"So this is a Honkai Beast..." Anna got goosebumps when she saw the Striker-class Honkai Beast repurposed as a frequency emitter. This creation, which violated biology, would cause deep discomfort to anyone with a conventional sense of aesthetics.
Lin had Anna move away to a safe distance, and Hua kept guard beside her. Only then did Lin activate the frequency emitter.
The Honkai Beast's frequency would not be picked up by the human body, so there was no discomfort after turning it on.
The chosen location was the place along the deceased Honkai-infected's route that was most likely to hide Honkai-infected and Honkai Beasts. Disguise and evacuation work had been completed, so no one else would come to disturb them.
After the device was turned on... nothing happened.
There was no activation sound or operational effect, the place was silent as a tomb.
"Um..." Anna wanted to say something to Hua beside her.
But Hua just gave her a "shush" gesture, signaling her to remain quiet.
At the same time, multiple squads in other parts of Turin were carrying out the same operation, conducting a city-wide sweep.
"..." Lin stood calmly in place, waiting silently.
They waited like this for two hours.
"Captain, a slight Honkai energy reaction has appeared in the three o'clock direction."
Immer's words made Hua's heart tighten. She looked at Lin, who nodded to her, and then walked towards the direction Immer indicated.
"Captain, a slight Honkai energy reaction has appeared in the seven o'clock direction."
Elysia, who had been resting her eyes, opened them.
"Captain, a slight Honkai energy reaction has appeared in the nine o'clock direction."
Heng, who was checking his gear, stopped his hands.
...
Lin followed Immer's instructions to the source of the Honkai energy reaction.
He looked up and scanned the area, falling silent when he saw the empty grassland, large enough for horseback riding.
"Immer, is the reaction still there?"
"Yes, it's persistent."
"..."
Lin looked again, and after confirming there were no places to hide around, he took out his detector.
The detector showed no Honkai energy reaction.
[Lin, there is a Honkai energy reaction nearby.]
But even Prometheus made the same judgment as Immer, indicating that there was indeed something unusual here.
He focused his gaze on the ground.
Could it be underground?
It was possible that Honkai Beasts capable of burrowing underground existed.
...
Elysia and her squad arrived below a residential building. After a brief, unspoken moment of understanding, they systematically divided the work, sending a few members into the residential building to go door-to-door, performing a "water meter check."
"Captain, what should we do next?"
Elysia looked at the team member who asked the question with confusion.
"Do you even need to ask? Surround it."
"..."
...
Ato walked to the riverbank, looking down at the still, dead-like river water, and reacted the same way as Lin.
"Are you sure it's here?"
"No mistake, Captain."
"..."
After thinking for a moment, Ato had his team members split up and investigate along the riverbank.
...
"Beep—"
"Lin, what's the situation on your end?"
Elysia seemed to be checking on Lin's intelligence.
"...There's a slight Honkai energy reaction, but no anomalies have been found yet." Lin squatted on the ground, using the helmet's bio-detector to search for traces of Honkai Beasts.
"It's similar here. I'm checking the water meters... What about Ato?"
"Beep—"
"This is Ato. A slight Honkai energy reaction has appeared near me. Other squads, please reply."
"..."
Honkai energy reactions appearing at three locations simultaneously?
This made both Elysia and Lin realize that things seemed complicated.
"Lin? Elysia? What happened on your end?" Ato, who hadn't received a reply from the two, thought something was wrong and repeatedly asked.
Elysia asked: "Ato, where is the location of the Honkai energy reaction you found?"
"The city river in Turin. It might be aquatic life being eroded by Honkai energy. We are currently searching."
"What about Lin?"
"Nothing. It might be underground."
"I'm in a residential building here. If I'm not mistaken..."
Even Ato, as slow as he was, caught on to the problem.
"You guys also have Honkai energy reactions? And Lin hasn't found anything yet?"
This operation was initially carried out with an experimental mindset for attracting Honkai Beasts, but unexpectedly, three reactions appeared. But thinking back carefully, why were there only Honkai energy reactions and no Honkai Beasts were attracted?
...
"Tap."
Sakura landed in front of her house's door, reaching out to knock, but stopping abruptly just before her hand touched the door panel. She looked down at her attire and the sword at her waist.
After a moment of thought, she agilely jumped onto the rooftop, then circled around and jumped down, crouching at Rin's bedroom window.
"Big Sister still didn't come back today..."
Rin's voice sighed from the window, causing Sakura's heart to clench, and she gripped the sword harder.
Before leaving, Sakura had lied to Rin, saying she was going away on a business trip for work and that others would occasionally come to look after her, so she should wait at home.
The "others" were naturally the conditions the Chairman had promised for looking after Rin, but after Sakura's betrayal, that man probably hadn't continued to look after Rin. Sakura had taken a moment today to return and check on Rin's safety.
After confirming Rin was fine, she sighed in relief. The cleanup of the Poison Pupa squad was nearing its end. Besides the unknown person who fought her that day, everything else was proceeding according to Dr. Mei's plan. She would be able to return to Rin's side soon.
However, she then thought of Dr. Mei's words, which were almost devoid of excess emotion, before she left.
'Moth of the Flame needs people like you, and you should need Moth of the Flame.'
The Honkai, this disaster, would continue to erupt. Outside of Moth of the Flame, she couldn't even grasp the Honkai's movements. When destruction would descend upon her head was unknown.
But Sakura didn't want Rin to be exposed to Moth of the Flame, or rather... she didn't want Rin to see her true nature.
A car stopped by the road. A man in a black suit got out, which caught Sakura's attention. She jumped onto the roof again, her expression solemn, and approached the doorway, watching the familiar-looking man.
Was this man the Chairman's subordinate?
Sakura had her hand on the hilt of her sword.
"Who is it?" Rin came to the door and asked.
The man replied: "It's me, Miss Rin."
"Oh, it's Uncle." To Sakura's surprise, Rin opened the door immediately upon hearing his voice.
The man didn't enter but stood at the doorway and asked: "This week's living expenses have been deposited into your card. Have you encountered any difficulties recently?"
"N-no need to keep sending money. I can't even spend that much in a month... And I haven't had any difficulties recently..."
"No, it is my obligation."
"Then when will Big Sister be back?"
"Miss Sakura is still at work. Please understand."
"...Alright."
Sakura watched in disbelief as the man got back into his car and drove away.
That man... actually kept his promise even after Sakura's betrayal?