Nagazora City, inside the first-floor hall of the Raiden estate.
"So, you are an outsider, are you!"
"Mmph—mmph!"
"Leaving at once, are you!!"
"Wuu—wuu!"
"Otherwise I will die for sure, will I!!!"
(QAQ)
...
Raiden Mei watched the absurd and bizarre scene unfolding before her eyes at point-blank range, feeling an inexplicable sense of... amusement!
One Mei was leaning in front of another Mei with a wicked smirk, her hands unceremoniously squishing and pulling the other's cheeks into various round and flat shapes.
The latter... despite starting with the majestic air of a little queen—a living personification of the I am the strongest meme—had now become...
Completely defenseless! She was a literal plaything in the palm of a hand!
"Um..."
Mei finally could not help but speak up weakly.
"Oh, sorry, sorry. I got a bit too invested in the... cough... education. I neglected you for a second."
One of the lolis turned her head to look at her, saying with a smile, "Communicating like this is much more normal, is it not?"
"By the way, I am Lin Ke."
Ling Ke once again used his homophonous pseudonym.
Cautious as ever, he would not easily reveal his true name. In the multiverse, there were far too many twisted abilities that could use a true name to cause trouble. He had to be on guard from the start.
Considering he had not received any training as a secret agent or spy, he might leave small trails in the future. For example, if someone nearby called his fake name and he instinctively assumed they were talking to someone else, it would arouse suspicion. To avoid that, using a name that sounded identical to his real one was the most convenient solution.
There is absolutely nothing normal about this way of communicating!
Mei could not help but retort in her mind.
However, after confirming that the other Mei was indeed the Group Leader, she instinctively looked down and began observing her current body.
So small. So young.
She looked exactly as she did when she was six years old.
Regressing to a childhood form was an incredibly novel sensation.
It really is supernatural power! Mei thought.
Curiosity was one thing, but...
"Excuse me, Mr. Lin Ke," Mei asked tentatively. "In this state... can I change back?"
"And..." she turned her head toward the third Mei, "who is she?"
Ling Ke let go of the hissing Little Mei No. 2 as he answered.
"Do not worry. This is just a split-body state, a controllable ability I possess. You can change back."
Little Mei No. 2 was clearly dissatisfied with his previous actions. She was just about to move, but before she could take a single step toward a counterattack, she was frozen in place by a single glance from Ling Ke.
There was no helping it; the effect of Heaven Rank Martial Skill: Ghost Possession—forcibly seizing control of a body—was just that absolute and unreasonable.
At that moment, Ling Ke confirmed that his abstract abilities could indeed easily suppress even a Herrscher consciousness.
"As for her..." Ling Ke pointed a thumb at Little Mei No. 2, who was forced to stand like a human statue. "She is another consciousness within your body."
"Or, you could say, your second personality."
"Eh?" Mei froze. "A... second personality?"
"Am I... schizophrenic?"
She wore a look of horror that screamed I am actually sick! This reaction earned her a look of utter disdain from Little Mei No. 2.
"Hmph."
The second Mei turned her head away, no longer looking at Mei, though she also stopped hissing at Ling Ke. However, to ensure the conversation proceeded smoothly, Ling Ke did not lift the forced control over her.
"I will ask you something," Ling Ke said, looking at the small figure controlled by Mei's consciousness. "Have you always had this personality?"
"U-um, yes!" Mei nodded.
"Before recently, did you ever show any sudden violent tendencies? Or a habit of calling people trash at the drop of a hat?"
"That..." Mei looked confused. "Why would I do that? That is very impolite!"
"Then how did the nickname Thunder Queen spread throughout Chiba Academy?" Ling Ke asked.
At this, Mei's face showed a hint of embarrassed irritation. "That..."
She really did not want to admit that it was a joke started by the sisters who used to follow her around. Looking back now, that joke was likely a form of killing with praise—a deliberate move to make her enemies and draw resentment from all sides.
Wait, how does Mr. Lin Ke know about these trivial details?
Is this also some kind of supernatural power...
Mei pondered silently.
"Alright, I get it," Ling Ke said, having no intention of forcing her to answer.
Her current reaction proved enough.
At least she is not the version of Raiden Mei I dislike the most, Ling Ke thought.
As he had thought before, his standards for friends were high and cautious. Looking back at the entire Honkai series before his transmigration, he had two distinct attitudes toward the character of Raiden Mei.
One was the Mei affectionately called Cooking Mama by the fans. That Mei was a gentle girl, yet one with an incredibly strong heart. Even though she was a victim herself, she felt deep sorrow and guilt for the millions who died in Nagazora City because she was the Herrscher of Thunder. She was willing to have a micro-bomb implanted in her heart just to put those around her at ease. Even before becoming a Herrscher, she treated everyone with kindness.
Who would not like a girl like that?
However, in Ling Ke's memory, a certain retcon in the final chapters of Honkai Impact 3rd had caused her characterization to shatter. He could not understand why, near the finale, they suddenly introduced a plot twist claiming the Cooking Mama was actually the second personality and the Herrscher was the original.
Was such a redundant twist interesting? Just to fit the nickname Thunder Queen?
That was truly laughable.
Think about it: if the Herrscher was the original personality and the gentle Mei was born later... did that not mean the so-called Queen, who called everyone trash, simply wilted the moment things got tough? She acted arrogant when things were fine, but once she was bullied, she just hid and pushed out a new, gentle personality to handle the pressure?
Does that even deserve the title of Queen?
It is as ridiculous as those so-called strong female leads who cannot get anything done without someone else's resources and whose heads are filled with nothing but romance. It is just a shiny coat covering a hollow core.
Besides, if you treated everyone like garbage before, who can you blame when they bully you back? School bullying is an evil act, but Ling Ke would never empathize with someone who got hit for having a foul mouth.
The gentle Mei was kind to everyone and shared what she had, yet was still bullied—that was simply meeting a pack of ungrateful wolves. But an arrogant lady who lost her status and was bullied in return? That was just revenge.
She would deserve it! Who told you to trample on others' dignity and call them trash?
In short, if this were the retconned version of Raiden Mei, Ling Ke would have to reconsider. Even with the same face, he had no affection for that kind of personality.
Thankfully...
"My luck seems to be pretty good. I did not run into a mess," he said, looking at Mei. "Well then, tomorrow, I will help my cute first group member clean up the toxic atmosphere of that school bullying!"
Ling Ke cracked his knuckles, the sound echoing through the room.