[Eh, Sister Irene, why are you staring at me?] Pardo scratched her head as she looked at Irene. [Um, so what's the reason exactly?]
[Because of you.] Irene pointed at Pardo. [Otto has the Void Archives by his side, and the Void Archives definitely recognizes you, so he knows you're great at infiltration or, well, theft jobs.]
[If the Void Archives suggested this, it's not hard to imagine at all.]
[Doesn't that mean we're exposed?]
[Not quite exposed.] Irene shook her head. [This mission is just to test what we're really about. Otto wants to kill three birds with one stone.]
Irene had pretty much figured out what Otto was after. No matter what happened, he could accept it. If Fu Hua recovered the gem, it was back in his hands for experiments to continue.
If the Queen inside Kiana awakened, leading to the gem falling into his hands, or if the Queen awakened because of the gem and was defeated by Fu Hua with the gem recovered—either outcome, Otto could accept.
It was the same now. If she could really snag and steal the gem, it would basically prove to Otto that she had real skills, and her transformations weren't just for show.
Plus, the gem would still end up back with Schicksal, which Otto could accept—unless they did absolutely nothing and let the gem blow up in the city like the most voted barrage play.
That would go against Otto's wishes, something he didn't want to see, but it was also something Irene wouldn't allow. No way she'd let the gem explode in the city.
[So what do we do, Sister Irene?] Pardo looked at the pensive Irene. [Should we slack off? Best to do nothing at all?]
[No.] Irene shook her head, a flash of determination in her eyes. [Since he wants to watch, let him watch his fill. Pardo, it'll be up to you to shine when the time comes. We'll take the Gem of Serenity for ourselves.]
Relying on the Celestial alone, directly recovering the Gem of Serenity was nearly impossible. The longer it dragged on, the more likely the gem's Honkai energy would awaken the Queen.
But if they could get their hands on the gem first, things would be different. The Queen's awakening would still affect the hotel and surrounding people originally.
But just don't let the Queen get the gem, right? Pardo was an expert at picking locks and slipping in. A mere underground vault couldn't stop Pardo.
As long as she recovered the gem ahead of time, the rest would be simple. As for exposure, since Otto wanted to see, let him see plenty.
[Got it. I'll follow Sister Irene's lead.]
"To be honest, I feel like this style of clothing doesn't really suit me." Irene looked at herself in the mirror, wearing a blue qipao, shyly pinching the sides.
"It looks pretty good." Fu Hua pushed the door open at that moment. "As long as it fits, that's fine."
"..." Irene's gaze swept over Fu Hua's shoulder, and she let go of the fabric she was pinching. "By the way, A-Hua, how did you know my measurements?"
Kiana had also changed into a blue-and-white qipao, excitedly twirling left and right in front of the mirror. Hearing Irene, she turned her head curiously to look at Fu Hua.
"Yeah, didn't Class Monitor only ask us what colors we liked last time?"
"This kind of thing can be determined with just a visual estimate." Fu Hua adjusted her glasses, the bedroom light hitting them just right, reflecting and obscuring her eyes.
"It should be comfortable enough, right? No issues with movement?"
"None at all." Irene shook her head. "It's very comfortable. This fabric isn't cheap, is it?"
"No worries." Fu Hua shook her head. "Consider it a gift. HQ will reimburse it."
"Well, since A-Hua says so, I'll shamelessly accept it." Irene nodded, then switched topics. "Anyway, any other intel on that side?"
"None. Everything's sealed tight." Fu Hua shook her head. "But the location is basically confirmed. We'll improvise when the time comes."
To be honest, Fu Hua didn't want to bring Irene along, but the mission was assigned. If possible, she could handle it alone. As for the so-called Titans, even without Valkyrie armor, it was no issue.
As for Kiana, HQ specifically required her—maybe Otto wanted to see something, and Fu Hua couldn't stop that.
And Irene: the surface reason was solid, but Otto wouldn't doubt her that much. What was he really thinking? Was it related to Pardo, or to Irene? Fu Hua couldn't figure it out.
If it were her at full strength, no need to worry about such trifles. But in her current state, she could only cooperate. She hoped Otto was telling the truth—that his plan was really to help humanity.
But if she could truly recover to her peak... Fu Hua, who had lost her way here, shook her head. Returning to full strength was nearly impossible. Her injuries were too severe.
Not to mention, her Sword Heart was shattered. She could never go back to her strongest state.
"So, what are we doing when the time comes?" Kiana sat on the bed, asking curiously. "Do I get to show off my skills?"
"You? Just don't cause trouble." Irene helplessly patted Kiana's head. "This is an infiltration mission. Unless absolutely necessary, better not to expose ourselves. I don't want to end up running from a bunch of missiles."
"So, no trouble."
"Got it~ Teacher Irene~"
Singapore · Hotel
"I've been holed up here for days—why hasn't Cocolia shown up yet?" Dr. Magi looked up at the man in the blue hoodie before him, clutching the briefcase tightly to his chest.
"Just needs a little more time." The man's face bore a cocky smile as his gaze swept over the briefcase in Dr. Magi's hands. Under the shadow of his hood, a wicked grin curled.
This old guy wouldn't even part with the briefcase while sleeping—wanted to keep it close even at meals. He was tempted to just snatch it.
But Cocolia wouldn't allow it. Per her orders, let him hug it to death if he wanted.
"Dr. Magi can hand over the briefcase to us, no problem." The man looked at Dr. Magi. "We'll take it to the vault below. You know what's in there, right?"
"That precious lump you're cradling—even a tiny leak of Honkai energy would kill everyone in this hotel top to bottom several times over. Don't worry, we won't ask for the password until you're ready to tell us."
Hearing this, Dr. Magi loosened his grip on the case slightly, but then hugged it tight again. "Then why come to this country? Why not straight to Anti-Entropy, let me see Cocolia?"
"You need to understand what you've taken, Dr. Magi." The man's lips curled into a near-mocking smile as he eyed him.
"Cocolia's handling Schicksal people. As for here, they won't think to look for you. Just a bit more time."
"I get it..." Dr. Magi relaxed at the man's explanation, stood up with the briefcase. "Take me to that vault."
"Thanks for cooperating, Dr. Magi." The man nodded, then led the way, pushing open the door and glancing at the two bodyguards. "No little bugs slipped in, right?"
"Report: none."
"Stay vigilant. Schicksal won't let this go easily." With that, the man led Dr. Magi to the underground vault. Meanwhile, a plane had just landed at the nearby airport.
"Wake up, wake up." Irene patted Kiana's face. After a few struggles, Kiana barely opened her eyes, looking at Irene.
"Teacher Irene, let me sleep a bit more~"
"Enough sleeping—we're almost there." Irene shook her head at Kiana. "Sigh, you overdid the jet lag. You've slept nearly a whole day."
But seeing Kiana slump back down, Irene shook her head helplessly, turned to Fu Hua, and shrugged. "Sigh, looks like our action squad's down one to non-combat losses right off the bat."
"No problem." Fu Hua shook her head, her gaze vigilantly scanning around. "But from now on, no careless talk. We're just tourists, got it?"
"Got it, got it." Irene nodded, but at the sight of the slumped Kiana, she helplessly hoisted her onto her back. "At this rate, no action tonight."
"No worries. Starting tomorrow works too. Even just me is fine." Fu Hua looked concerned at Irene carrying Kiana. "Want me to take her? Your body's still not fully up to it, right?"
"Don't worry. I haven't slacked these days." Irene smiled at Fu Hua. Her current physical condition was solid—carrying Kiana was no issue.
Seeing Irene insist she was fine, Fu Hua didn't push. For now, priority was heading to the hotel for the first scout.
After flagging down a taxi and giving the hotel name, they arrived smoothly, despite some traffic delays.
Entering the hotel, to avoid suspicion, Fu Hua and Irene pretended to be ordinary girls, propping up Kiana as they walked in.
As the three girls entered, countless bodyguards disguised as security fixed their gazes on them. In this period, anyone—especially girls—drew intense scrutiny.
Just as one bodyguard moved to approach and probe, the girl who seemed to be soundly sleeping while supported by the other two suddenly lifted her head, her gaze turning toward the restaurant.
"Sister Irene, smells like something super tasty over there." Kiana stared intently at the restaurant, slipping free from Fu Hua and Irene's support and striding quickly toward it.
Seeing their actions, the bodyguard who planned to approach halted, adjusted his glasses to cover his unnatural movement, and pressed his earpiece.
"Situation clear..." The bodyguard reported to his comrades via earpiece. That airheaded vibe didn't look like a fighter at all.
[Keep observing. Could be a disguise.]
"Understood." The bodyguard nodded, standing in place to watch the three girls. But that white-haired girl's antics were eye-catching.
Like now, piling food into a little mountain, popping small desserts into her mouth one after another as she walked.
"Whoa, this lamb leg is delicious, Sister Irene." Kiana shoved a lamb leg into Irene's mouth. "There's sooo much good stuff here."
"..." The bodyguard pressed his earpiece. "They're probably not Valkyries. No Valkyrie would draw this much attention here."
Even if Valkyries came, they'd be cautious, low-profile. Plus, that qipao looked like ordinary silk—no place to hide weapons or gear. Valkyries wouldn't wear something so form-fitting.
[Keep surveillance.] The voice from the earpiece sounded a bit deflated. They'd noticed the scene too and figured such attention-grabbing behavior wasn't typical Valkyrie.
On the other side, watching Kiana stack her food sky-high, Irene helplessly grabbed something from a nearby table and put it on her plate.
Fu Hua casually picked various foods too, subtly glancing at what Irene held.
'24 bodyguards? Defenses are tight.' Fu Hua eyed Irene's item, using their pre-arranged signal for a quick info exchange.
Then Fu Hua joined the group at an empty table.
"I'll go check..." After setting down her plate, Fu Hua whispered in Irene's ear while bending over. "Keep an eye on Kiana."
"No rush." Irene smiled at Fu Hua. "Finally some downtime. Plenty of food left. We can plan tomorrow's sightseeing too—lots of plazas around."
"..." Fu Hua nodded. "Fine. I'm just hitting the bathroom. You watch Kiana—don't let her overeat."
"Mm? What's up?" Kiana, like she'd just tuned back in, lifted her head munching a big stick like a hamster. "Class Monitor, bathroom break?"
"Nothing. Eat your food." Irene rolled her eyes at the now-awake Kiana. This kid, hearing it was like a vacation, tossed the mission out the window.
But her ditzy, carefree vibe really was the perfect disguise—not like some special agent Valkyrie.
"Oh, okay." Kiana nodded and dove back into devouring. Mei had been limiting her portions at school—she hadn't pigged out like this in forever.
"Eat less—no one's stealing it. I'll grab some other stuff. Stay put." Irene popped a gummy into her mouth, scanned around, noticed someone, and headed off.
Kiana looked up at the departing Irene, paused silently, then lowered her gaze—but not to the towering food pile.
Instead, straight to something below, her azure pupils tinged with a golden hue from the surrounding lights.
________________________________________
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