Chapter 022 : The Hyperion

Whoosh~ Whoosh~

In the long underground escape tunnel, a car was speeding forward at an extremely fast pace.

Its speed had already reached the limit.

Any faster, and there would be a risk of derailment.

At this moment, Welt and Dr. Einstein were standing side by side at the control panel at the front of the car.

Both of them were staring straight at the road ahead.

Using the car's headlights, they watched the tunnel walls on both sides and the tracks below as they rapidly receded.

Today, the Anti-Entropy headquarters had completely fallen, and the survivors who escaped from the Salt Lake Base were only the less than thirty people in this car.

Most of them were injured.

In this situation, although Welt had just said that as long as they boarded the Hyperion, they still had a chance to turn the tables...

But...

100% is a chance, and 0.01% is also a chance.

How much of a chance is left?

How slim is it?

In a corner of the car...

"Bronya, do you want to rest for a bit?"

Seele looked worriedly at the gray-haired girl beside her.

These days, the latter's mental state had not been good.

On one hand, Cocolia had been captured, and no matter how complicated Bronya's feelings were towards her, she would still worry about the safety of this "mother."

On the other hand, after her Herrscher of Reason authority was taken away, whenever the Domination Puppets used it, all the burden would fall on her.

Under such multiple pressures, she couldn't possibly be feeling well.

Add to that, today's sudden assault...

"It's okay, Seele."

Bronya forced herself to answer, "Bronya can still hold on, and..."

"Now is not the time to relax."

In fact, among Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya, Bronya was actually the most mature in character.

Because she had been exposed to the dark side of the world the longest.

In a way, you could also say: the earliest.

Because the earlier Kiana didn't know her true identity.

And Raiden Mei didn't even know what "Honkai" was.

It's just that, no matter how incompetent Siegfried was, he, like Ryoma, was actually a good father.

They had protected them too well.

As for Bronya...

Long before she was born, her biological father—a corrupt officer—had died in Siberia during the Second Honkai Eruption.

And her mother had also lost her life giving birth to her.

As Ling ke had said, she was indeed alone from the very beginning.

Now, she had Seele, Kiana, and "elders" like Welt, Einstein, and Tesla by her side.

She was no longer alone.

However...

"I will make you alone again."

Ling ke's declaration of vengeance was something Bronya could never forget.

And the reality was: he had indeed acted on it.

Today, the Anti-Entropy headquarters had been destroyed, and countless lives had been lost in the process.

To be honest, Bronya also had very complicated feelings about Ling ke.

But now she understood clearly...

Ling ke was the enemy.

He wasn't just her enemy, or Anti-Entropy's enemy.

He was the enemy of all humanity.

So...

"Bronya will no longer hesitate."

The scent of blood wafted through the air in the car, and as she looked at the injured survivors scattered across the floor... the gray-haired girl, whose emotional center had long since recovered, had a determined look in her eyes.

"Ling ke (Herrscher)."

"Bronya will definitely defeat you."

******

Several dozen minutes later...

The escape car entered a hidden transit base prepared by Anti-Entropy, and everyone quickly brought the injured to the underwater hangar there.

The Hyperion.

This floating battleship, which had been retrofitted months ago and equipped with the "Moonlight Throne" engine, was quietly docked here.

The group quickly boarded the ship.

Among them, Theresa, Welt, Einstein, and Tesla headed straight for the bridge.

The injured were assigned to various rest rooms.

Bronya, Seele, Kiana, Fu Hua, and others were helping out.

There was some good news.

Since the ship already had a number of active personnel responsible for daily maintenance in various areas, there was no need to worry about it being unable to start or operate normally due to a lack of manpower.

Thus, in just a few minutes...

Once everyone was in position...

"Let's go!"

The previous captain, "Murata Himeko," was currently missing, so command of the Hyperion naturally fell to Theresa.

Now, standing at the captain's station, she waved her small hand...

"Destination, Schicksal Headquarters."

With the order given, the Hyperion's engines accelerated.

It slowly sailed out of the underwater hangar port but did not immediately surface.

Instead, after accelerating to a certain speed in the Great Salt Lake...

Boom~

Like a fish leaping through a dragon gate, it shot into the sky.

Everyone knew that since the Anti-Entropy headquarters had been completely destroyed, they, the survivors, would definitely be pursued by the forces of the Herrscher of Domination.

Although the underwater hangar where the Hyperion was usually docked was dozens of kilometers away from the Salt Lake Base...

No one dared to underestimate the Herrscher of Domination of this era.

Sure enough...

Buzz~

Just seconds after the Hyperion broke the surface, a spatial gate opened on its deck.

Welt and the others didn't know.

After the "Domination Puppet: Widowmaker" discovered their movements, Ling ke had already sent people here to leave a coordinate mark on the Hyperion, allowing the Domination Puppets to open a teleportation gate at a fixed point.

So...

"Next, just put on a show, let them leave, and use them as a different kind of transportation."

"Once they reach the base where the three organizations have allied, this battleship will be our deployment point."

In the Dominator Theater, Ling ke's true form, hidden behind the scenes, gave this order.

He quickly received responses from his subordinates.

However, even if it was just for show...

Buzz~ Buzz~ Buzz~

In an instant, more than a dozen spatial gates opened.

From them, one after another "Domination Puppets: Anby" rushed out.

And unlike the previous incident at the West Asia branch...

These "Domination Puppets: Anby" were all fully equipped with three-person squads.

Their backline teammates included "Ellen," "Lycaon," and "Rina."

All S-class agents from "Zenless Zone Zero."

"Too bad, even though I got 'Billy,' I didn't get 'Nicole.'"

"And..."

Lingke muttered to himself, "Did I stumble into a Victoria Housekeeping nest?"

Oh well...

These "Victoria Housekeeping Co." are pretty good fighters anyway.

"Let's kill a few people first to liven things up."

Lingke sneered, "Otherwise, your sense of urgency really isn't strong enough."