Luo Lin watched as a group of people in police uniforms passed by, and many confused individuals walked out of the building, guided by the staff working tirelessly. Soon, the lively neighborhood quieted down, and the girl could faintly hear the distant noise, seeming so distant and unreal.
Luo Lin looked around and saw Kiana being instructed by Siegfried on martial arts. The two pistols seemed to come to life, flying up and down around her, ready to point their barrels wherever she needed.
However, the Herrscher of Sentience appeared somewhat silent, even dull. The frivolous smile disappeared from her face, as if she was struggling with something.
This appearance actually resembled Fu Hua's demeanor.
Luo Lin walked over to 'Fu Hua' and asked softly, "Fu Hua, what's wrong?"
"...Nothing." 'Fu Hua' came to her senses, and her eyebrows relaxed. "It seems that something around here looks familiar, suddenly triggering memories from the past..."
Slapping her forehead, Senti said, "Oh, right, Luo Lin, I noticed that the condition of Fenghuang Down has improved again—when I was talking to Siegfried."
"Siegfried?" Luo Lin blinked, speculating, "Is he talking to you... because he wants to know who I really am?"
"Exactly, Siegfried seems to care a lot about your identity, but I managed to bluff my way through with 'She's Otto's people.' After that, the quantum erosion on Fenghuang Down calmed down."
'Fu Hua' raised her finger and analyzed, "It seems that as long as Siegfried's mood improves, the quantum erosion will dissipate..."
"Yes... but..."
Siegfried's interest in seeing Luo Lin resembling Cecilia was natural, but what exactly did he care about?
This was much more difficult to satisfy than Kiana's desires. The little fluffball probably wanted to enjoy a good meal, find her father, cuddle with pretty girls, and if possible, participate in some family activities filled with affection... All of which were fulfilled in the last cycle.
Luo Lin cooked delicious food for her, Siegfried was found by the little fluffball, and Kiana hugged Sakura, the girl with the pink mask. Finally, they fought against the relentless onslaught of Honkai Beasts...
Wait a minute, fighting Honkai Beasts with a Mom and Dad counted as a family activity filled with affection for Kiana?
"It seems I need to find an opportunity to chat with Siegfried..."
Luo Lin rubbed her nose, feeling a throbbing headache. She genuinely felt exhausted.
"Alright, everyone, we've cleared out the people around here. Mobius and Dr. Mei also sent over a detector. They plan to scan and locate the Honkai energy fluctuations here..."
Elysia walked out at just the right time, with a huge machine floating behind her. The thing looked very familiar, and after a moment of thought, Luo Lin finally recalled its existence from her distant memory.
"Isn't this the mobile Honkai Energy Detector of the World Serpent?"
The girl's expression was somewhat subtle. Although she knew that most of this illusory world was constructed from her memories and impressions, the arrangement was too perfect. At least, there was a slight sense of dissonance before this almost identical Honkai energy detector appeared.
Now that it had appeared, it gave the feeling that someone making illusions was using old models to save money...
A few minutes later, Mobius's voice came through the communicator. She analyzed the Honkai energy phenomena on-site, sounding excited about her research, but unfortunately, everyone present was a combatant. Mobius's enthusiastic explanations passed through their ears without leaving a trace.
Mobius seemed to realize this too. She paused briefly and switched to a relatively simple explanation: "There's a very delicate structure of Honkai energy accumulation here. Although it looks stable, in fact, a gentle 'push' can trigger an explosion..."
"An explosion? Will it cause a Honkai eruption?" Siegfried asked.
"It will, but thanks to our discovery of its existence before it naturally decayed, we can try to reduce the scale of the eruption and eliminate the accompanying Honkai Beasts cleanly."
The sound of typing on the keyboard came through the communicator as Mobius calculated something. Soon, she sent the plan to everyone: "As long as there's a powerful energy impact, the disturbance it causes will be minimized. I'll arrange for some high-energy explosives to be brought over, and we'll try to fill the area with equivalent explosives without collapsing the entire block..."
"Wait a minute, you're saying we just need a powerful energy impact?" Siegfried interjected, interrupting Mobius's arrangement.
"Do you have a way?"
Siegfried took out the Judgement of Shamash, impressively merging the two pistols, and the golden-red Cleaver of Shamash appeared in the white-haired man's hand. Then, he took a deep breath, and the substantial Honkai energy flames condensed and wrapped around the blade of the Cleaver of Shamash.
"Ding ding!"
The power condensed by Siegfried caused the Honkai energy detector to emit a sharp alarm. The continuously rising numbers on the device even caught Mobius's attention from the research institute.
"How about this?" The white-haired man smiled faintly.
Mobius immediately said, "Excellent, can you control it? Aim towards that direction—"
Siegfried followed her instructions, and the golden sword drew a bright trajectory. Although the blade was sharp, it seemed to smash the scenery like a heavy club hitting glass, shattering the view in front of them.
Kiana felt her feet give way again, plummeting once more.
In a panic, she could only shout, "Mom—!"
"Alright, alright..."
Siegfried's action of smashing the ground was indeed concise and efficient. Luo Lin didn't have time to stop him, so she had to use the energy grappling hook of the Moon Ring, tying everyone together, and slowly gliding downwards.
Fortunately, this time they still had plenty of time, and there were no endless waves of Honkai Beasts and quantum monsters chasing after them. Everyone landed safely on the ground.
Elysia shook her communicator, and there was a rustling sound inside. "Hello? Mobius? Can you hear me?"
"Hiss... There's interference... I can barely accept it... Wait a moment, I've arranged two signal relays. Can you hear me clearly now?" Mobius said, "Mr. Siegfried's sword strike was very powerful, not only opening a passage but also causing a small-scale Honkai outbreak that was confined to the street you just smashed. Sakura is dealing with the Honkai Beasts that appeared."
"That's great..."
Siegfried breathed a sigh of relief, at least his efforts weren't in vain.
"This passage seems to lead to some position in the imaginary space. It looks stable for now." Mobius tapped on the keyboard. "Please continue to explore along the passage. If anything seems wrong, return immediately."
"Okay."
Naturally, no one objected, and they were also curious about what secrets lay hidden here.
"Be careful, I feel something's not quite right..."
'Fu Hua' muttered, seeming reluctant to continue advancing deeper. But seeing the others still moving forward, she gritted her teeth and followed along.
"What's not quite right?" Luo Lin asked.
"It's just..."
Before 'Fu Hua' could speak, she felt Fenghuang Down bouncing out of her pocket, transforming into a golden streak of light and flying towards the depths of the black mist.
"Huh!?"
'Fu Hua' immediately pursued, with Luo Lin following closely behind. The remaining people saw them running and assumed there was some enemy situation, so they charged forward as well.
After about fifteen seconds, Fenghuang Down came to a halt.
The Fenghuang Down was stopped by hands of a girl emerging in the dark, it's appearance slowly unveiled itself.
Luo Lin and 'Fu Hua' stopped in their tracks, astonished at the girl who gently removed Fenghuang Down.
"Don't be so surprised... 'me'?"
It was a gray-haired girl dressed in asymmetrical Shenzhou attire, leaning against a long spear, with a massive weapon case floating by her side like a scabbard. She stared at the newcomers with sharp red eyes, a slight smirk on her lips.
Luo Lin was completely bewildered. She glanced at 'Fu Hua', who looked equally bewildered, then at the "Herrscher of Sentience" opposite them, sporting the classic skin from Honkai 3...
Wait, classic skin?
Luo Lin quickly glanced at the casual Herrscher of Sentience beside her, feeling a surge of tumultuous emotions!
—Senti hadn't even figured out who she was yet! The Herrscher of Sentience across from her was probably pulled from her own memories.
"Who are you?!"
The girl decisively activated the Revelation Key, and the Mimic Abyss Flower appeared in her hand. The tip of the gun was aimed directly at the other party.
"I am, of course, the Herrscher of Sentience, Luo Lin... the Herrscher of Sentience you remember!"
With that, she flashed an exaggerated smile, far from anything "healthy".
—Only madness.