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

"What are you doing! Stop it!" Hishimaru screamed, the black mist surging wildly. "We've lost the Herrscher core! We'll disappear! What are you doing!"

My beloved...

If we can no longer meet in this world... I hope... when I meet you again in the cycle of reincarnation...

I can proudly say...

I've saved others too...

In the courtyard of a residential house, the petals of a cherry blossom tree that bloomed out of season fell one after another, like colorful ribbons falling from the sky at a wedding, covering the withered and desolate ground.

That enormous cherry blossom tree has withered.

If I do not leave now, how can I ever meet you again?

Chapter 86 Elisa's Condition

Keng Huo woke up in complete darkness to an unfamiliar ceiling. He instinctively tried to get up, but the intense pain and weakness throughout his body made it impossible for him to maintain his balance. He fell to the ground halfway through his movement.

But he didn't relax at all. He moved backward with his body in excruciating pain until his back hit the wall, only then did he feel a moment of security.

"This isn't St. Freya Academy, nor is it the Hyperion..." Keng Huo glanced around at the surroundings, roughly assessing his current situation. "The medical center at St. Freya Academy wouldn't leave me on the ground, and the Hyperion shouldn't have such a dilapidated room..."

"So I'm still in Changkong City? But where am I?" Keng Huo's mind began to feel dizzy, and the mental lethargy made him very uncomfortable. "The uncontrollability of the crystal pendant is still too strong. Although its power has also increased considerably, without the filtering of the jade, the corrosive effect of the Honkai energy on the body is still so strong..."

In the previous battle, the will contained within the crystal pendant was ignited by the bewitching force, gaining immense explosive power. However, this also caused the crystal pendant to collapse under the power projected by those wills.

Before losing consciousness, Keng Huo thought that his body, which was being eroded by the Honkai energy contained in the Crystal Pendant, would not be able to withstand it and would collapse. He even thought that just under the release intensity of the Beast Trapping Talisman beyond its limit, his body should have torn apart due to the superhuman exertion and then died from internal bleeding...

But the reality is that, apart from feeling weak and experiencing excruciating pain all over his body, he couldn't find a single wound.

Keng Huo even suspected that he was actually dead and that he was now a legendary ghost.

But why do ghosts feel pain, damn it! Is this some new setting?

"Sigh... I was too impulsive..." Keng Huo sighed. "Why didn't I run away back then... She's just a chuunibyou pseudo-Herrscher, why did I have to fight her to the death... I came to save people..."

This is actually a common problem among alchemists, or rather, a side effect of using their unique anti-Honkai weapons.

Because they need to use fragments of will as raw materials to make tools, their emotions are easily aroused by the memories remaining in those fragments of will during the process of making and using them; on the other hand, the alchemist must also be emotionally rich in order to perceive the various emotions in those fragments of will.

Only when you truly empathize with those fragments of will will those fragments accept you and be willing to be used by you.

If the jade pendant being made is an ancient one passed down through the memory between master and apprentice, then a richer emotional capacity is needed to comprehend the spirit contained within that fragment of will. Without the original fragment of will, one must use a part of one's own will to simulate it, thereby replicating the jade pendant.

As for Keng Huo... he originally wanted to escape, but the pursuit was too tight, and his glasses were shattered. The situation was extremely critical, so he had no choice but to release the Beast Trapping Talisman and fight to the death.

Otherwise, using those ten seconds to run away is really useless; you still can't shake off the pursuer. It's better to fight back. If you win, you win; if you lose, it's game over.

Keng Huo touched his bare neck, looking dejected: "Now even the equipment I painstakingly made with embezzled public funds is gone. How could I be so miserable..."

Just as Keng Huo's thoughts were wandering freely, a sound coming from the next room diverted his attention.

Unable to contain his confusion, Keng Huo forced himself to stand up and, enduring the excruciating pain, placed his hand on the doorknob.

"Hmm?" Keng Huo suddenly noticed a pink petal mark on the back of his hand, which was very conspicuous on his skin. "What is that?"

Keng Huo tried to wipe it with his sleeve, but found that the mark was etched on his skin like a tattoo and could not be wiped off. However, as he touched it, the mark reacted slightly, and a faint warmth spread from the mark.

"Could I have been bewitched?" In Keng Huo's mind, images flashed through his mind of insects mutated by Honkai energy into a strange species that reproduced by parasitism. They would burrow into the back of the host's hand, slowly devouring everything about the host, and then burst out of the body...

Keng Huo shuddered and hurriedly searched his body, but everything he touched hurt, and he couldn't find any useful information: "Never mind... I'll get checked again when I get back to St. Freya Academy..."

After shaking off his wild, unbridled thoughts, Keng Huo gently pushed open the door.

His thinking was that since he was so weak now, he probably wouldn't be able to resist if there really was an enemy, so he might as well just go for it and satisfy his curiosity...

But when he opened the door, he saw Theresa sitting blankly on the bed.

The sound of the door opening startled Theresa, whose face showed a mixture of confusion and surprise, and whose eyes were filled with contemplation.

Before Keng Huo could process such a large amount of information, Theresa asked with a look of sudden realization, "Now you're the headmistress?"

Keng Huo looked completely bewildered.

Theresa felt that her reasoning was very logical.

Here is Keng Huo = This weakling should be in a very safe place = A safe place must be St. Freya Academy = But her bedroom at St. Freya Academy is not this shabby = Keng Huo must have sold everything he could to raise money to find a research center to cure her of that extremely potent poison while she was still asleep = Since Keng Huo had the power to sell all her things, he must be very powerful now = So he is the headmaster now?

Ignoring Keng Huo's bewildered expression, Theresa continued with her own reasoning, her eyes gradually becoming increasingly complex with contemplation.

She opened her mouth, but the words stuck in her throat. After hesitating for a long time, she decided to ask for clarification.

How much is my salary now?

Even with his boundless imagination, Keng Huo couldn't keep up with Theresa's train of thought in such a short time. He was still trying to figure out why he had suddenly met Theresa, something he couldn't explain.

"Why are you here?" Keng Huo decided to ask the most crucial and basic question first.

"???" This time it was Theresa's turn to be completely bewildered. "Why am I not here? Where else could I be if I'm not at St. Freya Academy?"

"What? This is St. Freya Academy?" If Keng Huo weren't having trouble even standing, he probably would have jumped out of the window to see where he was.

"Huh? This isn't St. Freya Academy?" Theresa seemed to have heard something utterly shocking. "Our academy is gone?"

"Stop, stop, stop! I think we all need to get our thoughts together." Keng Huo felt he had to stop this conversation. "Isn't this Changkong City?"

"What?! Changkong City has been recaptured?!" Theresa seemed stunned by the sudden news. "How many years have I been asleep?"

……

After a very inefficient exchange of information, the two finally reached a conclusion that even a fool could understand: this was still Changkong City.

"Then why am I here?" Theresa hadn't yet snapped out of her dazed state.

"I already told you I don't know!" Keng Huo leaned against the wall in despair. "Why are you here?"

"How should I know?!"

The two stared at each other for a long time before Keng Huo finally realized that Theresa's intelligence was probably not of much use at this moment, and he began to lower his head and think to himself.

"...After fighting that pseudo-Herrscher, I lost consciousness. I have no idea what happened during that time, but I can deduce some things from the clues..." Keng Huo looked around the bedroom, trying to deduce what kind of person it belonged to from the decorations, but the objects in the room were too simple for Keng Huo to guess. However, he still deduced some possible options from the information he already had.

“First of all, if it was a rescue team sent by Himeko… no, after the rescue team finds us, they will definitely try to send us back first. Even if they want to rest in Changkong City first, they should at least leave someone to take care of us… so this is unlikely…”

"Then who moved me here?" Yae Sakura's face flashed through Keng Huo's mind in an instant. "That's unlikely... Whether it's her stance or something else, she doesn't seem to have any reason to save me..."

Besides, I had smeared her face with chili powder before. No matter how I look at it, I think that after she found me, she should have chopped me into eight pieces, chopped some garlic and ginger, poured in soy sauce and added thirteen spices, and an hour later she would have a pot of fragrant food...

Thinking of this, Keng Huo couldn't help but feel a little hungry, and subconsciously reached into his pocket to take out some energy bars to restore his strength.

But what he took out wasn't an energy bar, but his personal data terminal.

He checked his current location on the map on the data terminal and was surprised to find that the place looked somewhat familiar...

"Holy crap, isn't this the place where I ran into that psychopathic killer?" Keng Huo's eyes widened. Although he had indeed had this suspicion, he wasn't really sure.

Because if Yae Sakura really did bring me back, I'm afraid I'll soon be stewed into a delicious pot of stew...

"But why are you in Changkong City?" Theresa felt a sense of being ignored as she looked at Keng Huo, who was deep in thought and ignoring her.

"Himeko sent me to save you," Keng Huo replied subconsciously while deep in thought.

Theresa's expression suddenly froze, as if she had just realized something.

Keng Huo caught a glimpse of Theresa's expression out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly remembered why he had come to save Theresa.

He didn't have time to think about his current situation, and his face gradually darkened.

Theresa seemed to sense the doubt in Keng Huo's eyes, and her face stiffened even more. She guiltily turned her face away.

"Himeko sent me here using the Hyperion... I saw Elisa." Keng Huo's tone was becoming calmer, even somewhat distant. "I'd like to hear your explanation."

Theresa's mind cleared considerably from the sudden shock, racing as she tried to feign ignorance: "Elisa? I don't even know where she is. How did you find her?"

"Can you stop assuming that I'm on the same intellectual level as you?" Keng Huo didn't hear the answer he wanted, and his eyes turned cold. In an instant, the atmosphere in the small bedroom seemed to grow colder. "You know about Elisa's situation, you know where she is... you know a lot of things, but you haven't told me a single thing."

Theresa almost cried out. It was Elisa's idea to send Theresa to the Black Prison to rescue Keng Huo and bring him to St. Freya Academy; otherwise, she would never have trusted a wanted criminal. Elisa had also specifically instructed her not to tell Keng Huo about her situation, and she had always done so...

But what's with Keng Huo's confident demeanor now? Has he confirmed Elisa's true identity? Did Elisa tell him herself? Or is he just deceiving himself?

Theresa forced herself to calm down and decided to continue playing dumb: "That's Ai-chan, the battleship's AI system, not Elisa. It just looks the same..."

Hearing Theresa's answer, which was exactly the same as Himeko's, Keng Huo sighed softly.

“Theresa, I’m not stupid. I hope you will think this over carefully. This is about whether I can still trust St. Freya Academy.”

Theresa's expression finally turned serious.

“In reality, the AI ​​of the vast majority of Schicksal’s airships is based on Elisa’s image,” Theresa surprisingly didn’t mince words this time, answering Keng’s question readily. “They are not actually independent AIs, but rather multi-threaded programs separated from the main program… Just like your computer can run multiple programs simultaneously, the AI ​​of the warships is actually controlled by the main AI, but in practice, each warship is an independent system AI…”

"Like multiple personality disorder?" Keng Huo interrupted Theresa as if he had grasped a key point.

"...Somewhat similar."

"So what's wrong with Elisa now? Why is the AI ​​looking like her? I need a definite answer!" Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Keng Huo asked the question he most wanted answered.

"She's one of the rare Valkyries who can unleash special abilities. She can manipulate electronic devices with incredible efficiency, almost like she's possessed... Schicksal's AI was developed based on her research, or rather, it was designed by her, so it's normal for the AI ​​to use her appearance as its design... As for where she is now..."

“I don’t know,” Theresa said, shrugging. “But I can assure you she’s safe and living in a way you can understand, because she’s an extremely important and invaluable asset to Schicksal.”

If it weren't for the fact that Keng Huo was in such a precarious state that he could barely move, he would definitely have jumped up and fought Theresa, but the pain in his body prevented him from acting irrationally.

"Are you implying that my sister is being used as a guinea pig?!"

"No, it's just that her abilities can help Destiny develop artificial intelligence. Destiny studies the changes in the electronic devices' programs during her control of them, and uses this to deduce the possibility and pathways of the existence of artificial intelligence."

Perhaps sensing that Keng Huo was about to become agitated, Theresa carefully added, "You need to know... how significant an AI program is to an organization... even I can't possibly have all the information."

"All the truth is in my grandfather's hands, but he is a powerful force that we cannot resist now."

“I admit that part of the reason I rescued you from the dark prison was because of your relationship with Elisa. I hoped to learn the secrets of the Destiny AI system through you and figure out the truth behind a major event that happened several years ago.”