The mission was scheduled for early tomorrow morning, so Zhao Bai decided to turn in early and face the challenge in peak condition. He closed the restaurant's doors and went home with Theresa.
Nominally, Theresa was his observer—and a freeloader. She had all her meals and snacks at the Zhao Family Restaurant.
That night, Zhao Bai did not make a midnight snack.
Zhao Bai got up before dawn, stuffed a high-concentration Honkai crystal into his motorcycle's energy compartment, picked up some ingredients along the way, and rode toward the school gates.
When he arrived, it was around five in the morning. The sky was just beginning to brighten, rose petals glistened with dew in a dark red like fresh blood, and the chill of the night had yet to fade. Zhao Bai saw few students on his way there.
After all, missions outside the school had to be kept discreet. The fewer people who knew, the better.
Zhao Bai began to wait.
Unexpectedly, the girl known for her energy and liveliness was late. Even by seven in the morning, Zhao Bai had not seen her. Her phone only gave him a busy signal, as though she had vanished without a trace.
When the sun was high in the sky, Zhao Bai finally got his teammate.
Kiana's running posture looked straight out of a manga. Her braided twin ponytails bobbed with every step, and she wore the St. Freya uniform. Her long leather boots clattered against the ground, her cape swayed with her body, and she even had a piece of bread clenched in her mouth.
The pose was very shoujo manga, but the speed was anything but.
Kiana charged over at what had to be at least world-record hundred-meter sprint speed. She had been far away just a moment ago, but in the blink of an eye, she was in front of Zhao Bai, panting hard with her hands on her knees and bending over involuntarily.
"You're late again."
Zhao Bai checked his watch. "The scheduled time was five-thirty in the morning. You didn't show up until eight-thirty, and you're eating while running. Your stomach is definitely going to hurt later."
"I stayed up late grinding a dungeon yesterday!" Kiana scratched her head sheepishly. "I spent all my allowance on your ice cream, so you'd let me copy your homework. After I finished copying it and got home, I realized I had no money left to buy gear in the game. Bronya took me all the way to dawn, and we failed so many times."
So that was what happened.
No, wait. Getting obsessed with an online game before a mission was inexcusable no matter how he looked at it, right? But because Kiana gave her reason with such an honest expression, Zhao Bai subconsciously believed her nonsense and felt that she had a reason for being late.
What utter bullshit!
Kiana swallowed the bread in two bites, then looked at Zhao Bai with a teasing glint in her eyes. "Canghai City isn't some deserted wasteland, so why did Auntie assign me a battlefield chef?"
"Wake up. I'm the one leading this operation."
Zhao Bai mercilessly exposed the truth. "I have the mission outline, the target, and even the funding. You're just a sidekick."
"Why?"
"Maybe the principal thinks you're still immature and need more training."
As he spoke, Zhao Bai swung onto the motorcycle. Kiana had still not passed her single-person flying vehicle piloting course, so the two of them could only share one motorcycle. Zhao Bai pressed a button beside the dashboard, and with a clattering transformation sound, a gondola-like sidecar slowly lowered into place.
Kiana obediently crouched in the sidecar like a child going grocery shopping with her mother.
Still, it was strange. Kiana had always gotten perfect marks in practical exercises, no less capable than an athlete on a racetrack. But vehicle courses were like getting a driver's license: she had to pass the written exam before she could take the practical one. As a result, she had never been able to pass the course.
It was truly too awful to look at.
For example, when asked, "What should you do if you encounter a massive traffic jam?" Kiana would give an obvious zero-point answer like, "Just drive through it." Yet she really could force a path through impenetrable traffic like a slippery catfish.
The motorcycle carried them both into the sky, its Honkai energy engine letting out a thunderous roar.
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