Honkai Impact 3rd: Catching the Herrscher of Sentience at the Start

"Fair enough. Strong individuals like you wouldn't be easily recruited anyway. I was being a bit rash. By the way, thank you for dealing with the Doomsday Beast. If not for you, the space station would have been in real danger. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to find me," Asta said, shifting the topic to gratitude without surprise at Fu Lin's refusal.

"Ahem! It's only natural to help when you see injustice. It was just a small effort. Of course, if you insist on giving us a reward, I wouldn't refuse."

Fu Lin first replied modestly, then pulled out his phone, opened a payment QR code, and shamelessly threw away his integrity—figuratively stomping on it for good measure.

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"...The amount is a bit less; I hope you won't mind." Asta glanced at Fu Lin, who had taken out a payment code. She was momentarily stunned but then pulled out her phone and transferred 50 million credits in one go.

Fu Lin, seeing the endless string of digits in the transaction, couldn't help but gasp in shock, staring at Asta in disbelief.

Who would have thought this young girl was so wealthy, even referring to 50 million credits as "a little money"? Maybe he should have agreed to work in the Space station earlier.

What now? He felt a twinge of regret.

But the words were already spoken; there was no taking them back.

"About what you proposed earlier, I think..."

"That was my impulsiveness earlier. I didn't think it through. Everyone still needs my command. I'll take my leave now," Asta apologized again before Fu Lin could finish, then quickly ran toward the command platform without waiting for him to respond.

"I was going to say I could..." Fu Lin reached out, trying to stop Asta, but it was too late. All he could do was watch her back disappear with a forlorn expression.

"What do you even need this world's currency for? We can't use it. And where did you even get this world's phone?" Fu Shi leaned against Fu Lin's shoulder, watching the departing Asta, and asked curiously.

"This is Stelle's phone. Even if we can't use it, we can buy some things to take back," Fu Lin replied, holding up the black phone with golden accents in its case.

"Ah, I see. You're always so thoughtful," Fu Shi realized, patting Fu Lin's shoulder approvingly.

...

"It's so dark. Are you sure this is the place with all those interesting artifacts? Did we mess up again?" Fu Shi asked, exhausted, as she stared at the pitch-black room ahead.

"No mistake this time. According to the map, it's here," Fu Lin replied, looking at the stolen map.

"That's what you said last time," Fu Shi retorted weakly.

"Last time was an accident. The space station is too big! I'm certain this time—this must be the storeroom," Fu Lin declared, putting away the map and turning toward the dark room, somewhat sheepishly. Then he walked inside.

As soon as Fu Lin stepped in, the entire room lit up, revealing a variety of objects floating on platforms along both sides.

Fu Shi, seeing they had finally found the right place, shouted feebly, "Hooray..."

"Curio No. 752: The Judging Gun. This gun scores creatures within its range of vision. Scoring logic is unclear."

"So this is the Gun that Silver Wolf mentioned," Fu Lin remarked as he approached the first display platform, staring at a yellow handgun with a single eyeball on it. Below it was the description.

The Judging Gun's eyeball turned toward Fu Lin: "100 points!" it declared.

"Hah, this gun has good taste!" Fu Lin said, flipping his hair and smiling as he saw the high score.

Suddenly, the Judging Gun's eyeball shifted, its expression becoming dazed. It stared at Fu Lin again: "0 points!" it announced.

"...Fu Shi!" Fu Lin tilted his head to look at Fu Shi, who was whistling nonchalantly, pretending it had nothing to do with her.

"Ehehe, let me try!" Fu Shi said, giving Fu Lin a playful look as she quickly approached the Judging Gun.

The Judging Gun's eye abruptly opened wide, its gaze darting around before fixing on Fu Shi's chest. It gave her a disdainful look: "-20... -40... -80!" it announced.

"Pfft!"

"Hahaha! Fu Shi, the gun hates you! Hahaha!" Fu Lin couldn't hold back his laughter as he saw the score plummet.

"Darn it! I'll tear this stupid thing apart!" Fu Shi yelled, raising her fist to smash the Judging Gun. Luckily, Fu Lin reacted in time, quickly stopping her and dragging her toward another artifact.

"Let me go! If I don't dismantle that gun today, I'm not the Herrscher of Sentience!" Fu Shi said, flailing her fists in frustration.

"The great Herrscher of Sentience shouldn't get mad over a mere gun. Let's check out the next artifact," Fu Lin said with a faint smile, holding back his laughter as he comforted her.

"This stack of cards counts as an artifact?" Fu Shi asked, looking at a tower made of cards with a puzzled expression before moving on.

"Huh? This crown is entirely made of crystals. No wonder it's so heavy!" Fu Lin muttered as he read the description of Artifact No. 458, "The Unbearable Weight," then walked toward the next display without a backward glance.