"Speaking of which, if the Hyperion isn't landing, are we going to…"
Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar White Comet Armor, Kiana suddenly thought of this.
The Hyperion would naturally not land. After all, re-taking off after landing was very slow, and they couldn't provoke the people inside, so landing was out of the question.
"That's right! We're air-dropping down! Don't worry! The Valkyrie Armor's protection is very strong!" Theresa nodded, giving Kiana the answer she guessed.
"…"
Not every Hyperion has to air-drop people! She wasn't a fifty-dollar buddy!
"Ah ah ah!"
No matter how much Kiana refused, she couldn't avoid the reality of having to air-drop down.
"It's okay, Kiana, hold my hand, and you won't be scared." Mei reached out her hand and said.
"...Won't holding hands make it more nerve-wracking?"
However, Kiana still took Mei's hand. It was better than falling alone.
The feeling of bungee jumping was what she felt. Until she slowed down and landed, she was still a little shaken.
But… it felt pretty good, maybe because she was holding Mei's hand.
"A little exciting… Alright, let's go! Three-person squad!"
Her first air-drop experience was not bad. Kiana felt she could adapt next time.
"Bronya isn't even here, so why say three-person squad? Someone who doesn't know would think there's a ghost…"
Feeling the lingering warmth of Kiana's hand in her palm, Mei smiled slightly and followed.
"She'll come later anyway. Long-range output will depend on her!"
Following the route, at least the early stages could be passed very smoothly.
"Eh? But Kiana, you have a pistol, right?"
Mei didn't expect long-range output to depend on Bronya. She thought Kiana was long-range.
"...I might accidentally hit allies." Kiana tilted her head, acting cute. She was too bad at it.
"Cough cough! There's an aim assist system that will automatically avoid allies. Please take the mission seriously." Theresa's not-so-authoritative voice came through the communication device.
"Wah! Aunt, you're eavesdropping on us!"
"Who's eavesdropping?! This is a public channel! Anyway, be serious. I'm explaining the mission objective now."
Theresa did not contact Kiana through the private channel of the earphone.
"The area he's hiding in is the laboratory area. Clearly, he's holding out and waiting for Anti-Entropy's rescue. You don't need to worry about Anti-Entropy; we'll handle them."
"What you need to do is find the gem. You don't need to worry about that traitor. Understood?"
Compared to other aspects, the gem was the most important; absolutely nothing could go wrong with it.
"Understood! So, is there a detection device to find it?"
Looking at the large map of the laboratory, Kiana felt it was like finding a needle in a haystack and needed a detection device.
"There isn't. When the gem isn't activated, it has no reaction…"
At this, Theresa thought of Mei, who also had an activated gem, but now she could confirm that the tranquility gem was completely active.
"However, it can be confirmed that it's near him. We hacked in earlier and found the gem had disappeared."
"But his activity range isn't large, so the hiding area isn't big, and it's easy to find. I've already marked the location for you."
If Theresa wasn't worried that the guy might do something reckless and put the gem into himself, causing Honkai, she would have stormed in alone long ago.
As for how to cause Honkai… the laboratory had a Honkai reactor, which was a necessary item for laboratories.
"Understood, understood! By the way, what kind of person is that guy? Why did he suddenly betray us?"
Kiana remembered there was a betrayal plot, but that one was about stealing the tranquility gem, and Fu Hua was involved, and it was because his granddaughter died that he betrayed them.
"I'm not sure. If you're interested, you can look into it after the mission is over."
However, Theresa felt it was nothing more than being unable to stand the atmosphere of Schicksal, or something happening to his family. She herself had opened an Academy to train Valkyries for that reason.
"Alright! We've entered the target area! Have all the people evacuated?"
The journey was very smooth. No wonder only the two of them, as newbies, were needed. It seemed there was no one there.
"After all, if something goes wrong with the gem, it's a very dangerous thing, so people within one City's radius nearby have been evacuated."
As for what excuse was used, that was Schicksal's problem, not something Theresa needed to worry about.
"The security system has been activated, but for you, those are just child's play… as long as Kiana, you can perform at half the level of your training."
Speaking of this, Theresa never expected Kiana to have become so lax.
But then she thought about how Kiana had always lived alone, and it felt normal.
…
So, Ziegfried really deserved to be scolded.
"Oh… we're missing a hacker."
Kiana looked at the weapons raising their muzzles towards them and couldn't help but sigh.
If there was a hacker, they wouldn't have to painstakingly clear the towers. Yes, she was talking about Bronya!
However, these turrets were originally just basic facilities, and the most important defensive force was still the Valkyries, so the journey was still relatively smooth.
But… when they stepped into the cordoned-off area, they saw girls undergoing various experiments, their eyes lifelessly staring out through the glass, which made them feel eerie.
The Honkai patterns remaining on their faces indicated that they were beyond saving and would soon turn into zombies.
"How could this be! How could this branch do such a thing!"
Theresa also discovered this for the first time. Previous surveillance hacks naturally couldn't see these things. Presumably, they knew they couldn't be discovered, so they secretly hid them!
Himeko! Where are those people now!
No wonder they found the defenses of this place so weak when they arrived. They thought it was caused by that traitor, but they never expected…
They actually experimented on the Valkyries protecting the branch!
"They did something like this, so they must have already run away, right~!"
Himeko knew without even looking, and Ai-chan's report later confirmed it.
"Damn it! Those guys, is this how they research the tranquility gem?!"
For a moment, Theresa wanted to just give up the mission and go back to question Otto whether he knew or not, but she figured she wouldn't get an answer.
"Could it be that even Wendy, who had the most hope of becoming an S-rank Valkyrie, was also… How could they do this?…"
What a bunch of experimental maniacs!
"Pfft!"
"Kiana, what's wrong?"
Mei saw Kiana suddenly choke and quickly asked with concern.
"Nothing!"
She just thought of Theresa in other timelines actively sending Wendy away, and comparing that to this…
It seemed like something was off.
"Ah, the Honkai beasts are here! Let's start fighting! Although we can't save them, at least… we can send them away from this terrible world."