The Changing Worldline, the Crisis in Changkong City

"Where is my dad right now?!" Kiana grabbed Tesla by the collar and demanded sharply.

"Don't you think your attitude is a little inappropriate?" Tesla chuckled.

"It is indeed a little inappropriate. Bronya, hack her bank account." Xing dealt Lobster Doctor a devastating blow.

"Fuck, why are kids these days all so black-hearted? Fine, fine, you win. How about this—we each take a step back. I'll tell you what's about to happen here, you do something for me, and then I'll take her to see Sigfried. Sound good?"

"You want us to work for a Hostile Organization? Is there something wrong with your brain?" Kiana pinned her against the wall. "Tell me where he is, now, or don't blame me for getting rough!"

"Ow, ow, ow! Can you let me finish? You little pink-haired brat, close the door. The air conditioning's still on."

"Do you want to save this city?" Tesla's first words left all four of them stunned.

"What do you mean? What happened to Changkong City?" Xing hurriedly asked, the unease in his heart growing stronger.

"Do you know about the Second Eruption?" Tesla did not answer directly, instead throwing out a question.

"Yes. Teacher Welt told us about it in history class."

"Who did you say taught you? Ahem, that's not important. You should know that every major Honkai eruption gives birth to a Herrscher. The Second Eruption in Siberia gave birth to the Second Herrscher—the Herrscher of Void, Sirin." A complicated look flashed through Tesla's eyes as she spoke.

"Schicksal and Anti-Entropy joined forces and paid an enormous price to defeat her. That was when I met your father." She looked at Kiana.

"The Second Herrscher was extremely special. She possessed the authorities of multiple Herrschers. After her death, her Herrscher Core was split into six pieces—the Herrscher of Reason Core and the Gem of Conquest. Anti-Entropy obtained two of them, while the remaining four all fell into Schicksal's hands."

"Hey, quit giving us a history lesson and get to the point!" Kiana impatiently interrupted her. Didn't she know that listening to lectures was what Kiana hated most?

"Tch, why are kids these days so impatient? People pay good money to hear this genius lecture, and I don't always agree to it!"

"You—" Xing and Mei hurriedly held back Kiana, who was about to hit her.

"You probably don't know that Anti-Entropy isn't a monolith. There are conflicts between the radicals led by Cocolia and the conservatives represented by Einstein and me, but they had never escalated. But that vixen Cocolia actually did something like that!" Tesla angrily punched the metal wall, swelling her hand.

"What did she do?" Kiana's interest was piqued.

"That hurt! I forgot I don't have my gauntlets on! That bastard used the Herrscher Core fragment obtained during the Second Eruption—the Gem of Conquest—to try to turn a girl named Raiden Mei into the Third Herrscher. She nearly triggered the Third Eruption in Changkong City! Raiden Mei is the daughter of Raiden Ryoma, one of the conservatives, so she used a political scandal to throw Raiden Ryoma into prison..."

"What did you say? My father was framed and imprisoned?!" Mei excitedly grabbed Tesla's hand.

"You're Raiden Mei? I remember now. Ryoma showed me pictures of you when you were little. Don't worry, we've already rescued him."

"Really? That's good... that's good..." Mei released her hand and kept murmuring the words. At last, the heavy burden in her heart was lifted.

"I heard that when you were about to awaken, you were defeated by a kid from the Kaslana Family, and that kid also beat Cocolia's trusted agent who had been sent to retrieve the Gem of Conquest. Don't tell me it was her? Nicely done, little girl. You've got your father's spirit." Tesla praised her.

"No, Xing did it." Kiana pointed at the silent boy. She would not steal praise that belonged to someone else.

"You're kidding, right? This little brat is obviously a pink-haired... Holy shit!"

Xing revealed the stigmata on his right hand, and his hair briefly turned white for a second. "I'm mixed-race."

"Holy shit! A natural stigmata bearer? No wonder."

"So what exactly happened here? Didn't I already stop her plan?" Xing asked Tesla.

"That plan failed, but Cocolia must have been provoked somehow, because she started an even more insane plan. Somehow, she got one of the four fragments from Schicksal—the Gem of Stillness. But this time, she doesn't intend to search for a Herrscher vessel—"

Tesla took a deep breath before continuing, "She plans to activate the Gem of Stillness directly inside Changkong City, trigger the Third Eruption, and give birth to a Herrscher!"

"What?!" Xing froze. The Gem of Stillness storyline was clearly supposed to begin only after Waite invaded St. Freya Academy. What was going on?

He did not know that everything he had done had been watched by someone. The worldline had begun to converge. Those fates destined to happen were not so easily changed.

"The Gem of Stillness is currently stored at the ME Company headquarters in Changkong City. I need your help to take it back from Cocolia. This concerns the lives of everyone in the city. Doesn't Schicksal go around saying, 'Fight for all that is beautiful in the world'? Make your choice. Believe what I'm saying and lend me a hand, or hand me over to your Bishop Otto and collect your reward." Tesla looked at them seriously.

"I believe you," Xing said without hesitation. He still trusted Tesla's character, even if her temper was a little foul.

"This young lady believes you too, but you have to tell me where he is." Kiana was very straightforward.

"Since Kiana and Xing have chosen to believe you, so will I." Mei did not hesitate.

"Bronya agrees as well. Three to one—whether Bronya agrees or not, Bronya has to go along with it."

"Hmph. This genius has always disliked those Schicksal bastards, but you lot are alright." Tesla turned and took something resembling a watch from a cabinet. "This is the masterpiece this genius completed in one night yesterday: a Herrscher Core detector. Once I activate it, it can quickly locate any Herrscher Cores within a radius of ten kilometers. For example, right now, there are reactions from two Herrscher Cores within five meters of me... Huh?" Tesla froze.

The Gem of Conquest was inside Mei, so it was normal for the detector to pick it up. But who did the other one belong to?

Tesla looked at the four of them, her expression turning terrified.

(If her device were a little more advanced, it should be able to detect three.)

"That one should be mine." After hesitating for a moment, Xing spoke.

!!!!

"What did you say?" Tesla's eyes widened.

"Xing, you're not joking, are you?" Kiana could not believe it.

"Was it because of me?" Mei remembered that the boy had once suffered her corrosion.

Bronya said nothing, merely watching him quietly.

"Back in Yae Village, I fused with the Pseudo-Herrscher sealed there." Xing gave a brief explanation. "Don't worry. I'm still me. I haven't been affected in any way."

"Damn, little girl, you're seriously incredible!" Tesla stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm a boy," Xing corrected her.

"What, a male natural Stigma bearer? That's rarer than a panda Chiyou rode!" Tesla looked at him excitedly. If his personality was a bit better, she could try introducing him to Yang. Wait, who was his history teacher again?

"Don't worry about those details. What's your plan?" Xing asked Tesla anxiously.

"Uh, the plan... I haven't figured it out either." Tesla lowered her head, blushing.

The four members of Fire Moth: "..."

"Then what the hell are you talking about?!" all four shouted in unison.

"Ugh, if Bird's Nest Head weren't developing Sea Abyss City and short on manpower, and if Cocolia hadn't found additional help, why would this genius need to ask you for help?!" Tesla looked thoroughly resentful.

"Additional help?" Xing caught the information in her words.

"You should know that this world is jointly controlled by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy. Though Schicksal is the main force maintaining things, there's no denying the enormous influence these two organizations have on the world. But just as every four-person group always has a mysterious fifth member, besides Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, there is a third organization in this world. Its movements are secretive, and it has infiltrated every field of the world from the shadows. It is everywhere, and it is called—World Serpent."

"World Serpent?" Kiana suddenly recalled what Raven had told her in Changkong City:

"Tell him when he wakes up that 'the serpent' has its eyes on him."

"Cocolia somehow got in touch with World Serpent and obtained its assistance. ME Company is now heavily guarded inside and out; a direct assault would be impossible. Don't be fooled by how many Titans I brought—if we really fought, it still wouldn't be enough to make that bastard Cocolia suffer." Tesla irritably raked through her red hair.

"What about sneaking in?" Kiana asked.

"Even less possible. ME Company has automatic AI robots patrolling everywhere. The moment they detect an unfamiliar intruder, they'll swiftly eliminate them. Every entrance is guarded by layer upon layer of checkpoints. That mother fox calculated everything long ago." Tesla sighed toward the sky.

Xing's mind was a complete mess. Ideas sprang up one after another, only for him to reject each of them. What should they do? Was Changkong City destined to be destroyed by the Honkai?

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed his mind, and a crazy plan gradually took shape in his heart.

Looking at the frowning Tesla and the three others deep in thought, Xing slowly spoke.

"I have a plan..."

In the pitch-black night, the streetlights on both sides of the road cast a faint, tranquil glow, stretching Xing's shadow long behind him.

Xing walked down the street alone, checking the information on his terminal.

"Multiple witnesses have claimed that mysterious blue ghostly flames can be seen on this street at night. What exactly is going on?"

The boy looked deeply confused. Just then, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Hey, little one. Why aren't you asleep at this hour? What are you doing walking alone on the street?"

Xing's expression immediately froze. The black-clad mercenary had appeared behind him at some point, and her clawless left hand reached past his shoulder to take the terminal from his hand.

"Sister Natasha..."

Raven slowly walked around in front of him and cupped his face with her left hand. "When did you dye your hair and start wearing colored contacts? Isn't that a little too early for a child? I think your original white hair and red eyes looked quite nice." As she spoke, she pulled off his hat, and the pair of fox ears sprang out.

Raven's expression froze as well. This looked like that rabbit's color scheme. She wasn't nearby, was she?

"It's been like this ever since I came back from Yae Village. Did you inject me with some weird drug?" Xing asked her.

"It has nothing to do with me." Raven placed a hand on his neck. At some point, a transparent syringe had been inserted there. "Sorry, little one, but I need to make absolutely sure. Don't worry, it's only an ordinary anesthetic."

Raven caught the little boy as he collapsed limply and held him in her arms, her hands continuously searching over his body. "Hmm, isn't this wristband a portable armor storage device from Schicksal? You're doing pretty well for yourself." Raven took away his armor wristband.

"I think you were already wearing this wristband when I first met you. It looks pretty unique." Raven glanced at the Book of Cang Xuan wristband but did not pay it much attention.

"Ribbons wrapped around your hands too? Heh, little one, you're quite vain. Wait, this is?!" Raven untied the ribbons from both his hands, and her expression became remarkably colorful.

"Little one, don't tell me the one on your left hand is a natural Stigma too?"

"It appeared after I came back from Yae Village last time," Xing said weakly.

"You really do bring me surprises again and again." Raven murmured. After finishing the search, she carried the little boy toward her beloved car parked by the roadside.

"Hey, Jackal, I caught her."

"Oh, my dear Natasha, I'm so happy I could blow you a kiss! Really!" Jackal sounded delighted.

"Get lost, get lost. I'm taking her back to the World Serpent base. Remember to come back when you're done."

"Oh, no, no, no, Natasha. Bring her to me right now."

"Huh? Aren't you researching the Gem of Stillness?"

"Exactly. That's why I'm telling you to bring her over, so she can become my most perfect work." Jackal looked at the Gem of Stillness inside the cultivation chamber, the corner of her lips curling into an uncontrollable smile.