K424 of the Collapse World

Then she turned to the silver-haired girl lying unconscious on the ground and sighed softly.

"Alas... You gained invincible power, but lost your freedom. Are you lucky or unlucky? Kiana..."

She murmured, leaned down, gently picked up the girl by the waist, turned around, and walked towards the other side of the corridor, in the direction of the Saint 7308 Research Institute...

Claudia walked silently. At this moment, she did not notice that the silver-haired girl who should have lost consciousness in her arms had a secret smile on her face.

(…At least now it seems that my luck is not that bad, my instructor. Siegfried…is this my father’s name?)

Responding to Claudia's mumbling in her heart, hope once again filled the girl's heart...

And anger towards someone...

(Otto... I didn't expect that this level of power wouldn't be enough to shock me...)

The girl remained motionless. No one knew that the limiter had only made her unconscious for a few seconds. When Otto was talking to Claudia, she was already fully awake...

(But... I will probably never trust you again. Wait, until I find back what I lost. One day, I will repay you for all the care you have shown me during this period...!)

088 Gain and Loss

The prayer room at the headquarters of the Destiny...

The gray-haired girl sat on a chair in the hall, staring at the sky outside the window in a trance. From here, she could just see the magnificent ancient buildings of the Apokalis Manor and the sea of ​​flowers on the open space.

It is hard to imagine that there would be such an ancient manor within the scope of Tianming Headquarters.

These historic buildings have been around for more than 500 years, but they are still intact because Otto would renovate and restore them to their original appearance every once in a while.

Therefore, even after a long time, these ancient Nordic-style buildings still retain their original appearance.

At this time, the Destiny Organization had not yet completed the construction of the floating island, so most of the Destiny headquarters base was still located on flat ground. Fortunately, this medieval manor was not buried in the long river of time. For Otto, this place contained the most precious memories between him and someone...

Fu Hua was only slightly surprised by the beauty of the place and had no idea of ​​the story behind it.

The scene brought back memories for her. She couldn't help but recall the warm embrace and sincere words from the silver-haired girl not long ago...

Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared at the corner of Fu Hua's mouth.

(Xuanyuan...it seems that I will no longer be alone...)

The combat uniform she had worn during her previous mission to Russia had been replaced with a white women's suit.

After Fu Hua returned to Tianming Headquarters

, did not return to his residence, but came directly to this prayer room. In this huge building, the bishop's office is in a nearby room.

She knew that after hearing the news of her return, someone might have become restless.

Thinking of Otto's attention to the girl, Fu Hua frowned slightly.

(Speaking of which, why does Otto care so much about k424? Does he also know that k424 is actually Ji Xuanyuan?)

When she thought of this, she took a deep breath.

(In short, no matter what Otto is planning, he must not succeed.)

"Um... Master Fu Hua, the bishop will be here soon. Please, please be ready..."

Just as Fu Hua was lost in thought, she was suddenly interrupted by a sweet voice. She looked up and saw a young maid in a maid outfit. She spoke timidly, and after noticing Fu Hua's eyes, she became even more scared and her speech became a little incoherent.

"I understand, thank you."

Fu Hua thanked her softly, and the girl bowed hastily and stepped aside.

At this moment, a light sound suddenly came from the direction of the bishop's office. Then, with the sound of hurried footsteps gradually becoming clearer, a blond man appeared at the corner and walked straight to Fu Hua.

"I'm sorry, Bishop Otto, I failed in my mission."

Before Otto could speak, Fu Hua took the initiative to stand up and said with a guilty look on her face. She showed mercy to the girl and finally reached a consensus with her. Speaking of which, Fu Hua's guilt now was real, because it was the guilt caused by deceiving Otto...

"It doesn't matter. I had already guessed this would be the result. But I'm still glad that you're back safely, my friend."

Otto waved his hand to show that he didn't care. He spoke slowly, but the flash of anxiety in his eyes revealed his current mood.

"Your communicator was destroyed in the battle, and the tracker lost its signal. I originally planned to send the Valkyrie Squadron to search for you in eastern Russia, but now that you have returned safely, I am relieved..."

"Thank you for your concern, Bishop Otto. The communicator was indeed accidentally destroyed during the battle, and the so-called tracker should be destroyed in the same way."

Fu Hua replied calmly. She was a little impatient with Otto's fake concern. But Fu Hua didn't show anything, after all, she was very clear about her current position. Although in the eyes of the lower-level staff of Tianming, she was Otto's partner and had the same status as Otto. But in fact, she was just a pawn who had lost her power and had to cooperate with Tianming...

Despite this, Otto still respected her, but he didn't know whether this respect was true or not...

"So, tell me, what happened after your communicator was destroyed?"

Otto asked casually, but in fact what he said had already gotten to the point.

"About this... I was fighting with the experimental subject K424, who was the target of the mission, and we were in a stalemate. But later, due to the intervention of the local government, we were forced to stop the fight, and K424 and Tesla took the opportunity to escape. This is my fault..."

Fu Hua said this calmly, looking serious and composed. Otto didn't see any problem either, so he nodded.

"It's okay... I just said that there's nothing we can do about it. By the way, your mission target, subject K424... you can't even defeat her, so how strong is she? What do you think of her strength?"

Otto suddenly pretended to change his expression and turned the topic to k424.

(Finally... you're most concerned about her information, right? I'm sorry you've gone through so much trouble to get here.)

Fu Hua snorted in her heart, but remained calm on the surface. She could see through Otto's hypocrisy, and Otto didn't act seriously, but the conversation could still continue, but neither side would point out the matter.

"Regarding that experimental subject... her strength was beyond my expectations. Bishop Otto, you saw it before. When I was about to capture Tesla, she suddenly intervened, causing my mission to fail..."

Fu Hua already knew that when she showed mercy to the girl, Otto misunderstood that they were equally matched. Since that was the case, Fu Hua followed his guess and continued to speak. After all, the girl did show that her fighting ability was no less than hers. So, there should be no problem with saying this...

"My friend, I know you have done your best in this mission. But since you cannot succeed, there is nothing you can do. However, there is one thing I am concerned about..."

Otto suppressed his excitement and spoke in a friendly manner, but Fu Hua smelled a hint of conspiracy in his words. She couldn't help but concentrate and try to figure out Otto's psychological activities.

"The ability used by K424 seems to be to shape the Honkai energy into crystals.

"But, the swordsmanship she displayed when she finally used the condensed sword should be the martial arts of Shenzhou, right?"

"...That's right."

Fu Hua's heart skipped a beat, but this was obviously an undeniable fact, so she had no choice but to answer like this and secretly became more alert.

"So, Fu Hua... as the patron saint of Shenzhou, have you ever known someone with such sword skills?"

Otto asked, and narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw Fu Hua frowning and thinking. He had clearly seen Fu Hua's unusual expression on the monitor before. Although he did not doubt this gray-haired girl, his intuition told him that things were not as simple as he had guessed...

"Bishop Otto, you should know that I have lost most of my memories. Not to mention the once famous swordsman of Shenzhou, even my closest companions have been completely forgotten by me... Even if I feel familiar with her, I cannot confirm her identity."

Looking at Fu Hua with a slightly sad expression, Otto frowned slightly, but the next moment his brows relaxed and he returned to his normal elegant smile.

"Sorry, I said something wrong. But speaking of it, K424 is just a clone who escaped from the incubator and lived in the outside world for more than two months. How could she have such abilities and martial arts... Fu Hua, what do you think about this?"

Otto asked Fu Hua with doubt in his eyes. Although he had already had his own guess about this matter, he suddenly had an impulse and wanted to hear the opinion of this "Shenzhou Immortal".

Fu Hua thought about Otto's question for a moment and then gave an answer.

"Bishop Otto, based on her previous behavior of rescuing Nikola Tesla, we can basically conclude that she is related to Anti-Entropy... Then it is very likely that the changes that have taken place in her should be the work of Anti-Entropy's people..."

Controlling her words, Fu Hua tried to "say something obvious." She thought she shouldn't show that she knew anything about it.

"That's true... The most suspicious people at the moment are the Anti-Entropy group. Forget it... Let's just leave it at that. Fu Hua, how do you think K424's strength compares to yours? What level do you think he has reached?"

After a brief thought, Fu Hua quickly answered Otto's question.

088 Gain and Loss>>

"...I am stronger than her. As for her strength...in my opinion, she is at most on par with Claudia."

This is the truth. When Lan Feng activated Ji Xuanyuan's stigma, combined with the state of a pseudo-herrscher, it was already enough to surpass the regular S-class Valkyrie.

But in fact, Fu Hua had thought about a lot of things before she said this. In Fu Hua's eyes, before the girl used her sword skills, she only needed a moment to subdue her. After she used Ji Xuanyuan's martial arts, although she could temporarily equal herself, it was still far from enough. As long as she spent a little more time, she could still defeat her.

Fu Hua felt that if she exaggerated the girl's strength, it might make Otto afraid and not attack her for the time being. But in this case, it was more likely that Otto would pay attention to her and send more forces to capture her, which was not what Fu Hua wanted to see.

Therefore, as long as Otto believes that the girl is not to be feared at all, and that she can be captured at any time if necessary, then Otto will probably not be so concerned about the girl. At the same time, she cannot be described as too weak. As long as Otto is told that although she is not too strong, she is not weaker than an S-class Valkyrie, then he can use this opportunity to request the execution of this mission again, and then he can be passive and slow down the search speed, dragging this matter out, and thus protect her...

(That’s all I can do for you now…my friend.)

At this moment, listening to Fu Hua's words, Otto's smile became even more intense...

"Haha... I knew that your strength would not let me down. Speaking of which, even if you have lost that god-like power, I am afraid that now, no one in the Destiny Organization can be your opponent... No, there is someone who should be able to..."

"Hmm...? Who is it?"

"No, it's nothing... Don't worry about it. She's just someone who is barely strong enough to fight you, but I'm afraid she's still no match for you."

When Otto said this, a petite figure with silver hair flashed through his mind. Otto smiled and shook his head, saying nothing more.

Although Otto also wanted to know whether her current strength was stronger than that of the weakened Guardian of Shenzhou, he did not have enough time to conduct such an experiment. Moreover, if Fu Hua saw that she looked exactly like K424, she would probably think of something unnecessary...

(Perhaps it’s time to try her out in combat? K–0…Kiana.)

(As for K424... the similarities with Kallen are getting less and less... Never mind, I still didn't get any useful information. However, I won't tell you anything until I further confirm your identity.

Attacked again... Speaking of which, I just remembered that K424's ability is very similar to K-0, and part of her genes come from the Second Herrscher? Haha, I roughly know what to do next in the experiment. )

"Anyway, thank you for all the hard work, my friend. You should go and have a good rest now."

After Otto said this, he stood up, turned around and walked towards the bishop's office.

Fu Hua looked at Otto's back as he walked away in surprise. She didn't expect that the bishop only asked such simple questions. Combined with his previous enthusiasm for k424, Fu Hua was a little confused. What on earth was Otto thinking?

(Or... are you hiding something else, Otto...)

Although she didn't understand why, at this moment, Fu Hua had to stand up and leave the prayer room of the Tianming headquarters under the guidance of the maid. Generally speaking, outsiders are not allowed to enter here, and even church staff do not have the right to enter the bishop's prayer room privately.

Walking out of the luxurious church, Fu Hua walked silently on the gravel path. She looked back at the huge cross building on the top of the church, and her eyes gradually became deep.

"Otto, what on earth are you planning...?"

She muttered to herself, a certain picture flashed through her mind, and she suddenly felt worried about a certain girl.

(When will I see you next time?)

In a few days...

North America, Southeast Sea Electric Company underground...

In a huge white room, various mechanical parts were scattered around, and a broken Titan mecha was thrown in a corner of the room.

This is a testing room that Tesla's company uses to test new weapons. A girl with long silver-white hair stands in the center, holding a purple broadsword in one hand. She raises it slightly, her eyes focused, and she stares quietly at the thick alloy plate standing in front of her.

"call……"

She exhaled lightly and lowered her body...

Suddenly, as her feet moved, her whole body instantly turned into a shadow and rushed towards the alloy plate not far ahead!

--Ding!

A clean and neat slash passed through the space and landed on the alloy plate. With a short sound of metal clashing, the thick alloy plate broke into two!

The girl stopped behind the metal plate. She exhaled slightly, raised her trembling right arm, and looked silently at the crystal sword in her hand. Noticing a small gap on the sword, a hint of disappointment flashed in her slightly tired eyes.

"Sure enough, the Honkai energy has been fully restored, and the reserves have become even greater, but... the burden of the stigmata has also become greater. Now, I can no longer feel the power of the stigmata at all."

Lan Feng muttered to himself, his eyes becoming helpless.

"Is this what we call use it or lose it..."

She felt some signals coming from her arms and couldn't help but frown. Due to the physical changes caused by Honkai, she couldn't feel pain directly like ordinary people. The damage to her body would be transmitted to her brain in the form of signals.

"And...if I don't activate the Pseudo-Hermaphrodite state, just cutting off a metal plate like this will bruise my arm...It seems that I am still too weak now."

After he could no longer sense the existence of the stigmata, the memories of the stigmata that were connected to him also dissipated in his mind. Lan Feng discovered that as Ji Xuanyuan's stigmata could no longer be sensed, he could no longer use his gorgeous and powerful sword skills as he wished.

Lan Feng sighed again and concentrated the Honkai energy on her injured right arm. As the purple light slowly emanated, the red and swollen part of her right arm gradually disappeared.

Turning around, Lan Feng looked at the remaining half of the metal plate, looked at the rough cross-section, and shook his head helplessly.

Before, I almost destroyed Cocolia's chainsaw sword with one strike. But now, it took so much effort to cut off an ordinary alloy plate...

Suddenly remembering something, Lan Feng gently raised his left hand and waved it casually. The linear-shaped collapsed crystals flashed by, passed over the metal plate, and left a slight inclined mark on it.

——Buzz…

The next moment, the metal plate on the upper part of the trace slid down due to gravity, leaving behind a smooth cross section...

"Hmph... Now that I don't have the memory of the stigmata, I'd better give up using the sword."

Looking at the result of her attack with satisfaction, Lan Feng waved her hand again, and a sharp pyramid-shaped crystal appeared beside her, suspended in the air. As her mind moved, the crystal suddenly shot out and hit the remaining half of the metal plate, completely shattering it! At the same time, the crystal flew backwards with unabated momentum and pierced deeply into the metal wall behind. At this time, the unstable collapse energy that was specially created was out of control and exploded directly! The violent wind that broke out instantly swept the entire test room, leaving a large pit with a diameter of two meters on the wall...

"However, although the stigmata cannot be used, the power of Honkai energy has been enhanced. It is really a blessing in disguise... In short, I have to recall it as soon as possible.

How did you fight before..."