Thunder Originating from Changkong (1)

Raiden Mei has been quite happy recently.

Although her father was imprisoned for embezzling taxes, causing her to be ostracized by those around her, and even the Humo Sword Saint left her, a girl like an angel brought her back from the darkness. Thinking of this, the young girl smiled.

Suddenly, the girl's eyes were covered by a pair of fair hands. "Guess who I am?" A playful voice came from behind. Mei smiled helplessly, "Stop messing around, Kiana, or we'll have plain rice with tea for dinner tonight."

"Ah?! o(>﹏<)o No!" Kiana Kaslana immediately withdrew her intrusive hands.

The two girls walked together under the sunset, enjoying a moment of happiness, unaware of the tragedy that would unfold in Changkong City, nor the vortex they would be drawn into as the main characters—

If not for that butterfly that strayed into this world, all of this should have happened.

At this moment, the young boy named Xing did not know how much impact each flap of his wings would have on this worldline.

—Divider—

"Hey. Wake up." Raven lightly tapped Xing, who had fallen asleep in the car. After confirming he was sound asleep, she took out a syringe. The purple liquid inside flickered with an eerie glow. Bathed in the setting sun, Raven injected the entire vial of Honkai Energy inhibitor into Xing's body. She then gently withdrew the needle, leaving a tiny bloodstain on the boy's fair neck.

"It might be unnecessary, but better safe than sorry." Recalling the deep pit, Raven suspected it might have been caused by Xing unintentionally activating his Stigmata ability. A gun that goes off by itself is often more dangerous.

"This is Jackal's merchandise. Although it's just an early product, it's enough." As expected, after the injection, the three crimson marks had faded considerably.

"Mmm..." Xing, feeling weak, woke up from his dream. "What a shame."

"A shame about what?"

"I just dreamed of a purple-haired girl. She was very beautiful, spoke softly, and cooked delicious food. It's a shame a big black bird flew out of nowhere and snatched her away."

"Are you thinking about things you shouldn't be at your age?"

"Uh, that's my sister."

"m(._.)m Wait, didn't you have amnesia?"

"That's why I lied to you~"

What if I suddenly want to beat him up?

"Hey, where are we?" Xing asked, looking at the deepening night outside the car window.

"Well, something happened at the orphanage, so we won't be able to go back for a while. Until then, I need to handle some personal matters." Raven tapped Xing's head. "If you behave, I'll take care of you. Oh, your name is Xing, right?"

Xing thought for a moment. "(My original name was, but that's not important. In this world, I am Xing. By the way, I think I set myself as a mixed-blood of Kaslana and Shenzhou, so my full name would be—)" With that thought, Xing looked up and said seriously, "Xing Kaslana, nice to meet you, Sister Siola."

Kaslana?! Hearing that surname, Raven suddenly felt a little flustered.

—Divider—

On the large dining table, several clean, empty plates stood out prominently. Kiana patted her slightly bulging stomach with satisfaction and said ecstatically, "I'm full~"

"Do you have to eat everything, Kiana?" Mei asked with a hint of distress. What to do when your best friend eats so much?

"Hehe, Mei's cooking is too good." As the saying goes, a full stomach leads to other thoughts. Kiana looked at the charming Mei and, embodying the fine tradition of the Kaslana family, said, "Mei, let's take a bath together!"

"Hokushin Itto-ryu, Battōjutsu!" A wooden sword accurately struck the head of the white-haired leader who was trying to take liberties with the girl.

Critical Hit!

Meanwhile, somewhere not far from the girls' residence, a petite girl with light gray hair was skillfully adjusting firearms. "Weapons performance is excellent, Bronya's physical condition is normal, Oni-chan 19c is in excellent condition."

Bronya picked up a box containing a Honkai Core, her two spiral pigtails swaying. "Confirming mission objective: stimulate the Third Herrscher's awakening and retrieve it. Mission target—"

A giant robot materialized behind Bronya, projecting a screen. The image of a certain black-haired girl appeared on it.

"Raiden Mei."

In a hotel somewhere in Changkong City, Raven gave Xing a pile of food and settled him in the adjacent room before tuning her weapons alone. That's a lie.

I just finished a bunch of messy missions, then I had to rush to capture a natural Stigmata carrier, and now I have to retrieve a Herrscher candidate. That's a Herrscher! The one that ravaged my hometown during the Second Honkai War. Is it wrong for me to prepare more? To put it bluntly, I just don't want to kidnap Mei in the middle of the night, so I'm slacking off.

Miss Raven drank red wine and ate snacks, enjoying the hottest show on TV—Humo Adventure, feeling incredibly content.

In fact, if she were a bit more dedicated, she might have received less pay later.

Xing found a bag of instant noodles, dug out a can of luncheon meat, and asked a waitress for an egg. He happily made the egg noodle dish he learned from "Valkyrie's Meal," completely oblivious to Crimson Kite's feelings.

"If I didn't find killing chickens troublesome, I would have made Kung Pao chicken," Xing said with regret.

Crimson Kite: "I may not be human, but you're a real dog!" The boy tossed her an emergency food fruit can. "There aren't many meals left, eat more."

This canned food is delicious!

The boy looked at the Stigmata on the back of his hand. He had indeed lied to Raven. He hadn't dreamed of a certain housewife targeted by various factions, nor of a certain black dodo bird working hard to buy villas and islands. What he dreamed of was a white-haired nun dancing in the cherry blossoms, with a giant golden cross placed beside her.

Raven was engrossed in watching Humo when her communicator rang. "Tch." Raven unhappily answered, muting the TV at the same time. An annoying voice came through: "My dear Natasha, have you retrieved that Herrscher candidate?"

"Oh, I'll tie up that little girl for you tomorrow, don't rush." Raven took a sip, very impatiently.

"Hoh? You have time to watch that blonde rat's show but won't do your mission?" Jackal sneered, looking at Raven slacking off on the monitor.

"I (World Serpent expletive)! You're monitoring me, you stinking dog?"

"Don't put it so harshly. I'm just here to see if someone is working properly~"

"You..."

"Never mind her for now, keep a close eye on that child." Jackal's voice carried an irrepressible excitement. "According to the data you sent back, his Stigmata is very complete, almost to the level of the First Stigmata. Do you know how rare such a situation is now, when Stigmata genes are broken?!"

In the world of Honkai, Dr. Mei of the previous era, in order to fight Honkai, researched Stigmata. It could increase human adaptation to Honkai Energy and even grant superpowers. Unfortunately, she only seemed to have completed the female part of the Stigmata, which severely led to modern women having generally higher Honkai Energy adaptability than men.

Stigmata are the product of modifying human genes. Through humanity's long reproduction, the Stigmata genes have long since become fragmented and broken. Therefore, although there are natural Stigmata carriers, their Stigmata are not complete. Of course, there are exceptions. (The protagonist doesn't count; he chose a Stigmata and it was directly integrated when his body was swapped during transmigration.)

Would I get more money if I sold him to Schicksal? Raven pondered.

Xing was happily slurping noodles outside the door, but why were there a pile of instant noodle boxes next to him?

"I think I've successfully inherited the Kaslana family's bottomless-pit physique," Xing said, a little worried about his future food expenses. "It's getting late, time to wash up and sleep." Only then did he start to examine his attire. The clothes seemed to be matched according to the weather: a black short-sleeved shirt and shorts, which formed a stark contrast with his white hair. His shoes were a pair of black sneakers, and there were no excessive decorations on his entire body—except for the leg ring on his left leg.

A red leg ring was worn on the young boy's fair and tender thigh, making him look particularly... I apologize, I can't continue writing this.

These clothes were definitely designed by Mihoyo's art team! Xing thought so.

After taking a bath in the bathroom, Xing changed into the hotel's complimentary yukata, which was a bit large.

"Hm? Have you finished bathing already? Ugh!" After a lengthy argument with the detestable schemer, successfully driving the other party to question their entire existence, Raven pushed the door open, feeling refreshed. She happened to bump into Xing, who had just finished bathing.

After bathing, the young boy's skin was fair with a rosy hue. The oversized yukata hung loosely on him, exposing Xing's fair and tender shoulders... I apologize, I can't continue writing this again.

Young boy bonus, wet-body temptation bonus, charm 80 bonus, money-tree bonus, maiden's psychology bonus—Raven took a total of 99,999 points of damage. If not for the fusion warrior's enhancements, she probably would have been bleeding from the nose.

Feeling the gaze of the gray-haired older sister, who looked at him like a hawk eyeing a chick, Xing hugged the Crimson Kite bird and quietly went into the room and got into bed.

Wait a minute, didn't she book a double room? (For surveillance purposes)

That night, Xing truly dreamed of a purple older sister who could cook, and also dreamed of a black bird that stared at him unblinkingly. Raven, who had injected him with a sleeping pill beforehand, planted a tracker on him while he slept and took several photos.

"I probably won't see him after selling him to Jackal, so I'll take a few pictures as souvenirs. If I were to see him again, he'd probably have become a monster like Gray Serpent?" Raven's mood suddenly became a bit complicated, but as a mercenary, she still adhered to the most basic professional ethics of only looking at the money and not the circumstances.

The next day, the early morning sun shone generously through the window onto the girl's purple hair, but her complexion was paler than white paper. Raiden Mei had a nightmare. She dreamed of a girl who looked very much like her, wielding lightning and killing everyone around her, including that angel-like girl, while she could only watch, unable to do anything.

At the end of the dream, she seemed to hear that "she" say, "Why fear your own power, Raiden Mei?"

"Good morning, Mei! Huh?! Why do you look so bad? Are you sick?" At Senba Academy, Kiana saw her friend's terrible expression and was very worried.

"I'm... I'm fine, just didn't sleep well." Seemingly affected by the dream, she subconsciously distanced herself from Kiana.

"Why care about the life and death of this bug?" That voice seemed to echo in her ears. The girl suddenly looked up, but there was no one around except her and Kiana.

Bronya, in the distance, watched everything coldly through binoculars. "Honkai Crystal placed. Target subject is reacting. Phase one of the mission complete. No further action orders received. Bronya entering standby mode."

Raven, in the distance, observed with interest through binoculars. "So this is a human implanted with a Herrscher Core? She just looks like an ordinary girl. I'll find an opportunity to make a move when she goes home after school. For now, let's take that little guy out for a stroll."

And so, Bronya went to buy a Humo doll and comics, while Raven, out of a subtle psychological impulse, took Xing shopping.

Then, the three of them met unexpectedly.

"Limited-time game challenge competition! The player with the highest score can receive a limited-edition Humo doll and a limited-edition Humo Adventure comic as a prize!"

Raven pulled Xing along. "What do you think, want it?" Xing looked at the giant Humo doll (relative to him) and nodded inexplicably. "But it seems there are no free game consoles."

"Don't worry, wait for me here." Raven smiled reassuringly at Xing, then turned around with an imposing aura. "Hey, I'm taking this spot, any objections?" A certain uncle was so scared he turned and ran. Raven sat down at the game console with satisfaction. "I seem to have played this with my brother when I was little, it's really nostalgic..." A hint of softness appeared in Raven's eyes. Her fingers rapidly tapped the buttons, directly creating afterimages. Although her gaming experience was insufficient, her physical fitness was high!

Xing, watching from the side: "Could this young lady really be Raven? Natasha Siola seems to be Raven's real name. No, it should just be a coincidence. Why would a World Serpent executive be playing games in a place like this?"

Perfect Clear!

Raven put down the controller and wiped the non-existent sweat from her forehead. Although it wasn't a perfect score, it was quite high. She thought taking first place shouldn't be a problem, and then looked at the game hall's display screen.

First place: Metal Gear Bronya; Second place: Black Dodo Bird; Third place: Loves Mei the most; ...

What!?

"Bronya will not lose," the emotionless ** said firmly.

"She... she actually got a perfect score?" Raven was dumbfounded. If she could be said to have insufficient skill and relied on equipment, then Bronya was a comprehensively developed hexagonal warrior, not on the same level at all.

"I'm sorry, little guy, I don't think I can give you that doll. (I'll snatch it back from that girl later.)" Raven was a little dejected. "No, you did great, Sister Natasha. Next, it's my turn." Xing's sunny smile instantly dispelled her gloom.

"Sigh, can you even play?"

"Yeah, I watched you play earlier, so I pretty much get it. Let me, one life clear!" Xing sat down at the game console, adjusted the chair, and the moment he gripped the controller, his entire aura seemed to change. Memories of countless days and nights spent grinding were transmitted through his soul to this new body. The boy calmly entered his game ID.

Genius Player X joins the battle—

This was a parkour game. When clearing it, one had to constantly pay attention to obstacles on the road and pick up randomly appearing props as much as possible to achieve the highest score. If he were playing for the first time, he might not be able to pass it, but with Raven providing reference, it became much easier.

The boy's fair and slender fingers continuously tapped the buttons: accelerate, roll, change direction, jump, dive... The agile and proficient operation caused his score to increase rapidly. With the countdown timer at the last second, Xing finally successfully cleared the game.

First place: Metal Gear Bronya & Genius Player X; Second place: Black Dodo Bird; Third place: Loves Mei the most; ...

"Wow wow wow! What an unexpected turn of events! Miss Bronya, who was already confident of victory, has encountered a strong opponent, Genius Player X! This dark horse, who emerged at the last moment, has achieved a perfect score, tying with Metal Gear Bronya for first place! Speaking of which, there are exactly two prizes, so would the two of you like to discuss splitting the prizes?" the host enthusiastically explained.

"Bronya wants them all." Bronya stated that these two items were the only ones missing for her Humo collection to achieve the full collection achievement.

Xing had no objections.

"OK! The two contestants clearly don't want to end the battle here! Then I declare, an additional match begins! One round to decide the winner! Metal Gear Bronya vs. Genius Player X!"

The game adopted for the tiebreaker was a newly released fighting game. Since neither party had played it before, they both requested some time to study it.

"I didn't expect you to be so good, little guy~" Raven watched Xing, who was intently studying the game, with great interest. "It's alright, the last game wasn't that difficult," Xing replied casually. For some reason, looking at the characters on the screen, he felt a strange sensation, as if that was him.

Bronya silently tapped the controller, not uttering a word, like a cold machine.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting! Both contestants are ready, so the finals begin! One round to decide the winner! Metal Gear Bronya vs. Genius Player X!" The eyes of the arcade patrons instantly focused.

"Are you serious? Two kids?"

"I'm not even as good as a child. I really am useless..."

The crowd's chatter didn't disturb the two in the slightest. Their minds were focused on only one thing: winning!

Kallen Fantasy loading...

Isn't this a game Otto developed? Why is it being released to the general market?

In reality, Schicksal had been facing financial difficulties recently, and Otto had never stopped developing new installments of Kallen Fantasy, leading to a surge in funding demands. Therefore, to raise funds, Otto reluctantly released the initial version of Kallen Fantasy.

Xing's chosen characters: Schicksal Saintess, Kallen Kaslana, Kouyou's Holy Attire;

Bronya's chosen characters: Far East Fox Spirit, Yae Sakura, Divine Attire: Never-Forget.

(Not a single one chose Otto...)

For some reason, Xing felt an indescribable sadness.

The match began. Bronya controlled Yae Sakura, unleashing several sword slashes imbued with ice elements towards Kallen, attempting to trigger a freeze reaction. However, Kallen, under Xing's control, seemed to have auto-dodge activated. While evading the sword slashes, she fired several shots, dealing damage first. Bronya attempted to use a follow-up attack to deal damage from a distance, but Kallen was already in front of her. A complete gun-fu combo landed solidly on Yae Sakura, taking away a large chunk of her health.

"This little guy is pretty good. Wait, why is he crying?" Raven looked at Xing in astonishment. Two streams of tears flowed down the young boy's face, as if the attack hadn't hit Yae Sakura, but his heart. In fact, Xing was also confused. He felt as if he wasn't controlling Kallen, but Kallen was controlling him.

Bronya's expression changed for the first time. "Dodged everything, how is that possible?"

At this moment, Kallen showed no awareness of being a long-range shooter, instead aggressively closing in for close-quarters combat. With the use of her ultimate skill, Yae Sakura's last bit of health was depleted.

"Bronya, I can't accept this." **'s expression was very stiff.

"I won, but... why?" Xing put down the controller, feeling lost. A great sadness enveloped his heart.

Raven silently hugged him, letting him cry without a sound.

No one noticed that the previously dim Stigmata now glowed faintly.

Author's Note: Let me explain why the protagonist could beat Bronya here. It's because, in a sense, he was being piloted by his actual self