"So... please keep this a secret for me!" Li Xuan said with a serious expression, looking directly at Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya Zaychik. Although he hadn't truly revealed his secret, he had already disclosed a significant portion of it to them. After all, besides one's closest relatives, who could guarantee that someone would keep their mouth shut?!
"Hmph, damn it... Don't worry! When I, Kiana, say something, I mean it!" Kiana, though looking envious and jealous of Li Xuan's ability, patted her trembling chest and promised.
"Yes, we will keep it a secret," Raiden Mei said with a determined look. Her father had taught her since she was young to keep her promises to others!
"...Bronya is classifying this conversation as an S-class secret for confidentiality... System encryption successful, memory of this event is now encrypted..." Bronya Zaychik said, seemingly to herself.
"Thank you..." Li Xuan said with some gratitude. If others knew about his abilities, who knew what kind of people would come looking for him?! If he hadn't happened to run into Kiana and the others today, he probably would have continued to hide it... However, Li Xuan felt that it was quite good to be honest with others; it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders...
"Oh, right!..." Li Xuan suddenly seemed to remember something, hitting his left palm with his right fist. "I just discovered a strange place. Hmm, a stage appeared behind this building... It's like it appeared out of thin air," Li Xuan said succinctly.
"...Bronya detected a strong, unknown reality-warping field earlier... It might be due to a space-time anomaly, causing an unknown object to appear..." Bronya Zaychik analyzed calmly.
"Then... should we go check it out?!" Kiana's curiosity flared up again, completely unafraid of courting disaster...
"..." Everyone looked at each other. After all, everyone was a bit curious and fearful of the unknown...
Under the sunlight, Li Xuan didn't notice that the red mark on the back of his fair hand had quietly changed. Four small red dots had quietly appeared around the two yin-yang fish...
At this moment... far, far away from Nagazora City, a warship hovered a thousand meters in the sky.
"Reporting, sir!" a young girl in a crisp green military uniform stood ramrod straight, holding a freshly printed report. She gave a military salute to the person before her and said loudly.
"According to the backdoor we installed in Bronya Zaychik's Valkyrie system, we found a piece of data that Bronya encrypted and classified as... 'S' level secret," the young girl said respectfully.
"..." The person sitting in the chair stood up, their beautiful, light golden long hair swaying slightly. "Authorize the use of the main computer for decryption. Inform the surveillance team that if they can't crack it, they don't need to see me again!" she said coldly.
"Yes, sir!" The young girl saluted, then quietly left the office, which seemed to lack any warmth...
"Bronya..." The person turned around, their eyes filled with an unknown emotion as they gazed at the floating clouds outside the window. They whispered that child's name as if in a dream.
"This is it..." Li Xuan pointed at the huge stage in front of them.
"Ooh, wow! It's so big," Kiana exclaimed, her arms wide open as she looked at the stage. Under the sun stood a tall stage that seemed to have risen from the ground. The crystal-clear purple and blue stage floor reflected starlight, four LCD screens floated around the stage, and spotlights of various sizes were distributed along the edge of the stage.
This was a dream-like place for any girl who had ever dreamed of being an idol.
"So beautiful~" Raiden Mei sighed, looking at the stage.
"What's this place called?" Kiana asked curiously.
"..." Li Xuan speechlessly pointed to the sign Kiana was leaning against. Kiana turned around and looked. The words 'Honkai Carnival' were written on it...
"...Haha, so it's a carnival," Kiana said, scratching her head in embarrassment.
"Let's go in and take a look!" Kiana suggested, her eyes glowing. There was a large room behind the stage, which was clearly a dressing room. If it was a dressing room, that meant... lots and lots of pretty clothes!
"...Bronya believes that for this type of unknown structure that appeared due to a reality-warping field causing a space-time anomaly, the system's recommended course of action is... to stay away!" Bronya Zaychik said seriously with a blank expression.
"Hmph~ What's there to be afraid of?" Kiana said with a textbook tsundere expression, then jogged towards the stairs by the side of the stage. Her figure quickly disappeared through the door at the top of the stairs.
"Wait! Kiana~" Raiden Mei hurriedly chased after her.
"..." Bronya Zaychik followed closely behind Raiden Mei without a word.
"...Is it really okay to just run around like this?!..." Li Xuan said helplessly, watching the others leave. Still, he lifted his feet and walked towards the stage.
"..." After taking a few steps, Li Xuan suddenly stopped, his eyes scanning the surroundings. 'Strange, why do I have a feeling that someone is peeking at me from behind,' Li Xuan thought, looking back at the empty space behind him, puzzled. 'Was it my imagination?!'
In the end, he shook his head, turned around, and walked through the door.
The world became quiet again...
'Interesting...' a consciousness thought.
(End of Chapter)