Honkai Impact: Grandma Pine Sparrow is still chasing me!

Chapter 359 Kiana went in, Kiana failed...

S-class Valkyrie Rita Rossweisse is extremely busy.

Even though she suffered a mental interference attack that seemed to be caused by anti-entropy, was stabbed in the shoulder by a man surnamed Dan, and was knocked unconscious by an unknown dwarf, as an excellent maid and the trusted lieutenant of the Undying Blade Durandal, Rita still had a lot of work to do even during the days she was recovering from her injuries.

After dealing with the affairs of the Undying Blade over the past few days, Rita's injuries had mostly healed thanks to the aid of Destiny Technology. Enjoying this rare moment of leisure, she decided to take care of the "cat-like Honkai Beast" named Stan that had been brought back by Lady Durandal, and then prepare afternoon tea for Durandal, who was currently training, to spend the next few days together…

If there are no unforeseen circumstances.

"Alvit, any new information from the Far East branch?"

On the Eos, watching the busy Valkyries, Rita Losweisse maintained her usual elegant demeanor—however, this time, beneath Rita's usual elegance lay the already equipped fourth-generation Valkyrie armor, the God-Slaying Armor Azure Knight: Moon Soul, and the scythe Frost Skadi, ready to be swung at any moment.

"Vice Captain, this is the fourth time you've asked me this in the last half hour..."

A slightly helpless response came from the other end of the communicator from the "tool girl".

To be honest, as a skilled support character, she was genuinely confused this time. She was suddenly notified that Vice-Captain Rita, who had just recovered from her injuries, was leading almost all of the Undying Blade's mobile forces to the Far East Branch, except for Captain Durandal and Susana, who had been assigned by the Bishop to clean the library. (If she hadn't been given a mission to investigate the Arthurian legend, she, as the support character, would likely have been sent on field missions as well.) But was this really necessary? The Far East Branch had clearly reported that everything was normal; besides, wouldn't it have been easier to just have them send everyone to headquarters? Why go to such lengths, sending the main force of Schicksal headquarters to the Far East Branch? The support character was completely baffled.

"Vice Captain, please don't panic! The Far East Branch's communications may be affected by electromagnetic interference, which could cause delays in message transmission."

But Arvit must not show her doubt or dissatisfaction, because beneath the seemingly elegant Vice-Captain Rita's outward demeanor, there appears to be a murderous intent—don't ask her how she knows, the devil is always in the details. And if their actual commander, Rita, is provoked by a single sentence from her…

The women who are going on field assignments this time will probably have to endure a rather tough period.

"Yes, I understand, Alvitt. I'll report immediately if anything happens... No, I should contact Lady Theresa myself."

What Alvit couldn't see was that although her vice-captain's voice remained gentle, her movements carried a subtle tension and urgency. Her fingertips unconsciously traced the cold blade of Skadi the Frost, and while she maintained an elegant demeanor in front of her team, a focused and scrutinizing intensity, almost like that of a hunter, lingered deep within her wine-red eyes… Combined with the Moon Soul's effect, the atmosphere in the Eos's cockpit became unusually cold due to this elegant vice-captain's rare state.

If it were just one or two Honkai energy alerts, Otto, who had already received an inside report, would never have dispatched Parita—but what if Yae Sakura was one of the sources of the Honkai energy rampage? And what about Fu Hua's report about that man named "Dan Heng"...

Of course, a name alone wouldn't be enough to get Rita involved, but what if this man had a pink-haired companion that Lady Durandal could recognize at a glance? Then without a doubt, he was the culprit who stabbed her in the shoulder!

For various reasons, combined with Rita's perfect maid skills and S-rank Valkyrie prowess, Rita immediately applied to Otto for this mission. Although Bishop Otto's intention was to "invite" the others, except for Yae Sakura, to headquarters, Rita didn't mind freezing them into ice sculptures and carrying them back after they resisted, just like that pink-haired girl froze the other Valkyries.

The scene of her car overturning, being surrounded and beaten by five people, and finally being knocked down by a hammer in a miserable defeat still seemed like yesterday. Thinking of this, Rita's eyes became even sharper - this was a stain on her maid career!

Although there will be many more such stains in the future.

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At Theresa's house, Dome and Walter locked eyes, the atmosphere somewhat... strange.

Recalling the story Danheng and March 7th had told each other long ago, Qiong could understand why Otto would send Rita to capture Danheng—after all, they had a grudge! But…

How did Otto know that Danheng was here? And how did he know that Yae Sakura was in trouble? Most of the students at St. Freya probably don't know about this.

There's a mole in the academy! And the suspect who tipped them off... you can't go wrong picking either Bai Ji or Fu Hua.

"This is a bit troublesome..."

Walter adjusted his glasses, his brow furrowing slightly. Rita was an S-class Valkyrie, her strength not to be underestimated, but if she used the power of the train to settle everything, history might veer off in an unpredictable direction.

Just as Qiong and Walter were worrying, a telephone suddenly rang inside the house.

"It's Rita calling!"

Theresa, who hadn't put down her communicator yet, glanced at Walter, her voice tinged with helplessness: "If we hand them over, they're from Anti-Entropy, and we've only just made a secret deal with them; if we don't, Rita will be kicking down the door soon!"

Regardless, Theresa pressed the answer button, and Rita's elegant yet slightly anxious voice came through.

"Lady Theresa, it's been a long time. I've come to the Far East Branch on the orders of His Holiness the Bishop to bring Yae Sakura and the others back to headquarters. I ask for your cooperation."

"Um... cough cough!"

With so many eyes watching her, Theresa certainly couldn't betray him.

“Rita, there might be some misunderstanding. Yae Sakura didn’t do anything wrong at the academy! The Honkai energy alarm is a false alarm because the system is old and in disrepair due to over-funding! Our Far East branch is perfectly fine! Tell Grandpa we don’t need to come!”

Rita let out a soft laugh from the other end of the communicator.

"Lady Theresa, I understand your protective instincts, but I cannot disobey the bishop's orders—and harboring a Destiny wanted criminal or even colluding with Anti-Entropy is a serious crime… Don't misunderstand, I'm not accusing you of betraying Destiny, I just wanted to remind you! However…"

Rita cleared her throat and issued a tactful warning.

"If you insist on obstructing this, it may cause unnecessary trouble for the Far East Branch's funding approval in the next few quarters."

"what?!"

Rita remained silent for a moment, seemingly quite satisfied with Theresa's reaction.

"Hopefully, the Far East Branch will be able to give the bishop a satisfactory answer by then. Goodbye, Lady Theresa."

After he finished speaking, there was no sound from the other end of the communicator.

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous! How dare they threaten me, the headmaster, with funding!"

"Auntie, is your hand alright?"

Kiana noticed that Theresa's communicator, which was in her hand as she burst through the door and yelled, broke in two the instant Rita hung up the phone.

"One after another, it just never ends..."

Qiong shrugged helplessly. It seemed the busy period wasn't over yet. He had just dealt with the Thunder Herrscher and temporarily suppressed Yae Sakura, and now Rita, who was trying to capture him, had appeared. He was working non-stop and didn't want to do anything. But if he didn't want to do anything, he had to think of a way to avoid violence...

"Uncle Yang, you're the smartest one..."

As soon as she finished speaking, Qiong turned her expectant gaze to Lao Yang—if she didn't want to use her brain, she might as well ask the all-knowing Mr. Walter!

Walter naturally knew what Qiong was planning, but he could only rub his temples with a wry smile. What could he say? He was at a loss for the moment!

Seeing that everyone had fallen silent, Theresa bit her lip.

"No matter what, we can't let Rita take my faculty and staff away! Yae Sakura, pack your things, if things get really bad, go on a long trip with Welt! Welt, remember to take Siegfried with you, and you can handle those kids yourself!"

"Auntie, why did you have to call Dad along? Dad isn't..."

Theresa didn't answer Kiana's question. The fragments of the communicator fell through her fingers. She simply shook her numb right hand and continued talking to herself.

"Fortunately, Himeko recovered a lot of crystals from her house, plus that big one, which can cover the school's expenses for several months..."

"crystal?"

After Theresa mentioned it, Qiong remembered: Silver Wolf seemed to have taken out quite a few crystals to "tie" him...

By the way, it's been almost half a day, why can't we get in touch with Silver Wolf?

"It's about the recent funding... Qiong, get moving! Go find your friends and tell them to prepare to leave! The advance team of the Undying Blade could appear in St. Freya at any time! If Grandpa wants to take you, you'd better go out first!"

"Why does even the dead gray hair have to go out?"

Kiana was puzzled for a moment: What happened? Did all the people of St. Freya break the law?

So, does she also want to...?

"Understood, Headmaster."

Valte nodded and immediately took out his communicator to try to contact Danheng, March 7th, and Coralie, but for some reason, none of them answered.

"But Uncle Yang, I still have to go to the headquarters of Destiny."

"Are you serious?"

Almost everyone's eyes turned to Qiong, with Theresa and Welt being utterly shocked: Schicksal Headquarters, the floating island! We're trying to prevent you from going in, and you're walking right into our trap!

"Qiong, don't do anything foolish! Otto is no pushover! Don't think it's a fun place just because Danheng and Xiaosanyue went there and nothing happened!"

Qiong waved his hand helplessly, unsure of what kind of thought process Lao Yang had towards him.

"Uncle Yang, don't look at me like that! I have no choice but to go to the Heavenly Mandate headquarters!"

Kiana also realized what was going on. Although she didn't know what they were talking about, she knew that her elders would never harm this gray-haired girl, so she jumped over and grabbed Sora's arm.

"You idiot, that bishop is wicked! You're definitely not coming back if you go! We have to take Mei with us and run away!"

Kiana, this is none of your business!

"Oh no, how could this happen..."

Faced with the concerned and even anxious attempts of the crowd to dissuade him, Qiong's face revealed a rare expression, a mixture of helplessness and determination. He shook his head.

“I must go because ‘Star’ is there.”

"star?"

Theresa and Walter were taken aback, unable to immediately associate the word with any important person or thing.

Kiana reacted faster, as she thought of many things.

"Xing? You mean that older sister that you've only ever mentioned?"

"Yes, it's her."

Qiong nodded firmly and took out her phone's photo album from her pocket: everyone saw the two gray-haired people taking a photo together in front of many dilapidated and dark streets.

“However, she is my sister. Teacher Bai just told me that she is at the headquarters of Destiny and is not in good condition... I can't leave her alone.”

"what?!"

This reason was beyond Theresa and Walter's expectations.

Walter Yang fell silent. The evidence was irrefutable; Qiong had no reason to deceive them with a fake, but…

Where did this star come from? Did it spring out of a crack in a rock?

"Uncle Yang, I know you may have many questions. I'll explain them to you privately later..."