The wind on the rooftop had gradually died down.
The rolling thunder overhead had retreated into the distance too, leaving only a thin, intermittent drizzle still falling.
Welt had been standing by the railing the whole time, hands tucked in the pockets of his coat.
He'd watched the entire "4D haptic feedback test" from start to finish without saying a word.
Now that the crowd had dispersed, he finally spoke.
"That 4D projection of yours just now." He pushed his glasses up, the tracks of rainwater on the lenses not yet dry. "That wasn't something you threw together on short notice, was it? When did you get this kind of technology?"
"I'll send you the data." Su Yu swiped across the panel on his forearm, packaging up the sensor parameters of the 4D haptic module and dropping them into Anti-Entropy's encrypted comm channel.
Three seconds later, the channel exploded.
"What's the vibration feedback precision on this thing?!" Tesla's unmistakable voice flooded the channel, the frantic clatter of keys audible in the background. "Let me see — independent tactile feedback per square centimeter, response delay compressed below three milliseconds?!"
Her volume shot up half an octave.
"Wait, this projection module has multi-axis coordination built in too? Hey, Su Yu, you little sneak, have you been hoarding good stuff from the lab again?!"
Beside her came Einstein's usual grumbling, something to the effect of "it's not like this is the first time Su Yu's surprised us," mixed with Mobius's derisive snort — "guinea pigs just love cooking up new tricks."
The corner of Welt's mouth twitched, though he didn't quite smile. His fingers were already flying across his own tablet, scrolling through the data Tesla had pulled up, line by line.
"Calm down, Dr. Tesla." Su Yu gestured for her to take it easy.
"Calm down, my foot!" The typing on Tesla's end got even louder. "Do you have any idea what this means? Import the data from our combat simulation pods, pair it with this new black-tech of yours, and you could simulate Honkai Beast swarms of any tier right there in the training grounds!"
"They're both simulations, sure, but the full holographic pods are mostly for honing combat instinct and reflexes," Welt explained. "No matter how high the fidelity, it's still not a real battlefield."
"That's exactly my point."
Tesla's words came out in a rapid stream.
"And this data set actually includes a method for shrinking the model down and integrating it into a suit module? Doesn't that mean soldiers could wear mass-produced armor and go toe-to-toe with real Honkai Beasts, fully immersed, as if it were the genuine thing?"
"I've already shared this with Dr. Mei — it's a massive boost to our training program... ahem."
Tesla seemed to realize she'd gotten a bit too worked up and coughed twice, steering the conversation back on track.
"And with this thing, the next time a Spatial Rift or a Honkai incident happens, we can just sneakily pass it off as a 4D test!"
"The citizens will think it's special effects. Rival companies will think you've sunk a fortune into marketing. And the real danger gets handled right under everyone's noses."
"Everyone thinks we're running a test — what we're actually doing is smashing monsters left and right! This thing is a huge help for our follow-up operations too!"
Su Yu's eyes lit up. No wonder they called her the lobster-headed doctor — she'd jumped straight to the same conclusion he had.
The System might run its mouth a bit too much on a normal day, but the things it handed him were always genuinely useful.
There had clearly been far too many anomalies in Arc City lately for the technology-test cover story to keep working much longer.
But the longer it went on, and the more frequently it happened, people were bound to start noticing something was off.
Now, though, with this black-tech in hand, all it would take was a "technology launch event" to easily fool the public.
This really was like getting handed a pillow the moment you started dozing off.
"If Commissioner Lewis ever found out about this, he'd probably wake up laughing in the middle of the night."
Eden's amused voice came through over the comms.
"We've already used up so many cover stories to hide the Spatial Rifts — gas leaks, natural gas explosions, you name it. Those reports are still sitting on desks at city hall."
"She was even complaining that if this keeps up, Arc City is going to earn itself a reputation as 'blessed with talent, cursed with disaster' — they might strip the city of its civilized-city title at this rate."
"What did you have in mind, Sister Eden?" Su Yu asked.
"About that smokescreen you and Tesla came up with — I've got some ideas."
Eden paused.
"'miHoYo, in partnership with Anti-Entropy Entertainment, has developed a holographic interactive fitness black-tech' — solving the sedentary-lifestyle problem for urban professionals, offering an immersive workout experience in the fresh outdoor air."
"The city appearance bureau will thank you both for solving a PR headache for them."
Kiana quietly repeated the mouthful of a slogan under her breath: "Play while you work out, with real-time interaction..."
"That does sound a little clunky."
Su Yu spread his hands toward the two beside him.
"Tell you what — have either of you seen Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale?"
Kiana blinked.
Rita tilted her head slightly, indicating she had no idea what that was.
Su Yu tucked his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the concrete railing at the rooftop's edge.
Right. This world apparently didn't have that.
"There's a device in that movie called Augma. It replaces full-dive functionality — you wear it on your head, and it pushes AR capability to its absolute limit."
"The thing is bound to the user's physical stamina — however far you can run, that's how far your in-game character can run. So yeah, it really does let you play and work out at the same time."
"So—" Tesla's voice burst back onto the channel, "you're planning to build the 4D haptic feedback into a portable device like that?"
Just then, Bronie's voice cut in.
"If you're just putting it into a headset, you're seriously underselling this 4D haptic system."
"Have you two ever considered linking it with the holographic version of Honkai Impact 3rd and turning it into an online game?"
The keyboard clatter on Tesla's end abruptly stopped.
For a moment, the only sound on the channel was the wind howling across the rooftop and the faint rumble of distant thunder.
"An online game?" Kiana was the first to ask.
"Exactly," Bronie's voice rang with excitement. "All we'd need is an AR device to enhance reality. As the game operator, we could project the hologram straight into some designated zone of Arc City."
"Let every ordinary citizen with a login pass walk in, see a Honkai Beast standing right in front of them with their own eyes, then pick up whatever weapon the System assigns them and learn how to actually fight it — what do you think would happen?"
Welt didn't say anything, but the way he'd leaned forward just now made it clear his full attention was locked in.
"First, this would let ordinary citizens understand Honkai, know what it actually is, to the point where the concept itself stops being terrifying — the technical term for that is 'demystification.'"
"They'll have already seen, in-game, how a Chariot-class Honkai Beast charges, how it tramples things underfoot."
"So when the day comes that they actually have to face these things in reality, at least nobody's legs will give out from fright, and nobody will get trampled by their own panicking neighbors jammed in an escape corridor."
Tesla let out a deep breath on her end.
"Second, if we can get the AR device widely distributed—"
"Even if it's only within Arc City for now — using leaderboards to filter out players with exceptional physical ability, Reaction Speed, and combat instincts far beyond the ordinary person — we might find hidden talents among ordinary civilians. Recruit them into the Alliance, and grow our fighting strength even further."
Bronie's voice trailed off.
The comm channel fell silent for a moment.
Su Yu's gaze dropped, landing on the System panel.
A new line had popped up on it.
The faintly glowing screen, visible only to him, read:
[New feasibility detected. Generating new quest...]
[Long-term Quest: Honkai: Sequence War has been loaded!]
[Quest Description: You know full well that building an AR game like this isn't realistic given the current timeline. But you also know full well that this is about planning ahead. Rolling out AR devices won't happen overnight — just like saving the world won't happen overnight. Every preparation and effort you make now is laying the groundwork for your future.]
[Note: This is a persistent long-term quest. Host, be advised — top priority still belongs to the Meteoric Salvation Project and Schicksal Death. If this world can't survive even the first wave of invasion, and if you, Host, can't survive your own death, then this quest was never going to matter anyway.]
[Remark: Based on the Host's current progress, the following achievable sub-objectives for this stage have been planned: 1. Use this black-tech test as an opportunity to publicly reveal AR technology, bringing AR devices into the public eye, laying the groundwork for the future launch of Honkai: Sequence War.]
[Friendly Tip: I know you're dying to unsheathe your blade and look cool, but try surviving the next three months first.]
Su Yu's gaze lingered on the words "Schicksal Death" for two or three seconds.
Then he pulled his eyes away from the screen and gave the order. "Sister Eden, please put out a new announcement — the 4D tech test was a complete success, and the new AR device is in production."
"Attach photos of us 'fighting the Honkai Beast' — pass them off as leaked top-secret intel."
As he spoke, he gestured toward Rita.
The maid caught his meaning at once, picking out a few of the best-angled photos from the combat footage — the ones that looked most like "product demo shots" — and sending them over.
Kiana tugged at Su Yu's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Won't that expose our tech level, though? Didn't you say plenty of factions already have their eyes on us?"
Su Yu turned to look at her.
He answered seriously. "Honestly, there have been so many anomalies in Arc City lately that no matter how well we seal off the information, someone's going to notice something's wrong eventually."
"You can't wrap fire in paper forever. But we can steer the public's attention, muddy the concepts, mix truth and falsehood — that drastically raises the cost and time it takes for anyone to tell fact from fiction."
Kiana stared at Su Yu for a long moment before finally forcing out a sentence. "I swear you've got more and more tricks up your sleeve these days."
"Think of it as boiling a frog in slowly warming water."
Su Yu shook his head.
"You told me once — people in the Honkai world, when they see Zombies, see Honkai Beasts, see an entire city swallowed and corrupted, they get scared. They scream. Order breaks down."
"Because even in the Honkai world, plenty of people are kept in the dark, with no idea Honkai even exists."
Su Yu turned his face toward the small patch of washed-clean night sky peeking through the thin clouds.
"The people in this world's Arc City have even less experience with any of it."
"So when Honkai finally invades in full — what happens? Order collapses, communications go dark, Supply lines get cut."
"On that day, we won't just be up against Honkai Beasts. We'll be up against the violence, looting, and chaos the city generates on its own."
Kiana opened her mouth, then said nothing.
"But if—" Su Yu drew his gaze back from the horizon, "—for the past three months, the citizens of Arc City have watched miHoYo's holographic Honkai Beasts running around in the streets every single day? If all they've heard is talk of game tests and fitness black-tech?"
"Then when a real Honkai Beast actually crashes down through a rift, the citizens will just post about it on their social feeds — complaining about how, like, the modeling looked a little rough today."
Su Yu delivered the final summary.
"Better to redirect than to dam it up. Or, you could call it a bait-and-switch."
Kiana was quiet for a few seconds, then nodded, saying nothing more.
Su Yu turned his gaze back toward the skyline.
The night wind swept across the rooftop, ruffling the hem of his jacket.
"But—" his voice suddenly dropped, "—we need to plan for the worst."
"This invasion might not be Honkai's only wave."
"Even if we beat back the first wave three months from now, that doesn't mean they won't come back."
"And by then, if the truth about the Honkai invasion gets fully exposed to the public, no one's going to have the mood to open our game anymore. So we need to think ahead about one question."
He raised his left hand and held up a finger.
"Can we drive Honkai back without the citizens of Arc City ever finding out at all?"
Tesla sucked in a sharp breath on her end of the channel, but oddly, said nothing.
"There are a few angles to this."
Su Yu raised his fingers one by one.
"First — if we can roll out AR augmentation and 4D haptic feedback at scale, and adjust the coverage range of the Skyward Shield, we can compress the battlefield into one fixed, designated zone."
"When an invasion happens, the whole area gets flagged as a dedicated 4D test site, and every witness will assume miHoYo is running a preview trial for a new version."
"Second, if the Herrscher of the Void's spatial Authority can be developed further, we might be able to create a second dimension, sealed off from reality, right at the invasion point — a private battlefield that keeps the fighting entirely contained in another space."
"Third, universal basic preparedness — what Bronie just mentioned. Turn the game into a training ground for everyone, so ordinary citizens won't become Honkai's victims, at least not psychologically or in terms of basic survival skills."
His words trailed off, and the rooftop fell into a brief silence.
Welt pushed his glasses up gently and spoke. "All three approaches have steps that would be difficult to execute. Developing the spatial Authority further takes time. Popularizing AR devices takes time. Cultivating public preparedness takes time."
"Not enough time — that's the real problem."
"You're right, we're extremely short on time right now. At this stage, all these plans can wait."
Su Yu agreed.
"An Emperor-class Honkai Beast came through the rift this time."
"Going by that, whatever actually invades this city will be at least Emperor-class, and quite possibly more than one. If we can't even get through the first wave, everything after that is moot."
"So," Su Yu took a deep breath, "today's priorities are simple."
"Sister Eden, put out the PR announcement first. My and Rita's combat data has already been transmitted — Dr. Tesla, you can start integrating it on your end. Once things wrap up here at Arc City Tower, I'll head straight back to Anti-Entropy HQ."
A few brief confirmations came through the comm channel.
Tesla only said four words — "Got it, on it" — before the rapid keyboard clatter started up again.
Eden gave a soft hum of acknowledgment, adding before she hung up, "I'll pick the good-looking photos."
Bronie didn't say anything more, but a plain text message popped up on Su Yu's phone screen: [Arc City Tower server access restored to normal. Log cleanup complete.]
Su Yu cut the comms.
With a thought, the Key of Blankness armor covering Su Yu's body peeled away from where it clung to him, dissolving into a thin beam of light that vanished into the storage module on his wrist.
Rita and Kiana both raised their hands at the same time — the identical bracelets on their wrists lighting up with a faint blue glow.
Their weapons and tactical gear were stored away into the spatial storage devices they'd been equipped with earlier, and finally the blue glow of the bracelets themselves faded out as well.
A few seconds later, all three had changed back into ordinary civilian clothes.
Welt nodded at the three of them, said nothing further, turned, pushed open the fire door, and disappeared into the stairwell.
Su Yu pulled his phone out of his pocket.
The screen lit up. One unread message, sender listed as Otto Apocalypse, the content nothing but a single character:
-1.
Kiana stepped closer. "What are you looking at?"
Su Yu looked up, his gaze sweeping across her face, then past her shoulder, out to the sea of lights spread across Arc City.
"Otto's making his move. Schicksal's mole hunt has begun."
Night draped itself over the rooftops of the high-rises, drifting slowly and quietly through the unnoticed steel and concrete.
In the distance—
The energy nodes of the Skyward Shield glowed faintly blue beneath the clouds, flickering in and out like the breath of a slumbering giant — quiet, and heavy.
Its construction progress had reached sixty percent.
As Arc City's first line of defense, it had already consumed countless resources and manpower, all so that when the day the clouds finally blotted out the sun arrived, it could hold up a sky for this city.
Time flowed on. The countdown kept ticking down.
And yet.
None of the citizens, lost in their revelry over miHoYo's "stunning new tech beta test," had any idea that the iron heel of the apocalypse was already on its way.
____
Gift for Everyone: Once we hit 10 Powerstones, I'll release +1 bonus chapter
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on (P). with 50 advanced chapters available on (P)
👻 Join the crew by searching Leanzin on (P). You know the spot! 😉