"Only one year left..."
Theresa sighed as she looked at the Valkyrie medical report in her hand.
Himeko's Honkai energy adaptability was actually very poor... Coupled with the fact that her artificial Stigmata transplant was done at an older age than normal, the artificial Stigmata was severely eroding Himeko's body. Himeko didn't have much time left...
Over the past few thousand years, the only natural Stigmata Schicksal had found were those of the Schariac and Kaslana families, as well as those of Ryn, Raiden Mei, and Mushoku Kika...
The patterns of a Stigmata were filled with circuits for manipulating Honkai energy, allowing for its use and massive storage. Unlike the post-implanted artificial Stigmata, the circuit strength of these natural Stigmata was much higher, even rivaling that of a Herrscher core.
Ryn's and Mei's Stigmata were not universal and couldn't help Schicksal with artificial Stigmata. According to the research department's report, if Himeko had a real Stigmata, it would be enough to compensate for the erosion caused by the artificial one.
Theresa looked at a parchment scroll she had unexpectedly obtained. It recorded the legendary story of Ji Lin. According to it, Ji Lin had strange tattoos on her body that gave her immense power. The scroll's description of the tattoos was very similar to Stigmata. If the legend was true, then Ji Lin might have been a Stigmata wielder.
According to the records, Ji Lin finally disappeared in Jiuyou. Finding Jiuyou could lead to finding Ji Lin, and finding the Stigmata...
Thus, Theresa dispatched Himeko, Kiana, Mei, Bronya, Kika, and Ryn to Canghai City in Shenzhou to search for the legendary Jiuyou.
(Canghai City should be Guangzhou. In a deleted manga, Theresa said Fu Hua was from Guangzhou, but later in the main story, it says Fu Hua is from Canghai City, so Canghai City should be Guangzhou. But since the official source deleted the manga, if I'm wrong, just consider it my own setting.)
Originally, Theresa was also planning to send Fu Hua, as Fu Hua was a local of Canghai City, but unfortunately, Fu Hua was not around recently. She would have to be sent later when she returned.
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When they received the mission to go to Canghai City to find Jiuyou, Kiana jumped for joy.
"Yay! A publicly funded trip. I'm going to eat and eat and eat!"
"Silly Kiana, we're on a mission! Don't just think about the free food and drinks!" Ryn helplessly poked Kiana's empty head to remind her.
"Ehehe." Kiana stuck out her tongue, then rolled up her sleeves to reveal her strong arms. "Don't worry, I've been training with big sis Kallen and class monitor Fu Hua lately. I'm very strong now, the mission will definitely be a piece of cake!"
"But our mission is to find Jiuyou, not to fight people..."
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In a hotel in Canghai City, Shenzhou.
"Boss, another plate of water chestnut cake!"
Kiana waved her hand and ordered another water chestnut cake. On the table, Kiana had already devoured several plates of delicacies.
Kiana grabbed a water chestnut cake with one hand and a durian pastry with the other, stuffing them into her mouth, her face full of bliss.
"As expected of the 11th-ranked restaurant in 'Kiana's 100 Most Wanted Restaurants'! So delicious! Ryn, come try this, it tastes amazing!" After speaking, Kiana fed the half-eaten durian pastry in her hand to Ryn.
Ryn took the durian pastry and tasted it. "Mm, it's indeed delicious."
"You two, that's enough! We've been in Canghai City for over ten days and haven't found a single clue about Jiuyou. Instead, Kiana, you've dragged us to so many restaurants!!"
Himeko sighed in frustration and took another swig of wine. "This is so tragic! Why is the recipe for water chestnut cake on the parchment scroll so well-preserved, while the part about Jiuyou is completely damaged!"
"Maybe because this dish had a special meaning to the person who wrote this scroll! Don't worry, Himeko. Cortana and Bronya have been searching for information about Jiuyou online. Besides the parchment scroll, we have other clues. We'll find Jiuyou eventually," Mei said comfortingly.
"It must be because the water chestnut cake is too delicious! And this shrimp dumpling supreme is also to die for! Maybe the clue is hidden in the food?" Kiana's eyes were sparkling; her mind was full of delicious food.
"Woohoo! When I came to Shenzhou with Ryn before, we had no money and missed out on so much good food~ I still want to eat beef rice noodle rolls, BBQ pork buns, steamed chicken feet..."
"Eat, eat, eat, is that all you can think about? Let me tell you, the budget Theresa gave us was exceeded by you long ago. Ryn has been paying for our expenses these past few days," Himeko sighed.
Himeko and Theresa hadn't told Kiana and the others that her life was running out and that she needed a Stigmata to be saved. If they could find the Stigmata, that would be great. If they couldn't, telling them would only make them worry and feel guilty.
Kiana slowed down her eating, looked at Ryn cautiously, and asked in a low voice, "Am I eating too much?"
Seeing Kiana with her cheeks still puffed up but with a worried expression, Ryn couldn't help but rub her small, round face.
"Eat up. Eat as much as you want. You know how much money our family has."
"Yay, Ryn is the best!" Kiana raised both hands full of food and cheered happily.
While Kiana was cheering, Mei tugged at Kika, who was also eating voraciously. Unlike Kiana, whose stomach didn't bulge at all, Kika was about to turn into a balloon.
"Eat slower, Kika... I'm a bit afraid your stomach will suddenly explode..."
"Wha...t are you... saying! I... *burp*~ I can still eat..." Kika tremblingly stuffed a piece of water chestnut cake into her mouth. "*burp*~ I can die without regrets..."
Kika had always lived by the philosophy of seizing the day, and after getting the Nexus System, she became even more convinced of its correctness.
Both Kika and Himeko were users of the Nexus System. Not only did Himeko not have long to live, but Kika also didn't have much time left. After all, the minimum cost of using the Nexus was a shortened lifespan.
And in a place unseen by Kiana and the others, Sin Mal was staring at them.
"Tsk, still going in circles, as expected. The people from Schicksal are useless. It seems the clues I gave before weren't enough. I'll have to go and give them some more..."