Collapse, I Directly Transform and Give You a Punch

As Bai Chen was preparing to rest his eyes until their destination, he felt a weight on his head, as if someone was styling his hair!

He opened his eyes to find Rita beside him, holding a comb, a mirror, and various other items.

Recalling yesterday's terrible memories, Bai Chen's face turned green with fright. He should have just locked her in the bathroom!

"Oh my, why are you running so fast? There are some important mission details I haven't told you yet. Next time, remember to wait until your superior finishes speaking."

"..."

And so, Rita proceeded to brief Bai Chen on the mission details while also styling his hair.

Bai Chen wasn't sure if Rita was doing it on purpose, but he felt she was speaking slower than usual, as if deliberately dragging things out.

Damn it! I need to find time to learn hairstyling in the future! Then Rita won't be able to touch my hair anymore!

Bai Chen thought this with shame at that moment.

However, Rita had all the necessary information. The mission involved comparing it with Shenzhou mythology, leading them to suspect that the anomaly might be related to Chi You.

They were going to investigate the situation and confirm if the intelligence was accurate.

Bai Chen confirmed the butterfly effect had occurred. In the original story, Schicksal headquarters was not involved in the Chi You arc.

Furthermore, this Chi You was even more troublesome. As a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, its size was immense; its full appearance wasn't even depicted in the game.

It even housed an ancient city within its body! Legend had it that it could devour continents! It was the strongest individual entity in the early stages of Honkai Impact 3rd, excluding Herrschers.

When he played the game in his previous life, he had to fight wits with Hana in Chi You's belly, exchanging small fragments of Honkai energy for various buffs. Those were his most miserable times because only White Comet and Crimson were usable then.

This time, if Hana dared to show up, he'd slap her face! She definitely wouldn't get away with it!

As for that Chi You of yours, it's even worse! I'll split its belly in half with Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment!

Chapter 35: Underwater Investigation

"We need to investigate underwater?"

Bai Chen frowned as he took the underwater gear from Rita, as he hadn't learned how to dive. He wasn't even sure if he could move normally if he went down.

"No need to worry. This set of gear is a product developed by Schicksal. Not only can you move freely underwater, but it also provides strong combat support capabilities."

While introducing it to Bai Chen, Rita put on the gear herself.

The blue and white form-fitting suit hugged Rita's body, making her already curvaceous figure even more alluring.

Bai Chen blushed and averted his gaze, looking for a room to change into the gear himself.

As expected of Schicksal's developed gear, Bai Chen felt his body lighten significantly after putting it on, allowing him to move with ease.

He should now be able to handle most Honkai Beasts with ease, as long as they weren't those particularly overpowered ones.

"When entering the water, you'll need to use the system on the side to bring up the mask."

As Bai Chen was getting accustomed to the new gear, Rita came up behind him, taking his hand and operating his system.

Rita's proximity was already hard for Bai Chen to handle, but now that they were both wearing form-fitting suits, Bai Chen could even keenly feel her contours.

Seriously! Is Rita this enthusiastic with strangers? Does she really see me as a child?

Then go find Theresa! Theresa has a longer shelf life, she won't rot for years!

Unfortunately, Rita didn't linger. She simply finished giving a few instructions on common operations before leading Bai Chen into the underwater investigation.

Upon entering the sea, Bai Chen didn't notice anything at first. However, after diving for a while, he clearly sensed an anomaly in the Honkai energy concentration below.

It wasn't that the Honkai energy concentration was particularly high, but rather that the underwater environment in this area showed many signs of Honkai assimilation.

Especially the marine life in this region, which exhibited varying degrees of Honkai erosion.

However, the Honkai energy concentration nearby was not detected as abnormal, even though it had been detected as abnormal on the sea surface a few days ago.

It seemed there was something like a Honkai energy pollution source nearby, which intermittently released Honkai energy to the outside.

If this was where Chi You resided, then it must be the Honkai energy released by Chi You, right?

Had the seal weakened after a thousand years?

"Bai Chen, abnormal reactions detected ahead. Prepare for engagement."

Rita's voice came through the communicator, and at the same time, Bai Chen noticed a group of dark figures appearing ahead.

With the help of the armor, Bai Chen could see the appearance of those dark figures clearly – a school of Honkai Beast-mutated fish!

Under the erosion of Honkai energy, it was impossible to tell their original species, but one thing was certain: with their fangs bared, they definitely weren't here to eat grass.

"They're coming for us. Since we can't avoid them, let's give them a proper welcome."

After observing that the school of fish was attacking with purpose, Rita immediately drew her weapon. Her scythe was like that of a true Grim Reaper, reaping a large number of lives in an instant!

Bai Chen watched Rita's actions with a dazed expression, inwardly exclaiming, This is ridiculous! Under this water pressure, how can Rita swing such a large scythe so smoothly?

She's a superhuman!

Oh, right. S-rank Valkyries are naturally little superheroes. That makes sense.

[Drive Control · Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment]

"Lady Rita, please step back!"

"Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment, cannon form."

Under Bai Chen's control, the Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment transformed into a more rugged form. Two bowl-thick pillars of fire instantly evaporated the seawater, hitting the school of fish without obstruction.

Terrifying flames instantly engulfed the school of fish. The intense heat not only annihilated them but also sent large waves of air surging outwards.

It almost affected Bai Chen.

Just as the heatwave was about to scorch Bai Chen, Rita, who had retreated, grabbed his shoulders and pulled him backward, evading the high temperatures.

"My, what terrifying power. Although your file mentioned it, I didn't expect it to be nearly as potent as a true Divine Key," Rita said, looking at the vanished school of fish with a hint of surprise. However, her relaxed demeanor suggested she had anticipated this.

"Is this your first time using this weapon?" Rita asked, looking down at Bai Chen. After all, he had almost injured himself just now.

"Indeed, this is my first time using this form," Bai Chen replied, looking at the twin guns in his hands with surprise. He had underestimated the power of the Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment in this form. Despite the considerable distance from the school of fish, he had almost been caught in the blast.

"After this mission, are you interested in visiting headquarters? Some people there will definitely be very interested in you."

The ability to replicate Divine Key powers was heaven-defying. The moment Bai Chen was revealed, the scientists at headquarters had been eager to tie him up and bring him back.

It was only Otto's intervention that stopped them. No one knew what Otto's true intentions were.

"I refuse."

Viewing headquarters as a dragon's den and a tiger's lair, Bai Chen would never agree. Entering might be possible, but leaving in one piece was not guaranteed.

With no more fish to interfere, Bai Chen and Rita began a more thorough investigation.

Along the way, they encountered several waves of Honkai Beasts that came to cause trouble. Rita left all of them for Bai Chen to handle. Bai Chen never needed a second shot; firing a second shot meant he had missed.

Each time, Bai Chen fired within a safe range. The sight of the Honkai Beasts being engulfed in explosions was exhilarating!

Bai Chen was reminded of a childhood memory: in an autumn field, he used a lighter to ignite withered reeds, and a large patch of flames instantly burned.

"More! I haven't seen enough!"

Bai Chen seemed oblivious as a gradual, unrestrained smile spread beneath his hood.

Rita, true to her specialization, soon identified a clearly problematic area.

Seeing two large rocks protruding from the seabed like horns, Bai Chen felt they might have found the right spot this time.

Those two horn-like rocks were as tall as small mountains. If he remembered correctly, they were the horns of Chi You.

It was hard to imagine how large Chi You's true form must have been. It was indeed a colossal beast that legends claimed could devour continents!

"System detects strong Honkai energy readings. Lady Rita, this might be the source of the anomaly in this sea area," Bai Chen reported, having been using his instruments to observe.

"It seems the situation is indeed as we suspected. Collect some samples, record the coordinates, and our mission for today can come to an end," Rita said, taking photos from various angles with her camera, paying special attention to the two massive rocks.

Bai Chen also collected nearby samples as instructed. All that remained was to await a response from headquarters, after which they should be able to proceed with an internal investigation. He hoped everything would go smoothly.

It was one of the promises he had made to Fu Hua, and he did not want to break his word.

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Beginning

After emerging from the sea, Bai Chen returned to his designated resting room. Although no particularly difficult situations had arisen today, his constant use of the Heavenly Fire Holy Judgment had consumed a significant amount of energy.

At the same time, Bai Chen discovered something surprisingly pleasing today: his physical fitness seemed to have improved noticeably.

It wasn't an illusion caused by the armor. While the armor had provided considerable combat enhancement, his own capabilities had also seen a significant boost.

He hadn't noticed this feeling when he first arrived, but as he fought throughout the day, he realized his abilities had improved, as if he had gained an extra ten-plus days of training.

If he had to guess the reason, it would be the transformation and sleep. He had that incredibly vivid dream.

Should he try it a few more times in the future?

That dream felt too real. It seemed he really wanted to meet the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. It was a shame so few of them survived; otherwise, he would have liked to befriend them.

No, if he could master the dimensional wall, perhaps...

Thus, Bai Chen continued to try and figure out how to use the dimensional wall. After making no progress until late into the night, he went to sleep dejectedly, as he would likely be starting formal work tomorrow.

In the early morning, after some outdoor exercise, Bai Chen entered the large hall.

He found quite a few people gathered there, around twenty or so.

Among them were people he recognized, like Kiana and the others. Mei wasn't here, which made sense. Although she possessed combat abilities, she hadn't undergone system training, making coordination a bit troublesome.

"This mission will be in groups of four, with five teams exploring that area from different regions," Rita explained to Bai Chen as soon as he entered, having waited for him for some time.

"However, our team is a bit special; it's just the two of us. Are you happy about that, little Bai Chen?"

As expected, Bai Chen guessed that Otto was testing his limits. He figured Rita would likely slack off if they encountered strong enemies later.

Seeing that Bai Chen didn't pick up the conversation, Rita sighed regretfully and then transmitted some information to Bai Chen's terminal.

"Today we're going to explore an area. Remember to follow orders."

Bai Chen checked the information and found that the area they were to explore today was a different cave, relatively far from the two corners they had explored yesterday.

When conducting environmental detection yesterday, a significant concentration of Honkai energy had also been detected there.

"Hey! Xiao Bai, you're finally here. We're all about to set off, and you're just arriving."

Kiana, who hadn't been paying attention to the data, noticed Bai Chen's arrival and quickly came over, throwing an arm around his shoulder.

"Kiana? You guys are here too? But it seems I can't be on the same team as you this time. The exploration location is also quite far away."

Bai Chen wasn't as interested this time. After all, he knew from playing games that the correct entrance was near those two corners, and the Xuanyuan Sword and Lian Shan should be there.

And Ji Xuanyuan's remains should be inside Chi You.

This time, he and Rita would likely have a fruitless day of exploration.

"Haha, the area we're exploring this time is the one most likely to be 'Nine Nether'!"

Kiana proudly revealed their exploration target, which was precisely the area near those two corners.

After seeing the pattern, Bai Chen pursed his lips. If they were allowed to act on their own this time, Himeko would probably be seriously injured.

"Kiana, can you share your channel? It'll be easier for us to communicate."

Bai Chen said, with some unease.

"OK. But I'm really envious of you, being able to team up with an S-rank Valkyrie alone. Auntie didn't come down this time, she's just stationed on the Hyperion."

Without suspicion, Kiana directly provided the team communication channel.

Envious of what? If Rita wasn't being ordered around by Otto, then it would be understandable to be envious. Who wouldn't like a seductive Rita? But the current situation was that lust could lead to disaster.