The collapse started when Kiana came to the door

But what Li Shubai didn't know was that Kiana didn't actually feel that much anger in her heart. Her silence came from her inner helplessness, not a sign of anger.

Perhaps, in this world, there are indeed people who dislike and hate themselves at other times. Even worse, when they meet, they will project the Yin-Yang swords if they disagree with each other, and fight to the death with all their strength with the intention of killing each other.

But Kiana is clearly not one of those people.

On the contrary, Kiana did not feel any disgust or rejection towards her future self, the Herrscher of the Fire, but instead admired him from the bottom of her heart.

She admired her maturity, her awareness, and of course, her powerful strength and her dashing and dazzling heroic appearance in battle. She even envied the dress she wore.

Just by looking at the Herrscher of the Fire, who had no hesitation at all, Kiana realized from the bottom of her heart how wonderful it would be if she could become that kind of person.

After the anticipation, what followed was an indescribable uneasiness.

The moment the consciousness mapping was lifted, Kiana was indeed restored to her original self. But as Aponia said, human consciousness is so huge, complex, and sophisticated. During the mapping, Kiana's consciousness and the personality and memory of the Herrscher of the Fire were completely synchronized. This huge and sophisticated information will inevitably affect both parties of the consciousness mapping. After the consciousness mapping is lifted, it is impossible for the other party's personality and memory information to be completely left.

If a person's consciousness is compared to a painting, the so-called consciousness mapping is to project a new picture onto the painting using a projection device with strong light that is enough to cover the original picture. In this process, the original painting does not lose its perception and consciousness. After the consciousness mapping is lifted, the excess light will still turn into an afterimage that has not completely disappeared, remaining in front of the painting.

This is what happened to Kiana at this time. For her, although she did not dislike the Herrscher of Fire Flame itself, she also had no objection to letting another future self who was better than herself deal with the third collapse of Changkong City and the transformation of Mei Raiden into a Herrscher.

But after the consciousness mapping was lifted, Kiana vaguely felt the hardships and pain the other party had gone through, and she almost instinctively felt uneasy.

The Herrscher of Fire and Flame likes Li Shubai - Kiana doesn't care about this kind of thing at all. Not to mention that it is the choice of another better self, if the Herrscher of Fire and Flame likes him, then Kiana will at least not reject him.

But before considering these things, she was more of a member of the Kaslana clan. Her father had instilled in her the idea of ​​protecting others since she was a child. She was happy to accept her father's teachings, and she was kind-hearted and willing to accept such beliefs. She transformed this belief into her goal of survival and struggle without much hesitation, and also took practical actions for it. Because of this, compared to the love between men and women, which she did not reject, Kiana cared more about the hazy memories she saw in her future self.

What many people don't know is that Kiana was very aware from a very young age that there was a demon living inside her.

That demon is very dangerous. She is full of malice towards the world and has a desire to torture and kill humans. In order to get rid of that demon, Kiana's brain's self-protection mechanism forces herself not to remember anything about that demon. But now, the consciousness mapping of the Herrscher of Fire has cruelly revealed the existence of that demon from her memory.

"......?" Suddenly, Li Shubai felt Kiana wrapping around his waist from behind and hugging his arms even tighter.

Because he was still riding the motorcycle, he did not look back, but just silently held the handlebars of the motorcycle.

Chapter 19 Advice

2014年1月2日，极东时间，下午3：22分。

"All the dead soldiers and Honkai beasts within one kilometer of the target have been cleared." In a dilapidated building, a tall, voluptuous, silver-gray curly-haired beauty looked at the motorcycle speeding through the streets of Changkong City from afar. She murmured to herself in a calm and calm tone with a voice that perfectly blended maturity and a hint of milk, "Good job, 0019."

"I say... this beautiful lady." Along with the creaking sound similar to that of a steel wire stretched to its limit, behind this elegant and chic silver-gray curly-haired beauty, a silver-haired man who was trapped by the glowing silk thread laughed bitterly, "A new face, I don't think I've seen you in the Tianming headquarters before, how about... getting to know you?"

His squirming and struggling posture reminded people of a caterpillar caught in a spider web.

The beauty with silver-gray curly hair glanced at the silver-haired man who was struggling with a bitter face behind her. Although her face was expressionless, the man clearly saw a hint of inexplicable teasing in her calm and gentle eyes.

"I am just a little-known person, and my name... is nothing to be proud of." The silver-gray curly-haired beauty said, "I am even less worthy of mention in front of Mr. Siegfried, the great hero who once participated in the Second Herrscher Crusade and the strongest knight of destiny."

"Not well-known, not worth mentioning..." Siegfried's eyes twitched as he glanced at the glowing thread that had tied him up tightly and that he couldn't get free no matter what. He also recalled how the other party had used two moves in less than three seconds to easily subdue him after meeting him. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he said in a weak tone: "This beautiful lady, you are really modest..."

"No need to test me any further, Mr. Siegfried." A faint smile appeared on the face of the beautiful woman with silver-gray curly hair. She no longer looked at Siegfried who was struggling behind her, but turned her head and continued to observe the motorcycle speeding in the distance towards the outskirts of Changkong City. "As you think, I am indeed not the Valkyrie of Destiny. Of course, I don't have any personal grudges against you."

"Ah - but." Suddenly, the silver-gray curly-haired beauty put her fingers to her lips and raised the corners of her mouth to make a meaningful tone, "I might still be interested in Tianming's huge wanted reward."

Siegfried was silent for a long time, his expression blank: "...Should I struggle more vigorously?"

"Then..." The silver-gray curly-haired beauty tilted her head, as if she was really thinking about whether Siegfried should do that, and then smiled brightly, "...It's up to Mr. Siegfried."

"Beautiful girl, please stop playing with me, okay?" Siegfried made a bitter face, and moved his one arm that was tied tightly by the glowing wire made of unknown material and could not move at all. He felt so wronged that he was about to cry, "Untie me first, and we can discuss it if there is anything. Let's be friendly, there is no need to fight, right?"

Suddenly, the beautiful woman with silver-gray curly hair spoke in a melancholy tone: "That child... must be very confused now."

Siegfried was stunned. He was silent for a long time, lowered his head and said nothing.

The beautiful woman with silver-gray curly hair turned her head and looked at Siegfried with a meaningful look: "At this most vulnerable and confused time, not even a family member is by your side. Although you are a strong child, it is really unfortunate."

"I, I also want to be with her..." Siegfried murmured in a low voice.

"Oh, I was just talking to myself, but I didn't say anything about Mr. Siegfried." The beautiful woman with silver-gray curly hair smiled, "Similarly, the following words are just my own words."

If he was talking to himself, then he couldn't answer. Siegfried lowered his head silently.

"...The other personality in that child has now retreated to the deepest part of his consciousness." The beautiful woman with silver-gray curly hair looked at the motorcycle in the distance, not at Siegfried, but her words made Siegfried suddenly raise his head, and his blue eyes, which were exactly the same as Kiana's, were full of astonishment.

“If the child’s family members are staying away from her because they are worried that their presence will irritate her other personality, then now is the best time to regain responsibility and family affection.” The beauty with silver-gray curly hair didn’t even turn her head and pointed behind her.

In an instant, the glowing silk thread seemed to be given life, and it flexibly freed Siegfried from his restraints, then quickly gathered and returned to the wrist of the beauty with silver-gray curly hair.

"My mission is to protect the captain's safety. I have no ill will towards your daughter. Meeting Mr. Siegfried this time was just an accident. Please forgive me if I have offended you." She raised her feet and jumped into the air against the cold wind outside the building, her posture elegant and light.

Siegfried, who had regained his freedom, stood up and looked with a complicated expression at the beautiful woman with silver-gray curly hair who was flying freely in the air with one hand raised and holding the wing-shaped weapon.

From a distance, Siegfried saw her lips move slightly.

——Although he couldn't hear the sound, he still understood.

What choice you make next has nothing to do with me.

Those were cold words, as if he was talking about someone else's affairs that had nothing to do with him.

However, Siegfried showed a subtle expression and turned his sore wrist.

"Could this be what they call - tsundere?" He murmured with a strange look on his face, while his five fingers slowly closed together, exerted force, and clenched into a fist as hard as a rock.

In fact, Li Shubai really likes riding a motorcycle.

Compared to sitting in the driver's seat of a car, restrained by a seat belt and a steel cage, and operating with both hands and feet; the control method of a motorcycle, which allows the driver to merge his body with the vehicle itself in order to control the center of gravity, gives the driver an indescribable feeling of freedom.

At the same time, this driving style that exposes the body completely to the air will also allow the driver to spontaneously maintain a highly concentrated state.

Rumble, accompanied by the loud sound of a heavy object falling to the ground, the ground suddenly shook slightly.

——On the right rear, Li Shubai's five senses, which were concentrated to the limit, told him this. He did not look back, but quickly lowered his center of gravity and flashed into the left lane from the intersection in front at the fastest speed achieved by the vehicle's body functions.

The next second, dense lines of fire swarmed in and instantly pierced into the ground where the motorcycle's wheels had passed half a second ago, leaving behind a series of dark holes.

Chapter 20 Encounter

"What's going on? What are those things?" Raiden Mei, who was experiencing this kind of scene for the first time, couldn't help but shrink her neck, with fear in her eyes: "Why did those things attack us?"

"I told you, your father and my parents were both imprisoned because they were framed, and the guy who framed your father had you in his sights from the beginning." Li Shubai frowned, quickly glanced at the trembling handlebars, gritted his teeth, "We'll discuss the details later, for now, hold on tight!"

Several missiles of unknown models swept in with a whistling sound, and continuous explosions resounded in all directions, lifting the ground around the speeding motorcycle. The pungent smell of gunpowder swept across the entire block in an instant.

Li Shubai held the handlebars tightly, controlling the motorcycle to reach a speed of more than 200 yards per hour, like a flexible snake, quickly passing through the constantly splashing dust. No missile successfully hit them, but Li Shubai knew very well that this was not because of his superb driving skills, but simply because the opponent's purpose was not to kill him, so the missile's aiming system did not completely lock on the speeding motorcycle.

However, the missiles fired by the opponent's mechas were undoubtedly live ammunition. This was a deterrent shooting with a very clear purpose.

The display of unmatched military force is itself the most direct threat.

Although his whole body was exposed to the cold winter wind that was as sharp as a knife, Li Shubai still couldn't help but sweating on his forehead.

As was his usual habit, before leaving Qianyu College and preparing to withdraw from Changkong City, Li Shubai had already pre-read and speculated on the various situations he would encounter in the future, as well as the companions and enemies he might meet.

The partner that I might have met, Bronya - let's not consider it for now.

Now that Cocolia has gone to prison and the initiator of the third Honkai Impact was not Cocolia but Gray Snake, it may be a big question whether Bronya is in Changkong City.

As for Kiana... According to Li Shubai's speculation, although her father Siegfried has always been staying not far from her, it is obvious that Siegfried would not appear in front of Kiana unless it was an extreme or special situation.

The Hyperion and Theresa...cannot be relied upon in this situation.

As for the enemies...the dead soldiers and the Honkai beasts are nothing in front of Kiana. As long as he, Kiana and Raiden Mei withdraw from Changkong City together, they will always find a way to break through.

...Only in Cocolia, even though Li Shubai had already issued a warning, the countermeasures he could take were still too limited given his current situation.

Although he did put Cocolia in prison, Li Shubai had never actually fought against Cocolia's forces head-on. In the absence of any intelligence, Li Shubai had no way of inferring what kind of enemy Cocolia would send to carry out the next stage of the plan.

He had originally placed his hopes on Thunder Ryuma, who was expected to be released from prison at the same time as Cocolia, but now it seems that it is not completely unreasonable that Thunder Ryuma would be framed by Cocolia in such a direct and simple way and end up in prison.

Even though they were released from prison at the same time, Raiden Ryoma's reaction speed to the collapse of Changkong City was still much slower than Cocolia's.

What to do? Driving a motorcycle to avoid the incoming missiles and the flying dust, Li Shubai thought quickly and anxiously.

If he stopped the car here, it would mean that he was willing to negotiate with the other party, and it would also mean that he was willing to compromise first. He was almost 100% sure who had made these mechas, and he could also infer the other party's purpose.

Cocolia's target must be Raiden Mei. If I compromise with Cocolia here, her request will definitely be for me to hand over Raiden Mei.

Not to mention that Li Shubai and Kiana would never agree to this request. Even if they really handed over Raiden Mei, given Cocolia's personality, Li Shubai didn't think she would let him go so easily.

Damn it... Li Shubai gripped the handlebars in anger.

He is still too weak now.

And, not only that—

——From the very beginning, the handlebars that he was holding tightly began to tremble uncontrollably.

This was a very dangerous signal, because the unusual vibration was not due to Li Shubai's lack of strength, but because, even for this super-heavy motorcycle weighing more than 400 kilograms, under Li Shubai's long-term and high-intensity extreme driving, both the engine and drive system that continued to perform at maximum performance, as well as its body material and structural strength, were almost reaching their tolerable limits.

If the motorcycle is forced to continue running at high speed like this, it won't take long before the vehicle starts to disintegrate from the inside.

Even if he continued to push the throttle of the motorcycle to the maximum and barely got rid of the Thunder Mecha that was launching missiles, Li Shubai was almost certain that Cocolia would not send out only one mecha to stop them.

As expected, accompanied by a sound of breaking through the air, a dozen faint and blurry black shadows appeared out of thin air on the ground in front of him. Li Shubai's pupils suddenly shrank, and without thinking, he pressed the brake with all his strength for emergency braking. After stopping the violent rotation of the two wheels, he turned the entire body of the motorcycle sideways and stopped the speeding motorcycle on the spot before the black shadow expanded.

Bang! Bang! Bang! After a low rumble, a crack instantly spread across the ground, and the huge black shadow that gradually became clearer was completely covered by several tactical mechas that were four or five people tall.

MR-01, Titan Mecha!

"It's you again, little brat?" Before Li Shubai could fully react, a voice with a faint electric sound came from the outside of the Titan mecha. It came from the loudspeaker system. The person who spoke sneered: "I really didn't expect that you could survive in Changkong City where the third great collapse broke out. It seems that not only did the naive guy Lei Dian Longma underestimate you, but even I underestimated you too much.

"Hmm? Who are you?" Li Shubai's mind was racing as he quickly thought of a countermeasure for the moment, but he had a blank expression on his face, pretending to know nothing: "I think this is the first time I've heard your voice. Have we known each other before?"

"Don't pretend, anonymous auditor." The voice was cold, but after a pause, it suddenly became softer. "Forget it. After all, it is my fault for involving your parents, who are ordinary people. I don't deny it. It is natural for a child to avenge his parents. If this is your purpose, then from the moment I went to prison, I think your purpose should have been achieved, right?"

Do you want to use a conciliatory policy? Li Shubai's eyes flickered, and he quietly put the arm on the side facing away from the Titan mecha on his waist, then stretched out a finger and gently drew a few strokes on Kiana's hand that was holding his waist.

Kiana's face turned slightly red, and she almost instinctively wanted to pull her hand back, but suddenly she was stunned.

——Wait for my signal.

Chapter 21 Persuasion, Escape

"If I'm not mistaken, it's thanks to you that Raiden Mei is not controlled by the Herrscher's consciousness." The voice from the loudspeaker was admiring. "I've also carefully read the audit report you submitted anonymously to the government. I have to say that if it weren't for the close relationship between Anti-Entropy and the Far East Government, any other private enterprise in the gray area would have been thoroughly investigated by you."

"Excellent professionalism, decisive action capabilities, and most importantly, the ability to survive in an area where Honkai breaks out... Raiden Ryoma failed to see through your talent and just treated you as the child of an ordinary subordinate. That's his loss, and it's also the loss of our entire Anti-Entropy." The voice was very high-profile, but also persuasive. "Perhaps, now you haven't fully understood what this disaster called Honkai that you have encountered is, and you have never heard of the name of Anti-Entropy. But those things are not a problem. We are all human beings, and we shouldn't be fighting each other. Honkai, this unreasonable natural disaster, should be the common enemy of all human beings."

Li Shubai had to admit that Cocolia's negotiation skills were quite good. She softened her tone to make herself aware of her goodwill as much as possible, while continuing to release the psychological pressure on herself.

No, rather than exerting psychological pressure on him, it is better to say that the party with absolute advantage in military force and intelligence naturally has a greater say at the negotiating table.

"I really like your talent and ability. It would be a pity if a young man like you were treated as an enemy." The voice in the loudspeaker said, "You should be able to appreciate my sincerity. You should also know that it is impossible for the three of you to break through the steel defense line formed by tactical mechas alone."

"Sincerity?" Li Shubai smiled. "Sincerity built by the threat of force? That's really solid and useful sincerity."

"Many times, violence is an unavoidable tool at the negotiation table, and most of the time, it is indeed quite useful." The voice said confidently, "But at the same time, after using violence, I am still willing to talk to you. Isn't this the best proof of my sincerity?"

"What do you want to get?" Although he knew Cocolia's goal, Li Shubai still asked knowingly in order to delay time. "And on the other hand, since you are willing to negotiate with me, it means that I can also get something in the process, right?"

"My purpose is very simple. The girl you brought out from Qianyu Academy is Mei Raiden who is now sitting on the back seat of your motorcycle." Cocolia said calmly, "After all, Mei Raiden's matter was just a game within our Anti-Entropy from the beginning. You are an outsider. Her affairs have nothing to do with you from beginning to end."

"It sounds like that." Li Shubai nodded, as if agreeing with Cocolia's words. Seeing Li Shubai's reaction, Raiden Mei, who was sitting in the back seat, looked gloomy and clenched her fists.

"Hand over Raiden Mei to me, and I will not only spare your lives, but also give you a chance to join Anti-Entropy." Cocolia smiled, "To be honest, both I and Raiden Ryoma are from the executor class of Anti-Entropy. In Anti-Entropy, your parents' boss and I belong to the same class. Your abilities should not be buried by them. People with more outstanding abilities should be in higher positions."

"A higher position?" Li Shubai seemed interested. He smiled silently, "How high?"

"Anti-Entropy is an alliance organization. Once you reach the level of executor, you have completely entered the core senior level of Anti-Entropy." Perhaps Li Shubai's eager performance made Cocolia in a good mood. She did not lose patience because of the other party's continuous questioning. Instead, she began to explain in detail, "At that time, all the resources of Anti-Entropy will be opened to you. Your parents used to be employees of MEI, and you also investigated my industry in the Far East not long ago. Therefore, you should know even more about how huge a fortune it is."

"Are they the same as the mechas you are using to talk to me now?" Li Shubai glanced at the group of mechas in front of him. There were twelve in total. There was no place that could be called a gap either in front or on the sides. This was probably the reason why Cocolia showed patience to him.

There is really no need to rush when it comes to the fish on the chopping board.

"If you want, you can also have your own mecha troop like me." The voice coming out of the loudspeaker was full of undisguised temptation: "How about it? If it really comes to that, even if you use anti-entropy mechas to retaliate against the force threat I imposed on you today, it is not something that is completely impossible."

"You're right. I really want power now, and I also want to repay you for what you did today one day in the future." Li Shubai raised his head, and Cocolia laughed happily as if she had won a victory: "Very good, I am looking forward to that day, but now-"

At the moment when Cocolia decided that Li Shubai's compromise had become a fact -

"Kiana!!"

——Accompanied by a sudden roar, the wheels of the motorcycle started again, and the V-type engine, which had just gotten a slight respite from the overheated state, emitted a low and soul-stirring roar like a lion's roar.

He was crazy. The roar of the engine made Cocolia's thoughts blank for a second. She thought about all the possible responses that Li Shubai would make to her words, whether it was arguing with reason, compromising directly, or even cursing. But she never thought that Li Shubai would ride a motorcycle directly to the Titan mecha group. This was no longer a case of hitting a rock with an egg or a mantis arm trying to stop a car. This was a complete act of suicide.