"Abandoning it before was really for the best..."
Once aboard the helicopter, Himeko Murata, seated next to Luo Lin, began muttering this, leaving the girl somewhat puzzled.
"Himeko, what do you mean... 'abandoning'?"
The young red-haired Valkyrie scratched her head awkwardly, saying, "Ah, I mean there was something i want do before, I was planning to take leave to check the situation... but fortunately, I gave it up. Now I can go with everyone from the Valkyrie Assault Team to confront the Honkai!"
Luo Lin was a bit dumbfounded.
"Speaking of which, it was your encouragement, Luo Lin, that made me realize... I was getting a bit tired..."
The red-haired Valkyrie paused for a moment, looking at the teasing eyes of her teammates, she had to change her words:
"Alright, alright, I admit I was a bit lazy, wanting to slack off... but seeing you work so hard and join the Valkyrie Assault Team, I thought I should learn from you!"
Luo Lin chuckled nervously, "Ah... well, that's really good, isn't it? I never thought I could inspire someone..."
"B-rank Information Valkyries are all smart and physically strong people, don't underestimate yourself!" One Valkyrie smiled and patted Luo Lin's shoulder.
"...Mhm."
Luo Lin took a deep breath, her gaze shifting to the window, where purple clouds shrouded the earth.
Now, Himeko's trajectory and history were different, as she was now involved in the action.
The girl lowered her head, the translucent panel that others couldn't see revealed itself.
[You performed well in the Abyss! Keep up the good work!]
[Original Sin Three (==), maintaining rank!]
[Settlement rewards have been distributed!]
With a thought, Luo Lin transformed the system panel into the appearance of a shop.
[Purchased: Scepter of Duat!]
With the sound of rapidly decreasing crystals that had accumulated over time, a black and gold box, about a dozen centimeters long, appeared in Luo Lin's inventory. Its color scheme reminded one of the mask of Tutankhamun.
Along with it came an instruction manual, which briefly explained how to use the Scepter of Duat.
Either set it as a trap in a certain area, waiting for the targeted Herrscher to enter the area and manually or automatically trigger it, or... use it as a grenade, throwing it directly next to an enforcer after opening the device.
Luo Lin felt the various grenades and flash bombs on her body, the short sword slung diagonally, and the precision firearms produced by Schicksal—not just pistols, but also compact assault rifles.
As for ammunition and other supplies, Luo Lin had stockpiled a batch in the system warehouse, and she could exchange crystals directly... with the remaining dozens of crystals, the girl could fight for three days and three nights.
"...Now I'm fully prepared."
Soon, the helicopter arrived at the location where the Honkai detection device was installed, and the Valkyries escorted Dr. Miriam and her assistant out of the cabin.
It was a relatively open area, where the Valkyrie who installed the device had already cleared away obstructive trees, and the wood had been cut and moved to the side.
Dr. Miriam, dressed in a thick down jacket, used gloves to swipe a few times on the tablet.
The scenery in front of everyone suddenly distorted and flickered, accompanied by a slight buzzing sound, the holographic projection device was completely turned off, revealing a huge instrument in front of them.
It looked like a giant metal box, with detection antennas extending several meters high into the sky, and red lights flashing at the top of the antennas.
Luo Lin also saw a structure similar to a lightning rod on the antenna, which was probably designed to prevent lightning strikes during rainstorms.
"Is this the Honkai detection device?"
"It's a base station type, considered one of the main products of the Schicksal Engineering Department." Dr. Miriam replied, "There's a much larger permanent detection device in the Belarus branch."
At this point, the leading Valkyrie spoke up, directing the group: "Alright, let Dr. Miriam calibrate the device, and we'll spread out and be on guard."
The Valkyries nodded in agreement, spreading out sparsely and keeping sharp eyes on everything around them.
Miriam wiped off the snow that had fallen on the detection device and then groped on the side of the instrument, quickly finding the hidden handle. She grabbed the handle hard, pulling off a cover plate, revealing the screen and control panel of the device behind it.
Breathing heavily, she connected her personal terminal to the detection device and began adjusting the relevant parameters.
"The portable detectors we gave to the intelligence personnel are useless in this environment... we have to rely on this kind of base station detector..."
Under Miriam's operation, the antennas of the Honkai detection device gradually rotated and expanded, forming an arc array similar to a traditional radar. It aimed at the locations with higher concentrations of Honkai energy, swaying slightly.
"Alright, this device has been calibrated, let's move on to the next location."
The helicopter took off again, and soon arrived at the location of the second detector.
It was the same familiar process,
Miriam adjusted the parameters of the detector, and then commanded everyone to return to the aircraft.
The third, the fourth... as the doctor's actions became more and more skilled, the speed also increased.
Miriam looked at the increasingly obvious red dots on the tablet screen, her face full of worry.
"Doctor! We still have three detectors left to adjust!" Luo Lin came to Miriam's side, "Have you received any useful data now?"
"The number of Honkai beasts... is too many, I have synchronized all the observed movements of the Honkai beasts to Captain Ragnar." she said, her movements never stopping, "But, their scale doesn't match the peak Honkai energy we observed before... could it be a new type of Honkai Beast?"
Miriam shook her head, saying, "As for the higher-level Honkai beasts... it's strange, I still haven't seen any Honkai beasts with particularly high Honkai energy reactions, could it be hiding?"
"Maybe adjusting the detector a little more will reveal it?"
"Perhaps, aside from this, I have no other way." The doctor put the tablet on her lap, rubbing her temples wearily, "What time is it now?"
"It's a little past one thirty in the morning, one thirty-four."
"Ah... I'll rest for a while, call me when we get to the next location."
Watching Dr. Miriam close her eyes, Luo Lin gestured to the people around her, everyone nodded understandingly, lowering their voices and converging their movements.
After another ten minutes, Luo Lin woke up the doctor.
"Wake up, Doctor, we've arrived."
"Ugh... okay, I'll get off now..."
Braving the cold wind, Dr. Miriam adjusted the instrument, sniffled, and sneezed harshly.
"Ah-choo! Oops... huh...?"
The doctor rubbed her eyes, approached the screen of the detection device, and looked at the data on it.
"Why is the Honkai energy reacting so strongly? Did I accidentally poke something while my hand slipped? Or is there a problem with this device...?"
She raised her head and looked in the direction of the antenna—
A small figure was floating there, staring at her with golden eyes.
As if staring at its prey.
Ah... those abnormal data, it makes sense now... it turns out...
"Herrscher..."
The Imaginary Spear of Void shuttled into a beam of light, fiercely piercing through her body in an instant!
...
Thousands of kilometers away, a blond man took a sharp breath, as if feeling a slight pain. He furrowed his brow slightly, rubbing his stomach.
"Awakened early, huh? No, it's just a temporary personality revival... and its not intense enough for the expected data."
Otto picked up the tablet, the densely packed data forming images in his mind.
After a slight consideration, he nodded.
"Relying on Ragnar and Siegfried should be enough."