What?! You want me to be the Herrscher of the End?!

3

Chapter 178 Infiltrating Underground

"That's good. Kiana, you can now move around freely in the town."

"However, I suggest that if possible, it would be better for us to investigate together. After all, there is strength in numbers, and we can take care of each other."

After explaining to the government troops who came to capture Mei and the others, Bai Mo turned to the three of them and continued speaking.

"Okay, then let's travel together."

After much deliberation, Mei finally decided to grant Bai Mo's request.

Considering the potential unknown dangers ahead, it's certainly better to act with more people. Judging from the mercenaries' attire, they have clearly made thorough preparations.

Most importantly, these mercenaries were wearing protective suits that could block Honkai energy. Although they were well-covered, Mei still managed to spot them.

It seems this is no ordinary mercenary squad, and this Miss March 7 is not as ordinary as she claims.

This can be seen from the attitude of the leading man towards her, and she herself was not wearing a protective suit that could isolate Honkai energy.

Considering all these doubts, Mei couldn't help but ponder the origins of Bai Mo and the Raven Squad, and she also became increasingly attentive.

"Mei, what are you daydreaming about? Let's hurry up and catch up!"

Kiana's shouts pulled Mei back to reality. Looking ahead, she realized that Bai Mo and the others had already gone far away.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else just now."

Meeting Kiana and Bronya's gazes, Mei said with a hint of apology.

"It's alright! Let's follow them!"

"Ah."

After saying that, the three of them jogged and quickly caught up with Bai Mo and the others.

They were supposed to be investigating the town together, but as they walked, Mei unexpectedly discovered that the location she and Bai Mo were investigating was exactly the same: the town's underground.

Sure enough, these mercenaries were there with a specific purpose in mind; they were definitely not ordinary people.

Even Kiana noticed this, and Bronya also gave the two of them a deep look.

"We've arrived. Everyone, please be on the lookout for any suspicious individuals. We'll regroup in ten minutes."

Looking at the factory gate, Tie Xiong took out the key that the mayor had given him earlier. After opening the gate, they conducted a thorough inspection of the terrain as usual.

Bai Mo didn't say anything, after all, they were the experts in this kind of thing.

The underground entrance to the town of Kroca is located inside a large drainage plant on the outskirts of the town. Although it is possible to enter through the manhole cover, it is easy to get lost if you do that, so it is better to start from the entrance and check one place at a time.

While the Raven Squad was conducting their inspection, Bronya was also busy, immediately summoning Heavy Bunny to scan the building.

And they said that human investigation is utterly inadequate! You still have to rely on my Reloaded Little Rabbit.

However, she wasn't worried about being exposed, since Bronya had already figured out that these people had something wrong with them.

As expected, the Raven Squad wasn't surprised at all when they saw the suddenly appearing Heavy Bunny. After all, they had seen plenty of these things; they had even dismantled many of Anti-Entropy's Titans.

"Bronya, do you have any leads?"

"Having found nothing unusual or suspicious, Bronya believes it is safe to proceed underground."

"Great! Let's get going!"

"Don't rush, Miss March 7th's people haven't returned yet, let's wait a while longer."

After questioning Bronya, the three whispered among themselves.

"I know you all have questions in your minds. Yes, we are not ordinary mercenaries. As for our identities, I will tell you Mei after all this is over."

Having overheard the conversation between the three, Bai Mo stepped forward and spoke softly.

After all, isn't it better to leave some suspense? Let them guess for now.

"May I ask, what are you here to investigate?"

Mei simply nodded and then asked curiously.

Bronya and Kiana also turned to look in this direction.

"Hmm... the purpose."

Bai Mo pondered for a moment, but soon gave an answer with a smile.

"Firstly, we came here to find a friend. As for the second reason... it's similar to your Destiny; we're all here to find the truth behind the collapse that occurred here."

As Bai Mo spoke, the Raven Squad, who had just finished investigating the area, returned from a distance.

The group of six stood together at the underground entrance, awaiting Bai Mo's next instructions.

“Tianming, Miss March 7, you are indeed no ordinary person.”

As Mei pondered Bai Mo's words, she kept guessing about Bai Mo's identity.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm definitely not one of Anti-Entropy's people. In fact, if we're talking about something, I actually have some connection with your St. Freya Academy!"

Seeing the serious expressions on the three faces, Bai Mo quickly laughed it off.

After all, wasn't she also a student of St. Freya, and a Valkyrie, even though she was a Valkyrie who had been declared dead? But none of that mattered.

"St. Freya? Could it be that you were once a student at St. Freya Academy on March 7th?"

Upon hearing Bai Mo mention St. Freya, Kiana immediately asked, and also decided in her heart to ask Himeko or Theresa after the mission was over.

"Hmph, Kiana is quite clever~ She even guessed this. But I'm sorry I can't tell you anything more. For now, let's focus on our respective missions."

"After all, delay might lead to unforeseen changes, so it's best to act as soon as possible."

Without giving everyone a chance to continue thinking, Bai Mo saw that the time was right and called on Tie Xiong to open the door leading to the underground.

The suspense has been plentiful enough, and Bai Mo is still a little afraid of things going wrong if he continues.

So, with Bai Mo's encouragement, everyone finally managed to pull themselves together, change their mindset, and enter through the gate. As for what Bai Mo said, they would find a way to verify it sooner or later.

Upon entering the gate, a faint stench hits the nose. Although there is no nauseating excrement in the dark and damp underground sewers, there are still some common rats, but fortunately not many.

Besides, no one is that dramatic; they can just bear it for a bit and it will pass.

The underground waterways are interconnected, and it's not enough for just a few people to explore blindly. So Bronya immediately summoned Heavy Bunny and asked it to guide the way based on the Honkai energy concentration index.

3

Chapter 179 "The Tower"

At first, the group didn't find anything suspicious along the way, but as they went deeper, they began to notice something was amiss.

Aside from the increasingly dense Honkai energy, the entire underground passage of the town of Kroka looked as if it had been deliberately modified, with many traces of artificial excavation.

These traces are hard to spot unless you're a professional looking closely, and nobody would bother going into the sewers to look for clues, especially since Bai Mo and her group have already walked outside the town.

The person hiding behind the scenes must have known this, which is why they built the laboratory underground in the town.

Of course, all of this is speculation before it is confirmed, but Bai Mo believes it is pretty close to the truth.

The group continued to move forward in an orderly manner. After about ten minutes, someone suddenly called out softly.

"Come look this way! There's a big door here!"

It turned out that a member of the Raven Squad had discovered a hidden door, and he hurriedly called everyone over.

"door!"

Hearing the news from the front, Mei was overjoyed. After all, this was a major clue! What was behind the door? Could it be a secret experimental base?!

On the way here, Bai Mo had mentioned the information the mayor had given them to Mei and the others, so everyone was very excited after hearing the news.

"Can you open it?"

The speaker was Bai Mo, who was also very curious about the appearance of this door.

However, after considering that there wouldn't be anything of value inside the door, Bai Mo dismissed the idea.

Who would put important documents in a place like this? Judging from the appearance, this is at most a storage room.

"No, this lifting door is at least a meter thick, and it's all welded shut around it. With our current equipment, we don't have the capability to open it."

After roughly measuring the door's hardness, Tie Xiong shook his head.

"What? You were thinking you could finally show off your skills."

Seeing this, Kiana, who was eager to try, had no choice but to silently put down her baseball bat.

Everyone was left speechless, and the attempt to break down the door ended inconclusively.

But seriously, do you Kaslana family members carry this ancestral baseball bat with you wherever you go?

If so, then it really is an essential travel tool for murder, arson, robbery, and even the kind that can take on Honkai Beasts head-on.

Hmm... I wonder if this kind of thing can be mass-produced. If it can... Bai Mo remembers that Kevin had one.

Ahem, getting back to the point, since this door can't be opened, let's continue the search. There's always a way out, and Bai Mo firmly believes that his approach is correct.

"It's alright. Although we can't open this door, its appearance confirms that our investigation is on the right track."

“Look further down, and I believe there are even bigger secrets waiting for us.”

Drawing everyone's attention away from the door, Bai Mo stood up and said, feigning excitement.

Yes, the direction of the investigation is definitely correct, and Bai Mo's words are what everyone was thinking.

There's still plenty of time in the evening, and if we continue along this path, everyone believes they will get a satisfactory answer.

After all, starting from this door, they had already come into contact with only the tip of the iceberg of the enemy's experimental base.

"Okay, let's continue. Everyone, keep an eye on your surroundings and be sure to report any discoveries immediately."

Mei glanced at Kiana and Bronya beside her, then quickly got up and followed the group ahead with them.

..................On the other side, 1000 meters underground on the outskirts of the town of Kroka.

Inside a brightly lit man-made passageway, more than a hundred laboratory personnel dressed in white protective suits were gathered. They all had furrowed brows and serious expressions, as if they were making some kind of mental preparation.