Honkai, I'll Transform and Punch You Directly

"Kiana, we're setting out."

Himeko came over with her greatsword on her back to remind her, then gave Bai Chen a reminder as well.

"Bai Chen, you need to be careful over there too."

"Himeko, you're the ones who need to stay safe. I heard the Xuanyuan Sword can control the mind of the first person who touches it, so don't touch it carelessly."

Bai Chen replied in a voice only Himeko could hear. They would be safe here; it was them she was truly worried about.

Hearing Bai Chen's warning, Himeko looked surprised. Had this brat seen something else in his memories of the future?

After solemnly nodding, Himeko returned to the team with Kiana and prepared to set off.

"Then we should get going as well."

Rita waited specifically until Bai Chen had finished talking before giving the order.

With yesterday's experience, Bai Chen and the others quickly reached the target entrance. Perhaps because Bai Chen had zealously cleared everything out yesterday, they encountered far fewer Honkai Beasts below today.

Following carefully at Rita's side, they approached the cave entrance. After confirming there was nothing wrong nearby, they cautiously advanced into the cave.

But they soon discovered something was amiss. The cave was actually a dead end! It was completely blocked by rocks, without even a crack.

"How could this be?"

Bai Chen frowned as he scanned the area, hoping to find some clue.

"Even a dead end like this has such a high concentration of Honkai energy?"

Rita carefully examined the stone walls as well, looking doubtful.

Then Bai Chen caught sight of a conspicuously protruding stone out of the corner of his eye. He swam over and pressed his hand against it.

It was a little loose. There was hope.

"Lady Rita, there seems to be a mechanism here."

Bai Chen called Rita over, wary that it might be a trap.

Rita came over at his call. After observing the mechanism, she instructed him, "Check the surroundings carefully again. See if there are any other mechanisms like this."

Having received the order, Bai Chen continued searching the area. More than ten minutes later, after finding nothing, the two gathered before that stone again.

"Press it."

As Rita gave the order, she gripped her weapon tightly, alert for any mechanism traps that might suddenly appear.

But when Bai Chen pressed it, what happened was beyond both their expectations!

"Fuck!"

The moment the stone was pressed, the rock wall that had blocked them all along suddenly shattered, and a massive suction force came rushing out.

The powerful suction formed a huge vortex that abruptly swept Bai Chen and Rita into it.

The sudden situation startled Bai Chen, but he still reacted quickly enough to adjust his body and avoid being slammed into the uneven stone walls by the vortex.

Rita appeared far more at ease. She even moved closer to Bai Chen, seemingly intending to shield him.

Exploration

Seeing Rita reach out her hand, Bai Chen instinctively reached out and grabbed it.

The instant Rita caught Bai Chen, she pulled him into her arms, then used the blade in her hand to shatter the broken rocks hurtling at them through the turbulent current.

In the chaotic current within the narrow cave, Bai Chen did not dare make any rash moves. It would be bad if he accidentally got in her way.

But more and more rocks came flying at them, until there was not even a gap left!

But as an S-rank Valkyrie, Rita was naturally no pushover. With flashes of blade light, those terrifying-looking obstacles were sliced into powder.

After being swept along by the current for several minutes, they crashed into a small lake along with the rubble.

Fortunately, neither of them was seriously hurt. Bai Chen was only left dizzy and disoriented.

After Rita came ashore, she set Bai Chen aside, retracted the mask covering her face, and looked around. She had not expected there to be such a vast space beneath the sea. The instruments showed that the air contained no harmful substances.

"Urgh..."

Bai Chen crouched on the ground and dry-heaved for a while before rising with a pale face. This felt even worse than his carsickness in his previous life. Right now, he just wanted to lie flat on the ground and do nothing.

Just as Bai Chen was about to ask something, he keenly noticed rustling sounds coming from the surroundings.

This was a huge underground cavern. Aside from the opening they had fallen through, there was only one passable exit.

Arsenal Drive: Super Electromagnetic Cannon

Bai Chen drew a pair of blue-glowing hand cannons from the phantom and warily looked around.

Rita also drew her weapon and stared intently toward the source of the sounds.

Then a five-meter-tall Honkai Beast squeezed into the area through that opening. It was a Chariot-class Honkai Beast wreathed in flames!

Behind it followed a group of red Assault-class Honkai Beasts and several zombies.

"No way. Did we fall straight into their nest?"

Looking at the leading Chariot-class Honkai Beast, which stood at least two stories tall, Bai Chen could not help complaining.

"It seems they came specially to welcome us."

Rita covered her mouth and chuckled, then twirled the scythe blade in her hand a few times, clearly not taking those things seriously.

"Roar!"

The massive Honkai Beast leaped into the air with utterly unreasonable speed and smashed down toward Bai Chen, trying to crush him into paste!

But it was almost impossible for that kind of attack to hit Bai Chen now. Like an arrow released from a bow, he shot into the group of Assault-class Honkai Beasts while dodging the Chariot-class Honkai Beast's attack.

The Chariot-class Honkai Beast crashed down, making the entire underground cavern tremble. Flames spread across the ground where it struck.

"My, what a threat."

With a relaxed expression, Rita slipped close to the Chariot-class Honkai Beast. The scythe in her hand became an afterimage as it swept past the beast before it could react.

The next instant, a massive gash split open across the Honkai Beast's face, nearly lifting off the top of its skull!

"Roar!"

Yet that injury did not kill the Chariot-class Honkai Beast. Instead, it became even more enraged. Scarlet, flame-like liquid sprayed from its wound, solidifying to seal the injury.

"Interesting. Then how many times can you regenerate?"

Rita then accelerated. Her figure drifted around the Chariot-class Honkai Beast like a ghost. The enraged beast could not even touch her and could only let Rita leave horrifying wounds all over its body.

But due to the Honkai Beast's enormous size, those wounds healed before long, leaving behind streaks of scarlet scars.

Bai Chen's side was going well too. Those seemingly numerous Honkai Beasts could not withstand more than a few blows. Bai Chen felt like he was playing one of those zombie-slaying games from his previous life.

He kicked the scythe from a zombie's hand, twisted at the waist, and drove an elbow into its face, smashing its features to pulp.

Mobs of this level could not cause Bai Chen any trouble. This was the result of his training.

Your attacks are much slower than Sakura's and Fu Hua's.

As Bai Chen thought this, he drew his gun and struck an Assault-class Honkai Beast preparing to attack. The powerful electromagnetic force propelled the bullet through its body in an instant and destroyed its shell.

As the number of Honkai Beasts on his side dwindled, Bai Chen found time to glance at Rita's situation...

Then he could not hold it in anymore. Rita was just tickling it over there!

Was she really going to put on such an obvious act? Based on what Rita had shown in the story, at most two or three strikes should have chopped a Honkai Beast of that size into four pieces.

And now she was tickling it? Could she make the act any faker?!

Whatever. He should finish off the Honkai Beasts on his side first.

As Bai Chen refocused and continued clearing out the Assault-class Honkai Beasts, he suddenly noticed one of them beginning to glow scarlet as it approached, the light growing stronger and stronger!

"!"

Sensing that something was wrong, Bai Chen immediately kicked it away. The tremendous force sent it flying into its companions, and then the Honkai Beast exploded violently!

The sudden explosion instantly engulfed its companions, leaving behind only mangled limbs and fragments.

In an instant, the originally numerous Honkai Beasts had been reduced to only a scattered few. Bai Chen immediately drew his gun to finish the last ones off, then muttered to himself with lingering fear.

"Wait, if those little ones can explode..."

"Boom!!!"

A tremendous boom rang out behind Bai Chen. Caught off guard, his ears rang so badly that all he could hear was tinnitus.

Even from so far away, Bai Chen was still blown away by a blast of heat. He slammed into a wall and fell into a puddle nearby.

"No way. Did she screw up?"

Once he recovered, Bai Chen hurriedly looked around for Rita. Nothing remained on the field except fragments of the Chariot-class Honkai Beast, and Rita was nowhere to be seen.

Bai Chen's heart began to race. He hurried around the cavern looking for her, finally finding the unconscious Rita in a pond.

In a fluster, he carried her back to shore. Only after checking her breathing and confirming it was normal did Bai Chen finally let out a breath.

Seeing that Rita's tight-fitting armored outfit was almost completely undamaged, Bai Chen marveled at Schicksal's technology and finally felt relieved.

Serves you right for putting on an act. That act really came back to bite you, huh!

Wouldn't this have been avoided if you had just finished it sooner? You had to tickle it and eat a huge blast!

A little irritated, Bai Chen carried her on his back, preparing to find a flat place to lay Rita down and let her rest.

Just as Bai Chen was moving, a massive boulder fell from above and smashed into the ground. Then, as if triggering a chain reaction, more rubble began falling from the ceiling.

Damn! Did that explosion cause this? The cave was collapsing!

Hana

Frightened, Bai Chen immediately carried Rita toward the cave exit. In his urgency, he even used Chrono Break. The instant the world was enveloped in purple, everything silently slowed down.

During the skill's duration, Bai Chen ran with all his strength. Only after he could no longer feel the tremors did he finally stop.

But that was not the only reason he stopped. He had originally planned to keep running for quite a while even after the tremors faded, but now more creatures affected by the Honkai had appeared in front of him.

There were even several self-destructing Chariot-class Honkai Beasts among them. They were smaller, but there were far more of them.

"Tch. Did Kiana and the others really encounter this many Honkai Beasts?"

Bai Chen clicked his tongue in annoyance and became alert.

Before, he had needed to be cautious.

Now? Rita was unconscious. Did these things think they were worthy of getting in his way?

"Hmph!"

Stigmata: Judgment Shadow Dance

After several days had passed, this transformation had naturally finished cooling down.

The last time Bai Chen used this transformation, his mind had been affected by it, as though he had been possessed. This time would not be an exception either... right?

Beast-like flames surged up in an instant, and a Feather descended into Bai Chen's mind.

"I wasn't prepared last time. This time, I am. Go back."

Fu Hua's reassuring voice rang in Bai Chen's mind. Just as she said, she had never expected Bai Chen to be directly possessed last time. By the time she reacted, it was too late. With only a single Feather, she could not drive it away, only comfort him.

But this time, she had prepared in advance. An intrusion of this level was naturally easy to deal with.

"Urgh."

Bai Chen transformed into Judgment Shadow Dance within the phantom and rubbed his temples with a slight headache.

"Thank you, Class Monitor."

"No need to thank me."

The instant Fu Hua responded, Bai Chen immediately charged toward those Honkai Beasts.

Violent lightning poured out the instant Bai Chen drew his sword. Those lightning serpents that seemed capable of destroying everything rippled through the void and bit into the Honkai Beasts before they could react.

In the blink of an eye, many Honkai Beasts perished before they could even process what had happened.

"Scatter."