Nagazora City, Senba Academy.
The new Herrscher brought powerful Honkai, and the Valkyries were here to face formidable Honkai Beasts and Zombies.
Theresa walked at the forefront, wielding the chains of Judah, each strike taking down a large Honkai Beast.
The Valkyrie students formed small teams, each choosing their opponents.
Bronya operated Project Bunny alone; she didn't need to aim, and even movement was unnecessary, as she alone constituted a powerful firepower network.
Thanks to her firepower suppression, the Valkyrie students found it easy to deal with the Honkai.
Without Kiana and Raiden Mei, she could stand alone as an army.
The 14-year-old girl scanned the battlefield expressionlessly, the shield provided by Project Bunny allowing her to move through it with ease.
At that moment, Bronya suddenly looked up.
A Zombie, unknown from where, leaped high to deliver a fatal blow to Bronya.
The sharp scythe glinted coldly in the sunlight.
Bronya had no time to dodge and instinctively raised her hand.
"Be careful!"
In the girl's eyes, a white figure leaped up.
It was Kiana, who had come from headquarters to Saint Freya, directly knocking the Zombie down, but she also fell.
Bronya remained expressionless, using Project Bunny to finish off the Zombie.
She tilted her head, watching Kiana, who was unsteadily getting up, and hesitated before saying thank you.
Kiana said nothing and continued to fight with her gun.
Bronya's emotions remained restrained.
She calmly said, "Project Bunny, initiate full-area reconnaissance, firepower at maximum."
The long-range firepower centered around Bronya became even more ferocious.
At this moment, Theresa arrived at the classroom where the Pseudo-Herrscher was located within Senba Academy.
"This is truly a disaster."
Even she couldn't help but feel shocked by the scene before her.
The large teaching building was now covered in vines, and among the vines were many student corpses.
It was as if these students had grown within the vines.
Their faces were twisted, filled with extreme pain, yet their mouths were wide open, unable to make any sound. Theresa instinctively frowned.
She quickly found a breakthrough in the teaching building and entered.
Then, Theresa saw a girl, rooted like a plant.
"Are you here to be friends with Yuna too?"
The Herrscher named Sato Yuna looked at Theresa with vacant eyes.
Theresa instinctively sensed danger and rolled sideways, as a vine pierced up from the floor.
The Herrscher before her had been completely controlled by Honkai, leaving only the instinct for destruction.
"The price of being friends with you is too high, so we are enemies."
"Go ahead, Judah."
Theresa swung Judah, and the golden chains directly ensnared Sato Yuna.
Judah was a Divine Key made from the core of the Herrscher of Binding from the previous civilization era, capable of binding the energy of Honkai creatures.
Sato Yuna instinctively struggled but found her efforts futile.
Just as she commanded Judah to pierce through Sato Yuna's body and seize the core source of the Pseudo-Herrscher, Theresa suddenly felt her body weaken.
Sato Yuna's lips curled into a smile.
"My spores can turn everything into my friends."
Theresa instinctively wanted to withdraw.
At that moment, she suddenly heard Sato Yuna's wail.
It was Yae Sakura, who had drawn her sword and severed Sato Yuna's head.
"That person was not wrong; Theresa will encounter danger."
She ignored the dead Herrscher and took Theresa away.
Yae Sakura did not know how Chen Ran had predicted this, but there was no doubt that the poison on Theresa still needed treatment.
As she carried Theresa away from the teaching building of Senba Academy, Chen Ran, who had been watching, instinctively breathed a sigh of relief.
He saw Kiana fighting and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"How can I communicate with Kiana alone without alarming others?"
Chen Ran pondered, and soon came up with a plan.
Suddenly, a massive storm swept through Senba Academy.
The storm kicked up dust, blinding everyone.
"Emergency evacuation, defensive posture!"
The Valkyries huddled together.
Only Bronya, surrounded by a protective shield, remained unfazed.
The shield provided by Project Bunny allowed her to avoid the troubles of being engulfed by dust.
Then, she saw someone moving through the dust, taking Kiana away.
Bronya instinctively chased after them.
...
...
"What do you want to do to me?"
In a corner of Nagazora City, Kiana looked at Chen Ran, raising her gun to aim at him.
Chen Ran sighed and said, "Don't be impulsive; what I want to talk to you about cannot be solved by impulse."
"You can rest assured, I am an old acquaintance of your mother."
Hearing the word "mother," Kiana's eyes showed a hint of surprise.
She quickly regained her composure and coldly said, "My mother has many acquaintances in Schicksal; that is not a reason for you to offend me."
If one were to describe it, the Kiana before her was neither the naive Kiana nor the rigid and straightforward Durandal.
She was raised under Cecilia's protection, smart but impulsive, lacking the strength of Durandal at her age, yet upholding the pride of the Kaslana family.
Chen Ran said, "There are some complex reasons behind this, Kiana, do you want to save everything?"
"Why should I believe you?"
"If you are willing, I can help you. Whether it's bringing Sirin back from the moon or helping your mother retrieve her from the imaginary space, there is a chance."
He looked at the girl before him and said, "You cannot trust me; I can understand that, so I do not ask you to do anything, just need 100cc of your blood."
"You should know that exchanging a bit of blood for a possibility is a very worthwhile deal."
Chen Ran's voice was like a devil's temptation, causing Kiana's eyes to waver.
He did not expect to gain Kiana's trust through words, so he adopted the most common way of life he learned in Fire Moth: exchanging benefits for benefits.
Fire Moth brought the biggest change to Chen Ran, clearly teaching him how to use others and how to be used.
If he could not provide Vill-V with the core of the Herrscher of the Void, Vill-V would not make him a Divine Key.
This was a transaction.
And now, Chen Ran was offering Kiana a choice of transaction.
Paying 100cc of blood to exchange for a possibility.
This was a deal that no one could refuse.
Kiana was naturally shaken.
At that moment, a cold voice rang out: "Don't believe him."
Chen Ran looked over to see Bronya, who had appeared out of nowhere, with Project Bunny's cannon aimed at Chen Ran's head.
She said to Kiana, "Bad people always use inducement to lead others step by step into the abyss."
Bronya was very familiar with Chen Ran's rhetoric.
Because when she was still a child soldier, she was taught step by step how to kill.
Those people always downplayed important things, then casually said she could easily do it.
And she indeed did.
Diligently honing her killing skills, taking away others' lives.
No matter what kind of disguise she wore, she performed excellently, becoming the number one on the Charon assassin leaderboard: Silver Wolf of the Urals.
Chen Ran's words evoked unpleasant memories for Bronya.
She coldly said to Chen Ran, "Who exactly are you?"
Chen Ran: "..."
He saw Kiana's hesitant face once again become resolute and couldn't help but sigh, "Bronya, I have to say, you really are my nemesis."
Why didn't Bronya inherit scene memories?
Oh, it seems that in the last scene, he and she hadn't communicated at all.
The scene where he and Bronya intersected was in the second one, but that scene was rendered invalid due to the appearance of two Wendys, making the system unable to simulate the future.
Aside from Wendy inheriting the memories related to that time, no one knew that the world at that time was giving birth to another possibility.
Chen Ran looked at Kiana, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes.
When a person is on guard for the second time, there's no way to ease the turmoil within with words.
"I'll be straightforward, Kiana's body carries the Schariac bloodline inherited from her mother, and the blood of Schariac can directly manipulate Honkai."
"Although you haven't seen it with your own eyes, I can say with certainty that it can reverse the corruption brought by Honkai, including the control Honkai has over the Herrscher."
As Chen Ran spoke, he couldn't help but sigh.
On the night Nuwa bid him farewell, he hadn't extracted the Schariac serum from Kiana yet; otherwise, he could have had Nuwa apply the serum to her parents.
And now, number 666 was already extracting the serum, hoping it would be in time.
He cast aside all distractions and looked at Bronya and Kiana: "You both know what this means."
The god-slaying spear created by Schariac is currently humanity's only means to deal with the Herrscher on the moon.
The current Sirin is not the inflated Sirin of 2000; she has already experienced a battle with humans.
She is well-versed in human tactics and understands human thoughts.
Although Herrscher Sirin doesn't care much about humans and currently has no plans to completely destroy humanity, she has already become a god, looking down upon everyone from above.
How could human society allow the true existence of a god?
The greatest danger posed by Herrscher Sirin is not her ability to casually destroy hundreds of thousands or even millions with falling meteors.
Rather, her very existence has already overturned everyone's understanding, thereby negating the significance of all nations and the efforts of humanity.
But Chen Ran couldn't expect Otto to cover for him.
After all, the price Otto pays to cover for others is always unimaginable.
Seeing Bronya and Kiana's expressions relax slightly, he said, "Do you know why Sirin is under Cecilia?"
"Sirin Big Sister mentioned it to me before."
Kiana hesitated and said, "She was in the Babylon laboratory in Siberia, then she received her mother's teachings, and later her mother brought her along."
"Fourteen years ago, your mother already knew she was the Herrscher of the Void," Chen Ran said directly. "Of course, I have no evidence for what I'm saying, and I've said all I need to say."
"So, are you willing to give it a try?"
Before Kiana could speak, Bronya raised her hand and asked, "Then why don't you discuss it with Principal?"
"Her?"
Chen Ran said directly, "She's a good parent but not a good leader. If I tell her about this, the most likely outcome is that Kiana will immediately disappear from Saint Freya, or I might just vanish myself."
Theresa is a person whose emotions outweigh her rationality.
Chen Ran felt that if he discussed this matter with Theresa, he would have to face the wrath of the Judah launcher.
This isn't just about 100cc of blood.
If the news that Schariac's blood can manipulate Honkai and reverse the corruption of Honkai Energy spreads, what would happen to the Schariac family and Kiana?
They would be treated as treasures but would completely lose their freedom.
They might even become pitiful test subjects.
Otto could certainly stop these things from happening, but Theresa couldn't afford to take that gamble.
However, these are things Kiana doesn't understand right now, and while Bronya understands a bit, she still chooses to remain silent.
"I'll be at Saint Freya, waiting for your decision."
After Chen Ran finished speaking, he left directly.
——
Still at Saint Freya.
But time needed to rewind to a week ago.
Wendy and Raiden Mei brought Yae Sakura to the gates of Saint Freya, and suddenly, her expression froze.
"What's wrong?"
Raiden Mei asked with concern.
Yae Sakura's eyes also showed worry.
"I'm fine, it's just…"
She suddenly recalled a memory.
And this memory connected to a part of the future she had seen.
At that moment, she received a message from Theresa.
"Wendy, where are you? Cecilia is in trouble, I need to return to Schicksal Headquarters for a while, please take care of the academy for me."
Theresa's words hit Wendy like a blow.
She looked at Mei: "Do you believe in fate?"
Mei was a bit confused: "What does this have to do with fate?"
"I originally didn't believe there was a connection, but…" Wendy suddenly said, "Hurry, we need to go to Siberia."
If the future she had 'seen' in that memory was real.
Then, Siberia would erupt in a Major Honkai Eruption, leading to the emergence of Herrscher Sirin.
Just as Wendy was about to set off, she suddenly thought of a possibility:
Could it be that because I foresaw the future and went to Siberia, I would be deprived of the Herrscher Core?
It was as if they had traveled to the past, causing the violent storm of the pre-civilization era.
Fate always likes to play tricks at such times.
She felt apologetic towards Yae Sakura: "I'm very sorry, but there's something very important I can't take you with me for, we have to leave now. If there's a chance, I'll personally apologize to you."
Yae Sakura didn't seem angry, only saying, "You all go ahead and take care of your matters, there's no need to worry about me."
Wendy apologized again, then told Raiden Mei, "Be careful, we will face a very powerful enemy."
"What's the situation?"
"Cecilia went missing due to the experiment in the virtual space, and Sirin will become a Herrscher."
"Will become?"
"Yes, that's what I saw in the future." Wendy didn't hide it, slowly sharing her memory with Raiden Mei.
She hadn't known Raiden Mei for long, but their similar experiences had made them comrades on the same front.
However, the enemies they faced on this front were not Honkai, but time.
Wendy said directly, "This isn't the first time something like this has happened; the last time, my brain suddenly had a memory from the past."
She had asked Raiden Mei about Chen Ran's impression before the Destruction of Nagazora City.
But Mei said she had no idea.
Raiden Mei was slightly taken aback: "So you're saying it's related to Chen Ran."
"Yeah, the events happening in the future can be changed. But I'm not sure."
Wendy now had only one concern.
That is, the civilization she is in now, like the previous civilization, has already been predetermined by fate.
She had thought about ignoring this news, but on the other end of the scale were the lives and homes of thirty million people in Siberia; she couldn't remain calm about this.
If it were Otto, he might have kept Wendy at Saint Freya to verify whether fate would change.
But Wendy couldn't do that herself.
She shared everything she knew and thought with Raiden Mei.
Mei's eyes were filled with worry: "The future we know in advance should be changeable; after all, the time for Sirin to become a Herrscher has already been extended by 14 years. Lady Cecilia has also had 14 more years."
"So, if we want to change it, we will definitely change it."
In Raiden Mei and Wendy's understanding, the current world had already changed.
"But what worries me is that after this change, the next time will still use another method to correct the world back to its original state."
Raiden Mei's words made Wendy fall silent.
She looked towards the clouds ahead and sighed, "If only I could contact Chen Ran; he stands at that time node and surely knows more than we do."
Raiden Mei was puzzled: "How can we contact him if we're not in the same space-time?"
"Of course, through the mind."
Wendy pointed to her head.
She said, "In my brain, there's still the imprint left by Mobius; now my vision is also in a shared state with Mobius."
"If there's something similar to that imprint, perhaps we can ignore the distance of time."
"I'm afraid after this incident, I'll have to go to Elysian Realm again."
She couldn't create an imprint, but she could traverse through Elysian Realm to convey the idea of the imprint to Chen Ran.
It was like the most primitive single-threaded phone, where one person speaks while the other listens, cumbersome and complex.
But it solved the problem of spatial communication.
So next, what Wendy needed to solve was the time connection with Chen Ran.
Raiden Mei looked at Wendy, who was frowning, and said softly, "Hmm, I'll accompany you."
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