A Person in Honkai, but Integrated Strategies Activated

"You need to have more confidence in yourself, host. Is it what you think it is? You'll know if you just click on it."

Chapter 22: Xia Ling: Battle, Awesome!

"Fine, since it's just you and me here, even if I embarrass myself, no one will see it."

With that, Xia Ling unhesitatingly pressed the option to recruit an ally. The next moment, a row of avatars appeared on the illuminated screen in front of her.

"Whoa, so many?"

Xia Ling was startled by the sudden appearance of such a long list of avatars. She truly hadn't expected to be so popular.

"See? I told you not to underestimate yourself. When are you going to change that personality of yours, host..."

Xia Ling focused her gaze. Among the avatars, most were students from her class specializing in support and drawing enemy fire. Xia Ling even spotted a familiar face.

"Huh? Why is Yaya here too?" Xia Ling asked, a little confused. "Does Yaya even count as a Vanguard?"

"Yaya definitely counts as a Vanguard. Although the Big Three haven't obtained Valkyrie armor yet, even without armor, Bronya's Vanguard mechs would certainly be counted as Vanguards, especially since 'Vanguard' is in their name."

"Hiss, now that you put it that way, it makes a lot of sense."

Xia Ling nodded and immediately drew a parallel. "So if I refresh a few more times, can I get Theresa or Himeko? If they come with me, I'm not saying the fifth floor, but at least the third floor would be a breeze, right?"

"I regret to inform you, host, that firstly, the Operators recruited as allies also need to be promoted. Otherwise, they can only exert their abilities at their Elite 1 stage. Secondly, the abilities of allied Operators will not exceed the strength level of the host's current highest-level body."

"Therefore, even if you were to recruit Himeko or Theresa, you would only get an Operator equivalent to a B-rank Valkyrie. Although, they might perform a bit stronger due to their extensive combat experience."

"I see. Then there's no need to force a change. I'll go with Yaya."

Xia Ling selected Bronya's avatar and decisively clicked to confirm the recruitment.

Seeing that she wasn't alone in her squad anymore, Xia Ling shed tears of gratitude. "Finally, finally, I have a teammate."

With the squad selection complete, Xia Ling skillfully retrieved the backpack containing 36 Originium Ingots and the detector from the tent on the left, then looked expectantly at the tent on the right.

"Sister Xia Ling, is this your weapon? I brought it out for you."

A moment later, Bronya's familiar, sweet, and emotionless voice came from the tent on the right. Bronya lifted the tent flap, emerging with Xia Ling's Crescent Rose in her arms.

"Hey, System, does Yaya have self-awareness?" Xia Ling was a bit taken aback by Yaya's question and immediately asked the System in her mind.

"Uh, more or less. The System's ally recruitment principle is actually quite complex. It's not a simple simulated intelligence like a Guardian, but a direct link to the ally's mental world."

"For the ally, this trial would likely become a dream they forget upon waking. During the period of assistance, besides having an impression of you, they will also be implanted with some basic common sense about the trial."

"A dream? So, there's a possibility they might remember?"

"No, unless they are a psychic type or a Herrscher like the Herrscher of Sentience. However, if the host wishes, the System can slightly modify this dream and allow them to recall it."

"What, host, do you have something in mind?"

"I just feel like doing so might be a bit risky... But never mind. Since you can control and modify the content of this dream, it's fine. Perhaps, to some extent, it could even further support the fabricated background I've created for myself."

Taking her weapon from Yaya, Xia Ling took out the detector and looked at the Foresight prompt on the screen.

"After clearing this floor, you will obtain the Cipher Plate: Doubt."

While fiddling with the detector, Xia Ling asked nonchalantly, "Bronya, do you remember our objective?"

"Of course," Bronya replied expressionlessly. "We need to explore as deep into the Sami Snowfield as possible, bringing back more routes and data for the research team."

What a convenient ability... Xia Ling silently grumbled about the System's ally recruitment system. She slung the backpack over her shoulders. "Good. Let's go, we should get moving."

Bronya nodded silently and floated behind Xia Ling.

"Oh, right, Bronya, what kind of weapon are you carrying?"

"Bronya generally relies on her Vanguard mechs for close-quarters combat," Bronya answered at a steady pace. "For long-range, I mainly use this."

As she spoke, a heavy cannon appeared in Bronya's hands.

"Oh, it's this one, the SU-22 Howitzer." Xia Ling suddenly realized. She hadn't used it much herself, but she definitely recognized it. It was the starting equipment for all Heavy Gunner Operators, and the only green-tier Heavy Gunner weapon.

Wait a minute, if we're going by Arknights' classes, Yaya's class is Vanguard, capable of both melee and ultra-long-range attacks. That means her sub-class would be... Fortress?

Oh no, this is going to be the episode where the most module-blocking defense buff comes into play.

Xia Ling glanced at the detector in her hand. As usual, the path ahead split into two. One led to a Deep Pool camp, and the other led to a prison.

Four is Not Too Much and Death Row inmates... Xia Ling continued to look at the subsequent nodes.

The path after Death Row branched again into two roads. One path had nothing on it, which should be an Unexpected Encounter, while the other path had a combat node.

After Four is Not Too Much... Okay, a red Emergency Operation.

As for the third column of nodes, nothing was displayed, which was the so-called "Mysterious Premonition." This was the case for both branches behind the two forks.

"Then there's no need to choose." With a teammate, Xia Ling's confidence soared. "Let's go with Four is Not Too Much, and then directly face the Emergency Operation afterward."

"You're so brave this time, host?"

"Because the goal this time is the third floor. I need to collect as many Collectibles and Cipher Plates as possible in the first two floors."

"If I avoid the early emergencies, I probably won't be able to beat the boss battle either."

Xia Ling answered as a matter of course.

Following the detector's guidance, Xia Ling slowly approached the Deep Pool camp below. However, unlike before, this time a similarly petite companion floated by her side.

After walking along the small path by the lake for about seven or eight minutes, Xia Ling and Bronya could already see the outline of the Deep Pool camp from a distance.

"Wait, Sister Xia Ling," Bronya stopped Xia Ling, who was about to move forward. "We don't need to rush down there. This camp is already within my range. We can launch a long-range strike first."

"Long-range strike?" Xia Ling looked at Bronya's massive cannon. "Is your range enough?"

"Don't worry, Sister Xia Ling, it's more than enough."

"Okay, then we'll stay here. This spot can already be considered high ground."

"Based on my memory, there shouldn't be any enemies in this stage that can attack us from the camp," Xia Ling swung her scythe back, and Crescent Rose immediately expanded into a giant scythe.

"I'll intercept any high-threat enemies rushing towards you to block our breakthrough fire. Of course, the remaining grunts will be up to you to deal with."

Chapter Twenty-Three: This Time It's Really an Emergency Defense

Although Xia Ling had just told Bronya that they were at high ground, strictly speaking, this place wasn't very high.

However, there was good news. In this terrain, there was only one path leading upwards, with cliffs over ten meters high on both sides. If one fell from here, they would likely be out of commission for a while.

"Huh, that's not right." Standing on the only path and looking at the two diverging paths below, Xia Ling suddenly realized, "Isn't this just the game map from 'Four is Not Too Much'? One path in the middle, and pits on both sides."

[Yeah, the game map was referenced during design, it should be quite reasonable.]

While Xia Ling was still figuring out how to push people down later, Bronya's cannon fire had already started from above.

Three shells, trailing white flames, landed in the camp below.

"I'll have to suggest to Theresa that she upgrade the students' equipment," Xia Ling looked down at the camp. "It would be great if they had MiG-13s, a full charge of three layers would give fifteen shells directly."

As a commotion erupted below, two hounds were first released, rapidly approaching Xia Ling.

At the same time, four Deep Pool phalanx soldiers began to prepare their formations.

"Killing dogs? Easy, one shot each."

Xia Ling raised her hand to aim, and two bullets sent the two hounds running halfway back flying.

Bronya's bombardment continued, while the mages and sword-and-shield-wielding phalanx soldiers below gradually advanced upwards.

"I need to deal with the mages first..." Xia Ling expanded her giant scythe, crouched slightly, and then her body shot out.

Before they could react, a flash of red blade light swept past the front soldiers, heading straight for the mage behind.

However, the effect of this slash was clearly not good. The Honkai Energy-infused scythe blade did not inflict significant damage on the mage, only leaving a deep crack on their armor.

"Hiss, I forgot, the Deep Pool soldiers have insane magic resistance!"

In the trial, the monsters' magic resistance was changed to resistance against energy-based attacks. Coincidentally, the monsters of the Deep Pool faction all had an incredibly outrageous talent - Refraction.

This talent directly increased the monsters' magic resistance by 70%. The effect of Xia Ling using Honkai Energy to imbue her weapon was probably worse than just chopping.

Casually raising a shield materialized from Honkai Energy, Xia Ling gripped her scythe in reverse, and simultaneously removed the Honkai Energy from her weapon.

Then, Xia Ling pulled the trigger, and driven by the recoil, she swung the scythe forward fiercely.

This attack was very effective. The mage's pathetic defense could not withstand this pure slash, and a large gash was carved across their chest.

However, the battle was not over. Honkai Energy continued to surge around Xia Ling, and several tentacles made of Honkai Energy exploded among the surrounding Deep Pool soldiers. Of course, the purpose this time was not to kill, but to slow them down.

Entangled by the tentacles, the Deep Pool soldiers' advance speed was greatly reduced. Seizing this opportunity, Bronya's heavy artillery began a saturation output.

"It should be about done. Even if these soldiers reach Bronya, they'll probably be dealt with in one punch. " Xia Ling looked behind the phalanx, "But I remember there was another mage with a shield."

As expected, before Xia Ling finished speaking, a mage clad in black robes, with a black protective layer swirling around them, emerged from the camp. This mage looked around, seemingly bewildered by the heavy casualties of their soldiers.

"Don't worry, I'll send you to join them soon."

Xia Ling once again charged towards the mage, launching a surprise attack from behind.

In the game, this high-level mage with high dual resistance shields was very troublesome. Their tough physique and area-of-effect attacks often caused significant trouble.

However, in reality, this thing was completely countered by Xia Ling. With slow movement speed and extremely long casting animations, by the time this mage cast one spell, Xia Ling could have already slashed them and retreated out of range.

At this moment, Xia Ling truly understood the meaning of "the fastest martial art is unbeatable."

The only drawback was that it was a bit slow to chip away at them.

A few minutes later, Bronya slowly floated down from above.

"All eight Deep Pool soldiers have been dealt with. Sister Xia Ling, do you need me to conduct a further search to see if there are any stragglers?"

Xia Ling recalled the number of enemies that had appeared and confirmed it was exactly the same as in the game. She shook her head and replied, "No need, there shouldn't be any enemies left. I'll go collect the loot, and then we'll continue."

Skillfully heading to the camp, Xia Ling retrieved a box from one of the rooms. She opened it to find two Originium Ingots, an auxiliary recruitment voucher, and a Cipher Plate.

"Lucky me, I actually got a Cipher Plate."

Opening the system interface, the screen displayed two selectable Cipher Plate options.

[Patrol: Fully survey upon approach, reducing the Collapse value reduction upon combination to two points.]

[Shaman: Select one combat node, then randomly designate two other combat nodes.]

"Alright, no need to even look, I'm picking Shaman directly."

After all, for Xia Ling, who was currently short on combat power, the increase in combat power provided by a red Cipher Plate was quite considerable.

After selecting Shaman on the interface, the Cipher Plate in the box instantly turned red. Xia Ling put away the Cipher Plate and Originium Ingots, and continued to look at the detector.

The next moment Xia Ling saw the information for the next node, her vision went black.

"Damn it, Emergency Moss Hand."

For Xia Ling, a tricky node in the trial was completely different from one in the game. If this were a game, Xia Ling would have been happy to see this stage. But the problem was, this particular stage in the trial was incredibly difficult to deal with.

Unlike the game, where monsters appeared in a fixed order, the monsters in the trial clearly didn't play by the rules. They usually swarmed out all at once. In the Moss Hand node, not only was the terrain complex, hindering Bronya's long-range firepower, but there were also two crossbowmen hiding in the alleys to harass them, making it extremely troublesome.

What was even more deadly was that this node had more than one Butcher Veteran. An axe from such a large unit was not something to be trifled with; if caught off guard, Xia Ling might lose a limb.

"It seems there's no fork in the road to bypass this node..." After a moment of thought, Xia Ling had an idea.

"Let's go, Bronya. The next node might be a bit difficult, so be prepared."

"Don't worry, Sister Xia Ling," Bronya said, sensing Xia Ling's concern. "I am the Silver Wolf of Ural. In terms of combat experience, you might not even be as good as me."

"Is that so?" Xia Ling smiled. "Then I'll have to entrust some tasks to you, Bronya."

"Rest assured, I'll complete the mission."

Chapter 24: Emergency Moss Hand - Ling-Ya's Low-Spec Dual-Core Strategy

Ten minutes later, outside the emergency combat node—Moss Hand.

"Uh, Sister Xia Ling..." Ya Ya's voice held a hint of doubt. "What do you mean by 'absolutely cannot get injured'?"

"If you're giving this order because you're worried about me, Sister Xia Ling, it might not be necessary. I worked as a mercenary when I was younger, so pain and injuries are commonplace for me."

"Worrying about you is one part of it, but more importantly, in the Sami Snowfield, getting injured will trigger a series of chain reactions."

"Of course, even if you aren't injured, some strange things will happen once you venture deep enough into the snowfield. However, getting injured will cause these situations to arrive sooner."

That's right, what Xia Ling was referring to was the Collapse Paradigm in Sami's Integrated Strategies.