56. A Fragile Girl's Dream

Xia Ling's words made both of them fall into deep thought.

"I did pay special attention to it. The area of this node is actually not large. It only includes the edge of the battlefield where I killed the Herrscher of the Void and a temporary command post nearby. I initially appeared at that command post."

Elysia, she offered her perspective. "If we exclude the fact that I caused you to be stuck, then the only thing that could potentially be a condition for you to pass the level is that command post."

"But there's a problem: that command post itself is a temporary structure, and it's actually just a small building. I really can't imagine what you could be doing there..."

"Are there any other details? For example, were there any special circumstances before or after you killed the Herrscher of the Herrscher of the Void?"

"Hmm... there is indeed one more thing." Elysia suddenly raised her head. "I remember, when I was fighting the Herrscher of the Void, it seemed like there were quite a few drones filming from various directions."

"However, this was just normal data collection, and it has happened in real history, so I didn't pay attention to it at the time and just focused on the battle."

"Could this be what you're looking for?"

"Whether it is or not, we can go and take a look," Kiana suddenly said. "After all, we might face Sirin later... It would be good for us to know about the Herrscher of the Void's abilities in advance."

"Yes, Kiana is very thoughtful." Elysia nodded. "In that case, shall we have Miss Fairy take you to the Fire Moth's temporary command post?"

"Don't worry, given my current situation, it would be very easy for me to sneak you in."

"Speaking of which, I've always been curious about how Elysia dealt with the Herrscher of the Void?"

On the way, Xia Ling asked curiously.

After actually fighting Sirin, Xia Ling realized how troublesome spatial abilities were. If she hadn't transformed into an authority dog and locked Sirin's core, she really wouldn't have been able to do anything about Sirin.

"Hmm..." Elysia pondered for a moment, "It's probably like he 'whoosh' dodged the attack, 'snap' shot an arrow at her, and then 'thud' and she passed out?"

"..."

Xia Ling and Kiana were speechless for a moment.

"Hey, just kidding, but the truth is pretty much the same, isn't it?"

A faint pink light emanated from Elysia's hand, and a crystal arrow appeared in her grasp.

"That Herrscher of the Void wasn't very skilled in using her abilities, and her reactions were somewhat slow. It's fair to say that the previous Herrscher weren't quite... complete?"

"That's why the Previous Civilization was able to use technology to deal with the Third Herrscher."

"However, although my experience may not be very applicable to you, you don't need to worry too much."

"Does Miss Elysia have any other ideas?"

Kiana's eyes lit up.

"You can just call me Elysia, okay?"

Elysia smiled and turned her gaze to Kiana, saying, "What I actually wanted to say was, since Kiana can also use the power of the Herrscher of the Void, such a gentle and lovely girl like Kiana might be more popular with the Core members~"

"Of course, if there's really no other way, just run into the Miss Fairy's arms and act cute, and maybe I'll solve all your problems!"

"I... I didn't mean that..." Kiana lowered her head shyly, clearly not quite used to the way she interacted with Elysia.

Sigh, I knew it... Xia Ling sighed. For Kiana at this stage, Elysia was still a bit too advanced.

The temporary command post wasn't too far away. Led by Elysia, Xia Ling and Kiana quickly arrived nearby and then entered the command post through Xia Ling's teleportation ability.

"This is my room?"

Elysia opened the door and plugged a small USB drive into the computer.

"Since many devices are recording combat data at the same time, there may be a lot of videos here. We need to slowly filter out which ones we need."

The three of them opened the first video and watched it intently, with Elysia occasionally providing commentary for the other two.

After watching the combat logs for nearly ten minutes, a familiar interface finally appeared in front of Xia Ling.

[Unexpected Encounter]

You've stumbled into what appears to be a heavily guarded battlefield. Fortunately, a girl as graceful as a falling flower rescued you. After learning of your needs, she kindly offered to help and successfully obtained these combat records.

Familiar subtitles appeared line by line on the semi-transparent screen. Kiana quickly leaned over when she saw this. Although Elysia couldn't see the screen, she could roughly guess that Xia Ling must have successfully triggered the option for this node.

Organize and categorize the combat records (obtain collectible: Record of Combat Against Herrscher of the Void)

[Note that the Herrscher of the Void has no personality or emotions (lost the Graffiti of the Hope Era, acquired the collection)]

Under Xia Ling's shocked gaze, a series of garbled error codes appeared on the system's options. Then, before the two could react, option one lit up automatically, and with a flash of white light, the two reappeared in the Third Floor of the trial.

Meanwhile, in the backpack, the combat log representing option one lay quietly.

[Record of Combat Against Herrscher of the Void: When facing the enemy leader unit, Herrscher of the Void - Sirin's skill casting and response speed are reduced by 30%, only effective against Perilous Enemy.]

"Sister Xia Ling, what was that just now... how did the scene suddenly change like that..."

Kiana looked at Xia Ling, her eyes full of doubt.

"I don't know either..."

Xia Ling took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to contact the system.

[Host, I've figured out the reason this time!]

The system's voice rang in Xia Ling's mind first.

"You'd better be. Also, what bugs haven't you made yet? Why don't you bring them all to me at once?"

[Ahem, bugs are something you can't control... there's nothing I can do about it.]

[However, this time I did find the reason. The reason the system displayed garbled characters was actually because her consciousness had once again infiltrated the system when I captured Elysia's model.]

[Host, the Bizarre Chapter you went to was actually a prerequisite level for the Ending 4 predicted by the system.]

"Huh?" Xia Ling was dumbfounded. "I was just about to start the second and third endings, and you've already come up with Ending 4?"

[Ahem, actually, this doesn't affect the host's ability to play the second and third endings consecutively. The Ending 4 has been temporarily suspended due to a serious bug.]

[According to the system's original plan, you would encounter Elysia, a complete stranger, and help her defeat the Herrscher of the Void. During the post-game analysis, you would discover that the Herrscher lacked self-awareness.]

[Based on this, you have prematurely triggered Elysia's reflections on Herrscher and humanity, and different endings will be triggered depending on the collectibles she carries.]

[If you had traded the Graffiti of the Hope Era back then, you would have received a collectible, a special crystal flower. This crystal flower will later serve as a ticket to a banquet, unlocking a branch of the Ending 4.]

[However, because the Elysia you encountered is the one you know, she already knew the truth about the Herrscher and humanity, which created a serious paradox with the system's deductions, leading to the system error.]

"So, it seems that the Ending 4 is actually the truth about the humanity of the Herrscher from the Previous Civilization?" Xia Ling pondered. "Then even if I hadn't made a mistake back then, I probably wouldn't have chosen this one... It's too early to let Kiana know these things now."

[I've also considered this point. However, since the system's deduction path was very valuable, I will try to retain the deduction data for Ending 4 for future reference.]

Chapter Fifty-Six: Fragile Maiden's Dream

"So, that was a bug before?"

Kiana asked curiously, "Is the bug caused by Elysia entering the node, resulting in an error?"

"That's about it..." Xia Ling said helplessly, "You should have seen my abilities when we were in the Imaginary Space. Spatial abilities are just an external manifestation. My real abilities are connection and sealing, or you could say opening and closing doors."

"When combined with my binding item, it always connects to some strange things, such as Elysia, or rather, the place where she is."

"As for her identity and whereabouts... I'm sorry, I cannot disclose that without her consent."

"But it's not a bad thing that you met her by chance this time... We might need her help later, and you can get to know her face in advance."

"Well, in that case, I won't ask any more questions. Since she's someone Sister Xia Ling trusts, I will naturally trust her without reservation."

Kiana nodded, making no attempt to hide her trust in Xia Ling.

After all, Xia Ling had basically risked her life for her before, so what reason did she have to doubt her? If Sister Xia Ling didn't say anything, there must be a reason.

"The Ending Two will most likely involve fighting Sirin, the Ending 4 reveals the truth about the Herrscher, so what exactly is the third ending in between...?"

Xia Ling looked ahead at the Loss and Gain she encountered once again, and pondered.

"If it's still related to Sirin, then the Ending Two takes the perspective of being on the opposite side of Sirin. Could the third ending be from Sirin's side?"

"Isn't that the destruction line? But what I have here is the Graffiti of the Hope Era. Considering that the Ending 4 will be affected by hope and mortal enmity, the third ending shouldn't be this dark..."

Filled with doubt, the two stepped into the scene of Loss and Gain before them.

Unexpectedly, the environment within the node was completely different this time, both in terms of Loss and Gain.

This time, the setting is a dilapidated little house. Although the house looks very old, it is tidy and organized, and has a unique sense of warmth.

Before them stood a beautiful lady with long purple hair, and beside her was a child, also with purple hair, who was only five or six years old.

Loss and Gain

"Welcome, guests from afar." The lady's voice was gentle and friendly. "I can see you need some help. If it's within my ability, please don't hesitate to ask."

[Bartering with the wife (losing one collectible item, gaining another)]

[Exchange supplies with the lady (lost 10 Originium Ingot, gained 6 Hope)]

[Give her daughter some gifts (and receive a special collectible item)]

It seems that option three is a prerequisite for the three endings...

Xia Ling and Kiana exchanged a glance, and then decisively chose option three.

[You exchanged some items with the lady, and as you parted, as a gift, you took some candy from your backpack and gave it to her young child.]

"Quickly thank your sisters, Little Sirin." The lady stroked Sirin's hair and smiled, "Do you remember how I taught you what to do after receiving a gift?"

[Sirin seemed a little shy; she simply nodded bashfully, then ran back to her room, retrieved something, and presented it to you with both hands.]

[Accept the girl's gift (possessing the Graffiti of the Hope Era, obtain the collectible - Fragile Maiden's Dream)]

[Accept the girl's gift (Holding the Hatred from the Age of Vengeance, obtain the collectible - Broken Useless Scissors)]

Sirin handed her was a pair of toy scissors that looked a bit worn out. Perhaps it was a gift she received when she was a child, but there was no doubt that it represented the girl's kindness.

Kiana's expression was somewhat complicated, but she finally squatted down slowly, her gaze level with Sirin's, and solemnly accepted the scissors.

Xia Ling shifted her gaze to the screen, where the attributes of the scissors were now displayed.

[Fragile Maiden's Dream: Gaining Sirin's favor will lead to more frequent Unexpected Encounter encounters with Sirin, opening up different avenues for exploration.]

(This is the first gift the girl received, and also her initial ideal. If possible, please protect it so it won't be shattered again.)

So this really is Sirin's perspective... But judging from the looks of it, it should be a positive ending, just as I thought. If I were dealing with a mortal enemy right now, I might have triggered a darker ending like the massacre route...

Xia Ling was lost in thought when she suddenly noticed that Kiana was still looking at the description of the artifact, somewhat absent-minded.

"Don't overthink it." Xia Ling patted her head reassuringly. "At this stage, Sirin is still just an innocent little girl."

"This gift is simply a child's way of expressing gratitude."

"I know, Sister Xia Ling ..." Kiana sighed, "Tonight, I've encountered too many things that have made me reflect."

"If you feel you can't accept it all at once..." Xia Ling tentatively suggested, "Why don't we leave first and continue later?"

"No need." Kiana shook her head. "Let me experience it all at once today. I've already seen so much, and with these incomplete chapters, how am I supposed to fall asleep tonight?"

"Okay." Xia Ling looked at the battle node ahead and decisively used refresh, turning it into a green "Unexpected Encounter".

"Now that I've obtained the collectibles that increase the probability of winning, surely the related events won't fail to trigger for me now..."

Xia Ling muttered to herself as she pulled Kiana into the node.

After some time, a pack animal followed the two out of the node.

"So this thing really can follow us out!" Kiana exclaimed in astonishment. "I thought it would be like a Pokémon, put into that bell."

Kiana curiously rang the bell, and the beast obediently followed behind her.

"How could this be so magical... But is my luck really that bad?" Xia Ling said helplessly, "I even have the blessing of collectibles, why can't I still get it to appear!"

"How about... I give it a try this time?"

Kiana tapped the screen a few times, changing the First Step" to "Unexpected Encounter" in front of her.

Whether it was Kiana's lucky streak or not, this time, after they entered the node, they found that the surrounding scenery had turned into a prison.

"Is this a prison cell? It doesn't seem to be the same snowfield scene as before... Looks like I haven't been able to get it yet."

Kiana sighed in disappointment.

"No, Kiana, you've succeeded." Xia Ling frowned and observed for a moment, then said uncertainly, "This... doesn't seem to be a prison cell."

"This should be the dormitory used to house 'experimental subjects' in the Babylon Laboratory."

"Experiments?" Kiana's face darkened. "You mean Sirin and the others? Those bastards locked them up in a place like this?"