The answer, of course, was to mess with Kiana's mindset.
Miss Mobius was one of the strongest professions in the Honkai world view—a Fusion Warrior.
While she was still alive, her strength had been comparable to Su, Otto's ancestor.
In the Previous Era, when she fought Su, even a passing Shenzhou flatboard would be knocked unconscious by the aftershocks of their battle.
If that big sister really came back to life, she would be the type to tear Herrschers apart with her bare hands.
To deal with her, they would definitely need specialized equipment.
There were plenty of weapons with special effects in the Honkai world, but only one could reliably suppress a Fusion Warrior.
Kiana's auntie's weapon—the Oath of Judah.
To lure that white-haired little ball of fluff holed up on the island out, they obviously needed another white-haired little ball of fluff as bait.
Unaware of the sinister intentions of a certain streetlamp person, the girl lay on the huge hotel bed, gasping for breath.
After having her first kiss stolen, she had been hunting Russell down the entire time.
But she had severely underestimated Russell's mastery of the Study of Escape.
A black shadow flashed past.
And he was gone.
"Rita, didn't you say you'd run into him before?"
The girl raised her head and looked at the beauty who had confidently claimed that if she could catch him once, she could catch him a second time.
The girl named Rita looked equally doubtful of her own life.
"When he was in Vienna, he wasn't this good at running."
"Huh? That guy Russell had been to Vienna too?"
Kiana froze.
Russell was the master of the Plasma Shadow Show. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have been able to leave Mei's side at all.
"I'm sure I saw him in Vienna. Mm, he even chatted with me for a while about beer back then..."
Rita's expression grew slightly unnatural as she said that.
Afterward, Russell had promptly fled. Before leaving, he had even snatched Alvitr's game console away, making Alvitr cry and throw a fit, just short of rolling around on the floor.
"Come to think of it... Kiana-sama, why are you hunting him down?"
Rita grew a little curious as she spoke.
Earlier, she had spotted a child named Bronya wandering around the streets and had gone to observe her for a while.
That had taken some time, so she wasn't quite sure why Kiana looked like she wanted to kill Russell.
Kiana's face instantly turned bright red. What could she say? That after Russell had treated her like a workhorse, she had gone looking for trouble, only to fail to hit him and have her first kiss stolen instead?
"...It's all trivial."
After falling silent for a moment, that was all she could force out.
Rita fell silent as well. Most likely, Kiana had been toyed with too, just like her.
"Next, I will dispatch a Blade of Immortality team to search for him. Please rest assured, I will bring him in."
Perhaps out of frustration at having her prey escape, or perhaps to prove herself before Kiana, Rita spoke with a solemn expression.
"If we don't have to investigate, then don't."
But unexpectedly, Kiana shook her head.
Huh?
Rita stared at Kiana, utterly confused.
"Did he do something serious?"
Kiana asked instead.
"His only actual criminal act was taking my team member's game console."
Rita answered honestly.
"Then I'll pay for it..."
Kiana's mouth twitched as she spoke.
That guy Russell was absurdly annoying and a compulsive liar, but he had always been protecting Mei. He had probably gone to Vienna to see if he could find some help.
They were both working hard for Mei's sake, so there was no need to make things difficult for each other.
Besides, he didn't have a marriage engagement with Mei anymore...
"Understood, Kiana-sama."
Rita nodded.
Though she had no idea what was going on, if Kiana didn't want to keep investigating, then she wouldn't.
After all, this incident had really only damaged her own pride.
"Mm, thank you, Rita."
Kiana lay down on the bed, ready to sleep.
But before she went to sleep, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't caught up with Mei in a long time.
After thinking it over, she opened Mei's Line.
First, she would check on Mei's recent life.
The girl opened Mei's social media feed.
Then—
The Smiling Samoyed's expression gradually froze, like hot wax poured into a mold.
On the phone screen, a girl's slender wrist was being held by a somewhat familiar hand. The caption read: "Had a great day today."
"Uh, if I told you that my engagement with Mei has already been canceled, would you still go on a date with me?"
The boy's exceptionally sincere voice echoed in her ears. For a moment, it was as though she could see one of her admirers helplessly waving his hands before her. But once her gaze focused, that phantom became the intertwined hands of a boy and girl.
The samoyed expressionlessly lifted her face from the pillow and looked toward Rita, who was preparing to leave.
"Take back what I said, Rita."
"Dead or alive, bring him to me."
The Times Have Changed, Ma'am!
Rita's portable computer was connected to the Blade of Immortality's network.
"Alvitr, collect the viewer information from every cinema in Changkong City."
Alvitr was the technician of the third Blade of Immortality squad under Schicksal. On the battlefield, she was responsible for collecting and analyzing data. She worked seriously, earning the glorious title of "tool person" from her teammates.
"Huh? Rita, aren't you on vacation? Didn't you say we weren't allowed to contact you unless something special happened?"
The girl whose game console had been stolen was stunned.
"...The situation has changed. I ran into the guy who stole your game console. His recent movements show that he watched a movie with the Young Lady of the Raikou family. Mm, he probably hasn't had time to leave Taiyuan yet."
Far away at Schicksal, the tool girl heard that title, and her expression changed in an instant. Her teeth clenched so hard they creaked.
That was a game console she had just bought!!
She hadn't even gotten the chance to enjoy it before that bastard ambushed her and snatched it away.
"Okay, I'll check right away!!"
"Eek—"
Not long afterward, a startled voice came from the other end.
"What is it? Can't you find him?"
Rita asked, her tone carrying a rare hint of impatience.
She had already boasted about it. If she couldn't catch him, her prestige with her future sister-in-law would be cut in half.
"No, he's way too easy to find."
"He's at the construction materials wholesale center next to the downtown cinema. Mm, he's asking the owner for a toilet that can withstand tons of pressure... The owner is currently dueling him with a stick. It looks like he's there to cause trouble."
Rita's expression turned rather strange upon hearing that.
No.
What kind of person needed a toilet rated for tons of pressure? Was he raising a pet pig?
But even pigs rarely weighed a ton.
"...Rita, did you find something?"
Beside her, the white-haired girl had already changed into sportswear and hoisted a baseball bat onto her shoulder, eager for action.
If the tool girl had been grinding her teeth in anger, then Kiana was practically about to crush hers.
"Mm, the exact location is about ten kilometers from us... It will take about half an hour to send people over to clear the crowd."
"Can we act in half an hour?"
Kiana looked at her with solemn admiration.
The adoring gaze from her future sister-in-law and daughter made Rita feel as delighted as if she had downed both a nerd's cola and a nerd's burger.
She was practically floating with bliss.
"Don't we need more preparations? Better equipment, perhaps? Or armed support?"
Perhaps because she had really suffered too many losses at Russell's hands.
At the moment when she could finally beat Russell up, the girl became more cautious than ever before.
"Kiana-sama, I'm very strong, you know."
In response to the question, a charming smile appeared on Rita's face.
In terms of raw strength, Rita was undoubtedly the weakest S-rank.
Rita's physical strength wasn't even that much greater than an A-rank's.
But in turn, she was exceptionally skilled at concealing her presence. Even S-ranks found it difficult to detect her.
For that reason, Schicksal had equipped her with Shadow Iron Armor.
Her main weapon was a scythe-like combat weapon called the Gene Reaper.
As long as it obtained even a small genetic sample from a target during battle, it would formulate a tailored toxin called "Avalanche" based on the target's genetic sequence, breaking down the enemy's flesh and blood.
Her secondary weapon was an autonomous tracking weapon scientifically named the Carbon-based Hunter.
That steel hunting hound carried a large amount of neurotoxin. It could spread through the air and render opponents unable to move, creating an opening for Rita to attack.
A weapon that could kill an enemy in two strikes, a hound that weakened her enemies, an assassin lurking in the darkness...
"When the target is an individual, I won't lose to anyone."
Under Kiana's admiring gaze, the woman wore a charming smile.
"Mei, could you help me borrow some machine guns and sniper rifles from Uncle Ryoma?"
"Valmont, you should be able to get some firearms too, right? Help me buy a few hundred guns. AKs, SCARs, or HK433s are all fine. It would be best to include some grenades and rocket launchers too. Price isn't an issue. Someone will pay the ransom later anyway."
In the chat group, Russell privately messaged two group members with extremely high social status and began begging for supplies.
Before you continue