beneath her chin, illuminating her eerie face.
"I found you."
"Eek!!!"
Yuno leaped out of the blanket like a startled cat!
"Wha—!? Did World Serpent break in?"
Bai Chen, who had been fighting through the Elysian Realm in his dream, was sent flying by a pillar Chijie swung at him. He looked around in panic.
Then he saw Yuno standing beside the bed with her hair standing on end, and a white-haired little ball crawling out from under the blankets?
Next, Bai Chen saw Kiana's ghastly glowing face, lit by the flashlight!
"Ah! A ghost!"
Damn it! Where did this female ghost crawl out of my blankets from? Take my Five-Thunder Righteous Method!!!
Possession Loadout · Thunderwing Knight
Bai Chen's figure grew taller before Kiana's delighted eyes, transforming into Mei's appearance from the later Honkai era!
In an instant, purple lightning filled the room, and the entire dormitory building flickered irregularly beneath the flashes.
A moment later, Bai Chen calmed down and broke out in a cold sweat as he looked at the two silent girls in the room.
"You two... are you okay?"
Bai Chen stood up to check on them, hoping his instinctive discharge had not actually hurt them.
Just as Bai Chen was about to transform back, Kiana suddenly sprang back to life and grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Don't... don't change back yet."
Like a snake, Kiana slithered up Bai Chen's arm until she reached his chest.
"Hehehe..."
Lying on Bai Chen's chest, Kiana drooled slightly as an uncontrollable silly grin spread across her face.
"So this is what Mei looked like when she first appeared! Hehe! I only wanted to teach Yuno a lesson tonight, but I got an unexpected bonus!"
Kiana's hands began to wander. This version of Mei had the charm only a mature woman possessed. It was amazing! Tonight, she would get to experience the future Mei ahead of schedule!
"Kiana! Stop!"
Afraid of waking Himeko and getting scolded again, Bai Chen pushed at Kiana in a low, embarrassed voice. But Kiana's hands clung to him like powerful magnets, and he could not pull her off.
"Hahaha, Little Bai, don't resist!"
By the moonlight, Kiana saw Bai Chen's shy, flushed face. That expression only further stoked her desire, and her hands moved even more aggressively.
"Come on, let big sis have a look!"
"No!"
At the same time, Yuno, who had been lying on the floor like a corpse, regained her senses and looked at the two on the bed.
Something inside her instantly shattered...
"Let go of Bai Chen!!"
Yuno rushed onto the bed, using vines wrapped around her arms to strengthen them, then forcibly pulled the two apart.
"Y-you-you, Kiana! This morning, you said I was robbing the cradle, so what are you doing now?!"
Yuno spread her arms to shield Bai Chen behind her and angrily questioned Kiana.
"Little Bai's body is an adult now. The feel of it tells me I'm not wrong."
Kiana made a grasping motion in the air, as if grabbing something, then closed her eyes and seriously recalled the sensation.
"Ah! Death penalty! I'm telling Teacher Himeko!"
Only now did Yuno realize that, in some ways, Kiana really was a pervert!
"What about you?! If you hadn't come to sneak-attack Little Bai tonight, none of this would have happened! Isn't this all your fault?!"
A flash of inspiration struck Kiana, and she immediately turned the accusation back on Yuno.
Dream
"Y-you, I...!"
After Kiana refuted her, Yuno became tongue-tied. After all, she really had entered with impure intentions. She had even hugged the wrong person and taken a deep breath of Kiana.
The moment she thought about hugging the wrong person, Yuno felt her stomach churn.
"I only wanted to sleep with Bai Chen, that's all."
With no other choice, she could only offer that weak defense.
"Hmph!"
Kiana merely gave her a mocking expression. She had climbed into the bed, hugged someone, and inhaled deeply—who would believe she only wanted to sleep? Thinking about it now, no one had discovered Yuno last night. She must have had a great time!
"Stop arguing. Can you two leave first? I want to sleep."
Bai Chen yawned tiredly. They were both fine, but he was exhausted now.
Bai Chen had always been the type to sleep in, yet they had woken him in the middle of the night. If his former roommates had done this in his past life, he would have beaten them up in the morning.
Before you continue