Theoretically speaking, the best way to ensure Sirin's safety was to keep her tethered to Lynelle like a charm, letting Lynelle handle every step herself.
The problem was, Lynelle didn't think Babylon Lab would be completely unprepared for her actions.
Moreover, according to the process Sirin had described earlier, even at the fastest possible speed, the whole procedure would take at least half an hour.
With that much time, no matter how sloppy Babylon Lab's operations were, they'd definitely catch on.
By then, even with her [Temporary Stake] as a trump card, Lynelle could easily get bogged down in a war of attrition.
So, ever since deciding to escape this place with Sirin, Lynelle had been preparing an alternative plan.
That was… splitting up.
The relatively safer task of stealing the access card would be handled by Sirin alone.
Meanwhile, Lynelle herself would head to the thirteenth floor to find the keycard for the freight elevator, all while Sirin was retrieving the access pass.
To make this work, Sirin first needed the ability to steal the card by herself. For that, Lynelle gave her Herta's black silk gloves and a camouflage wristband.
The former could automatically bypass simple smart devices, while the latter—made from parts Herta had scavenged from the starship's optical camouflage system—would allow Sirin to turn invisible.
On top of that, to prepare for the worst, Lynelle specifically entrusted Sirin with that scalpel sharp enough to slice through iron, pulling out all the stops to maximize the girl's safety.
But then a question arose: if Sirin was getting the second-floor access card, what would Lynelle do in the meantime? Just wait around for Sirin to return?
Obviously not. Among the items she'd acquired earlier, Lynelle had found one that would let her teleport alone to the thirteenth floor. With its help, she and Sirin could operate on two fronts, cutting their time to the bare minimum.
And this item… was also an "old friend" Lynelle knew all too well.
--+--
[Fake Space Anchor (Consumable)]
[Type: Item]
[Rarity: 4-Star]
[An imitation anchor researched by Lady Herta after studying and preserving the Trailblaze path energy of the Star Express. Due to the limited Trailblaze path energy stored within, this beacon can only be used once and is limited to a single person.]
[The user may set a Space Anchor at any location they have previously visited. After setting the anchor, they may activate it at any time within one day via energy infusion, teleporting back to the set location. Thanks to system improvements, the anchor itself is invisible to those not on the Trailblaze path. After one use, the Space Anchor disappears.]
--+--
After obtaining this item, Lynelle had immediately chosen to set the anchor in the thirteenth-floor laboratory. While it seemed almost wasteful to use an item of such strategic value this way, given the circumstances, she couldn't afford to hesitate.
"Alright… I've explained how to use each item. Next…"
"D-Don't worry! I'll definitely bring the access card back to you as fast as I can, Lynelle!"
Seemingly nervous, Sirin's cheeks were slightly flushed, and her voice trembled a little.
"...No, Sirin."
Lynelle shook her head, unusually serious. "Forget 'as fast as you can' for a moment. I need you to promise me that if you run into any trouble, your own safety comes first."
"Even if our escape plan fails in the end, I most likely won't die. I might suffer, but that's all. For you, Sirin, you only have one life."
"But it's the same for you, Lynelle! You haven't even tested whether your resurrection requires certain conditions. So far, you've only managed to revive after being eroded by Honkai energy."
Sirin puffed out her cheeks. "Don't be so careless with your own life!"
"Hmm, you've got a point… Maybe it really is like that?"
Lynelle's expression turned odd. While she knew her own immortality was tied to the system and should indeed be unconditional resurrection, Sirin's theory fit quite well within the Honkai worldview.
After all, that's how Mobius's resurrection worked.
And each time Lynelle died, her body—ravaged by Honkai erosion—would restore itself perfectly.
After reviving, the Honkai energy that had previously eroded her would indeed vanish.
Just judging by appearances, wasn't that similar to Mobius absorbing ambient Honkai energy to resurrect?
But whether that guess was true or not, since the outward manifestation was identical, she could probably use that explanation for her resurrection when dealing with others in the future…
"Eh? So it really isn't unconditional resurrection…?"
However, Lynelle's admission gave Sirin a scare. "Th-Then… maybe you should take these items back…"
"Alright, don't worry."
Lynelle ruffled Sirin's hair. "Even if my resurrection does have conditions, they're probably very hard to trigger. Like needing a huge amount of Honkai energy to replenish, or making sure the tenth thoracic vertebra isn't damaged… Anyway, since we haven't found any hidden conditions for resurrection so far, let's just treat it as an unconditional ability for now."
"Needs a huge amount of Honkai energy… must not damage the tenth thoracic vertebra…"
Clearly, Sirin wasn't entirely convinced by Lynelle's reassurance. If anything, she seemed to have taken Lynelle's earlier joking words seriously, muttering them under her breath.
"Hey now, I told you I was just joking…"
[Beep—Access restriction unlocked.]
With the help of Herta's gloves, the tightly locked dormitory door opened easily. Since the lock was a very old-fashioned electronic keypad type, not connected to Babylon Tower's terminal, the sound of them opening the door went completely unnoticed.
"Lynelle, you have to be careful, okay?"
Sirin glanced toward the elevator, then turned back with a serious expression.
"Don't worry. I remember you said you wanted to go to an amusement park, right? I'll take you once we get out of here."
Lynelle winked, then quickly activated the Space Anchor.
In an instant, accompanied by a fleeting flash of light, Lynelle's figure vanished from Sirin's sight.
"Space-time abilities are so handy… I wish I had one like that too."
Sirin tapped the wristband gently, and her form also faded slowly from view.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.