Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

“Your thinking is wrong. What fire control and water control? That’s a weird concept…” Anna said. “Essentially, every Valkyrie’s ability is formed by circulating Honkai energy. Some people like to play with fire, so they study how to control fire. Some people think ice is more beautiful and elegant, so they study how to control ice. In fact, controlling various states of matter is a relatively basic way of cultivating supernatural abilities.”

"Base?"

“Yes, because Honkai energy can actually be developed in many ways. European black magic, South American shamanism, Chinese Taoist talismans and spirit mediumship, and Japanese Onmyōdō can all be considered branches of Honkai energy usage, and they are relatively systematic branches. Controlling abilities like water, fire, lightning, etc., is useful, but theoretically it is a very basic skill.” Anna raised a beautiful snowflake with her finger.

“But then again, even though it’s basic, it can be powerful if you use it well. Even if you don’t develop any abilities, you can still be very strong just by using Honkai energy to strengthen yourself,” Anna said. “Furthermore, Honkai energy isn’t just for fighting. For example, my ability can be used to make cold drinks, and the pure ice tastes pretty good.”

Shen Liang understood. He thought about it carefully and realized that Raiden Mei seemed to have a tendency to possess abilities... When she first met Kiana, there were faint flashes of lightning on her temples when she was angry.

Shen Liang thought she had misread it at the time, but now that she thinks about it, she probably just suppressed it in front of ordinary people. After all, while fighting with superhuman strength is absurd, it wouldn't necessarily lead to the discovery of her supernatural abilities. If she were to use lightning and get caught, the cleanup would be on a completely different level.

but if……

If Valkyries possessed a variety of powers beyond just superhuman strength, then Rosalia and Lilia...

Shen Liang glanced at Rosalia, who was gripping the steering wheel tightly and turning it back and forth.

The orphanage was hiding many things from him, perhaps to protect him, or rather, to avoid implicating him, which is why the sisters' Valkyrie identities were always concealed from him. Shen Liang was also well aware that the orphanage wasn't just about warmth and comfort; the director, Cocolia, was doing all this so that her daughters could survive… to survive with purpose.

She did a lot for her daughters.

There are some things the sisters don't want him to know. The hidden rooms in the orphanage, the orphanage's past that the sisters keep silent about... Why Bronya has a leg disability, how Rosalia and Lilia were able to recover from near-death injuries to being lively and energetic in less than three days after being brought to the orphanage, and Seele's occasional display of her vicious second personality.

The sisters didn't want him to know many things.

But Shen Liang didn't mind his sisters keeping his secret. He knew that sooner or later, these little girls would tell him themselves. The only reason they didn't want to tell him now was that they weren't mentally prepared, or they were afraid he wouldn't be able to accept it.

How could a brother and sister possibly keep a secret forever?

The brother will always accept everything about his sister, whether it's a secret or anything else.

After all, my brother is just that kind of foolish creature.

When Bronya first arrived at the orphanage, she was disabled in her legs and unable to walk. She would sit silently in the corner of her bedroom every day. The supply truck would only come once every six months, so Shen Liang made a wheelchair out of a discarded bicycle tire and forced her to get in it every day before pushing her to the screening room. The screening room had "Gundam SEED," which Shen Liang liked to watch. Of course, the main reason was that there weren't many other children's cartoons that could be sent to the frigid Arctic of the Northern Hemisphere.

So every day, the two children would sit in the old, dimly lit screening room of the bungalow, watching cartoons. Kira Yamato's Roar was playing on the TV. Bronya would curl up in Shen Liang's arms, clutching a small Homura doll. Shen Liang would sit on the floor with his legs spread apart. On the old-fashioned radiator pipe to his right was an aluminum bowl, half-filled with water, heating Bronya's bagged milk...

Memories of the past flooded back like a burst dam, those warm, even steaming, recollections surging forth. The orphanage in the small town of Oymyakon, covering less than two thousand square meters, those low Soviet-style bungalows, and those lively or quiet little girls—all exemplified the children's mutual dependence.

At this point, the RV finally escaped the pursuit and reached a speed of 100 miles per hour. No mercenaries dared to stop them anymore, and even the circling helicopter in the sky finally let them go. The RV drove smoothly and quickly through the ruined streets.

"Brother! Let's buy a motorhome! Let's buy one!" Rosalia said cheerfully as she stretched out her foot to press the accelerator. "Let's buy a bigger one, one that we can all fit in!"

"Why would you buy something like this?" Shen Liang asked helplessly. "If you like driving, I'll buy you a Porsche. Even if you like supercars... I only know one Lamborghini among supercars. Buying those would be enough to make you happy."

"Rosalia doesn't like those kinds of cars! They can only seat two people!" Rosalia pouted unhappily. "Rosalia likes these! We can drive all over the world, stop wherever we want, sleep whenever we want, and everyone can be together—Lilia, Seele, Bronya—we can go wherever we want! We can even eat and watch movies in the car! Oh, and we can play online games together!"

Chapter 146 It's Going to Change, It's Going to Change

Shen Liang was about to mock her, saying that she was just a child and didn't know any better, and that even a motorhome couldn't carry that many people on the road, but before he could say anything, a thought suddenly struck him.

Yes, children don't understand... But which child hasn't fantasized about such a thing? Who hasn't looked at a big truck and dreamed of turning it into a warm room, with a bed here and a bookcase there, where the whole family could set sail for the distance with just a step on the gas?

Who would think about needing to buy a house to register their household registration? Who would think that a car is inferior to a house because it starts to depreciate after purchase? Who would think that a motorhome can't be registered and can't be parked anywhere? Who would think about handling, commuting, and fuel consumption per 100 kilometers...?

As a child, you wouldn't have thought about any of this. You just thought it was so cool to drive around with your house, watching the sunrise in every place! Mornings at the foot of the snow-capped mountains, evenings by Qinghai Lake, with your loved one in the car.

Shen Liang suddenly realized that she was no longer a little girl like Rosalia.

but……

Why not?

"Once things are settled here, I'll buy a car and take you all out for a trip," Shen Liang said leisurely, leaning back in the passenger seat. "Maybe I'll have to learn to drive too."

"Can I join you?" Anna interjected.

"Why would I bring you along? Are you my sister?"

"Hey! All you care about is your sister! When we go back to Germany, I suddenly don't want to fly anymore. Let's drive back, get a campervan, what's wrong with taking me along!"

"Then call me brother."

"Dream on! According to the ID card I made for you, Pandora Shaniat is my distant nephew. You should call me your cousin!"

……

Shen Liang arrived at St. Olaf Cathedral.

"Is there no one here?" Shen Liang frowned. "I thought there would be a lot of mercenaries here, and another fierce battle was about to begin."

“Who knows? Maybe the Valkyries of Destiny felt it wasn’t necessary to use ordinary people to delay you, so they all withdrew.” Anna pondered. “I have a feeling there’s something much more to this. What could possibly make Destiny resort to such unconventional methods… Never mind. They might be lying in ambush ahead. In any case, we need to be careful.”

Shen Liang stepped into the church, which had been in a state of chaos after several days of sweeping. Although it had not been completely destroyed because it was a protected building, it looked much like a ruin in comparison to the surrounding ruins.

The entrance was pitch black. I turned on my flashlight, and the beam illuminated the snow-white dome. Neat rows of church pews lined the mahogany aisle, with a dusty image of the crucified Jesus hanging at the front. Everywhere was littered with rubble; fate's destruction of this church had rendered this ancient building worthless.

“It was an old church,” Anna said. “It’s such a shame it was destroyed.”

"Are you religious?" Shen Liang asked.

“The Destiny faction actually originated from Christianity. The Apocalypse, Kaslana, and Shaniat families can all trace their roots back to the Presbyterian Church in the Vatican. So even now, we still retain many religious traditions.” Anna smiled slightly. “We are called the ‘Holy Lineage.’ As you can tell from the name, we are inextricably linked to religion. To this day, many members of our family are still devout nuns or priests.”

Shen Liang opened her phone and brought up the offline encyclopedia.

"The Church of St. Olaf, built in the 12th century, is 124 meters high. During the Middle Ages, its height once reached 159 meters, becoming a stunning sight. However, the church was destroyed by fire twice, in 1625 and 1820, for reasons unknown," Shen Liang said. "Its builder was named Olaf, who, according to legend, fell to his death while building the church, and after his death, a snake and a toad crawled out of his mouth, thus he was revered as the patron saint."

"Rosalia can also spit out snakes and frogs! Can Rosalia become a saint?!" The pink-haired loli made a funny face.

"If you dare to put a live frog in your mouth because of this, I promise I'll never kiss you again," Shen Liang warned.

"Oh."

Shen Liang continued, "St. Olaf's Church has endured many years of war and has been rebuilt multiple times. After the Danes conquered Tallinn in 1219, the church was demolished and the underground was filled in. Thus, Tallinn's underground church cemetery, which had been passed down for thousands of years, disappeared from history. During World War II, the area was bombed by the Germans, and the ground level was raised by 15 meters during the city's reconstruction, which greatly increased the difficulty of archaeological excavation."

“Although I am German, this has nothing to do with me.” Anna raised her hands in surrender.

"No, I'm just wondering what destiny wants to dig out of here." Shen Liang saw a large amount of soil and rocks turned upside down in the outer courtyard of the church. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a well that led directly underground. The entrance was about seven or eight meters wide and was pitch black.

“This… this should be the Tallinn sewers from before World War II.” Anna hesitated for a moment. “Are we really going down? Given the size of this opening, if those mercenaries responsible for digging really go down, they probably won’t be able to bring down any equipment, right? Besides, what would they be doing going into ancient sewers?”

“But there are obvious signs of construction here, and there seems to be light coming from down here.” Shen Liang stared at the cave entrance. “Maybe they went down through another route, but anyway, I have to go down. I have no other choice.”

Regardless of whether this opening is what he needs, it's clear this isn't a trap; digging such a large tunnel would likely take months. Since the Mandate of Heaven's plan began months ago, it couldn't possibly be aimed at him.

Shen Liang took the lead, descending the ladder nailed to the cave entrance, and threw down a firecracker along the way, which would soon illuminate the entire space.

The tunnel was only dug about fifteen meters deep, leading directly into Tallinn's pre-World War II sewer system. Because it had been out of operation for over seventy years, the sewers here were very clean, with neither moss nor sewage accumulation.

It's a semi-circular passageway constructed from various stone slabs, with a water channel in the middle and pedestrian walkways on both sides. This sewer system is said to have been in use since the 14th century, continuing until World War II. In ancient times, sewers lacked diversion and filtration systems, requiring frequent cleaning of the silt. Ancient lampstands hang along the sides, suggesting that centuries ago, torches were used here, while now, the Valkyries of Destiny have installed battery-powered lamps in their place.

The sound of drilling could be heard from deep within the sewers; though it was far away, it indicated that the development of the ruins was still ongoing.

In other words, the chosen ones are here. And he had always been prepared for the worst—that Bronya and Seele were also here.

Shen Liang took a deep breath and was just about to jump down the iron ladder when he heard the roar of a helicopter coming from the cave above.

His Sea God bloodline's vision allowed him to spot the white mercenaries on the helicopter at a glance. He frowned, just about to escape into the sewers to avoid getting entangled with these people, when he saw the helicopter hover at the cave entrance. Then the cabin opened, and the mercenaries on board accurately dropped two white airdrop crates.

Shen Liang, on high alert, immediately used the teleportation screen to throw the two airdrop crates to Inazuma.

But then he realized what was happening, because he saw the mercenaries on the plane give him a Siberian salute. He looked over again and realized that the mercenaries looked somewhat familiar.

"It's Instructor Valentin!" Rosalia exclaimed happily. "Brother, have you forgotten? He taught us grappling techniques!"

Cocolia's people?

Shen Liang retrieved the two airdrop crates and saw the familiar Siberian military insignia and prominent biohazard symbols on them.

"Biological weapons?" Anna leaned closer, her face filled with shock. "You even want to use biological weapons? No, no, no, this is absolutely unacceptable! This is far too inhumane!"

“Silly Anna, a biohazard symbol doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a viral weapon,” Rosalia rolled her eyes, then looked at the box, her expression gradually becoming serious.

Shen Liang looked at Rosalia with considerable surprise. This child rarely showed such a serious expression... Rather, given Rosalia's silly and eccentric personality, there weren't many things that could make her serious.

"You recognize this thing? Do you know what's inside?" Shen Liang asked curiously.

“Yes… Damn it! Cocolia’s mother actually…” Rosalia and Lilia exchanged a glance, their expressions both pained, as if they were playing a game that couldn’t be paused and were constantly being called by Shen Liang to wash the dishes, and because they were eating rice from a wooden bucket, they couldn’t use the dishwasher.

The two little girls blinked their beautiful big eyes, each grabbing one of Shen Liang's hands and shaking it vigorously, their eyes brimming with tears.

"Brother, even if Rosalia becomes a very strange person, you must always love Rosalia, okay?"

"Lilia too, brother must promise that no matter what Lilia becomes, brother will always love Lilia."

Chapter 147 Snake

Tallinn is 120 meters underground, containing a large Catholic necropolis dating back to the 12th century.

Bronya looked up at the high dome; although it was an underground tomb, the tomb itself was thirty meters high. Looking around, she saw countless human skulls embedded in the walls, forming honeycomb-like niches.

This is an underground cemetery built by the people of Tallinn more than 1,600 years ago. When ordinary people died, the church would carry them to this cemetery to wait for them to decay naturally or be eaten by rats. Every few decades, someone would come in and pick up the corpses that were left with only skulls and put them into the bone niches in the wall.

Until the 12th century when the Danes filled in the tomb, it contained at least a million heads.

Bronya had played a game called Assassin's Creed, which featured a city called Florence, and within it was a vast and formidable medieval catacombs. When players, as assassins, ventured deep into the catacombs to search for treasure, they were met with mountains of corpses.

At this moment, the place she was in was ten times more eerie than in the game. There was not a single ray of light in this huge underground tomb, and it was all illuminated by the generator that Destiny had brought with it. All the staff were standing in front of the largest snake bone statue in the tomb.

The enormous snake-skeletal statue was a coiled serpent, still fifteen meters tall even in its coiled state. It stood at the deepest part of this underground tomb, with a narrow underground tunnel running through it on either side, through which a slowly flowing underground river passed.

"Truly a creation of utmost perfection." The researchers with the destiny of destiny exclaimed in fascination. "Look at this snake. Its body, when fully extended, is over a hundred meters long. It even has armor protecting its vitals. Those sharp, exquisite, and seemingly man-made armors were not crafted by humans, but rather grew from its birth. This is a Honkai Beast. The pre-civilization of fifty thousand years ago was destroyed by such creatures... They are not even carbon-based life forms, but silicon-based life forms filled with Honkai energy. They are more perfect than most living beings from birth because they were created by the Honkai God himself."

"Honkai God, do you really believe in the existence of such a thing?" Bronya looked at Rita.