Kiana thought for a moment and decided not to dwell on the matter.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed Fuli occasionally looking down to fiddle with his phone while running. She couldn't help but remind him, "Hey, watch where you're going! If you fall, this Miss will have to carry you!"
"Waaah, how did I never notice before that Miss Kiana had such a compassionate, bodhisattva-like heart!" Fuli wiped away crocodile tears in mock emotion. "Why don't you just carry me now?"
Give an inch, take a yard.
"In your dreams!"
Seeing that he was aware of his surroundings, the girl didn't nag any further.
Mei, on the other hand, had caught a glimpse of his phone screen and saw that he was on a video call with someone.
"Fuli, what are you doing?"
"This?" Seeing it was Mei who asked, Fuli's tone softened considerably. He handed the phone over.
Mei took it and saw a real-time, dynamic overhead view.
"This is..."
"A simple map-revealing app," Fuli said. "I started a video call with the spare phone, then had a Trailing Shadow Sword transformed into a white dove carry it up into the sky to film from above."
The mechanical troops were extremely conspicuous in the deserted city streets.
As for phones, in modern society, you could buy a bunch of used ones from street vendors for cheap.
Of course, the registered names were random.
Mei was surprised. "You can do that?"
"Lemme see, lemme see!"
Hearing there was something interesting, Kiana quickly leaned in.
Pressing her pretty little face against the phone screen, she squealed with excitement. "It's real! The one leading the charge towards the lake is Sauce! And that one! Ugh, damn it! It's the Titan that hurt my arm!"
That Titan was quite easy to recognize. Kiana had shot it back when it attacked her.
Now, not only was its right arm missing, but its chest was also in tatters, looking like it would fall apart and be sent back to the factory with a strong gust of wind.
Then Kiana saw a crystal-blue humanoid figure appear on the video screen. It held a Trailing Shadow Sword and charged forward. After a valiant struggle, it took the Titan down with it in a mutual self-destruction.
"Eh?" Kiana scratched her head foolishly. "What was that glowing blue thing?"
"It's a phantom made from a Trailing Shadow Sword. Why are you even asking?" Fuli, who had snatched the phone back, rolled his half-moon eyes. "A single dog like Sauce can't completely tie down Anti-Entropy's movements. Even if those people are dense, they'd figure something was up after a while. So I sent out a bunch of phantoms to muddy the waters."
Blossom everywhere, keep them busy, harass them when they halt, and strike when they're tired.
This way, the enemy naturally wouldn't have the time to verify the authenticity of the intel.
The phone surveillance also served to provide a field of view. The phantoms had no self-awareness; without Fuli's personal control, they would just lie on the ground motionless.
In the time it took to say this, he condensed and sent out another phantom.
Just like the Seven Swords Nuclear Explosion, Fuli could currently only control seven phantoms freely at the same time.
One was consumed taking out that crippled Titan, so naturally, another had to be sent out.
"Oh," Kiana grunted obediently, her fine brows knitting in thought. "I feel like I've seen this tactic somewhere before..."
"Where?" Mei asked at the right time.
The girl glanced at Fuli and said in an 'uncertain' tone, "I think... it was in that eunuch novel I'm following that hasn't been updated in two or three days?" ("Eunuch novel" is slang for a story abandoned by its author, as if it's been "castrated.")
Fuli felt a phantom chill three inches below his navel, a sudden sense of a blade aimed at his junior.
He quickly took the ring off his left pinky finger and handed it to Mei, who was closest to him. "Stop mumbling, you two. Pour some Honkai energy into this first."
Wearing a ring on the left pinky generally indicates that the wearer is currently single or an advocate for non-marriage.
Mei, receiving a ring from a member of the opposite sex for the first time in her life, blushed and felt a bit flustered. Only after hearing the rest of the sentence did she reach out to take it. "What's this?"
"A Spirit Gathering Ring," Kiana nonchalantly took the ring from Mei's hand. "This Miss was wondering where you got the Honkai energy to control so many Trailing Shadow Swords. So you were prepared all along."
The Spirit Gathering Ring, a friendly provision from the angel investor Ms. Susannah, was, as its name suggests, a C-rank item for storing Honkai energy.
It could be drawn upon at any time during battle to replenish oneself, preventing a situation where one's own energy is depleted.
It came in C, B, and A ranks. Generally, a C-rank Spirit Gathering Ring had a storage capacity equal to the total Honkai energy within an A-rank Valkyrie.
"I see."
Mei placed her hand on it, and the Honkai energy in her body surged out like a tide.
A moment later, she opened her eyes. "It's done."
"Then it's my turn."
Kiana did the same, but soon frowned.
She said in surprise, "It's full?"
She hadn't even managed to send in a single drop of Honkai energy!
"It's full?"
Fuli took back the Spirit Gathering Ring, sensed it, and sucked in a sharp breath. "[Classic expletive]! It's actually full!"
Fuli and Kiana exchanged a look, then both turned to the person in question.
"A-rank Honkai energy reserves?"
"Mei, you've been playing us!"
"It's not that much," the girl waved her hands repeatedly. "My total Honkai energy is about the same as yours, Fuli. It's just that every time I use it up, Honkai energy from somewhere (the Gem of Conquest) replenishes what was lost."
Simply put, Mei's body was like a cup full of liquid, with a closed faucet above it.
Once the cup was empty, the faucet would automatically turn on and refill it for free.
Fuli thought for a moment. "Have you ever tested the limit?"
"No," the girl shook her head.
In the past, she lived a life of luxury. After her family's downfall, her 'enemies' were just small-time thugs, not even requiring Honkai energy, so of course, she never had the chance.
Fuli's expression changed, and he coaxed her with a tempting tone, "Then... want to give it a try?"
Kiana saw this and thought, I know this look! It's the same one he had when he tricked me into scamming Susannah!
That naturally evil little devil Ah-Li, this Miss will—
Mei interrupted her train of thought. "If it can help you!"
"Alright then."
Fuli tossed his phone into the air and formed sword seals with both hands.
The Honkai energy in the Spirit Gathering Ring was instantly consumed. In its place, dozens of Trailing Shadow Swords materialized, hanging upside down, their blades glinting coldly.
Their use was similar to a drone swarm following a specific formula; setting a few as anchor points for the formation, which would then guide the other swords to attack or defend.
"Let's go, time to give them a taste of this!"
With a wave of his hand, these Trailing Shadow Swords, led by the foremost blade, sped away.
Halfway there, they split into seven groups, raining down on the seven Tracer Phantoms under Fuli's direct control.
A downpour of blades, magnificent and unparalleled!
But that wasn't all.
When Fuli extended his hand, Mei grasped it without a shred of hesitation, allowing him to directly command the Honkai energy within her body.
With a plug-and-play setup, there was no need for the Spirit Gathering Ring to act as a middleman.
This cycle repeated seven times. The girl, acting as a transfer station, was drenched in sweat.
Having her Honkai energy drained and refilled again and again—the feeling wasn't much different from climaxing seven times in a minute.
"Mei!"
Kiana rushed over to support her, her heart aching. Mei, however, had a happy smile on her face.
She gasped for breath, "Now... I've been a help, right?"
"A huge help!"
Fuli caught the falling phone and gave the girl a big smile in return.
"We can leave the rest to the phantoms."
Though he said "leave it to them," it was actually Fuli himself who was doing all the hard work.
But there was no need to point that out. When you're all in the same boat, there's no need to split hairs over such details.
...