"Flame Willow, could you show us that ability where the zombies suddenly burst into flames?"
Watching Flame Willow fumble about while still doing her best to respond to the children, Raven's lips curled into a smile.
"She really is a gentle person..."
As Flame Willow's matters gradually settled down, Xia Ling's life also entered an unchanging routine.
With August coming to an end, St. Freya Academy entered a new school year. The Big Three, who had spent half a year growing within the academy, had successfully become upperclassmen.
The new semester's assignments were always especially busy. In particular, during September and October, two medium-scale Honkai outbreaks occurred near the Far East Branch, leaving the Valkyries and teachers in the combat ranks rushed off their feet.
Xia Ling, however, did not have such worries. Because of her special status and the fact that her skills were only related to combat and survival, Himeko had not assigned her to missions primarily focused on cleanup and rescue.
That did not mean she had nothing to do, though. With teachers in short supply, Xia Ling began trying her hand at teaching two relatively unimportant courses, officially setting foot on the path of a teacher.
Of course, the price was having Kiana's grades raise her blood pressure another notch.
As for Flame Willow, although she had initially thought she would not be very good at getting along with children—
After all, she had been alone in her previous life. Her only interactions with children had been when she returned to the orphanage to visit its old director.
But in a place like an orphanage... the children were probably not particularly obedient.
So, Flame Willow's supposed inability to deal with children was actually just an inability to deal with bratty children.
The children in the Nest were different. Raven had rescued them from all over Changkong City. They had witnessed the cruelty of the Honkai's descent and experienced the unity of huddling together for warmth. Naturally, their temperaments could not be compared with those of children their age.
Under such circumstances, a dependable big sister like Flame Willow—gentle in temperament, powerful in strength, and most importantly, able to cook—was incredibly popular.
Flame Willow got along wonderfully with the children. Especially after she joined their exploration team, searching Changkong City for supplies instantly went from facing disaster head-on to being a stealth mission.
With Flame Willow leading them, the exploration team was as carefree as a field trip. Sometimes, if she felt like it, she would even teach them a few wilderness survival tricks on the spot before holding an impromptu outdoor barbecue.
Now, the daily spots on the exploration team were almost always full. Since there were simply too many people, Little Kong and Flame Willow had no choice but to make a dedicated schedule deciding who went out each day and who stayed behind.
Besides exploring, Flame Willow also downloaded some courses suitable for their age group through Xia Ling. She taught the children one or two classes every day, making her life extremely fulfilling.
When Raven returned after the first month, she could barely believe that the lively, energetic children before her were the same group she had previously taken in.
Outside the real world on both sides, Xia Ling's strength was also... increasing at a snail's pace in the system.
There was no helping it. Xia Ling was not some genius. Combat experience and techniques could be grasped through life-and-death battles, but the development and application of Honkai Energy... those depended rather heavily on talent.
Moreover, St. Freya Academy could not possibly teach students the energy-manipulation techniques of an S-rank Valkyrie. Even Theresa, the academy's only openly known S-rank combatant, might not necessarily be able to defeat Xia Ling reliably.
Xia Ling herself was not in a hurry. Such things could never be improved overnight.
But while Xia Ling was not anxious, Elysia, who watched her secretly every day, was nearly worried to death. Whenever Xia Ling got stuck on some very simple issue, Elysia wished she could run out of the Elysian Realm and teach Xia Ling herself.
As for the trials, now that Xia Ling had two S-rank combatants, she finally cleared the normal-difficulty Elysian Realm trial without any real danger. But on dangerous difficulty, she was still at the level of dying the moment she showed her face.
Still, since nothing much had been happening lately, Xia Ling was in no rush to speed-farm the trials. Instead, she leisurely became a resource hoarder.
After pulling the half-price five-star character card, Xia Ling extravagantly raised that character straight to Elite 2, putting on a little show of making a living person appear for Elysia.
As for the remaining resources, with their future needs still unclear, Xia Ling did not use them recklessly. The system was right there, and she could exchange them whenever she wanted. There was no need to rush.
However, after her Originium Ingots exceeded three digits, the system shop finally received a long-awaited update. This update not only added special items from Mizuki's Integrated Strategies and Phantom's Integrated Strategies, but also added rules for directly purchasing Cipher Plates and Collapse Paradigms. Naturally, they cost extra.
And amid that peaceful daily life, time arrived at the end of 2014.
Going to Oceania to Plant Something Big
"Flame Willow, are you really taking leave at a time like this?"
Early in the morning on December 26th, Raven was startled by Flame Willow's request.
"Christmas just passed, and New Year's Day is only a few days away. The children have been looking forward to it for so long. If you aren't here for New Year's, won't they be very sad?"
"What are you thinking..." Flame Willow looked speechless. "It's not like I'm not coming back. I'm just going to meet someone. Forget New Year's—I'll probably be on the return flight in less than three days."
"Really? Somehow, I don't believe that at all..." Raven muttered. "Forget it. After spending a few months together, I know you well enough. If you wanted to explain, you would have said so from the beginning. Since you're speaking in riddles, I won't ask."
As she spoke, Raven pulled a complete set of identification documents from her pocket, including personal information, household registration, a visa, and a pile of other things.
"Here. These are the identity documents I prepared for you. Look them over yourself, and remember your name." Raven then took out a bank card and a considerable amount of cash.
"You only said you were taking a trip to Oceania, not what you were going there for, so I could only prepare two sources of funds for you. Spend them as you see fit. The money is clean, and no one will be able to trace anything through it."
After saying that, Raven thought for a moment before adding, "If it isn't enough, call me. Your salary is more than this, and I can lend you some too."
"Alright, alright. Why are you acting like such an old mother? It's not like I've never traveled far before." Seeing Raven fuss over her so much, Flame Willow could not help laughing.
"What do you think? I'm worried you'll get lost halfway there. The children would probably be sad for a long time." Raven rolled her eyes at the giggling Flame Willow.
"That's everything. Your flight leaves this afternoon, and you need to go to the neighboring city. Do you need me to give you a ride?"
"No need. There are still so many children here. I'll drive there myself. It won't make much difference, and it's not like I need to worry about an accident."
Flame Willow put the pile of things Raven had prepared into her suitcase and stood up.
"You're leaving just like that? Aren't you going to say goodbye to the children?"
"They played so late last night. Let them sleep in today." Flame Willow patted down her clothes. "I'll be back in a couple of days anyway. Just tell them for me."
"Fine, have it your way. You're the one they'll cling to when you get back, not me." Raven shrugged. "Well then, see you."
"Mm, see you."
After bidding Raven farewell, Flame Willow rose directly into the air and flew toward a small car she had picked out earlier.
As for why she had not driven the car near the Nest, one reason was that post-Eruption Changkong City had yet to be rebuilt, so there was nowhere to refuel.
And the other reason...
"Yo, finished saying goodbye to Little Kong and the others?"
A girl with long light-gray hair, streaked with hints of azure and deep violet, poked her head out from the passenger seat.
Although New Year's was drawing close, the girl wore an off-the-shoulder white short dress with a black jacket, looking completely out of place for the season.
"No, I only told Raven." Flame Willow opened the door, tossed her suitcase into the back seat, then opened the driver's door and sat down.
"Phew... It really is more comfortable around you. So warm."
"Of course. That's about the one good thing about being fire-based. But Oceania should be over twenty degrees around now, so what you're wearing is just right." Flame Willow glanced outside, confirmed that nothing was blocking the way, and started the car.
"Eh, whatever. Once I get there, I'll probably be stuck in a lab getting studied anyway. They can't possibly not have air conditioning, can they?"
"Speaking of which, how well have you mastered your abilities? Don't let the Oceania Branch actually discover something from studying you."
"No problem. After Elite 2, my control over my body became ridiculously high. Not only can I shut off my pain receptors at will, I can even freely convert my cells between normal cells and Sea Creatures cells." Highmore leaned back in her seat, a tendril winding around her fingertip before quickly vanishing.
"It clearly wasn't this easy to control in the original work. Maybe this is a benefit gifted by the system's enhancement? I even feel like I can freely transform into my Paranoid Bubble form while remaining conscious."
"Maybe it has something to do with the localized template you chose." Flame Willow kept her eyes on the road. "Although I look somewhat like a Fusion Warrior, Xia Ling and I both gained our abilities through template enhancements based on stigmata."
"But yours... might unexpectedly suit your abilities even better."
"Maybe. But I'm not the one who'll get a headache over it. Let those people at the Oceania Branch lose some hair when the time comes."
That was right. The half-price five-star character card Xia Ling had pulled contained the gray-haired girl before her: Highmore.
In Xia Ling's original plan, she had intended to add another six-star character card for the arrangements in Oceania. But this five-star character was simply too suitable.
With Highmore's abilities, even if the operation was exposed in the end, as long as Durandal did not come, not even Rita could keep her. At worst, she would earn Wendy's hatred. She could always cut ties decisively afterward, and it would not affect Xia Ling's ability to try again with a new identity.
There was still more than a year before the main storyline began, and a long time before Wendy became the Herrscher of Wind. But if they waited until the main storyline approached before going to Oceania, Wendy's emotional knot would already have formed, and the results would not be as good.
Therefore, the person stationed in Oceania had to obtain an identity that would allow her to stay beside Wendy for a long time.
There were only three possible identities: Valkyrie, researcher, or test subject.
There were some avenues on the Valkyrie side, but not many. Leaving aside how difficult it would be to infiltrate the Valkyrie ranks, even if she managed it, getting transferred to Oceania would be difficult.
A researcher was even less possible. Without having contacted the Elysian Realm, Xia Ling did not believe she had the confidence to impersonate one.
So, if she wanted to approach Wendy, there was only one choice: become a test subject, preferably one similar to Wendy.
Then what kind of test subject would have research value comparable to Wendy's and be extremely important?
Only one answer remained: a Pseudo-Herrscher.
Of course, merely being a Pseudo-Herrscher might allow her to approach Wendy, but it would not be enough to complete the crucial stroke in Xia Ling's script. Thus, Highmore's special form was Xia Ling's final arrangement.
Before this, Sirin had stuffed a core into Belena, allowing Baby Dragon to become an existence similar to a Pseudo-Herrscher. Later, Yunna completely unleashed herself and became a botanical garden.
Highmore's localized template could naturally follow the same path.
After Highmore reached Elite 2, she appeared to be a humanoid Pseudo-Herrscher, but she was actually something similar to Bella's transformed form. When she became Paranoid Bubble, Highmore's existence would also turn into that of a Honkai Beast.
As for why they had to go through such a massive detour... that was related to the stage Xia Ling had prepared for the exposure of Highmore's final identity.
Meanwhile, on the Other Side
"So, sometimes, to cover up certain suspicious points, you don't necessarily need to provide especially strong evidence. You only need to throw out a more plausible answer."
"As long as that answer feels real enough—real enough to create a closed loop for the event and make it impossible to disprove—people will naturally overlook all their prior suspicions."
Highmore leaned against the car window, looking at the distant scenery while going over the upcoming script with Flame Willow.
"But to be safe, it would be best not to let the original body appear. With her abilities, she could easily trigger a genuine Honkai outbreak and make your birth seem reasonable."
"Right now, we can only rely on this little thing made by the original body to trigger a small-scale Honkai outbreak. The effect is still a bit lacking."
"Don't worry. I just thought of a better method. It should greatly increase my research value."
As Highmore watched the scenery streaming backward beyond the window, inspiration suddenly struck her.
"What do you think about mixing a Collapse Paradigm into this Honkai outbreak?"
"Since we were already planning to trigger a Honkai outbreak in an uninhabited place and pretend that an intelligent Pseudo-Herrscher had been born, then since the scale of this outbreak cannot be large, we might as well focus on its uniqueness and increase their interest in researching me."
"That could work, but you need to hold back."
Xia Ling, who was organizing data far away at St. Freya Academy, paused her pen before replying through the channel. "We're still fairly well-funded right now. Just choose a Collapse Paradigm without an overly strong effect. Otherwise, it'll be troublesome if Otto actually takes an interest."
"That doesn't really matter. Honkai outbreaks can take all sorts of strange forms." Flame Willow interjected. "I actually think Otto will not easily interfere with the Oceania Branch's situation, considering Wendy is the preview and comparison point for the Sirin project."
"He went through so much trouble to let Oceania become the way it is now—the state most suitable for the plan. Ruining Oceania's structure over some minor issue would be far too wasteful."
"Regardless, this operation is only an attempt. It doesn't matter if it fails, so don't put too much pressure on yourselves." Xia Ling concluded through the channel. "Flame Willow can actually let loose, since you'll need to show yourself during the Manila Honkai outbreak anyway. As for Highmore... take it easy. If it fails, then forget it. If you succeed, don't give Wendy some kind of psychological trauma."
"I don't care. If something really goes wrong, I'll cut ties ruthlessly." Highmore grinned wickedly. "Then Wendy can go searching a thousand miles for her wife, and you can experience the warmth of a yandere."
"You really are getting more and more rebellious." Xia Ling sighed helplessly, though she understood her own personality well enough. She just liked making such jokes.
"Alright, enough nonsense. Highmore, it's time for you to go back." Flame Willow stared ahead. "We'll reach the city soon. Don't let the cameras catch you. Don't forget, Gray Serpent can control the entire flow of data in a city."
"Alright, alright. Today's little outing is over." Highmore stretched, then returned directly to the system space and vanished.
"Once we reach Oceania, you'll have plenty of chances to get some air." With that, Flame Willow continued driving.
Looking at the now-silent channel, Xia Ling also withdrew her attention and continued writing and drawing on a sheet of paper.
After a while, Xia Ling tore down the sheet, now filled with bizarre routes and annotations, and pinned it to a clue board beside her.
Before that sheet, the clue board already held three or four similar summaries.
Although Flame Willow and Highmore were carrying out their plans at a feverish pace, that did not mean Xia Ling had been idle.
While adding a little outside assistance to the plan, Xia Ling also had her own primary task.
That was finding little Seele.
On one sleepless night, Xia Ling had promised Duck Duck that she would search for traces of Seele in the Sea of Quantum. Now, that search had become a fixed monthly occurrence.
Of course, since Xia Ling had never truly entered the Sea of Quantum before, she had been incredibly nervous when she and Duck Duck made their first attempt.
But after entering the Sea of Quantum, she discovered that she had been worried about the wrong thing.
Entering and leaving the Sea of Quantum posed no difficulty for Xia Ling at all. Just like entering Imaginary Space, she could come and go freely.
The true difficulty was how to find Seele.
The Sea of Quantum was just like its name suggested. To Xia Ling, it felt like a genuine ocean.
Not to mention that this ocean hid all kinds of quantum-affinity monsters, along with isolated islands that might contain Seele—World Bubbles.
In the original work, Seele was rescued by Kevin near the start of the main storyline. After making a deal with Kevin, she was sent into a world constructed by the Herrscher of Reason, where she met Duck Duck.
But Xia Ling did not have those conditions. Searching for Seele was like looking for a needle in the ocean—no, it was even harder than that.
Before you continue