"Clatter, clatter—clatter, clatter—"
Inside the long underground escape tunnel, a single train car was racing forward at tremendous speed.
It had already hit its limit.
Any faster, and there would be a real risk of derailment.
At this moment, Welt and Dr. Einstein were standing shoulder to shoulder by the control console at the very front of the car.
Both of them stared straight ahead.
By the light mounted on the car, they watched the tunnel walls on either side sliding away and the tracks below rushing by.
Today, Anti-Entropy Headquarters had fallen completely.
Out of everyone who escaped from Salt Lake Base alive, fewer than thirty remained in the car.
And most of them were wounded.
In a situation like this, although Welt had just said that as long as they boarded the Hyperion, they would still have a chance to turn the tables…
a 100% chance was still a chance, and so was a 0.01% chance.
How much of a chance did they really have left?
How faint was it?
In one corner of the train car…
"Bronya nee-san, do you want to rest a little first?"
Seele looked worriedly at the gray-haired girl beside her.
Over the past few days, Bronya's mental state had been very bad.
On one hand, Cocolia had been captured. No matter how complicated Bronya's feelings toward that "mother" were, she was still worried about her safety in the end.
On the other hand, after her power as the Herrscher of Reason had been taken away, every time the Puppets of Domination used it, the burden had to be borne by her instead.
Under that kind of pressure, there was no way she could feel well.
And on top of that, today's sudden assault…
"I'm fine, Seele."
Bronya forced herself to answer. "Bronya can still keep going. And…"
"Now isn't the time to relax."
The truth was that among Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya, Bronya was actually the most mature of the three.
Because she had personally come into contact with the dark side of the world for the longest time.
In a certain sense, one could also say the earliest.
Because the young Kiana had never known her true identity at all.
And Raiden Mei had not even known what the Honkai was.
All one could really say was that no matter how unreliable Siegfried had been, he was still, like Raiden Ryoma, a good father.
They had protected them too well.
Bronya, on the other hand…
Before she was even born, her real father—that corrupt officer—had already died in Siberia during the Second Eruption.
And her mother had also lost her life bringing her into the world.
Just as Ling Ke had said, at the very beginning, she really had been all alone.
Now she had Seele. She had Kiana. She had elders like Welt, Einstein, and Tesla around her.
She was no longer alone.
And yet…
"I'll make you all alone again."
Bronya could not forget Ling Ke's declaration of revenge.
And the truth was: he had done exactly what he said he would.
Today, Anti-Entropy Headquarters had been destroyed, and no one even knew how many people had died in the process.
To be honest, Bronya's feelings toward Ling Ke were just as complicated.
But now she understood one thing very clearly…
Ling Ke was the enemy.
Not just her enemy.
Not just Anti-Entropy's enemy.
He was humanity's enemy.
So…
"Bronya won't hesitate anymore."
The smell of blood drifted through the train car. Looking at the wounded scattered all around them, the gray-haired girl—whose emotions had already returned to her—set her gaze with absolute firmness.
"Ling Ke… Herrscher."
"Bronya will defeat you."
Several dozen minutes later…
The escape car entered one of Anti-Entropy's hidden transfer bases. Everyone hurriedly brought the wounded into the underwater hangar there.
The Hyperion.
This floating battleship, already refitted several months ago with the Selene engine, lay quietly moored there.
The group moved aboard at once.
Theresa, Welt, Einstein, and Tesla headed straight for the bridge.
The wounded were distributed among the different rest cabins.
Bronya, Seele, Kiana, Fu Hua, and the others all helped.
There was one piece of good news.
Because the ship still had quite a few active-duty crew members on board handling everyday maintenance in every department, they did not need to worry about being unable to launch or operate it normally because they were short-handed.
And so, in only a few minutes…
once everyone was in place—
"Move out!"
The former captain, Murata Himeko, was now missing, so command of the Hyperion naturally fell to Theresa.
Standing in the captain's position, she gave a short little wave of her hand.
"Destination: Schicksal Headquarters."
The order was given, and the Hyperion's engines accelerated.
It slowly moved out of the underwater hangar port, but it did not rise to the surface right away.
Instead, after picking up enough speed within the Great Salt Lake…
"Boom—"
Like a fish leaping through the Dragon Gate, it shot toward the sky.
Everyone knew very well that now that Anti-Entropy Headquarters had already been completely destroyed, those of them who had escaped alive would definitely be hunted by the Herrscher of Domination's side.
Even though the underwater hangar where the Hyperion was normally docked was dozens of kilometers away from Salt Lake Base—
by today, no one dared underestimate the Herrscher of Domination of this era.
And sure enough…
"Buzz~"
Just after the Hyperion burst out of the water, barely more than ten seconds later, a spatial gate opened on its deck.
Welt and the others did not know it.
After the Puppet of Domination—Widowmaker—had discovered their movements, Ling Ke had already sent people here ahead of time to leave a coordinate mark on the Hyperion, one that could be used for the Puppets of Domination to open fixed-position portals.
So…
"Just put on a show for now. Let them go. They can serve as an alternative means of transport for me."
"Once they reach the nest the three organizations agreed on after forming their alliance, this battleship will become our staging point."
Inside the Theater of Domination, Ling Ke's real body, hidden behind the curtain, issued that order.
The replies from his subordinates came back quickly.
But even if this was only putting on a show…
"Buzz~ Buzz~ Buzz~"
In an instant, more than ten more spatial gates opened.
Out of them rushed one Puppet of Domination—Anby—after another.
And unlike what had happened at the West Asia branch before…
these Puppets of Domination—Anby were all fully built three-person teams.
Their teammates in the backline were Ellen, Lycaon, and Rina.
All of them S-Rank Agents from Zenless Zone Zero.
"What a pity. I pulled Billy, but not Nicole."
"And…"
Ling Ke mocked himself, "Did I stab my hand straight into Victoria Housekeeping's nest or something?"
Well, whatever.
This "Victoria gang" could all fight pretty well.
"So let's kill a few people first. Warm things up."
Ling Ke let out a cold laugh. "Otherwise, your sense of urgency still isn't nearly enough."