Mu Yue, who had just parted ways with them in the restaurant, reappeared before them, wearing a shirt with Haxxor Bunny printed on it, smiling and greeting Himeko and the others.
"Could it be… you're chasing us because we didn't give you our phone numbers?"
Inaba Tsukiyo found Mu Yue, who had caught up, more and more problematic. After all, which manga artist would go to such lengths?
Could it be… this guy really had a crush on Himeko? That's why he ran over to ask Himeko for her phone number?
"Haha~ Although it's a shame I didn't get your phone numbers, I see you all seem to want to go out to sea to find Nine Nether. How about it? I also happen to want to see Nine Nether; shall we go out to sea together?"
"Go out to sea? Sir, why are you so sure this will be a 'going out to sea'? It's possible you might end up 'jumping into the sea' instead, you know."
With a faint smile, Inaba Tsukiyo said jokingly.
The phrase "going out to sea" has other meanings in Chinese. Of course, they weren't actually going to "go out to sea," but in this operation, they absolutely couldn't let him come along, which meant this guy would definitely be thrown into the sea.
Himeko and Fu Hua couldn't help but glance at Inaba Tsukiyo, lowering their heads to consider the possibility of this matter.
"Ah haha~ Um… don't be like that, I don't have any other intentions. I just want to see if Chiyou from the legends of Shenzhou is really there."
Mu Yue looked at Inaba Tsukiyo with an unnatural expression, seemingly startled by Inaba Tsukiyo's words.
"Don't let my otaku appearance fool you; I actually really enjoy adventure! Even if you don't come with me this time, I'll go down by myself to find Nine Nether's location."
"The reason you like adventure is because you're afraid of your editor rushing you for manuscripts, so you deliberately play missing?"
Some popular manga artists and novelists are like this; for the sake of so-called inspiration, they leave a letter and then go off on an adventure.
Of course… the adventure here doesn't refer to *that* 'adventure'; don't get the wrong idea.
Mu Yue's words made Himeko a bit troubled.
If an ordinary person gets caught in the Honkai, they would definitely die. But if she agreed to his request, she would have to take him along, and then she would have to be distracted protecting him.
However… if she refused his invitation, she would have to wait here for the branch's rescue. She couldn't wait that long.
"Agree to him, Major Himeko."
Fu Hua leaned close to Himeko's ear and whispered.
"Let them take us down one floor. Once we find the location of Nine Nether, we'll knock him out and leave him on the ship."
Fu Hua naturally understood Himeko's concerns. After all, they only agreed to go together, not to go into the sea together.
'The lies of adults.'
Inaba Tsukiyo, who clearly heard Fu Hua and Himeko's whispers, stood aside and sighed with emotion.
After they finished discussing, the four boarded Mu Yue's ship and headed towards Nine Nether.
Fu Hua carried a Honkai detection device. In fact, finding Nine Nether's location wasn't difficult; the sea area where Nine Nether was located would definitely be a dangerous one.
As long as the detector approached strong Honkai Energy, it would react, which would help pinpoint the approximate location.
To dive, all four needed to change into diving gear. They had already acquired wetsuits that fit them when they came to the port.
It was just… a problem arose.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but could you please help me?"
Inaba Tsukiyo, holding a wetsuit, said to Himeko and Fu Hua, who were changing clothes.
The wetsuit looked simple, but it was somewhat troublesome to put on, and given her condition, it was better to have someone help.
"I see… Then I'll help you. Take off your clothes first."
"Take off my clothes? How direct. I understand."
She nodded. Anyway, it was all girls here, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about even if they saw her naked.
Inaba Tsukiyo was only wearing a miko dance outfit. She simply untied the sash and quickly took off her clothes.
"You're really thin. You don't seem to have any muscle at all, even though you're so powerful."
Facing the naked Inaba Tsukiyo, Himeko helped her while examining Inaba Tsukiyo's body.
Just like an ordinary girl, Inaba Tsukiyo had no muscle at all. Even when Fu Hua examined her, she didn't find any particularly developed muscles.
Fu Hua herself was a powerful woman with an eight-pack, and as a martial artist, it was easy for her to tell.
"It's just massaging tight muscles after exercise to relax them. I'm not a bodybuilder; I don't need to train myself to be like that. Besides… that wouldn't be cute."
To train herself to be all muscle? The thought sent shivers down her spine. Is that still a girl? She wouldn't be a muscular Barbie, would she?
For some reason, Inaba Tsukiyo's mind conjured an image of a girl with a muscular body but a very cute head, and then this girl used 'little fist to pound your chest' on someone.
"Never mind, you should have your own training techniques. However, you and Bronya are both fourteen, yet as an older sister, you're shorter than your younger sister, and even your figure is. You need to drink more milk when you go back, you know."
Saying that, Himeko even grabbed Inaba Tsukiyo's chest. It could be said that Inaba Tsukiyo's chest was at a level where it was practically invisible.
According to a certain person, there was no discernible difference between Inaba Tsukiyo's stomach and chest.
"…Please don't sexually harass me, Major Himeko. Do you want me to make strange noises so that the Boy outside, who might be eavesdropping on our conversation, can hear them?"
Inaba Tsukiyo's words made Mu Yue, who had been leaning his ear against the door, quickly walk towards the driver's seat.
This guy, he had been stopping by the door listening to their conversation since just now, or rather, was he just a pervert? Wanting to hear girls change clothes.
This was Inaba Tsukiyo's real experience. As long as one had a good imagination and good hearing, one could simulate the scene of a girl changing clothes in their mind.
It was only then that Himeko realized there was a Boy besides them, and she stopped joking, helping Inaba Tsukiyo put on her wetsuit.
After putting on the wetsuit, Inaba Tsukiyo carefully placed the horseshoe cake she had packed from the restaurant earlier into a special box and carried it with her.
At the same time, she tried the weapon-hanging spots on her waist. After finding no problems, she nodded in satisfaction.
"Oh, right, you can't see things, can you? What are you going to do when we jump into the water later?"
Suddenly, Kiana thought of a very important matter: Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't see. What would she do when she was in the water?
Even if Inaba Tsukiyo's perception was very good, their next target was the sea. With her body completely enveloped in seawater, could she still exert her keen sensory abilities?
"Oh? I didn't expect you to notice this problem, Kiana. You're right; Tsukiyo's eye problem does need to be considered. Theresa told me about this problem, and we also considered this factor. So… we prepared this."
Saying that, Himeko took out a chain from her equipment. This chain had hooks on both ends, a design that seemed to be for connecting something.
"What is this? Is it for attacking?"
Kiana took the chain and asked curiously.
"It's not made of soul steel, so how can we use it to fight Honkai Beasts? This is just equipment to tie Tsukiyo and have someone take her along."
Himeko couldn't help but roll her eyes at Kiana. This kind of thing was fine for dealing with people, but using it against Honkai Beasts? Was she trying to die? It was truly ridiculous.
Kiana nodded in understanding. After Himeko's reminder, she also noticed that there were special hooking spots on the waist. It seemed this chain should be hooked to those spots.
This… since two people needed to hook this chain, then besides Inaba Tsukiyo, who else would wear this?
Regarding Kiana's question, Himeko and Fu Hua's gazes focused on her.
The room suddenly fell into an unusually silent atmosphere. The two women's gazes made Kiana pause, and she pointed at herself.
"Me?"
"Yes, it's you."
Originally, the plan was for Fu Hua to take Inaba Tsukiyo, but since Kiana was here, it would be better for Fu Hua to be independent and do more important things. Anyway, Kiana hadn't been much use, so this was a good opportunity to take care of Inaba Tsukiyo.
"No! Why should I do this? And aren't you worried that I might unhook the chain midway and throw her into the sea? Also, what if this chain accidentally breaks?"
Are you kidding? Why should she do such a thing? She never had much good feelings for Inaba Tsukiyo, alright?
Even though Inaba Tsukiyo cooked in the dorm, Inaba Tsukiyo always found ways to teach her a lesson, which made Kiana hate Inaba Tsukiyo so much her teeth ached. Even telling Theresa was no use.
"Don't worry, although this chain isn't made of soul steel, its material isn't so simple that it would break. As for you throwing Tsukiyo into the sea…"
Himeko and Fu Hua couldn't help but glance at Inaba Tsukiyo, who had been unresponsive since just now. Inaba Tsukiyo, who had never worn such tight clothing, tugged at her clothes uncomfortably.
She seemed to notice Himeko and Fu Hua's gazes and tilted her head in confusion.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"No, nothing happened. It's just, you need to pay attention when we go into the water later."
Himeko simply explained about the chain, and also repeated Kiana's earlier words.
"Oh… I see. Thank you. However, I didn't expect classmate Kiana to actually want to leave me in the sea? Hehe~ It seems you have a lot of opinions about me."
"Ugh!"
Kiana couldn't help but gulp. Actually, she had only been speaking out of anger just now. Even if she had truly entertained such a thought, she wouldn't have been so ruthless.
Kiana wasn't a mischievous child like An-Mar; how could she do such a thing?
Not to mention, this time they were going to Nine Serenities for the divine key—the xuanyuan sword. She knew the difference between a mission and a joke.
Inaba Tsukiyo walked up to Kiana, reached out, and patted her arm, smiling.
"If… you really want to throw me into the sea, it's fine. However, that would mean Inaba Tsukiyo trusted the wrong person, and I would take this experience as a lesson. From then on, you and I would only be strangers."
There was no usual anger, no usual blame, but her words stunned Kiana.
Watching Inaba Tsukiyo continue to adjust her diving suit, Kiana looked at the chain in her hand and fell silent.
After the four of them were ready, they had almost found the sea area where Nine Serenities was located.
After Mu Yue parked the boat, she was about to change into a diving suit, only to be secretly knocked unconscious by Himeko with a strike to her neck.
"Although I'm sorry, it's too dangerous for an ordinary person to go there. You should just stay here."
Himeko apologized to Mu Yue, who was lying on the ground. Just as she was about to put on her helmet, she suddenly remembered something. She picked up a note in the room, left a string of numbers on it, and then went outside the room.
"Did you have a good chat with her? Or did you just knock her out, Major Himeko?"
After Himeko came out, Inaba Tsukiyo couldn't help but ask.
"I don't think someone of your ability wouldn't hear the commotion inside the room. To prevent accidents, this was the quickest way."
"No, no, no, I was just worried you'd punch her to death. You know she's an ordinary human. If you hit too hard, her bones might just snap."
"Don't make me out to be someone who doesn't know her own strength. I know how to treat ordinary people."
Himeko knew Inaba Tsukiyo was teasing her about using a greatsword as a weapon, essentially calling her a violent woman.
"Then… get your gear ready. If there are no problems, then we can go into the water!"
Kiana checked that the chain on her body was firmly connected to Inaba Tsukiyo, then nodded to Himeko.
After confirming that their equipment was in order, the four of them jumped off the boat with their gear.
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