"Hey, have you heard?"
"Heard what?"
"What Erwin said."
"Isn't Erwin always spreading rumors?"
"I didn't know before, but now it might actually be true."
"Tell me about it."
"You know Huang Hao, that high-ranking official?"
"Yeah, the legendary prophet, right?"
"Exactly. I heard that, based on his intuition, he feels the next one is about to arrive."
"Wasn't everything fine recently? Why is it coming now?"
"Exactly. Do you really believe that?"
"Anyway, I don't."
"There's more..."
Angela shut off her phone and stopped reading the messages below. Looking a little upset, she said to Huang Hao, "Father, this..."
Huang Hao comforted Angela. "It's fine, An'er. If what they're saying is true, then that would be wonderful."
"There's no point in warning them again. I uploaded the information on the Herrscher several years ago. For now, go talk to a few friends."
"But..."
"Stop." Angela was about to say more, but Huang Hao interrupted her. "We may question the warriors' backgrounds, but we must never question their faith or unity, even if it's someone else's..."
Seeing how determined her father was, Angela fell silent.
"An'er, you've done a lot lately. Rest for a while and stay here quietly. I'll handle the rest." Huang Hao affectionately ruffled Angela's hair, then teleported away.
Angela often went over to play at Hen and Elysia's place, and she frequently mooched instant noodles from Kevin, so she didn't feel tired at all. Still, she obeyed Huang Hao and obediently stayed in her room, playing the game Huang Hao had developed himself (by plagiarizing it).
Huang Hao arrived outside Mobius's laboratory and politely knocked on the door.
The door opened, revealing the armed puppet Klein, who had come to answer it as usual.
Before Klein could speak, Huang Hao said, "Klein, sorry for the trouble."
Klein was quite used to Huang Hao's sudden visits. "All right. Please wait a moment."
Klein went back and told Mobius. Before long, she came out.
When Mobius appeared, Huang Hao spoke first. "Long time no see, Mobius."
Mobius said, "Just say what you came for. Don't tell me this is related to the recent rumors."
Huang Hao said, "Looks like the rumor I started spread pretty well. Even someone who stays in the laboratory all the time has heard about it."
Mobius scoffed, "Everyone takes the arrival of the Honkai seriously. You came to me for more than just this, so get to the point."
Huang Hao said, "You read the information on the next Herrscher that I sent you several years ago, right?"
Mobius nodded, confirming that she had seen it, and added, "A Herrscher whose ability is to isolate Honkai Energy. There's currently no way to counter it."
Huang Hao sighed. "Even you can't do anything about it. Find a way to leave this place with your assistant. Go as far away as possible."
Mobius said, "What bad luck has befallen my assistant this time? Did he enter that domain?"
Huang Hao said, "That's right, but that's all I know. I have no idea when or where it will happen, which is rather troubling. Still, to be safe, you should leave."
After Huang Hao finished informing Mobius, she suddenly said, "I'm curious. You're no different from an ordinary person. By all rights, you shouldn't even be able to defeat a well-trained ordinary human. So where did you get such powerful strength?"
Huang Hao deliberately delayed his movement for a moment and whispered, "If you ask someone's shadow a question, you'll get no answer, because there's no one there. But the answer lies above the shadow."
"But I'm asking someone above the shadow."
"The one casting the shadow isn't necessarily oneself." The delayed flames slowly rose. Huang Hao ultimately left with a flourish, leaving Mobius with a puzzled expression.
"The one casting the shadow... I think I understand now." After hearing those words, Mobius finally solved the question that had plagued her for years. "How fascinating. But there's more to it than that..."
After playing the role of a cryptic messenger, Huang Hao went to see Qian Jie. When he arrived at the house, he found that the door was unlocked, so he walked straight in and saw Qian Jie constantly pounding a specially made punching bag.
Huang Hao greeted him. "Hey, old friend."
"Hm? You."
Huang Hao said, "Doing any better lately?"
Qian Jie said, "I'll return that question to you."
Huang Hao remembered that Immer had died long ago. And since a long time had passed between his two encounters with the Honkai, Qian Jie probably wouldn't cause any trouble. He had wanted to warn him about being instantly killed inside the domain, but then he remembered Qian Jie's war-loving nature and decided not to mention it.
Qian Jie said, "What are you standing there for? Want to spar with me?"
Huang Hao said, "Oh, nothing. I came to reminisce with an old friend, and to bring you a few crates of lemon water."
Qian Jie: "..."
"Get lost."
"Sure thing."
Before you continue