The incident in Irkutsk was a big deal.
Keyword: was.
It is forcibly suppressed by government agents (i.e., Schicksal) later on. The scene of someone killing off goons in broad daylight is too shocking. There is also the arson incident where one person got burned to death.
It helps that Siberia is half-closed to the outside world. The presence of news reporters here is minimal.
In the end, it was reported as a shooting incident involving armed robbers. The rest of the details are downplayed as much as possible.
It is a different story for the people involved.
“Ryoma… So it is you.”
Cocolia gently patted Seeele’s head. The latter slept peacefully, in sharp contrast to her tense expression earlier.
“Then, the boy…”
She managed to get the overall gist of events.
Normally, most of her available forces are stationed in Siberia. Schicksal won’t think about Anti-Entropy hiding in this exact place. Either that, or once again, Otto does not care.
The orphanage itself is located near several base camps. It is isolated from the outside world. Guarded by Titans and numerous elite forces, it is very safe.
The problem came from a joint-operation. Cocolia has to bring some of her forces.
This led to the orphanage’s defenses weakening.
Later on, Bronya and Seele went out to the city. This forced whomever the mastermind was to create an impromptu. The orphanage was attacked and reinforcements could not be sent to retrieve Seele immediately.
It was then did Cocolia’s hidden forces meet the ones protecting Kiana from the dark. Some people from both sides knew each other and avoided a cross-fire. Kiana’s team swiftly cleared out important traces of her. Cocolia’s team began looking for Seele.
That wasn’t the most surprising part.
The boy with Kiana, the presumed “martial artist”, chased a car by running, took all five kidnappers down, killed one of the masterminds and injured another three of them. He managed to take away Seele and wait until Bronya’s arrival to bring her back.
His feats are nothing short of the legendary assassin—Bronya herself.
His physical strength is exaggerated. He can also use flames to burn someone to crisp. It is definitely not something a normal martial artist can do.
That leaves the explanation to honkai. Either the boy has a strong honkai resistance (surprising), possesses a stigmata of sorts, or both of them.
Cocolia narrowed her eyes.
“He must have done his investigation.”
She trusted Ryoma’s ability to do things. He personally worked for the Sovereign himself.
Her attention turned to the girl with him, Kiana.
“How will your plan work if your daughter acts like this?”
Although Cocolia did not know Siegfried much, she caught wind of his plans two years ago. He wanted to make a lot of trouble to divert Schicksal’s attention from Kiana. Be it his daughter’s insane talent for the honkai or something else, it is not unreasonable for Schicksal to target them. More so when Siegfried and Schicksal had a falling out, thus Siegfried joining Anti-Entropy.
“The ones responsible for this…”
She looked at Seele again. She rushed straight to the orphanage upon hearing of the attack. Her sudden disappearance in the joint operation will be used against her politically, but she does not care.
"They will pay."
*****
“Martial artist, martial artist…”
Inside his office, Ryoma tapped on his keyboard. He did not investigate Shi Tian’s background much in the beginning. Now that Shi Tian stirred up a “big” trouble, it became necessary to investigate the kid.
Unfortunately, Eurasia isn’t exactly Anti-Entropy’s domain.
Every time they had to take action under Schicksal’s influence, they had to spend a lot of resources. The team following Kiana does just that. They run the risk of being exposed.
Worse, being caught on a cross-fire with Valkyries.
By then, it won’t be certain whether their exoskeletons and technological weapons can stand a chance.
“Schicksal’s response needs to be watched over. Siegfried is about to make a mess…”
*****
“You want to learn a new technique?”
This day came too suddenly.
I woke up at five, ate my supposed lunch and dinner in one sitting, and began my usual cultivation routine.
After an hour, Kiana woke up.
“The one I put off a while…”
“Spells?”
“Um.”
Currently, Kiana is learning the [Taixu True Spirit Art] and [Cloud Seeking Steps]. These are the qi cultivation and light techniques, respectively. The xianxia-equivalent of Kaslana's gun-kata has to be postponed, simply because it required guns built with spiritual materials.
We are broke.
I don't know where I can pull these resources out. That's why I planned for her to learn a technique about increasing talents instead. Unfortunately, she is not interested.
It’s not being irresponsible. It’s just the way Kiana is. Before tragedy struck, she lived a carefree life. She did not study in school because it had no actual bearing. Even if cultivation is different from normal studies, this is her current prejudice towards studying in general.
She lived a somewhat normal life compared to being on a constant run. This is where her ‘laziness’ came from.
If she’s put in a serious situation, she will begin to take things seriously. I saw the sharp contrast before and after the Final Lesson.
“I have one for you…”
I began teaching her [Taixu World Rendering Sutra]. It is a spell technique that directly suited her cultivation technique. In Qi Refining, it can be used to form an invisible shield with a strong durability. Once the realms progress, more spells can be used.
Most importantly, it’s simple. A Tuna can learn it.
“It needs an opening formula. You need to memorize reciting it. For the circulation…”
It took two hours for her to cast her very first [Void Shield]
“I got it! Try punching it!”
“...This is your next lesson.”
We are inside the hotel room. We cannot do anything that will destroy things.
I pulled my right arm to my side.
Then…
Bam-!
Crack-!
Several small cracks appeared on the ‘barrier’ like glass.
“That’s seventy percent of my power. If it gets to one hundred…”
Bam-!
Crack-!
The [Void Shield] withstood my full-forced attack. It did break down the next second.
The shield turned into small white dots before disappearing.
Kiana looked surprised.
“Your spell’s power is limited by your realm. You can strengthen it by shrinking its size.”
“Shrink…”
I saw her cast the spell for a second time. She looked as lively as ever.
This time, the transparent shield is smaller, around a square meter. A size of a tile block, I should say.
I demonstrated my force for the second time. It took five punches to break it.
“It’s not only that. Repeated usage will make your casting time shorter. Practice is important…”
"Um. Um."
I almost let out tears of joy when I saw her understand it.
I am no longer just a computer guy. I am now a successful tutor as well.
The prospects are getting better day by day...