Honkai's Thousand Laws, Kidnapping Kiana At The Start

A defense tactical vehicle, painted in a gray-blue camouflage, was parked squarely across the main road, completely blocking the path into the city.

A fully armed squad was holding their guns, eyeing the arriving survivors. Everyone had to be interrogated. This made them look less like they were defending against Honkai Beasts and more like they were deliberately preventing survivors from entering the city.

Just as they were about to reach the safe zone, only a few dozen meters from the military's blockade line, Kiana suddenly stopped. Her expression was complicated. She knew her identity couldn't be exposed. If she went through the official checkpoint, her location would definitely be revealed.

Once caught by the military's system, it wouldn't be long before everyone hunting her arrived, bringing with them endless trouble.

More importantly, she looked at Su Jue, who was leaning against a wall, gasping for breath beside her. She might even drag him down with her.

Having realized that the life she had lived for so many years was nothing but a lie, Kiana had slowly accepted the fact that she was K423. After experiencing betrayal and wandering alone, she was no longer as afraid of being studied as an experimental subject by Schicksal.

If a person stays in the dark for a long time, they won't be as afraid of the dark. But if someone in the dark sees the light, the darkness becomes unbearable.

Before meeting Su Jue, she could face her own death calmly. But after he saved her, if Su Jue were to be dragged into the vortex because of her, Kiana would be consumed by endless self-blame.

She knew exactly what kind of people Schicksal were, and she understood what kind of cold-blooded monsters their leader was. If Otto were to learn that Su Jue had met an awakened Sirin twice and survived, he would definitely become interested in researching him.

Thinking of this, she slowly let go of the young man's hand.

"What's wrong?" Su Jue, having recovered, noticed Kiana looking at him and asked with some confusion.

"You go ahead first. I suddenly remembered I have something to do." She used a clumsy excuse, her face feeling a little hot. Kiana, who was usually straightforward, was terrible at lying.

Su Jue didn't expose her. He just stared at her intently until Kiana's face grew redder, her gaze flickered, and she instinctively turned her face away, unable to meet his eyes. Only then did he sigh deeply and say with a hint of helplessness, "Alright, what did you forget? I'll go find it with you. It'll be much more efficient with two people."

"Even though my stamina is a bit poor, as long as I don't encounter any Honkai Beasts, I can handle it."

Already feeling awkward from lying, Kiana immediately said anxiously, "No, you don't have to. I'm a Valkyrie, I can handle it alone. We're already at the safe zone, you go ahead. I'll find you in a bit."

"A wanted Valkyrie?" Su Jue suddenly said.

The girl's breath hitched. A dark cloud seemed to descend upon her heart, and a suffocating feeling welled up.

So, he knew my identity all along? What will he do now?

Or is Sirin right? Did he approach me with ulterior motives?

"What are you thinking about?"

Kiana, lost in her own thoughts, heard the young man's voice again. She looked up, meeting his clear gray eyes.

"So you knew my identity all along." Her voice was a little hoarse. Was her first friend in months about to leave her too?

"Identity? Didn't you just say it yourself? We haven't known each other for many days, have we?" Su Jue said, then put on an expression of sudden realization. "You mean you're wanted? That's something that could be guessed easily. As Valkyries of Schicksal, you usually operate in teams. You appearing alone in this city definitely means you have your secrets."

"I don't quite understand Schicksal's management system, but there are only two possibilities for operating alone: either you're on a secret mission, or you don't want to be found by Schicksal. A secret mission wouldn't involve not showing your face, so it must be that you're wanted."

Kiana stared blankly at the young man who was talking so eloquently. The sunlight fell on the tips of his light gray hair, making him seem to radiate a gentle light.

If the whole world were dark, a single candle flame would be incredibly precious.

"Aren't you afraid of me?"

"Why should I be afraid? Just because your origins are unknown?" Looking down at the girl's mismatched blue and gold eyes, Su Jue's gray eyes showed no hesitation. "When you saved me from underground after the Honkai Beast attack, my life already belonged to you."

"Someone who's willing to save others even in dire straits, who holds onto the light of human kindness amidst disaster. How could such a person be bad?"

The young man's voice was calm, yet it was like the first rays of sunshine after a rain, piercing the lingering gloom in Kiana's heart.

Before Sirin's consciousness awakened, Kiana had always been an optimistic and cheerful child, laughing carefree every day, as if nothing could affect her. It wasn't until she was betrayed by Schicksal that her mental defenses, built on positive emotions, finally shattered. Pain, despair, and hatred, guided by Sirin, surged towards Kiana, constantly tearing open that mental rift and becoming nourishment for the Herrscher of Void's awakening.

And now, Sirin, trapped in her consciousness space, was astonished to find that this crack was slowly healing.

Damn it!

Kiana was unaware of Sirin's furious rage. After confirming that Su Jue had no strange emotions about her identity, the two turned their attention to the problem at hand.

How could they get past the military checkpoint?

"It's simple, just put on some makeup," Su Jue said, taking out two hundred-yuan bills he had saved for a long time from his wallet. "I've dealt with them many times. This is the best makeup."

"Money? You mean bribe them? But the city's cameras can't be bribed."

"Then it depends on my makeup skills." Su Jue smiled, rubbed his finger against a black mark on the car tire by the roadside, and carefully smeared it on Kiana's fair cheek, transforming her from a composed Valkyrie into an ordinary girl fleeing in haste.

Chapter 18: An Unexpected Turn of Events

"Name."

"Su Jue."

"Do you have your ID?"

"Yes, yes, I do." Nodding repeatedly, Su Jue pulled out his ID from his pocket. Although facial recognition systems were fully implemented in Sky City now, Su Jue still habitually carried his documents, which often helped avoid trouble.

"You live in the suburbs? This is the West District, what are you doing here?" the uniformed man asked, repeatedly comparing the photo on the ID to confirm Su Jue's identity. "And who is she? Where's her ID?"

Her dusty hair was curled into a messy, unfashionable bun, and her face was smudged with dirt from the roadside. She looked dirty, as if she had been crying, and her original appearance was barely recognizable.

Gently squeezing Kiana's hand, she immediately understood.

She slightly lowered her head, hiding her unusual eyes. Her body trembled slightly at the inspector's stern questioning, and then she pitifully tugged at Su Jue's sleeve, hiding behind him like a startled fawn.

"This is my girlfriend. Her ID was lost during a Honkai Beast attack."

"Oh, right. I came to the West District to see a doctor. This is the medical record I just got this morning." Folding the thin medical record, he handed it to the inspector, having already slipped two bills inside.

The inspector understood. He casually flipped through the medical record, but in the moment he blocked the camera, he had already pocketed the bribe.

But when he only got two, he glared at Su Jue with dissatisfaction. It was a lucrative job, and he was used to making hundreds or even thousands of yuan each time. If he encountered something illicit, he could even make a big score. Two hundred yuan was already beneath his notice.

With a fawning smile plastered on his face, Su Jue said with some difficulty, "Sorry, seeing a doctor took longer than expected. I didn't anticipate running into a Honkai Beast."

After looking back and forth between Su Jue and the young girl, the inspector sighed.

Forget it, they're probably just sick. I'll take what I can get.

He meticulously refolded the medical records he had looked at and politely returned them to Su Jue. The inspector put on a righteous expression. "Protecting citizens and helping them evacuate is our duty. Checking identities is just to better record information about victims. The government will provide subsidies after the disaster."

"If you don't register, you might not get the subsidy. Are you sure you don't want to register her identity?"

Pretending to look conflicted, Su Jue glanced at Kiana, then finally seemed to make up his mind and shook his head.

"Alright, the facial recognition machine is broken. Go over there and write your name." The inspector skillfully led the two towards another building, secretly letting them go.

However, this time he seemed to have miscalculated. Not two steps after they walked, a military vehicle screeched to a halt. The vehicle was entirely black and gray, with only a small Ouroboros symbol printed on its edge.

"Damn it, it's people from Shencheng Technology."

Kiana heard the inspector's voice and lowered her eyebrows, trying not to look up at the people getting out of the car.

"Halt!"

A dark muzzle was aimed at the three of them. The inspector's face changed. He patted his military uniform and retorted, "Who are you people, daring to interfere with the army's rescue efforts?"

"The army? Only if you're legitimate." The people from Shencheng Technology didn't give him a good look at all. One of them raised the butt of his rifle and smashed it directly into the inspector's face, knocking him to the ground.

"What are you doing?" The people guarding the checkpoint discovered the commotion and rushed over with their guns.

While they were talking, the people from Shencheng Technology had already searched the inspector's body and taken out his identification, placing it into a specialized detection device.

"Beep—Identity authentication failed, unauthorized."

As soon as the alarm sounded, the faces of the people stationed at the checkpoint turned grim. They were indeed not regular soldiers but auxiliary members affiliated with Schicksal. However, with the world in the midst of a great Honkai, Schicksal's personnel were already stretched thin, so activating auxiliary forces for maintenance was completely normal.

"We have official authorization from Schicksal..." the leader said angrily. Shencheng Technology was just a large enterprise in Sky City; how could they possibly challenge Schicksal?

If he were truly from Schicksal, he would know that in China, one could impersonate any power, but never Schicksal.

Bang—!

Like a clap of thunder, a bullet embedded itself in the speaker's forehead, followed by a gush of blood blooming in the sunlight.

"Did you think we were negotiating with you? No, we were just confirming whether the deceased would cause trouble."

The voice hidden behind the mask was low. The moment the shot was fired, the gunshots became a continuous barrage. The auxiliary members, who had only received rudimentary training, knew how to shoot, but compared to the well-prepared Shencheng Technology, it was a one-sided slaughter.

"Take everyone away!" After dealing with the armed forces, the people from Shencheng Technology didn't even bother to conceal their actions and began rounding people up.

Knowing the plot, Su Jue naturally understood that they were capturing experimental subjects, attempting to use the entire city for World Serpent's artificial stigma plan. At this time, Schicksal had not yet shifted its attention to Sky City. Under the cover of the Honkai Beast attack, their actions were completely undisguised.

Most of the survivors followed the official channels to evacuate. Only those scattered like Su Jue and his companion would enter the checkpoint area, so there weren't many survivors here.

It was clear that the people from Shencheng Technology also knew very well that these scattered survivors were the most suitable for capturing experimental subjects. Even if they went missing, they could be counted as casualties of the Honkai Beast attack.

"Ah!!" Screams erupted as those captured struggled desperately. But as a tranquilizer dart was injected into each of their necks, the scene quickly quieted down.

Su Jue and Kiana, who were closest, had not yet received their tranquilizer shots. However, they had no chance to escape and could only wait to be captured.

As the two were about to be apprehended, Kiana, who had just recovered some strength, tried to mobilize the power of the Herrscher of Void. The sudden change altered their plans. She looked at Su Jue, who seemed to have been scared silly, with concern.

That's right, he's just an ordinary person. He's probably never seen such a bloody scene in his life.

"Take these two as well," the leader said. He slowly approached them, but as he got closer to Kiana, he seemed to notice something different about her beneath the dust. "This person looks like that girl Schicksal is looking for..."

Kiana's heart sank. Disregarding the damage the Herrscher power was doing to her body, she forcefully drew power from her severely corrupted body.

However, before she could make a move, a muffled sniper shot suddenly rang out, and the Shencheng Technology member's head exploded.

Two hundred meters away, a puppet lying on a rooftop emitted a golden light from its eyes.

Chapter Nineteen: Sniper and Grey Snake

The sniper rifle recoiled, and the hot shell casing was ejected, shimmering with golden light.

The puppet, fully controlled by Su Jue, was as precise as a machine, skillfully using the single-shot rifle. It chambered a round, cocked the hammer, and pulled the trigger.

Using his main body as a targeting point, the puppet's snipes were almost one shot per kill. Blood splattered against the wall, and the crimson stains dyed the Ouroboros insignia on the transport vehicle a deep red.

The combat team was well-trained. They quickly deduced the trajectory from the direction of the blood spatter and located the puppet's position.

"Seven o'clock, about 200 meters," the reconnaissance specialist immediately shouted. Then, a bullet drilled into his mouth and exited from the back of his head.

The dying man's positioning of the enemy provided a slight reprieve. They ignored the surrounding survivors and took cover behind the combat vehicle.

The moment the puppet reappeared, the sniper on the combat team let out a cold sneer.

"As a sniper, you don't know to change positions after firing. You're not qualified."

Bang—!

The combat team's guns were much better than what Su Jue had acquired. The moment they located the puppet's position, the two fired almost simultaneously. The combat team's sniper bullet went straight into the puppet's head, while the puppet's bullet took down one of the sniper's teammates.

"Hit!" Relieved, the sniper was about to report his success to his teammate when, the next second, a sniper bullet pierced his brain, sending his life and his professional knowledge to hell.

On the rooftop, the puppet, with only half its brain remaining, was unresponsive. Scattered wood shavings fell to the ground.

Chambering a round, cocking the hammer, pulling the trigger.

The exquisite puppets were controlled by the threads of Domination, sniping at Shencheng Technology's personnel with perfectly synchronized frequency.

"Monster! Undying monster!"

Like precise reapers, the puppets continuously reaped the lives of the remaining personnel. Even hiding behind cover, they couldn't escape death's pursuit.

In just a few minutes, only one member of the formidable combat team was left.

Bang—!

The fatal gunshot rang out. The sole survivor of the combat squad widened their eyes in terror as they died, a single thought flashing through their mind.

Why did this bullet curve?

Then came absolute darkness.

The bullets controlled by the Herrscher of Domination didn't care if you were hiding behind cover, especially if you were targeted by those golden eyes.

Within an extremely short time, the area was littered with corpses. Kiana, who was still accumulating power for the Herrscher of the Void, was a bit bewildered. But in the next second, an intense sense of crisis crept up her back as the enemy's gun barrel locked onto her.

The reflection from the scope entered the girl's vision, and she instantly understood that she was the next prey.

I can't dodge.

The moment she was targeted, this thought arose in her mind. Su Jue was right beside her, seemingly having fallen unconscious from the extreme shock. If she dodged, at this angle, he would undoubtedly die.

Bang—!

The puppet didn't give her any time to react; the bullet was fired immediately.

Gritting her teeth, Kiana prepared to take the sniper bullet with her own body.

"With a Valkyrie's physique, I should be able to withstand it," she prayed softly.

The instant the bullet arrived, Kiana suddenly felt herself shoved hard, sending her rolling several times on the ground.