Outside the Challenge Space.
Kiana had been watching Yunduo seriously and carefully from beginning to end.
When she saw Yunduo surrounded by Honkai Beasts and the moment the Herrscher of the Void appeared, she clenched her fists and held her breath.
That was Yunduo acting as 'Kiana.'
Facing a desperate situation, what kind of choice would she make?
But when Yunduo took out a pistol and pressed it against her own chin, Kiana was stunned.
She never thought someone could actually show such courage!
To protect the people of Sky Dome City, the girl chose to end her own life.
At least for now, the current Kiana had not yet fulfilled her own wishes and didn't want to leave this world so early.
But her counterpart chose death.
Better to be a broken piece of jade than an intact tile!
That despair and loneliness, deep as a well, colored Kiana's perception as she watched the screen, making her feel a sense of pity for Yunduo.
This should have been her choice, but after failing, all the burdens had fallen onto Yunduo's shoulders.
But when the phantom of the deceased Himeko appeared and Crimson Knight: Eclipse emerged, Kiana glanced at the Himeko in reality.
This woman, who looked like a single alcoholic, could actually have chosen a life like a rose.
Even if she died, she would exist in the girl's Remembrance, helping her complete her transformation.
Finally, the girl mastered the power of the Herrscher of the Void!
Seeing this, Kiana also breathed a sigh of relief, hugging Himeko as she shouted, "Auntie Himeko, did you see that? I've mastered my power! And you—that armor of yours is so cool!"
"...I know, I know."
Murata Himeko sighed, complaining inwardly.
Kiana was just acting all pitiful and sad a moment ago, and now she's turned back into a lively Husky.
She really didn't know if this kind of optimism was a good or bad thing.
However, she didn't recognize that red armor; it must be a secret weapon of Schicksal.
Currently, she was only an A-Rank Valkyrie.
To withstand an attack from the Herrscher of the Void, she really didn't know how it could be done... To the side, a joyful smile also appeared on Mei's face.
She was also very happy to see Kiana return to normal.
Meanwhile, Fu Hua had been silently observing Kiana from the start, judging whether there was a possibility of the Herrscher of the Void reviving now.
"The second challenge objective has begun," Bronya prompted calmly.
As Yunduo rested inside the Challenge Space, the system's background prompt sounded.
"Background Prompt: Four months after the Great Collapse, Rita arrived at Sky Dome City aboard the Eos under the guise of inspecting the partner enterprise 'Shencheng Pharmaceutical' to hunt down Kiana."
"When she entered the Shencheng Pharmaceutical Industrial Zone, she discovered that Shencheng Pharmaceutical had always been controlled by World Serpent. They were modifying the anti-honkai vaccines provided by Schicksal, injecting them into citizens under the name of free medical care to catalyze the appearance of Stigmata in ordinary people. They planned to use a Great Collapse to kill all citizens in Sky Dome City who could not successfully awaken a Stigmata, leaving only those capable of fighting the Honkai."
"World Serpent wants to activate the Stigmata through a Great Collapse. Rita speculates that the device generating the Honkai is precisely the Honkai Energy engine on the Eos. The engine has been activated, the experiment is about to begin, and the people of Sky Dome City are in imminent danger..."
"Mission Objective 2: Save Sky Dome City!"
"Challenger: Yunduo!"
Looking at the familiar name, Fu Hua whispered, "Rita?"
"What is this World Serpent? What kind of organization is it? Why would they perform such a cruel experiment?" Kiana complained indignantly, finding it hard to believe such an organization that disregarded human life existed.
Injecting the whole city's people with a Stigmata-catalyzing drug, and then using a Great Collapse to kill everyone who couldn't awaken.
This behavior was even worse than Schicksal's.
"World Serpent? An organization I've never heard of. To use an entire city as a test subject, it seems this organization possesses great power."
Theresa furrowed her delicate brows and speculated, "To be able to hide completely beneath the surface without a single trace, this organization is terrifying. It might even have the strength to rival Schicksal."
To the side, Mei's attention was entirely focused on the words about Rita hunting Kiana, as well as the mission objective.
Why was it always Kiana doing these dangerous things?
She never considered her own safety, nor did she care about her friends' feelings.
What about her future self?
Where was she?
Where on earth did she go?
Since she hadn't died, she could have gone to help Kiana!!!
Even if she just saw herself giving Kiana a warm hug, Mei's heart wouldn't be burning with such anxiety.
But there was nothing.
In the footage, she didn't appear at all.
It was as if she had vanished from this world.
Mei fell silent, standing in the corner away from the others. Thousands of words were in her mind, but they ultimately turned into a disappointed bite of her lip.
"Speaking of which, how are they supposed to save Sky Dome City? That Rita's EOS engine is already activated; it probably can't be turned off, right?"
Kiana's brow was tightly knit, unable to think of a good way to complete the mission.
Generally speaking, Honkai Energy is very difficult to control. Every slight disturbance could lead to irreversible consequences.
Logically, should they take the engine away?
Taking it out of Sky Dome City would save the people of Sky Dome.
But where could they take it?
World Serpent certainly wouldn't give anyone extra time to destroy the device.
As everyone looked at the calm Fu Hua, hoping for a glimmer of hope, her words poured cold water on them: "It's impossible to guess. Honkai Energy capable of destroying an entire city is essentially a bomb that has already been lit. Getting close would result in Honkai corruption. I can't think of anyone who could move such a Honkai mass."
Indeed.
If they couldn't even touch it, where could they take it?
No one had an answer in their hearts.
As the break time ended, Yunduo began to take deep breaths on the screen.
With a flash of white light, she began the second challenge.
This mission was one that everyone felt was impossible to complete... Night fell, and the neon lights in the distance flickered with dazzling brilliance.
Among the crowd, a silver-haired girl wearing sportswear and a black cap evaded the scouting robots and cameras everywhere.
She stood on the roof of a city building, looking toward a dawn that had no sunrise.
Currently, the entire population of Sky Dome City was under the control of World Serpent.
Once the Honkai Energy was detonated, over 99% of the people would die instantly.
This was a difficult mission.
The night air was incredibly humid, saturated with cold water vapor.
"Whew~"
The girl exhaled softly and leaped down from the hundred-meter-high rooftop.
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