Live Stream Honkai Impact 3rd, I Choose to Expose Kiana in Arc City! Chapter 13

[That's enough. You've worked hard, Kiana Kaslana.]

[This Miss... huff... huff... didn't say stop! I can keep going!]

Rita's voice was calm and composed, while Kiana was already panting heavily.

Just from their tones alone, the gap between them was clear.

[Your face is written all over with exhaustion. Please rest well. I'll take my leave now.]

After Rita dropped those words, the game screen went black.

Then a white subtitle flashed, indicating that the rest period had ended.

[Below is the final round of assessment. Candidates who are called up, please put on the synchronized immersion device. The virtual combat trial program will select appropriate virtual modules from the database as opponents. Good luck, everyone!]

Once Theresa's explanation finished, Kiana's dialogue box popped up, and her energetic voice rang out.

[Candidate, Kiana Kaslana. Ready to connect.]

[System prompt: Read rate 98.6%... Connection sync rate 100%. Hostile module generating. Connection sync rate 120%—Hos-hostile modu-dule generat-ing-ing—]

As the electronic mechanical voice played, even without a prompt, everyone in the live stream knew something had gone wrong with the match.

"It seems Kiana and the others are in for a tough fight?" Hua's intuition told her this might not be simple.

But Beichen, who had already seen the script, replied flatly:

"No, just a slaughter. Nothing tough about it."

As he spoke, the game played Ganesha's entrance animation.

When the scene finished, a massive Emperor-class Honkai Beast with tusks appeared before everyone.

Seeing this beast for the first time, Hua made a judgment based on her experience.

"No, this is definitely going to be a tough fight!"

"A tough fight... This viewer seems too immersed in the story."

Seeing Hua's bullet comment, Beichen found it both amusing and exasperating.

What was Ganesha anyway? Just a beginner's practice boss, far too friendly compared to late-game bosses like the Imaginary Tree Husk-Nihilism and Imaginary Tree Husk-Mysticism!

"Why do you say that?"

"Ah, just keep watching."

Beichen then controlled Ri Duck to hammer the boss relentlessly. Bronya and Mei had just joined the fight and barely landed a few hits.

Ganesha fell...

Beichen's live stream went silent instantly.

Seele, Elysia, and the others were stunned that this seemingly massive Emperor-class Honkai Beast had fallen so quickly.

Meanwhile, Otto and Durandal, who knew about Ganesha, weren't surprised at all.

After all, Rita had already reported everything that happened at St. Freya Academy; the only thing they didn't know was the specific visual details.

Of course, if anyone in the live stream was the most surprised, it had to be...

Hua: "..."

Beichen: "What a hard-fought battle~"

Hua: "Ahem! Estimates of strength are inherently prone to a certain margin of error."

[Due to the live stream content, feeling embarrassed about today's imperfect performance, you receive Crystal 560!]

Because it was so awkward, Hua even started making excuses for herself.

She felt that her earlier confident judgment that this would be a tough fight had indeed been hasty.

"Ah? Well... I suppose so."

Although Beichen wanted to complain, what kind of "certain margin of error" was that?

But moving the plot forward was the real priority, so no need to stir up trouble.

With that, Beichen clicked through the story. Once the dialogue box ended, the settlement screen popped up.

The moment the stage ended, the game's CG appeared.

[Ah~ Finally done with the exam, I'm completely exhausted...]

Mei and Bronya walked ahead, discussing the anomalies during the test. Kiana, feeling very uncomfortable, walked behind and reached out to call her companions.

But as her voice left her mouth, Mei and Bronya in front of her both vanished, and everything around her turned into the blood-red campus from her dreams.

That eerie, mysterious presence had once again dragged her into a terrifying nightmare...

Chapter 19: Seeing Babylon Laboratory in the Story, Green Otto Panics!

As the nightmare unfolded, the game's dialogue background shifted from the campus to a cold laboratory.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone in the live stream, Beichen clicked the screen.

Soon, the dialogue boxes for the mysterious voice and Kiana popped up.

["A cute little girl, you really are surprising. Even that Ganesha was defeated by you~☆ You know, this Honkai Beast that appeared in India back in 2012 killed two A-rank Valkyries and severely wounded twelve others... I thought it would be an insurmountable obstacle for a B-rank Valkyrie like you, you know?"]

Her tone was leisurely and carefree, carrying a sense of superiority that came from having everything under control.

"Who is this weird voice anyway?" Seele asked, sending a bullet comment with some fear as the strange voice played in the game. "I feel like... she's up to no good..."

"You guessed..."

Before Beichen could finish his sentence, a long pink bullet comment drifted across the livestream screen: "Mm~ Maybe she's the mastermind behind the scenes or something~ I'm really curious, what kind of charming girl is this mysterious-sounding lady? Looking forward to it~"

The speaker was none other than Elysia.

And her words were clearly following up on Seele's comment.

"Huh? Oh! Um..."

Seele, being addressed, answered flusteredly, unable to find the right words and too anxious to speak.

Seeing this, Beichen smiled wryly and said to Seele, "This viewer guessed right, she really is up to no good. Miss Pink Elf also guessed right, she's the root of Kiana's nightmare."

"Wow~ I guessed right, so happy (〃'▽'〃)"

As another pink bullet comment drifted by, Kiana's response began playing on the screen.

["Ridiculous! Sure, my title is B-rank, but in reality, this young lady has the strength of an S-rank Valkyrie!"]

Kiana's reply was confident and full of energy, but unfortunately, facing her vibrant spirit, the mysterious voice mercilessly poured cold water on her.

["Hehe, you sure like to brag. Your strength isn't bad, but you're still far from an S-rank Valkyrie~☆ Because, fourteen years ago, I personally experienced the power of an S-rank Valkyrie."]

["Fourteen years ago? Experienced? Could it be... you're the Second Herrscher? How is that possible? Why would the Second Herrscher, confirmed eliminated fourteen years ago, appear in my dream?"]

"Herrscher!?"

In the livestream, two bullet comments—one pink, one white—flashed across the screen in unison.

Beichen looked closely and saw that the senders were none other than Elysia and Hua.

Their reactions weren't surprising, but the others in the livestream... showed no response to this explosive piece of information at all.

Seele was easier to understand; her behavior suggested she didn't grasp the meaning of a Herrscher.

But what about Otto and Durandal?

Didn't Durandal want to know everything that happened fourteen years ago?

Meanwhile, in the Schicksal Archbishop's office.

Otto looked up and issued a command to Durandal: "It's getting late, Durandal. You should focus on your training."

This sudden order came completely out of the blue.

Durandal, who had been extremely interested in the upcoming plot, felt confused upon hearing this.

Why urge her to train at such a critical moment?

Otto, Otto... are you deliberately hiding something from me?

Durandal remained silent, her gaze gradually growing complicated.

"But... very well, Lord Otto."

After a long internal struggle, Durandal decided to fulfill her duty as a Schicksal Valkyrie and obey the Archbishop's order to train.

And since she needed to concentrate on training, she couldn't stay in the livestream.

Beichen immediately heard the system notification:

[Your viewer, Effort Pays Off, has left the livestream!]

???

"Why did she just leave like that?"

Beichen frowned as he looked at the online viewer count on the livestream screen.

He only had four viewers total, and now one was gone...

"Maybe... something urgent came up? Streamer Big Brother, I'm really interested in the story now! Keep going, I'll watch with you."

Seele comforted him at just the right moment.

Seeing her heartwarming bullet comment, Beichen's mood improved a little.

He glared fiercely at a viewer in the list with the ID Your Great Inventor.

He had already figured out most of the reason why Durandal had left without saying goodbye.

Besides Otto, there was probably no one else with the ability to make her leave directly.

He had to admit, this Archbishop had some skill in keeping Kiana by his side for fourteen years without exposing the truth.

Bah! That old green bastard!

Beichen cursed Otto inwardly, then clicked the screen to continue the story.

["Ah, even your slow reaction is so cute, it makes me want to gobble you up~"]

["Hmph, even if this is just a dream... today, you're not leaving here alive. You... the one who killed Mother!"]

["I never planned to leave here, hehe~ Because this place is both your dream and my dream. I am you, and you are me. The one who should leave... is you, Kiana!"]

["Shut up!"]

Provoked time and again by the mysterious voice, the still-immature Kiana grew enraged.

Once the game entered its actual interface, the mission prompt was to chase down that strange figure.

Watching Kiana ascend the steps and finally pass through the mechanical gates, Otto's eyes went wide in his office!

He never imagined that this game would perfectly recreate everything about Babylon Laboratory...

A terrifying thought surged into Otto's mind.

Could the creator of this game truly be a god?

Why would he (or she?) know everything that happened there? This was supposed to be classified in Schicksal's top-secret archives!

What kind of existence could stealthily steal secrets and then, just as stealthily, craft such an exquisite game...

Was it trying to expose all of this to the public?

And just as Otto found the plot he was witnessing utterly baffling...

"Streamer Big Brother, what's inside those glass pods? Are those girls... still alive? Were they all brought here against their will?"

"No, these are artificial humans that were created. As for whether they're alive or dead, who knows? Anyway, no one cares about the fate of lab rats."

As the words fell, an enemy identical to Kiana appeared before her, its name clearly reading: "Girl in the Culture Pod..."

Chapter 20: Without Knowing It, Rita Was Exposed Live