Irene walked out of the restaurant and turned into the nearby restroom. Once inside, she was extremely fortunate—the restroom was empty at the moment.
Irene scanned the area. After Pardo confirmed there were no cameras, Irene transformed into Pardo's form and handed control of her body over to Pardo.
After all, when it came to disguise, Pardo was the absolute expert.
The moment Pardo took over, she unslung the backpack from her back. Although wearing a qipao with a backpack looked a bit odd, since they were tourists, most people could understand—or perhaps no one would notice such a bag anyway.
Subsequently, Pardo began changing clothes. She carefully folded the qipao and stowed it in the bag, swapping it for another set of casual clothes she had prepared in advance. She covered her cat ears with a small hat.
This hat was personally selected by the cat herself. According to Pardo, it was a little hat that wouldn't look out of place in any situation—even while eating.
As for the tail behind her, which had almost nowhere to hide, Pardo wrapped it around her waist, concealed by the relatively loose clothing.
The sharp shell at the tail's tip and the gem-like part at the base were cleverly extended from under her clothes to drape over her chest, blending seamlessly with the outfit like an integrated accessory.
Unless someone got up close and inspected carefully, it would be hard to spot that it was actually something protruding from inside the clothes.
After completing the disguise, Pardo handed control back to Irene.
"Sister Irene, stay calm, okay? If you're not calm, the tail will start twitching," Pardo chattered nonstop in Irene's mind, continuing to offer this advice.
"I know, I know." Irene nodded inwardly. However, possessing the Still Water Sword Heart, she wouldn't get tense that easily. Moreover, after the pain from the last Honkai Adaptability Enhancer injection,
Irene even felt her mental state had advanced another step. She was probably just one step away from Stainless now. A bit more tempering, and Irene could step into Stainless.
Irene kept her composure, stabilizing the tail, and headed back to the restaurant. It seemed to be mealtime, or perhaps peak tourist season—there were tons of guests.
Countless tourists streamed in and out of the restaurant, overwhelming the dozen or so bodyguards' gazes. Each sweep of the bodyguards' eyes just happened to skip over Irene.
Or perhaps, just as they looked her way, a tourist would block Irene's petite figure, letting her stroll grandly into the restaurant without a single bodyguard spotting her.
The restaurant was even more crowded inside. People milling about naturally formed a wall that blocked a full view.
"Tsk tsk tsk, as expected of Pardo." Irene glanced at Kiana, who was still stuffing her face, confirming she hadn't moved. Then, Irene prepared to weave through the crowd.
Using the crowd for cover, Irene walked to a table and sat down naturally, looking up at the white-haired old man. "Hello, first time meeting. Dr. Magi."
"..." Magi lifted his head to look at Irene before him. He seemed to exhale in relief—or perhaps it was an emotion like 'finally here'. "Did Overseer Otto send you?"
"Who else could it be?" Irene smiled as she sat, her gaze sweeping over Dr. Magi's hand in his pocket. "Dr. Magi, your potion won't work on me."
With Pardo's reaction speed, it would be impossible for Dr. Magi—an ordinary person—to jab the potion into her body. Besides, whether a standard syringe could even pierce Pardo's flesh was a question in itself.
Magi pursed his lips and pulled his hand from his pocket. "You're here to recover that gem too? Don't even think about it—I won't hand it back.
"Also, little miss, I suggest you leave quickly. Those bodyguards are always nearby."
"Well then, Dr. Magi." Irene looked at Magi, propping her chin, seemingly oblivious to the bodyguards. "Do you think handing that gem to Anti-Entropy—or to Cocolia—is the right choice?"
The gathering crowd had already blocked the bodyguards' line of sight. And they wouldn't really care about Dr. Magi anyway—judging by his state, the gem was long gone from his hands.
Basically, Dr. Magi had lost his greatest value. The poor doctor was being used as discarded bait without even realizing it.
"..." Hearing Irene's question, Dr. Magi fell silent. But after a moment, his dazed eyes turned resolute.
"Handing the gem to Otto would only cause more needless sacrifices. My granddaughter turned to ash because of this—I absolutely cannot leave the gem with Schicksal."
"Don't get agitated, Dr. Magi." Irene kept smiling. "They'll notice. If they do, what follows isn't what any of us want to see, right?"
"I wish it'd make a bigger scene." Though Dr. Magi said that, he still sat back down. He had handed the gem to Cocolia as payment.
To have Cocolia use Anti-Entropy's resources to mass-produce his Honkai energy neutralizer, so Valkyries no longer had to fight on Honkai battlefields that weren't their burden.
He hoped Valkyries wouldn't have to step onto such meaningless fields anymore. But he also understood that in this situation, Anti-Entropy wouldn't fully heed his pleas now.
In this situation, if discovered, this girl would die without a burial. She wasn't even wearing Valkyrie armor—discovery meant death.
"Leave while they haven't noticed yet." Dr. Magi sighed, then pushed over the box from his pocket. "This is the Honkai energy neutralizer I've developed."
Dr. Magi looked at Irene sincerely. "As long as you inject this long-term, the Honkai energy in your bodies will be completely removed. You can return to normal lives, away from those deadly battlefields."
Irene accepted the potion. This was a good item—only Dr. Magi could produce a Honkai energy neutralizer now.
In the Previous Era, such potions required massive amounts of infected corpses to extract materials for just one dose. Production was so difficult they were nearly useless.
Dr. Magi, who simplified this process to produce Honkai energy neutralizers, was naturally a valuable asset. His character might be lacking, but his tech was top-tier—kidnapping him wouldn't be a loss.
Seeing Irene take the potion, Magi inexplicably relaxed. If he could convince one, he could convince a second. If not, Anti-Entropy could help.
He didn't want these young kids throwing their lives into that endless battlefield anymore.
That way, he could slightly ease his guilt toward Lin.
Dr. Magi lowered his head, the gray-haired girl's face flashing in his eyes again. Her joyful, hopeful words echoed in Dr. Magi's ears once more.
[Grandpa, starting today, I'm becoming a Valkyrie too. I'll work hard to protect humanity, just like you!]
Valkyries, Valkyries—those merciless Honkai battlefields shouldn't exist at all...
"I think I know what you're thinking right now, Dr. Magi." Irene suddenly spoke, interrupting Dr. Magi's thoughts. "Do you really believe Anti-Entropy will treat every Valkyrie one by one?"
"Or to be more precise, do you really think Cocolia will use your invention for the 'righteous' path you imagine? You're no fool—you can figure it out, right?"
"..." Dr. Magi fell silent for a bit. He wanted to say Anti-Entropy would ensure every Valkyrie got treatment, that Cocolia would use his invention properly.
But as a doctor, how could he not know? Unless Anti-Entropy captured every Valkyrie and force-injected them, it was impossible.
And...
"And Cocolia will definitely use a more 'efficient' method." Irene watched the silent Magi. "Like injecting every Valkyrie on the battlefield to strip their combat power, then killing them."
This neutralizer was a divine medicine for Valkyries if used properly—a lifesaver. But forcibly dispersing and neutralizing Honkai energy could also be fatal poison for Valkyries.
Valkyries without Honkai energy were no different from civilians. On the battlefield, Titans could slaughter them unimpeded.
"..." Dr. Magi listened to Irene, sinking into silence. This did seem more realistic—more likely, even.
But Magi firmly believed Overseer Otto wouldn't use the potion properly, or he wouldn't have experimented on Valkyries as expendables for the Gem of Serenity.
"Then I'll do it myself. If I convinced you to accept the potion, I can convince..."
"You know we won't agree, right?" Irene voiced what Dr. Magi was thinking. "And I accepted the potion not because I want a normal life.
"But because it can save many Valkyries eroded by Honkai energy—save comrades."
"That's exactly my thinking!" Dr. Magi grew agitated at Irene's words. "It's the same—I can convince you, so I can convince others."
Dr. Magi's actions drew nearby guests' attention, but seeing it was an old man, they looked away. Irene propped her chin with one hand, watching Dr. Magi.
Once Dr. Magi calmed slightly, Irene continued—but her next words shifted topics.
"As a former Schicksal researcher, do you know how many Valkyries were recruited?"
"...From what I know, very few." Dr. Magi shook his head. Due to the nature of Honkai energy, it was hard to test resistance in civilians.
Those without Honkai Resistance would erode and die from even mild exposure to Honkai energy, potentially spreading it.
This lottery-like risk made it nearly impossible for Schicksal to screen ordinary people globally for recruits. He knew this well.
Generally speaking, aside from the Kaslana Family and Shaniat Family, most Schicksal Valkyries were survivors from various Honkai disasters.
Dr. Magi's face showed confusion—what was the point of Irene bringing this up now?
"Yeah, you know that too." Irene sighed at Dr. Magi. She had said this much—how hadn't Dr. Magi understood yet?
"Aside from the two major families born to fight Honkai, the rest lost family, friends, and normal lives to Honkai.
"You want to tell them not to fight anymore? 'It's for your own good, leave the battlefield'? Do you think they'll agree?"
"..." Dr. Magi pursed his lips, fists clenching slowly. His mind flashed to his granddaughter, joyfully leaping before him in her first Valkyrie armor, saying she could finally join the ranks of those protecting humanity.
But...
Irene watched Dr. Magi: "I understand your feelings, but fighting Honkai means death. This isn't a game, is it?"
Irene's words stung like a stimulus to Dr. Magi. Dr. Magi slammed the table, eyes flashing with a bit of anger—but mostly fear and regret underneath.
"Precisely because it's not a game, I have to do this! At your age, you should be traveling, enjoying life—not throwing yourselves into meat grinders like those battlefields.
"This isn't what you should be doing. This isn't what you ought to do."
Dr. Magi's eyes grew vacant. He had seen Valkyries unable to fight again for various reasons more than once, and he had seen his granddaughter hospitalized from battles.
"Has anyone regretted it?" Irene's voice pierced Dr. Magi's memories. "Dr. Magi, among the Valkyries you've met, has anyone regretted it?"
"Regret? Of course there is! After all that sacrifice, how could there..." Dr. Magi started to retort, but searching his mind for a specific example, he found that no Valkyrie had ever voiced regret.
No—that wasn't right. To test his Honkai energy neutralizer, he had visited a Valkyrie sanatorium. There, he met several Valkyries sidelined by injuries.
He had talked to them, and he indeed heard regrets—but not for stepping onto the battlefield against Honkai.
They regretted being useless, unable to keep protecting humanity, unable to continue their vengeance against Honkai, unable to keep fighting, unable to safeguard the world.
No one—no one regretted stepping onto the Honkai battlefield. No one regretted the Artificial Stigmata eroding their lives from behind.
Magi wanted to refute Irene, but he couldn't find even one. Why? They were just kids.
No one. Not even his granddaughter. No one has ever regretted it. Truly no one.
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