"Are all the missions we do in other worlds like this one?"
Griseo sat up from her bed.
"No, this one was just a special case. Usually, there's more fighting and killing involved."
"Oh!"
After resting for a while, Griseo re-entered the Black Bullet world to continue her mission.
Humanity had been defeated by the Gastrea, and the remaining global population wasn't large.
The number of Cursed Children was even smaller.
However—
Even a few thousand or tens of thousands of children were a heavy burden for a single Honkai squad to care for.
Fortunately, most of them were obedient and understanding.
With advanced technology and AI assistance, along with nanomaterials capable of synthesizing everything they needed, food and resources were no longer a concern.
As long as food shortages weren't a problem, more than eighty percent of the pressure was gone.
Once Kiana Kaslana confirmed that everything had stabilized, she turned her attention to handling the remaining human issue.
Since they hated them so much, then perhaps it was time for them to vanish altogether.
She modified the Gastrea virus, adding a genetic lock to ensure that future pregnancies infected by the virus would never produce female offspring.
From then on, if an infected woman conceived, she would no longer give birth to a Cursed Child.
All newborns would be ordinary boys—without any Gastrea-related abilities.
A fundamental solution to the problem.
The current generation of Cursed Children would be the last in this world.
At the same time, to prevent humanity from further meddling with the Gastrea virus, Kiana Kaslana ordered her forces to destroy all human laboratories and erase every piece of research data related to the virus.
She strictly forbade any further experiments or development related to the Gastrea virus.
Weapons research and production were likewise banned.
Whether or not humanity would follow these new rules didn't matter to Kiana Kaslana. If they were caught defying the order, operatives would be dispatched immediately to eliminate everyone involved.
The entire Black Bullet world gradually returned to order, aside from occasional minor uprisings and acts of resistance.
The gender imbalance from future births—where males would vastly outnumber females—would not become apparent for several years.
...
Honkai Base.
The former Cursed Children—now known as the Children of Fusion—had their food, healthcare, and education fully arranged under Griseo's management.
"Um... Sister Griseo, may I leave this place?" Enju Aihara approached timidly.
She had been here for quite some time.
Her Gastrea infection had long been cured.
"Leave? Are you unhappy here?" Griseo asked in confusion.
"No, I'm very happy here. It's just... there's someone I care about outside."
Griseo blinked. "Someone you care about? A boy?"
"Mhm." Enju's cheeks turned pink.
"I see."
Griseo's eyes narrowed dangerously. Judging by the children's ages, all of them were minors. In any normal modern world, that boy would be facing prison.
In this world, the so-called "civil security partnerships" and promoters were little more than exploitative systems.
Noticing Griseo's expression, Enju quickly explained, "Rentaro is a good person! He's not like that, I promise!"
"It's not impossible for you to leave," Griseo said after a moment of thought. "Once you turn fourteen, you'll be allowed to leave and return as an ordinary human."
She sighed. There were too many children under her care. Otherwise, she might have gone to see for herself.
"Not now?" Enju's voice fell in disappointment.
She was only ten—four more years felt like forever.
"I can let you contact him through a video call."
Griseo understood that many of the children wanted to return, but if they did, they would likely face the same discrimination and pain again.
"Thank you, Sister Griseo!"
Hearing that, Enju's eyes lit up.
Griseo conjured a phone in her hand and handed it to her.
The world's entire network was under their control.
Even if Griseo didn't know who this "Satomi Rentaro" was, she could easily locate him through the data network.
When Rentaro appeared on the screen, Enju's face lit up with a joyful smile. Rentaro, seeing her again, was just as happy.
The two talked for a long time.
When the call finally ended, Enju still missed Rentaro deeply—but she knew she had to stay here for four more years.
Griseo had once asked Diana why all of the children were required to remain in isolation for four years.
The answer was simple: many of them suffered from Stockholm Syndrome.
So, whatever they said now about wanting to leave or return didn't count.
Only after four years—if they still wished to give up everything and go back—would they be allowed to return as ordinary humans.
Griseo had seen many such cases—girls who defended those who had hurt them, as if the abuse hadn't happened at all.
After returning the phone to Griseo, Enju no longer seemed as downcast as before.
Griseo gently patted her head, telling her she could come to her anytime if she wanted to make another call.
The Honkai base was isolated from the outside world. Its network was internal, making it impossible to contact the outside under normal circumstances.
Among the children in the base, many had been brainwashed by humans and sent in as spies.
To the Honkai faction as a whole, it didn't matter—even if those spies leaked intelligence to humanity, they wouldn't be able to stir up any meaningful resistance.
However, that didn't mean Kiana Kaslana would tolerate disorder. Those brainwashed children who couldn't be rehabilitated after four years would have their related memories erased and be sent back to live among humans as ordinary people.
...
Griseo gradually grew accustomed to life in the Honkai faction.
She had a good impression of most of its members.
But there was one thing about them that still unsettled her—they didn't seem to regard anyone outside their own ranks as human. There was a distinct indifference toward life itself, a tendency to solve problems with violence.
It was likely related to their mastery of resurrection.
Without the concept of permanent death, it was natural that they wouldn't value life the same way as other species.
They could still die if they wished, but killing them was nearly impossible. Even if their physical forms were destroyed, they could revive through a variety of prearranged means.
When pioneering new worlds, their nanomaterial-based bodies functioned much like avatars in a game—infinitely respawnable players.
And just like long-time gamers, they eventually became desensitized to the idea of death—both their own and that of others.
Griseo understood the cause, but what could she do about it?
It wasn't as if she could convince everyone to abandon nanobody technology or resurrection systems just to make them cherish life more. Saying such a thing would get her labeled as insane.
...
In the Black Bullet world, Griseo continued logging in for a few hours each day, caring for the children for an entire year.
Eventually, another Honkai squad arrived—assigned to take over the base.
It was similar to how an emperor rotated his rule—leaders were replaced every few years, though they could reapply later to return.
Upon completing her mission, Griseo earned 230,000 points, a level increase in clearance, and the freedom to travel to one additional world.
...
Academy City.
Griseo and Elysia sat together on a bench by the street, sipping magic milk tea. The cup bore a chibi illustration of Magical Girl Sirin.
"You look tired," Elysia said cheerfully. "I've got good news—I graduated from kindergarten! I'm a first-grader now."
Griseo blinked.
Graduating... from kindergarten? That didn't quite sound right.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to say it.
To be fair, the kindergarten curriculum in Academy City was incredibly advanced. Subjects that ordinary humans didn't study until middle or high school were packed into kindergarten lessons.
Each child had one-on-one AI tutoring and hands-on virtual simulations to ensure mastery.
There were even purchasable magic potions that temporarily enhanced memory, allowing for photographic recall.
Because rules differed across worlds, knowledge from one might not always apply to another. Therefore, exams focused less on memorization and more on adaptability and real-world application.
"You're in first grade now—so, are you going to keep studying?"
"I don't want to keep studying. I want to apply for field training in another world," Elysia said suddenly. Turning toward Griseo, she added with a playful smile, "Come with me! I just need someone with experience exploring three worlds to lead the team."
"Three worlds?" Griseo blinked in surprise. She had only explored one—and even then, she mostly followed behind others like a tag-along.
Kirishima and Haruna, being machine-based lifeforms, always worked efficiently and moved too fast for her pace.
"I don't have experience in three worlds yet," Griseo admitted awkwardly.
"What have you even been doing all year?"
"Finding children. Taking care of them."
"..."
Elysia stared at her for a few seconds. No wonder Griseo gave off such a strong motherly aura now.
"To change the subject," Griseo said quickly, "have you heard anything about the others—aside from Mobius?"
"I asked Mom, but she doesn't know either," Elysia replied, sipping her magic milk tea. "They're probably in other worlds. Even Mom doesn't know how many worlds we control anymore."
The worlds they could access were only individual planets.
And how many planets existed within a single universe?
Her mother was currently in one such universe, leading an interstellar war against multiple civilizations.
The flames of war had engulfed the entire galaxy.
"There's a very powerful undead in my world," Elysia suddenly said.
"What about him?"
Griseo had seen mentions of that undead being in the faction's group chat.
"I think there's something strange about him—like he's somehow connected to us," Elysia said seriously.
She was sure that if her mom and Iron Maiden truly wanted that undead gone, it would be easy for them.
Yet the undead still lived—continuing to launch attacks on humanity from time to time.
It was as if her mother and Iron Maiden didn't intend to deal with him seriously.
"Should we go and get rid of him ourselves?" Elysia asked earnestly. She didn't like that undead's faction one bit.
...
Houkai Universe.
Kiana Kaslana surveyed the status of the various worlds. Now that her subordinates had grown stronger, she no longer needed to intervene directly in most lower-tier or less-mystical worlds—they were conquered efficiently without her lifting a finger.
Her gaze settled on one particular world.
An ancient realm still under feudal rule.
A world where demons, monsters, and Taoist cultivators existed—alongside faint traces of gods and immortals.
After collecting intelligence for some time, she confirmed what this world was.
Lanruo Temple.
The moment one mentioned Lanruo Temple, most would immediately think of A Chinese Ghost Story—and the scholar Ning Caichen.
Kiana Kaslana was quite intrigued by this world.
There weren't many movies from her past life that she still remembered clearly—but A Chinese Ghost Story was one of them.
With most of her current subordinates busy handling operations, she found herself with nothing to do. So she decided to visit this world for fun.
The immortals of that realm had yet to make a move. Perhaps they couldn't sense her—or perhaps they could, but simply couldn't stop her.
The world itself hovered on the brink of spiritual isolation, its heavenly channels nearly sealed.
In highly mystical worlds, her Honkai energy presence would usually draw out powerful beings almost immediately, who would then guard the dimensional entrance to prevent further incursion.
The stronger the mystic power of a world, the faster such defenders appeared.
But she wanted to explore the Heavenly Court of that world—the heaven of the immortals.
From her scans, it seemed to exist within a separate dimensional space, and its so-called divine beings possessed, at best, planet-level strength.
Likely because A Chinese Ghost Story had been written by ancient humans whose settings weren't as power-inflated as modern fantasy.
There were the Heavens, the Underworld, and countless smaller pocket realms—all clearly visible to her.
...
A Chinese Ghost Story World.
Inside a silver-white pyramid, nanomaterials converged into the form of a white-haired girl.
Kiana Kaslana stepped out of the pyramid and was immediately greeted by a crowd kneeling in reverence, led by an elderly man.
"Praise be to the Goddess!" they cried in unison.
In an ancient world like this, there was no need to conceal technology.
Though some ancient scholars were clever, most common folk were easy to impress.
Using holographic projections and other visual tricks, she had easily turned nearby villagers into devout followers.
To them, the nanomaterial pyramid was nothing short of a divine miracle.
With her golden eyes, long white hair, and pure white, gold-trimmed saintly robes, Kiana radiated an aura of sacred majesty.
The reason she was gathering followers was simple—this world, like the Hell Girl's, possessed belief-based spiritual power, which could be used to strengthen her nanobody's defenses against mystical energies.
"Goddess, please save us—save the suffering people of this world!" the old man pleaded, kneeling deeply.
This was the era of dynastic collapse, when commoners suffered under endless turmoil and famine.
"Soon, many like me will descend upon this world," Kiana said softly. "They will change everything."
Building new orders and new civilizations—she had done it countless times before.
She had already opened this world to her forces.
Even if only one or two operatives entered, it would be enough to overturn the existing order if they wished.
Rising into the sky, Kiana transformed into a streak of radiant light, heading toward Lanruo Temple.
As she flew, she spotted a group of bandits robbing travelers below. With a wave of her hand, she dispatched them instantly.
Inside the carriage, a noble young lady stared upward at the white-haired goddess soaring across the sky, dumbstruck.
There were many martial experts in the land—but few who could truly fly.
"What a beautiful woman..." she whispered. "I wonder... will I ever see her again?"