The Wisdom of Heaven

In some unknown plane, a gray-haired man sat cross-legged before a great tree, meditating in silence. No one knew how much time had passed before the man slowly rose to his feet. His eyes remained shut as he made his way to the tree and caught a falling leaf, turning it over in his hand.

A flash of green light passed over the leaf in his fingers, and it began to glow brilliantly. In less than a quarter of an hour, it miraculously floated back to a branch on the tree, restored to life.

Green light shimmered in the man's left hand. A ring of rolling water droplets appeared in his palm, each one showing a different moving scene: a girl with a golden ponytail, clad in full armor; a giant dragon with six wings; a cold-faced young man with white hair...

"Hm?" One droplet's vision caught the man's attention. He furrowed his brow slightly, then placed the droplet against his eye. His eyes flew open, revealing a pair of purplish-red irises. As they opened fully, his entire presence surged.

He studied the young man in the droplet, then smiled. "What an interesting little fellow. She'll be so happy when she finds out her efforts weren't in vain..."

Sheng Jiu had lost count of how many times, in his dreams, the man in white-and-blue armor had been slain by the colossal sword from the sky. But this time seemed different. Just before Sheng Jiu woke, countless white and red feathers appeared before his eyes.

Sheng Jiu's eyes snapped open, and he straightened up in his seat. The plane everyone was riding in had already taken off, and through the window, he could see thick layers of clouds.

A tissue was held out in front of Sheng Jiu. He took it and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Thanks, Class Monitor."

Fu Hua, sitting beside him, asked with concern, "Did you have a nightmare?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I've been staying up late these past few days, so my sleep hasn't been great."

"Sheng Jiu, you really should take better care of yourself. As a member of the Valkyrie squad, maintaining a strong physique is very important..." Fu Hua launched into another lecture, and Sheng Jiu pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation.

"Hey, sleepyhead, want one?" Kiana lightly kicked the back of Sheng Jiu's seat and passed him a gummy through the gap.

Sheng Jiu took it and bit down hard. "Don't do me favors for no reason. What do you want?"

Kiana blushed. Puffing out her cheeks, she gave a soft huff. "Ugh, why are you like that? I was just taking pity on you and kindly giving you candy."

"If you don't ask now, you'll miss your chance."

"You!" After a brief silence, Kiana spoke somewhat awkwardly. "Well... um... when we get to Shenzhou, there'll be lots of snacks, right? I've already spent all my pocket money, so..."

"Beep. Your account has received 4,000 dollars." A payment notification soon sounded from Kiana's phone.

"Huh?!" Kiana stared, dumbfounded, at the sudden windfall in her account, unsure what to do.

"It's fine. Keep whatever's left for your meals tomorrow. If it's not enough, there's more." Sheng Jiu left Kiana with a cool pose as he turned away.

"Hehe, thanks..." Kiana scratched her head sheepishly, then whispered to Yae Sakura beside her, "Hey, Yae Sakura, why doesn't that guy look like he's short on money at all?"

Yae Sakura smiled knowingly. "I heard that after every mission, Sheng Jiu secretly brings back some Honkai Beast organs or bodily fluids, then sells them at ridiculously high prices to the Research Departments of various branches. According to Bronya, his current balance could probably buy him a gunboat..."