Chapter 236

"Has Schicksal made any move?"

Mei couldn't help but ask this question. She didn't think Schicksal would let Kiana off so easily. Shen Gonglin might be fine because of her relationship with Durandal and Rita, but Kiana must be in great danger. Schicksal wouldn't let her go. She had to protect her before Schicksal could.

"Not yet. This time we've seized the initiative. We've always been led by Schicksal, but this time it's finally our turn. The Helios landed in the eastern district of Changkong City. Let's use this as our base of operations and start our investigation from the surrounding area."

Finally, Tesla had a chance to shine, and he felt more energized. The era of being led by the nose by Schicksal was over. This was a victory for Anti-Entropy. The next step was to seize the time. Tesla rested his chin on his hand and thought seriously. Changkong City was now a no-man's land. He could build a simple detector array to find Kiana by detecting Honkai energy. If Shen Gonglin Rin didn't fight, there would be no Honkai energy reaction. But if he found Kiana, it would be the same as finding him.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Not being good at scientific research, Mei directly asked how she could help Tesla. It was better to leave this to the professionals; she just needed to follow Tesla's instructions.

"First, help me find a flat place. Protect me well. This city is full of Honkai energy, so there must be a lot of Honkai Beast hiding here. Let's go."

Normally, they are protected by mechs during operations, but since Tesla is not a combat-oriented person, Mei has to be the bodyguard now. The Second-hand Scientist with twin tails strode forward, and Mei followed closely beside her. Looking at the familiar surroundings, Mei's nostalgia grew stronger. This city has become like this because of her. Thinking about what happened back then... she really is useless. Just like before, she seems to have made no progress at all.

"Let me see... This map is completely useless. The terrain here is too varied, and the streets are all flooded. Oh well, this will do. Just wait here, and I'll finish setting it up soon."

After walking around with the map for a long time, Tesla finally gave up on the method of following the map. Relying on the map in this half-damaged city was the dumbest way. Although she was not as bad at directions as Shen Gonglin, she would definitely get confused if she relied on the map. Tesla found an open space and threw her luggage down. Next was the work of the engineering girl: set up the detector. If nothing unexpected happened, she should be able to detect Kiana's location soon.

"Even though I knew Changkong City had become like this, seeing it with my own eyes still makes me feel..."

Waiting for Tesla to finish his work, Mei looked at the surrounding ruins with mixed feelings. It was in this city that she was defeated by the Herrscher Persona, and Kiana reawakened her. Then, together with Bronya, they found Shen Gonglin, and finally escaped the city, boarded the Hyperion, and were taken to St. Freya by Teacher Himeko. This is where it all started.

"These are all aftereffects of the Third Honkai Eruption. Changkong City is a low-lying city center and a port city. After the Honkai, the land subsided severely, and soon seawater flooded in. The flooded water was contaminated by the Honkai energy, which turned into a secondary disaster. The East District is located downstream and was particularly severely affected. Looking at the scene now, who would have thought that three years ago, this was a bustling metropolis with a population of over 3 million?"

Busy Tesla took a moment to talk to Mei. As an excellent Second-hand Scientist, she was also good at geography, so explaining the current state of Changkong City was very simple for her. Mei fell silent upon hearing this. Yes, it was because of the Third Honkai Eruption.

"All of this... is because of the Third Honkai Eruption Impact..."

The girl sighed softly, wondering if things would have turned out differently if she had been stronger back then.

Chapter Seven: The Herrscher Was Right Beside Me

"I became Herrscher three years ago. I sometimes think that if I hadn't been so weak back then, if I hadn't succumbed to Honkai, would the tragedy in Changkong City have been avoided? I know there are no 'ifs' in this world, but... I hope that every time I face a choice in the future, I can remember this disaster. This is a responsibility I must bear... The same goes for Kiana."

Mei was silent for a moment before saying these words. She no longer wanted to run away. Although everyone said it wasn't her responsibility, Mei knew that if she hadn't been suppressed by the Herrscher's consciousness, the city might not be in this state now. She knew clearly what she had gone through back then, so Kiana was in the same situation as her now.

And now it's finally my turn to help her.

"Sigh... What a stubborn little girl. It's all sorted out. Let's see if this thing will work."

Mei didn't know how to persuade Mei Tesla this attitude. She wasn't good at this kind of thing. All she could do was change the subject. As she spoke, Tesla had already assembled the scattered parts into a strange device. They now planned to use this to find Kiana's whereabouts.

"The water and atmosphere of Changkong City are filled with Honkai energy. To find Kiana and Shen Gonglin, we need to filter out the Herrscher energy from it. This is a new technology with a limited detection range, only about three to five kilometers in radius."

While fiddling with the instruments on the ground, Tesla explained the drawbacks of this device to Mei. Although it could detect and filter out the energy of Herrscher, the range was somewhat limited. With a radius of three to five kilometers, Mei calculated the extent to which it would need to cover, and it seemed to be quite a large undertaking.

"In that case, we would need at least three to cover the entire East District, and even more if we include the West District on the other side."

It seems that finding Kiana's location quickly is a bit too idealistic. We need to find a way to set up more detection devices to cover the entire city, then we can probably capture Kiana's location.

"Hmm, so we can't expect to find it all at once... wait? Found it?"

Before Tesla could finish speaking, a bright red dot appeared on the screen, flashing continuously. Tesla and Mei immediately showed expressions of surprise. They hadn't expected such a quick reaction, and if they weren't mistaken, the dot was right next to them.

"Doctor, have we found it?!"

Mei quickly ran to Tesla's side, staring intently at the dot on the screen, hoping to hear what she wanted to hear from Tesla. Tesla, in turn, was also observing the reaction from the dot on the screen. His beautiful eyes behind his red-rimmed glasses shone with excitement. Yes, that's right!

"Let me see, let me see, don't rush... Yes, although it's very faint, it is indeed Herrscher's reaction, and it's very close!... Wait a minute, look closely, it's right next to me!"

The more she looked, the more surprised she became. However, after observing the Herrscher's reaction, Tesla turned her attention to Mei. She pulled Mei a few steps to the side and looked at the reaction on the screen again. The Dr. Lobster Head had been very excited just now, suddenly deflated.

"This seems to be... your reaction? The Herrscher is right next to me. Oh, so that's what happened. I had forgotten. Although the Conquest Gem is gone, there is still a faint trace of Herrscher energy remaining on you, which is why the detector could detect it."

Tesla was greatly disappointed, thinking things would go as smoothly as he had imagined. He had never encountered anything so simple and easy before. He thought he could find Kiana in no time, but now he realized he had been overthinking things. The road ahead was long and arduous.

"Yes, that's right. Dr. Einstein's diagnosis also says that. She said I'm not an exception. The Anti-Entropy Leader also had a similar situation. Although the core of the Herrscher of Reason wasn't in his body, he could still use part of the structure. But we can't determine the specific reason yet, and I can't use this energy at will."

Looking at her palms, Mei could feel that some Herrscher power still remained in her body, especially noticeable when she swung her sword. However, she couldn't use these powers normally. If she could use them at will, would her power become stronger, strong enough to protect the people she wanted to protect?

"I don't recommend you do that. Forcibly stimulating unstable forces will only hurt yourself. Getting back to the point, if we disregard your reaction, there's nothing special here. Sigh, let's go to the next location and treat it as sightseeing. Although it's a bit inappropriate to say this, this flooded city actually looks quite spectacular."

As Tesla packed up her backpack, she felt like a geological surveyor. She urged Mei to continue to the next location. Only by planting these surveyors throughout the city could she monitor all the Honkai reactions and then filter out the Herrscher reactions. Looking at the city, which was half submerged by the sea, Tesla made her way forward while sightseeing. It was really difficult to walk in such a flooded place.

"Spectacular... Doctor, we should still be careful. The Honkai Beast are still active in the city. It's strange. Have these Honkai Beast stayed in the city for the past three years without leaving?"

Taking on the role of Tesla's bodyguard, Mei, an engineering student, didn't have much direct combat ability. She drew her sword and guarded her surroundings. She had already seen several locations where Honkai Beast roamed. While thinking about this, Mei was stunned when she saw the ruins of a building in front of her. She was quite familiar with this place.

"What's wrong? Is there anything different about that building?"

Tesla glanced at Mei curiously, then stood on tiptoe to look at the building in the distance. She couldn't see anything special about it, but Mei had a nostalgic look on her face. Ever since she came to Sky City, she had often shown this expression. Was this city filled with her memories?

"That big hole... was caused by me. Three years ago, Kiana, Bronya, and I fled Changkong City together, and we ended up encountering... Teacher Himeko's team here. At the time, we thought she was an enemy, so... a small conflict occurred."

As if recalling the past, Mei's eyes were filled with nostalgia, longing to return to those days.

Chapter Eight: Finding a Person

"Oh? Is that so? What about Shen Gonglin? I remember you met him in Changkong City, right? What was he doing at the time?"

Tesla was quite curious about this. Looking at the wreckage, Tesla thought that they must have caused Himeko a lot of trouble back then. Then Tesla asked about Shen Gonglin. As Shen Gonglin shone in various incidents, his various circumstances had been recorded by various organizations. But now that the person in question was right here, Tesla was also curious about Shen Gonglin's performance back then.

"Him... We really owe him a debt of gratitude. During that battle, the Herrscher power within me went berserk. Even with all her strength, Teacher Himeko couldn't suppress us. In the end, we even had to use the Hyperion's engine. If it weren't for Shen Gonglin's sudden appearance, it would probably have been a draw. Hmm... He just suddenly fell from the sky from there. At that time, Shen Gonglin was like an angel. One Permanent Air-to-Air Missile defeated us all in our stalemate... Most of the wreckage you see here was caused by Shen Gonglin back then."

Mei still vividly remembers what happened back then. It was like an angel descending to Shen Gonglin. The arrival of Mei brought an immediate end to their battle. The two sides, who were originally at loggerheads, managed to survive the barrage of missiles by working together. Then they took Shen Gonglin back to St. Freya. Looking back now, that decision was probably the best decision she ever made.

After that, the Hyperion went straight to the repair shop, and the shipborne weapons, which were still in the experimental stage, were completely scrapped. Teacher Himeko almost got punished by headquarters because of this, but in the end, the headmaster took the blame. Now that I think about it, those are all my precious memories.

Mei closed her eyes. During that escape, she was constantly afraid that she would lose control. In the moment of her rampage, she really thought it was all over. But when she woke up, she found herself lying in a warm bed, with Teacher Himeko standing beside her, completely unconcerned about her identity. Himeko said that she would hone herself into a warrior who could control her power, and that was why Mei became Valkyrie... Time flies so fast. Three years have already passed.

Mei was happy to tell others about these things, and Tesla listened attentively. The two walked and talked, avoiding Honkai Beast they encountered. When they couldn't avoid them, Mei would simply and decisively take them down. Gradually, the two approached the city center. There were very few roads left to walk on. Overpasses and streets were all submerged, and it was impossible to tell where they were going. Walking like this was simply going in circles.

"Sigh, there's no way to go on this, Mei. We can only go back to the last intersection. I think we might have caught Shen Gonglin's talent for getting lost. It's spread from person to person. We can only grope our way forward. If only we had a map like this."

Looking at the flooded road, Tesla sighed and prepared to turn back, but Mei reached out and hugged her waist. Before Tesla could even cry out, Mei gently leaped over with her. If there was no road, they would just jump over. This platform was perfect for setting up surveying equipment.

"Hmph... You should at least have told me before you planned to do this. I hate Valkyrie like you who act so recklessly just because you're physically strong. If you break any of my equipment, you'll have to pay me back... Ouch!"

Muttering to herself, Tesla began setting up new detection equipment after landing. However, it seemed that Tesla's feet were not firmly planted, and the girl stumbled and sat down on the ground. What was going on? There seemed to be something strange on the ground.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch... Mei, don't worry about me. Look at what's in the grass. Judging from the feel of my feet, it shouldn't be an ordinary stone or anything like that."

Ignoring her sore bottom from the fall, Tesla pointed to the bushes and told Mei to go and see what was inside. After seeing that Tesla was indeed alright, Mei went to the spot where she had tripped and searched carefully. Both Tesla and Mei were puzzled when they saw the blue sphere on the ground.

"This is... Anti-Entropy guide robot? How did this thing get here? It doesn't look like it was left here three years ago; it looks pretty new... Never mind, let's keep it for now. It might come in handy. Mei, guard the surroundings. I'm going to start setting up the survey equipment."

Not taking it to heart, Tesla often collected strange junk and piled it up in the lab anyway. After putting the guide robot into his backpack, Tesla began his work. The two of them started building the device with great anticipation, but this time there was only a lonely red dot representing Mei flashing on the screen. Alas, it seems there is no trace of Kiana in this area. We have to go to the next place to search again.

Despite having anticipated this outcome, the two couldn't help but feel discouraged. Mei sighed softly, "It's not here either. Where could Kiana be?" Tesla, on the other hand, noticed something amiss. There seemed to be a different reaction just now. It wasn't Herrscher; it seemed to be something else.

"Wait a minute, it seems there's another reaction."

Tesla turned off the filter, and a large number of red dots of varying sizes immediately appeared on the screen. Among these red dots, Tesla keenly noticed a different reaction. She pointed to a spot on the screen and said this.

"There's a strange reaction here, it doesn't seem like Suicide Squad or Honkai Beast... it's a... humanoid reaction?"

In the end, even Tesla became somewhat uncertain. How could there still be any signs of human activity in this city? It's been unsuitable for human habitation for a long time.

"Humans? How could there possibly still be people in Changkong City?"

Mei was equally puzzled, while Tesla had already packed his backpack. In this situation, it was better to go and take a look than to guess here. Tesla was very confident in his device and was certain that there were humans in that location. In any case, it was necessary to gather information.

So the two headed towards the location from which the reaction had come, and soon Tesla and Mei spotted a strange thing lying in the grass...

"Ah, it's not something strange, it looks like a person."

Chapter Nine Empty

What appeared before Tesla and Mei was indeed a person, or more precisely, a little girl lying unconscious in the grass. Underneath the hood was a young face. Mei and Tesla exchanged a glance, both of them looking puzzled as to why such a child would appear here.

Changkong City is severely affected by the radiation from the Honkai, and due to the intrusion of seawater, this place is no longer suitable for habitation. So how could a girl like this appear in such an environment? Her presence here is truly thought-provoking.

"Wake up, please wake up... Doctor, what should we do now? We can't just leave her here like this, can we?"

Mei forward to check on the girl's condition. Her breathing was relatively steady, and there were no obvious injuries on her body. She should just be unconscious. However, if she left her here unattended, something bad would definitely happen to the child. Mei was a kind-hearted girl, and she couldn't bring herself to do such a thing.

"You've already made your decision, so why are you asking me? Let's make this clear: you'll have to carry her yourself. I have so much luggage, I don't have time to carry her. Take her back to the Helios; there's a professional medical room there. No matter what, we need to wake her up first."

Tesla rolled his eyes at Mei. Wasn't she asking a question she already knew the answer to? How could she ignore something like this? After receiving Tesla's response, Mei smiled and carried the girl on her back. Faced with this situation, they could only put the survey mission aside for the time being. The two returned to the Helios, and soon the girl was taken to the infirmary.

The girl woke up shortly after being taken to the infirmary. Mei looked at the girl through the glass window. Tesla was asking the girl all sorts of questions. The girl was visibly nervous, but she was listening attentively and occasionally chimed in. This kind of work should have been done by the approachable Mei, but... I'm sure Dr. Tesla is quite approachable too.

What a stubborn Dr. Lobster Head!

"Doctor, how is the situation?"

Seeing Tesla come out, Mei quickly went up to ask him questions. It seemed that Tesla had obtained some useful information. The girl was sitting quietly on the bed. Who exactly was she?

"Just as we guessed, she was a refugee from Changkong City. Her name was Kong... What a careless name. She grew up in Changkong City and fled to the East District after the Honkai. She stayed there ever since. Besides her, there were more than a dozen other people, all children, the oldest no more than sixteen years old. They lived together in the ruins of Changkong City for three whole years."

Tesla told Mei what he had just learned, and the girl was quite cooperative, answering all his questions. However, this information made Tesla somewhat concerned. Living in a city like this for three years... it did sound unbelievable, but judging from her eyes, it must be true.

"How could this be... It is said that after the Honkai the area, the Schicksal dispatched three branches to launch a joint rescue operation for Changkong City, yet there were still refugees who were missed... This should not be the case."

This fact also made Mei frown. After all, this was where everything started. Mei would also pay attention to what was happening in Changkong City. As the central city of the Honkai outbreak, Schicksal sent several branches to provide support and rescue immediately after the Honkai. But now, according to the little girl named Sora, they have been living here for three years and have not received any rescue.

"I asked her about what happened back then, but she seems to have amnesia. She doesn't remember anything about what happened when the Honkai occurred... Tsk, amnesia is a good excuse. These children are now living together in a place called Nest. Do you remember that name?"

Tesla pursed her lips. The intelligence gathering was still incomplete. There were still many things she wanted to know, but the little girl seemed to remember nothing. The little girl's timid appearance left Tesla feeling helpless, as if she were some kind of man-eating monster, even though she was the one who had saved her.

"Nest? I don't recall Changkong City having such a place."

Mei shook her head. At the time, she was studying at the Senba Academy in Changkong City and knew the city well, but she had never heard of this place. Excluding the possibility of it being an urban legend, this place called Nest should have been named three years after the Honkai.

"According to her, there is a manager there, who seems to be a woman. Xiao Kong calls her 'teacher.' That teacher is usually not in Changkong City, only returning once every one or two months. Each time she returns, she brings food and daily necessities, and that's how Chao sustains its supplies. Now the question is, since that teacher has the ability to freely enter and leave Changkong City, why didn't she choose to take these children out with her?"

Feeling things were getting more and more complicated, Tesla frantically rubbed her hair. The situation was already complicated enough, but she had brought out a bunch of problems, making the current situation a complete mess. It was now even messier than that Chicken Coop Head bedroom. No, no, she had to think things through and sort things out.

Thinking about all this made Tesla's head throb. She waved to Mei, signaling her to go and deal with the little girl. She needed to find a quiet place to clear her head. Although her brain worked very well, it needed a rest. There were just too many problems right now.

"Understood, Doctor. You should go and get some rest."

Mei nodded, then pushed open the door to the infirmary and went inside. Hearing the sound at the door, the little girl sitting quietly on the bed looked up. Mei greeted her with a gentle smile. She felt that her affability was stronger than Tesla's, and this smile that could fool a child should easily put her at ease.

"Hello, I'm Raiden Mei, just call me Mei."

"Ah... Hello, Mei..."

The girl spoke timidly, but Mei's smile froze on her face, replaced by a helpless bitter smile. It seemed that the girl was still a little nervous.

"It's Mei, not Mei."

Chapter Ten: Hitting Children

After correcting Sora's mistake in addressing herself, Mei continued to use her irresistible smile to put the girl, Sora, at ease. There seemed to be something wrong with the girl; her left hand was bandaged, the same bandage Tesla had given her earlier. The injury wasn't actually that serious, but it was bandaged up like that...

"No need to be so formal. Don't use the formal 'you,' just call me 'you.' Dr. Tesla... you know, the red-haired girl from earlier. She told me your name is Sora, right?"

Perhaps Mei's attitude really worked, because the girl visibly relaxed. Sure enough, Mei had to step in for this kind of thing; her affability was among the best in the entire Hyperion.

"Yes, everyone calls me Xiao Kong or A Kong. Thank you for saving me..."

"Don't worry, you're perfectly healthy. It's just a minor injury, you'll be fine soon. Once you've recovered, we'll take you home. Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?"

She thanked Mei very politely, the girl appearing well-behaved and earnest. Faced with such a girl, Mei couldn't help but care for her. Perhaps it was just like what Shen Gonglin had said when she complained about herself before. Mei felt like she was a heartless feeding machine, wanting to feed everyone she saw. No wonder Shen Gonglin rated her as the most suitable person to be a mother.

Although this wasn't the evaluation Mei wanted, it's still a form of recognition, isn't it?

"Ugh..."

It was clear the girl wanted something to eat, but at that moment she seemed preoccupied with something more important. She blinked timidly at Mei, as if she had something on her mind but dared not speak. Mei, seeing her hands fidgeting and her eyes constantly drifting towards the window, seemed to understand something. This child...

"Have you lost something?"

Mei spoke up and shared her theory, which immediately caught the attention of the little girl named Sora, who eagerly chimed in.

"Yes, yes, it was a round, blue little robot... Its name was Mark II, and it was my good friend. My teacher gave it to me, and I always carried it with me. But after I woke up... it was gone... Mark II's head had a lot of things inside it, and without it, I couldn't do many things..."

Seemingly not good at speaking so much at once, the girl stammered a bit, her one eye, not hidden by her hair, looking at Mei with hope. She had to find Mark II; she couldn't do without it, and besides, it was a gift from her teacher, so she couldn't lose it.

Round and blue... Is that a guide robot? I seem to remember it... Right, didn't Tesla put that thing in his backpack and bring it back? That should be it.

"Wait a minute, I'll go find it for you... Look, is this it?"

Mei searched around for Tesla's backpack. Luckily, she had left it in the infirmary. It was fortunate that she found it in time, otherwise Tesla would have definitely taken it apart whenever she had a chance. Mei took the guide robot out of the backpack and handed it to Sora. This should be what she was looking for.

"Ah, Mark II, welcome home!"