In Honkai, But Integrated Strategies Activated

"Reed Grass sister, can you show us that ability where you make the dead soldiers spontaneously combust?"

Watching Flame Willow, who was flustered but trying her best to respond to the children, Raven's lips curved into a smile.

"As expected, she's a kind person too..."

With Flame Willow's matters settled, Xia Ling's life settled into a monotonous routine.

As August passed, St. Freya's courses entered a new academic year, and the Big Three, who had been at the academy for half a year, had successfully become senior students.

The new semester's tasks were always exceptionally busy, especially in September and October, when two relatively small-scale Honkai incidents occurred near the Far East Branch. This caused the Valkyries and Teachers in the combat roster to be overwhelmed.

Xia Ling, however, didn't have these worries. Due to her special status, she only possessed skills related to combat and survival. Therefore, Himeko didn't involve her in missions primarily focused on clearing out enemies and search and rescue.

However, this didn't mean she was idle. Due to a shortage of teachers, Xia Ling began attempting to teach two less critical courses, officially stepping onto the path of a teacher.

Of course, the price was her blood pressure rising further due to Kiana's grades.

Meanwhile, on Flame Willow's end, although she initially thought she wouldn't be good at interacting with children.

After all, she was alone in her past life, and the only interaction she had with children was when she visited the old director at the orphanage.

But a place like an orphanage... children there might not be very obedient.

So, Flame Willow actually believed she wasn't good at handling children, specifically "problematic" children.

But the children in the nest were different. Because Raven had rescued them from various parts of Changkong City, they had witnessed the cruelty of the Honkai's arrival and experienced the unity of huddling together for warmth. Their disposition naturally couldn't be compared to children their age.

In this situation, a gentle, powerful, and most importantly, a cooking big sister like Flame Willow was extremely popular.

Flame Willow got along wonderfully with the children, especially after she joined their exploration team. The difficulty of searching for supplies in Changkong City instantly changed from facing disaster head-on to a stealth mission.

With Flame Willow leading, the exploration team felt like a picnic, completely stress-free. If Flame Willow was in the mood, she could even teach them some wilderness survival tricks on the spot and have an impromptu outdoor barbecue.

Now, the daily slots for the exploration team were almost fully booked. Due to the sheer number of children, Little Kong and Flame Willow had to create a dedicated schedule to decide who would go out and who would stay behind each day.

In addition to exploration, Flame Willow downloaded some age-appropriate courses from Xia Ling and taught the children one or two classes daily, making her life very fulfilling.

So much so that when Raven returned after the first month, she couldn't believe that the vibrant and energetic children before her were the same group she had adopted earlier.

Beyond the real worlds on both sides, Xia Ling's strength was also improving... at a snail's pace within the system.

It couldn't be helped; Xia Ling wasn't a genius. Combat experience and skills could be learned through life-or-death struggles, but developing Honkai Energy and techniques... that relied more on comprehension.

Moreover, St. Freya Academy wouldn't teach students the energy usage techniques of S-rank Valkyries. In fact, even Theresa, the only openly acknowledged S-rank combatant in the academy, might not be able to defeat Xia Ling steadily.

Xia Ling herself wasn't in a hurry; after all, such things couldn't be improved overnight.

However, while Xia Ling wasn't in a hurry, Elysia, who was secretly observing from the side every day, was almost frantic. Especially when she saw Xia Ling stuck on a very simple problem, Elysia wished she could break out of the Elysian Realm and teach Xia Ling herself.

In terms of trials, with her two S-rank combat powers, Xia Ling finally passed the normal difficulty Elysian Realm trial without major incident. However, for the dangerous difficulty, she was still at the level of being instantly killed upon appearance.

But since there wasn't much going on lately, Xia Ling wasn't in a rush to quickly clear the trials. Instead, she unhurriedly became a hoarder.

After drawing the half-priced five-star character card, Xia Ling generously upgraded this character straight to Elite 2, performing a "big change of person" for Elysia beside her.

As for the remaining resources, without knowing the exact needs, Xia Ling didn't rashly use them. Anyway, the system was there, and exchanges could be made at any time, so there was no rush.

However, after the Originium Ingots broke the three-digit mark, the system store finally welcomed a long-awaited update. This update not only added special items for Moonlight Roguelike and Phantom Roguelike but also introduced specific purchase rules for Cipher Plates and Collapse Paradigms, albeit at an additional cost.

And so, time passed in this peaceful daily life, reaching the end of 2014.

Chapter 23: Going to Bury a Big One in Oceania

"Willow, are you really going to take leave at this time?"

On December 26th, early in the morning, Raven was startled by Flame Willow's request.

"Christmas just passed, and New Year's is in a few days. The children have been looking forward to it for a long time. If you're not here for New Year's, they'll be very sad."

"What are you thinking..." Flame Willow said speechlessly, "It's not like I'm not coming back. I'm just going to see someone. Don't even mention New Year's; I estimate I'll be on the return flight within three days."

"Really? I don't believe you at all..." Raven muttered. "Fine, after spending a few months together, I understand. If you wanted to say something, you would have said it clearly from the start. Since you're being cryptic, I won't ask further."

With that, Raven took out a complete set of identity documents from her pocket, including information, household registration, visa, and a bunch of other things.

"Here, these are the identity documents I prepared for you. Take a look and remember your name," Raven then produced a bank card and a significant amount of cash.

"You just said you were going to Oceania but didn't say what you were doing, so I could only prepare two sets of funds for you. Spend as you see fit. The source of this money is clean, and it won't be traced."

At this point, Raven paused and added, "If it's not enough, you can call me. Your salary is more than this, and I can also lend you some."

"Alright, alright, why are you acting like a mother hen? It's not like I've never traveled far before," seeing Raven's meticulous instructions, Flame Willow chuckled.

"What do you think? I'm just afraid you'll get lost halfway, and the children will be sad for a long time," Raven rolled her eyes at the grinning Flame Willow.

"These are all the things. Your flight departs in the afternoon and requires you to go to the neighboring city. Do you need me to give you a ride?"

"No need for that. There are still a lot of children here. I'll drive myself; it won't take much longer, and I don't have to worry about any accidents."

Flame Willow put the pile of things Raven prepared into her handbag and stood up.

"You're leaving now? Aren't you going to say goodbye to the children?"

"They played so late last night; let them sleep in today," Flame Willow patted her clothes. "I'll be back in a couple of days anyway, just tell them for me."

"Alright, suit yourself. It's not me who will be pestered when you get back," Raven shrugged. "Then that's it, see you later."

"See you later."

After bidding farewell to Raven, Flame Willow soared into the sky, heading towards a car she had scouted earlier.

As for why she didn't drive the car closer to the nest, one reason was that Changkong City, after the Great Honkai, hadn't been rebuilt yet, and there was simply no place to get gas.

The other reason...

"Yo, done saying goodbye to Little Kong and the others?"

From the passenger seat inside the car, a girl with long, light gray hair, interspersed with streaks of blue and purple, poked her head out.

Even though it was nearing New Year's Eve, the girl was wearing a white off-the-shoulder mini-dress paired with a black jacket, looking out of place for the season.

"No, I just told Raven," Flame Willow said, tossing her suitcase onto the back seat before opening the driver's door and getting in.

"Phew... it's much more comfortable by your side, warm and cozy."

"That's true. Fire elementals do have that advantage. But it's probably around twenty degrees Celsius in Oceania right now, so your outfit is quite fitting." Glancing outside to confirm there were no obstructions, Flame Willow started the car.

"Sigh, it doesn't matter. Once I get there, I'll most likely be researched in a lab anyway. They wouldn't not have air conditioning, right?"

"Speaking of which, how well have you mastered your abilities? Don't let the Oceania Branch over there actually research something out of you."

"No problem. After Elite 2, my control over my body is ridiculously high. Not only can I voluntarily block pain, but my cells can even freely transform between normal cells and Sea Creature cells," Highmore said, leaning back against the seat. A tendril of her finger twirled with a wisp of a tentacle before quickly disappearing.

"It wasn't this easy to control in the original story. Perhaps this is a benefit of the system's enhancements? I even feel like I can freely transform into the Paranoid Bubble form while remaining conscious."

"Maybe it's also related to the localized template you chose," Flame Willow said, focusing on the road ahead. "Although it might seem like I'm a fusion warrior, both Xia Ling and I had our abilities enhanced based on Stigmata templates."

"But yours... might actually be surprisingly compatible with your abilities."

"Perhaps. But it's not my headache anyway. We'll leave the hair-pulling to those guys in Oceania."

That's right, the half-price five-star character card Xia Ling drew was none other than the gray-haired girl in front of her, Highmore.

In Xia Ling's original plan, she had intended to get another six-star character card for arrangements in Oceania. However, she couldn't resist how perfect this five-star character was.

With Highmore's abilities, even if her actions were exposed, as long as Durandal didn't show up, even Rita wouldn't be able to keep her. At most, she'd earn Wendy's dislike. If things got really bad, they could simply cut ties, and it wouldn't affect Xia Ling finding another way with a new identity.

Since there was still over a year before the main story began, and it was a long time before Wendy became the Herrscher of Wind, going to Oceania closer to the main story would mean Wendy's emotional baggage would already be formed, and the effect wouldn't be as good.

Therefore, the person left in Oceania needed to be able to obtain a long-term identity to stay by Wendy's side.

There were only three possible identities: Valkyrie, researcher, or experimental subject.

There were some avenues for becoming a Valkyrie, but not many. Setting aside how to infiltrate the Valkyrie ranks, even if she managed to, getting transferred to Oceania would be difficult.

Becoming a researcher was even less likely. Without any connection to the Elysian Realm, Xia Ling didn't believe she had the confidence to impersonate a researcher.

Thus, to get close to Wendy, there was only one option: to become an experimental subject, preferably one similar to Wendy.

So, what kind of experimental subject would be as important and similar to Wendy in research value?

There was only one answer left: Pseudo-Herrscher.

Of course, just being a Pseudo-Herrscher might allow her to get close to Wendy, but it wouldn't be enough to complete the crucial part of Xia Ling's plan. Therefore, Highmore's special form was Xia Ling's final arrangement.

Just as Sirin had given a core to Belena, allowing Baby Dragon to become something similar to a Pseudo-Herrscher, and Yunna had fully unleashed herself to become a botanical garden.

So, Highmore's localized template could follow the same principle.

After Highmore's Elite 2, she would outwardly appear as a human-shaped Pseudo-Herrscher, but in reality, she would be a being similar to Bella's transformation. When she transformed into the Paranoid Bubble, Highmore's existence form would also become a Honkai Beast.

As for why they had to go through such a convoluted process... it was related to the stage Xia Ling had prepared for Highmore's identity exposure.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Meanwhile, Elsewhere

"So, sometimes, to conceal certain doubts, you don't need to provide strong evidence. You just need to present a more plausible answer."

"As long as that answer is sufficiently truthful, to the point where the event forms a closed loop and cannot be disproven, people will naturally overlook all previous suspicions."

Highmore leaned against the car window, gazing at the scenery rushing past, and reviewed the upcoming script with Flame Willow.

"However, to be safe, the main body shouldn't be directly involved. Otherwise, with the main body's abilities, it could trigger a real Honkai, making your birth seem legitimate."

"Right now, we can only rely on this little thing the main body made to trigger a localized Honkai. The effect is still a bit lacking."

"Don't rush. I've thought of a better method. It should significantly increase my research value."

Highmore looked at the scenery rapidly receding outside the window and suddenly had an idea.

"What if we incorporate a Collapse Paradigm into this Honkai event?"

"Our original intention was to trigger a Honkai in an uninhabited area and pretend to give birth to a sentient Pseudo-Herrscher. Since the scale of this Honkai can't be large, why not focus on its uniqueness to pique their research interest?"

"That could work, but you need to be careful."

Xia Ling, far away at St. Freya Academy, paused her pen while organizing data and replied through the channel, "We're still quite well-off right now. Let's pick a Collapse Paradigm with a less potent effect. Otherwise, it would be troublesome if Otto actually got interested."

"That's actually not a big deal. The forms of Honkai are already incredibly varied," Flame Willow interjected. "I think Otto won't easily interfere with the situation in the Oceania Branch, as Wendy is essentially a preview and a control for Sirin's plan."

"He worked hard to let Oceania become what it is now, the 'most suitable' for the plan. Disrupting Oceania's structure over a minor issue would be too much of a loss."

"Regardless, this operation is just an attempt. It doesn't matter if it fails, so don't put too much psychological burden on yourselves," Xia Ling summarized in the channel. "Flame Willow, you can go all out. After all, you'll be making an appearance in the upcoming Manila Honkai. As for Highmore... take it easy. If it fails, so be it. If it succeeds, don't give Wendy any psychological trauma."

"I don't care. If there's real trouble, I'll cut ties ruthlessly," Highmore said with a wicked grin. "Then I'll have Wendy come on a thousand-mile journey to find you, so you can experience the warmth of a yandere."

"You're really getting more rebellious," Xia Ling sighed helplessly, but she also knew her own personality; she just liked making these kinds of jokes.

"Alright, alright, stop rambling. Highmore, you should head back now," Flame Willow said, staring ahead. "We'll be near the city soon if I keep this up. Don't let the cameras catch you. Remember, Gray Serpent can monitor the data flow of an entire city."

"Okay, okay, today's outing is over," Highmore stretched and returned directly to the system space, disappearing.

"Once we reach Oceania, you'll have plenty of time to roam," Flame Willow said, then continued driving.

Seeing the channel had gone silent, Xia Ling also withdrew her attention and went back to drawing and writing on a piece of paper.

After a while, Xia Ling tore off the paper, which was already covered in strange routes and annotations, and stuck it onto a nearby clue board.

Before this paper, there were already three or four similar summaries on the clue board.

Although Flame Willow and Highmore were working intensely on their plan, it didn't mean Xia Ling was completely idle.

While providing some minor external assistance to the plan, Xia Ling also had her own main task.

That was, finding Little Seele.

Sometime during a sleepless night, Xia Ling had promised Duck Duck that she would search for Seele's traces in the Sea of Quantum for her. Now, this search was fixed to once a month.

Of course, since Xia Ling had never truly entered the Sea of Quantum before, she was incredibly nervous during their first attempt.

However, upon entering the Sea of Quantum, she realized her nervousness had been misplaced.

Entering and exiting the Sea of Quantum was not difficult for Xia Ling at all; it was as effortless as entering the Imaginary Space, coming and going as she pleased.

The real difficulty lay in how to find Seele.

The Sea of Quantum, just as its name suggested, felt like a vast ocean to Xia Ling.

Not to mention that this ocean was filled with various monsters with quantum attributes, as well as isolated islands (World Bubbles) that might hide Seele.

In the original story, Seele was rescued by Kevin near the main storyline and, after making a deal with him, was sent to the world built by the Herrscher of Reason, where she met Duck Duck.

But Xia Ling didn't have that option. Finding Seele was like searching for a needle in a haystack, even more difficult than that.