In the end, through a vote, it was decided that Fu Hua would lead, with Yae Sakura, Ryn, Judah, and others entering the dataspace. Welt, Kika, and Durandal would be on standby in the main world, ready to snipe the Herrscher of Corruption.
During the mission preparation phase, everyone was saying their final goodbyes.
Ryn looked at the silently standing Kiana, whose eyes were filled with worry, and gently embraced her.
"Don't worry, I have many lives! I won't die."
"Who are you kidding?! How many times have you died without a sound! We've already lost Cortana, if we lose you too, I'll go crazy..."
Kiana hugged Ryn tightly, afraid that she would lose him in the next moment.
"Kiana, trust me. When have I ever lied to you... Wait for my triumphant return, with Hiyokumaru by my side!"
"Dataspace is the Herrscher of Corruption's home turf... You must be careful, very, very careful..."
"Mhm..."
After saying goodbye to Kiana, Ryn went to find Kika and Mei.
"Just force her out, I'll be on standby outside. Don't fight her to the death!"
"I'm sorry, I can't be of much help... but I will always be praying for you. I will wait for you to come back."
Kika and Mei hugged Ryn one after the other after speaking.
Ryn wrapped his arms around them both and said softly, "Don't make it sound like a final farewell... I'm very strong. Besides, even if I can't win, you think I can't run?"
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After bidding farewell to everyone, Ryn went to find Fu Hua and Bronya. For this mission, Bronya would also enter the dataspace with them to help them find and kill the Herrscher of Corruption.
However, what Ryn didn't expect was that Fu Hua was not only the wielder of the Divine Key Fenghuang Down, but she also had the Divine Key Grips of Taixuan in her possession.
"I didn't expect Bronya to be so brave!" Ryn said with a smile, patting the head of Bronya, who was adjusting her equipment nearby.
"Don't touch Bronya's head! It'll stunt her growth!"
After the huffing and puffing Yae Sakura, her face covered, was dragged over by Judah, Fu Hua swept Fenghuang Down past everyone, and their consciousnesses began to sink into the dataspace.
Confirming that Ryn and the others had successfully entered the Global Connection, Yiselian, Einstein, Nagamitsu, and the others immediately got to work, starting to guide Ryn and the others in their search for the Herrscher of Corruption.
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When Ryn opened his eyes again, they had already appeared in the dataspace. But this time, the experience was different from being in Schicksal's database. The previous one was like a game, while this one felt incredibly real to Ryn.
After waking up, Bronya immediately began data analysis and positioning.
"According to the data, the dataspace has overlapped with the real world. Our current location is roughly Nagazora City in the Far East."
"So this is the Herrscher of Corruption's domain... A village? Does this have any special meaning for the Herrscher of Corruption or Hiyokumaru? Yae Sakura, do you know anything?" Ryn asked Yae Sakura.
Yae Sakura stared at the scene before her, lost in thought. Everything here was so similar to five hundred years ago, yet completely different.
"This is... Yae Village. But there are many things here that I've never seen before... It must be from the Herrscher of Corruption's era," Yae Sakura said slowly, her back to the others.
"What happened to your face? Why are you lisping..." Ryn asked curiously.
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask." Yae Sakura left without looking back. She was going to verify some theories.
Seeing both Bronya and Ryn turn to look at her, Judah proudly puffed out her chest and patted her Soulium chest.
"I did it! Although my body is normally no different from a normal human body, it becomes extremely hard when hit hard."
"Sigh... Bronya suddenly regrets joining you guys on this operation. Not only is there no sense of urgency, but three of you are also insane." Bronya rolled her eyes and complained, then followed Fu Hua in the direction Yae Sakura had left.
"Yae Sakura is definitely insane, Judah is not much better, and Bronya has a brain injury. That's indeed three insane people. Looks like it's all up to me in the end. Judah, don't run, wait for me!"
Hearing Ryn's shouts from behind, Judah ran even faster. However, Judah felt that the three insane people Bronya was talking about were probably Fu Hua, Yae Sakura, and Ryn.
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To verify her theory, Yae Sakura led the group to patrol the village. There were no people in the village, only humanoid blue will-o'-the-wisps, like NPCs. They seemed illusory, yet they had physical forms, but everyone's face was blurry.
Fu Hua wanted to go up and ask for information, but Bronya stopped her. Bronya summoned a projection screen and said to everyone, "We've received a message from Nagamitsu and the others. From the moment we entered Yae Village, Honkai energy began to gather in Yae Village. The Herrscher has already discovered us!"
"No, it's not that the Herrscher has discovered us, but that she has been waiting for us all along!"
Judah pointed to a huge pavilion in the distance of Yae Village. At the top of the pavilion, the Herrscher of Corruption made no attempt to hide her presence, letting it spread out. Now, even without activating her tracking mode, Judah could clearly feel the Herrscher of Corruption's presence.
After confirming the Herrscher's location, the group immediately headed towards the huge pavilion.
Along the way, the group encountered many stray Honkai Beasts. Ryn and Fu Hua wanted to slap them to death, but they were stopped by Yae Sakura every time.
Yae Sakura simply waved her hand at them and dismissed them. Some were even ordered by Yae Sakura to go to Yae Village.
"Why are you doing this? Are you trying to get those people of Yae Sakura's killed?" Ryn questioned Yae Sakura, puzzled.
"They brought it upon themselves. They deserve to die."
"Miss Yae Sakura... I think that even if it's virtual data, you shouldn't just take their lives so easily..." Fu Hua also couldn't stand it and was about to argue with Yae Sakura.
But Yae Sakura didn't want to explain the reasons to Ryn and the others. Even if this wasn't the real Yae Village, in Yae Sakura's heart, those villagers deserved to die.
Ryn and Fu Hua wanted to say more, but they were pulled aside by Judah and Bronya.
Bronya looked at Ryn and Fu Hua with dead fish eyes and said in a low voice, "Bronya already told you that Yae Sakura has a screw loose. Just let her be. Kallen isn't here now, if she suddenly goes crazy, it'll be troublesome!"
"But we can't just do this... Aren't data lives still lives? Kallen was also just a data life at the beginning... What do you think, Fu Hua?" Ryn muttered in confusion. If being a virtual life meant it could be trampled on at will, then wasn't this a departure from justice?
"Let's just humor Yae Sakura for now. Compared to those virtual villagers, the issue of the Herrscher of Corruption is more important. She even dared to slash at Otto in front of so many people. If we obstruct her, she might go crazy and slash us too."
Fu Hua had always respected Yae Sakura's choices, because Yae Sakura was not only very similar to the Sakura she knew, but she was also as crazy as Sakura. Fu Hua didn't want to suffer the same fate as Kalpas and Kevin just for a few phantoms that could dissipate at any moment.