"..." Sakura fell silent. A silence so profound it was deafening.
"..." Dr. Mobius, meanwhile, was staring at Sakura with an expression that seemed to say, 'Your little sister is just adorable.'
She suddenly felt that the so-called "unofficial history" mentioned in the previous videos might not be so far-fetched after all. If there really was a chance to help her sister "inspect the goods," this girl probably wouldn't mind.
Honestly, it was downright outrageous.
She looked like a skinny, delicate little thing, but she was far more spirited than one would imagine.
To be perfectly frank!
Dr. Mobius had her own ulterior motives for coming over.
She was deeply intrigued by Sakura and Rin.
Mainly because their character designs, the artwork of Sakura and Rin, were slightly different from what the others had shown before.
The elder sister had those long, pink ears that resembled a donkey's.
Dr. Mobius couldn't quite tell at a glance what species that was supposed to be.
The younger sister, however, was classic droopy-eared fox style, with nine fluffy pink tails swishing behind her little rear.
It immediately made her think of a nine-tailed fox.
Even though, right now, the Sakura and Rin sisters were still just human.
So that meant the transformation happened in the future, right?!
What could have caused it?
Dr. Mobius already had a few guesses brewing in her mind.
The MANTIS surgery—she had been researching it lately. Not that she had fully cracked it yet. But she had already made significant progress in understanding the mechanism, the core principles, and some of the theory behind the procedure.
If that really was the case...
Perhaps Sakura and Rin would be excellent candidates for the MANTIS surgery.
It was just a matter of timing.
Not that she would ever force them, of course.
But with Kiana around, how could such important girls possibly fail?
Even if Kiana didn't lift a finger.
Being singled out in the sky projections as powerful future individuals was like being handed a free pass—a get-out-of-death-free card. It didn't mean they were completely immortal, no matter how recklessly they acted, but it certainly meant they were unlikely to come to harm easily.
A faint smile touched Dr. Mobius's lips.
These speculations had occurred to many people.
They remained unconfirmed.
Basically, it was best to just keep them in mind.
In the following days, Shenzhou began systematically purging the Honkai beasts and zombies from its coastal cities.
Methodically working to reduce the concentration of Honkai energy in the air.
Striving to restore it to previous standards.
However, since Shenzhou's coast was the farthest from the epicenter of the Third Honkai Eruption.
Separated by sea.
And because during the Third Honkai Eruption, Miss Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment had kindly absorbed nearly every last bit of Honkai energy, leaving almost none behind in the environment.
This area recovered remarkably quickly.
Post-disaster reconstruction was hardly even a concern.
Soon, people would be able to move back.
As for the Far East, they were also being proactive. Post-disaster reconstruction could wait; first, focus on purging, cleaning, and carving out barely livable conditions before worrying about the rest.
Still, aside from Nagazora, the other cities only suffered some damage caused by the earliest, wandering Honkai beasts or zombies.
The reconstruction work wasn't particularly difficult.
They should be able to move people back in gradually.
They couldn't just let those people noisily overstay their welcome in the Northwest and never leave, right?
Seriously, these folks had zero sense of what it meant to be guests. At first, they were loud and demanding, but now they'd gotten used to it.
The higher-ups in the Far East were terrified they'd get too comfortable. If this dragged on, their country might just cease to exist.
Forget answering to their ancestors.
The main issue was, if the country vanished, wouldn't they, the higher-ups, be out of a job?
Nooooooooo~
It's worth mentioning that as more and more sky projections were analyzed, an increasing number of people began dissecting every detail.
They were practically picking apart each word, scrutinizing it for meaning.
Space agencies around the world were straining their eyes, refusing to give up, staring intently at the Alpha Centauri Star System.
Even though it all felt a bit like neglecting their actual duties.
The exposure of these future videos had indeed stimulated many industries, breathing new life into them.
Now, Honkai, the sky projections... all of it was a traffic goldmine.
Whether people were genuinely interested or not...
Who would want to miss out?
It's like when you're scrolling through videos and see related content—you just have to click and take a look.
Of course, this had little to do with Kiana, really.
She was currently staying with Fire Moth, spending her days surrounded by the girls she'd adored in her previous life.
Frequently getting close and personal with them.
Living an incredibly cushy life.
As for Elysia, her focus was entirely on the Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment and Miss Sesha these days.
Having a grand time.
For example, today.
She went off to the imaginary space to play with them again.
"Miss Herrscher~ It's time for today's interrogation session! Aren't you excited?"
"..." What do you think?
The Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment responded with disinterest.
Miss Sesha, beside her, glanced at her master and nodded vigorously. "What my master means is, Lady Elysia, we're so glad you're here."
The Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment shot Sesha a glare, then slumped even more listlessly, as if all love had drained from the world.
Honestly.
The Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment was the chlorinated version of Dr. Mei.
A bit like Raiden Ei, but not entirely. A bit like the Queen, but without the queenly airs anymore.
She was utterly defeated.
With Elysia showing up like clockwork every day to "interrogate" her.
What could she even say?
Especially since, at first, she'd been tough, thinking interrogation meant actual interrogation. But now she knew better—she'd been far too naive.
"Huh? That kind of thing? Elysia wouldn't do that~" Elysia had looked genuinely surprised at the time.
What are you so surprised about?!
I'm the prisoner! I ask you about torture methods, and you look even more clueless than I am?
What the heck!
Miss Sesha, with her head of emerald hair streaked with black highlights, petite and delicate, had the look of a total sycophant.
Since she'd only taken human form after Kiana handcrafted a pseudo-Herrscher core for her.
So if you asked whether she was on the Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment's side, she felt she was. If you asked if she was on the young lady's side, she felt... well, she seemed to be on that side too.
Completely unreliable.
And now.
Elysia pulled out a board game she'd prepared.
"Ta-dah~"
"Shall we play a game together?"
"..."
Miss Sesha clapped her hands excitedly. "Yes, yes~"
"..." The Herrscher of Domination glanced over, unimpressed.
Today's interrogation was going to be this tame?
If I have fun playing with you like before, I'm a dog.
I! The Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment! The most perfect creation of the Honkai! This time, I will resist to the end!
A moment later.
"Woof woof woof~"
"Huh? Miss Herrscher, why are you barking like a dog?"
"..."
The Herrscher of Domination turned away.
She looked at Elysia and finally asked softly, "Can... can we keep this game after?"
"Of course! I bought it for you, after all~"
Elysia replied cheerfully.
She suddenly raised a hand to her cheek, feigning worry, and sighed. "It's just too bad you're so stubborn, so loyal to the Honkai. Otherwise, if you agreed to join our side, I could take you out of here."
"..." The Herrscher of Heavenly Punishment opened her mouth, then closed it.
You could ask me, you know.
Ask if I'm willing to defect... I, I, I...
It's not like I wouldn't consider it.
But you never even ask... What am I supposed to do?!
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
20+ advanced chaps on my patreon.
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.