Someone in Honkai, But Integrated Strategies Activated

Even though she had anticipated that her main body might get lost and return again, she hadn't expected it to be this outrageous.

"Don't worry, I'll do it this time."

Highmore walked over, yanked the door open, and said with a half-smile, "What, is opening doors fun?"

"?" Seeing that Highmore was the one opening the door, Xia Ling was once again stumped.

"So, Sister Xia Ling is the consultant sent by the Far East Branch?" Highmore's small mouth parted in surprise. "And it turns out that being directionally challenged is actually a real thing..."

Looking at Highmore's genuine surprise and hearing Highmore and Flame Willow laughing hysterically over the comms, Xia Ling felt her fists clench.

"Highmore, what are you saying..." Wendy tugged at her skirt frantically under the table, seeing how clueless Highmore was about social graces.

However, Highmore acted as if she didn't understand the hint, secretly drawing an "OK" on Wendy's palm with a tentacle before continuing to play along with Xia Ling.

To Wendy's utter bewilderment, these two completely unrelated people somehow hit it off, and they chatted happily for a while.

After a long conversation, Xia Ling reluctantly ended the topic and turned her attention back to Wendy.

"Wendy, how have you been lately?"

"How... have I been?"

"Yes, of course, Headmaster Theresa specifically asked me to inquire about your recent situation. Ever since you joined this experiment, there hasn't been much news from you."

"Theresa doesn't understand research, so she doesn't know if this is normal. I heard she even specifically asked the Archbishop, but she didn't get any substantial answers."

"..."

Wendy lowered her head and mumbled, "I'm... doing pretty well here. It's just that the experiment isn't going very smoothly..."

"Really? Wendy, if anything is bothering you, you should tell me. Although I don't have much authority, I know Theresa. If you don't want to be here, Theresa will definitely find a way to help you leave this experiment."

Listening to Xia Ling's gentle tone, Wendy somehow suddenly recalled her student days at St. Freya. Her eyes felt a little moist, yet there was a strange sense of satisfaction.

Just like how children away from home always report the good news and hide the bad, Wendy didn't want to show her vulnerability in front of this sister from her alma mater.

However, sometimes when one is wronged, they might be able to hold back tears alone, but once someone offers comfort, they can't help but burst into tears.

Fortunately, Highmore seemed to notice Wendy's distress and quickly steered the conversation elsewhere, diverting Xia Ling's attention.

After a while, Wendy, having managed to control her emotions, finally asked:

"Um, Sister Xia Ling, is Teacher Theresa doing well? Is Sister Himeko still drinking often?"

"Of course, your Teacher Theresa can still tear a comic book into atomic-level pieces in an instant. As for Sister Himeko... after I helped her with some of her work, she seems to have been drinking even more frequently."

Xia Ling sighed as she said this:

"It's a shame, the academy's affairs have been quite busy lately, otherwise, she could have come in person."

"I see..." Wendy smiled and said solemnly to Xia Ling, "Then please send my regards to the Headmaster and the others for me, Sister Xia Ling. I'm fine here, and I'm doing well. Please tell them not to worry."

Chapter Thirty-Four: Ryan: Maybe You Should Just Leave Quickly

After chatting for a while, Xia Ling got up to leave, as she still had a pile of luggage to unpack.

Highmore quickly stood up. To prevent Xia Ling from getting lost again, she decided to escort Xia Ling directly to her room.

Along the way, the two chatted and laughed as they walked towards Xia Ling's room, at least on the surface.

However, within the channel set up by the system, they were having a different conversation.

"I say, you were a bit too bold just now, stirring up Wendy's emotions like that. Aren't you afraid she'll actually say she wants to go back to St. Freya? I saw that Wendy almost started crying just now."

"Relax, it's still within control. Put other things aside for now; Otto will definitely not agree."

"The reason I said that was, on one hand, to test Wendy's attitude towards St. Freya. The original timeline had too much time elapsed, making it basically useless for reference."

"And this time, with proper preparation, I need to figure out where Wendy will go after she becomes a Herrscher in advance. A Herrscher-class combat power can have a significant impact in the early stages of the plot."

"On the other hand, it's also a warning to that old man eavesdropping in the shadows."

"I need him to think that we have a way to bring Wendy back at any time, so he won't dare to treat you too harshly."

"Hmm, at least for a while."

"So, it has a time limit, doesn't it?" Highmore sighed. "Then I can only hope his patience is high. Don't get impatient if you don't get any results within a year. If he decides to deal with me early, then the plan will have to be launched ahead of schedule."

"It's fine. As long as he can hold on for more than half a year, we will have the ability to flip the board to some extent, and the choices we can make will only increase."

After escorting Xia Ling to her door, and under Xia Ling's enthusiastic farewell, Highmore returned to her room the same way.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Wendy staring blankly out the window.

"What's wrong, Wendy? Are you unhappy? Oh, is it because of that person from the Far East Branch just now? I noticed your emotions were a bit off earlier." Highmore walked over and placed a hand on Wendy's shoulder.

"No, I'm not unhappy. I was just... calming down." Wendy rubbed the corners of her eyes and turned back to smile at Highmore. "Knowing that so many people still care about me makes me very touched."

"After all, I even thought of myself as an unwanted child before."

"As long as you're happy, I'm glad. I also felt like I got along well with that Xia Ling," Highmore pretended to be relieved. "If you two didn't get along, I might have been a little troubled."

"Where are you getting that idea? How could I dislike someone I just met?" Wendy was amused by Highmore's train of thought. "I'm quite curious, if Wendy and Sister Xia Ling really didn't get along, what would trouble you?"

"I'd be troubled about whether to go easy on her when I help you beat her up." Highmore showed her small fist. "Don't worry, I'll always be on your side."

"Why do you always say such strange things..." Wendy's face flushed again. "Ah, right, I didn't expect you to get along so well with Sister Xia Ling on your first meeting. I thought you weren't very good at socializing, always ignoring everyone else."

"How could that be? I just don't think much of those people," Highmore said with disdain. "They're all two-faced, ready to sell you out at any moment."

"As for Sister Xia Ling... getting along is one thing, but more importantly, she's here to assess my 'humanity'."

"Under these circumstances, the more I act like a lively girl my age, the higher the evaluation I'll get from her. In fact, even some rather offensive personal behaviors might actually be a bonus."

Speaking of which, Highmore pinched Wendy's soft little face. "Although I don't think they'd give a very low score anyway, it's better to be safe with these things."

"After all, if something unexpected happens to me, wouldn't you have to go back to taking care of yourself again?"

"I've told you not to mention accidents so casually," Wendy said, grabbing Highmore's hand in dissatisfaction. "What are the odds of so many accidents? I haven't had any trouble for a whole year during such a dangerous experiment. You should be more optimistic."

"Sigh, maybe I'm just a pessimist," Highmore said, looking out the window. "After all, no one knows whether tomorrow or an accident will come first..."

Xia Ling's collaborative research work came and went quickly. It seemed that Ryan was a bit scared because Xia Ling had previously tried to "turn" Wendy. In the following week of research, Ryan didn't dare let Xia Ling interact with Wendy much, focusing his attention on Highmore instead.

Ryan's actions displeased Xia Ling, who had been planning to find an opportunity to bond with Wendy. Thus, Xia Ling, deciding to annoy Ryan, began to cooperate with Highmore. In front of Ryan, their relationship rapidly heated up, intensifying the pressure on him once again.

"Oceania profanity, how is this person from the Far East Branch like a succubus, seducing everyone in just a few days!" Ryan was completely overwhelmed by Xia Ling's maneuver. After receiving the mental evaluation report on Highmore from Xia Ling, Ryan didn't dare keep her around any longer and quickly sent this great deity away.

After all, he felt that if Xia Ling stayed any longer, Highmore would be lured back to St. Freya with her.

And so, under the reluctant gazes of Wendy and Highmore (who was pretending), Xia Ling boarded the plane back to St. Freya.

At the same time, after receiving Xia Ling's report, Ryan gained enough confidence. After carefully reviewing the incident, the abridged full process of the event, along with parts of Highmore's physical and mental examination reports, were sent to Otto's desk.

"Heh, interesting."

Otto's smile deepened as he finished reading the report.

"Bishop, what's the next step for the Oceania Branch?"

"Tell Rita to bring back the complete incident record and Highmore's physical examination report from the Oceania archives, and also to handle two other matters."

"First, confirm Highmore's usual interpersonal relationships. I want to know her attitude towards different members of the Oceania base."

"It doesn't need to be too detailed, a general classification will suffice. Also, it would be best if some of her bodily tissue samples could be obtained."

"Second, investigate the recent activity of Honkai Beasts throughout Oceania. Specific data isn't needed either, just a comparison with the results from before."

"Bishop, it seems you already have your suspicions?"

"I've had suspicions for a long time, but I'm still not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing..."

"We'll discuss the specifics when Rita returns from Oceania. I also need to consider the next arrangements."

Chapter 35: Rita: I'm stuffed

"Wendy, Wendy, come save me!"

On the screen, a chibi version of Highmore was being chased by several Honkai Beasts, darting everywhere.

Looking at her red health bar at the bottom of the screen, she must have been in a very dangerous situation.

"Hmph, take this Tornado!"

In the picture, Wendy's character descended from the sky. The little person with green hair waved her hands, and a slowly moving tornado repelled all the Honkai Beasts chasing Highmore.

"There's a tornado game on the computer that's good against groups," Highmore gave a thumbs-up.

"Of course, with me here..." Wendy was about to celebrate when she was interrupted by Highmore's warning.

"Behind you, behind you! There's a Titan behind you!"

"What?"

Before Wendy could dodge, a cloaked Titan suddenly appeared out of thin air and instantly wiped out Wendy's health with a punch. Then, with a few missiles, it finished off Highmore, who only had a sliver of health left.

"Ahhh, why this thing again!"

Wendy let out a scream like a groundhog.

"Because your special effects are too flashy... you can't even see the Titan's cloaking notification."

"Wendy, oh Wendy, are you destined to be defeated by Titans... You've already been taken down by a Titan three times today."

"Damn it, I'm not convinced!"

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Wendy picked up the controller again. "One more round, we'll sleep after winning one!"

"Can we really sleep tonight..." Highmore sighed, looking at the clock's hands pointing to one in the morning.

While continuing to play games with Wendy, Highmore focused her consciousness on the chat channel in the system space.

"Xia Ling, did you find out whose Honkai Energy sample it was that I gave you through the system today?"

"Of course. I asked Welt to check it in the database the Anti-Entropy established for the Valkyries."

"And the result?"

"It's the same as my guess, it's Rita."

"As expected," Highmore breathed a sigh of relief. "I was wondering if it might be a ghost. Rita, although stronger, is still traceable."

"Yeah, and by the way, when Welt saw the sample, he thought Otto had sensed something was wrong and sent someone to find him, so he's been on sick leave for the past few days."

"Uh... this is truly an unforeseen path."

"Highmore, Highmore, why are you dying again!"

"Huh?"

Noticing her game character was at critically low health again, Highmore quickly refocused her attention on the game. Otherwise, she might not be able to sleep tonight.

Meanwhile, outside Highmore's room, on top of a distant building, Rita was observing the situation of Highmore and Wendy while recording information. Although the data indicated Highmore had very poor combat ability, she was still a Pseudo-Herrscher and a former A-rank Valkyrie, so Rita didn't dare get too close, unlike how she would handle ordinary people. Fortunately, Otto hadn't demanded every single detail, just a general overview.

After a full day of observation, the notes on Highmore already filled several pages.

"Highmore is largely indifferent to most of Oceania's researchers, maintaining a very cold attitude. The reason is unknown; it's speculated she might be repulsed by being treated as an experimental subject."

"Highmore harbors no significant ill will towards Valkyries. On the contrary, due to Highmore and Wendy's identities, their reputations among the Valkyries are rather poor."

"Highmore seems very interested in plants and small animals. She can often be seen stopping by roadside vegetation or feeding puppies, kittens, and ornamental fish. The reason is unknown; it's speculated she simply likes these small creatures?"

"Even towards Dr. Ryan, who saved her life, Highmore's attitude remains very cold. While it's better than her interactions with other researchers, it's still quite illogical."

"Highmore displays an unusually strong affection and tolerance towards her roommate, Wendy. The reason is unknown, manifesting in the following points."

"During experiments, Highmore couldn't even be bothered to hand a pair of tweezers to a researcher, but when taking care of Wendy, she is incredibly diligent, handling all household chores and tasks, leaving nothing undone."

"Highmore often unconditionally accommodates Wendy. I observed Highmore's three meals a day from the cafeteria, and they almost perfectly matched Wendy's list of preferences from previous observations."

"Furthermore, although Highmore introduced Wendy to gaming, Highmore herself doesn't seem to enjoy games that much. She basically plays games to accompany Wendy and has never played alone. However, if Wendy suggests staying up late to play games, Highmore rarely refuses."

"Under these circumstances, their relationship has warmed up extremely quickly. Aside from Highmore's special, abnormal care for Wendy, the rest could perhaps be explained by love at first sight or the suspension bridge effect."

Seeing that the two in the distant room had finished their game and retired to their respective rooms, Rita also concluded her day's observation. After saving the content, Rita closed her terminal and sighed.