Escape, Seriously Injured

"Reporting to you, Bishop. Regrettably, reports from the front line say that World Serpent got ahead of us and carried out the plan to capture the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness, but..."

"But Lu Xueling, the former deputy researcher of the Babylon Experimental Tower, escaped with the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness after activating a device similar to a Spacetime Wormhole... His whereabouts remain unknown."

In a dim room, white stone pillars towered one after another. A dark red carpet lay beneath their feet, stretching forward all the way to the gray steps. Seated atop those steps was a smiling man.

He had blond hair and blue eyes, appeared to be around twenty, and wore a purple coat trimmed in gold with a capelet, white collar and cuffs, and a red cravat. Holding a glass of red wine, he gently swirled it in his hand and calmly gazed downward at the two breathtakingly beautiful women standing below, who were reporting the information they had just received.

After listening, he said nothing. He merely took a small sip of wine, set down his goblet, and rose to his feet.

"Bishop?" the woman with short dark-gray hair on the left cautiously spoke.

"Able to resist the Erosion of Honkai Energy, even Herrscher-class Erosion, and wield it so effortlessly... If not for his gender, I truly would have liked to train him into an S-rank Valkyrie as well." The Bishop muttered to himself. He spoke slowly, but every word was clear.

The blonde woman on the right listened quietly before saying in a low voice, "It is a pity that he escaped. He even took the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness with him."

The Bishop shook his head, a trace of regret appearing in his eyes. "Recruiting Lu Xueling into Schicksal in the first place was an accident. With his talent... Bianca, I am not exaggerating when I say that he could have fully served as a frontline commander."

Bianca's pupils trembled. She then asked, "Bishop, if he truly was as you believed, why did you not extract everything from his mind back then? That would have achieved the same result."

"What if I told you that Void Archive was afraid every time it met Lu Xueling?"

Otto paused after speaking, waiting to see the reaction of his most prized student.

Sure enough, the expression of Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie changed once more, followed by silence.

Otto gave a slight nod. "However, speaking personally, Lu Xueling and I got along rather well in private. He also made it clear that what he wished to do would not interfere with my plans. Otherwise, why do you think I agreed to let him exchange a copy of the data for the original consciousness of the Herrscher of the Void during the Second Great Eruption?"

"At least until my plan succeeds, the power within him must never erupt. Besides..."

At this point, Bishop Otto's lips curved upward by another three pixels. "In a sense, we are rather alike..."

"Enough, Rita, Bianca. Go back to work. In the long run, Lu Xueling will no longer stand in the way of Schicksal or myself. Consider him dead. My plan has already begun; there is no reason to stop it."

Rita's eyes flickered as she slightly lowered her head. "Bishop, what if he returns someday?"

"Relax, Rita. Even if he truly returns in the future, there is no need to worry... I recall that during one casual conversation, Lu Xueling once said something to me..."

"If possible, he truly wanted to press my face against a wall until it creaked and grind it hard. Of course, if I died, he would surely come mourn me every year—and hammer iron nails into my coffin before sealing it with cement... Heh heh..."

It sounded rather amusing, and the corners of both women's mouths twitched. But since even the Bishop was so confident, the two S-rank Valkyries said nothing more. They both gave a slight bow and left the room.

Researcher Lu Xueling, the greatest variable in Otto's eyes, had departed. As for where he had gone, no one knew.

Other than the Herrscher of the Void's consciousness he had taken with him—Sirin. And the unknown spacetime, the unknown world, they had reached.

Somewhere in the vast cosmos, within the endless void, a purplish-red wormhole split open, and an orange-gold meteor shot out from it.

It moved with incredible speed, distorting the physical plane of a nearby star as it tore free from the region of spatial turbulence and careened in an unknown direction. Only after its energy was exhausted did it get caught by the gravity of a certain planet and fall toward it.

The meteor smashed into a vast, boundless forest, sending dust flying into the sky and uprooting countless ancient trees before finally blasting out a crater a hundred meters deep.

The birds and beasts scattered in terror. Eagles flapped their wings and shrieked as they flew into the sky.

"Hey... human, human... You, are you okay? Don't scare me, Queen!?"

A hoarse yet still pleasant voice abruptly rang through the silent forest. As the dust settled, the wavering phantom of a purple-haired girl, tears filling her eyes, lay sprawled over a black-haired young man covered in blood.

Even in his extreme weakness, the young man's arms remained tightly wrapped around the girl, shielding her from most of the impact and injuries.

"Ugh... Did we, did we stop? Cough, cough. They actually blasted me with the Heavenly Fire. That old ancestor really thinks highly of me..."

A faint murmur tinged with relief sounded, followed by the girl's sobs.

"Y-you're awake?!" The purple-haired girl cried even harder. After choking back a few sobs, she raised her head. "Wuu, I thought you... you were dead. Wuu wuu wuu..."

Though Lu Xueling was covered in dust and grime, he still chuckled softly at her. "My Queen, your servant is not so easily killed. Cough, cough..."

"Hey, Lu Xueling, stop talking! Do you hear me? This is the Queen's command!" The purple-haired girl stretched out a phantom hand, trying to cover his mouth.

"Mmph..." Lu Xueling groaned, but his eyelids gradually grew heavier. He could feel his consciousness slowly slipping into sleep.

Notice: Due to forcibly opening the Spacetime Wormhole, the host's Honkai Energy has been excessively depleted. Please replenish at least 2000 HW of Honkai Energy within 1 shichen. Otherwise, this system will completely cease operation.

The low mechanical voice in his mind made Lu Xueling break out in a cold sweat. He immediately snapped awake, only to pull at his wounds again.

"Hey, human!!"

"Listen to me... Sirin!" He forced his eyes open and instructed her, "Don't worry. I am not ready to die yet."

Sirin's phantom fingers froze in midair. She stared blankly at Lu Xueling, tears swirling in her eyes but never falling.

"In a moment, I will temporarily give you my authority. I am asking you to collect at least 2000 HW of Honkai Energy for me... Otherwise, I truly will die..."

The moment Sirin heard that Lu Xueling might die, she panicked and hurriedly nodded. "Mm! W-what do I need to do? Tell me quickly! I'll listen to anything you say!"

Herrscher of the Void Sirin's loyalty has reached 100%. The authority of the Honkai God Simulation System may be opened to her. Share it?

Share. Lu Xueling silently answered in his heart as he extended a hand. A mass of dark-purple light flowed along his arm and entered Sirin's body.

"Sirin... In your current state, you cannot yet walk the world directly. But in any world, Honkai Energy is still currency... Find a living being that resonates with your heart and temporarily merge with it. Find a way to make it submit to you... I have temporarily given you my authority, and I have entrusted my life to you as well. And this..."

Using the last of his strength, Lu Xueling tossed a capsule-shaped crystal to Sirin.

Sirin froze, feeling the familiar fluctuation of aura in her palm...

"This is Bella..."

(Emmm, the author has also been away from the game for nearly half a year, so I may forget some plot details.)

(A new book sets sail. The group number shared with the old book is: 159020842)