Honkai: It’s broken, I have become the Herrscher of Corrosion?

"So this is how Velvet joined the Fire Moths? It's really... very Alicia-style."

"But... in the previous plot, there didn't seem to be so many explanatory [side stories] and descriptions of the characters' minds. It always feels... a little strange."

However, before Mei could have any doubts, she automatically entered the next plot, just like what she had experienced during the third collapse.

In the following plot, Mei Raiden witnessed the changes in Hua after she officially joined the Fire Moth, the Kosmo carrying explosives, ready to jump into the hurricane generated by the attack of the Fourth Herrscher to blow it up, and... the terrifying Fourth Herrscher of the former civilization.

Although she was not a personal witness to the fourth collapse of the current civilization, she could understand how dangerous the situation was at that time from the retellings of Kiana and others.

After all, the actual power of the Herrscher of Wind is to create and control ideal fluids. Theoretically, ideal fluids that can cut a black hole apart would bring unimaginable disasters if used purely for destruction.

However... the entire process of the fourth collapse gave Mei an extremely... strange experience.

How should I put it? Although the experience of the previous three collapses also had many problems, at least she gained a lot of information.

This time, Mei felt that there was a person with extremely poor storytelling ability who was telling her a story.

The process was that the Fire Moth discovered the Fourth Herrscher, Alicia and Kevin went up, and then... snap, very quickly, Mei's eyes flashed, and the Fourth Herrscher immediately lay on the ground.

When Mei was confused, the plot of the fourth collapse ended. She felt that it was less than one-third of the length of the third collapse.

"Isn't this... a little too sloppy? The causes and consequences of the battle are not explained clearly. It feels... not like Enosia's style."

There was still no sign of Enosia in the lounge. Mei tried to contact her, but neither she nor her clone responded.

Returning to the Paradise Hall, Mei Raiden was a little surprised, because Eden, Aponia, Sakura, Su, Velvet, Hua, Padofilius and Mebius, a total of eight heroes were here, and she had never seen so many people gathered together.

However, everyone's expressions were very strange. Weiwei lowered her head in thought, Su closed her eyes and shook her head, Hua stood there at a loss, Aponia and Eden looked at Ying with serious expressions. After meeting the eyes of others, Padochliflis immediately looked away as if frightened. Only Mebius still had a disdainful expression.

In the end, it was Eden who first noticed Raiden Mei appearing in the hall.

"Ms. Mei, I'm glad to see that you are okay. I'm sure you also noticed many things that were out of place during your exploration just now."

"Eden, so what exactly is this..."

"Let me tell you."

Aponia took two steps forward

"I noticed that someone had added a barrier to the outside of Paradise to ensure that all data inside Paradise would not flow into the real world."

"And the only one who is capable of doing this is Miss Ino, the Herrscher of Corrosion."

"So... an enemy appeared inside the paradise that even Enosia had to defend with all her might? How... is this possible?!"

"Ms. Mei is indeed smart, and the answer is actually obvious."

"The only one who can threaten the Herrscher of Corrosion in the data space is... another Herrscher of Corrosion."

Mei was even more confused, but Aponiya seemed to be hesitant to speak, as if she wanted to continue being a riddler.

"Ms. Mei, have you ever met Ling?"

When everyone else was silent, Sakura took the initiative to speak.

"Yes, but this is related to..."

"Have you ever thought that the Paradise of the Past is a place where the memories of the thirteen Fire Chasing Heroes converge. Ling is neither a Hero nor a Fusion Warrior, and is not even a member of the Fire Chasing Moth. Why... does she exist here in the form of a memory like us?"

Mei also thought about this question. At first, she thought Ling was like a can, but she quickly denied this idea.

After all, no matter how you look at it, Cans is a subsidiary product of Padofelice, and Ling, like other Yingjies, is obviously an independent individual.

"Although Miss Mei has only completed the first four collapse experiences in the system, I'm sure that the following content can be integrated from the previous discoveries."

"Indeed, from the previous battle with Qianjie and the communication with Alicia, we learned that the Fifth Herrscher of the previous civilization was killed by Qianjie, who had not yet joined the Fire Moth, shortly after its birth..."

Although she was nearly killed in the battle with Qianjie due to Mei's [active provocation], she did obtain information that was crucial to her.

"From the information I got in Paradise before, I once got this guess: Ling seemed to be a very important character in the twelfth collapse of the former civilization."

"... Miss Mei, your guess is correct, but... it's still a little off."

"During the twelfth collapse of the previous civilization, Ling... was the Herrscher of Corrosion himself."

Unlike Aponia, Sakura did not leave the conversation halfway, but instead explained in detail the general process of the twelfth collapse, the final result, and why Ling appeared in the paradise of the afterlife.

"Before, Ms. Ino had done some experiments with the Ksitigarbha spirit in Paradise. We guess that this might be related..."

"Wait, Sakura, you mean..."

"Yes, the reason is unknown. But right now, what is more important than knowing the reason is what to do next. Maybe you have already discovered it... Apart from the fact that Kevin and Qianjie are making some dangerous attempts, we have discussed it up to now and have not come to any conclusion."

Mei looked around, the confusion on her face did not dissipate:

"So... at a time when the Paradise of the Past is facing such a serious crisis, where is Alicia?"

In Mei's impression, this girl who always had a smile on her face and was more lively than anyone else should have come to everyone's side at the first opportunity to liven up the atmosphere. But now, when all the heroes seemed to be more or less wary of each other, she was nowhere to be seen.

The hall of Paradise fell silent again, but Mei could tell from their expressions that Hua, like herself, did not fully understand what had happened, and Padochlix seemed to have guessed something but did not dare to say it, but the other six heroes obviously knew something but were unwilling to say it.

After a while, Su Weiwei opened her eyes again:

"Sorry, visitor. Alicia...seems to be in some trouble. She is temporarily..."

After a brief pause, Mei got three words.

"Gone."

"Gone. What does that mean? Did she hide, or..."

"Oh, Su's words are still so hard to understand. Even after I gave him a hint, this little guinea pig is still kept in the dark."

Mei wasn't sure if it was her illusion, but under Mobius' sarcastic expression, she seemed to see a hint of...subtle...sadness?

"To put it in the simplest and most straightforward terms, Alicia is dead."