52. The Beginning of Fate / 53. Xia Ling: "Damn, That Bizarre Cliffhanger Reached the Previous Era?"

Once Kiana's emotions had stabilized somewhat, Xia Ling quickly led her out of this predicament.

After all, it's best not to linger in such a sorrowful place.

However, looking at the next step, Xia Ling was at a loss.

Kiana wants to delve deeper into Sirin's past, which will inevitably involve many Unexpected Encounters, but she now has a mortal enemy in her hands...

We still need to choose a route with "gains and losses," replacing the deadly feud with Graffiti of the Hope Era.

However, this would somewhat affect one's combat strength...

Wait, that's not right.

Xia Ling suddenly realized what was happening.

I'm not playing the normal trial mode right now, where I need to collect Recruitment Voucher to gather teammates. In this mode, all Recruitment Voucher are temporary, so I can just Unexpected Encounter along the way and then buy a few Recruitment Voucher from the shop.

As for improving combat power... Xia Ling looked at the [Last Wish: Kumu Xin@Qilengba@Qia Si Liu Ba Qi Qi, Shuo Zhi] in her backpack.

Planting trees doesn't seem like a bad idea.

Anyway, Sirin is there to cushion the mental burden.

Once the route was determined, the operation became much simpler.

First, Wish Fulfilled, then you encounter Unexpected Encounter, then you exchange gains and losses for mortal enemies... After that, you can just keep farming Unexpected Encounter.

If you're lucky enough to encounter the King's Set... then you're invincible.

"Let's go, let's not think about what just happened. Let bygones be bygones."

While comforting Kiana, Xia Ling led her toward the next node.

"The next step will Wish Fulfilled; we'll receive a huge reward. We'll meet a very kind uncle there; after just a few words, he'll give us..."

Xia Ling's words came to an abrupt halt once again.

Because the scene inside the node wasn't Big Bob's shop that she was familiar with, but... the alleyway of the Chiyu Academy.

[Host, this node seems to have been invaded by Sirin's memories as well, but... the theme of this node's memories seems to be Kiana?]

"Kiana's memories at this point?" Xia Ling's voice sounded strange.

"Eh, me?" Kiana belatedly looked up. "Oh right... This is the Chiyu Academy before it was destroyed. Sister Xia Ling definitely hasn't been here before."

"It looks good too." Xia Ling pulled Kiana into the alley. Kiana had just cried and needed something comforting to soothe her.

Considering that Wish Fulfilled usually doesn't involve any major setbacks, this should surely make Kiana happy.

That's what Xia Ling thought.

Then she found herself at the end of the alley, surrounded by a group of thugs, looking pitiful and teary-eyed.

"?"

Kiana suddenly felt a sharp gaze, seemingly carrying a cold light, fall upon her.

She broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

"Kiana ~" Xia Ling's soft voice came from beside Kiana: "This is just your imagination, isn't it...?"

Before Xia Ling could finish speaking, a white figure descended from the sky and quickly dispatched the thugs surrounding Xia Ling. The two of them recognized the white "hero" as Kiana, who was wearing the Chiyu Academy uniform.

[My Wish Fulfilled]

[In a narrow alleyway near the Chiyu Academy, Xia Ling, a teacher usually known for her gentle and adorable nature, was cornered by several thugs. Just as something unspeakable was about to unfold, Kiana, a model student who saw injustice, decisively stepped in to help, rescuing the poor Xia Ling from her predicament.]

Because Kiana's academic performance has always been excellent, Xia Ling happily exempted Kiana from her summer homework and insisted on giving her some small gifts as a token of her gratitude.

[Thanks, Kiana. — Collectible obtained: Seaweed Salad.]

[Waaaaah, Kiana, thank you so much for saving me from this hell! — Collectible obtained: Halo.]

Kiana, you're so cool! I want to repay you with my body! —Requires Xia Ling as a teammate to obtain the collectible: Radiant Casimir.

Kiana watched the words pop up on the screen, sweating more and more as she read. Especially when she saw the three options at the bottom, Kiana swallowed hard and glanced tremblingly at Xia Ling, who had a dark expression on her face.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Kiana?"

As expected, Xia Ling caught her gaze, and with a "kind" smile on her face, Kiana felt Xia Ling tighten her grip on her hand.

"Isn't this our model student who always stands up for justice? Why is he trembling?"

"Is it because you saved me, this pitiful teacher, and then heard that I wanted to repay you with my body, that you're so happy?"

"Kiana -kun~"

"I'm sorry, Sister Xia Ling, I was wrong! I'll never think such things again!"

"I'll do anything you ask if you're willing to forgive me!"

Kiana decisively clung to Xia Ling's leg and chose to follow her heart.

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Beginning of Fate

Under Kiana's trembling gaze, Xia Ling directly chose the third option.

Putting aside Kiana's Alternate History, the attack boost after dodging from the Radiant Casimir is still very useful for people like her and Kiana who have spatial abilities and are used to hit-and-run tactics.

As for Kiana... well, let it be, it's just Alternate History. It's fine as long as it makes her feel better.

Kiana blinked. She couldn't see the specific attributes of the artifact, but judging from Xia Ling's actions, she roughly understood that it must be the kind of artifact so powerful that Xia Ling would set aside her shame and be willing to "offer herself" to obtain it.

Sister Xia Ling doesn't seem too angry, but I wonder if my aunt will beat me up if she finds out...

Kiana's thoughts wandered again, but she quickly brought them back, not wanting to encounter any dramatic or unpleasant Alternate History events later on.

What if Sister Xia Ling really misunderstands that I like her... Although she does seem very cute, usually gentle, and someone I can rely on in crucial moments... No, no, I can't think about this anymore, Mei is my true love!

Kiana patted her cheeks, trying to stop thinking about it.

Then, she felt someone grab her clothes from behind.

"Come on, what are you still looking at? Do you want to see how I offer myself to you?"

Having received the reward, Xia Ling blushed slightly upon seeing herself in the node looking like a lovesick young girl. She quickly grabbed Kiana and left the node.

She had thought the most dangerous part of this group of pigeons was Sirin's memories, but she never expected the real danger to come from right beside her... She almost forgot that Kiana was also an openly lewd person, and who knows what strange things she had thought about before.

Having quickly left with their Wish Fulfilled, the atmosphere between the two was a bit awkward, as the choice they had just made had quite a shock to Xia Ling.

The good news is that their Unexpected Encounter quickly dispelled their embarrassment.

"Here it is..."

"This should be Siberia before the Second Honkai Outbreak."

Xia Ling pondered for a moment and quickly made a judgment.

It wasn't because she was familiar with the geography or the local culture, but because... she saw a purple-haired figure in the distance.

Since Sirin is still able to go out freely at this time, it must be the days before she entered the Babylon Laboratory.

Soon, the images in the node started to move.

They saw a person wearing the standard research uniform of Schicksal find Sirin.

[Unexpected Encounter]

Not long ago, Sirin's mother passed away from illness, and Sirin herself, lacking the skills to survive and with her mother's inheritance dwindling, was forced to take to the streets to find a way to survive.

At this moment, a well-dressed man approached Sirin. He claimed to be a staff member of a nearby research institution and told Sirin that her body possessed a rare Honkai Energy antibody, which had high research value.

[As long as Sirin goes with him to the research institution to participate in experiments, she can live a life of comfort and ease.]

[Accept his invitation. (Gain 4 Originium Ingot)]

[Decline your invitation. (Gain 2 Hopes)]

A silence fell between them as they looked at the options before them.

Upon seeing this description, even Kiana realized that the seemingly timid little girl in front of her was the Second Herrscher — Sirin.

She had actually heard a little about the sins committed by Schicksal in the Babylon Laboratory; she had collected some snippets of information from Sirin while in the data space.

However, because her attention was focused on Cecilia at the time, she didn't pay much attention to these things.

When Kiana saw Sirin's memories in person, Kiana suddenly felt a sense of suffocation from the bottom of her heart. The ease she had just felt from playing around with Xia Ling was instantly swept away.

Kiana?

Just then, Kiana suddenly heard Xia Ling calling softly.

"Are you alright? You seem a little lost in thought."

"Sister Xia Ling, I was just thinking..."

"If Sirin hadn't gone to the Babylon Laboratory with that researcher, would none of this have happened...?"

"I don't know either." Xia Ling shook her head. "However, this device will make predictions based on your choices. I've been in this world for so long, and the data I've collected should be enough to predict the possible outcomes."

"So, we'll find out by trying it."

Xia Ling decisively chose to decline the invitation.

[Sirin declined the researcher's invitation. Her mother had once told her that there's no such thing as a free lunch, and such generous offers must have some hidden problems.]

However, the researchers wouldn't let such excellent experimental material slip by, especially since this subject was orphaned, making subsequent processing quite simple.

So, one night, Sirin was kidnapped in her sleep and taken to the Babylon Laboratory.

"Sigh..." Xia Ling sighed, "Just as I expected, fate will not change because of such a small change."

Kiana didn't say much. She instinctively felt sorry for Sirin, but when she thought about what Sirin had done, Kiana couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for her.

"Let's go, Sister Xia Ling." This time it was Kiana who spoke first, "Let's go through more of these kinds of events. I want to take another look at... Sirin's matter."

"No problem, but we need to get rid of this thing we have first."

In the route Xia Ling chose, Unexpected Encounter encounters are followed by Loss and Gain. However, to Xia Ling's surprise, the content of the Loss and Gain nodes was unexpectedly normal.

[Hmm... Judging from the data I see in the backend, about half of the nodes are occupied by Sirin's memories, most of which are Unexpected Encounter.]

"Then we need to adopt an avoidance strategy even more, since fighting doesn't significantly improve Kiana combat power anyway."

He decisively placed the Hatred from the Age of Vengeance into the swap slot, and a moment later, another collectible appeared in his backpack— Graffiti of the Hope Era.

"However..." Recalling the second option in the Loss and Gain just now, Xia Ling muttered, "In the current situation, can I still choose to play both the second and third options? I wonder what the third ending will be like with the filling in of Sirin's memories..."

"How about... we try finding another Loss and Gain on the next floor?"

"Since things have already turned out this way, it doesn't really matter if they get even more chaotic..."

Chapter 53 Xia Ling: byd's Bizarre Chapter ending in Previous Civilization, right?

"This collection... looks much more comfortable than the last one," Kiana said, nodding as she leaned closer.

"As you can tell from the name, a mortal feud is bound to be more negative, while what I have in my hand represents harmonious coexistence."

"Are we living in harmony? shrimpI]"

Kiana couldn't help but think of her identity as Herrscher.

"Don't overthink it. Herrscher aren't anything special." Xia Ling rubbed her head. "You're Herrscher, Mei is Herrscher, Wendy is Herrscher, and maybe when you return to the Hyperion next time, even Bronya will have become Herrscher."

"What... Bronya and the Herrscher are completely unrelated, how could that be?" Kiana replied with a laugh, "Sister Xia Ling, you might as well say that the Class President has also become Herrscher."

"Hmm... it's not impossible..." Thinking of the Sirin who would soon be "born," Xia Ling's lips twitched. Kiana had actually guessed right.

After Loss and Gain, we arrive at the final node of the second layer: Remove the False and Preserve the True.

Strictly speaking, this thing cannot be considered a node; what appeared in front of Xia Ling and Kiana was merely something resembling a synthesis platform.

Conversely, Xia Ling doesn't need to synthesize anything, since if you're going for a tree-planting strategy, you definitely can't use a single tree branch in the early game.

Their main purpose... is still to obtain the necessary prerequisite collectibles for the Ending Two.

Kiana took out the last wishes representing Himeko and Xia Ling from her backpack, looked at them one last time with reluctance, then closed her eyes and placed the two wishes into the interpretation platform.

With a flash of light, a beam of fire appeared in front of the two.