K424 of the Collapse World

Xi'er realized this the moment she came to her senses from her trance. However, the leader's calmness did not make her feel at ease, but instead caused her to shudder even more.

Is this also led by Thunder Ryuma?

He is working with Kiana who betrayed Far East? If so, doesn't that mean...

The blue-haired girl's clenched fists trembled slightly. She had never thought that such a dramatic internal split would happen to her.

(No... calm down first! There is too little information known. Both Dr. Einstein and Sister Bronya are not people who would do stupid things. There must be a deeper reason. Calm down and listen to other people's explanations...)

Although Seele seemed to have calmed down, her fleeting shock was clearly seen by Bronya beside her.

But facing her sister's shock and confusion, she now doesn't know how to comfort her... After all, what Kiana is going to announce next is the real highlight.

(I’m sorry, Xi’er… Although it’s cruel, this is the fact that you and I must face)

852 Xi'er's Confusion

Ten minutes ago, when Einstein, Diana and others quietly left, Theresa, who had always stayed in the Far East Branch, was still anxiously contacting the Anti-Entropy Headquarters in North America at the communication center, trying to find Shiris who was trapped in the quantum space...

"Anchor point s3.461.82, this is the third location where the spatial fluctuation frequency has been detected to be abnormal. Mr. Walter, please continue to conduct observation system interference in the target area!"

"..."

"Still no luck? Then try again! Oh, and let the guys at the Destiny Headquarters help out as well. They have an appointment with Shiris anyway, and the headquarters has special exploration equipment for the quantum layer."

Sitting directly in front of the main terminal of the communications department, this silver-haired girl even drove away Yuli, the person in charge of the communications center, in order to receive information as soon as possible, and monopolized this terminal room.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Theresa, the charging of the imaginary number cracking device cannot be completed in a short time. Moreover, apart from the scientific research equipment of Tianming, we currently have no other effective means to interfere with space..."

"I know the investigation is difficult! Not to mention Hillis, Dr. Iselin was also dragged into the imaginary space, and now even Diana is missing... Otherwise, how could it be so difficult to locate the coordinates of the imaginary space!"

Diana, the second Herrscher who controls the laws of space, and Iselin, the first Herrscher who can reproduce the power of the Key of Space, happened to be the two who disappeared in the imaginary space with Shiris. Faced with such an excessively coincidental event, Theresa first thought of the trap set by the instigator, Kiana...

Kiana, who had received combat training at the Destiny Headquarters and Anti-Entropy, was far superior to the average level of Valkyries in terms of combat experience and tactical acumen. Under the erosion of Honkai, her original knowledge might have become power that could be used by Honkai Will, right?

(Damn you! Why did it have to be you...)

Like everyone else, Theresa would never believe that the mature and well-behaved girl would suddenly become a traitor to humanity. Therefore, she could only choose to accept the only reason and regard the reason for Kiana's betrayal as the impact of the collapse.

(Before that girl makes a bigger mistake, she must be brought back as soon as possible... In short, as long as Kiana hasn't completely lost her rationality, there is still room for redemption!)

Theresa was fidgeting and pinching her

Her fingers were already in a state of confusion, and she could only place her hope on the three Herrscher girls who were affected by the space.

Shiris is so strong, and it’s a three-on-one situation. It shouldn’t be difficult to control Kiana who has collapsed, right?

(But, Shirley... If even Shirley and the others can't defeat her in this incident...)

Theresa knew very well what the fate of those who were corrupted by the Honkai and became Honkai warriors was. Over the past forty years, she had seen countless scenes of Valkyries executing their "companions", and had also seen the irony of tasks where the original rescue targets suddenly became the targets of extermination.

Anyone infected by Honkai, no matter who he was, must be ruthlessly eliminated! ——In the Valkyrie's actual combat course, every instructor would repeatedly emphasize this sentence. On the battlefield, it is absolutely not allowed to be lenient to a irrational monster.

Theresa knew this very well and had said this to her students. However, when someone important to her became a target that had to be eliminated, she could not make up her mind to deal with it as she had taken it for granted in the past...

With Kiana's qualifications, even if she was infected, she couldn't become a low-level zombie-like dead soldier, right? As long as her sanity was not seriously damaged, even if she became a Honkai creature, she could still live in Saint Freya. Whether it was Herrschers like Siris or Honkai creatures like Benares and Asakura Miyuki, as long as they could overcome the destructive instincts that came from Honkai, they could coexist with ordinary people, which was a proven fact.

But if Kiana's danger has reached the point where she cannot be captured, then it will probably develop into the outcome that Theresa least wants to see...

852 Xi'er's confusion>>

(No! Even if I use all the power of the Far East Branch, even if I have to bow my head and ask for help from fate and the World Serpent, I will never kill you...!)

"The next coordinate is...s3.483.21. Please continue to confirm it, Mr. Walter. As long as we find the location of Shirley, we will find a way to tell her to move the battlefield to the real space!"

Theresa, who was concentrating on analyzing the situation, was completely unaware of the secret activities of ME Society at the moment.

She would never have thought that in her mind, the guess that Shirley, Iselin and Diana would join forces to fight against Kiana was also wrong. In fact, only Shirley and Iselin were trapped in the imaginary space, and Kiana and Diana had reached some kind of consensus in secret...

I'm afraid she won't have the chance to get to know the truth before the situation gets completely out of control.

·————————————·

Xier sat silently in the meeting seat, completely immersed in her own world, almost cutting off contact with the outside world. The discussion around her ears was like the sound of distant tides, which had been automatically filtered out by her brain...

"I'm sorry to meet you in this way. As you all know, my current identity is too sensitive and it's not suitable for me to appear in public. It may even cause trouble to you..."

"What I'm going to talk about next is about Sister Silis..."

"The laws of time acting on her, while relative time is flowing backwards, also reconstruct the Houkai factor in her mind, gradually covering up her will..."

"...Yes, as I said, in order to help Sister Silis get rid of the influence of Houkai, I need everyone's cooperation."

Kiana's words just now kept echoing in the girl's mind. Although she couldn't understand part of Kiana's explanation with her knowledge, she was now very clear about what she wanted to say.

In other words, Kiana... is the one who was not affected by Honkai? !

After the Herrscher of Time incident, Seele was in a low mood and did not communicate much with Shirley. But when she visited the patient in the medical department, she did not feel that Shirley's behavior was unusual...

But now, Kiana, who was publicly regarded by the Intelligence Department as being infected with Honkai, is attending the meeting normally. She speaks fluently and articulates clearly, and obviously does not seem to be in the state of resisting the influence of Honkai.

But from an objective point of view, this state may also be a situation where the host has completely succumbed to the collapse...

On the contrary, if Kiana's words are true, then Shiris may also be in the same state!

What is the truth? Who should I trust now... The choice before me makes Xier completely confused.

Or should I let Sister Bronya decide for me like before?

Looking at the gray-haired girl who was listening attentively beside her, Xier remained silent for a moment and shook her head in her heart.

It is obvious that Bronya is biased towards Kiana in this matter.

But what if Sister Bronya didn't see the truth either...

Xi'er knew very well that this matter was of great importance. In a situation where two Herrsers were accusing each other, if she took a wrong step, everyone would fall into the abyss and never recover.

(What should Xier do...

..)

"Xie'er."

"..."

"Xi'er, are you listening?"

Suddenly, she heard someone calling her name, and the blue-haired girl came back to her senses from her trance. At this moment, she realized that Kiana's holographic image was facing her, and the blue pupils constructed by the light and shadow, the sharp eyes seemed to be enough to pierce her heart...

853 Confrontation

In the middle of the conference table, the shadow of a girl made of light has turned around and is looking at the inconspicuous blue-haired girl sitting at the edge of the side seat.

"Xi'er, I'm sorry for involving you in this troublesome matter. However, as a participant, I believe you also understand the ins and outs of the matter, right?"

"Huh!?"

When her name was called out of the blue, Xier's shoulders subconsciously shrank and her expression became nervous.

Although Seele didn't quite understand why Kiana suddenly spoke to her, she was still thinking and quickly reacted.

"Yes...yes, Xi'er can understand!"

"Well, if there's anything you don't understand, just ask me."

"Eh?! But Xier... there's nothing in particular I want to know..."

"As the 'client' of this operation, it is my duty to explain the situation to my allies. You look confused now. Did I misunderstand you?"

Kiana said expressionlessly. Even though Seele hurriedly avoided her sight at the first moment, she still made this suggestion without thinking.

"Because of the dual pursuit of Destiny and Anti-Entropy, I am afraid I will not be able to communicate with you for too long. So, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask, and I will explain them publicly here."

Although she was looking at Seele who was just a few feet away, in Kiana's calm blue pupils, there was a reflection of another figure that only she could see.

"I didn't expect that the first person to question you would be this child..."

(…)

The young man's voice sounded in the depths of her mind as always. Kiana remained calm when she heard Lan Feng's voice. People outside would never have thought that two souls would coexist in Kiana's spiritual space.

"If our powers are common, you can feel it, right? The consciousness ability of imitating the Herrscher of the Heart has gradually evolved and improved. Now, you can already read the shallow consciousness of others... Hmph, although this child's idea is a bit troublesome, I have to say that Seele's suspicion is indeed reasonable..."

(Don't talk, I need to concentrate)

Kiana responded to Lan Feng in her mind, still looking at the blue-haired girl. Just as Lan Feng said, she was now relying on the dissipation of energy fluctuations to transfer her spiritual energy through the communication waves thousands of miles away and reach the surface of Xier's mind.

Although she has not yet fully mastered the ability of the Herrscher of the Heart, Kiana can only read some of the most superficial thoughts in the brain that even psychologists can guess. But even so, using this ability, she can easily discover Seele's unique and objective thoughts.

If not, she wouldn't have suddenly started a conversation with this harmless girl...

"In Shirley's previous declaration, we were the ones infected by the Honkai, but now, we are saying that Shirley is the one affected by the Honkai... Anyone with a slightly more sensitive mind would think something like this, right?"

(But Xier’s suspicion of me is the strongest among all others…)

"No, just because you can sense Seele's thoughts doesn't mean you can sense the thoughts of everyone here. But I'm afraid that many people here have the same idea as Seele. In this case, although we took the initiative and successfully proved that we were not infected by Honkai, it is easier to gain the trust of others. But in fact, we have no direct evidence to show that it was Seele who was affected by Honkai."

(After Sister Shiris’s consciousness was affected by the Honkai, aren’t those people who were ignored by her the best evidence?)

"But this is not conclusive evidence at all. The people who are instinctively ignored by the 'higher beings' are just ordinary people who have nothing to do with her. When it comes to her familiar friends and strong people of equal strength, her behavior is basically the same as before..."

853 Confrontation>>

People who don't know her well would only think that this is the arrogance of the Herrscher girl who disdains to work with the weak. People who know her well would find it difficult to detect the subconscious change in Shiris.

How to increase the persuasiveness of one's language is the most pressing problem that Kiana needs to solve.

First, she had to find a way to dispel Xier's doubts...

(It doesn't matter... Even if there is no so-called evidence, everything I said is true. If that doesn't work, let Bronya prove me right! She is the Herrscher of the Heart who truly manipulates consciousness. Let her test whether what I said is true. Wouldn't all the problems be solved?)

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. You've already decided to save Shirley at all costs, but there's obviously a simpler way..."

Just as he was complaining about Kiana's inexplicable source of confidence, the next moment, Lan Feng's voice suddenly stopped.

Through Kiana's shared vision, he saw that the blue-haired girl who had been silent with her head down suddenly raised her head, and a fleeting evil smile flashed across the corner of the girl's mouth.

"Ah... Come to think of it, Sister Kiana, I do have a question I want to ask you."

With a different tone of voice than before, Xier slowly stood up and looked around at the other participants with pride. The original timidity on her face was no longer there.

Only a very few people present knew what had suddenly happened to Xier...

(you......?)

"You can't even do such a small thing, so let me take over as soon as possible, you useless Xier!"

On the platform of self-awareness, Xier listened to the voice of another self, sat with her knees hugged feeling a little aggrieved, but was unable to refute the other person's words.

(But, but why are you suddenly... at this time?)

"Idiot! Can't you sense it?! The hostility that Kiana has towards us, no... to be precise, it should be a sense of danger similar to hostility, anyway, it just happens to come from Kiana! I can't tell whether it is her own consciousness. Damn, why does her mental fluctuation have a familiar feeling? In any case, she must be wary of you..."

Unlike usual, Xier could clearly sense that the cynical inner personality's tone was solemn, as if he was afraid of something.

But Xier still opposed this incoherent speech...

(What are you talking about? Hostility or something... How is that possible? Anyway, please don't mess with Seele anymore, wu... Everyone is watching us...)

"Stop messing around! Xier, this matter is very serious, just stand there and watch!"

Seele's inner personality suddenly roared, and directly yelled back at the cowardly girl. If it was normal, this lady of the stigmata would be happy to watch Seele make a fool of herself in public and remain indifferent, but when she decided to take over the body, it must be in an emergency such as a threat to survival...

She had to test whether her intuition just now was true.

"Sister Kiana... What I want to know is the rationality of your plan just now."

In contrast to her cowardly performance just now, "Xier" looked at Kiana provocatively, with a malicious sneer in her tone.

"Why do you think... that a bunch of us here can defeat Sister Shilis at her peak?"

854 Winning Strategy

Xi'er's loud question in the conference room made Kiana fall silent for a while...

"Isn't it? According to your plan, even if we make arrangements in advance, we will inevitably have a head-on conflict with Shirley. Where do you get the confidence to defeat the strongest Herrscher without anyone noticing? Or is it because her consciousness is about to go out of control..."

"..."

A few minutes ago, the action plan Kiana formulated in the meeting was not much different from her original idea.

"Sister Shilis's problem is indeed serious, but now is the eve of the final sequence collapse, and it is also the most critical period of the quantum transfer plan. Any action we take may affect the future of the entire civilization."

According to her, in order to avoid causing too much confusion, this secret plan against Shirley should not be known to too many people, including the two leaders Theresa and Walter. In her opinion, the existing order must not be completely destroyed just because of Shirley's matter.

"So, we should try to minimize the scale of the conflict. After the action begins, we should control Sister Shilis in the shortest possible time, and then find a way to eliminate the Honkai Factor in her body..."

The initial plan was indeed still very rough, but this solution to the problem and the overall situation was agreed upon by many participants, including Thunder Ryoma. However, before the discussion on improving the plan began, Kiana realized Seele's suspicion and suddenly asked her a question directly.