On the eastern bank of the cross-river bridge.
This was the vehicle access point into "Heng He Li." The duo, posing as siblings, were slowly driving Destobier's VISION AVTR into the city.
"Dest."
"What is it?" Destobier asked, wearing oversized LOTOS sunglasses, without so much as turning her head.
"Isn't this car a bit too conspicuous?"
"..."
Destobier's index finger paused on the bridge of her glasses, pressing down slightly so her eyes could look directly at Trace in the passenger seat without obstruction.
"This is already the most ordinary one in my garage, alright!"
"As for you... Since you can pilot submarines, aircraft, and even Divine Machines, getting a driver's license definitely wouldn't be hard. Trace, you sitting in the passenger seat, without saying anything else, the sense of incongruity is already off the charts!"
"..."
"No ti."
"..."
"True enough."
Trace, ever the conversationalist.
With just four short words, he made them both fall silent.
As warriors of The Fla-Chasers, they truly had very little ti to call their own. Moreover, compared to Destobier, who lived a very dashing life (at least it seed so), Trace, who had a family, wanted to spend his limited ti—or rather, humanity's limited ti—more with Blanca and Grisia.
Fortunately.
Destobier, like Miss Elf, was adept at changing the subject and enlivening the atmosphere.
"No problems so far."
The girl nodded slightly, her gaze sweeping past the toll booth on the right side of the bridge.
"That staff mber."
"I can't sense any Honkai energy aura from him. Although his ntal activity is 'subdued' and 'stable,' well, in this situation... one look at the dark circles under his eyes tells you it's probably because he stayed up quite late."
Sensing Honkai aura.
This was just a basic ability for Fusion Soldiers.
As a psychokinetic-type, Destobier, although her physical developnt wasn't fully complete (currently focused mainly on telekinesis), could indeed probe human ntal states without difficulty by combining her abilities with professional knowledge.
In the girl's view.
At least the first step of making contact and entering "Heng He Li" seed completely normal.
And then...
"Sothing's not right."
The VISION AVTR drove along the smooth road. Destobier had already piloted her beloved car to the central business district of "Heng He Li."
Logically speaking.
Although the Indian Peninsula wasn't as prosperous as North Arica, as a city with a population in the tens of millions, its central business district should absolutely be bustling with activity.
However.
While it was bustling in a sense—shops stood packed tightly row upon row, lining both sides of the road, and roadside stalls displaying a dazzling array of goods ford markets of various sizes in the square—contrasting this lively scene was the conspicuous absence of the "crowds" that should have been shoulder-to-shoulder, but were now eerily sparse.
In such a vast central business district.
Destobier and Trace had yet to see a single pedestrian.
Another point worth noting was:
None of the vehicles that had lined up before and after the VISION AVTR, and were allowed into the city together, chose to stop within the city.
Since crossing the bridge, they had ford a remarkably neat convoy—Destobier initially thought these vehicles were already part of a convoy—and, following the exact sa route, headed towards the western highway leading out of the city.
"Screech!"
She slamd on the brakes.
The VISION AVTR ca to a steady halt on the right side of the road.
Trace leaped out of the car, his gaze sweeping the surroundings with vigilance.
Destobier, on the other hand, slowly closed her eyes and began to fully mobilize her ntal energy, sensing the details and differences of this city. Destobier's perception wasn't exceptionally powerful—certainly no match for a freak like Lu Xing—but she could still manage to "spread" it out over a two-kiloter radius.
And rely 1400 ters from here... was the "Mother River" of "Heng He Li."
"Drip. Drip."
As ti passed.
Sweat gradually soaked her bangs, and beads of perspiration trickled down the side of her delicate cheek, falling to the ground.
"This... is a dead city."
This conclusion, just seven words long, was an unbelievable truth that Destobier found difficult to voice.
In the girl's perception.
Across an area exceeding twelve square kiloters, there wasn't a single "active" human aura.
Her ntal energy swept across several residential areas, and aside from the incredibly scarce human auras she found, the few that existed were identical to the person at the bridge's toll booth.
At this point.
Even the dimst fool would know that sothing had happened in "Heng He Li"; and not only had sothing happened, but the entire event had been deliberately concealed by an invisible force, with extre planning!
Just then—
"Hum."
A very subtle, inconspicuous fluctuation, one the girl could barely capture, caught Destobier's attention.
The city's eeriness made it difficult to know where to start, but undoubtedly, this was most likely not the work of Honkai Beasts... they were more adept at physical destruction.
In such circumstances.
The sudden appearance of an aura belonging to a Honkai Beast was definitely an invaluable clue.
Even if...
The source of this aura was probably only equivalent to a Ranger-class in strength.
"Trace!"
"Thump."
Trace's movents were clean and decisive.
Upon hearing Destobier's call, he sprinted back into the VISION AVTR, whose engine had restarted... incidentally causing a significant "earthquake" inside the car.
"VROOOM!!"
The engine roared.
The tires screeched against the asphalt, kicking up a plu of pale bluish smoke. The next mont, it shot off like a silver bolt of lightning, leaving everything behind!
"Clack."
The car door closed firmly.
Destobier had lost the target.
When the VISION AVTR stopped, the only scenery in her and Trace's eyes was the rushing great river before them...
The Ranger-class aura had vanished right here.
"Swoosh."
She brandished the slender tal staff in her hand, engraved with magnificent carvings. This was a Soul Steel weapon specially crafted for Destobier by Dr. i. The core of this "magic wand" was a unique armant, created by "lting and reshaping" the Honkai Core of a beast that shared its origin with the Emperor-class Honkai Beast Destobier had fused with.
With the magic wand in hand.
Destobier's ntal power could be amplified twofold.
"The highest probability..."
"Is underwater... Should we go take a look?"
Apart from beneath the rushing great river.
There was nowhere nearby to hide.
And this river, very strangely, blocked Destobier's ntal energy probe... such a peculiar situation, she hadn't even noticed it before.
Undoubtedly.
There was definitely sothing fishy beneath the river water.
"No."
The girl glanced at the river's water quality and color. Even if she could use her telekinesis to create a barrier, she refused to dive into such a place.
"If there are aquatic Honkai Beasts ambushing us, it will be difficult for us to utilize our full strength."
Destobier waved her staff, the "gemstone" at its tip, highlighted by intricate carvings, shone even more dazzlingly under the sunlight.
"I'll do it."
With the gemstone as the center, telekinetic energy began to converge and take shape—
"I'll blast them out of there!"
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