*Tap, tap, tap...*
"What's that sound?"
A bright light illuminated a circular area.
The Shencheng Pharmaceutical patrol guard, wearing night-vision equipment, looked in the direction of the light but saw nothing.
"Did you see something?"
Another patrol guard walked over.
Just like the first one, he saw nothing but the common green plants in the industrial park.
"I think I heard something."
"A sound?"
The second guard looked in the direction of the light. There was nothing but some plants, and it didn't look like a place where someone could hide.
"You probably misheard it, or maybe some wild animal crawled by."
Patting his colleague's shoulder, the second guard, seeing that this guy was new, decided to give him a kind reminder. "This is just a job, no need to be so serious."
"Even if you find something incredible, the company will only give you a tiny raise at most."
"But in a country like this, you might run into more than just ordinary people. Criminals like gangsters won't show you mercy just because you're unarmed."
With that, the senior guard turned and continued his patrol.
Just as he said, even if he noticed something unusual, he wouldn't try to find out the truth.
After all, how much was Shencheng Pharmaceutical paying him?
Places like the Philippines aren't as peaceful and stable as East Asia. Guns and drug-related crimes are common here, and gangs operate semi-openly.
Rather than working himself to the bone for a low-paying job, even risking his life, it was far more comfortable to just muddle through.
The business belongs to the company, but your life is your own.
Even if they didn't care about their own lives, their families were still counting on them, the breadwinners, to bring money home for food.
"That's true."
Coming back to his senses, the guard who had noticed the anomaly continued patrolling his designated route.
With his senior's advice, his patrol movements began to shift rapidly toward being perfunctory.
And in the direction he had previously been looking...
"Phew~~, that scared me to death."
The chestnut-haired girl patted her full chest, her delicate face filled with relief.
Even though she had prepared beforehand, when it came to actually executing the infiltration plan, she still inevitably made a mistake and was almost discovered by the Shencheng Pharmaceutical patrol.
Fortunately, the salary Shencheng Pharmaceutical offered these patrol guards was very low, not nearly enough to make them diligently stand guard.
In the darkness, Ana Schariac and the Russian loli beside her crouched down, waiting for the third person to finish their actions.
"Are you done? The patrol is coming back again."
Not far behind the two of them, a black-haired young man plunged a bladeless black longsword into the ground, intervening in Shencheng Pharmaceutical's information system in the most direct way possible, making the place his own.
The Honkai energy on the Divine Key pulsed like a breath, and an ominous black power invaded all networked devices in the area.
Before long, the young man, Brian, no longer hid his tracks and stood up swaggeringly.
"Alright, we don't need to hide anymore."
These patrol guards were all wearing professional equipment connected to Shencheng Pharmaceutical's entire information network.
Although this method increased work efficiency, it also made it convenient for him to use Jizo Mitama.
By simply spreading the power of the Herrscher of Corruption to the central hub and every terminal of the information system, their existence would naturally be hidden from it.
The two girls stood up.
Ana, who had almost been discovered just now, still had a look of thrilling danger on her face. "Is this... really okay? Aren't we being a little too bold?"
A beam of light swept over, and a patrol guard approached amidst the girl's anxiety.
"I definitely heard a sound, so why can't I see anything?"
The panicked girl was already within the range of the light beam, and she was even prepared to attack the patrol guard.
At that moment, a warm sensation enveloped her tense hand, giving her confidence.
The man seemed to be saying, "I'm here, don't worry."
The patrol guard got closer and closer, the crisp sound of his footsteps almost making Ana's heart leap out of her chest.
When he was just a stone's throw away, the patrol guard made a puzzled sound. "Have there been a lot of small animals like cats and dogs around lately? Why do they always run over here?"
With that, the man returned to his patrol route, finally giving Ana Schariac's anxiously beating heart a chance to breathe.
Only then did the girl realize she had been holding hands with a member of the opposite sex for so long.
"S-sorry, it was all my fault that everyone was almost discovered."
The chestnut-haired girl, having pulled her hand away, was full of apology, almost resorting to the traditional Far East method of apology in front of Bronya and Brian—the dogeza.
She, the host, was supposed to be helping, but the other two were nearly discovered by Shencheng Pharmaceutical because of her carelessness.
If the mission failed because of her, she felt she would at least receive a reprimand from the Far East Branch.
The black-haired youth waved his hand, the black longsword in his grasp glowing with a color deeper than the night. "It's fine. With Jizo Mitama here, even if we were discovered, it wouldn't cause too much of a stir."
Jizo Mitama wasn't just a hegemon in the information domain; it was also quite adept at controlling organic life.
However, for ordinary people with little resistance to Honkai energy, such a method was tantamount to murder.
Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, Brian generally wouldn't use this ability.
*A Divine Key...*
The chestnut-haired girl was drawn in by the keyword in his sentence, and ripples appeared in her watery pink eyes.
She had also been deployed in Schicksal's operation in Nagazora City of the Far East, participating in the fight against Anti-Entropy.
She didn't know the purpose of that conflict with Anti-Entropy at the time, but she learned some inside information afterward and received news that the Far East Branch had acquired a new Divine Key.
She had only heard its name, never seen its form.
She knew the name of the twelfth Divine Key, but she never expected to see this mysterious weapon so soon.
"This is Jizo Mitama?"
Ana was curious, but she didn't recklessly try to touch it.
Any member of Schicksal who had received a complete education knew not to touch a Divine Key if they lacked the ability.
That wasn't satisfying one's curiosity; it was courting death.
"Mm, this is the Twelfth Divine Key, a very disobedient child."
The moment young Brian finished speaking, the bladeless body of Jizo Mitama let out a light hum, like a young girl's curse.
Ana, seeing a Divine Key for the first time in her life, was full of curiosity, but she also knew this wasn't the time to be willful. "This is my first time seeing a Divine Key, but we're on a tight schedule. Let's complete our mission first."
A heavy feeling arose within her.
She wasn't naive and knew very well the status of a Divine Key.
For a Divine Key wielder to be dispatched with Jizo Mitama, this mission had to be of utmost importance!
"Yeah, let's go in."
The three of them swaggered into Shencheng Pharmaceutical. All the electronic equipment was completely undefended, allowing them free passage.
Bronya found an internal computer. "Help me. Bronya wants to see what's in here."
Black power spread, and Bronya smoothly gained full access to the computer.
The girl, an expert hacker, pulled up all the data on the computer. The research Shencheng Pharmaceutical was conducting here was laid bare before the three of them.
"Research on the process of human zombification..."
"Weaponization modification of Honkai Zombies..."
"..."
All sorts of data, regardless of how humane they were, were completely exposed before the three of them.
Seeing such bloody and cruel experiments for the first time, Ana Schariac's face turned a little pale.
"This... is what Shencheng Pharmaceutical is doing right now?"
The other two's expressions remained unchanged. "That's right. This is a pharmaceutical group, so it's inevitable that a lot of inhumane research will occur."
Especially since the leader of Shencheng Pharmaceutical was the cruel Jackal. The evidence of crimes here was not even the tip of the iceberg compared to the brutal research that fellow conducted.
Bronya didn't waste time on this irrelevant data and quickly found what they were looking for.
"Found it!"
"HSN-B46 Serum data."
Data full of Schicksal's traces filled the screen, pulling Ana Schariac away from the bloody research files.
"Is this... Dr. Magi's data?"
"Mm, this serum is the result of Dr. Magi's research on the Gem of Serenity."
The man's expression showed no surprise at all.
If he were World Serpent, he would definitely choose to squeeze every last drop of value from Dr. Magi.
The Gem of Serenity he took away was only the most precious part; the knowledge in his head was also immensely valuable.
Setting aside the economic benefits that were destined to become worthless paper, Dr. Magi's research results on the Herrscher Core were already worthy of World Serpent's covetousness.
Finding this data meant that Shencheng Pharmaceutical must have had direct or indirect contact with Dr. Magi.
"If we follow this Shencheng Pharmaceutical lead, we should at least be able to find where Dr. Magi is."
With the Key of Corruption in hand, investigating information was no problem at all.
Suddenly...
"Is that so?"
"I think you all could probably quiet down a bit, my friends."
A tall figure appeared behind the three of them. Natasha Cioara, dressed as a city professional, leaned against the doorframe, tossing a small knife up and down with a flick of her wrist.
What a coincidence.
After Schicksal obtained the Key of Corruption, Jizo Mitama, Shencheng Pharmaceutical, under that woman Jackal's arrangement, had its information system upgraded.
Although in the face of Jizo Mitama, an upgrade was no different from not having one, it could at least send out an alert before it was completely compromised.
They couldn't handle the Key of Corruption, Jizo Mitama, but they could consider handling the user of Jizo Mitama.
If you can't solve the problem, solve the person creating the problem.
This was World Serpent's simple and unadorned choice.
Bronya took her hands off the computer, and the cannon of Project Bunny, which appeared behind her, began to glow.
Ana Schariac's gaze was sharp, but she wasn't entirely confident she could defeat this woman; after all, Valkyries were skilled at dealing with Honkai Beasts, not fighting humans.
Only Brian remained composed. "Are you that confident you can take care of the three of us by yourself?"
Without a Divine Key, it wouldn't take much effort for Raven to deal with the three of them. But with the Key of Corruption in hand, no matter how careful Raven was, there was still a chance she could stumble and fall.
As the current user of the Seven Thunders of Retribution, she was deeply aware of the power of a Divine Key.
Therefore...
"No, no, no, of course I'm not that confident."
Natasha Cioara held her hands open, indicating she had no hostile intent.
"I may be a mercenary, but I'm not so clueless about my own strength like Cocolia."
"In front of that sword in your hand, even I would have a hard time coming out on top."
Raven's crimson vertical pupils turned to Bronya. "The Silver Wolf missy next to you, isn't she the best example?"
"You erased the backdoor Cocolia left in her biochip, but then you implanted your own backdoor for her."
Changing Bronya Zaychik from Cocolia's shape to his own shape.
To be honest, this man was truly despicable.
Bronya immediately retorted, "That's between him and me, it has nothing to do with you!"
"Alright, alright."
Raven smiled helplessly. "It seems I, an outsider, was being nosy."
"Let's talk about the matter at hand."
A compelling glint flashed in her snake-like crimson pupils. Raven wasn't wearing any equipment, yet she exuded an unimaginable oppressive force.
This woman... is strong!
Ana Schariac was secretly alarmed, feeling that this assassin gave her a sensation no less intense than that of the Immortal Blades' vice-captain.
But she also knew that the stronger the obstacle they encountered, the closer they were to their mission objective.
Raven: "I know what your goal is. Can we all sit down and talk it over, for everyone's benefit?"
If the problem could be solved peacefully, Raven would of course be delighted.
After all, Dr. Magi had nothing to do with her. Even if he died in front of her, she wouldn't feel a thing.
Rather than fighting to the death for someone unrelated to her, it was better to sit down and handle things peacefully.
Although...
"Raven, do you think that's possible?"
She also knew it was unlikely.
After all...
"Dr. Magi isn't important. What's important is what he took from Schicksal HQ."
Compared to the Herrscher Core, Dr. Magi's importance was negligible.
Raven gave a bitter smile. "Then we have even more reason to sit down and talk. The Gem of Serenity that Dr. Magi took is not in the Philippines, and I have no idea where that Cocolia fellow sent it."
"..."
The chestnut-haired girl's cherry lips opened wide enough to fit a peach.
She originally thought she was just pursuing a Schicksal defector, but she never expected this guy to have also stolen a Herrscher Core from Schicksal HQ.
Are those guys at Schicksal HQ pigs who only know how to eat? And why didn't the Immortal Blades step up to handle this problem?
The young man, Brian, had no time to deal with the Valkyrie's astonishment. "I don't need you to think, I need me to think!"
Reports of Dr. Magi sightings were all over Southeast Asia, clearly a smokescreen set up by Cocolia, and by extension, World Serpent.
He didn't know their specific goal, but wherever Shencheng Pharmaceutical appeared, it was never good news.
"I'm giving you one last chance to come clean. Otherwise, what happens next will surely make you regret it!"
"Oh?"
Bold and skilled, even when facing a Divine Key, Raven was fearless.
"You talk big. Aren't you afraid of biting your own tongue?"
The gray-haired, red-eyed girl's muscles tensed, ready for battle.
As soon as this untouchable man launched an attack on her.
She would immediately... turn and run!
Shencheng Pharmaceutical wasn't her property; she was just affiliated with it in name. There was no need to risk her life for that Jackal fellow.
Besides, this man's abilities were so depraved, he almost turned her into that 'gluttonous child'.
For her own personal safety, to avoid a future where she had to ask Jackal to deliver her baby... she felt it was best to keep a respectful distance.
The very thought of Jackal delivering her baby made Raven's head split. She'd rather just drop dead on the spot.
At least that would be quicker.
However, the black-haired youth she was so wary of had no intention of attacking. He just calmly recited the intelligence Ana had received a few hours ago.
"Three months ago, in the Irish region of the UK, an island and the castle on it changed ownership."
Raven: "..."
A forced smile.
Her face was smiling, but her heart was bleeding!
"Are you trying to make small talk with me? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"It's said that the buyer who spent a fortune was a very young lady, and she has a very famous reputation in the underworld."
This was practically spelling it out.
But Raven still wouldn't give up until she was faced with the undeniable truth.
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about!"
"Is that so?"
The man smiled wickedly and revealed the arrangements he had made before nightfall. "Since you didn't buy the island, then I'll have someone detonate the explosives that were just delivered there."
"An island bought for millions of pounds is about to sink to the bottom of the sea because its new owner refuses to admit it's hers."
Raven: "..."
"Raven... no, it should be Exploding Island Raven."
The name coming from the Inner World Protagonist's mouth was filled with undisguised malice.
"You wouldn't want the island you just bought a while ago to be blown up by me, would you?"
Her money! Her island! Her castle!
All would be turned to dust by her one decision.
*The world is too damn crazy.jpg*
...