Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 175 Hey you…

Cold, shaking.

The captain felt as if he were lying on a cold steel plate. He vaguely heard two familiar voices arguing. Just as he was about to get up, the voice of the Herrscher of Knowledge rang in his mind.

"Captain, don't open your eyes yet. Let me explain the current situation before you open them."

"Xiaozhi?"

"I told you not to call me by that name! Oh well. Now's not the time for this. To make a long story short, here's what happened..."

It turns out that just now, their Hyperion encountered an accident, causing everyone, including the captain, to be separated. Even the Hyperion itself was nowhere to be found. If the Herrscher of Knowledge hadn't possessed the captain, who was closest to her, in a moment of desperation, the captain would probably be all alone in this world now.

During the time the captain was unconscious, the Herrscher of Knowledge secretly investigated the surrounding area and discovered that this was actually their original world!

Of course, that's not entirely accurate; to be precise, it's a parallel world. In this world, there is no captain, so Himeko Murata remains the captain of the Hyperion. However, that's not important. What's important is that they are currently in the timeline where Kiana was captured and was about to awaken as the Herrscher of the Void.

Furthermore, because the Herrscher of Knowledge used the captain's body during the previous investigation and did not conceal the Herrscher's fluctuations, they were quickly discovered by the Schicksal Headquarters' detectors. Currently, they are in the Schicksal Headquarters' temporary detention area for suspicious individuals.

Their fellow inmates were none other than Himeko Murata and Tesla, who came to rescue Kiana. Realizing that the captain was about to awaken, the Herrscher of Consciousness simply pretended to be the captain's Herrscher consciousness. Her goal was to get the captain to successfully get on board with Himeko Murata and Tesla, so that there would be a chance to save Himeko Murata and also get rid of the captain's inner demons over the past few years.

The captain was surprised by this. He never expected that the Herrscher of Consciousness would know that he had failed to change Himeko Murata's future with Kiana, which had become his inner demon. He had never given the Herrscher of Consciousness a chance to read his mind!

"Hey, do I really need to use my powers to handle something like this? Everyone knows what you and Kiana are thinking, it's just that no one has said anything."

"In short, when you open your eyes, Captain, remember to act as if it's your first time meeting. Your setting is that you are the human consciousness of this body and have never seen anyone from St. Freya Academy before, understand?"

"I see…"

The captain opened his eyes, and what greeted him was Himeko Murata's conflicted expression. Seeing that the captain was awake, Himeko Murata hesitated for a moment before deciding to greet him first.

"Hey, you're finally awake!"

"Where am I? Who are you...?"

"This is the headquarters of Destiny. Do you remember where you were last conscious?"

"I...I don't know. I just felt everything go black, and when I opened my eyes, this is what happened."

"Is that so? My name is Himeko Murata. For some reason, I was imprisoned in this temporary shelter with her."

"Hello, Himeko. May I ask how that person should be addressed?"

"Hmph! Just call me Tesla!"

Clearly, Tesla didn't give the captain a friendly look. But that makes sense, considering Tesla's previous relationship with the Herrscher of Knowledge; it's unlikely Tesla would actually be friendly to someone who is suspected of being a Herrscher.

"I'm sorry, but these are extraordinary times, so my companion is a bit wary. Please forgive him. Oh, and I haven't asked your name yet."

"…captain."

"?"

"Just call me Captain. After all, I am the captain of one of the Schicksal airships. But you are Himeko Murata. I've heard so much about you."

"I didn't expect that there would still be people at the Destiny Headquarters who recognize me. But you said you're the captain of an airship, so it seems we're colleagues. May I ask which specific ship you're the captain of?"

Himeko Murata interrupted Tesla before he could speak, which was somewhat impolite, but since the other party had already revealed her identity, it was better for Tesla, as the executive officer of Anti-Entropy, to say less in order to prevent the other party from realizing Tesla's true identity.

"Well... although I'm called the captain, my fleet is actually still being built. Apparently, it's because of the Far East Branch's rebellion that the bishop ordered the rebuilding of the fleet. Speaking of which, Miss Murata is from the Far East Branch, right? Why did she betray Schicksal?"

"Tch! I didn't expect that Otto guy would rebuild a new fleet so quickly. His reaction was unexpected. Could it be that he had already anticipated this day?" Tesla muttered to himself.

"Before answering your question, Captain, I'd like to ask you one."

"please say."

"If, and I mean if, saving the world requires sacrificing your subordinates, or even if your subordinates were created for that purpose, what would you do?"

The captain remained silent. He naturally understood what Himeko Murata meant. After a moment's thought, he spoke.

"I would probably do anything to save my men."

Upon hearing this answer, Himeko Murata smiled.

“My answer was the same, and it wasn’t just me; Theresa thought the same thing.”

"Theresa?"

“That’s right, to tell you the truth. The reason our Far East branch betrayed Destiny is because the bishop kidnapped a student we valued, and that student is suffering a fate that should not belong to her. That’s why we chose to betray Destiny at all costs.”

"Even willing to cooperate with anti-entropy?"

Upon hearing this, Himeko Murata paused for a moment, then realized that the captain had already figured out Tesla's identity, but had simply not said it outright.

Himeko Murata gave a wry smile: "Yes, we're willing to cooperate with Anti-Entropy. But you should know that Anti-Entropy is divided into radicals and moderates, and the ones cooperating with us this time are the moderates. Our goal is very simple: to rescue our students, nothing more."

“If that’s all there is to it, I might be able to cooperate with you, and I also want to find out why I’m being held here.”

Himeko Murata and Tesla exchanged a glance and agreed that it would be better to tell him the truth.

"Listen, no matter what I say next, please don't be surprised or waver, okay?"

Seeing Himeko Murata's serious expression, the captain slowly nodded and said, "Please speak."

"It's incredible, but I think you might be the Herrscher chosen for this Honkai outbreak."

"Me? A Herrscher?"

The captain pointed incredulously at himself and said, "Please don't joke around. How could I possibly be a Herrscher? You know, I gave an extremely low report during the Honkai Energy Adaptability Test."

To be honest, the captain wasn't sure when he said that. After all, since Kiana fully merged with the Cocoon of the End, humanity had evolved, and the so-called Honkai energy adaptation was no longer meaningful. Because that value should definitely be over 90%, yet Tesla gave an answer that completely contradicted this fact.

“Indeed, I did a simple check on him while he was in a coma. A few days ago, his Honkai energy adaptability was even lower than yours. But I didn’t expect that after becoming a pseudo-Herrscher, his Honkai energy adaptability would increase so dramatically.”

Upon hearing this, the captain was taken aback at first, then realized that it was the Herrscher of Knowledge who had helped.

“That’s right! It was I who used my powers to tamper with some information when she was examining your body. Now, in their eyes, you have gained extremely high Honkai energy adaptability because you became a Herrscher.”

Hearing the Herrscher of Knowledge's proud tone in his mind, the captain coaxed the Herrscher of Knowledge while making a surprised expression.

"In short, you now have a so-called Herrscher consciousness deep in your mind. Although I don't know how you managed to suppress it unconsciously, you are still an unstable bomb."

Tesla glanced at the silent captain, then turned to ask Himeko Murata how to get out.

However, Himeko Murata ignored her and instead talked to herself in the air. Suddenly, Himeko Murata looked up and pointed in a direction.

“We’re going there; we’ll find what we need there.”

"How did you know?"

"To be honest, I don't know how to explain it, but please believe me!"

The captain knew the place Himeko Murata mentioned; it did indeed contain the information they needed. The God-Slaying Spear, developed by Dr. Maki using a serum combined with the holy blood of the Shaniat family and researched by Otto, was designed to rapidly purify Honkai energy and even had a chance to transform undead into humans.

As for how Himeko Murata knew this, it was naturally through the feather Fu Hua gave her before she left. However, this also means that Fu Hua had already been shot by Otto, and her consciousness has now transferred to Kiana.

After discussion, although they didn't know why all the access restrictions had been lifted, they had no other choice but to go to the laboratory in the east as Himeko Murata had suggested to find out.

So the group packed up quickly and set off. To confirm their identities, the captain did not demonstrate sufficient combat power along the way.

Fortunately, there were only some low-level assassins along the way, which Himeko Murata was able to handle.

Upon arriving at the eastern laboratory, Tesla made a surprised sound after examining the experimental data. After Tesla explained, Himeko Murata understood the reason for Tesla's scream and also realized the importance of the vial of serum in her hand.

"Dr. Tesla, if you had the materials, could you create that God-Slaying Spear?"

"Isn't that obvious? With such detailed data to support it, if we can't do it, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to me, a genius scientist?"

"Then there's no need to hesitate any longer, Doctor, let's use this serum to create the God-Slaying Spear!"

"what?!"

While surprised that Himeko Murata had found the serum, she quickly realized that this was a place where the God-Slaying Spear was being researched, so some serum might have remained. The key question was, did Himeko Murata just use the entire vial of serum like that?

This serum was supposed to help Himeko Murata eliminate the side effects of the artificial stigmata, allowing her to survive. Yet, she chose to use this single vial of serum to create the God-Slaying Spear?!

Tesla saw in Himeko Murata's eyes a desire for life, but even more so, a sense of responsibility as a teacher and a heart set on saving her companions.

“...It really is true that one or two of them are like this. I understand. I will accept this serum. Next, I will study this data carefully. You can go around and change your mind. You can come to see me anytime. Remember to come early.”

Himeko Murata nodded silently and left the laboratory. After clearing out a group of undead who had followed the scent of living people in, Himeko Murata leaned wearily against the wall.

"Is this really good?"

Himeko Murata looked up at the approaching captain, then looked away and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That serum can help you remove the Honkai energy from your body. As long as you take good care of yourself afterward, you can completely heal the damage caused by the artificial stigma. But now you are using it as a material to make the God-Slaying Spear."

Himeko Murata smiled and said, "Perhaps it's not worth it in your eyes, but she's my student. As her teacher, I have an obligation to protect her and bring her back on track..."

"But the Valkyrie Code states that if a comrade shows signs of becoming a zombie, you must immediately help her escape. As a Valkyrie instructor, you couldn't possibly be unaware of that..."

"That's why I wanted to save her at all costs! That child once asked me in class if I would kill her if she lost consciousness and became an enemy. My answer was that if possible, I would never let my comrade become a suicide soldier before I die. This is my promise and my duty. I must be responsible for my students. For bad students who have gone astray, they should be taught a good lesson."

"Oh...you really are an excellent teacher! But I don't think you were like this at the beginning, were you?"

"Of course, everyone has a first time. I still remember the first time I walked into the classroom as a teacher. Because it was my first time, I had no experience, and because it was my first time, I was always worried about whether I had taught well. There were even a few times when I went to the wrong classroom because I was too nervous."

"Back then, I wondered why I had agreed to teach here with Theresa. It would have been fine to continue being a Valkyrie. But as my first batch of students graduated, I realized that I had unknowingly become proficient in teaching and had gradually come to love it. Looking back, I realized that I had been redeemed by Theresa and her academy. So as long as I have a breath left, I will not let that academy disappear, nor will I let my students sacrifice themselves in front of me!"

"Alright, it's about time. Let's go back and check on Dr. Tesla."

After saying that, Himeko Murata got up, dusted herself off, and walked toward the laboratory, leaving the captain standing there silently making a vow.

"So I won't let you die either. This time I will definitely save you!"