K424 of the Collapse World

"I……"

Claire still felt a bit of a dilemma. Although she already had a crazy plan in mind, she felt that she could not represent the opinions of other people in the team...

Lin looked at Claire with complicated eyes. She was not alone like the other members of the team. Lin was not an orphan caused by the Honkai disaster, but became a Valkyrie by her own will.

This means that she still has her own relatives...

"Claire, you need to think clearly. You are now..."

——Bang!

Suddenly, with a loud bang, Claudia's voice stopped abruptly! Claire's pupils shrank, and she was surprised to find that the communicator in her hand suddenly burst into sparks and exploded!

Lan Feng, who was standing not far away, slowly lowered her hand, and the purple arc wrapped around her fingers fluctuated slightly. The next moment, she suddenly raised her hand again, and with her movement, an exciting arc of electricity slammed towards the other Valkyries!

(Why……?)

Claire was caught off guard by Lan Feng's sudden attack and had no time to react. She could only watch helplessly as the terrifying lightning struck her body...

zizi...

However, the electric current just brushed past her body and disappeared behind her, without hurting anyone.

"what happened?"

Lillian muttered to herself. She looked at Lan Feng in surprise and was about to say something...

Crack…!!

Under the astonished gazes of Lillian and the other Valkyries, the communicators on their wrists suddenly exploded with a slight sound and fell to the ground in pieces.

Under Lan Feng's precise control, he completely destroyed their communicators without hurting them at all.

"Everyone, letting your superiors continue to monitor may pose a threat to our operations, so I'm sorry..."

Lan Feng waved his hand to dissipate the electric current left in his palm, then turned to look at Claire.

"The upper echelons of the Destiny have discovered your betrayal. Do you still want to return to the Destiny with your companions? You should know how the Destiny organization will punish you, right?"

"I will take all the responsibility, it has nothing to do with them..."

Looking at Claire with a conflicted expression, Lan Feng smiled gently and stopped in front of her.

"These are two different matters. The higher-ups won't care about your reasons. Betrayal is betrayal. Actually, the development of the matter has exceeded our expectations... However, I have a suggestion for the current situation..."

As he spoke, Lan Feng smiled and slowly extended his hand to Claire.

"How about joining Anti-Entropy and just following me?"

Lan Feng said softly. She had already made this plan since she discovered Claudia's eavesdropping. Lan Feng had decided to take on the responsibility of being Cecilia's

's responsibility, and Claire is his niece in name only. After she is identified as a traitor by the Destiny Organization, Lan Feng cannot let her go back to be punished.

Moreover, Lan Feng could see that Claire also had the intention to follow him, but was still hesitant. Seeing this, Lan Feng took direct action and destroyed Claire's communicator with other people, cutting off her choice.

"me……"

Claire's eyes widened slightly. She lowered her head and stared blankly at the silver-haired girl who smiled at her. She felt a little overwhelmed as she looked at the hand she stretched out.

"What should I do, Lin..."

Claire clenched her hands nervously and looked at Lin beside her for help, but saw that the other person's expression was also confused.

"I, I don't know what to do. My grandpa is still waiting for me to come back. I..."

Lin's lips trembled slightly. She could already imagine what Claudia would do after they forcibly "hung up" the communication...

(What should I do... I... I don't want to betray destiny, but...)

Seeing that Lin, the deputy captain, was unable to give her an answer, Claire was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that at this moment, she was the only one who could make the decision for everyone.

Looking at Lan Feng who kept his hand outstretched, Claire gritted her teeth and raised her hand slightly, but was still a little hesitant.

"Claire..."

Suddenly, a familiar sweet voice sounded behind her. Claire turned around and saw Lillian standing behind her, looking at her tenderly.

"As long as you decide on something, no matter what it is, I am willing to follow you... So, let go and make your choice, Claire!"

"Lillian...why?"

Claire looked at this long-time friend with complicated eyes. She didn't know why he said that. Although their relationship was unusual, Claire didn't expect that he would be willing to follow her and break away from destiny, so she couldn't help but ask.

"Because I believe you will make the right choice."

"But...you...?"

Lillian stopped talking here. Facing Claire's questioning, she just smiled and shook her head, took two steps back and stood aside.

Hearing this, Claire looked around at her companions. Lin still looked confused; Lillian looked back at her, giving her an encouraging look; Elena also looked at her expectantly, obviously having already made her choice...

The scene fell silent again. Claire lowered her head, frowned, and fell into deep thought...

After a moment, she suddenly raised her head, with a flash of realization in her eyes...

"Okay, I accept your invitation, Cecilia... No, Lady Cialis! From now on, I choose to join Anti-Entropy and no longer be the Valkyrie of Destiny!"

Claire took a breath and then spoke loudly! The next moment, she resolutely raised her arm, stretched it forward, and held Lan Feng's hand tightly.

With this action, she also decided the future fate of this Valkyrie team...

Seeing this, Lan Feng also smiled slightly, looked at Claire tenderly, and opened her red lips.

"Welcome to join us, Miss Claire..."

Tianming Headquarters, Operations Command Center...

"Is this your choice...Claire?"

Claudia looked at the gray communication video, muttered to herself, and closed her eyes in disappointment. When she opened them again, her eyes were already cold.

"I've already given you a chance, but you don't know how to cherish it, so there's nothing I can do..."

She raised her hand and swiped, selecting an audio file on the light screen and uploading it to the combat intelligence network. Then, she turned on the troop communication and connected to the combat troop's public channel.

"Everyone, listen up! According to the latest intelligence, all members of the 'Reverse Tooth' team have betrayed us. Therefore, the mission objective has been changed to directly suppress the enemy forces. Focus on capturing targets K-0 and K424. If necessary, kills are allowed! That's all."

After saying this, she turned off the monitor, relaxed her body, leaned back in her chair, and a hint of fatigue appeared in her sharp eyes.

(Claire, you chose to rebel... why?)

115 The Final Decision

"But have you really made up your mind, Claire?"

Inside the ruins of the former civilization, Lan Feng looked at Claire in front of her, noticed her slightly fluctuating eyes, and asked softly. Although her actions just now could be regarded as forcing Claire to join her, she would not regret her decision.

In the past two years, as a member of Anti-Entropy, Lan Feng has also learned a lot about the destiny of the hostile organization. As far as Lan Feng knows, all the Valkyries who do not obey orders will be labeled as traitors. After being recaptured, without exception, they have all become experimental subjects with no human rights...

Lan Feng didn't want them to suffer such a thing. Although they met for a short time, Lan Feng could see that this girl named Claire and her team

Friends, they are completely different from the Valkyries who follow orders indifferently. After learning about Kiana's identity, not only Claire and Elena, who are directly involved, but also Lin and Lillian, who have nothing to do with the matter, acquiesced to his act of saving Kiana and did not obstruct him at all.

Although the girl named Sora is still in a coma, since she is their teammate, she is naturally not a bad person.

So, they are all very kind children. After Lan Feng understood this, he decided to protect them in his own way and did so.

However, what Lan Feng didn't know was that Claudia had no intention of punishing Claire and the others at first. For this reason, she even secretly suppressed the previous wiretap records. As long as Claire obeyed the orders, she would delete the record and pretend that nothing had happened.

But now, this is impossible... But it is not because of the information asymmetry between the two sides that the current situation was eventually caused. Even if Lan Feng knew about this in advance, she would not change her approach. She would not hand over Kiana, let alone surrender to destiny. Therefore, the conflict between the two sides was unsolvable from the beginning.

"...Leaving Tianming means that you will have to cut off all ties with everything you once had and lose everything you have in Tianming. This includes your belongings, friends, and even your identity in Tianming. So, have you really made up your mind?"

Lan Feng said slowly that although Claire had decided to follow him, Lan Feng did not want this simple girl to be too blind, so he told her all the interests and concerns one by one.

"Well, I understand all of this. These were the issues that I was struggling with at the beginning. But... now I have no way out. Rather than accepting a punishment that is no different from the death penalty, I might as well choose to continue living!"

Claire answered with a serious expression on her face. She really thought so. As a member of the Shaniyat family, she also knew some of the dark secrets of the Destiny Organization. Naturally, she also knew what would be waiting for her if she chose to take the blame.

As she thought about it, Claire shifted her gaze away from Lan Feng and turned to look at the silver-haired girl in Tesla's arms. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.

(And... there are two more important people, how can I go back and die?!)

Having made up her mind, Claire turned her gaze to Lan Feng again, her eyes revealing determination.

"So, please let me go with you, Lady Cecilia! As expected... I don't want to die yet..."

"Well, we have a deal. I will definitely take you all away from here safely."

Looking at Claire with a smile on his face, Lan Feng whispered, then loosened his right hand that was holding Claire's, took two steps back, and looked at the remaining Valkyries.

"So...what do you guys think?"

Following Lan Feng's question, Lin, who was standing next to him, immediately opened her mouth with a hesitant look on her face.

"Um, I... I'm sorry, Claire... As expected, I still don't want to betray destiny..."

"Oh? Why?"

Hearing Lan Feng's question, Lin bit her lip, looked at Claire and Lan Feng timidly, and her voice became even smaller.

"Because... this is very strange. I chose to join the Destiny Organization in order to become a Valkyrie who protects the weak. But... after betraying Destiny, can I still be considered a 'Valkyrie'? And... my grandfather is a researcher in the Destiny Organization. If I betray Destiny, will they harm my grandfather...?"

Lin stammered and lowered her head, not daring to look into Claire's eyes.

"Lin...! What are you thinking about? Do you really think that after you return to the Destiny Organization, they will let you go easily?"

"I...I don't know..."

Lin's expression was a little conflicted. The series of events that happened at this moment completely panicked her and she didn't know what to do.

Seeing Lin's reaction, Claire couldn't help but shook her head slightly. She was about to say something when Lan Feng suddenly walked towards Lin and spoke first.

"Um... I don't quite understand why you feel that if you leave your destiny, you are no longer a Valkyrie. You said that you became a Valkyrie because you wanted to protect the people threatened by Honkai. But Valkyries are not the only ones who can protect others. Why do you care so much about your identity as a Valkyrie?"

"I...I just..."

Lin opened her mouth and was speechless. She knew how unreliable these reasons were. Indeed, these were just her excuses.

Lin grew up under the education of the Destiny Organization. The chivalry spirit of the Destiny Organization, which has been passed down since the Middle Ages, has long been deeply engraved in her mind. She cannot accept the strong sense of betrayal that she is asked to betray her organization and turn to the hostile organization, so she resists Claire's plan to leave Destiny.

However, after calming down a little, Lin realized that her previous thoughts seemed a bit extreme, and she couldn't help but hesitate again.

At this time, Elena also walked forward and stood in front of Lin, looking at the purple-haired girl with a worried face.

"Don't worry, Lin. If you are worried that your betrayal will affect

"If it affects your grandfather, Dr. Maki, then you can rest assured. As far as I know, the project that Dr. Maki is in charge of is very important, and the Destiny Organization should not take action against Dr. Maki just because of you, a small A-level Valkyrie."

Elena said soothingly in a soft voice, and as she spoke, she gently squeezed Lin's hand in an attempt to reassure her.

"Well... I understand all this, but..."

Lin's eyes struggled a little, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just sighed slightly.

"Forget it... I'll just listen to you, Claire. I also want to believe that your choice is the right one. But no matter what, you owe me this time... Claire."

After saying this, the girl's expression returned to calm. Her former gentleness returned to her face. If it weren't for her slightly haggard look, it would be as if nothing had happened just now.

Seeing that Lin seemed to be fine, Lan Feng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. But suddenly, she suddenly thought of something and looked at Elena who was standing next to Lin.

"So Elena, you..."

"Do I even need to ask? Whether you are Lan Feng or Xi Lisi, in short... we are friends, don't you want me to go with you?"

Elena knew what Lan Feng wanted to ask, and before she could finish, she interrupted her with a smile.

"Joining Tianming is just a choice I made after I lost my life's purpose. Now that I've met you, I don't need to stay in that kind of place any longer... So, can I join you?"

"…Of course! You're welcome…Elena."

Lan Feng answered, and when she saw that these Valkyries accepted her advice, she smiled softly. However, when she saw the petite girl who was still unconscious, she couldn't help but frowned.

"What should she do?"

Lan Feng pointed at Sora who was being held by Lillian and asked Claire. The girl who had initially attacked him had remained unconscious since being knocked unconscious, so naturally she had not heard their conversation just now.

"Sora... It's okay, just take her with you, I'll talk to her when the time comes. Sora is a very good and weak child, she should be willing to listen to me."

Claire said casually, ignoring Sora's opinion, and decided her future fate...

Lan Feng gave a bitter smile, sighed, showed a little pity for the clueless girl, and turned to look at the other people.

"Well... well, anyway, since everyone has no questions, let's talk about the most important thing right now..."

As he spoke, Lan Feng picked up the magnetic sword that he had thrown on the ground, shook off the ice chips attached to it, and turned his gaze to Tesla.

"Fleur, do you have any suggestions?"