"What, are you serious!"
Saint Freya, in the Principal's office.
Theresa could not help but raise her voice a few octaves.
Cecilia, also in the Principal's office, asked in confusion, "What happened?"
"Tianqiong City has experienced an unknown Honkai disaster. Although the local government has managed to control the scale, external assistance is needed."
Theresa did not hide anything and conveyed the news from Tianqiong City to Cecilia.
Cecilia said, "Then I'll prepare right away."
"Mm."
Given the current situation, it was most appropriate for Cecilia to head to Tianqiong City.
"But what about Kiana?" Theresa frowned. "Shouldn't they go with you? This is a rare training opportunity."
Cecilia shook her head. "You know, I've never wanted my daughter to walk this path. While I can still protect them, there's no need to let them bear such immense pressure."
Cecilia was a good mother.
She had never regarded her daughter as a savior or a Valkyrie, even though Chen Ran and Otto had mentioned more than once that Kiana was special.
Theresa nodded. "I'll send you the intelligence."
She took a deep breath and continued, "But Cecilia, please forgive me this time for not being able to go with you."
Cecilia nodded. "I understand. You're investigating Chen Ran."
"Well…"
Having her thoughts exposed, even she felt somewhat embarrassed.
After their meal that day, Theresa and Himeko began investigating Chen Ran's existence.
For Himeko, Chen Ran was very likely to help her investigate the truth about her father, Murata Ryusuke's disappearance.
As for Theresa's investigation of Chen Ran, it was purely to understand what kind of person he was.
After all, Wendy was so close to Chen Ran, and as a teacher, she needed to know a bit about him.
Theresa said, "After all, what you mentioned last time was just too incredible. It's good to understand a bit more."
"And during this time, Wendy has been going out frequently. No need to think, it must be because Chen Ran is back again."
Now, Wendy was also a teacher at Saint Freya, responsible for teaching Valkyrie combat.
This not only reduced Himeko's workload but also increased the enthusiasm of the students at Saint Freya.
After all, Wendy was still very young, only 15 this year. No one wanted to be taught by a 15-year-old girl who seemed inexperienced.
But now, Wendy frequently asked for leave, which made Theresa start to pay attention.
Let's not cause any trouble.
Cecilia could only smile wryly at this.
She had interacted with Wendy quite a bit and knew that Wendy was a restrained person.
"Well then, I'm off."
The aircraft from Saint Freya began its journey towards Tianqiong City. For Cecilia, this was just a simple extermination task.
So, she naturally had no idea what kind of madness awaited in Tianqiong City.
…
…
When Chen Ran woke up on Coral Island, Wendy, who should have been sleeping beside him, had already prepared breakfast.
The girl, wearing an apron, leaned over to Chen Ran and said, "Mr. Chen, it's time to get up."
Her voice was playful, as if she was teasing him on purpose.
Chen Ran couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "I can only get up after a kiss."
"Ew, so greasy."
Wendy huffed in a tsundere manner but still gave him a light kiss.
The two spent little time together, which instead became an essential part of their lives.
"I made breakfast, some of the dishes I learned from Big Sister Mei." The girl held a spatula in one hand and said, "Come try it; you haven't tasted my cooking yet."
"Mm."
After he quickly washed up, he tasted a bite under Wendy's eager gaze.
"Hmm, delicious."
His eyes lit up slightly.
Wendy's cooking talent, while not as exaggerated as Mei's, was still competent for home-cooked meals. Today's breakfast, besides bread and milk, also included fried eggs and bacon. In fact, it was hard to make it taste bad.
However, that did not hinder Chen Ran's praise.
Wendy blinked: "If it's good, then eat more."
Chen Ran nodded.
Just then, his phone rang.
Chen Ran looked surprised: "It's a call from Raven, hold on a second."
The day before Raven left, Chen Ran had established a cooperative relationship with her.
To be precise, Chen Ran needed Raven to gather information about Project Stigma, and he had also promised to find a way to defeat Honkai as soon as possible.
Chen Ran couldn't make any promises to Raven; that was beyond doubt.
He had thought that after Raven left, she would hardly contact him again.
After all, to Raven, Chen Ran was the most dangerous person.
So, when Raven called, Chen Ran was surprised for a moment.
"I hope I'm not disturbing your rest."
On the other end of the line, Raven's slightly tired voice came through.
She said, "Project Stigma has begun."
Chen Ran couldn't help but ask, "Tianqiong City?"
"Oh, you know, I almost forgot you can jump through time, so it's not surprising you know this."
Raven paused and said to Chen Ran, "That's right, so this time do you plan to participate in stopping it?"
Chen Ran frowned slightly and said, "Even without me, Project Stigma will still conclude."
He did not mention anything about the Celestial Meteor.
But based on the time's corrective nature, the possibility of failure for this plan was quite high.
One could even say that Kevin might not have allowed it to succeed.
"However, I will still go take a look." Chen Ran replied to Raven.
Raven nodded: "Alright."
After hanging up, Chen Ran looked at Wendy.
Wendy's eyes showed a helpless smile: "Alright, I know Mr. is going to be busy again and can't accompany me."
"There's no helping it. Although I can foresee part of the future, who can guarantee that the future will unfold as I foresee?"
The plot in his memory was actually a series of coincidences.
If it weren't for the Will of the Herrscher, there would be no Celestial Meteor.
And now, although Kiana had become the Herrscher of the Void, she was currently at Saint Freya, not lost in Tianqiong City.
Even though it was Raven who reported this news to him, Project Stigma would proceed as planned.
Chen Ran did not believe that without his participation, there would still be a 'Celestial Meteor.'
After all, with Sirin's situation fresh in his mind, perhaps he was the key node to change this matter.
Thinking of this, Chen Ran had no choice but to get involved in this matter.
Wendy said, "Let's go together."
As for the classes at Saint Freya, Wendy had completely set them aside.
Chen Ran couldn't help but mourn for Theresa for a second.
"Alright, I'll first take care of the matters regarding the Starry Sky Ladder."
He was still the overall person in charge of the Starry Sky Ladder, and it wasn't like he had nothing to do.
The Starry Sky Ladder was essentially a Honkai Beast disguised in technological skin, but fortunately, the construction work was already proficient and did not require him to command all the time.
Meanwhile, in Tianqiong City.
After Raven hung up, her eyes showed contemplation.
"You did well, Natasha."
A sinister voice echoed: "I will report your contributions truthfully."
"Stop with the nonsense, Little Sora, where are the others from the orphanage? Hurry up and let them go." Raven looked at Gray Serpent, her eyes revealing a hint of resentment.
She was coerced.
After the Honkai incident in Nagazora City, Raven adopted the survivors of Nagazora City.
Most of these survivors were orphans, incomplete awakeners of Stigmata.
To be precise, although they could be called human, they could not escape the Honkai. Therefore, Raven established a 'nest' in Nagazora City for these children to live in.
Later, due to the matters involving Wendy and Chen Ran, Raven severed ties with World Serpent.
She thought that after returning to Siberia, she would have no further interactions with World Serpent, but unexpectedly, Gray Serpent came knocking.
Moreover, he used the safety of the 'nest' as leverage.
"Don't worry, they are safe," Gray Serpent said. "They have all passed the Stigmata test, and with the Lord's permission, they will be moved to a safer place to live."
Raven sneered, "And then be studied by Jackal?"
Raven actually trusted Kevin's character, but she certainly had no good words for Jackal's methods.
Gray Serpent said lightly, "You should know better than I do that the research Jackal is involved in is nothing to the Serpent."
"And besides, I can take care of those children on a personal level. After all, they will call me Uncle Gray Serpent, won't they?"
Gray Serpent's words made Raven feel a surge of anger.
She could not resist the power of World Serpent, especially after Kevin came out of the Sea of Quanta; she could only be manipulated.
She said flatly, "In any case, I have completed what you wanted me to do, so I should be leaving now."
"There's no rush, and you actually want to see the results, don't you?"
Raven's contact with Chen Ran was actually based on information she received from Gray Serpent.
And Gray Serpent's ultimate goal...
To be precise, it was Kevin's ultimate goal, which was to imprison Chen Ran.
Whether in the Stigmata space or the Sea of Quanta, they could prevent Chen Ran from jumping through time.
Only in this way could Project Stigma proceed completely.
And the plan that Jackal was carrying out in Tianqiong City was essentially just a smokescreen, or rather, a means to attract Chen Ran.
Raven sneered, "Don't be too happy too soon; he is someone who has foreseen the outcome."
"Be careful not to waste your efforts."
"That's not something you should worry about, Natasha." Gray Serpent's words carried a playful tone: "Just right, I also want to know what my [mother] was expecting from him back then."
…
…
Cecilia soon arrived in Tianqiong City.
As Theresa had mentioned, various scales of Honkai incidents had occurred in Tianqiong City, causing significant disruption to the people.
What concerned her more was that these incidents were strikingly similar to those that had occurred in Siberia.
When Kiana appeared in Siberia as the Herrscher of the Void, Honkai had also erupted all over Siberia.
Tianqiong City, of course, was not as sparsely populated as Siberia, so the Honkai incidents not only caused immense psychological pressure but also threatened to destabilize the order of the city.
Fortunately, Shenzhou had its own foundation to combat Honkai. Although it was not as established as Schicksal or Anti-Entropy, it could still keep the Honkai at bay outside the urban area of Tianqiong City.
However, this time the frequency of Honkai incidents was too high, and even Shenzhou had to seek assistance from Schicksal.
So Cecilia came.
She suppressed her thoughts and quickly engaged in the battle against Honkai.
Fortunately, although the frequency of these Honkai incidents was high, it was still limited.
Cecilia quickly cleared many Honkai Beasts.
After declining some thanks and invitations, her brows furrowed even deeper.
"Kira, I asked you to investigate the cities surrounding Tianqiong City. What did you find?"
At Schicksal Headquarters, Shigure Kira replied earnestly, "Lady Cecilia, the results are in. The high-frequency Honkai incidents are only occurring in Tianqiong City and the areas close to it. In cities outside Tianqiong City, these Honkai incidents have disappeared."
It was clear that the Honkai in Tianqiong City was not a coincidence but had human factors involved.
If it were merely coincidental, it should have occurred frequently in a region, not limited to a single city.
Tianqiong City was large, with a population of tens of millions.
But that was not a reason to provoke Honkai incidents.
So the answer was already quite obvious.
"Kira, tell me the location with the highest frequency of Honkai incidents."
Because Tianqiong City was so large, Cecilia needed to narrow down the scope of her investigation.
She had no support in Shenzhou, as Shenzhou did not agree to Schicksal's deployment of Valkyries, so much of the intelligence work could not be carried out.
"Lady Cecilia, we have found it. The area with the highest frequency of Honkai incidents is in the northern suburbs of Tianqiong City, where there is the largest pharmaceutical factory in Tianqiong City, called Shencheng Pharmaceutical."
"Additionally, Lady Cecilia, Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie Miss Rita also entered Tianqiong City some time ago for a special investigation. She might have some special intelligence."
Cecilia nodded, "Thank you, Kira."
After hanging up the communication, she fell into deep thought.
Rita, huh?
She naturally knew about Rita.
Rita was a Valkyrie introduced to Schicksal by her promising junior Ragna, and after joining Schicksal, she had shown considerable talent.
However, due to the corrective nature of fate, Rita did not become the right-hand woman of her daughter Bianka, and now she was responsible for the overall intelligence work of Schicksal, making her quite a tricky Valkyrie.
Whether among the high-ranking officials in the secular world or some staff within Schicksal, everyone treated Rita with great caution.
After all, she represented another side of Otto.
Cecilia had always been aware that Schicksal was not a place of great righteousness, so she did not dare to underestimate this young junior.
After all, those who could serve as Schicksal Executioners were never ordinary.
Just as Cecilia hesitated about whether to contact Rita, Rita contacted her first.
"Lady Cecilia."
On a street, Rita appeared like a ghost.
Cecilia's eyes showed a hint of surprise, "How did you find me?"
"Lady Cecilia, after resolving multiple Honkai incidents, it naturally caused some commotion, so it wasn't difficult."
She paused and said, "But I thought Squad Snowwolf would be fully mobilized; it turns out only Lady Cecilia is here?"
The girl feigned confusion, causing Cecilia to frown.
"There was no reason for Squad Snowwolf to be fully mobilized for these Honkai Beasts."
"I only came to see if there were any issues after receiving news from Theresa."
Although the frequency of Honkai incidents in Tianqiong City was high, their intensity was low.
Let alone Emperor-class Honkai Beasts, even the Emperor of Honkai was rarely seen.
At such times, a regular Valkyrie team could control the situation.
Yet here were two S-rank Valkyries, which was indeed quite unexpected.
Cecilia did not think this was a coincidence.
Although she was not Schicksal's Executioner, her perspective had broadened significantly compared to more than a decade ago.
She looked at Rita and asked, "Do you have any news?"
"Of course, I do."
Despite being an S-rank Valkyrie, Rita still bowed to Cecilia.
She paused and said, "Three months ago, Schicksal's intelligence personnel discovered that a special Honkai Cube had flowed into Tianqiong City. This batch of Honkai Cubes was enormous, so I personally went to investigate."
Honkai Cubes, as the name suggests, are crystals containing a large amount of Honkai Energy.
These crystals form within Honkai Beasts or Zombies, and some scholars believe they are the roughest form of Herrscher Cores.
This understanding is not without reason, but neither Cecilia nor Rita delved into academic research, so there was no need for a detailed explanation.
Honkai Energy is a special type of energy.
It can cause mutations in people and can also be seen as narrative energy.
Whether it is Hyperion or Schicksal's floating islands, they all require a large number of Honkai Cubes to operate.
One could say that Honkai Cubes are both weapons and resources.
Like nuclear energy.
Now that so many resources were flowing into Tianqiong City, Rita naturally came to investigate.
"According to my findings, the purchaser of these Honkai Cubes is named Cleo, the head of Shencheng Pharmaceutical. After that, the frequent Honkai incidents in Tianqiong City that you witnessed began, and I suspect they are closely related to this incident."
Cecilia furrowed her brows deeply.
She did not doubt Rita; on the contrary, she was confident in Rita's intelligence-gathering abilities.
However, why did Shencheng Pharmaceutical suddenly take such actions? What was their purpose?
Cecilia voiced this question.
Rita shook her head, "That's what I'm currently investigating. Coincidentally, since Lady Cecilia is here, I thought you wouldn't mind helping me, right?"
"Rest assured, it won't take up much of your precious time."
Upon hearing this, Cecilia nodded, "In terms of intelligence work, I am not as good as you; I will follow your lead."
She did not flaunt her seniority or pride; it was naturally better to resolve the issues in Tianqiong City as quickly as possible.
Rita nodded, "Alright, then let's set off. I just happened to find a useful clue."
Rita and Cecilia left.
Not long after, Chen Ran and Wendy also arrived in Tianqiong City.
When the two saw the sparse streets, with everyone anxiously hiding in their homes and all the shops closed, they couldn't help but frown.
Wendy breathed a sigh of relief, "We didn't arrive too late; at least there are no signs of large-scale Honkai here yet."
She looked at Chen Ran, "What should we do next?"
"Directly go to Shencheng Pharmaceutical," Chen Ran said. "We will solve the problem at its source."
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