She turned her head to look at Jack, who was squatting beside her, silently observing the external environment through the observation window.
The gray-haired girl's face still held that calm, unhighlighted expression, as if she had just completed an infiltration not into a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, but had merely strolled into a neighbor's backyard after dinner.
"Hey, do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"
Raven lightly nudged Jack with her elbow. "That plan only went as far as'successfully infiltrating and locating the target,' it didn't say 'how to move a stasis pod when everyone is on high alert.' Hurry up and use it, don't hold anything back."
Upon hearing this, Jack slowly turned her head, her golden eyes looking at Raven.
She didn't speak, but merely raised one hand, extended her index finger, and gently placed it to her lips, making a 'hush' gesture.
Then, she pointed to her own ear with her other hand, then pointed upwards, and finally, mouthed silently:
Wait a moment.
Raven frowned.
(Wait? Wait for what? For the Schicksal guards to collectively fall asleep? Or for Otto to suddenly have a change of heart and package Li Sushang for us?)
Just as the barrage of internal complaints was about to flood her mind, in the very next second—
A'sensation' swept over her without warning.
It wasn't a sound, not light, not a physical impact.
It was the purest form of tremor, originating from the deepest instincts of life.
Her heart felt instantly clenched, blood flow suddenly abnormal, and a teeth-aching chill emanated from deep within her bone marrow.
A sense of 'insignificance' and 'crisis,' like icy seawater, instantly overwhelmed all her senses.
"Ugh—!"
Raven grunted, her face suddenly turning pale, fine beads of cold sweat instantly breaking out on her forehead.
She clutched her chest, gasping for air, feeling as if she had suddenly been thrown into a ten-thousand-meter deep sea, enduring unimaginable pressure.
(W-what happened?!)
She looked up in horror at Jack.
The gray-haired girl was still squatting there, but Raven keenly noticed that her body had also stiffened for an instant.
However, Jack quickly regained her composure.
Meanwhile, at Schicksal Headquarters, the Bishop's office.
Otto Apocalypse was elegantly seated in his large office chair, toying with an exquisitely crafted miniature Kallen figurine between his fingers.
A faint smile played on his lips.
The next second, that smile abruptly froze.
He shot up from his chair with a 'thud,' the sudden movement nearly causing the figurine to slip from his grasp.
His emerald eyes instantly sharpened like an eagle's, fiercely darting south, as if they could penetrate layers of walls and clouds to reach the distant horizon.
The office door was pushed open almost simultaneously, and a capable young woman wearing goggles and with a white braid—Amber—walked in quickly, her face showing a rare solemnity and urgency.
"Lord Bishop! The global monitoring network has detected an abnormally high energy reaction! Coordinates South Latitude ██°, West Longitude ██°, in the heart of the South Pacific! Honkai Energy level readings..."
Amber's voice paused, as if even she couldn't believe the numbers she was about to report, "...are rapidly climbing, having broken through all historical peak values! Preliminary estimation... has exceeded one hundred thousand HW, and is still rising! The energy signature... is highly similar... similar to 'Finality' fluctuations!"
Otto Apocalypse's face completely darkened.
Even an old fox like him, who had lived for five hundred years, now had a flicker of genuine surprise and gravity in his eyes.
Such a distant range, and merely a trace of leaked 'aura,' could make his Soulium body's instincts sound an alarm... (Finality? Premature? No... incorrect... this fluctuation...)
"Immediately!"
Otto Apocalypse's voice was decisive, losing its usual calm playfulness, "Recall Durandal and Rita! All A-rank and above Valkyries currently on rest, enter highest combat readiness! Order all floating island defense systems to operate at full power! Reconnaissance units, confirm the actual situation at that coordinate point at all costs!"
"Yes!"
Amber acknowledged the order and quickly turned to leave.
Anti-Entropy, a secret base laboratory somewhere.
"I finally calibrated the overload protection threshold for the Titan's energy core perfectly today! Now let's see if those metal lumps dare to crash randomly anymore!"
Dr. Tesla proudly patted a giant mecha glowing with metallic luster beside her, then casually picked up an energy drink and took a large gulp.
Her gaze inadvertently swept across a screen next to her displaying global Honkai Energy monitoring data.
"Pfft—!!!"
Red liquid sprayed from her mouth, precisely'showering' the experimental table in front of her.
"Cough, cough, cough!! W-what the f***!!!"
Tesla's face turned beet red from choking, but she didn't bother to wipe it, her finger trembling as she pointed at a frantically flashing, bolded red number on the screen, "114514 HW?!"
She rubbed her eyes fiercely, then pinched her thigh hard.
"It hurts! Not a dream?! Hey, Bedhead!! Get over here and look!!"
She practically screamed, "?! Or am I hallucinating after staying up for seventy-two consecutive hours?! What kind of Honkai Energy level is this?!"
The laboratory's automatic door slid open, and Dr. Einstein walked in with hurried steps, her usually calm blue-gray eyes carrying a rare seriousness.
She ignored Tesla's roar, walked directly to the main control console, and quickly tapped a few times, pulling up a more detailed analysis.
"I'm afraid, Dr. Tesla."
Einstein's voice was still steady, but her speaking speed was much faster than usual. "The monitoring network is operating normally, and data source cross-verification is correct. The anomalous energy burst point is in the Southern Hemisphere. The energy signature... is highly unusual; simulation analysis shows its 'quality' aspect carries extremely strong 'Finality' characteristics, although the 'quantity' scale appears to be controlled..."
The color drained from Tesla's face instantly, and she plopped down onto a nearby chair, her expression crumbling as she muttered, "Damn... it's really here? This f***ing... the script wasn't written like this..."
Switching back to the Helheim Experimental Zone, ventilation duct compartment.
The terrifying oppressive sensation that swept across the globe came as quickly as it went, lasting only about ten seconds before rapidly dissipating.
But the impact left behind was tangible—the alarm throughout Schicksal Headquarters suddenly escalated several levels, turning into a sharp, piercing full combat readiness alert!
The previously regular sounds of patrolling footsteps became chaotic and hurried, the clamor of large numbers of armed personnel being mobilized came from all directions, and even the lighting inside the experimental zone flickered a few times, switching to a higher-brightness emergency mode.
Raven gasped for breath, leaning against the cold metal wall, her bangs damp with sweat.
Still shaken, she looked at Jack, her voice still trembling slightly: "W-what the hell was that just now?!"
Jack had already stood up, patting away non-existent dust from her clothes. She looked at Raven and calmly, clearly, uttered four words:
"Simulated Finality."
Raven: "...?"
Her brain felt like rusty gears, turning with difficulty, trying to comprehend the meaning of these words combined.
(Sim...ulated? Finality?)
(Can this thing be'simulated'?! Do you think it's a simulation management game?! SimCity? SimFinality?!)
Raven felt her worldview creaking under the strain.
She opened her mouth, but found herself momentarily unable to find suitable words to express the shock she felt.
Jack didn't seem to expect her understanding or response.
She walked directly to the compartment's exit control panel, quickly tapped it a few times with her fingers, and disengaged the door lock.
"Move."
She turned her head and said to the still dazed Raven, "While their attention is diverted."
Having said that, she slipped out of the compartment like a gray shadow, silently merging into the corridor, which was slightly chaotic due to the alarm.
Raven shook her head, forcing herself to snap out of the shock of "Simulated Finality."
(Who cares! Mission first!)
She took a deep breath, suppressing the surging turmoil in her heart, and quickly followed.
---------------------------------
If you'd like to read the next 70 chapters in advance, you can support me on Patreon.
I regularly post chapter previews there, so you'll always be up-to-date and won't have to wait too long.
patreon.com/SolyuraMT
And if you enjoy the story, don't forget to give me a Power Stone. Your support really motivates me to continue translating!