Someone in Honkai, but Integrated Strategies is Activated

Listening to Xia Ling speak with such calm words about what could be considered cruel things, the system suddenly felt that its evaluation of its host could be updated.

[Fine, since the host has made up her mind, there's no need for me to stop you. I can only wish you good luck.]

"You don't have to act like we're saying goodbye forever," Xia Ling smiled, returning to her usual demeanor. "I'm not dead yet. Besides, even if there is an encounter, it's not necessarily a combat one. I remember there are several stages in the first and second layers that involve many people but can be navigated by avoiding combat through choices."

Leaving those words behind, Xia Ling calmly packed her things, picked up her sniper rifle, and slowly walked forward.

As she got closer, Xia Ling's steps slowed down.

Because she heard laughter and curses echoing from inside the cave, along with a strong, foul odor.

Maybe I bet wrong, she thought. But she had already entered the node, and retreating was impossible. She had to see through the path she had chosen, no matter what.

Pressing her slightly trembling arm, Xia Ling took a deep breath and walked into the cave.

Then, her feet sank, and the sense of relief and the thrill of escaping death almost made her fall to the ground.

Laughter, shouts, and "Ursus curses" echoed in the cave, which had likely once been a Rift Beast's lair. Some people, who seemed to be new residents, were clearly enjoying themselves, and in a corner, Xia Ling could see the cave's "original owner," half-dead after being beaten and kicked.

So it's this node... Xia Ling breathed a sigh of relief.

Encounter - Ursus. This was one of the rare nodes in the first and second layers where you'd initially think there would be a fight, but there wasn't. The first time Xia Ling encountered it, she also thought it was a combat stage and didn't dare to enter, choosing a safer option instead.

However, she later discovered that none of the three options in this stage actually led to combat, they just offered slightly lower rewards.

Familiar with the situation, she immediately gave the standard response: "Why are there Ursus people all over the place here?"

"A place full of Ursus people is naturally already Ursus!" a drunken person replied to Xia Ling.

Under Xia Ling's gaze, they seemed to be planning to transform the cave into some kind of territorial control office.

Afterward, these people handed Xia Ling a pile of vodka wrappers, telling her it was an "official colonization permit" that would grant her all national aid.

With an awkwardly polite smile, Xia Ling walked out of the cave carrying the pile of wrappers. About ten meters away from the cave, she stuffed the wrappers into her backpack, her body went limp, and she slumped onto a rock.

[Yo, where's our host who was full of determination just now?]

The system's teasing voice rang in Xia Ling's ears at the opportune moment.

"Shut up, you annoying thing," Xia Ling didn't want to deal with it. Right now, she just wanted to punch this system girl and calm her racing heart.

"You knew, didn't you? This wasn't a combat node at all," Xia Ling gritted out. "I don't believe you, even if you couldn't see the node's specific information, would you really think a bunch of Ursus drunks who can't even see the cave clearly would be a combat node?"

"I knew it! Why were you suddenly so kind as to give me a hint when the scanner didn't?"

[Hehe, isn't this a perfect opportunity to test the host a little?]

The system's voice was filled with apology.

[You have to understand, host, that neither the Honkai world nor the Ark roguelike in the trial are places for child's play. Combat and death are everywhere.]

[I was afraid that the host would still face these things with the mindset of a game, and then fall into despair when truly encountering setbacks.]

[But it seems now that the host is quite resolute. Those words just now were very cool.]

"Cool my foot!" Xia Ling's cheeks turned red, and she was on the verge of tears from embarrassment. "That's totally embarrassing history! What kind of brain circuit do you have to think that's cool? Delete it quickly!"

[Heh, right. I recorded it too. I forgot until you mentioned it.]

"You! Just shut up already ahhhhhh!"

Chapter Seven: The Eerie Merchant

After passing the last node, Xia Ling's pace visibly lightened.

If she didn't take any vertical branching paths, there would be a total of four nodes on the first layer, and the last one would always be the Eerie Merchant.

Xia Ling had already passed the Moss Hand, Sami's Language, and Ursus nodes on this layer. The next stop was the Eerie Merchant for supplies, meaning she was completely safe until reaching the second layer.

Soon, after crossing the ice lake that spanned the entire first layer, a small tent, seemingly out of place with its surroundings, appeared on the ice field.

"Not an ally, nor an enemy. Some people prefer to stand in the middle." Xia Ling read the words on the wooden sign. "It seems this is Karnot's shop."

"Yes, my friend!"

At this moment, a man wearing a strange iron bucket helmet and a black long coat emerged from the small tent.

"Welcome to Karnot's little shop!"

"System, are you controlling this guy?" Xia Ling asked in a low voice.

[Of course not. I could never put on a performance like this.]

The system's energetic voice carried a hint of displeasure.

[This guy is a program simulated by the enhancement system itself. His memory is reset with each trial. Don't worry, just treat him like an NPC.]

"Is that so? Then I won't have any psychological burden when I rob the store later," Xia Ling nodded with mock seriousness. "I was worried it would be hard to deal with someone I know."

"Hey, hey, Miss, it's not good to discuss robbing my shop right in front of me. You should at least try to be discreet," a helpless, low male voice came from under the tin can helmet.

"Hehehe, well, I don't have the strength to do it right now. If I were to rob you, I definitely wouldn't tell you to your face," Xia Ling tilted her head, stuck out her tongue, and gave a cute, mischievous smile.

"Alright, alright, Karnot, come on and show me what good stuff you have here."

Xia Ling narrowed her eyes and made a gesture of pinching her thumb and index finger together with her right hand.

"What good stuff does Miss want?" Karnot asked.

"Do you have any Cipher Plates?" Xia Ling leaned in mysteriously, "I want one that can skip stages."

"I do have one, but it depends on your luck." Karnot pulled open the tent, revealing the counter inside with its merchandise.

[Support Anti-riot Barrier], [Medical Recruitment Voucher], [Vision Invitation], [Iron Guard - Standard Training], [Leafy Greens Can], [Topographical Map - Beta], [Vanilla Sarsaparilla Soda], [Heavy Music Collection]

"It seems, Miss, that your luck isn't very good." Karnot's voice was completely flat. "However, you have one more chance. Or, is there something in here that you desire?"

"System, I have a question." Xia Ling stared intently at the Leafy Greens Can among the items. "When I shoot, does that count as a skill or a normal attack?"

[Without a doubt, it's a normal attack. Even if you struggle to shoot, Host.]

The system immediately understood Xia Ling's thoughts.

[You don't seriously think your shooting can be considered a powerful skill, do you?]

"Too bad. If it really counted, combined with the Anti-riot Barrier, I might have had some combat power." Xia Ling shook her head regretfully. "Refresh it, Karnot."

"Sure thing." Karnot closed and reopened the tent. The items on the counter had changed to a new batch.

[Support Mine Set], [Caster Recruitment Voucher], [Rainbow Urn], [Frozen Shell], [Blunt Claw - Standard Training], [Healer - Breakthrough], [Horn of Victory]

And, [Cipher Plate - Propagation].

"Yes!" Xia Ling jumped up excitedly. "My luck is still on my side after all!"

"It appears Miss has found what she was looking for." Karnot smiled. "That will be 8 Originium Ingots."

Xia Ling opened her backpack and counted. She had a total of eighteen Originium Ingots.

Then, she handed all of them to Karnot. "Here, just deposit the rest of the Originium Ingots."

"Uh, wait, System, you should have removed that setting about the investment system malfunctioning, right?"

[Rest assured, Host, I definitely removed things that affect the game experience.]

"That's good. If it malfunctioned, I'd have to go on my way with unspent money, what a waste."

"This young lady's mindset... is truly optimistic." Karnot broke out in a cold sweat hearing that. He quickly accepted the Originium Ingots and handed the [Cipher Plate - Propagation] to Xia Ling.

"Since the transaction is complete, I won't keep you any longer. I wish Miss a smooth journey. Perhaps we'll have a chance to meet again."

With those words, Karnot waved his sleeve, and the next second, he and his small shop disappeared from the academy, leaving no trace behind.

As Karnot vanished, the map on the detector updated. Simultaneously, a foresight prompt for the second floor appeared.

[Upon clearing this floor, you will obtain Cipher Plate: Crown.]

"Hmm, so that means I should move forward?"

Xia Ling zoomed in on the map, but it only showed lush greenery.

"Silent Woodland? But the first node ahead is still an Unexpected Encounter." Xia Ling studied the map. "The second node seems to be a combat stage. The third node... the map seems to be obscured, but there's no danger warning for combat nodes, so it should be fine, right?"

[Don't worry, just to be safe, Host, you can use a Cipher Plate when the time comes.]

"Okay, let me see... The left branch has two forks after the combat node. I can try this one. If I encounter something interesting later, I can pass a node stably."

"Phew, let's keep going then."

Shouldering her backpack, which was lighter now that she had fewer Originium Ingots, Xia Ling once again embarked on her journey across the snowfield.

This Unexpected Encounter seemed to go very smoothly. There were no suddenly falling tree barks, nor enemies in caves. Xia Ling walked cautiously for over ten minutes, but the dense forest only offered the rustling of leaves and the low calls of horn beasts. Nothing else seemed to happen.

"No, this is definitely wrong." After wandering for over ten minutes, Xia Ling stopped. "Based on my previous experience, if I keep going, I should be outside the range of this node. Hasn't the event triggered yet?"

[Uh, did you take the wrong path, Host?]

"How is that possible? This is a one-way path!" Xia Ling argued verbally, but her hands honestly opened the detector.

"Let me see..."

"Huh? That's strange. Why did the detector freeze?"

[Ah? That shouldn't happen. This thing can malfunction?]

The system's voice sounded even more surprised than Xia Ling's.

"I remember pressing this button to turn it on at the beginning. Holding it down should turn it off and restart it, right?"

Xia Ling found a button on the back of the detector. After pressing and holding it for a while, the detector screen indeed displayed the words "Rebooting."

Chapter 8: First Roguelike (First Two Floors), Perfect Clear!

A moment later, part of the map reappeared on the detector, along with a prompt: "Detector undergoing self-maintenance. Please wait patiently."

"Ah, I get it now." Xia Ling suddenly understood. "This is the node for Regular Maintenance, isn't it?"

Unexpected Encounter - Regular Maintenance. This is a beneficial node that can provide a good amount of Hope early on. Normally, you can get two Hope. If you possess the "Amma's Love" collectible, you can even get fifteen Hope directly.

Xia Ling calmly sat down and observed the distant scenery. In the snowfield, young Rift Beasts were playing with their prey, and herds of Rockhorn Beasts were migrating.

The exotic ecosystem of the Sami Snowfield opened Xia Ling's eyes. Before long, the detector beeped. Xia Ling opened it to find that the map had fully recovered.

At the same time, two Hope were added to her status panel.

"Phew..." Xia Ling breathed a sigh of relief. Now, she had four Cipher Plates in her backpack: [Love], [Warrior], [Arbor], and [Propagation].

Among them, the combination of [Warrior] and [Love] announced that two combat nodes could be turned into Unexpected Encounters.

And [Arbor] and [Propagation] can change any node into an "Encounter" node.

As long as the "Encounter" node that is swapped out next isn't a mandatory combat node, she can safely pass the second layer.

Taking out [Warrior] and [Love], Xia Ling's fingers trembled slightly.

"If only I had a natural-type Cipher Plate. Love, when triggered with a synergistic effect, can be swapped out for Wish Fulfilled."

Xia Ling sighed and pressed the two Cipher Plates together.

"Come on, this is a high-stakes gamble, friend!"

The system also joined in the excitement, as if on cue:

[Win it all, or have nothing!]

As the Cipher Plates fused with a glow, the system's prompt sounded at the right moment:

[Declaration Begins]

[Sturdy stones build high walls like mountains, horned helmets covered in frost. Vast frozen earth follows the body, a heart burning like fire.]

Following this, the terrain on the scanner changed.

The building that was previously in front of them was directly erased from the map, replaced by an unmarked "Encounter" node.

Ten minutes later.

In front of Xia Ling, a strange man appeared.

It was a clear day, yet the man was laying out various devices he carried from a pile of luggage on the ground, all while muttering something to himself.

Xia Ling moved closer before she could clearly hear what the man was muttering.