Before long, the girl finally woke up and instinctively stretched her waist.
Then, she realized how quiet it was.
Kiana tilted her head and looked around the classroom, only to find that everyone else was gone except for one girl.
"Um..."
The girl said timidly, "Kiana, everyone went to PE class."
"PE class, huh... oh."
Kiana stood up instinctively, then looked at the girl. "Come to think of it, Yoshino, why aren't you in class? Were you bullied again?"
Yoshino shook her head, then said admiringly, "No. Ever since Kiana helped me that time, no one has bullied me anymore."
Her eyes sparkled with little stars of admiration.
"That's good." Kiana let out a breath of relief. "Then let's go too."
"Based on what I currently know, Anti-Entropy has already undergone a substantive split. Cocolia, representing the radical faction, has effectively taken control of the conservative faction's ME Company. That's Anti-Entropy's moneybag, so the conservatives can be said to have suffered a crushing defeat."
In the car, Chen Ran explained the current situation to Wendy and Raiden Mei.
"However, the conservatives aren't completely sitting idle. At the very least, Raiden Ryoma's safety shouldn't be a concern. The most important issue now is that Cocolia will trigger a major Honkai eruption in Changkong City. As for the location of the Honkai Energy reactor buried beneath Changkong City, I have no information at all."
As he drove, he recounted the current situation from memory. "By the way, Miss Wendy, how skilled are you at intelligence work? Computers, for example?"
"The Far East Branch doesn't provide much education in that area. I'm afraid I can only offer combat support."
Wendy spoke with a hint of apology.
A qualified Valkyrie needed to be able to fly planes and drive tanks, tear apart Honkai beasts and Titans, and recognize all kinds of weapons, network parameters, and code.
But clearly, the Far East Branch did not have such generous conditions.
It had only been seven years since the Far East Branch was established, and they had not even gathered a full teaching staff. One could say that having a student like Wendy at the Far East Branch was already unexpected.
Chen Ran sighed. "Fine."
His cover was that of a Schicksal agent assigned to monitor Kiana, so he did know some basic intelligence work.
"Miss Raiden Mei, have Wendy stay with you for now. I'm worried someone will make a move against you next."
Raiden Mei fell silent.
She had already learned that the Conquest Gem had been implanted in her body, and that Cocolia's purpose in triggering the major Honkai eruption was because of her.
Although she did not know when the gem had been implanted into her body, the current situation was that she was in great danger.
Wendy asked Chen Ran, "What about you?"
"I'm going to bring in the last teammate."
At Chiyou Academy.
Kiana was in PE class.
Although she was an idiot who slept through cultural classes, in PE, Kiana was undoubtedly a genius among geniuses.
No matter what sport it was, Kiana could take first place. It could even be said that she stole the spotlight completely.
Students were actually very simple. As long as someone excelled in a certain field, that student would basically become an idol.
Kiana was like that.
Although she always slept in class, after class, she was the center of attention among the students.
Satou Yoshino, a marginal figure, looked at Kiana with envy filling her heart.
She also wanted to stand beside Kiana like the other students, but in the class's social hierarchy, the utterly ordinary Satou Yoshino was at the very bottom.
Even before Kiana transferred in, she had always been the one getting bullied. Even after Kiana transferred in, she was still bullied, though the situation had eased somewhat.
Still, Kiana could not always stay with Satou Yoshino.
Most of the time, the girl could only silently watch Kiana, dazzling as the sun, like a speck of dust.
"Hey, Yoshino, what are you doing?"
Kiana walked over carelessly. "It's no good to never exercise during PE class."
The girl shook her head timidly. "No, I still prefer somewhere quieter."
She spoke against her own feelings.
She envied Kiana for being able to become the center of the crowd, yet she could not imitate Kiana. Years of being ignored and bullied had made her instinctively avoid other people's gazes.
The girl even deliberately took dark, secluded paths when walking home.
Just as Satou Yoshino was thinking about what to say to Kiana, someone suddenly walked over, making her change her words instinctively.
"Teacher Chen."
Chen Ran, having found Kiana, merely nodded at Satou Yoshino. Looking at Kiana, he said half-jokingly, "Kiana, there's an opportunity to save the world right now. Are you going?"
Kiana rolled her eyes. "Teacher Chen, I remember you're from Shenzhou. Since when did you start talking so dramatically?"
"Saving the world and all that... I'm willing, of course, but the world isn't in danger right now, is it?"
Chen Ran calmly uttered two words. "The Honkai."
Kiana's eyes immediately sharpened.
"Alright, now everyone is here."
Inside a residence, Chen Ran looked at the three girls before him and joked, "Three out of four people are minors. If the world is relying on us to save it, then it's really doomed."
Raiden Mei said, "Are you always this flippant?"
Kiana puffed up her cheeks. "Stop looking down on us."
Wendy said seriously, "If we run into trouble we can't handle, I can call for reinforcements at any time."
Chen Ran shrugged indifferently. "The situation isn't that bad. Now that everyone knows each other, how about some team bonding first? Like going to Hormone Amusement Park?"
Raiden Mei said coldly, "Now isn't the time to play around."
Kiana echoed her, "I agree."
Wendy looked thoughtful. "Do you think that if Cocolia makes a move, she'll choose an amusement park with a dense population?"
Chen Ran complained, "No, I just want to relax."
Wendy: "..."
"Alright, joke time is over. Next, we'll set out and investigate ME Company." Chen Ran paused. "Miss Raiden Mei, the most important part will be up to you."
World Serpent, Elysian Realm.
Wendy was not in a hurry to undergo the Signet trial. Of course, the main reason was that Elysia, who called herself the Pink Fairy Lady, knew a great deal about Chen Ran.
"Oh my, so Chen Ran's girlfriend was fifty thousand years in the future. No wonder there was regret in his voice when he showed that photo back then."
Wendy froze instinctively. "He showed it?"
"Mm-hmm, that's right. It was during a Flame-Chaser team-building event. Kevin organized a game of truth or dare, and I took part too. Eden hadn't joined the Flame-Chaser yet then, so it was quite early on."
Elysia smiled brightly. "That was when he took out the photo. He always carried it with him."
Wendy fell silent for a moment.
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed slightly as a stream of information abruptly appeared in her mind.
Elysia tilted her head. "What's wrong? Were you moved?"
Wendy shook her head, her expression somewhat grim. "Some memories appeared in my mind. They're from a year ago. Did anything like this ever happen in your era?"
"I can believe that my first meeting with him was this year, but the extra memories in my consciousness tell me that I met him last year when I carried out a mission in the Far East."
Elysia looked thoughtful. "You mean the event clearly happened later, but the time itself was moved forward."
Wendy nodded.
"I'm sorry, but this is the first time I've heard of something like that too." Elysia said regretfully, "The Elysian Realm doesn't contain any memory data related to Chen Ran. We mentioned it to him back then, but he refused. I think I now understand why he refused."
Chen Ran was adjusting time and fate.
If one asked the people of Changkong City to evaluate ME Company, they would most likely use two words: rich.
If they had to be more precise, it would be: extremely rich.
"Wow, so Mei is a rich young lady."
As Kiana looked at ME Company from afar, she could not help showing a shocked expression. "Such a tall building... just how rich must Mei's father be?"
Raiden Mei, on the other hand, looked somewhat strange. "You're a student at Chiyou Academy, yet you don't know me?"
Kiana blinked. "Is Mei famous?"
"Isn't the famous person at Chiyou Academy the so-called Raiden Queen?" the girl complained. "But someone actually has Queen in her name..."
She belatedly realized something.
Raiden Mei said helplessly, "The Raiden Queen you mentioned is me."
Kiana scratched her head instinctively. "So that's how it is. One person has two names..."
"Is there a possibility that it's a nickname other people gave me?"
She was truly at a loss.
Wendy could not help covering her mouth and laughing, her eyes curving into crescents.
Chen Ran, who was driving, sighed. "Alright, Young Lady Raiden Mei, it's time for your performance."
He said, "I investigated it. Although Raiden Ryoma was taken away, you still have the authority to enter ME Company. Your father left you quite a few shares."
Chen Ran was not wrong about that.
Besides finding him help from the Far East Branch, Rita had also given him some useful information.
"I'm the teacher, Kiana is your junior schoolmate, and Wendy... is just a relatively close classmate of yours." He said, "Only by going in can we find out what happened at ME Company."
Raiden Mei nodded. "Alright."
The four got out of the car and headed toward ME Company.
However, they were stopped at the entrance.
"Hello. Without permission, unauthorized personnel are not permitted to enter."
Raiden Mei took a deep breath and said coldly, "Am I unauthorized personnel too?"
"Young Lady... Raiden."
The two security guards looked at each other.
Although Raiden Ryoma had fallen from power, who knew whether he might return? They had no right to know about struggles involving the upper ranks.
But...
One of them gritted his teeth and said, "Sorry, the new assistant gave orders not to let anyone enter ME Company."
Raiden Mei said angrily, "I already told you, take a good look at who I am!"
"I own shares in ME Company. I'm one of the owners here. Why can't I enter?"
The other guard pleaded, "Young lady, please. It isn't easy for people like us who work for a living."
"Forget it, don't waste time." Chen Ran spoke up. "Do it. Just remember not to kill them."
Before you continue