You asked for healing, but wrote Honkai Impact 3rd?

A Herrscher's authority is not something an ordinary person can break free from through sheer willpower.

"Consciousness-based settings, in most works, are considered abilities that are difficult to improve and resist. But from what we see now, within the Honkai power system, there doesn't seem to be... a method to enhance resistance in this area, does there?"

She's crafting enemies that seem impossible to overcome again.

"Especially that term—Meme. What an obscure and niche word. Meme contamination created by a Meme Weapon?"

That word is far too obscure—so obscure that it shouldn't be a concept someone of Su Nian's age could even be exposed to.

Many people have never even heard of this term, yet Su Nian has already used it in her story.

And this Herrscher can even wield her authority on the internet.

Su Nian mentioned back in the Sixth Herrscher's case that the Herrscher disguised a human consciousness to deceive Kevin, proving that Herrschers possess intelligence—but they lean toward the Honkai, not humanity...

Is Su Nian digging another pit here?

Then there's the Eighth Herrscher's other aspects—her combat style is completely different from her predecessors.

This passage's description makes her seem far weaker than those before her.

But this kind of silent, unnoticed death is the most terrifying.

By the time the victim count grows, only then do people notice her.

She doesn't flaunt herself like her predecessors. When Moth of the Fire has no need to worry about military force, it's precisely these kinds of hidden threats that cause the biggest trouble.

With the current intel, Welt can't guess what Su Nian is planning next.

"Clearly, Su Nian already had this thought out. But right now, what she's written is a character card only she can fully understand."

Otto, on the other hand, thinks Su Nian has a complete conception but simply hasn't shown it to them yet.

After all, Su Nian can even remember exactly when Kevin interacted with whom and what happened.

A character card and personal history being like this is perfectly normal—as long as the author herself can understand it.

She hasn't even started writing the main text yet, and she's already successfully whetted their appetites.

How much longer will they have to wait before Su Nian's story finally presents the actual text meant for readers?

"Su Nian has strong control over her work. It's not impossible, but... ah, there's nothing wrong with this writing method, yet it makes me terribly impatient."

"Right now, Su Nian has given us too many puzzles. Who are the remaining Flame-Chasers? What other Divine Keys exist? In what forms? Will the unbeatable enemy introduce some characters with special abilities? Besides Moth of the Fire, are there other organizations opposing the Honkai..."

Welt has many questions. The unknown mysteries in Su Nian's writing are simply too numerous.

Too many pits dug, but no telling when they'll be filled.

Though he still maintains a mature and steady facade on the surface, inside, Welt is so anxious he wants to crawl into Su Nian's brain and see what she's planning.

Urgent!

Chapter 16: Aponia, Possessing a Human Heart, Wealthy and Generous

[My head itches—feels like I'm growing a brain]

[The judges are a menace. I wasn't thinking this much before, but now I'm anxious too!]

[After reading Su Nian's work, everything else feels bland]

[Forget the pits for now—Tears of Heaven transforming from dual pistols into a greatsword form? That setting is just awesome!]

[Speaking of which, didn't Kevin capture an assassin earlier? What agreement did the assassin reach with Mei? Su Nian didn't say.]

[And that frail, thin girl Kevin saw—who is she? Also not said!]

[Speaking of which, if Hypermutation Surgery can make people this powerful, even with a probability infinitely close to zero, wouldn't they still continue the experiment?]

[Welt, you're Su Nian's top salesman]

Because of the judges' discussion, the barrage became even livelier.

Many people had been reading along without thinking deeply.

They only knew Su Nian's story was far superior to others, but only upon careful reflection did they realize just how impressive Su Nian truly was.

Right now, Su Nian has only written one character card for Kevin, yet she has already introduced such a vast world and multiple events.

And all of it is useful for the plot.

She reasonably arranged Kevin's growth and appropriately strengthened humanity's side.

The Honkai created the Herrschers.

But after the Herrschers were defeated by humanity, their cores and Honkai Energy were put to use.

Even Honkai Beasts were incorporated into the Hypermutation Surgery.

The Honkai became humanity's primary means of fighting the Honkai.

Learn from the enemy to defeat the enemy!

If the "Honkai" had its own consciousness, wouldn't it be utterly frustrated?

"Right now, what this story reveals is just the tip of the iceberg. I believe Su Nian will accurately answer these questions."

"If, at this stage, a problem arises that we think Kevin cannot solve, then it might introduce a brand-new character and ability..."

Otto pondered and arrived at an answer.

"Could be innate special abilities, or perhaps the fusion of a Honkai Beast's unique powers."

"Mm, that's possible, but I think technological means are also a candidate—if it's cognitive shielding, it's not out of the question."

The two discussed it, momentarily forgetting the hostility between them just moments ago.

Unfortunately, the questions they couldn't answer were far too many.

Relying solely on their own thinking, it was clearly difficult to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

Everything still depended on how Su Nian wrote it.

[By observing the brainwaves of the victims, they discovered that these people were all dreaming, and likely all having the same dream.]

[Chief Scientist Mei ordered Spacy to lead the Fifth Science Department in researching the dream.]

[Meanwhile, the Moth of the Fire's AI analyzed the web pages browsed by the victims, finding frequently appearing keywords that changed daily.]

[The Eighth Honkai Outbreak had already erupted silently.]

[As the Moth of the Fire searched for the Eighth Herrscher, the Eighth Herrscher was also searching for the Moth of the Fire.]

[Soon, the Eighth Herrscher found the Moth of the Fire's keywords. In that instant, all members of the Moth of the Fire who had not undergone psychological training fell into deep slumber.]

[In this era, everyone had to go online, and the research department needed instruments even more.]

[The Moth of the Fire had prepared drugs capable of blocking cognition, but as the keywords multiplied, the drugs gradually became less effective.]

[Countermeasures against the Eighth Herrscher were steadily becoming useless. The Moth of the Fire finally made a new decision.]

[All eligible candidates would uniformly undergo the Flame Chaser Transformation Surgery.]

[The Eighth Herrscher had already infiltrated the Moth of the Fire's base.]

And this passage was Su's storyline.

In this battle, he awakened as a perception-type Flame Chaser.

Neither Welt's nor Otto's guesses were wrong.

Both technological means and personnel with special abilities—both methods were used.

But this Honkai outbreak wasn't Kevin's solo show.

[The vast majority of the Moth of the Fire's warriors were trapped in the Eighth Herrscher's dream. Those who could wake up on their own were few and far between.]

[Knowing he might be the most susceptible to falling into the [Beautiful Dream], Kevin went to The Deepest Place to find Aponia and accept the Law of Retribution, making himself completely immune to the Eighth Herrscher's influence.]

Su Nian still remembered that in The Past's Paradise, Kevin once asked Mei a question:

"Herrscher, do you still dream? Dream of those you failed to save? Dream of those who died because of you?"

After receiving Mei's reply, Kevin said he no longer dreamed.

No longer dreaming—this must have started from here.

This Law of Retribution could fully guard against the Eighth Herrscher precisely because the Law Kevin received stripped him of sleep.

Only then could he avoid being dragged into the Herrscher's dream.

The Law was a mysterious skill. Su Nian remembered someone once described it as being like ideological steel stamps.

Aponia could be considered one of the most enigmatic among the Thirteen Flame-Chasers. She was born with the ability of the Law.

After the Hypermutation Surgery, she could even see others' fates, yet she discovered that fate could not be defied.

...Su Nian didn't have many impressions of Aponia either. Of her evaluations, he only remembered four phrases.

She was the beauty of the human world.

Cherishing a grand ideal.

True insight, heart and hand in pursuit.

The vast world never failed her.

[After accepting the Law, Kevin hurried back to find Mei. Along the way, he encountered one person after another lost in their dreams.]

[—Is there anyone still standing?]

[Walking swiftly through the corridors, Kevin grew more and more doubtful.]

[He had been walking through the base for some time now, but all he saw were people deeply trapped in their dreams. They lay on the ground in various poses, occasionally muttering unintelligible words under the flickering lights.]

[Kevin quickened his pace. Although Mei was protected by his most trusted comrades, the enemy they faced now could not be cut down by a sword.]

[Before finding Mei, Kevin encountered Elysia first. The problem here had already been handled by her.]

[Now, with Aponia's Law protecting him from the Eighth Herrscher's influence, it was time to begin the counterattack.]

Su Nian let out a long breath as he wrote this, picked up the soda beside him, and took a couple more sips.

Recalling the plot was truly a brain-draining task. Time to slack off a little longer.

But this segment had once again successfully stopped at the point everyone was anticipating.

"The Law... The Eighth Herrscher drags people into dreams, but Kevin, through the Law, remains unaffected..."

The ability called "Law of Retribution" was something he had never heard of before.

Such terminology typically originated from religious contexts. Was Aponia's identity somehow tied to a believer? Had Su Nian given her this ability for that reason?

Welt guessed correctly again—MiHoYo's character designs generally had very distinct thematic elements.

Aponia's image was that of a nun.

Chapter 17: Humanity will surely defeat the Honkai... no matter the cost.

The term "Law of Retribution," introduced as a new concept, once again piqued Welt's interest.

The word "law" came from religion, and it clearly carried the meaning of restraining others—a set of rules for a specific group of people.

Although Su Nian's setting didn't explicitly explain this ability, no further thought was needed.

Just from the name and its manifestation, one could roughly guess the effect of this power.

"If the Eighth Herrscher's method is to control the mind and trap it in a dream, then the Law of Retribution Aponia placed on Kevin... is it related to sleep? Something like temporarily preventing him from falling asleep?"

Welt was astonished, his gaze toward Su Nian shifting completely.

What kind of monster was she!

She could perfectly combine existing vocabulary with abilities, and do so with such fitting precision!

As long as one thought about Su Nian's settings a little, the parts she hadn't revealed to them could be guessed.

This meant the story's setting had no flaws at all—its logic was self-consistent.

Reasonable. It was far too reasonable!

Such details were generally something no one would pay attention to.

But precisely because no one would pay attention to them, Su Nian had still refined her settings to this degree.