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"The New Zealand Major Honkai Eruption, giant beasts emerging along North American coasts, mini-Honkai Beasts spreading en masse like swarms across Eurasia, and massive unknown Honkai Energy reactions detected deep underwater... Ugh, this world is just too tough! And here I am under confinement, unable to do anything—dammit!"
"Slosh—" In her solitary confinement cell, with the door merely symbolically closed, Kiana slurped instant noodles while lamenting before a projected world map awash in red alerts.
She then touched the black collar around her neck, adorned with elegant golden lace and connected to several blue energy conduits extending from the walls and floor.
This was a variant derived from Selene technology—a rudimentary Herrscher energy conversion device.
Kiana glanced at the readings on a nearby screen, internally grumbling in dissatisfaction:
["Hey, Sirin, step it up! The energy output curve is dropping! We can only provide this much power right now, so you need to cooperate and pay your share of the rent!"]
["Slosh"—]
The sound of slurping echoed in the consciousness realm, followed by Kiana noticing that she had lost connection to over half of the infinite Honkai Energy typically available to a Herrscher.
Kiana's expression shifted.
"Seriously? You're throwing a tantrum now?! I can't maintain sufficient output on my own!"
But there was no response from within the consciousness domain.
Setting down her bowl, Kiana scratched her head irritably.
As the day Zeke had set for establishing his new nation approached, it seemed even the elusive Will of Honkai sensed something and reacted accordingly. In short, Honkai disasters worldwide escalated rapidly, with bizarre threats emerging left and right—Honkai creatures mutating in unimaginable ways, one after another.
At this point, Otto had dispatched even Theresa and Siegfried to support frontline battles globally. Naturally, all the friends and family members Kiana knew were engaged in fierce combat at the front as well.
Except for Kiana, who was unique. As a Herrscher, she should have been under the strictest supervision; aside from Zeke, nobody else had the authority to authorize her release. With Zeke's coronation imminent and him still absent, they found themselves trapped in a deadlock.
Thus, unless the situation spiraled completely out of control, no matter how chaotic things became outside, Kiana could only remain holed up at the Inner City Base and watch from afar—unable to do anything beyond generating energy as support.
"Kiana, your output power has dropped below the critical threshold. We're desperately short on energy right now. What are you doing?"
An icy yet still childlike voice questioned her sharply.
Looking up, Kiana saw the projection of a gray-haired little girl with twin curls suddenly appear before her. She clasped her hands together, attempting to convey her sincerity through her big, teary eyes, and smiled sheepishly.
"Let me explain, Bronya! It's not my fault; Sirin is throwing a tantrum!"
"At the end of the day, it's still your problem. Either get it done or sit back and relax. Bronya is very busy and doesn't have time for your nonsense."
With that, the emotionless loli-like figure vanished without a trace.
Pouting, Kiana muttered under her breath:
"Pfft, acting all high and mighty. If it weren't for my inability to fight, I wouldn't put up with your attitude... But seeing Bronya like this, things must be getting really bad outside."
The nonchalant expression on Kiana's face faded, leaving only seriousness in her bright blue eyes as she frowned thoughtfully.
After a moment, she mentally spoke:
[Sirin, do you know how instant noodles are made?]
[Hmm?]
[To create a delicious cup of instant noodles, skilled chefs need to develop flavor recipes; farmers must cultivate raw ingredients in their fields; trucks transport these goods, factories process them, experts test for taste and safety, and numerous other facilities specialize in manufacturing noodle cups... Without a complete supply chain and the collaborative efforts of thousands within the industry, you simply couldn't enjoy those tasty instant noodles!]
[...]
[Sirin, for the sake of delicious instant noodles and even more flavors, let's harness Honkai Energy together!]
[Are you that stupid? Or do you think I'm easily fooled?]
Kiana heard Sirin's cold response in her mind and blinked, helplessly slumping her shoulders.
A short pause later, she lifted her head, mischief gleaming in her eyes:
"Until Zeke returns, I'll strive to try new flavors every day during this time. It's fair compensation, don't you think?"
[Hmph!]
"Don't just keep grumbling; who knows what you're trying to say? Think carefully now, Zeke can't stand seeing me eat junk food. Once he's back, he might even issue a decree outright banning my consumption of instant noodles. At that point, I definitely won't be able to help you explore new flavors anymore. If we don't seize this opportunity to document all available noodle varieties, you may never get another chance to expand your flavor repertoire... Imagine being limited to only a few instant noodle options each day for satisfaction. Surely, you wouldn't want that life, right?"
[Crawl!] Sirin sharply rebuked Kiana's persuasive attempts.
Kiana rubbed her ears and wrinkled her nose.
"Forget it! You wait for Zeke to come back and whip you then! I can do this alone, after all—it's just Honkai Energy, as much as I need!"
Gritting her teeth, Kiana removed the collar from her neck, held it tightly in her hand, and her eyes turned golden.
"Hah... Huh? The energy is stable again? What's up with you, Sirin?"
[At least five new flavors per day.]
"Deal!"
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
On the coast of New Zealand, a colossal robot—specifically, a massive, dubious entity covered with countless tentacles and mounted with numerous machine guns and heavy artillery, continuously absorbing all mechanical objects throughout the city—unleashed relentless attacks, devastating everything in its path.
Just then, the sky darkened as a giant floating cannon locked onto the rampaging monster.
"ZOOM!"
A white beam pierced the creature, shattering half its body into scattered debris that formed numerous small heaps across the ground.
However, moments later, amidst a cacophony of electronic sounds resembling roars, the bizarre monster's fragmented remains flew back together, swiftly restoring its original imposing form.
Welt landed atop a skyscraper, his expression steady yet slightly furrowed, holding down his fluttering teal scarf with one hand.
"Can't even the Moonlight Throne handle it? No, my model isn't perfect; the output power is insufficient... Perhaps consulting Eins and utilizing the Far East Region's island-chain Selene cannons could resolve this with a single shot. Albert, what are our losses?"
This last question was directed at a stern young officer who had just climbed up the building, now missing his right arm.