The collapse started when Kiana came to the door

"Tsk..." As soon as the gray snake mentioned Yulandel, the jackal immediately wilted. Her virtual image shrank back into the chair, a little timid, and still muttered, "The strongest Valkyrie, the strongest Valkyrie, do you think you are destined to be the one?"

Seeing the Jackal's cowardly look, Raven's avatar shook her head speechlessly. To be fair, she didn't like the stigma experiment that Jackal conducted in Sky City. But as a cadre of the World Serpent and a mercenary who received generous rewards from the World Serpent, Raven had already prepared herself mentally for blood on her hands.

Now that he suddenly learned that the experiment was abandoned, while Raven was gloating over the jackal's misfortune, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief deep in his heart.

Although it was not her first time to kill someone, conducting large-scale Honkai experiments on ordinary people in a city and slaughtering ordinary people on a large scale in order to implement the Stigmata Project... Even Raven, who had killed many people, still had some reservations about this.

"If that's why you called us here for an emergency meeting, then there should be nothing for me to do next, right?" Thinking of this, Raven's virtual image looked at Gray Snake, "Since there's nothing for me to do next, I'll leave first."

"Go ahead." Gray Snake said, "In the coming time, I will be fully responsible for all matters in Sky City. Jackal, you should also leave here temporarily. I will try to avoid conflicts with Destiny while obtaining information about the [Lord] from Anti-Entropy and bring him back to the real world as soon as possible. By that time, Destiny's control over this world will be wiped out, and the long-cherished wish of the World Snake... will also be fulfilled at that moment."

"I see. It's just a holiday. I have no reason to refuse." Raven's avatar nodded and then disappeared.

"...Hmph." The Jackal snorted coldly and followed the Raven's footsteps to leave the meeting.

Chapter 4 Gu... Gu... Gu... (k)

After the participants left their seats, the atmosphere in the conference room was immediately immersed in silence.

The only Gray Snake who was present in person sat silently at the table in the conference room, not moving.

His figure seemed to blend into the environment, like a poisonous snake lurking among the branches openly.

The silence lasted for a long time. After confirming that Raven and Jackal had indeed completely cut off the communication line, Gray Snake suddenly reached into his arms and took out a paper document record.

On it, everything that this Gray Snake, code-named 2307, had experienced in recent times was clearly recorded in written form.

From the time he was preparing to invade the Hyperion's internal network and try to obtain the intelligence World Serpent needed, to the time he was suddenly [eroded] by an external force and had most of his body control taken away, to the time he was finally demanded by the person who invaded him to [liberate the Lord] and [return control of the Gray Serpent network] in exchange for World Serpent's immediate cessation of the Stigmata experiment in Sky City and a [neutral] stance in the entire incident.

Of course, this deal was not fair from the very beginning. Even without the invader, Gray Snake could rely on his own strength to induce Hyperion and Anti-Entropy and their people to enter the entrance of the Quantum Sea sealed in Haiyuan City, thereby liberating the [Lord] sealed there.

However, under the premise that [Power of Corrosion] invaded the Gray Snake network, in order to protect most of the power of snakes around the world, the Gray Snake had to obey.

This was not because the gray snake was afraid of death. Quite the contrary. After casually throwing the paper document recording the recent experiences of the gray snake individual [2307] onto the conference table, he did not hesitate to place the fingers of his right hand, which was made up of mechanical components, on his forehead, and then pressed them down hard without any mercy.

"[The transaction] has been completed. I hope you can keep your promise to [Snake]."

Along with a sharp cracking sound and the sound of blood spilling into the water, the gray snake's artificial eye that was flashing red light fell completely into cold silence and darkness.

As an individual who had been eroded once by the Power of Erosion, in order to prevent the other party from continuing to influence the Gray Snake Network through the Power of Erosion, he certainly could not allow himself to continue to survive in this world after that.

At the same moment when all members of [World Snake] temporarily withdrew from the stage of Tianqiong City, North Africa, which was six time zones away from Shenzhou, was just getting light.

The flying yellow sand obscured Yulandel's vision as she leaned on the cold black gun. At the time when the sun was rising and day and night were changing, this dead city completely covered by the vast yellow sand still retained a bit of the cold breath that belonged only to the night.

The cold wind blew the dust on the ground. With her back against the black gun, Yulandel silently slowed down her breathing in the storm of sand and dust. At this moment, a sharp alarm suddenly pierced the cold air, and the headset hanging on Yulandel's ear also rang with the communication from the command center.

"All units are ready. The 28th activation experiment of the Second God Key will begin in one minute."

As the announcer counted down, Yulandel shifted her gaze to the sky. In the few minutes when the temperature rose rapidly, the turbulent air flow blew pieces of yellow sand into the air. The visibility was extremely poor. If one relied solely on vision to observe the surrounding environment, everything over a hundred meters away would turn into a yellow haze.

However, when the countdown reached zero, followed by a dull explosion, a beam of light suddenly rose in the center of this dead city covered with yellow sand, splitting the sky in two.

The rapidly spreading sound waves and shock waves swept away all the dust around in an instant, and also allowed the changes in the sky to be displayed in front of Yulandel without any cover.

On the desolate land, the dark hole was suspended in the air like an evil star.

That is, the space crack penetrated by the Second God's Key.

Under this dead city covered by yellow sand all day long, there are ten Honkai energy power reactors of the same level as the Hyperion, which are still in operation today. With the Honkai energy generated by these power reactors, the space cracks torn by the Second God's Key will continue to tear deeper into the space.

From the real world, to the quantum sea, and then to the imaginary number tree which is deeper than the quantum sea...and in this process, because the Second God's Key tore open the boundary between the real world and the quantum sea, a different kind of Honkai beast named Quantum Shadow will also appear.

The purpose of Yulandel guarding here is to ensure the safety of the Second God's Key.

To date, she has repeated this experiment twenty-eight times.

After Yulandel easily eliminated the monster that emerged from the dark hole, she thought she would immediately start the 28th experiment and was ready for battle, but she suddenly received a communication from the Savior Headquarters.

"Yulandel, please stop the task at hand for now."

The voice that connected to the communication channel was a voice that she was very familiar with.

"Your Majesty Bishop?"

"We have found the trace of the Herrscher of the Void. After we are ready, we will immediately head to Sky City to connect with Rita who has already started the search mission. She will give you the mission procedures and necessary intelligence." Bishop Otto's calm voice came from the communicator.

"Compared to the Herrscher of the Void, the operating efficiency of the Second God Key is far too low. Whether for my purpose or for the responsibility you bear, the power of the Herrscher of the Void is necessary. Therefore, there is no room for failure in this mission. No matter what means we use, we must recover the Herrscher of the Void before Theresa."

"...I understand." Yulandel put away her weapon and nodded solemnly.

June 2017, 3, eight o'clock in the evening.

The Hyperion, docked above Sky City, silently concealed its huge hull in the dark night sky.

In the ruins filled with building debris, overgrown weeds and trees swayed in the cold night wind.

On this night when there was no Honkai, this suburban area, which had many residents three months ago, had long been completely isolated from the hustle and bustle of the town.

The street lights had long been abandoned and out of service. On a night when dark clouds blocked out the starlight and moonlight, this lifeless area, which seemed dead, suddenly fell into deeper darkness and loneliness.

"This is the agreed coordinate location, right?" Theresa frowned and said unhappily, "Why did you have to choose such a place where there is no one in sight? Is the pervert who proposed a deal to us so confident in his ability?"

"Anyway, since he chose the outskirts of Sky City as the location for the transaction, it at least shows that the boy, like us, does not want the surrounding people to be involved because of Kiana's affairs." Raiden Mei followed Theresa's footsteps and said softly.

Things have developed to this point. No matter how much you worry about Kiana's situation, it will not help. Instead of continuing to vent useless emotions, you might as well use your energy and thinking on more useful things.

The decision to go to the outskirts of Sky City to make advance preparations was also made after careful consideration.

Although the boy specified the time and place of the transaction, he did not impose complete and detailed restrictions on the number of people and the form of the transaction. So in theory, even if they parked the Hyperion directly nearby, it would not be considered a violation of the terms of the transaction.

Whether he was overconfident or too young, since there were loopholes in the transaction itself, what they needed to do was to make the transaction more favorable to them while trying their best to prevent the other party from breaking the contract.

In order to weaken the boy's vigilance as much as possible, only Mei Raiden and Theresa came to the agreed location this time, while Bronya and Dr. Einstein and others provided them with remote assistance on the Hyperion.

"Bronya, are there any signs of life around here?" Theresa looked around the surrounding environment and asked Bronya, who was communicating with her in real time.

"Neither Hyperion nor the Heavy Bunny detected any signs of animal life nearby, nor did they detect any lurking electronic signals within ten meters below the surface." Bronya answered Theresa's question calmly. "Preliminary judgment is that the other party has not set an ambush at the Dean's current coordinates. I suggest that the Dean check the nearby environment while setting up some traps that will surprise the trading partner."

"Okay, although it's not our style to do things in secret, the situation is special now. Since that boy kidnapped Kiana first, it's no wonder that we have to use some special means." Theresa nodded and accepted Bronya's suggestion. "And strictly speaking, we didn't violate the boy's agreement. We just did something beyond his expectations on the basis of abiding by the agreement."

"That's true, but I still suggest that you try not to make these preparations too conspicuous." At this moment, Einstein's inorganic voice rang in Theresa's ears, "Under normal circumstances, it is more in line with our code of conduct to expect the situation to be as bad as possible. However, everything has its surprises. Although the boy showed an extremely bad attitude towards us, we can't completely rule out the possibility that he still has good intentions towards us."

"Huh?!" Theresa was stunned. She almost thought there was something wrong with her ears. "What is this?! Are you asking us to show mercy to the bastard who kidnapped my niece?"

"I didn't say that. If that boy really kidnapped Miss Kiana, I certainly support Ms. Theresa in giving him a reasonable punishment..." Einstein was silent for a moment, and said lightly, "But the biggest problem is here. At least, as of now, we haven't obtained sufficient evidence to show that the boy really 'kidnapped' Miss Kiana."

"Dr. Einstein, do you know what you are saying?" This time, even Raiden Mei couldn't help it, "He did that to Kiana who couldn't resist! It has come to this point, do you still think that the man who kidnapped Kiana didn't do anything excessive to Kiana?"

"What did he do to Miss Kiana?" Einstein asked calmly.

"He clearly touched it..." Halfway through her sentence, Mei Raiden suddenly got stuck.

Because at this moment, Mei Raiden suddenly realized that no matter from which angle you look at it, touching the face of a person of the opposite sex, although it can indeed be considered an [offense] and [teasing], it is far from the level of [infringement] that they had expected.

"When we analyze a person's psychology, we can't just look at what he said, but what he did." Einstein said calmly, "The fact is - during the communication with us, although the boy showed Miss Kiana that she had no power to resist and made a series of attempts to provoke us, he never really hurt Miss Kiana from beginning to end."

"Moreover, after finding Miss Kiana, he took the initiative to contact us and asked one of us to exchange with Miss Kiana."

"Although this may make you feel uncomfortable, if he is just a lustful person as we expected before, then the boy could do something even more unacceptable to Miss Kiana when communicating with us." Einstein said, "If he does this, he can not only break down your psychological defenses, but also gain a more advantageous position in the subsequent negotiations and transactions."

"It's a very simple logic. If the other party showed us that he didn't mind hurting Miss Kiana, would we still be able to prepare and arrange the trading venue without any psychological pressure before the transaction?"

This question stumped Theresa.

She and Raiden Mei looked at each other, and both saw a hint of hesitation in each other's eyes.

Indeed, if something more excessive had really happened to Kiana, they would not have been so unscrupulous in setting a trap here, even to prevent the boy from further hurting Kiana.

The reason they are preparing here in advance is to make the negotiations go in a direction that is more favorable to them as much as possible from the beginning.

The premise of all this depends entirely on their belief that the boy will not breach the contract.

"I'm not asking you not to be hostile to that boy. After all, that boy has been trying to provoke us. But at the same time, I don't want you to completely lose your original rationality and judgment because of Miss Kiana's matter." Einstein said calmly.

"...Okay, I accept your suggestion." Theresa nodded and said quietly, "If that boy really has no hostile intentions towards us, I certainly won't bother with a young man."

Of course, it's just me.

As for Mei, Bronya and the others.

Disputes between peers should be resolved by the peers themselves.

Just like that, two hours passed quietly and the time came to ten o'clock in the evening.

It was beyond everyone's expectations.

The boy who was supposed to show up did not show up.

In the biting cold wind, Theresa and Raiden Mei stood in the ruins with blank expressions, looking at each other.

Were they stood up?

Just when the people on Hyperion and Raiden Mei and Theresa standing in the ruins were disheveled in the wind.

At the same time, after the two white succubi were done, Li Shubai was still being exploited.

"Wait, Bronya, it's time to meet Theresa and the others. If we don't go now, we'll be late. Can you let me go?"

"One more time... for the last time, Kiana, Mei, everyone, come together."

“Stop it! Theresa and the others in this world are all very worried about Kiana! It’s late at night and it’s so cold. Do you have the heart to just leave them, who are so worried about Kiana, at the agreed location?”

"It's okay. Auntie is a very gentle person. She will definitely forgive us, don't you think so, Captain?"

"I……"

Chapter 4 Li Shubai: I want to be a captain! (k)

2017年3月16日，深夜11点35分，天穹市郊外的废墟。

An hour and a half had passed since the agreed time of ten o'clock, but there was still no one around Theresa and Raiden Mei who were standing in the cold wind.

The two looked at each other and saw anxiety and uneasiness in each other's eyes.

With their physical fitness, standing in the cold wind late at night was indeed very uncomfortable, but it was far from unbearable. Before the appointment, Theresa and the others did not fail to anticipate the possibility that the other party would break the appointment. After all, even ordinary people would have considerable differences in moral standards due to different individual concepts.

When facing strangers, the first thing everyone needs to be mentally prepared for is the possibility of being deceived.

In this regard, these Valkyries are no exception.

But when they really faced this situation, in addition to a feeling of anger as if they were being fooled, what occupied most of their emotions and thoughts was the worry about Kiana, whose specific current situation they had not yet learned.

Especially...even if they were stood up, Theresa, Mei Raiden, and Bronya and the others who were on standby on the Hyperion still didn't dare to leave immediately within a short period of time.

After all, the contact that boy had made with them was the only information they had obtained about Kiana in the past three months.

Of course they said they couldn't just let it go.

"Dean, what should we do next?" Raiden Mei pursed her dry lips and asked in a low voice.

"..." Theresa did not answer Raiden Mei's question, but narrowed her eyes slightly and fell into silence as if she was thinking about something.

Why did that boy fail to fulfill his promise?

Dr. Einstein once said that when that boy took the initiative to contact them, in order to search for Kiana and the other party's exact location, she, Dr. Tesla, and Bronya had tried to invade the other party, but ended in failure.

Next to that boy, there seemed to be a hacker who knew a lot about Einstein, Dr. Tesla, and Bronya.

From the beginning to the end, the three top hackers were being played unilaterally by the other side, and all the intrusions they carried out failed.

——It was as if all his actions were seen through.

Considering that they were stood up, could it be that this was a warning? Was the man hinting to us that he had seen through our arrangement and that he thought we were not sincere enough, so he chose to use this method to show that he had lost the desire to communicate with us?

After coming to this conclusion, Theresa made a decision quickly. She put her hand to her ear, connected the communication of the Hyperion, and gave precise and quick instructions to Einstein who was on standby on the Hyperion: "Dr. Einstein, please immediately recall the Titan mecha lurking nearby. Mei and I will continue to wait here. If no one shows up after an hour, the two of us will immediately return to the Hyperion and immediately start a search operation for all target hotels in Sky City."

If the other party feels that their sincerity is not enough, Theresa doesn't mind making certain concessions. If such concessions can guarantee Kiana's safety, everything they have paid will be worth it.

But even for Kiana, Theresa couldn't keep treating her enemy as weak, let alone allow the other party to raise the price.

She is Kiana's aunt, but at the same time, Theresa is also the current captain of the Hyperion. As the supreme commander of all fleet personnel, she needs to be responsible for all members of the Hyperion. So if it really comes to the point where she has to tear her face apart, Theresa doesn't mind using some tougher means.

"Under instructions, huh? Wait..." However, just when Theresa had prepared herself mentally for the fact that the other party would not show up for the next hour, before Einstein could give the order to the Titan mechas deployed around Theresa and Raiden Mei to return, she on the other end of the communicator let out a light "oh" as if she had seen something that surprised her.

"What's wrong? Did you find anything?" Theresa's eyes narrowed and she asked in a deep voice.

"It seems that we don't need to recall the mecha troops deployed around you." Einstein said calmly in the headset, "At three o'clock, forty-three meters, we captured two life signals that appeared out of thin air... They are approaching your direction."

Three o'clock, forty-three meters?