28. Xia Ling: Hey! Let Me Treat You to... / 29. Help from the Sidelines

Ain, who was standing nearby, said, "So, I brought a portion of the Titan Unit, and with the Hyperion's own firepower, we should be able to hold the settlement without much trouble."

"Then I'll take care of closing the Imaginary Singularity."

Theresa glanced at the scene on the screen. "Although I don't have a clue yet, I can try to see if Judah can do anything..."

"Then I'll go with you," Xia Ling said without hesitation.

Others might not know, but she knew it all too well. In the original work, Theresa was not in Changkong City at all at this time. Kiana and Benares were preparing to close the Imaginary Singularity, but they were attacked by the Imaginary Corpse on the way.

Following this is the storyline of Benares' death and Mei's Herrscher transformation.

Most captains probably remember the most memorable part of this arc as the Elegy of the Sinner, but they've mostly forgotten one crucial thing: after Kiana was attacked and fell into a coma, it was Kevin saved her and told her about Mei joining World Serpent.

In other words, the task Theresa has taken on for herself is roughly equivalent to fighting the Imaginary Corpse first, and then going to fight Kevin.

Who could stand that? If she didn't come along, Theresa would probably suffer another huge setback.

"Xia Ling? This isn't the kind of vacation we had before..."

"I don't care, Theresa. You promised me you wouldn't interfere with me today, and besides, I'm not acting alone. I'm supposed to be with you..."

Xia Ling floated to Theresa's side and hugged her arm, coaxing her gently.

"You... never mind, I'll deal with you after this is over. But you absolutely mustn't act alone later, this time the danger is different from usual."

Theresa had no choice but to agree to Xia Ling's request to accompany her, and then gave her serious instructions.

"Headmaster, please take me with you. I possess the core of the Herrscher of the Void. I can shut down things like Imaginary Singularity and can help you as well."

Kiana looked at Theresa with a resolute expression.

"Kiana, what are you doing getting involved in this... Sigh, never mind, you absolutely cannot get involved in closing the Imaginary Singularity, but there is indeed something here that needs your attention."

Theresa sighed, "Kiana, didn't you notice that someone is missing here?"

"Is it Mei?"

Kiana immediately asked. She had noticed that Mei was not on the bridge, but she assumed that Mei had been assigned some mission in advance and had left first.

"That's right. This morning, Mei left the Hyperion on her own. Judging from the flight path of the shuttle she took, she should have gone to Changkong City, and she hasn't returned yet."

"So, Kiana, if you insist on participating in this mission, then go and meet up with Mei first."

From Theresa's perspective, this mission is indeed the safest one at the moment, since given Kiana's personality, she certainly wouldn't stay in the Hyperion to recuperate peacefully.

Rather than waiting for her to sneak out and do something big like absorbing all the Honkai Energy in Changkong City, it's better to give her a safer mission first.

Perfect timing. Mei is important enough to her, so she'll definitely take this mission seriously. And even if something goes wrong with Mei, she won't harm Kiana.

This arrangement is simply perfect. Theresa silently marveled at her own brilliance.

Hopefully, Mei can delay Kiana's attention a little longer... at least prevent her from having time to get involved in closing the Imaginary Singularity.

Chapter Twenty-Eight Xia Ling: Hey! Please have some...

"Has Changkong City really become like this...?"

With a gentle flap of its massive dragon wings, Theresa stood atop Benares's body, gazing at the Changkong City, ravaged by torrential rain and storms.

"If only it were just these natural disasters, it would be better. What's more serious is the high concentration of Honkai environment... Look, in the distance, a Temple-class Honkai Beast is already taking shape."

Xia Ling casually took out Crescent Rose and fired a shot at the Honkai Beast that was about to take shape in the distance, scattering the gathered Honkai Energy.

"Bella, there's no need to fly so fast. Be careful of your surroundings."

Watching the Imaginary Singularity getting closer and closer, Xia Ling cautioned, "Schicksal might not just leave so easily. The fact that they're so comfortable letting this thing exist here means they must have some kind of reliance on it."

"Hmm... I also feel that there seems to be some danger around us."

Theresa had already removed Judah, and the spear of light swirled around her as a watchful presence.

Suddenly, Xia Ling and Theresa both looked up at the same time, looking to their right front.

A black and gold figure flashed through the space.

"Bella, lower the altitude! Theresa, use the light spear to defend first!"

A staff instantly appeared in Xia Ling's hand. She gently tapped it forward, and the gravity around the Imaginary Corpse - Nihilism instantly distorted.

"This guy gives me a really bad feeling. I mean, something's wrong with his positioning. We need to land first; otherwise, we won't be able to fight effectively in the air."

"Theresa, be careful."

"You're the one who shouldn't force yourself!"

Theresa unleashed Judah, and the light spear shot out instantly, preparing to test the guy's defensive strength while Xia Wuyin (Dad Ba Ling Liao Yin Qingling) was controlling him.

To their surprise, gravity seemed to have little effect on the monster; its movements were only slightly slower. Although it appeared to have a physical form, the laws of gravity did not seem to apply to it.

The Imaginary Corpse's twin blades spun around, blocking all of Theresa's light spears, and then the wheels on his feet instantly activated, chasing after Benares.

"Hiss—this is getting a bit tough..."

Seeing that gravity had no effect, Xia Ling put away her staff and replaced it with the Crescent Rose.

"This distance isn't enough to trigger the sniper scope... I'll just have to fight it out."

The Stigmata Space Imprint on her hand suddenly emitted a red light, Yae Sakura appeared beside her.

"Theresa, Yae Sakura, I guess I can only play support for you guys this time. I'll go with Bella to harass it. You guys try to see if you can beat this guy head-on."

"However, don't force it. This thing shouldn't be Honkai Beast. I can sense some strange connection between it and the Imaginary Singularity. It might have some special abilities."

"In addition..."

Xia Ling directly drew Yae Sakura's spirit sword, and a small carving knife appeared in her hand. She then slapped the carving knife into the spirit sword, and instantly, the carving knife was integrated into it.

"With this, your attacks should be able to damage it... but I'm not entirely sure, it's better than nothing."

The artifact that Xia Ling just integrated into her spirit blade is called the [Carving Word Chisel Blade]. It was also obtained from the Sarkaz Rogue, but this item is now a one-time use item, and its effects are naturally enhanced.

It can record the first target hit and cause a 50% reduction in defense when attacking.

For someone like Yae Sakura, who is also struggling with the Armor Break Line like Xia Ling, the improvement is definitely significant.

With a sudden gust of wind, Bella landed on a spacious platform. Theresa quickly jumped down, and Judah's chains instantly extended upwards, pulling back the Imaginary Corpse that wanted to continue their pursuit.

At the same time, Yae Sakura's figure appeared directly above the Imaginary Corpse, accompanied by a streak of icy blue light, heading straight for the back of the Imaginary Corpse.

Of course, don't get me wrong, Yae Sakura hasn't been watching any strange anime lately. She attacked that spot simply because she wanted to see if she could directly shatter that strange dial.

As the icy blue Honkai Energy spread throughout the Imaginary Corpse, golden chains entangled itself along its pulleys. With some preparation, the Imaginary Corpse was immediately subjected to a full set of control effects as soon as it landed.

"Perfect opportunity, Bella, breathe fire! No, breathe lightning!"

Xia Ling naturally wouldn't let this opportunity pass. While directing Bella to exhale from high above, Xia Ling began to quickly search through the system space.

As everyone knows, although Xia Ling's own Armor Break Line is not high, she is a hoarder.

Within the system space, she had amassed a huge collection of various disposable items, not to mention consumable items like Cipher Plate or Rejection Reaction.

Therefore, even if she can't break through the defenses, Xia Ling can definitely annoy the opponent for a long time.

For example, right now, after quickly scanning her collection, Xia Ling took out a tube of green reagent and threw it far away towards the Imaginary Corpse.

Poseidon's Excrement —no, Poseidon's Metabolism —is an extremely disgusting negative item that, once acquired, directly increases the enemy's health by 25%.

This thing isn't meant to be used to annoy yourself. If used on an enemy, it can slowly deduct 25% of their health. Of course, the deduction speed depends on the strength of the enemy.

As the green slime spread across the shell of the Imaginary Corpse, its Imaginary Energy began to be consumed inexplicably.

After all, for these kinds of life forms, energy is equivalent to their physical composition.

While deducting energy, Xia Ling took out another blue six-sided die and gently tossed it into the air.

Then... throw out a 1.

"Okay... I knew it."

Also from Watermoon Meat Pigeon, but this item is not a collectible, but a consumable. Since Xia Ling only throws a 1, it can only trigger a certain slowing effect.

Since gravity cannot stop the movement of the Imaginary Corpse, I will directly use the rules. You can't be immune to that, right?

With Xia Ling interfering, Theresa directly grabbed the Judas' Vow and swung it hard at the head of the Imaginary Corpse. At the moment Judah made contact with it, the spear of light burst out from Judah.

Under the onslaught of the crowd, the body of the Imaginary Corpse began to turn red and brighten, and then a huge clock phantom unfolded on the ground beneath their feet.

The fierce battle between the group caused a great commotion, which naturally could not be kept from Kiana, who was traveling through Changkong City.

Suppressing her unease, Kiana tried to focus on the task at hand.

She really wanted to Xia Ling, but given her physical condition, she wouldn't be able to get involved even if she went.

What worries her even more is that she has searched almost every area in the settlement, and even used her special abilities many times, but even so, she still cannot find Mei.

So she secretly slipped away and came to East District.

In the torrential rain, she began to run frantically toward one place.

She already had some guesses about Mei's whereabouts, but as for the reason for Mei's departure...

Kiana was fully aware of this as well.

A similar situation had already occurred to Xia Ling, but because Xia Ling's body could recover on its own and she knew how to properly manage Theresa's stress, Theresa did not erupt like Mei.

As for herself... Kiana gritted her teeth; she had indeed overlooked many things.

In short, Changkong City is in great danger right now; we need to find Mei first...

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Off-Field Assistance

With a combination of running and teleportation, Kiana approached her destination— Chiyu Academy.

Just as she thought of returning to Changkong City when she was nearing the end of her life, if something happened to Mei, she might also revisit that place.

Especially... that rooftop.

The outline of the Chiyu Academy was faintly visible amidst the dark clouds.

Kiana teleported again and landed lightly on the rooftop of the Chiyu Academy.

Standing on the edge of the rooftop, she looked down.

Just like before, you can have a panoramic view of the Chiyu Academy from the rooftop. However, compared to when I left, the area is now covered with all sorts of vine-like plants.

"Does Chiyu Academy have these things... Oh right, Sister Xia Ling seems to have mentioned that she and Theresa defeated a Pseudo-Herrscher manipulates plants here."

Kiana made a questioning sound, but before she could finish muttering, she patted her head in annoyance. Perhaps because her physical condition was deteriorating, she had almost forgotten where Sister Xia Ling had first appeared.

"That's right, this is Herrscher. Even if it's just a newly born Pseudo-Herrscher, the aftershocks of her death are enough to create such a magical ecosystem."

A familiar voice sounded from behind Kiana, Mei slowly walked out from behind her.

"Mei!"

Mei glanced at Kiana and continued to explain quietly to herself.

"Even after two or three years, the influence caused by that Pseudo-Herrscher has not disappeared. So, what kind of influence would it have if it were a real Herrscher?"

"The answer is... an Imaginary Singularity that has never been closed."

Mei turned her gaze to the pillar of light in the sky.

"Even though the Herrscher Core has fallen into slumber within your body, the Imaginary Singularity left behind by the core is still continuously releasing the Honkai Energy remaining from the Third Honkai Outbreak."

"And now, Otto has reopened that Imaginary Singularity through the Second Divine Key, which has led to the current situation."

"Mei? Where... did you know all this?"

Kiana hadn't forgotten that during the operational meeting, the two Doctor from Anti-Entropy didn't mention much about the formation of the Imaginary Singularity in Changkong City, clearly indicating that they didn't know the cause of this thing either.

How does Mei know all this...?

A bad feeling crept into Kiana's heart.

"It was the people of the World Serpent who told me this; their Honored Master Kevin told me all of this personally."

"Mei, how could you go to see the Honored Master of the World Serpent alone? Sister Xia Ling said that man is very dangerous!"

"Kiana, do you know what? He also told me something else."

Mei ignored Kiana's voice and continued.