"Speaking of which, you two are far too… naive," Ye Feng said languidly, looking at Mei and Kiana. "Bronya tells you a story that sounds like something out of a dream, and you believe her completely without any verification?"
"Bronya wouldn't lie to us…" Mei's voice was quiet but firm.
Besides, was it really that strange? Wasn't it just traveling to a world a few years in the future? No, perhaps it was a strange world, just like this one. They were experiencing it themselves, so what was there to doubt?
Ye Feng squeezed Mei's rear. The girl let out a muffled grunt, her body went slightly limp as she lowered her head, her face flushed with shame.
Ye Feng sighed. "Ah, a sheltered young lady like Mei, so unversed in the ways of the world. You'd probably get sold and still help the buyer count the money. And you, Chong Chong, what are you looking at? You're even dumber."
"Hey! This young lady is not dumb, nyan! We came to you for help because we trust you, so don't act so high and mighty. Otherwise, we wouldn't bother with you, hmph!" Kitty-Kiana puffed up her cheeks, fuming.
It wasn't that she cared about Ye Feng calling her dumb, but that he was getting handsy with Mei right in front of her. And Mei looked like she was putting up a show of resistance while secretly enjoying it.
So infuriating!
Mei turned her back, tidied the zipper of her pants as if to cover her tracks, and then shot her lover a reproachful glare.
She had to admit, his technique was getting more and more skillful. That move just now used no special authority, it was all pure skill…
Mei's pupils dilated. It was unclear what she was thinking, but her face instantly became a canvas of crimson, her breathing turning ragged as she exhaled hot air.
Kiana's heart ached even more. Mei! My Mei! He just squeezed you once, and you're already having such wild thoughts, nyan! Could that dog-bastard Ye Feng's "Young Lady Theorem" actually be true?
The so-called Young Lady Theorem: The more prim and proper a young lady of high society appears on the surface, the more repressed she actually is. When she is finally "unleashed"…
No, no, no! Kiana clutched her head. Now was not the time to be thinking about this.
"So, do you have a solution or not, nyan?! If you don't, just say so, nyan!" Kiana shouted as if to vent all her frustration at once.
"Look at you, getting all worked up again." Ye Feng stepped forward and gave Kiana a squeeze as well.
"Hmph, you think I'll feel anything, nyan?" Kiana crossed her arms, a look of disdain on her face.
But when she looked down, oh dear, the pattern on her lower abdomen was flashing with a dazzling light. Even her clothes couldn't hide it!
"You dog-bastard!" Kiana flared up in a mix of shame and anger.
She didn't dare to look at Mei. But even so, she could feel a burning gaze on her.
However, Mei had no time to spare for others at that moment. She was also afraid that Kiana would notice something was amiss with her. After all, what kind of girlfriend gets… that… just from a simple squeeze from her lover? It was simply too indecent.
"Actually—" Ye Feng suddenly raised his voice. "Wanting Bronya to return to the world she described is also very simple."
"Eh?"
"How?"
Finally getting to the point, Mei and Kiana both looked up at the same time.
"Bronya just needs to obtain the Core of Reason," Ye Feng stated.
---o---
"—That's what he said. Oh, right, he also said that if you get the Core of Reason, you might be able to see Seele very soon." Kiana relayed Ye Feng's words.
Bronya's pupils contracted. As if to calm some emotion, she looked up and out the window of the Valkyrie dormitory.
The space outside was dark. Heavy, leaden clouds were piled up overhead, looking as if they were about to collapse. The trees on the lawn stood motionless in the cold air.
"The Core of the Herrscher of Reason…" Bronya's gaze darkened, just like the weather outside.
Where could she possibly obtain such a precious core? Anyone with a bit of common knowledge about the Honkai knew that a Herrscher's core was a strategic-level resource.
Bronya was just a B-rank Valkyrie. She didn't possess their immense power. How could she possibly obtain…
A moment later, the girl looked up again. She clenched her fists, her eyes shimmering as if she had made some kind of resolution.
But before she could even finish the silent vow in her heart, she heard Kiana say nonchalantly, "How about I go and help you jump Old Yang? I think he has a class today, right?"
"?" Bronya looked at Kiana in a daze. Even with her usual deadpan expression, one could read the confusion on her face.
"...Old Yang? You mean our history teacher? Jump him? What do you mean?" The Bronya did not understand.
Kiana said, "Old Yang is Welt Yang, the Sovereign of Anti-Entropy, the second Herrscher of Reason… hmm, have I not told you before?"
Realizing her mistake, Kiana rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. She probably had, right? She couldn't remember clearly. But judging from Bronya's reaction, it was obvious she hadn't.
"Heeyah, don't worry about the small stuff. Anyway, the Core of Reason is right there for the taking. Let's go pull a job on him. I've had it with that guy for a while now. He's always staring at me in class. If this young lady hadn't been studying in my dreams, I might have had to retake the exam!"
In reality, she had no strong feelings about him one way or the other. Kiana was just saying that to comfort Bronya, and at the same time, "hypnotize" herself into being able to carry out the ruthless deed.
In Ye Feng's words: You can't let yourself suffer.
Although it wasn't Kiana herself who was suffering, she couldn't let her friend suffer, could she?
---o---
The Previous Era was destroyed by the Herrscher of the End, who scoured the surface of the planet. All of humanity's facilities were hidden in the depths of the sea or underground.
The entrance to the [Elysian Realm] was a ruin concealed beneath the earth.
Phosphorescent lights flickered, casting a dim, eerie glow upon a hall of indiscernible architectural style.
Within the silent, dim space stood a ghostly figure.
Dressed in clothes the color of night and wearing a white, skull-like mask, was Gray Serpent, an executive—the very first executive—of World Serpent.
He guarded the terminal to the [Elysian Realm] here, awaiting the return of his "Lord."
A thousand years passed like a single day.
Gray Serpent seemed to have discarded all emotions of a sentient being, always maintaining a composed and calm demeanor, performing cold calculations like a machine.
But at this moment, the crimson light in Gray Serpent's right eye was flashing wildly as he stared into the deep, dark passageway.
Usually, when [World Serpent] needed to recruit new blood, he would lead the newcomers through this very passageway into the [Elysian Realm] to undergo their trials.
The [Elysian Realm] was a concentration of the Previous Era's essence, much like a "holy land for sect trials" from a fantasy novel, where "ancient legacies" remained.
And now, a strange fluctuation was emanating from that place.
It seemed some kind of anomaly had occurred in the holy land, and Gray Serpent knew nothing about it.
Hiss… hiss…
A sound like a snake slithering echoed from the darkness, carrying a seductive undertone.
Within the dim ruins, a captivating green figure emerged. Her vertical, snake-like pupils shone like golden fire as she gazed with a half-smile at the now-frozen Gray Serpent.