"Qianjie—yes, that hot‐headed guy. Forget it; I'm not interested in getting tangled up with him right now."
At the mere mention of Qianjie, Daniel immediately shook his head in refusal. He was no Raiton—if Qianjie looked at her with disgust, he could only exchange a few snide words and order her to scram, never resorting to physical violence. If it were Daniel in her place, he would have struck without hesitation.
"You know, isn't it strange that none of those people in the Land of Bygone Joy ever commented on how Raiton Mei looks exactly like Dr. Mei of the former civilization? Or have they all tacitly agreed not to mention it?"
In the Honkai-ruined world, whether there is reincarnation is hard to say—one would need to ask the Honkai Beasts themselves. But it's true that many from the former civilization bear an uncanny resemblance to people in this era.
"Qianjie may be a bit hot-tempered, but if you find the right method, you can get along with him quite easily. I happen to have this book titled 'One Hundred Questions About the Qianjie Mask, from Beginner to Mastery'—read it thoroughly and you'll have no trouble dealing with him. Consider it a gift," Daniel said.
By the time he finished speaking, they had returned to the previous reception room. Aleliyah retrieved a book from one of the shelves and handed it to Daniel.
"Like a maiden as radiant as a blossoming flower—this book actually managed to be published. It seems Qianjie couldn't defeat you, or else he would have burned it all to ashes," Aleliyah teased.
Staring at the book in Aleliyah's hands, Daniel was momentarily stunned by the striking title and the prominent author's name printed even more conspicuously. Even he had never seen a book whose author's name overshadowed the title quite so boldly.
"I reckon the title should be 'From Beginner to Interment'," Daniel mused inwardly before accepting the book from Aleliyah and flipping through its pages.
He was very curious about its contents. In his previous life, he had longed for such a guide; now that it was available, he was eager to see how Aleliyah had arranged Qianjie's methods.
"Indeed, it truly covers everything from the basics to mastery—but this book is only applicable to one person. For everyone else who tries to follow its content, it would merely lead them from beginner level straight to their grave," he remarked.
After skimming through its contents, Daniel realized that the book wasn't entirely fabricated; however, only Aleliyah herself could possibly achieve everything described within its pages without meeting with dire consequences.
"So, how's it? A good book, isn't it? I painstakingly gathered this information back in the day," Aleliyah said, her eyes sparkling with the hope that Daniel would use the book to test out its methods with Qianjie.
"You sure worked hard. But I'd suggest you change the title to 'One Hundred Questions About the Qianjie Mask, from Beginner to Interment,'" Daniel replied with a chuckle. Before Aleliyah could respond, a clear, crisp laugh rang out.
"Ideen, you're here," came the laughter—from Eden, known among the Thirteen Heroes of the Flame Moth as the one with the epithet 'Golden' due to her brilliance.
"Since the time has come, let's get started," Eden said.
"Today, we'll discuss a world where cultivation revolves around chakra—an entirely ninja world," Daniel began.
The "time has come" referred to the moment Daniel started recounting his experiences of that other world. Aleliyah was very curious—perhaps because she'd grown bored after spending fifty thousand years in the Land of Bygone Joy. Even if one could pass the time by sleeping, fifty thousand years is an unimaginably long time.
Fifty thousand years—even an immortal wouldn't ordinarily live that long.
At first, only Aleliyah listened. Later, when Eden arrived, equally fascinated by the details of this alternate world, she joined in. Fortunately, Daniel's portable terminal contained a wealth of footage from various worlds, which proved invaluable.
"So, this is just a family matter for the aliens?" Aleliyah said, her expression a mix of amusement and disbelief after hearing the full ninja story.
"Yeah," Daniel replied.
"Raising children so young as assassins?" Eden's tone turned disapproving. As a Fusion Warrior, she had seen the dark side of humanity. She knew of Mebius's behavior, yet even at humanity's darkest hour in the former civilization, they never intended to send minors into battle.
"Didn't you do anything about it?" Aleliyah asked, though her face betrayed little change in her demeanor.
"I helped one of the factions committed to world peace unify the ninja world. It has already changed considerably," Daniel explained. Though there were still undercurrents and remnants of the old five nations stirring in the shadows of the ninja world, the overall situation was gradually improving.
"Just like how you persuaded Kevin to abandon the Sacred Mark Plan," Aleliyah said with a smile.
"As long as I have the power, I don't mind lending a hand," Daniel replied.
"Seals, sacred marks, Fusion Warriors… I never expected it to all be so interconnected," Aleliyah mused.
Feeling the imprints that Aleliyah and Fu Hua had passed on, combined with the intel on sacred marks and Fusion Warriors that he'd gleaned from Mebius, Daniel began to understand their true nature—they were, at their core, all sacred marks.
Fusion Warriors are those who have merged with Honkai Beast genes to gain related powers—in other words, they've acquired the means to harness Honkai energy, which is essentially what a sacred mark is.
In that sense, the so-called "Regulator Core" is nothing other than a sacred mark as well, and one positioned at the very pinnacle.
The legacy of the World Serpent cadres meant inheriting the sacred marks of the former civilization's heroes and becoming Fusion Warriors. Thus, it was evident that both Jackal and Raven were Fusion Warriors. Judging by how they managed to capture a bestial, beast-formed Siegfei, Raven's power was not weak. Of course, it might also be due to some special device within World Serpent that enabled them to subdue Siegfei.
"Fusion Warriors induced by artificial collapse—come to think of it, isn't that somewhat akin to awakening an animal-type Devil Fruit? Perhaps one could even create an animal-type Honkai Beast Devil Fruit," Daniel mused, genuinely intrigued by the process of becoming a Fusion Warrior.
Such tremendous power and extended longevity were the dreams of many.
In terms of Fusion Warrior technology, Tianming had a few examples—Theresa herself was a Fusion Warrior—but that was merely a by-product of Otto's efforts to resurrect Kalian. When it came to true Fusion Warrior techniques, one had to look to World Serpent.
Of course, individuals like Rosalia and Liliya who casually injected something and became Fusion Warriors were of little reference value.
"By the way, it seems that in this era there are no fire-element Judgment-class Honkai Beasts. Does that mean one is forced to choose the fire-element Emperor-class ones?" Although the strength of a Fusion Warrior primarily depends on the individual rather than the raw power of the Honkai Beast gene they fuse with, naturally the stronger the gene, the better.
Daniel's desire for a fire-element Honkai Beast was mainly for Major Ji. As for the Valkyrie Major Ji, her innate talent wasn't outstanding; while her Valkyrie armor did boost her strength, becoming a Fusion Warrior would surely elevate her power further.
Most importantly, it would solve Major Ji's low Honkai resistance.
"Hello, Vilvie, I'm back," Daniel called out.
"Just in time—you've used up the vibranium you gave me last time. Now, I need more," replied Vilvie.
Vilvie, one of the Thirteen Heroes of the Flame Moth and ranked fifth, with the imprint 'Spiral', also served as World Serpent's engineering consultant—the youngest owner of the Spiral Workshop, and known in the Twilight Era as the Magic King. She was a genius in the field of machinery.
Vilvie had even participated in the manufacture of the armed automata of the former civilization. Daniel's reason for seeking her out was, naturally, to develop armed automata.
Even though he had obtained relevant technology from Otto regarding armed automata, there was a significant difference between various models—just as the gap between Cang Xuan's Book and Kevin's armed automata was astronomical.
If Daniel wished to create an automaton on the level of Cang Xuan's Book using the materials provided by Otto, it was achievable with sufficient research. But to manufacture an armed automaton of Kevin's caliber was another matter entirely. At that point, Vilvie's expertise became invaluable. It wasn't just the armed automata—Vilvie appeared to have specifically developed a system for countering Kevin's automata. What exactly that entailed, even Aleliyah wouldn't divulge.
Thanks to top-tier materials from another world, Daniel had garnered Vilvie's respect. In this regard, she was somewhat akin to Tesla. Daniel had already supplied Anti-Entropy with some vibranium samples.
"Here you go. Looks like when we get back, we might need to talk to Black Panther about buying more vibranium," Daniel remarked, appreciating vibranium's potential.
With his understanding of vibranium, he knew that in the underground markets of the Marvel world, nearly all available vibranium was monopolized by him and Stark—and compared to Stark, he spared no expense.
Vilvie accepted the vibranium without a word and immediately set to work on her research. She was currently studying the fusion of vibranium with Soul Steel—this was her latest focus.
If Aleliyah could wield Honkai energy with the grace of magic, then Vilvie managed to achieve magical effects with her gears.
"Don't forget what you promised me," Daniel reminded as he watched Vilvie dive into her research.
"Rest assured—I won't forget," Vilvie replied without looking up.
Daniel's request was simple: develop armed automata. This was for preparing a unit for Jieyi—a virtual girl with long black hair who would serve as a companion in the real world. With Otto's Soul Steel techniques for building bodies, once this armed automaton was complete, little Jieyi could enjoy all the culinary delights of the human world.
As for its combat power, it was mainly a contingency measure—Jieyi might never need to use it in battle, but it was better to have it just in case.
"Now it's my turn. Draw a card—activate the Fusion Card. Fuse the human warrior Kevin with the Honkai Beast Parvanti to summon Fusion Warrior Kevin. Then, activate the Magic Card 'Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment' and equip it on Fusion Warrior Kevin. Due to the synergy, his attack power increases by 3000, and Fusion Warrior Kevin now attacks as a Reason Regulator."
In the reception room, Daniel and Aleliyah sat facing each other. Between them, a holographic dueling arena had materialized. At that moment, Aleliyah's health was down to a mere hundred—this was effectively her final blow.
"Activate the Trap Card 'Imaginary Authority.' This turn, all attacks become null and void."
It seemed that Daniel's attack was about to decide the outcome. Yet Aleliyah remained unruffled; thanks to a pre-laid Trap Card, she nullified the attack completely.
"Now it's my turn—draw a card. Haha, as radiant as a blooming flower, I am indeed favored by fate."
With a joyful laugh, Aleliyah revealed the card she had drawn.
"Summon Dr. Mei."
"I surrender."
Staring at the card that specifically targeted Kevin—Dr. Mei, who was specially designed against him—Daniel was utterly exasperated. He had never expected that his self-mocking card design would end up being tested on himself first.
This card game was one that Daniel had created. Noticing that the heroes of the Land of Bygone Joy had no leisure for entertainment, he conceived the game immediately. After discussing it with Aleliyah, he received her enthusiastic support.
Soon, the two began a lively back-and-forth, finalizing the entire card game. This was only the initial version—the Fusion Warrior edition. More versions were sure to follow, such as a Regulator version, a Valkyrie version, and so on.
After the game was completed, Eden also took an interest and contributed many ideas—especially regarding the design of the Magic Cards and Trap Cards.
"This game, once released, could be a hit. I never expected to finish the very first game of this world here," Daniel mused, noting that the first animated series he planned to release had also been completed—the story of the Fusion Warriors from the former civilization. Producing an animated series centered on a Fusion Warrior would be no small feat.
The first season, naturally, would star the dazzling maiden Aleliyah.
"Hello, Kong. Here's a gift for you."
At a safe haven within the ruins of Changkong City, Daniel presented a piece of pastry to a pink-haired girl whose hands were bound with bandages.
"Thank you, big brother. By the way, what's your relationship with your sister?"
Kong accepted the pastry but didn't eat it immediately; instead, she curiously looked at Daniel and Raven and asked.
"Just friends, I suppose," Daniel replied, patting Kong's shoulder as he checked her condition.
"They've only awakened a fraction of their sacred marks," Daniel added, glancing around at the other children who had rushed out upon hearing Raven's arrival. He sighed deeply.
These children were all survivors of Changkong City's third Honkai catastrophe—lucky enough to escape death due to the awakening of their sacred marks, they hadn't turned into Death Knights, and were eventually rescued by Raven.
Only a handful survived in Changkong City, which underscored just how brutal the Sacred Mark Plan had been. Even if World Serpent developed drugs to trigger the awakening of sacred marks and the survivors multiplied tenfold, their numbers wouldn't reach a thousand.
Originally, given Raven's position within World Serpent, she could have taken these children to better places. But to prevent Gray Serpent and Jackal from experimenting on them, Raven had no choice but to hide them among the ruins of Changkong City.
Those with awakened sacred marks—even if incomplete—would never be abandoned by either Tianming or World Serpent. Even though Raven was a cadre within World Serpent, if Gray Serpent and Jackal were to use these children for experiments, there would be nothing she could do. This time, Daniel had come along because he'd received orders from Kevin, ensuring that Gray Serpent and Jackal wouldn't harm them, and planning to take them to World Serpent for treatment.
Originally, Jackal had planned to transport the children via aircraft, but Daniel found out and came with Raven instead. His teleportation portal was much faster than any aircraft.
"Have you thought about relocating them to a better place for treatment?" Daniel suddenly proposed, looking at all the children who bore various Honkai-induced injuries.
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