Then! There Was Only One Answer!! (4k)

[ Ding~! The daily mission has been refreshed. ]

[Daily Mission: Spend at least thirty minutes alone in the same room with any Valkyrie or Flame-Chaser (it doesn't have to be just one).]

[Mission Reward: 150 Stellaron Shards, 1 random item reward.]

[Current Stellaron Shard Balance: 2500]

Xu Ziling took a look. This mission wasn't difficult. It was the same old system daily mission: "Spend time alone in the same room with any Valkyrie or Flame-Chaser..." The requirements were also absurdly simple. Although the wording could easily mislead people into thinking they had to do something in particular, the mission never specified what they had to do in the room. Sitting there and waiting would count toward the completion time.

He could probably complete it with Elysia while eating later, or, once Mobius woke up that evening, go with her to the laboratory and complete it there.

Missions like this, which didn't disturb anyone and could be completed silently, suited Xu Ziling perfectly. He couldn't help it—the system's previous "Cry Your Eyes Out" and "Ambiguous Pose" missions had genuinely frightened him. He was truly afraid that one day, the system would suddenly throw a daily mission called "I Didn't Lie."

And with that, his time for self-mockery was over. As for what came next...

[ Ding~! The Devil God Mission has been completed in stages. The following data will now be updated— ]

[Devil God Mission: Godhood in the Honkai World]

[Mission Requirements: Survive in the Honkai world for thirty days (8/30); hunt one Chariot-class or higher Honkai Beast (?/1)]

The system's notification pulled Xu Ziling's somewhat scattered thoughts back. He looked at the system panel in his field of vision and couldn't help sighing. So, excluding today, he had only been in the Honkai world for eight full days?

He felt as though he had experienced so much over the past few days that months had passed. Still, compared with the dark, endless days of being a wage slave before transmigrating, Xu Ziling naturally preferred his increasingly fulfilling life now.

But putting his feelings aside, what was the question mark in the note after the system mission?

[ Ding~! The host has killed the first Simulated Herrscher of this era, exceeding the kill requirement of the Devil God Mission. However, the time requirement of the survival mission has not yet ended. To put it plainly, the host is currently in a period before the plot point, so the mission rewards cannot be issued directly. ]

[However, the host's battle achievements against Honkai this time cannot be ignored. Therefore, the system's mission module will automatically modify the original basic rewards of the Devil God Mission and stack them with the rewards for exceeding the requirements. The stacked rewards will all be issued after the host has survived for thirty days.]

[Original Devil God Mission Rewards: 10 Star Rail Passes, 1,600 Stellaron Shards, Simulated Universe instance unlocked, System Shop unlocked, 1 Simulated Universe Survival Guide.]

[The modified Devil God Mission Rewards will retain all original rewards and additionally grant the character ability of a "Random Limited 5-Star Character," as well as the title "Way Ahead"!]

[Note: "Limited 5-Star Character" generally means that after the host obtains a certain Limited 5-Star Character, one of that character's abilities will be randomly selected according to its strength, applicability, and scarcity. The selected ability will be directly strengthened into the host. If the character drawn is already at max Eidolon, the host can likewise use the thought memories contained within the Eidolons to recreate a Limited 5-Star Character for auxiliary combat (a character recreated at max Eidolon can only exist as a companion. It may possess part of the original character's memories and thoughts, but the host must distinguish between fiction and reality and not direct his feelings toward a recreated combat character...).]

[Note 2: Title—Way Ahead: For viewing purposes only and without practical use. However, if the future host happens to meet a blond outsider one day, he can use this title to inflict white true damage that ignores armor and defenses.]

Limited 5-Star Character! Way Ahead!

Seeing the reward and title, Xu Ziling's heart jolted. As a player who had been a fan of all three games—Honkai, Genshin, and Star Rail—before transmigrating, he deeply sensed the storm hidden beneath those eight words.

But digging any deeper into that subject would take him off-topic. Besides, no matter how lavish the Devil God Mission rewards were now, he had to complete the survival period of the survival mission before he could claim them. Thus, Xu Ziling forcibly suppressed his excitement and turned his attention elsewhere.

For example... according to the system's mission description, the strange man from last night who had constantly insisted that he had done nothing wrong had actually been a Simulated Herrscher? No wonder he had been able to withstand the Pillar Men's attacks and still become tougher the more he was beaten.

In fact, if Xu Ziling hadn't exploited the loophole the strange man had revealed in his own words at the final moment—causing the man's emotions to turn against themselves, triggering an emotional collapse, and making his incomplete core lose its final chance to condense—then Xu Ziling, relying on physical strength alone, truly couldn't say for certain that he would have been able to defeat him.

The Pillar Men's physiques were indeed incomparably powerful, but until they overcame their weakness to sunlight, they could never reach the pinnacle of strength. If a complete Herrscher wielding a true Authority had suddenly appeared right in Xu Ziling's face, and he had been unable to escape under the opponent's unreasonable Honkai Authority, then all he could have done was throw the Galactic Lottery from his system inventory and gamble on the opponent triggering the lottery's instant-kill threshold.

Fortunately, things hadn't reached that point.

And looking on the bright side, this trip had not only brought back a "truly flawless person," making her believe that an evil organization was hunting her and forcing her to remain outside the laboratory; Xu Ziling's killing of the Simulated Herrscher also seemed, from a certain perspective, to have suppressed Honkai's development and cut off the opportunity for the First Herrscher to be born?

[Yes, host. Your deduction is correct.]

As the matter involved the main plot of the Previous Civilization, the system became unusually serious. In its silly voice, it offered advice like a dog-headed military strategist:

[Last night, I took some time to analyze the matter... The strange man you killed yesterday was indeed a standard Herrscher template. However, at the final moment, Honkai itself withdrew its infusion of power from that strange man for reasons unknown, causing what should have been the birth of a Herrscher to stop at a level below even an Emperor-class Honkai Beast. By killing it, you did indeed, from a certain perspective, delay the birth of the first Herrscher.]

[But, host, you cannot become complacent merely because you delayed the birth of a Herrscher. Honkai lost one strange man, so it will naturally cultivate another... In this world, the birth of Herrschers is irreversible. Even if you use certain special methods to delay the time of birth before matters become irreparable, a Herrscher will still inevitably be born.]

Mm.

Xu Ziling wasn't surprised. After all, if killing a Herrscher before its core fully condensed could prevent its birth, then Honkai wouldn't be so terrifying. He had suppressed it once, but he couldn't do so every time. Honkai would always find a suitable candidate.

Compared with that, what Xu Ziling cared about more was...

System, did you just say you can analyze Honkai?

[Um... I'm constantly updating too...]

That wasn't important... Consider it a little curiosity of mine. System, I want to know: compared with the Honkai Will of this civilization's era, which of you is stronger?

[...Huh?]

If the system had a physical form, it would definitely be scratching its head in confusion right now.

After a long while, the system finally answered haltingly:

[It should... um... I should be a little stronger... But I'm not certain. After all, I... I'm only the Star Rail Cultivation System, okay? I'm not very familiar with the power scale over here... But, host, just in case, if you really have to face the Honkai Will in the future... I... I might be so scared that I'd hide inside your body. I'm telling you in advance... Don't call me a deserter, okay?! This one thing... I really can't help it...]

Seeing that the system was about to panic again, Xu Ziling cursed himself for having such a loose tongue, then hurriedly comforted it:

It's fine, it's fine. Don't be nervous, my precious system. You're absolutely no worse than that Honkai Will, okay? Everyone has their own specialty. Even a cutting-edge scientist would hide first after encountering a top-tier murderer, wouldn't they? It's fine. I won't blame you.

[Um... Then... thank you.]

Sigh.

Looking at the system like this, Xu Ziling inexplicably felt exhausted, yet he also inexplicably found this feeling of soothing a child rather pleasant. At the very least, he didn't dislike it.

"Ding ding ding~"

Just then, a dining bell rang from the kitchen. Xu Ziling glanced toward the kitchen on the first floor of the small building in confusion. He remembered that after Elysia finished preparing a meal, she would usually rush off to find Serpent or him to taste it. Why was she using the bell this time?

After glancing at Klein, who was washing her face in the bathroom, Xu Ziling walked toward the kitchen and asked Elysia:

"What happened?"

However, Elysia was sitting at the kitchen table. She glanced at Xu Ziling, quickly looked away again, propped up her cheek with one hand, and continued pressing the dining bell on the table with her right hand, making it ring "ding ding ding."

Seeing this, Xu Ziling thoughtfully said:

"Hmm... Sister Ellie, did something upsetting happen?"

"Sister Ellie?"

Elysia's eyes lit up. She seemed to like the form of address very much, but soon realized that she had let herself show it. She hurriedly coughed twice in a tactical manner, put on a slightly dissatisfied expression, and, without looking at Xu Ziling, muttered:

"Wow~... So there is someone at home? I worked so hard to make breakfast, but no one came to eat for so long. I thought there was no one home."

Hearing this, Xu Ziling was stunned, then smiled helplessly.

"Sorry. Troubles have been happening one after another lately, and I neglected Miss Elf's care for the laboratory. If the Doctor still hasn't woken up by noon, let me cook. Miss Elf, you should get some time to rest too."

"Hmm?~ But you should still call me Sister Ellie. I feel that the title Miss Elf is more suitable for the internet."

Elysia smiled, then beckoned Xu Ziling over.

"I've already put Doctor Mobius's portion somewhere warm. Come eat breakfast~... Oh, Little Ziling, has the girl you brought back yesterday already left?"

"Mm... She decided to stay here for the time being."

Xu Ziling answered honestly, then added just as honestly:

"She just woke up and is washing up in the bathroom. She should be out soon."

"Mm..."

Elysia's pink-and-blue eyes shifted. She quickly stood and went to the kitchen doorway to look toward the living room, then swiftly closed the door and returned to Xu Ziling's side. With evident urgency, she said:

"Little Ziling, Little Ziling, while that girl named Klein isn't here, hurry and guess what I found yesterday when I was cleaning Blanca's room!"

"What did you find?"

Elysia's sudden question left Xu Ziling somewhat baffled, but he patiently followed her train of thought.

"Could it be a blessing card she left for us? But I don't think... Senior Blanca is a careless person. If she'd written us a blessing card, she definitely would have given it to us on the night she left.

"So it should be some small item from her life that was worth preserving as a keepsake? And after calling her to get her permission, Miss Elysia excitedly brought this highly meaningful memento over to show me... Is that it?"

"Wow..."

Elysia blinked, then said:

"As expected of you~. You actually... perfectly avoided the correct answer."

"Ah, this..."

"But it isn't too far off. It really is something written on paper. Come take a look, Little Ziling. I feel as though we're about to do something bad."

As she spoke, Elysia checked once more to make sure Klein, who had finished washing her face outside the kitchen, had fallen into a state of mental blankness with no one around to draw her attention. Then she mysteriously took an envelope with gold-foil edging from her bosom and handed it to Xu Ziling.

There were obvious signs that the envelope had been opened. Clearly, Elysia had read it before Xu Ziling.

After Xu Ziling took it, he saw several gilded words embossed in gold on the envelope, which looked remarkably like a university admission letter:

Mobius Research Institute—Admission Letter

The sight made Xu Ziling's heart sink. Linking it with the important clue "in Blanca's room," a very bad idea swiftly rose in his mind!

Dear Student Klein,

Based on our recent joint observations with your school, Student Klein meets our admissions standards perfectly in both moral character and academic knowledge. In addition, with the recommendation of a reserved admission quota from Chiyu Academy, our institute has decided to formally admit you as an intern graduate student under Doctor Mobius.

Please do not concern yourself with the fact that you can skip the university stage and directly enter graduate studies. Your efforts and achievements over the past three years of high school have already proven your abilities. If you are interested, please visit the Chiyu Academy Admissions Office before the college entrance examination begins. Present this notice to obtain the specific time and location for registering for an internship at our institute.

Note: Please remember that the knowledge taught at the Mobius Research Institute is absolutely no worse than that of any university in the world. Now that you possess the right to choose, please do not let your future self regret the decision you make today.

—End

—Officially issued by the Mobius Research Institute & Chiyu Academy