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

It was like walking in the dark, in the thick darkness, there were strange and dim spots of light floating. When you reach out to touch them, the spots of light will gather around you, as if to drown your consciousness.

I opened my eyes, and the scene in front of me slowly spread out like spreading water waves, gradually converging into a familiar picture.

"Is this... a paradise in the past that has not been affected by the Herrscher?"

Light footsteps passed by her. The cat-eared girl in front of her seemed to be unaware of Mei's existence, and was concentrating on chasing the light brown shadow in front of her.

"Can, wait for me! You're running too fast."

"Meow--"

"I haven't been back for so many days. I heard from Sister Ai Li that there is a new guest visiting Paradise. I wonder what kind of person he is?"

(This is... the scene before I met Padu? The guest she mentioned is me?)

Padofelice came to a very ordinary-looking cabinet. After looking around for a while, she carefully opened the drawer, and then her eyes lit up.

"...Wow, so many gold coins! What a sucker... Ahem, I mean, what a generous guest!"

(It seems that this is indeed Padu’s memory. Let’s read on…)

As she had this thought, the scene before her eyes shattered and reassembled, extending towards her.

"Unlike the situation in the system, the scene changes here seem to depend on my subjective will..."

Soon, a new picture appeared before my eyes.

Time did not pass in the paradise. Padufils was still sitting outside the shop kiosk, but he had a troubled look on his face.

"Meow meow--"

Faced with the enthusiastic can, Padofelice pushed it aside contrary to his usual behavior:

"Can, please be quiet for a while and let me think about it seriously."

"The girl held her chin with her hands, her eyes blank, and no one knew what she was thinking. However, the more she thought, the tighter her brows furrowed."

"Oh no, no, the more I think about it, the more headache I get."

“Do we really have to take Mei-nee to the deepest place? Even the good-tempered Amo is trying to stop us, and Airi-nee seems worried. If this continues, Nia-nee will definitely fight with Mei-nee. Really, can’t everyone just sit down and have a good chat?”

(This is... what happened before I wanted to go into the deepest place?)

"Meow~"

The can climbed onto Padofelius's legs again, but this time, its attitude was much softer.

"I know... you guys aren't the type to have a good chat, and you have a complicated past with each other. But why do you have to keep fighting? We're partners who have even experienced death together... so we should be considered partners, right?"

"Meow……"

The can rubbed against Padofelice very carefully.

"Don't comfort me, Can. Don't worry, I finally found a place to stay, so I won't have to watch my companions fall into infighting. After all, even if I'm the last one, I'm still one of the Thirteen Heroes recognized by Sister Ai Li."

"…It's like a dream. An orphan like me from Twilight Street will one day be called a "hero". Can, what do you think…if my parents were still alive, would they be proud of me?…I'd rather not think about that. What can I do now? Well, I'll go ask Sister Weiwei for advice first…"

The girl disappeared from sight in an instant. She still didn't notice Mei, who was supposed to be absent, and that's why she was able to reveal her true feelings.

(… Let’s continue to look back.)

The scene changed again, and Mei realized that this seemed to be the night before Alicia disappeared.

(Pado, she's not asleep either? What is she doing here?)

Ninety-six, ninety-seven...

"I didn't expect there were so many treasures hidden here. I'll ask Mei to take me to where to hunt for treasure tomorrow. I can sell the mechanical parts to Wei Wei, and the pretty trinkets to Ai Li. As for these weird decorations, I'll just trick Ah Mo and the others into buying them... Hehe, I'm going to make a fortune now."

Time passed silently, and the sound of Padufils counting the goods gradually became as unclear as a dream talk.

"It seems that Paddo spent the night counting these spoils... It is indeed in line with her character."

But just as he was about to fall into a deep sleep, Padufils suddenly woke up as if he suddenly remembered something very important.

"The first target... let's choose Kevin. I wonder if he can accept it..."

(Kevin? Why are you mentioning him all of a sudden?)

“…I must keep this secret from Ai-san. Yes, and Mei-san too. Otherwise, she will never let me off…”

Mei had already put aside her suspicion of Padufils, but hearing such words at such an important moment, she had to be on high alert again:

(Alicea, and... me? What on earth is Padu trying to hide?)

Mei wanted to continue looking back, but her consciousness fell into chaos again. Soon, as if suddenly awakened from meditation, Mei came back to her senses and saw two pairs of eyes in front of her looking at her with concern.

"It seems that this is the end. Dear audience, what did you see?"

"Mei-sister, you should have seen it. I didn't see Ai-sister at all on the day she got into trouble. And... even if there were a hundred of me, I wouldn't be able to defeat Ai-sister."

Mei didn't answer. Meeting Mei's gaze, Padufils explained, but turned his head away uncomfortably.

"Don't... don't look at me like that, Mei-san. It makes me nervous. I really didn't do anything."

"I saw your memory the night before Alicia disappeared. You spent the whole night packing up the goods you collected from all over the place, and finally fell asleep with the goods in your arms when it was almost dawn."

"Hehe, after all, I found a lot of good things when I was treasure hunting, so I was a little excited. But does this prove my innocence?"

"Look, Mei-sister, I've already said that I'm innocent. I've successfully cleared myself of suspicion. Now, can I investigate with you guys?"

Mei's serious expression did not relax at all:

"But before you went to sleep, you said you wanted to do something without telling Alicia and me. Padu, do you have any secrets that you are hiding from us?"

Wei Wei, who was standing by, immediately became alert when she heard this:

"Ah, I didn't expect there would be such a memory. I didn't expect little Padu to not be as honest as I thought."

Padufilis' heart skipped a beat and he subconsciously wanted to deny it:

"Hey, Mei... Mei-sister, what are you talking about? How could I possibly have any secrets from you?"

"Really? According to what you said in your dream, this matter is related to many heroes, and you even want to involve Kevin and Alicia. What is it that is worth all the trouble?"

"Little Padu, I advise you to tell the truth at this time, otherwise, you will never be able to clear yourself of suspicion."

"...just a little business...really just business."

"What kind of business needs to be hidden from me and Alicia?"

"It's about...that..."

Padochleffel slowly raised his head, and finally fixed his gaze on the top of Mei's head.

"That... the horn on your head."

"horn?"

Mei was immediately confused, she didn't understand how this was related to the horns on her head.

"I'm planning on renting out your horns for others to touch. If Sister Ai Li finds out, she'll definitely spread it around, and you'll be mad then. That's why... I have to keep it a secret from you two."

I have to admit that Padofelius is indeed a business genius. Mei recalled the bad memories and her fists, which were originally relaxed, tightened little by little.

"Oh, Mei-sister, I was wrong! I...I will never dare to do it again!"

After hearing the truth of the matter, Wei Wei couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"Hahahaha, I didn't expect Ms. Mei's role to be so popular. Little Paduo, you are such a genius."

"Oh, Sister Weiwei, your hat is really terrible. I just had a little thought, but Sister Mei saw it clearly."

"Of course, the tools I make can always play dozens of times their original functions. This proves that my [Consciousness Collector] is indeed effective. What do you think, Ms. Mei? In an emergency, we still have to rely on the wisdom of tools. Next, use this method to check the memories of the heroes one by one and clear everyone of suspicion."

Padufilis, who had been observing the expressions of the people, found that both of them had given her gold water. She suddenly became more confident, straightened her chest, and said proudly:

"Very good! I declare that I have completely ruled out suspicion. Next, I will join the ranks of detectives and investigate the truth of this matter with you! Sister Mei, take me with you next time you check your memory. I must prove that everyone is innocent."

"I'm afraid there won't be many opportunities like this. I don't think other heroes will wait here obediently for us to read their memories like a book."

After hearing Mei's words, Padufilis felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, and his head immediately drooped:

"That's right... Even if others don't say anything, Brother Jie and Sister She will definitely not accept this method..."

Wei Wei looked into the distance with a meaningful expression:

"That depends on your ability, our great detective. Well, that being said, isn't there another person who will definitely not refuse this request already here?"

A figure came in panic, and when she saw Mei, she seemed vaguely relieved.

"Great, you're all here."

Hua rarely shows such a serious expression, so Mei also subconsciously became nervous.

"What's wrong, Hua? You don't look very good."

"A very serious situation has occurred. I and..."

"Hush, wait a moment. Rather than telling you orally, I recommend you use some tools. For example, this hat?"

Facing Wei Wei who suddenly interrupted him to tell him about the emergency, Hua remained polite:

"Sorry, the situation is too urgent. I don't have time to verify those experimental props with you."

Wei Wei was still calm and composed:

"Don't rush to refuse. This is not some kind of entertainment trick. We just want to understand more directly what happened. Besides, this is also to eliminate your suspicion. Right, my dear Ms. Mei?"

"Ahua, listen to me. We are using this hat to check the memories of every Yingjie to eliminate their suspicion."

"Check...memories?"

"Hua, I understand your concerns, but... other clues have not made any progress, so we have no choice but to do this."

"I have no intention of shirking my responsibility. After all, my memory is already confusing. But, is this really useful?"

"But... this is indeed the most efficient way to transmit information at present... and it can also ensure that the information will not be distorted during the transmission process, right?"

Hua pondered as she looked at the people in front of her. They were once her trusted partners and teammates who fought side by side with her. However, the haze of reality created an unbridgeable rift between them, and suspicion and questioning became a shadow between everyone. Now, she had to make a decision whether to still trust the people in front of her.

She glanced at Mei, then at Padofelice who was nodding slightly, and finally chose [Trust].

"I understand. What do you need me to do?"

Wei Wei immediately handed over the hat:

"Just put this on."

"Yes, that's right. Prove to us with facts that you are still the Hua we know."

After Hua put on the hat, Mei and Padofilis's consciousness suddenly fell into darkness...

(Switching to Enosia's perspective...)

"Wilwei's little invention always plays a key role at the critical moment?"

"Showing your memories to others without reservation in the shortest possible time is indeed a good way to gain the trust of others."

"Aino, what's the situation in other directions?"

Lying on the sofa, Enosia, who seemed to be taking a nap, opened her eyes:

"Ling told me that if we use her method to calculate, there are only two heroes who have died, that is, you. And if we use Su and Aponya's method to calculate, there should be four heroes who have died at this time."

"Four?"

Enosia spread her hands:

"After all, the enemy is a Herrscher of Corrosion. As a memory body, Ying Jie must take risks if he wants to find some methods that might lead to victory or ensure mutual destruction."

"And... according to Su and Aponia's calculations, as long as they use their mental abilities to search the entire Paradise of the Past and still cannot sense the existence of a certain hero, they can basically sentence him to [death]. But in fact, it is not only because the data of the hero has been deleted by the Corrupted Herrscher that the data of the hero is no longer within the observable range."

"After all...these heroes in the paradise of the past are best at...creating miracles that are theoretically impossible."