"...What is it, Bai Chen?"
"Uh..."
Then Bai Chen took two copies of the latest issue of Honkai: Star Rail Adventure from his shoulder bag.
"Teacher Yang, could you sign these?"
"Oh, I see. Of course, no problem. Keep it secret, though."
Old Yang understood at once. He took the pen and comics, signing his pen name on the inside cover.
"Thank you, Teacher! Don't worry, I, Bai Chen, can keep a secret!"
Bai Chen thanked him, took back the comics, and left the dorm after saying goodbye.
Back in his room, Bai Chen looked at the two books before him and revealed a sly, triumphant grin.
"You're smiling so happily. Is this book really that good?"
Kallen, who had been watching from inside his body, could not help asking. Manga had not truly existed in her era.
"No, I'm not smiling because of the comic itself. With this, we have the key to saving Yae Sakura."
The timing should be within the next few weeks. When the Mimic Herrscher appeared in Changkong City, it would be time to save Yae Sakura. He had to bribe Theresa during that period and ask her to take him back to Changkong City.
"Sakura?!"
Hearing news about the person she cared about, Kallen became excited.
"Yes. As long as I use this to bribe Principal Theresa, then cling to her shamelessly, I should be able to go to Changkong City and see Sakura with her."
After Bai Chen told Kallen his plan, he suddenly sensed that something was wrong. A trace of melancholy came through from Kallen's consciousness.
"But I'm not really Kallen, after all."
"..."
Not knowing how to comfort people, Bai Chen thought for a moment before answering.
"You may not be the real Kallen, but your feelings are the same. Don't you both want to say the same things to Sakura?"
"Mm."
Kallen seemed to respond to Bai Chen's words, but her mood showed no sign of improving. It seemed that words alone could not untie the knot in her heart. Some things needed mutual understanding.
"Right, you haven't met the principal yet, have you? Our principal is adorable. You'll definitely be surprised when you see her."
Seeing Kallen sink deeper into her sadness, Bai Chen could only change the subject. He could only hope Yae Sakura would accept this Kallen and help guide her.
The next day, Theresa drank bitter melon juice in her office while reading the latest issue of Honkai: Star Rail Adventure.
Work? What work? She had worked hard for an hour already! It was now the principal's exclusive break time.
Bang!
"Eek!"
"Principal Theresa, I'm here!"
Bai Chen excitedly pushed open the door. Just as he was about to speak, he saw scraps of paper scattered all over the room. He recognized them—the mangled remains of the latest issue of the Homu comic.
So Theresa had a habit of destroying the evidence when someone was about to catch her slacking off, probably to save face.
Thus, Bai Chen silently stepped outside and closed the door again. After waiting a moment, he knocked.
Knock, knock, knock.
"Principal, I'm coming in."
"What's the point of knocking now?! Get in here already!"
Theresa slammed the desk in embarrassment and anger, standing on her chair as she shouted at him.
"Oh."
Bai Chen entered, looking guiltily at Theresa as he said to Kallen in his heart, Well? Surprised?
"..."
Surprised? More like shocked!
"Isn't that what I looked like when I was little?!"
Inside Bai Chen's body, Kallen's consciousness snapped out of her brief daze and cried out.
"..."
Fu Hua, who understood the situation, helplessly held her head. That old friend of hers did enjoy conducting human experiments and the like.
"So? What do you want, kid?"
Theresa glared at the guy who was not much taller than her. If he did not have something important to say, she would definitely give him a good spanking!
Knowing this was serious business, Bai Chen immediately straightened his expression. What came next had to succeed.
"Principal Theresa, have you received any information lately about a Mimic Herrscher appearing in Changkong City?"
"A Mimic Herrscher? The Honkai energy concentration in Changkong City has indeed been fluctuating lately, but there hasn't been any news like that. Where did you hear this information?"
Realizing Bai Chen might actually have something important to discuss, Theresa sat back down and adopted a serious expression.
Wow! Serious Theresa was adorable too!
Bai Chen praised her inwardly, but his expression did not change in the slightest.
Persuasion "Do you know about my ability to transform into possible future versions of Kiana?"
"Of course. As the principal, naturally I know about that."
Theresa nodded as if it were only natural. When she had first heard about such an ability, she simply could not believe it. Only after seeing the footage Himeko sent had she reluctantly accepted it.
Still, the "Kiana" in that video really had looked like Cecilia. And she was a Herrscher! What on earth had happened in the future?!
"When I use an especially powerful transformation, I'm affected by memory fragments from that transformation. I once saw some things in Kiana's memories."
Although Bai Chen was lying, he was not lying entirely. It was true that memory fragments affected him somewhat.
"So you mean you saw in Kiana's memories that a Mimic Herrscher would be born in Changkong City? All right, I understand. I'll arrange for someone to monitor the situation there."
Understanding the situation, Theresa did not doubt him. She did not suspect Bai Chen of deceiving her; she simply placed greater importance on that area. It was nearby anyway.
"No, Principal. What I mean is that I want to participate in the mission to subjugate the Mimic Herrscher."
Bai Chen stated his purpose to Theresa.
"No way!"
Without even thinking, Theresa rejected Bai Chen's request. She even looked at him with some displeasure as she continued.
"Bai Chen, how many days have you received proper training? You've only been at St. Freya for a little over a month, and you haven't even had a month of combat training! If your information is true, I absolutely cannot allow you to face something like a Herrscher!"
"Principal, you should know that I'm different from everyone else. I have special circumstances."
Bai Chen meant that while his current body was weak, his transformations were anything but weak.
Although Herrscher transformations now had cooldowns measured in years, ordinary S-rank transformations only needed a few months, while A-rank ones only needed a few days.
"Still no! It's only a newly born Mimic Herrscher. Your principal is a veteran S-rank Valkyrie!"
"Will you win?"
"I will win."
Win, my ass! If Bai Chen had not read the comic, he might have believed her. Otherwise, Theresa would get beaten up the moment she arrived, and Yae Sakura would not have had to sacrifice herself to save her.
Ridiculous. She even got beaten by the same person twice! If Yae Sakura had not left behind a Stigmata, Theresa would have died again!
"Please, Principal Theresa. I want to broaden my horizons! The principal is so strong, so there definitely won't be a problem protecting someone like me who can defend himself, right? I want to witness Principal Theresa's magnificent fighting style!"
As Bai Chen pleaded, he took out that copy of Honkai: Star Rail Adventure and handed it to Theresa.
Theresa accepted the comic with a frown, sneering inwardly. Did he think he could bribe the principal with something like this? To prevent accidental tearing, she had bought more than one copy!
Then she opened the first page.
"! An autograph from the author of Honkai: Star Rail Adventure!"
As a loyal reader of the comic, she recognized the signature immediately. After examining it carefully, she confirmed it—it was genuine!
Theresa stared excitedly at the comic in her hands. She had queued up so early back then and still failed to get one!
"Ahem!"
Suddenly realizing Bai Chen was watching from the side, Theresa awkwardly pretended to cough. She had lost her composure somewhat.
Indeed, as an S-rank Valkyrie, would dealing with that newly born Herrscher not be effortless? Besides, Bai Chen had special abilities protecting him.
At worst, she could just keep him on the ship to observe from a distance, right? Letting students go out occasionally to gain experience was fine too. It definitely had nothing to do with her interest in that autograph!
"Well then, just this once."
Blushing, Theresa quickly put away the comic, afraid someone else would discover that she had accepted a bribe.
"Awesome!"
Afterward, Bai Chen told her that the Herrscher would likely be born within Senba Academy, then left the office.
In the comic, Himeko had not recovered from her injuries after fighting the Herrscher of Thunder when the Mimic Herrscher appeared. But because of Bai Chen's interference, Himeko had not been injured at all.
So he could not use Himeko's injuries as a reference for the timing, but it should be around this period.
Because of Bai Chen, the Mimic Herrscher would now have to face Himeko and Theresa working together. Of course, Bai Chen himself would be joining them as well.
As for whether he could awaken the Mimic Herrscher's mind and save her? Bai Chen did not hold much hope. There was nothing he could do for an ordinary person corrupted by the Honkai.
Even Anna, a Valkyrie, had been unable to resist the Honkai's will. Even Anna's teammates and friends could not awaken her. How could he awaken a student who had been corrupted? She did not even know him.
He could not even comfort Kallen when she was feeling down, so he should not dream of talking others around. He was not Naruto. He could only save those he could save.
After that, aside from visiting Old Yang at night, Bai Chen went to see Fu Hua every morning.
He paid a certain price and used allowing Fu Hua to read his memories, while opening his mind to her, as leverage to gain some of her trust.
Fu Hua still remained in contact with Otto, but she had been helping conceal information regarding Bai Chen's transformation ability. After Bai Chen mastered high-level Honkai energy resistance, he began going to the real Fu Hua every morning to train.
After all, his base body's condition stacked with his transformations. The stronger his base body became, the stronger his transformations would be, and the longer they would last.
While continuing his training, Bai Chen kept paying attention to news from Theresa's side, ready to move out at any moment. The tense atmosphere even unconsciously affected those around him.
Kiana and the others had noticed that something was off with Bai Chen lately. His schedule was packed too tightly, and he had even skipped several nights of going to Bronya's room to play games.
Finally, a few days after successfully making up his failed exam, Bai Chen received the news he had been waiting for.
The human once known as Yuno, now a Mimic Herrscher and apostle of the Honkai, had been detected within Senba Academy.
Bai Chen hurriedly gathered his things and rushed toward the location Theresa had sent him—the direction where the Hyperion was docked.
Before even entering the Hyperion's docking area, Bai Chen heard Himeko and Theresa talking.
"Why are you going too? Can't you just leave it to me?"
Himeko seemed somewhat concerned about Theresa participating in this operation.
"All right, all right. I need to stretch my body every once in a while too."
Theresa answered carelessly.
Besides that, Bai Chen heard some other familiar voices talking? But they were too quiet for him to make out.
When Bai Chen entered the facility, he saw those familiar figures. Kiana and the other two were all standing there.
"Ah! Bai Chen, I knew you'd been hiding something from us lately. So you discussed something like this with Auntie and didn't even tell me."
The moment Kiana saw Bai Chen enter, she stepped forward, pinched his cheeks, and gave him a mischievous grin.
"Ow."
Bai Chen looked toward Theresa, only to see her stick out her small tongue at him with an apologetic smile before continuing her conversation with Himeko.
Theresa! Damn it!!
Setting Off
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