Kaslana's Way of Survival

"Alright, Kiana, Kaino, we'll split up to find the clone of Kiana that Anti-Entropy needs," Ziegfried said, quickly stepping to the nearest Incubation Pod and glancing at it before speaking. "Remember, the clone's number is K423—it's written on the display at the bottom of the pod."

"The guards shouldn't pass through here right now, so let's make good use of our time."

Kaino nodded and jogged off, beginning his search for their target.

"Got it, Dad." Kiana replied, then started moving as well.

"Damn Otto... using Kiana's genes to create so many of these..." Ziegfried stared at the "sleeping" white figures, gritting his teeth and muttering a few curses under his breath before hurrying to join the search for the clone.

The white figure inside the Incubation Pod was a replica of the girl Kiana, and the number "K423" suggested that either the experimenter had assigned numbers randomly, or there were at least 423 such clones in existence.

Considering there were fewer than a hundred pods in the lab, the fate of the remaining clones was easy to imagine.

"I found it, over here!" Kaino, who had been jogging, suddenly stopped and called out to the other two still searching.

Kiana and Ziegfried immediately moved toward Kaino's position, and Kaino finally had a chance to look at the girl inside the pod.

White hair, white skin, and a white one-piece experimental suit—the pale figure floated quietly in the Incubation Pod.

It seemed that Kaino's shout had startled her, because the experimental subject numbered "K423" furrowed her brows slightly and slowly opened her eyes.

Her sky-blue eyes seemed lifeless, as if the manga artist had forgotten to add highlights when drawing her, evoking an involuntary sense of pity.

Perhaps because it was Kaino who had woken her, she just stared blankly at him, motionless.

She's not mistaking me for Dad, is she?

But looking at her unfocused gaze, Kaino guessed she was still in a daze from sleeping too long.

"She looks exactly like me!" Kiana exclaimed, pressing herself against the pod to examine the clone closely.

"Yeah, exactly alike," Kaino replied, nodding as he watched the clone. "Looks just as clueless."

"Hey, Kaino!" Kiana instantly bristled like an angry kitten, baring her teeth and glaring at him.

"Alright, save the chatter for after we leave." Ziegfried crouched down to study the buttons near the display. "I'll get her out first."

Hearing this, Kaino silently stepped back, surveying the surrounding pods.

Every pod held a floating Kiana—all clones of her. But unlike the K423 subject before them, none of them had developed their own consciousness.

In other words, they had never truly lived, possessing only the most basic physiological functions.

This was mentioned in the Sirin Project files, and the fact that none of the figures reacted to the commotion they'd made was further proof.

Kaino sighed.

"So, Dad, after we save her, where will she go?" Kiana blinked, asking Ziegfried.

"Anti-Entropy will take her in."

"Can she come with us?"

"...We can visit her."

"Then what should I call her? Does she have a name? She looks more like me than my brother—can she be my little sister?"

"I don't know... Alright." Ziegfried half-heartedly brushed off Kiana's questions, then pressed a button and stood up. "It's done. Let's get her out of here."

As he finished, the pod let out a soft clink, and the culture fluid inside began to drain slowly, along with the clone floating in it.

Seeming to feel the cold from losing the fluid, the clone of Kiana, who had only just opened her eyes, closed them again and curled up into a ball, like a newborn kitten.

Like a little white fluffball.

"We'll think of a name after we're out—names you come up with on the spot don't sound great," Kaino said, patting Kiana's head. "Especially if you're asking Dad... Aunt Theresa told me how silly the names he gave us were back then."

Kaino wasn't too opposed to having another little sister... though he knew it was unlikely.

Once the clone girl was taken to Anti-Entropy, his family probably couldn't even visit her often, lest seeing someone who looked exactly like her cause her to overthink things.

And if that overthinking triggered a Honkai eruption, it would be a disaster.

The pod's hatch slowly opened, and Ziegfried quickly scooped the clone into one arm.

"Alright, let's move." Ziegfried urged them. "We're almost out of time for the rendezvous with Anti-Entropy. Without their help intercepting Schicksal's pursuers, we won't make it out of here safely."

"Stay close to me. You two don't need to crawl back through the waste chute this time—follow me out the window." Ziegfried held K423 tightly as he led the way, with the two kids close behind, and the four of them quickly left the lab area.

Chapter 6: Pursuers

The journey to the plane went relatively smoothly.

Ziegfried ignored the reactions of those around him, sprinting with Kiana and Kaino in tow. The K423 in his arms slept soundly, without crying or fussing. Though some acquaintances were curious to see Ziegfried rushing past without a word, they didn't think much of it.

After all, Ziegfried was a famous Kaslana knight of Schicksal and the wielder of the God Key, Judgement of Shamash. In the eyes of most Schicksal Valkyries, he was a comrade you could trust with your back. Even if they saw him climbing out of a Schicksal lab with two kids, they'd probably assume he'd gotten lost playing hide-and-seek with them, not that he was stealing something.

As for the remaining few Valkyries...

To them, Ziegfried was probably a romantic rival.

In truth, if that were all, Kaino and the others' mission would have gone smoothly.

Unfortunately, not everyone in Schicksal was a Valkyrie brainwashed by slogans about fighting for a better tomorrow.

So their movements were eventually exposed.

Just as Kaino followed Ziegfried onto the plane, Schicksal's alarms blared across Klostern.

At the same moment, a wanted notice for Ziegfried was issued to all Valkyries' personal terminals and every Schicksal device with a display screen.

"Dad, Schicksal put out a wanted notice for us!" Kiana, sitting in the Transport Pod with Kaino, shouted while looking at her personal terminal. "Hurry, hurry, let's get out of here!"

Kaino also glanced at Kiana's terminal. Ziegfried's official photo was neatly placed on the left, while the right side listed his crime—stealing confidential experimental results from Schicksal's organization.

"Alright, you two sit tight and buckle up. We're leaving now."

Ziegfried sat in the driver's seat, fastened the seatbelt for k423, who was sleeping in the passenger seat, then quickly and skillfully operated the Control Console in front of him. After pressing many buttons that Kaino couldn't understand, the aircraft finally started.

"There are so many people outside, whew," Kaino said, still out of breath from running too hard. After catching his breath, he pressed his ear against the Transport Pod's wall. "Lots of noise, all jumbled up. Even the alarms can't drown it out."

Although the Transport Pod's soundproofing was decent and Kaino couldn't make out specific words, he could roughly guess what the people outside were shouting. Probably something like "Stop right there, lay down your arms and you won't be killed!"

"Alright, we should be safe now."

Once the aircraft took off, Ziegfried, sitting in the driver's seat, let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, this operation went without a hitch. Looks like fate's really on our side, haha!"

"We're safe already?!" Kiana turned around and extended a hand toward Kaino.

Kaino cooperated perfectly, reaching out and slapping his hand against hers with force.

"Awesome!" Kiana said, beaming.

Kaino relaxed his body and slumped into his seat in the Transport Pod.

Today's operation had put immense pressure on him, both physically and mentally—that long run earlier had nearly killed him. Even though his breathing was steadier now, his whole body was still burning hot. A wave of fatigue washed over his brain, and if he could, he really wanted to sleep.

But the joy of a successful plan hadn't faded from his heart yet... and besides, Kiana beside him kept humming a song, which was a bit noisy.

"No... this should be the place, right?" Suddenly, Ziegfried in the driver's seat frowned, his tone tense. "I should have reached the designated spot... but where's the Anti-Entropy interception squad?"

Kaino's groggy mind snapped awake.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Kiana beside him stopped her excitement and asked in confusion. "Did the Anti-Entropy squad not follow the plan?"

"Is it the wrong location?" Kaino asked. "Like, a bit further ahead? Or maybe the Anti-Entropy squad is hiding somewhere, specifically to intercept the pursuers from behind..."

Before Kaino could finish, an alarm blared inside the aircraft.

"...There's a plane chasing us from behind," Ziegfried took a deep breath. "Kiana, Kaino, hold on tight. I..."

Kaino didn't catch what Ziegfried said next. He only felt the entire aircraft jolt violently, accompanied by a deafening explosion at the Transport Pod's hatch.

Countless fragments from the blast flew past Kaino. Unluckily, a few shards slashed his throat and pierced into his body.

"Ah!"

Kaino couldn't help but cry out in pain. A stinging, burning sensation spread all over him. The intense wind pressure from the breached cabin pulled Kaino toward the opening, but his seatbelt held him back tightly, nearly tearing him in two.

Yet Kaino knew he wasn't the worst off, the most unlucky one.

Kiana, sitting beside Kaino, was closest to the hatch. Even more fragments had lodged into her body than into his. Worse still, one shard struck Kiana's head, knocking her unconscious on the spot, and she was almost blown out.

"La..." With his throat injured, Kaino couldn't make a sound, couldn't call for Ziegfried's help—besides, the man was probably stretched thin himself.

So, enduring the pain, he reached out his already cut right hand toward Kiana and grabbed her arm with all his strength.

Though his vision was blurred from the agony, Kaino noticed that Kiana's seatbelt had also been cut by a fragment. The remaining part seemed strained, slowly breaking apart.

Kaino knew that no matter how badly Kiana was hurt now, there was still hope for recovery. But if she fell from the plane, there would be no chance of survival.

Even if she was a superhuman like the Kaslana family, the plane was at least 5000 meters above ground.

But how could he hold on?

Not only was he bleeding everywhere, his right hand injured, and his limbs weak—even if he were perfectly fine, his strength wouldn't be enough to keep his sister from falling.

Kaino could do nothing, could achieve nothing.

He could only watch in terror, helpless and broken, as his blood flowed onto his sister, staining her body, watching her slip from his grasp as the seatbelt gave way. The moment it snapped, he didn't even feel any force in his hand before Kiana was blown out of the hatch before his eyes.

But the pursuing plane seemed unsatisfied, opening fire on Kaino's cabin.

It felt like a long time, but in reality, all of this happened in less than five seconds.

"Ki... no!... damn, die...!"

Kaino heard a roar of fury and grief from Ziegfried's direction, but he couldn't make it out. Whether from blood loss chilling his body or the sorrow of his sister's disappearance weighing on his heart, Kaino felt his consciousness fading...

And the burning sensation in his chest grew stronger.

Finally, Kaino lost consciousness.

Theresa woke up happy today. She knew it would be a very joyful day.

There were three reasons.

First, because it was Wednesday, lunch would be delicious potato stewed beef—though the Orphanage was well-off, they only got potato stewed beef once a week.

Second, because today was the anniversary of her first day of consciousness. To Theresa, this day was no different from a birthday.

Third, because the Priest had told her yesterday that he would go to the town to gather supplies and bring back her favorite bitter melon pie.

Three good things overlapping—that alone was incredibly delightful.

Just as Theresa thought of the Priest, a knock came at her door.

"Priest, I'm here!" Theresa quickly replied.

She knew the knocker had to be the Priest; the other children would have barged straight in.

"Priest, are you heading out?" Theresa blinked, her eyes sparkling.

Standing across from Theresa, the golden-haired Priest wore a white-based purple ceremonial robe. He looked at Theresa, nodded, and instructed her, "Yes. Remember to serve the children their lunch, then make sure they take a nap."

He paused, then added with a smile, "And don't let them eat too much at lunch—otherwise, they won't finish the bitter melon pie."

"I'd never not finish it—I can eat a ton!" Theresa blurted out, then realized what she'd said and blushed. "No, I mean... the bitter melon pie is so good, I could finish any amount."

"Haha," the Priest chuckled softly, then said, "I'm off."

With that, he closed the door.

Theresa shook her head and left the room as well. Even though today was her lucky day, that didn't change the fact that she had to clean on Wednesdays.

So Theresa picked up a broom and, with her short legs, began sweeping the floor.

Suddenly, bang—the Priest, who had just left the orphanage not long ago, slammed the front door open and rushed upstairs to his own bedroom.

Theresa was bewildered. She saw the Priest seemed to be holding something blood-red... was it a person?

She looked at the floor she had just cleaned. There were red droplets all over it, dripping from whatever the Priest was carrying.

Was that... blood?

Chapter 7: The Orphanage's Christmas

At the center of the stage, under the spotlight, a white-haired girl less than one and a half meters tall wore a purple pointed mask on her face. She clutched a bulging bag and looked flustered as she faced another gorgeously dressed red-haired girl before her.

"That hairstyle, that hair color, and that monster-like strength... you're that clumsy daughter of the Kaslana family, aren't you?"

The richly dressed girl scrunched up her small face and spoke to the white-haired girl in a slightly angry tone.