"Lynelle, where are we going?"
Lynelle wondered if it was just her imagination, but Sirin seemed to be genuinely enjoying being cradled in her arms during this frantic escape. It wasn't until Lynelle had put considerable distance between them and the lab that Sirin finally thought to ask.
"To the freight elevator."
"But haven't they already spotted us?"
Sirin sounded puzzled. "Won't they have it locked down?"
"Honestly, sneaking off with two access cards and taking the elevator down to the first floor was only the best plan if we remained undetected," Lynelle explained, never breaking stride as she gathered a large, shifting mass of her 'Temporary Stake' in her hand.
"But judging by how they were waiting for us right in the lab, they saw that one coming from a mile away."
"So, since they're already prepared, I don't have to hold back worrying about making a scene anymore. And if I weren't unsure about how many outer walls this Babylon Tower actually has..."
As she spoke, Lynelle reached the freight elevator doors. With a sharp motion, she slammed the translucent, semi-fluid substance in her hand directly onto the sealed doors.
"...I'd have just blasted a few new exits through the walls ages ago!"
FZZZT—SCRREEE—
An awful, grating sound of metal corroding filled the air. The solid elevator door began to sizzle and dissolve, a large hole eaten through it at an alarming rate.
"Th-that stuff is this terrifying?!"
Just moments ago, being enveloped by this slime-like semi-fluid had felt strangely comfortable to Sirin. But now, watching the metal door melt away, she froze stiff, too scared to even twitch.
She highly doubted her skin was tougher than that metal.
"Don't worry. As long as its energy lasts, this substance won't harm me," Lynelle reassured the visibly trembling girl.
"And… what happens when it runs out?"
"Uh…"
Lynelle was terrible at lying, especially to those she cared about.
So, she chose to deflect.
"Let's just focus on the escape plan for now!"
With that, she tightened her hold on Sirin and leaped forward through the freshly made hole.
"Sirin, hold on tight! Time for a thirteen-floor express descent~"
"Wait, why would you just jump—WAAAAAAAH!"
The purple-haired girl's scream echoed through the cramped elevator shaft.
--+--
Squelch—thud!
Aided by the strange, cushioning sound from her 'Temporary Stake,' Lynelle, still holding Sirin, landed successfully on the ground floor of the elevator shaft.
The cost, however, was a significant drain of the substance's available energy, and the girl in her arms was now pale as a ghost.
But Lynelle hadn't jumped recklessly.
She knew from the 'original work' that Kiana, wearing just a B-rank Valkyrie battlesuit, had survived falls from much greater heights.
Sure, Kiana was basically the 'Queen of Face-Tanking Falls' (ahem), but a mere few dozen meters shouldn't be a real problem.
"So this is the first floor of Babylon Tower…"
As Lynelle corroded the shaft door open, Sirin gazed at the scene before her, murmuring to herself.
It hadn't actually been that long since she was brought to Babylon Labs, but her memories of the world outside the facility had already grown hazy.
The hellish experiences since had made her want to forget everything. Just a little recollection, and a flood of negative memories, starkly contrasted by any remnants of a happier past, threatened to crush her spirit entirely.
If Lynelle hadn't appeared, giving her a glimmer of hope in this dark life, she probably would have shattered completely long ago… What would she have become then?
Perhaps because freedom felt so close, Sirin's thoughts became unusually active.
"Strange… Why are there almost no guards on the first floor? Not even any automated patrol mechs…"
Lynelle had only been here once before, but this first floor seemed fairly consistent with the game from her past life. Given their speed, though, Babylon Labs should have had plenty of time to react by now.
"Whatever. Let's just get out of here first."
While the situation felt off, Lynelle couldn't afford to dwell on it, constrained by the limited duration of her 'temporary stakes.'
She had to get Sirin out before the substance's backlash kicked in.
Then, relying on the 'world-switching' effect triggered upon death, she needed to quickly contact the big Herta over in the Star Rail side.
Whatever the cost, she had to secure transportation first. Only then would they have a chance to shake off Babylon Labs' pursuit.
So…
FZZZT—SCRREEE—
The sickening sound of corroding metal rang out again.
Surprisingly, whether due to corner-cutting during construction, eating through the lab's main entrance seemed even easier than the elevator door had been.
"This door is way too flim—ugh!"
Before she could even finish her complaint about the shoddy door quality, a laser blast, clearly far more powerful than the ones from the tower earlier, greeted her with a spectacular 'welcome' shot.
"Spies of Anti-Entropy, you are surrounded! Surrender peacefully, or we will be forced to deploy heavy weaponry…"
Outside the tower, a Valkyrie squad laden with multiple heavy weapons stood ready. Not just them—Lynelle could even hear the distinct roar of heavy patrol craft circling overhead.
"...So it still wasn't enough, huh."
Which unit had them surrounded, how many enemies there were—none of that mattered to Lynelle now.
That single attack just now had drained nearly 15% of her remaining energy. That meant the Valkyrie leading this squad had to be at least on the cusp of A-rank, if not already there.
And this was an A-rank from the Cecilia Schariac era, a time before the great decline in Schicksal's combat prowess. An A-rank Valkyrie from this period, with their advanced armor and tactics, probably wouldn't be much weaker than a certain unarmored Rita from the later main storyline.
"Sorry, Sirin…"
A bitter smile touched Lynelle's lips.
"Maybe we rushed this escape. Thinking about it now, even a few days of torture might have been bearable… You might not believe it, but with just a few more days to prepare, I could've had a much better chance…"
"It's alright."
Sirin shook her head, her golden eyes reflecting the crescent moon in the night sky.
"Really, just being able to see the moon outside again… I'm already satisfied. No matter what happens, thank you, Lynelle, for letting me breathe the outside air one more time."
--+--
"Boss, what's the call?"
Watching Lynelle and Sirin huddled behind a shield conjured from her dwindling energy, one of the Valkyries gently nudged her squad leader with an elbow.
"…"
The squad leader, who didn't look particularly young, her face hidden behind a visor, wore a deeply perplexed expression.
"The head honcho here at Babylon gave the order: kill the pink-haired one on sight. Do not harm the purple-haired girl. But we are not to take or dispose of the body…"
"Furthermore, he forbade the use of any Honkai-energy-based weapons. His reason is that the target's ability is extremely dangerous; even the corpse could react with Honkai energy to produce highly corrosive liquid… In short, kill the target, then follow a Level-1 contaminant disposal protocol, isolating the body together with the purple-haired girl."
"…Huh?"
The Valkyrie beside her sounded indignant. "What kind of idiotic order is that fat bastard giving? Why doesn't he handle such a complicated process himself? We're from a cooperating unit, not his contracted subordinates…"
"His arm got severed. He's apparently undergoing emergency reattachment surgery right now."
"Oh. Never mind, then."
"In any case…"
The squad leader sighed. "Stick around Schicksal long enough and you'll learn these researchers have more twists and schemes than you can count. 'Anti-Entropy spies'? Anti-Entropy is too stingy to use Valkyries properly, let alone hire child laborers… Both these girls look like they're not even adults. It's obvious—another secret experiment gone wrong."
"So, should we…"
"Just follow the orders."
The squad leader decisively drew the large handgun—or perhaps more accurately, the hand-cannon—from her hip, aiming it squarely at Lynelle's chest. "See little, ask little, hear little. That's how I've managed to stay alive in Schicksal for so long."
BANG!
--+--
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.