Though it was unclear why Raiden Mei got dragged by Kiana into shouting ["Where's Daddy?"], both their fathers were missing anyway, so it didn't matter much.
Right then, the Hyperion battleship arrived above the TV tower.
Because Herrscher had appeared and vanished too quickly for Captain Himeko on the Hyperion to track. After receiving Theresa's message, she simply brought the fleet to pick up Kiana.
Then again, as Theresa Apocalypse's niece, Kiana did have the clout for such treatment.
"Boss, long time no see." Himeko, dressed in her captain's uniform, shook Chen Luo's hand.
"Except you drank ten free glasses at my place just yesterday."
"Hahaha, 'free' makes it sound so crude—you're the one who waived the charges. Still, impressive you found Kiana." Himeko's gaze shifted to Kiana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya.
"But who are the other two?"
"Mm... their backgrounds are complicated. I'll explain tonight at the bar. For now, they're just survivors from Nagazora. Also, close friends of your boss's niece—so consider them 'connected.'"
"Fine. Your tone alone tells me you've picked up three troublemakers." Himeko sighed.
"Alright. If there's nothing else, see you next time." Chen Luo stepped back and waved the other three over.
"Wait, A'Luo, aren't you coming with us?" Raiden Mei instinctively grabbed his hand.
"I'm not going with you, I'm staying in Nagazora." Chen Luo shook his head.
"If you're not leaving then I'm staying too!" Mei declared.
"If Mei's not leaving, neither am I!" Kiana chimed in.
After Chen Luo completed her commission, Kiana had grown even fonder of him.
"If none of you are leaving... then neither will I." With the mood set, Bronya couldn't exactly refuse.
"Hold on, if none of you are leaving, why did I even come?!" Himeko cut in.
"A'Luo, why stay in Nagazora?" Mei ignored Himeko, focusing solely on Chen Luo.
"Me? I want to rescue more survivors and kill some zombies and Honkai beasts. Like I said—I'm sworn enemies with the Honkai! Except Herrschers." Chen Luo hastily added the last part.
He could already feel Little Senti's fist hovering threateningly.
Last time, he'd forgotten to say it and got punched.
"Then I'll stay and help. It's too dangerous for you alone!" Mei insisted.
No no no, you're the dangerous one here.
"Ahem, don't worry. Remember that bar I mentioned? Let 'Auntie Himeko' take you there tonight, we'll meet up. I promise."
Chen Luo didn't elaborate further, since aside from Himeko, other Schicksal personnel were present.
He had standards for guests: some were premium like Venti, while others brought nothing but trouble.
"Speaking of Herrschers, did you encounter one? Sensors detected an eruption near the TV tower." Himeko interjected.
Her repeated questioning drew a wary glance from Mei.
"Relax, Auntie Himeko is trustworthy. Whether to share details is your call." Chen Luo patted Mei's shoulder.
"Thanks for the praise, but drop the 'Auntie,' please." Himeko scowled.
"Alright, you should go. Keeping the Hyperion hovering here wastes battery." Chen Luo stepped back.
"The Hyperion doesn't run on electricity." Himeko corrected.
"That's not the point. You can't stop me from doing good deeds—I'll fight the Honkai to the end, rescue survivors, and no one can stop me."
Primogems... my Primogems.
Crystals... my Crystals.
"If that's the case... there is nothing I can do. This belongs to you." Mei returned the Vision to Chen Luo.
Though her Herrscher core lay dormant, Mei still passively absorbed Honkai energy. So Chen Luo had let her keep the Vision for that reason.
"Let's go." Mei motioned to the other two.
True care didn't always mean clinging to someone—sometimes, removing obstacles for them was the better choice.
Mei understood this well.
Just as she'd joined World Serpent in abandoned Nagazora for Kiana's sake, she now chose to trust Chen Luo, following a stranger to a supposedly safe school.
* * *
Chen Luo watched the Hyperion ascend, his smile widening.
"Now then... let the hunt begin."
Simultaneously, the mechs Cocolia had ordered into hiding activated, their optics glowing red.
[Traveler Capture Operation—Commence!]
Never underestimate a woman's pettiness—especially after you've crossed her.
"Sigh... it is lonely alone. Kiana and the others weren't efficient, but at least they were company." With everyone gone, Chen Luo couldn't help but lament.
"But I can't drag them into danger just for Primogems."
If he faced trouble, he had many ways to escape instantly.
He could use the bar for example. Or as a last resort, use the war domain to drag Little Senti and himself in it, then escape using the bar.
But with others in tow? Far more complicated.
"Why mope? I'm still here." Little Senti rapped his head.
"Fair point." Perched on the tower's edge, Chen Luo gazed down at the tiny zombies below.
TV towers were built tall to maximize broadcast range—this one was Nagazora's tallest structure.
However, one thing to note is that TV stations and TV towers are not the same thing.
Chen Luo had specifically asked the Hyperion crew to drop him at the spire for one reason:
Sniping supremacy.
Commission completions and enemy defeats granted stacking buffs. After so many achievements—especially defeating the Emperor class Honkai beast and Raiden Mei—his enhanced vision now easily covered 400 meters.
High ground meant a better view of the landscape, and Chen Luo also possesses a 1-Star telescope, allowing him to see almost everything, including the incredibly bulky mechas below.
"Confused, Cocolia? If you can, come and get me." Chen Luo flipped them off.
"Oh right, speaking of which, looking at Mobius' exchange list now... looks like finished products are available."
Mobius
[Infinity] (S-rank Talent): Possesses infinite resurrection and revival abilities. However, each death causes the body's age to regress by a certain period, and revival requires massive amounts of Honkai energy.
Price: ■■ Primogems (Original price: 10,000 Primogems)
"Wait, what's going on? Why can't I buy this anymore?" Chen Luo was utterly baffled.
Not just this talent—all of Mobius' skills were temporarily unavailable for purchase.
Well, not unavailable, but if he wanted them, he'd have to pay full price. No discounts.
While Chen Luo had been hesitating over whether to buy it in the first place, this sudden change made him feel like he'd lost a fortune. After all, it had previously been at a 25% discount.
"Mm... whatever. I think I still have a special reward from Mobius. Maybe I can roll for this S-rank talent."
[Mobius' Oath]: ...
Reward: 500 Primogems + Special Reward (Guaranteed to obtain an item or skill related to Mobius)
Difficulty: 3-stars
Back when Mobius didn't yet have this resurrection talent, Chen Luo had held off on pulling.
And during the past few hours, with others around, he hadn't dared to try—afraid that pulling the S-rank [Infinity] talent might suddenly put him in a precarious situation.
[Ding! Congratulations, Mobius' Favorability +50]
[Current discount limit reached. Establish a special relationship with the target to unlock higher discounts.]
[Ding! Favorability is not increased out of thin air—it only amplifies existing goodwill. When assisting the target, favorability gains will be multiplied by several times or even dozens of times until the bonus amount is reached.]
"Hah?"
Now, the black squares obscuring the price had cleared away.
[Infinity] (S-rank Talent): 5,000 Primogems (Original price: 10,000 Primogems)
In simple terms, after this favorability boost, the discount was applied first. Then, whenever he did something to increase Mobius' favor, what would normally grant +1 might now grant +10—until the +50 bonus was fully accounted for.
This reward meant that unless Chen Luo did something unforgivably stupid like killing Klein and stealing offerings from her grave, Mobius' favorability would eventually reach the level corresponding to a 50% discount through gradual accumulation.
"Mm..." Chen Luo's expression twisted into something complicated.
If you were to say this reward was useless, it halved the price of the talent.
But if you were to say it was useful, it didn't offer anything tangible.
And he couldn't even vent about this bizarre situation to Little Senti, he had to keep it bottled up.
Which only made him feel even more stifled.
"No matter the cost, humanity shall defeat the Honkai!" Chen Luo roared at the sky, releasing three Anemo-infused arrows in rapid succession.
His arrows now absorbed Honkai energy mid-flight to amplify their power.
From the 400-meter-high TV tower, they had plenty of time to charge up.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Three deafening explosions later, only three mangled mechs remained.
The 400-meter descent allowed the arrows to absorb enough Honkai energy to multiply their destructive power several times over, creating massive explosions.
The blasts also drew nearby zombies toward the wreckage.
Chen Luo nocked another arrow, waited, then fired—obliterating the crippled mechs and the attracted zombies in one go.
[Zombie killed. 5 Primogems obtained.]
[Zombie killed. 5 Primogems obtained.]
[Zombie killed. 5 Primogems obtained.]
...
Efficiency skyrocketed instantly.
Unfortunately, the mechs didn't count as enemies—they were just machines.
If they'd been piloted, that might've qualified.
These mechs make excellent tools, though.
Targeting zombies first wouldn't have been as effective.
Without moving targets or if the only moving things were zombies, the attraction effect weakened.
Two arrows can destroy a mech
The first shot cripples it, allowing the damaged mech to still move, luring zombies.
The second shot finishes it off, taking out the gathered zombies too.
Sure, Cocolia had quantum mechs, but those were expensive, and completely useless here.
If Chen Luo wanted, a charged shot could vaporize even a quantum mech.
"I'm a goddamn genius."
As he celebrated his tactics, wind blades intercepted incoming artillery fire from below, deflecting or detonating the shells mid-air.
From 400 meters up, upward attacks were far easier to intercept.
And the higher you went, the stronger the winds, which only amplified Chen Luo's abilities.
With the high ground secured, he feared nothing.
"Oh ho? Deploying an aerial warship now? How shameless!" Sensing the nearby cloaked battleship, Chen Luo sighed.
I only destroyed a few mechs—was a stealth battleship really necessary?
But to his nearly-evolved Vision, the ship's "invisibility" was painfully obvious, its lack of wind flow stood out like a beacon.
"Perfect timing. The War Domain's cooldown is up."
Chen Luo fired an arrow at the cloaked battleship, forcing it out of stealth.
Once the target was visible, his eyes gleamed, both he and the warship vanished.
In the war domain, if the enemy is a combined entity, all enemies can be treated as a single entity, or even a single individual can be treated as an individual and pulled into the battle space.
Unfortunately, a small floating warship could be treated as a single entity, regardless of whether there were any living creatures inside.