"Gurgle..."
The pink-haired girl opened her eyes in her room.
Yet, in less than half a second, a tantalizing blush spread across her face.
Her delicate, white-silk-clad legs twisted tightly together, and she desperately bit down on the quilt wrapped snugly around her, fighting to keep any strange noises from escaping.
After a full half-minute of trembling, she finally collapsed back onto the bed, panting heavily.
"Hah... That Herta... what a petty woman..."
Indeed, this pink-haired girl, who had just 'accidentally' soiled her sheets upon switching worlds, was none other than Lynelle, the very one who had provoked Herta at the space station just earlier.
Perhaps because her gaming session with Evernight last night had gotten too intense, Lynelle's brain wasn't quite functioning properly when she returned to the station this morning.
The result? She managed to earn Herta's ire almost instantly, leading to a few miniature Hertas unceremoniously carrying her off to a room for a round of that all-too-familiar 'tough love.'
The final outcome? Lynelle, whose legs were already a bit wobbly, blacked out amidst cries of blissful agony, promptly finding herself back on the Honkai Impact 3rd side.
Of course, as mentioned before, while crossing worlds doesn't carry over the physical state from the other side, sensory habits aren't so easily shaken.
This led to Lynelle, even in her freshly awakened body on this side, completely unable to control herself, leaving a large patch of the bedsheet soaked.
"But this place is... Ah, right, I remember now."
Reason, which had been flung to the far corners of the universe by the intense stimulation, gradually returned. Lynelle lazily scanned her surroundings, finally confirming her current location.
Right now, she was on a cruise ship.
To be precise, a cruise ship that was just wrapping up its vacation.
After the final battle against Schicksal concluded, thanks to Otto's deliberate relinquishing of power, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy quickly pushed through various cooperation agreements under the leadership of Amber and Durandal.
Pilot zones for joint management were already being established in areas where their spheres of influence met, and Anti-Entropy's operational reach had expanded considerably compared to before.
However, it wasn't all good news.
In fact, even though Sirin hadn't absorbed the Gem of Serenity back at Schicksal, the full awakening of the Herrscher of Void core had still stimulated Honkai energy activity across most of the globe.
While the two organizations were cooperating, the overall frequency of Honkai energy incidents had risen by several percentage points.
This led to Lynelle choosing to store the Gem of Haste for the time being, instead of letting Kiana absorb it immediately.
Fortunately, due to the near arms-race-like bolstering of their respective organizations by Otto and Lynelle in this timeline, dealing with this increase in Honkai energy was well within the acceptable parameters for both major factions.
In fact, with the area Schicksal needed to manage slightly reduced, Durandal even found her workload a bit lighter than before.
Against this backdrop, in March 2017, the exploration plan for the Sea of Quanta, spearheaded by Einstein and Tesla, officially began moving into its operational phase.
Thus, they recalled Lynelle and the others, who were currently on a seaside vacation. The ship's destination was now set for the Mariana Islands, the location of the Sea of Quanta.
"Knock, knock, knock... Lynelle, are you awake?"
Just then, a knocking sound came from the door, followed by the classic, monotone voice of Bronya.
'Why does it feel like this exact scenario happened just this morning?... But thankfully, Kiana and Wendy aren't here this time.'
Lynelle couldn't help but complain internally.
That's right. Kiana and Wendy weren't actually brought along for this trip to the Sea of Quanta. To be precise, they had already disembarked partway.
Kiana's physical condition still required adjustments, and Wendy was forced to return to Oceania mid-voyage to handle a Honkai energy incident.
After all, with Ragna recalled to headquarters, Wendy was now practically the pillar of the Oceania branch's combat strength.
Besides, if those two were really here, Lynelle wouldn't be enjoying a private guest room all to herself like this... And if they caught her in such a... compromised state first thing in the morning, she'd definitely be dragged into 'a round' on the spot.
"I'll be right out, Bronya..."
A few minutes later, Lynelle, having changed her underwear and gotten fully dressed, stepped out of her room.
"Lynelle, you don't look so well?"
Seeing Lynelle looking somewhat... 'drained,' Bronya tilted her head in confusion.
"Ahem, maybe a bit seasick..."
Lynelle quickly shook her head. "Where's Mei?"
"Mei is downstairs cooking. But, Lynelle..." Bronya's voice paused, then carried a rare hint of concern.
"Dr. Einstein just sent word that Lady Cecilia is tied up with other matters, and the Honkai energy concentration in Oceania continues to rise... It seems the only support for the Sea of Quanta operation will be the few of us."
"Are you worried, Bronya?" Lynelle ruffled the younger girl's hair.
"Don't you worry! Even if our other heavy hitters aren't here, your big sister Lynelle is still around, you know?"
"When I go all out, I can hold my own against Durandal for a while! In game terms, that's top-tier power level! Nothing will go wrong. I'll definitely make sure you and Seele are reunited!"
"Mmm... Truly top-tier," Bronya mumbled, her face pressed against Lynelle's chest by the head pats.
"When will Bronya develop like this?"
"Uh..." Recalling the dominance of Post-Honkai Bronya across a certain section of the fan community, Lynelle couldn't help but smirk. "You'll get there eventually. Just a matter of a few more years, at most?"
"Anyway, let's go down and eat~"
Although her body followed Bronya downstairs, Lynelle's mind was already busy calculating the next steps of their plan.
After all, strictly speaking, her goal for this trip was a little different from everyone else's.
Unlike Anti-Entropy's desire to trap Kevin in the Sea of Quanta, Lynelle, playing it safe, was determined to release him.
With Kevin around, this world essentially had a reliable safety net. You might not trust World Serpent's methods, but you couldn't doubt Kevin's strength or his resolve to fight the Honkai.
Of course, that was only one of Lynelle's objectives. The other one...
Lynelle found herself recalling the words Mobius had spoken to her not long ago, in the Elysian Realm.
"Little Pink Mouse, when you see that... assistant of mine this time... make sure you find a way to meet him alone."
"There are some things I need to pass on to him. Concerning you."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.