The World of Honkai. Earth. Nagazora City, the Far East.
It was Sunday. Raiden Mei, who had been napping alone at home, was now lying across her oversized bed. She stared intensely at the semi-transparent virtual interface floating before her eyes—a screen visible to no one but herself—and fell into a deep silence.
"A Dimensional Chat Group for mutual aid?"
She bit her lip softly. "I... right now..."
Truth be told, she was currently trapped in a predicament that she was utterly powerless to resolve.
Nearly two weeks ago, her father, Raiden Ryoma, had been arrested and imprisoned on charges of massive economic fraud. Since that day, the world as she knew it had transformed overnight.
First came the loss of her extravagant lifestyle. The young lady who had never once dipped her fingers in chore water now found herself forced to buy groceries and cook her own meals. During those first few days, she realized with painful clarity just how difficult cooking actually was—and how terrible the food tasted when done poorly.
Fortunately, after two weeks of trial and error, her culinary skills had improved significantly. She seemed to possess a natural talent for it. At the very least, she no longer had to worry about going hungry.
But that was the least of her problems.
The people at school who used to swarm around her with smiles had revealed their true, ugly faces.
"The fraudster's daughter, huh? She used to act so high and mighty, always putting on airs."
"Does she even realize the money she spent was the blood and sweat her criminal father squeezed out of others?"
"Has she no shame? How does she even dare show her face at school!"
She had heard no shortage of such venomous words recently. Those very people had once accepted countless favors from her, their tongues slick with flattery. Now, it was as if they were trying to reclaim some lost dignity by lashing out; their harassment grew more intense by the day.
Even the teachers at Chiba Academy turned a blind eye. It wasn't surprising—they, too, had once been part of the crowd trying to stay in her good graces.
I should just kill them all!
For a fleeting second, such a thought would sprout in the corners of Mei's mind. However, she had no intention of acting on such extreme impulses. Not yet.
"This world... no, I never imagined other worlds actually existed."
"And in those worlds, there is real supernatural power!"
The thought sent a strange, tiny thrill through her. Sitting on her bed with her knees pulled to her chest, Mei felt her body tremble slightly. For once, it wasn't out of fear or helplessness.
"If I ask this Group Leader for help... he can travel across worlds. He must have a way to help me!"
The thought took hold, but she quickly shook her head.
"No, even so, we are strangers. He has no obligation to get involved in my mess. Even if this trouble is probably nothing more than a trivial matter to someone like him..."
Despite her reservations, as if possessed by a sudden urge to confide in someone, Mei ended up typing a brief summary of her recent experiences into the chat group. Perhaps she felt that even if she didn't get help, treating the Group Leader as a sort of hollow tree to whisper her secrets into would at least ease her heart.
After all, it was just a conversation.
[Group Leader: Hmm? I smell the stench of school bullying! (Sharp Gaze.jpg) — Say no more. Leave this to me.]
Mei had spent hours chatting with the Group Leader that day, finding solace in finally having someone to vent to. The last message she saw in the chat window was those two lines.
[Herrscher of Rice: This...]
She had intended to type something like, "How could I possibly trouble you with this..." but instead, her fingers moved on their own.
[Herrscher of Rice: This... what do you plan to do?]
As mentioned before, she didn't doubt the Group Leader's ability to solve her crisis at all. She was simply curious. She wondered what kind of method a being from another world would use.
Will he just kill them all directly?
That extreme thought bubbled up again. Mei instinctively shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose and taking several deep breaths to steady her nerves.
[Group Leader: We've talked quite a bit today, so our activity level has gone up. Remember that Group Red Envelope function we just unlocked?]
[Herrscher of Rice: I remember.]
Mei looked down at the red envelope icon at the bottom left of the interface. It had unlocked only half an hour ago. Its purpose was to allow members to send items across worlds. It couldn't transfer living beings, was limited to three uses a day, and the items had to be smaller than one cubic meter—but still, cross-world delivery!
It was undeniably cool. Mei had been dying to try it out.
[Group Leader: Do you have any rings at home?]
[Herrscher of Rice: A ring?]
[Group Leader: Exactly! If you have one, just send it over via a Red Envelope. I'll enchant it for you. Wear it to school tomorrow. If anyone tries to bully you, just use the superpower inside the ring.]
[Herrscher of Rice: This...]
That sounds way too cool!
"I want it... Wait, no!" Mei quickly slapped her cheeks. This was bad. Her hidden chuunibyou tendencies were acting up again.
But she was so curious!
"Maybe... I should just try it?"
"It's a kind gesture from the Group Leader, anyway!"
Driven by curiosity, Mei climbed out of bed and left her room. She walked straight toward a specific room in the massive villa. It was the dressing room once used by her mother. Even though her mother had passed away years ago, her father had never changed a single thing inside. There were bound to be all sorts of jewelry there.
"A ring... there has to be one, right?"
Meanwhile, on the other side...
"Is it really okay for me to trick a young girl like this?"
Inside the Shackling Prison on the Xianzhou Luofu, Ling Ke stared at the chat box and muttered to himself.
However, after being trapped in this hole for over half a month, he desperately wanted a breath of fresh air.
He intended to use the abstract ability Heaven-Rank Martial Skill: Ghost Possession on Raiden Mei. On one hand, he truly craved to see a ray of sunlight after being in the dark for so long. On the other hand, he wanted to figure out exactly which version of Raiden Mei this Herrscher of Rice was.
And besides...
"According to the description provided by the Abstract Ability System, the effects of these abilities are absolute."
"Unless neutralized by another abstract ability with the exact opposite effect."
"So..."
The corners of Ling Ke's mouth curled up. "Can my abstract abilities work across different worlds?"
"And what exactly is the limit of forcibly taking control of a body?"
"Can I... control a Herrscher?"