These simple-minded Militants would instinctively rush toward the source of any sound, and the gunshot from Kiana's pistol had indeed been rather loud.
So after Honkai broke out in a densely populated place like this, guns were useful, but they also made it easy to get surrounded.
"Click!"
Just as Kiana was about to blow away the Militant charging at her again after hearing the noise, the old thing in her hand suddenly jammed.
"Damn it, why now?!" Looking at the jammed gun in her hand, Kiana felt her anger flare up.
Still, the gun really was old, so jamming was perfectly normal.
For Kiana, getting her hands on a gun had not been easy, so the one she held was something she had acquired a couple of years ago. She had plenty of ammunition, sure, but who could have expected the gun itself to fail at such a moment?
Of course, the problem might have been the bullet.
But a jam was a jam.
Kiana temporarily put away her gun, looked at the Militant lunging toward her, and grabbed a chair from nearby.
Fortunately, this damned library still had some chairs and the like.
"Whoosh!" Just as the chair was about to collide with the scythe in the Militant's hand, a cyan arrow shot in from afar, pierced through the Militant's skull, grazed past Kiana's hair, and embedded itself in the bookshelf behind her.
"Eek!" Feeling as though she had just brushed past death, Kiana instantly crouched down with her hands over her head.
Kiana did not think she would lose in a melee against a Militant, but if that arrow had hit her, she would definitely have died.
If that arrow had been five centimeters lower...
And why was there even an arrow?
What era was this? Who still used something so outdated?
"Hey, are you all right?" A gentle voice rang out.
Kiana looked up and saw a black-haired girl gazing at her with concern.
But there were quite a few Militants in the library, and while they had been occupied, more had heard the commotion and rushed over.
Watching those Militants chase after them, Raiden Mei gripped the longsword in her hand, feeling as though she had finally found a use for herself.
Then... Chen Luo shot all of those Militants dead with arrows.
"..."
They had encountered nearly a hundred Militants along the way, yet Raiden Mei's sword had not touched a single living one.
Raiden Mei was starting to wonder what exactly the sword in her hand was even for.
Decoration?
Still, such meticulous care warmed Raiden Mei's heart.
In this apocalyptic world, the other person was still willing to do this much for her. That had to count as being true friends, right?
"Are you okay? You weren't hurt, were you?" Raiden Mei turned and asked Kiana with concern.
"Thank you for helping me. I'm fine." Kiana gratefully looked at the two of them.
Even without them, she could have survived, but they had indeed helped her.
After getting up, Kiana glared at Chen Luo before checking her gun.
Kiana had not forgotten the arrow that had skimmed past her head.
"Luckily, it's only a problem with the bullets, not the gun. Still, it's time to replace this thing." After inspecting the pistol and discovering that the issue was with the ammunition, Kiana finally sighed in relief.
"My name is Kiana. Thank you for helping me. I didn't expect there to be anyone else alive in the school besides me, and even more incredibly, there's a man." After calming down, Kiana looked at Chen Luo in surprise.
"My name is Raiden Mei, and he's Chen Luo. But why do you say that? Is there something strange about boys?" Raiden Mei asked, puzzled.
"Because men have significantly lower Honkai Energy Adaptation than girls. A boy who can survive a major Honkai outbreak like this is extremely rare." After reloading her magazine, Kiana held her gun and swept her gaze over the Militants.
As an elite school, Chiba Academy catered to the wealthy and influential, so it covered an enormous area and could practically be called an Academy City. Its library was correspondingly huge as well.
There had been many people in the library when the Honkai outbreak began, so even after the fierce battle just now, plenty of Militants still remained inside. This was not the time to let their guard down.
Just as Kiana aimed at a Militant that had heard the noise and was approaching from a distance, preparing to take it out, a cyan arrow struck its head with perfect accuracy before Kiana could fire.
"That was impressive, but why use arrows? If you run out of them..." Kiana did not hold back her praise for Chen Luo. Although he had nearly blown the top of her head off earlier, judging by that accuracy, he should have been completely confident.
Still, ancient weapons like bows should have been obsolete long ago.
But when Kiana saw the bow automatically form a bowstring and then generate an arrow on its own, she instantly shut her mouth.
Her mouth was shut, but her gun was pointed straight at Chen Luo.
"Are you with Schicksal?" Kiana watched Chen Luo with some wariness. Her father had told her to be careful around Schicksal.
In Kiana's eyes, only someone from Schicksal could probably get their hands on such black technology. Or rather, Schicksal was the only organization she knew of.
And no one from Schicksal was a good person.
"Hey, Kiana, what are you doing?" Seeing Kiana's actions, Raiden Mei instinctively stepped in front of Chen Luo.
Sensing that a bullet was indeed chambered and feeling a faint threat from it, Raiden Mei tightly gripped the Unsheathed Sword in her hand. Faint currents of electricity unconsciously coiled around the blade.
"All right, all right, everyone calm down." Chen Luo reached out and pulled Raiden Mei out from in front of him, then slung the bow over his back to show that he meant no harm. The Herrscher of Knowledge had told Chen Luo that Kiana had no intention of firing. Besides, her gun had jammed again...
"I'm not with Schicksal, though I have been thinking about joining them," Chen Luo said to Kiana.
"Schicksal? What's that?" Raiden Mei could not help asking.
"It isn't a good organization. Although they fight the Honkai, there are a lot of bad rumors about them. My dad told me never to get involved with Schicksal." Kiana lowered her gun slightly, but she still did not completely relax her guard.
"Anyway, think of Schicksal as some kind of **** hidden behind the world." Kiana described Schicksal with considerable prejudice.
"The reason Honkai incidents like this, which turn people into Militants, are not made public is largely because Schicksal manipulates things behind the scenes. Their influence has spread across the world. You could even say they are an undercurrent secretly controlling the direction of the world."
Because of Siegfried's upbringing, Kiana had never held any favorable impression of Schicksal.
"All right, all right, I already told you I'm not with Schicksal. If I really were, the moment I saw you, I'd knock you out and take you to the bishop for a reward." Chen Luo only said the latter half in his heart.
"But you want to join Schicksal."
"What's wrong with joining Schicksal? The important thing is that it's an organization, and it pays a salary. I heard they even offer social insurance and a housing fund," Chen Luo muttered.
"But didn't you say you were a traveler from a Different World, A-Luo?" Raiden Mei asked.
"I am a traveler from a Different World, but social insurance and a housing fund are just too tempting to resist," Chen Luo said helplessly.
"Of course, more importantly, I really want some of Schicksal's equipment," Chen Luo emphasized.
"Equipment... But you don't look like you lack equipment at all, A-Luo. Aren't your magical abilities more useful than equipment?" Raiden Mei still thought Chen Luo was incredible.
"All right, enough about that. The most important thing now is leaving Changkong City. To leave Changkong City, we need to rest first. We've killed so many Militants that we're tired, and if we want to rest, we need to clear out every Militant in the library first." Chen Luo waved his hand, no longer pursuing the matter.
"You two rest here, recover some strength, and eat something. I'll clear out the whole library." Chen Luo somehow produced two enormous rice balls and placed them on a library table.
Then he slung his bow over his back and headed for the second floor of the library.
Primogems, here I come!
After Chen Luo left on his own like that, he gave the two girls some time alone together.
"Um... are you hungry?" Raiden Mei pointed at the enormous rice balls.
"Not hungry!"
She had just pointed a gun at him. Although he did not seem to mind, Kiana still felt embarrassed about eating something he had given her.
And she was still very curious about where he had conjured this thing from.
"Grrr..." But Kiana's stomach clearly did not agree.
She had skipped lunch, then a major Honkai outbreak had happened, and fighting Militants had taken so much of her strength...
"..."
"Come have a rice ball. I've never eaten anything A-Luo made either, but he feels like he can do anything, so his cooking must be delicious too." Raiden Mei pulled over a chair that was still relatively intact.
"Then... shouldn't we go help that bow user? Is it really okay for him to fight Militants by himself?" Kiana did not want to accept kindness without giving anything in return, so she intended to do something for him as well.
"There's no need. Your gunshots might draw more Militants over, and A-Luo seems to have some kind of special obsession with killing Militants, so we don't need to worry about him." Raiden Mei shook her head and placed the Unsheathed Sword Chen Luo had lent her beside her.
Seeing how completely unguarded Raiden Mei was, Kiana slowly lowered her pistol as well.
Clearing out the entire library was not difficult, especially with the Herrscher of Knowledge's help.
The Herrscher of Knowledge could clearly sense where the Honkai Beasts and Militants were, so Chen Luo did not need to worry about being ambushed.
As he cleared out Militants, Chen Luo also spoke with the Herrscher of Knowledge.
"So, how did it go? Did you figure out whether the Honkai Consciousness can detect you?" Chen Luo asked in his mind.
"After observing for so long, I can basically conclude that the Honkai Consciousness can't detect me."
"And the evolving Herrscher of Knowledge Core has become more discreet when absorbing Honkai energy. So we can safely conclude that there's no problem." This sentence was not spoken by the Herrscher of Time in Chen Luo's mind. Instead, the Herrscher of Knowledge, who had suddenly manifested in reality, said it aloud.
The Herrscher of Knowledge, having suddenly appeared in her true form, had several sharp swords floating beside her. The Flying Swords swiftly shot into the distance and pierced two Militants straight through the heart.
After the Militants died, the Honkai energy they released was absorbed and stored by the Flying Swords before being fed back to the Herrscher of Knowledge.
"As expected, Honkai energy is still easier to use." The Herrscher of Knowledge nodded in satisfaction.
"My Primogems!" Chen Luo wailed in agony.
That was ten Primogems.
"..." The Herrscher of Knowledge rolled her eyes at the hopeless Chen Luo.
"Cheapskate. There are plenty of Militants in Changkong City."
"So, are you stronger or weaker now than before you left this world, Little Senti?" Chen Luo cared deeply about this. If Little Senti had become weaker, he would not agree to the plan she had proposed.
"Obviously, I'm stronger." The Herrscher of Knowledge clenched her fist, feeling the tangible power coursing through her, and an excited smile appeared on her face.
The Herrscher of Knowledge had indeed been seriously injured when she traveled to Chen Luo's world, but spiritual energy was more effective than Honkai energy for healing.
On top of that, Inner Demon Lure had not only provided the Herrscher of Knowledge Core with an opportunity to evolve, but more importantly, it had diversified her methods of recovery.
"Are you sure?" Chen Luo was still not entirely reassured.
"When have I ever lied to you?" The Herrscher of Knowledge looked at Chen Luo helplessly.
The Herrscher of Knowledge knew that Chen Luo was worried about her, and she did enjoy the feeling of being cared for, but Chen Luo's annoying level of motherly fussing was really too much for her.
It made the Herrscher of Knowledge feel like a child.
Seeing the confidence and impatience in the Herrscher of Knowledge's mood display, Chen Luo finally confirmed that she had not lied to him.
"Do you really want to go to Schicksal Headquarters?" Chen Luo asked again.
"Of course. Didn't you notice too? Theresa's mission asks you to bring Kiana Kaslana to St. Freya Academy, but K423 is Kiana, and Durandal is Kiana too."
"..." Chen Luo fell silent.
"I never expected you to come up with an excuse like this just so you could beat Otto up." Chen Luo looked at the Herrscher of Knowledge helplessly.
It was possible that the Herrscher of Knowledge wanted to help Chen Luo complete the mission... but that was definitely not her main purpose.
If Theresa wanted Durandal to go to St. Freya Academy, would that really be difficult? No, not at all. It would actually be extremely easy.
At present, Theresa and Otto had not beaten each other bloody, and even if they had, Theresa was still Otto's favorite granddaughter.
If she wanted Durandal to visit St. Freya Academy, all she had to do was make a phone call. That was completely different from Kiana.
Kiana was always running wild somewhere outside, and no one could find her at all.
Durandal, on the other hand, had a job and a fixed residence. She was also Theresa's colleague.
Did inviting your coworker over for a meal really have to be so troublesome?
"Ehehe..." The Herrscher of Knowledge scratched her head awkwardly.
Just as Chen Luo had said, helping him complete the mission was secondary. More importantly, she definitely wanted to beat Otto up.
Seriously, if you came to the Honkai World and did not beat Otto up, how could that possibly make sense? Especially when you were the Herrscher of Knowledge, an old friend of Otto's whom he had screwed over countless times.
Before you continue