"Bronya, for some reason, the Third Herrscher's host has become emotionally stable. This will have a major impact on our plan."
"During this time, you're to infiltrate Senba Academy and investigate what's affecting the host's emotions. Then report back to me."
Listening to the voice in her earpiece, the girl replied expressionlessly:
"Bronya understands."
The girl had light gray twin tails of curled hair and a pair of gray eyes. She was very cute.
She also held a yellow Honkai plushie in her arms. Though she was already an adult, she still had a childlike heart.
Her full name was Bronya Zaychik.
After ending the call, Bronya wondered how she would infiltrate Senba Academy and raised her head.
The next moment, she noticed a handsome young man running toward her at full speed, with a strange girl chasing him from behind.
"This is..."
Bronya furrowed her brow and instantly recognized that the girl was a human who had been corrupted by Honkai.
At the same time, she quickly understood what was happening.
"Project Bunny 19C..."
Bronya spoke softly, planning to summon Project Bunny to intercept the crazy woman after the young man had passed by.
Though her emotional circuits were missing, she had taken an immediate liking to the young man at first sight.
The feeling was so strange to Bronya, who had been without emotions for so long, that she felt an urge to save him.
Soon, the young man reached her, and Bronya prepared to summon Project Bunny.
But the next moment, the young man suddenly paused as he passed her.
Then he scooped Bronya out of her wheelchair and into his arms before continuing to run.
Bronya: "???"
Chapter 30: Raiden Mei Is Waiting for News
After scooping the girl out of her wheelchair and into his arms, Su Moqian didn't dare stop for even a moment. He kept running.
He felt a little guilty about dragging this girl he'd never met into the situation.
But there was no other choice.
She was in a wheelchair and clearly had trouble getting around. If he left her behind, she might get stabbed by Asakura Miyuki's thorns, and that would be the end of her.
Fortunately, the light-gray-haired girl was small and light. Carrying her as he ran didn't slow him down much.
"Hey, put Bronya down..."
Bronya was obviously uncomfortable being suddenly held by a strange boy.
Fortunately, thanks to Natural Affinity, Su Moqian had made a good impression on her.
Otherwise, Bronya wouldn't merely be struggling now. She would have already tried to kill him.
Feeling the girl in his arms squirm, Su Moqian helplessly patted her head and said urgently:
"Stay still. The woman chasing me is a monster. If I leave you behind, you won't survive!"
Su Moqian didn't point out that she was disabled, but his meaning was clear.
Hearing this, Bronya raised her head disdainfully and looked back at Asakura Miyuki.
"Tch, she's just a human corrupted by Honkai Energy. I could take her—"
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Three thorny vines suddenly shot toward them again, punching a hole in the concrete where Su Moqian had just stepped.
"Wait, that aura... Could it be...?"
Bronya's lips parted as she realized something was wrong. She couldn't help feeling surprised.
"Why is this happening? Mother Cocolia's plan never mentioned a Pseudo-Herrscher appearing in Changkong City!"
Once Bronya realized the other girl was a Pseudo-Herrscher, she obediently buried her head in Su Moqian's chest and let him carry her.
Bronya knew very well that even with Project Bunny 19C by her side, she wouldn't stand a chance against a Pseudo-Herrscher.
She hadn't seen Seele yet. She didn't want to die here!
Meanwhile, at Asakura Miyuki's home.
"Thank you, Kiana! I really can't thank you enough!"
"If you hadn't come, I don't know what else I would have had to go through..."
Seeing the girls she had rescued repeatedly thank her, Kiana didn't act as proudly as she usually did.
Instead, she said with a grave expression, "You shouldn't be thanking me. You should be thanking Su Moqian."
"If Su Moqian hadn't told me the truth and lured Asakura Miyuki away all by himself, I wouldn't have had a chance to save you!"
Hearing Kiana's words, the girls all looked horrified.
"What? Su really faced that demon all by himself?"
"That's way too dangerous! We have to go help him!"
"Exactly! He risked his life to save us, so we have to help him too."
Kiana shook her head. "No. You're all too weak. You'd only hold him back. Go home."
"As for Moqian, leave him to me."
With that, Kiana walked out of the house without looking back. She gazed in the direction Su Moqian had fled and silently tightened her grip on her gun.
That was a Pseudo-Herrscher. Even if she used Kaslana Gun Fu, she probably couldn't defeat it.
"Even if I have no chance of winning, I..."
Kiana pressed her lips together, her gaze growing ever more determined.
"Moqian, wait for me!"
At that moment, Su Moqian was carrying Bronya and dodging Asakura Miyuki's attacks, while Kiana, having completed her task, had gone to support him.
So, what was Su Moqian's ex-girlfriend, Raiden Mei, doing?
The Raiden family home.
Lying on her bed, Raiden Mei clutched her phone and wrestled with herself.
"Strange. Moqian should've been home ages ago. Why hasn't he messaged me? I hope nothing happened to him..."
Watching Raiden Mei fret, the Herrscher of Thunder said helplessly, "If you're that worried, why not just call him?"
"No." Raiden Mei shook her head.
"I have to keep up my aloof image. If I call him first, won't I go right back to acting like we're in love?!"
"Besides, now that we can talk again, shouldn't he be the one to message me first and check in?"
Mei pouted and reluctantly set her phone beside her pillow.
Seeing Mei like this, Thunder Law sighed and was about to try to talk her into it when her expression suddenly changed.
"Wait, Mei. I think I can sense a Pseudo-Herrscher."
Raiden Mei looked confused. "A Pseudo-Herrscher? What's that?"
The Herrscher of Thunder furrowed her brow and explained:
"A Pseudo-Herrscher is a powerful existence beneath a Herrscher. They're humans who have been transformed by Honkai Energy and granted great abilities. They most commonly come into being when advanced Honkai zombies, or humans with high compatibility, are transformed."
"The Honkai concentration in Changkong City is slowly rising. It's quite possible that some people have already been corrupted by Honkai Energy."
"If someone who's been corrupted also has a strong will, or an overwhelming desire to obtain something, they might even ascend to become a Pseudo-Herrscher."
Hearing Thunder Law's explanation, Raiden Mei sat up in bed at once.
"Miss Herrscher, do you know where the Pseudo-Herrscher is?"
Thunder Law reassured her, "Don't worry. I can sense that the Pseudo-Herrscher is far from the Su family home, so Su Moqian should be safe."
"Besides, the woman is being so reckless after gaining her powers. I'm sure the Valkyrie unit will be deployed soon."
Raiden Mei let out a sigh of relief and lay back down.
"Whew. As long as Moqian is okay."
"Hey, Moqian, are you really all right?"
Bronya looked nervously at Su Moqian from his arms.
After their brief conversation, they had learned each other's names.
Su Moqian had been carrying her for quite a while now. During that time, he'd also had to split his attention to dodge attacks from behind. For an ordinary person, it would have been impossible.
Su Moqian was gasping for breath and had no energy left to answer Bronya.
All he could see was the road ahead. He kept cheering himself on in his heart:
If I can just—just make it there...
Su Moqian gritted his teeth, but humans had their limits.
After carrying a girl for so long, he had completely run out of stamina. His legs were growing heavier by the second.
And the sounds behind him were getting closer and closer.
"Moqian, my Moqian! Hurry and become mine!"
Chapter 31: The Crisis Draws Near, the Two Grow Close!
Hearing the voice behind him, Su Moqian grew anxious, but his body was growing weaker. His foot slipped, and he fell to the ground.
Asakura Miyuki obviously noticed. While he was down, another thorn shot straight at him.
Su Moqian had been watching behind him the whole time. Seeing the attack, his heart clenched.
"Crap, I can't dodge this..."
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang through the night sky, shattering the thorny vine that had tried to sneak up on them.
"Moqian, your lady's here to save you!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Kiana, dressed in her white school uniform, dropped from above and landed right in front of Asakura Miyuki.
Before Asakura Miyuki could react, Kiana attacked without hesitation, both hands gripping her pistols.
First, she drove forward with a right punch, firing a bullet as she pulled the trigger, then followed up with a right hook.
As her blow struck Asakura Miyuki's cheek, Kiana landed a left hook to her temple.
Her right hand recovered and shot forward, smashing into Asakura Miyuki's chin. Taking the opportunity to pull back her left hand and squeeze the trigger, she fired another bullet.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
Gunshots and the sound of fists striking flesh rang out in succession, but Asakura Miyuki still didn't fall.
Though Asakura Miyuki lacked combat awareness and couldn't dodge the attacks, her body was incredibly tough. The combo had no effect on her.
"Tch." Kiana realized this too.
The next moment, she spun around and drew back her right leg, seemingly preparing to deliver a powerful roundhouse kick.
Seeing this, Asakura Miyuki instinctively raised her left arm to block.
But what she hadn't expected was that Kiana hadn't drawn back her right leg to put more power into the roundhouse kick.
Before you continue