Walking down the street, Li Mu was in an excellent mood.
Although he had nearly been crushed to death by Eden's hug earlier, the money he needed was now secured. His funding problem was completely solved.
Next, he could build ME Corp and complete the check-in objectives.
He quickly returned to Mei's house and kicked the door open with excitement.
"Mei! We're rich now!"
But unlike usual, Mei did not greet him at the door.
Instead, he saw someone unexpected, yet somehow completely expected.
A white-haired, blue-eyed girl sat quietly on the sofa.
His good buddy, Kiana.
At the moment, she looked at Li Mu, disguised as Ryoma, with a helpless expression.
Just then, Mei came out of the kitchen with an apron on and an empty plate in her hands.
Seeing Li Mu return, she explained, "Father, this is Kiana. She helps me a lot at school, so I invited her over for dinner."
Then she turned to Kiana. "Kiana, this is—"
Before she could finish, Li Mu cut in.
"Oh? You look familiar, young lady."
With Mei and Kiana both looking puzzled, Li Mu smiled and walked over to examine Kiana.
Kiana immediately stood up, stiff and nervous.
Although Mei's father wore a warm, welcoming smile, she could not shake the feeling that there was something mischievous hidden beneath it.
"Uh… hello?" Kiana replied awkwardly.
Li Mu pretended to size her up and asked, "What's your relationship with Siegfried?"
Kiana answered instinctively, "He's my father…"
The moment the words left her mouth, she realized something was wrong.
If Mei's father knew her dad, then he would know Siegfried only had one son.
Sure enough, Li Mu's expression darkened.
"My dear niece, your father Siegfried and I have been friends for many years. I never thought he would do something like this!"
"Huh?"
"Don't worry, I know this isn't your fault. It's that bastard Siegfried!" Li Mu said angrily. "Next time I see him, I'll beat him senseless!"
"Cheating on Cecilia behind her back? A betrayal of true love!"
"Huh?!"
Panicking, Kiana hurried to explain, "You've misunderstood! I'm not my dad's illegitimate child!"
In the end, after Kiana rambled through a completely hole-ridden explanation involving dark family secrets, Li Mu finally "believed" that she was indeed Siegfried and Cecilia's daughter, hidden away due to family struggles.
The two sat on the sofa chatting while waiting for Mei to finish cooking.
Although it was their first meeting, Kiana felt an odd familiarity with the man in front of her, like she had seen him somewhere before.
"Be good, niece. Call me uncle."
The little ahoge on Kiana's head suddenly twitched.
She stared at Li Mu suspiciously.
Technically, calling him uncle made sense, but somehow it felt like agreeing would put her at a disadvantage, and that annoyed her.
Before she could figure out how to respond, Mei came back just in time, carrying the dishes and saving her.
Kiana silently sighed in relief and looked at the food Mei had prepared.
Earlier that day at Eden's concert, she had run into Mei. Then chaos broke out, and Eden was kidnapped.
After the audience was cleared and confirmed safe, they were released.
Originally, Kiana planned to go home, but she and Mei kept talking, and somehow she ended up agreeing to come over for dinner.
Seeing Mei's confidence, her cooking could not be bad, right?
Li Mu's take on this was simple.
One meal meant ten Crystals. Delicious.
This month alone, eating Mei's cooking three times a day had netted him nearly a thousand Crystals.
Honestly, even though he was officially Mei's father, in reality, Mei was his father.
Crystals were vital. They determined the fate of the entire Previous Era.
Li Mu never forgot the Third Great Honkai Eruption that was about to happen. In the Previous Era, its devastation far exceeded that of the later era, engulfing all of East Asia and killing hundreds of millions.
To stop it, there were two options.
Kill the Herrscher of Thunder the instant she was born.
Or use a controllable Herrscher, one with humanity, to replace her.
And Li Mu knew exactly how to obtain a Herrscher not controlled by the Cocoon of Finality.
He glanced at the system panel.
"Moon's Origin and Finality – Prologue: Escape from Nagazora"
"Stage Reward: Herrscher of Thunder Character Card"
"Status: Incomplete"
In the main storyline, completing all check-ins for a chapter granted stage rewards, including character cards for all thirteen Herrschers, Finality included.
But triggering the system fifty thousand years early had its drawbacks.
If the system had activated fifty thousand years later, he could have followed the main plot. Once Raiden Mei awakened and launched Nagazora City skyward, he could check in and receive the Herrscher of Thunder card.
But this was the Previous Era.
Mei did not have a Herrscher core, and the Cocoon's choice of Herrscher was uncertain.
To complete the task, Mei had to gain the Herrscher of Thunder's power and inherit Raiden Mei's fate.
Li Mu's idea was simple.
Load the Herrscher of Thunder character card directly onto Mei, bypass the Cocoon's mechanism for this era, and replace the era's original Herrscher.
The problem was, to get the Herrscher of Thunder card, he had to complete the task and obtain the stage reward.
And to complete the task, he needed Mei to have the Herrscher of Thunder card.
A perfect loop.
Deadlocked.
But as the saying went, heaven always leaves a way out.
If he wanted a path, it would appear beneath his feet.
He found the solution in the system shop.
"Herrscher Trial Card (Thunder)"
"Price: 3000 Crystals / 30 minutes"
The shop sold trial cards for every Herrscher except Origin and Finality. Full character cards only unlocked after completing stage tasks.
The moment he saw this, Li Mu knew it was settled.
A time limit? Who cared.
Even thirty seconds would be enough. While active, it was a real Herrscher, fully qualified to connect directly to the Cocoon of Finality.
Hypothetically.
At the exact moment the Cocoon selected a Herrscher, he activated the trial card and let Mei snatch the position and authority.
When the trial expired, the system-granted authority would vanish, but what Mei stole from the Cocoon would remain.
Mei would still be a Herrscher.
At that point, would the Cocoon swallow its anger, or would it retaliate and take back the power?
The answer was obvious.
The Cocoon of Finality, like this rigid system, was a brainless automaton.
"In that case," Li Mu murmured, "the Cocoon will just have to suffer a bit."
Of course, becoming a Herrscher was only the beginning. The real issue was how to give a Herrscher humanity.
In this era, Herrschers had no gem of humanity. They were emotionless Honkai weapons. If that problem was not solved, Mei would elbow humanity into extinction as the Herrscher of Thunder.
That image… yikes.
So how to fix it?
Simple. Perfect timing.
Arrange the seizure of the Herrscher authority at the very end of "Prologue: Escape from Nagazora."
Within the thirty-minute trial window, rush through the key events: "Kiana and Mei: First Rooftop Battle," "Encounter with Bronya," "The Hyperion Descends."
Complete the prologue check-in and receive the stage reward: the Herrscher of Thunder character card.
Before the trial expired, equip the real Herrscher of Thunder card onto Mei.
And thus, a Herrscher of Thunder with humanity would be born.
She would consume the Cocoon first, then the system. A perfect loop.
Now that funding for ME Corp was secured, the next step was to build it and complete the check-ins.
And the construction of St. Freya Academy also needed to be put on the agenda…
Soon, Mei finished setting the table, and the three of them sat down.
The dishes were not extravagant, but they were far from shabby, colorful and fragrant.
Kiana nodded internally.
They looked great. Surely they would taste good.
Li Mu, however, knew the truth.
The brighter the mushroom, the deadlier the poison.
His heart trembled. He sighed silently and forced himself to pick up his chopsticks.
Whether hundreds of millions across East Asia lived or died in the coming disaster depended on how many Crystals he could accumulate.
And right now, the greatest source of Crystals was Mei's cooking.
So really, having Mei meant having the strength of a hundred people.
He picked up a cube of tofu.
The moment it entered his stomach, a violent spasm hit, like someone was pounding his gut.
But his expression did not change as he kept eating.
After days of enduring Mei's cooking, he had improved. His resistance was much higher now.
Unfortunately, his encouragement seemed to have backfired. Mei had grown increasingly enthusiastic about refining her cooking.
The good news was that her skills were improving.
The bad news was that they were improving in the wrong direction.
As he ate, tears streamed down Li Mu's face.
"Father," Mei asked, "why are you crying?"
"It's… it's just too delicious."
Kiana stared at Li Mu, who looked like a background extra from a food anime experiencing culinary bliss.
Was it really that good?
Hope rose in her heart.
She scooped up a piece of silky white tofu and put it into her mouth.
Chew. Chew.
Her body froze. The hand holding the spoon trembled violently.
Clatter.
The spoon fell to the floor.
Then she toppled straight backward.
Thud.
Kiana collapsed, unconscious.
Swirls spun in her eyes as what looked like a mochi-shaped soul floated out of her mouth.
"Kiana!!!"
…
2 Chapters per day, for more chapters/fics, support ErbiumTL on Patreon.