Alicia is the True Golden Finger in Honkai!

"Just call me Gwen...

After all, we're meeting offline after dating online."

"Cough..."

Raiden Mei, whose nose was stinging from the emotion in her heart, suddenly choked and coughed twice. She met the gaze of the handsome young man smiling silently opposite her, but she didn't refute Gwen's words. Instead, she asked:

"However, Gwen... your identity can't be just a simple, unremarkable dispatched staff member, can it?"

"Hmm?"

Raising an eyebrow, Gwen asked:

"What makes you say that?"

"From the information you showed me, Gwen, although Anti-Entropy's organization is loose, with members even resorting to framing colleagues for power and profit, it's still an organization that fights Honkai.

Facing Cocolia, who acts erratically, has unknown motives, and might even trigger a Great Honkai, Anti-Entropy wouldn't just send an ordinary dispatched personnel, would they?"

Looking at the serene face with a faint smile, Gwen suddenly felt as if Raiden Mei had been possessed by Dr. Mei—

Ah, she's out of the kitchen, no need to cook anymore. Her brilliant intellect has reclaimed its dominance.

"But in reality, the conservative faction of Anti-Entropy didn't send anyone..."

Muttering to himself, Gwen, who still needed to get closer to Raiden Mei to maintain his alliance with Raiden Ryoma's faction, did not reveal his true identity. He smiled and said, "It seems you're quite intelligent, Mei."

Chapter 26 Raiden Mei: Affection UP

"What, do I look stupid?"

Hearing Gwen's praise, Raiden Mei, feeling much better, made a small joke.

"Of course not, Mei. You look like a smart, good student."

Waving his hands with a smile, Gwen offered a compliment, refraining from saying, "If you can't cook, you might even super-evolve." He then continued, "As for my identity...

I'm not talented, but excluding those warriors who have already passed away, I'm barely among the strongest of the currently existing human warriors."

"..."

Although she had a vague suspicion, hearing Gwen say this so casually, Raiden Mei couldn't help but widen her eyes in disbelief—

Raiden Mei found it hard to believe that the young man before her, who looked about her age, had already reached the pinnacle of human combat power.

As for doubt, although Gwen had said this in a very relaxed tone, Raiden Mei met his bright eyes and instinctively believed it to be true.

In fact, what Gwen said wasn't wrong—

After the Second Honkai Outbreak, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy were severely weakened. The former, including the entire Wolfsrain squad led by Cecilia, was wiped out. The only high-level combatants left were the slumbering Li Sushang and Otto himself, who rarely took action.

As for the latter, Anti-Entropy's Welt Yang was half-dead and working as a freeloading thief at Theresa's place.

On the World Serpent's side, their only notable combat power for the time being was Raven. However, it was still uncertain whether she had reached the level of a regular S-rank (like Rita) after Mobius's surgery. Considering World Serpent's current dormant state, they wouldn't be causing trouble.

Therefore, Gwen, who had reached A-rank on the surface, was indeed among the strongest humans.

Seeing Raiden Mei's surprised expression, Gwen added with a smile, "Of course, that's just on the surface. As for what old monsters are hidden in the shadows by various factions, I don't know."

"That's still very impressive,"

Perhaps due to the traditional mindset of the Far East, Raiden Mei's mind conjured a series of growth stories, causing her gaze towards Gwen to change slightly: "To reach this level at your age, Gwen, you must have put in a lot of effort, right?"

"I won't deny that, but I also reached this level through a series of fortunate encounters."

Explaining casually, unaware of how much more she was imagining, Gwen continued, "However, it's important to note that due to ideological reasons, Anti-Entropy doesn't have many powerful human combatants—

Except for the Alliance Leader, whom I haven't seen in many years, and myself, Anti-Entropy has no other human combatants worth mentioning.

Anti-Entropy's main fighting force, those Titan mechs, are too conspicuous. Once they approach the Far East, Cocolia will discover them, which might cause her to lash out in desperation. Therefore, only I was sent for this operation."

"Eh?

Gwen, you're going to solve this crisis alone?"

Raiden Mei asked in surprise.

"That's how it looks for now."

Gwen nodded. "However, it's not as difficult as you might imagine.

Although Cocolia has greatly increased her strength by manufacturing a large number of Titan mechs with the money and resources raised from your father, her ultimate goal is still the Gem of Conquest hidden by your father.

As long as this treasured artifact can be found and taken out of Changkong City, even if Cocolia triggers an artificial Honkai, it will be difficult for her to create a Herrscher.

And without defeating a Herrscher and obtaining its core, Cocolia will lack sufficient deterrent power to keep external enemies and the outwardly unified but inwardly divided Anti-Entropy reformists in check—

Ultimately, Cocolia is still just a warlord who overthrew her superiors, not an Anti-Entropy executor who defeated a Herrscher."

"In that case, the feasibility is quite high."

As someone from the Far East, Raiden Mei was naturally no stranger to the "overthrowing superiors" that could be considered a Far Eastern tradition. She understood the deadlock Cocolia faced, which made her trust Gwen's plan more.

"It's just...

Do you have any leads on the Gem of Conquest, Gwen?

I'll do my best to cooperate with you in finding it."

In their phone call a few days prior, Gwen had explained that Cocolia using Raiden Mei as an experimental subject was only one possibility. Now that she knew about the Gem of Conquest, Raiden Mei didn't immediately assume it was within her, hence her statement.

As for why she would cooperate—

After learning about Gwen's strength, Raiden Mei, who had initially thought her years of swordsmanship training could be of some help, had already relegated herself to the "success is not being a burden" category.

"This question... perhaps I should be asking you, Mei."

Gwen's voice deepened as he looked at Raiden Mei, who was looking at him in confusion. He continued his script, which was pieced together by working backward from the outcome—

"According to the information I received, after the Gem of Conquest was handed over to your father in 2005, it disappeared without a trace.

As for where exactly it was placed, that's something Mei, you'll need to think carefully about."

"2005?"

Chewing on the year, Raiden Mei couldn't help but fall into thought.

Nine years ago, Raiden Mei was just a little girl. Many memories were truly unclear and required careful recollection...

Across from Raiden Mei, Gwen didn't disturb her, giving her ample time to think—

Given that the plot of Honkai Impact 3rd officially began a few years later, Mei being implanted with the Gem of Conquest was an early Honkai Gekai setting. At that time, Honkai was merely a small game about beautiful girls fighting zombies, and many of its settings were disconnected from the official plot of Honkai Impact 3rd.

Therefore, Gwen didn't know, nor did he intend to speculate, on what thoughts Raiden Ryoma had when implanting the Gem of Conquest into his daughter in this world. He was only focused on the present, aiming to increase Raiden Mei's favorability towards him to make it easier to take her away.

Under Gwen's gaze, Raiden Mei gradually frowned, gently massaging her temples with one hand, as if experiencing some pain.

Seeing this, Gwen muttered to himself, "I haven't heard of Anti-Entropy having anything like Feather of Dust that modifies memories," before standing up. He walked behind Raiden Mei and, using a technique he learned from Rita, gently massaged her shoulders, softly saying, "It's okay, Mei, don't force yourself. Don't hurt your clever little head."

Hearing this, Raiden Mei, whose expression had been quite troubled, couldn't help but smile. Feeling the warmth and moderate strength from Gwen's hands, her pretty face flushed slightly, but she still said, "Don't worry, Gwen, I'm fine. It's just that I suddenly recalled a very blurry memory and couldn't remember it for a moment."

Chapter 27 Raiden Mei: It's all for the mission...

As it turned out, although Anti-Entropy was a mess, they still had some capabilities—

At least, the memory that Raiden Mei's was somehow blurred was not something she could figure out at the moment.

After an unsuccessful attempt, Gwen persuaded Raiden Mei to give up for now and not force herself. Instead, he recorded the fragmented information that Raiden Mei had managed to recall, using it as a basis for inferring the truth.

"I'm sorry, it's just that Mei is too useless."

Looking at Gwen, who was staring at the screen full of fragmented clues and thinking, Raiden Mei said with a look of guilt.

"No, don't say that, Mei. You've already tried your best."

Turning to look at Raiden Mei, whose face was a little pale, Gwen softly comforted her, "After all, human memory involves the brain, an organ that still holds many mysteries. It's best to be cautious. Mei, you absolutely must not force yourself."

"Mm..."

Nodding gently, Raiden Mei fell silent.

Seeing Raiden Mei like this, Gwen, whose objective had basically been achieved, glanced at the time on his terminal and said, "Mei, it's about time. Let's go find a place to have lunch."

"Huh?"

Raiden Mei, whose mind was still reeling from the series of information shocks that morning, suddenly felt her stomach growl. She nodded along with Gwen's words, "Ah, okay."

"Then, please, Miss Mei, work a little harder to fill our stomachs and choose an excellent restaurant."

Gwen said with a smile, "Although Anti-Entropy doesn't have strict salary payment standards for frontline combat personnel like Schicksal, my income is quite considerable—

At the very least, having a satisfying meal is no burden for me."

"Then I won't be polite."

Infected by the relaxed atmosphere Gwen created, Raiden Mei also said with a smile, "Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've had a proper meal."

After searching on her phone software for a moment and asking Gwen about his dietary restrictions, Raiden Mei chose a restaurant she used to like very much, planning to let Gwen try some Japanese cuisine—

"Hmm... want to try this?

The flavor is very authentic, acceptable to most people, and has a distinct Japanese characteristic."

"Since Mei recommended it, how could I not try it?

Let's go."

With that, the two rose from their seats and left the small private room.

However, after exiting the room, Raiden Mei thought for a moment and quickened her pace, moving closer to Gwen. She began to play the part of a young girl captivated by the foreign youth.

As if worried that Gwen might misunderstand her as a promiscuous girl, Raiden Mei also lowered her voice to explain:

"It's all for the plan...

It's normal for a girl from a declining family, who has suffered bullying, to develop a strong liking for a gentle and considerate person of the opposite sex, right?

Besides, we don't have that much time to delay—we don't know how prepared the other party is or when they'll make their move."

"...Mm."

Gwen softly replied as he looked at the girl whose face grew redder the more she explained. Just as Raiden Mei was about to relax, he took her hand, which didn't know where to rest, and said with a smile, "Let's go, my girlfriend."

"Mm..."

Raiden Mei wanted to say something, but Gwen had already pulled her along. She could only swallow her words of refusal, which she herself wasn't sure how sincere they were. A blush reappeared on her face. To the surrounding customers, she looked exactly like a young girl who had just gotten a boyfriend.

Afterward, the American boy, who didn't treat Japanese yen as money, hailed a notorious Japanese taxi.

Raiden Mei, who had remained calm throughout the taxi ride, calmed down a bit after getting out of the car, her expression much more natural.

However, as Raiden Mei stepped out of the taxi amidst the driver's beaming "See you next time!", she saw a white-haired girl standing in her familiar shop, and her footsteps immediately froze.

"What's wrong?"

Gwen, who had paid and gotten out of the car a step behind, asked casually. His gaze followed Raiden Mei's line of sight, and he also saw the white-haired girl busy inside the shop.

"Kiana?"

"Hm?"