In truth, under Gray Serpent's orders and armed with classified intel on the Sky Kingdom from Alaya, Dystopia had already set out for Point Nemo.
Along the way, she made a pit stop for a meal at one of Raven's secret bases in the Middle East. After Mei had split her very essence in two, Raven's power had plummeted, and she was now desperately in need of completing a major mission to acquire the rare resources necessary to repair her foundation.
Being on good terms with her, Dystopia decided to drag the dead weight along. This, however, led to significant delays on their journey, which was why they had only just now arrived at the designated sea zone.
As for why they were delayed, one had to consider Dystopia's unique personality.
The young woman was barely old enough to have graduated from college. She had a delicate, pretty face, and her bright orange hair was tied back in a practical high ponytail. A form-fitting black dress showcased her every curve, creating an overall style that was playful yet untamed.
But beneath this sweet and sassy exterior hid the heart of a classic Chaotic Good alignment. Her moral compass was a whirlwind of whimsy, and she acted entirely based on her personal preferences.
Case in point, at a recent World Serpent high-level meeting, Gray Serpent had personally called her out for her behavior.
For example, she had conspired with the Florida Man to secretly lock up juvenile delinquents—the kind the law struggled to punish—in an underground fighting pit, forcing them to participate in battle royales and deathmatches, which she then livestreamed on the dark web for donations.
Although the girl swore up and down that the money was for the little shits' families to buy them weapons and armor, and that all proceeds—including livestream revenue—went to compensate the victims' families, this did nothing to change the fact that her methods teetered on the very edge of madness.
Naturally, within the increasingly complex internal politics of World Serpent, many people couldn't stand such a maverick.
The only reason Dystopia could continue to act as she pleased was because she possessed the one thing that could silence the vast majority of her critics: overwhelming power.
She was currently ranked number two in World Serpent's power hierarchy, second only to the jet-black dragon Agnus, who had recently returned from the moon—or, as he was known in the Previous Era, the 9th Flame-Chaser, Kosma, "Daybreak."
Of course, Agnus himself vehemently denied that he was Kosma.
According to him, he was an entirely new consciousness born after Kosma's death, when the Vishnu-type Honkai Beast genes within his body—no longer suppressed by a host—underwent a long and brutal period of internal slaughter and fusion.
Basically, a sentient corpse.
However, considering he possessed all of the body's original memories and had immediately spread his heaven-shrouding dragon wings to return to Earth and contact Gray Serpent upon awakening, it was clear that even if he wasn't the original, some things had definitely been inherited.
Dystopia, on the other hand, was the Current Era counterpart of one of the Previous Era's first seven MANTISes, also named Dystopia.
As part of the very first batch of MANTISes, these individuals were all undeniably blessed with explosive talent.
Even though the later, more famous Thirteen Flame-Chasers were essentially a collection of survivors from a great tragedy, five of the original seven were among them: Kevin (Deliverance), Elysia (Ego), Sakura (Setsuna), Kosma (Daybreak), and Mobius (Infinity). The potential of the two who died early was, needless to say, immense.
Compared to her Previous Era counterpart, who rose and fell with tragic speed, the Current Era Dystopia—thanks to Gray Serpent's early discovery and careful guidance—had been able to fully realize her god-given talent.
"She's S-Rank, and from the looks of it, a lot stronger than the Herrscher of Thunder."
Feeling the immense, undisguised psychic pressure and overwhelming telekinetic power radiating from the girl, Fuli clicked his tongue.
So this is the Honkai world's fucked-up matchmaking system, huh? The moment your own power level crosses a certain threshold, the opponents and incidents you run into get a massive difficulty spike, and all these legendary powerhouses who are usually impossible to find start popping up like mushrooms after a spring rain.
But when his gaze fell upon the panting, struggling Little Island Bomber Raven trailing behind, the boy couldn't help but chuckle.
"Well, well, well! If it isn't the ace of North America's mercenary world, the terrifying Miss Raven! Shouldn't you be at home resting and recovering? Aren't you afraid you'll kick the bucket before your grand enterprise even gets off the ground?"
The two had been enemies in his previous life. Even with Mei's mediation preventing them from fighting to the death, a few sharp jabs would definitely feel good.
"Are you trying to start shit with me?!"
As expected, the taunt triggered an extraordinarily furious reaction.
Raven wiped away sweat that wasn't there and pointed a trembling finger at Fuli's nose, her voice distorting with absolute rage.
"First, that white-haired glutton of yours on Hyperion blew up my brand-new Crescent Isle in the Pacific—an island I slaved away to buy! And I endured it!"
"Then, that bitch Raiden Mei launched a shameless sneak attack, trapped me like a turtle in a jar, and shaved off half my essence, nearly knocking me off my critical power threshold! And I endured it!"
"After that, she even confiscated the prized weapons I poured a fortune into the enhancement furnace for—weapons I was planning to bring back to the Real World to resell for a profit! And I still endured it!"
Raven grew more and more agitated, her chest heaving violently. The generous curves packed into her tight leather suit rippled with a breathtaking arc.
"And now you, the Lord of Hyperion who lets his subordinates run wild, dare to mock me to my face?!"
She raised her hand. With a flash of light, a high-tech, dark purple sniper rifle materialized in her palm.
The muzzle of the Divine Key, crackling with lightning, aimed straight at Fuli. Her voice was practically squeezed through her clenched teeth.
"You are courting death!"
"Oh?"
Eden, who had been standing quietly to the side as if watching an interesting play, raised an eyebrow.
Her Resonance ability gave her a subtle perception of the world. It told her that this top-tier mercenary, who looked ready to open fire at any second, had a tiny little person inside her head who was currently pacing frantically, rolling on the floor, and sobbing with a mixture of grief and fury. It was almost pitiable.
But the chilling killing intent and destructive energy radiating from the Divine Key were no joke.
Thanks to the valiant efforts of various teams during the Wardance, detailed intelligence reports on the abilities and threat levels of several high-ranking World Serpent Executives had already been compiled, analyzed, and placed on the desks of every major faction leader.
As a purely offensive-type weapon, the Seven Thunders of Retribution might be slightly inferior to the Judgement of Shamash in terms of raw destructive power, but it had never been afraid of a fight.
More importantly, Raven had already unlocked its first-rated power. Coupled with a fully-powered Dystopia, this was equivalent to two S-Rank powerhouses arriving at once.
At the same time, Castorice noticed Hyacine hesitating beside her, wanting to speak but holding back.
She took a step forward, her voice soft but clear. "To arrive uninvited in these waters... what is the purpose of your visit, ladies of the Serpent?"
In the Honkai world, power was paramount. Without the ability to synergize with Little Ica, Hyacine wasn't even qualified to be on the menu. If she spoke, she would simply be ignored.
"Our purpose? Naturally, it's—"
"Ahem!"
Just as Dystopia was about to answer, a pointed cough from Raven cut her off.
The girl paused, instantly realizing she had almost let their mission slip. She shot her companion an impressed look—as expected of a veteran. Even while glaring daggers at Fuli, her emotional control was impeccable.
"And why should I tell you?"
She crossed her arms, tilted her chin up, and reassumed her arrogant, provocative stance, her orange ponytail swaying in the sea breeze.
At the end of the day, they were enemies, not friends.
While Gray Serpent had certainly used the Wardance as an opportunity to clean house within his organization, the massive operation had inevitably infringed upon the interests of many other factions and individuals.
And Memory Battleship, a team ranked near the top of the leaderboard, was a direct competitor. Why should World Serpent share intel with them? Because their captain was so handsome he could debut as a global superstar on the spot?
At that thought, Dystopia's gaze unconsciously drifted back to Little Li's face.
"Dystopia? Dystopia?"
It wasn't until Raven called out her codename again, her voice laced with exasperation, that the girl snapped back to reality, waving her hand dismissively.
"Hehe, it seems a peaceful cup of tea and a civil conversation are off the table today."
Eden shook her head gently. Her gilded eyes fixed on Dystopia, her voice rich and melodic, yet laced with implication. "The Tornado of Terror... what an impressive title. And what an equally impressive... magnanimity." [T/N: The Chinese word for magnanimity, 心胸 (xīnxiōng), is a pun, as it can also mean "chest."]
"Don't think I can't hear you passive-aggressively calling me petty and flat-chested."
Dystopia pouted, then added with a touch of pride, "First of all, refusing to provide intel to a potential competitor is the correct strategic move. Secondly, not to brag, but when it comes to my figure, I'm actually quite... confident..."
Her gaze unconsciously swept over the Golden Singer's breathtakingly full bosom, which even her elegant gown couldn't fully conceal. In the face of such a comparison, her voice trailed off.
Her eyes then drifted to Castorice. The girl's figure beneath her pale purple dress was delicate yet perfectly proportioned, the very model of a "slender branch bearing heavy fruit."
She glanced at Raven beside her, whose assets were practically straining against her tight leather suit, exuding the fatal allure of a mature woman.
Finally, she looked down at her own chest.
Hm. I can still see half the tips of my boots.
As it turns out, comparisons truly are the thief of joy.
Compared to this lineup of human weapons who were all starting at D, E, F, or G-cups, her own barely-there B-cup really was just a passing grade.
"You know, being smaller isn't a bad thing. If they're too big, it can affect your center of gravity and agility in a fight. It's a heavy burden," Fuli suddenly spoke up, his tone sounding remarkably sincere. "I heard that the female warriors of the Amazon jungle used to have one of their breasts removed as children, just so they could draw a bow more stably and comfortably."
"Really?!"
Dystopia's eyes lit up. As if she'd just found the theoretical justification and spiritual comfort she'd been searching for, her gaze toward the boy softened considerably.
This guy isn't just good-looking, he knows how to talk too! I guess I misjudged him!
"Of course not."
Then, the girl watched as the sincere expression on Fuli's face vanished as if he were a Sichuan opera master changing masks, replaced by an undisguised, deeply mocking grin.
He declared with the force of an ironclad commandment, "When it comes to boobs, bigger is always better! All that crap about 'small and cute is better' is nothing but the cope and stubborn denial of the Flat-Chested Faction!"
"Without a grand bust, how can one inspire trust?!"[T/N: This is a pun on a Chinese proverb. The original says "Without grand ambition (雄), how can one rally the hearts of men?" Fuli swaps "ambition" with "chest" (胸), which are homophones.]
"I knew it."
Hyacine facepalmed.
That man was a fundamentalist, a die-hard believer in the Church of Giant Tiddies. Expecting him to change his mind was less likely than California's high-speed rail suddenly announcing full completion and profitability tomorrow.
Her weary sigh, however, drew Dystopia's attention to the petite girl who had been standing quietly in the back, holding a chubby little Pegasus.
Her eyes lit up, clearly having spotted a fellow "future potential" stock whose assets were even more modest than her own.
But she quickly noticed something else. Her eyes sharpened, scanning Hyacine up and down with a new, scrutinizing gaze, constantly comparing what she saw with the data from Alaya.
A moment later, a sarcastic smile tugged at her lips.
"So that's why you all suddenly showed up in this godforsaken hellhole... Heh. The descendant of that coward."
Coward?
Hearing this, Fuli and the others frowned. Hyacine's body went rigid, her eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and anger at the insult to her ancestor.
Unfortunately, Dystopia had no intention of explaining the meaning behind the title.
"Whatever. It's ancient history. No point in dredging up the past."
She turned her gaze back toward the endless blue depths below, her energetic face lifted, her eyes burning with eager anticipation.
She stretched her hands out in front of her, ten fingers spread wide, aimed directly at the sea surface.
"Remember what I said? Diving into the deep sea? There is no need for that!"
As she spoke, a brilliant, pale green light erupted from her body.
The atmosphere whined under the immense strain. Ripples of pure force expanded outwards from her, causing the airship below to groan with the sound of tortured metal.
"It's just a pile of broken rocks hidden at the bottom of the ocean, right?"
The sea beneath their feet was violently churned by an invisible, colossal hand. The regular rhythm of the waves vanished, replaced by a chaotic, boiling surge.
"Watch me drag it all—straight into the sunlight!"
BOOM!!!
Her supreme telekinetic power, like the mythical spear that churned the primordial chaos, plunged into the sea below.
This wasn't a simple push or pull. It was an act of pure will, forcibly enveloping the contours of a massive object on the seafloor.
And then... she lifted.
A vortex of unimaginable size formed. The water at its center was forced away by an unseen power, and something was about to be ripped from the bottomless abyss!
"H-How is this possible?!"
Hyacine's eyes widened in terror, unable to believe what she was seeing.
To forcibly drag an ancient ruin, the size of a modern city, from the abyss 6,300 meters below to the surface?!
What kind of monster was she?!
She instinctively looked to her companions for confirmation or comfort, only to find that everyone—from the calm Eden and the exasperated Raven to the floating Mimi and the Castorice beside her—looked surprised, but more at her method than her ability to do it.
Clearly, to those who had witnessed or possessed S-Rank power themselves, the raw force Dystopia was displaying was certainly impressive, but it was still well within the realm of what was possible for someone at her level.
It was in this moment that Hyacine once again deeply understood the absolute necessity of the former S-Rank Limitation Treaty. At the same time, she felt a profound worry for the world now that the treaty was gone.
These lawless monsters... they aren't going to just wipe each other out in petty squabbles before the Herrscher of the Finality even shows up, are they?
Fuli's expression, however, had turned grim.
He wasn't shocked by Dystopia's earth-shattering power, though it was certainly terrifying.
"Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you might stir up by doing this?!"
In terms of raw power, the boy was not yet on the level of a true S-Rank.
But if he wanted to, using certain forms and techniques, he could probably achieve a similar result—perhaps less violently, but it was possible.
So why was it that both he and Eden, after confirming the target was in the deep sea, had immediately prepared for a submersible exploration rather than a brute-force salvage? Why hadn't the thought even crossed their minds?
Because they were afraid of unforeseen consequences.
"Breaking the game with pure force" sounded cool and domineering, but in reality, it was no different from flipping on a cheat engine.
While steamrolling everything in your path was exhilarating, you risked missing crucial plot points, hidden items, or the triggers for special events along the way.
Reality wasn't a game. There were no save-scums, no do-overs.
Missing an item was one thing. But what if you missed the chance to save someone who could have been saved? What if you missed the opportunity to rewrite a tragedy? Wouldn't that be its own kind of bad ending?
And most critically, when dealing with ancient secrets and divine ruins, acting recklessly often had a tendency to awaken bosses that were never meant to be disturbed.
As if to confirm Fuli's fears—
In the eternal, lightless depths of the sea, churned by violent telekinetic power, something opened its "eye."
"Yah!"
At almost the same instant, Mimi, who had been holding the special tracking radar, let out a sharp cry.
On the radar's transparent crystal panel, the uniform crimson that had covered the screen suddenly began to expand wildly. The crimson light was so intense it bled through the panel itself, casting an ominous glow upon the little creature's pink fur.
Meanwhile, on Dystopia's face—still bathed in the pale green light of her psychic power—a hint of solemnity and shock appeared for the first time.
She snapped her head up. Not toward the seafloor, but toward the ocean surface not far away.
A colossal, suffocating shadow was rapidly rising from beneath the waves.
In the summer of 1997, a U.S. oceanic laboratory in the Pacific detected a bizarre, ultra-low-frequency, high-amplitude sound near Point Nemo.
The sound was exceptionally rare for the lifeless waters of the region, so it was named "The Bloop."
After its discovery, many scientists concluded that the sound was produced by some kind of sea monster—a deep-sea creature of immense size.
In truth, that hypothesis was half right and half wrong.
The wrong part was that the entity making the sound was not, in the conventional sense, a living creature.
The right part was that its size was, indeed, far beyond imagination.
"The ocean... is alive...?"
Staring at the colossal shadow that slowly rose from the sea—a titan that reached for the heavens, a primeval will formed entirely of seawater—Mimi hugged the frantically blinking radar and muttered to herself.