I'm Not a Flame-Chaser

Raiden Mei left no marks on Kiana, only beat her until she was unable to resist, and then left her.

This trip to Changkong City might not have been so bad for Lin. He found Ling, sent Bella to Kiana's side, the Imaginary Singularity closed in time, discovered that Yan Luo had invaded his world, and even got some information about the World Serpent from Night Owl.

Yan Luo said that the Herrscher of Binding was indeed worthy of being born from his body, an unkillable insect. And she was no different. She recovered completely in the short time that Lin was unconscious, and it looked like she could cut him into seventeen pieces again. Lin didn't know whether she was friend or foe, or whether her companions were friend or foe, so he could only take it one step at a time.

Everything proceeded as Lin had originally planned, except for Yan Luo, who did not deviate from the plan.

But as Lin picked up the necklace, he thought about many things, including the Previous Civilization and his experience in the Quantum Sea.

He picked up Kiana. The girl's body was as light as a feather as before. Her pretty face showed a mixture of pain and relief. Lin observed her carefully for a long time and concluded that it was probably a 50/50 match.

Kiana's friend also went to World Serpent and stood on the opposite side of her. Lin and she can now be considered to be in the same boat.

However, Raiden Mei took away one of Kiana's Herrscher Core, delaying the time it would take for Kiana to be completely corrupted. During this time, perhaps a way can be found to allow Kiana to completely control the Herrscher Authority.

"Waaah..."

The silver-haired girl opened her eyes and saw the black-haired man's softly shaped chin. The wire mesh on the rooftop cut through the sunlight, and the dappled light fell on her face. The man lowered his head and quietly looked at the girl sleeping on his lap.

In the hazy dream, he was like an unreal phantom, fragile and easily shattered.

The girl's dry throat emitted a few soft noises. "Where's Mei...?"

"... No need to worry about whether she will find out about the kiss."

In other words, Raiden Mei has already left.

"Lin, will you leave too? Like Himeko, the Class President, and Mei..."

"Won't."

Lin thought of Chen Tianwu, where he saw his past and his sister.

Chen Tianwen didn't know where the warm place was, and Chen Tianwu didn't know how to find the warm place he spoke of, but they both knew that where they were was their home.

Finally, he thought of someone who had once said something to him that still resonates in his mind to this day.

"No matter when or where, I am here."

The girl stared blankly at the man's masked profile. He looked up into the distance, as if he had crossed ten thousand years and landed on her former self.

The red-haired doctor struggled to push open the deformed iron door and searched the rooftop breathlessly. Then she froze on the spot, seeing two girls sleeping on a man's lap.

"Oh, welcome back Yan Luo -chan..."

What are you doing?

Upon meeting, Yan Luo's blunt question silenced Ling, and her cold eyes stared at the man whose hand, which had been gesturing for her greeting, had frozen, seemingly embarrassed.

"You were the one who sent me into the crevice halfway through my journey into the Intrinsic World."

The Thousand Worlds Assumption is not like Kiana, Herrscher of the Void of the Void in a bad state. It is a precisely operating tool, and the probability of it making a mistake is far less than the probability of someone deliberately tampering with it. Since Yan Luo neither found Zero in the crevice nor provided any support during the escape from the crevice, it can be basically concluded that Zero did it intentionally.

"Oh, I just saw Lin was trapped inside and wanted you to go rescue him." Ling waved her hand dismissively. "As long as it turned out well, isn't that enough?"

"... I almost died inside."

"Really? You seem perfectly healthy and energetic to me."

"..."

Yan Luo has seen enough of Zero's feigned ignorance; there's no way he wouldn't see that Yan Luo has used the Zero Rated Power of the Black Abyss White Flower.

"Alright, alright, to be honest, I didn't expect you to be pushed to that extent. As far as I know, the dangers in that predicament weren't serious enough to cripple you." Zero sighed, looking troubled, which surprised Yan Luo somewhat, as he was usually known for his uncanny ability to predict the future. "So what happened? A Herrscher with multiple cores appeared?"

"The Imaginary Tree Divine Remnant."

"That thing could hurt you?" Zero looked at the expressionless, bandaged girl suspiciously, wondering if she was lying to her.

Yan Luo briefly recounted his encounter in the crevice to Zero, who was unusually silent for a while before stroking his chin and saying quietly, "Being able to constantly reverse time, even if you are completely destroyed, you can still recover, and you can also pause time to ambush you, slow down time to hinder you, and even send so many to hunt you down... Could it be that you've been with me for too long and the Imaginary Tree has noticed you?"

"You?"

"Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm still a super anomaly, so it's not surprising that the Imaginary Tree is targeting me, right?"

This could be considered a plausible excuse, but he still didn't explain why he sent her into this predicament, and Yan Luo, seeing his smug look, probably wouldn't say it either.

Yan Luo suspected it was related to Kevin's deal, which Kevin had mentioned before coming to the Intrinsic World. The fact that Yan Luo was sent to another place at a crucial moment meant that Zero didn't want Yan Luo to know about the deal.

She narrowed her eyes, staring at the man's retreating figure, her vigilance and doubts about Zero growing stronger.

"In short, the result is that Kiana was found, Mei joined World Serpent." Tesla slapped his forehead, sighing in exasperation at the blue-haired, messy-haired woman on the screen. "What's going on? Is there some kind of rule that if one comes back, another has to leave?"

"I don't think we need to worry about Mei. She probably has her own plans. Finding Kiana is already the best outcome."

The calm, blue-haired woman's gaze passed over her friend and stopped behind her.

"Besides that, I'm more curious about the two guests behind you. What's going on?"

Beneath the hood, a mask so white it was almost suffocating slowly rose.

The "Rebirth" of Changkong: Chapter Forty - Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Mei is gone.

Kiana sat alone in the empty bedroom. She no longer needed to be quarantined. After Mei became the Herrscher of Thunder again, her physical burden was greatly reduced. According to Tesla, she originally only had three months, but now she had at least a year more.

Even now, Kiana wouldn't say that she would rather not have this year to exchange for Mei. She understands Mei's choice and knows how much resolve the girl who accompanied her had to ultimately choose this path.

The transport ship flew smoothly above the clouds, the white mist resembling cotton candy. She rarely had such a peaceful moment to catch her breath, and what she was thinking about was the moment she parted ways with Mei a few months ago, when they were still in Sky City.

So that's what Mei was feeling back then...

"Knock knock".

A steady knock sounded at the door, and Kiana knew it was Lin immediately. His unique way of doing things gave Kiana a set of criteria for judging him. For example, his knocking and footsteps maintained a constant rhythm, just like his tone of voice.

Kiana opened the door and saw a masked man standing there. He had changed out of his worn-out trench coat and was wearing a loose blue cotton-linen knee-length shirt, which gave him an artistic vibe.

"Have you finished talking with Dr. Tesla and Doctor Einstein?"

"Um."

The girl tried her best to force a bright smile, but unfortunately she didn't look in the mirror and couldn't see that her expression looked awkward no matter how she looked at it.

Whether you can think about it or not is one thing, whether you can understand it or not is another. Everyone knows that you should cherish life, but the number of people committing suicide in the cherry blossom forest in the Far East is still rising year by year.

Lin Mo silently gazed at the silver-haired girl. He understood Kiana's feelings at this moment. As Lin and Kevin walked towards opposite ends of the spectrum, what they each carried was not necessarily any better than what Kiana carrying.

"I'm a little sleepy, I want to go to sleep..."

Lin held up the door Kiana was trying to close, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's chat for a while."

Time is a magical thing. Lin used to not want to say a word. He wished he could keep his mouth shut for 24 hours a day, and that all of humanity's language system would evolve to a way that only required brainwaves to transmit. But now he is very good at talking to people and is willing to achieve his goals through communication.

Kiana nestled in the soft chair, her delicate, fair face enveloped in cushions, looking dazed and adorable like a soft, fluffy doll, so cute that you wanted to touch her cheeks.

Lin sat on the bed, propping his face up with one hand against the headboard. The two remained silent for a moment, seemingly enjoying the hard-won peace, or perhaps waiting for the other to speak first.

"Do you usually play games?" Lin started with this question, which was neither related to Honkai nor to recent events.

"...Play games." Kiana's eyes were a little strange after hearing this. In her eyes, Lin was an old-fashioned person who usually seemed to be in deep meditation and didn't have much emotion. How could an old-fashioned person start talking about games right away? "When I was in St. Freya, I liked to play fighting games with Bronya."

"Street Fighter?"

"Huh? You knew about this too?"

"I learned about all sorts of modern things during my time in Sky City," Lin said casually. "The first thing you see when you walk into the video game store in World Trade Plaza is Street Fighter."

"You still go to physical stores? I thought your daily routine consisted of just making and drinking tea."

"...Why?"

"Because you look like an old man."

Kiana was being somewhat hypocritical when she said that. She couldn't possibly see Lin as an old man; at least, after seeing what he looked like under the mask, she couldn't possibly see him as an elder who was older than her.

Lin crossed his arms and said calmly, "In my time, I listened to pop songs, read novels, played games, and followed blockbuster movies."

Although it was just that I was often dragged to the movies by a few people in turns.

"He sounds like an ordinary otaku, even the songs and movies he watches are just mainstream," Kiana remarked. "Perhaps I have some misunderstanding about the warriors of the Previous Civilization. Did you guys actually train intensely every day, killing Honkai Beast all the time?"

"It's not a misunderstanding. It's just that even if all we do every day is kill Honkai Beast, we still go through our daily lives when we get home," Lin said, spreading his hands. "Some of us will get married, have children, and then leave our wives and children at home while we go to the front lines."

Because they are human, even with the power to fight against the Honkai, the man named Hen would sit next to his daughter who was painting and grin like an idiot, and the man named Kevin would slurp instant noodles with the new recruits in the conference room.

"So... what was the Class President like before?"

"An immature child."

Lin's quick answer surprised Kiana; she hadn't expected to receive such an answer from him.

That reliable and mature Chinese girl guided her forward, just like Lin, and was even more like an elder than Lin. If you put Lin and Fu Hua together, Kiana would not hesitate to think that Fu Hua is the older one.

"No one is born exactly as they envision themselves. Most people are chasing an illusion, either something they imagine or something they admire about a person. But people always have to grow up."

Lin raised her head, recalling the past, her brows softening unconsciously. "Hua was actually the most confused among us. She spent a very long time searching for her own path, and even after we went in different directions, she still didn't know where she should go. So when I came here and heard your description of Hua, I realized that she had 'grown up'."

The girl who was once protected under someone's wings is now protecting and guiding others.

"So, you and the Class President..."

"..."

At this moment, Kiana began to stammer. She tried her best to make her words sound normal, but she hesitated and stammered when the words reached her lips.

Humans are truly contradictory creatures. When she was caught in the middle, she said that there were other important people around Lin who made her feel at ease. But now, when she thinks that the same experiences Lin had with her—saving her, guiding her, and protecting her—had also happened to other people, especially those she knew who were equally important, she can't help but feel conflicted.

Caught in the shadows of fate, she thought she was about to die, so she acted with a do-or-die spirit, determined to do what she wanted. Now, facing this man who evoked such complex emotions within her, she didn't know what to do...

"Hmm?"

Just as her mind was in turmoil, the silver-haired girl lifted her chin, and the softness she had felt before pressed against her lips again. The warm breath made her heart leap to her head and reach her ears.

"Gulp."

The sound of swallowing made her incredibly shy, yet a kind of magic compelled her to do the same thing, slumping into the soft chair without any resistance, her face flushed and her eyes glazed over as she looked at the man so close to her.

She felt so comfortable, as if she were being soaked in warm water, that only one thought occupied her mind—

He truly meant what he said; he came back and did it again...

The "Rebirth" of the Sky: Chapter Forty-One - So, can the mission continue?

"Otto Apocalypse, though I'd like to describe him as a shrewd schemer, his purpose, beliefs, ambitions, revenge, and even his grand narrative all lie in a dead man from five hundred years ago. Calling him a despicable politician or a lovesick fool is inappropriate; a more accurate term would be..."

"Fanatical believer."

"The gods in religions are all fictional. Fortunately, the fact that gods never exist adds to the mystery of religions. But gods that do not exist will eventually be questioned by some people, who will then argue for their rationality."

"But that saint was different. To Otto Apocalypse, she was a real person. She showed him true miracles, and coincidentally... she died. She no longer existed, just like any other god. So she became the only god in that man's heart, indelible. After all... the living cannot defeat the dead."

"In a sense, he and I should be considered the same kind of people."

Upon hearing this, Yan Luo couldn't help but sneer, "I almost burst out laughing when I heard you describe yourself and him as 'humans'."

"You're already smiling."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot you were still here."

Zero stared at her in shock, remaining silent for a long time.

"So..." Yan Luo crossed his arms and looked at the Aerial Base that could be described as "steep" ahead, "Are you planning to make a deal with him too?"

"Trade usually requires equal footing. It's enough for old men to trade with each other. Otto has only lived for five hundred years; in my eyes, he's still just a baby who hasn't left his pacifier." Zero shrugged. "Old men don't need to trade with babies. Instead of spouting platitudes to these uncivilized infants all day, why not take care of their still-milk-bound brains?"

Is it believable?

"You're asking me? A guy who can't be found even a trace in the global database suddenly appears out of nowhere claiming to be a soldier from the previous civilization, offering to provide us with information and join the fight against the Schicksal World Serpent." Tesla raised a sharp eyebrow. "Doesn't that sound like a windfall? Did God take pity on us and send us a helper?"

"But didn't Kiana testify for him?" Einstein said slowly, holding a steaming cup of coffee and adding two sugar cubes to replenish his sugar. "He helped Kiana in Sky City and Changkong City. Maybe he's a helper sent by God? And haven't we already met one?"

"... The heavens have quite a unique aesthetic sense; this time they've sent us a cloth-made portable coffin."

Having said that, Tesla understood Einstein's meaning: at least for the time being, he could trust Lin, and the more information and help he needed to fight the World Serpent and Schicksal, the better.

"Let's talk about the Judgment-class Honkai Beast Benares and the newly discovered Herrscher in Changkong City when we get back to Anti-Entropy." Einstein put down her coffee, a shadow of gloom flickering in her bright eyes. "Imaginary Singularity, Herrscher of Thunder, World Serpent... After the Herrscher of the Void awakened, all sorts of monsters and demons have sprung up like wheat ears in the autumn wind. Honkai has indeed reached its explosive phase."

"It's such a hassle. Sometimes I envy people who don't know anything. They don't have to worry like us. They just eat and sleep all day. The only things they need to worry about are whether they have to work overtime tomorrow and what to eat for dinner."

Tesla shook her head, rubbing her forehead. From Sky City to Changkong City, she had picked up Kiana but lost Mei. As the eldest among them, she was really overwhelmed.