Honkai Impact: Starting from Wandering with Kiana

"However... although it's a bit of a regret, what I felt most at that time was happiness. Because there was someone who taught me many important things, even though it was only for a short time, but it was because of that encounter that I became who I am today."

If I ever meet her again... no, I will definitely find her!

Bronya shook her head. What was the point of telling Jiuxiao and the others this? So she said nothing more and led the way toward the shortcut.

As he walked along the shortcut Bronya had mentioned, fragments of the past began to surface in Hōraiji Kyushō's mind.

Is it my own memory? Maybe... because the only main characters in the scene are Raiden Mei and Bronya, while I'm watching from an outsider's perspective...

Mei, dressed in her school uniform, plays with the petite Bronya at Homura Park. Mei gently explains the park's facilities to Bronya, who has just rediscovered herself and is emotionally deprived.

She also taught Bronya how to express her emotions and, to encourage Bronya, rode the Hom Ferris Wheel with her.

What a strange memory... Why did I seem to be very jealous back then?

Chapter 266 Return to Paradise (2)

Penglai Temple Jiuxiao recounted the scene that had just appeared in his mind to everyone.

Upon hearing Houraiji Kyushou mention Raiden Mei, Bronya's emotions spiraled out of control once more. She pressed Houraiji Kyushou about where he had met Mei in the park, but Houraiji Kyushou remained unable to answer. Bronya then clenched her teeth and broke away from the group's movements.

"Bronya/Big Sister, where are you going?"

Jiuxiao and Seele together held Bronya back. Bronya's current condition was somewhat like that of someone who had gone mad, which made everyone very worried.

"Let me go! I need to find Mei-neechan."

"No, we have a more important mission now! Besides, this is the insects' lair, and it's too dangerous for us to act alone!"

“The fact that Penglai Temple Nine-Shou has such memories means that she saw Mei-nee here, and it also means that Mei-nee might be somewhere here, or there might be clues about her here…” Bronya clenched her fists, stubbornly wanting to find traces of Mei.

"Don't act rashly. If Mei is really here, then we'll search her thoroughly together during our investigation."

After much persuasion and admonition from Jiu Xiao and the other two, Bronya finally calmed down a bit. However, this incident also ruined the joyful atmosphere that everyone had when they first arrived at the park.

Bronya walked ahead with her head down and a stern face, while Seele followed beside her, unsure whether to smile or not...

The two people following behind them, Jiuxiao and Penglai Temple Jiuxiao, were not very happy either.

Although the two people from different worlds have different personalities and experiences, Jiu Xiao thinks that the brat Bronya must also like his wife Mei. Now he has to keep a close eye on Bronya when he gets back.

As they walked, Penglai Temple Jiuxiao tugged at Jiuxiao's collar and asked, full of confusion.

"Brother, do you think... is it possible for someone else's memories to be inserted into a person's mind?"

Why would you ask that...?

"Because... fragments often flash through my mind, like that memory just now. Even though Bronya, Mei, and I were playing together at Homura Park, Bronya didn't recognize me at all."

Isn't that strange? And the feeling that memory gave me... it's like I'm watching someone else's memory from a first-person perspective..."

Upon hearing Penglai Temple Jiuxiao's words, Jiuxiao couldn't help but recall the scene of witnessing Fu Hua's memories on Mount Taixu. His feelings at that time were very similar to what Penglai Temple Jiuxiao had described…

"Perhaps you have inadvertently or intentionally viewed someone's memories through some means. But you viewed too many, which caused your own memories to become confused."

"Little sister, you must remember, you are you. Never try to see others' memories and try to become them. If you do, you will no longer be yourself, and the world will lose someone named Penglaiji Jiuxiao."

"Ow..."

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The search of Houmu Paradise went smoothly, as expected, and many new insect-type species were found there.

Following the liquid dripping from the insects, the group quickly tracked down to the iconic building in Houmu Paradise—Houmu Castle.

Bronya was also a little surprised, as this was her first time entering this building. She hadn't expected the space inside Homu Castle to be so much larger than it appeared from the outside.

Jiuxiao's body is quite tough, so he floats ahead to lead the way, and can also use his thermal vision to clear the path in case any Honkai creatures suddenly attack.

"It's very dark here, and there's that strange smell that insects have... Everyone be careful not to step on them..."

Chirp——

Everyone turned around to look in the direction from which the sound came.

Penglai Temple Jiuxiao awkwardly pulled his leg out of the unknown slime. Jiuxiao had just said not to step in the slime, but he had stepped in it himself.

However, it was at this moment that when everyone turned to look at the Nine Heavens of Penglai Temple, they discovered that the area directly above their path was covered with huge insect eggs.

"Hiss. These must be their eggs. Looks like we've found their base."

As Bronya spoke, she took out the test tubes she had received from Iseryn from her pocket and distributed them to everyone.

"Don't act rashly. First, scout out the size of the nest and the number of Honkai creatures. Also, before leaving, Iselin gave me this test tube for collecting Honkai creature samples. Jiuxiao, you two should be very familiar with this."

“Hmm.” Jiuxiao and Penglai Temple Jiuxiao nodded, then each gently poked one side of the insect egg and extracted a fresh sample.

"Then let's continue, but be careful not to disturb them."

"Okay! Collect enough samples, don't linger. Once the targets are confirmed, go back and have the Hyperion's main guns fire a single shot to send them all to the sky."

With a smile, Seele jokingly reminded Jiuxiao and Penglai Temple Jiuxiao to prevent the two murderers from thinking about putting their assassination methods into practice and not stopping until they had killed everyone.

So the group began collecting samples. During this process, their actions of puncturing the insect eggs attracted the attention of the insect swarm, leading to several battles.

Jiuxiao, holding the patched-up Star Sword, led the way for the others.

Because it was a covert operation, Bronya, who was positioned at the rear, couldn't fire her gun freely, but relying on the bayonet on her spear, she was still incredibly powerful, displaying the aura of a master swordsman...

The more I look at this sword technique, the more familiar it seems.

That's amazing, it's the Hokushin Ittō-ryū style...

In the middle of the crowd were two guys who relied entirely on their fighting instincts: Seele and Penglaiji Jiuxiao. They wielded a scythe and a greatsword, respectively. There were no fancy moves; it was all pure and simple violent aesthetics.

Several hours later, the group had explored most of the castle, and Bronya had drawn a map of the castle's structure.

Unfortunately, there weren't as many bugs as Iselin had predicted. This was probably because most of the bugs had also participated in the last engine test and were all killed by Jiuxiao in a frenzy.

No one found any signs of the King Worm that Iselin had mentioned, so they estimated that this new species was probably just a normal Honkai creature mutation.

Just as everyone thought the situation wasn't too serious and was preparing to return to base, Bronya stopped and once again separated from the main force.

"You can leave now. Give these reagents to Iselin. I have some things I want to investigate further."

"Are we searching for Mei's whereabouts?"

“…” Bronya hesitated for a moment, then nodded firmly. “Yes.”

Chapter 267 Return to Paradise (3) The Queen Insect

Seele put one hand on her hip. "Then Seele will go with you! Seele feels the same way as Onee-sama when it comes to finding Mei-neechan. Besides, how could I possibly leave Onee-sama alone in such a dangerous place!"

“Seele…” Bronya’s stubborn face softened a little, and then she turned to look at Jiuxiao and Penglai Temple Jiuxiao.

"I'm sorry, please forgive my stubbornness. I'll have to trouble you two to take the test tubes back first. Seele and I will finish our investigation and then..."

Jiuxiao waved to interrupt Bronya's speech, then took the arm of the somewhat anxious Penglaiji Jiuxiao and said with a smile.

"How could we let you run wild in such a dangerous place! Besides, we finally found a clue related to the memories of Jiuxiao at Penglai Temple, how can we just give up like this! Right?"

“Yes.” Houraiji Kyushou nodded firmly. Whether it was searching for Mei, finding clues about her memories, or the safety of Seele and Bronya, she couldn’t leave with a clear conscience.

Bronya frowned. "But everyone at the base is waiting for our news, and there's the safety of the reagents..."

Jiuxiao smiled and winked at Bronya, then, in perfect unison with Penglaiji Jiuxiao, they clashed their greatswords together.

Jiuxiao & Penglai Temple Jiuxiao: "If we wipe out the insects, we won't have to worry about reagents anymore."

Xi'er: "..."

Bronya: "...?..."

Just as everyone was preparing to go together to search for clues, a sharp howl came from behind the wall.

Then the insect eggs that covered the entire Houmu Castle burst open one after another, and new insect-like species crawled out of them.

The area that was originally covered with insect eggs has now revealed a hidden door as all the eggs have hatched.

"That chilling howl came from behind the wall, from inside this hidden door. It seems that this place was originally blocked by insect eggs, which caused us to go in the wrong direction from the start."

Jiuxiao used his thermal vision to melt all the insects that hatched from the eggs at high temperatures.

"The Queen Insect that Iseline mentioned might be behind the door. Shall we go in?"

"Well, now that we've confirmed the possibility of the King Worm's existence, this situation is serious. Seele and I will go open the door; you guys cover us."

Bronya's expression turned serious. She cautiously stepped forward with her gun, and together with Seele who had run over, they pushed open the door.

Jiuxiao and Penglai Temple's Jiuxiao heat vision and heavy artillery were ready to provide support at any time, in case something attacked the moment the door opened.

"It's so dark... I can't see anything."

After the door opened, it was probably an empty, enclosed room. There was no light inside; the whole room was pitch black, and you couldn't see anything.

"Proceed cautiously. Judging from the sound we just heard, it came from deep within the room."

"Wait a moment, I have a flashlight. Let's observe the layout of the room before we move forward."

Seele took a flashlight out of her backpack and lit up the room.