This... This Isn't Right, Is It?

Enoshia's disappearance from right under their noses undoubtedly made Huò Bùfán's newly settled heart leap back into his throat.

"The power outage was only a means—the real goal was to steal her. Anti-Entropy is probably the only one capable of this. We've been played!" Huò Bùfán said furiously.

"Should we send people after them?" Even in this emergency, Miles spoke at an unhurried pace.

"Ugh." Huò Bùfán sighed helplessly.

"We don't even know how they took her. It's already too late to give chase. As expected of the Herrscher of Reason."

At that moment, Walter Yang, far away in Arizona, North America, sneezed. He had no idea Anti-Entropy had somehow been saddled with the blame.

Huò Bùfán rushed out. Within minutes, the entire Siberia Branch began an investigation. Since it had nothing to do with Anti-Entropy in the first place, the investigation naturally turned up nothing. No one would have imagined that Enoshia was currently inside that electronic device's Data Space, watching the whole spectacle unfold. The instant she touched that computer, she understood that she could switch between human and data forms, so she immediately slipped into the computer.

Truly roaming through an ocean of knowledge was an undeniably novel experience. Countless incomprehensible streams of information surrounded her, yet whenever she wanted to understand something, it was as though another brain translated that chaotic information into words she could comprehend.

Herrschers not knowing all of their Herrscher Authority, or being unable to use it, was extremely common in Honkai Impact 3rd. The most typical example was six-core Sirin, who could only hurl meteors at Earth after reaching the Moon. Thus, figuring out as much as possible about what she could do was Enoshia's first priority after entering the Data Space.

"Oh... Simply put, I can break through dimensional barriers and travel freely between the virtual and the real without conditions. The network is a highway to me, and every electronic device within the same network system can serve as an entrance or exit. I can also read any information on electronic devices without obstruction. Let's see...

"Schicksal Siberia Branch, located at 114 degrees east longitude and 51.4 degrees north latitude... They really knew how to pick a place."

"Otto Apocalypse. Sure enough, he's not dead yet. It was the right choice not to reveal my Herrscher identity before Schicksal, or that bastard Otto would definitely have captured me for research." Enoshia curled her lip and continued reading.

"Cecilia Schariac, Siegfried Kaslana, Theresa Apocalypse... Hmm, there really are quite a few familiar faces. There is some information on Anti-Entropy too. Wait, Cecilia Schariac is still alive? What time is it now?" Only then did Enoshia remember to check the computer's clock.

"January 31, 2000... Wait? No, I, the 12th Herrscher, descended in Siberia in the year 2000? What the hell is this timeline...? Is this still Honkai Impact 3rd? Don't tell me I ended up in Honkai 2nd, where they cranked out dozens of Herrschers."

After a targeted search, she found information about Herrschers in the Siberia Branch's database.

"1953, the First Honkai Outbreak occurred in Berlin... First Herrscher Walter Joyce... Anti-Entropy's defection... Thank goodness, thank goodness, it is still Honkai Impact 3rd. The Herrscher order is just messed up. I don't need to prepare for some hellish grand reunion." The information regarding the First Honkai Outbreak was exactly the same as in Honkai Impact 3rd, which made her sigh in relief. Compared to reuniting in the underworld in Honkai 2nd, Honkai Impact 3rd was indeed healthy, sunny, and uplifting.

"Wait, 1999—Schicksal obtained the Conquest Gem in Antarctica. Wasn't this thing obtained by Sirin when she went to the Moon? Why was it already at Schicksal HQ? Weren't there four gems? What about the cores of the Death Herrscher, Wind Herrscher, and Fire Herrscher? The information on what I want to know is far too brief. It seems I'll have to visit HQ to get more intel...?"

"Right, since Sirin was mentioned, and it's this point in time..." After another search, information regarding the Babylon experiments appeared before her. Though it was top-secret, before the Herrscher of Corruption's Authority, no matter how high humans set the encryption level on computer data, it was utterly meaningless. With a casual wave of her hand, the full experimental records immediately appeared before her.

After reading only a few lines, she found it horrifying.

Every year, large numbers of Honkai Sickness patients, clinging to their last shred of hope, were admitted to Schicksal's medical facilities. Of them, many girls who passed physical examinations and tests, along with a small number of boys who passed, were sent to the Babylon Lab. What awaited them there were long, terrifying, utterly inhuman experiments on human subjects. They would become expendable medical materials for Schicksal's testing of technologies combining Honkai Energy with the human body.

They wept and screamed deep within the gloomy base, only for it all to be scattered by Siberia's cold winds. All that remained were several lines of cold data in a computer. Beneath that data lay bloody deaths, inhumane tests, and Schicksal's cruelty and indifference.

"I *******!" After reading the detailed experimental procedures, overwhelming fury filled her mind. She used every ounce of strength she had to keep herself from losing control.

Granted, from a god's-eye view, human experimentation could even be considered necessary to some extent in order to gain the means to fight the Honkai. Enoshia did not oppose human experimentation itself, but rather Schicksal's methods of selecting Experimental Subjects. No matter how gratifying the research results might be, Schicksal could never make up for what it had done to those sacrificed children.

From a rational perspective, sacrificing the few for the benefit of the many did not seem wrong. But what if you, your family, and your friends were about to become those sacrificed few? Could your emotions accept that? At least, Enoshia could not accept it right now.

She checked the time again:

January 31, 2000, 15:46.

"Mm... In other words, I still have time to stop the Second Honkai Outbreak before it happens."

The Second Honkai Outbreak was the prequel to Honkai Impact 3rd's entire main story, and it was also the most destructive Honkai event in the current civilization. The true culprit behind it all was not Sirin, but Otto. If he had not carried out the Babylon experiments, Sirin would never have become a Herrscher. And when Walter opened the Simulated Black Hole, if Otto had not stabbed him in the back, Sirin would never have had the chance to go to the Moon, much less hurl meteors. Tens of millions would not have died.

Even after suffering inhuman abuse, Sirin's kindness endured after her death and gave rise to Kiana. This showed that although she eventually changed from victim to perpetrator, she was fundamentally a very kind person. If she had not been subjected to inhuman torment and the Will of Honkai's manipulation, then even if she still became a Herrscher, there was a strong possibility that she would have fought for humanity. No matter how one looked at it, she was the person most in need of saving—and the most deserving of it.

Though that probably meant the ultimate, invincible, goddamn adorable Tuna would be gone, just thinking about what she went through in the main story... It was perfectly normal to imagine yourself in the protagonist's shoes while playing a game, but actually experiencing everything from The Last Lesson to Eternal Flames yourself...? At any rate, Enoshia could not say that she would do just as well in Kiana's place.

"Then let's set a small goal first. For personal reasons, I'll make sure these four—Sirin, Benares, Cecilia, and Cheng Lixue—survive past the Second Honkai Outbreak."

With a goal in mind, Enoshia found her motivation. She followed the network cable and sped toward Babylon Tower.

(A friendly reminder: the protagonist's thoughts and actions ≠ correct thoughts and actions, so please view them critically. The protagonist is powerful but not invincible, so the people she wants to save ≠ people who will definitely survive. Whether Sirin and Cecilia can truly live, and whether Tuna is really gone, please keep reading. The answers to these key questions were decided from the very beginning.)