After sending the message, Ghost began to wait silently.
But the person on the other end of the communication didn't make her wait long. The moment the message was sent...
A reply came back instantly.
[Coordinates]
Even through the screen, Ghost could feel the other person's urgency.
Ghost didn't hesitate and sent her coordinates.
Since she had made a choice, she couldn't be indecisive.
If the other party was really reinforcements from HQ, then this city could at least be saved.
If the other party was a bait set by the enemy, then so be it. She would just face her death with composure.
At least she had tried. She hadn't violated the oath she swore when she became a Valkyrie.
Curled up between the pipes, Ghost prepared to face her fate.
Just then, another message came through the communicator.
[Wait for me]
Ghost looked at the message on the screen. The language was extremely brief; they hadn't even asked for details about her situation.
She could only think of two possibilities.
The first possibility.
This was a reckless greenhorn, probably a rookie who hadn't even finished the official Valkyrie curriculum, maybe even one who couldn't recite the combat manual.
And the second possibility.
The other party was extremely strong, so strong that they could completely ignore the enemy.
Like the Valkyrie of Valkyries, the one named Durandal.
When she went on a mission, all she ever needed was a set of coordinates. Any other preparation was a waste of time for her.
So, was it Durandal who was coming this time?
Ghost hoped.
At the same time, she noticed that the Death Weavers around her seemed to be loitering a bit too much.
She curled up and crawled deeper into the pipes.
She wasn't just here to make them hesitate. Since she knew World Serpent valued this place so much, it was a clear indication of its importance.
Ghost hadn't yet figured out the role of this theme park in World Serpent's outlandish plan, but she understood a basic principle.
Whatever the enemy values most, you must destroy.
The presence or absence of reinforcements didn't change her plan to blow this place up.
Before considering her own life, she was first and foremost a Valkyrie.
---||---
While Ghost was contemplating blowing the place up, outside, Jackal was also getting anxious.
She yelled at a Death Weaver.
"Useless! Useless!!"
"Why did I create you useless things?"
"A bunch of eight-legged creatures can't even catch a two-legged one. What's the point of having you?"
"I might as well have just installed engines and tracks on you. At least if you couldn't run, I could listen to the noise!"
But clearly, she hadn't realized that when she created these monsters, she hadn't installed personality modules in them.
At her scolding, the group of Death Weavers just stared at her silently.
And soon, Jackal realized she looked like a clown throwing a tantrum.
So she couldn't help but kick a Death Weaver.
But obviously, she had forgotten how hard the armor she had installed on these killing machines was for their protection.
And so, a dull thud was faintly mixed with the sound of something breaking.
Jackal's face instantly twisted in pain.
"Hiss!"
She sat on the ground, clutching her leg, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
Of course, what made her feel most uncomfortable was the gaze of the surrounding Death Weavers.
Although they were just killing machines without self-awareness, sometimes silence was also an attitude.
Jackal felt like she was a clown performing a clumsy act on a stage right now.
Her face gradually contorted.
"When I catch that rat, I'm going to dismantle all of you and replace your lower bodies with worms!"
Just as she was about to vent her anger hysterically, an untimely voice broke in.
"Jackal, what are you doing?"
Jackal's face froze. She stiffly looked up and saw Raven looking at her with great interest.
"Is your foot injured? Could it be..."
"The enemy broke in!" Jackal blurted out.
If she let Raven know she had broken her leg while throwing a tantrum, she would truly become a clown in her eyes.
So, to prevent Raven from asking further, she decisively turned the tables!
"Raven!"
"Why did you take so long to get here!" Jackal pointed at Raven angrily. "Do you know I was almost killed by the enemy!"
"If it weren't for these pets protecting me, I would have gone to see the pioneers!"
"Were you deliberately delaying? Are you doing something to betray the organization!"
How the hell do you have the nerve to say that?
Raven was once again stunned by this stupid woman's thought process!
You don't actually think I can't see what a mess you're in, do you?
I'm trying to give you an out, and you're taking advantage of it?
If it were any other time, she would have started arguing with Jackal long ago, but now, thinking about what she had just done... she felt a little guilty.
Because she, Raven... was indeed doing something the organization couldn't know about.
In that case, I'll just cover it up with more confidence!
"Enough! Jackal, there's a limit to your foolishness."
"Now is not the time to vent your garbage emotions at me. We need to find the enemy who snuck into the mainframe section first." She looked at Jackal sternly.
"Your original vaccine plan has already failed. If the mainframe section is also destroyed by them, then our plan will be a complete failure!"
"At that time, as the 'person in charge,' you will bear all the responsibility."
Hearing Raven's words, Jackal's expression changed.
She wasn't afraid of the organization's punishment, but if she lost the reward promised by the organization, it would be worse than killing her.
Finally, she calmed down.
Just then, Raven extended her hand.
"Get up! I hope you'll listen to me from now on." As a pig teammate, Raven knew exactly what kind of disaster letting the other party run wild would cause. "Don't worry, I won't steal your credit. I just want the money."
But Jackal didn't accept Raven's goodwill.
Or rather... she felt the other party was humiliating her.
She looked at Raven coldly, extended her hand, but pointed in the direction of the mainframe section.
"I order you, go and bring that scurrying little rat back."
"I want her alive."
At Jackal's order, Raven nodded.
She didn't want to argue with her at this time.
She just had her own little plans, and she didn't really intend to betray the organization. If the mission failed, neither of them would have a good time.
Although Jackal, as the person in charge, would bear all the blame, Jackal would only lose everything she had, but she, Raven, would lose a lot of money!
"Don't worry, she won't get away."
Raven pulled her hood down lower.
"Within ten minutes, I'll bring her back."
---||---
A chase was about to begin. The prey and the hunter were ready.
But beyond that, the variable outside the hunting ground had not yet arrived.
Luo Li was still on his way to the target area.
God knows why they had to build the theme park so big.
By the time he reached the mainframe area, nearly half an hour had passed.
But fortunately, he could finally make contact with the other party.
But after seeing the entrance guarded by autonomous mechs and fully armed security, Luo Li had a bad feeling.
Before coming here, his understanding was that the feather's revelation was: Come to the theme park, there are reinforcements here.
But now, Luo Li found that his deduction seemed to have a huge flaw.
Because this message could also mean: Go to the theme park, you are the reinforcements.
This conjecture made Luo Li's eyelids twitch.
If this conjecture came true, then he would have gone from someone who needed to be saved to someone who had to save others.
"Please, don't mess with me."
Luo Li felt his mood was like a roller coaster.
He had just climbed to the top of the mountain and saw hope, but after crossing the mountain, what awaited him was not flowers and grass. He looked up and found that he was just in an even bigger valley.
Luo Li opened his communicator and looked at the person who was still sending him their location.
Now, the choice was once again before him.
Since the enemy was prepared, it meant the defenses inside must be strong.
But for him, it wasn't impossible to save them.
The other party had shared detailed coordinates. If he wasn't afraid of being exposed, he could try to open a door to their side.
Although it might not be accurate, with a few more tries, there was a chance.
Thanks to the Herrscher's Authority he had obtained from Kiana and Sirin, his fighting ability might be lacking, but his ability to escape and survive had increased exponentially.
The spatial ability was a bug-level existence when it came to running away.
Luo Li couldn't figure out how the Herrscher of the Void at her peak had been killed back then.
With this level of escape ability, even if she couldn't win, she could at least run away, right?
He couldn't figure it out. The only explanation was that Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had technology to block space?
But this also gave Luo Li a warning. No matter what ability, there might be a way to counter it.
The spatial power he currently possessed was far from being a surefire thing.
And once the enemy discovered he had spatial abilities, it would be difficult for it to be effective again.
So, should he expose his life-saving spatial ability for a teammate who was likely far weaker than he expected?
This answer didn't require any hesitation for Luo Li.
---||---
If Shicksal Entertainment's promotion wasn't an exaggeration, then a virtual world that could support the entire human civilization would certainly have a massive computing center.
But being too big wasn't necessarily a good thing.
It was conceivable that the daily maintenance of such a huge place would also be extremely troublesome.
Of course, for Ghost, such a huge place made the bomb she had, which wasn't very powerful, feel a bit inadequate.
If she had enough explosives, she wouldn't have to think too much. She could just place bombs in every area and send the entire data center to the sky.
But obviously, she didn't have any spatial storage items.
The two sets of high-explosives hidden in her chest as support were all she had.
So, to paralyze this area, she couldn't cover everything. The best solution was to find the real hub here and make the most of what she had.
So the question was, in such a large place, how could she find the hub of the computing center?
Answer: go where the enemies are most concentrated.
Generally speaking, when a professionally trained commander deploys troops, for an overly important target, even if they want to provide key protection, they will at least deploy some decoys.
But obviously, the person in charge of these Death Weavers didn't seem to have this awareness.
She followed the simplest and most basic method.
Where it was most important, she would deploy more troops.
"If this was my teammate, the first thing I'd do before an operation is to get rid of her."
"But fortunately, this is the enemy's teammate, so it's fine."
Ghost, who was maintaining the appearance of a white-haired, blue-eyed little girl, complained about Jackal for the umpteenth time.
But she was also glad that her opponent was such a godsend.
With her superb infiltration and transformation abilities, she snuck deeper and deeper.
The security around her grew tighter, but Ghost didn't care. She knew her target should be not far away.
Sure enough, after passing a large group of Death Weavers, the view before her opened up.
The originally narrow space suddenly opened up.
Ghost was stunned.
Before her was a vast space the size of a football field.
Countless lines glowing with a crystalline light passed under her feet, finally connecting to a crystalline sphere with a diameter of several meters in the center of the space.
The sphere was filled with a hazy mist, and within that mist were two dreamlike infants.
A boy and a girl, tightly embraced.
This scene was completely different from what she had expected.
"I was wondering what the guy who caused us so much trouble looked like. Turns out it's a little girl."
A somewhat confused voice came from behind her.
Instantly, a chill ran up her spine.
Ghost rushed to one side, but she was a step too slow.
A hand landed on her shoulder, pressing her down firmly, unable to move at all.
Sharp nails brushed against her neck, the cold, sharp texture making the hair on her neck stand on end.
Finally, the person behind her revealed themselves.
Ghost found that it was a woman with a hood and bright red eyes.
It was Raven.
"I'm screwed!"
This was the only thought in Ghost's mind when she saw her.
"Very good. Looks like you still recognize me."
Raven released her grip, seemingly not worried about her running away at all.
"In that case, I'll be direct."
"I don't really have anything against you Valkyries. On the contrary, I quite like you."
Ghost didn't know what this woman wanted, but it didn't stop her from making some small moves.
Raven seemed to completely disregard her, reaching out her hand and measuring her height.
"So short. Is the food at Schicksal that bad?"
At Raven's words, Ghost rolled her eyes.
Careful, Theresa might jump up and hit you in the knee.
She was using Theresa's template. Although Theresa was indeed short, she hated it when people brought up her height.
What a pity. If Theresa were really here, things wouldn't have come to this.
But...
She didn't know if it was an illusion, but she always felt that the way Raven looked at her was a bit strange.
"Forget it. I've done enough to earn the salary the Overseer pays me." As if resigned to her fate, Ghost lay down on the ground.
She turned over and looked at the woman in front of her.
"What do you want? If you want to do it, please do it quickly. I'm very afraid of pain."
But seeing this thing that looked like a white Haired Tuna rolling on the ground, Raven's eyes sparkled.
"Don't worry, you won't die for now."
"Jackal's request is to capture you alive."
Ghost blinked.
"That woman with the jackal mask?"
"That's her."
"Then you might as well kill me! I don't want to become one of those big spiders."
"That's not up to you." Raven knelt down and said meaningfully, "Besides, only by living will there be a chance for change. If you die, there's nothing."
"Sorry!"
Ghost smiled sweetly at her. In her hand, two bombs had appeared.
But Raven's expression didn't change at all, because the next moment, the bombs were in her hands.
Then, she pulled out a dagger and skillfully pried open the bombs, pulling out the detonators.
Tossing the bombs aside, Raven shook her head. "Unfortunately, you're too slow."
But Ghost, on the contrary, relaxed.
"No, the speed was just right."
She took out her communicator. A delayed message had already been sent.
[Dead, do not disturb]
Casually putting down the communicator, she looked at Raven with puppy-dog eyes.
"Please, big sister, can you kill me? I don't want to be on the dissection table."
But Raven just smiled, then contacted Jackal.
"The enemy has been captured. You can send someone to pick her up." Raven looked at the girl lying on the ground with empty eyes, then reminded Jackal, "Keep a close eye on her this time. Don't lose her again, or I won't help you catch her again."
"Very good, Raven. You never disappoint..."
Listening to the conversation between Raven and Jackal, Ghost, who was lying on the ground, felt her heart turn bitter.
I should have prepared some poison for suicide.
With that woman Jackal's cruelty, she could already imagine what awaited her.
The only good news was that she wouldn't have to let those who might come to save her die.
This woman in the dodo bird costume was ridiculously strong. Ordinary people would just be sending themselves to their deaths.
But just as Ghost was gradually falling into despair, a feeling of weightlessness came from beneath her.
Then, the surrounding environment spun.
Splat!
She fell flat on the ground.
Then, a strange voice sounded beside her.
"Anyone want this white Haired Tuna on the ground?"
"If no one wants her, I'll take her."
Ghost looked up and saw a very handsome man kneeling in front of her, smiling gently.
---||---
And in the original place...
Raven was communicating with Jackal when she was attracted by a slight movement.
But when she turned her head, she found that the girl who had been lying on the ground was gone.
Jackal's voice came through.
"That damn rat caused me so much trouble."
"Later, I'll cut open her body on the dissection table, and take a good look at how she's put together to be so slippery."
Raven wanted to say something, but opened and closed her mouth, finally deciding to wait.
To prevent Jackal from going crazy, I'd better tell her later...