One week had passed since the invasion of the Hyperion, and the construction of the Superstring Dimension was in full swing.
Since the technical content of that project was too high for Fuli and the others to be of much help, they had shifted their hangout spot from Mount Taixuan to the recreation room during this time.
"Is this the reason Idiot Kiana is riding on Nii-san?"
"Yeah!"
Facing Bronya's interrogation, Kiana put down the phone on which she was scrolling through Little Red Book.
The essence of space-time is the curvature of gravity. In other words, once one can control space, they can simulate gravity and repulsion to a certain extent.
For instance, right now, Kiana-cat had her long, tender, and fair legs crossed, sitting on Fuli's back and controlling the space around him to press down, acting as a weight.
The person in question was shirtless, prone on the ground, supporting himself with only his index and middle fingers, sweating profusely as he did push-ups.
He was completely unaware that the sweat oozing from his back had dampened the girl's athletic shorts. Bronya, noticing this, glanced at Kiana's beautiful face—which was feigning normalcy but was slightly flushed—curled her lip, and decided not to bring it up.
A short while later, Fuli finished his last push-up, flipped over, and lay on the floor, gasping for air.
Kiana, having the foresight to move, leaped up and stretched lazily. "Alright! This young lady's break time is over too. Let's continue, Christina!"
Her fine curves were revealed in minute detail under the artificial lights, and her midriff-baring top, designed for breathability, exuded a charming allure.
"I told you to call me Kallen! Or Big Sis Kallen works too!"
Kallen, who had been summoned back, looked helpless.
"Continue?"
Bronya, who had habitually started gaming upon arrival, looked up in confusion.
"Stigmata Awakening training."
Kallen floated in mid-air and explained, "The Kaslana clan is, after all, an ancient family with thousands of years of heritage. Even if our ancestors were busy protecting the weak all day long—no, precisely because we needed to fulfill that mission better, we developed methods to further master our power."
"Like awakening the Kaslana Stigmata hidden within our genes?"
"Correct."
Kallen gave a thumbs up. "Kiana is also a member of our clan, and the type with quite good talent. As long as she trains properly, I estimate she can awaken the Stigmata in a year or a year and a half."
"A year or a half? Then her talent really is quite good," Bronya roasted.
"Hey! You're not allowed to mock this young lady!" Kiana puffed up her cheeks.
"Don't think it's bad just because you're comparing it to a certain cheater over there!"
Kallen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Even with all sorts of shortcuts, ninety percent of the combatants in the Kaslana clan never awaken a natural Stigmata in their entire lives!"
A certain cheater, who theoretically reached the Finality in 6-8 years, raised his hand to ask, "So what kind of abilities does an awakened natural Stigmata bring?"
Fuli was undoubtedly looking forward to Kiana's awakening. As long as this girl awakened the Kaslana Stigmata, he could use the replication function of Jizo Mitama (Divine Key of Corruption) to shamelessly leech off the fruits of her labor.
Kallen raised an index finger. "First is a massive reduction in energy-based attacks. This is considered a universal basic function."
"Mhm, mhm."
Fuli wasn't surprised by this. The shape of the Kaslana Stigmata practically screamed that it had an affair with the Herrscher of Binding; it was carved from the same mold as the Oath of Judah.
Secretly listening in, Dr. MEI's eyes darkened slightly.
The development of the Kaslana Stigmata had indeed specifically targeted this point. After all, the Tragedy of Binding in the Previous Era was too engraved in their bones.
It was that very battle that wiped out nearly all the MANTIS soldiers—the civilization's high-tier combat power—leaving only the Thirteen Flame-Chasers to shoulder the burden alone.
If you can't beat them, join them. Since they couldn't create effective resistance measures against the Elysion Pedion, they simply implanted a Stigmata containing the life form of the Herrscher of Binding into Adam Kaslana, giving the clan the confidence to resist.
Kallen raised a second finger. "Then there's the awakening of special elemental attacks. Usually, it's ice, but there are others."
This originated from Kevin Kaslana. Through Project Chimera, he possessed the Meta-Morph factors of all known Honkai Beasts. Aside from Parvati (Ice), which he was most proficient in, it was excusable for his descendants to awaken other attributes.
"And after that..."
Kallen changed the subject. "Let's talk about that when you actually awaken."
Seeing Kiana about to make a fuss, she deflected the conflict without bloodshed. "You can ask Little Brother, you know? He knows this stuff very well too."
"Tsk, I don't want to say it."
Fuli curled his lips.
Of course he knew what it was. The apex of all phenomena, the incarnation of unity, the Brahma Beast that transcends everything—also the ultimate goal of the Peerless Nine Rotations.
But it's annoying, you know?
A technique he had to work so hard to cultivate, yet the Kaslana clan has a probability of reaching it just by following step-by-step training.
What? Only Kallen and Siegfried have barely touched the edge of this level in thousands of years? And the latter had significant help from Anti-Entropy serums?
Don't worry about the details!
Just say whether it's possible or not!
"Tell me, tell me! Ah Li is the best when he doesn't keep secrets!"
Kiana grabbed his arm and unleashed her coquettish whining technique.
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you."
Fuli obviously couldn't withstand it. He patted the girl's head dotingly and explained it in simple terms that even a paramecium could understand.
Watching this, Bronya broke into a cold sweat, thinking that probably only her brother would find a super-strong girl shaking his arm with enough force to throw a tank "cute and charming."
"Wah! That sounds so amazing!"
After listening to the explanation, Kiana's small mouth opened wide enough to fit half a mini-Fuli. She clenched her fists, her azure eyes instantly filled with flames.
"Alright! This young lady's next goal is to awaken the Stigmata and control that whatever Chime—hmm?"
Mid-sentence, the girl suddenly felt something wrong with her body. It was like suddenly moving to the center of a high-temperature furnace; her entire body heated up.
Subconsciously, she started taking off her gear. Kallen was startled, but before she could reach out to cover her little brother's eyes, she stared dumbfounded at the silver pattern faintly emerging in the center of Kiana's chest.
"That is... a Stigmata?!"
Divine silver ready to take flight, mysterious and complex wing patterns. Honkai energy fluctuated, expanding and contracting, causing the atmospheric tides to rise and fall.
Undoubtedly, a natural Stigmata.
Bronya immediately felt she had lost face. Just moments ago she mocked that it would take a year and a half, and in the blink of an eye, Kiana had successfully awakened.
The face-slapping came so fast. Could it be that Idiot Kiana is the actual protagonist?
The girl thought resentfully, but after careful observation, she realized something was wrong.
"Why isn't it the Kaslana crest?"
As long as one wasn't blind, they could immediately realize the difference between this Stigmata and the Kaslana Stigmata.
The former was three spear tips; the latter was a sturdy shield protecting the people.
"Don't worry about that for now."
Fuli took out the gem-shaped Jizo Mitama and rushed forward at light speed, pressing it against the fresh Stigmata on Kiana's chest.
The zero-distance contact with her skin stimulated a soft whimper from the girl. One of her sapphire-blue eyes unknowingly turned into a brilliant gold.
Combined with her cascading silver-white hair, Fuli instantly recalled the scene when he picked up Kiana at the seaside in the previous loop.
Something big happened at Schicksal back then, right? What was it again?
[Void Stigmata detected. Jizo Mitama replication program initiating—]
The mechanical voice sounding from within the Gem of Corruption jogged the reborn's memory.
Right, the Herrscher of the Void revived at Schicksal.
"I see."
Fuli looked enlightened.
No wonder Theresa led St. Freya to attack Schicksal in the previous loop. No wonder Kiana looked like her heart was dead after waking up—remaining silent no matter how he manipulated her, even when he pretended he was going to force himself on her.
Turning into the Herrscher of the Void and doing those things... killing Murata Himeko with her own hands... it would be strange if she didn't give up on herself.
But wasn't the Herrscher of the Void defeated in the year 2000?
Or rather, did someone extract the Herrscher Core from the wreckage and implant it into the young Kiana?
Yes, that must be it.
After all, being a mix of Kaslana and Schariac blood, having the aptitude to become a Herrscher wasn't that strange.
Looking at it this way, the reason Kiana forgot me must be because her head suffered an impact when the core was implanted.
Even ordinary people can get amnesia from hitting their heads, let alone implanting a Herrscher Core.
"That's right! That must be it!"
"It's not that you wanted to forget me on purpose, you were affected by the core implanted in your body!"
Thinking of this, Fuli was overjoyed. He happily hugged Kiana and spun her around several times in the air.
"Ah Li, you! Idiot!"
The ambushed girl's words were unforgiving, but her actions were very cooperative, showing absolutely no intention of using her Kaslana strength to break free.
It wasn't until the words "You only forgot me because you were affected!" reached her ears that the shyness and smile on Kiana's face gradually faded.
"Ah Li, let me go."
She said, "My chest feels tight, it's uncomfortable."
"Sorry, sorry."
Fuli immediately let go, but the smile on his face couldn't be stopped no matter what.
Kiana didn't truly want to forget me; she was just forced to by an accident.
Just deducing this point made him ecstatic.
As for the possibility of the girl awakening as the Herrscher of the Void?
That doesn't matter.
Awakening would take two years anyway. In two years, Fuli would long be S-rank, and he had never lost a battle against someone of the same rank.
However, he should take some precautions. He'd talk to Mei when he had time; if it was her, she would definitely have a way.
It would be even better if they could retrieve Kiana's lost memories.
The boy thought optimistically. After checking the copied Void Stigmata, his smile grew even wider.
[Name: Void Stigmata]
[Grade: A]
[Category: Passive/Buff]
[Effect: Transfers 80% of Space attribute affinity. Combat power increases when situated in an Imaginary attribute environment.]
[Note: Just let me... kill this fantasy!]
...
"Then, Nii-san, you guys do your best."
Some time later, seeing that the daily workout clock-in time had passed, the little lazybones Bronya stood up and walked leisurely toward the door.
Just as she reached the door, she saw the electronic gate slide open, and then—Duang—she crashed headfirst into two massive mounds.
"Hm?"
Mei acted confused, deliberately looking around the surroundings before finally lowering her head.
Looking down at the little girl who was stepping back while clutching her red nose, she puffed out her chest nonchalantly. "My vision was blocked a bit severely. I apologize to you."
"Damn it! Is that an attitude for apologizing?!"
Bronya bared her fangs and brandished her claws, ready to pounce, but was grabbed from behind by the quick-eyed Fuli and pulled into a hug to be soothed. "Don't be angry, don't be angry. If I die of anger, who will be happy?"
Kallen chimed in: "Just get angry, just get angry. If I die of anger, the enemy is happy. If I don't lose my temper over small things, everyone will bully me tomorrow~"
"Sis!"
"Ay!"
Under the boy's glare, Kallen, the Cyber-Treacherous Minister, stuck out her tongue playfully and stopped her unscrupulous act of pouring oil on Bronya's fire.
He looked at the culprit again. Mei's expression was quite calm.
"Do you want a new weapon?"
"Want, want, want!"
Fuli tossed Bronya aside and, leaving the little girl bewildered, sidled up behind Mei.
"Is Mei hungry?"
"Not hungry."
"Is Mei thirsty?"
"Not thirsty."
"Are Mei's shoulders sore?"
"That, actually, a little."
So the boy extended his hands and ingratiatingly began to massage the girl's fragrant shoulders.
"You could clearly just stimulate them with electricity yourself!"
Bronya holds a grudge! Super grudge!
"Doing it yourself and having someone serve you are definitely different."
As Mei spoke, she took out a katana. The entire blade glowed with a faint, cold light. The body of the sword was as clear and transparent as autumn water, the edge as thin as a cicada's wing. With a slight shake, one could feel the biting killing intent.
"Good treasure!"
Fuli was overjoyed. Just as he planned to take it, he took a closer look and his expression changed drastically.
"No! This is too precious, I can't take it!"
The weapon the girl handed over was called Chidori (Thousand Birds). It had the property of converting input energy into electricity and provided an extra bonus to lightning abilities.
But that wasn't the main point. The main point was that this katana was personally forged by Raiden Ryoma when Mei was sixteen and given to her as a birthday gift.
To this day, after two loops, Fuli had vaguely realized that he seemed to have a hidden [Weapon Breaker] attribute.
If he broke the birthday gift Mei's father gave her, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself easily.
"Fine."
Fuli's reaction made the girl feel quite regretful. She had already thought it through: once Fuli broke the weapon again, she would use the excuse "You destroyed my beloved possession, so use your own body to compensate," and then logically make him sign a deed of sale—a marriage registration certificate—to pay off the debt.
She put away Chidori and took out a zhanmadao (horse-chopping saber) nearly two meters long.
With just a light stroke, the air was torn into tiny rifts, giving the impression that whether it was hard armor or thick tree trunks, everything before it was like thin paper, easily pierced and severed.
Fuli took it and directly activated the Third Rated Power of the Key of Corruption.
[Name: Sparrow's Whisper (Queyu)]
[Grade: B]
[Category: Weapon / Long Blade]
[Effect: Raiden Mei used part of the remains of the Wind-attribute Meta-Morph Honkai Beast "Amaterasu" as raw material, adding biological tissue and energy cores from the Horned Space-Time Hounds. A powerful armament processed through special technology, its power rivals the Schicksal Pantheon series. Can be used for melee and ranged attacks.]
[Injecting Honkai energy allows Sparrow's Whisper to generate vacuum blades with space-time attributes, increasing its power and attack range. The vacuum blades are incredibly sharp, ignoring conventional physical defense below B-rank.]
[Also grants the ability to travel through angles less than 120 degrees. Manifests as pouring out from the corner in the form of black smoke first, followed by the head and body emerging. This ability causes irreversible confusion to the wielder's brain structure. Use with caution.]
[Note: From Azathoth's head above to the Hounds of Tindalos below, beats everyone invincible!]
"Mei prepares super, super good weapons for Ah Li every time."
Kiana-cat leaned over, her tone sour.
"You have one this time too."
Mei said indifferently.
"Eh? Really?"
Completely expecting nothing, the white-haired dumpling was stunned, then immediately hugged Mei's arm and shouted coquettishly, "Hehe, Mei is the best!"
"Nii-san got a new weapon he likes, Idiot Kiana got a promise. Two joys overlapped, and this double joy brought even more joy. Bronya should have obtained a dream-like happy time... however, why did it turn out like this?"
"Don't rush, you have one too."
Noticing the girl in the corner cosplaying a White Album meme, Mei said, "We didn't do a large-scale equipment update for everyone before because there was nothing to do. Now, thanks to Theresa's generous gift, we can accept Schicksal missions in the name of the Far East Branch. Naturally, we must be fully prepared for combat."
"Hm?"
Fuli, who was examining Sparrow's Whisper, detected a hint of unnaturalness in Mei's tone. "Why suddenly go out for missions? Finally willing to leave your precious Massive Electric Corp?"
"Because..."
The girl's eyes drifted, signaling Kallen to help speak up.
The Scum Saintess spun around leisurely in mid-air, pretending she didn't see this rare awkward scene.
Mei bit her lip and whispered, "The current organization... in terms of budget planning... is relatively... um... having a slight screaming issue..."
Sunlight poured through the thin clouds, forming patches of dazzling light on the azure sea surface. Some looked fluffy like cotton, while others floated lightly like ribbons.
"Hyperion is out of money?"
Fuli froze. His first reaction was that he had misheard.
Looking closely at Mei in front of him, he found her standing there with slightly red cheeks, subconsciously fiddling with her fingers. Her shy appearance was cute enough to explode, but she didn't say she was joking.
Realizing the truth, he was shocked. "No, wait. We just concluded several big deals with Theresa, and you're telling me we can't even feed ourselves now?"
The higher-ups just gave new weapons. Is this a case of giving a sweet date and then a billion slaps in the face?
"The reason?"
He looked at Kallen. "I know building the Superstring Dimension consumes a lot of materials, but surely not to the point where we don't even have a buffer?"
"Don't forget that our Hyperion has been undergoing overall maintenance and upgrades."
The white-haired mole floated there, counting on her fingers. "Surely a certain hands-off boss doesn't think that new systems like the Well of Fuli construction, life support installation, large-scale hull material modification, heavy laser cannon construction, and other ship-borne armaments... plus the materials to maintain the battleship's daily operation on top of that, can be conjured out of thin air?"
Immortals are as numerous as hemp seeds.
The energy of the aerial battleship was indeed not lacking thanks to the Well of Fuli. The problem was that Massive Electric Corp currently didn't master the god-tier technology to stably convert single energy into multiple forms of matter.
Moreover, Hyperion used top-tier materials. For example, the Star Residue Crystals for building energy channels had to be bought by the pound even within Schicksal. The mass of the space expanded inside the battleship by Jizo Mitama was reflected in reality; just to lift the small mountain that is Mount Taixuan, Mei ordered more than ten high-power fusion furnaces from relevant military enterprises as new engines.
"Is it that scary?"
Fuli rubbed his chin, suddenly recalling the various black technologies Mei displayed when Durandal attacked—ptui—visited earlier.
Developing for two or three months to be able to fight evenly with Schicksal's strongest Valkyrie using the power of a single ship... spending a bit more budget seemed understandable?
As long as the original intention wasn't for selfish gain—like frantically mass-producing troops purely to beat up Durandal.
Mei: Of course not!
Ding, your friend Raiden Mei recalled the message [Durandal, this old lady will blast you to death!] and stuck her tongue out at you.
"Those things above aren't actually the main issue. History has long told us that having a big fist is the hard truth. Overspending to develop oneself is excusable."
Under Mei's nervous and cute gaze, Kallen put her hands on her hips, giving her absolutely no face. "The problem is that our Miss Mei is simply too, too, too lavish when spending money! She doesn't know the meaning of restraint, nor does she know how to write the words 'bargain' and 'discount'!"
Miss Mei is super prodigal!
At first glance, it seemed ridiculous, and in reality, it was ridiculous.
But the question is, who is Raiden Mei?
The super Ojou-sama of ME Corp who grew up with a silver spoon. The only precious daughter of the Anti-Entropy executor. Even if Raiden Ryoma appeared cold on the surface, in terms of material wealth, she was definitely rich enough to rival nations.
With such an upbringing, you expect the cool, queen-like Raiden Mei to shamefully haggle loudly with merchants over a few melons and dates until she's red in the face?
How is that possible? That's impossible!
"Eh?"
Kiana stared blankly at them, only one thing on her smart little mind. "Then what about this young lady's salary for this month?"
"We have that."
Mei said quickly.
Bronya's phone vibrated. She took it out to look:
[Card ending in XXXX received remittance of 1800 Yuan from XX Bank (Interbank Transfer) on June 10th at 10:54.]
"That's for two months."
Mei added another sentence.
Bronya muttered to herself, "So this is Ren Mian Shou Xin (Human Face, Beastly Salary)."
Looking like a human, but paying a salary fit for livestock.
Kiana raised her small hand high:
"Master Ah Li!"
"What is it? Baseball Ninja?"
"This young lady is 16 and still hasn't awakened the Sharingan. What should I do?"
"To awaken the Sharingan, one must sacrifice something. So, sacrifice your eyes."
Fuli was puzzled. "Why do you ask this suddenly?"
The white-haired girl held up her phone, pointing to her account balance which didn't have a single cent left after paying off her Huabei (credit):
"If I had the Sharingan, I should be able to see through this genjutsu (illusion), right?"
...