Honkai Impact 3rd: My Days as a Captain in Schicksal

"And there's individual weapon maintenance and use, Honkai Beast taxonomy, intelligence studies..." Keng Huo stared at Kiana's ever-changing expression, his face filled with sorrow.

It's that kind of sadness you feel when you raise a daughter with so much care for twenty years, only to find out that she actually has the surname Wang.

"That's enough, that's enough..." Keng Huo lowered his head, covering his face with one hand, appearing to outsiders as if he had suffered a great blow.

Kiana chuckled, her eyes darting left and right.

Little did he know that Keng Huo was secretly overjoyed.

Because the courses he just mentioned were all taught by Himeko!

As the saying goes, comparison is the thief of joy. It's ironic that Kiana only sleeps in two of her classes, and in one of them, she doesn't even recognize the professor. Compared to Himeko, who didn't remember Himeko as her teacher for four whole courses—from reconnaissance to intelligence studies…

As a teacher, I feel very gratified.

Keng Huo gained some psychological comfort through this method of mental victory.

Kiana smiled awkwardly and picked up her water glass, trying to cover up her embarrassment by drinking water.

"Huh? Where's my water? It was just here, a whole big glass of cola!" Kiana said instinctively.

"Nonsense, there's only half a cup left!" Keng Huo almost blurted out, but he forcibly suppressed it. If he said that, wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting that he drank it?

"You must have drunk it yourself, right? Who else could it be me?" Keng Huo said with a disdainful look. His innocent expression at that moment would win him at least five Oscars. "Have you forgotten what you've done?"

"Huh?" Kiana paused for a moment, scratching her head in confusion. "Could it really be me who drank it? That's impossible... I just took a sip and then remembered that this cola has been sitting for three or four days and can't be drunk anymore... But it's not good that you drank it, you'll definitely get a stomachache if you do."

Keng Huo's face turned pale instantly, and he broke out in a cold sweat.

Noticing the change in Keng Huo's expression, Kiana clapped her hands angrily: "Haha, I tricked you out of it! You must have stolen my cola! You have to pay for it!"

"Huh?" Even though Keng Huo's mind was slow, he realized that Kiana had been bluffing him. The cola he had just drunk was very bubbly, which meant it had been opened recently, but he hadn't realized it at first.

The key point is, Kiana actually learned to lie? How could she learn such a high-level skill? Keng Huo felt he needed to re-evaluate this paramecium who scored a total of 15 points in eight courses in the midterm exam.

"What do you mean by 'stealing a drink'! Can you call it stealing when it's a scholar's business?" Keng Huo straightened his neck. "That's called...that's called tuition! Do you understand tuition?! I just gave you a very important theory lesson! I only charged you half a cup of Coke, that's already a friendly price!"

"Then I'll forget everything you just said, and you'll have to buy me a Coke!" Kiana retorted, not giving an inch.

“Well…” Keng Huo’s eyes darted around, and he made a conciliatory gesture. “Alright, I’ll make you a Coke. Bring me a cup.”

"What are you doing with that cup? Go buy me a Coke!" Kiana looked completely bewildered.

"Didn't you want the Coke I just drank? Here, I'll spit it out for you, ah..."

"Get out, you perverted bastard! Disgusting! Shameless! Trash!"

"You're the real idiot! Your brain cells combined don't even amount to the number of cells on one of my fingers—you're a single-celled organism!" Keng Huo rolled up his sleeves, looking ready for a good fight. "Draw your sword!"

"Oh my, Teacher Keng is here too?" At this moment, Mei pushed open the door and walked into the dormitory. Seeing the two of them playing around with pillows without any regard for their image, she couldn't help but smile. "You two seem to be getting along very well today."

"Not good at all!" the two men shouted in unison during their struggle.

Chapter Five: The Deal in the Dark

"Keng Huo... um..." That evening, Kiana, carrying a large bag that was almost half the size of a person, mysteriously poked her head into Keng Huo's dormitory. "Is anyone home?"

"No one's here," a sinister, ethereal voice echoed from the darkness, "Only ghosts..."

"Snap—" Kiana turned on the light. "What are you doing now, you rascal? Trying to scare me? You're way too early!"

Then she saw Keng Huo, who was covered with a white sheet, sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed in a meditative posture.

"I am trying to understand the secrets of fighting in the dark," Keng Huo said with a serious expression. "For the Valkyrie squad, launching night raids is very common, so how to accurately find the enemy and kill them in one blow in the dark is a topic that will never be outdated. I am blending into the darkness, so that the enemy cannot detect me while I use my mental power to sense the enemy's location."

"Wow, that sounds amazing!" Kiana's eyes lit up with surprise. "Teach me!"

"This theory is still immature and in the experimental stage. Um... you can wait until I perfect the method before..." Keng Huo coughed imperceptibly, his eyes darting around.

"If I learn this skill, I can sneak around at night without anyone noticing..." Kiana didn't listen to what Keng Huo was saying, but instead fell into her own fantasies.

"Going to the cafeteria to steal food?" Keng Huo thought Kiana's thought process could only be at this level.

"Night Raid Mei!" Kiana's eyes lit up, and she clenched her fist tightly, looking full of energy.

"Pfft..." Keng Huo almost choked on his own saliva. "If that's the purpose, I would never teach you!"

"No~" Kiana grabbed what appeared to be Keng Huo's head under the sheet and started shaking it frantically. "Teach me, teach me! If you teach me, I'll give you something good~"

"No! This move is incredibly powerful and unparalleled; only one person can master it. If another person learns it, it will surely unleash a bloodbath in the martial world!" Keng Huo refused to yield, "For the sake of peace, and for the sake of upholding true love and justice, I have decided to bear this burden alone!"

"It's okay! You can teach me and then forget it, so only I will know it! That way, there won't be any bloodshed, right? Teach me, teach me!" Kiana shook her head even more vigorously when she heard this.

If it weren't for the fact that Keng Huo's head would occasionally brush against Kiana's soft chest while being shaken, Keng Huo might have given up long ago.

"No! I... I'd rather die than submit!" Keng Huo shouted while enjoying the benefits no one else knew about. "Besides, how could I possibly forget something I figured out myself? Absolutely not!"

"It's okay! I'll help you!" Kiana suddenly stopped what she was doing, pulled out a hard object from her waist, and tapped it on the back of Keng Huo's head, seemingly searching for a suitable spot. "I'm very good at physical memory erasure!"

"Wait! What are you doing!" Keng Huo shuddered in fright and quickly tried to stand up. "I have absolutely no trust in your accuracy and strength!"

"Haha, you think you can bargain now that you're in my hands?" Kiana suddenly opened her arms and grabbed Keng Huo's neck. "Hand over the manual obediently!"

"Stop...stop..." If Kiana's arms weren't so tight, Keng Huo really wanted to enjoy the squeezing of those two soft mounds behind him a little longer, but unfortunately, his lungs were already sounding an emergency alarm. If this continued, Keng Huo would probably die. "I...I'll tell the truth..."

Keng Huo felt the restraints around his neck loosen instantly, and quickly took a few deep breaths of the stuffy air in the sealed space.

"Um, Kiana, please sit down first." Keng Huo remained in the position of covering his entire body with the sheet. "I need to tell you something first, so please put down the weapon you're holding..."

"Um... actually, I was lying to you. There's no such thing as using mental power to sense enemies in the dark. I was doing something else just now..."

"Huh?" Kiana looked at Keng Huo, who was wrapped up like a polar bear, with a suspicious expression and disbelief. "Then what are you doing? And why are you covered up completely? You're not even showing your face?"

"Could it be that you are..." Kiana seemed to realize something, her face flushed, and she darted back three or four meters. "Pervert! Vulgar! Sex maniac!"

Kiana felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about what she had just done.

"What the hell! What exactly am I, a pervert, a lewd pervert, or a horrible maniac?!" Keng Huo suddenly poked his head out, and it was obvious from his collar that he was wearing clothes.

"Oh, you scared me to death! I thought you were doing something disgusting and indescribable." Kiana turned her face away, a little embarrassed.

"Just how bad must my image be for you to make such a terrible association with me!" Keng Huo felt like the veins on his forehead were about to burst. If he weren't unable to beat Kiana, he would definitely teach her what it means to respect her teacher.

"Then what are you doing here so mysteriously? You didn't even turn on the lights." Kiana looked around at the room's layout, which was no different from before, and became even more puzzled.

"Hmph, well..." Keng Huo became smug when he saw that Kiana had hit the nail on the head. "Hmph hmph hmph."

"What are you humming about? Are you a pig?"

"Ahem... Well, there's a reason for that, of course. Turn off the light first, then come over." Keng Huo maintained his inscrutable smile.

Despite her doubts, Kiana obediently turned off the light and, relying on her memory, groped her way in the dark to the sofa where Keng Huo was sitting.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound rang out. Kiana instinctively tried to dodge, but the newcomer was faster. Kiana felt a hand grab her arm and pull her into a small, enclosed space.

"Snap—" Keng Huo, hidden under the sheets, suddenly switched on his flashlight, "Clang clang clang~"

Before Kiana could react, she was stunned by what she saw.

"I knew it. This thing is mysterious and unpredictable, even gods and ghosts avoid it, and it's rarely seen. But don't be too surprised, after all, it's a piece of cake for me." Keng Huo continued smugly.

"Are you crazy?! Sitting on the sofa at night, hiding under the sheets and reading comics with a flashlight!" Kiana suddenly ripped the sheet off her. "How childish are you! How did someone like you become a teacher?! How much money did you pay to get in?!"

Keng Huo looked shocked: "You're focusing on the wrong thing! Aren't you shocked by the fact that the 37th volume of 'Houmu's Great Adventure' isn't even going on sale until tomorrow?! It's not going on sale until tomorrow! Tomorrow!"

"The one whose focus is completely off is you!" Kiana said, both amused and exasperated.

"But... it's a brand new volume! I haven't even read it yet!" Kiana's eyes lit up. "Let me see it!"

"No way! I haven't finished reading it yet!" Keng Huo shoved the comic into his arms.

"It's okay, we can watch it together!"

Keng Huo hesitated for a moment: "It's fine to watch together... but... we have to watch it with a flashlight inside the sheets!"

"What's wrong with you?!" Kiana felt her eyelid twitching.

"Can't I reminisce about my childhood? I loved reading comics under the covers when I was little!" Keng Huo said confidently.

"Tch, what a nuisance. I'll grant you the honor of reading comics under the same sheet as me. Kneel down and be grateful." Kiana darted into the sheet like the wind. "Tell me quickly, what happened to Houmei after Houmu rescued her! Did Houmu confess to her?!"

"No rush, no rush, let's start from the beginning of this volume. By the way, what brings you to me in the middle of the night?"

"I got that thing you asked me to find last time, and I even exceeded the requirements!" Kiana said smugly.

"Really? Give it to me, give it to me now!" Keng Huo was impatient.

"Unless you let me hold the comic book, then forget it!" Kiana stared at Keng Huo's hand holding the comic book, like a husky guarding its food.

“This…” Keng Huo hesitated for a moment, “You have to let me see the goods first.”

"Oh dear, this is such a hassle," Kiana said, dragging over the large bag she'd been carrying since she came in. "Look at this, it's brand new!"

"Wow, it really is!" Keng Huo exclaimed excitedly after just one glance inside. "Kiana, you've been a huge help!"

"Hehehe... So what about my squad tactics homework next week?" Kiana smiled like a flower.

"No need to pay!" Keng Huo waved his hand generously, letting Kiana off the hook.

"Then let's keep watching!" Kiana's eyes sparkled again.

"Come on, come on!"

"Wow, this drawing is amazing! Homu is definitely going to confess!" Kiana exclaimed softly. "Such a beautiful scene, it would be a waste not to confess!"

"That's not necessarily true. If Houmu confesses now, how will the series continue? The comic artist still needs to make money from this series." Keng Huo said with a look of disdain.

"Huh? Is that how it is?" Kiana was utterly shocked. "There's such a thing?"

“That’s right. As long as it doesn’t end, the comic has to keep being drawn, the readers have to keep buying it, and the money can keep being made,” Keng Huo said with a sigh. “Look at ‘Death God Elementary School Student’ and ‘I Want to Be the Village Chief’, how long are the plots? It’s all for making money! Even if the comic artist doesn’t want to draw, the publisher will force them to keep drawing!”

"Is this some kind of rip-off?" Kiana exclaimed. "But by the way, how did you get this latest edition? Isn't it supposed to be released tomorrow?"

"Ahem..." Keng Huo changed the subject, "Well, I have some connections, but I can't tell anyone. Anyway, I have a way to get the latest volume before it's released."

"Wow, that's amazing! So, will you be able to get the next volume too?!" Kiana asked excitedly.

"The artist hasn't even drawn it yet, how am I supposed to get it!"

"Tch, what a useless man."