1. Cocolia: "The Mandate of Heaven Is Here-I'll Be the First to Surrender"

Himeko fell into deep thought.

Himeko suddenly realized.

Himeko gradually came to understand everything.

Himeko closed the office door.

"Wait, Himeko, it's not what you think!"

Theresa let out a mournful cry.

Xia Ling, standing nearby, added insult to injury.

"How many people did you call? How come you're so familiar with this?"

"Xia Ling, why are you joining in the commotion too!"

"So... when did your relationship become so good?"

Pulled back to reality, Himeko fell into deep thought, "Won't I seem out of place sitting here?"

"No, because our bust sizes are clearly the same," Xia Ling reassured her.

"?"

Theresa looked at Xia Ling with eyes that looked like she was about to cry.

"It's okay, we're the same height."

Xia Ling then delivered the final blow to Theresa.

"Alright, alright, stop bullying Theresa..."

The St. Freya teaching staff are still working diligently today...

Ending Remarks

Hello everyone, this is Qingguang, who is currently still updating.

The plot of Volume 3 is almost over here.

Although this volume doesn't take up a large portion of the original story, due to the sensitive nature of the period it's set in, it's actually very easy for it to attract Otto's attention. Naturally, the protagonist's behavior will become much more cautious.

The two parts of this volume, Sakura Samsara and Wind-Colored Poem, are actually the protagonist's attempts to truly change the original plot, only one is passive and the other is active.

The ending is naturally very wholesome and uplifting. Wendy, Yae Sakura, Rin, and Kallen (who disappeared in the original work) all get a happy ending.

(Cocolia: So I'm the only one who got hurt?)

After achieving relatively good results in both attempts, the protagonist began to truly prepare for the start of the main storyline.

That is, the Schicksal War.

Alright, that's the end of the preview. Next up is a traditional folk song and a fun Q&A session.

Let's start with some real-world news.

I've already paid back 8 chapters as of yesterday, but I still have 12 chapters to go.

However, the author has already sent out almost all of his drafts and has officially entered the state of writing and publishing on the fly.

Some people might ask, didn't you have ten chapters saved up?

That's because I always keep at least two chapters in reserve for the next day's update, in case of unexpected situations, deadlines, or disrupted sleep schedules.

As for what I've been doing these past few days... well, I've been preparing for work at home lately, working while also taking the civil service exam. As for writing, I usually slack off during the day to prepare the outline, and then go home at night to study and start writing based on the outline.

In short, my life is quite fulfilling and regular, and you don't need to worry about this book being discontinued or abandoned. After all, once it's recommended, this book can even enter the top 100 of the bestseller list, so I definitely won't abandon it.

That's all for the update. Oh, by the way, if you find a string of asterisks in the book, it's most likely because some sensitive words have been blocked. Don't be surprised, just ignore them.

Next up are two major pieces of news.

Firstly, in the next volume, I will try to use short skits to show some of Xia Ling's daily life, such as hunting pigeons or using her clones.

It won't be too long, probably only two or three hundred words, and it will be randomly updated at the end of the chapter.

Don't worry, according to Hedgehog Cat's word count system, 2001 and 2499 are both counted as 2000, so this mini-theater will not cost extra.

The main reason for including this is that some readers still want to see roguelike or slice-of-life stories, while others are not interested. In addition, the process of writing a roguelike story is quite cumbersome, so I will try to select interesting roguelike segments or slice-of-life stories to write in the short dramas.

Of course, there might not be many mini-dramas, at least not in every chapter, so what I said earlier was that they would be refreshed randomly (laughs).

The second piece of news is that the author is already quickly adding some strange side stories.

The first part is expected to be published when the next bounty is offered. As for the word count... it should be no less than 10,000 words.

We'll talk about the specifics next time; this is just a preview anyway (glances at the empty new folder) (runs away).

Ahem, that's all for the news regarding reality. Next up are some plot-related Q&As and previews.

First up is our lovely Little Ther. Although it was initially difficult to incorporate her into the story due to Little Ther abilities, I eventually figured it out after some helpful tips from other group members.

Anyway, all people want to see is the cute Little Ther teacher, and the abilities don't really matter. So, since the abilities are hard to integrate, let's just delete the abilities and leave only the Little Ther (outrageous opinion).

Thus, the AI Little Ther, who appears in the story in the form of PRTS, was born.

Next is the addition of a new operator. As mentioned before, a new clone will be added in the middle to late stages of Volume 5. Although it hasn't been revealed who it is yet, well, one aspect of the new character is that she is a super-sized character.

P. S.: This message is misleading. Readers who were spoiled in the group should know what it means.

P. S.: Actually, these messages themselves are a kind of hint.

P. S.: The new character and AI Little Ther will be responsible for solving Xia Ling's background problem and taking care of Himeko, who is in hiding.

The last question... is about the Queen in the comments and side posts.

Regarding the sins that Kiana and the Queen bear, and their mentality of atonement, I personally think it 'Tai He to attribute the sins of the Second Honkai Outbreak to them.

Strictly speaking, the sins that the Queen truly needs to confront are Ragna's stormtroopers, Himeko, and the Honkai she caused during Schicksal Awakening (namely, a certain crow's villa island).

After all, the real Sirin had long since passed away, resting in that snowy plain with Cecilia. Both Kiana and the Queen were actually two different aspects of consciousness born from the lingering echoes Sirin left in the Herrscher Core.

As I said through Elysia in the story, inherited good and evil do not represent true good and evil. If we want the Queen to truly atone for her sins and reverse her self-perceived "evil" mentality, what is actually needed is for her to face up to the sins she has committed and realize how... serious they are.

Once she realizes this, everything else—whether it's her desire for redemption or the actions she takes—will naturally fall into place.

As for how to make her realize this... well, that's a secret.

Alright, that concludes my closing remarks. Thanks for watching (runs away at lightning speed).

Chapter 1 Cocolia: When Schicksal Comes, I'll Be the First to Surrender

"Xia Ling... do you think what we're doing is a bit inappropriate?"

In a dark corner, Theresa looked at Xia Ling, who had a wicked smile on her face, and asked, trembling.

"Thanks for the invitation. If you can speak with a trembling tone without making a joking face, you might be able to act more convincingly."

"And, I don't really understand, what purpose does dressing up like this serve besides making the police think I'm a perverted woman who traffics young girls?"

"Xia Ling, I feel like you're getting better and better at teasing me..."

"Besides, this is just a basic appearance change that comes with the armor. What, can't I even change my skin?"

At night, near the headquarters of ME Company, two figures were talking furtively.

That's right, it was Xia Ling and Theresa.

In the original storyline, Bronya was controlled by the chip and suddenly betrayed them, cooperating with Cocolia's Titan Unit to capture Wendy and Mei.

Kiana, Himeko, and Theresa chose to infiltrate Anti-Entropy's ME Company headquarters and rescue Mei and Bronya.

Now that the plot has changed, Wendy and Mei haven't been captured, and the chip in Bronya's brain has already been deactivated, so there was really no need for them to go.

However... while Xia Ling was idly organizing the plot, she suddenly remembered that there was still an unactivated Father-class Mech in the ME Company building!

It's not that we absolutely have to dismantle this thing. One reason is that it's in Cocolia's hands, and who knows what kind of trouble she might cause with it. Another reason is that Xia Ling currently has a weapon that is specifically designed to counter mechanical attacks— the Kishinuma.

So, if we don't take such a big piece of the Father, it's a waste. Anyway, it's the property of the radicals, and if it's lost, Cocolia will be the scapegoat. The Schicksal War is coming soon, so we can use it to our advantage.

So, after getting a map of ME Company from Bronya, Xia Ling decisively called Theresa and began their infiltration journey.

"ME Company is indeed well-defended, as expected of the place where Cocolia is stationed."

Theresa couldn't help but sigh as she watched the patrol machines coming and going in the headquarters.

The two of them had circled the ME Company building several times, but unfortunately, it was obviously not easy to sneak in without special abilities.

"Hmm... I was originally planning to put the infiltration course I just learned into practice, but it seems I'll have to rely on my own abilities this time."

"Hey, whose course's first practical task is infiltrating one of Anti-Entropy Headquarters...?"

Hearing Theresa's complaints, Xia Ling sighed in disappointment, took Kishinuma with one hand, grabbed Theresa with the other, and then disappeared instantly.

"According to the route Bronya gave us... we first need to go to entrance C7."

Xia Ling casually placed the Kishinuma into the two Titans that surrounded her, and continued reading the map without looking up.

"When the two Titans are at their furthest point from the entrance... uh..."

Xia Ling glanced at Titan, who was now standing obediently beside her like her own mecha, and fell into deep thought.

"Hahaha, you tried to skip class Kishinuma, but you got into trouble instead, didn't you?" Theresa with a smug look on her face.

"Damn it, if I get caught, I'll sell you to Anti-Entropy to pay off my debts. I'm sure our headmaster will get a good price for you, heh heh."

Xia Ling glared fiercely at Theresa.

"Then you'll have to be able to catch me first." Theresa wasn't worried at all. "Although I might not be able to beat you right now, I can still trap you here with Judah. Then this headmistress can just make a nice run away and go back to inherit your game save."

Xia Ling snorted and kicked open the door to a convenient room, then directly connected the Kishinuma to the computer.

A moment later, Xia Ling opened her eyes.

"Alright, alright, the crisis is over. Don't even think about selling me now. Just get out of here."

Xia Ling unplugged the Kishinuma from the computer and patted Theresa on the head.

"The crisis is over?" Ignoring Xia Ling's hand, Theresa asked in confusion, "What did you just do?"

"Hey, because we messed up the process, the building's main control system has already detected our intrusion."

Xia Ling blinked and casually put away the Kishinuma: "So, I just decided to go all the way and hack the entire building's main control system."

"?"

Theresa slowly typed out a question mark.

"Then, since I control the entire building's main control system, we don't even need to worry about alarms now; we can just take the elevator up."

Xia Ling smiled brightly.

"Does your entire operation have even the slightest connection to infiltration...?"

"And what's the difference between this and you copying a strategy guide incorrectly and then using a cheat code...?"

Theresa now feels that being with Xia Ling might tarnish her gaming spirit.

"It's okay, this is already postmodern assassination, at least I haven't shot anyone dead yet."

Xia Ling waved her hand, completely unconcerned.

"Back in the day, our predecessors in the assassination world said that as long as you kill everyone you see, you can consider it a perfect assassination."

"Then I really should thank you for sparing my life on behalf of all the employees of ME Company..."

Theresa felt like she had used up all her complaints for the entire year in one day.

"But what if you encounter someone during your infiltration?"

Seeing Xia Ling swaggering around in the hallway pressing the elevator button, Theresa couldn't help but ask with some suspicion.

"Good question. If someone is unlucky enough to run into us under these circumstances, then I can only..."

"Ding-dong."

The sound of the elevator interrupted their conversation.

Then, as the elevator doors slowly opened, Cocolia, who had just taken the elevator downstairs, looked at the two of them in surprise.