While Li Xuan and the others were still fighting Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies, a small reconnaissance ship stealthily bypassed Schicksal's blockade around Nagazora City and slipped into the city center, near their location.
"Whoosh~" The ship released a stream of air from its underside and slowly came to a halt.
"Clank… clank…" The ship's hatch opened silently, and a small squad of fully armed girls leaped down like nimble cats, their movements clean and efficient.
"Activate stealth mode," the lead girl said, raising her right hand and tapping a button on her watch. A light on her watch flashed, and the exterior of the ship parked by the road began to change…
This was Anti-Entropy's latest technology, miniaturizing the stealth capabilities of a warship and installing them on small reconnaissance ships to improve their scouting, survival, and concealment abilities…
"Roar!~~" A massive Honkai Beast suddenly burst out from a ruined building by the road. The reinforced concrete structure was smashed to pieces by its violent charge, collapsing like a pile of building blocks.
"All units, switch to Water Sprite Type-A Bullets!" the lead girl commanded loudly. The other squad members showed no signs of worry, quickly taking out magazines of light blue bullets from the equipment boxes on their waists and swapping them in.
"Roar! Roar!~" The Honkai Beast charged forward, closing the distance to the girls to just a few meters in a matter of steps.
"Fire!" shouted the girl in the exoskeleton armor. At the same time, her squadmates pulled their triggers. The nine pistols they held fired azure, crystal-like bullets that pierced the air and struck the Honkai Beast from all directions.
"Crack… crackle!…" The bullets shattered upon impact, transforming into plumes of icy blue mist that enveloped the entire Honkai Beast.
The afternoon sun shone down on the ruined city. In this somewhat hot weather, a corner of the road seemed to have returned to winter. A giant Honkai Beast was encased in ice, motionless. It had raised its massive claw as if to attack, its expression lifelike, but it was now dead.
Its life had been extinguished by the absolute zero temperature. Even the Honkai energy within a Honkai Beast couldn't flow properly at such low temperatures. Without Honkai energy to sustain it, the Honkai Beast couldn't withstand the cold.
"Captain… The Water Sprite Type-A Bullets are so powerful…" one of the squad members said in shock.
"Mm… This is a new weapon developed by the organization. The production output is extremely low… We were only given these few to test their capabilities," the lead girl said with a smile, her voice low.
The girl's expression turned serious again. "002, is the Honkai Inducement Agent ready?!"
"Ready, Captain!" a girl replied.
"Good. 003, calculate the return route of those individuals!"
"Yes, Captain!"
"004, 005, and 006, plant the Honkai Inducement Agent in the Honkai Beast gathering area."
"Yes, ma'am!" Three girls put down their guns and saluted.
"007, 008, and 001, follow me to place the remote detonators on their path!"
"Yes, ma'am!" another three girls replied.
"Take this…" The girl known as the captain handed a test-tube-sized bottle to 004. It was filled with a red liquid. This was the negative Honkai Inducement Agent, newly researched by Anti-Entropy… its purpose was to 'induce Honkai Beasts!'
The agent could drive Honkai Beasts into a frenzy, making them acutely sensitive to the direction of the positive agent. Under the influence of a large number of excitatory chemical factors, the Honkai Beasts would madly attack any creature emitting the scent of the positive inducement agent.
"Prepare for action!" the captain ordered.
The girls quickly dispersed… hiding in the various corners of the city, setting up their traps and waiting for their targets to appear, just like hunters waiting for their prey.
...............…..
"Mei-senpai! What are we having for dinner tonight?!" Kiana asked, hugging Raiden Mei's right arm, her whole body pressed against her.
"Um… let me think~" Raiden Mei said, looking up at the sky, wondering what ingredients to use for dinner. What was left in the kitchen…
"Whoosh~~" Li Xuan walked leisurely behind the trio, in high spirits. He had taken down a good number of Honkai Beasts and Honkai Zombies today, bringing him one step closer to hatching the Familiar Egg.
"Li Xuan-kun, what would you like to eat?" Raiden Mei suddenly turned her head and asked with a gentle smile.
"Ah… anything's fine. As long as you're the one cooking, Mei, I'll eat it," Li Xuan said, scratching his head. After all, Raiden Mei's cooking was delicious, and he wasn't a picky eater… This life was way better than his previous one, where he was a shut-in eating instant noodles for every meal… What was there to be picky about?!
"Mm…" Raiden Mei blushed slightly and turned back to chat with Kiana.
As they were crossing the street on their way home…
Buried in a pile of trash on the road, several circular, spider-like robots slowly released a colorless gas. The gas drifted gently on the breeze toward Li Xuan and the others.
"Hmm?! What's that strange smell?" Li Xuan asked, sniffing the air. His five senses were several times stronger than a normal person's, and he detected a strange scent in the air.
"You're just being too sensitive, aren't you?! Baka Li Xuan!~" Kiana, seemingly in a bad mood, made a face at him.
"…Uh, maybe," Li Xuan said helplessly.
The words had barely left his mouth when the ground beneath them began to shake as if in an earthquake.
"What's happening?! An earthquake?!" Kiana exclaimed, instinctively crouching to keep her balance.
"Uh… maybe it is, an earthquake…" Li Xuan said, also crouching.
"…No… Bronya does not detect a vibration source underground…" Bronya Zaychik suddenly said in a panicked tone. "This is not an earthquake!…"
"BOOM!!" As if in response to Bronya's words, a nearby building suddenly collapsed. Rubble flew everywhere, and amidst the dust, several pairs of red eyes lit up…
"ROAR, ROAR, ROAR!!" Several massive Honkai Beasts appeared. Behind them, more Honkai Beasts emerged, their enormous bodies crammed together, making it impossible to count their numbers…
But the sight of them sent a chill down the spines of Li Xuan and the others… Trouble had arrived…
(End of Chapter)