Waves crashing against the shore threw mist upon his cheeks. Dr. Zhou's fingertips trembled as they brushed over the camera lens.
Chinese Paddlefish (Psephurus gladius). A species of the Polyodontidae family, also known as the Elephant Fish or Sword-billed Sturgeon. Body fusiform, anterior pectoral fins flat, posterior slightly compressed...
In the blink of an eye, countless documents related to the creature surfaced in his mind.
This wasn't just because the old man had dedicated his life to environmental protection, but because the Chinese Paddlefish had long been declared extinct in human cognition.
Extinction. What a cruel word.
The construction of dams blocking migratory routes, the destruction of traditional spawning grounds, overfishing via electric grids and other vicious means, frequent river navigation, sand mining, industrial pollution... a myriad of factors combined to destroy them.
In a sense, the annihilation of the Chinese Paddlefish clan was orchestrated by humanity itself.
That was precisely why, upon seeing those white spirits weaving through the sunlit lake, watching the ripples from their tails wash over his waterproof boots, and feeling the cold spray of the waves, he finally snapped back to reality, wiping away the hot tears that had already filled his eyes.
"So... you are all still alive..."
The sixty-something-year-old man choked up like a child, panning his camera lens toward the distance:
The rounded forehead of a Baiji Dolphin broke the surface, its blowhole exhaling a fine mist, looking like a phantom swimming back to the living world from the pages of the Red List of Extinct Species.
A pod of Finless Porpoises chased the waves, leaping toward the light. Their rounded backs were gilded with gold, the corners of their mouths forever curled in that angelic smile.
Shadows cruised in the deep water—Big-head Schizothoracin, fish that should have been frozen in specimen jars since 1987. The quicksand of the Tarim River had failed to bury their final glimmer.
And by the reeds, the silver scales of the Inconnu (Sheefish) sliced through the duckweed. This bolt of lightning, once vanished from cross-border rivers, was now weaving the warp and weft of life among the algae.
Countless aquatic silhouettes, which should have existed only on yellowed pages and as cold fossils, were now swimming and tossing vividly amidst the shimmering waves.
"It was worth it... this whole life was worth it..."
Dr. Zhou murmured to himself, lowering the camera. Then, as if drained of all strength, he fell backward, smashing into the lake surface with a massive splash.
"Hey, old timer!"
Realizing something was wrong, Fuli hurriedly hauled the old man up. His expression changed drastically when he checked the pulse at the wrist. "He's not breathing!"
"Quick! Go to the Hyperion and get Mei-aemon!" Kiana screamed in panic.
Fu Hua was faster. She immediately pressed her hand against Dr. Zhou's chest, releasing a weak electric current.
Bronya retrieved the potions Mei had prepared and poured them down the old man's throat, while Fuli muttered in his ear, "Old man, you can't die on us. We've come this far—are you really willing to report to the King of Hell before seeing the ending?"
Of course, he wasn't willing.
After a series of emergency rescues, Dr. Zhou—who had seemingly given the Black and White Impermanence* a couple of slaps in the afterlife—tremblingly opened his eyes.
[T/N: Black and White Impermanence are the two deities in Chinese folklore responsible for escorting the spirits of the dead to the Underworld.]
With an agility that belied his age, he sprang up, patting himself down frantically. "Where's my camera? Where's my camera?"
"You're holding it in your hand," Fu Hua said, withdrawing her hand, rendered speechless. It gave her the absurd feeling of watching someone look for their glasses while wearing them, or searching for their phone while holding it.
"Oh. Didn't lose it. Good, good, as long as it's not lost..."
The old man let out a sigh of relief, beaming as he looked at the perfectly preserved photos inside.
"It's just some fish, is it really that big a deal?" Kiana scratched her head. Considering a battle was imminent, she tied her long white hair into a clean, sharp high ponytail while Fuli looked on with a look of pity.
"Is it... a big deal? Of course it is!"
Dr. Zhou exhaled heavily and began to emphasize to the three young ones the sins caused by humanity's blind development in the past, and how this place was nature's redemption for humanity, blah blah blah.
To this, Fuli and the others replied:
"This young miss uses all her effort just thinking about what to eat for the next meal; I don't have the brain capacity to ponder such profound things."
"Bronya is Russian. I do not understand complex Shenzhou official mandarin."
"I am a Shenzhou native, but are you sure you want to discuss the drawbacks of industrial development with an unlucky child who lived meal-to-meal after the age of eight?"
"...Rascal! You are unworthy of counsel!"
Dr. Zhou huffed angrily, then pulled two Snickers bars from his pocket and handed them to Fuli.
Realizing the old man had taken his "meal-to-meal" comment to heart, the boy grinned, taking the bars and stuffing them into his pocket as emergency rations.
Flame-like Qi evaporated the moisture from Fu Hua's soaked clothes. She gazed at the vast, shimmering expanse and the small patch of land faintly visible in the center. "To be honest, I am curious why so many different species of aquatic life coexist here."
It was one thing for the Inconnu and the Big-head Schizothoracin, fish native to the Xinjiang region, to be here. But why had the Chinese Paddlefish and Finless Porpoise—creatures of the Yangtze River basin—come here to join the gathering?
"Perhaps they didn't come here, but were simply swept up in it," Bronya theorized. "Everyone, do you remember where Genghis Khan died of illness?"
"Qingshui County, at the foot of the Liupan Mountains," Fuli answered. "Present-day Gansu Province."
"Then, it is known that in local Tuvan legends, Genghis Khan, upon returning from conquest, pointed at Kanas Lake and declared he wanted to be buried here after his death," Bronya said. "To our eyes, this might seem like a mere joke, but the descendants of the Golden Horde clearly carried out the great King's last wish."
"Let us put ourselves in the descendants' shoes. No matter how valiant the Khan was in life, in death he would still rot and smell. Even with various methods to delay decomposition, it would be a drop in the bucket." She paused, then continued, "Therefore, to transport him over two thousand kilometers to Kanas Lake at the foot of the Altai Mountains in a short time, they must have utilized some special means."
Fuli played the straight man perfectly. "Such as?"
"A water route."
The girl cast an admiring glance at her 'brother'.
"From the Yellow River flowing through Gansu?" Fu Hua looked thoughtful. "Back when the 'Marquis of Watergate'—listening to the US President—visited China, he gifted the Shenzhou officials a satellite geological map. The map marked a massive underground reservoir beneath the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang. It is said the water volume is comparable to Lake Baikal."
"That is indeed true." Fuli confirmed. During his chat with Prometheus earlier, it was mentioned that his parents had researched this.
"Such a massive underground lake must have a network of waterways extending in all directions," Bronya said calmly. "Qinghai, the source of the Yellow River, is close to it. The Tarim River, suspected to be connected to the underground lake, is only a few hundred miles from the Yellow River, with the Machi and Zhuonai lakes scattered between them like stars."
"You mean they are connected via underground waterways?" Kiana asked in surprise. "Is that possibility really real? And even if it is, why would those little guys from the Yangtze River basin appear here?"
"Because of the 'Lake Saints'."
Fu Hua explained, "When the Mongol Empire was just rising, the East Asian continent was in a standoff between the Jin Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty across the river. With Genghis Khan's grand strategy, he couldn't possibly have ignored the Southern Song, which had the world's highest GDP and was filthy rich."
"At that time, to put it bluntly, the only thing the Southern Song had to resist the Empire's iron cavalry was the Yangtze River acting as a natural barrier," Fuli realized part of the truth. "So, the Golden Family used the 'Dream of the Eternal Heaven' to transform selected ferocious fish—Taimen caught while passing Kanas Lake—into Kheshig (Imperial Guards) with Honkai Beast properties. They released them into the Yangtze to act as trump cards to cross the natural barrier and strike directly at the enemy's heart."
"After Genghis Khan passed away, his successor ordered the Kheshig-ified Taimen to swim upstream from the intersection of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers to Gansu. They placed the Great Khan's tomb inside the World Bubble within the fish's bodies. Then, through the underground waterways at the source of the Yellow River, they entered the Tarim River and the underground lake, finally returning to Kanas via the Burqin River and other basins—a super-scale migration!"
Fuli summarized, "During the upstream journey, to feed themselves, the 'Lake Saints' devoured massive amounts of fish eggs and fish along the route. These thrived inside their bellies (or the Bubble), finally forming the ecological environment we see before us!"
Kiana was dumbfounded. "T-that... how is that possible? It's so convoluted! Wouldn't they get lost?!"
"No!" Dr. Zhou said with certainty. "As long as they are Taimen taken from Kanas Lake, they wouldn't! Because that is the fish's migration!"
"After enduring a journey of over two thousand kilometers against the current, these fish, far from home, finally returned to their native soil alongside the great King who conquered the Eurasian continent!"
Silence reigned, as if a long eagle had swept across the sky.
Accompanying Dr. Zhou's impassioned speech, countless images surfaced in their minds.
"This is the miracle of life," Kiana murmured.
"Just that alone isn't enough." Fu Hua shook her head gently. "Look at this environment. Different species of aquatic life living together in harmony, even though their survival conditions are vastly different."
"And those Kheshig Lake Saints transformed from Taimen." Bronya's gaze swept the surroundings, eyeing the schools of lake monsters that were faintly encircling their group. "Even if the World Bubble has ample food, growing to this size cannot be achieved simply by eating and time."
The human Kheshig Army, also transformed by the Pact of the Eternal Heaven, hadn't undergone Dynamax growth like these guys.
Fuli, drawing the Sparrow's Call (Queyu) from his waist, curled his lips. "In other words, there's something else stimulating their growth."
In West Asia, Genghis Khan, heavily wounded by the Judgment of Shamash, halted his march and returned to the north to recover. The following year, disregarding his severe injuries, he led his army out again due to the Western Xia breaking their alliance, and eventually died.
No matter how you look at it, that recovery ability is excessively strong.
Bear in mind, even the Judgment-class Benares, after taking a hit from the Judgment of Shamash, had its wings destroyed and combat power severely regressed, leading to a frustrating death at the hands of Shigure Kira and Shub-Niggurath.
However, if we look at it from another angle: 'Injuries caused by the Holy Judgment of Fire can only be healed by the Abyss Flower (Black Abyss White Flower).'
Possessing effects similar to the Abyss Flower, extremely powerful regeneration capabilities, and passively stimulating the Lake Saints to grow into their current forms...
"The Awakener of the Stigmata of Death, Borjigin Temüjin."
Dr. Mei, located on the moon, was the first to speak the truth.
——— The spokesperson of Death and Creation. This is the other identity in the Honkai World of the Generation's Proud Son, hailed as the incarnation of the Eternal Heaven.
"I told you it was impossible to make such a huge detour without gaining anything. Didn't expect to hit the jackpot."
Fuli chuckled, hoisting Dr. Zhou onto his shoulder.
Looking around, the number of Lake Saints had decreased by more than half compared to before, and the remaining ones were all injured.
Observing the dark, charred sparks on their wounds, it was clearly the work of Siegfried, who had entered earlier.
"Do not be careless, cousin," Fu Hua reminded him kindly, assuming the stance of the Inch Heart fist technique.
Kiana was unusually silent, but the frequency of her gunfire accelerated.
The sound of ping-ping-pang-pang echoed through the heavens and earth, making Bronya think she had unleashed a generic Frost Rain at 70,000 rounds per second.
However, looking at the white-haired dumpling's calm demeanor, it was clear the earlier slap to the face hadn't been in vain.
Fuli actually felt it might be better if she were a bit more passionate; if she held it in too much, he'd have to be the one to coax her later.
To avoid that, he decided to press the attack in one go, striking directly at the enemy's lair.
The sound of freezing ice rang out as a massive Trailing Shadow Sword—hundreds of meters long and weighing thousands of tons—was forged from the void.
"Killer Move! Warship Sword!"
The boy leapt up, pushing the hilt and savagely smashing it down upon the enemy's heads.
...
Meanwhile, on Siegfried's side—
After enduring untold hardships to escape the 'trial', the white-haired man arrived at a pristine clearing.
The grassland here stretched endlessly; the sky was an incomparable azure.
At the limit of his vision, a burly figure rode toward him on a towering steed.
A broad forehead like forged bronze, a long beard rolling with the wind and sand.
Pale blue eyes, like cat's eyes, resembled unextinguished ice flames on the tundra. Red-brown braids fell over shoulder armor, scattering like a burning mane in the bloody wind.
"I have been waiting for you, descendant of Kaslana."
The Great Khan's hand, covered in calluses, slowly raised. The deeply furrowed brow tightened into the hard lines of mountain rock.
That was the baleful aura condensed from sixty years of conquest, humming ceaselessly alongside the wolf-bone quiver hanging from his saddle.
"Hah, a pity."
Facing the Generation's Proud Son walking out of history, even someone as steadfast as Siegfried couldn't help but feel a wave of melancholy.
The reason for the melancholy was the 'camera' he held in his hand.
——— The Famed Gun: Abe-Slayer Tetsuya. (Abe-kiri Tetsuya)
This gun can only target individuals with a higher status than the wielder. It allows only two shots per target. Each shot has an 80% chance of exploding the barrel, but if consecutive hits are achieved, it triggers Instant Death.
Furthermore, whether it accidentally injures a non-target or successfully completes the assassination of a high-status individual, the gun will self-destruct.
After Siegfried left the team ahead of the others, Fuli had used some method to pass this item to his lone prospective father-in-law.
Reading the note attached to it explaining its effects, Siegfried immediately realized the boy's line of thinking.
Indeed, if he could use this thing to take out the BOSS, although it might seem anti-climactic, it was certainly the most efficient method.
So he did just that, pulling the trigger consecutively at Genghis Khan in the distance.
Click!
Click!
Two successes. The bullets left the chamber. With the aid of the Kaslana Gun Kata, they accurately crossed hundreds of meters and struck the defenseless enemy.
Crash! The Abe-Slayer, having completed its mission, shattered on its own.
One side was an unemployed vagrant running all over the world; the other was the magnificent monarch who established the largest contiguous land empire. It was obvious whose status was higher.
Siegfried let go of the shattered pieces of the Abe-Slayer and stepped forward, ready to collect the corpse.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two arrows pierced the air untimely. He hurriedly gripped the Judgment of Shamash, transforming it into its Greatsword form to knock them down.
"The descendants of Kaslana are becoming increasingly arrogant."
Holding a longbow, the Great Khan spoke with piercing sharpness. "Next time, I aim for your brow."
Judging by his appearance, he was completely unharmed.
...