The Best Partner!

Although Yelena had gained Originium Arts, this special power that could keep her safe in Terra was indeed quite useful, but it couldn't fill her stomach.

As the ancients said, hunger was the greatest enemy.

People would die if they didn't eat, but where could she find food?

After standing there blankly for a while, the light had faded. She probably couldn't accept such a sudden shock so quickly.

But her stomach had already begun to protest.

Hunger and bitter cold—if this continued, she would definitely die.

After who knew how long, the girl came to her senses, propped herself up, and began turning over the still-smoking ruins in search of something edible.

The poor girl spent a long time searching the ruins with nothing but her will to survive. In the end, the only thing she found that was even remotely useful... was a box of matches.

Was this God's mercy and trial?

What a joke.

Still, little Yelena took the box of matches in her hand. Sunset was almost here, and if she lost her way in the darkness, she would certainly die.

Though, she was practically doomed already.

Staggering toward the outskirts of the mine, she saw that the tracks left by the guards' landship were still there. Following them might lead her out. At the very least, she had to leave this wasteland first.

Yet humans were such insignificant creatures. The farther she went into the unknown, the more lost she became. This didn't feel like a path out at all—it felt more like a road to the end.

There wasn't a single familiar place in sight. A child like Yelena had lived in the small mining site ever since she could remember and had never gone outside. The world beyond the walls was utterly unfamiliar to her.

Being able to tell east from west, north from south, was something Grandma had taught her.

Night gradually descended, but little Yelena still hadn't managed to leave this forest blanketed in snow.

Even the tracks had vanished. She could only follow the river.

Because of her Originium Arts, she could no longer feel the cold very clearly. But would she die because she couldn't control her Originium Arts?

Worry, fear, confusion, and hunger continued to torment the girl. So what if she had escaped the mine? The wretched had never escaped the pursuit of fate.

Unable to see the road, the girl struck the first match.

It reminded her of a story she had once heard from Grandma.

The tragedy of a little girl who sold matches.

She suddenly wondered whether this was her own fate.

But she seemed even more miserable than the girl in the story. After striking the match, she still couldn't see any of the beautiful things the girl in the story had seen.

The tiny match couldn't even dispel the darkness. It merely illuminated a tiny patch of light.

The match soon went out, and Yelena struck the second one.

Even when the flame burned her fingers, the girl could barely feel the pain anymore. All she could feel was numbness.

Nothing beautiful appeared. There was only the chemical compound in the windproof match burning rapidly, along with the swaying flame.

This was not enough for illumination. Soon, only one match remained in the small box of windproof matches, yet she still couldn't find a way out.

Perhaps she was lost. All around her, there was nothing but forest, and more forest. Everywhere was covered in snow, and the withered branches blocked the moon and sky. She couldn't see anything here!

She couldn't get out!

Yelena was beginning to despair. If so, then why had that light appeared?

If this was the will of that damned god, why release her only to block every path out?

Of course, perhaps it was merely a coincidence.

As if she had given up, Yelena slumped down on the snow-covered riverbank. Aside from the stream, which had not completely frozen over, there was truly nothing here—only white, endless white.

The Ursus snowfields were a cursed place. Upon the permafrost that never thawed, there was only cold and snow that seemed as though it would never stop falling.

She struck the final match and felt the slight warmth burning into her palm. Yelena felt like crying.

Yet the damned cold, combined with the uncontrollable release of her Originium Arts, caused even her tears to freeze.

She was so hungry. Was she about to die? Was she going to die in this forest?

Perhaps God's trial had finally ended. Or perhaps Yelena had truly been delirious with hunger.

Just as the story had said, she actually... saw something different from the cold snow. Something seemed to be drifting in the river.

Everyone knew that during winter in Ursus, no fish could survive in the rivers. Most wild beasts hibernated, so there was almost nothing to hunt, let alone fish in the water.

Then what was this?

The will to survive could make people incredibly tenacious. As long as there was hope, a person could unleash unimaginable strength!

The girl struggled to her feet. The stream was right in front of her.

That thing seemed to be alive. Could it be a fish?

When people were desperate, they would even eat Guanyin clay, let alone something that looked edible.

Ignoring the bone-chilling stream, she reached in and fished the thing out. Little Yelena, standing barefoot in the flowing water, lifted the soft, fluffy thing and bit down on it!

"Aaaaaah! What are you doing?! I'm not food!!!"

···················

Generally speaking, the first task upon entering a world was to find the protagonist.

Once she had a target, dealing with things would be much easier.

Because her body was still undergoing the process of materializing her soul after entering the new world, Chlorine Sodium had no choice but to temporarily open the Gate of Reason and pull out the Armed Doll Tesla Zero. She stuffed her not-yet-fully-materialized soul inside it and made do with the doll's body until her own body was completely formed. After all, now that she was smaller, she could disguise herself as a figurine if she encountered danger and muddle through.

The tiny body of Tesla Zero, inhabited by Chlorine Sodium, lay on its back in the river. Ignoring her metal fists soaking in the icy water, she pondered the problem.

So why had this happened? She had obtained overwhelmingly powerful strength for the first time, bringing her one step closer to the life she wanted. She had also gained something wonderful—something every man pursued throughout his life. Two happy things had overlapped, and those two joys had brought her even more happiness. What she should have obtained was happiness like a dream. But... why? Why had it turned out like this?

She was an Armed Doll, and simply soaking in water was no problem at all for Honkai technology. She might not be able to defeat the protagonist—after all, that kind of existence practically had Schicksal's blessing, and it was a Plot Kill no matter what—but dealing with the cold river water was completely within her ability.

Her only enemy was the Child of the World. She had to provoke it and court death, trick it, ambush it, and draw its hatred. The more intense the hatred, the more points she would receive after surviving.

That was exactly what people meant by "the timid were scared to death, while the bold grew rich." Thus, Chlorine Sodium had no intention of forcing her injured body to return to its true form just yet.

Her Herrscher state currently lacked enough energy to sustain itself. After her soul finished materializing, she would first use Kiana's appearance and hide under the identity she had arranged in the previous world. The Herrscher state shouldn't be used too often—not merely because of the energy consumption, but because excessive Honkai fluctuations might attract unwanted attention. That would not be good for hiding.

A harmless appearance was the best disguise, while her complete true form was the trump card she always kept in hand.

Although this explanation was perfectly reasonable and logical, she still felt somewhat annoyed.

Unfortunately, she had very little information, and she had only just arrived. The protagonist wouldn't know that an antagonist targeting her had appeared in this world. Taking a break now and then was acceptable.

After all, it should be time to meditate.

Suddenly, Chlorine Sodium felt something grab her and pull her upward. She was violently yanked out of the water!

What the hell?

Before she could figure out who was bold enough to disturb her, and just as she prepared to punch whichever fool had no sense of self-preservation, she felt someone bite her on the head!!!

It didn't hurt. This was an Armed Doll, and such weak bite force couldn't damage her armor in the slightest. Compared to a savage attack, it was more like some beast had mistaken her for food.

Stupid beast...

Chlorine Sodium turned Tesla Zero's little red-haired head around and saw a thin, silver-haired... girl?

She hesitated because of the pair of long ears atop the girl's head.

A donkey? Or a rabbit?

Judging from the color of its fur, how could a donkey have white fur? It had to be a rabbit. But why would a rabbit's ears grow on a human?

Was this a demi-human world?

Chlorine Sodium considered herself to have traveled through countless worlds and seen every kind of person. The existence of demi-humans with animal traits was nothing unusual.

But something else drew her attention.

That was... something only she could see.

A symbol hovering above the girl's head—a symbol representing... the protagonist!!!!

New author here! Please collect the book, aaaaaah, sob sob!

Section 4: Chapter Four—The Best Partner!

The protagonist was the lifelong enemy of Chlorine Sodium, the great villain.

She was both the only path to achieving her goal and the most dangerous existence.

No matter what kind of story it was, as long as the protagonist was the Child of the World, it was basically impossible for them to lose.

They were existences that could never lose, no matter what.

No one understood better than she did the despair brought by something called a protagonist.

It was an existence that could never be defeated. In the end, antagonists would inevitably accept the fate of failure.

But she didn't care that much about victory or defeat. She only cared whether she achieved her objective.

After all, if she couldn't do it, she couldn't force the matter. People always had to compromise with themselves.

Chlorine Sodium had thought she could conceal herself smoothly, but now she had actually been fished out of the water by someone with the protagonist symbol!

Damn it, had she been discovered?!

If that was really the case, all her efforts this time might be wasted.

Name, identity, and ability—the three most important things for an antagonist who wanted to fight an immortal monster like the protagonist. A name represented the person themselves, an identity represented a target that could be locked onto, and an ability was the most valuable information.

As the ancients said: "The method must not be known, and the might must not be measured." The more mysterious something was, the more deceptive it became.

So now, had she exposed herself?

Since her Herrscher abilities were inactive and she was temporarily residing in Zero, the Armed Doll's red eyes behind their red-rimmed lenses quickly assessed the seemingly frail girl before her.

There were only two choices. She could eliminate this potential enemy. Each world had at most two protagonists; the rest of the protagonist's group were merely supporting characters. Thus, taking her out in a surprise attack wasn't impossible.

But as stated above, protagonists were basically blessed by fate and nearly impossible to kill—unless it was an exceptionally rare protagonist-torture plot.

Such stories were far too rare. Chlorine Sodium didn't like entrusting her fate to mysticism.

Of course, there was a second choice. Provided the other party didn't know her identity, deception and disguise were her best options.

So what did the girl know now?

Yet no matter how cold-blooded and meticulous Chlorine Sodium was, the girl's repeated attempts to bite down and swallow her did not stop. Had this girl gone mad with hunger?

Perhaps she didn't know. Or perhaps... this was currently the protagonist's suffering arc?

Whether she could temporarily rest easy, cast aside her unease, and embrace the life she wanted would all depend on her performance and her steady, step-by-step actions!

First step: tentative communication.

"Aaaaaah! What are you doing? Let go! I'm not food!"

The girl seemed to have realized that the humanoid creature in her hands couldn't be eaten. No matter what she did, she couldn't bite through it.

Already exhausted, she found biting something with all her remaining strength even more difficult. Once she realized she couldn't bite through it, it seemed that even her last hope had completely vanished.

Although the thing had made a human sound, in Yelena's eyes, it seemed more like a hallucination.

When people struggled and despaired at the extreme, it was perfectly normal for the brain to produce protective hallucinations.

Just like the beautiful scene the little girl in the story saw after striking a match.

The thing broke free from her powerless hands and slowly floated upward.

The girl released it with vacant eyes and slumped to the ground.

Communication had failed?

Controlling her body to float in midair, Chlorine Sodium used the prototype No. 0's viewfinder to look down at the girl, finally completing her assessment of her.

The girl's entire body was covered in old wounds, and her clothes were tattered. No, they could hardly be called clothes at all—just a few scraps of cloth.

Yet an incomprehensible coldness surrounded the girl. Was this a special ability of this world?

Most eye-catching of all was the symbol floating above the girl's head.