Honkai, why do you only throw me into high-level battles?

The ambiguous atmosphere here was as fleeting as summer dew.

The small world of two people could never withstand the harsh reality of the larger world.

"Howl… Roar…"

Inhuman roars rose and fell, gradually fading into a deathly silence, broken only by the two's audible breaths and the emotionless footsteps of the constructs nearby.

But this calm was only a facade. Behind these walls lay a hell of death—both Anna and Lin Wei knew this;

Just like this seemingly beautiful world—only Lin Wei knew its true nature.

"Let's go."

Lin Wei called out. The Valkyries arriving later would lay these bodies to rest.

"One more thing…"

Anna nodded slightly, then hesitated. She drew her blade again and carefully carved lines, both horizontal and vertical, onto the door of the man's "tomb." The scratching sounds gradually formed a pattern, like an inscription on a tombstone.

Lin Wei saw clearly that it was a blooming lily, the emblem of the Schariac family.

"It's a pity I'm only a Valkyrie. I don't know the Church's prayers. I can only offer flowers in this way…"

After finishing, Anna stepped back, murmuring self-deprecatingly,

"Regardless, I hope he rests in peace."

Seeing a brave soul with his own pursuits fall into such a state filled Anna with immense pain.

"He brought it upon himself."

Lin Wei's indifferent voice came from behind, startling Anna. She couldn't believe his coldness, glaring at him, a chill running down her spine. How could you say that?

"Investigating the truth of the Honkai without authorization is forbidden."

Lin Wei ruthlessly exposed the true thoughts Anna hadn't even realized herself, a hidden sense of guilt, because—

"Schicksal has dealt with more than one person like him, haven't they?"

Anna shuddered, cold sweat dripping down her back.

"I want to remind you of something, Anna. This isn't your sin. You don't need to bear this burden, and you don't need to atone for anyone."

Lin Wei's voice was calm and steady, like a detached observer.

"Untimely 'truth' will cause panic, panic will lead to chaos, and escalating chaos will lead to even greater panic and greater chaos, ultimately spiraling out of control and causing even more deaths. While his courage is admirable, the outcome was predetermined the moment he chose this path."

In a world racing against the end of days, "justice" was a luxury.

After a pause, Lin Wei's voice softened,

"Everyone carries burdens in life, but you have to learn to distinguish which ones you should carry and which ones you shouldn't. Bear what you must, and reject what doesn't belong to you. Only then can you move forward. Otherwise, Anna, you'll eventually crumble under the weight."

Suddenly playing the bad guy, Lin Wei felt helpless.

While the Herrschers in this world were all prone to self-destruction, Anna was the only one who truly consumed herself from the inside out.

Although Raiden Mei was also struggling internally, she was lucky enough to have Kiana, who was willing to share her burdens and lighten the mood. So, for now, Mei could indulge in her small joys.

Since they had met by chance, he might as well offer some help.

Of course, small joys were out of the question. A harsh reality check was more fitting for a villain like him.

"You… I…"

Anna was flustered. She suddenly understood why she had acted so impulsively earlier, and why she had apologized.

"Alright, let's go."

After his grand speech, Lin Wei wanted to escape. He thought that Anna's inexplicable, rapidly rising emotions should have subsided after his harsh words.

Tsk, I feel like a jerk, Lin Wei inwardly berated himself.

"…"

Lin Wei walked ahead. Anna silently followed, the shock from his harsh words fading, replaced by an overwhelming sense of grievance.

How could you say that to me?

And with such a terrible tone and expression…

The two walked away, leaving behind a deathly silence, like a tomb, marked by an inadequate "tombstone" and a single, not-so-vibrant flower, silently conveying the departing duo's meager sentiments.

…

Continuing downwards, Anna focused on protecting Lin Wei. The eerie silence persisted, making her uneasy.

This underground base was like an inverted pagoda, layer upon layer, each floor roughly the same size, like mass-produced products on an assembly line, giving off a sense of carelessness. The security also seemed lax.

Lin Wei had initially thought this was one of Jackal's bio-labs, after all, she was the only one obsessed with biological research, just like the hole she had dug under ARC City.

However, recalling Jackal's base in ARC City, which had a crucial role, Lin Wei suddenly had a realization.

The reason that place was a dragon's lair was entirely because Raven was guarding it.

And if Raven was off duty…

Let's just say, after Raven captured Kiana and clocked out, even Mei, who was constantly being humiliated at the time, could infiltrate…

(ノへ￣,)

World Serpent, nothing more.

If even their important bases were this lax, let alone this unknown "lair."

However, Lin Wei didn't let his guard down. Rita's example… no, not quite…

Anyway, he had to stay alert!

Lin Wei carefully observed his surroundings. Unlike the previous level, divided into various "rooms" and "cages," this level was more spacious, with only a few areas marked by lines, not messy, but cluttered, with empty tables and chairs, some sophisticated-looking experimental equipment, and a few empty incubation pods in the corners.

It looked like an abandoned laboratory. According to Anna, there were no signs of life on this level either, but the Honkai energy readings were high, similar to the previous level.

The concentration and energy levels hadn't increased further. Was this considered "good news"?

Lin Wei had asked Anna. According to her, the Honkai energy on the first level would cause ordinary people exposed to it to quickly develop Honkai Sickness and die painfully.

She said that after every Honkai eruption, they would find many such bodies by the roadsides or in rooms.

The concentration on the second level had crossed the threshold, causing corpses to "reanimate" and become Deadmen.

"Lin Wei, do you know? During every Honkai eruption, there are always many Honkai beasts of varying sizes near the center. Some are as tall as buildings, while others are as small as mosquitoes."

Since learning that Lin Wei knew a lot about Honkai, Anna didn't mind telling him more. She even used her arms to vividly demonstrate, like sharing a secret.

"But Deadmen are rare, because most things near the center can't withstand the intense energy surge. They're reduced to ashes! However, some highly evolved and dangerous Deadmen do emerge, different from the ones we saw earlier."

Anna couldn't describe those Deadmen to Lin Wei. After all, those monsters often had aesthetically pleasing forms. She couldn't explain it in a few words.

Lin Wei nodded knowingly. I know, Elysia's doing.

"And in areas further away from the eruption center, many, many Deadmen emerge, like walking corpses. And in the outermost areas, there are many people who die from Honkai erosion. Perhaps not becoming a monster is a blessing for them."

Anna said with a bitter, sympathetic smile.

Humans were truly fragile…

She only gave a brief overview, not a complete explanation.

This clear, "concentric circle" pattern only existed for a short time after a Honkai eruption, because the monsters would wander and spread. Honkai beasts and Deadmen themselves were also sources of Honkai energy, causing the energy distribution to become chaotic and further contaminate the surrounding areas.

Therefore, "Valkyrie units," these professionals, were needed to quickly eliminate and suppress them, preventing the disaster from spreading further.

"Only those with strong Honkai resistance can survive in such an environment. That's why every Honkai eruption results in heavy casualties."

Anna couldn't help but glance at Lin Wei again. After all, male survivors were even rarer.

Lin Wei deeply agreed.

Every Honkai eruption, the first wave of energy would eliminate ninety percent of the population.

The survivors then had to evade the ubiquitous monsters amidst the chaos and terror.

In the end, only a few lucky ones, those who could fight their way out with a baseball bat – absolute geniuses, only two in both the Previous and Current Eras – would survive;

Most were just fortunate enough to survive until rescue arrived.

And during this process, another ninety percent would die.

Lin Wei was glad he didn't procrastinate and escaped Nagazora City early on. Otherwise, he would have been just another handful of ashes.

It was precisely because he knew his own insignificance that he never became arrogant, and never thought he would be the protagonist of this world.

"In that case, the survivors should be on a level not far from here, and there might be more than we expected…"

Lin Wei stroked his chin, murmuring,

"After all, this is an artificial Honkai environment, controlled by those 'worker ant' constructs. Those who can withstand the Honkai radiation have a much higher chance of survival here than in a natural environment, as they won't be attacked by monsters."

Heh, mechanical coldness and ruthlessness, very World Serpent.

"…"

Anna felt a pang in her heart. So we should thank them now?

She felt a surge of resentment.

You're not a good guy after all!

"I just don't know what kind of torture awaits these unlucky 'lucky ones.' I doubt they have good intentions."

Lin Wei sneered.

Deception, abduction, coercion…

World Serpent would stop at nothing to gather test subjects for their experiments.

"…"

Anna's resentment subsided. Maybe he isn't a bad guy after all.

Worker ants… soldier ants…

Wait a minute!

Lin Wei had a flash of inspiration. He gripped his cane, sensing the information Pandora was feeding back. He still couldn't detect any network presence in this deep underground base.

"Let's go, further down."

Lin Wei grabbed Anna's hand without hesitation, leading her to the next level. He said with a serious expression,

"Be careful, there might be a fight… but I could be wrong."

Anna froze, the sudden shyness she had felt forgotten. She asked urgently,

"What did you find?"

"Not sure, just a guess."

Lin Wei said as they walked.

"I haven't detected any network presence here, and there are no systems to infiltrate. This means there's no central control hub here, but those constructs are still patrolling and working as usual. This is very unusual."

"Maybe the system security level here is too high, with no exploitable vulnerabilities?"

Anna offered a reasonable doubt.

Lin Wei turned and gave her a concerned look, then turned back. He couldn't tell her he was using the Key of Corruption to cheat, could he?

He could only skip that part, saying vaguely,

"Unlikely. My other two guesses are more plausible. One, there's an administrator here who adjusts the constructs' parameters and performs maintenance."

"Wouldn't that be better? We can just capture and interrogate him! Find out everything about the organization and their conspiracy!"

Anna said excitedly. For her, anything that could be solved with fists wasn't a problem. Then, realizing she sounded unladylike, she coughed awkwardly, trying to change the subject.

"And the other possibility?"

Lin Wei stopped, activating the Divine Key again. A silent virus spread, checking for surveillance or eavesdropping systems.

Fortunately, nothing.

Lin Wei breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't answer directly. He said seriously,

"Those constructs are both biological and mechanical. I didn't think much of it before, assuming it was just a technological approach, but now I'm not so sure…"

"What's wrong?"

Anna was getting annoyed by Lin Wei's cryptic words. Just spit it out!

"Anna, do you know about bees and ants? These hierarchical social animals often have a leader who controls the entire colony with simple pheromones…"

"Biological control, heh, a clever design…"

In this world, Herrschers controlled Honkai beasts, and higher-level Honkai beasts controlled lower-level ones, in a similar manner.

"Anna, be careful. Deep within this place, there might be a non-reproductive 'Queen Ant'!"