Chapter Six: The Strained String

Outside of Kolostein, in the research institute previously invaded by Siegfried, Luo Lin's hair was messy, and her clothes were slightly wrinkled, giving her a dispirited appearance. She was working together with Charlotte, another logistics Valkyrie. One person held a recording device with video and photo capabilities, while the other carried specialized engineering equipment to provide evidence for the completion of the institute's repair.

Charlotte had been working with Luo Lin for some time and seemed concerned about Luo Lin's current efficiency. So she suggested, "Luo Lin, do you want to take a break?"

Luo Lin scratched her hair and took a few seconds to realize that Charlotte was speaking to her. "Huh? Oh, I am a bit sleep-deprived... Though I feel like I can continue, ...you're right, let's take a break."

The two carefully placed their equipment aside and sat down on chairs in the corridor.

Charlotte looked at Luo Lin's vacant gaze and asked with some concern, "What's been going on lately? Are you sick? Or haven't you been sleeping well? You seem completely drained... Look, dark circles have appeared under your eyes."

Charlotte took out a small mirror from somewhere and held it up in front of Luo Lin. Seeing her reflection, Luo Lin looked like she had been cultivating excessively and was about to ascend to the heavens, which startled her.

"Lately, I..."

Luo Lin had been clashing with other players in the Infinity Abyss every night, but unfortunately, while others could easily gain points with a flick of their fingers, Luo Lin had to engage in real combat against Honkai beasts, zombies, and mechs. She had to use all her strength to maneuver within the swarm of enemies, while relying on Bianka's stigma power and employing the barely proficient Kaslana gun techniques she had learned to scrape the enemies.

Fortunately, Luo Lin found that the monsters she faced weren't very intelligent in combat and would only use a few moves foolishly. Moreover, the enemies' quality wasn't as exaggerated as in the real world—

At least the Aesir Mech and AE Titan wouldn't be taken down by a small handgun or a tuna by itself. In the current Abyss, as long as Luo Lin hit them at the right time, from the right distance, in the right spot, they would short circuit or break down, either becoming scrap or blowing up along with Luo Lin.

Yes, although these mechs were dim-witted and their armor was fragile, their explosions were still potent. Luo Lin had been caught within the blast range more than once, getting thrown around by the shockwaves, then greeted with "game over, please try again" afterward.

You might ask why she didn't use grenades to deal with these fragile explosives from a distance?

Luo Lin had used up all her grenades on the monsters linked by the HP Bar mechanism... These monsters linked by HP had to be eliminated simultaneously as much as possible, otherwise, if one of the linked monsters wasn't dealt with, the remaining enemies would respawn in a short time.

The HP Bar mechanism enemies needed to be bombed. After bombing them, Luo Lin had no grenades left, and that was when the Titans and Aesir Mechs emerged, forcing her to fight desperately with her handgun.

The main problem was that Luo Lin's small handgun was too weak, forcing her to get close to the enemies...

Luo Lin drooled over the weapons in the system shop every day now, those three-star weapons (of course, there were no star ratings in the system shop now) that would have been disassembled on the spot for coins before she transmigrated. Just by looking at their descriptions, Luo Lin could feel their power.

Like the Icarus Pinions—it was a pair of guns made of soulium imitation inspired by an Aesir Mech, with bullets burning with intense flames. As an experimental product, said have its power was comparable to the "Jingwei."

There was also the Water Spirit Type ll—a handgun designed by the St. 7308 Research Institute for Valkyries, equipped with a Honkai engine, and its core generated condensed bullets that absorbed energy from the target when hit freezing them...

Ranger's Lasers, Ranger's Cross, Ranger's Missles, Ranger's Sawtooth, Plasma Lance, Azure Storm, Fire Angel... There were even weapons like the Ring Blades and Bows that weren't typically used by ordinary people.

Anyway, Luo Lin had tried bringing various weapons into the Infinity Abyss challenge, and the system didn't say anything about them—so she could go in looking like a "Christmas tree,"

With the Dark Suns handgun in her left hand, the Proto Pulse Cleaver in her right hand, carrying a cross and missile launcher on her back, a bunch of grenades and flash bombs hanging around her waist, her appearance screamed armed and disorderly.

"...Luo Lin, Luo Lin!"

Luo Lin snapped out of it and realized that Charlotte was holding her hand firmly, speaking with a serious tone: "You need to take some time to relax. You seem like a tightly wound spring about to snap at any moment... How long has it been since you last rested?"

"Oh, um..."

Luo Lin was dumbfounded, trying to recall what exactly she did after she had transmigrated over to this world—

It seemed like from the first day she became a Valkyrie, she had secretly started relearning the courses from the Valkyrie Academy to avoid being noticed of her being unfamliar to any of the courses and tasks of being a logistics officer... Although there were some stumbling blocks at first, with her strong physical qualities, Luo Lin could still endure the rigorous lifestyle of working hard during the day, studying hard at night, and getting beaten up by various Honkai creatures and Mechs during sleep.

It was precisely because of this that Luo Lin had been in a high-pressure state both mentally and physically for a long time.

And recently, the newly opened Infinity Abyss mode by the system had further exacerbated her energy consumption, exceeding what her body could bear.

Awakened by Charlotte, Luo Lin finally noticed the discomfort pervading her body, hastily undoing the buttons on her chest and taking deep breaths.

"Hoo... But, our work..."

"Don't think about work at this moment!" Charlotte was angry. She raised her hand, as if to give Luo Lin a headbutt, but hesitated for a moment and put her hand back down.

"Looking at you like this, you probably haven't taken a vacation, right?"

"Huh? Is there even vacation time?" Luo Lin was surprised.

Does Schicksal even give Valkyries vacation time? Luo Lin thought Otto should be like a heartless capitalist, precisely controlling every part of the giant war machine called Schicksal, to continuously advance toward Otto's goals.

"You don't even know about vacation time?! My goodness..."

At this point, Charlotte finally couldn't resist giving Luo Lin a tap on the head. She said with a wry smile, "Now I understand why you've turned into this state, you silly girl..."

"Listen to me, although Schicksal isn't a charity, it treats its employees well."

Shaking her head, Charlotte reached out and took the things Luo Lin was holding, embracing both work instruments.

"Let's stop working for now. With you being a workaholic, we're already ahead by who knows how many days... What are you still dawdling for? Hurry up and follow me."

Luo Lin stared foolishly at the logistics Valkyrie in front of her, almost irritating her. She nudged Luo Lin's body with her shoulder.

"Don't space out, let's go! I'll take you to a good place to relax..."

"Oh, okay..."