Chapter 29: Entropy Reversal

“Clang~”

The soil in the forest was quite soft, so even heavy objects hitting the ground would make only a faint sound.

Yet this sound was unusually sharp—sharp enough to feel like a steel beam had landed right beside you.

“Can’t you all be quiet?!” A small figure jumped out of the darkness. She had short hair, not too long, and gray-white hair that gave her a slightly sickly appearance. Her gray eyes were filled with intense displeasure as she stared at the empty space in front of her.

“This is the Destiny Inspection Zone, idiots!”

She opened her mouth to speak. Though her lips were small, her mouth revealed shark-like sharp teeth when open.

She kicked at the empty air like a child throwing a tantrum. The next moment, a crisp metallic sound rang out. Her kick also caused a small glitch in the opponent’s camouflage system, and a blue-purple mecha began to appear in the otherwise empty space.

It was a giant of steel, easily surpassing ten meters in height, its massive alloy body radiating the power of technology.

Anti-Entropy Combat Mecha Unit · Titan Mecha.

“Sorry, Miss Xing’er, we’ll be careful.”

Through Xing’er’s communicator, she heard the formal reply from the Titan’s operator at headquarters. The politeness of the response only made her more irritated.

“Tsk, idiots.” Soon, her tone shifted. From that of a hot-tempered wild child, she switched to a soft, almost kitten-like voice, opening another channel to the person at the other end and whining: “Mom, is it really necessary to make such a fuss? It’s just an old soldier. I can slice his head off myself, you know.”

“Hehe, Xing’er, your confidence makes Mom happy, but we’re not here to kill the soldier. The Doctor specifically instructed that he must stay alive.” A young woman’s voice came from the communicator. Her words were both indulgent and confident, yet quickly turned cold.

“You didn’t read the file I sent you about him, did you, Xing’er?”

“Ah?! I did, Mom, but it was so thick and, well… you know how I always fall asleep reading books~ so… hehe.”

“Ah~~” The other party sighed, fully knowing what was happening.

“Even if you looked now, it would be too late. Just remember: our goal is to keep that guy alive. And don’t be fooled by his weak and lethargic appearance. His combat skills are such that even a lightning-charged swordsman might not defeat him.”

“Got it~~, Mom Cocorea~.”

She abruptly ended the communication and crushed the device without mercy. Her kitten-like demeanor vanished immediately. Xing’er opened her mouth at the massive Titan robot, flashing a shark-like grin full of sharp teeth.

“Everyone heard, right? Only he has to survive.”

In other words, as long as he’s breathing, injuries like severed hands or legs are acceptable, and the fates of those around him don’t matter.

“Let’s get to work—Destiny must die!”

As her words fell, the surrounding trees were pushed and crushed by immense force. One by one, the heavy Titans exited their optical camouflage, twelve in total, gathering into an unstoppable steel army in this relatively primitive forest.

“Target acquired! Let’s go greet them first!”

+++++++++++++++++

“Secret? Is this secret worth risking your life for? Worth fighting for? Worth trading your future?”

Yao Bingling had already asked in a gentle tone. His words quickened, becoming impatient as he pressed Wuliangta Himeko step by step.

He knew that Destiny’s so-called Stigmata were nothing but mass-produced junk, the kind that would ravage Himeko’s body.

He didn’t even dare to calculate how much time his student had left.

“My students have never been many, few survived… including you. But you’re about to die… is this… my fault?”

Yao Bingling’s eyes suddenly went alert!

“Instructor… I…”

Before she could finish, Himeko felt herself suddenly weightless, slammed into the ground by an immense force.

“Get down!” Yao Bingling shouted, pinning Himeko beneath him.

The next moment, a massive explosion lit up the surrounding forest.

Himeko didn’t fully realize what happened until she saw Yao Bingling’s back torn to shreds by the blast, his face contorted in agony.

Enemy attack—missiles!

“Instructor!!”

Though seriously wounded, Himeko was the most agile of the two. She immediately flipped, holding Yao Bingling and checked his back wound.

The gaping injury, worsened by blast, impact, and shrapnel, had charred flesh and blood congealed into a sticky black mess.

“Hold on, Instructor!” Himeko lifted him and ran at full speed out of the missile strike zone.

“Anti-Entropy!”

Cradling Yao Bingling, Himeko could see through the fire-lit forest the Titans she had destroyed dozens of times before.

“Anti-Entropy?! They… were drawn by the Collapse energy too?!”

It wasn’t surprising. Anti-Entropy, with their advanced mecha and warship tech, could respond to Collapse energy as fast or faster than Destiny. With such a large Collapse reaction, how could they not react?

“Himeko, go to this location.” Yao Bingling quickly gave her coordinates.

“What’s there?”

“You’ll see when you get there. Now put me down.”

“This isn’t the time for jokes! You’re not supposed to show off.”

“Put me down! I’m heavy. If you run carrying me, we’ll both die.”

“Instructor, shut up!” Himeko shouted. “I didn’t come to rescue you so you could die—I came so you could return as our commander. Your commission takes effect when we arrive. A Valkyrie who can’t even protect her commander isn’t worth a thing!”

“…Fine, Wuliangta Himeko, I order you as Captain to obey—put me down! Head to the coordinates!”

“I refuse!”

“You—”

“Captain, haven’t you always violated orders yourself? I was trained by you. In our country’s saying, like father, like son!”

“You little brat… ten years gone, your wings have grown, huh! But do you know what? Before you even joined the service, I single-handedly destroyed countless mecha! Ten years later… so what? Just more powerful core, moved furnace, thicker armor, right?” Yao Bingling laughed, pressing her hand on Himeko’s head: “So what! I’ll still tear them apart! Put me down—now!”

“…Sorry, Instructor.”

“Huh? Eh!” Yao Bingling was about to question her apology when a heavy blow to his neck knocked him unconscious.

“This is Wuliangta Himeko, do you copy? Damn it, Delisa! Can you hear me? Anti-Entropy is here! We’re surrounded! We need Valkyrie armor support!”

While fleeing, Himeko shouted into the communicator, buried under her chest armor for maximum protection. Even after being crushed, she still attempted this risky move.

“Himeko, Himeko! Can you hear me?”

To her surprise, a weak, intermittent voice came through—Himeko’s face lit up.

“Kiana?! Where are you guys?”

——————————————————————————

“Is this really the outbreak point of the battle?”

Kiana, her hands gripping guns, scanned the cave-like ruins.

“According to the coordinates from the headmaster, yes.”

“But it’s as dark as a mine, Mei… reminds me of that idiot captain who always made you dig mines.”

“Well, Kiana, it was officially a mission…” Mei’s forced smile showed unease.

Another voice sounded from the communicator.

“Bronya agrees with Kiana. That captain is a jerk.”

“Bronya!” Mei exclaimed, embarrassed. “Focus on the mission. Even if this mission isn’t highly dangerous, nearby creatures could be infected by Collapse energy and attack.”

“Don’t worry, Mei. Bronya is monitoring a 30-meter radius around you. Any creature that shows aggression toward you will be flagged.”

Mei’s wrist display projected a radar: a round interface with her chibi portrait in the center and a small blue dot beside it.

“So cute… wait! That blue dot—is that… me?!”

“Yes, it indicates your current location.”

“Ugh, so I really am the idiot, huh?!”

“You got it, Kiana. Bronya is pleased.”

“Don’t think I can’t hit you, Bronya!”

“Can’t reach me through the communicator.”

“Hey, you two! We’re on a mission!”

“Don’t care! Bronya, today we duel!”

“Always ready.”

A fourth voice arrived unexpectedly. Kiana aimed her twin guns at the sound, safety off, eyes sharp as an eagle.

Mei tossed her flashlight into the air, catching it on her Winchester shotgun’s tactical mount, aiming downward.

The flashlight illuminated the darkness. Three girls in Valkyrie armor emerged.

Leading them was a capable gray-haired girl, glasses removed, eyes sharp as a class monitor scrutinizing late homework.

“Class Monitor Fuhua?! And… the top student duo?” Kiana could hardly believe her eyes.

“We have names, you know!” The two behind Fuhua protested.

“The headmaster’s support is you? Class Monitor Fuhua, Qianshuang, and Claire?”

Mei lowered her weapon. “Weren’t you supposed to search for Lt. Colonel Yao and Major Himeko?”

“Yes. We just arrived a minute ago. On the way, we found you and came to see if you had clues.”

“Sorry, we just got here too, no time to scout. But even if this is the battle outbreak point, it’s hard to find anything valuable without excavation.”

“…Bronya, can you pull up the current satellite thermal image here?”

“Understood.”

In just two breaths, a satellite image projected on their display: five white humanoid lights standing in a field of black.

“What is this? Hard to make out anything.” Kiana frowned.

Fuhua, however, marked a circle quickly: “Kiana, know what napalm is?”

“That weapon that can ignite an entire forest? Yeah.”

“Yes. Its explosion leaves a deep black scorch mark on the ground. Mei, remember the blast area?”

“Not exactly, but around fifteen meters of flames.”

“Fifteen meters? That creature must have been weak. Look: if we take us as the center, the black marks spread like a trap. Each center has a fifty-meter diameter—clearly a hunting tactic.” Fuhua stomped, and much of the charred trace disappeared: “That monster is smart. No Emperor-level Collapse creature can plan such precise controlled explosions.”

“Boom!!”

An explosion occurred three kilometers away. Fortunately, they were on higher ground with clear sightlines.

“Over there!?”

“Robots?”

“Anti-Entropy Titan Mecha!!”

Kiana, as the shooter, could see the blue-purple mecha glinting amidst the fire and fallen trees.

“Lt. Colonel and Himeko are there!”

Mei was the first to notice, her wrist communicator faintly buzzing.

The coordinates matched. Flashlights revealed residual ice and burned scorch marks.

“This is Wuliangta Himeko, copy… Delisa, can you hear? Anti-Entropy has arrived… We need Valkyrie armor…”

“Kiana, it’s Himeko!”

“Hang in there, Himeko, we’re coming!”

The next blast cut off communications. The five girls prepared: Fuhua, Claire, and Qianshuang activated their armor power. Kiana strapped her weapon bag and leapt onto Fuhua’s back.

Qianshuang carried Mei, sprinting.

Rarely did Fuhua scold anyone: “Hold tight. Full speed, it’ll be bumpy.”

“Got it!” Kiana’s casual tone belied her restless energy.

“Hold on tight!” Fuhua repeated, and explosive winds began to surge here.