"Lady Teresa… Thank you for your understanding."
"Don't misunderstand," Teresa replied calmly. "This isn't forgiveness. We simply don't have the luxury to fight among ourselves. Our goals align — that's all. No one is helping anyone."
After hearing Rita's explanation of what happened to her squad, Teresa decided to temporarily cooperate.
Whether they liked it or not, stopping World Serpent's plans was something neither side could ignore.
"Your team… how are they?" Teresa asked quietly. Rita had arrived alone, which made her uneasy.
Rita lowered her gaze.
"The ones still alive are stable… but none of them can use their full strength. The serum's effects still linger."
Her voice carried frustration — she had not suffered a loss like this in years.
"I never imagined those evil breaths would be so powerful..."
"Those… wicked fumes?" Rita blinked in confusion. The strange wording caught her completely off guard.
"Right. I saw the hooded woman inject something into her neck," Teresa said, crouching to search the ground. "I'm not sure if it's related, but— ah, found it!"
She picked up the discarded injector.
"This is… the antidote?!"
The printed label confirmed it — an antidote specifically formulated to counteract the HSN-B64 serum. The side effects seemed tolerable.
"Wooooah, an antidote? Real-life antidotes? That's so cool!"
Jiuxiao leaned in, bright-eyed like she'd just discovered a legendary treasure.
Rita's eyes widened. "If this is real… then the supply must be in Shencheng Pharma's industrial sector. I need to go there — immediately."
Her squad's survival depended on restoring their strength.
"Perfect timing," Teresa said. "We were going to head there anyway."
With no clear idea how far World Serpent's plans had progressed, they needed to investigate.
The Eos… dismantled
"That's… the Eos?"
Teresa stopped in her tracks, disbelief freezing her in place.
The transport ship lay in ruins.
Broken. Gutted.
Stripped like a carcass.
"It seems they fought until the very end…"
Rita's fist tightened as she traced the battle scars across the hull.
But… Why had the World Serpent dismantled it?
Teresa approached cautiously, scanning the exposed interior.
"The Honkai engine is missing," Rita murmured. "They removed it. Why?"
Honkai energy? Did they want the energy itself? But that didn't explain removing the entire engine…
Extracting it outside the ship was dangerous — catastrophic, even.
Dangerous enough to—
"…Cause an explosion," Rita whispered. "Trigger an artificial Honkai eruption?"
She snapped upright, blood draining from her face.
"But why? Why would the World Serpent want to cause a Honkai disaster?"
Teresa, however, already understood.
"Kiana mentioned their experiments. They want to induce Honkai throughout Sky City…"
The realization settled coldly in her chest.
"In other words," Jiuxiao concluded, "their operation has already begun."
Teresa's expression hardened.
The attack was already underway.
They needed to locate the engine before it was too late.
But Sky City was enormous — a sprawling megacity.
They had no clues.
Nowhere to start.
"What do we do…?" Teresa murmured, brows furrowed.
A Savior's Insight
"If they want to spread Honkai energy across the entire city…"
Jiuxiao touched her chin thoughtfully.
"Wouldn't the center of the city be the optimal place?"
Teresa's eyes snapped open.
"Of course—the central transmission tower! The tallest structure in the entire city. If they set the engine at the very top… the Honkai field would cover everything!"
She nearly grabbed Jiuxiao and hugged her.
"Brilliant! Jiuxiao, that's incredible—!"
Rita nodded in agreement.
"Calm analysis even in crisis… a rare quality."
Is she one of Lady Teresa's students? she wondered quietly.
"Then let's go," Teresa said. "We don't have time to waste."
"Wait," Rita interjected. "Without the antidote, facing those modified robots will be extremely dangerous."
They all remembered what the serum-infused gas had done to Rita's squad.
Jiuxiao placed a confident hand over her heart.
"Don't worry. Leave everything to Jiuxiao. A Savior chosen by God fears nothing!"
Rita stared at her quietly.
Chosen by… God? Savior?
This girl was far stranger than she had imagined.
"Rita," Teresa said, making her final decision, "you head to the industrial district and search for the antidote. Jiuxiao and I will move to the central tower."
"I understand. Please be careful, Lady Teresa— and you as well, Miss Jiuxiao."
"You too," Teresa replied.
And with that, she and Jiuxiao vanished into the night, racing toward the heart of the city.
Rita watched them go, a faint crease forming between her brows.
Savior…? This girl is absolutely not simple.
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