The collapse started when Kiana came to the door

"It seems that you have already noticed something." Fu Hua looked directly at Li Shubai's gaze and said lightly.

Li Shubai nodded: "After all, we are from the same hometown of Shenzhou, so it is normal for us to know about that matter."

"I say..." Ji Zi was dissatisfied, "...Can you two Shenzhou people stop playing dumb here? Can't you just tell me what you have discovered?"

Fu Hua was silent for a while, then turned her calm gaze to Ji Zi and said calmly: "Major Ji Zi, you should have heard of the myth of Emperor Xuanyuan Huangdi."

"Of course." Ji Zi nodded. "Five thousand years ago, she was a female warrior who wielded the famous sword Xuanyuan. Although it is a legend whose authenticity has not yet been confirmed, she is also the first human being suspected of awakening the natural stigma in the existing records of Tianming."

"The shadow of collapse can be found in the myths of every civilization. Ancient humans used all their words to try to describe this natural disaster that even modern science cannot explain clearly. Therefore, most of the descriptions of things directly related to collapse in myths are vague." Li Shubai said calmly, "But let's assume that since the super warrior who is famous enough to leave her name in mythology is a human who has awakened the stigma, then who is her enemy?"

"After awakening the stigmata, the enemies we will face..." Jizi's expression changed slightly, "... Collapse!"

"According to legend, Emperor Xuanyuan died of an incurable disease due to overwork..." Li Shubai sneered, "...A warrior who awakened the Holy Mark, whose physical functions surpassed those of ordinary humans and could even fight against Honkai, died of disease?"

Fu Hua sighed, not knowing what she was thinking of: "In fact, over the years, historians of Tianming have speculated that the cause of Emperor Xuanyuan's death was because she encountered an enemy that was difficult to defeat. After trying her best and failing to completely kill the enemy, she chose to sacrifice herself to completely seal the enemy she could not defeat."

"I know that these things have been mentioned in the "Detailed History of the Three Major Families of Heaven's Mandate" and "The Origin and Development of the Stigmata" in the Saint Freya textbook." Li Shubai said calmly, "And now, the reason why the stories of Emperor Xuanyuan and Chiyou are still difficult to be fully and carefully verified is precisely because there is no trace of them left on the land of Shenzhou."

Ji Zi frowned: "So, you think that the battlefield between Chi You and Emperor Xuanyuan was not on land, but in the deep sea? The icebreaker was wrecked because Chi You, who was sealed in the deep sea, revived?"

"It's just an irresponsible inference. After all, it's normal to draw unrealistic conclusions without any evidence or field investigation." Li Shubai said, "After all, besides the deep sea, there are many other places in this world where people can hide, such as..."

Imaginary number space.

When the four words "imaginary space" appeared in his mind, Li Shubai's expression suddenly changed, as if he suddenly remembered something terrible.

He picked up the document on the coffee table again, frowned, and scanned the general content again, his expression becoming more and more uglier.

Wait... Although the captain did not have time to upload the data detected by the submersible to its superior department, it stands to reason that the submersible's mission and operation data would also be uploaded to the icebreaker's database.

But what made Li Shubai feel very wrong was that according to the data provided by the navigation recorder in this report, if the captain still had time to make a decision, the submersible did not even detect any crisis or abnormality during the entire one and a half hours of diving before losing contact.

This cutting-edge submersible is undoubtedly equipped with the most advanced sonar and radar systems. If the radar based on the principle of electromagnetic waves is unable to give the diver correct feedback under the interference of Honkai energy...it is really strange that the sonar system based on the principle of sound waves has not triggered the alarm.

But...what if the enemy is not in this world at all, but exists in the imaginary space?

Although Li Shubai knows very little about imaginary space now, and Saint Freya's teaching materials are not advanced enough to explain imaginary space clearly, Li Shubai can at least gain a deeper understanding of certain characteristics of imaginary space through external observations.

"After the icebreaker was wrecked, did the Shenzhou military, upon receiving the news, conduct a search of the sea area where the icebreaker was wrecked?" Li Shubai raised his head and looked at Ji Zi with a serious expression.

Jizi nodded. "Although after deducing that this was an unexplained Houkai incident, the people planted by Tianming in the Shenzhou high-level had quickly issued an order to block the news and stop the investigation of the general army, but before this information reached Tianming's people, the Shenzhou military had already conducted a large-scale search of the South China Sea and the waters where the Manila Trench is located, but found nothing."

Although he had already expected it, Li Shubai couldn't help but grin bitterly after hearing Ji Zi's affirmative answer.

"What's wrong, Shubai? Why do you look so sad?" Kiana couldn't help but ask as she looked at Li Shubai's bitter face.

Li Shubai threw the document back on the coffee table, did not answer Kiana's words, but looked at Ji Zi's pupils seriously again.

"When do we set off? Also, how do you plan to arrange this mission?" he asked calmly.

Ji Zi was stunned, her face full of astonishment: "Didn't you say that you had no interest in a battle that you had no chance of winning? Why did you change your mind so quickly?"

Ji Zi is neither a fool nor an executioner. Even the title of the Suicide Squad has to be prefixed with a big "front". Since she has deduced through Li Shubai's analysis that the enemy is an existence that they cannot contend with or deal with now, then she naturally cannot allow her students to rush to the front line of the battlefield and sacrifice themselves meaninglessly.

Therefore, deep down, Ji Zi has actually been basically convinced by Li Shubai.

But the student who had convinced her suddenly changed his mind without any warning, which made Ji Zi speechless and felt a little puzzled.

Are you making fun of me?

"That's because we're running out of time." Li Shubai spread his hands and covered his forehead helplessly.

Chapter 4 Chi You and the Mystery of the Holy Mark (k)

[In the confluence of the past and the future

In the gap between eternity and the moment

I saw an "I" wandering around alone and alone, like a miracle.]

2014 December 1

Shenzhou time, twelve noon.

"Boss! Another basket of water chestnut cake!" The pleasant voice filled with joy and vitality echoed in the hall of Guangzhou Restaurant.

Li Shubai didn't even look at Kiana who was adding more dishes. He lowered his head to look at his tablet, his fingers gently moving on it.

"What are you doing without eating?" Ji Zi, holding a goblet in her hand, leaned over and looked at the personal terminal in Li Shubai's hand, "What is this...?"

"The Honkai energy reaction and route map of the surrounding area." Li Shubai said calmly, "It has been about three days since the icebreaker was wrecked. If we assume that Chi You has woken up, then we can only roughly calculate the movement trajectory of that big guy through Tianming's Honkai energy monitoring of the South China Sea during these three days."

"Did you find anything?" As this was related to the possible revival of the Judgment-level Honkai beast, Jizi stopped drinking. She put the wine glass aside and asked seriously.

"It's because I didn't find anything that I have a headache..." Li Shubai rubbed his forehead. "From a normal perspective, the purpose of the collapse is to destroy human civilization. So, if Chi You, who has revived in the South China Sea, wants to cause a disaster, his first choice must be Guangzhou, which is located on the coast of the South China Sea. But the collapse phenomenon in the South China Sea during this period of time has shown the characteristics of low energy level and quite frequent occurrence."

"So... the current situation is that we can't infer its behavior through monitoring the Honkai energy?" Jizi frowned, then turned her head and pushed Kiana, who wanted to call boss again, back into the chair, with a cold tone: "Eat, eat, eat, how can you only eat! Did I bring a glutton out to carry out the mission?!"

Kiana shrank her head after being scolded by Himeko, lowered her head, and pointed with two fingers in grievance: "Well, but the food here is really delicious! It's not worth it if we don't eat to our heart's content in this restaurant that ranks 11th among the 100 restaurants Kiana wants to visit most?"

"Let her eat." Li Shubai didn't look up. Before Kiana could show any joy on her face, he added calmly, "I didn't expect her to help me figure out anything. If she can just sit there quietly after having something to eat, there's no better deal than this."

"Hey!" Kiana was furious, but she paused when she saw Li Shubai's expressionless face. She sat back in the chair angrily, snorted, and whispered, "Hmph, I won't argue with a nerd like you."

Li Shubai was too lazy to listen to Kiana's groundless accusations. He raised his head and looked at Ji Zi: "Speaking of which, how are Fu Hua and the others preparing?"

The resurrection of the Judgment-level Honkai Beast Chiyou is the second biggest challenge that Saint Freya Academy has faced since its establishment. In fact, before Jizi came to find Kiana and the others, the logistics personnel of the Far East Branch had already contacted the Destiny Team in Shenzhou and took the lead in occupying a position in the South China Sea. The top students of Saint Freya Academy were also divided into two groups: the Jizi team led by Jizi, with Li Shubai and Kiana as members; and the Fuhua team led by Fuhua, with Raiden Mei and Bronya as members, each carrying out different tasks.

——It is worth mentioning that although the grades of St. Freya Academy are divided into three levels, all students are not divided by grade when taking the exam. This is why Kiana, Raiden Mei and Bronya are only first-year students of St. Freya Academy, but they are still chosen by Himeko at first sight.

Because, with Yulandel and Rita unable to provide support temporarily, and Theresa going to Changkong City because of another threat, and probably unable to return to St. Freya Academy for a while. In terms of strength, among all the students of St. Freya, the four strongest people at present are indeed the Kiana trio who have become B-level Valkyries, plus an A-level Valkyrie Fu Hua who no one, even the teacher, can beat.

"Fu Hua's team has entered the South China Sea and is currently conducting a sea search." Ji Zi took out her personal terminal and operated it a few times with her fingers. "But... it doesn't seem to have achieved much."

"Tsk, whether it's our side or Fu Hua's side, both sides are progressing very slowly." Li Shubai sighed, closed his personal terminal, and rubbed his brain which became a little swollen due to rapid thinking.

Suddenly, he raised his head and glanced at Jizi: "By the way, although our main mission in Guangdong this time is to eliminate this huge threat before the resurrecting Judgment-level Honkai Beast fully awakens as much as possible, Teacher Jizi, there is one thing I think you should be more interested in."

"Oh?" Ji Zi uttered a somewhat unexpected syllable.

The two hours of getting along gave her a basic understanding of Li Shubai's personality. He was a student who liked to use data and facts to prove his own opinions, and was also a student who was very good at making the most of the resources and knowledge at his disposal. Therefore, Ji Zi did not think that Li Shubai was shooting at nothing. She raised her eyebrows and asked with some interest, "Tell me about it? What is it that interests me?"

In response to Ji Zi's question, Li Shubai only used two words to freeze her expression instantly: "Sacred Mark."

Li Shubai looked at Ji Zi, whose expression froze, with a calm expression: "Out of personal habit, when I entered Saint Freya, I checked the public information of Saint Freya Academy in the internal system of Tianming. Unfortunately, Teacher Ji Zi, your personal information is not a fatal file, so..."

Halfway through his speech, Li Shubai secretly glanced at Kiana who was happily eating pastries, and stopped talking.

"..." Ji Zi looked steadily at Li Shubai's serious eyes and pursed her lips.

"I'm really impressed." She lowered her head and took a deep breath, suppressing the irritability and unhappiness that suddenly emerged in her chest, and put on a rather cynical smile again: "Boys who are too inquisitive will not be liked by girls."

"It's an occupational disease. Sorry." Li Shubai said calmly, "And I don't think this is a shortcoming that needs to be corrected. If it offends your privacy, please forgive me."

Since correcting his negative and pessimistic attitude, Li Shubai has been able to clearly realize that the game settings and the actual situation he encountered are completely different. Therefore, except for some very important events, Li Shubai has discarded most of the knowledge he gained from the game without hesitation, and chose to use his own eyes and actual actions to gradually understand the specific situation of this world.

"You also said that it was not the occupation information made public by Saint Freya, so it is certainly not private." Ji Zi shook her hands to show that she didn't care. "Besides, you did arouse my interest."

Li Shubai nodded: "To put it simply, if this operation goes smoothly, we may be able to obtain information about the natural stigmata."

"..."

"..."

"Wow! This shrimp dumpling is so delicious!!"

"..."

"...That's all?" The silence lasted for five minutes. Ji Zi then realized that Li Shubai had finished speaking and asked blankly.

"We've only been here for less than an hour." Li Shubai spread his hands innocently, "It would be too difficult for me to know the other detailed information right away."

"..." Ji Zi was suddenly speechless, supporting her forehead weakly.

At the same time, at the other end of the South China Sea.

Philippine Islands, southwest of Luzon Island, Manila Bay.

Rita Rossweisse stood on the coastline, looking out at the calm sea.

This is one of the famous open-air attractions in the Philippines. The natural barrier formed by the mountains of the Bataan Peninsula and the Central Cordillera makes this large port an excellent anchorage for ships. It is well-known as a transportation hub connecting the Philippines to the coasts of other countries.

But now there is not a single tourist to be seen along the entire coastline, nor any ships to be seen at the nearby port. Apart from Rita standing there, there is no sign of any living person.

——Of course, that is ignoring the other body made of soul steel.

"According to your instructions, the Philippine government has temporarily closed the passage of ships from other countries to the Port of Manila, and the domestic ships that stayed here have been temporarily dispatched to other countries." The young Otto looked helpless. "If the destiny does not promise to give them assistance, I am afraid that the leaders of the Philippines will fight with me with the people of the entire country."

Rita glanced at Otto calmly and said, "If it weren't for your mistake that caused Tianming to be unable to contact Lord Yulandel and Rita in this world, we wouldn't have to do this unnecessary thing from the beginning."

"Can you blame me for this? I mean well." Young Otto said with a bitter face, "Both Youlandel and Rita are on vacation now, and you told me that Chiyou's resurrection would be today at the earliest. I thought it would be enough to have them come a day in advance to prepare, but who knew that they both lost contact at the same time, and we don't even know where they went."

"I originally thought that they couldn't receive calls from the headquarters because Theresa confiscated their communicators. But it wasn't just them. Even Theresa lost contact. When I checked the surveillance records of Saint Freya..." Otto couldn't help but feel a little irritated when he talked about this. It was the irritation of things gradually getting out of control. "...I found out that Yulandel and Rita hadn't appeared in Saint Freya for several days."

Where on earth did they go? Otto was puzzled, but... because the discovery was too late, it was too late to start a large-scale search for Yulandel and Rita.

At this moment, another long-haired Rita came to the door and asked Otto to fulfill his promise with a smile on her face.

God knows how damn embarrassed Otto was when he saw this long-haired Rita again. Although Otto never took his promises and conscience seriously, but... God have mercy on him, this time it really wasn't Otto who wanted to break his promise!

He finally wanted to fulfill his promise, but in the end, God made him fail so completely.

So Otto was kidnapped by Long-haired Rita along with his consciousness and soul steel body. I wonder if Amber is getting anxious again after seeing the empty main classroom.

"Forget it. I didn't expect Bishop Otto to solve this problem so easily." Rita turned her gaze away from Otto and turned her eyes back to the sea. "Next, recall the Southeast Asian branch's Valkyrie Squad that has completed the mission of evacuating the people back to the Destiny Headquarters."

"Hmm?" Young Otto was stunned, a little puzzled. "Of course you can, but don't you need the support of other Valkyries? Although they are not as strong as Yulandel and yourself in this world, the Valkyries of the Southeast Asia branch are also a considerable force when they unite. If they join forces with the Far East branch, they may not be powerless against the Judgment-level Honkai beasts."

"Who says not? Of course Rita wants more support." Rita sighed faintly, "But who can guarantee that there won't be any Valkyries who will become the enemy among the Valkyries of the Southeast Asian branch?"

"You mean... there's a traitor?" Otto raised his eyebrows. "Why not just deal with it before we meet the enemy? Since you've already determined that there's a traitor among the Valkyries in the Southeast Asia branch, and you claim to be Rita from the future, then you should know who it is."

"It has come to this point, are you still testing me?" Rita chuckled. "But I'm very sorry, Bishop Otto must have misunderstood me. The enemy Rita is referring to is not a traitor, but something else."

"You misunderstood me." Otto put on a regretful expression and shook his head helplessly. "I just want our actions to go more smoothly. After all, no matter what our stance is, Honkai is our common enemy, isn't it?"

But... isn't he the enemy of the inner demon?

Are they assassins? As soon as this thought came to his mind, Otto rejected it himself.

No, with this woman's strength, even if a Valkyrie were to become a death warrior, it shouldn't be able to cause too much of an obstacle.

So, this so-called "Valkyrie who will become the enemy"... Otto's eyes flickered slightly.

...Among the Valkyrie squad stationed in the Southeast Asia branch, are there any Herrschers who may become Herrschers in the future?

Chapter 4: South China Sea Disaster (k)

2014 December 1

Shenzhou time, 2:00 p.m.

South China Sea waters.

The white yacht was speeding in the surging waves.

"Team Jizi has issued a Class B Honkai disaster warning to us." Fu Hua, who was sitting in the cockpit, turned her head and said to Raiden Mei and Bronya, who were setting up a Honkai energy detector at the edge of the deck into the sea, "In half an hour, the weather in the nearby sea area will change dramatically, and it is expected to be accompanied by strong winds of more than level 7."

"B-level Honkai disaster warning?" After throwing the Honkai energy detector in her hand into the sea, Mei Raiden, who was standing on the deck, couldn't help but look at the sky where there was no cloud at all.

"Don't doubt it. The manifestation of Honkai is not necessarily in the form of dead soldiers or Honkai beasts." Fu Hua said calmly, "Since it was Captain Jizi who issued the warning, we must trust her judgment."

Unlike Ji Zi's team, which entered the city on the coast of the South China Sea to investigate the traces of Chi You's existence in the world, Fu Hua's team's mission in the South China Sea is to deploy a large number of highly accurate Honkai energy detection instruments in this sea area in order to build a Honkai energy detection matrix that can cover the entire South China Sea.

Although Tianming's monitoring satellites can also monitor the Honkai energy on land in real time and issue early warnings, compared with the monitoring method far away in outer space, directly building a detection matrix in the sea can detect nearby Honkai energy with much greater accuracy.

Even the lowest level Honkai beast can burst out at super high speed close to the speed of sound in an instant. Since the opponent is a Judgment-level Honkai beast with the risk of revival, it is impossible to simply rely on Tianming's monitoring WeChat to determine its real-time location.

"But what about our mission?" Raiden Mei asked, "So far, the construction of the detection matrix is ​​less than halfway complete. If we give up the mission now, the detection matrix will soon lose its original function under the influence of the ocean currents."

"I know, and Captain Jizi is also very clear that if we lose all our previous efforts due to the impact of the Honkai disaster, our mission may never be completed." Fu Hua nodded, "So, just now, Jizi's team has temporarily abandoned their original mission and issued new mission instructions. They will set out from the other side of the coastline and work with us to complete the mission, and strive to completely find the source of Honkai hidden in the South China Sea within half an hour."

On the other side, Ji Zi's team, which was also driving a yacht away from the South China Sea coast, was quickly approaching the location of Fu Hua's team.

For the Valkyries whose mission is to fight against Honkai, the more equipment the better, because most modern weapons are not as effective as expected when facing Honkai beasts. Therefore, despite having reached a consensus with the Shenzhou military, neither Jizi's team nor Fuhua's team sought assistance from the military, but chose a high-speed yacht with more powerful maneuverability as a vehicle.