Honkai Impact 3rd: Chiyou's Survival Guide

"Let the destruction of the world begin here!" Looking down at the vast snowfield below, Xilin laughed and snapped her fingers. In an instant, the entire snowfield was dyed purple, and boundless Honkai energy raged everywhere, spreading towards the distance. As cracks in space tore open, a large number of Honkai beasts emerged from them. A moment later, the snowfield around the Babylon Laboratory became a forbidden zone for humans, and the number of Honkai beasts continued to increase. Countless Honkai beasts danced wildly and gathered at the foot of the Babylon Tower, like a loyal army waiting for inspection, surrounding their queen. The Second Great Collapse broke out completely.

Inside the Mandate of Heaven headquarters, in the Bishop's office, Otto had just observed a violent Houkai energy reaction over Siberia. The Houkai energy was rapidly spreading at 200 kilometers per hour, and the estimated impact range was immeasurable.

"Are you planning to wipe out the entire Siberia in one go..." Otto was a little distressed at the moment as his plan deviated and his powerful soul steel body was damaged.

"The Second Herrscher... and her companions. It seems I don't have much time left."

Chapter 57 Cocolia

The place where three A-rank Valkyries had failed. Using her location, Cecilia arrived only to notice the surroundings were completely silent, devoid of any sound. Taking a few steps forward, Cecilia discovered the devastated surroundings. It seemed Cheng Lixue and the other two had pursued the Pseudo-Herrscher. A strong sense of foreboding washed over Cecilia, yet she still held onto a glimmer of hope. Finally, Cecilia saw the scene she least expected—she saw Shab, lying motionless on the ground, completely lifeless.

"White flower..." Cecilia urged her pristine lance, attempting to heal Shabu. The white flower radiated a soft glow, but even with its creative power, it couldn't bring a corpse back to life. Undeterred, Cecilia tried several more times, but to no avail. Finally, she gave up. Cecilia then surveyed her surroundings, hoping for clues to Cheng Lixue and Shiyu Qiluo. Blood splattered the ground, and Cheng Lixue and Shiyu Qiluo were nowhere to be found. Cecilia felt a pang of despair at this sight, but she could only console herself with the thought that their disappearance offered a glimmer of hope, far better than witnessing their bodies.

"Nicholas..." Bending over, Cecilia gazed at Shab with sorrow. The once invincible blood-red spear had been shattered by an external force, scattering around the [undead] Valkyrie. Facing Shab's dilated pupils, Cecilia gently helped her close her eyes. Slowly rising, Cecilia closed her eyes. She had been overwhelmed by the recent tragedy. First, Patrick disappeared, then Salome died in battle. The remaining three members had separated from the main group while pursuing Galina. Shab died, Shigure Kira and Cheng Lixue disappeared... Of the remaining members of the Snow Wolf Squad, only she, the captain, remained. Cecilia remained silent, her thoughts uncertain. Suddenly, a surge of Honkai energy reached her from afar, and Cecilia snapped back to her senses.

"No..." Cecilia looked towards the Tower of Babylon in disbelief. She knew that if this level of collapse was allowed to spread, the entire Siberia would be affected.

"Cecilia, a large number of Honkai beasts have appeared in the Babylon Laboratory area. According to satellite image data, the number of Honkai beasts in Siberia is preliminarily estimated to have exceeded 500,000!" Theresa's anxious voice came from the communicator.

"Those Honkai beasts are heading towards the town in Siberia. The bishop has ordered a heavy fire attack in half an hour. You should come back quickly!" "Half an hour..." Cecilia repeated, listening to the rumbling sound of the Honkai beasts' movements in the distance, and seemed to have made up her mind.

"Theresa, I'll be back in half an hour, but right now, I have to save those helpless people as much as I can!" "Cecilia, you..." Without waiting for Theresa to say anything else, Cecilia resolutely hung up. After a final glance at the silent Shabu, Cecilia resolutely ran towards the nearby town.

In a remote town, in a confinement cell, a young blonde woman dejectedly put down her wine jug, a tipsy look spread across her face, and the usual sharpness in her eyes was replaced by a hazy mist.

"Cocolia, you don't have to be like this."

Just as the woman's eyes were blurred and she was gently shaking the wine jug, wanting to continue drinking, a voice came from outside the confinement room.

"I'm sorry, but I already told you to mind your own business."

Seeing that Cocolia did not respond, the visitor continued talking to himself.

"The army has long been corrupt. If I hadn't pleaded for you... Anyway, you should probably change your straightforward temper."

"What did you say?!" Hearing this, Cocolia's temper flared up, and she slammed the wine jug onto the iron table. She rushed to the iron door of the detention room, stared at the intruder through the gap in the wire mesh, and shouted angrily.

"I just can't tolerate guys like you! It's because of you that this country is so corrupt that even orphanages can't get the corresponding subsidies!" "Do you know how many orphans were starving and waiting for relief while you were rampantly embezzling money?!" Cocolia became more and more excited when she remembered the hunger experience in her childhood.

"Be an upright soldier, isn't that what you once told me, Colonel Alexei!" "...Enough!" As if feeling his own meanness and going against his original intention, Alexei tried to cover up his panic with scolding, and his eyes also became fierce.

"I have my own difficulties. I must get the money!" Alexei kept saying, as if he was talking to Kokolia, or as if he was trying to convince himself.

"My daughter will be born soon, but I can't support her and her with my meager salary in the army."

Alexei opened the pocket watch he carried with him and looked at the photo inside, a trace of tenderness in his eyes.

"For me, I can pay any price for them..." Looking at Cocolia, Alexei sighed.

"Think about it carefully. I remember that you send your salary back to the orphanage every month. You need money too, don't you?" "But I will never betray my principles and the morality in my heart!" Kokolia gritted her teeth and glared at Alexi angrily.

"Who wants to be the person they hate?" Alexei smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"But for the sake of what we hold most dear, we have no choice but to give up some of our principles. Join us, Cocolia, I can..." "Boom—" Alexei had barely finished speaking when the ground suddenly shook, and the entire confinement cell collapsed. Deftly dodging the falling bricks, Cocolia was stunned to see a monster wandering the town through the rubble. The monster held a lance in one hand and a shield-like object in the other. Its entire body was covered in a white shell, with purple-red patterns visible in the gaps. Cocolia had never seen a Honkai Beast before, and the knight-level Honkai Beast in front of her frightened her so much that she froze in place, not daring to move. Fortunately, the monster was busy destroying other buildings in the town and didn't notice this place for a while.

"Help... Help me..." Suddenly, a faint cry for help woke Kokolia. Alexei was buried under the rubble, blood slowly seeping out. He stretched out his hand tremblingly, instinctively trying to grab a lifeline.

"My wife is still pregnant... I can't die..." Kokolia rushed to his side, only to find that Alexei had gradually stopped breathing. After struggling to remove the rubble that was pressing down on Alexei, Kokolia discovered that he was still clutching the pocket watch tightly in his hand.

"I'm sorry, Colonel."

After a moment's silence, Kokolia, disregarding the importance of the dead, dug out a pistol and car keys from Alexei's body. She had her own reasons for living, even if it was for the children in the orphanage. Kokolia thought. While the monster was still unaware, she desperately ran towards the parking lot.

Chapter 58 Born

"Who are you? Where is my husband?" In the parking lot, Alexandra was stunned when she saw Cocolia rushing into the car without saying a word.

"Why do you have his keys?" Alexandra asked anxiously when she saw the blonde woman in front of her holding the car keys that originally belonged to Alexei, and grabbed Cocolia.

"Stop making noise! ​​Otherwise I will shoot you!" Unable to figure out how to explain to the other party tactfully, Cocolia simply put the gun to the other party's forehead and spoke viciously.

"Your husband is dead. This place is hopeless now. If you don't want to die, let go. I'll take you away!" Alexandra's eyes glazed over as she dropped her grip on Cocolia and sat down in the seat beside her without a word. Seeing this, Cocolia felt a pang of guilt, but remembering the children in the orphanage who needed her, she gritted her teeth and started the engine. With a roar, the only two survivors in the town escaped. However, what greeted them in the snowy plains were even more, an endless swarm of Honkai beasts.

On the top of the Tower of Babylon, Xilin looked into the distance, constantly searching for something.

"Found it!" Suddenly, looking in a certain direction, Xilin exclaimed in surprise. A few minutes ago, the number of Honkai Beasts in a certain direction had been decreasing at a drastic rate. Seeing this, Xilin wanted to see who was so bold as to block her attack. After using her perception, she soon spotted the culprit—Cecilia, wielding the Black Abyss White Flower, constantly cutting through the Honkai Beast herd, occasionally rescuing a few trapped humans.

"Oh, I was just about to settle the score with you, and now you're here..." Silin sneered, noticing Cecilia. First, she nearly killed Aurora, then severely injured Bella, and now, she's saving someone right under her nose... New grudges and old grudges converged, and Silin was ready to teach Cecilia a lesson.

"Wait for me to deal with that human myself and avenge Bella and Aurora!" Xilin muttered to herself, with anger flashing in her eyes.

"...I'll go with you."

Fu You took the initiative to stop Xilin who was about to leave.

"You are going too? Is that true?" Upon hearing that, Xilin looked at Fu You in astonishment, with a look of surprise.

"As I recall, you're the one who least likes to initiate attacks, right?" Xilin looked at Fu You with confusion. Clearly, she hadn't expected him to ask to go with her. In Xilin's memory, Fu You never liked to start trouble—except for that fierce battle with Chi Yuan.

"Hmm... Those humans shouldn't be coming over anytime soon. Babylon has Bella and the others here, plus there are so many Honkai beasts, so there's no need to worry."

After thinking for a moment, Fu You spoke slowly, seeming to be very interested in the "enemy".

"Besides, I also want to meet the guy who defeated Aurora and Bella."

Looking at Bella and the others who were on standby, Fu You explained. All of the above were lies, and the real reason was that Fu You felt that if he didn't go with her, Xilin would most likely fail again. After all, Xilin's battle record was not very good. On the moon, she was even almost taken away by the dying Walter's self-explosion. Apart from the victory over Theresa once before, Fu You really couldn't think of any other victories of Xilin. Fu You didn't understand. Xilin was obviously one of the strongest people in the world today, so why did accidents happen every time they fought? Therefore, Fu You was really worried about this cheap partner of his who loved to stir up trouble but was difficult to clean up. In addition, considering Xilin's face, Fu You could only find a lame excuse, but fortunately Xilin didn't notice.

"Don't worry, you can just admire me crushing the enemy!" Xilin laughed arrogantly, as if she had already treated Cecilia as an ant that could be crushed at will. "You said the same thing before fighting Walter last time..." Fu You muttered inwardly.

"What kind of monsters are these..." Dropping her empty pistol, Cocolia looked in despair at the unharmed, approaching Honkai beasts. After escaping town, Cocolia sped along, quickly running out of fuel. The two were trapped in the vast expanse of snow. Even more tragically, the surrounding monsters seemed to sense something was amiss and swarmed over them.

"Please be careful!" Just when Cocolia and Alexandra were in despair, a figure suddenly descended from the sky.

"Swish--" The Black Abyss swept out, and the surrounding Honkai beasts were all shattered before they could react.

"You...you are..." Seeing a human being so beyond her comprehension, Cocolia was so surprised that she was speechless.

"It's great to meet you at this time."

Cecilia looked back and saw that Cocolia and the other two were fine. She smiled gently. Then, Cecilia called Theresa.

"Theresa, this is Cecilia. I found two more survivors. It's still not too late to rescue them."

"Cecilia, there's not much time left before the fire strike, hurry back to the team!" Theresa became more and more anxious when she saw that Cecilia had no intention of coming back on the other end of the communicator.

"...I'll be right back."

Upon hearing this, Cecilia was silent for a moment, but she still agreed. She understood that her efforts were but a drop in the bucket; she had rescued fewer than a hundred people, a mere drop in the ocean compared to the entirety of Siberia. But as long as someone survived, Cecilia felt her efforts were worth it. …We were the ones who were rescued, so why was she happier than us, as if she had been saved herself? Cocolia looked at Cecilia's elation, puzzled. …After pointing the two in the right direction, Cecilia put away the Black Abyss White Flower and prepared to rejoin the group. However, something unexpected happened.

"Boom—" A crack appeared in the air, and then a sub-air spear stabbed fiercely at Cecilia. Cecilia subconsciously dodged it, looking up at the sky with a serious expression. She found Xilin with a playful look in her eyes.

"Human... Are you the one who hurt my Aurora and Bella?" Xilin spoke slowly with arrogance written all over her face.

"The Second Herrscher..." Cecilia was startled. This was her first direct encounter with the Second Herrscher. Although she had heard of him before, meeting him in person made Cecilia realize how young Sirin was. What could have happened to drive this child so desperate that she would become such a wicked Herrscher? Cecilia's emotions were mixed. Sirin, on the other hand, ignored Cecilia's thoughts. With a snap of her fingers, a powerful Honkai energy erupted, instantly disrupting the surrounding signals.

"So, you can't call for help, right?" Looking down at the wary Cecilia, Xilin gloated. After repeated setbacks, Xilin had become shrewd. Before a fight, she'd cut off her opponent's communications, preventing unforeseen interruptions. While still arrogant, she'd finally learned her lesson... In the shadows, Fu You nodded with satisfaction.

Chapter 59 Xilin’s defeat

"Theresa, have the troops finished retreating?" Theresa stared into the distance, a look of worry in her eyes. Suddenly, Otto's voice rang out from the communicator on her waist. Without waiting for Theresa's reply, Otto spoke again.

"There's a change of plan... The Second Herrscher's power has unleashed, and we can't wait much longer. The bombing is scheduled to begin ten minutes earlier."

"What?!" Theresa panicked upon hearing that Otto had moved up the planned time. Cecilia had told her she was going to rescue someone in a previous communication, but then disappeared without a trace, and hadn't returned yet. If they attacked now, Cecilia would be affected as well.

"No! Grandpa, we can't open fire now! The three Valkyries of the Snow Wolf Squad... and Cecilia, they haven't come back yet!" Theresa shouted anxiously, fearing that Otto would issue the order to launch a premature fire strike.

"Theresa, Cecilia's communication is down... We must prepare for the worst."

Otto was also quite helpless. He didn't want Cecilia to rescue them at all. A few ordinary humans weren't worth the risk for his top fighter. Cecilia was just too kind, Otto thought silently.

"Didn't we agree to bomb in half an hour? Why in advance?" Otto's sudden change of mind made Theresa very puzzled.

"...There are over 500,000 Honkai beast tidal waves. You should know what that means."

"Siberia is beyond saving. The forces of the Honkai are spreading. Every minute of hesitation now will inflict unimaginable costs in the future."

Otto continued speaking calmly while trying to persuade Theresa.

"But you're going to let me watch Cecilia get caught in the crossfire?!" Theresa understood this, but she couldn't accept her best friend being targeted by friendly fire. She argued, refutation of Otto's plan.

"Theresa, believe in grandpa. Grandpa's plan won't be wrong. Think about it carefully. From childhood to adulthood, when has grandpa ever let you down?" Otto tried to play the emotional card. For his beloved granddaughter, he was willing to indulge her occasional willfulness.

"...Grandpa, don't forget those innocent girls imprisoned beneath the Babylon lab. You still haven't given me an explanation!" Theresa said coldly, her expression unyielding. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communicator, and then Otto's tone slowed, as if ready to compromise.

"Well, let's put it this way. The bombing will be delayed for five minutes. This is my bottom line."

Otto sighed. He also didn't want to lose Cecilia, an S-rank warrior. He just hoped Cecilia would return soon... Although Otto didn't care about Siberia's fate, he couldn't let the Honkai spread uncontrollably like a wild beast, escaping his control. Besides, he hadn't yet received what he wanted from the Second Herrscher, so he had to be cautious... Otto thought.

On the other side, under Xilin's aggressive attack, Cecilia retreated again and again.

"Are you so afraid to fight me head-on?" Seeing this familiar scene, Xilin remembered Walter and couldn't help but sneer. Hearing this, Cecilia didn't react. She continued to wander around, looking for Xilin's weakness.

"White flower!" Cecilia shouted suddenly, and in an instant, countless vines sprang out from under Xilin's feet and wrapped around Xilin directly.

"Little tricks."

Xilin curled her lips, her face filled with disdain, her expression revealing a complete indifference to Cecilia's attack. With a flash of her figure, Xilin instantly teleported to the other side. The power of space is truly tricky... Cecilia pondered to herself, a hint of solemnity flashing in her beautiful eyes. Facing Xilin's strange power, Cecilia dared not relax even a bit, closely watching her movements. However, Cecilia had noticed Xilin's flaw: every time she teleported, a slight ripple appeared in the space at her destination when she reappeared. With a plan in mind, Cecilia attacked Xilin again.

"It's useless... You can't hit me!" Xilin scoffed. Seeing Cecilia rush over, she teleported away again. Seeing her efforts go futile, Xilin felt like teasing her again. However, this time, just as Xilin emerged from the space, before she could even react, a sharp whistling sound suddenly rang out.

"What..." Sensing something was amiss, Xilin quickly turned around, but it was too late. Cecilia clutched the Black Abyss tightly and lashed out at Xilin fiercely. Xilin's pupils shrank instantly, her eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment. Her mouth opened slightly, but no sound emanated.

"How is this possible! How could you have predicted my position?" Feeling the overwhelming pressure, Xilin cried out, falling backward and tumbling heavily to the ground. There was no time for Xilin to react. The Black Abyss was already within reach, and it was too late to teleport again. This is too late... This was the last thought in Xilin's mind. It seemed she had no choice but to take this blow head-on. Xilin instinctively closed her eyes, her hands raised to protect her head, bracing herself for the blow.

"Bang—" However, the expected pain of being knocked back didn't come. Instead, a deafening explosion suddenly exploded in front of her. Opening her eyes, Xilin found that Fu You had suddenly blocked her way, tightly holding Hei Yuan, preventing Cecilia from moving forward.

"Let me think... 'Appreciate my heroic figure crushing the enemy', I remember you said that, right?" Turning around and looking at Xilin who was sitting on the ground, looking a little embarrassed, Fu You teased.

"It seems our Lady Queen has underestimated her foe once again?" Fu You breathed a sigh of relief after blocking Cecilia's attack. He was lucky he'd followed her, otherwise, if Xilin and Cecilia had fought, she might have been completely defeated again. Although Xilin was too young, her mentality and combat skills were far from perfect, relying only on the powerful power instilled by the so-called "divine", fighting almost on instinct...but why did he feel so accustomed to Xilin's setbacks? With this thought, Fu You fell silent. However, the uneasiness in his heart had disappeared, which was actually quite good. He hoped Xilin would learn from this and not become arrogant anymore.

"You...what do you know? I am deliberately showing weakness to lure the enemy deeper, so that she won't run around everywhere. Even if you don't come, I can easily deal with her!" Hearing this, Xilin got angry and stared at Fu You fiercely, saying stubbornly.

"How could a mere human possibly hurt me!" "Yes, yes, yes, of course Xilin is the strongest. I know she is no match for you."

Seeing Xilin's face flushed red, Fu You stopped teasing her and instead comforted the angry Xilin.

"Hmph! I'm glad you know. I wasn't careless!" Xilin said this, looking away guiltily, but secretly relieved. How could it be... Just as Xilin tried to regain her composure, Cecilia froze. She saw with her own eyes how her seemingly unavoidable attack was intercepted and then blocked by the sudden figure. The opponent seemed even more stable than the Second Herrscher—even though the Second Herrscher was the least stable. Theresa and Cheng Lixue had previously mentioned that the Second Herrscher had an assistant, but it was only after the fight that Cecilia realized how powerful the Second Herrscher's assistant could be.

Chapter 60 [Snake]