Honkai's Thousand Laws, Kidnapping Kiana at the Start

The blade tore through flesh, and blood sprayed out, scattering like specks on the concrete floor.

"..."

Thick smoke and gas spread rapidly. Rita didn't even have the mood to check if Mei had escaped. An intense anger filled her heart, but she immediately pressed down on the wound on her shoulder.

That's right, the blood that had just sprayed out was Rita's.

"How dare you interfere with Schicksal Valkyrie's work? Your boldness is truly excessive." Forcing down her anger, Rita took out a bandage from the equipment on her waist and managed to wrap her wound. However, continuing to use her scythe now would significantly affect her.

The newcomer remained silent, merely stepping out from the shadows.

A cascade of fiery red hair fell like a waterfall. A white half-mask covered the upper half of her face, revealing heterochromatic eyes, one gray and one fiery orange, through the holes.

Murata Himeko silently picked up the katana that Raiden Mei had dropped. As for the long sword she had just thrown in a sneak attack, it was just a standard issue weapon. Su Jue's industrial system hadn't been fully established yet, so for now, like that sniper rifle before, he could only steal them from some backward military groups.

The moment she saw Himeko, even her anger was replaced by shock. Rita stared intently at the Himeko puppet before her: the fiery red hair, the orange eyes, the characteristic...

"Murata Himeko? Weren't you supposed to be dead in the Imaginary Space?" As an executor who assisted Otto, leading to the awakening of the Herrscher of Void, Rita was well aware of the entire battle's progression. The fight ended with Himeko's death and the Herrscher's escape. Yet, the person who should absolutely not appear now had.

Himeko didn't speak. Her current appearance was quite different from her original one. Although certain parts bore a high degree of similarity, a closer inspection would reveal the differences.

Indeed, after a standoff of over 10 seconds, Rita shook her head to herself. "No, you're not her. There's no erosion from the artificial stigma, no energy from the Plague Gem, and even the backdoor left by the Bishop on the God-Slaying Armor wasn't activated."

"Who exactly are you?"

Slowly raising the katana in her hand, Himeko decided to comply with Su Jue's request not to reveal herself. But just as she was about to initiate combat, Su Jue suddenly took over her control.

"Good evening, Miss Rita." A slightly playful voice came from Himeko's mouth, instantly drawing Rita's attention.

"Oh? Finally willing to communicate? I thought you were just a mute puppet."

Although this unknown woman finally broke her silence, Rita felt her danger level increase exponentially.

"How could that be? Isn't this a special visit to greet Miss Rita? As for accidentally letting your prey escape, that was purely unintentional. I apologize here." Su Jue spread his hands. He would have been happy if Rita had killed Mei, but he knew the possibility was too slim. If Mei was scouting alone, Theresa wouldn't have made no preparations. This smoke bomb was a contingency. Rather than fighting Rita after Mei escaped, it was better to sneak attack and weaken her while Rita was engaged.

This isn't cowardly. Can Herrscher matters be considered cowardly?

"But I don't think your attitude is one of apology, and someone who hides and sneaks around seems more than just a little suspicious."

"Oh, it seems I forgot to introduce myself. I thought Miss Rita had already guessed my identity. After all, the Serpent has been watching you, hasn't it?"

Rita frowned. "Are you from World Serpent?"

"Aren't you already aware? And does it matter if I am from World Serpent or not." Su Jue was silent for a moment, then seemed to remember something and said, "Uh, I think I can be from World Serpent. How about the codename Crimson Snake?"

"Crimson Snake? It does fit your all-red attire. However, Schicksal's snake-catching skills are not bad. Once I catch you, it will be easy to distinguish between a real snake and a fake one."

Chapter 50: Puppet Machine

The verbal sparring ended here. For Rita, regardless of Su Jue's identity, she would only know after fighting him. Su Jue's objective was also the Gray Serpent Ocular Implant in Rita's hand, which was key to controlling the Puppet Machines. Therefore, this battle was inevitable.

"I'm leaving it to you. Win or lose, you have to hold her off. Otherwise, who knows what will happen to your students. You wouldn't want..."

"Huuu~"

Exhaling a breath, control of her body returned. Murata Himeko held Raiden Mei's katana horizontally in front of her. Although her preferred weapon was a greatsword, it didn't mean Himeko couldn't use other weapons. If she were facing a full-strength Rita, she would certainly not be a match, but now that Rita was injured, she might have a chance with this new body.

Besides, she knew very well that Su Jue was preparing to seize the Puppet Machine from her students. If something went wrong on her end, that Herrscher would show no mercy.

Boom—

As the ground beneath her feet suddenly cracked, Rita's body shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow. The clash of scythe and katana resumed on this street.

"Mr. Gray Serpent, please forgive me for borrowing the Serpent's name, but I swear, our goals do not conflict with the Serpent's guidance. On the contrary, I can provide you with much useful information..." At Gray Serpent's stronghold, the [Father] puppet, deliberately released by Su Jue to lure Gray Serpent, had been caught. It was currently playing the role of a leader of an underground organization.

Facing the Serpent's cold gaze, Su Jue skillfully mixed fear with a hint of arrogance. As the leader of an underground organization, even knowing that World Serpent was a behemoth, he had only heard of it and would naturally retain some pride.

"The Serpent dislikes things outside of its plans. If that's all you have, you might need to consider your own demise."

Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. [Father] nervously took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his brow, but his hand trembled uncontrollably. He rack his brain, searching for any information he could provide. "I... I know Schicksal's objective... They are looking for the Desire Gem, yes, the Desire Gem. If the Serpent can set up an ambush, they can surely be wiped out in one fell swoop."

Having finally managed to produce a piece of information, [Father] relaxed considerably. He looked at the ocular implant behind the white mask and said sincerely, "Believe me, this information is absolutely true..."

Gray Serpent still held his black umbrella, lost in thought. But after he spoke, [Father]'s expression changed drastically. "The information is indeed true, but such obvious information has no value. A business partner of mine once taught me a principle: when the value of information cannot match the value of the trader, life becomes the bargaining chip for this transaction."

"So, have you decided on your bargaining chip?"

By now, [Father] was drenched in sweat, constantly thinking. But Gray Serpent seemed to have lost patience and aimed his gun at his head.

"I can give all my assets to World Serpent! I, I also have the whereabouts of the Herrscher of Void, and I know the location of the Anti-Entropy Alliance Leader. I also know about the experiment Otto is currently conducting. If you give me time, I will definitely find out."

Perhaps the value of his life had driven the man mad, causing him to blurt out everything he knew. Gray Serpent's finger on the trigger paused, and his red ocular implant flickered slightly.

"Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, World Serpent... You have information on all of them. I'm starting to be interested in your identity."

The gun was still aimed at his forehead. The man could only lower his body. "I just have a slightly wider range of information channels."

"You have two choices: join the Serpent, or die here."

"I..." [Father]'s lips trembled, but he finally swallowed his pride and bowed his head to Gray Serpent. "I understand."

"If you can continuously provide the Serpent with useful intelligence, you will be given your own codename. Otherwise, the Serpent will devour you completely."

After a long period of hacking, Bronya finally broke through the stronghold's network defenses and found the intelligence Gray Serpent had hidden there.

"Is this guy a lunatic? He actually collected all the network information in Sky City." As soon as she hacked into the database, Bronya frowned. "More importantly, Gray Serpent didn't organize it at all, with no classification, tags, or indexes... all the data is a mess."

Hearing Bronya's words, Theresa also found it troublesome. "Is there any information about Kiana in here?"

"There might be, but it will take me at least several days to find it, and even longer to transfer it." Bronya continuously searched for Kiana's information, but with little success. "As an intelligence dealer, it's too strange for him to steal information without any filtering."

"Unless he has a more efficient processing terminal—Found it, this is..." As Bronya made her move, the mechanical gate of the stronghold slowly opened. With the sound of hydraulic rods, a small girl's figure appeared before the two of them.

"A little girl?" Theresa exclaimed the moment she saw the figure, but she immediately noticed the numerous tubes connected to the girl and the data terminal interface.

"No, to be precise, it's a cyborg, similar to the modifications Gray Serpent made to himself. Most of this little girl's body has also undergone modification," Bronya explained patiently, actually attempting to use the biological chip's authority to hack, but she quickly gave up.

"Her brain has been completely modified and integrated with a quantum computer, possessing astonishing computational power. Without core authority, even I can't crack it in a short time."

"Quantum-level computational power... no wonder he didn't need to organize it," Theresa immediately understood her meaning. "Perhaps we can use the Hyperion's mainframe to crack it, but the problem now is how to take her with us."

"Outsiders, your journey ends here... Please don't point that thing at me."

Facing Bronya's heavy cannon pointed almost at her forehead, the puppet machine, which had been about to retort defiantly, immediately cowered.

"Bronya, isn't this a bit too rough?" Theresa said awkwardly, trying to ease the atmosphere.

"Headmaster, we don't have time to waste. Contact Mei immediately, we need to retreat." Bronya, who had opted for kidnapping instead of invitation, didn't give her a chance and immediately started contacting Mei.

But strangely, although Mei's signal was approaching, there was no response.

"Are you looking for her?" A strange male voice echoed in the empty stronghold. Theresa's heart leaped as she saw Mei, who was already disoriented, being thrown out by the person and flying towards them.

"Run..."

Chapter 51: Feather Dust and Fu Hua

Just as Su Jue was about to play the villain, the central district of Sky City welcomed an uninvited guest, the unstable factor Su Jue was most worried about—the Herrscher of Void.

Kiana at this moment was vastly different from her previous disheveled state. Her further mastery of the Herrscher of Void's power allowed her to handle disaster sites more effortlessly. At the same time, the stability of her mental world meant she no longer had to hold back, fearing Sirin's temptations. More importantly, Feather Dust, hidden deep within her consciousness, had been discovered by her. This feather, harboring Fu Hua's will, could not provide any substantial help, but it was equivalent to having an additional companion.

"Kiana, compared to the past few months, your changes are truly immense." Fu Hua, appearing in her Phoenix form, couldn't help but sigh. She had been following Kiana since the Herrscher of Void awakened. However, Kiana at that time was deeply tormented by self-condemnation and Sirin's interference, had kept her heart tightly closed, unwilling to communicate with anyone, and naturally wouldn't accept Fu Hua's guidance.

Because of this, she understood Kiana's pain better than anyone, witnessing her despair and loneliness, until things finally took a turn a few days ago. Kiana's heart had become stronger, as if she had found a new life goal. Although she still couldn't control her power, she could at least firmly lock away Sirin's consciousness, preventing her from causing trouble.

"Heh, do you think I should have my consciousness dissipated as Otto predicted, becoming a mere vessel for the Herrscher of Void?" Leaping from the rooftop high above, she landed with a roll. Kiana showed no positive attitude towards Fu Hua's words.

And it was precisely because of her constant wandering that Kiana became even more enraged by Otto's actions. Fu Hua, sent by him to monitor her, was naturally not welcomed. If she had been drowned in despair before, she might have seized the only straw of hope after Feather Dust appeared.

But now, having coincidentally witnessed Su Jue's optimistic and resilient attitude towards life, Kiana, through contact, had been infected by him and gradually regained the courage to face life. Fu Hua, appearing at this time, was merely another one of Otto's schemes in her eyes. While she didn't harbor hatred, she couldn't trust her unconditionally either.

Adding splendor is never as good as providing timely help. Su Jue broke into her life when she was at her most desperate and gave her strength. She would never forget this kindness.

Facing Kiana's obvious distrust, Fu Hua felt a bit helpless, but she wasn't someone who would dwell on such things. Now that Kiana had found herself again, she was happy to be just an ordinary friend.

Standing on the tall buildings of the central district, Kiana overlooked the bustling streets, her eyes flickering.

"Even though the outskirts of the city are still suffering from Honkai attacks, the people living here act as if nothing has happened, contentedly enjoying the prosperity. While they revel every night, have they ever considered how many people are striving for tomorrow..." The medical record she had seen flashed through her mind. The spare change the gray-haired youth had saved for his treatment was less than the cost of the food thrown into the trash in the central district. Only by truly experiencing the world would one understand how people living at the bottom live.

"I want to transform this imperfect world into the one we desire."

During the time she had spent saving the citizens of Sky City, she had also discovered that the reason for such a disparity was inextricably linked to a company called Shencheng Pharmaceuticals. Her visit to the central district this time was precisely to investigate this company's background.

However, as she was about to head to her next destination, a faint scent of blood drifted into her nostrils with the cold wind. Kiana quickly reacted, "Even at this height, I can still smell blood. The scene must be much more serious than I imagined."

"Could it be a Honkai Beast attack?" Fu Hua proposed her guess. All her information came only from Kiana, and she could only infer based on the existing clues.

"Let's go see."

Using the edge of the tall building for leverage, she leaped and landed on the opposite building like a bird. Then, she slid down the sloped wall. At the end of the rooftop, Spears of the Void appeared, supporting her body.

Moving back and forth, she descended from the building back to the street. To avoid being discovered, she chose not to cross the street directly but planned to detour from another direction.

Just as she was about to act, she suddenly noticed a familiar little girl standing somewhat lost in the middle of the street.

"Griseo? Why is she here?" Kiana was somewhat surprised, as this was not close to the ranch. Unless she came to the central district specifically for shopping... It seemed so. Griseo still had a cute hairpin on her hair, and she was carrying a paper bag in her hand. Judging by the pattern printed on it, it should be some kind of drawing tool.

"Do you know that little girl?" Because Kiana's heart had been closed off before, Fu Hua was unaware of Su Jue and Griseo's existence.

After hesitating, Kiana nodded, "She's the relative of a very important... friend of mine. They helped me before."

Although she had wanted to drive her away immediately after seeing the photo, Kiana felt there was no problem with it. On the contrary, she was grateful that she hadn't directly called the police because of Su Jue.

"She looks like she needs help, but you might be caught on surveillance." After some thought, Fu Hua understood Kiana's current concern. "She must have come with her parents. If she's lost, her parents should find her soon. The security forces in the city center are not weak, so you don't need to take risks."

"But..." A vague sense of unease still made Kiana worried, but she also knew that her whereabouts had been captured once before. If she was exposed again, it was highly likely to attract Schicksal's pursuit. More importantly, the scent of blood she had smelled earlier gave her a worse feeling.

"Kiana, have you forgotten your objective? There must be many unknown secrets hidden in this city. You must find evidence before you are discovered. And if it really was a Honkai Beast attack, the casualties would be greater."

"..."

"I understand."

Sighing inwardly, Kiana could only leave reluctantly. Compared to a lost Griseo, this city was more important.

Following her sense of the smell of blood, Kiana quickly found the source of the scent. When she stepped into the street that had been massacred, she couldn't help but be shocked. More than ten corpses lay on the ground in incomplete states, their blood having almost dyed the entire ground red.

"The corpses are all wearing the same uniform, and there are firearms dropped on the ground. They look like some kind of underground organization, probably not good people. Strangely, they were almost all cut by sharp blades, similar to those caused by large weapons, and besides the craters made by the deceased, there are no other bullet holes," Fu Hua quickly analyzed the traces at the scene. She had worked as a detective in London for a while, and her investigative skills were not weak.

Looking at the corpses all over the ground and hearing Fu Hua's analysis, Kiana's expression gradually turned grim. In her mind, an image of someone skilled in using such large cold weapons gradually emerged—Rita Rossweisse.

Chapter 52: Clues and Flames

"So, my whereabouts have already been discovered by Schicksal?" Kiana sighed inwardly as she began to examine the excess traces. With a target in mind, it was easy to reconstruct the events at the scene.

"It looks like Rita clashed with some underground organization, but why?" Kiana was puzzled. If they had found her, they should have come for her directly, not gotten into a fight with local forces.

Soon, Fu Hua provided the answer, "Information, about you."

"Most of the men in black were killed in one blow. Rita didn't hold back against these pawns, but the masked corpse is different. All the electronic chips on him were taken, even his modified cybernetic body. Rita went to such great lengths likely because this intelligence organization had your whereabouts, and she chose the most convenient way to obtain information. And do you notice these blood-stained footprints?"

The ground was covered in blood, but there were still clean spots. The footprints left there were very familiar to Kiana.

"This size should belong to a woman and a child... Mei and Auntie?" Kiana realized in an instant. Having spent so much time with everyone at St. Freya, she knew their little details like the back of her hand. (Bronya was flying, so she wouldn't leave footprints.)

"The footsteps aren't chaotic, so they shouldn't have clashed with Rita. They must have also obtained information about you. Oh, and you might not know this, but after the Herrscher of Void awakened, everyone at St. Freya broke ties with Schicksal." Noticing the shift in Kiana's thoughts, Fu Hua gently persuaded her, "They should be here to bring you back, Kiana. Everyone is waiting for you..."

"..." Kiana didn't answer, feeling a bit agitated inside. On one hand, she was bothered that everyone had kept her identity a secret. On the other hand, she couldn't control the power of the Herrscher of Void yet, and if she lost control again, she would inevitably hurt her friends.

More importantly, she had a deep-seated wish that even Fu Hua didn't know about—she wanted to take Su Jue away with her, heal his illness, and let him witness her growth.

But at the moment, it was just a pipe dream. She was caught in a vortex because of being a Herrscher. Su Jue, as an ordinary person, would only get hurt by staying with her. Besides, he had his own family and his own life; she couldn't and shouldn't disturb him. His uncle's reaction upon learning she might be a Herrscher was already very telling. Even if he didn't care...

No, he would definitely care.

Would he really care?

Shaking her head fiercely, Kiana cast aside the chaotic thoughts in her mind. Regardless, since Auntie and the others had come to Sky City and might encounter Rita's attack, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

"Class president, can you determine their whereabouts?"

Seeing Kiana avoid the topic, Fu Hua felt a bit helpless. However, she was currently just a wisp of consciousness residing within Feather Dust. She couldn't do anything about Kiana's reluctance to return, so she could only use her experience to help her find clues.

"Based on the signs of movement from the footprints, they should have stayed here for a while, but they didn't return the way they came. They must have discovered clues left by the deceased... Kiana, take two more steps to your front right."

Soon, with Fu Hua's help, the general direction was quickly analyzed based on the traces left by the group, and Kiana had a rough idea of what had happened at the time.