"What am I saying?" Cocolia looked at the screen. She had made herself so clear; did Gray Serpent still intend to play dumb?
"Hmph, since you want to put it that way, then take a look at this. I don't believe you know absolutely nothing."
Cocolia uploaded the video from her tablet to the computer. Gray Serpent immediately viewed the content, fixing his gaze on the young girl in the footage.
"..." Gray Serpent's red electronic eye flickered repeatedly. That appearance... he certainly couldn't mistake it. But why was there a silver-haired disguise before? Yet looking at this, it didn't seem like a disguise.
A Stigmata was impossible; that Lord Reverie had never left behind a Stigmata. Given the current situation, it definitely wasn't a bloodline issue either. Just what exactly was going on?
However, he also understood why Cocolia spoke as she did. The blue flickering shadow on the target's body, capable of passing through weapons, was indeed very likely the ability of Quantization.
Wasn't the reason Cocolia collaborated with him in the beginning precisely because she needed the ability of Quantization to save her daughter? Cocolia likely misunderstood, thinking he had concealed the Quantization ability from her.
Hence this question. But the truth was, he genuinely didn't know. The target possessed the ability of Quantization, but...
Gray Serpent reviewed it once more. Although the video didn't make clear exactly what was happening, was the opponent truly Lord Reverie?
Gray Serpent pondered for a moment. If the opponent wasn't Lord Reverie, then they had no necessity to expose themselves. But he couldn't completely rule out any of the Flame-Chasers either; to them, every single one was extremely important, even if it was just a similarity in appearance.
It was worth probing a bit further. Since Cocolia happened to have a need, he would let Cocolia do it. Cocolia shouldn't deal a heavy hand, anyway.
After all, she still needed this girl with the Quantization ability to save her daughter. Let Cocolia probe a bit first; based on just a short video, it was completely impossible to judge the true situation.
Furthermore, given the current state of World Serpent, touching Schicksal would be very troublesome. Schicksal, after all, had solidly entrenched itself in the open world for nearly 500 years.
Moreover, St. Freya Academy was the territory of that Grand Overseer's granddaughter. Recklessly kidnapping someone there would very likely trigger a fierce reaction from Schicksal.
Since that was the case, there was absolutely no need to expose World Serpent. Letting Cocolia do it herself would suffice. He could just ask for the person later; Cocolia would need their help in the end anyway.
Even if Cocolia wanted to bypass him, Gray Serpent had backup plans. It was merely Cocolia, after all.
"It seems I've been found out by you. What, do you intend to make a temporary price hike? Miss Cocolia."
"Don't describe our relationship so coldly, Gray Serpent." Cocolia looked at Gray Serpent. But if she had to ask for benefits, Cocolia couldn't think of anything specific in the spur of the moment.
"However, if I need help later, I presume that given our relationship, Mr. Gray Serpent wouldn't just sit by and watch, right?"
"Of course, Miss Cocolia. We naturally won't sit by and watch. But this young girl is still at St. Freya Academy, is she not? Discussing the price now... isn't it a bit premature?"
"Perhaps." Cocolia looked at Gray Serpent, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly. It seemed Gray Serpent indeed had designs on that girl, and even wanted to suppress the price.
However, that fellow was currently at St. Freya Academy after all. Although Cocolia was arrogant, she wasn't arrogant enough to go straight up and pluck Otto's beard.
She still had to find a suitable time, or wait until the defenses at St. Freya were empty before making a move.
"I will continue to monitor the situation here. Well then, Gray Serpent, let's talk next time."
Cocolia reached out and directly closed the communication channel. Looking at the screen that had returned to darkness, she realized this matter ultimately required a long-term plan.
Just as Cocolia was pondering, the communicator in her pocket suddenly rang. Cocolia picked it up and answered, listening to the intelligence officer on the other end.
"Jiuyou?"
*
Himeko's Villa
"Is this what the intelligence department discovered?" Himeko looked at the report Theresa had sent her, unable to hide the excitement in her eyes. "Is the intelligence credible?"
"This is why I invited Fu Hua over." Theresa looked at Fu Hua, who had arrived early. "According to Fu Hua's confirmation, the possibility exists, and it's not small."
Himeko nodded, unable to mask her excitement. If it were true, then it would be truly excellent. Not just for her, but others might also be able to extend their lives.
However, Himeko was still a bit worried. The things recorded in this ancient tome were very important to Shenzhou. "This belongs to Shenzhou's affairs, right? Has coordination been handled properly?"
"You don't need to worry about that." Theresa scratched her head. having spoken to this extent, she couldn't very well take her words back. She could only go find her grandfather to take a look when the time came.
"Is it really feasible?" Himeko looked at Theresa with some suspicion. Based on her understanding of Theresa, the probability of Theresa being reliable was quite low.
"Cough, cough, no problem." Theresa coughed lightly twice and patted her chest. "You have to trust this wise and martial Principal, Himeko."
Looking at Theresa, Himeko understood that this guy definitely had no solid plan in her heart. Thus, Himeko sighed. "It's precisely because it's you that you aren't worth trusting."
"Don't say that, Teacher Himeko." Irene smiled, walking down from upstairs holding a cup of coffee. "Principal Theresa likely just wants to help. If she has that intention, you can't say she's unreliable."
Fu Hua, meanwhile, pushed up her glasses, her gaze lowering once again to look at the ancient tome in her hand. Chiyou and Ji Lin...
Every time she read this ancient tome and saw those names, flashes of images would constantly flicker before Fu Hua's eyes, yet she could never grasp them. Who did she seem to have forgotten... and perhaps it was another close friend.
She agreed to this matter, perhaps not entirely for Himeko's body, but partly for herself. Perhaps there, she could find more traces of herself and know what those close friends had once done.
Even if it meant facing the place of their death, she would be prepared to face it and remember it. What she had forgotten, she would attempt to recall or seek out anew.
"However, even if we really agree, it seems difficult to find other students to go for this matter." Himeko looked at the report. After all, it was something like tomb raiding; it wasn't easy to find people among the students.
"Since that's the case, how about us?" Irene took a sip of coffee. she had heard almost everything from upstairs. Given the situation, nine times out of ten it was about Chiyou, right?
Of course, even if she hadn't heard it all, it didn't matter, because her System had already issued a mission. Since that was the case, Irene had a reason to get involved.
And there was another point. Ever since hearing the news of Chiyou, Cheng Lixue was no longer her previously silent self. Instead, she was extremely agitated, insistently demanding that Irene must go, otherwise a major problem might occur.
"Mn, Kiana and the others?" Himeko scratched her head. "Indeed, at most it's just an archaeology mission; we can treat it as helping them scrape together some credits. Kiana's credits here are severely insufficient."
"If that's the case, let's wait for them to finish class to talk." Irene turned her head to glance at the clock. "They should still be in class right now. But regarding making up credits, can they make them up?"
"Of course they can. We are a Valkyrie academy after all; apart from me, naturally, one can earn credits." Himeko nodded as a matter of course. "Mn, it's Irene's first time going on a mission too, right? Just treat it as gaining experience."
"That works too." Irene nodded. She did indeed need to gain experience. It was just that... this was absolutely not some simple archaeology mission.
*
Later
"Eh? Going to Shenzhou?" At the dining table, Kiana looked at Himeko with a strange expression. "We haven't had any holidays recently, have we? Why are we going to Shenzhou?"
"Consider it a mission." Himeko casually stuffed a piece of chicken into her mouth. Theresa had taken full responsibility for the matter directly, and this time, Theresa's efficiency was indeed very high.
Before Kiana and the others had even returned, Theresa indicated that things had already been settled over there. Barring any accidents, she would probably go ask the Overseer for help to resolve it.
Theresa coughed lightly twice with a triumphant air, attracting everyone's attention: "In short, our objective this time is to go to Shenzhou to search for Jiuyou, search for the Divine Key, and any possibly remaining Stigmata."
"Really? That means this is an archaeology mission?" Hearing the mission requirements, Kiana instantly felt a bit of lost interest. She had thought it was some mission to sweep away the Honkai.
"Archaeology missions are very boring."
"Alright, alright, since it's a mission, just accept it." Sitting at the table, Irene patted Kiana's head. "Opportunities for archaeology by imperial decree aren't common. Besides, you have to think about your credits, Classmate Kiana~"
Hearing Irene's implication, Kiana immediately sat up straight and nodded repeatedly. "Archaeology missions are the most interesting! We can see lots of fascinating things. I love archaeology missions the most."
After pacifying Kiana, Irene's eyes flickered slightly. In the short time before Kiana and the others returned, she had already asked Cheng Lixue what was going on.
Cheng Lixue's world was destroyed by Chiyou—at least she herself was killed by Chiyou. And that Chiyou was different from the Chiyou she knew of.
She didn't know where the problem started, but St. Freya hadn't gone to execute the mission to find the Stigmata. In the process, Chiyou, for some unknown reason, unsealed itself.
And because there weren't many Honkai energy detection devices in the ocean, Chiyou managed to eat until it was truly the size of a mountain range without anyone knowing.
That was a Honkai Beast truly as massive as a mountain range. It was only then discovered by Honkai energy detectors. By that time, it was no different from a continent walking on the sea.
Its terrifying size and terrifying Honkai energy directly molded it into an indestructible, unstoppable heavy fortress. Every movement was not something as simple as a natural disaster.
Of course, the Chiyou in their current world wouldn't be allowed to grow to that extent. Naturally, it had to be killed in the cradle.
"Since everyone has no objections, let's take a look at this." Seeing that everyone seemed to have no objections, Himeko waved the tablet in her hand.
"Although it may not necessarily be useful, we still need to understand the objective of this trip somewhat."
"Let me read it." Irene took the tablet from Himeko's hand; she was a literature teacher after all. "It says that the Xuanyuan Sword is said to be an ancient divine weapon passed down by an ancient Celestial. It can dispel evil and protect humanity. It was once held by the Xiong Clan on the earth and worshipped as a supreme treasure.
"When the monsters of Jiuyou attacked, this sword did not protect the clan at that time. The clan leader of that time could not unleash the sword's power and could only let his own daughter flee carrying the Xuanyuan Sword."
"What a classic story." Kiana rubbed her chin. This story was too familiar. "I guess next, that young girl falls off a cliff, then gains a powerful inheritance from the Xuanyuan Sword, and counterattacks in one fell swoop."
"Idiot Kiana, don't be noisy." Bronya rolled her eyes. "If you're listening to the story, listen properly. Besides, that kind of thing wouldn't happen in the real world."
"Actually, it's about the same, Bronya." Irene winked at Bronya. Finally, she stopped keeping them in suspense and continued reading.
The young girl fled all the way, but soon, she collapsed from exhaustion. Under the gaze of hordes of monsters, just as she was despairingly hugging the Xuanyuan Sword waiting for death, a mysterious tattoo suddenly appeared on her back.
"Is this the moment the Stigmata was born?" Kiana listened to the story and suddenly asked. "Mn, but why does it feel somewhat random? There should be some heavenly phenomena or something."
"It's just a story, after all." Bronya leaned in to look at the content on the tablet with Irene. "They probably didn't know exactly what the real situation was at that time."
"Also, Bronya believes that the awakening of a Stigmata shouldn't have any heavenly phenomena or the like. That is fiction."
"Let me see, let me see." Kiana also leaned in to look at the tablet in Irene's hand. The story below was nothing more than the girl becoming powerful after awakening the Stigmata and protecting humanity.
"Oh, it's about the same as I guessed."
"After all, it is a myth." Bronya looked at the triumphant Kiana and pursed her lips. "After being adapted by later generations, it's normal for there to be some storytelling flair."
Myths and stories were likely passed down under such distortions. Irene handed the tablet to Bronya. "Perhaps at that time, when the Stigmata was born, there really wasn't any special situation."
Sitting beside Irene, Himeko nodded. "It's enough to just get a rough understanding. However, this archaeology mission is different from before. The ancient tome only mentioned the name Jiuyou; the specific location is completely unclear."
"Then we can only continue to filter through mythological stories." Irene shrugged. "With a mythological place name as famous as Jiuyou, it should still be quite easy to find."
On the other side, Kiana, having finished reading, scratched her head and looked at Himeko with some confusion. "Uh, the text stops after mentioning Jiuyou."
"And why does the part below turn into recipes? Is this really reasonable? Are you sure this isn't a recipe book promoted under the guise of a myth?"
"So-called myths are perhaps just stories passed down that have become unverifiable." Irene looked at the tablet in Bronya's hand. "Perhaps this was just to ensure others would still remember that young girl."
"But now it cannot be verified. Even those facts that existed in history, buried under time, have become unverifiable myths."
________________________________________
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