"An unidentified mech... and K423."
At Schicksal Headquarters, Otto sat in his chair, studying the report in his hands with clear interest. Only after confirming that every detail was accurate did he lower it and turn his gaze toward Rita, who stood waiting before him.
"Rita, I want you to go to Arc City. Locate K423, intensify the search for her, and investigate the abnormalities in the city from the shadows."
"Overseer, given the current situation, that may alert whoever's behind this." Dressed in a spotless maid uniform, Rita's tone held no doubt, only mild curiosity. "Besides, we still don't know who that unidentified mech belongs to."
"I've already received reliable intelligence from Shenzhou. That mech isn't one of their creations," Otto explained calmly. "Which means we can almost certainly attribute it to World Serpent."
"Overseer, if the pilot belongs to World Serpent, then they have no reason to expose such a weapon in public. It almost feels as though they're deliberately announcing their existence, which doesn't match your previous assessment of them," Rita reminded him.
Otto had already considered that point. "Whether it's K423 or this mech, they're nothing more than pieces World Serpent has placed on the stage to draw our attention. They must have something else planned."
Rita understood. If Otto knew that and had still issued these orders, then Schicksal's own plans clearly took priority over interfering with World Serpent. Still, her earlier concern remained unresolved.
As if reading her thoughts, Otto continued, "As for whether our arrival will scare them off, you don't need to worry. I'll have you visit under the pretext of conducting a corporate inspection."
"Schicksal cooperates with companies all over the world, and Arc City happens to be home to one of our partners: Heliopolis Life Sciences. For the past five months in particular, Schicksal has regularly used the company to distribute vaccines and relief supplies throughout Shenzhou. This time, you'll act as our representative and escort a new shipment of medicine to Arc City."
He smiled. "It'll be the first time Schicksal has sent someone from upper management to inspect the company, but after five months of cooperation, that won't look suspicious. At worst, it'll only make the snake hiding in the shadows a little more cautious."
There was no such thing as a perfect plan. A diversion like this was already the best option available.
"Understood."
Since Otto had already thought everything through, Rita had nothing else to ask.
Two days later, the Schicksal transport ship EOS arrived in Arc City with its cargo.
Three mornings after that, Kiana's suspicions about Heliopolis Life Sciences reached their peak.
--+--
For the past several days, she'd been hunting for any clue that could explain Arc City's strange situation. With Firefly taking care of the excess Honkai energy for her, Kiana had grown far less restrained about using the Herrscher Core.
She combined five days of fighting, records, and searches with the complete scene logs preserved by Fu Hua's Fenghuang Down from before those five days. By now, Heliopolis Life Sciences wasn't merely suspicious anymore.
"Honkai beasts and zombies will always be drawn toward places with higher concentrations of Honkai energy."
Inside the apartment, the three of them spread a map across the long table in Firefly's living room. One precise mark after another covered its surface, and as more areas were shaded in, a pattern began to emerge.
It looked almost like a volcanic crater surrounded from every side.
At its exact center sat Heliopolis Life Sciences' industrial district.
It was a simple but effective way to narrow things down. Of course, it still didn't prove anything. They didn't have hard evidence yet, but now they finally had a chance to get some.
"Schicksal is even more worried about this than we are. After all, they're involved in the relief program. That man won't allow someone to cause trouble under his name," Fu Hua said in a voice only Kiana could hear.
It'd been Fu Hua who suggested dragging Schicksal into the situation.
What happened next would decide how the entire situation developed.
Kiana repeated Fu Hua's point aloud, then turned toward Firefly.
"Yesterday, I went in for my routine medical examination," Firefly said, getting straight to the point. "I heard from the staff that Schicksal sent a transport ship loaded with supplies here five days ago. One of their senior officials came along to conduct an inspection."
"Her name is... Rita."
Firefly continued, "I saw her from a distance. She's a woman with short ash-blond hair, and her bangs cover her left eye. She had a very elegant air about her."
"Rita..."
Kiana remembered both the name and the description.
"Rita... If it's her, talking things out might actually be possible."
Fu Hua had met Rita a few times before. From what she remembered, Rita was hard to read, but beneath that mysterious manner, there was still genuine kindness in her.
"So that means we'll have to take a risk next..." Kiana drew in a deep breath.
"If I can find an opportunity to tell Miss Rita what we know..." Firefly suggested.
Kiana shook her head at once. "No. How would you explain where you got all this information? Rita would start suspecting you before she suspected Heliopolis Life Sciences."
"Besides, you're the only one among us who can openly enter Heliopolis Life Sciences. You can't afford to fall out with them that easily."
Of course, Kiana had come up with both excuses on the spot.
There was really only one reason she'd refused.
She didn't want Firefly getting too deeply involved in this, especially not by throwing herself directly into danger.
"All right..." Firefly lowered her head, looking a little disappointed, as if she'd decided she wasn't useful.
Kiana hurried to speak up. "Today's going to be important. I've got a huge fight ahead of me, so when I get back, I'll need your help again!"
"It's fine. Helping you is helping myself too..." Firefly smiled. "It's still better than lying inside a medical pod."
"Haha! When we team up, one plus one is way more than two!" Seeing her cheer up again, Kiana finally relaxed and kept stressing how important Firefly was. "Besides, the only reason I can move around this freely is because of your help!"
That part was true.
Without the pain of Honkai corruption wearing her down, Kiana had far more energy than before. Her fighting ability and judgment had both improved, and she'd become much bolder when experimenting with the Herrscher Core.
Today's battle would be especially intense. Her first goal was to cause a much bigger disturbance while fighting Honkai beasts and zombies. This time, she wouldn't finish them off and retreat as fast as possible. She needed to attract Schicksal's attention and confront its Valkyries head-on.
The disaster was getting worse with every passing day.
Kiana remembered seeing the face of someone she'd once saved among the zombies not long ago, and her resolve hardened.
She had to drag the mastermind behind all of this into the light as soon as possible.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL