Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

Sakura looked at the dilapidated highway. The distance signs along the roadside had been shattered by lightning strikes over the past two weeks, and the checkpoint ahead was littered with the wreckage of various intercepted vehicles. The city in the distance should have been vibrant and colorful, but Sakura couldn't see any light at dusk; it was as silent as if it had died.

Perhaps he really is dead.

The last few refuge cities on the East Asian plate have been out of contact for a long time. The Fire Chaser Base once went to the nearest city to transfer refugees, but in the end, only a few thousand people were transferred. The vast majority of people had been swallowed up by the rampant Honkai beast tide and the rising floodwaters. The Fire Chaser Base also did not have enough capacity to save them, and the security forces of those cities were no match for the increasingly rampant Honkai.

How sad.

Looking at this flood that has engulfed the mountains, perhaps the world has already perished.

Sakura stroked her burning arm muscles and smiled slightly, "If I get this excited when I'm with Doll, he'll probably get burned."

No one responded.

But in the darkness of the elevated road, slender female figures, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing, sometimes groaning, slowly approached. They had pale skin, black fingernails, held cold weapons, and stared blankly at Sakura.

Suicide squad.

"The number of assassins is increasing. You destroyed the city on the other side and converted all the women, didn't you?" Sakura said calmly, drawing a long sword from behind her. It was a weapon crackling with lightning, the Divine Key: Seven Lightning of Purification.

She wasn't afraid; for the Fusion Warriors, eliminating the undead was already a routine task. Although the number of undead had increased exponentially, they had now begun to infiltrate the Fire Chaser base, turning patrols into mopping-up operations. The logic was simple: more and more humans were dying, and every dead person would become a force of Honkai.

Even ordinary people who are completely incapable of undergoing the Fusion Warrior surgery can be transformed into powerful zombies after being corrupted. These are not the clumsy corpses seen in zombie movies, but monsters with incredible speed, immense strength, and even retaining human combat skills. The transformed zombies can even threaten the strength of a regular Fusion Warrior, and many are comparable to small Honkai Beasts.

However, for Sakura, no matter how many assassins she faces, it's all a mission, and a mission must be completed. Sakura is from an island nation in Asia. From a young age, she studied swordsmanship and art. Island art emphasizes Zen and forbearance, so Sakura has always been diligent and hardworking, able to endure any harsh battle situation. Therefore, she is also the girl who is quickest to accept Shen Liang's various outlandish ideas that are simply bullying.

"You were drawn here by the Twelfth Herrscher, right?" Sakura looked at the assassins. "Because she hasn't awakened yet, the Honkai Will is getting impatient and is preparing to launch a full-scale attack? To corrupt Rin, who is suppressing the Herrscher's consciousness, from the outside?"

Death squad members cannot speak.

“But relying solely on assassins isn’t enough. You can’t even break through my defenses, let alone see Ling. Ling is different from all of you. She holds onto the faith of humanity, loves this world, and the world loves her in return. Therefore, she won’t break down, she won’t be afraid, and she won’t become a demon.” Sakura held her long sword horizontally, facing the assassins who were gradually covering the elevated road. “I suspect that if one Herrscher doesn’t awaken, it will be difficult for the next Herrscher to be born? Is that why you’re in such a hurry? But I’m sorry, you must be disappointed. I must protect my sister. I am her wall. As long as I’m not dead, I will protect the world’s morality for her.”

Ragged, long-dead, silicon-based demons rode Honkai Beasts in a charge! The assassins and Honkai Beasts formed a cavalry-like battle formation, their longswords slicing through the elevated highway with sharp sparks. Sakura knew this was because the assassins were also trained in combat tactics. Unlike ancient cavalry, they lacked the awe-inspiring killing intent and imposing presence of their predecessors; they simply craved human flesh and blood, their only remaining impulse being hunger.

Sakura couldn't hear the assassins' heartbeats either, but it didn't matter. Listening to heartbeats was for dealing with powerful and agile opponents... The assassins weren't worthy of it!

Seven purple rings flashed on the hilt of the Seven Thunders of Purification, which were seven firing ports. The Seven Thunders of Purification was not just a cold weapon; it could essentially change its appearance. Now, it was a submachine gun that could unleash seven sword energies.

The beam of light shot out with the swing of the sword, and the barrage of bullets washed over the surging suicide soldiers!

The assassins immediately raised their shields! The silicon-based shields, reinforced by Honkai energy, were theoretically tough enough, and in fact, they were. Sakura didn't put much effort into her attacks because she needed to conserve her energy for a prolonged battle. But the shields were still shattered!

The Seven Thunders of Purification originate from the core of the Herrscher of Thunder, possessing the power to disintegrate matter at the atomic level! After the beam swept across the shield, it broke through as easily as a red-hot iron rod piercing through ice, burning large holes through the chests and backs of the subsequent assassins.

However, the assassins knew no fear and continued to charge forward. Sakura sighed, her figure vanished instantly, and then she circled behind a cavalryman and pierced him fiercely! The Seven Thunders of Purification instantly shattered him into sand! Sakura flickered again, moving through the army of assassins like a ghost.

"Contact Pado, this is Sakura. I have an estimated 1,300 suicide soldiers and over 70 Honkai Beasts here."

"The number has doubled compared to the siege three days ago. Sakura, can you handle it?"

“With the Judgment Key of the dolls harvesting, I only need to conserve my stamina for dodging. I don’t need to worry about safety; these things can’t do anything to me… It’s just that I might not be able to kill them all by tomorrow morning. What about you?” Sakura even had time to chat with Pado.

"I don't have the Divine Key, so I can only say that I'm following the boss out to earn some battle merits. The boss is in front, and I'm hiding to record him."

"Video?"

"Boss Kevin wants me to record his heroic battles... Although he's become much more aloof now, he seems to still be that college student at heart. He's even thinking of editing his own glorious moments and sending them to Sister Mei to show off..." Pado lowered her voice, "Boss doesn't even know that Sister Mei has made an AI plugin to filter his emails. If it's not important, Sister Mei won't receive any messages from him..."

"Actually, I think Mei should find a time to refuse him face to face."

"I don't think the eldest brother is stupid. He also sensed that Sister Mei was becoming distant from him. He just couldn't figure it out and didn't want to think about it too deeply. After all, he likes Sister Mei so much, and giving up would be unacceptable for him."

Sakura was silent for a while, then said, "The doll is truly sinful."

"What about you, Sister Ying?"

"I?"

"Sister Ying, don't tell me you can't tell that someone treats you differently than others?" Pado chuckled. "The boys in our Fire Chaser Moths, except for Doll, are all the type who seem serious on the surface but are actually incredibly shy."

Sakura thought for a moment, still puzzled, "Who?"

"Sister Ying, you really didn't notice?!" Pado exclaimed.

“I don’t care about these things. Taking care of Ling and Wawa has left me with no time to pay attention to other people’s trivial matters.” Sakura said with some helplessness. “Children have it easy. We’re out there clearing out the assassins, while Ling and Wawa are in the base… While the adults are away, I hope they can have a good chat. At least the feelings between peers are much more genuine than those between us ugly adults.”

“I don’t think so. If I had to say, Ling has only been with us for a short time but she’s already more familiar with us than any of us. I don’t think her feelings for the doll are as genuine as mine… At least I genuinely want to be the doll’s cat!”

"Pado, you need to learn the difference between being a girlfriend and being a pet."

"What does it matter? He can have many girlfriends, but he can only have one cat!"

Just as both sides were engaged in a battle and chatting on the phone, the mountain suddenly shook and made a slight rumbling sound, and even the signal was interrupted for a moment.

"The base!?" Pado and Sakura both realized what was happening.

There's a problem at the base!

------------

Ling hugged her adorable bear, gazing out the window at the pitch-black Fire Chaser Base while listening to an AI reading of a low-quality romance novel through her earpiece.

"...Therefore, the eternal truth of this world is that a woman's love for a man comes at a far higher price than a man's love for a woman. This is determined by genes; women can easily give everything for a moment of emotion, while men tend to consider things more carefully. This is why there are so many stories of women risking everything for a woman, enough to make them famous for all time. And think about it, is risking everything for a woman a good thing in a man's eyes? They just think it's brainless, that beautiful women are a source of trouble..."

"...and there are countless stories of women giving everything for their confidants, so many that they don't even need to be told. Women are too easily swayed by things; they can be smug for over a decade after receiving a promise, only to find out in their old age that their husbands never kept their word..."

"And these girls, for a moment of impulse, often pay the price for their entire lives..."

It was a feminist lecture, and Ling always scoffed at these kinds of lectures. It wasn't that such extreme theories were useless, but rather that in this apocalyptic world, even ethics and morality were inapplicable, let alone gender rights based on normal social development. There were so many moths chasing the flame that there was so little meat that babies had to be divided up by the day. You have to understand that this is a center where highly qualified people gather, and the minimum education level is a postgraduate degree. If highly qualified people are like this, what kind of social rights are we talking about?

She sat in the shadows, clutching a warm teddy bear, the dim light of the lamp unable to reach her.

The Flame Chaser refers to beings like her as "Herrscher bodies," vessels for chosen Honkai envoys, monsters. But Ling thinks this is somewhat unfair, because all the Flame Chaser's fusion warriors survive and fight only by fusing the genes of Honkai Beasts; they are even stronger than Herrschers.

So in reality, everyone is a monster, and the Fire Chaser Base is an organization of monsters; they aren't really human. The distinction lies only in their hearts: some choose to live like humans, while others choose to be corrupted by the Honkai.

She wanted to live like a human being, but she couldn't be trusted and was imprisoned, forced to live a solitary life far from others. Humans are social animals; is a person separated from their group still human?

Today was another day for Ying to go out on fieldwork, and Ling spent the whole day alone. She felt very lonely, so she dialed Shen Liang's number.

Although Shen Liang had more than one girlfriend to deal with, many times when Ling wanted to contact Shen Liang, the girls who had finally managed to occupy Shen Liang's time would even hang up for him. This was only natural; no one wanted to be all lovey-dovey with a handsome young man with black hair and red eyes when he answered the phone. However, Ling didn't have many friends; she was ultimately just an ordinary person and couldn't integrate into her sister's circle.

At the Fire Chasing Base, the people she frequently contacted were none other than Shen Liang, Ying, Pa Duo, and Dan Zhu Cang Xuan, who were all around the same age.

But she hung up after only one ring, sighed, and then laughed.

Because Shen Liang should be waiting patiently for Ying in the bedroom today. Ying must be exhausted after her fieldwork, and Wawa should have already prepared everything, washing herself clean, changing into pretty clothes, and perhaps even preparing a candlelight dinner for Ying. It's best not to disturb their romantic time together, allowing Wawa to wholeheartedly dedicate her tenderness and care to Ying.

After all... Sakura is her older sister. Putting herself in her shoes, if she were the one who had worked hard all day, Sakura would definitely make the doll take good care of her and let her experience the feeling of being a princess.

It was supposed to be such a wonderful future.

Ling realized she was being a bit too sentimental and chuckled to herself. Perhaps it was because she'd been locked up for so long that she was feeling sorry for herself, and she was starting to find herself unable to bear thinking like this. Actually, being locked up for life wasn't so bad. The outside world was practically extinct; billions of people wanted to live the kind of life she did but couldn't, and some even lived very comfortably.

Just then, she heard a jumble of footsteps.

Ling turned around in confusion and saw the high-ranking challenger who had been guarding her and hadn't spoken to her at all because of her Herrscher status walk in. Ling knew her name was Sima, and that she had a daughter who had studied in Australia but was killed by the Calamity of the Herrscher of Flame, so she had always been clearly hostile towards Ling.

Originally, Sima, who disliked her, wouldn't have told her this information, but Ling learned about it from gossip on the internal women's forum. After losing her daughter, Sima desperately wanted another child, so she secretly signed up for the volunteer selection for the "Children of Men" program without her husband's knowledge. When the matter was exposed, her husband couldn't accept it and divorced her, leading Sima to have a delusion that Eve should be responsible for her.

But Eve doesn't even remember who she is, and Ling only now understands why Sima's hatred for her is tinged with a hint of jealousy.

Ling was somewhat wary, as Sima had never stepped into her room before. But before she could ask Sima why, she saw that Sima was wearing the armor of a fusion warrior.

Ling realized something was wrong, and the footsteps grew louder and more chaotic as more and more Fusion Warriors, dressed in battle armor meant for the battlefield, entered the cozy bedroom. The "Open the Door to Joy" rug that Sakura had hand-sewn for her sister was worn through by the hard alloy soles of their shoes, and they carried Zhoubo knives and guns.

Ling looked at these people in fear and subconsciously pressed the call button. She was already hesitating about whether to contact Shen Liang, and at this moment she turned on silent mode.

“Your sister, Sakura, that traitor to humanity… she’s finally fucking out of here.” Sima said coldly, arms crossed, making Ling’s heart skip a beat.

Such a crude opening means that these people have no intention of respecting her at all... or even Sakura, one of the leaders of the Fire Moths.

What... do they want to do?

Looking at the crimson in the eyes of these fusion warriors, Ling initially thought they had been corrupted by Honkai, but it seemed ridiculous. She herself was a Herrscher and hadn't been corrupted yet; how could the fusion warriors be the ones to have problems? Besides, they were clearly rational and logical; they clearly had their own thoughts… So what did they want to do…?

Ling immediately understood the purpose of this group of fusion warriors, and her face turned pale.

"I really don't know what do you have in you that the doll sees in you. You're seducing the Herrscher, aren't you? You've got the doll completely bewitched... This is the first time I've seen a Herrscher that the doll refuses to execute." A jealous female fusion warrior stepped forward, grabbed her chin, and sneered. "But there are always people who can see through you. You used to seduce the doll to get to the upper echelons of the Flame Chaser, to divide us from within, and to destroy humanity's last hope... Your plan is obvious at a glance. You're just blinded by your own involvement... Why didn't the leaders consider this?"

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Bird Broken from its Cage

At this moment, the alarms in the central control room where Mei was located were blaring.

The on-duty communications officer shouted in terror, "There's an excessive Honkai reaction inside the base! My God, this level of Honkai reaction could only be caused by a top-tier Fusion Warrior or a Herrscher! It can't be a Fusion Warrior, base regulations prohibit Fusion Warriors from using Honkai energy without authorization! It's a Herrscher! Just like the tutorial said, the Herrscher has awakened!"

Mei stared at the highlighted display in the experimental area, which was less than 700 meters away from the tower she was on.

The solitary confinement cell where Ling is located.

She snapped, "Shut up! If it were a Herrscher awakening, the Honkai energy sensor on Ling's body would have already alerted every fusion warrior on duty to return to defense. There's no need for the base's monitors to remind us. This isn't a Herrscher's reaction. If it were truly a Herrscher awakening, we ordinary people would already be dead from this distance!"

"That is?"

"How many of the fusion warriors in the top tier of strength are still at the base?"

"Only Dr. Mebius and Miss Aponia, who's locked herself in prison, are there. A large beast tide is approaching outside the base, and all the powerful fusion warriors are out there… This is…" The communications officer suddenly realized, "They're all conveniently absent? How could it be such a coincidence? This is internal strife! There's…"

"Shut up!" Mei shouted. "Don't speculate. Send someone to the solitary confinement cells in Sector D5 to see what's going on!"

Immediately afterwards, a loud announcement was made via radio: "D5 experimental area is sealed off! The self-propelled gimbal has been destroyed, and security personnel on duty are unable to enter D5 area!"

Mei realized in an instant that this was premeditated, that someone was creating unrest... Regardless of the reason for creating unrest, it must have been something they had been planning for a long time.

Her biggest worry at this moment wasn't Ling. Moth's surveillance of Herrschers was almost perfect. Sensors were installed inside Ling's body, and they would immediately notify everyone if any Honkai energy reaction occurred on her. There was even a miniature antimatter bomb in her carotid artery. Unless a Herrscher of Thunder with perfect control over electricity could cancel the bomb's operation, she would be blown up if she became a Herrscher.

That's a bomb with a negative trigger mechanism. Only if Mei and Sakura provide timely feedback every day can the bomb be kept from triggering. If either of them fails to provide feedback, Ling will inevitably die. So this is a safety measure. Even in the worst-case scenario, if Ling transforms into a Herrscher and becomes powerful enough to instantly kill everyone at the Fire Chaser Base, she will still be dealt with.