Kiana felt as if she were sinking into deep, bottomless seawater, her consciousness floating and sinking in the darkness.
A blurry calling voice came to her ears, as if separated by thick glass.
"Wake up! Kiana! Wake up!"
The voice became clearer and clearer, carrying obvious anxiety.
She felt someone gently patting her cheeks, the warmth of the fingertips gradually helping her regain sensation.
"Ugh…" Kiana opened her eyes with difficulty, and the face that entered her sight was Raiden Mei's, full of worry.
Her dark purple long hair was a bit messy, and her eyes that were usually gentle were now filled with panic.
"Thank goodness, you finally woke up!" Raiden Mei let out a sigh of relief, but then became nervous again, "Kiana, Van and Himeko are gone!"
"What!" Kiana suddenly sat up, but a wave of dizziness nearly made her fall down again.
Only then did she notice the surrounding environment. They seemed to be inside a huge cave. The cave walls were covered in some kind of glowing biological tissue, emitting a dim red light.
"After we were swallowed by that giant beast, I lost consciousness." Raiden Mei quickly explained, "When I woke up, I found only a few of us were here..."
Only then did Kiana notice that Bronya was nearby checking something. Just as everyone was at a loss, the illusion of Ji Xuanyuan from the Xuanyuan Sword suddenly appeared and asked everyone to seal Chiyou once again.
"Right now, the power I have left is only this much. I'll give it to you all, please make sure to seal Chiyou again..."
Along with a flash of golden light, Ji Xuanyuan's illusion disappeared.
Each of Kiana and the others received a piece of soul steel gifted by Ji Xuanyuan.
With the power brought by the soul steel, Kiana and the others successfully reached a region with relatively low Honkai interference, and established contact with Theresa.
After some analysis, they decided to go to what seemed like the heart area inside Chiyou's body.
———
On the other side, the scene shifted to Himeko.
After waking up, Himeko looked confused at the unfamiliar environment.
Her memory was still stuck at being absorbed by a glowing stone tablet, and then waking up here. Unbeknownst to her, her memory was already lagging behind by an entire major arc.
Just then, the whole cave suddenly began to shake violently.
From the distance came the low growl of some kind of creature, accompanied by the sound of metal colliding.
With sharp intuition, Himeko suddenly stood up, "Something's coming!"
———
[Real-world perspective.]
Netizens were also shocked by the intense plot and simultaneously broke into a cold sweat for Kiana and the others in the video.
Of course, some sharp-eyed netizens noticed some juicy details.
[Ji Xuanyuan and Chiyou, aren't those from our Dragon Nation's ancient legends?]
[Adapting isn't the same as making things up. Fiction isn't nonsense. Even historical figures are getting randomly written in, I really don't dare imagine what's next! Instead of watching this stuff, better check out my channel. In the second half of this year… double success in career and love….]
[The one above is just here to advertise, right?]
[No, am I the only one who noticed Van's gaze when he looked at the Xuanyuan Sword was a bit strange?]
[+1, you're not alone.]
[+10086, based on current plot, Van is also from Shenzhou, so maybe he's somehow connected to the Xuanyuan Sword?]
———
The video continued.
In the dim red cave, the tremors grew more intense.
From the distance came the ear-piercing sound of metal grinding, accompanied by the deep growl of a creature, it sent chills down one's spine.
Himeko gave a low shout, and her greatsword suddenly drew from its sheath.
On the blade, a cold gleam flickered with eerie light. She tilted her ear, listening to the movements coming from the darkness.
Amidst the noise, the familiar sound of mechanical operation could be faintly heard.
The sound came closer and closer, along with the dull thud of heavy things hitting the ground.
"This is..." Himeko's pupils shrank slightly, "Anti-Entropy's mechs?!"
As her voice fell, three pitch-black mechs burst out from passageways in different directions.
But unlike before, the armor of these mechs was covered with strange biological tissue, as if they were parasitized by something.
Seeing this, Himeko decisively activated her 'Fusion Suit - Scarlet' armor's Nexus system.
With a flash of blue electricity, Himeko felt power filling her body, and at the same time, felt the immense pressure brought by the armor.
As a fully specialized enhancement-type system, the "Nexus System" had almost no safety-oriented design, so the Far East Branch also listed this system as a last-resort combat method.
Even so, when facing tough enemies, Himeko would still activate this dangerous armor without hesitation.
'After all, if you die, then everything is over!'
Swish!
Himeko swung her sword with both hands and unleashed a slash of lightning, attempting to push back the mech charging at her.
However, what surprised Himeko was that her attack only made the mech pause briefly, and that was all.
Even more, a few seconds later, the gash she made on the mech began to heal as the biological tissue squirmed.
'Looks like I've really gotten into big trouble,' Himeko thought seriously, her expression tense, 'I can't hold back anymore, next, I must activate the 'Overload' mode!'
Just then, from the distance came a familiar shout, "You bunch of iron lumps, give it a rest already!"
A sharp sword light cut through the darkness, slicing a mech in half.
Van's figure charged out from a passageway, the sword in his hand radiating a cold glow.
[Here he comes! That man has arrived!]
[You can always trust my bro Van's rescue timing!]
[Mech: I stood up, got one-shotted, what's there to say?]
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