Miss Riddler just wants to level up in peace.

Why pull this stunt?

Upon hearing the answer, Ottori couldn't sit still.

Digging for stones?

He said it, but not completely.

Otori certainly knew that Honkai Crystals had considerable value, but here they were just common, unwanted items.

What everyone wants is a crystal containing special Honkai energy.

The former is nothing more than roadside weeds to them.

No wonder someone wanted to kill her; I wonder if it was World Serpent or someone from the Herrscher faction.

She vaguely guessed that Ziyao was going to pull off something ruthless this time.

“Poor souls, bring back the colored stones, and I will pave the way for you.”

On stage, the girl announced.

With enough stones, she can open the door to Jerusalem.

After giving a brief instruction, the enthusiastic people didn't even hesitate and immediately took their tools to dig.

Such a scene is truly astonishing.

Night had just fallen.

The world began to shift.

The darkness of night swallowed the sky, as if we had fallen into another dimension, with flames burning everywhere.

As the crowd dispersed, the girls quickly surrounded Ziyao.

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

Using a doll beforehand was a very good decision.

It's equivalent to giving yourself a resurrection buff.

Aside from the high mental exertion required, it has no other drawbacks.

"I'm sorry, I was careless."

Theresa lowered her head and said apologetically.

She was closest to Ziyao at the time and should have been able to block it, but she was a second too slow due to carelessness.

When she came to her senses, the girl lay in a pool of blood, like a broken flower.

No one wants to experience the pain of losing someone important to them again.

Seeing this, Sirin almost lost her temper. If Bronya hadn't stopped her, everyone present would probably have been killed.

"We'll take care of the rest. You should get some rest."

"I'm protected by Xiaoshi; what happened just now was an accident."

"That's not OK!"

This time, Mei refused to let Ziyao move freely anymore.

"Alright, alright, listen to Mei. It's not good for the patient to run around everywhere."

Kiana helped by making a gesture with her slender finger, like unzipping a zipper, creating a small opening in the space, with their hotel room at the other end.

The situation outside is very important; if we stay inside, we might miss some important information.

Ziyao came up with a compromise: since that's the case, let's send the puppet out.

She had gotten a lot of useless materials from gacha pulls, so she used them to make her own ordinary dolls.

"There's really nothing I can do about you."

Mei sighed, "That's fine, but someone has to keep watch over it."

She wasn't strong enough yet, so she asked Kiana for help.

So, Xiao Shi accompanied Zi Yao No. 2 as they left the square and headed deeper into the area.

Everyone worked hard, digging out the Honkai crystals that were everywhere and transporting them back to the plaza in truckloads.

Along the way, they encountered Otori, who had been waiting for them.

"What are you doing here...?"

Don't you want to go in?

Ziyao realized that she was not controlled by Xiaoshi. Because many people had left, it would not be possible to not replenish the manpower.

Naturally, poor Otto became her target.

To put it bluntly, this is called conscripting laborers or forcibly conscripting men.

"I want to, but I'm not qualified."

Ottoli's acting was superb; it was completely undetectable that she was faking it, and her emotional control was spot-on.

"That's great! I'm short-handed here, so if you can help me..."

Ziyao grabbed the other person's wrist and invited him.

"Forget it, how could we possibly get into the inner city with these broken stones?"

Ottoli deliberately asked, wanting to use this as an excuse to inquire about what Ziyao was up to.

Unexpectedly, the girl's next words made her immediately change her mind.

"Xiao Shi, thank you for your help."

"Wait! I... I do! I was just joking!"

"Very well, then I'll leave it to you."

Ziyao casually redeemed a ? from the system shop and handed it to Otori.

Under Xiao Shi's coercion, the poor girl had no choice but to swing her pickaxe and dig out the crystals buried in the ground.

This action was witnessed by Durandal from a distance.

Rita, who was standing next to her, covered her mouth with her hand, showing a surprised expression.

"Rita... why is the bishop huffing and puffing... mining?"

Volume 1: Chapter 281 Has Durandal been conscripted?

"A special individual has been discovered. Based on approximate data, it has been identified as the Valkyrie Durandal."

Bronya stared at the monitor with a serious expression.

Theresa suddenly remembered that at noon, they had met a woman who looked a lot like Durandal.

Ziyao was still wondering if that person was the one, but then she denied it.

Looking back now, I realize that I was probably the one who was wrong.

"Why don't you just send your sister a message?"

Seeing that Theresa was going to go in person, Bronya thought it would be more convenient to use her mobile phone.

There are strange signal sources within the city constantly capturing communications; it's likely the work of the World Serpent.

But she wasn't just sitting idly by; she set up encrypted channels for each person individually.

"It's safer this way. You and Mei guard the square to prevent anyone from causing trouble. I'm going now."

After saying that, the girl quickly walked out.

On the other side, Rita accompanied Durandal to Otori's side.

"Your Excellency, why are you mining here like them...?"

Everything was fine before, and I thought Miss Zi's plan wouldn't succeed.

When she turned around, she found that Otori was gone. Following the trail, she found her here, where she was digging for crystals with a pickaxe.

The difference before and after made Rita suspect that Otori might also be controlled by the Herrscher of Knowledge.

The bishop warned them to be careful, but he himself fell victim to the trap.

"bishop.....?"

Durandal noticed the abrasions on Otori's arm and exclaimed in surprise.

Who on earth could make their bishop willingly do such hard labor here?

As a bishop of destiny, he usually plans and manages all kinds of affairs. Who would have thought that he would roll up his sleeves and swing a pickaxe in a dark alley?

The ground was covered with turned-up soil, piled up around the pit, inside which were many pieces of broken crystals buried deep.

"Excuse me, do you know why there are so many Honkai crystals in the city?"

Rita picked one up and, in order to verify whether Otori still possessed rationality, asked her.

"This place originally had hundreds of thousands of people, who were killed overnight by the collapse and turned into nourishment for the city."

Otto revealed the results of his investigation.

The stark difference between night and day, as if entering another world, is inextricably linked to the massive number of deaths.

Analysis of the residual components on the crystals suggests they likely originated from life forms, which explains why they are found everywhere.

"That's great, you're not being controlled."

Rita breathed a sigh of relief. Most people who are brutally controlled become dull and their thinking ability weakens.

"control?"

Durandal was a little confused. Due to her mission, she had missed the gathering held in the square not long ago and was therefore unaware of the Herrscher of Knowledge's large-scale mind control.

After Rita's brief explanation, she roughly understood what had happened.

Especially after seeing that Otori accidentally injured her arm while swinging her weapon, Durandal immediately offered to fight the Herrscher of Knowledge and help Otori break free from control.

"You misunderstand, His Excellency the Bishop is not under control."