Honkai Impact: The Dream Keeper

"By the way... have you guys finished communicating with this humanoid machine?" Long Qiao whispered in Bronya's ear.

“We did communicate, but she doesn’t have the authority to find Kiana’s whereabouts. Also, could you not get so close? It’s itchy…” Bronya replied, her face slightly flushed.

"I reject."

Just as Long Qiao was about to say something, a series of heavy footsteps approached – a group of mechs were walking towards them.

"Wow, so many mechs?" Long Qiao said.

"What's going on? Has our whereabouts been exposed?" Theresa asked, puzzled.

“Maybe it’s because… the police robots still think we’re criminals?” Bronya said.

“No, these mechs come in all shapes and sizes; they’re not just police robots,” Theresa denied.

"Headmaster, the murderer who killed Gray Serpent has indeed shown up. It's Rita Losweiser, the lieutenant of the Undying Blade," Mei reported via communications.

“Rita? She’s been put in the most troublesome position at the most troublesome time,” Theresa said helplessly.

“I’m sorry, Yunshan and I can only hold her off for this long,” Mei said.

"Damn it, that crazy woman, her combat experience is way too much for me, I can't beat her at all," Yunshan cursed.

"It's alright. After all, the opponent is an S-class Valkyrie, so her combat experience is naturally high. As long as you managed to escape safely, it's fine. Did it affect your wounds?" Long Qiao asked.

"It's alright. How's the situation on your end? Have you found out Kiana's whereabouts?" Mei asked.

"It's alright, but we encountered some mech attacks..." Long Qiao replied.

"We're coming to help!" Yunshan shouted.

“No, Bronya detected… Mei’s Valkyrie armor is emitting two different frequency positioning signals,” Bronya said.

"what?"

“It seems Rita installed a tracker during the fight. Mei and Yunshan, please don’t rejoin the team for now. Deviate from the route and try to confuse Rita,” Bronya said.

"clear."

"Ms. Theresa, how is the intelligence transaction going?" Einstein communicated.

"Smoothly my foot! Zhang Qingcheng is a ghost! I almost lost half my life!" Long Qiao said angrily.

“Uh…yes, but luckily we brought back someone with the information. However, getting this kid to talk will depend on your practical skills. You could call this a scientific challenge?” Theresa said.

"You... kidnapped a child?" Einstein asked in bewilderment.

"Pah! This little brat is a humanoid machine, uh... a combination of human and machine? I guess so, anyway, her brain has a lot of data." Long Qiao said after thinking for a moment.

"???"

“Anyway, Doctor, please arrange an airship for us,” Theresa said.

"Understood. I have dispatched the airship according to the coordinates. Take care," Einstein said.

"I heard your conversation. I'm sorry, Headmaster, but I will not go with you," the humanoid machine said.

“We just want to get some crucial information from you; we won’t hurt you,” Theresa quickly said.

“You can’t hurt a tool. Tools don’t feel pain. Without the master’s command, a tool won’t go anywhere,” the humanoid machine said.

"Hey, your master has already gone to heaven!" Long Qiao said impatiently.

Even though the master is dead, this city is still the safest place.

"Bullshit!" Long Qiao cursed.

"Alright, alright, Long Qiao, calm down... Bronya, take Long Qiao away first," Qingmo said helplessly.

"Ah."

Bronya then pulled the cursing Long Qiao aside.

“Alright, let’s continue. In the face of Honkai, no city in this world is safe. Once we find Kiana, we can end the Great Honkai,” Menmo said.

"End the Great Collapse? Countless data flows through the internet, every piece of intelligence, every record left by humanity... all washing over my brain like a tide. When will the Collapse end? I've asked myself that question too. I filter, analyze, calculate... but with my abilities, I can't see humanity's future at all. An unseen future is worthless, just like humanity's actions, meaningless, and will ultimately be erased by the Collapse," the humanoid machine said.

“Is that so? Even if what we do is meaningless, even if finding Kiana cannot end the Honkai... Even so, we must bring her home and face the end of this world together, because bringing her home is the meaning itself,” Theresa said.

"I'm sorry, Headmaster... you may not understand... but I really can't leave Sky City," the humanoid machine said apologetically.

The humanoid machine then fell silent.

"They've come... they've come at my call," the humanoid machine suddenly said.

"If you really need me, then... try to protect me from this pile of mechs."

“Headmistress, the humanoid mechs are hijacking all the networked mechs in this city and summoning them to destroy themselves,” Bronya said as she approached.

"Little friend, stop right now!"

"Where did Long Qiao go?" Qingmo asked.

"I don't know, he told me he was going to the toilet."

"That's a sure thing."

“What do you mean?” Theresa asked.

"3...2...1..."

Boom——Boom——Boom——

Countless mechs on the street exploded instantly, like fireworks.

"Long Qiao going to the toilet was just an excuse. He just transformed into a mech and accelerated to vent his emotions on those mechs," Qing Mo said, watching the exploding fireworks while wearing sunglasses.

"So that's it."

“But even so, there’s no way to stop it,” Bronya said, looking at the collapsed humanoid machine.

"..."

"..."

In the end, Bronya tried to take over the highest authority over Grey Serpent, but she was missing a biometric authentication. Just then, Rita appeared with Grey Serpent's eye...

Next, the humanoid machine authenticated Rita as having the highest authority. Rita ordered the humanoid machine to be formatted, and everyone tried to stop it but failed...

After Long Qiao returned and fought Rita, he injured Rita with a single slash, and Rita made a glorious exit from the scene. Bronya and the others also discovered that the order Rita gave was actually to format the device.

"Damn it!!!"