With the Herrscher of Sentience by his side, Chen Luo entered a phase of effortlessly crushing everything in his path. However, unlike what one might expect, the Herrscher of Sentience wasn't actually fighting alongside Chen Luo to take down the Honkai zombies and beasts. Instead, she had gone in the completely opposite direction, staying connected only through a tiny version of herself placed on Chen Luo's head.
The main reason wasn't that the Herrscher of Sentience didn't want to stay with Chen Luo—otherwise, she wouldn't have left the tiny version of herself on his head—but rather because if she went on a rampage too, it would interfere with Chen Luo's own killing spree.
However, Chen Luo soon discovered a very, very big problem. A huge problem.
"Chen Luo, why do you look so down?" Raven, sitting beside Chen Luo, couldn't help but ask curiously.
It was already past 6 p.m. the time Raven had set for the children to have dinner. Usually, both Chen Luo and Raven would return by this time to have dinner with the kids.
In Raven's memories of the past two days spent with Chen Luo, she had never seen him so dejected. Why was he like this now?
Has something bothered him? Maybe he'll share it so I can have a good laugh.
"Sigh, it's a long story. By the way, Raven, you've killed over 1,600 zombies by now, right?" Chen Luo asked with a bitter expression.
"You really have some special way of keeping track, don't you? Yes, it's indeed over 1,600," Raven nodded.
This Outworld Traveler is full of strange tricks, she thought. This was also one of the reasons Raven was hesitating about whether to resort to force.
Three million dollars… Even if I have to tie him up, I need to bring him back.
But Raven had her doubts about whether she could actually succeed in kidnapping him. Although he seemed weak on the surface, his escape methods were numerous. And then there was that bar he could open anytime—it was even more perplexing.
"Well, after you take care of the remaining 400 or so zombies tomorrow, bringing the total to 2,000, you can stop," Chen Luo sighed.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Raven's heart skipped a beat. "Chen Luo, you can't do this. Have some sense of contract spirit, will you?"
Now it was Raven's turn to be unhappy.
Chen Luo had spoken, but it didn't make Raven happy at all.
If it was only 2,000 zombies, that would be $2 million. Although Chen Luo had mentioned that the payment might double depending on the situation, even doubling it would only amount to $4 million.
"I can still keep killing! You have to believe me. The Third Divine Key is in great condition today." Raven couldn't just watch this cash cow slip away.
"It's not about whether you can keep killing—it's that I no longer have a need for it," Chen Luo sighed again.
If he could still earn Crystals from it, he would have let her kill not just 2,000 but 20,000.
The problem was, the share of Crystals that could be earned through support was capped at 10,000.
In other words, once Raven helped Chen Luo earn 10,000 Crystals, any further kills would not bring him any additional benefits—none at all.
This was something Chen Luo had learned in advance from the Herrscher of Sentience, as half an afternoon was enough for her to max out the 10,000 Crystal limit.
This isn't teamwork—it's just hiring support!
As everyone knew, support in Honkai Impact 3rd didn't assist you for the entire level—only for a limited time. In some stages, support was just there to give you a buff.
Moreover, the 10,000 Crystals here referred to their 10,000 Crystals.
Killing 2,000 zombies would yield 10,000 Crystals, but since it was a teammate (support) doing the killing, it would only bring Chen Luo 5,000 Crystals—a 50% share.
This was something Chen Luo had never considered before.
However, due to their special relationship, the Herrscher of Sentience's support share wasn't discounted to 50%. For every ordinary zombie she killed, Chen Luo received 3 Crystals, meaning the share increased from 50% to 60%.
So, after the Herrscher of Sentience brought Chen Luo 6,000 Crystals, it stopped. No matter what kind of Honkai beast she killed, it no longer added to Chen Luo's Crystal count.
Since none of Chen Luo's teammates had ever maxed out the 10,000 Crystal limit before, he had never been aware of this rule—until today, when the Herrscher of Sentience achieved it.
"Chen Luo, listen to me. You can't just play with someone's feelings and then abandon them. You need to see things through to the end," Raven said, patting Chen Luo's shoulder with a tone of earnest persuasion.
Earning $1,000 for killing a single low-tier zombie was something Raven had never encountered in her life. Now, it felt like the duck was cooked and about to fly away.
$2 million might sound like a lot, but human greed knows no bounds.
"Alright, enough said. As long as you help me kill 2,000 zombies, I'll give you $5 million straight up. How about that? Not double the price, but 2.5 times," Chen Luo said, uncharacteristically generous.
"Well… I suppose that works," Raven replied, seeing that Chen Luo seemed to have unspoken difficulties and deciding to be understanding.
Since he seemed determined, it looked like she couldn't squeeze any more out of him. So, it was better to just agree and take the extra "severance pay."
"Does the end of the employment relationship mean you won't have anything to do with this survivor base anymore?" Raven asked.
"How could I abandon it? Don't worry, I'll definitely help you build this survivor base," Chen Luo promised, patting his chest.
Just kidding—only a fool would pass up the chance to earn Primogems.
"But once you hit the 2,000 zombie mark tomorrow—or even today—let's work together starting tomorrow," Chen Luo suddenly suggested.
"Huh? Well, sure," Raven replied, though she was a bit puzzled by Chen Luo's idea. After some thought, she decided it couldn't hurt.
Moreover, Raven had more on her mind: if she stayed with Chen Luo, she could get a clearer look at his capabilities. That way, whether she ended up persuading him to join World Serpent or outright kidnapping him, she would be better prepared. 'Let's use the method of joint action to deceiveChen Luo and gain their trust.'
'Let's use the method of joint action to deceive Raven and gain their trust,' the Herrscher of Sentience, sitting on the other side of Chen Luo, said to him.
"Mhm," Chen Luo responded softly.
Under the influence of the Herrscher of Sentience, everyone present except for Chen Luo was unable to see the Herrscher of Sentience, including Raven.
"Mind manipulation is something that works better the higher the intimacy level; the lower the other party's guard, the easier it is to influence them."
"Raven here has considerable personal strength, and she's not weak. Of course, that doesn't mean I can't influence her, but I can't be sure of a 100% success rate. To ensure the plan affects her, you should spend the next couple of days raising her favorability."
"Things like giving her drinks, showing concern, asking if she's tired, or even working together to save a common goal and fighting side-by-side can easily foster camaraderie."
"And didn't you say that after completing that mission, there's a 30-point favorability reward for Raven? With those 30 points, Raven should be much more likely to let her guard down around you." The Herrscher of Sentience spoke knowledgeably.
The Herrscher of Sentience was sparing no effort to help Chen Luo increase Raven's favorability.
This was also to ensure Chen Luo could obtain her Third Divine Key with absolute certainty.
According to Chen Luo, if he wanted Void Archives to fully simulate the power of the Third Divine Key after its limit break, Chen Luo needed to physically touch it to understand its structure.
It was like how Void Archives contained data on the Judgment of Shamash and could simulate it, but even after the limit break, using the original data would only allow it to simulate a weakened version.
To simulate the full version of the Judgment of Shamash, Chen Luo needed to make physical contact himself.
Although the Herrscher of Sentience did not alter Raven's consciousness without absolute certainty, she was not entirely unaware of certain things.
For example... it seemed Raven really wanted Chen Luo to go to World Serpent.
And this desire could be exploited.
By raising her favorability a bit, making her lower her guard, and then using this desire as a lead, guiding her would become much easier.
After finishing dinner, both Chen Luo and Raven, as if by prior agreement, went back out to hunt zombies.
Although it was called dinner time, it was only around 6 p.m. They could keep killing for a while before the sun set.
And even after sunset, it wouldn't stop Raven's rampage; the sniper rifle form of the Third Divine Key was unaffected by darkness.
Chen Luo, however, didn't have that advantage. Once night fell, he needed to return to the bar to run it. Firstly, because the darkness hampered his efficiency in killing monsters, and secondly, because the bar was also a major source of income.
Through Chen Luo's subtle influence, customers had now grown accustomed to visiting the bar after 8 or 9 p.m.
...
"Sentii, have you really thought about how you're going to explain your identity?" Chen Luo, sitting behind the bar counter, asked the Herrscher of Sentience beside him while carefully carving a movable wooden figurine with a sculpting knife.
"You must have realized it too. As more and more customers come, there are more and more familiar faces. You can't keep hiding like this forever," Chen Luo said.
With the increasing number of patrons, more and more people connected to the Herrscher of Sentience were appearing.
"That's simple. I am the future Fu Hua. That's a fact," the Herrscher of Sentience said, clapping her hands together.
"But do you think Fu Hua herself would believe that?" Chen Luo shot her a sidelong glance.
"Emmm, probably not. But what does it matter if she believes it or not? As long as everyone else believes it, isn't that enough?" The Herrscher of Sentience shrugged.
Gaining trust was, for the Herrscher of Sentience, a piece of cake.
"Chen Luo, you actually sold me out!" The door to Chen Luo's bar was kicked open, and a girl with long white hair stormed in, fuming.
Her hair was still dripping wet, suggesting she had just finished washing it.
"Kiana, why are you so angry?" The Herrscher of Sentience, sitting cross-legged on the bar counter, asked with a smile.
"Eh, you, you, you... are that Fu Hua? What are you doing here?" Seeing the Herrscher of Sentience here clearly gave Kiana a fright.
"My, my, not even calling me 'Class Monitor'... that hurts, you know, Student Kiana." Looking at Kiana, the Herrscher of Sentience's smile widened.
"Am I that familiar with you?" Kiana stared warily at the Herrscher of Sentience.
"And are you that familiar with A'Luo?" Kiana's heart skipped a beat as she looked from the Herrscher of Sentience to Chen Luo beside her.
In all the days Kiana had been coming, she had never seen anyone allowed to sit on the bar counter without being shooed off by Chen Luo.
And the statue Chen Luo was carving—sharp-eyed Kiana noticed it looked very much like the Herrscher of Sentience.
She knew about these statues; Chen Luo carved one for every customer, generally in the order they arrived.
The first one had been that drunkard poet, Venti, which was why there was only a Venti statue on the shelf behind Chen Luo. But why was the second one this Fu Hua?
"You mean A'Luo? We're very close. Very, very close." The Herrscher of Sentience, who could see through appearances to the truth, seemed to pinpoint Kiana's greatest concern. She placed her hand on Chen Luo's head and ruffled his hair.
Chen Luo didn't even acknowledge her, just kept on carving.
Carving required intense concentration.
Seeing this scene made Kiana regard the Herrscher of Sentience with even greater wariness.
What's the deal with this person?
"Eh, Class Monitor?" The one who had followed the furious Kiana in was Raiden Mei.
But when Raiden Mei saw the scene before her, she was also greatly surprised.
What in the world is going on?
"Alright, done." After making the final stroke, Chen Luo tossed the finished figurine to the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Yo, Kiana, Mei, you're here." Only after finishing the figurine did Chen Luo greet Kiana and Raiden Mei.
"A'Luo, this Class Monitor Fu Hua is..." Raiden Mei pointed at the Herrscher of Sentience beside them.
"Her? She's not Fu Hua. Or rather, she's not the Fu Hua you know. She's Fu Hua from the future," Chen Luo stated bluntly.
"Huh?" Both girls were stunned.
"Speaking of which, you probably didn't know. This bar doesn't just receive guests from different worlds; it can also receive guests from different times. For example, Kiana, that Mobius you met yesterday."
"Oh, you mean the one in the lab coat, right?" Kiana clearly remembered Mobius.
"Right. She's a scientist from the Previous Era of your world, 50,000 years ago," Chen Luo said.
"Eh? Our world had a Previous Era?" Kiana exclaimed in shock.
"Of course it did, Kiana. You weren't paying attention in history class again," Raiden Mei next to Kiana said, rubbing her temples in frustration.
"Don't you remember? The Principal's Oath of Judah isn't a product of this era."
"..."
Kiana suddenly felt...
like she had made a huge fool of herself.