NOVEL WEB Chapter 384: Beatdown
"Jackal? Don't know her, who's that?" Little Senti scratched her chin, pondering for a moment, but found no memory of this name in her mind.
Since she had no impression, it meant she wasn't important. She looked up at the loudspeaker and casually waved her hand. "Anything the matter? If not, let us through."
"You!"
Perhaps Little Senti's nonchalant attitude was simply too casual. This gesture, in the eyes of the always arrogant Jackal, was a complete mockery.
"Hmph, very well. It seems you still don't understand your situation. You've fallen into my trap and still dare to provoke me. Since you're here, don't even think about leaving today."
A large part of the base's traps were personally designed by Jackal. She was confident that even if the 2nd Herrscher, Sirin, came personally, she wouldn't be able to escape her prison.
—Although she had never actually studied a Herrscher before, this didn't hinder Jackal's overflowing confidence.
"Hey, do you understand human language? I really don't know who you are. Are you famous or something?" Listening to Jackal's rambling on the loudspeaker, Little Senti was speechless, feeling like she was arguing with a child.
"Damn it, you still dare to mock me at this point? It seems I need to teach you a lesson."
With that, Jackal directly activated all the traps in the passage. A dark green gas seeped through cracks in the walls, quickly filling the narrow corridor.
This was a modified version of the HSN gas. Back in ARC City, she had easily captured Rita with it. Now, after multiple improvements, the effectiveness of this Honkai gas had been increased several times over. According to Jackal's calculations, even a Herrscher with a Honkai core would be significantly weakened by it.
"Hahahaha, let's see how you escape in such a narrow space. Don't even think about holding your breath. This gas can penetrate your skin just by contact. Soon you'll only be able to watch helplessly as your power slips away." While activating the traps, Jackal didn't forget to provide her own commentary.
"Weren't you enjoying tearing apart my mechs earlier? What now?"
The gears in the passage clicked and whirred, and a large number of neatly arranged Guardian mechs poured out, almost completely blocking all escape routes. And the weapons equipped on their bodies included specialized incendiary and cryo weaponry.
"Look at these exquisite creations. They're personally designed by… stolen from Tesla by me."
At this point, the passage was completely covered in various poisonous gases and flames, even the surveillance images becoming blurry. Jackal looked at the images on the monitor and took a sip of red wine leisurely.
Honestly, she had long wanted to experience this feeling of sitting comfortably in the audience, watching the enemy struggle desperately in his traps.
However, before she could finish his sip, a metal fragment magnified in her vision, followed by a loud explosion.
The wine-drinking Jackal was so startled she shivered, spilling wine all over the table. It took her a second to realize it was just the surveillance feed. She looked at the screen, which now only showed static after losing connection. Clearly, that camera had been destroyed.
A bad feeling rising in her heart, she hurriedly switched to other monitors, only to discover that in just a few seconds, the passage was filled with a large amount of mech wreckage. In the lingering poisonous gas, a vague figure could be seen moving at high speed.
"Are you done talking? If you're done, I'm going to tear everything down."
Jackal's traps not only failed to scare Little Senti, but made her even more excited. This time, she had come with [Kiana.] She couldn't wait to show off her strength.
"This isn't scientific, how can you still use Honkai energy?"
"Honkai energy? I'm not using it."
"Then how could you tear apart my mechs?"
"With my fists, of course." With that, Little Senti punched directly into the core battery of a mech. The nearly two-meter-tall heavy mech instantly turned into a ball of burning flames, then the fragments from the explosion plowed through the wreckage-filled ground once more.
"Monster!" By now, Jackal had long lost her initial composure. To be able to achieve such terrifying destruction with just physical strength, wouldn't the traps she had set…
"No, this place is only a few hundred meters from the passage. It's not safe here." Panicked, Jackal muttered to herself, subconsciously wanting Raven to take her away. But when she looked to her side, she remembered Raven had already left to deal with Bronya.
"Huh? Only a few hundred meters?" Just then, Little Senti's voice came from the loudspeaker in the control room again.
Jackal was startled and hurriedly looked at the monitors, only to find the passage had become quiet again. Dozens, even hundreds of mechs had been reduced to parts, a loss of at least hundreds of millions of Dollars. And in the center of the screen, the girl was looking up, a ferocious smile on her face, staring straight at the camera.
Even though Jackal knew it was just surveillance footage, she couldn't help but feel a chill.
"Just so you know, I didn't eavesdrop. You forgot to turn off the loudspeaker."
As soon as Little Senti finished speaking, static came from the loudspeaker, indicating that Jackal on the other end had fled in panic.
"She ran? Doesn't matter. As long as I've marked you with my consciousness, even if you run to the ends of the earth, I'll drag you out."
Victorious, Little Senti was in high spirits. She turned to look behind her. "Kiana, see? I'm very strong. That Otto guy can't do anything to me anymore. Don't worry about me betraying you."
The pale green poisonous gas in the passage slowly dispersed, and the residual suppressive effect of the HSN agent on Honkai energy gradually faded. But when Little Senti saw the scene clearly, the smile on her face quickly vanished.
"Kiana?"
Sparks occasionally flew from the wreckage-filled passage, but other than that, it was empty. Kiana, who had been right behind her, had vanished without a trace.
The joy of victory gradually faded. Little Senti looked at the empty corridor, only a strong sense of loss in her heart.
And soon, this loss was replaced by anger.
"Kevin! You bastard!"
…
Train cars, buildings, clocks, towers… Countless fragments drifted in this empty space. They seemed to be mere projections of the real world, yet in this space, they possessed true substance.
Amidst the countless chaotic, complex wreckage, there remained a relatively intact platform. Golden light shone from an unknown source, bathing the surrounding space in radiance.
Ren, standing on the wreckage of a train, slowly walked towards the platform. And at the center of the platform, a white-haired man had long been waiting.
"Kevin Kaslana."
Ren spoke the man's name, walking towards him step by step. With each step he took, the quantum wreckage behind him vanished in large swaths, until he stepped onto the platform, leaving only the figures of a man and a woman facing each other in the surrounding space.
"Kiana Kaslana… or should I call you… Obsidian Concord? (or Kindred)