Luo Lin pulled Kiana as they climbed over the wall of Senba Academy directly, finding a corner with fewer people to catch their breath.
When they turned around, they were surprised to find several black smoke pillars rising from within Senba Academy, indicating fires starting scattered elsewhere.
The piercing fire alarm echoed through the campus, causing some chaos as people evacuated.
"Is this fire deliberately caused by the attackers?"
A few minutes later, Fu Hua arrived late, with a hint of smoke clinging to her.
"Within a minute after you were attacked, several places in the academy caught fire simultaneously. When I arrived to investigate, I found obvious signs of human intervention... Luckily, all the sources of the fire were far from where people work and live, so the fire didn't spread quickly."
Fu Hua's expression was solemn. "I dealt with the fires in several locations, and the remaining places have people fighting in them. I couldn't directly intervene to put out the fires, so I could only provide some minimal assistance to those people... When I left, the situation was basically under control."
"Alright."
Truly worthy of the Immortal Phoenix!
Luo Lin nodded and gritted her teeth as she took out a personal terminal from her pocket, projecting the map of Nagazora City.
There was a blurry red dot on the map that refreshed its position periodically.
"What's this...?" Kiana asked.
Luo Lin stared at the map. "It's the tracking device I planted on Raiden Mei just now... It seems they haven't discovered our actions yet. Fu Hua, I've shared the tracking data to your terminal."
"Understood."
Kiana clenched her fists and spoke up to Luo Lin, "Luo Lin, give me some weapons and equipment. I want to fight alongside you!"
"Sure, but you must prioritize your safety."
Luo Lin readily opened the system's warehouse and handed Kiana what she needed.
The girl quickly armed herself, the weight of the pistol calming her previously restless emotions. She took a deep breath and nodded to the two Valkyries.
"I'm ready."
"Fu Hua, carry her. Let's go!"
"Huh?!"
Kiana, looking bewildered, was embraced like a princess by Fu Hua. The surroundings swiftly rose, and they soared into the sky above the city.
Gravity seemed to have no effect on Fu Hua; she ran vertically along the walls of the buildings, quickly reaching the top floor. Then, she lightly pushed off, leaping through the steel and concrete jungle.
Luo Lin utilized the power of the Moon Ring for grappling and double jumps, following closely behind as they raced towards the red dot on the map.
————————————————————
Bronya held one arm of the Project Bunny as she looked at Raiden Mei lying in its other hand.
The unconscious Mei appeared nothing like the imposing figure Bronya had seen in photos.
Now, she looked more like a homeless puppy, furrowed brows emitting an aura of vulnerability.
"Sorry..."
Bronya muttered.
This girl was innocent, she knew.
But Bronya didn't regret her actions. Her most important person had vanished without a trace, and the only clue in Cocolia's hands pointed to Raiden Mei. Only by studying the stigmata power on Raiden Mei's body could Bronya hope to find Seele.
After living the life of a child soldier and assassin, Bronya didn't have much sympathy left. The X-10 experiment had burned away the part of her brain controlling emotions, turning her into the legendary "emotionless" girl. The tiny bit of emotion that remained was reserved for Cocolia and Seele...
Shaking her head to dispel her drifting thoughts, Bronya controlled Project Bunny to fly in the air and heading towards the outskirts of Nagazora City.
There, Cocolia had built a warehouse as their base for this operation.
Now, Bronya stood before the building, agilely jumping down from the Project Bunny's hand. Her feet touched the ground lightly.
She felt excitement, long forgotten, coursing through her veins. She could clearly hear her heart beating in her chest—because the "key figure" Raiden Mei was now in her hands.
Next, all she had to do was hand her over to Cocolia...
"Who?!"
Bronya turned her head, vigilantly watching another direction. Hida Ren emerged from the shadows, wearing a smile, and congratulated her, "Congratulations, Miss Bronya, our cooperation has come to a successful conclusion. How does it feel to have Raiden Mei in your hands?"
"...What do you want?" Bronya stared at the man, asking in a low voice.
"Well, I'm just here to convey my congratulations to you, nothing more?" Hida Ren looked at Bronya, scratching his nose with some embarrassment. "...You're really hard to fool. Alright, how about handing over that girl in your hands to me?"
"No."
The Silver Wolf of Ural decisively retreated, returning to the cover of Project Bunny and drawing a pistol from her clothes. She aimed it at Hida Ren and fired.
"Ding ding ding!"
A hemispherical shield appeared under the impact of the bullets, and an Anti-Entropy Titan, previously invisible, stood between Bronya and Hida Ren, blocking the bullets.
Then, more Titans emerged with mechanical hums, surrounding the girl.
Bronya could see several huge rocket launchers and cannons aimed at her. After all, the shield of the Project Bunny couldn't withstand for long.
"You..."
"Well... after all, someone offered a higher price for this girl than your mother did." Hida Ren spoke candidly.
It was only now that Bronya understood: the man in front of her was a multifaceted spy who not only betrayed Raiden Ryoma but also betrayed Cocolia.
Thinking of this, Bronya prepared to use her ability to communicate with the Project Bunny secretly, to let it escape from the encirclement as it had before...
But as soon as Bronya activated her ability, her mind felt as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer.
Supporting herself on the Project Bunny's body, she felt unprecedented weakness. The pistol in her hand became unbearably heavy, and she couldn't even muster the strength to pull the trigger.
"Ugh..."
"Oh, Dr. Jackal's poison gas is indeed effective..." Hida Ren marveled, "Just inhaling a little bit can greatly disrupt the ability of the Honkai Users, making it impossible for them to concentrate, weakening their bodies, and preventing them from using their Honkai ability..."
Hida Ren stared intently at the Project Bunny, watching its outline gradually blur and flicker, like frame drops in a video game.
"It can even deal with this unknown mechanical creation... Haha."
Recalling the enthusiastic expression on Dr. Jackal's face when she introduced this poison gas, there were many sophisticated terms mixed in, such as "inhibitor", "yellow-something cane", and "disruption of the link between imaginary numbers and quantum"...
Hida Ren couldn't understand them, but a poison gas praised by Dr. Jackal must be a good thing.
And the facts proved that Hida Ren's idea was correct.
Project Bunny had disappeared, Bronya collapsed to the ground, curling up like a shrimp.
Now she had fallen to the same fate as Raiden Mei.
With cautious gestures, Hida Ren directed another Anti-Entropy mech to roughly grab Bronya and Raiden Mei, then throw them into a corner of the warehouse, alongside some other "materials" he had captured earlier.
"Very well, it's time to notify the people from the World Serpent to come and collect their goods..."