"What kind of cave is this?...." Li Xuan stared dumbfounded at the large hole in front of him...
He had never seen a creature that could dig such a large hole in the snow... Even bears only dug dens at the foot of mountains... and not burrows like this... Only creatures like snakes or earthworms would hide in a hole like this...
"Kiana fell down?!" Theresa and the others, drawn by the loud noise, gathered around the hole. Theresa looked worriedly into the bottomless pit.
"Yes..." Li Xuan nodded blankly. Kiana's luck was just too bad... to fall into a hole just by walking... She was one of a kind.
"Bronya detects a faint Honkai energy signature emanating from the cave..." Bronya said, looking at the entrance with a stoic expression while holding her tablet.
"Doesn't that mean Kiana is in danger?..." Theresa's face paled... She didn't want any more accidents. There was only one person left in this world for her to protect...
"Then we should hurry down and take a look..." Himeko said with a sigh, glancing at Theresa's expression.
........................
"*Shara shara*~..." Kiana supported herself against the icy-cold wall and stood up. The rustling of her clothes sounded very loud in this pitch-black place...
"Ooh! Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Kiana grimaced, touching a large bump on her head. She must have hit it when she fell from the entrance...
"Kiana! Are you alright?" Before Kiana could react, a figure pounced on her from the passage connecting to the cave entrance above, and a soft sensation instantly enveloped Kiana's body...
'*Hehe~ Mei's chest seems to have grown again...*' In the pitch-black cave, Kiana let out a foolish grin that no one could see...
"..." Bronya, who came down after Mei, looked helplessly at the two of them hugging. She felt like she had been fed another large mouthful of dog food... Even with her computer-like brain, she couldn't figure out the use of that white-haired furball with the intelligence of a husky...
Bronya sighed and took out a few small, silver metal spheres from her backpack. Strings of data flashed in her eyes... After determining the best trajectory, she threw the spheres...
"So bright...." Yae Sakura whispered, shielding her face with her small hand...
The metal spheres thrown by Bronya stuck to the cave walls like suction cups upon impact. Then, one by one, they released a dazzling light like little suns, illuminating the entire cave as if it were daytime....
This was a little gadget created by Schicksal's science department out of boredom, an ultra-compact lamp powered by a minuscule amount of Honkai energy... It was brighter than any flashlight. The only drawback was that it was a disposable item, providing only one hour of light... But for the 'Schicksal archeology team' on their tomb-raiding expeditions, it was quite a good tool... cheap, convenient, and easy to carry...
"This place is..." Mei had already let go of Kiana and was looking around in shock. The cave, now fully revealed by the lights, was as beautiful as a fairyland....
"I never thought... there would be such a huge space underground. The ice on the ceiling looks like a dragon's scales! It's so beautiful~"
This thought wasn't unique to Mei; any girl who saw this scene would likely never forget it for the rest of her life... It was like a crystal palace, a world of ice... Icicles, ice cones, ice falls, ice stalagmites, and ice flowers were everywhere. The solid ice on the ceiling was layered like the scales of a frost dragon, and the pure ice reflected a sapphire-blue glow... an azure blue like the sea...
"Bronya detects that the Honkai energy fluctuations have intensified. The energy source should be just ahead..." Bronya, with her emotionless face, was the first to snap out of the dreamlike scenery... she said calmly, her cool voice bringing everyone else back to their senses.
"Well, since we're already here, let's go in and have a look..." Theresa nodded decisively after a moment of thought. The giant golden cross on her back trembled slightly, and the golden chains striking its surface made a crisp 'ding-ding-dang-dang' sound...
"Hoho~ A blessing in disguise~ Well done, Kiana!" Himeko said with a smile, patting the rather disheveled Kiana on the shoulder.
"I'm not happy about it at all...." Kiana said with a gloomy expression, touching the multiple bumps on her head.
"Incredible... Everyone, look! There's an ice crystal in mid-air over there! Such a large ice crystal is actually floating in the air...." Himeko suddenly exclaimed, pointing to one side of the cave.
"Teacher Himeko... it's not floating in mid-air... There's a transparent piece of ice connecting it from below..." Bronya said, glancing at the azure ice crystal.
"**Beep beep beep!!**..." Suddenly, the tablet in Bronya's hand let out a shrill alarm... A glance at the screen made Bronya's expression turn serious... It was the Honkai energy reaction alarm. What surprised her even more was that there was also a life-form fluctuation.
"That ice crystal... the Honkai source is radiating from there. And Bronya detects a life sign within the crystal!"
"There seems to be a person in there!! And it's... a naked moe girl!!..." Kiana, with her 20/20 vision, saw clearly what was inside the azure ice crystal. She panted heavily and said... She suddenly felt a primal power surge within her... ahem, the power was so strong her nose felt a little warm.
"How amazing..." Li Xuan, holding Yae Sakura's hand and just tagging along behind everyone else, also saw clearly what was inside the ice crystal, thanks to his Honkai energy-enhanced vision...
It was a young girl, completely unclad. A silver, three-leaf clover-like headpiece adorned her floating, ice-blue hair. Her skin was so fair it was almost pale, appearing almost transparent under the light. She was curled up, hugging her thighs... Her eyes were tightly shut, complementing her delicate and beautiful face, making her look as beautiful as Sleeping Beauty from a fairy tale...
Although her hands covered her chest, Li Xuan's gaze seemed to faintly catch a hint of pink on her full bosom..
"Incredible...." Li Xuan sighed and muttered... *Praise the Honkai... is that the legendary nipple slip?*
"Ara~ What's so incredible?.... Xuan-kun~" A voice suddenly came from behind Li Xuan. Yae Sakura's sweet breath tickled his ear, and her coquettish tone sent a chill down his spine, as if he'd been plunged into an ice cellar...
It was like the whisper of a demon......
(End of Chapter)