"Wait, what is it you have to do? Are you going to save someone? Or look for something? It's really dangerous there right now!"
She strode after him and spread her arms to block Fang Jie.
"I can help too, just like how you helped everyone along the way!"
How could she just watch him charge back in alone?
"If I leave now, no one will get hurt, Kiana."
Fang Jie looked at the serious-eyed girl before him and smiled. His efforts to escort her had not been in vain.
"I appreciate the thought, Kiana, but you don't need to worry about me. I'm not going back to die. I'm confident I can handle all this."
"You're lying."
Kiana was not actually stupid. Although Fang Jie had dealt with Temple-class Honkai beasts along the way, and was indeed impressive enough to qualify as an A-Rank Valkyrie.
But people had limits. They got tired, they got hurt, they... died.
In an environment like Chang Kong City, what did a mere A-Rank Valkyrie amount to?
It was hard for Fang Jie to explain what it meant to have teleportation. Should he use the World Bubble explanation? Forget it. He did not mind lying, but Kiana...
Only telling the truth, or simply saying nothing at all, was the way to deal with someone guided by instinct.
"Kiana, time will prove everything. But not now, and not here. Let's meet again next time."
Just as Fang Jie delivered that cool, cryptic line and prepared to speed past and shake off a mere B-rank Kiana—
"Kid, I also don't think going back to Chang Kong City right now is a good idea."
Himeko had somehow already wiped out the nearby Honkai beasts, clearing the obstacles for the Hyperion's temporary landing site and base.
The follow-up Valkyrie units had also landed, beginning to clear the area and prepare the rescued civilians for relocation.
This was another lure, meant to draw out the Herrscher of Thunder and provoke her into attacking. A Herrscher hiding in the shadows was the most frightening kind.
They had to find the Herrscher of Thunder as soon as possible. If necessary, Himeko had no doubt that Schicksal would act on the Global Council's original proposal and directly fire Honkai fission bombs at Chang Kong City.
"Looking closely, you're actually pretty handsome. That's why I'm advising you not to throw your life away. Life is precious, you know."
Himeko confirmed that there was neither sorrow nor a death wish on Fang Jie's face. His return to Chang Kong City was not an outburst of despair; he truly had something to do there.
But no matter how confident he was, beyond those who had died in the Great Eruption, this city would soon become the site of a brutal battle to subjugate a Herrscher, including, but not limited to, leveling the place with Honkai fission bombs...
Facing that smile that was thirty percent seductive, thirty percent teasing, and forty percent determined not to let him leave, Himeko—whose pressure to find a partner had not yet become as severe as it would be two years later—gave Fang Jie ten, maybe even nine times the pressure Kiana did!
Kiana had a bright future ahead of her. For now, she was still easy to bully.
Murata Himeko could bully him now, and perhaps he would never be able to get revenge in the future.
An invincible person!
Why weren't you hurrying to secure Raiden Mei, take Kiana away, and block me? Where was Theresa? Come deal with this problem!
"Life is precious, but hearing that come from your mouth..."
Shaking his head, Fang Jie did not want to delve into the subject of her life, flickering like a candle in the wind. Instead, he pushed Kiana aside and faced Murata Himeko directly.
"Let's make a bet. Let's bet on whether you can stop me."
"Oh? So confident. You look like a dependable young man."
Murata Himeko smiled. Did he think an A-Rank Valkyrie was just for show? How was he going to make her agree? She might be dying, but that did not mean she could no longer lift a greatsword.
"How do you want to bet, hmm, young man?"
The "young" part was unnecessary. I'm an adult, at least. I only became younger because of Path energy.
There was no more time to waste. Fang Jie said nothing and reached toward Himeko, touching her dangerous-looking armor.
Like a magician working up the audience before the opening act, he kept both hands where she could see and touch them.
"Watch carefully."
Not only Himeko, but Kiana—who had her back to him and had triggered her feline instincts, ready to ambush him and either carry him off or hold him down—also had her pupils quake.
"H-Hey, where did he go?"
Could the person who had protected her all the way out have been a ghost?
Himeko had seen too much to think that. She pondered inwardly.
This wasn't spatial distortion. At least, it wasn't like the spatial distortion system based on the Second Herrscher that Schicksal's third-generation Valkyrie armor carried. Could it be fourth-generation equipment? I haven't heard anything about it. Theresa wouldn't hide such news from me. Or did those mad researchers directly put an unstable result into battlefield testing?
As she thought, she signaled for the Valkyries arriving afterward to relocate Kiana and the other two. There was no time to waste. This place would become extremely dangerous soon, and Kiana's objections would not matter.
Only three minutes later did Fang Jie reappear, the Honkai corrosion on his right hand having already faded away.
Then he heard Murata Himeko, who had been watching the surroundings, charge toward him at once.
"I'll say you won."
Then stop chasing me!
"My dear audience, please enjoy this bizarre magic trick that would make even Vill-V applaud in delight—the astounding story behind a vanishing man."
"Behold, Fang Jie, who grew more handsome every day, bore a name brimming with Preservation, yet had long since become a Nameless, slipped around in the snow. After rolling and crawling to adjust to the environment, he shot straight toward the Domain Anchor—"
"Wonderful! A man with teleportation is the real deal."
Fang Jie, a cold and handsome man before others, entertained himself in private by providing his own voice-over, making it vivid and lifelike. Now, he even shouted loudly.
"Akivili, lend me your energy! Yah!!"
He sank his qi into his dantian, dipped his chin slightly, and closed his eyes. His heart was as tranquil as a meditator's, as though he could see countless galaxies slowly unfurling like a painting...
How could mere Honkai energy corrosion possibly stop him?
In an instant, it was drowned beneath the torrent of the Trailblaze Path. The corrosion marks on his deliberately paralyzed right hand faded once more, while vast amounts of Honkai energy were dissolved and absorbed, expanding the upper limit of the Path energy within Fang Jie.
At last, when the corrosion on his right hand had completely disappeared, he gripped it tightly with his left hand, raised it high, and shouted.
"Come back to life, my little right hand!"
The blood vessels in his deliberately paralyzed right hand reconnected. As his heart pounded, surging hot blood flowed through it and circulated throughout his body, instantly granting him even more of the berserk enhancement brought by Honkai energy.
This had also been recorded in "The Storm Riders."
His heartbeat suddenly sped up, faster and faster, rapidly breaking through from a faint, near-death state to two hundred beats per minute. His body temperature rose with it, returning to a normal 36 degrees, then 37, 38, 39. For a moment, his entire body warmed up.
No, it became blazing hot, as though he were burning!
Even amid Belobog's eternal winter, Fang Jie felt as though he stood in Honkai's spring.
He had decided. He would call that former state "Winter," and the latter state "Spring."
"Hahahahaha, quack quack quack..."
Thus, after spending one minute adjusting to the growing power formed from the combination of Path energy and Honkai energy, then another two minutes calming himself and staying composed, Fang Jie leaped back into the Honkai world...
Only to be caught by Himeko.
Unless absolutely necessary, he would not reveal that he could teleport anytime and anywhere. There had to be intervals and limits... and he absolutely could not repeatedly teleport to the same fixed point. It would be best if people believed it was merely a technique that moved back and forth between real space and another dimension.
Fang Jie accepted being caught by Himeko.
Otherwise, those two minutes he had spent calming down would have been completely wasted.
"Run, then. Why aren't you running? Out of strength?"
Himeko smiled with narrowed eyes. Her mature voice, paired with the hand pressing down on Fang Jie's shoulder, was brimming with mischievous delight.
"I already won."
Fang Jie stubbornly held his head high and struggled against her monstrous strength, but it was difficult.
After undergoing Valkyrie surgery, this older sister had become a member of Schicksal's assault force, carrying heavy greatswords. Fully armed as she was now, she was a genuine A-Rank Valkyrie.
Without activating Honkai Killer, Fang Jie had no way to deal with her.
Just standing beside her... what did a body temperature of 39 degrees matter? She stood there like she had set the air ablaze, spreading heat into people's hearts.
Stay humble. Stay calm.
"Yes, yes, you won. Even though I never agreed to make that bet with you in the first place." Himeko curled her lips.
"All right, young man. I'm in a hurry too. Since you've already made up your mind—take this."
Though she wore armor that consumed her life, Himeko always carried a smile. After roughly assessing Fang Jie's physical abilities, Murata Himeko—who now served more often as a teacher than a fighter—gestured with her hand. A Valkyrie who had landed from the Hyperion and was preparing for battle quickly approached carrying a weapon case.
"Major Himeko!"
Her tone was respectful as she waited for orders.
She was also clad in Valkyrie armor.
In Chang Kong City, even logistical work could only be entrusted to B-Rank Valkyries.
Himeko took the case and opened the spare weapon box, taking out a longsword.
She had assessed him. Fang Jie lacked the strength for now, and it was impossible to equip him with Valkyrie armor. A greatsword was unsuitable, and since he was returning to Chang Kong City, reducing his load and improving his ability to break through were more appropriate.
"'Composite Blade: Willow Leaf'—forged by combining ancient Shenzhou swordmaking techniques with the most advanced Honkai technology. Its cutting power has been specially enhanced. Take it with you."
Huh?
What did this mean?
Fang Jie was just...
Himeko, you wonderful woman!
Of course. Who did you think I was?
Very satisfied with his look and expression, Himeko's lips curved upward.
But there was nothing else suitable to equip him with. The armor did not fit, and an anti-Honkai combat suit would only offer psychological comfort in a place with Honkai energy concentrations like Chang Kong City. Fang Jie did not even show signs of Honkai corrosion, so he needed one even less.
Himeko handed him the longsword. "Here. Remember to protect yourself."
The moment Himeko handed over the blade, Fang Jie's attention was drawn to it. It was a three-star weapon with both solid performance and excellent looks.
As for the power of a three-star weapon, take the Nuclear Fusion Greatsword as an example—it could unleash force comparable to a small nuclear explosion.
That was what three stars meant.
Correspondingly, the standard equipment used for training by Schicksal Valkyries was two-star gear. It surpassed the military weapons of every nation and represented cutting-edge technology issued to "superhumans."
Fang Jie solemnly accepted the Composite Blade: Willow Leaf with both hands.
Even the sheath exuded a modern industrial style, its beauty perfectly suited to geometry and ergonomics. It fit together seamlessly as a unified whole and felt exceptional in his grip.
When he drew it, the first thing to catch his eye was the blade's interwoven black and green surface. Its edge was pure and translucent. It did not reflect a cold gleam; it shone with its own light.
The entire weapon had been infused with Honkai energy, greatly strengthening its material. It presumably would not snap like ordinary steel simply from striking a Honkai beast's body.
And its cutting power had been greatly enhanced?
He could feel that Honkai energy could be poured into the blade and released from it.
Presumably, even a Honkai beast more than ten meters tall could be cut in two with one strike.
More importantly, compared to tearing Honkai beasts apart with his bare hands, using a cool weapon better suited the style of a heroic protagonist.
"Himeko... sis, I respect you deeply."
Fang Jie decided to express his reverence, admiration, and gratitude toward her.
"Stop trying to get friendly with me. There isn't anything more, and nothing else would suit you anyway. Since you've decided to head into a place of death, then go. Stay alive, young man."
Himeko, who had not yet become overly sensitive about her age, did not care about the pause in Fang Jie's tone. She turned away with easy confidence, waved her hand, and signaled for him to leave if he wanted to.
There was still much work to do, especially leaving this bait base and scouting deeper into Chang Kong City to serve as another lure.
Otherwise—
"Oh, right. Remember, if you don't sense the sounds of a major battle within twenty-four hours, or if you do sense the sounds of a major battle, either stay far away from Chang Kong City, or hurry into an air-raid shelter or underground fortification. Preferably one with three-proof protection. Then pray."
Huh?
What did that mean?
Fang Jie did not understand for a moment, but perhaps Himeko was worried he would not get it, so she said bluntly:
Before you continue