Kaslana's Way of Survival

Kaino felt too awkward to rummage through his sister's neatly folded clothes in search of clues, so after a quick scan of the room, he walked over to Ziegfried's cluttered computer desk and began checking it.

"Wow, Kaino, how did you get in here?" Kiana turned around at the sound of him shifting things, pouting at him. "Out, out!"

"Heh, look what I found."

Kaino picked up a USB drive sitting on the desk and raised an eyebrow at Kiana in a showy manner.

"Huh, that's just a USB drive, isn't it?" Kiana stepped closer.

"This is Schicksal, practically the fastest network hub in the world." Kaino sighed, booting up the computer and plugging in the drive. "If Dad needed to download something, wouldn't it be faster to just use the network?"

"Besides, Dad's not a researcher—he's a warrior." As he navigated the drive's contents, Kaino explained to Kiana, "So this isn't likely to be his research data. More probably, it's the reason he's been distracted all day."

—Like evidence of Ziegfried being blackmailed.

"Really? Let me see, let me see!"

Kiana immediately crowded around the desk, peering at the screen with Kaino.

"What, it's just an Arahato cartoon... but the quality's terrible? Would Dad really watch Arahato in such bad quality? That's his favorite!"

"Could it be a secret file? Something hidden in the animation? Like a specific line at a certain timestamp with a hidden meaning?"

Kaino frowned at the video, puzzled.

"But why ruin the quality like that? Wouldn't that just draw attention?"

"Oh, right, I remember!" Kiana suddenly grabbed the mouse. "I saw this in a movie—maybe it works like this?"

"How could a secret file use a method that's shown in a movie? That wouldn't... wait, what?"

Kaino stared in disbelief as the file format changed under Kiana's manipulation, feeling his worldview shaken.

What kind of secret file gets handled like that?

"It really is a secret file! Dad's been hiding a big secret from us!" Kiana's eyes widened as she opened it.

"Sirin... Project?!" Kaino read the title aloud, exchanging an incredulous look with Kiana.

"Sirin... Kiana, the Herrscher of the Void born during the Second Honkai War was named that, right?"

Kaino swallowed hard. Just seeing the title told him the contents wouldn't be trivial.

He'd guessed that whatever had Ziegfried out of sorts all day wasn't minor, but something involving a Herrscher—a dead one at that—he hadn't expected.

And if this was internal Schicksal data, why would it end up in a warrior's hands like Ziegfried's? If it wasn't, then how did he get it?

And why had it left him dazed for an entire day?

"I've got a bad feeling..." Kaino exhaled, quickly scanning the file. He picked out keywords like "resurrect Herrscher," "clone," "Shania replica," "unsatisfactory," and then locked onto two sentences.

Kiana's Kaslana genes may provide a sufficiently powerful transplant host for the Herrscher resurrection experiment.

Experimental subject K423 successfully awakened consciousness.

The atmosphere grew heavy.

Not to brag, but when anyone in Schicksal mentioned Shania, their first thought was always his mother—the wielder of the God Key: Black Abyss White Flower, the Saint of Shania, the strongest Valkyrie who sacrificed herself to destroy the Second Herrscher and save the world: Cecilia Shania.

So who the so-called "Shania replica" in the file referred to hardly needed saying.

That meant his mother's genes had likely been used for research to resurrect the Second Herrscher after her death.

To think even more maliciously—if Cecilia hadn't been vaporized by the Honkai fission bomb, those people might have used her corpse for experiments.

And when that Shania replica proved unsatisfactory, Schicksal turned its sights on his sister.

The reason they used Kiana's genes was her exceptional Honkai energy resistance and adaptability. If the clone's quality still didn't meet the researchers' demands...

Kaino felt a suffocating tightness in his chest, like a lump he couldn't cough out.

"Bro... brother?" Kiana had finished reading too, clearly shaken—she even rarely addressed him as "brother."

"...Kiana." After a pause, Kaino let out a breath, trying to relax, then looked at her hesitantly.

Having your genes used for cloning experiments—that had to be an incredibly complicated thing for the person involved.

And trying to resurrect and control the Second Herrscher... given the complaints Dad sometimes made to them, Kaino didn't think Schicksal had the capability.

"Should we... talk to Dad?" Kiana turned, staring straight at Kaino. "Stopping the Second Herrscher's resurrection—no matter what, we have to, right?"

Looking into her unwavering, determined sky-blue eyes, Kaino sighed.

"Yeah."

Chapter 4: An Honest Conversation

Stopping the Second Herrscher's revival at Schicksal was something Kaino was naturally on board with. He had no idea what Schicksal hoped to achieve by resurrecting her, but he didn't trust them on this.

Aunt Theresa had told him that the Second Herrscher, Sirin, became a Herrscher partly because of Schicksal's cruel experiments. Thinking about it, Schicksal might do something utterly inhumane trying to force the Second Herrscher to fight for humanity.

In contrast, Anti-Entropy had the First Herrscher fighting for humanity—they were probably better at persuading Herrschers.

At the very least, they wouldn't make the Second Herrscher even more hostile toward humans, right?

Besides, the clone used in the experiment was a replica of his sister. If she did choose to fight for humanity, Kaino hoped she'd have a decent life—the Sirin Project file mentioned that the successful subject seemed to have birthed a new consciousness, not the original Second Herrscher.

"Kiana, Kaino, I'm home!"

Just then, Ziegfried's voice came from the doorway, interrupting Kaino's thoughts.

"This time, Dad couldn't play with you properly because of some mood issues, so I specially bought you gifts to make up for it. Where are you? Come out and take a look!"

Kaino and Kiana exchanged a glance, then Kiana nodded and walked toward the bedroom door. Kaino sighed and followed behind her.

"Kiana, Kaino? Hurry up and come out! I..."

Ziegfried, still calling out to his two children, stopped mid-sentence when he saw them emerge from his bedroom.

"Why are you coming out of my bedroom? Wait..."

Noticing the unusual expressions on Kiana and Kaino's faces, Ziegfried's smile stiffened for a moment, but the next second, a grin returned to his face. "Ahahaha, Dad's bedroom is a bit messy. You must be exhausted from cleaning it for me, right? Come on, look at the gifts I brought you! A new jersey and a copy of Karen Fantasy II!"

"Dad..." Seeing that her brother had no intention of speaking, Kiana looked at Ziegfried with a serious expression. "We know everything. About the Sirin Project."

At that, the smile on Ziegfried's face finally vanished completely.

What surfaced in its place was the worry and helplessness that had been hidden beneath the grin.

"How did you..."

"You've been off all day, Dad. Of course we noticed." Kiana said matter-of-factly. "And more than that, they're using my genes for cloning experiments, trying to revive the Herrscher of the Void that Mom destroyed herself to stop..."

"This has to be stopped, right? As Kaslanas, we can't just ignore this, right? But you're hesitating, Dad."

"Kiana, I..." Ziegfried's face showed hesitation, and finally he let out a slow breath. "You're right. This operation carries extreme risk. I don't know what to do..."

"Why don't you know what to do, Dad?" Kiana interrupted him. "That organization called Anti-Entropy contacted you because they can't stop the Sirin Project themselves, right?"

Ziegfried's USB drive contained not only the Sirin Project files but also a plan outlining what Ziegfried should do, signed by the Anti-Entropy organization.

"Yes, and they also hope I'll step up, for a variety of reasons," Ziegfried sighed. "But like I said, this operation is too risky. Even if I successfully get the test subject out, if the situation gets too dangerous for us to rendezvous, I might not even be able to take you two with me."

"If that really happens, you'll be left at Schicksal headquarters as descendants of criminals. And given Schicksal's madness and your talent, Kiana, they might even use you for inhumane experiments."

"I can't ignore your safety." Ziegfried looked at Kaino and Kiana.

"Is it just a rendezvous problem? That's easy—why don't we just act together?" Kiana thought for a moment and offered her suggestion.

"What? No way!"

"No!"

Ziegfried and Kaino refused in unison. They exchanged a glance, then Kaino turned to Kiana. "Kiana, this one thing is absolutely out of the question."

Meeting Kiana's how could you betray me stare, Kaino didn't waver. "The danger level for you doing this isn't low either, and you're only nine!"

"Hmph, I'll be ten next year!" Kiana lifted her chin. "I'm considered a prodigy among the Kaslanas, aren't I? Schicksal wants to use my genes for experiments, and in the past, ten-year-old Kaslanas were already joining battles."

"That's too reckless. Absolutely not!" Ziegfried cut in. "The past is the past, the present is the present. What can a little kid like you do?"

"I can do a lot. Think about it—the plan Anti-Entropy gave you says so, right?" Kiana tried to convince Ziegfried and Kaino. "The core test area is heavily guarded. It's hard for you to get in alone, isn't it? That's why you said the risk is high."

"But with me, it's different! Ventilation shafts, skylights, garbage chutes—they all become entry points, don't they?"

Seeing that Ziegfried seemed to be leaning toward agreeing, Kaino quickly interjected: "If you can do it, so can I. And I'm your older brother. If anyone's doing it, it should be me!"

Then Kaino looked at Ziegfried. "Dad, listen to me. Let's contact Aunt Theresa first, and then..."

"What can you do?! Your body is so weak!" Kiana suddenly shouted. "If anyone's going to Big Auntie's place, it's you. Anyway, I..."

"Anyway, if you go, I'm going too. You'd probably get lost on your own in there!"

"Kaino, you—Fine! Then we'll go together!"

"Alright, Kiana, Kaino," Ziegfried interrupted. "This isn't about who goes and who doesn't. The most important thing is, after choosing to stop this plan, how can I be worthy of your future lives?"

"Whether you stay at Schicksal, leave with me, or go with someone else, once I act against Schicksal, you'll carry the burden of being descendants of criminals, or you'll have to flee and hide with me."

"So what about your futures? Your mother would never want you to live like that. Sure, we're all Kaslana warriors, but I'm also your father. I want you to grow up safe and healthy, to have a happy childhood."

"But if we don't act, will we grow up healthy?" Kiana stared at Ziegfried. "Either way, we can't just turn a blind eye to this, can we? Even if we don't do it, would we be worthy of the name Kaslana? Would we be worthy of our own hearts?"

"This, I..." Ziegfried hesitated, then nodded. "Alright. We'll stop this plan. But you have to act together with your brother and listen to him, okay?"

"Also, you both follow my orders for the overall operation. If it comes down to a critical moment, you must do as I say, no matter what."

Chapter 5: A Smooth Operation

Ten days later, on the outskirts of Klostern, at the waste yard of Schicksal's core test area.

A middle-aged man in a hazmat suit was pushing a waste bin, pacing around the yard.

After a while, the man looked around, then patted the waste bin in front of him and said in a low voice, "Kiana, Kaino, you can come out now!"

The man was Ziegfried in disguise.

The next moment, the lid of the waste bin was pushed open, and two little white heads popped out.

"Phew, we finally made it. I was suffocating in there."

Kaino complained as he climbed out of the waste bin.

The two of them had been crammed together in a sealed waste bin, and while it wasn't the height of summer, the temperature was still far from cool, making the inside unbearably stuffy.

"Hmph, you can't even handle this, Kaino? It's too late to give up now!" Though Kiana was also feeling hot and stifled, she wasn't about to pass up a chance to put Kaino down.

"Alright, alright, Kiana, Kaino. Move it!" Ziegfried urged. "Someone might come by soon."

"Got it, Dad, you hurry on your end too!" Kaino nodded in reply, grabbed the saw from the scrap bin, and led Kiana toward the waste chute.

"Understood. You two remember to avoid the cameras and patrols too!"

Kaino was the first to climb over the waste chute. After sweeping the area with a glance, he turned back. "No footsteps, no cameras—it's safe here!"

"Okay, I'm coming too!" Kiana nodded and quickly scrambled over the waste chute.

"Let me think... east, west, south... that window over there, Kiana." After confirming the direction, Kaino pointed south. "The place we planned—though there's still two turns to go."

"Alright, stay close to me, Kaino." Kiana nodded, crouched low, and took the lead, with Kaino following behind.

Once they reached the designated spot, Kaino handed the handsaw forward to Kiana, and she began sawing at the window.

This kind of heavy work wasn't suited for Kaino, so he kept watch, scanning their surroundings.

"All done... now we just wait for Dad—ah, Dad's here!"

After a moment, Kiana whispered.

Outside the window, a white-haired figure swiftly approached, then climbed through the window.

"Nice work, Kaino, Kiana!" Ziegfried praised them in a low voice. "Any trouble?"

"None at all. Our operation went abnormally smoothly—not a single hitch. I'm seriously starting to wonder if Schicksal's patrols took the day off," Kaino replied.

"Good. Then stay close to me—we need to hurry to the lab."

Ziegfried nodded in reply, pulled a map from his coat, glanced at it, and took the lead.

"Should be... here?" After a few turns, Ziegfried looked at a door on one side, pulled out a magnetic card Anti-Entropy had prepared in advance, along with a Judgement of Shamash. "There might be people inside. I'll go in first to check."

Ziegfried gently pressed the magnetic card against the detection area, then immediately burst through the door. But soon, his voice came from inside.

"Not a single person... looks like heaven itself is on our side. Come in, Kiana, Kaino."

Kaino and Kiana entered the lab together, then carefully closed the door behind them.

With no staff present, most of the large equipment in the lab had been shut down, leaving only nearly a hundred Incubation Pods standing alone in the room, each one holding a floating white figure.