On how PhDs become human evil

"Wait a minute, does that mean I've been busy all this time just to please that imposter?!"

Realizing this, Bai Jie suddenly pulled out Sai Kulong from his pocket. Before he could activate it, Fu Hua grabbed Bai Jie's hand: "Captain, what are you doing?"

"You've made such a mess of this place, how could I possibly celebrate the birthday of some imposter who isn't my sister! If I'm going to celebrate a birthday, I should be flying back to headquarters to celebrate Kiana's birthday!"

Bai Jie's current mood is like ordering the most expensive bottle of red wine at a Western restaurant, only to find out halfway through that it's just a cheap, low-quality wine. An utterly absurd feeling fills Bai Jie's chest.

"Ha, just as I expected, it was definitely the right decision to have me watch over you." Fu Hua said, placing her hand on Bai Jie's stomach. "Thank you for your hard work, Captain. I can handle the rest of the work by myself. Take a rest—Inch Punch: Heaven Opening."

------------------

"Squad leader! We're back!"

Thirty minutes later, accompanied by Kiana's energetic voice, the dormitory door was pushed open by a white-haired girl, and Kiana, carrying large and small bags, rushed in from the doorway.

After hanging up the last firework, Fu Hua smiled indulgently: "Welcome back, Kiana. The decorations are now complete. Where are Mei and the others?"

"Mei and Bronya went to the kitchen to cook. I came to see if you needed any help, class monitor, and to bring over the drinks and other things!"

Kiana placed the juice, beer, and other drinks from the several large bags she was carrying onto the already set table, and then began looking around the room as if searching for something.

"If you're looking for the captain, he's already gone back," Fu Hua said presciently. "It seems the equipment department is really busy; he was only halfway through setting things up for me when he rushed back."

"Oh, I thought that even though he didn't like me, he would at least spend my birthday with me. But oh well, I'm not his biological sister, and he's not my biological brother, so it doesn't matter whether he comes or not!"

Kiana laughed.

"Class monitor, is there anything else you need to assign?"

"Everything's all set up. You, the star of the day, can sit here and wait for the banquet to begin, or you can go change your clothes," Fu Hua said. "While I'm not saying the academy uniform is bad, it's your birthday, so it would be nice to change into a formal dress to celebrate."

"Ah... but I don't have any formal wear. All I have in my closet are casual clothes and school uniforms."

Kiana grew up with Siegfried, and after Siegfried disappeared, she lived a life of constant wandering. It was difficult enough for her to survive, let alone have the money and time to buy a dress. After arriving at St. Freya Academy, the rewards she received from missions and her Valkyrie salary were all used to maintain her weapons or to buy food with real money, so it was even more impossible for her to buy clothes.

To be honest, Kiana would love to wear a formal dress at least once.

"boom!"

Suddenly the window opened, and Kiryu Rabbit, wearing a white lab coat, leaped into the dormitory, carrying a large bag on her back.

"Miss Kiana, here's your express delivery!"

"Huh? Mine? I don't remember buying anything online recently."

"I don't know, anyway, our exploitative minister gave me a death order to get this package to you within ten minutes—I'll head back to the equipment department now, there's a mountain of work there. I'll make up for the birthday present later!"

After saying those words and leaving the package behind, Kiryu Rabbit jumped out of the window. Fu Hua and Kiana rushed to the window to see if she was dead.

"What my brother ordered me to get? It's not a bomb or something, is it...?"

Kiana knew that Bai Jie had absolutely no affection for her. On the contrary, he wished he could torture her to the point of being unrecognizable. He had previously forced her to sign a series of unequal treaties, which meant that he would do this and that to her one day every week. He even ruthlessly stabbed a dagger into her shoulder. Did he know how painful that was?

Therefore, Kiana would never believe that what Bai Jie sent her was a birthday present!

"Gurgle..."

Swallowing hard, Kiana picked up the scissors with trembling hands and began to unpack the package. After removing the outer cardboard packaging, a huge, semi-transparent cabinet appeared before Kiana's eyes, inside which was a set of female armor with a mechanical feel.

"Ah, there's a note here." Fu Hua picked up the note on the surface of the cabinet. "Uh... [Although I don't acknowledge you as my sister, in this academy, you're still officially my sister, so I'm giving you a birthday present—a Catman outfit I modified based on your White Knight: Moonlight set. Let me make it clear, this is definitely not a gift! You have a week to try it on; after that, return it to my lab!]"

My own...birthday present?

Kiana looked at the Valkyrie armor that resembled the White Knight: Moonlight, and suddenly burst out laughing: "Hmph! What kind of birthday present should be returned? I'll accept this armor without any politeness! You can feel bad about it, you idiot brother!"

.......

"Ah!"

In the equipment department, Bai Jie, who was busy at his workbench, suddenly sneezed and then clutched his stomach.

"That Fu Hua... she actually hit me with a one-inch strike that splits the sky! My stomach hurts like hell! I'll get my hands on her later—hey! Rabbit, did you deliver that thing yet?!"

"It's been delivered. I mean, Minister, wouldn't it have been better if you had delivered it yourself? It's disgusting for a grown man to act so arrogant."

"Very good, Rabbit. These thirty data tests are also yours. Don't even think about leaving get off work today until you've sorted them out."

"You're a devil! I'm quitting!"

The equipment department was still in a good mood today. By the way, Bai Jie actually went to Kiana to ask for the Cat Warrior armor. Of course, Kiana didn't want to give it to her, so St. Freya Academy staged another fake brother-sister war, which ended with Bai Jie's overwhelming victory.

----------------------

"Hmm... was it a dream? I actually dreamed about things from the past."

In a room, Kiana opened her eyes, a hint of weariness in them; it seemed the feeling of dreaming wasn't pleasant for her.

"Kiana, it's morning. There are still a lot of things to take care of in Sky City. Let's go."

"I understand, class monitor."

Kiana picked up her dual pistols from the nearby table, summoned a life-sized Imaginary Gate, and stepped inside. A glint of light flashed in her golden eyes as she traversed the space...

P.S.: There are two timelines in the broken world of this book. One is the earliest volume, and the second is the volume after the protagonist travels to the past. This chapter connects to the former timeline.

Interlude 393: People in Another World

Shenzhou, Tianqiong City.

This is a large-scale refuge built by Shenzhou against the Honkai. Since the newly born Herrscher of the Void awakened under the manipulation of World Serpent several months ago, the city has been engulfed in a fierce battle against the Honkai.

Every street and every inch of land surrounding Sky City is filled with the traces of Honkai Beasts. The anti-Honkai forces belonging to Shenzhou, piloting mechs and weapons provided by Schicksal, patrol the entire Sky City day and night, protecting the city behind them.

Now, in this outer area, a gate of imaginary numbers suddenly appeared, and Kiana's thin and lonely figure walked out.

Compared to a few months ago, Kiana has undergone a complete transformation. Her former innocent and carefree temperament has completely faded, replaced by the reliable and mature demeanor of a grown woman. The outfit she wears is no longer the Domain Suit: White Comet, but rather the Herrscher Robe that naturally formed under the influence of the Herrscher of the Void's power.

Kiana drew her dual Sky Rippers from their holsters and coldly surveyed her surroundings: "Strange, I clearly sensed that a door to the Imaginary Dimension had been opened here, but why is there no one here?"

Just minutes ago, Kiana was fighting a small group of Honkai Beasts attempting to invade Sky City on the other side. However, right after the battle ended, Kiana suddenly sensed a spatial fluctuation on this side.

Although the Herrscher of the Void's personality was suppressed with Fu Hua's help, she had already been influenced by the Herrscher's power and even begun to use it autonomously. She could now use the Herrscher of the Void's powers to a certain extent. Thanks to this, Kiana was very sensitive to changes in space and could easily sense them.

Kiana rushed here because she sensed that someone had opened the door to the Imaginary Dimension. After all, manipulating the Imaginary Dimension is a unique power of hers as the Herrscher of the Void, and if someone else can use it, she can't just leave it unattended.

However, Kiana has not found anyone here, not even the Honkai Beasts that are everywhere in the outer ring.

"Kiana, be careful, I have a bad feeling." The voice of the Sage Fu Hua rang in Kiana's ear, "The air around us has changed, we may have been ambushed."

"Clap clap clap!"

A round of applause rang out from the ruins, and then a man appeared in front of Kiana.

"As expected of Hua, even without a physical body, you are still a top-notch warrior. You can even sense changes in the air in your soul form."

White hair and blue eyes are undoubtedly unique features of the Kaslana family, but neither Fu Hua nor Kiana knew that there was such a man in the Kaslana family.

"Who are you?" Kiana assumed a fighting stance. Her Valkyrie intuition told her that the man before her was definitely a formidable opponent, even more so than Rita.

In other words, Rita, an S-class Valkyrie, was no match for the man in front of her. Moreover, Kiana also sensed a strangely familiar aura emanating from him.

That was the aura of collapse.

When asked his name, the white-haired man smiled and said, "Don't be so nervous about me. Perhaps a few months ago, I had a reason to kill you, but now I have no reason to continue fighting. If I could, I would like to apologize to this world and use the rest of my time to atone for my sins."

"Who are you?!"

“Kevin,” the man said, “Kevin Kaslana, that’s my name, or perhaps titles like ‘The First Kaslana’ or ‘Leader of the World Serpent’ are more familiar to you?”

The leader of the world's snakes?!

The moment the word entered Kiana's ears, her delicate body trembled.

"Finally... finally... finally I've found you! World Serpent!!!"

With an angry roar, Kiana charged towards Kevin like a cannonball bursting from its barrel!

"I swore an oath long ago: the debt of being deceived and manipulated by you, the debt of hurting Mei and Bronya, the debt of turning the class president into this, the debt of destroying St. Freya Academy—I will make you pay for it all, without missing a single one!!!"

At the crossroads, the Sky Ripper was slammed into Kevin's face like a heavy hammer by Kiana, while her legs kicked at Kevin with incredible speed like long whips, each kick stirring up a fierce gust of wind. The force was so great that it even left a clear footprint on the steel bridge!

Compared to a few months ago, Kiana's strength is now vastly different. A few months ago, she was at most an A-rank Valkyrie, but now she is showing strength that is in no way inferior to Rita wearing the Moon Soul Armor, and even shows a tendency to surpass her!

This is Kiana, who grew up from grief after experiencing the serious injury of her friend, the departure of her mentor, and the loss of her family!

"You've grown quite a bit. As expected, you're also from the Kaslana family. The more the Kaslana family loses, the stronger they become. That's how I got here."

Facing Kiana's relentless and fierce attacks, Kevin moved with the ease of a stroll, doubling his position each time as if he had a premonition and left Kiana's attack trajectory ahead of time.

"However, although you have grown a lot, there is still a huge gap of 50,000 years between us. Moreover, the prototype of Kaslana Gunfighting was passed down by me. In terms of strength, you are no match for me."

Even without drawing his Heavenly Fire Judgment, Kevin dodged Kiana's whip kick and silently approached her body like a ghost, then lightly punched her in the abdomen.

"Well--!"

Kiana was immediately sent flying backward.

Kiana flipped in mid-air and landed back on the ground. Just as she was about to rush forward again, the cold muzzle of a gun was already pressed against her forehead.

Holding up the Heavenly Judgment, Kevin laughed and said, "I'm not here to fight you. If you can, can you calm down and listen to what I have to say? If you still want to change everything in this world and prevent the tragedy from repeating itself."

Do you think I'd believe your nonsense?

“Yes, you won’t believe us World Serpents, but there’s one person you absolutely will,” Kevin said. “Your brother, Dr. Fafnir, the most brilliant mind in Schicksal.”

"What did you say?!"

Kiana completely lost her composure. Doctor Fafnir, the owner of this name, had been missing for nearly three years. During this time, Kiana had been searching for him because she believed that if it were him, he could definitely turn the tide and change the situation, but she had not found a single trace of him.

"Do you... know where my brother is?"

“Yes, we know. We can even take you to see him. Do you want to come?” Kevin extended his hand to Kiana. “If you want to save your friends, find your teacher who is lost in the Imaginary Space, and eliminate the Honkai at its root, then come with me. I will take you to your brother who can change everything.”

Silence filled the space between Kevin and Kiana. Fu Hua didn't interrupt. Kiana had grown up, and Fu Hua wouldn't object to her decision.

After a long silence, Kiana replied, "Fine, I'll go with you, but if you lie to me, I don't mind dying with you all."

"Please rest assured, the doctor and I are practically friends. As for you, who is nominally his sister—or rather, who has become his real sister—I will not do anything to harm you."

PS: This is the plot after the initial Honkai Impact 3rd arc. I don't know if you guys remember the Holy Grail War arc, where Chen, Otto, Talulah and the others traveled to different worlds to find Geralt and Kallen. After that, Otto in this world never returned. After Otto's death, World Serpent took over the Schicksal left behind by Otto and continued Otto's plan. In other words, it's the original plot of the game, but it's a bit more tragic than the game. This Schicksal was destroyed by World Serpent's underhanded tactics during the Herrscher incident. Mei, Bronya, Theresa and the others were all seriously injured and were kept alive by Anti-Entropy's technology. Himeko still fell into the Imaginary Space and disappeared. Fu Hua was ambushed by World Serpent and lost her body. The real Kiana merged with Kiana during the Herrscher incident. Rita and Durandal led the remnants of Schicksal to hide in various parts of Europe—that's basically the setup.