MDV 131-140 (Patreon)

MDV 131-140

Chapter 131: Lin Ling: Take a good look at Rita, that's how Durandal uses it!

"Miss Lin Ling?! What's wrong with you?"

Hearing a cry for help from behind, Durandal who had not yet walked far immediately turned back to check with some worry.

Seeing this, Rita had no choice but to let go of the girl who was pretending to be powerful.

"Don't worry, Lord Durandal." She calmly explained to Durandal who had come over, "Lord Lin Ling is just drunk. She wants you to help her and send her back to the dormitory. But now, Rita can serve her, so Lord Durandal doesn't have to worry about it."

"Ah~ I'm dizzy."

Lin Ling immediately blinked her left eye at Rita, then very cooperatively pretended to be dizzy and weak, walking unsteadily, and pretending to fall down after a few steps.

'Fortunately,' Rita quickly hugged her in time.

"So she was drunk? No wonder she suddenly told me that she wanted to mention... Ahem, nothing."

Durandal wanted to tell Rita that Lin Ling had confessed to her—oh no, proposed to her—but after thinking about it, she swallowed the words that were already on the tip of her tongue.

However, a trace of regret flashed in her eyes.

And Durandal's slight change in expression naturally did not escape the attention of Rita, who was good at observing words and expressions.

This made Rita’s expression become a little complicated.

"Na..." At this time, the white-haired girl, who looked like mud, deliberately imitated the anime accent she had seen in her previous life, and added fuel to the fire in Rita’s ear, "Miss Rita, are you trying to have two relationships at the same time? Are you going to cheat? You are such a scumbag! I think you will be crushed by the hatchet sooner or later~"

"Lord Lin Ling~" Rita was not to be outdone and whispered gently in Lin Ling’s ear, "You are playing with fire. Do you really think that Rita will not dare to do anything to you?~"

"Hehe, you can try it. If I can be killed by both of you, then I will die without regrets~"

"..."

In the end, Rita temporarily let Lin Ling go; at present, the time was not ripe...

At the same time, Archbishop Otto of Schicksal sat alone in a laboratory, thinking about the moment of the daytime experiment. The 'membrane' of the Tree of Imaginary Numbers, which even Durandal could not touch, was easily opened under the power of Lin Ling.

"Her power and ability to interfere with the imaginary space are beyond doubt. We are very close to the final answer. The only thing left is a matter of time, but..." Otto recalled the scene of the white-haired girl after opening the imaginary tree.

The special symbol had flashed in her eyes at that moment, and his expression became serious.

"Maybe it’s not that simple. It seems I have to find an opportunity to study it carefully..."

...

...

...

"Good morning, Lord Lin Ling~"

"Morning, do you miss me?"

"Lord Lin Ling! Good morning!"

"Good morning! Did you dream of me last night?"

The next morning, Lin Ling swept away the gloom of the previous period. She regained a confident smile on her face, and happily responded to the girls who came to greet her.

But her regained confidence did not come from a change in her identity, nor did it come from being promoted and becoming one of the few S-rank Valkyries of Schicksal.

Instead, after last night's verification, she felt that she had finally found a way out.

That is, find a strong thigh to hold!

It is best to be a vegetarian thigh, such as a stupid Dudu wood~, only in this way can she protect herself from harm in a dangerous environment surrounded by wolves.

"Lin Ling-sama, are you free today? Can you guide my battle..."

So, when facing the request of another girl who seemed to be her fan, Lin Ling asked with a smirk, "Of course, but what kind of battle is it, on the bed or under the bed? Or~ both?"

"Hmm... hateful!"

The girl blushed and then secretly glanced at the face of the blonde girl next to Lin Ling before trotting away.

"Hehe~" Watching the girl leave with a blushing face, Lin Ling's face showed a smile as if a strange uncle saw a girl, "Shy girl, she's so cute."

"It's really cute, but it's still a little worse than Lord Lin Ling." Just like that, Rita suddenly spoiled it. She stroked her cherry lips, as if recalling something, "The Shy Lord Lin Ling, that's the real world’s best scenery. I don’t know when I can see it again?"

"Hmph, you hentai maid." Seeing this, Lin Ling couldn't help but think of what happened between her and Rita in the bathroom that night. Her old face turned red, and then she took the arm of the blonde girl on the other side of her. "Silly Dudu~ Sister Tazi is bullying me again, sob."

"Don't worry, Ling, Rita will never bully you. By the way... why did the fight go to the bed?"

But Durandal beside Lin Ling didn’t understand the key point of the conversation between the two and instead asked about the battle.

In her impression, even the hardest bed could not withstand the attack of a Valkyrie who could use Honkai energy, so she was a little curious for a moment.

"Well, do you want to learn, Wife Dudu? If you want to learn, I will teach you to climb the dua wolf tonight... hiss!~"

Suddenly, Lin Ling who was spouting nonsense as usual made a sound of pain.

She looked down and saw a hand in a thin black silk glove pinching the soft flesh on her waist. When she looked up again, the owner of these hands was the perfect maid of Schicksal, Rita Rossweise. She was looking at her with a smile.

"Lord Lin Ling." Rita smiled kindly, "Lord Durandal is different from you. She is very busy. Please don't disturb her rest at night."

"Can I disturb you, Rita?" Lin Ling said provocatively. "Do you really want that? You're obviously a coward~"

"It's okay. I'm staying at Dudu's house now. I won't move even if you kill me~ As long as you can accept the three of us together, I don't care..."

After being threatened by Rita in the bathroom last night, Lin Ling has been inseparable from Durandal. She even stayed in her room at night, which made it difficult for Rita to do anything to her.

"Hmph, coward."

"I'm just a coward. What can you do to me~ Lululu."

"Lord Lin Ling! Overseer Otto wants to see you. He wants you to go over and lie down. By the way! You can go alone. It's just a small matter."

Just when Lin Ling and Rita were bickering, Alvitr suddenly trotted over and brought the request of Archbishop Schicksal.

"Oh, is he here after all? What small matter did that man have? Is he going to dissect and slice me for research?"

"Durandal QAQ~"

So, the white-haired girl held the right hand of the tall blonde girl next to her and shook it like a girl acting like a spoiled child. "Go with me, I'm socially anxious, I'm afraid of meeting strangers..."

(←_←)

Although Durandal was a little speechless about this guy who always called others her wife and claimed to be socially anxious, she could understand why Lin Ling was a little afraid to meet the archbishop, especially after what happened yesterday.

More importantly, seeing how much she relied on herself, Durandal felt relieved, and the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but slightly raise.

She softened her ears and agreed, "Well, since there's nothing important today, I'll go with you to see the bishop."

Therefore, when Otto who had already used the Void Archives to mimic Fenghuang Down and planned to surprise Lin Ling as soon as she entered the door saw the little bird-like Lin Ling leaning on Durandal and coming to him, his face fluctuated slightly...

----

Chapter 132: Black Dodo and Red Electric Dragon

After detecting the energy signal of the Herrscher in Nagazora City, Tesla and Mei arrived. They searched the area and accidentally found and saved a girl, Sora.

From Sora, they learned about a refugee gathering place called the "Nest" in the East District of Nagazora City. They immediately sent Sora back and learned from the children there that Kiana was in the West District.

Just then, the water level in Nagazora City suddenly rose for unknown reasons. Tesla moved the children and supplies to higher ground to protect the shantytown, while Mei followed Sora to find Benares, the source of the strange occurrences in Nagazora City.

During the battle with Benares, she was saved by Raven, who had returned...

After temporarily injuring and driving away Benares, Raven sent Sora away and had a conversation with Mei alone.

Unfortunately, the two's differing attitudes toward Kiana could never be reconciled.

Inevitable, the battle broke out.

"You've done a favor for the children, and that's not my goal. I don't want to conflict with you. But if you insist on hindering me, that's another matter...!"

Shadows flew, flashed, bloomed, and disappeared, weaving the small shantytown into a cage. The dark mist embraced Mei from all directions, hiding her scarlet wounds.

"I... won't let you get close to her!"

But as the black mist dissipated, the girl stood firm. The pain in her body couldn't knock her down, for the pain in her heart kept her standing.

Raven frowned, interrupted her offensive, and stayed at the "Nest," looking down at her prey in the cage.

Instantly, her eyes changed! The rose-red hands began to glow with blood, and the strange cloak suddenly flew up in the windless air, rustling...

"Wait, wait a minute!"

At that moment, she stopped. Raven turned her head and saw a small figure peeking out from the door. It was Sora, who had been attracted by the fighting outside and had returned to the safety of the two older sisters.

Raven stopped immediately and asked, "Sora, why did you run out without permission?"

"Teacher... why are you fighting with Mei?" There was a trace of fear and worry in Sora's puzzled, childish voice. She didn’t understand why Mei, who was obviously a good person, would be attacked by the best teacher.

"Mei... Mei didn't bully us. She's very kind to everyone and saved me! She just came to find a friend and will leave when she finds one... With the teacher's ability, she will definitely find Mei's friends."

"I can't leave her friends to her." Raven, who usually doted on children, refused this time.

"Why?" Sora asked, very puzzled.

"Because that person is very dangerous and will hurt you and everyone else!"

"...Then? Can Mei still see her?"

"..." Faced with the child’s innocent question, Raven didn’t answer, but her silence was more painful than any answer.

"Mei... She miss Kiana very much... She has been telling us about Kiana... Three years ago, it was Kiana who saved Mei... Just like the teacher saved us... How important the teacher is in our hearts, how important Kiana is in Mei's heart... Please think about it again, at least give Mei a chance..."

"..." Raven's face remained grim.

"Teacher... you have become a different person... I'm so scared..." Sora began to cry nonstop, hugging her head, trying to hide her face, like a frightened little animal.

"..."

This scene seemed familiar to Raven.

More than a decade ago, in that place that had turned into a sea of flames, a girl had cried like this, asking Gray Serpent to save her brother.

"Good girl, don't be afraid." Finally, the ice on Raven's face melted.

She landed gently on the ground, bent down, and wiped away the tears from the girl’s eyes.

"I promise you... I’ll give her a chance."

Raven squatted next to Sora's ear and said a lot of things. Afterward, she led the frightened girl back into the house, carefully closed the door, and stood silently for a long time. Finally, she turned around.

"Sigh..." Raven sighed softly. "Don’t get children involved in adult disputes. If you want to know where she is, follow her. I won’t change my opinion of her, but you can do as you wish... It's up to you."

After that, Raven raised her cloak and disappeared in the wind, while Mei, dragging her injured body, followed as best she could.

The black mist rolled over, and in an instant, Raven landed on a Honkai beast and drove her five fingers deep into its body. The blood-red black spread like a drop of ink in water, continuing to spread over the pale body... until it completely submerged the massive monster.

"Good girl, it won’t hurt soon..."

The monster’s scream gradually became weaker, finally stopping. It fell to the ground and lost all its breath.

"What did you do to it?"

"It was just a friendly 'communication'." Raven, her sharp claws still inserted into the Honkai beast, explained, "The lower-level Honkai beasts aren’t intelligent, and their behavior is controlled by some kind of Honkai energy signal that humans cannot perceive. It’s similar to pheromones in the animal world, though the essence is completely different. In other words, as long as you can interfere with their perception of this signal, you can change the actions of the Honkai beasts, and even manipulate an individual to give orders to its companions. I’ve always used this method to protect the children here."

"So this is how Sora-chan said the safe zone was created."

"Through this communication, I can not only send signals, but also receive them. I can connect with the senses of Honkai beasts, enter their world, immerse myself, listen, and feel things that humans cannot... the heat of rice and flour in the air, the warm currents flowing through the sea, and..." Raven slowly closed her eyes, "The sweet fragrance from the 'Herrscher' that keeps coming from afar..."

After a long pause, Raven slowly opened her eyes. She took out a map and swiped it with her claws from right to left, drawing several circles on the West City District’s location.

"This city does have the breath of the Herrscher mixed with Honkai energy, but the information obtained from a single Honkai beast is really limited. To accurately locate the position of the Herrscher, I need more samples. Although slowly searching for the lone ones is a method, the current situation obviously doesn’t allow us to waste time, so I’ve sent them an invitation. Catching them all in one fell swoop can save a lot of time, right?"

"Roar!"

"Roar!"

Before Raven finished speaking, roars from Honkai beasts echoed from all around.

Mei’s expression changed "What a mess!"

----

Chapter 133: Miss Lin Ling, How Many Herrscher Girlfriends Do You Have?

"Otto, why do you want to disturb my time with my wives? We were all going on a date, but now you've interrupted us!"

After arriving at Otto's laboratory, the white-haired girl immediately questioned her nominal boss in an arrogant and angry manner.

"As the saying goes, time is money. You've wasted my time, so you have to give me a raise!"

Even verbal confrontation was not enough for her, and she began to blackmail him blatantly.

"Really?"

Without waiting for Otto to answer, Durandal was surprised to hear Lin Ling say she would take her on a date.

To be honest, she hadn't rested for a long time, and she was with a new "friend."

A hint of surprise flashed across her face, but then turned into disappointment. "It's a pity... the recent Honkai Outbreaks have become more frequent, and we may not have time."

"Ahaha, we are all busy, so we should be busy."

Lin Ling laughed. Although it was just a sudden thought, she didn’t expect Durandal to take it seriously.

However, since she had already made a promise, if Durandal really agreed, she would indeed accompany her to play, just in time to stay away from Otto. Although this little yellow-haired man appeared to be not very strong on the surface, he was full of bad tricks. Who knew what hidden killer moves he had?

Even if it weren't for Durandal's company, Lin Ling would never come to see him alone.

And just when Lin Ling and Durandal were interacting, the strangeness on Otto's face disappeared.

"Of course, no problem, Miss Lin Ling." She returned to her initial friendly smile, then waved her hand grandly and said to the white-haired secretary behind her, "Amber, now give Miss Lin Ling something... oh, according to what they call in Shenzhou... yes! A red envelope. Just give Miss Lin Ling a red envelope according to the monthly salary of an S-rank Valkyrie."

"Yes, sir."

Hearing the Overseer's order, Amber immediately took out a screen and operated it.

"Alibaba has arrived..."

Soon, a cold but heartwarming voice came from Lin Ling's mobile phone.

"Oh, why are you so polite? I was just kidding, brother~" Seeing that she had some small money in hand, Lin Ling's attitude changed. She patted her chest and said boldly, "My Lord Overseer, what bad thing do you want me to do for you? Just tell me, I will go help you gather the troops."

"Bad thing?... Oh." Otto pretended to be a little disappointed, "It seems that Miss Lin Ling has some misunderstandings about my image."

"No, no, no. Don't misunderstand, Overseer, you are in my heart..." Lin Ling hurriedly shook her head and waved her hands, explaining seriously, but suddenly changed her tone. "Oh, I don't have you in my heart at all~ I only have a cute and kind beautiful girl in my heart~"

As she said this, Lin Ling looked at Durandal beside her with a passionate look. The overly fiery eyes even forced the strongest female warrior in Schicksal to temporarily avoid her gaze.

After Durandal moved away, Lin Ling rubbed her arm with her side face, which made Durandal feel itchy again.

She then gently stroked her chest, with a trace of confusion in her eyes.

Why, I am not afraid of any enemy, but I feel flustered about Miss Lin Ling who has helped everyone and me...

"Miss Lin Ling's words are really humorous and interesting. Okay, let's talk about business. Oh no, chat."

At this time, seeing that the topic was a little off, Otto, who had finally bought the opportunity to talk to Lin Ling with money, pulled the conversation back.

"Oh, right. What do you want to say, Otto? Don't keep it to yourself and then say that you are not human and put on a mask, right? Hmm? But speaking of it, it seems you have already ascended mechanically, and you are indeed not human, haha (≧▽≦)"

"Miss Lin Ling is really good at joking, no wonder she is so popular with girls." Although he appears to be scolded as not human, Otto naturally would not be angry. He smiled and explained, "I don't want to talk about my own affairs, but about you, about Miss Lin Ling's... emotional experience~"

"Huh?" Lin Ling was stunned.

This surprised her a little. She didn't expect that this old man who had lived for more than 500 years was still so gossipy. Beating around the bush for so long, just to ask this?

"For example, Miss Lin Ling," Otto stopped wasting time and asked his question directly, "How many Herrscher girlfriends do you have?"

After hearing this, the originally distracted by Lin Ling Durandal regained her clarity. She immediately turned her head and cast a sharp gaze on Lin Ling. She was not very interested in these things, but she wanted to hear about this girl's love history for no reason.

Gu~

Lin Ling was a little scared by Durandal's gaze and swallowed her saliva secretly.

Then she spoke to Otto who was talking about something else very unhappily: "Ahem... why are you asking this?"

"Nothing, just a little curious. As far as I know, most Herrschers are girls with some mental disorders. Miss Lin Ling can be friends with them, so it must be... not easy."

Huh? Why are most of them mentally disordered? Don't you know what's going on, the instigator?

Finally understanding Otto's question, Lin Ling was a little speechless, but at the same time had grasped the key point.

Herrschers? Sure enough, Otto was not so idle and bored. Is the key point the Herrscher? He wanted to ask something, right? About me and the Herrscher...

"It doesn't matter." So Lin Ling secretly kept a watchful eye, then continued to talk nonsense, "As long as the Herrscher is cute enough, if it's for a cute girl, why fear death? In addition, you asked me how many Herrscher girlfriends I have? Of course, all of them, hehe~"

"Is that so." Otto glanced at Durandal beside Lin Ling whose eyes slowly turning unfriendly, and then continued to compliment, "However, I have to say that if you can really conquer all the Herrschers, it can be regarded as saving the world in another way, right? And it seems that Miss Lin Ling seems to have succeeded halfway. Oh, it seems soon our Schicksal will be out of work."

"Alas~ It's not that simple." Lin Ling shook her head. "My Herrscher wives are sickly and irritable, and they are hard to serve. I almost died several times."

"Hahaha." Otto laughed again. "It seems that having too many is also troublesome."

"Ahaha, yes, yes, but I don't know why, those beautiful Herrschers will automatically come to me when they see me, alas~ Being too charming is also a sin~"

At this moment, if there were outsiders present, seeing the two of them talking happily, they might think they were old friends.

"Well... OK, I've answered, I should leave."

However, Lin Ling who originally didn't get along with Otto saw that Otto's inquiry is endless, and her heart, which was temporarily bought by the red envelope, gradually became irritable. After answering the question, she immediately pulled Durandal and turned to leave.

"Wait a minute." Seeing that this girl actually left as soon as she said she would, Otto hurriedly spoke to keep her, "Speaking of which, I received a piece of information about one of Miss Lin Ling's girlfriends as a Herrscher. I wonder if you are interested in going to see her."

However, despite such explosive news, Lin Ling still did not turn her head back. "Is it Kiana? Humph, I also know where she is, you don't need to tell me."

However, Otto's next words made Lin Ling stop.

"Miss Lin Ling is indeed well-informed. However, what I want to talk about is not Miss Kiana, but another one."

"Oh? Another one?"

...

-----

Chapter 134: Wendy Reappears

The white-haired girl was shocked, turning back suddenly, and asked, "Is it Wendy!?"

"Yes, it's your Miss Wendy, the one who almost became... Oh, right." Otto seemed to suddenly remember something and smiled. "Speaking of which, you've replaced Miss Wendy and become the fourth S-rank Valkyrie. I wonder what Miss Wendy will think when she finds out? But it's a pity. We agreed not to force Miss Lin Ling into the mission, so the task of capturing the fourth Herrscher..."

"In that case, Bishop, let Durandal take over."

Seeing this, Durandal stepped forward, volunteering to take on the dangerous task of capturing the Herrscher.

"Hmm..." Otto nodded without comment. "Speaking of which, besides Miss Lin Ling, only Durandal could definitely take down Miss Wendy... Then..."

"Wait a minute!"

This time, it was Lin Ling who interrupted Otto.

"Let me do it. After all, she's my wife."

One of the reasons Lin Ling decided to temporarily join Schicksal was to use its intelligence network to find Wendy who disappeared from the world.

But she hadn't expected that before she could go to the intelligence department to use her charm and extract some information, Otto would proactively give her the news of Wendy's location.

Although she knew that Otto had ulterior motives and that he likely had other plans, she had to follow his lead. This was Otto's conspiracy.

"Oh," Otto nodded with satisfaction. "Miss Lin Ling is willing to go herself? That would be great."

"But!" Durandal looked at Lin Ling with great concern and was about to say something to Otto.

"Durandal," however, before Durandal could speak, Otto stopped her. "Don't go; you have another important task to perform."

At that moment, although the two cunning foxes, one young and one old, had their own plans, they reached a mutual understanding.

For Otto, the Herrscher of the Wind didn't significantly affect his ultimate goal. It would be better to capture it, but it wouldn't be a huge loss if he didn't.

What Otto urgently needed was to get Durandal out of the picture so he could test the mysterious white-haired girl.

Meanwhile, Lin Ling was worried that Durandal was too strong, and that Wendy couldn't beat her. If Wendy was captured and brought back to Schicksal, it would be troublesome.

"Don't worry, Dudu," Lin Ling called the blonde girl’s name affectionately. "Wendy—or, according to the order of entry, should you call her elder sister? Well, never mind. Anyway, she’ll never harm me. I just need to say a few words to get Wendy to come home with me willingly."

(Of course, it’s hard to say which home I’m referring to.)

After saying it, Lin Ling secretly added this thought in her mind.

Finally, under the strong persuasion of Lin Ling and Otto, Durandal reluctantly gave up the task, though angrily.

"Ling!" Though upset, she still cared about Lin Ling. Durandal handed her a small device with a button. "If you need me, press it, and I’ll rush to your side as quickly as possible. I promise."

"Well... love you, wife~ come mua~"

Lin Ling kissed Durandal’s arm and took the device with great emotion. However, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this device was strangely familiar. It reminded her of some peculiar images...

Afterward, Lin Ling and Durandal went their separate ways, each with their own task. Dudu continued with Otto's mysterious mission, while Lin Ling headed to the equipment warehouse at Schicksal's headquarters with the information Otto had provided on Wendy’s location.

Since she had become one of the top Valkyries, she couldn’t fight—or pick up girls—while wearing ordinary clothes.

She had to seize the opportunity to get a cool Valkyrie Battlesuit. There was no shop after this village!

After a casual selection, Lin Ling decisively chose a set of armor that Durandal often wore—the Bright Knight Excelsis. As far as she knew, it was the most powerful conventional armor in Schicksal.

Huh! Huh!

After putting it on, Lin Ling swung her fists a few times.

Bang!

Crash!

With the armor’s blessing, her strength seemed to have increased exponentially. The wind from her punch shattered a glass door in the distance.

"Lord Lin Ling!"

A few seconds after the glass shattered, Lin Ling heard a somewhat excited female voice behind her. She turned around and saw a young woman in a white coat and gold-rimmed glasses, likely a staff member from the equipment warehouse.

Lin Ling scratched her head in embarrassment. "Ah, sorry, pretty girl, I was just testing it out, but I didn’t expect to break your glass. But don’t worry, I’ll have Otto compensate you!"

"As expected of you, Lord Lin Ling, you're the second person I’ve met who can use this prototype fourth-generation Valkyrie Godsbane-Battlesuit!" The woman didn’t appear bothered by the damage at all and praised Lin Ling in surprise.

"Oh? Is it really only Durandal who can use it? No one else?" Lin Ling gestured a few more times, feeling quite comfortable in the armor. She hadn’t expected the threshold to be so high.

"Yes, except for you, only Lord Durandal can withstand the side effects of this powerful armor. By the way, this is the one that Lord Durandal damaged in her battle with the World Serpent Leader not long ago. It was just repaired today." The researcher continued.

"Ah, I thought it was just the same style, but it’s the original? Haha~"

Hearing this, Lin Ling’s expression became subtly happy.

However, the female researcher tilted her head. "Original? What do you mean by that?"

Clearly, a serious researcher like this didn’t understand Lin Ling's strange thoughts.

"Ah, nothing. I just mean the armor fits me well. Could it be that she’s not as big as I thought?"

"Don’t worry, Lord Lin Ling. This is a self-propelled armor developed for tactical conflicts, designed to 'respond to any kind of sudden battle situation.' It can automatically adapt and deform according to the user's body shape. So, although Lord Lin Ling doesn't have the exaggerated curves of Lord Durandal, it can still fit perfectly..."

Hearing Lin Ling’s doubts, the female researcher eagerly explained the armor, her excitement almost making her resemble a plastic model showcasing her creation. However, there’s no perfect thing in this world, and this Battlesuit was no exception. The female researcher continued:

"Unfortunately, although the 'Excelsis' is equipped with a self-propelled drive, the energy output design greatly exceeds the sum of the requirements for each module. But the system's collaborative efficiency still doesn't meet the standard. Not only do the tactical modules fail to reach their original operating power, but they even interfere with the basic modules. The optimal solution is to have the user act as the intermediary to connect the various systems and handle energy diversion. But almost no Valkyrie can withstand the massive load caused by the combined operation of so many tactical components—let alone the micro-control capabilities..."

Listening to the researcher excitedly describe the most powerful Valkyrie armor they had developed, Lin Ling became increasingly excited herself. She looked down at the metal exoskeleton that tightly covered her arms, waist, and legs, and the thin, close-fitting inner padding—like stockings—on the inside of the armor. These components had obviously been molded to fit every inch of Durandal's skin and flesh not long ago...

"Park..."

Lin Ling swallowed her saliva involuntarily, not entirely sure what she was thinking.

Then, she activated the flight function of the armor and, carrying the lingering scent of Durandal, flew to the location where Miss Wendy, who had been absent for so long, had appeared...

------

Chapter 135: Bella is Cuckolded

On the other side, in the deserted Nagazora City, after a period of fighting, the corpses of the Honkai beasts near Raven and Mei had piled up like a mountain.

"Look at the numbers. We've dealt with the Honkai beasts in half of the city. You’re quite powerful, samurai girl," Raven, who was quite surprised, praised Mei for the rare compliment.

"..."

Then, she was ignored by the cold Miss Mei.

Raven didn't mind much. She casually picked up a defeated Honkai beast and lifted it like a little rabbit. The enchanting black flowers began to spread over her body. This was her ability to use the Honkai beast to collect information about Kiana.

By the way, she asked as though chatting with a best friend, "Speaking of which, it’s only been one day, and Sora has protected you as an outsider. I really want to know what magic you cast on her. You didn’t mention the Herrscher of the Void, did you?"

"I didn’t tell her," Mei replied briefly.

"That’s good. Those children only have a superficial understanding of the Honkai, and they only see it as a disaster. Don’t instill any extra knowledge in them."

At this moment, Raven was completely different from the cold-blooded killer Mei had met in Arc City. Her words were full of concern for the children, and she even overreacted slightly. Mei couldn’t help but ask, "So, have you told her about your 'job'?"

"She doesn’t know, and she doesn’t need to. After she recovers from her illness, I hope she stays away from all of this."

"Ill?" Hearing that the child was sick, Mei’s face softened, and she asked worriedly, "What’s wrong with her?"

"It’s not her, but them. Those children have awakened the stigmata, but incompletely. Although they’ve gained the power to survive in the Honkai, they cannot continue to survive in an environment without it, and will experience withdrawal reactions. With the current level of technology, there is no rapid or effective treatment. If we want to reduce the risks, we’ll need long-term drug treatment to slowly promote the complete awakening of the stigmata. Fortunately, the World Serpent can provide stable drugs. Although that woman is full of nonsense, she is indeed a genius in scientific research. Unfortunately, only special individuals like them can arouse her interest."

"I..." After listening to Raven's words, and remembering how she had been helped before, Mei’s attitude and perception toward Raven shifted slightly. "I don’t think you’re a complete villain. Sora-chan told me a lot about you. She respects you very much and is proud to have a teacher like you. However, while you’re helping these children, you’re also helping the World Serpent push the people of the entire city onto the test bench. Don’t you think that’s contradictory?"

"Heh~"

Raven opened her eyes and smiled at Mei. It was unclear whether she was laughing at her or herself.

"You may have some misunderstandings about me. I’m a mercenary. As long as the pay is reasonable, I can do anything and kill anyone. Maybe in your opinion, I saved more than a dozen children, but compared to the lives I’ve ruined with my own hands, this is really a trivial number. If this is a contradiction, then I’ve experienced too many of them. An arms dealer who secretly causes wars and paves the way with corpses may also be a child's hero and a pillar for a family. An entrepreneur who operates in the gray area and uses extraordinary means to silence dissidents may also invest all their personal assets to rebuild the street where they were born. And innocent refugees who shiver in cold corners, waiting for help from others, may kill each other for a bucket of rice and a liter of water, passing on their own tragedy and becoming monsters without humanity..."

Raven threw the Honkai beast in her hand hard, watching it fall into the sea and slowly sink, sinking... until it was completely submerged.

"That day, she fell in the ruins, struggling with dull language to tell me she wanted to live." In front of Raven’s eyes, it seemed as if the scene of her first meeting with Sora appeared. "I just don’t want her to become a monster like that. And the time spent with them makes me feel alive. This feeling... is very good."

Finally, Mei understood that the girl in front of her, whose body and head seemed to be hidden in darkness, wasn’t completely bad, but she didn’t quite understand: "Then why do you still hate Kiana?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"You were also in Arc City. You must have seen how she protected the city. She takes the pain of others as her own responsibility but hides her own pain in her heart. She carries the burden and mission on her shoulders, yet only leaves others with a relaxed smile. She’s the Herrscher of the Void in your eyes, but she’s also my 'Kiana Kaslana'. Isn’t this the contradiction you mentioned? In the face of such a contradiction, are you still obsessed with killing her?"

Here is the corrected and refined version of your text:

"You believe in her will and are willing to bet on her chance of defeating the Honkai? But I don’t want to. I’m afraid of her power, and I don’t want to take the risk of controlling the Herrscher’s revival. This is a simple truth. We don’t need to convince each other. Ideals and hopes—things I have never experienced—can’t convince me. I only believe in practical evidence, but unfortunately… you and Anti-Entropy don’t have these things."

Raven dropped the last Honkai beast, put away his cloak, and walked away.

"I am a bad person, but not a demon. There are truly crazy demons in this world—those who hate her, those who use her, those who covet her, those who manipulate her. From now on, there will be no more happiness in the fate of that girl. What awaits her is... endless hell. You can’t even stop me. How are you going to stop those people?"

The two returned to the shantytown and found that the girl was still hiding by the window, occasionally poking her head out to look around, her face full of worry. She was worried about the safety of the adults fighting the Honkai beasts, and also worried that they would quarrel again...

However, Mei remembered something and took out a small paper bag, handing it over.

"I forgot to give this to you. Take it and share it with everyone."

"..."

"This is Arc rice candy, a local specialty brought back from Shenzhou. It wasn’t made by me."

"Ah… OK, OK!"

The little head in the window disappeared along with the snacks. "I need some time to calculate the position of the Herrscher of the Void. By the way, I still owe you someone."

As if he suddenly remembered something, Raven walked into a dilapidated house. When she came out, she had a person tied up with hemp ropes in her hands.

"Dr. Tesla!?"

"Before I found you and Sora, I ran into her and had a small conflict… She was the first to start."

"You..."

"I originally just wanted to tie her up, but this lady kept yelling and her words were very… Anyway, it was a bad influence on the children, so I can only let her be quiet for a while. When you finish taking care of her, come find me at the foot of the Nagazora Wall. Remember, I only promised Sora to let you go alone. Be prepared. The dragon-shaped Honkai Beast will probably not let us pass easily. When fighting with it, I felt that it had a special 'signal' when it stretched out its hand. What is it? It’s like human sadness, pain, and self-blame. Other Honkai Beasts gather towards the Herrscher of the Void by instinct, but she is different. It wants to 'protect' her. Can Honkai Beasts also have feelings? Humph, it looks a lot like you."

"Benares..." When confronting it before, Mei always had a strange feeling in her mind. It was very strange, but a little familiar, which made Mei a little confused for a while.

"Try your best, Mei, although I don’t think the ending will change."

...

Mei brought Tesla back to Helios, and after she woke up, she recounted the whole story.

"This kind of thing could happen. Are you really going to go with her to find Kiana?"

"She’s serious. I have to stop her."

"Things have gone beyond the tone. We need to contact others immediately and ask for support. That woman is dangerous."

Originally, in order to avoid the eyes and ears of Schicksal and try not to attract Otto’s attention, this operation was carried out secretly by Mei and Tesla. But now it seems that although Schicksal doesn’t seem to have discovered it yet, the World Serpent has noticed it.

"I know she is dangerous. Her hatred for the Herrscher of the Void is not just a matter of position. There seems to be another hidden reason... She will really kill Kiana. If anyone comes to hinder her, she will definitely not show mercy. But even so, I still need her to help me find Kiana. I’ve passed by Kiana so many times. Time and time again, I can only watch her leave me at the last moment, but I can’t do anything..."

"That’s not your fault..."

"Doctor, you always comfort me and try to make me feel at ease during this period, but I don’t want to feel at ease anymore... I don’t want to deceive myself anymore. Being with her let me gradually forget the pain, loneliness, and confusion of the past... But as they left, I realized that nothing had changed."

"I am still as weak as before, curled up in the corner, and looked up to find that everyone’s figure has disappeared. It is precisely because of my unchanged self that I will drift away from her and become what I am today... She has always been protecting me, but I have never really done anything for her. I hate myself like this...!"

"I must accept this fact. Now I have no power to protect her at all, but this does not mean that I have to give up. I think that admitting this can make me see more clearly. In order to bring her back to my side, I must... make some sacrifices. Even if it is a trap, even if it is an unbeatable opponent, I have to face it. Because this is the only way I can protect Kiana."

"..." Seeing the unstoppable determination in Mei’s eyes, Tesla said nothing more. She patted the purple-haired girl on the shoulder. "Mei... You must come back safely."

...

Under the Nagazora Wall that crosses the east and west districts of Nagazora City, Raven waited quietly.

The dull air pressure made people feel depressed, but the breath mixed in the air made her even more uncomfortable. The familiar and annoying breath kept coming from the other side of the wall.

The source of the breath had not moved for a long time. I’m afraid the girl has lost consciousness.

Next, she must be very careful. Every step is very deliberate. A small mistake is enough to be fatal.

Raven clenched her fists. Since the Second Eruption, she had been separated from her last relatives for countless nights. In countless cold dreams, she chased the demon, waiting for this moment to come...

But.

The night three days ago, like a lingering dark cloud, always hovered in her heart.

In Arc City, the Herrscher of the Void and her companions let her go. At dawn, she watched the two girls fall powerlessly from the sky. When the hope came, she found that her heart have no sense of reality.

The void that had accompanied her for more than ten years was still nothingness, a deep nothingness.

Da Da Da...

The sudden approaching footsteps brought her thoughts back to reality.

"You’re here. According to the information I got from the Honkai Beast, the Herrscher is near the No. 2 isolation gate of the Wall. I hope you’re ready. Let’s go..."

Raven briefly explained the matter, then turned around and left.

"..." Mei followed her silently.

Soon, the two cleared all the Honkai Beasts along the way and arrived in front of the final destination.

"Next." As if sensing something, after killing the last advanced-level Honkai Beast, Raven looked up at the sky, muttering to herself, or reminding Mei, "It’s time to face that guy."

Before she finished speaking, a huge shadow suddenly flapped its wings and flew straight into the clouds, covering the sky and the sun...

The Judgment-level Honkai Dragon, Benares, appeared!

But its appearance was different from when Mei and Raven teamed up to defeat it. It should have been blue and white, but now it was emitting a faint green light...

Howling!

Then, a strong wind suddenly rose!

It blew Raven’s cloak and cut the surrounding buildings into pieces...

----

Chapter 136: Forced Kiss 00

"Oh? That's where..."

Following the green light on the AR map in the eyepiece, the white-haired girl headed eastward. Finally, she crossed half the globe and arrived at a beach in the far east.

This was the beach where she and Wendy had played together for the first and only time.

But after the Eruption, this place was deserted and uninhabited.

"So, she has always been here?"

Lin Ling slowly landed in front of a house, feeling the salty and humid sea breeze on her back. She slowly pushed open the door of the Seaview Hotel, which had become dilapidated due to lack of maintenance.

"It seems that you miss the time when you booked a room with me... Alas~ Come to think of it, why did I fall asleep at that time?"

Looking at the familiar scene in the hotel, the white-haired girl sighed in annoyance as she recalled the past but immediately shook her head.

"Oh no, luckily I fell asleep; otherwise, I would have to... cough, cough. Anyway, find Wendy first."

Lin Ling coughed twice and pushed away all the tangled thoughts in her mind.

Now, there were more important things to do. Because this butterfly from another world kept flapping its wings, the direction of this world had increasingly diverged from the game plot she knew in her previous life.

Her golden finger that could predict the future was also weakening.

She didn't know if, as the timeline changed, the people who were originally safe would fall into a dangerous situation, or if the poor people she had saved from death would encounter a world line correction and ultimately not avoid a tragic ending.

No matter which situation, it was not the ending she wanted to see...

So, Lin Ling immediately began to search everywhere, starting with Room 1314, where she and Wendy had stayed.

Unfortunately, after searching, nothing was found.

Everything in the room was neatly arranged, but judging from the thick dust on the floor, cabinets, and bed, it was obvious that no human activity had occurred here for a long time.

"Even this room is empty. Could it be that... Wendy doesn't live here permanently? She just comes here occasionally, but she happens to be detected by the people of Schicksal? Or..."

Lin Ling narrowed her eyes and turned to look at the sky outside the window. "Is Otto lying to me? Just trying to coax me out?..."

Bang...

Just when Lin Ling found nothing and began to suspect whether Otto was lying to her, a sound came from the next room.

"Is there anyone? Is it Wendy? Hmm... No." Lin Ling looked at the detector in her hand, and there was no display of Honkai energy fluctuation nearby...

Zheng!

Then, the white-haired girl grasped the air, and a long sword of dark green and charming purple appeared in her hand.

Although neither she nor the detection equipment on her armor detected any strong Honkai energy, she remained cautious. After all, the world was not peaceful now.

After prying open the door to the next room with a knife, Lin Ling walked in vigilantly.

She found that this was a different room. There was no dust, and instead, the counter and table were piled with various cans, as if someone had lived there for a long time.

She touched the bedding on the bed again, and it was still warm. Looking down, there was a disposable slipper beside the bed...

Lin Ling raised the corner of her mouth; she understood everything.

"Hehe~ Little Blackie, are you showing your chicken feet? Come out!"

Before she finished speaking, Lin Ling lifted the big bed!

"No, don't eat me!"

Then, she saw a blonde girl that was as small as Theresa curled up on the ground shivering.

"Oh!? It's girl!?"

...

"Come, eat."

To make up for scaring the girl, Lin Ling first used the power of reason to make a bowl of noodles. Then, she used the power of thunder to activate the electrical appliances that had been powered off for a long time and added a ready-made can of beef to make a steaming bowl of hot 00-brand Dandan noodles~

But the girl still hid far away and didn't dare to get close. It seems she was very afraid of Lin Ling who had suddenly broken into her life and threatened her with a big sword as soon as she appeared.

"Are you afraid it's poisonous? Well, slurp~" Seeing this, Lin Ling first slurped a mouthful of homemade noodles and smacked her lips with satisfaction. "Hmm~ Really not? Really not eating? It's delicious. If you don't eat it, I'll have to finish it all by myself."

"You... really won't hurt me? Bo~"

Although she was swallowing her saliva constantly and her eyes seemed unable to leave the steaming and fragrant plate, the girl still kept a safe distance from Lin Ling, the sudden intruder.

"Of course. I am upright, brave, loyal, and honest. I never refine copper. You can eat it without worry."

"Refine copper?" The girl tilted her head, her face full of innocence. "What is that?"

"Ahem, children don't need to know. Come and eat. Um, forget it. Are you really so afraid of me? Then let's do this."

Seeing that girl was always afraid of her and dared not approach, Lin Ling had to put the food on the dining table and then retreat to the balcony, lie on the lounge chair, and casually pick up a book beside her to start reading.

"Thank, thank you..."

Finally, after seeing Lin Ling leave, the blonde girl timidly and carefully approached the food. She first tasted a small bite, then her eyes lit up. Gradually, she ate in big mouthfuls, as if she were tasting not ordinary food, but a rare delicacy in the world.

When the girl finished eating the mixed noodles that Lin Ling had made, which were portioned for adults, she was already in tears.

"Thank you. QAQ! I haven't eaten hot food in so long..."

Filled with emotion, she took small, brisk steps and trotted over to the white-haired girl who was sitting on the balcony reading a book.

It looked like she wanted to thank the kind woman who had suddenly appeared.

Whoosh!

Puff!

"Huh!!"

However, what greeted the blonde girl was a big blade that appeared out of nowhere and pierced through her chest.

"You!!!..."

The girl looked at the scene in disbelief.

It all happened too suddenly!

From the first time she saw this girl, Lin Ling felt something was off.

The girl had clearly been scared and hidden under the bed, but her system had not reacted at all.

At this point, Lin Ling was already worried.

Now, after the girl finished eating the food and was obviously moved to tears, the system still hadn't responded. Combined with the sudden information she'd received from Wendy and Otto's behavior in the plot from her previous life...

The identity of this "Girl" had only one possibility.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." The white-haired girl lowered the book covering her face, looked at the little blonde girl who didn't bleed even though her chest was pierced by Lin Ling's long sword, and shook her head with a look of sarcasm and contempt.

"Archbishop~ You're pretending to be a girl in women's clothes. Aren't you embarrassed if this gets out?"

[Ding, system prompt: The host successfully shocked Otto Apocalypse, the adaptability to Honkai energy increased by 0.233%.]

At that moment, Lin Ling finally heard the cold prompt she'd been waiting for in her mind.

"You... how did you recognize me?" Otto had calculated everything, but he could never have imagined that the person who couldn't even walk when she saw a cute girl would actually be so cruel to him now, after he transformed into such a cute form!

"Sniff~" Lin Ling's nostrils moved slightly. "You may not believe it, but a girl should smell milky. But you... don't."

"Smell? Humph."

Although this reason seemed a bit far-fetched, it didn't matter now. Otto snorted coldly, "In that case..."

Seeing that he had been exposed, Otto in his girl form didn't intend to pretend anymore.

He decided to... act directly!

He waved his hand, and a golden feather fell from nowhere.

With the appearance of the feather, the scenery around Lin Ling began to change in a bizarre way.

Then, countless young and beautiful women appeared around the white-haired girl. They were graceful, coquettish, and extremely tempting.

"Ah, this..." Even though she knew it was fake, Lin Ling's mouth opened slightly, and her eyes became dull.

This was just an appetizer.

The next moment, it felt like a lifetime had passed...

When Lin Ling regained her clarity, she found herself in a house resembling the former Saint Freya Academy dormitory. Several girls of different sizes were playing on her lap, each with traits resembling Kiana, Mei, Fu Hua, Wendy, Rita, Durandal, and others.

What surprised Lin Ling even more was that these girls all affectionately called her, "Mom!?"

"I'm a mom? How is that possible?"

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Ling came back to her senses and stared at her hands in a daze. It felt so incredible, but so real.

"What's 'how could it be'? Husband, are you drunk?" Beside Lin Ling, an adult-like Kiana touched her head. "These are all your biological children. Lingna! Your dad seems confused in her sleep and doesn't remember you. Come here quickly."

Hearing this, a white-haired girl with double braids came over angrily with an inflatable baseball bat and hit Lin Ling's head hard.

"Dad is an idiot!" But after beating and scolding, the girl suddenly hugged Lin Ling's thigh. "Dad, don't forget Lingna, Lingna will never cause trouble again..."

"What's going on?" Feeling the sobbing of the girl on her thigh, Lin Ling's expression became more and more confused.

"Husband..."

Then, Lin Ling felt warmth on her back again.

She turned her head and saw Fu Hua gently hugging her from behind, stroking her belly.

"It seems you've been under a lot of pressure lately. Have you had memory issues? You must rest well. After all, there's a little life in there."

"Huh?!" Hearing this, the shock on Lin Ling's face replaced her previous confusion.

"What do you mean? I... I'm pregnant?! No, impossible! ... Who? Whose?"

"Because a guy is too fickle, we don't know yet." Theresa who was tending to a white-haired child, said unhappily. "Let's do the paternity test after the baby is born! Don't let the child lose... Um, maybe this time, she should call you mom?"

"Um..."

Lin Ling's expression grew more shocked and confused.

"Lin Ling, what's wrong with you?"

Seeing that the white-haired girl appeared a bit off, more and more girls slowly gathered around her, shouting and greeting her with concern. "Dear, have you lost your memory? Do you still remember the original story?"

"Do you remember how you came here?"

"Do you remember how you got everyone's abilities?"

"I... Is it really true?"

Lin Ling placed her hand on Fu Hua's, feeling her lower abdomen. It seemed there really was a rhythm of life inside...

Just like that, the white-haired girl's eyes slowly changed from trance to gentle, so gentle it was unreal...

"I'm sorry, this is all fake... Break!"

But just when Lin Ling's heart was unstable and about to sink completely, a red light suddenly flashed to the entire world.

The illusion Otto had created using the Void Archives Mimic Fenghuang Down gradually disintegrated and shattered.

At the same time, Lin Ling saw the blue-gray hair of the girl who had been holding her from behind slowly turning into a gradient of pink.

'Fu Hua' still held Lin Ling in her arms and smiled slightly. "Long time no see, Ling."

Though her actions and appearance were similar, the tone was quite different from the good wife and mother just moments ago. It now held an air of inner indifference.

This Fu Hua was the genuine feather clone of Fenghuang Down, hidden in Lin Ling's mind and silent for a long time. After sensing the mental attack on her protected object, she activated and interrupted the phantom attack created by Otto using the Void Archives.

At this point, Lin Ling had already hugged the beauty behind her. "Long time no see, my wife. As long as I have you, I will not be seduced by other women."

"Hehe, you're still the same..." The pink-haired girl chuckled, but little starlight began to rise from her body as she slowly disintegrated with this false world.

"Wait a minute!" Lin Ling stopped her immediately. "Wife! Don't leave, I can't bear to lose you, stay and marry me!"

"Really." Fu Hua looked truly helpless. "Is there anything else you need help with? Although I may not be able to do it, you should know I'm just an avatar. I can't exist for too long, and I don't have much strength left..."

"Well, wife." Realizing her thoughts were broken, Lin Ling no longer hid her feelings. She said sincerely, "I need your help..."

...

...

...

"Otto~ You are so despicable!"

Lin Lingh returned to reality alone after the illusion was completely shattered.

She said angrily to Otto who was surprised , "You actually lied to me! There is no Wendy here at all, and you even set up a trap! I won’t forgive you if you don’t give me a hundred million red envelopes...or I’ll tell all of Schicksal everything that happened today!”

"Otto!!!"

"..."

But before the surprised Otto could think about how to reply, a different girl roared!

Strong wind pressure ensued, tearing the entire roof and the 'girl' that had been pierced by Lin Ling's blade into two halves...

"Huh?! This wind... this sound?" Lin Ling looked up and saw a green-haired girl she had just seen in the illusion in the sky.

But this time, it wasn't an illusion.

It was the real person Lin Ling saw months ago.

"Hi~ Wendy, my dear! Long time no see... Do you know how much I missed you? I missed you so much I couldn't sleep... Ugh!?"

However, before the excited Lin Ling could finish her words, Wendy flashed in front of her like the wind and threw her to the ground.

At that moment, the green-haired girl just wanted to silence that stubborn mouth...

----

Chapter 137: Finally, Everyone Meets Again

"What?!"

The sudden attack caused the white-haired girl’s brain to short-circuit.

"Hiss!"

But then, the sharp pain from the tip of her tongue and the rusty taste in her mouth made her regain some consciousness.

This feeling seemed familiar, except that this time she was the passive party, and the one who turned the tables was sucking the blood from her body...

Time passed—how long, she couldn’t tell...

The strong wind that had been swirling around the green-haired girl finally stagnated, and the long green shawl-like hair that had spread out like a hellish devil also fell back down. The boundless anger and murderous intent that had earlier killed Otto in one blow dissipated in that moment.

Bo~

The green-haired girl moved her face away and buried her head, making it hard to see her expression.

"My Wendy~" After using the power of the Death Herrscher to repair her constantly bleeding tongue, Lin Ling reached out and pinched Wendy's face. Feeling the slightly hot temperature, she smiled and said, "Your face is so hot. It seems you haven’t become a cold-blooded vampire yet. I almost thought you were going to suck me dry. I was scared to death."

"That..."

Although Wendy’s face which is red to her ears was pinched by the person in front of her, she raised her face again, but her eyes were still a little evasive, as if she didn’t dare to look Lin Ling in the eye. "I’m sorry... Ling. If I hadn’t done this... I would’ve... I couldn’t help but want to kill you. You know, there’s always been a strange voice in my head..."

"It’s okay, Wendy."

Lin Ling looked gently and sincerely into Wendy’s eyes. "Even if I’m killed, I’m willing."

"No!" Wendy immediately covered Lin Ling’s mouth. "I won’t let you say these unlucky things! I won’t let anyone hurt you, not even myself!"

"Um~"

Although her mouth was covered, Lin Ling still didn’t forget to make a "love you" heart gesture to Wendy.

In fact, Lin Ling could roughly guess why Wendy had been absent for so long, and completely disappeared from the world.

There were only two possibilities:

One was that she had been captured.

However, based on Lin Ling's intelligence and the reactions from Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and the World Serpent, Wendy should not have fallen into their hands. No other small forces had the ability to capture this extremely agile Herrscher.

So, there was only one other possibility: Wendy herself didn’t want to or didn’t dare to appear.

As for why she didn’t dare to come out, it was simple, given her previous behavior. She must have been afraid that she would lose control and hurt others, especially Lin Ling.

After all, the Will of Honkai had never stopped eroding her spirit.

Even just now, Wendy had tried her best to resist the urge to tear the womanizer apart when she killed the blonde girl.

Fortunately, she had suddenly remembered the scene from a few months ago, before she parted from Lin Ling. The other had fed her blood, which had made her whose heart filled with murderous thoughts at the time to abandon the idea of killing Lin Ling.

So, Wendy thought that maybe Lin Ling’s blood could restrain her crazy thoughts. That’s why she rushed up to overwhelm her, bite her, and absorb it!

Now, Wendy hadn’t accumulated too much Honkai energy in her body due to intentional restraint. So even without the serum, Lin Ling’s low-purity Schariac holy blood alone could temporarily suppress the will of Honkai after neutralizing some of the Honkai energy.

Of course, there were many ways to get someone’s blood. Why did she choose to do that just now?

"Ling!" Wendy hugged Lin Ling tightly. "I’m so scared. There’s always a voice in my mind telling me to accept His power and help Him destroy the whole world, eliminate all humans, and eliminate you..."

"Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. That is the Honkai Will. He’s actually a silly and cute guy. He can’t do it himself, so he chooses others to become the Herrscher. But he’s a very unsuccessful boss. His subordinates are traitors, love-brained, or free... um, never mind."

Lin Ling suddenly remembered that Wendy was the free one, if according to normal history.

Fortunately, everything had changed now.

"It’s okay." Lin Ling patted Wendy’s back. "In the future, if you want to kill me again, you can... um, that, you know... do that to me anytime. I don’t mind."

"Yeah..."

Wendy nodded gently. After living alone for four months, she finally felt the warmth from her beloved again.

But...

At the same time, a wicked smile appeared at the corner of Wendy's mouth, one that didn’t match her shy appearance.

As long as she had the thought of killing Lin Ling, she could take the opportunity to... that to her? Maybe she should think about killing her a few more times...

Whether it was because she had been eroded too deeply by the Honkai or because she didn’t have the serum to assist her, strange thoughts suddenly appeared in Wendy’s mind...

...

After a brief moment of tenderness, the two girls stopped lingering, as there was now an outsider.

Lin Ling turned her gaze to the upper body of Girl Otto on the ground. She noticed he was staring at her with big, watery eyes.

Since his body was made of nano-soulium robots, he wouldn’t die even if he were split in half. In other words, he wouldn’t die even if his body were completely destroyed.

Therefore, Otto, having lost his lower body, supported his head with his hands and quietly observed the interaction between the two girls in front of him with interest.

After seeing Lin Ling coaxing a Herrscher with a few words, Otto praised, "It’s better to meet in person than to hear about her. It seems that Miss Lin Ling really has a good relationship with all the Herrschers."

"Hehe~" Lin Ling turned her head with a satisfied look on her face and pecked Wendy’s face lightly. "Are you envious? You single dog, oh no, single dog might not be accurate. Your fiancée ran away with someone else. Hahaha!"

"..."

Finally, after hearing this, Otto whose face remained calm even when torn in half changed his expression. His face, always confident and in control, now showed frustration.

So, he chose to ignore Lin Ling and directly launched his backup plan.

Though his plan to use Fenghuang Down to brainwash Lin Ling directly, obtain her memory, and turn her into his subordinate had failed, Otto had a backup plan for this very reason.

The blonde girl closed her eyes as if she had completely given up on this body.

"Speaking of which, your body is made of soulium, right?" Lin Ling said excitedly. "This stuff is hard to come by, and the current civilization can’t even make it. It should be quite valuable. Selling your body to that anti-entropy guy would make him a lot of money. But before that, I have to melt you first, so you don’t leave any backdoors here to trick me like last time."

As she said, Lin Ling raised her right hand and aimed at Otto.

A powerful purple-blue arc was generated in her hand.

In an instant, 'Girl Otto' began to glow red and hot, slowly beginning to melt...

This is Lin Ling using electromagnetic induction to generate heat to melt Otto's soulium body.

Soon, Otto's body could no longer maintain its human form and slowly turned into a pool of liquid robot, like the T-1000 in Terminator.

But just as Otto's body was about to melt completely, a spherical object emitting faint purple gas emerged from the silver-gray liquid...

"What is this?... A Honkai energy reactor?!"

Lin Ling recognized it at a glance. This little thing was very similar to the Honkai energy bomb at the top of the tower in Arc City. Although it looked small, the energy contained in it was not weak, and it was in a fierce overload reaction...

Lin Ling instantly realized that something was wrong!

But it was too late.

As early as the moment Otto closed his eyes, the Honkai energy reactor hidden in the body had already started to overload and activate, and now it had reached a critical state!

"Be careful!" Lin Ling had to pounce on Wendy beside her and protect her behind her.

Boom!!!

The next moment, extremely strong Honkai energy spread out, huge flames instantly engulfing the entire beach, and the strong shock wave even set off huge waves, spreading in all directions...

...

When the flames and smoke from the explosion faded away, in the huge pit, the shadow of an armored knight holding a huge shield shattered, revealing the two girls protected behind him.

"Tsk, didn't expect this Otto to self-destruct? But unfortunately, the bigger one in Arc City didn't kill me, let alone this one."

Although she was a little embarrassed, relying on the powerful protection of the Excelsis Armor, Lin Ling was fine.

She stood up, patted the dust off her body that was rolled up by the strong explosion, and thought about Otto's intentions...

"Wait! That man clearly knew that the big one in Arc City was useless to me, so his target isn't me? Wendy!? Are you okay?"

Lin Ling realized something was wrong and suddenly remembered that if Wendy absorbed too much Honkai energy, she would...?

"Lin Ling!!!"

Sure enough, a voice full of boundless anger came from under Lin Ling!

At the same time, a sharp ideal fluid blade was already against Lin Ling's throat.

"I'll give you two choices." Wendy's hideous face was almost in front of Lin Ling's eyes. "Either give up other women and run away with me, or let me kill you and then I'll commit..."

"Wendy, it's the same as what we agreed just now~" But at this moment, Lin Ling took the initiative to step forward. "Don't think too much, kiss me!"

...

Once, after experiencing another intense battle, Lin Ling and Wendy found a beach nearby to play, which is the ruin where Lin Ling is now.

Therefore, the movement here also attracted the attention of some creatures in Nagazora City not far away, especially the high-level Honkai beasts with strong perception.

The judgment-level dragon-shaped Honkai beast Benares who had been guarding the fainted Kiana was even more so.

After sensing the strong Honkai energy fluctuations coming from not far away, she came to the center of the explosion, intending to clear the possible threats here, but to her surprise, she only saw two girls hugging each other...

The green-haired girl looked familiar. She had seen her in the last battle of Schicksal. She had a gem of the queen and had been against the queen; and the white-haired girl was even more familiar!

Or rather... a little annoying!

But... the queen once ordered: to protect this white-haired girl like she was protecting the queen.

So, when Benares saw that the green-haired girl absorbing Lin Ling's power in some strange way, even sucking Lin Ling's face pale...

"Ah!"

She walked forward and wanted to kill the green-haired girl with a claw, interrupting her action of hurting the white-haired girl...

At this time, Lin Ling was using all her mind to produce blood, but it seems that she was no match for Wendy's crazy absorption.

In addition, after traveling half the world in a single-handed battle armor, she was already somewhat exhausted, and this mental fatigue could not be compensated by the amount of Honkai energy. Not to mention that too much physical strength would increase the burden on the mind.

At the same time, another red feather floated past the two of them, and the next moment, Lin Ling's body softened, as if she had completely lost consciousness...

As Lin Ling fell into a coma, the blood-making action through the power of the Herrscher of Death also stopped. Soon, Wendy found that she could no longer squeeze more blood from Lin Ling.

Fortunately...

She had already caught a glimpse of Benares, who had just arrived.

"You're here just in time!"

Wendy brought Lin Ling to the back of the dragon-shaped Honkai Beast in an instant, and at the same time injected her own wind law power into the dragon's body, letting her bear this violent power for herself.

She briefly instructed Benares, "Take her to find... the Second Herrscher."

Although they were competitors, Wendy knew that the Second Herrscher would never hurt Lin Ling like she did, and she also had the power of the Death Herrscher, which could heal Lin Ling. So Wendy chose to pass part of her power to Benares, gain some control over her, and then ordered her to take herself and Lin Ling to find the biggest rival in her mind.

After doing all this, in order to prevent herself from continuing to hurt the unconscious Lin Ling, Wendy used the little power she had left to knock herself out.

Then, Benares reluctantly brought the two to the unconscious Kiana and put the three of them together.

She then continued to guard nearby until a girl wearing a cloak and a girl with long purple hair appeared again.

A fierce battle broke out between the two and the dragon...

"Hmm... my head is starting to hurt again..." For some reason, when facing this dragon, Mei always felt that her head would hurt suddenly, as if she and this dragon had some mysterious connection.

However, although this dragon got the power of wind from somewhere, it was still defeated by the two people working together, especially the powerful Raven.

Finally, the dragon fell...

But it immediately struggled to stand up again!

"Can it get up again?...Speaking of which, it is an enemy we must defeat, but for it, we are the same."

Looking at this dragon, even though it was seriously injured, it had to stand up with its scarred body. Mei saw herself from it.

However, although she couldn't bear it, Mei still cooperated with Raven to drive Benares into the water, and this time, it appears like she wouldn't be getting up again.

"In this way, all obstacles are removed. Next, only one thing remains." After dealing with Benares, Raven turned her attention to Mei.

"..." Mei, covered in scars, faced Raven, who remained calm and unscathed.

"Now, the Herrscher of the Void is only a stone's throw away from us. Is she dangerous? She could lose control at any moment. Even if you take her elsewhere, you can't stop the symptoms from worsening. I'm curious. What will you choose to do?" Raven asked.

"I will take her away!" Mei replied firmly without hesitation.

"Then I'm afraid you'll only be able to take a corpse," Raven said, raising her claws, her eyes gleaming with fierce light. "Before that, I will kill her!"

"I will never let that happen!" Mei's sword appeared in a flash, taking the initiative and pointing directly at the woman in black.

But as if expecting this moment, Raven simply smiled in return...

After several moves, Mei once again found herself at a disadvantage.

"You won't let that happen?" After repeatedly repelling Mei's attacks, Raven didn't immediately counterattack, instead laughing with disdain. "The World Serpent knows your history all too well. Without the Conquest Gem, you're just an ordinary girl. You couldn't protect her before. Now can you do so now? You'll only watch your most important people leave you one by one."

"I don't understand... Why is Schicksal so unfair? Because of her identity... because of her past? Or is it just because she was born a Herrscher, even though she never wants to hurt anyone? She's such a kind and gentle person... But the world is so cruel to her...!"

Mei's emotions grew more agitated, as she constantly railed against Schicksal's injustice, gathering strength with each passing moment.

Slowly, more and more Honkai energy gathered within her, far beyond what any ordinary girl could bear.

"Honkai energy is gathering? Are you... not going to die?" Even Raven's normally cold voice showed a hint of concern as she observed Mei's suicidal behavior.

"... If sacrificing my life will bring her back... then I am happy! After all, my life was saved by her!"

A deep red light, unseen for a long time, appeared in Mei's eyes. At the same time, arcs of electricity crackled around her.

"I know I've been hiding behind her and running away, but I have nowhere to run now. I must protect her. As long as I am alive... I will never let you hurt her!"

Boom!

A powerful thunderstorm erupted from Mei, with her at its center, and Raven, who had been lightly suppressing her, was blown away!

"Ha... ha..."

But as the crackling lightning gradually subsided, Mei's eyes returned to their usual purple. She held her sword against the ground, using it to support herself as she stood up, determined to continue the fight.

That power is "real."

Raven touched her burnt gauntlet, the claws made of soulium emitting wisps of green smoke, unable to withstand further combat.

"It seems this is your choice. Nice eyes. I like it. Take her away."

Then, Raven ceased fighting.

"......?" Mei was puzzled.

"The farther away, the better. Don't let her hurt anyone. This is what you promised. You should thank yourself. In the end, you did provide proof. Go quickly before I change my mind..."

A gust of wind swept by, and Raven disappeared without a trace, leaving only her words echoing in the air for a long time.

"Raiden Mei, we will meet again. If you want to find me, if you want to become stronger, if you want to know how to heal her, you know where to go..."

However, Mei didn't think too much about Raven's sudden departure. She dragged her battered body forward, opened the dilapidated Nagazora Wall, and searched for that familiar figure...

"Finally... I finally found you, Kiana..."

After passing through layers of ruins, Mei reached a relatively flat area in Nagazora Wall, where a white-haired girl, just as scarred and broken as she, lay. Her skin was even covered in lines of Honkai energy.

Wait!

Mei's eyes widened in surprise. Not only was Kiana there, but a green-haired girl and another white-haired girl were with her too!

----

Chapter 138: Honkai God? Still Flirting!

Without time to think, Mei hurriedly carried and hugged the three unconscious girls, who were in an unknown state, and returned to the Helios.

She immediately began administering emergency treatment!

…

Mei stood in front of the closed medical door, looking worried and anxious.

After overcoming numerous obstacles, she had finally retrieved Kiana, Lin Ling, and Wendy from the hands of Schicksal and the World Serpent. The long journey of searching,

 which had lasted four months was finally over, and everyone who had once been part of Saint Freya was back.

In these four months, Mei had longed for and prayed for this day to come.

But when the moment finally arrived, there was no joy on her face.

Hesitation? Panic? No, neither was right…

Suddenly, she realized it was... fear?

She feared she would lose them again.

In this infinite tension and painful torment, Mei waited for dozens of minutes...

Finally, the medical room door opened.

A red-haired girl with twin ponytails and a sad expression stepped out.

"Dr. Tesla!" Mei rushed to Dr. Tesla and asked nervously, "How are they?!"

Tesla looked at Mei who was still dirty and disheveled, her body covered in numerous, though not serious, scars. She knew she had been waiting anxiously since her return while not caring for her own injuries.

This made Dr. Tesla a little worried.

However, compared to Mei, the others might be in a worse condition...

"Although the medical facilities on this transport ship are not ideal, after emergency treatment, everyone is temporarily out of danger," Tesla told Mei.

Finally, Mei's tense heart could relax a little.

"But,"

Tesla's next words made Mei's heart tighten again.

"Kiana's physical condition is still deteriorating, and the consciousness of the Herrscher is constantly accelerating the erosion of her core. She has tried her best. For the past four months, she's been resisting Sirin, but if this continues... With the erosion of the three Herrscher cores in her body, her body may collapse first. And at this point, she and Lin Ling absorbed enough Honkai energy to destroy a city."

Tesla's voice gradually became weaker, until it was nearly inaudible. "Mei... calm down and listen to me..."

Finally, Tesla's voice disappeared completely.

"..." As Tesla paused, Mei's heartbeat seemed to stop. But she gritted her teeth and stared firmly into Tesla's eyes, signaling her to continue.

"Three months," Tesla gave the final deadline. "The time left for her, the time left for us... there are less than three months."

"!?"

Mei couldn't believe her ears. Countless rebuttals flashed through her mind, but facing the cold reality, she opened her mouth slightly, yet couldn't say a word...

"In addition," Tesla added, "Miss Wendy seems to be fine at the moment, but her mental state has been unstable. After waking up just now, she kept saying that she needed to leave, that she had to use up all the Honkai energy before she could see Lin Ling, otherwise, it would hurt her. So, we had no choice but to inject her with some of the new HSN-b46 serum, improved by Dr. Maki, to neutralize the remaining Honkai energy in her body. She's now in a deep sleep again."

"Well... Miss Wendy is fine, I'm relieved."

Mei nodded slightly, glad to hear some good news.

However, Tesla's next words made Mei's mood sink even further.

"As for Lin Ling, it's strange. There's a wound on her tongue that looks like it was caused by someone biting her. She also shows signs of anemia, but fortunately, they aren't serious. But for some reason, after we treated her, she hasn't shown any signs of waking up. I suspect..." Tesla thought of the humanoid girl they had brought back from Arc City, "She is similar to that humanoid. Perhaps she was subjected to inhuman torture in Schicksal, which caused trauma to her brain or spirit. So even though her body has healed, she can't wake up... With our current resources in anti-entropy... I'm sorry..."

Tesla trailed off, but the meaning was clear.

Mei clenched her fists, trembling. Her nails dug deep into her flesh, and a trickle of blood dripped onto the floor. She had finally brought back her two most important people to her, but one was severely injured with only a few months left to live, and the other had lost consciousness with no guarantee of when she would wake up.

She... Sure enough... couldn't do anything!

Suddenly, Mei remembered what Raven had said to her before leaving.

If you want to become stronger, come find me.

…

On the other side.

After her consciousness left her body, Lin Ling found herself in a trance. She arrived at a hole formed by a hazy illusion of strange light.

This hole was square, like a door. She looked inside and saw pure white nothingness.

"It seems to be here?"

Lin Ling stepped through the door and entered a pure and peaceful space, where time seemed to slow down, making it easy to lose oneself.

Fortunately, a faint and warm red light continued to shine in Lin Ling's hand, protecting her spiritual clarity...

At the same time, in this empty space, a strange mass of matter or light twisted in front of her eyes for an indeterminate amount of time, then morphed into the shape of a person.

That figure was herself—a pale and inhuman version of herself.

"Hi, this beautiful girl, with a beauty that could make the moon ashamed, a body as beautiful as ice, a figure as lovely as jade, a beauty that could make fish sink and geese fall, a beauty that could make the world seem more beautiful, a beauty that could make people cry... If I’m not mistaken, you are..."

Lin Ling waved at the figure that resembled her and greeted her, saying her 'name', "The God of Honkai, right? Excuse me, can you cook miso soup for me every day?"

Earlier, after the monitor's Fenghuang Down clone was activated by Otto's attack, Lin Ling had a conversation with her and asked her to transfer the control of this feather of Fenghuang Down to herself, saying it would be of great use.

Out of absolute trust in Lin Ling, 'Fu Hua' had agreed without hesitation, and now was the time to use the Fenghuang Down feather.

Through this feather of the Key of Sentience, created by the core of the Herrscher of the

Sentience in the previous era, Lin Ling connected to Wendy's consciousness who had been in close contact with her at the time.

She entered Wendy's soul and, through the connection between the Herrscher and consciousness, she successfully reached the 'God'.

By the way, she tried to provoke her to see if she could gain the power of the God.

Unfortunately, facing Lin Ling's slightly frivolous words, the being called "God" did not react in any special way.

It simply stared at Lin Ling with a strange expression that seemed to be a smile, but wasn't quite one, making Lin Ling feel a little scared.

The two of them stared at each other for an unknown period of time.

"By the way," Lin Ling finally lost her composure first. She made a strange gesture toward the God of Honkai. "Why don't we strike a dirty deal? You know what I want, and I know what you want."

The God’s face still wore that strange smile, as if he hadn’t heard Lin Ling’s words at all.

But then it's body moved. It slowly walked up to Lin Ling, reached out, and gently touched the white-haired girl's forehead...

"Hmm!!!"

In an instant, Lin Ling felt as though every sense of hers was firmly occupied by the God of Honkai!

It felt as if she was merging with several of her dearest women to the very depth of their souls...

Love flowed between them, leaving her filled with overwhelming fulfillment and happiness...

But then, 'violence' began to surge!

Her mind was suddenly flooded with countless evil thoughts!

She destroyed countless beautiful things with her own hands, watched rivers of blood flow, saw corpses pile up into mountains, and heard the desperate cries and pleas for mercy...

She laughed wildly, extremely happy...

...

Swish!

It was unknown whether it had been a moment or an eternity later.

The white-haired girl on the bed suddenly opened her eyes, and at the same time, a circle of fantasy patterns emitting strange light appeared in her irises.

For a long time, Lin Ling stared at the strange edge of the ceiling, dazzled... she didn’t know what she was thinking.

When she regained her senses, the strange patterns in her eyes had disappeared.

Turning her head, she saw a green-haired girl on the bed to her left, and a white-haired girl on her right.

"Hmm? Kiana?"

If it had been Wendy, Lin Ling could have figured it out, but why was Kiana here too?

Looking around, it was a room full of metal, clearly a research facility or a warship.

Lin Ling quickly sat up, activated the quantum ability she obtained from Seele, entered quantum stealth mode, and prepared to explore.

After all, before she fainted, Otto had tricked her, and she feared that she and the two Herrscher girls had been captured by Schicksal.

But it was okay.

When Lin Ling stepped into the outside world through the door and saw two people talking, she was relieved.

It was a tall purple-haired girl and a red twin-tailed girl, who were discussing something with serious or perhaps sad expressions.

"I... I can't believe it. This... this is too sudden. Three days ago in Arc City, they were so healthy, and nothing had happened! We were fighting side by side..."

Mei's voice rose and fell. The reality before her, whether she believed it or not, was undeniable.

"..."

Tesla didn’t know how to comfort her, so she could only say, "I’ve informed Hyperion. They will join us soon. Leader Welt is also paying attention to this matter. Don't worry, no one knows the Herrscher better than he does. However, although I really want to transfer them to a safe place immediately, the reconnaissance station reported a sudden large-scale mobilization of Schicksal’s forces near the Far East. Given the current capabilities of our transport ship, if we force it to take off and get discovered, it will be troublesome. So for safety's sake, we should wait for support."

"Well..." Mei hesitated, then spoke up. "Doctor, I need to ask something... Please don’t tell Kiana about her condition until the official diagnosis is complete. She's in danger and needs our help... But I’m worried that once she knows, she’ll leave without saying goodbye and hide from us like before. She always does that, wanting to shoulder everything on her own..."

"I understand." Tesla nodded. "I promise you. The most important thing right now is to stabilize her emotions and prevent the Herrscher consciousness from taking advantage of the situation."

"Thank you. Kiana should be waking up soon. I’ll go check on them."

After saying that, Mei hurriedly made her way back to the infirmary to check on everyone.

"Wait a minute." Tesla stopped her, handing Mei a clean towel.

"What’s this?" Mei asked, confused.

"Wash your face before you see her," Tesla said. "This is a rare reunion for you. Cheer up."

...

"It seems Mei picked me up? Well, even though I don’t know what happened, it’s good. I was planning to come find them. But~ hehe."

Lin Ling smiled. She took, advantage of Mei's time in the washroom, returned to her bed and lay down, motionless.

She planned to scare Mei when she came in.

...

Soon, Mei washed her face in the washroom. She adjusted her mood and returned to the door of the infirmary.

After pausing for a moment, she took a deep breath and finally opened the door.

She glanced at the three people on the beds. Wendy was still asleep, breathing steadily, her face ruddy and appearing fine.

But... Lin Ling who always teased her with laughter now had a pale face and was barely breathing, which made Mei’s heart ache...

Luckily, Kiana had woken up by this point. She lay quietly on the bed and smiled gently at Mei. "Mei, long time no see... No, we just met in Arc City a few days ago."

"Kiana..."

Mei had countless words in her heart at that moment, but when they reached her lips, she simply called out Kiana’s name softly.

Fortunately for Kiana, as long as Mei was by her side, that was enough. She lay quietly on the bed, smiling at Mei. "Well, I just woke up not long ago. I opened my eyes and found myself in an unfamiliar place. Lin Ling was lying next to me. I was a little panicked, but after seeing you, Mei, I understood everything. I didn’t expect you to find me in the end and even snatch Lin Ling back from Schicksal. You’re amazing."

But suddenly, her gaze was drawn to a strange orange object. "Ah! What’s this? Mei, don’t throw things at me..."

Kiana had been hit by the cloth Mei threw at her head. She panicked, thinking Mei was angry, but when she removed the cloth, she saw, "Huh? Isn’t this the coat I lost in Arc City?"

"You idiot! How dare you say this kind of thing... Do you know how worried everyone was about you? How much they missed you!? Why, why would you hide alone in Nagazora City and not contact us or come to us? Why were you only willing to see Lin Ling?"

Kiana didn’t answer Mei’s question. Though she knew Mei was afraid that she couldn’t suppress the Herrscher consciousness within her and might harm them, hiding seemed to cause even more harm.

"...New hairstyle..." Kiana smiled slightly and held up a strand of Mei’s hair. "It suits you very well. I like it... Mei looks good in any look..."

"Indeed, you’re worthy of being my family’s cook."

"Cook?"

Hearing this familiar name she hadn’t heard in a long time, Mei and Kiana both turned their heads instantly.

——————

Chapter 139: A bud and a worm

"Lin Ling, where did the wound on your tongue come from?"

Mei was instantly surprised!

She had just heard Tesla say that Lin Ling might be mentally damaged and unable to wake up, but now she actually heard her voice again!

She quickly turned around, grabbed the hand of another white-haired girl lying on the other bed, and asked with concern, "Lin Ling! Are you okay?"

"I... I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me, cough cough..." Lin Ling struggled to sit up with a haggard face, but after a few weak coughs, she lay back down, as if she couldn't get up again...

Not only was she coughing, but the moment Mei touched Lin Ling's hand, she was instantly shocked, because her hands were extremely cold—definitely not a symptom of a healthy person.

"You big liar, you're like this, and you still say you're fine?" Mei felt more and more distressed, and at the same time, she kept praying in her heart that Lin Ling must not get into trouble again.

"Yeah, thank you, Mei." Suddenly, Lin Ling reached out and gently wiped the moisture from Mei's eyes. "I... I'm really fine, but I really want to eat your food again..."

Mei almost forgot the last time this person had called her by name. And now that this person had finally called her name correctly, she wasn’t happy at all.

Instead, she stood there motionless, a bad premonition creeping in.

[Ding~ System prompt: The host has successfully made Mei's mood fluctuate greatly, and the power of the Herrscher of Thunder has increased to 31%.]

At the same time, a mechanical female voice echoed in Lin Ling's mind, reminding her that she had drawn the best SSR again.

"Oh, the good stuff is here, my favorite power of the Cook. However, it seems to have increased a lot this time? Is Mei's ability also improving? Or... am I doing it too much?"

Seeing Mei's eyes growing increasingly moist, Lin Ling felt distressed and stopped the freezing power of the ice pig she had stolen from Kevin, which she had been quietly releasing. As a result, her pale face began to regain its healthy whiteness and rosy color, and the hand Mei held slowly regained its warm and smooth touch.

Then, she scratched the back of her head in a naive way. "Haha, Wife Cook, I was just teasing you."

"Lin Ling..."

But after Lin Ling did this, Mei’s expression seemed even sadder.

Whether it was Kiana or Lin Ling, why did everyone around her like to show off, pretending to be fine even though they were already scarred, forcing themselves to laugh...

How much she wanted to share their burden!

"I'm really fine."

Lin Ling pulled back the hand Mei was holding, then turned over and did push-ups on the bed. "See? I'm in great shape now, and I can do this and that with you two right here."

"..."

Seeing this, Mei felt a little confused and didn’t know how to react.

"Lin Ling! You're lying again!"

Fortunately, at this moment, Kiana, who had been lying quietly on the bed, jumped up, crossed the aisle between the two beds, climbed onto Lin Ling’s back, and raised her fist angrily to lightly hit Lin Ling’s back. "Don't make a joke like this in the future! You almost scared me to death! And! You idiot, why did you leave us alone to face Schicksal in Arc City!? I hate you the most!"

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me...ah! Stop pulling my ears! I was wrong, I was wrong..."

With Lin Ling’s jokes and Kiana becoming lively again, the initially sad and lonely atmosphere in the ward was finally broken.

Watching the familiar and nostalgic girls playing in front of her.

We’re back, everyone is back...

Mei came forward and hugged the two who were playing, interrupting them tightly. The warm touch made time seem to rewind...

It seemed that everything had returned to the leisurely and comfortable nights at St. Freya Academy, back to carefree student days...

"Ling, Kiana, welcome home..."

"Ling, don’t leave me... No! Ling, stay away from me. I... I don’t want to hurt you..."

Only...

On the bed closest to the wall, a green-haired girl was sleeping with a frown on her face, mumbling someone’s name as if having a nightmare.

"By the way, both of you have just been injured. You should rest well and stop playing. Do you hear me?"

It was unknown how much time had passed, but the three people who had been hugging each other finally separated.

Then, as often seen at St. Freya, Mei, the housekeeper, seriously persuaded the two restless and naughty ones to behave.

After all, health is more important, especially for Kiana...

"Well..." Kiana nodded. "I’ll have a good rest."

Then... she climbed into Lin Ling’s quilt, lying side by side with Lin Ling, whose gaze had changed. She skillfully and naturally hugged Lin Ling’s slender body, as if hugging a car pillow.

Lin Ling: "Huh?"

Mei: "Hmm?"

"Mei..." At this time, Kiana noticed that Mei seemed very tired. She lifted a corner of the quilt. "Want to come together? Although this bed is a bit small, it should be fine for the three of us to squeeze together."

"Hehe, then I'll be in the middle." Lin Ling interrupted.

"I..." Mei leaned forward slightly, but then immediately returned to her original state.

Indeed, she was unknowingly moved, but considering the current situation of the two, she shook her head. "No, your injuries..."

"By the way! Speaking of injuries," Kiana suddenly remembered something and asked, "Lin Ling, why are you here? What injuries did you suffer?"

"Yes," Mei also asked, "I heard from Dr. Tesla that you injured your tongue or were bitten? What happened?"

"Ah, this..."

With the questioning of the two girls, Lin Ling secretly broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, she rolled her eyes and quickly came up with a good reason.

Isn't it enough to just say she bit it accidentally?

"Well, it's like this." Lin Ling explained sincerely. "You should know that I am also an S-rank Valkyrie, and then I went out on the orders of the Archbishop to capture the Fourth Herrscher, Wendy. Of course, I definitely didn’t actually capture her. I just pretended I couldn’t beat her and let her go, but Wendy seemed to be controlled by the Honkai Will, so the battle was a little fierce, and then I accidentally got myself..."

"Ahem. Speaking of which!"

But at this moment, a girl's voice came from outside the door.

It was Tesla, talking to an accompanying ship doctor.

Moreover, she spoke both intentionally and unintentionally, suddenly raising her voice, "How did Miss Lin Ling deal with the wound that Miss Wendy bit on her tongue!"

--

Chapter 140: So... It's Kiana's real first kiss...

"Huh!? What kind of fight are you guys having?" Kiana grabbed the collar of Lin Ling's thin hospital gown and pulled her to the point where their noses were almost touching. She asked angrily, "How did she bit your tongue?! Explain it to me! Otherwise, I will make you regret it."

"I, I..."

At this point, even Lin Ling who was usually eloquent began to stammer.

After all... how could a normal fight involve biting the tongue? This was too hard to explain! Oh no, how could she explain this?

Damn it, this lobster-headed doctor must have done it on purpose!

She could only swear in her heart,

She actually backstabbed me! You wait, I’ll definitely get back at Tesla in the future!

However, although she was very unhappy, Lin Ling still forced a flattering smile on her face.

"Oh~ My blood has an effect that can neutralize Honkai energy, and the will of the Herrscher will be eroded by Honkai energy. You know all this, right? So Wendy needs my blood to stabilize her spirit."

"But getting blood doesn't necessarily mean..."

However, Kiana who had been trained in independent living for several months keenly noticed the loophole in Lin Ling's words!

"By the way! Speaking of which, after all, you have drunk the blood from my tongue... and you are the first one." Seeing this, Lin Ling immediately changed the subject. She said excitedly, "That is to say, I gave you my first time, so you have to be responsible for me~hehehe."

Not only the voice, but this time, it was Lin Ling's turn to use her little fist to hit Kiana's chest.

"Well... it was my first time, too! Um... no! I wasn't in control of my body at the time, although... although I could feel it, but... it didn't count because I took the initiative, right? Unless..."

Kiana's voice grew smaller and smaller, until it was barely audible...

Then, she quietly glanced at Mei who seemed very surprised, and quickly lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking.

At the same time, Mei just stared at Lin Ling blankly.

To be precise, her eyes were uncontrollably focused on Lin Ling's warm and delicate red lips and white teeth, and she even licked her lips unconsciously.

Faintly, she felt a sensation similar to hunger and dry cough, and...

If she heard that Lin Ling and Wendy were suspected of having intimate contact, it would have made her heart inexplicably sour and uncomfortable; and then, she heard Kiana shyly almost admitting that she and Lin Ling also...

Her mood was so complicated that it was hard to describe...

Since they all, how about I... No, no, no, what am I thinking about?

Mei shook her head slightly, as if this could throw away the "evil" thoughts that suddenly rose in her mind.

"By the way!" Then, maybe it was the sudden feeling of 'hunger' that made Mei remember that Lin Ling said she wanted to eat the food she cooked, or maybe she wanted to be alone for a while. So, she stood up and said to the two people who were still playing, "Ling, Kiana, you must be hungry. I'll go make something to eat."

"Okay." Lin Ling nodded to Mei without thinking and added with a smirk, "Can you wear a naked apron?"

"What? Naked, apron..." As a Far Easterner, Mei had heard about the perverted hobbies of some wealthy families in her hometown, which made her stop in surprise when she was about to leave.

"Mei, don't listen to her. She's talking nonsense again!" Kiana quickly turned back to explain to Mei and then immediately turned back to grab Lin Ling's collar again. She said to her viciously, "Lin Ling, if you keep joking with Mei, do you believe that I will really make you wear a naked apron?"

Lin Ling’s neck shrank. "Da me da! I was just kidding! Don’t mess around."

"Huh..."

After leaving the ward.

Mei leaned against the wall and took a deep breath...

There were so many big things that happened today that she felt... her mind was in a mess, with all kinds of worries, desires, and even... jealousy and other thoughts constantly arising...

She wanted to suppress these random thoughts and make herself seriously prepare the most perfect meal for the two people she hadn't seen for a long time.

But just like the more you ask a person not to think about a blue elephant, the easier it is for her to imagine a blue elephant in her mind, people's thoughts may not be completely controlled by subjective will.

So, after hearing the conversation between the two, Mei's mind unconsciously pictured a scene of two white-haired girl holding delicious food, and....umm.. the two of them seemed to have had that before...

So, this made the purple-haired girl who wanted to go directly to the kitchen stop again with some worry.

She tossed and turned for a while, then returned to the door and secretly took a look at the inside of the ward through the glass window on the door...

"Hmm!? "

Instantly, Mei's pupils dilated to the extreme.

The two white-haired girls who were still "fighting" before she left were hugging each other at this time, extremely affectionately...

She covered her mouth that was opened due to surprise, trying not to make any sound...

...

"Mei, come here for a moment."

Just then, Dr. Tesla's voice suddenly came from behind Mei.

She quickly collected her mind, pretended to be calm, turned back, and nodded to Tesla. "Yeah."

"Ah~" Tesla didn't say anything. She just thought that Mei's weird behavior was because she was sad about Kiana's matter, so she sighed slightly in secret and patted Mei's shoulder. "Come here for a moment. Mophead is looking for you. Maybe she has a way."

Then, the two came to the conference room, and Einstein's face appeared on the screen.

"Dr. Einstein, do you have something to say to me?"

Mei's tone was expectant and a little apprehensive.

"Mei." Einstein said calmly and seriously without beating around the bush, "The situation is not optimistic."

"Doctor, please tell me, what can I do to save her?!" Mei asked immediately.

"Mei, I think you have the right to know all this, so I will tell you the whole truth without hiding anything. After discussion, we suggest that Kiana be immediately transferred to the Baffin Bay base near the Arctic Ocean and take safety precautions. Anti-Entropy will protect her from danger and prevent worse things from happening while... keeping the risk to a minimum."

"Risk?" Mei became increasingly uneasy. "I don't understand what you mean..."

"Mei, listen to me calmly. Kiana's condition is very serious, and the Herrscher core is continuously eroding her body. We speculate that Sirin's consciousness is still left in those cores. To prevent the situation from getting worse, we must eliminate her.

...But except Kiana herself, no one else can interfere with this process..."

"What do you mean?"

"It means..." Einstein's eyes flashed with guilt. "We can't change the status quo. Dr. Tesla and I have thought of many plans. We considered using external force to forcibly remove the core in her body or using neutralizing serum to remove the Honkai energy in her body, but this cannot fundamentally solve the problem. To put it more bluntly, we have no way to cure her, and even... we can't relieve her symptoms."

Finally, Mei's last hope seemed to be shattered.

Even the Anti-Entropy Headquar

ters had no way to save Kiana.

"How could this be? Can we only stand by and watch her... Dr. Einstein, please think about it again! I can do anything... Even if it can only buy her more time, I am willing to do anything! Really, is there no way?"

"I'm sorry... Mei. Now, in this kind of consciousness struggle, we outsiders can't intervene. We can only believe in Kiana and believe that she can defeat the Herrscher consciousness in her body. But..." Einstein also paused, "If the situation develops in the worst direction... we must also prepare for the most pessimistic plan."

"The most pessimistic plan... what do you mean!? ... Um... sorry..."

Suddenly, Mei stopped asking.

The most pessimistic plan, do you still need to ask?

Is there really no way out?

After finishing the conversation with Einstein, Mei walked to the kitchen in a daze. She picked up an onion. No one knows if it was because of the smell of the onion, but tears suddenly flowed from the corners of her eyes...

...

On the other side, in the ward.

Boo~

Beside a sleeping green-haired girl, two white-haired girls ended their entanglement.

"Hmph, this is my real first time..."

"Hmm..." Listening to Kiana's words, Lin Ling gently touched her lips that were suddenly attacked before.

Hmm... still a little wet, and at the same time, her eyes unconsciously stayed on Kiana's lips that were also a little crystal.

"You shy wolf! What are you thinking about?" Kiana's already red face heated up again, and then she said angrily, "Don't even think about it! This benefit is only this time! What if someone sees us doing these things in broad daylight?"