Bronya from Post-Honkai Odyssey

The night was dark, and a light rain was falling.

The city's skies are filled with all sorts of flying vehicles. From this vantage point, one can see countless skyscrapers displaying holographic images of their respective trademarks on a loop. The Coca-Cola logo and the holographic images of "Heaven on Earth" intertwine, and occasionally, one can see a light rail silently passing by, suspended in mid-air.

Amidst the prosperity, a veil of decadent extravagance lingers.

This was Bronya's first impression of Canghai City, but what caught her most attention was the Honkai Energy particles she could feel with every breath, and the constant phenomenon of light mist emanating from the huge facilities in the distance, visible through the grand neon lights outside the window.

--Without multiple and super-sized Honkai reactors linked together to form a core, it would be impossible to exhibit such an appearance.

Moreover, the fact that even so, the people in the lower city can still survive shows that the level of control and application of Honkai Energy here is far beyond the ordinary.

Canghai City.

Just minutes before, Bronya thought she had simply boarded the wrong flight.

Even if it were an absurd thing that an emergency mission could be carried out under the control of Schicksal and shift from Saint Fontaine to the Shenzhou Continent, it would still be a million times easier to understand and a million times easier to handle than the current situation.

The Proper World she inhabited had sealed 99 percent of the Honkai Energy on Earth onto the moon, and the remaining 1 percent of Honkai Energy been transformed into special crystals. That era could barely be called the era in which the Honkai had been defeated.

At least there won't be any more unrelated natural disasters sweeping in and causing brutal Honkai that result in countless casualties.

The world then fell into peace.

But Bronya understood a bizarre reality she had to face the moment she arrived in the city.

That is, one is no longer in the original world, but has arrived in a parallel world or World Bubble.

The reason is naturally that Honkai Energy can be breathed in almost every moment in the lower city. Even without relying on the body's instinctive reaction, whether it is the weapon system connected to the Heavy Cannon Rabbit or the Heavy Cannon Rabbit itself, it can naturally absorb and accept this energy that is free in the outside world. This all proves the cruel reality.

--After all, this should never happen in the world I live in.

Even though their bodies, long accustomed to this environment, were cheering with joy, the fighting spirit within their subconscious seemed to have returned to that era filled with blood and fire, constantly being ignited and bringing out corresponding instinctive reactions and emotions. There was even a kind of unseen connection that was telling them the location of the Herrscher of Reason Core, like the call of a close friend.

But her rationality still underscored the current emergency situation.

The situation is terrible.

Mei was on a mission in Saint Fontaine, lost contact and found herself inexplicably in this strange world instead of going to her rescue.

This almost certainly meant that he was trapped in a situation even more precarious than Mei's; let alone going to her rescue, he was probably in dire straits himself.

In fact, if it weren't for the unique nature of Heavy Cannon Rabbit and the fact that her hacking skills are still as good as ever, it wouldn't be surprising if she were arrested now.

Even after losing her Herrscher Core, Bronya is still just an excellent and experienced warrior, and there are limits to what she can do.

Given this kind of start, with the enemy's base camp in disarray and information extremely scarce, it's only natural that they would be captured and interrogated within an hour.

In short...

Bronya glanced at the drunkard who was already fast asleep inside the old vehicle. She used her Heavy Cannon Rabbit to hack into the nearest vehicle that she could control the fastest. She finally chose this flying car whose owner was unconscious and had left the vehicle to autopilot control, and temporarily concealed herself.

To avoid being quickly detected as a hack, she frantically hacked into the other vehicles before setting the flying car on a rampage through the sky, deliberately leaving traces while also obscuring the connection function of their internal cameras. Even now, she continues to carry out this operation, hoping to confuse her pursuers.

In a sense, this is what she's been doing all along.

But to be honest, this was the first time I'd ever seen such a large-scale event.

Bronya ignored the constructs constantly emerging from the bionic mechanical creations outside, which called themselves Kunpeng, as well as the words "[No Entry]" gradually appearing in the distance and the strange, flickering runes. She skillfully demonstrated her excellent technique of pushing the vehicle to its limits, anticipated the opponent's reaction in advance, and directly took other roads to avoid the blockade time and time again.

Even without riding a motorcycle, the show is still just as good.

She kept scanning the virtual screen displayed by the Heavy Cannon Rabbit, searching for useful and intuitive information.

[The Sin Domain Anchor Point developed by the Taixu Sect is nearing the stage of connecting with the planned world.]

[A new Judgment-class demon was spawned at the Honkai breeding farm in Qionghua City, which was suppressed by the Soul Steel Puppet No. 18 of the Immortal Martial Series — Lin Zhaoyu —along with the Kirin Palace, within three minutes.]

[It is reported that Dr. Einstein has extracted useful information from the damaged warships and even the headquarters of the outsiders who claim to be destined for Schicksal and Inverse Merchant, and has categorized them according to their corresponding world designations, placing them at the end of the exploration sequence...]

[Recently, Lostbelt incidents have become increasingly frequent. Citizens are advised to be vigilant for any individuals behaving strangely and to report them using personal crystals. Those whose reports are verified will receive a new type of Soul Steel prosthetic limb developed by the Moon Worship Company.]

Bronya's heart grew heavier with each glance.

A stranger who claims to possess Schicksal and Inverse Merchant?

Are Lostbelt incidents becoming more frequent lately?

This means that people like myself from other worlds are not uncommon, and judging from the fact that I can see the names of forces I am familiar with, the martial prowess of the Taixu Sect is probably beyond my imagination.

2088.

If this is a parallel world to my own, given this level of technological development, could it be that the forces fighting against the Honkai — the Taixu Sect —simply withstood the Honkai and tumultuous offensive by sheer force?

What kind of outrageous and magical world is this?

The more Bronya learned about this unvarnished information, the more uneasy she became.

This directly demonstrates that the highest authority in the world, the Taixu Sect, does not believe there is any need to conceal any information.

In other words, this behemoth did not believe that the release of this information would be detrimental to it.

This arrogance can probably only be cultivated under the premise of long-term dictatorship.

In a land where no other resistance forces emerge, how can an "outsider" survive?

Especially after gaining a better understanding of the world's structure, Bronya felt even less likely to be treated kindly after being captured.

This place is clearly magical, like another era, revealing an impressive level of technology and productivity. Judging from the mature technology of those constructs, they should have lost their value in exploiting ordinary people. However, according to some data analyzed by Heavy Cannon Rabbit, they are still living at an appallingly low standard of living.

On the other hand, the data shows that the formula and technology of the distributed nutrients already existed at the beginning of the country's establishment. However, even with the subsequent expansion of technology and resources from all sides, no effort has been devoted to improving it. This shows what kind of temperament the people in power are.

The other side didn't even care about the people under their command, so you can imagine their attitude towards so-called outsiders. As things progressed, she became even more unwilling to have her freedom controlled by them.

Moreover...

The girl pursed her lips, grasped the exquisite pendant made of overlapping silver and crystal on her chest, and her thumb habitually traced the words engraved on it.

--вечный

This is a Russian word that signifies eternity.

The images from that time would always replay in her mind, but in the end, all that remained were the words left behind by that person and this pendant. Everything from the past was like a scar, engraved bit by bit in a certain place in her heart, and sometimes a sense of emptiness and bitterness would come.

[Your birthday is coming soon. Your gift is in the coffee shop, behind the coffee machine, on the third row from the bottom.]

[Just wanted to say in advance, happy birthday, Bronya.]

[Also, expired candy doesn't taste good.]

This pendant was a birthday gift from that person. The words on it seem to be a testament to the undying friendship and bond, constantly reminding her... never to lose any more companions.

Therefore, regardless of whether they can return to Saint Fontaine in time, giving up the struggle in advance is not an option.

If Bronya wanted to go and support Raiden Mei, who had lost contact, she would first have to break out of this ever-encircling cage. She glanced at the torrent of cars nearby, which were leaving the vehicle beneath her in perfect unison, and frowned as she muttered:

"They've all had their driving licenses revoked? That's quick."

To be honest, she would absolutely not want any direct conflict with these constructs unless absolutely necessary.

Just by imagining the so-called Soul Steel Doll suppressing the Judgment-class Honkai Beast, and considering that Canghai City is also one of the main urban areas of Shenzhou, one can clearly understand what kind of enemy one would encounter in the worst-case scenario.

--A bionic mechanical creation called Kunpeng, and a Soul Steel Puppet capable of rivaling Judgment-class demons.

Not to mention that Bronya has been in a hiatus of eight years without engaging in combat using large amounts of Honkai Energy, and the fact that she has lost the Herrscher of Reason Core.

Even though she has now fully adapted to this environment and regained her core to enter Herrscher mode, she is unwilling to inexplicably clash with this kind of enemy.

Moreover, the Taixu Sect, Lin Zhaoyu...

The fact that Bronya could connect these words to an acquaintance is such that even in a parallel world as strange as Lostbelt, she couldn't believe these things were directly related to that person.

The girl suppressed these thoughts.

Now is not the time to think about these things.

She looked around.

--A multitude of structures of various shapes and sizes, printed with all sorts of trademarks, tore through the neon lights in the rain, completely locking onto themselves as their target, and sped towards them.

He is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and the whole world is against him.

Bronya's expression was indifferent. With one hand, she smashed the speed limiter casing, which required a key to open, and then fully opened the valve that controlled the vehicle's speed threshold, muttering under her breath:

"Heavy Cannon Rabbit, fully connected."

In the instant the girl finished speaking, the misty, leaden gray in one of her eyes seemed to be illuminated by the breaking clouds, revealing a beautiful orange hue. The gears within turned, then the light faded in an instant.

For a fleeting moment, Bronya did indeed use the remaining Herrscher Authority within her body to replicate actions that she could only perform in the past.

The Heavy Cannon Rabbit gradually reverted to its original small form, layer by layer, and then swiftly and forcibly took over the use of the entire vehicle, embedding itself into it. In the blink of an eye, it was woven and constructed according to the ideal vehicle envisioned in the girl's mind, and the upgrade was completely completed in the remaining half minute.

The next second.

One side of the car door suddenly opened by itself, and a strong wind rushed in, blowing the girl's hair. The drunkard sitting next to her was jolted awake but was restrained to his seat by the uncontrollable seatbelt. Before he could even think about the situation, he was released from the safety device and carried out of the door.

"I'm sorry, but this way you'll be safer."

Bronya listened to the fading screams, suppressed her guilty conscience, and silently snapped her fingers, closing the car door again to shut out the howling wind.

She gazed at the "No Entry" sign that had already covered the sky and earth in the distance, the Honkai Energy band connecting the mayfly nanotech, and the ever-approaching large number of constructs. Her lips parted slightly, revealing a faint smile:

"Heavy Cannon Rabbit, full speed ahead!"

Thus, amidst the dazzling neon lights of Canghai City, a dilapidated flying car, its shape constantly changing under the Soul Steel, was born from its rear end, accompanied by a hazy blue glow, and produced an exceptionally deafening roar, like a pulse generator.

The flying car was propelled forward by unparalleled propulsion in the next second, tearing through the mandatory warnings of traffic rules, leaving behind shattered mayfly nanoparticles, the unchanging holographic image, and a large number of constructs that continued to arrive.

However, the larger patrol units closely followed the intelligence network that controlled the entire world. No matter what level this newcomer from out of town was, he was bound to be unable to make any waves in the world dominated by the Taixu Sect.

Whether it's the ten Herrscher produced domestically, or the so-called technological creations and Valkyrie that Inverse Merchant, Schicksal have all proven this ironclad law through their own fates.

And this is especially true for a mere former Herrscher has lost his Herrscher Core.

Now.

The Kunpeng, soaring higher in the sky, made a subtle movement. The soul steel sphere, defined as the Beast Eye, refracted a deep red color, and delicate cloud patterns, like scattered gold foil, spread inwards. After being transmitted and refracted through several central points, it finally arrived at the deep hall.

This place has an extremely high dome, resembling a sprawling palace built of gold.

At the highest point of this palace, and even in its central part, stands a solitary throne.

The young girl sat upright on it, her sleeping face serene. She was dressed in ancient costume from the Tang Dynasty, which made her even more elegant and graceful. However, the whole thing seemed to be sculpted from flowing mercury, failing to show any human posture. Instead, she looked like a statue preserved as a work of art.

Three seconds after the golden patterns appeared in Kunpeng's pupils, countless doors throughout the palace opened on their own. One after another, the sounds of mechanisms were crisp and continuous, as if responding to the moonlight. The clouds and mist from the outside world surged in, rippling wildly and disappearing into the bricks of the entire building, eventually reaching the bottom of the throne and touching the person's feet.

Then, the person on the throne slowly opened their eyes.

In that instant, the once lifeless soul steel was covered by consciousness, restoring its original intense colors and rendering the skin's whiteness and vibrant vitality in a lifelike manner.

The girl's pupils were etched with characters resembling rope patterns.

--Immortal Martial Seven

This Soul Steel Doll, created by the Taixu Sect five hundred years ago, followed the instructions of the [Dragon Court] and was granted the permission and qualification for a brief revival, regaining consciousness from its dormancy.

Li Sushang silently drew the sword beside the cage. The dome opened a portal to the outside world in a spiral pattern. With a light touch of her toes, she swept away all the clouds and mist that had flooded into the palace. In the blink of an eye, she crossed to a higher point in the sky and stood on the Kunpeng.

This soul steel doll, which had lost its independent consciousness, had no intention of lingering in the air to admire the scenery. Instead, it flew towards Bronya's direction, following the coordinate data in its brain.

No one in the city believed that Bronya could truly escape the pursuit of the Taixu Sect, not even Bronya herself.

In regions where the disparity between themselves and the enemy is too great, and where the enemy has a significant information advantage and home-field advantage, the struggles they can undertake are destined to be limited.

Therefore... instead of heading to the lower city area of the outer ring to try to leave Canghai City directly, it would be better to head directly to the upper city area. Even if the enemies encountered would be more troublesome, and the density and intensity of interception would be more troublesome, at least it would prevent the other party from directly ordering that obviously unapproachable Kunpeng to swim over, making them somewhat hesitant to act rashly.

On the other hand, the information I hastily read shows that the technology in this world is extremely advanced, almost on par with the previous era of my own world, and even more advanced in some aspects due to the time it has been developing.

For example, space folding technology and quantum teleportation technology.

In Bronya's view, it was better to engage in a hopeless speed race and escape game using the remaining Herrscher of Reason Herrscher Authority, which were barely enough to last, and the limited-performance Heavy Cannon Rabbit.

Why not take a gamble and break into the relevant facilities, use some hacking skills that might not even work, and teleport to other cities to catch your breath first?

At least... outside the main urban area, there isn't such an exaggerated combination of a Soul Steel Puppet of the Immortal Martial Series and a large weapon like the Kunpeng.

After Bronya simply calculated how many major cities there were in the world, she completely lost any thought of dealing with this world regime.

Even if all the Schicksal- affiliated organizations and armed forces from their own world were teleported over, they would still have little chance of winning against such an overwhelming amount of high-end combat power.

And it's clear that even with such means, Bronya wouldn't gamble on whether the Schicksal of her world would be more powerful than the other Schicksal that descended upon this world.

Ten minutes later.

The gray-haired girl glanced at the pursuers behind her who had been shot down by the autonomous system of the Heavy Cannon Rabbit Fighter Mode, and felt increasingly irritated. Due to the special nature of the world she was in, the armor did not have much Honkai Energy stored inside.

This is also the core reason why she changed her previous cannon-based attack habits to precise, arrow-like strikes.

Even though the world is not lacking in Honkai Energy, the performance characteristics of armor that have changed with the times have rendered the function of absorbing external Honkai Energy useless, so it is impossible to expect this remaining function to be very efficient.

As for Bronya herself, she had never practiced a technique like the Void Sword Qi that connected her to the cycle of heaven and earth. Even though her excellent related skills were enough to support her in doing something similar, it was still a drop in the ocean compared to the number of enemies.

The most challenging aspect is...

Even the most elusive maneuvering and driving skills, or the ultimate agility in short-term acceleration, cannot withstand a true encirclement by sheer numbers.

At this moment, in front of the vehicle were several ancient-style towers suspended in mid-air by magnetic levitation gravitational fields. They gradually revealed their power engines and various weapons from their bases and rushed towards this place.

Behind it was a hundred-meter-long dragon-shaped bionic construct. Its scarlet beast eyes and the pale flesh and steel bolts faintly visible in the structure symbolized its identity as a modified Honkai Beast. Countless mechanical followers, resembling Assault-type Honkai Beast, followed behind it, as numerous and enormous as smoke.

But this was still not the most critical crisis. The terrifying presence that was stirring up a storm-like roar in the distance was the real reason why Bronya was gradually beginning to feel a sense of dread.

Immortal Martial Series Number Seven -- Li Sushang.

There's nothing we can do.

Aside from making a final struggle to get as far away as possible, I had absolutely no other choice.

Just before Bronya was about to gamble her life on this deadly situation, a warm, crimson light swept through her consciousness.

A familiar feather drifted down, and a nostalgic whisper echoed in my ears, offering guidance that saved my life and gave me freedom:

[Bronya, go to that Guanyin Tower.]

The girl's vision seemed to be tinged with the corresponding color, and she spotted the building the other person had mentioned almost instantly.

Behind the floating ancient-style tower, in the distance, the front of a building features an extremely magnificent Guanyin statue, its entire body seemingly crafted from bronze, exuding an eerie and mysterious aura in the night. Most of its surface is covered with mysterious patterns of unknown meaning, resembling ancient Shenzhou talismans, shimmering with a subtle glow.

This building, which combines cutting-edge technology with local culture, is truly eye-catching.

Bronya, however, was not in the mood to appreciate the scenery and instinctively followed the guidance from the Udu-dust in her mind.

The orange light in her pupils burned like flames, and her remaining power seemed to have regained its supreme dominance over the Heaven and Earth Qi in an instant. It absorbed and emptied the Honkai Energy of the surrounding area and then completely integrated it into the cavity of the vehicle connected and fused by the Heavy Cannon Rabbit. At this moment, it burst forth with starlight like a storm!

The dragon-shaped bionic construct could barely remain motionless amidst the ensuing airflow, but the numerous smaller, Charge-class mechanical constructs nearby were tossed about and flew backwards in the turbulent winds, looking quite disheveled.

This vehicle, which seemed insignificant compared to the countless pursuers, distorted the atmosphere like a raging torrent, creating invisible and colorless ripples. It traversed the pursuit of several floating fortresses at a speed that was difficult for the retina to detect, and then domineeringly plunged into the Guanyin statue, which seemed to be a void medium, leaving only ripples in the talismanic patterns on the surface.

Bronya's consciousness was dizzy as the vehicle crashed and lurched in an unknown place. She felt a violent shaking and roaring in her ears, and double images flickered in front of her retina. If it weren't for the fact that the Soul Steel inside the vehicle was Heavy Cannon Rabbit, which was like half of her body, her bones would have cracked from the impact and rolling.

However, her instincts, honed by long battles, preceded her conscious decision to determine the optimal solution. The Heavy Cannon Rabbit transformed into loyal arm armor and shields, and the girl instinctively rolled out of the vehicle, using her half-body to crash into the ground.

The flickering orange light in her pupils caused the arm armor to disintegrate into corresponding mechanical claws, which supported her on the ground with optimal force distribution, allowing her to regain her balance and barely manage to kneel on the ground.

Bronya struggled to catch her breath; her dress, though undamaged, was still quite elegant.

She turned her arm to the side, naturally transforming her arm armor into a light bow shape. She slowly rose and looked around, only then realizing that she had passed through the Guanyin statue and inexplicably arrived at a mysterious and magnificent place.

Ahead lay an extremely spacious front hall, where the abandoned vehicle continued to tumble and crash into the wall, leaving no trace.

--Soul Steel, every brick and tile here is made of this material.

The girl wanted to walk forward, still unaware of the true meaning of the guidance, but she had no choice but to move forward.

In the distance, two enormous stone sculptures in the shape of Pixiu can be seen, facing each other with remarkably lifelike expressions.

This mythical beast, which symbolizes wealth in ancient Shenzhou, stands before the gate, which is hundreds of meters high, exuding a solemn and profound historical atmosphere.

The dark wooden door was tightly closed, with two golden door knockers and talisman-like patterns shimmering like a code.

Solemn as a royal court, yet deathly silent like a prison.

Suddenly.

Bronya sensed an intense sense of crisis pressing on her nerve endings and instinctively drew her bow back to attack. However, the silent and inorganic girl, who seemed like a doll, held a sword, the blade just an inch from her neck. With just a little force, bright red blood would splatter.

That was Li Sushang.

In that instant, an invisible crimson radiance swept across the world.

Bronya could only hear the delicate, tinkling sound of the pendant on her chest as the movement continued, her consciousness slowly grasping the reality that she was about to be executed.

But the next breath, a clear, cold voice came from inside the door, like a gushing spring:

"Step back."

These were words so simple that it was impossible to even discern who they were addressed to.

Upon hearing this, Li Sushang sheathed her sword without hesitation, like a machine whose winding mechanism had been stopped, precise and devoid of all emotion.

She knelt on one knee, the words in her pupils extinguished, and spoke for the first time since her resurrection:

"I will obey Your Highness's orders."

He finished speaking.

This Soul Steel Doll, capable of annihilating the Judgment and rivaling the Herrscher, departed without question, leading an army large enough to ignite a war. As if leaving behind a "stranger," it was entirely beyond questioning the Your Highness's status and position.

However, for the inhabitants of this world, this was not at all surprising.

Who doesn't know that, apart from the supreme ruler, only the sole descendant of the ancient immortals, whose Your Excellency has been passed down to this day, possesses the highest authority?

His Your Highness possesses the unconditional right to command all the Soul Steel puppets in the Immortal Martial Series, the guardian beasts of the main city area—those large bionic mechanical creations—and even the [Dragon Court].

Let alone blatantly protecting a "stranger," even if it involved protecting a group of powerful "strangers," no one in the Taixu Sect would dare to utter a word of dissent.

However... for some reason, this Your Highness has been forbidden from stepping out of his own palace for hundreds of years.

As compensation, His Venerable One constructed magnificent landscapes throughout the area where His Your Highness resided, and built a grand spectacle specifically for each main city, linking them to the same palace using appropriate technology, so that they could overlook the scenery of the world from the highest point.

Therefore, the wonder erected in Canghai City to commemorate this Your Highness is this Guanyin Tower.

Bronya had no idea just how absurd and unbelievable it was that she could drive a dilapidated vehicle and crash into this area.

Normally speaking, unless His Your Highness deliberately opened the portal to the space teleportation in advance, she could at most crash into that Guanyin statue, resulting in either a fatal accident or being captured on the spot. Trying to directly enter the second most prestigious front hall in the world was simply a pipe dream.

The reason why Li Sushang would pursue a "stranger" who had no reaction to the Herrscher or the Stigmata and was theoretically of little value in the data report was that the other party was less than a thousand kilometers away from His Your Highness's private property.

Assuming Bronya landed in a more remote area, she would have no chance of reviving a Soul Steel Puppet of the Immortal Martial Series.

Of course, if that were the case, she would not be able to obtain His Your Highness's protection and would be trapped in an endless pursuit. It is also very likely that if she escaped for just one more hour, she would be imprisoned in the Abyss of Eternal Calamity.

At this moment, the girl's mind was in chaos. Sensing Udu-dust floating in her consciousness, she barely managed to regain her senses and wanted to take advantage of this brief respite to ask what had happened:

"Class President? Is that you?"

However, the Udu-dust gradually faded and receded into the distance in the Sea of consciousness, and without giving any response, it completely disappeared without a trace.

At the same time, the gate not far away slowly opened.