"That's not..." Although everything Azhar said was wrong, Bianka understood what she meant.
She almost blurted out an impassioned "Isn't that cheating?!" but then she remembered that Rita had also said "use any means necessary," and the retort died on her lips.
Since any means were allowed... then it wasn't really cheating... right?
To be honest, Bianka wasn't confident she could evade detection by those technological devices. If she really hid, she might be caught in a minute.
"Then what should we do?" Bianka's current brain wasn't capable of complex calculations, so she placed her hope in the only person she could.
Azhar took a deep breath.
"Actually, what you have to do is very simple... just keep running. Dodging is also hiding. They have to touch us to be considered to have caught us. You're so strong, even Senior Ana would have a hard time catching you!"
Bianka's eyes lit up. "Oh, right! As long as I keep running, they'll never catch me!"
But then Bianka immediately paused and looked at Azhar with a troubled expression. "But... what about you? Can you handle it?"
She still remembered how dizzy Azhar had gotten after just five minutes. If she really started running like Azhar suggested, Azhar probably wouldn't be able to...
"So my suggestion is... we split up," Azhar said, slowly exhaling the breath she had been holding. She looked at Bianka with great determination.
...
The silence made Azhar anxious.
"Hey, say something!" Azhar exclaimed. Heaven knows how much courage it took for her to say that.
This was Sapphire City! Not the familiar City of Sighs, nor the super-safe Fire Moth base. Every corner here could be hiding zombies, Deadmans, or even Honkai Beasts!
And she didn't have any special abilities. She practically radiated a "come and eat me" signal...
Knowing all this, she still said it. Bianka, you're not even a little surprised? Not even going to try and stop me?
If you tried to stop me, I might just go along with your concerns...
"Uh... answer what?" Bianka tilted her head at Azhar with a confused expression. In her current form, she looked exceptionally clueless.
Azhar took a few sharp breaths, then waved her hand at Bianka, on the verge of tears. She gritted her teeth to stop her trembling. "N-nothing..."
Bianka was stumped for two seconds, then gave Azhar a smile full of confidence and trust.
"Why don't we have a competition?"
Azhar looked up, her eyes full of confusion.
"What competition?"
"Let's see which one of us gets caught first," Bianka said. "I've never played... well, I've played once, but I'm really not good at this kind of game. You'll definitely be able to hide better than me!"
Like hell I will!
Azhar almost let out a groundhog scream.
Don't look at me with that trusting expression! Am I some kind of hide-and-seek master? Even if I were, what am I supposed to do about the high-tech stuff? I can't even read, how am I supposed to know what those things are?!
And what if I really hide in a corner and run into a zombie?
No one would come to save me even if I screamed my head off!
...Today, the weather is clear. Another day to wish for death.
But she was the one who had said it. Was she really going to take it back now?
While staying alive was important, she wasn't the kind of person who would disregard everything just to live. That kind of person would never have the courage to face a Herrscher head-on.
So Azhar also had things she had to protect, like... not going back on her own words.
But Bianka, can't you just give me a way out? Do you really want me to cling to your leg and beg you with teary eyes?
With tears in her eyes, Azhar swallowed the bitter fruit of her own impulsive words and quickly began to prepare herself mentally.
"Hoo... Sapphire City has been cleared once... as long as I don't run into those corners, I definitely won't encounter any Honkai Beasts, Deadmans, or zombies..."
"Huh? What are you saying?" Bianka asked curiously, stepping closer. Azhar turned her head away in a huff.
"Nothing!"
"Oh..." Bianka ran her fingers through her hair, confused, then turned and walked in the other direction.
What she didn't notice was Azhar's mournful, pleading gesture behind her, like a certain emperor reaching for a swallow he couldn't catch.
But in the end, even as Bianka disappeared into the night again, Azhar didn't say a word.
Lowering her hand, Azhar finally let her true feelings show. Her legs went weak, and she collapsed in the middle of the street.
But she immediately overcame the screaming protests of her muscles and forced herself to stand up.
"Splitting up... is not just to free Bianka from her constraints and increase our chances of winning, but also to draw the attention of at least one person for her..."
This was Azhar's real plan.
Although this was a game of hide-and-seek, with three people chasing two, it was obvious that one person would end up empty-handed.
So if she got caught, taking up one "advancement" spot, Bianka would only have to face two people. That was much easier than dragging her along as a burden and evading three pursuers.
As for whether getting caught easily would lead to her being eliminated... Azhar felt that her own advancement shouldn't be the priority right now.
This was a team game. The team's victory should be the first priority.
And...
"It would be great if I could get caught right away..." Azhar's legs began to tremble again. She looked at the darkness at the end of the street, swallowed hard, and then began to move forward shakily.
It wasn't that her legs weren't weak that she wasn't leaning against the wall; it was that everything in the darkness had now become something she didn't dare to face.
Shrouded in darkness, everything now looked like a lurking Honkai Beast, and every sound was like the low growl of a zombie.
And so, fear and the overcoming of fear reached a strange equilibrium in Azhar, creating a state of "I'm scared, but I'll do it."
And this was the assessment that Rita had designated for Azhar in this game of hide-and-seek.
At the same time, the ten minutes were up. The hunt began.