As Bai Chen prepared to close his eyes and rest until they reached their destination, he felt a weight on his head, as if someone were fussing with his hair!
Opening his eyes, he found Rita sitting beside him, holding a comb, a mirror, and all sorts of other things.
Remembering yesterday's terrible experience, Bai Chen's face turned green with fright. He should have known better than to let her out of the bathroom!
"Oh my, why did you run off so quickly? I hadn't finished explaining some mission precautions. Next time, remember to wait for your superior to finish speaking."
"..."
From then on, Rita explained the mission precautions while styling Bai Chen's hair.
Bai Chen didn't know whether Rita was doing it on purpose, but he felt that she was speaking more slowly than usual, as though she were deliberately dragging things out.
Damn it! He had to find time to learn how to do hair someday! Then Rita would never be able to lay her hands on his head again!
Bai Chen thought this in embarrassment.
Rita did not hide any useful information. After comparing the situation with Shenzhou mythology, they could guess that the anomaly might be related to Chi You.
Their purpose this time was to investigate the situation and confirm whether the intelligence was accurate.
Bai Chen confirmed that the butterfly effect had arrived. In the original story, Schicksal Headquarters had not been involved in the Chi You arc.
That Chi You was no joke. As a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, its body was enormous, and the game had never even revealed its complete appearance.
There was even an ancient city inside its body! Legend said that it could devour an entire continent with a single step! In the early stages of Honkai Impact 3, it could be considered the strongest individual enemy aside from Herrschers.
When he played the game in his previous life, he had fought wits and courage against Hana Mare inside Chi You's stomach, painstakingly saving every last bit of Honkai energy fragment to exchange for various buffs. Those were his most miserable days, because only White Comet and Crimson Impulse had been usable back then.
This time, if Hana dared to show up, he would definitely punch her in the face! She would not get off easy!
And Chi You, you can get lost too! I'll split your stomach in half with Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment!
Undersea Investigation
"Do we need to investigate underwater?"
Bai Chen frowned as he accepted the diving equipment Rita handed him. He had never learned how to dive. If he went down like this, he didn't even know whether he would be able to move normally.
"There's no need to worry. This equipment is a product developed by Schicksal. Not only does it allow free movement underwater, it also provides powerful combat assistance."
As Rita introduced it to Bai Chen, she changed into the equipment herself.
The blue-and-white bodysuit wrapped around Rita's body, making her already curvaceous figure even more alluring.
Blushing, Bai Chen turned his gaze elsewhere, found a room, and changed into the equipment as well.
It truly deserved to be equipment developed by Schicksal. Once Bai Chen put it on, he clearly felt his body become lighter, and movements he normally could not perform became possible.
He should be able to handle most Honkai Beasts easily now, so long as they weren't especially overpowered ones.
"When entering the water, use the system over here to bring up your helmet."
While Bai Chen was adjusting to the new equipment, Rita pressed herself against his back, took hold of his hand, and guided him through the system controls.
Rita's touch was already hard enough for Bai Chen to bear, but now that they were both wearing bodysuits, he could even keenly feel her figure.
Seriously! Was Rita this enthusiastic toward strangers? Did she really think of him as a child?
Then she should go find Theresa. Theresa had a longer shelf life and wouldn't go bad after a few years!
Fortunately, Rita did not go any further. She merely explained several common controls before taking Bai Chen underwater to begin the investigation.
At first, Bai Chen did not feel anything after entering the sea. But after they had descended for quite some time, he clearly noticed that the concentration of Honkai energy below was abnormal.
It was not that the Honkai energy concentration there was particularly high. Rather, the environment beneath this stretch of sea showed many traces of assimilation by the Honkai.
The marine life in this region especially showed varying degrees of Honkai corruption.
Yet the nearby Honkai energy concentration did not register any abnormalities, even though abnormalities had clearly been detected from the sea surface a few days ago.
Then there must be something nearby similar to a Honkai energy pollution source, intermittently releasing Honkai energy into the outside world.
If this was where Chi You lay, then this should be the Honkai energy released by Chi You, right?
After a thousand years, had the seal finally weakened?
"Bai Chen, an abnormal reaction has been detected ahead. Prepare yourselves."
Rita's voice came through the communicator into Bai Chen's ears. At the same time, he noticed swarms of black shadows appearing ahead of them.
With the armor's assistance, Bai Chen saw the shadows clearly. They were a school of Honkai Beast-fied fish!
Honkai energy corruption had made it impossible to tell what species they had originally been, but one thing was certain: with mouths full of fangs, they were definitely not vegetarians now.
"They're coming for us. Since we can't avoid them, let's give them a proper welcome."
After observing that the school was deliberately attacking them, Rita immediately drew her weapon. Her scythe was like a true reaper, harvesting countless lives in an instant!
Bai Chen watched Rita's movements somewhat blankly, unable to help calling bullshit in his heart. How could Rita swing that scythe so smoothly under this kind of water pressure?
She was practically Superman!
Oh, right. An S-rank Valkyrie was basically a little superhero. Never mind, then.
Drive: Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment
"Lady Rita, please stand back!"
"Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment, cannon form."
Under Bai Chen's control, Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment transformed into a much bulkier form. Two pillars of fire as thick as bowls instantly vaporized the seawater and struck the school of fish without obstruction.
The terrifying flames instantly engulfed the fish. The horrific temperature not only wiped them out, but also vaporized a massive wave of steam that surged through the surrounding waters.
It nearly caught Bai Chen as well.
Just as the heat wave was about to scald him, Rita retreated, grabbed Bai Chen by the shoulder, and pulled him backward, avoiding the high temperatures.
"My, what terrifying power. Your file mentioned it, but I didn't expect it to be almost no different from a genuine Divine Key."
Looking at the vanished school of fish, Rita spoke with some surprise. Yet her composed expression made it seem as though she had expected it all along.
"Is this your first time using that weapon?"
Rita lowered her head and looked at Bai Chen as she asked. After all, he had nearly injured them both just now.
"Indeed. It's my first time using this form."
Bai Chen raised his hand and looked at the twin guns in it with some surprise. He had underestimated the power of Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment in this form. Even with quite a distance between him and the fish, it had nearly affected him.
"After this mission, would you be interested in visiting Headquarters? Some people there would surely be very interested in you."
The ability to replicate Divine Keys was simply outrageous. Ever since Bai Chen had been made public, those scientists at Headquarters had wanted nothing more than to tie him up and drag him there.
Otto had merely stopped them all. No one knew what Otto was planning.
"I refuse."
Bai Chen regarded Headquarters as a dragon's den and tiger's lair. He would not agree to it. Even if he could enter intact, he might not be able to leave intact.
Without the fish school interfering, Bai Chen followed Rita as they began a more thorough investigation.
They encountered several more groups of Honkai Beasts looking for trouble along the way. Rita left them all to Bai Chen. Bai Chen never needed a second shot; if he fired a second shot, it meant he had missed.
Every time, Bai Chen fired from a safe distance. Watching explosions swallow the Honkai Beasts was incredibly satisfying!
Bai Chen rediscovered the thrill he had felt as a child in an autumn field, using a lighter to ignite withered reeds and watching a huge patch of flames burst to life at once.
More! He hadn't seen enough yet!
Bai Chen seemed not to notice that the smile beneath his helmet was gradually becoming more and more unrestrained.
Rita truly had expertise in this area. Before long, she had identified a region that was obviously problematic.
Looking at the two enormous horn-like rocks protruding from the trench, Bai Chen felt that they might really have found the location this time!
Those horn-like rocks were as tall as small mountains. If he remembered correctly, those were Chi You's horns.
It was hard to imagine how massive Chi You's actual body was. It truly deserved to be called the giant beast that could devour continents in legend!
"The system has detected a powerful Honkai energy reaction here. Lady Rita, this may be the source of the anomaly in this sea region."
Bai Chen, who had been observing through his instruments, reported to Rita.
"It seems that is indeed the case. Let's collect some samples and record the coordinates. Our mission for today can come to an end."
Rita took photos of the area from every angle with her camera, paying particular attention to the two enormous rocks.
Following her instructions, Bai Chen collected nearby samples as well. All that remained was to wait for Headquarters' response. They should then be able to enter and investigate the interior. He hoped everything would go smoothly.
This was one of the things he had promised Fu Hua. If possible, he did not want to break that promise.
The Beginning
After coming ashore, Bai Chen returned to his assigned lounge to rest. Although he had not encountered any difficult situations today, constantly using Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment had consumed quite a lot of energy.
At the same time, Bai Chen had discovered something pleasantly surprising today. His physical fitness seemed to have improved noticeably.
It was not an illusion caused by the armor. While the armor had indeed given him a considerable boost in combat, he himself had also improved significantly.
He had not noticed this feeling when he first arrived today, but as the day's battles continued, he gradually discovered the improvement in his abilities. It was as though he had suddenly gained more than ten days of training.
If he had to guess the reason, it was probably transforming while sleeping? That particularly realistic dream.
Should he find time to try it a few more times later?
That dream had been too real. It seemed that he really wanted to meet the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. Unfortunately, few of them were still alive, otherwise he truly would have wanted to befriend them.
No, if he could master the Dimensional Wall proficiently, then perhaps...
So Bai Chen continued trying to figure out how to use the Dimensional Wall. After making no progress until late at night, he finally went to sleep in frustration. After all, the real work would probably begin tomorrow.
Early the next morning, Bai Chen exercised outside for a while before arriving in the main hall.
He discovered that quite a few people had gathered there, around twenty or so.
He recognized some of them, such as Kiana and the others, but Yuno had not come. Thinking about it, that made sense. Although she had combat ability, she had not received systematic training, so coordination would be troublesome.
"This mission will be conducted in teams of four. There will be five groups in total, exploring that area from different directions."
Rita had also been waiting there for quite some time. Seeing Bai Chen arrive, she explained the situation to him.
"Of course, our team is rather special. There are only the two of us. So, Bai Chen, are you at least a little happy?"
Just as he had expected, Bai Chen guessed that Otto intended to test the limits of his abilities. They would probably encounter strong enemies later, and Rita would most likely slack off and let him handle things.
Seeing that Bai Chen did not respond, Rita sighed regretfully, then transferred some information to Bai Chen's terminal.
"Today, we'll be exploring this area. Remember to follow orders."
Bai Chen checked the information and discovered that the area they were exploring today was not where the two horns had been yesterday, but another cave some distance away.
During yesterday's environmental scan, a substantial concentration of Honkai energy had also been detected there.
"Hey! Little Bai, you're finally here. We're about to set off, and you only just arrived."
Kiana, who had been absentmindedly looking over the materials, noticed Bai Chen's arrival and hurried over to put an arm around his shoulders.
"Kiana? You're here too? It looks like I can't be on the same team as you this time, though. The areas we're exploring are pretty far apart."
Bai Chen was not as interested this time. After all, from the game, he knew that the area near the two horns was the correct entrance, where Xuanyuan Sword and Lian Shan should be.
Then Ji Xuanyuan's body should be inside Chi You's stomach.
"Haha, I heard that the area we're exploring this time is most likely Nine Nether."
Kiana proudly revealed their exploration target. It was precisely the area around the two horns.
After seeing the map, Bai Chen pursed his lips. If he let them act freely during this mission, Himeko would probably be seriously injured.
"Kiana, share your team's channel with me, okay? That way, it'll be easier for us to communicate."
Bai Chen said this somewhat uneasily.
"Okay. But I really envy you. You actually get to team up alone with an S-rank Valkyrie. My auntie isn't even coming down this time. She's just stationed on the Hyperion."
Without suspecting anything, Kiana directly shared the team's communication channel.
Envy, my ass. If Rita were not acting under Otto's orders, then sure, he might have envied her. Who wouldn't like a seductive Rita? But in this situation, lust was a blade hanging over one's head.
Before you continue