That evening, Kiana spent the night at Luo Lin's house.
The white-haired bundle curled up at the edge of the bed, hands protecting her body, sinking into slumber.
In a sense, this was Kiana's manifestation of inner unrest.
Luo Lin also lay on the bed, beside the girl, staring at Kiana's tightly closed eyes, her heart churning with towering waves.
—That look, that golden color, it's definitely the Herrscher of the Void!
Can little Kiana withstand the harassment of the Herrscher of the Void? She definitely can't!
In other words, the awakening of the Herrscher of the Void is getting closer and closer.
A sense of urgency rose in Luo Lin's heart. Previously, she could deceive herself, but now she had discovered the signs of the Herrscher's awakening... was she prepared?
Thinking of this, the Valkyrie began to inspect her system warehouse.
Two vials of Anti-Entropy serum had been exchanged, and she only needed two more rounds of Abyss settlements to purchase the Scepter of Duat, which would take about a week.
When Luo Lin woke up the next day, she felt a heavy weight on her chest. Looking down, she found that the white-haired bundle had somehow snuggled up to her chest, her hands tightly hugging Luo Lin.
"Ugh..."
Perhaps because she wasn't on her familiar bed, Kiana slept lightly. Soon after Luo Lin woke up, the white-haired bundle opened her eyes.
Kiana loosened her grip somewhat, looking up to see Luo Lin staring at her. The chaos in her mind dissipated a bit. Remembering her bold request to stay the previous night, she blushed deeply.
Kiana felt her cheeks burning, she quickly lowered her head, burying her face in Luo Lin's body, then feeling it was inappropriate, she turned her head away.
"You..."
The girl affectionately patted her head, thinking about Kiana's future...
"Now that you're awake, let's brush our teeth, wash our face, and have breakfast."
Luo Lin handed Kiana a paper cup and disposable toiletries (the kind used in hotels), helping her tie two pretty braids, making her look more spirited.
After breakfast, Kiana dashed out of Luo Lin's house like a rocket, probably feeling shy.
Luo Lin watched the white-haired bundle rush back home from her window, disappearing behind the door. She then turned her gaze to the corner of the house and asked aloud.
"...Alright, are you, the worried father, not planning to come out yet?"
The white-haired man emerged, his face dark, staring at Luo Lin with deep blue eyes.
"Isn't it inappropriate to barge into a woman's house like this?" Luo Lin asked.
Siegfried spoke in a hoarse voice, "You don't seem like a painter... aren't you afraid of me?"
"You're able to raise such a cute child, I don't think you're as terrifying as others say." Luo Lin didn't flinch, staring into Siegfried's eyes. "Besides, I think Kiana..."
"Bang!"
Siegfried slammed the table hard, knocking over the paint cans and palette on top, the thick paint spilling all over the floor. When he lifted his hand, the imprint on the table was clearly visible.
That was a sturdy wooden table, the kind that wouldn't leave such exaggerated marks even if it were chopped with a knife!
Luo Lin was startled by the loud noise, she took a step back subconsciously, giving herself some space.
"Stay away from her!" The man shouted angrily, "I forbid you from contacting her again!"
Luo Lin felt a fire igniting in her heart, even though she knew Siegfried's behavior might be an act, she couldn't control her emotions.
Since she couldn't control it, she wouldn't.
"Why?! She's just a child who needs care!"
"She's my daughter, and it's none of your business to care for her!" Siegfried suddenly calmed down, saying in a low voice, "Especially someone like you with an unknown background!"
"..."
Luo Lin chose to remain silent.
Seeing this, Siegfried pushed open the door and left.
Luo Lin stood there, watching Siegfried return home, picking up little Kiana, who was being held by him. The white-haired bundle smiled awkwardly and disappeared behind the window.
---
In the following days, Kiana didn't visit Luo Lin's place, it seemed she had been warned by Siegfried.
She would just wave from afar as Luo Lin went out for location shooting, and Luo Lin would wave back in response. There was a hint of loneliness on the white-haired bundle's face, but she didn't want to anger her father, so she quickly slipped away.
The other children still found time to visit Luo Lin's house, and Luo Lin didn't refuse. Most likely, they were just after the snacks she had plenty of.
But she wouldn't spoil these children. Sometimes when they came, Luo Lin would only pour them some hot tea, and the slightly bitter tea made the children stick out their tongues.
Sometimes Luo Lin would call the children who played with Kiana to come over and give them a small bag of cookies.
This matter seemed to have no significant impact. The peaceful life of the town continued, but...
"Luo Lin, this is Dr. Miriam's latest research findings."
Luo Lin tinkered with her personal terminal, Captain Ragnar's voice came through her earphones:
"The activity level of the Honkai in the nearby area has increased again, especially in the past ten days... "
Luo Lin looked at the almost bursting curve at the top of the chart and asked, "According to this performance, there should be a lot of Honkai beasts in the surrounding area, right?"
"No, the actual number of Honkai beasts present is far fewer than expected." Ragnar explained, "Earlier, you said Siegfried often leaves the town, he's probably out dealing with Honkai beasts. We found Honkai beast remnants nearby that haven't dissipated yet, they were killed by firearms, probably Siegfried's achievements."
"It seems that more than eighty percent of the Honkai beasts were eliminated by Siegfried alone." Ragnar paused for a moment and said with a bitter smile, "He's truly worthy of being an S-rank, his efficiency in dealing with Honkai beasts is too high..."
"That's not right, why can he alone deal with so many Honkai beasts?"
"I think all the S-rank Valkyries from headquarters have this level of combat power..."
"No, what I mean is, why can Siegfried clear out so many Honkai beasts?" Luo Lin explained, "Even if he has such strong combat power, killing one or two Honkai beasts when they come, killing a pair when two come..."
"But his current mode of transportation is only a four-wheel drive, how could he possibly run around the entire area in two or three days and kill every Honkai beast he sees?"
Ragnar's voice became serious, "Are you saying that the abnormal number of Honkai beasts in the area...?"
"Yes, abnormal, it's as if all the Honkai beasts were attracted by something..."
Just then, Dr. Miriam rushed into the war conference room, holding her personal terminal, her face serious. "According to the latest data, the activity level of Honkai energy has increased very rapidly. Based on this sign, it can be judged that what is causing this phenomenon is not the remnants of the ancient civilization."
Dr. Miriam's voice trembled slightly, "This is very likely the precursor to a major Honkai event..."
Luo Lin's heart sank, she opened the system and looked at the settlement time of the Inifnity Abyss.
Just one more day.
One day later, she would be able to purchase the Scepter of Duat.
Anxiety gradually enveloped her heart, causing Luo Lin to toss and turn after hanging up the phone. Uncharacteristically, she didn't choose to enter the system space, and only fell into a deep sleep in the latter half of the night.
The next day, Luo Lin looked towards Kiana's house, waiting until evening before seeing her sickly figure appear behind the window. She rubbed her right eye, exhaustedly pulling the curtains closed.
Luo Lin's face turned serious.
—Has that eye... turned golden already?