"That really is quite useful." Siegfried nodded. "I wonder where exactly Miss Irene got such effective advice, and if there is any other even more effective advice."
"There is." Irene nodded. "For example, Mr. Siegfried, it would be best if you found a place to obediently stay put for now. Don't come out if you don't have to. There are many people eyeing the Judgment of Shamash in your hands."
Siegfried frowned slightly upon hearing this, looking down at the twin guns at his waist. After thinking for a moment, he looked up at Irene: "Otto?"
"No." Irene shook her head. "In short, just be careful. Then, we'll leave this doctor to you. You guys should be able to make better use of this doctor than us, right?"
"Saying 'use' might be a bit excessive, don't you think?" Siegfried shrugged, but he didn't refuse, reaching out to receive Magi. Magi didn't resist either.
Well, right now he just felt indifferent. No matter how bad it got, it wouldn't be worse than it was now. Returning to Schicksal meant being purged by Otto, all because of what he thought was an act of kindness.
Yet, he was about to plunge everyone in this city into crisis. If the gem truly detonated, this city might be destroyed, let alone the Herrscher that would be born afterward.
Cocolia was simply a madwoman. Since she wanted to screen for adaptable hosts for the Gem of the Herrscher this way, what method would she use to subdue it when the time came?
Even if she could subdue it, how many people would that Herrscher of Death kill in the process?
So, no matter what, the situation wouldn't be worse than it was now.
"Let's put it nicely and call it a handover." Siegfried didn't mind Dr. Magi's state, looking at Irene. "As for Miss Irene, I'll listen to your advice."
As he spoke, Siegfried pulled a small box from behind him and tossed it to Irene: "This is a device that can suppress the gem's activity. I'm not too clear on the principle, but it should help Miss Irene complete the mission."
"Alright." Irene caught the box, glanced at the item, and then put it away. "Oh, right, I haven't asked yet—how is the progress of the research on your side?"
"That, I'm not too clear about." Siegfried shook his head. He was just a combatant; he'd be looked down upon even if he just helped out in the lab, and he didn't have the mind for it.
When he came out, Tesla had given him this device to pass on. The reason he came over earlier was also because Tesla's system had detected her escaping direction in a video, prompting him to find them.
However, as a Schicksal Valkyrie, what kind of cooperation did Irene have with them?
"If you don't know, then forget it." Irene shook her head. "Then, if there's nothing else, I'll be going first. Won't you go see Kiana? Was meeting in the virtual space last time not enough?"
"..." Siegfried fell silent for a while, then shook his head. "Forget it. She's probably working hard to find me right now. I'd better not break this nice atmosphere."
"Are you afraid to meet her?"
"You don't have to say it so clearly, do you?" Siegfried scratched his head. "Just consider it saving some face for this old uncle."
"Alright~" Irene waved her hand. Then, she vanished instantly in front of Siegfried, leaving only a final sentence in the wind: "Then let's consider it saving a little face for this old uncle~"
Siegfried looked at the spot where Irene had vanished and shrugged: "Sigh, really, what is she pretending for in front of this old uncle?"
Siegfried stood in place, muttering while looking down at the Judgment of Shamash at his waist, his brow furrowing tightly.
"Many people eyeing it, huh..." He whispered to himself, then shook his head, supporting the soul-lost doctor. "Let's go, Doctor. It's not safe here."
"We need to find a place to have a good talk... about the future."
His figure quickly disappeared into the other end of the alleyway.
Meanwhile, Irene's focus was highly concentrated. By this time, the hotel had been completely cleared. Countless bodyguards, fully armed, were walking openly inside the hotel.
And judging by the looks of it, there wasn't a single person left inside the hotel.
Although this country had refused the protection of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, explicitly requiring that Schicksal and Anti-Entropy not have armies here, it was obvious that if Anti-Entropy and Schicksal really intended to come over, they wouldn't dare say a word of refusal.
Just like now. Even though so much time had passed, let alone the army, not even a single police officer had shown up.
Irene stood in the alley, peering at the situation inside through the hotel glass. Not only were there security guards inside the hotel, but there were also several activated Titan Mechas, and even quite a few Spider mechs.
If she were to collide with them head-on, she definitely wouldn't get any good fruit to eat. But Irene was Pardofelis right now, and Pardo never clashed with people head-on.
[Pardo, relying on you.] Irene crouched low, whispering in her consciousness, then handed control of her body to Pardo.
[Don't worry, Sister Irene! When it comes to stealth and pathfinding, I'm a professional!] Pardo's voice was full of confidence, even carrying a bit of eagerness.
Since coming to Irene, she hadn't done any "restocking" business for a long time. Her hands had long been itching.
Irene's body was now completely dominated by Pardo. Pardo tossed aside the small hat covering her cat ears, her tail swaying gently behind her.
Her sensitive cat ears captured every sound in the air—the footsteps of distant bodyguards, the airflow in the ventilation ducts, and the movement sounds of Titans were all captured.
Her pupils dilated into rounds as she scanned the hotel, which had turned off its external lights. Very quickly, Pardo locked onto an open window.
Then, Pardo moved like an invisible phantom, climbing up along the most inconspicuous maintenance ladders and air conditioning unit platforms on the hotel's exterior, her movements so light they seemed weightless.
Every foothold precisely avoided areas that might make a sound. Every movement happened to step right into the blind spots of the bodyguards, the Titans, and even the surveillance cameras.
Soon, Pardo slipped into a room. Pardo pushed open the door; Pardo's luck was always very good. There just happened to be no bodyguards patrolling outside, though the sound of Spider mechs moving could already be heard in the distance.
But Pardo had already chosen her path. Before the Spider mechs arrived, Pardo raised her tail and used it to pry open the grille of the central air conditioning vent in the corridor.
Then, with a fierce leap, she drilled into the ventilation duct. The duct was covered in dust, but Pardo didn't feel any discomfort. She crawled inside the duct, preparing to head to the next location.
The journey was extremely smooth, without even a decent obstacle. Pardo's footsteps were very light; even though there was metal sheeting beneath her feet, Pardo didn't make even the slightest sound.
Originally, Pardo was full of enthusiasm, but now she felt it was just so-so. After all, this was just a hotel; such a place couldn't have any real anti-theft measures.
This level of difficulty wasn't even close to what she faced back on Twilight Street, let alone later when she was "restocking" inside a military fortress like the Fire Moth.
She had never been caught in the act. It was always only after she had finished "restocking" that they would find out. Let alone some bodyguards and mechas, even if Boss Kevin and Elysia-nee came personally, it wouldn't work!
Pardo directly lifted a section of the ventilation duct. A Titan Mecha had just walked past behind her, yet Pardo didn't even turn her head, seeming completely unconcerned that the Titan might turn around.
And just at that moment, an elevator door in front of Pardo opened. A security guard walked out, looked at the Titan bodyguard that had just passed him, shrugged, and walked in the other direction.
The instant he turned around, Pardo darted directly into the elevator. The elevator doors closed, and Pardo had already darted from the elevator car into the elevator shaft.
[Uh, Pardo, isn't entering the elevator a bit unsafe? Elevators usually have surveillance, right?]
[Hehe, I noticed that long ago.] Pardo's voice carried confidence. [This elevator is the one we took with A-Hua and the others to go to the restaurant earlier. I noticed back then that the surveillance in this elevator was broken.]
[Uh, you really are something.] Irene shook her head. True, how could she question Pardo's luck and professionalism in "restocking"? Pardo had probably started planning how to act the moment she heard she had to steal the gem, right?
And what followed was Pardo's luck, which thoroughly opened Irene's eyes. Whenever she needed to avoid a patrol, the other party's communicator would "coincidentally" ring.
Whenever she needed a door to open, a Titan or a bodyguard would "coincidentally" come out from inside. Pardo even followed behind a squad of bodyguards, yet not a single person in that squad looked back, allowing Pardo to follow behind them completely unnoticed.
[It really is somewhat breathtaking.] Lixue watched Pardo's performance. Although her face was calm, the surprise in her eyes was hard to conceal.
It wasn't just Irene who was shocked by Pardo's flowing, cloud-like stealth; Kallen and Lixue, observing Pardo's performance from the Palace of Consciousness, were also somewhat surprised.
[Is this Master's former comrade-in-arms?]
[I feel like this can't be explained by settings like 'comrade-in-arms' anymore.] Kallen's mouth twitched incessantly. As a former phantom thief, Kallen knew very well how difficult stealth was.
You could never guarantee that all your actions wouldn't be seen—of course, given Kallen's flamboyant personality and that special evening gown.
Rather than calling her a phantom thief back then, it was more like she was a robber. If not for Otto wiping Kallen's butt and handling the problems, Kallen would have been caught long ago.
With the blessing of Pardo's "causality-level" stealth ability and luck, Pardo passed through layers of security with near misses but no danger, essentially "strolling idly."
Having attracted no attention, Pardo arrived at the target of their trip: the door to that underground vault.
The heavy alloy door shimmered with a cold metallic luster, and the complex mechanical combination lock and biometric system declared its extremely high security level.
However, there were no bodyguards here, nor any Titan Mechas. Even the door was in an open state. But the moment Pardo arrived, she knew why they weren't needed.
Because inside that vault, Honkai energy crystals had already begun to condense. Extremely violent Honkai energy was radiating from within. Security wasn't needed; the Honkai energy itself was the best security here.
Powerful Honkai energy blasted against Pardo's body. Since the infiltration was complete, Irene immediately took back control and began to circulate the Taixuan Sword Qi.
Using the Taixuan Sword Qi method to withstand the Honkai energy, she dispersed it to avoid being eroded by the Honkai energy.
Irene walked into the vault, the scene before her heart-palpitating. The entire interior of the vault had completely changed appearance; the cold metal walls were covered in a thick layer of dark purple Honkai energy crystals.
And in the center of the vault, an opened safe had long been violently dismantled and thrown on the ground. The small Honkai energy power furnace inside, originally used to power Valkyrie armor, had been ripped out.
That small Honkai energy power furnace was sitting on a platform, radiating Honkai energy. And above it, a gem emitting an ominous dark light was quietly floating in mid-air.
Like a beating heart, it continuously radiated terrifying waves of Honkai energy outward. And that gem was precisely the Gem of Serenity.
Obviously, Cocolia had completely activated the gem and even gave it a fierce push, sending the entire gem into a violent state. In a little while, a major Honkai eruption would probably occur here.
Irene immediately took out the suppression device given by Siegfried and approached the gem cautiously, the Honkai energy crystals under her feet making subtle cracking sounds as she stepped.
The closer she got to the gem, the stronger the force of corruption became. Relying solely on the Taixuan Sword Qi driven by Pardo's body was no longer enough to disperse the surrounding Honkai energy.
A slight stinging sensation came from her skin surface, but Irene didn't have time to worry about that. Holding her breath, she aimed the suppression device in her hand at that restless gem, preparing to capture it.
But just then, a voice she knew incredibly well—yet at this moment was cold, deep, and carried a trace of lazy mockery—quietly rang out from the vault entrance behind her, accompanied by the sound of footsteps.
"Oh? Teacher, are you also coveting my 'other half'?"
Hearing the voice behind her, Irene's body instantly froze. She turned her head in disbelief to look at the door. That voice... was Kiana.
She was incredibly certain, but precisely because of that, Irene already knew that this wasn't the lively and cheerful white-haired dumpling she knew.
At the door of the vault, [Kiana] was leaning lazily against the alloy gate. That blue-and-white qipao was still on her body.
But her aura had been turned upside down. In her azure eyes, brilliant golden light flowed like molten lava, carrying an indifference and playfulness that looked down upon all living things.
The corners of her mouth hooked up into an arc, and her whole body radiated a terrifying pressure. The golden light in her eyes already made it clear: this was no longer that cute white-haired dumpling, but the awakened Herrscher of the Void.
"What?" [Kiana] tilted her head, her golden pupils sizing up the tense Irene with interest, as well as the device in her hand targeting the Gem of Serenity.
"Teacher? Are you not happy to see me?"
________________________________________
🌸 Help Love Bloom!
Our girls need a little push... and you can help!
💖 Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 50 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter to warm your hearts.
🔥 20% CODE: ILOVEYURI
🚀 Community Reward: If we reach 10 supporting members, we'll have a +5 chapter marathon across all stories! The romance won't stop.
👻 Come to our secret corner: Search for GirlsLove on (P). You know that's where the magic happens... 😉