"Hua, there are only the two of us for this investigation. Remember to conserve your stamina." Immel offered Hua a bottle of mineral water, but the habitually silent Hua shook her head in refusal.
She looked preoccupied. This was the second time she had shown such an expression since learning that Lin had left Seventh Squad.
"Don't worry too much. This is just a simple investigation," Immel opened the water bottle and took a drink himself. He licked his lips, which were cracked after the long journey. "The mission brief said we don't need to fight whatever we find."
After Lin left, Seventh Squad was temporarily without a leader, only taking on simple investigation tasks. The precious outstanding military force was already so scarce that losing even one person would be a devastating blow.
"No, I'm just wondering if there haven't been too many abnormal phenomena recently?"
Hua tightened her leather gloves. She walked through this desolate area, where no trace of life could be seen, not even a single plant.
This place was actually in the tropics, so this phenomenon was clearly abnormal.
"This month alone, there have been two Emperor-class Honkai Beasts. Previously, Emperor-class Honkai Beasts were rarely born except during large-scale Honkai outbreaks." Hua vigilantly scanned her surroundings as she walked. The silence here was unnerving. "Moreover, the variety of Honkai Beasts and Dead Walkers has seen an exponential increase."
"...The intensity of the Honkai has naturally been increasing. I fear that the arms race between humanity and the Honkai will continue until the very end," Immel also nodded in agreement. "And this abnormal Honkai energy phenomenon..."
"We're almost there. It's just ahead," Hua suddenly raised her hand to stop Immel. She stared cautiously forward, and Immel followed her gaze, pulling out his weapon and detector.
Abnormal Honkai Energy Phenomenon. No formal name had yet been given to this special phenomenon that had occurred frequently over the past half month. The first instance was in the southeast of Shenzhou. Honkai energy detectors covering the entire Shenzhou showed that the Honkai energy in a certain area had risen by five percentage points. Six more instances followed continuously in various parts of Shenzhou over the next half month.
The overall increase in Honkai energy was not large, basically only causing minor Honkai outbreaks, but the magnitude of the increase was constant each time, which warranted attention.
Therefore, headquarters dispatched some teams to investigate, including Seventh Squad.
Their eyes converged on the same point: a small depression, seemingly not very deep. Judging by the Honkai energy readings on the detector, the Honkai energy near this pit was abnormally high.
They exchanged a look, silently gripping their respective weapons, and cautiously approached the small pit.
When they reached a distance from which they could see the inside of the pit, they tiptoed and peered in. What met their eyes was...
Nothing.
The small pit looked neat and tidy, with a clear view from edge to edge, so one glance was enough to confirm there was nothing inside.
There were no strange plants, nor did any Honkai Beasts leap out.
Despite this, they did not lower their guard but began to investigate by the side of the small pit.
"No mistake, the Honkai energy here exceeds the normal level," Immel wore protective gloves and rubbed the edge of the pit. He frowned, seemingly noticing something amiss. "Hua, the ground beneath this has been compacted... There was something in the pit originally."
"Judging by the shape, it was about half a person tall. For something of this size to create a depression in the ground, its mass and height must not have been small," Hua raised her head and looked up at the unobstructed sky.
There were no high-toss terrains like cliffs or precipices in this area. Where could it have "fallen" from?
"Hua... this pit is vertical."
Immel's expression was grave. He stood up, looking up at the sky as well.
"That means it fell from 'above,' and whatever fell, it most likely has already left."
...
"A Captains' meeting, how troublesome."
Himeko rested listlessly on the conference table, waiting for the meeting to start. The captains of the other squads were also present, but the number was quite dismal; they couldn't even fill the conference table.
The loss of soldiers during the Sixth Honkai War was not limited to ordinary lower-ranking soldiers; it included individuals of captain rank.
"...Kevin, you're starting to look more and more like your good friend lately," Himeko, bored as she was, would likely drag others into being bored with her. She focused on Kevin, who stood beside her with a cold, proper demeanor. "I kind of miss you when you were a bright and cheerful big boy."
Kevin, arms crossed, glanced at her: "...You don't look like your old self either."
"Oh? I think I'm perfectly normal?"
Normal? Kevin didn't think so. The former Himeko might have been unreliable and loved to drink sometimes, but she rarely dropped her composure in public.
Now, she seemed overly "cheerful," perhaps even deliberately so.
However, Kevin did not say anything more. He had indeed become much quieter. Perhaps he would have chatted more with Himeko before, but now, he didn't have the mood... nor the need.
"Speaking of which, where is Elysia?" Himeko looked around but couldn't spot the pink figure. If Elysia were here, it certainly wouldn't be boring, but unfortunately, the meeting was about to start, and she still hadn't appeared.
"She seems to have fallen ill."
"...Fallen ill?"
"I don't know. That's how she requested leave," Kevin said flatly.
Himeko retorted: "Good excuse. I'll use that excuse to ask for leave next time."
Their small talk did not progress to the next sentence. The long-haired, white-robed young woman stepped into the conference room right on time. She held a paper document in her hand, placed it casually on the table, then pushed up her glasses and looked around at the squad captains.
"Elysia is ill, and Ato is on a mission... Let the meeting begin. I'll be brief. This is actually a meeting to reallocate existing personnel and new recruits."
Mei, a research scientist, commanded a presence no less powerful than the battle-hardened warriors present. In fact, her unique temperament was unmatched by any of them who had gone through countless life-and-death situations.
Her role in conducting the meeting was mostly to relay information. She handled the communication between the high command and the captains, implicitly giving Mei a certain degree of power over deployment.
"The number of newly enlisted soldiers recently is five thousand."
The calm voice from her thin lips stunned everyone present.
Five... thousand?
They all suspected they had misheard.
Before this, the total number of soldiers and logistics personnel at the Fire Moth headquarters was less than half that number.
"Four thousand of them will serve as a standing army. The remaining one thousand will be allocated to various squads, with an estimated fifty people added to each squad." Mei quickly flipped through the documents in her hand. After concisely finishing the part about recruitment and allocation, she looked at Himeko.
"The former Seventh Squad will be merged into Fifth Squad and, along with the soldiers joining this time, will be dispatched to Australia for a garrison mission. Fourteenth and Fifteenth Squads will also be performing garrison duties."
"According to our investigation, minor Honkai events in Australia have risen by two hundred percentage points in the past month, and continuous interference from fires is complicating cleanup. The local branch alone cannot complete the Honkai eradication, so reinforcements are being sent to carry out suppression and cleanup missions."
"As for First Squad and Thirteenth Squad, head to Shenzhou to carry out an investigation mission."
"The target is... a Guest from Beyond the Sky."