The Real Cheat Code in Honkai Is Alicia!

Never judge a person's threat level by their appearance.

Unaware that Raiden Mei had started imagining things again, Gwen responded to Alicia's remark in his mind and led Raiden Mei into the room Choukai had indicated.

Sure enough, the one restrained in a chair in this room was not the lively girl with White Long Hair, but a petite girl with silver-gray hair and a doll-like, exquisite face devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

"..."

Upon seeing Gwen and Raiden Mei, the faint flicker in Bronya's silver-gray eyes made it clear that she had recognized them.

However, Bronya, who had originally targeted the two for assassination but had been captured after failing, showed no excessive reaction upon seeing them—

The winner took all, and the loser bit the dust. This was something Bronya had understood since her early years being trained as a child soldier in Siberia.

Especially now, with her body completely restrained and Heavy Cannon Rabbit also suppressed, Bronya... could do nothing...

"It seems you've recognized who we are."

Gwen leisurely sat down with Raiden Mei in the chairs opposite Bronya, his manner rather casual.

"Bronya Zaychik, the Ural Silver Wolf, or perhaps... Cocolia's adopted daughter?"

"..."

Bronya's silver-gray eyes met Gwen's gaze. She neither spoke nor revealed any weakness—

Bronya bore no resentment over ending up in her current predicament due to her failure—

Since she had come intending to take their lives, she had no right to complain if failure cost her own life.

Her only regret was... Seele... I'm sorry...

Though she desperately wanted to live and continue working to save Seele, Bronya knew well how powerful figures treated assassins after surviving an attempt on their lives, so she made no attempt to beg for mercy.

"What a troublesome personality..."

After looking at each other with Bronya for a long while and still receiving no response, Gwen shook his head in boredom.

"Then let me talk about something that interests you...

Seele Vollerei."

"!"

In an instant, an unmistakable light lit up Bronya's lifeless silver-gray eyes as she stared intently at the man who had originally been her target—

Even now, Bronya could not determine whether this man had been the one to knock her out and bring her here.

"What are you trying to say?"

For the first time since losing all hope, Bronya spoke.

"An Estonian. She lost her parents in the Second Honkai and was taken in by the Cocolia Orphanage."

Gwen ignored Bronya's question and continued.

"Half a year ago, Cocolia conducted some experiment related to the Sea of Quantum. Seele Vollerei vanished as a result and was suspected to have died when the experiment failed..."

"Seele isn't dead!"

Though she knew there was a good chance he was trying to bait her, whether he wanted to see her struggle in vain or had some other motive, now that hope had appeared, Bronya was not going to sit still and wait for death.

"She was merely quantumized and entered the Sea of Quantum, unable to return to the real world.

Heavy Cannon Rabbit was a gift Seele gave me!"

To make herself seem as though she had been fooled, Bronya allowed genuine emotion to show and tried hard to put on an anxious, furious expression. But her calm little face was simply not convincing.

"Is that so?"

Watching Bronya with composure, Gwen knowingly asked.

"Then can you tell me how your dear mother, Cocolia, plans to continue harming—rather, rescuing—your Seele?"

"..."

After a brief hesitation, Bronya still gave him an answer—

"We..."

Naturally, for the sake of her own safety, Bronya did not reveal everything.

At the very least, regarding the purpose of triggering the Honkai in Changkong City, Bronya claimed it was to capture the Third Herrscher and have her power the Moonlight Throne, thereby saving Seele in the Sea of Quantum, rather than killing people to obtain the core.

At the very least, Raiden Mei beside Gwen listened with a thoughtful expression rather than the cold face she had worn when entering—

It was not that Raiden Mei completely believed Bronya's words. While sympathizing with her, Raiden Mei was also considering how much truth there was in what Bronya had said.

"Heh..."

With a Light Laugh, Gwen straightened his posture.

"Setting aside whether the plans you described are true, I must say, Cocolia's courage is truly eye-opening.

Conducting experiments on her own daughter in a field she knew nothing about...

Oh, right. She's only an adopted daughter... At most, she's just expendable material worth investing a little more time in..."

"Seele isn't expendable material..."

Bronya retorted.

"Perhaps that was the case for you, but for Cocolia, who had thought only of success during the experiment and never anticipated the consequences of failure, that was simply the truth."

Gwen lightly flexed his fingers and said slowly:

"Come to think of it, Cocolia and I really were rather fated. She attacked me once with a barrage of missiles, then sent you after me in a Titan Mech. Even my Mei was on her list...

Heh... Bronya, tell me—which would be better? Killing her outright, or having her adopted daughter personally snuff out her ambitions? Which would hurt her more?"

Beside Gwen, Raiden Mei turned her gaze toward the delicate-looking girl as she listened to him.

Raiden Mei had already guessed what Gwen was thinking.

Though she did not quite understand Gwen's attitude toward this former child soldier, she did not dislike what he intended to do.

"Oh, and one more thing. Schicksal's exploration of the Sea of Quantum went far deeper than Cocolia's—she knew nothing and went straight to human experimentation—

Several years ago, Schicksal had already completed an experiment exploring the Sea of Quantum. Both test subjects were active A-rank Valkyries. The technology used to separate Heavy Cannon Rabbit from you also came from that."

Gwen added with a smile, becoming the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"Bronya will pledge her loyalty to you."

Though she had no cane, Bronya's little mouth, still carrying a childish lisp, spoke words of considerable force.

Thoughts on Going Premium

After nearly two years, it was once again time for the nerve-wracking excitement of going premium.

First of all, let us thank our lovely, beautiful, and kind Alicia for bringing us together here. At the same time, thank all of you who have stayed with this book all the way. Your active comments and reviews have given Ashen One much more confidence.

Second, a response to some of the questions in the comments and reviews—

There will only be cuddling, no tying knots! No tying knots! No tying knots!

Regarding the female lead, Eden is tentatively included for now.

Personally, compared with the others, Eden's characterization and identity are actually quite difficult to handle—her identity and perspective as an artist make her hard to woo.

Attracting her through art would be extremely difficult—

Would someone who truly understood art be writing webnovels here? (totally serious)

And if you do not understand it yourself, you cannot write that kind of feeling either. Copying works from another world and such—I personally do not think that would be very reliable for Eden.

But—

Big Sister Eden is just too irresistible.

So I'll give it a try anyway.

As for the later plot, there will be no angst for the protagonist. Even if the protagonist is suppressed in battle, it will only be because he has not revealed his trump cards or because it is necessary to unlock something. There will be no forced nerfs like "Dada is just too strong."

Lastly, the bounty event begins at midnight tomorrow and will last one week. One extra chapter for every 500 recommendation votes, 50 monthly votes, or 50 blades; one extra chapter for every 50 yuan in donations, with no upper limit.

Treasure chests... forget it, I do not dare ask for those. Once I finish my thesis, there is still the PPT and the defense a few days later. It would be bad if I could not pay it back—later, I'll post a separate bounty chapter with a screenshot of the midnight data.

Bounty Event

Starting at midnight today, lasting one week, and ending Thursday night next week—

One extra chapter for every 500 recommendation votes, 50 monthly votes, or 50 blades; one extra chapter for every 50 yuan in donations, with no upper limit.

Treasure chests... forget it, I do not dare ask for those. Once I finish my thesis, there is still the PPT and the defense a few days later. It would be bad if I could not pay it back—later, I'll post a separate bounty chapter with a screenshot of the midnight data.

"Alicia: Fake, It Has to Be Fake!" (Please Subscribe!)

"During the previous X-10 experiment, Bronya's emotional circuits were damaged, leaving her unable to express emotions.

After that, in order to ensure Bronya's safety, Mother Cocolia implanted a Bio-chip in Bronya's brain."

As a token of her pledge of loyalty, Bronya revealed some of her secrets—

"If you are worried that Bronya may betray you, you may replace the Bio-chip in Bronya's brain to ensure control over Bronya's life."

Although Bronya had deduced that, if what Gwen said earlier was true, then Schicksal's technology should be able to detect the Bio-chip in her brain.

That did not stop Bronya from offering it as a token of loyalty.

"Without a foundation of mutual trust between both sides, that is indeed a good suggestion."

Gwen did not simply wave a hand and say there was no need—at least for now, Bronya remained someone who might turn against him at any moment.

"However, compared to controlling your life, which is something I can do at any time, I think replacing this chip would be more useful in preventing someone from remotely controlling you at certain moments."

Having casually planted another hidden threat between Bronya and Cocolia, Gwen, having achieved his goal, did not intend to remain any longer:

"In any case, congratulations on making the right choice, Bronya.

I'll go find someone who can help replace your Bio-chip. Until then, to avoid you being remotely controlled into doing something none of us wishes to see, I'll have to trouble you to remain restrained for a while longer...

Oh, right. Do you need food or water?"

"If possible, please give Bronya some food and water."

Bronya did not dispute Gwen's suggestion that the Bio-chip in her brain might control her. She merely obediently requested food and water—

Even the Ural Silver Wolf could only lie in the snow for an entire day without eating while carrying out a mission on the condition that she could swallow snow for water.

More than twelve hours had passed since her capture. Now that hope had taken root, Bronya did not want to die of hunger or thirst because of such an oversight.

"Of course. You may have to wait a little while, though."

Gwen nodded and said to Mei beside him, "Let's go."

"Mm."

After giving Bronya one last look at her utterly expressionless little face, Raiden Mei nodded and followed Gwen out of the specially reinforced room.

"Actually, the way I handled things today doesn't fit my usual style."

After leaving the room and returning to Choukai's office, Gwen was the first to speak.

"By my usual habits, if I really wanted revenge on Cocolia, I'd kill her at most.

Something like making her adopted daughter personally destroy her ambitions doesn't suit my aesthetic."

"Then why..."

Raiden Mei paused, asking instinctively, only to arrive at the same thought as Alicia in Gwen's mind.

"It may sound a little superstitious, but sometimes, I experience flashes of the future—"

After a pause, Gwen explained, "Put simply, like how a movie protagonist might foresee certain scenes that will happen in the future, I sometimes see fragments of the future too.

But they're only fragments. Trying to draw anything definite from them is incredibly difficult."

This served as a patch for his actions, while also preparing an explanation for certain information whose origins would be inconvenient for Gwen to explain later.

"In other words, in your visions of the future, Gwen, Bronya is... our companion?"

Having accepted the premise without much trouble, Raiden Mei immediately understood what Gwen meant.

"I only saw what seemed to be an older Bronya together with us. As for what exactly our relationship was, or how we reached that point, we'll have to explore that slowly."