Ark

"Ai Yi, what happened? Why was there such a huge spatial fluctuation during the jump?" Zhang Wei got up from the floor. He knew the Hyperion had been damaged in some places, but an ordinary jump should not have caused this.

Kiana and the others slowly climbed to their feet as well. The violent impact had thrown even the prepared girls from their seats to the floor, but given their physical condition, such bumps did not hurt at all.

"Big Sis Ai Yi, what happened? Could the Imaginary Tree be chasing us again or something?" Mei asked. It was obvious that the Hyperion had either hit something or been hit by something.

"Ahhh! In this earth-shattering battle, I, the savior, am about to win the war to save the world!"

A purple-haired girl in purple pajamas rushed out of her room. Wearing headphones and clutching a game controller, her delicate face bore heavy dark circles from gaming all night. She let out a piercing marmot-like scream while spouting chuunibyou lines.

"Jiu Xiao, I won!"

Jana's gentle voice rang out, but to Jiu Xiao, it sounded like a devil's whisper. She did not want to accept that she had lost to an amateur like Jana.

"That was an accident!" Jiu Xiao muttered, her face red as she stubbornly craned her neck.

"You're not going to deny it, are you? I never expected the great Lady Savior to be such a sore loser!" Jana twirled a lock of hair around her fingertip, teasing evident in her eyes with black sclera and crimson pupils.

"Who, who, who... would deny it? A loss is a loss. I'll win it back next time!" Jiu Xiao admitted the fact through gritted teeth.

"Jana, can't you wear something normal? And Captain, your eyes!" Seeing Zhang Wei's gaze practically glued to Jana, Kiana puffed out her cheeks like an angry pufferfish.

What Jana wore could hardly be considered clothing. A few scattered black markings covered only her private areas, giving her a bewitching, sensual beauty that carried terrifying allure and lethality for many men.

"Dear Kiana, doesn't the Captain like it?" Jana shifted lightly on her feet and took a few steps before sitting in Zhang Wei's lap. Her slender, lotus-root-like arms coiled around his neck like those of a beautiful snake as she breathed softly into his ear.

Kiana: "..."

Kiana clenched her tiny fist, one capable of smashing a planet. Jana had feelings for her, while Kiana was close to Zhang Wei, so Jana's love for Zhang Wei was equally blazing. On top of that, Jana's true form was a Planet-class Honkai Beast. She completely lacked human emotions such as shame and acted with far greater abandon.

Zhang Wei could only remain silent at this moment, quietly enjoying Jana's soft, boneless body. Staying quiet would let him live a little longer.

"Burp, have we arrived in the Honkai Impact 3rd world?"

Himeko made her appearance last, dressed rather boldly. Perhaps because everyone present was familiar with one another, her full chest was restrained by a T-shirt, while her bare shoulders gleamed invitingly white.

However, a strong smell of alcohol instantly filled the entire room. Himeko held a bottle of high-proof baijiu, her face flushed. If the Hyperion had not shaken, she would probably still have been in her room drinking and watching television. Alcohol probably flowed through her veins instead of blood.

"Himeko, drinking too much is bad for your health!"

As the person responsible for the Hyperion's meals, Mei had long taken issue with Himeko's alcoholism. Himeko had missed who knew how many meals Mei had prepared, which was simply intolerable. Mei had said this dozens of times already, but each time Himeko merely brushed her off with an "I know."

Sure enough, the next moment—

"Burp!"

Himeko belched and said unconcernedly, "I'm the Herrscher of Flames now. I've never heard of alcohol harming a Herrscher, so don't worry, Mei.

And I'm not a teacher anymore. After working so hard for so many years, can't I enjoy some alcohol?"

If she did not want to get drunk, she could simply use Honkai Energy to break down the alcohol. What she truly enjoyed was this pleasantly tipsy feeling.

"...Fine." Mei knew there was no use trying to persuade her. She simply could not stop Himeko from drinking.

"Little Captain, our current landing position is approximately 4,500 astronomical units from the sun, around 150 times the distance from Neptune to the sun. There are signs of life activity!" Using the Hyperion's powerful functions, Ai Yi had located their current position.

"The reason for the violent shaking was that, while landing, the Hyperion made an emergency evasive maneuver to avoid an interstellar spacecraft parked on the ground."

"A spacecraft? Could it be the Ark?"

Zhang Wei searched through his memories and found a match: the Ark from the Previous Civilization's Project Ark, the one Griseo had boarded.

"Kiana, take us inside the Ark to have a look. As for the outside world, we can explore it later!"

Although Kiana's current status was Finality, making her so powerful that she did not need authorities, she could still use the Herrscher of Void's authority—and use it even better than Kiana herself had.

"Okay!"

Kiana snapped her fingers and took Zhang Wei and Mei to the Ark. As for the others, forget it. Jana's outfit was too suggestive, Jiu Xiao looked like she was about to drop dead from exhaustion, and Himeko was gulping down alcohol. It was exhausting just thinking about it.

"So this is the Ark? There's so much paint!"

After entering the Ark, none of them were particularly curious about its highly technological facilities—the Hyperion had all that too—but the paint traces visible everywhere surprised Kiana.

"Griseo probably did this. During all those long years of loneliness, perhaps painting was the only thing that could make her forget the passage of time." Zhang Wei touched the colorful paint, which had dried long ago.

Fu Hua had only found Griseo after Honkai Energy was sealed on the moon. Zhang Wei had experienced such a long span of time himself, so he understood Griseo's loneliness.

"Is that the Griseo of the Stars?"

During the year-long journey, Kiana had crammed the story of Honkai Impact 3rd as well. She remembered that little blue-haired girl and greatly admired someone like her.

"Little Griseo? She must not have eaten a delicious meal in so many years. Once we meet her, I'll definitely treat her to a proper feast." Fighting spirit blazed in Mei's eyes.

"Let's go to the hibernation pod first. Griseo should be there now. Since we've run into her, we'll bring her with us!"

Zhang Wei said helplessly, interrupting Mei's cooking instincts. No matter which world's Mei it was, she always developed in the direction of becoming a Cooking Wife—except Raiden Ei. The Raiden lineage should probably expel her.

The Ark's room permissions posed no obstacle to Zhang Wei. He easily arrived before the hibernation pod, where little—no, grown-up~ Griseo lay quietly inside.

PS: Chapter Four