Kiana and the Captain's Bizarre Adventure

Stepping out of the portal, one is greeted by a dim environment, with the air thick with various unpleasant odors. People wearing miner's hats can be seen everywhere on the street, and looking up, one can vaguely see the foundation of the upper area and a huge iron pillar connecting to the lower area.

"This is truly a miracle! Although I, old Sambo, have only experienced it once before, being instantly transported back to the lower level is still an eye-opener for me. As for whether you all want to find a secluded place, I, Sambo, will gladly oblige. Please follow me!" Sambo said obsequiously.

Kiana and the others didn't waste any words and followed Sambo to a secluded corner. Then Sambo quietly left the place, leaving Kiana and the other two standing there.

"I won't go into specifics, but I'll just briefly talk about what I've experienced so far."

Kiana then began to briefly recount what she had encountered in Beloborg, and after finishing, she quietly looked at the Captain and Bronya.

“I never expected to hear the name Cocolia in this world,” Bronya said first.

"Yes, although I haven't seen her in person, based on March 7's description, the woman with long golden hair and purple eyes is most likely her counterpart."

"So you think this might be related to Cocolia?" the captain asked.

"Although it is impolite to make unfounded suspicions, I always feel that when the name Cocolia is mentioned, she will eventually become one of the masterminds behind the scenes."

“Indeed.” Bronya sighed. “Although I’m very reluctant to admit it, my adoptive mother, Cocolia, is that kind of person. Even though I once met her in a certain world bubble and she was a good person, it still doesn’t change my terrible impressions and memories of her.”

"So what's the situation on your end? And Captain, how did you find Bronya?"

"After I set off to find my companion who had been teleported here, the Will Integration sent me Bronya's coordinates, and I found Bronya based on those coordinates."

"As for what happened next, Bronya and I searched for the Star Core, and..."

"What else?"

"No, it's nothing."

Kiana frowned, feeling that the captain was hiding something from her, but since the captain wouldn't say anything and Bronya didn't seem to be acting strangely, Kiana didn't think much of it.

"Speaking of which, could you explain the Star Core and Rift to me properly? I was busy searching for the Star Core with the Captain before, and I never really had a concrete idea about the so-called Star Core and Rift."

"Actually, Kiana and I don't know much about Star Cores and Rifts either," the captain said.

"All we know is that the Star Core might be a calamity cast down by some Star God, while the Rift is a manifestation of the Star Core distorting space and affecting reality. According to Himeko's description to me before I left, the Rift creatures are the echoes of those who died within the Rift. Their former forms were distorted, turning into monstrous shapes, filled with resentment towards the living, and will attack any creature in their path without reason. At the same time, the Rift will also recreate people or things from the memories of the creatures within, thus tempting them step by step towards death. If we use Honkai as an analogy, the Star Core is the Herrscher formed by the Honkai eruption, and the Rift is the region affected by the Honkai eruption."

"Understood. So, the next step is to meet up with your partners here?"

“Indeed, but Sambo didn’t tell us exactly where that clinic is. How are we supposed to find it?” Kiana said, scratching her head in frustration.

"If there's only one hospital in this town, it's easy to find. The lower and upper districts haven't had any contact for a long time now, so the medical resources in the lower district probably aren't very abundant. Plus, with the rift already penetrating into the upper district, there's no reason why the lower district wouldn't be without a rift. So, there's reason to believe that in order to consolidate medical resources and make management easier, this town won't have more than two clinics," the captain analyzed.

"As for how to find the clinic, I think I don't need to say much more."

So, amidst the curious and somewhat angry gazes of the townspeople, the captain began asking them one by one about the location of the town's clinic.

The strangeness stemmed from the fact that the only place in the entire Rocky Town that could be called a clinic was Natasha's clinic. The anger arose from the fact that Sambo had recently brought down a guy from the Upper District, and that guy looked very similar to Bronya, so naturally the townspeople were staring at him with angry eyes.

"But Natasha? I hope she's not another familiar face!"

Kiana and Bronya naturally understood the captain's meaning. Natasha—although they hadn't had much contact with anyone bearing that name, there was indeed a person named Natasha in the original world. She was a mercenary belonging to the World Serpent organization, but with the end of the Great Honkai, World Serpent disbanded. As a member of World Serpent, Natasha would naturally be put on trial. Before that, it was said that she used her ill-gotten gains to establish a foundation, the main purpose of which was to build orphanages around the world to care for homeless orphans.

Those present had seen Natasha's appearance before, not to mention Kiana had fought her several times. They could only hope that the Natasha here wasn't the one they remembered. Including Himeko waiting on the train, Kiana had already seen quite a few parallel counterparts. If this continued, would she have to see another counterpart of the class monitor or Li Sushang on the Celestial Ship?

Ultimately, Kiana's wish was not fulfilled. Apart from the difference in temperament and clothing, Natasha in front of her was at least eight or nine out of ten similar to Kiana.

“If you’re here to find your companions, apart from this gray-haired lady who’s still unconscious, everyone else has woken up and left. And Miss Bronya, I still hope you’ll act carefully. After all, the upper and lower districts have been separated for decades, and during that time, the Silvermane Guards were all withdrawn to the upper district. Therefore, the people in the lower district aren’t very friendly towards the upper district and the Silvermane Guards. If you act rashly, I’m afraid those miners might do something irrational, and then my medical resources here will be in dire need again.”

"Actually, I am not Bronya from your world."

Despite Bronya's painstaking explanations, Natasha still didn't completely believe in the existence of parallel counterparts. Meanwhile, Xing, who had been unconscious, woke up. After repeated explanations, Xing eventually accepted the existence of parallel counterparts.

“It’s so cool that there are countless beings in the universe with similar names and experiences to you!” Xing said.

The group then began searching for their former teammates who had split up earlier. The first one they looked for was March 7. It wasn't that she was easy to find, but Kiana saw her playing games with a group of children as soon as she stepped outside.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, everyone understood March 7th's idea. Then, with Xing joining in, the children's hide-and-seek game quickly came to an end, and the children, as promised, provided some information about Danheng at that moment.

During the search, Xing deliberately walked to the trash can more than once and began rummaging through the garbage with great interest. March 7th, on the other hand, looked at her with an expression of indifference and helplessly pulled Xing away. From Xing's eyes, it was clear that she really didn't want to be separated from the trash can.

"So what exactly happened to her? It's only been a day, how did she become obsessed with rummaging through trash cans?" Kiana asked.

“I’d love to know too! Ever since we came out of Cripper Castle, Xing has been like this ever since she saw the first trash can.”

March 7th looked at Xing, whose collar she was holding, whose hands were waving unconsciously forward, and whose eyes were filled with longing for the trash can, and sighed helplessly.

Fortunately, this did not hinder their search for Dan Heng. After making inquiries from various sources, the group finally arrived at Dan Heng's location—the fighting club in Pan Yan Town.

Upon entering, what appeared before Kiana and the others was Danheng's final match.

However, it seems to be over now.

"Brothers and sisters! The next match will be the most exciting, thrilling, and breathtaking duel of the day! The stern and exceptionally talented super rookie—the Cold-Faced Little Azure Dragon! Recommended by the handsome Deep Blue Guy! His opponents are—the emotionless and volatile Machine Squad! Praise to Boss Schwarz!"

"Since no other fighters are willing to face the robot squad, this match will be fought alone by Cold-Faced Little Green Dragon. He himself has boldly declared: 'Whatever!' So, the semi-final of the 1758th Fighting Championship Challenge now begins!"

Seeing that Danheng's opponents were a pair of robots, he couldn't help but feel a little worried, and then said to Xing.

"Quick, let's go help him!"

Xing nodded and rushed forward.

"Oh? This is... an unexpected situation has occurred! Two audience members have barged into the octagon! They seem to want to team up with Cold-Faced Little Green Dragon?" The host quickly explained upon seeing the intruders.

"...Finally awake?" Danheng asked.

“Yes, the first thing you did when you woke up was that the director was looking for you. So, seeing that you were in trouble, Xing and I rushed to your rescue. You should thank us!” March 7 replied.

"I felt their passion! This sport is so exciting and attractive! But I must reiterate that combat sports are professional and dangerous, but Xiao Qinglong gestured for the match to continue! He can't wait! Okay! Let's see if these guys' fists are harder, or if the robot's metal body is tougher!"

"Even if you don't come, I can handle it by myself."

"Sigh, I really can't rely on your emotional intelligence."

"I want to go home!" Xing cried out in anguish.

"Is this the time to talk about this?!"

The battle then began, but it was a battle that was destined to be a foregone conclusion, and the outcome was decided in no time.

"A brilliant strike! The victors are Cold-Faced Little Green Dragon—and two impromptu spectators!"

"Can't the audience... give us some kind of nickname too?" March 7 said somewhat discontentedly.

"Cold-faced Little Pink Dragon!" Xing said after a moment's thought, revealing March 7's nickname.

"Uh, never mind, that's terrible taste," said March 7, covering his face.

Then on March 7th, a familiar figure was seen carefully leaving the scene.

"Look, Sambo is over there!"

"We should thank him properly," Xing said happily.

"???"

"Stop talking, let's chase them!"

They then chased after them, completely forgetting about Kiana and her group who had come with them.

Kiana smiled helplessly at their hurried manner and gestured for the captain and Bronya to follow.

Once outside, Kiana immediately saw that March 7 and the others had cornered Sambo in a small corner and were interrogating him about something.