"Hehehe…" The Herrscher of Sentience scratched her head awkwardly.
As Chen Luo had pointed out, helping him complete the quest was secondary—her main goal was undeniably to punch Otto.
Let's be real: if you come to the Honkai world and don't punch Otto, what's the point? Especially for someone like her, who'd been screwed over by Otto countless times.
There was something poetic about that smug bastard, sitting in the shadows orchestrating his grand plays, only for the Herrscher of Sentience to burst in and deck him in the face.
"The sound of Otto's soulium face creaking under my fist is really wonderful. And now that I know about his clones, he's in for a world of hurt this time." She grinned maliciously.
After fusing with Heart Demon Essense, she felt her authority expand further.
Though controlling Otto's mind outright with her Herrscher powers would be tricky—500 years of single-minded obsession made his consciousness stubborn.
But 500 years of pent-up negativity? That was a mountain of emotional kindling. With Heart Demon Essence, if she ignited it…
Otto might just get a reunion with his childhood sweetheart.
"Just don't kill him outright," Chen Luo said warily.
"Relax, I'll just beat him up, wreck a few clones, and maybe trash Schicksal HQ. No killing." She waved dismissively.
"When are you planning to go?"
"Now."
"This soon?"
"Yep. I can't wait to punch Otto."
"Well… alright. I've got the bar as a safehouse anyway, so even if I run into a boss, I can escape." Chen Luo wasn't too worried about his safety.
"Before I leave, though, I've got a gift for you. Spent all night making it." She flashed a mysterious smile.
She hadn't returned home last night, even after recovering, just to prepare this.
"Ta-dah! Little Senti!" Delighted by Chen Luo's confusion, she pulled out a doll-sized figure.
"Little Senti?" Chen Luo stared at the miniature Herrscher of Sentience, roughly the size of an ELF with a little confusion.
*"It's a clone ability. Cool, right? It's amazing, all Heart Demons can multiply into thousands of clones. After all, more nets catch more fish. Took me all night to make this one. She'll stick with you, point out zombies and Honkai beasts, and for the next seven days, she'll have 1/10th of my power. Enough to handle most problems."* She puffed her chest proudly.
"Now, crouch down." The Herrscher of Sentience gestured to Chen Luo.
Chen Luo obliged, still confused.
After Chen Luo squatted down, the Herrscher of Sentience placed Little Senti on his head.
"Perfect!" Hands on hips, she admired the sight of Little Senti perched atop Chen Luo like a living hat.
Chen Luo reached up, poking the tiny figure that feels real.
"Feels real… but why does it have no weight?"
"So it doesn't mess with your fighting, duh." The doll-sized Herrscher of Sentience spoke up in a squeaky voice.
"So cute!" Chen Luo's eyes sparkled.
"Of course! I, the Herrscher of Sentience, am the cutest. Daddy." Little Senti crossed her arms, but when the last word came out, she immediately slapped her hands over her mouth.
But covering his mouth was useless because Chen Luo had already heard it.
"Daddy?!" He gaped at the Herrscher of Sentience in surprise.
"Th-that's…! Must be a glitch! First-time making a clone! I'm not very skilled, so I don't know why she said that! Don't overthink it!" Her face burned crimson.
Her own clone calling Chen Luo Daddy was way too much for her.
If the clone is Little Senti, and I'm Senti, and now she's calling him Daddy, which means…
"GAH! Whatever, I'm leaving!" The Herrscher of Sentience shook her head in annoyance then she vanished.
As a Herrscher of Sentience, she had her own travel methods.
"Why not just make a new one?" Chen Luo asked the Little Senti on his head.
Though called Little Senti, she was the Herrscher of Sentience herself—asking her was no different from asking the original.
"No time!" she huffed.
The Herrscher of Sentience had only fully recovered by 5 PM yesterday, then spent all night crafting her first Heart Demon clone.
Sure, it had a minor bug, but it was otherwise flawless. With no time left, she had to make do.
"So next time I call you Daddy, don't you dare answer, got it? Daddy."
"..." Chen Luo fell silent.
How could anyone not respond to that?
But the palm-sized sword materializing above his head was very persuasive. For the sake of his survival, he kept his mouth shut.
Sure, the Herrscher of Sentience was now at 10% power—but that was still enough to fold him like laundry.
Left with no outlet, Chen Luo channeled his frustration into slaughtering more poor zombies.
[Zombie slain: 5 Primogems]
[Zombie slain: 5 Primogems]
[Event Notice: Primogem limit reached. Further Primogems will be automatically converted into Crystals.]
"Huh? Already hit the cap?" Chen Luo froze momentarily.
Unbeknownst to him, he had already slain 200 zombies, netting him 1,000 Primogems. According to the event rules, any excess beyond this would convert into Crystals, the local currency of the Honkai world.
Chen Luo had only been in this world for less than an hour, yet he'd already earned 1,000 Primogems—almost making him believe this was his lucky world.
But really, it was just that schools were crowded zones, meaning zombies were everywhere.
Plus, his farming efficiency was absurdly high.
Divine Archery was just that overpowered.
No wonder Venti's strength was not really shown.
Anemo Vision + Divine Archery—Chen Luo wondered if he could now call himself a minor Wind Archon.
…No, no. Mustn't become another Venti.
Eating and taking advantage of others all day long... No, this is the Geo Archon.
A freeloading drunkard who only knew how to sing for booze? That only worked because Venti was a god and couldn't starve to death.
Chen Luo definitely shouldn't emulate him.
But Venti said his current lack of earnings was mostly due to being a newcomer with little fame. In the future, Venti will probably make more money. After all, Venti calling himself the best bard in Teyvat, is not a joke.
Meanwhile, Chen Luo's Honkai adaptability had risen to 52.5%—a full 20% increase.
Reaching 200% was still a long road ahead, especially since most areas outside St. Freya Academy wouldn't be as densely packed with zombies.
But before that, he needed to escort Mei and Kiana to St. Freya Academy.
After that? Guerilla warfare across the city.
Chen Luo wasn't sure if he could take on a Emperor class Honkai beast-class beast yet, but he could always run.
The reason he wasn't sending the two girls to St. Freya immediately was simple: waiting for Bronya.
The Trio couldn't be missing one, could they?
Besides, Bronya was likely his key to joining Anti-Entropy.
That's right—Chen Luo planned to join Anti-Entropy.
And no, his earlier claim about wanting to join Schicksal wasn't a joke either. The Talent panel explicitly allowed multiple faction affiliations.
Ideally, he'd also join World Serpent and St. Freya Academy.
Is there a "Honkai faction"? If so, sign me up.
That way, he'd be a quintuple spy.
But within these seven days, Bronya was his only shot at Anti-Entropy.
Joining Schicksal, however, was trickier. For some reason, St. Freya Academy and Schicksal were considered separate factions.
St. Freya was already a done deal—Chen Luo's "St. Freya Staff ID" had auto-enrolled him.
He could now freely purchase St. Freya-exclusive items, including but not limited to: Oath of Judas, Hyperion, etc.
But if even the Hyperion counted as a St. Freya asset, how the hell was he supposed to join Schicksal proper?
Annoying. Very annoying.
And then there was World Serpent…
Maximizing profits is such a headache.
After clearing the entire library of zombies, Chen Luo returned to the girls.
His harvest of Primogems has reached the cap, and he has harvested more than 200 crystals and an achievement.
[Honkai Hunter] (3-Stars): Increase the damage dealt to all zombies by 20%, and increase the damage dealt to all Honkai beasts by 20%, and increase the damage dealt to all Herrschers by 5%.
Unlock Condition: Slay 100 zombies/Honkai beasts.
Upgrade Path:
Slay 1,000 zombies/Honkai beasts → [Honkai Reaper] (4-Stars)
Special Condition: Defeat at least one Emperor class Honkai beast-class beast (The limit of lower class Honkai beasts) and a Pseudo-Herrscher.
Effect: Increase the damage dealt to all zombies by 50%, increase the damage dealt to Honkai beasts by 50%, increase the damage dealt to Herrscher by 12.5%, and there is a 10% chance of causing true damage when attacking.
Slay 10,000 zombies/Honkai beasts → [Honkai Ender] (5-Stars)
Special Condition: Defeat a Herrscher.
Effect: Increase the damage dealt to all zombies by 100%, increase the damage dealt to Honkai beasts by 100%, increase the damage dealt to Herrscher by 25%, all attacks deals true damage, and come with an instant-kill skill: There is a 1% chance of killing all types of Honkai faction creatures with one hit when attacking.
"This 5-Star Achievement is… fucking broken."
That was Chen Luo's first thought.
Then again, all 5-Star items, characters, tools, talents and achievements were absurd.
His sole 5-star achievement, [Saint Chen], massively boosted first-impression trust, initial favorability, and made it easier to accept commissions.
Without it, Mei wouldn't have trusted him so easily, and Kiana would've kept her gun trained on him.
With [Honkai Ender], Chen Luo would have nothing to fear.
Especially that 1% instant-kill.
If I scratch fast enough, even if it's a god, I will scratch you to death for everyone to see.
Oh, you're the Herrscher of Finality? Let me tickle you 100 times.
Oh, you're the Will of Honkai? Let me poke you 10,000 times.
Oh, you're Elysia—wait, no, no, no—
"10,000 zombies and Honkai beasts… How long would that take? And that's not even the worst part—defeating a Herrscher?!"
That condition alone gave him a headache.
Herrschers weren't something normal people could defeat.
"Welcome back."
A gentle voice pulled him from his thoughts.
Chen Luo looked up to see Mei, seated in the library's luxury lounge area, sipping hot tea with a soft smile.
The table was also adorned with snacks that looked suspiciously high-quality for an apocalypse.
"Wait… where'd you get hot tea?" Chen Luo was baffled.
This is the end of the world. Why does this look like a tea party?
But seeing Mei also gave him a glimmer of hope.
Right… There's a baby Herrscher right in front of me.
The question was—did an unawakened Herrscher count?
If he beat up Mei now, would the achievement trigger?
But as he met her warm gaze, Chen Luo couldn't do it.
Mei is a kind girl, and she is the same to everyone.
The world had given her pain, yet she responded with kindness—not to the world, but to those close to her.
In the original story, Mei cared little for the world itself. Her focus was Kiana, the girl who saved her in her darkest hour.
Though… right now, the plot seemed to have deviated slightly…