"Well, long story short, that's the general situation in Manila... The Sovereign has already taken people to the Philippines himself, and since I happened to be free, I came to personally brief you on the relevant details."
Tesla put away her terminal, then asked with some curiosity.
"By the way... Lynelle, did you not sleep well last night? Or are you feeling unwell? Your walk seems a bit off, and you have slight dark circles under your eyes..."
Cough, cough, cough, cough...!
Lynelle broke into a loud, forced cough, trying to hide her slightly flushed face.
"I... I have caught a bit of a cold lately. And last night was... quite a struggle. Drained a lot of my energy, didn't get much proper sleep..."
"I see..."
Tesla nodded in deep understanding. "Investigating a core really is exhausting work. After the Second Honkai Eruption, it was me and Einstein who helped reconstruct Welt's body. Just scanning his core alone took us several days back then."
"Honestly, the fact that you managed to finish it in one night is pretty impressive..."
"Ahaha..."
Lynelle laughed awkwardly. After all, the truth was, she had dealt with the core quickly, and then she had been quickly dealt with in turn.
All the methods she'd mentally rehearsed for handling Kiana had proven utterly useless.
At the start, she could offer a little resistance, but later, she'd pretty much just melted into a puddle in Kiana's arms, letting the other girl have her way.
Her true nature had been completely exposed, and her legs still felt like jelly.
"So, Dr. Tesla, you came here to..."
"Oh, I just came to update you on the situation. Things in Manila are complicated. For the next few days, both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy will have frequent personnel movements. If you need to enter hibernation, I can be the one to take you to Anti-Entropy's base in Shenzhou this time."
"Hibernation..."
Lynelle pondered for a moment.
Although she'd been in an intense 'battle' all last night, she had actually managed to doze off for a little while.
But perhaps because Kiana-chan wasn't in the system at that time, she hadn't returned to the Honkai Star Rail side.
Based on her experience, since she hadn't returned after losing consciousness this time, it meant she was currently in a somewhat 'safe period'. It would be a real waste not to take advantage of this opportunity to do something.
"Hmm... Dr. Tesla, could you tell me the approximate scale of Schicksal's personnel movements this time?"
"It's practically their highest level of mobilization. The only thing higher would be the standard for a Herrscher's descent."
Tesla thought for a moment. "You have to understand, the last time they mobilized at this level was during the Second Honkai Eruption. While this current eruption didn't produce a Herrscher, an Emperor-class Honkai Beast did appear. It's already wiped out two local Valkyrie squads."
"Furthermore, although the Manila area is much smaller than Siberia, it's the capital of the Philippines and very densely populated. Add to that the fact that Southeast Asia has a lot of neutral nations that both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy are trying to win over... All these factors combined mean Otto is taking the handling of this eruption very seriously."
"Of course, another possibility is that since Joachim arrived on the scene immediately, Otto didn't dare to be careless and also deployed sufficient force locally. In short... you can understand it as Schicksal's available mobile forces are all basically in Manila right now."
"Is that so... I understand."
Lynelle nodded. "Dr. Tesla, prepare a plane for me."
"To Shenzhou?"
"Not Shenzhou. My destination is... Siberia."
Lynelle smiled slightly. "Also, reassign Siegfried to me. I'm not familiar with the situation over there, so I'll need a guide with sufficient combat prowess."
"Siberia?"
Tesla was taken aback. "What for?"
"To rescue Bella."
Lynelle added, "That is, Benares, the Honkai Beast that accompanied Sirin during the Second Honkai Eruption."
"If I'm guessing correctly, she probably didn't die. She's likely still self-cryogenically frozen somewhere in the Siberian snowfields. For certain special reasons, even if Schicksal discovered Bella's location after the war, Otto would definitely not kill her... but he certainly wouldn't actively treat her either."
"So, since Otto has moved his main forces to Manila right now, it creates a window in Siberia where he can't rapidly provide support. Plus, Otto currently has no idea I've 'won my resurrection match.' If we're lucky, we might be able to complete the mission without a fight."
"Hmm... That is indeed an opportunity..."
Tesla pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up and asked, "But doing this would be equivalent to exposing you, wouldn't it? There aren't many people who would think of rescuing Benares at a time like this, and even fewer who could make her obey. With a simple process of elimination, Otto would quickly narrow the target down to you."
"It's fine. Although I paid a certain 'price,' the primary goal I went into hiding to achieve has already been accomplished."
Lynelle shook her head dismissively. "The latent threat within Kiana's body has been eliminated by me. So, even if Otto successfully tracks my trail, it's not a big problem."
"Alright, if you're sure it's not a problem..."
Tesla thought it over. "However, I'd personally suggest you wait half a day before setting off. First, in half a day, most of the supporting Valkyries will have already arrived in Manila."
"Even if Otto wants to pull people back, it'll be too late. Second... I also need some time to figure out the issue of where to place Bella."
"Eh?"
This time it was Lynelle's turn to be confused. "Does Bella need special placement? Can't she just come with me?"
"Are you an idiot..."
Tesla couldn't help but complain. "You think Bella is like you, bouncing around minutes after being thawed? When Honkai Beasts get injured, they need to absorb Honkai energy to recover. And even though Bella can take human form, that requires her to be in a healthy state."
"So, even if you successfully rescue Bella, you'll need to immediately take her somewhere with abundant Honkai energy to recharge... Considering the current world situation, you're not planning to take a big eater like Bella to Manila to feast on 'wild game,' are you?"
"Uh... That is indeed a problem..."
"Therefore, wait until this afternoon to depart."
Tesla opened a communication line. "Since our conservative faction's main focus is research, all of Anti-Entropy's large-scale Honkai energy reactors are under our control... Let me coordinate with them, and I'll get you a map."
"After you rescue Bella, just take her to the locations marked on the map for an all-you-can-eat buffet."
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T/N: Classroom of the Elite Fanfic Up!
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
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If you guys wanna check it out.