"Since you're going to counsel her, you handle it. No need to tell me."
Chen Ran shut up decisively.
This wasn't his field. What did he know about counseling?
But Chen Ran knew he had to do something. Otherwise, he was just a lousy researcher—was he supposed to punch the Fourth Honkai War to death with his bare hands?
Don't make him laugh.
Without the system preparing some cheat for him, there was only one condition left for him to clear this: prevent the Fourth Herrscher from appearing.
Australia's nights were colder than those in the Far East. That was how Wendy felt at the moment.
The Gem of Desire implantation experiment had failed due to an intractable rejection response. Fortunately, because of Wendy herself, the Gem of Desire had not erupted with intense Honkai Energy.
It was as though she had protected everyone.
The researchers involved in the experiment said they would continue their research and told her to endure life in a wheelchair for a while. Someone would take care of her food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, so she would not be mistreated.
They had said all the right things, treating her like a little girl who could easily be placated.
She subconsciously touched her legs. They no longer had any sensation.
"It's so late. Why aren't you back inside? Aren't you cold?"
A piece of clothing was draped over her shoulders.
Wendy turned to look. It was an unfamiliar face from Shenzhou.
He was carrying a plastic bag, filled with something fragrant but impossible to make out.
Noticing her gaze, Chen Ran said, "Roasted sweet potatoes. I searched forever to find these."
He complained, "Open flames and charcoal aren't allowed inside the Oceanic Branch. That rule really has no human warmth. Want some?"
"Who are you?"
Wendy asked warily.
"Just an ordinary researcher." He spoke helplessly. "I'm sorry. We caused your condition."
Wendy froze slightly.
Until now, this was the first time she had heard someone apologize to her.
After a moment of silence, she said, "I volunteered for the experiment. I can bear the risks of its failure too. You don't need to apologize."
"I also know that no experiment can go smoothly every time, just as no battle can be absolutely safe."
Her voice grew quieter and quieter, as though she were holding back some emotion.
Wendy was a genius student who had earned the title of A-rank Valkyrie at fourteen. Her future should have been bright.
Just then, the aroma of the food she smelled grew even stronger.
Chen Ran had peeled open half a roasted sweet potato. "Try it. I used to eat these all the time in Shenzhou."
He smiled. "Back then, we'd just grab an iron basin, bury it in ash, toss in some charcoal, and chat with a few friends our age. But here, there are only the two of us."
Wendy accepted it subconsciously.
The fragrant, soft roasted sweet potato blossomed across her taste buds.
She had always lived at St. Freya, so it was not as though she had never eaten this before. But it truly tasted much better than she remembered.
"Thank you."
She said it softly.
Chen Ran blinked. "If you really want to thank me, could you do me a favor?"
"What?"
"You know I'm a researcher, so I'm physically weak." He said, "I need someone to guide me in training, and you're a graduated Valkyrie."
Chen Ran had always known there was not much he could do with his identity. At present, only one path remained for clearing the Fourth Honkai War: dispel the Herrscher's negative emotions.
Wendy could have had a fate similar to Raiden Mei's.
Of course, asking him to become Wendy's "Kiana" was out of the question. A simulated scenario was still only a simulation.
"Sure."
Wendy said, "But I'll need to evaluate your physical condition first."
"If you have time, come find me at six tomorrow morning."
Six was when she usually began training.
Chen Ran pulled a long face. "I never woke up that early even for the college entrance exam."
Still, he agreed.
--
At the same time, in the real world.
"Kevin, physical qualifications approved."
"Chen Ran, physical qualifications approved."
"..."
In Changkong City, the survivors were being arranged for their future paths.
Most of them had lost their homes and were dazed, not knowing what to do.
Kevin proposed joining the Flame-Chaser, and No. 666 echoed him.
Becoming a Flame-Chaser soldier was the best solution No. 666 had calculated. If it wanted to resist Honkai, it had to rely on the power of technology.
The system had not placed all its hopes of defeating Honkai on Chen Ran.
Honkai Resistance Simulator No. 666 was truly resisting Honkai as well.
Fortunately, the Flame-Chaser's selection standards were not very high at this time. Or rather, with the support of universal weapons, any survivor who could live through Honkai basically met the requirements to become a Flame-Chaser warrior.
Honkai had already screened them once for the Flame-Chaser.
No. 666 looked at Kevin, who stood silently to one side.
It continued its assessment: "Next, stick close to Kevin and ride his coattails."
The First Simulation Ends
At six the next day, Chen Ran felt utterly dazed.
"I never woke up this early even for the college entrance exam."
He felt that he had already sacrificed far too much in order to resist Honkai.
Based on the information Wendy had given him the previous night, he found her room. Due to her unusual physical condition, Wendy was currently being cared for by Sub-God Machine-series robots developed by Schicksal.
Ordinary Valkyries feared high concentrations of Herrscher Core energy, while researchers each had their own work. Thus, Wendy's daily needs had to be handled with mechanical assistance.
By the time Chen Ran arrived, Wendy had already changed clothes and washed up.
She was not yet the Wendy who had been tormented by the Herrscher Gem for two years. Her face still carried a Valkyrie's vigor and a genius's pride.
At this point, the Herrscher Gem implantation experiment had not been declared a complete failure, and her heart still held hope.
When Chen Ran earnestly asked her the previous night, she had agreed without much hesitation.
Since she could not train herself for the time being, guiding someone else was not bad.
Though the perceptive Wendy could probably guess that Chen Ran had made the request only to improve her mood.
After all, basic researchers had no need for physical training.
"Ah, I can't do this anymore."
"I knew I was weak, but I didn't know I was this weak."
On the Oceanic Branch's training grounds, Chen Ran was questioning his life.
He had only run three kilometers.
Yet those three kilometers had already left him dizzy, his vision blurry, his gaze unfocused. He questioned his life, questioned the meaning of what he was doing.7
There were clearly plenty of ways to keep Wendy in a good mood, yet he had chosen the hardest one.
Physical training was the most basic training for Valkyries, and Wendy had only required him to run five kilometers.
During the first two hundred meters, Chen Ran had felt swift and nimble as the wind. Now, he felt like a zombie.
Zombies = no brains.
Only someone without a brain would run five kilometers in one go with almost no warm-up or prior training.
Chen Ran was not a sports enthusiast. On the contrary, he was a sports sufferer.
In his limited life, he had only exercised during PE class. And even then, he often slacked off while running laps.
Yet, in order not to disappoint Wendy, he could only stagger through the entire course.
For the final kilometer, he had practically walked the whole way.
Wendy did not say anything about it.
She merely said, "As an ordinary person, you've already met the requirement. Rest properly first."
"Thank you so much. I'm going to get some water."
Chen Ran was already drenched in sweat and parched.
Wendy could not help smiling.
Then, she looked at the people training on the field, a trace of envy and longing appearing in her eyes.
As a researcher at the Oceanic Branch, Chen Ran naturally could not be without work.
Although he wanted to spend all day with Wendy and build their relationship, reality did not allow it unless he quit.
After hastily and miserably running five kilometers like a dog, he took Wendy back to her room, then returned to shower and change clothes.
The Oceanic Branch did not only conduct Herrscher Gem implantation experiments.
In fact, being able to participate in that experiment itself meant one was someone the Oceanic Branch trusted enough. The branch's current research was actually focused on deeper studies of Honkai creatures.
For example, whether Honkai Beasts possessed physiological systems akin to metabolism, what drove their life processes, and whether they possessed intelligence...
He was quite young, but the educational background granted by the system was impressive.
He had studied in Shenzhou from childhood, completed six years of coursework in three years, gone abroad for further studies starting in middle school, skipped grades again, and finally graduated from Heisenberg University with a biology master's degree before signing a million-a-year contract with Schicksal...
So, one should dream big.
"If my real life had even half of this, I'd wake up laughing from my dreams."
Fortunately, when the system created an identity for him, it also implanted the corresponding knowledge.
Just like...
How the Honkai Consciousness filled Herrschers with knowledge related to their authorities.
Chen Ran suddenly thought of that and shuddered.
Just then, Chen Ran suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his head.
Warning: The current simulation has reached the host's mental consciousness capacity limit. Continuing the simulation will cause consciousness confusion.
The system has temporarily ended the simulated scenario. Congratulations, host, on obtaining the corresponding simulated knowledge.
As the system warning sounded, Chen Ran felt another wave of dizziness.
Before you continue